| Composition Year | 1986 |
|---|
Contents |
Complete Score
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Pseudotonal (2023/12/12)
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| Work Title | Ministry of the Angels After Jesus's Temptation in the Desert |
|---|---|
| Alternative. Title | |
| Composer | Drehmer, Earl Richard |
| I-Catalogue NumberI-Cat. No. | IED 84 |
| Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp. | 1986 |
| First Performance. | 2011/08/07 |
| First Publication. | 2011 |
| Dedication | Henie M. Asi |
| Average DurationAvg. Duration | 1.9 minutes |
| Composer Time PeriodComp. Period | Modern |
| Piece Style | Modern |
| Instrumentation | piano |
Mark 1:12-13 -- At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
See also: Matthew 4:1-11 Luke 4:1-13
John does not mention this event because John was trying to proclaim Jesus as God. In the desert, Jesus was tempted as a man.
The common misunderstanding about Jesus's temptation in the desert was that He could have sinned. Not true. He could not have sinned or he would not have been God. As a matter of fact, upon close examination of the scriptures, one will see that Jesus did not struggle with Satan, but repelled him with the words of God (quotes from the scriptures). As in all temptations by Satan, he proclaims a bit of truth to try to lead the person into untruth. The temptations simply prove Jesus was a sinless man and very God. Satan only tries to tempt humans, not God, and Jesus had no tendency to sin, though Satan tried to tempt Him. Jesus of course felt the pressure and suffering we feel during a temptation. If He didn't, it would not have been a temptation. He can identify with us in our temptations. Hebrews 2:18 -- Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
As the creator of all things, Jesus was capable of turning a stone into bread. He was a man, and of course after 40 days He was hungry. Satan didn't question whether Jesus was God and the creator, but thought that his human hunger might tempt Him. Jesus responded that physical nourishment is trumped by spiritual nourishment. We can only get our true needs met by God, not by earthly things. This was the same kind of lie Satan told Eve, namely that a physical thing could make you more like God.
Satan's next temptation was for Jesus to throw Himself down off the temple to fulfill prophesy. It is the lie that we need to take our lives into our own hands because God may not come through for us. Snake handling, drinking poison, and committing suicide are examples of this. This is not trusting God but testing God. Jesus responded by proclaiming that we are not to test God.
Then Satan got to the heart of the most important thing in Jesus's life: that is Jesus's reason for existence in human form, to be the Messiah and Savior of the world. Satan stupidly didn't reckon on Jesus being interested in fulfilling His calling God's way and in God's timing. Satan tried to tempt Jesus to reach His goal by means of a shortcut. If Jesus would only put Himself under Satan, Satan would let Jesus be in charge of the world. This is Satan's whole reason for why he does what he does, namely that Satan is hoping to be God. That is why he was kicked out of Heaven. This is another major reason we sin. We want to take the place of God. We think we know better. The difference between Satan and us is that Satan has no hope of change. We however have a free will and can choose to follow God in spite of temptation. We can change and become more like God. That is why Eve was tempted. She knew that it is a good thing to become more like God. In fact, that is the reason Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit when we became born again.
