Did you know? (Sunday, March 8, 2026)

The number forty occurs frequently in Scripture. After Moses had made the covenant with God on Mount Sinai and then discovered the Jewish people guilty of idolatry, he spent forty days of fasting on the mountain before he again took up his leadership role. After that, the Jews wandered in the desert for forty years, often hungry and thirsty. The great prophet Elijah fasted for forty days in the desert. God directed Jonah to give the populace of Nineveh forty days to repent before catastrophe would strike. In the New Testament, Jesus prepared for his public ministry with a period of forty days of fasting in the desert. The risen Jesus spent forty days with the Apostles before his ascension into heaven.