<h2>Alone in the Desert</h2><div class="chaptertitle">CHAPTER 16</div>
<div class='cap'>AFTER HIS baptism Jesus felt that for a time he
must be alone to think over the great change that
had come upon him. Only yesterday he had been
the carpenter in Nazareth, and now he knew that he was
the Son of God and the King of Israel! So sudden and
mighty a change as this made him feel that he must go
to some quiet, lonely place, where he could think and
pray and find out his Father's will for himself and the
work that he was to do.</div>
<p>Without speaking even a word with John, Jesus
slipped out of the crowd upon the bank of the river. He
walked toward the south, not following the well-known
road beside the Jordan, over which he had walked many
times while attending the feasts in Jerusalem, but choosing
the paths along the mountain-side where he would
not meet people, for he wished not to talk with men but
with God.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus-120.jpg" width-obs="408" height-obs="600" alt="Painting" /> <span class="caption">Jesus chose the paths along the mountainside where he would not meet people, for he wished not to talk with men but with God.</span></div>
<p>He came at last to a very lonely place, between
Jericho and Jerusalem; a place where no man lived and
where even the Arabs of the desert scarcely ever wandered.
The only living creatures in the desolate land
were the wild beasts, the wolves and the foxes, whose
howls could be heard at night. There upon the top of a
hill, with rocks all around, he sat down to rest. His
mind had been in such a whirl of excitement, and his
heart was beating with such strong feeling, that he had
never thought of taking with him any food to eat. For
many days and nights he was alone, praying and talking
with God and never once thinking of eating. More than<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</SPAN></span>
a month passed away, even forty days, before the feeling
of hunger came upon him.</p>
<p>Then suddenly he felt a sharp gnawing in his body,
and he knew that he was famishing for food. He felt
that he must have something to eat or he would die there
in the desert, with the great work to which God had
called him all left undone. Around him were the rough
stones of the wilderness, and as he looked on them, this
thought came to his mind:</p>
<p>"There is no need for me to starve in this desert.
If I am the Son of God, as the voice from heaven said,
then I need only to speak a word and these stones will be
turned to bread!"</p>
<p>Then Jesus thought again, and said to himself,
"Yes, I am the Son of God, and I have the power to
make these stones turn into bread for me to eat. But
that power was given me by my heavenly Father; and
it was given, not that I should use it for myself, but for
the help of others who are in need. It is not God's will
that I should make bread out of stones for myself."</p>
<p>And then a sentence out of the Bible came to the
mind of Jesus, and he said, "It is written, Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out
of the mouth of God."</p>
<p>Jesus seemed to be alone in the desert, but there was
one who was watching him, all unseen. That one was the
evil spirit, Satan, who hated Jesus, knowing that he was
the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. He had
put into the mind of Jesus the thought of turning stones
to bread and using the power which God had given him
for himself alone. Jesus was quick to see the purpose
of Satan and to turn away from it.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus-122.jpg" width-obs="398" height-obs="600" alt="Painting" /> <span class="caption">When Satan, the wicked spirit, found that he could not persuade Jesus to do his will, he left him.</span></div>
<p>Then another thought came to the mind of Jesus.
He said to himself, "I know that I am the King of Israel,
the Messiah whom the people have been looking for so<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</SPAN></span>
long. But how shall I cause the people to know that I am
their King? What can I do to make them believe in me?"</p>
<p>At that moment, while Jesus was trying to think
out the best plan for beginning his work and making
himself, as the Son of God, known to the people, Satan,
the evil spirit, was ready with another word. He said,
"Here is a good plan. Go to the Temple in Jerusalem
at some feast-time when it is crowded with people,
and in the sight of all the crowd, leap off one of the
towers. You will not fall to the ground, but will come
sailing down through the air, for all power is yours.
And when the people see you, they will fall on their faces
before you and will believe in you as the King so long
promised. You know that you are the Son of God and
that God will take care of you. Don't you remember
that in one of the psalms it is written, 'He shall give his
angels charge over thee, and in their hands they shall
bear thee up so that thou shalt not dash thy foot against
a stone?'"</p>
<p>Jesus saw at once that this was not God's plan, but
Satan's plan. It would not be trusting God, but would
be putting God's power and God's care to a trial to show
what Jesus himself could do. He would not perform
this foolish act, nor anything like it, of his own accord.
He would wait until God told him what to do, and would
do nothing until he was sure that it was the will of God.
Again a sentence out of the Bible came to his mind, and
he said:</p>
<p>"It is written again, 'Thou shall not put the Lord
thy God to trial.'"</p>
<p>That means that we should never make a show of our
trust in God or let others see by some act that is not
needed what God can do to help us. We must not
venture into danger to show how God can bring us out
of danger.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>Jesus had now settled two great questions. He
would not use his wonder-working powers for himself,
even to save his own life; and he would do nothing
merely as a show, but would in all things work only the
will of his Father. There was one more question to be
met: he was to become the King of Israel, but what kind
of a kingdom would he have?</p>
<p>He knew well that all the Israelite people, not only
in Judea and Galilee, but in all the lands, were looking
for a king who should rule in Jerusalem, somewhat as the
Emperor Tiberius was ruling in Rome. They hoped for a
king who should gather an army, should drive out the
Romans, should fight battles, win victories and make his
kingdom the ruling power in the world. They looked
for the time when the Romans should be under their
feet, and when all other lands should pay taxes and serve
their king in Jerusalem.</p>
<p>All this Jesus knew, and Satan, the wicked spirit,
was at his side, though unseen, to say to him:</p>
<p>"Take my advice, and I will give you all the kingdoms
of the world; for they are mine and I can give them
to whom I please."</p>
<p>Jesus knew that what the people wanted was just
what Satan wanted, a worldly, wicked kingdom, built
out of war and blood and the killing of all who would not
submit to it. But that would not be the Kingdom of
God. It would be the Kingdom of Satan, as so many
kingdoms and nations have been in the past. To do as
Satan wished him to do would be just the same as if
he bowed down before Satan and worshipped him as his
Lord and Master. This he would not do; and his last
words to the tempter were:</p>
<p>"Go away from me, Satan! It is written, 'Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve!'"<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>Jesus saw plainly that in making this great choice
to please God, he would not please his own people, the
Jews. He knew that the rulers and the priests and the
scribes, those who were the leading men of the time,
would be against him, would refuse to follow him, would
try to stir up the people against him and would try to
kill him. But Jesus was ready to die in serving God,
rather than to live in doing the will of Satan.</p>
<p>When Satan, the wicked spirit, found that he could
not persuade Jesus to do his will, he left him. And afterward,
angels from heaven, sent by his Father, came to him
in the desert and gave him all the food that he needed.</p>
<p>The gospels of Matthew and Luke, which tell the
story of this meeting with Satan and of Jesus' victory,
do not say just where it took place. All we know is that
it was in the "desert" or the "wilderness." But near
Jericho stands a mountain where it is thought by some
that Jesus stayed during those forty days. This mountain
on that account is called by a name which means
"forty days"—Mount Quarantania.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus-125.jpg" width-obs="500" height-obs="300" alt="photo" /> <span class="caption">Mount Quarantania. Believed by some to be the mount where Jesus was tempted.</span></div>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</SPAN></span></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus-126.jpg" width-obs="406" height-obs="600" alt="Painting" /> <span class="caption">Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus, who gave him a new name, "The Rock," or Peter.</span></div>
<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</SPAN></span></p>
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