Francisco Barajah: Mozambique pastor dies of organ failure after attempting 40-day 'Jesus fast'
BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE: A 39-year-old pastor in Mozambique has reportedly died after attempting to fast for a long period of time in a bid to emulate what the Bible states Christ did after his baptism, according to a report. Francisco Barajah died on Wednesday, February 15 in a Beira hospital, where he was taken in critical condition.
The founder of Santa Trindade Evangelical Church had been trying to go 40 days without food or water but after 25 days he lost much of his strength and was no longer able to stand on his own. Family members and followers of his church grew so worried about his health that they requested to seek medical help, according to the BBC. After his initial check-up, Barajah was diagnosed with acute anemia and failure of his digestive organs.
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What does Bible say about 40-day fast?
Medics reportedly attempted to rehydrate and nourish Barajah with liquid foods but failed to revive him. As per reports, the pastor was also a French teacher in the town of Messica, near Mozambique's western border with Zimbabwe. The members of his church said it was common for pastors and their followers to fast but not for dangerously long periods as there were health concerns in such extreme fasts.
The Bible's Gospel of Luke reveals that following Jesus’ baptism, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for 40 days. As per the Gospel of Matthew’s account Jesus spent "forty days and forty nights" without food or water, Daily Mail reported. The story says, Jesus was tempted by the devil but resisted and prevailed. "He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry," the Bible says in Luke 4:2.
Not the first 'Jesus fast' attempt
However, Barajah is not the only person who has reportedly died while trying to imitate Jesus Christ's 40-day fast in the desert. As per BBC, a Zimbabwean man died after 30 days in 2005. In another instance, a 29-year-old woman, identified as Rosaline Gilbert, died in London as she was about halfway through a similar fast. But an inquest into her death stated that she died because of an underlying blood condition, rather than religious starvation, as per Daily Mail. After Gilbert’s death, her mother said, "She fasted a lot. This time she wanted to fast for 40 days and 40 nights like Jesus. I had no idea it would end like this. She would only have water and when people from her church offered food she refused to say the Lord would provide."