How “40” Represents Temptation and Illuminates the Bible

by Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts

Readings

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty 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 angels concerning you,
   and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from 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.

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There’s an interconnectedness in scripture that is often lost to us when we read it purely literally, a tendency of both Hebrew and Christian bibles to use recurring images and symbols to point to deeper spiritual truth. This multilayered structure is often made plain by the gospels themselves, but in our desire to use scripture for our own purposes and avoid personal reflection we never seek these threads nor see where they lead. One example of these spiritual symbols is the number 40 (which I mention regularly), often used to describe a state of temptation in scripture, just as Christ is said to have spent 40 days in the wilderness overcoming three key temptations from the Devil.

Scripture seems to be in the business of spiritual transformation, and just as Jesus exhibited in his preeminent use of parables, spiritual truths are often best put in symbolic language: allowing contextual stories to continue to speak to people across generations and cultures. This is why scripture doesn’t just use numbers like 7, 40, 666 (let’s not get into sixes today), and others to point to spiritual truths, but also geological structures like mountains and valleys, cemeteries and wells, as well as people and things to point to deeper lessons. Humans speak and think like this naturally: it’s the language of dreams, how we talk in music and in conversation, referring to being “in a dump” when feeling “blue,” or being “on a mountain” when feeling “high.” Indeed, language itself is symbolic of things and feelings, what we’ve seen, heard, and think we understand.

In fact, perhaps the only way not to think symbolically (even when we try to read stories literally), is to stop thinking! And is why even your staunchest, literalist, evangelical, corner pastor can’t help but relate the book of Revelation or the stories of Abraham and Christ to our lives.

40 is an obvious example of intentional consistent symbolism in scripture because it doesn’t take much Biblical knowledge to remember 40 days of flooding with the arc and Noah, or 40 years in the wilderness with the Israelites, or Jesus’ own days in the wilderness. There are many other examples as well, from the Israelites 400 years of slavery and Moses’ 40 years in the wilderness before seeing the burning bush, to Jobs’ 140 years of life (I hear he’s known for having a tough one!) and the beast’s ability to practice his authority for 42 months. See also Egypt’s years of desolation and the dispersal of Egyptians among the nations for 40 years, in Ezekiel 29. And as you might have noticed, the major story elements that include 40 tend to reference strife, enslavement, struggle: which are other descriptions of temptation.

What’s interesting about 40 in particular, is that the temptation and strife isn’t the end of the story, there’s typically a light at the end of the tunnel as the duration ends – whether it’s finding the promised land or Christ entering his ministry. In a symbolic sense, this reminds us that our “dark nights of the soul” often lead to renewal, particularly when we work to overcome the temptation!

We see this in scripture most poignantly, I think, in Christ’s three temptations during his 40 days in the wilderness. We get insight into God’s humanity and process of “glorification,” as it’s called, as we witness that like us, Divinity in the flesh must engage with the temptations of life and work to overcome them in order to fulfill his destiny and embody righteousness, love, and life – as well as be a model for us in the process!

Interestingly, these three temptations parallel the three that the Israelites encounter in the wilderness: one of getting food, another of testing God, and a third of worshipping a false idol. As John Shelby Spong writes in Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, these parallels are no mistake, but unlike Spong, I would say that these connections speak to the deeper truths being conveyed rather than as literary devices primarily used to highlight that Jesus is the new and better Moses (although, perhaps it does that as well!).

These deep connections seem to intentionally show the symbolic interconnectedness of scripture, as well as to convey to its readers spiritual truths and awareness that may aid us in our own battles against temptation. One thing we learn is that God is with us and empowering us in these struggles, just as Christ emphasizes in response to the Devil and as the Moses story indicates time and again. We are also invited into the stories to see how these three types of temptations speak to us, in both literal and symbolic ways.

In this vein, when we look at the first temptation we may ask ourselves (among other things) how are we finding sustenance from sources that aren’t grounded in health, compassion, and ultimately God? The second temptation may invite us to no longer test God and perhaps no longer test our own Godly luck, straining the forces in our lives that keep us safe and sound or sometimes demanding that we get a sign from God (as if they aren’t all around us!). And finally, the third temptation may encourage us to look for ways that we are worshipping false or shallow idols and centering ourselves on selfish or hurtful modes of being.

As we can see, there’s a treasury of riches once we start to find the deep, interconnected threads of scripture and simply acknowledge that we can’t help but read scripture somewhat symbolically, as parable. Biblical scripture themselves tell us that Jesus always spoke in parable to lead us toward spiritual health and compassion, and part of what that meant was that he consistently used the symbols of scripture to get a deeper point across. Perhaps, this is true for not only the stories that Jesus told but also the ones about Jesus and others in the text – since, as many people believe, God the Christ speaks through all holy scripture.  

Peace and care to you,

Rev. Cory