BibleProject Podcast

Episode: Past Scenes From the Wilderness

Date: November 17, 2025
Host: Michelle Jones

Overview

This unique "hyperlink episode" explores the biblical theme of the wilderness—a critical motif woven throughout the Bible. Guided by Michelle Jones, the episode curates and reflects upon clips from previous BibleProject episodes, examining how stories of the wilderness illuminate both human weakness and God’s forming presence. The episode journeys from Moses’ failure to obey in the wilderness, through Jesus’ triumph over temptation, and ultimately frames the wilderness experience as pointing to a future Sabbath rest. By revisiting past conversations, the podcast highlights patterns and connections across the biblical narrative, showing how these stories harmonize into a unified message of trust, testing, and hope.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Wilderness as a Thematic Thread

• Wilderness as a Place of Testing and Formation:
  • The wilderness is depicted as harsh and barren, a place where people end up because of bad choices—theirs or others’.
  • Despite its desolation, it’s in the wilderness that God consistently meets people, provides, and forms them into those who can trust and listen to Him.
  • "God consistently meets people in the wilderness, provides for their needs, and uses this environment to form them into people who can trust him and learn to listen to his voice." (Michelle Jones, 00:50)

2. Moses’ Failure in the Wilderness—Numbers 20

[Clip from "Why Couldn't Moses Enter the Promised Land?"]

The Story:

• Israel, led by Moses, faces a lack of water and repeats complaints from Exodus 17.
• God instructs Moses to speak to the rock to bring forth water, contrasting with a previous command to strike the rock.
• Moses, instead, strikes the rock twice and scolds the people, failing to obey God’s specific instructions.

Insights:

• The episode examines the narrative structure highlighting Moses’ partial obedience:
  • Moses does take the rod and gather the people as commanded.
  • Instead of speaking to the rock, he speaks harshly to the people and strikes the rock.
• "He doesn't do what God says. So I think we're back to the theme in the melody, all the way back to Genesis 1, where God's word is life. God's word is the way to life."
  • (John, 09:10)
• Obedience to God’s word is life-giving and central to the biblical story, with allusions to creation, Noah, and Exodus.
• Moses' failure is not a simple mistake but symptomatic of increasing frustration and detachment from God’s will, similar to prior biblical figures.
• The consequence is severe due to Moses' elevated position as God’s representative, echoing the principle:
  • "To those whom God invests high degrees of power, influence, ability to represent him, God asks for a high degree of adherence to the divine will and instruction." (John, 15:31)
• The ultimate takeaway is not "walking on eggshells," but a demonstration that even the greatest human leaders fall short, intensifying the need for a true mediator.
  • "What we need is a human partner for God who will do the divine will that leads to life for the many... even Moses can't rescue us." (John, 19:19)

Memorable Quotes:

• "Are we supposed to bring out water for you from this rock?"—John, echoing Moses’ words and highlighting his failure to credit God (06:50)
• "With great power comes great responsibility. I can't believe I'm quoting a Marvel movie at this point in our conversation, but that is naming a dynamic at work in the story." (John, 13:58)

Timestamps:

• Moses’ Instructions & Actions: 02:22–07:08
• Analysis of Obedience, Motif of God’s Word: 09:10–13:43
• Meta-theme and Connection to Jesus: 17:17–19:26

3. Jesus Succeeds Where Moses Fails—The Temptation in the Wilderness

[Clip from "Jesus and the Wild Beasts" – Son of Man series]

The Story:

• After baptism, Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days, tested by Satan, surrounded by wild animals, and served by angels (Mark 1:12–13).
• Unlike Matthew and Luke’s detailed accounts, Mark's version is terse but packed with hyperlinks to earlier biblical stories.

Insights:

• Biblical design patterns:
  • The verb "ekballo" (to cast out) is used for Adam and Eve’s exile, Cain’s exile, and now for Jesus—establishing a typological connection.
  • Jesus, like Adam, Israel, Noah, and Daniel, is tested in the wilderness with ‘beasts’ but, uniquely, does not fail.
• Jesus’ coexistence with wild animals recalls Adam’s naming of animals (dominion), Noah’s ark, and Daniel in the lions’ den, signaling Jesus as the true human ruler—the new Adam, new Israel.
  • "So Mark is placing Jesus's exile into the wilderness on analogy with Adam and Eve's exile into the wilderness." (John, 24:41)
  • "In the wilderness, Jesus is with the wild animals, but remains unharmed. Which is supposed to strike the reader as unusual." (John, 30:47)
• The service of angels signifies Jesus' divinity and authority over cosmic powers—he is the Son of Man served by the heavenly host (Daniel 7).
• While Mark is understated, the narrative assumes Jesus passes the test, emerging to proclaim God's kingdom.
  • "He doesn't obey the cosmic powers. The cosmic powers are there to come under his rule." (John, 32:06)
  • "The Son of man has authority over the skies and the land." (John, 33:11)

