Led By the Spirit

Read Matthew 4:1-11.

Right away, Matthew tells us something we don't want to hear. Jesus was "led by the Spirit" as he went into the desert to be tested. Led by the Spirit, the Spirit of God or, as we usually say, the Holy Spirit. That means he wasn't out in the desert and the devil stumbled across him. He wasn't walking along and happened to be tempted. He didn't "fall" into temptation. The Spirit, who had just been seen in the form of a dove during Jesus' baptism, intentionally led Jesus into the desert because he knew the devil was there. He led Jesus there to be tempted.

We don't typically think this way about the Spirit. A choir I was once a part of had a favorite anthem entitled, "Led By The Spirit," and it was typically triumphant. The Spirit, we sang, would lead us from glory to glory. When we celebrate the Spirit on Pentecost, we focus on the triumph of his work among the disciples, the many languages and the thousands of converts in one day (Acts 2). When we pray for the Spirit to lead us, we expect him to lead us to good things, bigger and better things. That's the underlying tone of most of our prayers. 

But the Spirit led Jesus to temptation. Intentionally. Methodically. And Jesus went willingly, because he knew that whatever waited for him would be for his good, even if it wasn't pleasant. Even if it wasn't easy.

Do we trust God enough to allow his Spirit to lead us even toward the desert, toward the place where the devil is waiting to tempt us? Can we trust God that much? Jesus did. And because he went through the time of temptation (not around it) he was able to boldly begin his ministry with a clear proclamation...but that's tomorrow's passage.