Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus is Tested in the Wilderness
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Job 16:15-22
Job Sewed Sackcloth Over His Skin
15 “I have sewed sackcloth over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.
16 My face is red with weeping,
dark shadows ring my eyes;
17 yet my hands have been free of violence
and my prayer is pure.
18 “Earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry never be laid to rest!
19 Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as one pleads for a friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I take the path of no return.
Job 19:25
Job Knew that His Redeemer Lives
25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
Genesis 2:7
God Formed Man Out of Dust
7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 3:19
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
19 By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return
Job 30:19
God Can Reduce Us to Dust and Ashes
19 He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.
Job 42:1-6
Job Repents in Dust and Ashes
1 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Jonah 3:1-10
Jonah Sits Down in His Sackcloth and on Dust
1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
1 Peter 2:22
Jesus Did Not Sin
22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
Lent Season commemorates Jesus being tested for forty days in the wilderness by the prince of darkness...Lent in a way is our replication of Jesus in the wilderness in that we give up things we might otherwise have...Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights in the desert...Lent Season does not count Sundays in the total of the forty days of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter...Jesus was tested by the evil one and He endured and passed the temptations handed out to Him...Jesus had very little things out in the wilderness for these forty days...But He had God, His Father...Jesus kept His focus on God when He was in the desert wilderness...Jesus endured these forty days in the wilderness without sin...Because in Jesus, He is the One without any deceit...
And Lent Season is forty days...Forty days is a biblical number, a holy number...Forty days is also a disciplined number...Noah saw it rain for forty days and forty nights as God cleansed our world...And then after forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and looked out...Moses was on the sacred mountain with God for forty days...And the Ninevites were given forty days to repent as Jonah was sent by God for their revival...And the Ninevites believed God...So a fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth...The king of Nineveh took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust during this time...Elijah took a long journey for forty days after being strengthened by an angelic meal to Mount Horeb to see God...And Jesus was seen for forty days after His death...So the forty day Lent Season is a holy time, a sacred time, a disciplined time, and a devotional time...
The Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday...Lent Season covers the forty days leading up to Easter and the resurrection of Jesus...During Lent Season many Christians fast and give up something in a self-denial way and of tradition...As stated earlier the early followers of Jesus, believed that the Sabbath was a day of worship and rest and did not count the Sabbath or Sundays as part of the original Lent...Jesus rose on Sunday...So Lent Season is a period when one is focused on Jesus and this self denial is an act of penitence...Lent is a period of self denial, except on Sundays, which is Jesus' Day...Those things denied can be those of extravagance or luxury...Often some food or food type is given up...Giving up foods we like takes a discipline...In the beginning of Christianity as the Early Apostles made their way around meeting and teaching other followers, Lent Season was originally a time of fasting of food and about repentance...Cupboards were cleaned out, as sweets and meats were removed as they distract from a complete focus on Jesus...One can also give up activities, which cause us obstacles and time away from Jesus...Alcohol, soda, cigarettes, internet, sports, cell phones could be signs of distractions for us and take away from our focus on the Heavenly...Our lives can be abundant when we live a life in Jesus and for Him...He gives life its very meaning...He tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and Life...He not only gives us direction, but He gives our journey in our lives a direction...He gives life a purpose, by wanting an intimate relationship with us, so that we can live life abundantly and full...
Ashes traditionally were a sign of repentance and mortality...We were created by God from the earth, from the dust...God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being...From the dust we were created and to the ashes and dust we will return when we die...Ashes and dust were, also, a sign of mourning in the ancient times...So Ash Wednesday which starts Lent Season is a season to remember Jesus and how with a spot of ash on one's forehead...And as I think about the Season of Lent, not only do some of the verses from Jonah come to mind, but also I think about the Book of Job...It is not so much that self denial is a little bit about suffering, but it is the way and means as we listen to Job and his friend's dialog, how much Job was focused on God...As we remember Job and as he sat in his itchy sackcloth and on the pile of ashes, Job knew that at anytime God could throw him into the mire and reduce him to dust and ashes...Job knew that one day that return to dust, and this ashes to ashes and dust to dust...But Job also knew that his Redeemer lived...
Lent Season is a period where you make your life a simple life and focus on prayer, and fasting and Jesus and His Father...So we too have this focus on our Redeemer...We know that our Redeemer lives and that one day He will return to earth...So let us remain focused on our Redeemer and pray that we will be more in tune with God as we approach the day of His death and the Day of His Resurrection...