The Bible Study Podcast, episode 208.

Today, the Bible Study podcast starts a study on the wilderness.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast.

I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

Today is part of the series that many churches

within the Christian church are celebrating as the season of Lent. Lent is that 40 days

before Easter that is used as a time of preparation. You've certainly heard of, if you haven't

done it yourself, heard of the practice of giving something up for

Lent. Well, that all comes from, or it remembers, the 40 years spent by the children of Israel in

the wilderness, and the 40 days spent by Jesus in the wilderness. And so I thought it would be

interesting to look at as we are in this season of Lent, the wilderness, and that theme in the Bible that has to do with that.

And I want to start today with Matthew 4, which has the account of Jesus being tested in the wilderness.

So just prior to Jesus' public ministry, Jesus is led out into the wilderness, and the wilderness

would be the other side of the Jordan River, into the desert, and he is led there for a time

of testing.

And Matthew 4 reads like this, then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry.

The tempter came to him and said, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread.

Jesus answered, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and

had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the son of God, he said,

throw yourself down, for it is written. He will command his

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