Welcome back to the fourth part of our Complete Messianic Evangelical New Testament Phronema Bible Studies series in which we shall be working systematically through the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament).

When we were last assembled a little over a month ago before the autumn (fall) festival season began, we were looking at Mark 1:1-8 which launched this Gospel straight into the ministry of John the Baptist where we find him administering a baptism of repentance to the Roman-occupied nation of Judea. Let's re-introduce those first 8 verses:

"This is where the good news starts - the good news of Yah'shua (Jesus) the Messiah, [Elohim's (God's) Son]. Isaiah the navi (prophet) puts it like this ('Look! I am sending My messenger ahead of Me; He will clear the way for you!' - Mal.3:1): 'A shout goes up in the desert: Make way for the Master (Lord)! Clear a straight path for Him!' (Is.40:3). John the Baptiser appeared in the desert. He was announcing a baptism of repentance, to forgive sins. The whole of Judea, and everyone who lived in Jerusalem, went out to him; they confessed their sins and were baptised by him in the river Jordan (Yarden). John wore camel-hair clothes, with a leather belt around his waist. He used to eat locusts and wild honey. 'Someone a lot stronger than me is coming close behind,' John used to tell them. 'I don't deserve to squat down and undo His sandals. I've plunged you in water; He's going to plunge you in the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit)" (Mk.1:1-8, KNT).

The next passage, verses 9-13, are really just a continuation of this first segment and together, like the beginning of a play, they form what might be called a curtain-raiser for the new audience hearing the story for the first time in which we are being made aware of who the leading actor is and can then follow the full meaning of His subsequent actions. So the text resumes:

"This is how it happened. Around that time, Yah'shua (Jesus) came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptised by John in the river Jordan. That very moment, as he was getting out of the water, he saw the heavens open, and the Ruach (Spirit) coming down like a dove on him. Then there came a voice, out of the heavens. 'You are My wonderful Son, you make me very glad.'

"All at once the Ruach (Spirit) pushed him into the desert. He was in the desert forty days, and the satan (Adversary) tested him there. He was with the wild beasts, the malakim (angels) waited on Him" (Mark 1:9-13, KNT).

And just to remind you again, the reason why there is no Virgin Birth story in Mark is not because nobody knew anything about any 'virgin birth' or that it was invented later or that Peter disbelieved it, but because this event was 'before Peter's time'. This record, collated and retold by John Mark, is solely a record, from sermons, teachings and recollections, of those facts of the Saviour's life of which Peter had a personal experience. Peter's knowledge of Yah'shua (Jesus) began his narrative in the opening verses of this first chapter. That he obviously knew about it is hinted in Mark 6:3 which we'll come to later.

So when you read this opening passage of vv.1-13, what you have to remember is that the heavens had been silent for a long time, since, in fact, the days of Malachi. What you may not at first realise is that nothing spectacular like this, in the tradition of the nevi'im (prophets) of Israel, had happened for nearly 450 years. Now, of course, in this gap between Malachi and Yah'shua's (Jesus) being baptised people talked about such things, and even anticipated something like this happening in the future in their writings. The heavens had been silent for so long, and although there are many interesting writings in the inter-testamental period which, maybe with some justification, one might describe as 'sort of' inspired - at least in some cases - the Yehudi (Judahites) knew that something was missing and they felt the need for it badly.

By the time the first century AD rolled along the Yehudi (Judahites) were feeling pretty lonely. Yahweh seemed remote. The Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) had not been sent in any noticeable way, and the voice of Elohim (God) which the nevi'im (prophets) used to hear directly was silent, even if they could hear what they called in Hebrew the bat qol or 'daughter of the voice', or an echo. In many ways, we live in a similar time. We're just hearing echoes. In days of old, Yahweh would pierce the heavens to come to men's assistance - do you know what I'm talking about?

Back in the days of the early monarchy they remembered as these verses attest:

"He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet" (Ps.18:9, NKJV).

