Interpreting Scripture

Last Sunday Joe kicked the Lenten season off with a sermon about Jesus being tempted.  As the Scripture was read I had a sudden "aha" experience.  It was not about temptation.  It was about listening to Scripture with understanding. 

If you have a somewhat traditional background in the Christian church you have learned that Jesus either went or was driven into the wilderness for 40 days and nights and was tempted by the devil.  Right?

But as I listened I understood that the last temptation was Jesus being on the high point of the Temple in Jerusalem.  What if. .  .

What if it took the best part of forty days to wander through the wilderness and up the hill to Jerusalem and into the Temple and up to the highest point.  There were not buses, cabs, cars, trains or helicopters.  Traditional interpretation is comfortable with Jesus being physically present and hungry in the wilderness, and being tempted to "do a miracle" and turn one or more the rocks nearby into a loaf of bread.  Traditional interpretation is mixed about being taken to a high point to see "all the kingdoms of the world", but some interpreters accept the idea that Jesus somehow found himself on a very high ridge or mountain (perhaps Mt. Sinai?). 

From where he was baptized in the Jordan river, out to the wild places, wandering up a mountain, and then back across the Jordan and up to Jerusalem could have taken forty days or thereabouts.  Right? 

Side note:  scholars generally accept that the number "forty" means a long time, not necessarily exactly forty years or forty days. 

I question my own understanding even more, now, having seen the possibility that Jesus may have actually gone to more than just the wilderness.  Maybe he went to a high point on the Temple in Jerusalem as well. 

I'm not sure what this means, but it makes the story seem more real to me.  A guy was in spiritual and mental turmoil and trekked here and there trying to make sense out of hearing that Voice. 

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let us know.