Three of the four Gospels give an account of Jesus spending time in the wilderness prior to beginning his ministry. The links below will take you to the story as told by Mark, Matthew and Luke Mark's account of Wilderness
Matthew's account of Wilderness
Luke's account of Wilderness
At my home church, First Christian Church of Omaha (where I was baptized and ordained) a Lenten event was held last week inviting various artists to create an original work interpreting the wilderness experience of Jesus. My mother, Nancy Light Johnson, painted the image above to reflect Mark's version -- where the angel "waited" on Jesus. That same night the poet Ian Barker read two poems he wrote in response to the passages. You will find them at the following link to OmahaPoet.com:
I appreciated Ian's conclusion to the first poem, as it seems apt counsel for all of us looking for the kind ministrations of angels who will take us in their arms:
...tough it out in the present desert,
leave the sand to dust your feet
and let the branches sing Spring
from solid trees which sprang from seeds
who rooted in deeper, slower ground
which has no need for angels to catch them,
to demonstrate their faith
that they will, undeserved,
be saved from dashing on the rocks.