"What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back? O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs?" (Ps.114:5-6, NKJV).

"Then the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were uncovered, at the rebuke of Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils" (2 Sam.22:16, NKJV).

You might even say that the people had become 'cessationists' of a sort, no longer believing Yahweh spoke dramatically as in days of yore, instead believing that Yahweh now only spoke through the echo of Scripture - the bat qol, the 'daughter of the voice'. Then, as now, for so many believers, there seemed to be a brass wall between heaven and earth, and as far as they were concerned, it seemed as though this state of affairs would go on for ever. So many of them just settled down and got used to this new state of affairs while others longed for more, a bit like the division today between non-charismatics who focus on Scripture and charismatics who can think only of getting spiritual experiences by any means. And yet then, as now, each lacked something that the other had, and both lacked the original phronema or spiritual community sense of the imme diacy of Elohim's (God's) presence.

I guess what I am trying to say is that in any period of time where miracles have declined you always get cessationists (who substitute Yahweh with Scripture) and continuationists (who are weak on Scripture but keen on the supernatural manifesting. The latter therefore are vulnerable to deception by false spirits mimicking the Ruach (Spirit) when the original fire starts dying down to glowing embers only, and so substitutes like 'tongues' are eagerly sought out, becoming the equivalent of the distracting but highly energising sound and lights of a modern discoteque on a psychic level. Of course the big difference back then, as compared with today, is that they at least lived, more or less, the ordained Torah lifestyle, which has become all but lost to orthodox Christianity. These days only a handful of messianics are even bothering to try, though some Christians are selectively living more of the mitzvot (commandments) than their contemporaries do. So in many ways we are today further away from that 'alive time' than they were back in the days of Samuel and David, when at least genuinely called nevi'im (prophets) still roamed the land and spoke authentically in the Name of Yahweh, not all the false prosperity teachers and counterfeit charismatic 'prophets' who love to flaunt themselves and live decadent lifestyles in total opposition to the way the original nevi'im (prophets) lives..

Now you might think that under such circumstances that people would lose hope, but no, many still believed in, and looked forward to, a decisive deliverance by the hand of Elohim (God) Himself. They believed, because of their faith in the Tanakh (Old Testament), which they had read to them every Sabbath in their synagogues, that the heavens would once again be parted, that the voice and Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) would once again descend to earth, and bless them mightily once again. So what happened here, in Mark 1:9-13, was very much in accordance with those expectations. It happened! Something new and wonderful began in the River Jordan where the last great supernatural parting of water had taken place under Joshua, Yah'shua's (Jesus') namesake!

Nearly one-and-a-half centuries earlier, some unknown writer, probably a Pharisee, had penned a document called the Testament of Levi, purporting to have been written by the patriarch Levi, the son of Jacob, but which in reality was what we call a pseudepigraph, or a text written in the name of a dead author to lend it more authority, though I don't think that anyone back then actually believed it was written by their ancestor Levi - it is only moderns who have misunderstood the purpose of such writings and have either uncritically accepted them as authentic writings of the named author (as some messianics do) or they have gone to the other extreme and said they were fakes designed to deceive (as most fundamentalist Christians would probably maintain). We shall be approaching them for what they are, namely, a common device. We as Messianic Evangelicals do the same thing too [1] but provided we understand the purpose of such writings, provided there is no deliberate attempt to deceive or to pawn such writings off as anything equivalent in inspiration or authority to the canonical Scriptures, there is nothing harmful in the practice provided we are absolutely clear that what we're dealing with is parabolic and a kind of inspired or semi-inspired fiction.

