Temptation in the Wilderness

DAY 2 (Matt 3-4): After Jesus spends his childhood moving around the ancient world to avoid detection by King Herod of Judea, his stepfather Joseph finally settles down in Nazareth, and we hear nothing more about Jesus' life until he reappears as an adult at the river Jordan, where his cousin John the Baptist greets him, sparking a chain-reaction of miraculous events. After Jesus receives baptism from John the Baptist, he fasts forty days in the wilderness in preparation to begin his earthly ministry. It is here that Jesus encounters the devil, an enigmatic figure mentioned only sparsely in the Old Testament. Who is this Satan, and why did he confront Jesus in the wilderness? You won't believe the answer to this question.