5 Biblical Reasons for the Somberness of Lent

In the Western church, the Lenten season starts on Ash Wednesday. Attendees receive an ash cross on their foreheads to remind them of the biblical truth: “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Such a reminder might seem morbid. Yet we are wise to heed the words and consider our mortality.

Because Adam and Eve sinned, we are all plagued by the effects of sin. Our bodies decay, and death awaits us. Even more than that, our relationship to God has been affected because of our wrongdoings. We are rebels and enemies of God in our sin.

Everything changed, though, when Jesus came. He died for us on the cross, taking the punishment that we deserve for our wrongdoings. Those who place their trust in Him for salvation know that their old, sinful self has been crucified and now they have new life through Christ (Romans 6:6-7). That is what makes the symbol of the cross a powerful reminder. Yes, we are dust and will one day die, but Jesus’ sacrifice is what has saved us from death and reconciled us to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:18). We are pointed to the cross where His death brought us life.

But we need not assume that the message of Ash Wednesday or Lent is intended only to benefit nonbelievers. All of us need to be retold the story of our sinfulness, mortality, and need for repentance and grace. We benefit by contemplating these truths, which help us see that how we use our years, whether short or long, matters. Our relationship to the Lord matters. We are constantly in need of His grace – for the times we stumble and sin, hurt someone else, or misuse our opportunities and gifts.

In deeply thinking about the reality of our sinfulness, we come to appreciate more fully the immense love and grace of the Lord.

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The idea of fasting for forty days during Lent is based on Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). There, He fasted from all food, doing what only He as the Son of God could do – live a perfect life and not sin. He was tempted by the devil at His weakest, yet He still did not yield. He feasted on Scripture and recognized that people do not live on physical bread alone (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

Although our fasting does not compare with what the Lord experienced in the wilderness, the forty days we give up something (whether certain foods, activities, or technology) follows Jesus’ example. His temptation occurred directly after His baptism and before His public ministry (Matthew 4:1, 12-17). Similarly, the time of sacrifice during Lent prepares us to celebrate the resurrection and to recommit our lives in service to others.

Our fasting, then, is not meant to be a diet trend. We refrain from something for the purpose of spending more time with the Lord in prayer. To study the Bible more closely. To live more simply so as to give more of our time and resources to help others. To demonstrate outwardly our repentance and sorrow over sin. By sacrificing something from our lives, we are acknowledging that we need and desire God more than anything – even very good things that he intends for us to use and enjoy.

Our Lord gave us His very life. What should we not give up to live more wholeheartedly in service to Him and for the good of others? As the Apostle Paul said, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

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Traditionally, the Lenten season lends itself to self-reflection. We enter a period that focuses on the reality of our sin, the need for repentance, and what Jesus did by dying on the cross for our sins. Lent is a somber time, in part, because we need to honestly look at ourselves in light of God’s Word.

But somber does not equate unhelpful. We benefit by examining and testing ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). Spiritual growth can happen in this period of introspection as we think about our lives and evaluate what is helping and hurting our walk with the Lord. Is the thing we have given up for Lent hindering our relationship with our Savior, or are there other things that are more greatly affecting us? Are there sins we need to acknowledge, confess, and ask forgiveness for? What is God teaching us as we pray and read His Word?

Lent invites us on a journey that involves the uncomfortable event of facing ourselves for who we are with all our messiness, fearfulness, and odd quirks exposed. All the while, though, we stand in the shadow of the cross where the One who loved us, even when we were sinners, shed His blood to redeem us (Romans 5:8).

The sacrifice and seriousness of this season allows us to carve out more time to consider who the Lord is, what He has done, and to understand who He made us to be.

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Scripture presents Jesus’ sufferings honestly and without reservation. Nothing about His anguish in the garden of Gethsemane, His betrayal, or abuse at the hands of the Romans is glossed over. Instead, we come face-to-face with the Son of God, completely innocent of any wrongdoing, yet who was flogged, humiliated, and nailed to a cross – a punishment reserved for the worst criminals.

As He hung there, enduring the weight of all the world’s sins and the pain of being separated from the Father, everything went dark. As the Bible tells us, “darkness came over all the land” (Matthew 27:45). And a massive earthquake occurred at the moment of His death (Matthew 27:50-51). These changes in nature show that what He accomplished was cosmic in its proportions, for even the earth reflected the somberness of the event.

Is it any wonder, then, that there is a graveness to the Lenten season? There would be no period of preparation for Easter if not for Jesus’ death on the cross. For Jesus is the Suffering Servant whom Isaiah spoke of long ago, the One who would be pierced for our transgressions and bring about our healing through His wounds (Isaiah 53:4-5). He was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3). Though He had done no wrong, He remained silent in His affliction as He bore our sins (Isaiah 53:7). Our salvation came at an immense cost.

His suffering to bring us life is what we are invited to enter and meditate upon during these forty days. We thoughtfully remember the gravity of our sins and what it meant for Jesus to bring redemption. Such reflection cannot and should not be engaged in lightly.

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After the days of preparing and waiting, and traveling through the events of Holy Week, we finally arrive at the celebration of the Resurrection. Like the disciples, our sorrow turns to joy, for out of the darkness of Good Friday and Holy Saturday comes the exuberant light of Easter (John 16:16-22). And we announce as the angel did that Sunday morning: “He is risen” (Matthew 28:6). Night has faded. Dawn has come.

The period we spend in the somber darkness of Lent makes the Easter feast brighter. Christ died for our sins, but He did not remain dead. Because of His resurrection, we have the promise that the infection of sin we carry and the evil and death we experience do not have the final word in our lives. The Grand Story of Scripture shows us that our Savior conquered. In Him, we have a living hope (1 Peter 1:3).

Behind the solemn vigil we keep each year, meditating on Christ’s sacrifice and sufferings, is a visceral joy that is unshakeable. For we are reminded that our salvation is bound to intense sorrow and pain, but also to a wonderous happiness based on the living Lord.

Let us not overlook the reason this season exists, reducing it to a time to refrain from certain foods or technology. It is an opportunity to gaze steadily at the Savior on the cross, remembering the cost of His sacrifice. The somberness of our focus makes the wonder of the empty tomb that much greater.

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