Forty is a time of testing. It is a recurring theme in the Bible that can be a time of preparation or coming judgment. In Genesis chapter seven, forty days of rain brought judgment on the earth. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years to prepare them for the promised land. Nineveh had forty days to repent of their sins or face judgment.
In Matthew chapter four, Satan tempted Jesus for forty days to prepare Him for His coming ministry. The number forty in God’s word usually symbolizes a period of testing, trial, probation, or judgment.
Jesus Was Tempted for Forty Days
After His baptism, the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness. This would prepare Jesus for His ministry. Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights, he fasted and became very hungry.[1] Jesus knew the value of fasting and praying. These spiritual disciplines enabled Him to overcome a time of testing. Each day Jesus resisted the devil, the temptations increased in scope as the devil tried to wear Him down.
Why was this time of testing in the wilderness so important? Satan had tempted the nation of Israel with all the same temptations, and they failed. Now, Jesus, a remnant of one, overcame them all. He successfully passed His time of testing and showed Himself worthy to begin His three years of ministry.
The time in the wilderness and the testing prepared Jesus for God’s sacred assignment. We also have times when we need to take time with the Lord, such as a retreat to refocus on who we are and where we are going. There are often distractions in our everyday lives, and when we take time away, we can better hear from God over the noise of the day.
Jesus Was Tempted Like We Are
Scripture clarifies that Jesus was tempted just like us and overcame sin not by His effort but by the grace and strength His Father gave Him.Hebrews 4: 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.[2]
Although Jesus’s specific temptations differed from ours, the main ones were the same. Satan tempted Jesus to take the easy road to fulfill God’s promises by avoiding the challenges. When the Lord makes us promises, He will frequently call us to wait before He fulfills them. Waiting by itself is often a test for all of us.
Unlike Jesus, when faced with temptations, we often fail and must ask God for forgiveness. Through failure, the Lord teaches us the need for humility and His strength to be overcomers. It is often in the failures of life that I have grown the most, and I realize that without the Lord working in my life, I will never be able to fulfill the plans He has for me. To learn more about how forty is a time of testing, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/jesus-is-tempted
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:1–2). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Heb 4:15). Tyndale House Publishers.