Memorable Quotes:

• "Jesus is identified as the Son in the baptism. Yeah. Overcomes the test in the wilderness. He's kind of revealed as the, like, true human ruler." (John & Tim, 32:54–32:59)
• "Three short little statements." (John, 33:21)

Timestamps:

• Introduction to Mark’s Narrative: 20:30–22:19
• Hyperlinks & Typology: 24:10–29:19
• Jesus as New Adam & Authority Over Creation: 29:38–33:21

4. The Wilderness as an Ongoing Challenge—Sabbath Rest and Future Hope

[Clip from "The Quest for Final Rest" – 7th Day Rest series]

The Discussion:

• Hebrews reads the wilderness wanderings not as distant past, but as a perpetual warning and exhortation for every new generation.
• Psalm 95 is quoted: "Today, if only you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
• The Promised Land is depicted as a shadow of ultimate rest—a rest not achieved in Israel’s history, but fulfilled in the Messiah and new creation.
  • "The past is just an instruction for the people waiting to go into the future. Rest." (John, 34:30)
• The narrative rest is unfulfilled because the land, and even entry into it, does not achieve the ultimate Sabbath.
• The future "seventh day rest" is a reality still open to be entered by trust/faith:
  • "There's still a rest that is yet to be entered into—a future rest." (John, 38:08)
• Entry into this rest is both a present experience and a future hope, through faithful trust in the Messiah.

Memorable Quotes:

• "You could get lost in the wilderness too if you don't listen to his voice." (Tim, 35:32)
• "The design of the wilderness narratives in the Torah itself is trying to tell us that the arrival in the Promised Land is an image of the future seventh day rest." (John, 35:50)
• "By the time you get into the Prophets, the land gets expanded out to encompass the whole of creation." (John, 37:00)

Timestamps:

• Hebrews/Psalm 95 Application: 34:30–36:26
• The Land and Final Rest: 36:26–40:10

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "God's word is what sustains and generates life out of non life." (John, 09:10)
• "So the whole story is leading you to this crisis of like, dude, where's a human partner that will do God's will, that leads to abundant life for themselves and for the many?" (John, 17:31)
• "He doesn't obey the cosmic powers. The cosmic powers are there to come under his rule." (John, 32:06)
• "The Promised Land itself is an image of the ultimate future seventh day rest." (John, 35:50)

Structure and Flow

1. Opening Theme (00:05–02:22): Michelle Jones sets the stage, describes the "hyperlink" approach, and introduces the wilderness theme.
2. Moses’ Story in Numbers (02:22–19:26): Clip and discussion on Moses’ failure, with analysis drawing thematic connections from Genesis to Messiah.
3. Jesus in the Wilderness (20:30–33:21): Exploration of Mark’s portrayal of Jesus as true human/king, succeeding in the wilderness motif.
4. Wilderness, Hebrews, and Sabbath Rest (34:30–40:19): Clip from '7th Day Rest' connecting wilderness experience as a lasting challenge and hope for future rest.
5. Conclusion (40:19–end): Michelle wraps up and directs listeners to BibleProject resources.

Takeaways

• The wilderness is not just a physical location but a spiritual space of testing, formation, and reliance on God's word.
• Even the greatest leaders (Moses) fall short, pointing to humanity’s need for the ultimate mediator (Jesus), who uniquely passes the wilderness test.
• Jesus’ successful wilderness experience echoes and fulfills patterns found throughout Scripture, cementing his role as the new Adam and true ruler.
• The biblical narrative invites every generation into a journey through the wilderness, with true rest—the ultimate promised land—not as a physical territory, but as an enduring state of trustful relationship with God.

Further Exploration

• Episodes Referenced:
  • “Why Couldn't Moses Enter the Promised Land?”
  • “Jesus and the Wild Beasts” (Son of Man Series, Ep. 7)
  • “The Quest for Final Rest” (7th Day Rest Series, Ep. 13)

For more resources, visit bibleproject.com or download the BibleProject app.

Note:
Ads, general credits, and non-content remarks were omitted from this summary for clarity and focus.