Fasting is a common practice that can be found in Scripture. It is voluntary and total abstinence of food for a specific amount of time or days, and its aim is to devote oneself through prayer and seeking God. Jesus’ fasting can be read in one major occasion in Matthew 4:1–11.
Based on this passage, Jesus fasted for various reasons. This article shall explain this in full detail using these four major reasons.
The first reason is that during the time of fasting, Jesus’ flesh was at its weakest. This means that during this time, Jesus was indeed one of us — human. He was able to experience the weakest of flesh through the act of fasting. What does having the weakest of flesh mean? It means that it is susceptible to temptations and that is why, during this time, Satan was able to tempt him.
We, as humans, encounter weakness of the flesh all the time because we are humans. Jesus is another case. Jesus was fully God and fully man. That is why He was not susceptible to temptation.
However, during this time of fasting, He was able to experience the weakness of the flesh and become one of us. We should be thankful to Him for all His sacrifices as His fasting was only one of His sacrifices as our Savior. We are reminded of this in Romans 8:9,
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Jesus’ fasting is also an example of how He conquered temptation. Based on Scripture, Satan tempted Him many times. First, Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones to loaves of bread to feed His hunger. Second, Satan tempted Jesus to throw Himself down so that the angels would come to help, proving He was truly the Son of God. Lastly, Satan tempted Jesus that all world’s glory could be given to Him if He worshipped Satan.
But Jesus was able to conquer all these temptations with simple, yet powerful rebuttals. First, He said that man shall not live by bread alone. Second, He said not to put the Lord God to test. Lastly, He said to Satan, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matthew 4:10).
This scenario teaches us Jesus’ fasting is a testament that He is powerful over temptation. This gives us hope in our own temptations. When we encounter temptation, we should remember Jesus and ask for His help to shun away Satan. “In Jesus’ name, I shall conquer temptation.”
The fasting of Jesus is also a demonstration of His faith towards His Father. This is exhibited when He constantly refers to God in rebutting the temptation of Satan. He refers to Deuteronomy 8:3 in one of His rebuttals:
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
We can learn a lot from how Jesus handled the situation. Jesus indeed set an example for His followers throughout the ages.
We are reminded by this through Scripture: “Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them” (Acts 27:9), and “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:27).
Lastly, Jesus fasted in order to prepare Himself for the ultimate Spiritual battle towards Satan that Satan surely lost. This is because fasting is a spiritual tool that prepares us spiritually and draws us closer to God’s strength.
It is a way to acknowledge that our strengths are not our own but God’s. Thus, this is what Jesus also did while fasting. It is recognizing His Father’s commands and drawing strength from His Father (Isaiah 58:6-14).
We have discussed four major reasons why Jesus was fasting: Jesus’ flesh was at its weakest, yet He conquered temptation, He demonstrated His faith, and, finally, fasting was His spiritual tool to draw strength from His Father in heaven.
Fasting was indeed part of the entire plan of our Almighty to save us through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. It was part of His preparation spiritually and physically. This fact makes us more drawn to Jesus and emphasizes how He loves us.
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Glory Dy has been a content creator for more than 10 years. She lives in a quiet suburb with her family and four cats.