Lent 2012: A Journey through the Wilderness
A Video of Jesus in the Wilderness
I came upon this evocative video through a link by Tod Bolsinger on Facebook. The illustrations are wonderfully simple, the story profound. Take a few moments today and join Jesus in the wilderness.
The Internet Monk Archives 
“fully human” means more than “lacking all human faults”
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That’s natural in a mother, but this video places the viewer in a position above that of Christ. That’s deeply irreverent.
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He was fully man. But he was not ignorant of who he was. He lacked all human faults.
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Saying Jesus was not fully human is as much of a heresy as saying Jesus was not fully divine. Denying that he was a first-century Jew who had to grow and learn like every other human being was one of the original heresies — Docetism.
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Really? I bet Mary thought he was cute as he learned to walk. Just because he should be respected doesn’t mean we can’t ever smile at him. Just because he already knew everything doesn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy something like watching a flower or a bird.
It is also heresy to say that Christ didn’t know he was man….
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Jesus Christ was not cute, like a Hallmark card, and should never be treated flippantly. Also, this video wrongly suggests that he did not already know the things which he later taught, but had to go into the desert for inspiration. This flirts with the heresy of saying that the omniscient Son of God didn’t originally know he was Christ. Talk about a Satan in the image of Christ!
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I like the notion of Jesus gazing at flowers and chasing birds in the desert…
Fits with the Jewish emphasis on Living Your Life.
…not just appearing sullen.
Ever heard of the phrase “Baptized in Vinegar”?
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And chasing the chickens! That was my favorite part!
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😀
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I like the notion of Jesus gazing at flowers and chasing birds in the desert, not just appearing sullen. It’s like Camus declaring that we must imagine Sisyphus as happy.
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Satan is after all the evil image or anti christ. He is the imitation in shadow. The great deceiver. Perhaps it makes sense.
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You are correct. The temptations have not changed and seem so common to human nature. Thank God Jesus went before us.
A great little video.
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I liked the way the three temptations are prefigured in the natural world, before being depicted literally.
I also like the way he prays Middle-Eastern style, although he switches to Western-style later.
Beautiful art, very well informed by the gospel. “The desert” has an unbelievably rich history on Christianity, and this really brings out the contemplative side of Jesus (and us).
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Lots of temptations that we would probably go for.
But Jesus didn’t cave(in).
He was steadfastly obedient and faithful to the Father.
Thanks be to God, otherwise we would be eternally lost.
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Satan looks a lot like the Jesus character. I can see the point; Satan in the temptations tries to appear to be helping Jesus. The old Adam tries to do the same – appear religious and aiding God’s will.
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Maybe, but for me the halo was a dead giveaway! 🙂
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CJ – I was thinking the same thing!! Never having thought what He had done, but really loved the depiction of Him having fun, playful days with His creation that also led to hard and dark days in isolation. And yet….He was never alone. Never. Alone.
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Interesting. Anyone else think Jesus kinda looks like Rich Mullins?
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Wow. That’s really evocative. The first half of the pictures, especially, puts a whole new slant on the story; I never thought before about what Jesus did for the whole 40 days. I guess we just assume that he spent the entire time in prayer and meditation, but that may be a lot to assume when the story itself says nothing. We defintely tend to ignore his human nature in favor of the divine.
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