I started observing Lent in the 1990s. I was introduced to the observance of Lent by friends who pastored a Methodist Church and an Episcopal Church. I slowly introduced Lent to the Church of God congregation I was pastoring at the time – Moultrie Church of God. The first year, I called a forty-day fast, preached a series about the passion of Christ, and celebrated Holy Week – all without saying the word Lent. The following year, I led the church in the same observance, but this time I told the church that we would be observing Lent. I remember the testimony of a dear Church of God lady: “Pastor, observing Lent this year has made Easter so full and meaningful.”
In the past several years, many non-traditional churches have begun observing Lent – including many Pentecostal churches. With the observance of Lent growing, I’ve noticed many pastors objecting, suggesting that Lent is not in the Bible.
What is Lent? Lent is an annual observance of Jesus’ passion – his journey to the cross. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on the Saturday before Easter Sunday – forty days of fasting and prayer. Sundays are not fast days. It is a time of reflection – a solemn assembly – in which we are called to examine ourselves and confess our sinfulness. We journey with Jesus to the cross, and we take up our own cross.
Is Lent “in the Bible”? There is no direct command – You shall observe Lent – in the Bible. But the practices of Lent are indeed biblical.
The prophet Joel cried out, “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; . . . Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation (Joel 2:12, 15-16). Joel spoke these inspired words in a time of despair and called God’s people to hope. So, the call to solemn assembly is a call to revival. All true revivals are preceded by a season of repentance and prayer.
Jesus was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil… he fasted forty days and forty nights” (Matthew 4:1-2). This was the beginning of Jesus’ sufferings. Jesus rebuked the devil with the Word of God. The Apostle Peter wrote, “For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). So, observing a period in which we become more aware of our temptations, meditate on the Word of God, and resist the devil is to follow in the steps of Jesus.
Jesus said, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). The observance of Lent is a season in which we follow Jesus to the cross. For six Sundays, the people of God gather to remember Jesus’ journey from the wilderness to the cross. Lent is a time of self-denial.
I’ve been in Pentecostal church my whole life. There are many Pentecostal rituals that are not explicitly taught in the Bible – annual Watch Night services, Saturday night Gospel sings, Wednesday evening Family Training Hour, etc. I’ve also noticed that many Pentecostal churches observe a mini-Lent – an annual new year’s “Daniel fast.”
The observance of Lent is an ancient practice of the Christian church that calls us to remember the sufferings of Jesus. It is a call to be holy. Yes, it’s in the Bible.
