Please explain why Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights. Does fasting from food help our spiritual growth?
A1 This question helps us get at the essence of Jesus' mission---to see spiritually that despite all the temptations that come to us, our life is totally dependent on God---on nothing else. The traditional Christian observance of Lent includes a willingness to give up certain pleasures of our material world, symbolically turning away from temptations.
But could any refraining from eating, for however long or short a time, increase our spiritual growth? Only if we think that functions of the material body increase or decrease spiritual understanding. But Jesus' whole message leads us in the opposite direction: "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?" (Matt.6:31). Our first---and whole---job is to understand God, learn to love God, and love our neighbors as His likeness.
