Likewise God tests his servants to see if they are fit and ready to be used by him. Love and blessings from your brother in Christ, He went in a physical being, limited by his mind and understanding, but he came out “reborn” as a spiritual being, with the heavens (the spiritual realm) opened to him, with direct access to his Father, God. When the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, they wandered 40 years in the wilderness. Mark states it most emphatically: “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12). They kept God’s word and remembered his promise to bring them freedom from their enemies. The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. Taken in the sense of denoting enticement to evil, temptation cannot be referred directly to God or to Christ. The first thing God ever told His son directly was that he was His beloved son, and that He was well pleased in him (another way of translating this is “This is my son, the beloved, in whom I have found delight.”). It is a given that all men will be tempted, but the true God does not lead any man into temptation. 40 Days of Temptation in the Wilderness. lol! _______________________________, The book, Give Me Christ … Revelations of the Glorified Christ is now available on Amazon. The season of Lent has its most profound biblical resonance with the forty days that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. I’m not sure if you get notified of my reply or not. The prayer book encourages us to use it as a time for 'self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting and self-denial'. Jerome, the great bible scholar who lived near the Judean desert (347-420 AD), comments on this passage: Your email address will not be published. And I knew him not (as being the Messiah); but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. We test airline pilots to make sure that they are fit to fly under all conditions, including times of adverse turbulence and poor visibility. A seven-year famine was responsible for God’s chosen people ending up in Egypt. New to this After Jesus was raised from the dead he remained on the earth for 40 days before he ascended off it. What motivated Jesus to spend 40 days and nights of solitude, prayer, and fasting in the Judean wilderness? And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. I pray you continue to pursue the hunger you have to know the truth. The Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness, or the place of temptation, but it was not God's Spirit that caused the temptation. The wilderness is not a comfortable place to begin with, never mind being 40 days without food. Moses went to the mountain of the Lord in the Sinai wilderness and stayed there for 40 days and nights in prayer and fasting (Exodus 24:18). Jesus refuses food to show his dependence on the bread of heaven, the word of God, that would sustain him not only in his physical hunger, but in his hour of temptation as well. ), Give Me Christ … Revelations of the Glorified Christ, View all posts by stevehartlaub@gmail.com. The event which immediately preceded Jesus’ journey in the wilderness was that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, at which time heaven opened unto him. You’re welcome. We cannot blame God for the temptations we face. His obedience to his Father’s will and his willingness to embrace the cross reversed the curse of Adam’s disobedience. The 40 days of rain in the days of the flood were the judgments of God. So the story of the testing of Jesus for “forty days in the wilderness” is not a precise accounting of exact days, but draws on a scriptural symbol for an extended, challenging period of time. The first things God confirmed to Jesus, upon achieving the ability to directly communicate with him, was that 1) he was His son; 2) he was beloved by Him, and 3) in him (that is, inside him) He was delighted. Our Lord Jesus Himself spent 40 days in the actual wilderness being tempted by the devil. ___________________________________________. The same number of days that the Israelites scouted in the promised land, the same number of years the Israelites wandered in the desert and the same number of days that Jesus spent in the wilderness/desert after His baptism. The word tempt in English usually means to entice someone to do what is wrong or forbidden. Jesus was no exception to this pattern of testing. An Un-Polluted Gospel To be alone with Him, and to be tempted by the devil. If this answer is not clear, feel free to write again, and thank you. And when he had opened the scroll, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me (verb form of “Christ”) to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. If you would like further clarification, please let me know, and I will send you 2 or 3 links to studies which go into further depth. _____ Luke says that Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1). Before beginning his earthly ministry, Jesus had to be tested by his spiritual enemy. And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Or was he also allowing himself to be tempted by Satan? It is noteworthy how both Moses and Elias were precursors of our Lord in a forty days' fast. Verse 13. Thank you for good insights explained lucidly Where did Jesus find the strength to survive the desert’s harsh conditions and the tempter’s seduction? "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. How did God speak to those in the OT? Whether it literally happened is not important. With distances like that, a journey of 40 days and 40 nights is remarkable. Do you rely on the Lord for your strength and help? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Would you mind letting me know, by leaving another comment, that you received my reply, and HOW (ie: did you get an email notification and then found my reply on the website, etc.). (I John 3:8b), Since Adam, no other man besides Jesus ever addressed the devil directly. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. Why forty days? Abraham obeyed willingly even when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, the son of promise. Think about that the next time you contemplate the wilderness! Not sure! Why did Jesus choose such a barren, lonely place for an intense and long period of prayer and fasting? After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Why do we get Tempted? There have been prophecies spoken over me and after reading this I believe I understand what God is doing with my life and the call He has placed upon me. If you enjoyed how this study challenged your thinking and opened up your understanding of Christ, click on one of the related studies below: The Benefits of Tribulation The Lord Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) and to be our guide and consoler in temptation and testing (1 Corinthians 10:13). But they ate of the forbidden fruit out of disobedience because they trusted in themselves rather than in God. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (being tempted) of the devil. God was always with His son, and Jesus always walked, from the time of his baptism by John, in the spiritual awareness of his Father’s love and delight in him. The Israelite spies took 40 days to spy out Canaan (Numbers 13:25). Jeg pleide aa bo der (for nesten 40 aar siden), men fremdeles har gode, troende venner der… i Oslo og Fredrikstad. Drew "Da Bum", Megan MacKenzie & Robski) 1. And in those days he did eat nothing; and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 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