This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Lent: He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. A detail recorded only by Mark is that Jesus was with the wild beasts in the wilderness. “Wild beasts” therion occurs only here in all of the gospels. In ancient Greek, therion especially referred to animals that were hunted.  It is unique in Mark’s account of the testing. It is a word that refers to any wild animal or beast. It is used in Acts 28:4-5 for the viper who bites Paul. It is used in Revelation to refer to the “beast” who is worshiped rather than God.

Since 1:12–13 is usually understood as a report of Jesus’ triumph over Satan the reference to the wild beasts has been interpreted as an element in the paradise motif. Jesus in the midst of the wild beasts signifies the victory of the New Adam over Satan and temptation so that paradise is restored in which man is at peace with the animals. But as soon as it is recognized that the dominant motif of the prologue is the wilderness, Mark’s distinctive reference to the wild beasts becomes obfuscated.

In the OT blessing is associated with inhabited and cultivated land; the wilderness is the place of the curse. In the wilderness there is neither seed nor fruit, water nor growth. Man cannot live there. Only frightening and unwanted kinds of animals dwell there. Significantly, when the wilderness is transformed into a paradise no ravenous beast will be in it (Isa. 35:9; Ezek. 34:23–28). Mark’s reference to the wild beasts in v.13 serves to stress the character of the wilderness. Jesus confronts the horror, the loneliness and the danger with which the wilderness is fraught when he meets the wild beasts. Their affinity in this context is not with paradise, but with the realm of Satan. [Lane, 61]

Angels. Both the Greek (aggelos) and Hebrew (mal’ak) words translated “angel” have the basic meaning “messenger.” Just as earthly rulers needed messengers to carry messages to others before there was the post office and faxes and e-mail, so it was thought that God needed heavenly messengers to carry the divine word to earth. This word occurs five times in Mark.

• Quoting Malachi 3:1, it is the messenger who goes ahead of you, preparing your way (1:2).
• They will be part of the entourage when the Son of Man comes in his Father’s glory (8:38) and then they will gather the elect (13:27); but they do not know when that time will be (13:32).
• The risen dead will be like angels (12:25).

The eschatological emphasis on angels could indicate that Jesus with the wild beast is a picture of the peaceful kingdom that is coming. However, it would more likely present a contrast between “wild beasts” and “angels”. The wild beasts are those who would “devour” Jesus. Angels are those who “serve” or “minister” (diakoneo) him.  Perhaps it is not too important to try and define “angels,” except as those who serve – a key thought in Mark’s sense of discipleship

And how do these angels serve? The motif of the angel who guides and helps Israel through the wilderness is prominent in many of the narratives of the first exodus (Ex. 14:19; 23:20 [cited in Mk. 1:2], 23; 32:34; 33:2). The closest parallel to the Marcan account, however, is provided by 1 Kings 19:5–7 where an angel supplies nourishment for Elijah in the barren wilderness. Mark’s reference to a plurality of angels indicates that Jesus is sustained by the servants of God. There is no indication in Mark that the service of the angels is withdrawn nor that it serves to mark the termination of the temptation. This is an appropriate description, for the Marcan account of the ministry of Jesus is dominated by his confrontation with demonic forces and the sustaining of temptation. Jesus’ obedience to God is affirmed and sustained in the desert, the precise place where Israel’s rebellion had brought death and alienation, in order that the new Israel of God may be constituted. [Lane, 62]

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