How did Jesus survive the forty days in the wilderness?

Answer 1

A:The story of Jesus going into the wilderness after his baptism by John is an allusion to Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-7) and to Moses (Exodus 34:28).

Mark 1:13 tells of Jesus in the wilderness forty days, ministered to by angels, just as Elijah was ministered by an angel and in the wilderness forty days. There is no actual suggestion that Jesus fasted for this time, and the presence of the angels means that he did not need to do so.

The 'Q' document, on which the accounts in Matthew and Luke are based, follows the allusion to Elijah in a subtly different way, taking the angel out of the gospel story and instead having Jesus fast for forty days (in the company of Satan), just as Elijah did after the angel ministered to him. In this version, the further allusion to Exodus 34:28 is more readily recognised. No early reader of Matthew or Luke would have allowed that Elijah and Moses both survived but that Jesus would not.

Another Answer:

The Bible tells us that all things are possible for/through Him. If He can make the blind see, the deaf hear, the crippled walk, and the dead rise, surely He can insure His faithful servants (Prophets) will not die fasting such a long period.

A healthy person who is not perspiring much can go without food and water for about three days before the body begins to be stressed. And a healthy person can go without food for several days if he is drinking water. Thus, the amazingly long 40-day fasts by Moses, Elijah and Jesus Christ (see Deuteronomy 9:9; 1 Kings 19:8; and Luke 4:2) were possible only by God's supernatural intervention.

Answer 2

God uses the number 40 quite often - usually designating 'a time of testing.' Indeed, it is mentioned 146 times in the Bible. Some examples in the Bible are: The Israelites were 40 years in the wilderness; Jesus and others fasted for 40 days; and Jonah (3:4) shows that God warned Nineveh for 40 days.

Answer 3

The forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness can be seen as significant at both a theological and a literary level.

In Mark 1:13, the story of Jesus going into the wilderness, where he was ministered by angels, after his baptism by John is an allusion to Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-7) who was ministered by an angel and in the wilderness forty days. There is no actual suggestion that Jesus fasted for this time, but those familiar with the story of Elijah are likely to have assumed he did do so. This brings into play another allusion, to Moses when (Exodus 34:28) he fasted for 40 days while he wrote the words of the Ten Commandments on tablets.

Mark's Gospel is based on a parallel structure, a literary sequence in which an opening set of events is contrasted with another, parallel set of events that mirrors the first. The opening set begins with John explaining the coming of Jesus, followed by the baptism and the voice of God from heaven, and then this allusion to Elijah and Moses, then ends with Jesus predicting his death. The contrasting structure begins with the Transfiguration, with Jesus talking to Elijah and Moses and the voice of God from heaven, and ends with the crucifixion, followed by the young man explaining the departure of Jesus.

The 'Q' document, on which the accounts in Matthew and Luke are based, follows the allusion to Elijah in a subtly different way, taking the angel out of the gospel story and instead having Jesus fast for forty days (in the company of Satan), just as Elijah did after the angel ministered to him. In this version, the further allusion to Exodus 34:28 is more readily recognised, although the later authors did not understand Mark's use of the parallel structure.