Pertanyaan: 781. Apa Tujuan Puasa Empat Puluh Hari Kristus?
Sesudah dibaptis oleh Yohanes, Yesus segera dibawa oleh Roh ke padang gurun. Ia baru saja menerima pengakuan luar dari misi dan otoritas-Nya, dan sekarang Ia harus mempersiapkan diri untuk pekerjaan yang lebih publik di hadapannya melalui periode doa, puasa, dan pengalaman spiritual yang lebih dalam serta persekutuan dengan Bapa. Ini, pada dasarnya, adalah pengudusan yang lebih tinggi, jika memungkinkan. Selama empat puluh hari itu, rencana dan masa depan pekerjaannya pasti selalu ada di hadapannya. Tidak ada tempat dalam Kitab Suci yang mengarahkan kita untuk menyimpulkan bahwa Ia tidak selalu sadar dengan garis besar misinya, meskipun kelengkapan dan detailnya hanya bisa terungkap seiring berjalannya pekerjaan.
Question: 781. What Was the Purpose of Christ's Forty Days' Fast?
It was immediately after his baptism by John that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. He had just received the outward acknowledgment of his mission and authority, and now he was to prepare for the more public work before him by a period of prayer, fasting and deeper spiritual experience and communion with the Father. It was, in effect, a higher consecration, if such were possible. During those forty days "the plan and future of his work must have been always before him." Nowhere in the Scripture are we led to conclude that he had not always been clearly conscious of the outline of his mission, although its comprehensiveness and detail could only become apparent as the work proceeded.
