Lent

What it Lent? How do Christians practice it, and how to approach it with clarity and conscience.

Every year, Lent comes around and it tends to surface questions. Some are practical., some are theological and some are deeply personal.

I have asked many of them myself.

What exactly is Lent?

Is it biblical, or tradition layered on top of Scripture?

Why do some Christians observe it seriously while others avoid it entirely?

And how do different traditions, including Messianic Judaism, relate to it?

This post is meant to explain Lent historically and spiritually. Without pressure and without assuming one background fits everyone.

What Lent is?

Lent is a Christian season of preparation for Easter. It is traditionally marked by repentance, prayer, fasting, and generosity toward others. Its purpose is not self punishment or spiritual performance. Its purpose is reorientation.

The structure of Lent is shaped around the number forty, which echoes a repeated biblical pattern:

• Israel’s years in the wilderness

• Moses’ time on Sinai

• Elijah’s journey

• Jesus’ forty days of fasting and testing before beginning His public ministry

Lent is meant to mirror Christ’s pattern of withdrawal, dependence, obedience, and trust in the Father.

When Lent begins and ends?

Lent moves every year because Easter moves every year…

Western Christian calendar

Observed by Roman Catholics and many Protestants:

• Begins on Ash Wednesday

• Ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter

• The forty days traditionally do not count Sundays, since every Sunday celebrates the Resurrection

Eastern Christian calendar

Observed by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics:

• Begins on Clean Monday

• Ends on Holy Saturday

• The fasting rhythm is typically stricter and more continuous

Despite different calendars, the goal is the same: preparation for Easter.

Where Lent came from?

Scripture does not command a formal season called Lent. At the same time, Scripture consistently affirms fasting, repentance, prayer, self discipline, and generosity.

Historically:

• Early Christians fasted, especially before Easter

• By the second century, a communal pre-Easter fast was common

• By the fourth century, a forty-day season had taken shape in many parts of the Church, closely tied to preparing converts for baptism and penitents for restoration

Lent developed gradually as the Church sought to practice biblical disciplines together, not as a replacement for the Gospel, rather, as a response to it.

What Lent stands for?

Across traditions, Lent consistently points to:

• Repentance: turning back toward God

• Humility: remembering dependence and mortality

• Training: disciplining desire so love can grow

• Preparation: walking with Christ toward the Cross and Resurrection

Lent is not about earning grace, it is about making room for it.

The core Lenten practices…

Prayer:

More Scripture, more silence, more honest attention to God. Many traditions add specific prayers or services.

Fasting:

Fasting is not a badge of spirituality. It exposes what controls us and helps reorder desire. Jesus’ own fast was about trust and obedience, not endurance.

Almsgiving:

Lent is meant to open the hands, not only restrict the appetite. Traditionally, what is given up is paired with what is given away.

Repentance and confession:

Many traditions intensify self examination during Lent. The emphasis is cleansing and return, not shame.

Holy Week, day by day:

Lent is a road….Holy Week is where it leads.

Palm Sunday

Jesus enters Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna.” Joy and tension rise together.

Holy Monday

Jesus confronts corruption and hollow religion. His authority becomes unmistakable.

Holy Tuesday

A day of intense teaching and warning. Jesus prepares His disciples for what is coming.

Spy Wednesday

Traditionally associated with Judas’ decision to betray Jesus. A sober reminder of divided loyalty.

Maundy Thursday

The Last Supper.

Foot washing.

The command to love.

Gethsemane.

Good Friday

The crucifixion and death of Christ. Observed with fasting and solemn remembrance.

Holy Saturday

Silence. Waiting. The tomb.

Often skipped, but deeply human.

Easter Sunday

Resurrection. Victory. New creation.

How different traditions practice Lent:

Roman Catholic:

Common elements include Ash Wednesday, fasting and abstinence on designated days, confession, Stations of the Cross, and a subdued liturgical tone. Ashes function as a visible sign of repentance and humility.

Why ashes are used on Ash Wednesday?

Ashes are used on Ash Wednesday as a visible sign of repentance, humility, and mortality. In Scripture, ashes are repeatedly associated with mourning, repentance, and turning back to God. People sat in ashes, wore sackcloth, or placed ashes on their heads to express grief over sin and dependence on God.

When ashes are placed on the forehead, the words traditionally spoken are drawn from Scripture: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” or “Repent and believe the Gospel.”

The practice is not meant to shame or single anyone out; it is meant to remind the believer, in a physical and embodied way, of human frailty and the need for grace. Ashes do not save. They point. Like fasting or kneeling, they are an outward sign meant to serve an inward turning of the heart.

A brief note on conscience:

Some Christians choose not to receive ashes because they are concerned about outward signs becoming performative, or because their tradition emphasizes inward repentance without physical symbols. These concerns are often rooted in a sincere desire to keep the focus on Christ rather than on ritual itself.

It is also important to know:

Even within traditions that use ashes, receiving them is not mandatory. Ash Wednesday is a call to repentance, not a requirement for belonging or a measure of faithfulness. The heart posture matters more than the mark.

Byzantine Catholic:

Byzantine Catholics share Eastern liturgy while remaining in communion with Rome. Lent often begins on Clean Monday and includes rigorous fasting, prostrations, and weekday liturgies focused on repentance and healing.

