Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Matthew 4:1–2
Having a strong personal aversion to discomfort, I greatly admire those with the fortitude to push their bodies to the limit. Soldiers who fight through the rigor of basic training have my mad respect. Triathletes with the inner grit required to swim, cycle, and run mile after mile earn my genuine awe.
Though you won’t catch me “pushing through the pain” or winning feats of strength, I hope to become a spiritual triathlete, capable of running the race of faith with great endurance.
In Matthew 4:1-11, three observations jump off the page at me about the timing of Jesus’s wilderness fast.
First, the fast followed a moment of remarkable victory. Matthew 3 records Jesus’ baptism (vv. 13–17). The heavens opened, the Spirit descended, and the Father boomed His approval from heaven. This was a supernatural event! Still, Jesus did not immediately begin His earthly ministry after His submersion in the Jordan. There is a gap between His commissioning and His mission. Jesus spent that gap fasting.
Second, the fast preceded an intense battle with the devil. This was a series of skirmishes in a war of cosmic significance. In fact, we don’t see the Enemy come at Jesus this directly or doggedly again in the gospel accounts. Because He is sovereign, Jesus knew the fight was coming. Fasting is how He chose to prepare.
Third, Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. Let’s park there together today.
Have you ever noticed that the number forty is a pattern repeated often in Scripture?
Moses lived 40 years in Egypt (Acts 7:23) and 40 years in the desert before he was chosen to lead Israel out of slavery (Acts 7:30). Twice he met with the Lord on Mount Sinai for a period of 40 days and 40 nights (Ex. 24:18, 34:28). The second time he entered a dramatic fast, “he did not eat food or drink water” (v. 28) while he “wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets.”
The Israelite spies investigated the Promised Land for 40 days (Num. 13:25) and when the children of Israel responded with disbelief, they were sentenced to a period of wandering for—you guessed it—40 years. Jonah prophesied that Nineveh would be overthrown in 40 days (Jonah 3:4). Ezekiel laid on his right side for 40 days in lament for the sins of Judah (Ezek. 4:6). Elijah fasted for 40 days as he journeyed to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8).
In each case, the number 40 represents a period of great testing. More often than not, day 41 brought spiritual battles and Kingdom victories.
In Matthew 4:17, Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Soldiers train to fight. Triathletes train to compete. Jesus fasted to prepare to turn the world upside down.
Fitness experts have long celebrated the value of a 40-day regimen to realign our habits. If this is how realignment works in a person’s body, it’s not hard to believe that the same might be true for a person’s spirit. The Bible doesn’t specify that every fast must last for 40 days. Perhaps the significance of 40 is less about the number and more about the commitment it represents. A forty day fast is more than a fleeting notion, it goes beyond the inconvenience of a hunger pang or two. A forty day fast requires an all-in commitment of body and spirit.
At the moment I’m writing this sentence, I’ve completed two forty-day juice fasts. Both preceded the launch of ministry efforts so significant and demanding, rigorous “training” was required. The length of the fast tested my commitment. The intensity of the fast led me to a place of total dependency on Jesus I wouldn’t have acknowledged on day 10 or 20.
Though always uncomfortable, fasting is a discipline God can use to help us develop our spiritual muscles and prepare us for the battles that lie ahead. Do you want to withstand the Enemy’s attacks with faith and fortitude? Consider Jesus. Give Him your awe, but don’t stop there. As a follower of Jesus who wants to live like Jesus lived, take time today to consider: is there a pattern in His 40 day fast that bears repeating in your own life?
Excerpted with permission from Fasting & Feasting by Erin Davis. Copyright 2022, B&H Publishing.
ABOUT FASTING AND FEASTING
Does your relationship with food come as a constant source of regret, frustration, and shame? Or does it feel like a God-given blessing? Do you bounce between the two sometimes, in a love/hate relationship with food?
Whether it’s a warm croissant, a bright bowl of fruit, a piece of cake, or a steaming cup of coffee put in front of her, author and Bible teacher Erin Davis has experienced all sorts of complicated responses to food, too. She’s discovered that God’s Word celebrates food as a gift while simultaneously inviting us to surrender every area of our lives— including what we put on our plates. Rather than the yo-yo of loving food versus hating it, Erin invites you to accept Scripture’s invitation into a different, nourishing, and refreshing rhythm.
In this 40-day devotional filled with heartfelt reflections on key passages of Scripture (and a few inspirational stories thrown in for good measure!), you’ll learn just how satisfying it is to join in the biblical rhythms of fasting and feasting.
