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Mark 1:13

And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

I know I have noticed it before, but the phrase “And he was with the wild animals” stood out to me this time in a way it never has before. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include a narrative about Jesus’ temptation, but Mark is the only one who includes this phrase. This is interesting because Mark’s temptation narrative is shorter than the other two, so anything he includes that the others don’t causes me to pause.

I interpret this phrase as positive (that is, Jesus is at peace with the wild animals) and I think this brief little statement by Mark actually tells us something about God’s heart.

God cares about His creation. He called it “good” seven times when He created (see Gen. 1:1-31). The presence of sin corrupted creation and caused its creatures to be an enmity with each other (Genesis 6:5-12; 9:2). Even so, I believe God’s heart has always been tender to His creation, and He will redeem it so His creatures will no longer be at enmity (Leviticus 25:1-7; Isaiah 11:6-9). Paul tells us that creation waits and groans for this future restoration (Rom. 8:19-25).

Mark’s phrase “And he was with the wild animals” reminded me of all these components. God loves His creation, and His plan of restoration is cosmic. Mark’s narrative of Jesus’s temptation in v.1:13 might be further evidence of this.