Lent

The word "lent" isn't in the Bible; it's a custom and tradition of the Catholic religion, and is of ancient pagan origin, like Christmas and Easter [two other worldwide traditions that the Bible does not command God's people to observe].

The closest annual observance that God commands His people to observe along the lines of "lent" would be the "Day of Atonement"... the ONLY commanded annual FAST day for God's people [all the other annual Holy Days are "feasts"]... that pictures the phase of God's Plan in which Christ returns to earth "to lay all the sins of the world, that He's been bearing upon His shoulders all this time, upon the head of SATAN THE DEVIL;" the one whose sins they truly are.

"Remember the Day of Atonement is to be celebrated on the ninth day after the Festival of Trumpets. On that day YOU MUST HUMBLE YOURSELVES [a day of fasting], gather for an assembly... DO NO WORK DURING THAT ENTIRE DAY because it is the DAY OF ATONEMENT, when ATONEMENT WILL BE MADE FOR YOU before the LORD your God [Jesus Christ - see John 1:3], and payment will be made for your sins." (Lev.23:27-28 NLT New Living Translation)

Of course, the world doesn't observe these commanded annual Holy Days of God, because Satan has the world calling them "JEWISH." But the Bible calls them: "...these INSTRUCTIONS regarding THE ANNUAL FESTIVALS OF THE LORD [not the Jews] to the Israelites." (verse 44)

"Give the Israelites instructions regarding THE LORD's appointed Festivals [Feasts], THE DAYS WHEN ALL OF YOU WILL BE SUMMONED TO WORSHIP ME." (Lev.23:2 NLT)

Same verse [KJV]: "And the LORD [Jesus Christ] SPAKE UNTO MOSES, saying, 'Speak unto the children of Israel [see Gal.3:7 - 'Know ye therefore that they which are of FAITH, the same are THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM.'], and say unto them, CONCERNING THE FEASTS OF THE LORD [the Feasts of the LORD Jesus Christ... not the Jews], which ye shall proclaim to be HOLY CONVOCATIONS [commanded assemblies], even THESE ARE MY FEASTS."

The LORD Jesus Christ never commanded Moses to teach the people "LENT." Nor did He observe it during His "mortal" existence. He observed all the weekly [seventh-day] Sabbaths [our 'Saturday' by today's calendar] and annual Holy Day Sabbaths listed in Leviticus 23.

"...He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, AS HIS CUSTOM WAS, He went into the SYNAGOGUE [Jesus went to church] ON THE SABBATH DAY..." (Luke 4:16).

"Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread [see Lev.23], when THE PASSOVER MUST BE KILLED ['...Jesus Christ OUR PASSOVER sacrificed for us...' - I Cor.5:7]. And He sent Peter and John, saying, 'GO AND PREPARE US THE PASSOVER, that we may eat..." (Luke 22:7-8).

"And when the hour was come, HE SAT DOWN, and the twelve apostles with Him. And He said unto them, 'With desire I have desired TO EAT THIS PASSOVER WITH YOU before I suffer... THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME...'" (verses 14-19).

There are no Scriptures "about Lent."

There are only the commands of Christ to observe the Sabbaths, which He commanded Moses to write down for us, that WE MIGHT OBSERVE THEM. Any annual or weekly religious customs and traditions foisted on the world by Satan not recorded in the Bible are intended only as DISTRACTIONS from the True Feasts of the LORD Jesus Christ... all of which are CHRIST-CENTERED; each of which pictures the seven phases of God's Plan of Salvation for mankind and the world.

"Howbeit IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, teaching for doctrines the commandments OF MEN. For LAYING ASIDE THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD, yea HOLD THE TRADITION OF MEN... Full well ye REJECT THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD, that ye MAY KEEP YOUR OWN TRADITION." (Mark 7:7-9)

"Lent" is merely one of the "traditions of men," not listed or commanded, but CONDEMNED by Christ in the Scriptures.

Jesus is described as riding on a donkey in apparent fulfilment of a prophecy in Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. "

Scholars say that Zechariah chapters 9-14 were written shortly after the Return from the Babylonian Exile. The author advocated a return to the monarchy that had been disrupted by the Exile, but other parties preferred a continuation of the theocracy that had developed during the Exilic years. Chapter 9 talks exultantly about the good things that will happen now that the exiles have returned, so the passage in verse 9:9 need not have been a prophecy of Jesus, especially as he is not actually mentioned. So, is there a prophecy that was fulfilled, or did the gospel author simply know the Book of Zechariah and write a scene around it? The answer may be in the crowd that suddenly appeared out of nowhere to cheer Jesus and bring him into Jerusalem.

Mark's Gospel was the earliest of the New Testament gospels and in this Gospel, the crowd spread leafy branches on the road, just as the Jews used leafy branches in the celebration of the Sukkoth festival held at a different time of year. Mark 11:8 says (NAB), "Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields." The words used at the Sukkoth are reflected in Mark 11:9: "And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

John Shelby Spong (Jesus for the NonReligious) says the story came from a Jewish festival actually held at an entirely different time of year:

The ]ewish eight day celebration of the harvest, known as Sukkoth, and also called the Festival of the Tabernacles or Booths, was probably the most popular holiday among the Jews in the first century. In the observance of Sukkoth, worshippers processed through Jerusalem and in the Temple, waving a bunch of leafy branches made of willow, myrtle and palm. As they waved these branches in that procession, the worshippers recited words from Psalm 118, the psalm normally used at Sukkoth. Among these words were "Save us, we beseech you, O Lord." Save us in Hebrew is hosianna or 'hosanna'. This is typically followed by "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. (Psalm 118:25-6).

Mark took the Sukkoth traditions and transferred them from autumn to the Passover season for the procession story. Because the Passover season is too early for 'leafy branches' (except palms), John changed this to 'palm branches', creating our modern tradition of Palm Sunday. In the earliest account of Palm Sunday, leafy branches were used, but these were not really available at that time of year, leading to the conclusion that this story was was a literary fiction. But if the story of the crowd strewing leafy branches and crying "Hozanna" was a literary fiction, then so also was the story of Jesus riding the donkey. The gospel tells of Jesus frequently walking quite long distances, so there is no suggestion that he needed to ride this final journey into Jerusalem; but by having Jesus ride a donkey, the author demonstrates his royal status and his telepathetic ability to know where a donkey could be found. And the evangelist most particularly wrote the entire account to create and apparently fulfil a prophecy of Jesus.