Scholars view these documents as important historical windows into what people believed and were thinking about in that era in which they were written and that is how we will use them in this course. Here is what the author said:

"Then shall Yahweh raise up a new cohen (priest)
And to him all the devarim (words) of Yahweh shall be revealed.
The heavens shall be opened
And from the temple of glory shall come upon him sanctification
With the Father's voice as from Abraham to Isaac.
And the glory of El Elyon (the Most High) shall be uttered over him
And the spirit of understanding shall rest upon him"
(Test.Levi 18)

And in a parallel text from the same date known as the Testament of Judah - again, a pseudepigraph, which together with 10 others form what is known as the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, says:

"And the heavens shall be opened to him
To pour out the Ruach (Spirit) [even] the blessing of the Qadosh (Holy, Set-Apart) Father"
(Test.Judah 24:2ff.)

Are you sensing now the phronema of this period of time? It's the same phronema, the same mindset, the same outlook, the same overall spirit that we are reading in Mark. And the One on whose 'head' these Pharisee writers - who clearly had some sort of inspiration in their works of fiction, at least as far as the overall spiritual thrust of the Tanakh (Old Testament) was concerned - would be the Messiah (and from the Targums of the time we know that they believed the Messiah would be Divine like the Father), and that He would be the One who would judge, and save, and pass on the heavenly gifts to men. Continuing with some extracts from the Testament of Judah we read of this expected Messiah:

"And He shall execute a righteous judgment upon the earth for a multitide of days... He shall give the majesty of Yahweh to His sons in emet (emet) for ever more... And He shall open the gates of Paradise" (Ibid.).

And there were lots of other writings from this period of time representing the widespread Messianic expectations of the time, in spite of the long period of time that had lapsed with the metaphorical door to the heavens seemingly shut tight and chained up. And here, in this opening scene of the Gospel of Mark, written in an apparently brief and rather artless account of a number of incidents (though artless it absolutely is not, as we'll see), a floodlight is suddenly cast on the stage and 450 years of silence is suddenly broken. Mark (and by extension, Peter) is coming right out of the Yehudi (Judahite) eschatological hope as reflected in these pseudepigraphical documents - and remember 'eschatology' is the doctrine of death, judgment, heaven, and hell - the afterlife). And clearly Mark saw this miracle - which took place at Yah'shua's (Jesus') baptism, when the Ruach (Spirit) descended like a dove, and the Father's voice was heard rolling forth from the heavens as it had once done before at Mt.Sinai - clearly he saw this as the fulfillment of this long, painful, drawn-out hope. You see, Yahweh does show up when the time is right. He is never late. He is precisely on time, and people like John the Baptist were there to witness it, Peter learned of it pretty soon afterwards, and Mark was his scribe and biographer who's telling us about it in the here and now. That must have been a spectacular experience, the envy of any modern charismatic, the envy of all believers who love Yahweh!

Are you hungry for a heavenly opening or revelation like that in your life? I hope so. The reader is supposed to be, I want you to be. I want you to believe. In reading this account, you are supposed to want to be there, partaking, becoming spiritually intoxicated with awe and simcha (joy) at the scene of this dove descending, at the sound of Yahweh's Voice echoing through the heavens, announcing His Son, and His absolutele delight.

Now we can pick up our Bibles, study them, and pray over them, as we should, and must, and in doing that we can absolutely enjoy that bat qol or echo from the Scripture, as millions do today, and have done so over the centuries, but we are supposed to want more, and in wanting more, we should - we must - exercise the emunah (faith) to expect and hope for more. Yahweh is searching for such people into whose heart He can safely entrust the flame of His ahavah (love) and chesed (mercy) knowing that it will be safe there, treasured, and never treated lightly. However, if you want more - if you want to be in a dynamic, Ruach/Spirit-filled relationship with the Saviour, then you too must be prepared to do things the way He expects, and not according to the ways of church tradition and cessationist-type experience; and then you will be blessed with a descent of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) onto, and into, you, in ways that we will come to better appreciate later as this study unfolds.

