slip away to the wilderness

Luke 5:12-26 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link available on links page)

The Leper and the Paralytic

¹² While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ¹³ And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ¹⁵ But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

¹⁷ One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. ¹⁸ And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. ¹⁹ But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. ²⁰ Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” ²² But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. ²⁶ They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

There are two phrases that stood out to me as I reflected on today's text. Verses 15 and 16:   large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.  But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.     which proceeds verse 17:  One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. We tend to think of wilderness times in our lives as difficult times, times we are separated from God, perhaps unable to hear Him or know His will. That should not be our wilderness experience. Even the nation of Israel who spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness was not spearated from the presence and direction of God. Their wilderness time was used by God to prepare them and remove their carnal nature. It was not a banishment, a separation from God's presence. His presence was with them and led them.  

Jesus actually sought out these wilderness times. For Him, they were times alone with God, not alone from God. Remember what is said of Jesus after His 40 day wilderness experience.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry...And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.(Luke 4:1-14) 

Jesus is God. When He walked this earth He was fully man and yet still fully God. It is impossible for us with our finite minds to fully understand the relationship and interworking of the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can be sure though that for Jesus the man it was escential for Him to work with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In John 5:19-20, Jesus says of His ministry when He was here:

Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.  

Jesus used His wilderness times as times to connect with, times to hear and see what the Father was doing. Jesus life and ministry was tremendously demanding. Large crowds of people followed Him or came to Him evrywhere He went. It was in the wilderness times, alone with the Father that Jesus saw and heard the Fathers will. We need to understand how important time alone with the Father is to us. One of the most important parts of our wilderness time is to hear the Father. We often feel, as I said, that in these wilderness experiences the Father is distant, we are unable to hear Him. One of the most important aspects of communication is listening. Often we don't hear the Father or know His will for a situation because we are too busy talking, telling God what we want or need. We cry out saying God why don't You hear me. Yet we don't stop and listen for His answer. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. The Israelites only moved when the cloud or the pilar of fire of the presence of God moved. We need to wait and listen, the Father will speak.

The other element of our life in Christ, serving and walking with the triune God involves the Holy Spirit. Verse 17 says,  the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. The Holy Spirit is the power behind the words and actions of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit was present and was the power of creation. Genesis 1:1-3

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

God spoke and the Spirit moved. Jesus too moved in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus sought wilderness times as times to be recharged, refilled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Look at the account of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus robe in Mark 5:

²⁵ A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— ²⁷ after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. ²⁸ For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” ²⁹ Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. ³⁰ Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” ³¹ And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 

Jesus perceived that power was going forth. Today's text says that,  the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.    If we try to minister in our own power in our own strength, without the power of God being present people will only receive of us. We can not save them or heal them,  only God can do that.    Without the Holy Spirit we can't really even love them or serve them as God would have us do it. If Jesus Himself, God on earth needed the Holy Spirit's power to minister, how much more do we.

We need to embrace our wilderness times as times alone with God, times when we can listen and hear God's words and will. God wants to show us the things He is doing, giving us dreams and visions. We need to take time alone with Him.  We need to seek and embrace wilderness times where the Holy Spirit can refill us, empowering us to do the work and the will of the Father. The wilderness does not need to be a dry and lonely place away from God. Stop, look and listen. He is there. The Father want's to reveal His will to and for You. The Holy Spirit will refill and empower you as you take time alone with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit thank You that You are ever present. Whether in the midst of the crowd or alone in the wilderness You are with me. I pray that You will show me Your will and the things You are doing. I pray that You will fill and empower me in my alone times with You, that I might fulfill Your will and minister in Your power throughout the days and times with Your people. Thank You Jesus. It is only in You and through You that I have the Father and the Spirit.     Amen