Why was Jesus tested 40 Days and 40 Nights?

Answer 1

Jesus had to go out into the desert and fight this battle. Jesus had to fight Satan 40 days and 40 nights. If Jesus wouldn't have done this, then he would not be ready to go out into the world and start his ministry. If Jesus couldn't do this, if he couldn't win, then he wouldn't be able to save any man from sin.

This was a huge boxing match, with Jesus in one corner and Satan in the other. This let's us know that our battle is not against our neighbors, not against our classmates, not against our coworkers, not even our own flesh, but it is against Satan. He is very real and is trying to win us over continuously.

See, Jesus could have won this battle instantly, for he is God. But since he did not, since he battled him as a Son of God and as a human being, we can see that we can win this battle against Satan too!

The Holy Spirit led him into the desert and he defeated Satan with the Word of God. Since the Word of God is Jesus, we can defeat sin and Satan with the power of Jesus Christ. But we have to come to the word continuously, and sharpen our sword of Spirit because this battle is a very real battle going on day to day. Satan is a strong man, but Jesus is the stronger man.

And with the power of Jesus, we can defeat Satan even though we are only human beings.

Answer 2

A:

In the original New Testament account, at Mark 1:13, Jesus was ministered by angels, which suggests that his needs were well cared for. Nevertheless he was tempted by Satan.

The subsequent accounts in Matthew and Luke were influenced not only by Mark but also by the hypothetical 'Q' document, and in this account, he fasted for the entire forty days and was hungry. This gave the devil the opportunity to tempt Jesus, telling him to turn a stone into bread, to satisfy his hunger.

Whereas the above three gospels have Jesus taken into the wilderness immediately after his baptism, John's Gospel differs. Here, on the day after his baptism, Jesus returns to see John the Baptist and meets two of John's disciples, who follow Jesus. This gospel account omits the 40 days of temptation altogether, and the story actually seems to preclude it.