But if you want that, you will be tested in your own wilderness setting, tailor-made just for you, to see if you are worthy of such a high, heavenly entrustment, just as the Master Himself was tested, in whatever way Yahweh deems necessary for you, and for however long it may take. It may not be over in 40 days as it was for Christ - indeed, for Moses, it was 40 years in the land of Midian! And that was just preparation for another 40 years in which he had to share the trials of the nation he was leading out from bondage. Do you have what it takes to be thus tested? How determined are you? How resolute? Or will you quit when it starts becoming inconvenient to your persional plans? That's an early choice you have to make as you read these first sentences of the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament).

You see, most professing Christians and Messianics like to 'talk the talk' but not 'walk the walk'. They don't have the stomach for it. They want it all served on a silver platter. They want the gravy but not the grit. They want to be entertained, but not to be a soldier for King Yah'shua (Jesus). This attitude - this phreonema - that I am trying to convery to you, is best summed up by the spirit of this old German soldier's song caleld, Hundret Mann und ein Befehl, not to be confused with an American version called The Ballad of the Green Berets, the first verse of which goes like this, which I'll sing to you in German and then give you a rough English translation:

"Irgendwo in fremden Land
ziehen wir durch Stein und Sand
fern von zu Haus und vogelfrei
Hundert mann und ich bin dabei"

"Somewhere in a foreign land,
March we o'er the stones and sand,
Far from from our homes, and outlaws too,
A hundred men, and count me in!"

But let's backtrack a little before we get into all the temptation section of this passage. There's such an important revelation here that every new believer needs to come to grips with in order to be fully connected to Yah'shua (Jesus) and to the Father, Yahweh. And I can't stress this enough. Now I don't know what kind of revelation or experience you are seeking for in your life but I know what it is that our Heavenly Father wants you to have.

One thing that every child craves to hear from his or her parent is affirmation and love - preferably often. In N.T.Wright's translation, which is the title of today's lesson, he puts it this way:

"You are My wonderful Son; you make me very glad" (1:11, KNT),

"You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (NKJV),

"You are My beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with You" (NLT).

The sense here is one of absolute acceptance, total embrace, unconditional loving. This isn't just a witness to the bystanders at the River Jordan (where John the Baptist is ministering) that Yah'shua (Jesus) was the Messiah, vitally important though that witness was, and is - this was also a revelation to the human part of Yah'shua (Jesus) that His Father loved Him to the full because we all need to be loved that way too. Don't forget that Yah'shua (Jesus) is not 'just' Elohim (God) - He's also a human being, just like us - there are always these two aspects, so never place Him so high that He becomes remote like an unknown or unrevealed Divine Father, but remember He is lowly too, on our own level. This is the only way we can ever get to know Yahweh as our Abba - our Father, our Daddy - and this was the very first time this kind of intimacy was being made available to humanity without the risk of us being burned up by the glorious fire of Yahweh's holiness. The incarnation of Yah'shua (Jesus) means that we now have a way to walk through this incredible fire of that is the core of Elohim's (God's) glorious being without being destroyed, and to taste the Father's love 'right up close', as it were. We will now have access to the Holy of Holies, which Yah'shua's (Jesus') mission over the next three years will prepare us for and teach us about Kingdom living.

We need to receive that kind of unconditional love from our earthly parents in words, looks or hugs, and we need it often as we are growing up. When someone is born-again they experience this of Yahweh in the depths of their being. They know they are loved, and it is the most important revelation you will ever get, far more important than any theological head knowledge, important though that certainly is in teaching discipleship, far more than being 'outwardly religious', because without that inner knowledge of love in the deepest part of our soul, we will not only never know who Yahweh really is as our Father but we will never be properly equipped to walk confidently in this life through all the trials and vicissitudes that it brings. Knowing you are loved will equip you to deal with anything.

This revelation may not all come in one go as it does to some, it may come gradually over time, but come it will if you stay around long enough to receive it. Either way, what's important is that it actually happens. That is an essential part of the biblical phronema that this Bible study series is all about. Because without this unconditional ahavah/agapé love, Bible studies like this are no more than a "clanging gong" or a "clashing cymbal" (1 Cor.13:1, KNT), just a lot of noise in the head and mouth, a load of showing-off, a rodeo for pride.

