The Vision Quest of Jesus Part 1

 

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus: A Vision Quest (Matthew 3:1-4:17) 

The following is an abridged paraphrase of the biography of Jesus taken from the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 3 and 4.  This translation is from the original Greek manuscript, translated by me, Shamanic Bear.  The translation uses the dynamic of paraphrase to convey to the reader, as much as possible, the original meaning of the Greek language.

The Text

“In those days John the Baptist came as a preacher in the desert of Judea saying, ‘Turn from your wrongdoings!  -Because the Messianic Kingdom of Heaven is about to come at any moment!’   John wore clothes made out of camel’s hair and a leather belt was fastened around his waist.  His food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.  John tried to prevent him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’  But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so…’  Then John consented.  And when Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water.  And--look!  -The heavens opened up and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and landing on him.  And--listen!  -A voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am delight!’

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the Evil One.  And he fasted for forty days and forty nights.  After this, he was hungry.  And the Tempter came to him and said, ‘Since you are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread.  But Jesus answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’  Then the Evil One took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple.  And he said to him, ‘Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will give his angels to be in charge of you’ and, ‘They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt God.’  Again, the Tempter took him to a very high mountain and showed him all of the kingdoms of the world, with all of their splendor and beauty.  And he said to him, ‘I will give all of this to you if you just fall down and worship me.’  Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you Satan!  -Because it is written, ‘You shall only worship and serve God!’  Then the Evil One left him.  And--look!  Angels came and helped him.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee and left his hometown of Nazareth.  From that time on, Jesus began to preach, ‘Turn from your wrongdoings!  -Because the Messianic Kingdom of Heaven is about to come at any moment!” 

Secrets in the Desert; a Commentary

No one can fully know what happened to Jesus in the Desert: it is the mystery of all mysteries.  This Temptation in the Desert was nothing less than a cataclysmic Battle between Light and Darkness, Truth and Falsity, Good and Evil.  Who can say that they really understand these enigmas?  But if we can just capture a glimpse, if we can just come one step closer to understanding what happened in the Desert we can, perhaps, appreciate this Cataclysmic Incident and apply it to our own lives.

A Paradigm Shift

As we enter the discussion of what happened to Jesus in the River (his baptism) and in the Desert (his temptation) we must undergo a Paradigm Shift, that is, a total change of worldview. 

 

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