led up of the Spirit The agency of the Spirit of God is named in each of the Synoptists. St Mark uses the strong expression "the Spirit driveth him forth." St Luke uses the preposition ἐν (in) denoting the influence in which Jesus passed into the wilderness.

the wilderness See note on ch. Matthew 3:1, but the locality of the temptation is not known.

The desert unpeopled by men was thought to be the abode of demons. So Jesus meets the evil spirit in his own domains, the Stronger One coming upon the strong man who keepeth his palace (Luke 11:21-22). The retirement preparatory to the great work may be compared with that of Elijah and of Paul. It is perhaps an invariable experience in deeply religious lives to be taken into the desert of their own hearts and there to meet and resist the temptations that assailed Christ.

of the devil Gk. διάβολος. Hebr. Satan = one who opposes, an adversary. The Greek word conveys the additional ideas of (1) deceiving, (2) calumniating, (3) accusing.

Continues after advertising
Continues after advertising