In Matthew 4: 1-11, we hear the Gospel account of Jesus being led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. This period preceded the beginning of his earthly ministry.
The season of Lent reminds us of this time in salvation history. We, too, are called into the desert to be tempted in our own ways. Entering this time allows us to fully participate in the Passion, Death, and ultimately, the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
But, why did Jesus enter the desert in the first place?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (538-540),
“The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for 40 days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister to him. At the end of this time, Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks, which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in Paradise and of Israel in the desert, and the devil leaves him ‘until an opportune time.’
“The evangelists indicate the salvific meaning of this mysterious event: Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation. Jesus fulfills Israel’s vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God during 40 years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God’s Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil’s conqueror: he ‘binds the strong man’ to take back his plunder. Jesus’ victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the Father.
“Jesus’ temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah, contrary to the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to attribute to him. This is why Christ vanquished the Tempter for us: ‘For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning.’ By the solemn 40 days of Lent, the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.”
Jesus entered the desert for us, just as he suffered and died for us.
The Gospel account and explanation within the Catechism point to the fact that Jesus is both human and divine. He, too, felt famine and thirst, pain and exhaustion. However, he did not succumb to the temptations of the Evil One.
The season of Lent is meant to draw us closer to Jesus in the desert both spiritually and physically. Spiritually through prayer and almsgiving, and physically through fasting and abstinence.