BibleProject Podcast

Episode: Jesus Passes the Wilderness Test
Release Date: October 27, 2025
Hosts: Tim Mackey (B), John Collins (A)

Overview

This episode explores the biblical motif of the wilderness as a place of testing, formation, and transition, culminating in Jesus’ own experience in the wilderness after his baptism. Tim and John discuss how Jesus deliberately enters into humanity's “wilderness” story, passes the tests where others failed, and redefines what it means to trust God amid scarcity and struggle. The episode walks through the narrative structure of the wilderness test, draws connections with the Hebrew Bible, and unpacks what it means for followers of Jesus today.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Layers of Wilderness in the Biblical Story

• Cosmic, Personal, and Communal Wilderness (03:36–06:44)

  • Wilderness is examined on several scales:
    • Cosmic: All creation is journeying from chaos (“wilderness”) to new creation (“garden”).
    • Personal: Each human life is a journey through wilderness, between being born and dying.
    • Seasons: Moments or periods of intense struggle and vulnerability highlight wilderness themes.
    • Communal: Groups can undergo wilderness periods as well.
  • “The wilderness is the reality that we’re not home yet…God meets his people in the wilderness. And…he uses the tragedy of the wilderness as an opportunity to prepare us for future garden life.” – A (00:05)

• Purpose of the Wilderness

  • Not punishment but preparation: Testing forms people who can truly flourish in abundance.
  • “The whole goal is to transform you through the hardships of the wilderness into the kinds of people who can truly inhabit the garden and not replay the failures of our ancestors.” – B (00:27, 06:54)
  • Even in abundance, without proper preparation (trusting in God, not self), failure can result.

2. Jesus' Baptism and Solidarity with Humanity

• Jesus’ Baptism as Identification (17:29–20:54)
  • Jesus, though sinless and divine, deliberately joins humanity in the waters of repentance.
  • “He’s willing to set aside that divine cosmic authority and identify himself with corruptible, fickle, failed humans.” – B (19:48)
  • This public act connects Jesus’ sonship with Israel’s need for restoration.
  • The baptism and wilderness are linked: Both are about fulfilling “all righteousness”—what humanity and Israel failed to do, Jesus will do on their behalf.

3. The Three Wilderness Tests

First Test: Turning Stones into Bread (22:06–35:04)

• After 40 days of fasting, Jesus faces the temptation to use his divine status to satisfy his hunger.
• The Tempter’s (Satan’s) taunt, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread,” echoes doubts about identity and entitlement (23:11).
• Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy: “Not by bread alone does humanity live, but by every word that comes out from God’s mouth.” – A (30:48)
  • Insight: The source of life is God’s word, not material provision.
  • “The only way, apparently, to retrain a human is for you to go without the thing you think you need…which will often lead you to great desperation.” – B (35:04)
  • Connects to Adam/Eve and Israel’s struggles—will I trust God’s provision, or seize it on my own?

Second Test: Throw Yourself from the Temple (40:29–46:13)

• The Slanderer (Satan) challenges Jesus to force God’s hand by demanding supernatural rescue: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down,” quoting Psalm 91.
  • Insight: The temptation is to manipulate God or prove his love by reckless action.
  • Jesus replies: “It has been written: You will not test the Lord your God.” – A (43:19)
  • Highlighted: The difference between trusting God in hardship and testing (forcing) God’s faithfulness.

Third Test: Bow for Rule over the Nations (47:09–51:10)

• Satan offers all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship.
  • “All these things I will give to you if, falling down, you bow down to me.” – B (47:49)
  • The offer exploits the world’s understanding of power and authority.
  • Jesus rejects it: “Begone, adversary. It is written, you will bow down to the Lord your God and serve him only.” – B (49:16)
  • Insight: True authority comes not by compromise or seizing power, but through faithfulness and self-giving.

4. Jesus as the True Israel and New Adam

• Fulfilling the Human and Israelite Story (38:35–39:55)

  • Jesus replays and “fills full” the stories of Adam/Eve and Israel in the wilderness—where they fail, he is faithful.
  • “He’s replaying the story of Israel. It’s like he’s filling full both the human story and the Israel story.” – B (38:31)

• Jesus' Pattern for Believers:

  • Jesus doesn’t avoid the wilderness or suffering, but goes through it on behalf of others.
  • His victory in the wilderness enables believers to identify with him and be transformed.

• Notable reflection:

  • “The wilderness is just the reality that we are not in the garden…Well, that becomes just much more apparent in the wilderness.” – A (54:02)
  • “The wilderness can have its right effect in my life, and that right effect is becoming someone who can, in a moment of scarcity and fear…still show up with a sense of abundance and trust.” – A (57:53)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Readiness:

  • “We’re not ready for new creation. We’re not even ready for the new creation acts that God’s doing now in our lives. We’re just not ready.” – A (12:54)

• On Fasting as Spiritual Training:

  • “I bring the test on myself voluntarily, as a way of partnering with God’s process of maturing me for other times of wilderness.” – B (36:03)

• On Power and Vulnerability:

  • “All three of these, they all have to do with power, right?…The power we think we have to sustain ourselves…you actually don’t have that.” – A (51:28)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:05–00:40 – Overview of wilderness as a biblical motif
• 03:36–06:44 – Scaling wilderness: cosmic, communal, personal
• 17:29–20:54 – Jesus’ baptism: identification with humanity
• 22:06–35:04 – First test: Bread/Provision
• 40:29–46:13 – Second test: Security/Testing God
• 47:09–51:10 – Third test: Power and allegiance
• 53:28–54:15 – Jesus’ journey and the “goal” of the wilderness
• 54:37–58:15 – Implications for followers today: passing the test “in him”, creating an oasis in the wilderness

Practical Takeaways for Listeners

• The wilderness is inevitable, but it’s an opportunity—a space for transformation, not just suffering.
• Jesus entered the wilderness to walk our journey, passed the tests to succeed where we fail, and invites us to trust God’s provision and timing.
• Spiritual disciplines (like fasting) are training for trusting God in times of lack.
• Christian community can become an “oasis” in the wilderness when its members trust God and selflessly care for one another.
• Our failures don’t exclude us from God’s promise; Jesus succeeds on our behalf and includes us in his victory.

Memorable Closing Exchange

“The wilderness will happen, but we can go through it in a new way now…In a moment of scarcity and fear… I can still show up with a sense of abundance and trust.” – A (57:16, 57:53)

“…If everyone’s acting that way, it’s going to feel like a spring of water popping up in the wilderness. Right. A little orchard, oasis in the desert.” – B (58:07)

This episode masterfully weaves theology, literary reading, and lived experience, encouraging listeners to view their own “wilderness” as transformative—because Jesus has gone before, overcome, and invites us into his story.