And this is something else that is important. In the same way that the Heavenly Father saw His Son Yah'shua (Jesus) as "My beloved..., in whom I am well pleased", so He sees us when He sees Christ in us, the great mystery of which only the spiritually regenerated can ever understand, which Paul describes as "...Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col.1:27, NKJV). That's what matters more than anything else in this world. Remember those words, 'Christ in you, the hope and glory'. If He's inside you, you're OK. Just make sure you retain Him - keep Him - there.

I want you also to note that water baptism or full immersion (not sprinkling or pouring) is a key element in all of this, not because of the physical element itself (it doesn't literally wash your sins away), but because of what it represents and what obedience to the mitzvah (commandment) to be baptised says about your relationship with the one who has commanded it of all believers (Mt.28:19-20). It is a signpost, a visible marker, in this life, preparing the believer for the more challenging communal covenants inasmuch as it requires witnesses to hold the one being baptised to account as well as promising to help the new talmid (disciple) along the way. Baptism is therefore supposed to connect with, and to, the inner transformation which comes about as the result of "Christ [entering and remaining] in you". We do actually need these physical markers, just like we need hugs, smiles, kind words, and such things to communicate what may otherwise be invisible because it's heart and substance is on the inside.

Back to the Saviour's ordeal in the Judean desert and then some concluding remarks about animals. I am sure you all noticed the fact that He was there for 40 days and I am also sure you started making numerical connections to another important historical event in the Tanakh (Old Testament). What are we supposed to think of immediately we hear the number 40? Yes, the 40 year Exodus event, the Deliverance Event of Israel which is a picture of our deliverance from sin. Why did Yahweh purpose that His Son should be in the widlerness for exactly 40 days? Because this is another Exodus event. We're not only seeing a repeat divine tavnith or pattern but we're actually continuing the original Exodus, only now this is now also, and primarily, an internal or spiritual journey - an affair of the mind, heart, and spirit - rather than just external physical one, though it does involve the future resurrection of our physical bodies too. Indeed, it is its next and most critical phase. In Mark's story Yah'shua (Jesus) is about to lead us through a New Exodus too!

As Moses and Israel were equipped for their Exodus, and as Yah'shua (Jesus) was equipped in the Judean Wilderness, and as He will continue to be equipped in the ongoing adventure in Mark's Gospel, so we who are putting our lives into the Master's hands shall also be equipped in our 'desert wandering' in this life. All our roads are dry and dusty at times, so recognise, when you find yourself on one, that it must necessarily be so. It is most unlikely that a heavenly chariot will descend out of heaven and instantly transport you to an oasis or a waddi. Only Elijah the navi (prophet) was ever thus transported. Sometimes such happens, but not often. There is usually a purpose for being on dry and dusty roads in our lives sometimes, and the reasons are not usually immediately obvious. You see, such roads can lead us through temptation and apparent failure - and I say 'apparent' only because we have a weakness - a tendency - to measure everything that happens in life exclusively in terms of this short stretch of mortality. We all too easily forget that in terms of eternity this life is tiny, yet critically important too, because the choices we make in this mortal stretch determine the outcome and quality of that eternity in the resurrection world to come.

Remember also that the Ruach (Spirit) did not kindly or politely 'invite' Yah'shua (Jesus) into the desert. I mean, who would want to go there? I have been there myself, into that desert, and it is a terrible place. I have never experienced such dry heat in my entire life, and you will remember that I was born and raised in the tropics of the Far East. And it wasn't remotely like the humidity of Mississippi which have also experienced. But they were humid - believe me, this place is as dry as you can imagine 'dry' to be! Yah'shua (Jesus) went without water for 40 days - just a couple of hours and I was desperate for a drink! I wanted to be back in that air-conditioned car that had brought me there! No, the Son of Elohim (God) was not 'invited' to that place - the text days that he was PUSHED there, shoved or literally driven there.

