Day 40: The The Devil Left Him

“Then Jesus said to him, "Get behind me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”

Matthew 4:10-11

Jesus' forty days of fasting in the wilderness (from which the tradition of Lent derives), ends with the devil leaving him - for now. Forty days of prayer, fasting, and reflection is long enough to deal with some deep issues, and to face some of our demons. Forty is the biblical number for transition and transformation - at the time of Noah, the rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights, and the flood wiped away the old order of things and prepared the way for a new beginning. At the time of Moses, the people of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness, in order for the nation to transition from a slavery mindset to a generation ready for freedom.

The conclusion to all of Jesus' prayer and temptations during this period is summed up in the Scripture he quotes, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." If we can arrive at this one truth, this one great disposition of soul, then our demons will walk away, and angels wil attend us. For angels are attracted to single-minded devotion, and the devil cannot bear the light.

Adam sinned in the garden, but Jesus triumphed in the wilderness. Israel gave in to temptation over forty years, but Jesus overcame in forty days. Jesus is a new Adam, a new Israel, replacing defeat with victory, and displacing demons with angels.

And as Lent leads to Easter, so too does Jesus' temporary victory over Satan in these verses point ultimately to his total and final victory over Satan on the cross. On Good Friday, the devil leaves him, and on easter Sunday, the angels attend him.

Lent is finished. Happy Easter!

Andy McCullough