I was listening this week to a radio program on the history of the Pentecostal movement. The interviewer talked with an historian of the movement and they looked together at how the Spirit plays such a key role in the Pentecostal church. As I was wrestling with this passage for this week, I kept coming back to this show on Pentecostalism. Phrases such as "slain in the Spirit" and the rhythms of repetitious singing echoed in my ears as I read about Jesus’ baptism and temptation.

In his baptism, Jesus not only goes under the water in the Jordan but he comes out of the water and receives the Spirit. But that wasn’t the end of the story. At the yearly celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, we paint the picture of Jesus soaking wet from the Jordan, the clouds split open, and in the form of a dove Jesus receives the Spirit. But here in the season of Lent - this time of deep preparation for the resurrection - we go a little further. We look ahead to what the Spirit does within Jesus after his baptism.

Mark uses his favorite word again here, "Immediately, the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness." Can’t you just picture it? Jesus is still dripping wet from the Jordan and runs off into the wilderness for forty days. And what causes him to do this? What drives Jesus from a comfortable place in the water to the uncomfortable and harsh landscape of the wilderness? The Spirit. It is the Spirit that initiates the confrontation in the wilderness. The same Spirit that alit upon him like a dove at his baptism now takes hold of him and not just nudges him or suggests to him but drives him into the wilderness. Jesus is driven from baptism to temptation. Jesus is driven from his peaceful baptism in the Jordan to a place full of wild animals and angels.

In our baptism we also acknowledge the Spirit at work within us. The same Spirit that drove Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism also drives us into the wilderness. Only our wilderness can look a little different than the sparsely populated areas of the Holy Land.

There is a perception among some who seek simply to "get a baptism done." Much of this stems from the belief among non-reformed Christians that we are saved through baptism. There are those who believe that the waters of baptism have the power to protect the individual from harm or that it is through receiving baptism that a person is saved. This is not a Presbyterian belief. Baptism is not some talisman we can hang around our neck to ward off evil spirits. Nor is an individual mysteriously saved through our human act of baptism. Salvation came millennia before through the person of Christ.

What did baptism do for Jesus? Did it prevent him from encountering all manner of evil? No. As a result of his baptism, Jesus finds himself in the desert for forty days surrounded by wild beasts. The same Spirit that came upon Jesus in his baptism drove him to the very place of temptation. The dove-like Spirit seems more like a raven pecking at and driving Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus moves from baptism to temptation.

So if baptism isn’t going to protect us from tempting encounters or keep us from coming face to face with whatever "wild beasts" lurk in and around our lives, then what does it do? Well what did it do for Jesus? Jesus is driven from his baptism into a confrontation in the wilderness. He is tempted for 40 days – Mark doesn’t recount the specifics of the temptation but we can fill in the blanks with all manner of tempting things. But Jesus is able to face the temptations he encounters. He is equipped from his baptism to encounter and face the wild beasts that lurk in the wilderness. But the story doesn’t stop there. The gospel goes on. Jesus moves from baptism to temptation to ministry.

So through our baptism, hurdles are not erased and hardships are not bypassed. By being welcomed into the church through baptism we are equipped to face all that life throws in front of us. When we are baptized we are driven into encounters that test us. The same Spirit that drove Jesus into the wilderness, drives us as a church into confrontations. The Spirit would not allow Jesus to ignore all that surrounded him. Nor will the Spirit allow us to ignore all that surrounds us.

Baptism is a powerful act – let there be no mistake about that. There is something amazing and mysterious about water poured on our heads that shows us God’s grace. Through our baptism not only are we welcomed into the church but we are driven to confront all the evil we see in the world. The same Spirit that drove Jesus to his confrontation with evil drives us to confrontations with the evil that surrounds us.

Baptism doesn’t save us from the "powers that be" but gives us voice to confront them. Baptism doesn’t protect us from the "wild animals" of poverty and war but equips us to address these evils. Baptism doesn’t allow us to stay within these sacred walls but drives us out into the waiting wilderness to bring God’s Word.

Jesus moved from baptism to temptation to ministry. We too can make that same movement. We are equipped to meet temptation. Sometimes we will give in – make no mistake about that – there are times when we will fall short and other times when we will fail miserably. But our baptism has equipped us to pick ourselves up, follow Christ’s call to repent, and go out into the wilderness again.

The kingdom of God has come near, repent, believe the good news, and may God’s Spirit drive us from baptism to confrontation with evil to ministry in Christ’s name.