After His baptism, the Lord Jesus Christ went into the wilderness in order to prepare in solitude by fasting and prayer for the accomplishing of His great work for which He had come to earth. For forty days and forty nights, He was in the wilderness with the beasts, not eating any food.

Then, the Devil came to Christ and tried to seduce Him into sin with cunning questions and delusions as he does to every man.

The Devil said to Jesus Christ, as if to say, in vain do You torment Yourself with hunger, "If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."

The Saviour said to him in answer, "It is written (in the Bible), man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Deut. 8:3).

Then, the Devil led Jesus Christ to Jerusalem, set Him on a pinnacle of the Temple and said, "If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down (for You there is no danger), because in the Scripture it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over Thee, and on their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone" (Ps. 90:11,12).

But Jesus said to him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, that is, where it is not necessary, do not demand and do not expect miracles (Deut. 6:16).

After that, the Devil took Him upon a high mountain and there in the twinkling of an eye, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and said, "All these things I will give Thee, because power over them has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I will. All these things I will give Thee, if Thou will fall down and worship me."

Jesus Christ said to him, "Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve" (Deut. 6:13).

Then, the Devil in disgrace left Jesus Christ for the time being, and immediately angels came and ministered unto Him.

Thus, the Saviour conquered temptation from the Devil and demonstrated in so doing that He came to free people from the power of the Devil without any concessions to evil.

Following the example of the fast of Christ, the Holy Orthodox Church establishes a forty day fast, which is called Great Lent and begins seven weeks before Pascha (Easter) — the bright Resurrection of Christ — and also establishes other fasts. The fast enables a person to cleanse himself of evil, of sinful inclinations, to help him fix his thoughts on God and to be closer to Him.

Note: See the Gospels of Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13.

• 1. The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Mary
• 2. The Entry into the Temple of the Most-holy Virgin Mary
• 3. The Announcement of the Angel about the Birth of the Forerunner
• 4. The Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary
• 5. The Visit of the Most-holy Virgin Mary to the Righteous Elizabeth
• 6. The Nativity of John the Baptist
• 7. The Nativity of Christ the Saviour
• 8. The Meeting of the Lord
• 9. The Flight into Egypt and Return to Nazareth
• 10. The Saviour in the Temple as a Youth
• 11. The Preaching of St John the Baptist
• 12. The Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ
• 13. The Lord Jesus Christ in the Wilderness
• 14. The Lord Jesus Christ Appears to the People. His First Disciples
• 15. The First Miracle of Jesus Christ
• 16. The Merchants are Banished from the Temple
• 17. The Conversation with Nicodemus
• 18. The Conversation with the Woman of Samaria
• 19. The Healing at the Pool of Bethesda
• 20. The Lord Chooses Twelve Apostles
• 21. The Sermon on the Mount
• 22. The Power of Prayer. The Healing of the Paralytic
• 23. Parables: the Parable of the Sower
• 24. The Stilling of the Storm
• 25. Raising of the Daughter of Jairus
• 26. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist
• 27. The Miraculous Feeding of the People with Five Loaves
• 28. Jesus Christ Walking on the Water
• 29. The Healing of the Daughter of the Canaanite Woman
• 30. The Confession of Peter. The Prediction of the Lord about His Forthcoming Death and Resurrection
• 31. The Transfiguration of the Lord
• 32. The Parable of the Good Samaritan
• 33. Jesus Christ with Martha and Mary
• 34. The Saviour Accuses the Pharisees of Sin. Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
• 35. Healing of the Man Born Blind
• 36. The Parable of the Rich Fool
• 37. The Parable of the Prodigal Son
• 38. The Raising of Lazarus
• 39. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
• 40. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
• 41. The Betrayal by Judas
• 42. The Mystical (Last) Supper
• 43. The Prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
• 44. The Sanhedrin’s Judgement of Jesus Christ
• 45. The Apostle Peter’s Denial
• 46. The Trial of Jesus Christ Before Pilate
• 47. Pilate’s Last Judgment over Jesus Christ
• 48. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ
• 49. The Taking Down from the Cross and Burial of the Saviour
• 50. The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
• 51. The Appearance of the Risen Jesus Christ to Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus
• 52. The Appearance of the Lord to the Apostles
• 53. The Appearance of the Lord to the Apostle Thomas and the Other Apostles
• 54. The Ascension of the Lord
• 55. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
• 56. The Life of the First Christians
• 57. Persecution of the Christians by the Jews. The First Martyr St. Stephen
• 58. The Dormition of the Mother of God
• 59. The Apostolic Council in Jerusalem
• 60. The Lives of the Apostles
• 61. The Worldwide Persecution of Christians. The Destruction of Jerusalem
• 62. The End of Persecutions and the Finding of the Cross
• 63. New Enemies of Christianity
• 64. The Ecumenical Councils
• 65. The Schism of the Roman Church. The Enlightenment of the Slavs