Seeker

The Gospel of Mark's account of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness is brief: "And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. " (Mark 1: 12 - 13) Apart from its brevity the 2 details that interest me most in this is the statement are: "he was with the wild beasts" and "the angels waited on him". What were those wild beasts? Wild goats, ibex  and hyrax that could have felt like companions in the wilderness? Or hyenas, jackals and wolves that could have posed dangerous threat to a man weak from prolonged fasting? Companions or threats or both? When feeling alone in whatever wilderness we may find ourselves, unexpected companions on the way - even of a type we wouldn't choose can be what we need to survive the experience. For any one going through difficult desert experiences the threats are real, can ...