I guarantee, as one who has been to that awful place, that Yah'shua's (Jesus') flesh protested vehemently at such a prospect. And when you are being driven against the will of your flesh, it is very tempting to question the motives of Elohim (God)! It is all too easy to come to view Him as some harsh, angry, cruel and just plain hard-hearted bully or tyrant. And without the revelation of Yahweh's love at His baptism, when His Heavenly Father said how much He loved and appreciated Him - without that, and under such deadly hot and dry conditions, it is all too easy to come to false, atheistic conclusions about Him, as we also regrettably sometimes do. You have to have that revelation - that spiritual regeneration, that new birth, that communion, that intimate knowing, and you have to keep cultivating it the rest of your life. You really do. Relationships don't create themselves, they have to be worked on. You need that soul-knowledge, that heart-understanding, that spiritual blending, written, as it were, by the pen of the Ruach (Spirit) on your innermost being, that says: "You are My wonderful son (or daughter). You make me so glad!"

And understand this, when Yahweh seems distant or even angry because of apparent silence and troubles all around you, He isn't about to kick you out into the street because you haven't quite measured up, because you've made a mistake or two, or maybe even a terrible mistake or two. We've all made mistakes and we'll probably keep on making mistakes, but our Abba isn't about to kick us to the kerb. No, He will take you by the hand and lead you out the other side of that fearsome desert, however long it may take - and it may take months, it may take years, or even decades, I don't know, or why, but He does - He knows. But just you keep faith! Keep trusting! Don't quit! The malakim (angels) are there to bear you up, to strengthen you, but not to help you escape your testing. The Ruach (Spirit) will be there too, for the one who remains broken hearted and constrite in spirit. She will be there like a Mother guarding Her beloved son or daughter. Just make sure you have metaphorcally sold everything you have in order to purchase that pearl of great price, which is chayim (life), chayim (life) in Messiah. OK?

Did you know that Mark, and Mark alone of the synoptic writers, mentions that while Yah'shua (Jesus) was in that wilderness or desert for 40 days being tempted, that He was "with the wild beasts ('animals' - NIV, NLT, JBP)" )v.13, KNT, NKJV, NEV, &c.). He was with them, and they were with Him, just as Daniel was in the lion's den (Dan.6). We have a framed picture of Daniel in this predicament which we keep in this assembly room to remind us that life for the talmid (disciple) is always surrounded by danger in this world but that he or she is protected through emunah (faith).

Now you might think that this is an insignificant point, Yah'shua (Jesus) being out there with the wild animals, but it isn't. Not at all. Consider this: the Judean desert, and the Holy Land in general, was a lot wilder in those days than it is today 2,000 years later. There were many more wild species roaming about, including dangerous ones like scorpions, poisonous snakes, and even ferocious lions. You will remember that David used to fight them defending his sheep.

So here was Yah'shua (Jesus), unarmed and weak from fasting for so long. He could not easily have defended Himself against a physical attack had one happened, but I don't suppose He was worried because He was trusting His Father. And at night time, in the pitch black, he wouldn't have been able to see much either, save in the immediate vicinity of His camp fire, assuming He had one, which I presume He did both for safety and warmth, because although those deserts are scorching by day they are really cold at night. I have been in the Egyptian desert myself and have experienced the wild temperature differences by day and night (I was only in the Judean Desert during the daytime). And, you know, after you have been fasting for many days, your senses get very heightened. You can imagine what it would have been like especially toward the end of nearly 1½ months' of fasting. And in the dark, when you are alone, hungry, thirsty and weak, and your senses are heightened, you can, if you are not careful, imagine all sorts of things. It's easy to hallucinate. So much of our mythology and folklore comes from over-active imaginations, doesn't it? Here in Scandinavia the ancients would see strange shadowy figures in the dense pine forests, and coupled with all the eerie sounds of the night, imagine they saw all sorts of hob-goblins, trolls, and the like. Even in the safety of four walls we do it, a reason no doubt some people like to sleep with lights on at night. The flickering flames of fires burning at night would have created all kinds of ghostly shadows too, with the crackling of wood making the soul drowsy. You all know what dogs are like at night!