Eastern Orthodox:

Great Lent is deeply communal and ascetical. It includes strict fasting, penitential prayers, prostrations, and a full reshaping of daily rhythm. The emphasis is transformation rather than guilt.

Protestant approaches to Lent:

First, what “high church” and “low church” mean.. These terms are descriptive, not insults.

When I first heard the term “low church” I assumed it meant lesser or lacking. That is not what it means.

High church

High church traditions emphasize:

• Structured liturgy

• Sacraments

• Historic continuity

• The church calendar, including Lent

Examples include Anglican, Episcopal, and some Lutheran traditions.

Low church

Low church traditions emphasize:

• Simpler service structure

• Flexibility in worship

• Strong focus on preaching and Scripture

• Less emphasis on the liturgical calendar

Examples include Baptist, evangelical, and many non-denominational churches.

Low church does not mean irreverent or shallow.

High church does not mean more spiritual. They reflect different instincts about how worship is ordered and expressed.

Because of this, Protestants vary widely:

• Some observe Lent formally

• Some observe it privately

• Some do not observe it as a season at all, while still practicing fasting and repentance

Concerns about legalism or performative religion often shape Protestant hesitation, and those concerns are worth taking seriously.

Messianic Jews and Lent:

Messianic Judaism often enters the Lent conversation because it feels closer to the world of the Bible. at least it does for me…

I often wonder if this might be the closest, true religion because it feels closer to Scripture and the Jewish context of Jesus. Over time, I realized it requires more careful discernment because of reasons I’ll share below in the “theology side note”.

Many Messianic Jews:

• Affirm the New Testament

• Confess Jesus, Yeshua, as Messiah

• Maintain Jewish identity and Jewish practice

How they relate to Lent and Passover…

Most Messianic Jews do not treat Lent as a required or formal church season in the way historic Christian traditions do. This is usually because Lent developed within the later Church calendar and is not explicitly commanded in Scripture.

At the same time, many Messianic Jews deeply engage with the themes Lent is meant to address: repentance, fasting, self examination, and preparation of the heart. These are often practiced within Jewish rhythms rather than through the Christian liturgical calendar.

Passover, for example, holds central significance because it is biblically commanded and directly connected to the Gospel timeline of Jesus’ death and resurrection. For many Messianic believers, Passover is not a replacement for Christian reflection on the Cross, but a primary lens through which that reflection happens.

So rather than an either/or, the distinction is usually one of structure and emphasis, not rejection of spiritual discipline.

! Important side note on theology ¡

Messianic Judaism is not a single doctrinal body. Some Messianic communities affirm the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God, even if they avoid later philosophical terminology; like “the Trinity”.

Others do not.

Because of this diversity, it is wise to approach Messianic communities with clarity and discernment, especially around how they understand the identity of Jesus and the nature of God.

Passover in relation to Lent…

Passover begins on the 14th of Nisan at sundown, usually in March or April.

Passover remembers:

• Deliverance from slavery

• The lamb

• The blood

• Judgment passing over

• Liberation into covenant life

For Christians, Passover is the backdrop of the Cross:

• Jesus is crucified during Passover week

• The Last Supper is bound up with Passover meaning

• Jesus is identified as the Lamb who fulfills the pattern

Passover shows deliverance & Lent trains the heart to walk toward it.

Easter proclaims it complete.

Is Lent required?

Lent is not required for salvation. It is a communal discipline in some traditions and a voluntary practice in others.

A helpful way to approach it is to ask:

• Does this draw me closer to Christ?

• Does it deepen prayer and generosity?

• Does it cultivate humility rather than pride?

If yes, Lent can be a gift.

If it becomes performative or heavy, it has missed its purpose.

Lent is an invitation…

An invitation to slow down & repent honestly.

To walk with Jesus toward the Cross & wait in hope, then rise with joy.

Different traditions answer that invitation differently. What matters most is keeping Christ at the center, with a clear conscience and a humble heart.

Something else I must note. When I counted the days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday, it wasn’t 40 days, so I looked into that for us too…

Why does Lent look longer than 40 days on the calendar?

In Western Christianity, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and runs through Holy Saturday. That span is 46 calendar days.

The reason it is still called “40 days” is because Sundays are not counted as Lenten fast days.

• There are 6 Sundays during Lent

• 46 total calendar days minus 6 Sundays = 40 fasting days

Sundays are always celebrations of the Resurrection, even during Lent, so they are never days of fasting or penitence. That is why they are excluded from the count.

Where the “ends on Holy Thursday” language comes from…

Liturgically, Lent technically concludes before the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening. After that point, the Church enters the Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday evening through Easter Sunday).

However, the fasting and penitential character associated with Lent continues through Holy Saturday, even though the liturgical season label changes.

So depending on what someone means by “ends”:

• Liturgical season of Lent: ends Holy Thursday evening

• Traditional Lenten fast discipline: continues through Holy Saturday

• 40-day count: excludes Sundays, regardless of wording

I hope that helps. :) If you want to learn more about what fasting is and how to fast, you can read about that —> HERE

If you’re interested in observing Lent in any capacity this year, I’ve created a “Holy Week reading guide” that you can use as a template for Holy Week only.

Get the guide —> HERE

Or you can join us virtually or in person for a more in depth 40 day study, that meets once per week —> HERE