Immediately after Jesus was baptized, we are told that the Spirit of God, which came out of the parted heavens to rest upon Jesus (Mark 1:10), drove (G1544; ekballo) Jesus into the wilderness (Mark 1:12). Two things jump out of the text from my perspective. First, did the Spirit really have to drive or force Jesus to do anything, and, secondly, if Jesus was baptized in the wilderness by John the Baptist (Mark 1:4; cp. verse-9), and we take Mark’s words literally, the Spirit didn’t have to drive or lead Jesus very far! Wouldn’t you agree? Why would Mark make such an unnecessary statement, unless he, obviously, spoke of two different wildernesses. Yet, if both were two literal wildernesses, he doesn’t name either one to distinguish them. The Bible speaks of the wilderness of Beersheba (Genesis 21:14), the wilderness of Paran (Genesis 21:21), the wilderness of the Red Sea (Exodus 13:18) and others, each having its own name. Which wilderness did Mark have in mind (Mark 1:12)? Obviously, the wilderness into which Jesus was driven or led wasn’t the wilderness where he was baptized and already was, so what is Mark telling us?
To begin with, the Greek word Mark used for the Spirit driving (G1544) Jesus into the wilderness, doesn’t have to indicate a violent act (cp. Matthew 7:22; 21:12, 39). The Greek word can also simply indicate the Spirit inspiring or leading evangelists to preach the Gospel (Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2), or for a man to simply take money from his purse and pay someone for his services (Luke 10:35). Both Matthew and Luke record the same incident and describe it with two different Greek words (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1). Matthew uses a word (G321; anago), which is often used of a ship carrying its passengers (Luke 8:22; Acts 27:1-2, 4; 28:10-11). The same word is also used of Joseph and Mary bringing Jesus to the Temple (Luke 2:22). Luke’s word (G71; ago) is similar to Matthew’s, but without the prefix (an + ago). It is usually translated to bring or to lead. So, it would be easier to take Mark’s word (ekballos; G1544) and let it agree with Matthew and Luke (lead), perhaps in the sense that Jesus’ mind was preoccupied with being in the wilderness. One might say he was driven by a sense of purpose or duty to go into the wilderness.
Secondly, while it is obvious that Jesus was already in the wilderness, when he was baptized, the fact that Mark doesn’t name the wilderness where Jesus was baptized, and doesn’t name the wilderness into which the Spirit led him, it seems we are expected to know what wilderness Mark has in mind. Moreover, if we knew the scriptures and viewed them in the manner in which first century AD Jews knew and interpreted them, perhaps we would know exactly what Mark meant. Mark points to the physical as a way to infer the spiritual throughout his introduction to his narrative. He begins in the very first verse to point to good news of the imperial cult to point to the spiritual Gospel of Jesus. The way John was sent to prepare for the coming of the King wasn’t a literal highway. Rather, John was sent to change the hearts of the people, preparing them to meet their King and make a New Covenant with him. Moreover, it is quite obvious that John’s water baptism was a mere metaphor of Jesus’ greater spiritual baptism (Mark 1:7-8). Therefore, we are expected to understand that the physical wilderness into which Jesus entered to be baptized (Mark 1:4, 9) pointed to a spiritual wilderness, into which he was led by the Spirit (Mark 1:12). But, what was this spiritual wilderness?
First of all, we need to understand that it would be quite impossible for Jesus to have been led by the Spirit into another physical wilderness, if we hold the scriptures to be true (John 10:35). How so? We are told that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days (Mark 1:12), but the Gospel of John puts Jesus at a wedding in Cana three days after his baptism (John 1:29, 35, 43; 2:1). Jesus came to John in John 1:29 and was baptized. On the following day John pointed Jesus out to two of his (John’s) disciples, one of whom was Andrew (John 1:35). On the second day after Jesus’ baptism he was already in Galilee, where he met Philip and told him to follow him (John 1:43). On the third day Jesus was in Cana at the wedding (John 2:1). If we believe the scriptures, there simply isn’t enough time between Jesus’ baptism and when he was in Galilee to allow for a literal wilderness experience lasting 40 days (Mark 1:12). Therefore, the wilderness into which the Spirit led Jesus must have been a spiritual one, and Ezekiel 20:35 provides a context into which we can place Mark 1 and John 1 without them contradicting. In other words, the Spirit led Jesus into a wilderness of people, where he was tempted by the enemy and wild beasts (Mark 1:12-13).
This places Jesus’ early ministry and struggles with the scribes and Pharisees in a much different light. If Jesus was led into a wilderness of people (Ezekiel 20: 35) to be tempted, then he must have been tempted by the people, among whom he dwelt! So, each of Jesus’ temptations came through literal people, whom the text describes as a wilderness.
Therefore, the terms Satan and the wild beasts, which Mark mentions in Mark 1:13 must be metaphors for the establishment (Satan; i.e. the enemy) and the folks (i.e. the wild beasts) who served the status quo or the establishment (the enemy). One could say, ‘the last Adam was constantly put to the test by the first Adam (cp. 1Corinthians 15:45-48). These were Jesus’ adversaries throughout his ministry. The status quo was the thing that would not change, and the wild beasts, who served it, were the chief priests, the scribes and the Pharisees. In other words, it was the Jewish rulers who confronted Jesus, laid traps for him and ultimately crucified him rather than accept the good news he brought. The first Adam fell in paradise, and he created an inhospitable environment, a hostile and dangerous wilderness, if you will, for the last Adam.
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