So why do you think this detail is important? Only Mark mentions it. Because not only are there 'wild beasts' that we must face in our lives in the form of all kinds of dangers, hardships, obstacles caused by haSatan, the Adversary, operating through other people, but there are the wild beasts within our own souls that must be conquered - overcome - our unruly, untamed, unsubmitted, uncrucified drives, urges, passions, unharnessed imaginations and appetites that would seek to frighten, dominate us, and quench the Ruach (Spirit). And whether from within or without, they can sometimes loom larger than life, particularly in the still of the night when we cannot see around us and are therefore more vulnerable, longing for the dawn. It is then we must be courageous and recall how Yah'shua (Jesus) saw this trial through to its conclusion, a period that must have agonisingly seemed like forever in His weakened physical condition. But His Heavenly Father kept Him safe in the desert, as He will keep you safe as you trust in Him, stilling the flesh so that you can hear that still small voice of the Ruach (Spirit) within. But in the midst of all this, Elohim (God) is there, malakim (angels) are there, strengthening and reassuring.

A good deal of what we must learn in this life is how to live by emunah (faith) in the midst of difficulties and challenges. We aren't given much by way of explanation for all the things that happen, much of reality is in any case concealed from us. But every now and then, often at important, critical, or decisive moments, Yahweh parts the veil and allows us to glimpse at what is going on both for our reassurance as well as to equip us for the next stage in our journey.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor.5:7, NKJV).

And so, as we look at this opening section of Mark's Gospel, we are being invited to view the whole of His life - and by extension, ours - in these terms of uncertainty and the absolute necessity of emunah (faith). We are being invited to listen on to this story, about this life, and from it gain insight and understanding about this astonishing heavenly vision and voice that suddenly pierced the day-time skies of Israel by the River Jordan, and to apply it to ourselves. This is also Yahweh calling us, inviting us to have our lives changed, inviting us to be transformed into something completely new, into the person He always intended us to be, and by marking that moment in time with water baptism so that it becomes a heap of stones, an altar, a memorial, of the day on which we started that exciting journey of change.

We will return to the temptation in the widlerness when we come to study Matthew and Luke which, though they omit that detail about the wild animals, go into much more depth about that event. But Mark does not. He moves next into the calling of the first talmidim (disciples) and this we shall study next week. Until then, Yahweh bless you and keep you. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] See, for example, the Chavurat Bekorot's pseudepigraphical works, the Books of Abraham

Acknowledgements

[1] Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone (SPCK, London: 2001)
[2] D.E.Nineham, The Gospel of St.Mark; The Pelican New Testament Commantaries (Penguin Books, Harmandsworth, Middlesex, England: 1972)
[3] J.C.Fenton, The Gospel According to John in the Revised Standard Version (OUP: 1979)
[4] J.R.Dummelow, The One Volume Bible Commentary (Macmillan, NY: 1975)
[5] Thomas M.Mumford, Horizontal Harmony of the Four Gospels in Parallel Columns (Deseret, SLC, Utah: 1982)
[6] Hugh Anderson, The New Century Bible Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1981)
[7] Ed. Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament - 10 vols. (Eerdmans, Grand Rpids, Michigan: 1976)
[8] N.T.Wright, The New Testament and the People of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God (SPCK, London: 2013)
[9] N.T.Wright, How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels (Harper One, NY: 2012)
[10] N.T.Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (SPCK, London: 1996)
[11] N.T.Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (SPCK, London: 2003)
[12] N.T.Wright, The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus was and Is (IVP Academic, Downers Grove, Illinois: 1999)
[13] Rev.Prof.F.Davidson (ed.), The New Bible Commentary (Inter-Varsity press, London: 1953)

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