Respond Like Jesus

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matt 4:4

The temptation of Jesus exposes us to a chapter of knowledge that will be helpful in our daily lives. I will share three picks that I deem helpful

More than Bread

Man shall not live by bread alone… Jesus quotes directly Deut 8:3. He acknowledges the place of food for the sustenance of the body. Food is needed for nourishment and the day to day running of the human body 1 Cor 6:13. Jesus doesn’t condemn taking the essential meal, rather, warns against taking it to excess Pr 23:20-21. In the prayer pattern laid out for the disciples, Jesus encouraged them to pray to the Lord for daily bread. The Lord is aware of your need for food and other material things and He will meet them, but He wants us to know that there is yet more, life is more than food and raiment, Rom 14:17.

Greed or Need

Turn these stones to bread Matt 4:3:  It should be noted that the tempter talked here not about a stone in the singular sense, but stones, pluralized. He wanted Jesus to turn available stones to bread; we would have had a bready surrounding, the question is ‘how much would Jesus eat’? He capitalized on the hunger state of Jesus, knowing that he had been on a long fast and needed food. The devil was intentional in his action, he appealed not to his need, but to greed: greed is accumulating every unnecessary thing disguised under the canopy of needs. The point of the devil's temptations today still revolves around this anomaly, he appeals to our greed disguised as need.

Faith of God or the Devils

Shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord Matt 4:4: This is the meaning of faith, doing the word of the Lord, Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord Rom 10:17. Heeding the orders of the devil is counter-faith. While it was not wrong for Jesus to provide food at this point by whatever conceivable means, doing it at the instant or order of the devil is a contravention of the established order of faith.

What or who is the object of your faith. Whenever faced with a temptation, remember God’s word and live by it. 

Tell the Lord, Jesus Christ to help you in all situations and circumstances that you find yourself in