"Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came." Luke 4:1-13
Ash Wednesday
Each year, beginning around 40 something days before Easter is Ash Wednesday -- the first day of Lent. This is adhered to by certain believers or followers of Jesus Christ, and most notably by the Roman Catholics.
And although, in general Catholics would know what to do and what not to do during this time and have followed this tradition passed down to them for centuries, most would not know why.
Why Ash Wednesday
Scriptures say God's people perish for lack of knowledge. So it is important to not only know the "what" but also the "why".
Biblically, as we have read from the verses above, Lent actually is a commemoration of the 40 days when Jesus first started His public ministry (not with His death or with the Holy Week).
Like John the Baptist though Lent is that one thing that ushers in the gospel.
And this is why Ash Wednesday starts as a day of fasting. In fact, Lent or the 40 or so days leading up to Easter Sunday is marked with prayer, meditation, abstinence and as already mentioned, fasting.
But like what happened with Jesus, this period in a believer's life will be marked with temptation after temptation; notably after one has commited oneself to praying and fasting.
Back in the day, it used to be Catholic cultures will have nothing on in terms of entertainment (no movies, no TV shows) and nowhere to eat out or to pick up food or no one to deliver. Now it has been entertainment on demand and delivery 24/7 for several decades now, making it harder and harder to follow the old traditions of Lent.
First Things First
Jesus started His public ministry, right after He was baptized and become filled with the Holy Spirit. It will go without saying that a believer would also need to be baptized and be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be able to navigate 40 days in the wilderness and its temptations, as well as be equipped with a weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Which is the spiritual food one needs and nourishes oneself, particularly because there will be no physical food (because of fasting). Remember, "people do not live by bread alone".
Good Friday
As Lent ends on Holy Thursday (used to be on Black Saturday), Good Friday starts the most passionate day of the year for believers as they commemorate the passion and death of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Good Friday is traditionally the day for fasting, meditation and prayer. Black Saturday, a close second as believers remember on this day, the death of Christ whose body was still in the tomb.
Easter
Right after is Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Sunday, which is the most celebrated Christian day of the year, in fact without which there will be no Christianity.
This day marks the day that the Son of God redeemed humankind and to which everything leads up, John the Baptist and Ash Wednesday included.
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