This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Lent: he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. “Satan” comes from the Hebrew verb STN meaning “to be hostile, to oppose”. The noun means “adversary,” who usually is an earthling in the OT, but in 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1 & 2; Zech 3:1, 2 it refers to a heavenly being and is transliterated “Satan”.

In the LXX (the Greek translation of the OT), the Hebrew satan was always translated by the Greek diabolos (“the slanderer, the devil”), a word that doesn’t occur in Mark.

“Satan” occurs in 5 verses in Mark.

• Satan tests Jesus in the wilderness (1:13)
• Jesus asks, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” (3:23)
• And answers: “If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come.” (3:26)
• In the explanation of the parable of the sower, Satan comes takes away the word that has been sown on the path (4:15)
• Jesus rebukes Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (8:33)

Starting with the last occurrence, “Satan” seems to be anyone whose mind is not set on divine things – who seeks to stand in the way of Jesus (or us?) fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives. “Satan” knows enough not to be divided against himself – which may mean that Satan is clear about his purpose and role in the universe, which is to seek to take away the Word of God, which is easily done with people who are too “hard-hearted” for the Word to take root. If God’s Word is not well rooted in our lives, then we can’t know God’s purpose for us. Thus it will be easy for Satan or other people to steer us away from that purpose.

“It is significant that Mark does not report the victory of Jesus over Satan, nor the end of the temptation (In contrast to Mt. 4:11; Lk. 4:13). It is the evangelist’s distinctive understanding that Jesus did not win the decisive victory during the forty days nor did he cease to be tempted. Jesus is thrust into the wilderness in order to be confronted with Satan and temptation. It is this confrontation which is itself important, since it is sustained throughout Jesus’ ministry. This explains why Mark does not say anything about the content of the temptation: his whole Gospel constitutes the explanation of the manner in which Jesus was tempted.” [Lane, 61]

Image credit: Christ in the Wilderness | Moretto da Brescia (Alessandro Bonvicino) Italian ca. 1515–20 | Metropolitan Museum of Art | PD-US