The forty-day fast and temptations of the devil.

(Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13).

The narration about the Lord Jesus Christ’s 40 day fast and His following temptation by the devil in the wilderness, is contained in the Gospels of the first three Evangelists. Moreover, Saints Matthew and Mark relate this in detail, while Saint Mark mentions it briefly.

After baptism, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1). This was situated between Jericho and the Dead Sea. One of the mountains in this wilderness still carries the name “Forty-day,” because the Lord fasted there. The first thing God’s Spirit (that resided in Jesus with baptism) did was to lead Him into the wilderness, so that through fasting and prayer He may prepare Himself to the great ministry of saving mankind. There, He fasted for 40 days and nights ie. according to all accounts, not eating anything and “was hungry” (Matt. 4:2, Luke 4:2), that is, reached an acute stage of hunger and drained of energy. “Now when the tempter came to Him” (Matt. 4:3). This was the concluding approach by the tempter, because according to Luke, during the whole of the forty days, the devil never ceased to tempt the Lord (Luke 4:2).

What was the reason behind the devil’s temptations of the Lord?

Having come to earth for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil, the Lord of course could have obliterated them with one breath from His lips. However, it is imperative to remember that the devil’s works had taken root in the misguided, free human soul, which the Lord had come to save without depriving it of God’s greatest gift — its freedom. The human was created neither as a pawn, nor as a soulless automaton or an animal guided by instinct, but a free and intelligent personality. In relation to the Divinity of Jesus Christ, this temptation appeared as a battle between the spirit of evil that was trying to retain control over humanity with the aid of illusory happiness - and the Son of God that has come to save the human race. This temptation is akin to that of Jehovah, which the Israelites permitted when they started to complain at Rephidim about the lack of water: “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7). Likewise, the devil commences his temptation with the words: “If You are the Son of God…”Just as the Psalmist speaks of the sons of Israel that tempted the Lord in the wilderness, so did the devil tempt the Son of God with the intention of provoking Him, anger, reproach and insult (Psalm 78:40-41). The main form of temptation was aimed against Christ’s human nature, over which the devil hoped to extend his influence and deviate onto a false path. Christ came to earth in order to establish His Kingdom among humanity — God’s Kingdom. There were two paths that led to this: one, about which the Jews were wishing for, the path of a speedy and dazzling ascension of the Messiah as a world ruler, while the other path — slow and thorny, a path of voluntary moral rebirth of people, combined with many sufferings not only for the followers of Messiah, but for He Himself. This is exactly what the devil wanted to do - to turn the Lord away from this second path, having attempted to entice Him humanly with the ease of the first, which promised not suffering but glory only.

In the first instance, taking advantage of Christ’s need for food, the devil attempted to convince Him to use His divine powers so as to rid Himself of that which lies heavy with every human being — hunger. Pointing to the stones (which to this day retain the shape of loaves), he utters: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt. 4:3; Luke 4:3).The devil hoped that having been tempted once, Jesus will react likewise in the future: surround Himself with legions of Angels from His enemy hordes, come down from the cross and call Elijah to His aid (Matt. 26:53, 27:40, 49), and the matter of saving humanity with His suffering on the cross would not be realised. Having turned water into wine for others and miraculously augmenting the number of loaves, God-Man rejected this wily advice with the words of Moses, spoken with regard to the manna which God sent to His people, while they were in the wilderness over a 40 year period: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deuter. 8:3; Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). The term “every word” must be interpreted as God’s benevolent will that thinks of humanity. The Lord performed miracles to satisfy not His but the needs of others: if during all His sufferings, instead of enduring them, He resorted to His Divine powers, He would not be an example to us. In repeating this miracle often, He may have enticed those people that at the time were demanding “bread and signs.” However, these people would not be trustworthy for the Kingdom of Heaven established by Him. His aim was for the people to follow Him freely, through His word and not like slaves, enticed by the ease with which they could secure earthly blessings.

Having suffered defeat with his first temptation, the devil approached with the second: he took Him to Jerusalem and setting Him on the pinnacle of the temple, proffered: “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His Angels charge over You, in their hands they shall bear You up, Lest You dash your foot against a stone” (Matt. 4:6; Luke 4:9-10). The proposal was aimed at astounding the people’s imagination with this miracle - tense with expectation of the coming of the Messiah — and thus easily entice them. Of course, this would have been of no moral benefit to the people’s lives, and the Lord rejected the proposal with the words: “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’” (Matt. 4:7; Luke 4:12).These words were expressed by Moses to the people of Israel (Deut. 6:16). Jesus Christ had in mind that without necessity, it was inadvisable to expose Himself to danger and experience the miracle-working power of God’s omnipotence.

The devil then applies his third temptation by showing Christ, from a high mountain “and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me’” (Matt. 4:8-9, Luke 4:6-7). The devil unfolded before Christ’s eyes a scene of all the kingdoms of the world, over which, as a spirit of evil, he actually controlled. He showed Him the forces and means under his disposal in this world, used to do battle with God, Who has come down to earth in order to save humanity from his control. Apparently, he was hoping that this depiction would agitate Jesus’s human spirit, instil a fear and doubt in His soul about the possibility of achieving the great task of saving the human race. Indeed, what could be a more frightening picture than that of humanity, voluntarily submitting itself to the devil’s authority? What the devil wanted to say with this is: “You see what authority I have over humans? And in the future, do not interfere with my existence and control over people. For this, I am willing to share my authority with You — all it takes is for You join with me. Only worship me and you will be the Messiah that the Jews are expecting.” Naturally, these words from the devil promised Jesus purely physical control over humans, only outward authority over them, preserving for himself the inner, spiritual authority. But this was exactly what the Lord didn't want, teaching that He did not come to rule outwardly, to be served as an earthly ruler (Matt. 20:28), and that His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), His Kingdom being purely spiritual. That’s why the Lord, using the words of Deuteronomy (6:13), drives the devil away from Himself: “Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matt. 4:10). With this, Jesus shows that He does not recognise the devil’s authority over earth, because the universe belongs to Lord God, and He is the only One fitting to be worshipped in it.

According to the Evangelist Luke, the devil departs from Jesus Christ “until an opportune time (Luke 4:13), because he soon begins to tempt the Lord through people, creating all types of snares.

Evangelist Mark makes an important reference to the fact that in the wilderness, Jesus “was with the wild beasts” (Mark 1:13). As the New Adam, the beasts would not venture to attack Him, acknowledging in Him their Sovereign.