Ministry Preparation (Mark 1:9-13)

Last weekend, we took our youth group to downtown Detroit to hand out clothing to a sizable homeless population in a not-so-nice area. We had to start very, very early in the morning -- who wakes up at 5:30am on a Saturday? -- because we were asked by this ecumenical ministry team to visit with them at their church prior to going downtown. It actually required us to drive in the opposite direction to where we would eventually be, and then stand there for a half hour while the team leader taught us about the ministry and what we would do. It was hard to wait -- we fidgeted, eager to get downtown and actually do some good. Yet this pre-ministry portion was crucial to focusing our attention on what was important, to teach us what we needed to know, and to prepare our hearts.

Being the impatient, impulsive people that we are, ministry preparation is often an agonizing task. We are project-oriented -- get us there, so we can work on the project and get it done -- but that's not the way God wants us to minister. God wants us to have a right heart first, before our hands and feet take action, and likewise, he wanted Jesus to have this too. As Jesus sets the example for us, so we too should enter into a period of reflection and preparation before digging into the "meat" of ministry.

Here we witness Jesus' two major steps of ministry preparation. First, he is baptized by John to "fulfill righteousness" (Matt. 3:15) even though he was spiritually pure. He shows us that not even Christ himself is above the Law of God. This symbolic baptism served to induct him into the priesthood dating back to Melchizedek (Heb. 6:20). We also see the Trinity in full force: Jesus being baptized, God the Father pronouncing "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.", and the Holy Spirit descending on him "like a dove".

The Spirit "immediately" sends Jesus into the desert to be tried and tempted. If Jesus was one of us, he would probably balk at this command. Why waste well over a month of valuable ministry time? Why not get started right away, if he was pure and righteous in God's sight?

Mark's account of Jesus' pre-ministry temptation is much, much shorter than Matthew 4:1-11 or Luke 4:1-13, but it doesn't mean we should skip by it so blithely. Four key facts are given:

1. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days -- 40 days is a symbolic number that reoccurs throughout the Bible, and it is an awful long time to be in the harsh, arid, rugged deserts of lower Judea.
2. Jesus was tempted by Satan -- Matthew and Luke detail these temptations, but Mark simply lets us know that Jesus was not free from attacks and temptations by Satan. It would not be the last time Satan would tempt Christ, but having it occur at the start of his ministry would entail Jesus to lead by example, not just by words. He had been tested and proven.
3. Jesus was with the wild animals -- The desert is both dangerous and lonely. A common theme in Jesus' ministry was his retreat from the world to be in quiet solitude with the Father. I can't imagine praying for forty days and being away from civilization for that long, but it must have focused Jesus' attention and heart to the place it needed to be.
4. Angels attended Jesus -- Even in his hardships, God provided angelic comfort for Jesus. God does not remove hardship from our life, but He also doesn't forsake us or desert us; He provides us with comfort and necessities.

I don't spend nearly enough time praying in preparation for the actual time I spend in ministry each week, nor am I always grateful when God puts me through hardships to make me into a better minister. However, if Jesus submitted to God through baptism, temptation and solitude, how can any of us say that we know how to get ready to minister better than Jesus himself? I am determined to spend more time before church and youth groups in prayer and not just busy preparations.