The Forty Day Fast of Jesus

Before the three recorded temptations of Jesus, He had fasted for forty days. He had eaten nothing. Satan tempted Him during the forty days, but the exact nature of these temptations is not given. At the end of the forty day period, Satan presents Jesus with the three temptations that are recorded: stones to bread, leap from the Temple, and kingdoms of the world. It is implied that Satan returned to continue the temptations of Jesus at later dates, but no details are given.

This encounter with Satan in the barren Judean wildnerness occurred just before Jesus began His personal ministry of teaching, serving, and exampling godly behavior. Perhaps Jesus wished to focus His attention on what was to transpire over the next three years of His ministry, which would culminate with the cross. Fasting for forty days would surely be an indication of Jesus' commitment to what He was about to do. He knew that His work was the most importand of all works that would ever be done, and that only He could do it. If He failed, man would be stuck with his sin guilt, there would be no way out, no forgiveness, no salvation, no hope, no heaven - only an unending and completely deserved hell. Jesus did not fail.

We might consider a fast ourselves in our attempt to be more like Jesus and to focus more perfectly on putting His words in our lives. We could begin by skipping a meal. We could use this time to ponder deeply our Christian mission, which is to live The Christian Life. The Christian Life is one of morality, ethics, service, teaching, exampling, humility, self-denial, and commitment. The Christian Life is also one of faith, love, obedience, joy, hope, and confidence.

We might meditate on what Jesus may have thought about during His forty-day fast. Surely He thought about why He came to this earth in the first place. He must have thought about His love for all of mankind, even though they lived in sin and rebellion against God's will and would ultimately murder Him on the cross. He may have thought about mankind's need for forgiveness that they might have hope, and the part He would play in that forgiveness, the role that only He could fill. He could have thought about the seeming inability of humans to get along with each other, their tendency to fight and war unceasingly among themselves. He knew that if they would only heed His words about morality, ethics, greed, materialism, humility, forgiveness, and compassion - that the trouble people seem to have with each other would dry up in direct proportion to their application of His teaching to their lives. He may have grieved over mankind's frequent unwillingness to let go of worldliness and give Him their lives entirely through believing Him and obeying Him.

Remember that Jesus' physical body was just like ours. Did he feel that this lengthy and purging fast would help Him focus all His energies - physically, emotionally, and mentally - on the task at hand. I think He did.

Will we commit ourselves to The Christian Life? How will we purify and concentrate that commitment? Our purpose is the glorification of God. What will we do to bring all of our life into pinpoint focus on that purpose, which is our highest calling? Fasting, praying, studying the Bible, meditation, sharing with other Christians, and teaching and serving the lost are good places to start. Our lives must overflow with faith and obedience to the Lord. The desire to live The Christian Life must be burned into our souls and emanate daily outward in our lives.

These thoughts have come from Matthew 4 and Luke 4.