Day 40? Surely Lent has only 40 days and this should be the end? A tricky one for the Church. For indeed, Jesus fasted in the desert for forty days and forty nights. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday, this is 46 days, whenever in the calendar Easter Sunday falls, Ash Wednesday is always 46 days earlier. The Church replies that Sundays don't count, and you can break your Lenten resolutions to eat meat, drink wine to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.
Now let's take a closer look at the Bible (King James Version) to see how the Temptation of Christ in the Desert was depicted in the synoptic gospels...
Luke, Chapter 4:
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
Let's now look at the second full account...
Matthew Chapter 4:
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
The third of the synoptic evangelists gives but two verses for this episode in our Saviour's life, but confirms the sojourn's duration as 40 days and the presence...
Mark, Chapter 1:
12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
So many theological questions! If Jesus (as God) was omniscient, why did he follow Satan into the wilderness, and then up onto a pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, knowing that Satan would tempt Him?
Not eating for 40 days is scientifically possible (without water, you'd die after three days). John the Baptist's diet of locusts and honey (specified by both Matthew and Mark) is eminently doable (honey-glazed grilled locust sounds appetising). Bear in mind that Luke 4 and Matthew 4 are both preceded by an account of Jesus's baptism by John the Baptist in the Judean wilderness, so this period of fasting didn't follow any feasting.
Note the repeated use by both Luke and Matthew of the phrase 'it is written'. Satan and Jesus like a pair of rabbis invoking the authorities in theological disputation. Satan: "It's written that..." Jesus: "Yeah, but it's written that..." In the end, Satan gives up, in Luke, 'for a season' (presumably to return again in the autumn).
We have three temptations: "turn stones into bread", "jump off the top of the temple, and your angels will save you", and "worship me in return for earthly power". What are they alluding to? In today's rational world, worshiping the devil in the expectation of power is something that conspiracy theorists would ascribe to attendees of the World Economic Forum at Davos; power is worshiped for its own sake. As is money.
To put this into a context that I would understand - Satan would be tempting me with wealth and power in return for my rejection of any metaphysical Universal purpose, which I'd have to exchange for a belief in reductionist materialism. But I'm not tempted by wealth over and above what's necessary for a comfortable life (I have learned to distinguish comfort from luxury), and I believe that power should be devolved and not held in the hands of individuals.
No - the temptations I have to fight are laziness and procrastination. They are my enemy. Lent helps with building strength of will through the deferment of gratification.
This time last year:
Long walk, back in the swing
Speeches for Leaders, by Charles Crawford
This time seven years ago:
In Memoriam - those who died at Smolensk
This time nine years ago:
Warszawa 1935: 3D film reconstructs lost city
This time ten years ago:
Cats and consciousness
This time 12 years ago:
Smolensk - why did this happen?
This time 13 years ago:
Britain's grey squirrels turning red
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