Church Fathers Commentary Mark 1:12-13

"And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; And he was with the wild beasts; And the angels ministered unto him." — Mark 1:12-13 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Because everything Christ did and suffered was for our instruction, after His baptism He began to dwell in the wilderness and fight against the devil.¹

He did this so that every baptized person might patiently endure greater temptations after their own baptism. They should not be troubled, as if these trials were unexpected, but should instead bear up against all things and emerge victorious.

Although God allows us to be tempted for many reasons, He also allows it for this purpose: so that we may know that a person, when tempted, is placed in a position of greater honor. The devil, after all, does not approach except where he has seen someone set in a place of greater honor. This is why it is said, And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.

The reason the text does not simply say He went into the wilderness, but was driven, is so that you may understand that this was done according to the will of Divine Providence. By this, He also shows that no one should thrust themselves into temptation, but that those who are, as it were, driven into it from some other state will remain conquerors.

The Venerable Bede: So that no one might doubt by what spirit Christ was driven into the wilderness, Luke intentionally states first that Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and then adds, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. This was to prevent any thought that the evil spirit had power over Him, who, being full of the Holy Spirit, went where He willed to go and did what He willed to do.²

St. John Chrysostom: The Spirit drove Him into the wilderness because He intended to provoke the devil to tempt Him, thus giving the devil an opportunity not only through hunger but also by the desolate location. For the devil is most likely to attack when he sees people remaining alone.³

The Venerable Bede: He retires into the desert to teach us that, by leaving the allurements of the world and the company of the wicked, we should obey the divine commands in all things.

He is left alone and tempted by the devil to teach us that all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). From this it follows, And He was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan.

He was tempted for forty days and forty nights to show us that as long as we live here and serve God—whether prosperity smiles on us (which is signified by the day) or adversity strikes us (which corresponds to the night)—our adversary is always at hand, never ceasing to trouble our path with temptations.

For the "forty days and forty nights" signify the entire duration of this world, because the globe on which we serve God is divided into four quarters. Furthermore, there are Ten Commandments, by which we fight against our enemy, and four times ten makes forty.

Then the text says, and He was with the wild beasts.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He says this to show the nature of the wilderness, for it was impassable for humans and full of wild beasts.⁴

It continues, and the angels ministered to Him. After the temptation and His victory over the devil, He accomplished the salvation of humanity. And so the Apostle says, Angels are sent to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

We must also observe that angels stand near and minister to those who conquer in temptation.

The Venerable Bede: Consider also that Christ dwells among the wild beasts as a man, but as God, He uses the ministry of angels. Thus, when in the solitude of a holy life we bear the bestial manners of other people with a pure mind, we merit the ministry of angels, by whom, when freed from the body, we will be transferred to everlasting happiness.

Pseudo-Jerome: Or, the beasts dwell with us in peace—as the clean animals did with the unclean in the ark—when the flesh does not lust against the spirit. After this, ministering angels are sent to us to give answers and comfort to watchful hearts.

1. Hom. in Matt., xiii
2. in Marc., 1, 5
3. in Matt., Hom., xiii
4. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.