GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
MARK 1:13
Successful Testing
Most people, including me, have never heard of Albert I. Albert, a rhesus macaque, was the first living creature to make a spaceflight. He was launched by the United States aboard a V-2 rocket on June 11, 1948. Technically, the flight was suborbital. Unfortunately, Albert did not survive; he died of suffocation in the cramped capsule. Other monkeys were used in later tests. The Soviet Union used dogs in its early testing program. Without touching the sensitive issue of the humane treatment of animals, the goal of the early space tests was to study the biological effects of space travel on living organisms.
Before they reach showrooms, automobile models undergo tests to ensure that they are reliable, safe, high-performing, and compliant with regulations—crash tests, mechanical tests, emissions tests, and electronics tests, among others.
St. Mark wrote that following his baptism and approval by the Father, the Spirit took Jesus into the wilderness, “[a]nd he was in the wilderness forty days, being tested by Satan, and he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.” (1:13) In just these few words, Mark summarized what Matthew (4:1-11) and Luke (4:1-13) explain in more detail: Jesus was tested. Mark’s word for test can either mean “test” or “tempt”; it is used both ways by other New Testament writers, depending on the context. In this particular setting, “test” seems most appropriate. For Mark, Jesus passed the test, completely and victoriously.
The same Spirit who empowered Jesus for success in this test is the same Spirit who empowers believers now. The details of Jesus’ test are important, but even more important than the details is the fact that one can face those details successfully, sustained by the Spirit.
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