Note 16 — Part I

These solitary "retreats" for fasting, prayer and meditation to a desert, wilderness or mountain are common occurrences in the lives of religious teachers, prophets, saints, etc., of the Orient. They seem, however, somewhat foreign to the character of Jesus (Luke VII:33, 34; Matt. IX:14). This is the only formal fasting by Jesus mentioned in the four Gospels. Several times it is related that He went up into a mount, but He either did not go alone, or He spent only a short time,—a day or a night.

In its location—a mountain—and its duration—forty days—this fast follows the Old Testament precedents of Moses, on Mount Sinai (Exod. XXXIV:28), and the prophet Elijah on Mount Horeb (I Kings XIX:8).

The rather theatrical adjunct of the devil and his temptations may fall in the same category, as Matthew's massacre of the innocents and the flight to Egypt. It gives opportunity, however, to bring in several quotations from the Old Testament.

It must be remembered that, as Jesus preached only to the Jews, so the Gospels (except possibly John), were written with the purpose of convincing the Jews of the truth of Jesus' claims to be their Messiah. The more their authors could connect Him with the sayings and predictions of the Old Testament, the stronger their case. Hence, with nearly every incident of Jesus' life, they cite some appropriate text of the Old Testament, usually with the addition, "that it might be fulfilled" or "as it was spoken by the prophet." In their zeal, it is possible that, in some cases, an incident was found to fit a text, rather than a text to fit an incident.