Not by Bread Alone
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Matthew 4:1-11
1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. 3. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4. But he answered, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 5. Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6. and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, `He will give his angels charge of you,' and `On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" 7. Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, `You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" 8. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; 9. and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10. Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" 11. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.
Satan was not happy that Jesus was preparing to begin his earthly ministry. He knew that he was no match for God himself. But he sure tried mightily to engage Jesus—one last ditch effort before it all came to pass!
And that’s how it works in our lives, too! Satan doesn’t like it when we make a spiritual breakthrough or overcome an obstacle in our faith lives! He can’t stand it when we boldly call upon God’s power to keep us on the right path, to empower us to do what is right, and to embolden us to step out in faith! He just can’t handle it! Because God is the one being that has never been vulnerable to His workings or been unaware of his schemes. And when we call upon God’s power and wisdom, Satan knows he doesn’t have a chance.
I’ve never gone 40 hours without a meal (unless I was deathly ill) let alone 40 days! Jesus must have been famished. But those who practice fasting as a discipline, tell me that you reach a certain “state of being” that transcends any human experience. When your body if physically empty, really completely empty and food consumption is no longer an issue, you reach a state of euphoria—because you are relying upon “the bread of life.” You reach a state of intimacy with God that is not possible when your stomach is full and you’re thinking about what you’ll fix for dinner, or what fast food drive-thru you’ll visit for lunch.
But Jesus had no power more in his human form than do we. He was divine, certainly, but to call upon his divinity at any of these points would have diminished his message. Actually it would have rendered it pointless! What a burden! What a responsibility! Not only did he choose to give up heaven, he condescended to become like you and me. I don’t think his divinity made it easier to resist temptation—I think it made it 100 times more difficult! If I had the ability to call down the powers of heaven, I think I would! Wouldn’t you?!
So what’s the application for us? We can rely only upon God. We can depend completely and absolutely on his care and love for us. He will never betray us, lie to us, ignore us, gossip about us, or leave us hanging when we need him the most. It’s hard to trust that sometimes when you’ve been battered and bruised by living in the world with other flawed, imperfect creatures.
But we’re all made in his image and likeness—Jesus-like reliance upon only the Word of God is our goal. We only get there by taking baby steps, then long strides, until one day, when we get to heaven, we’ll be floating on air toward the throne of God!
I hope you spend today relying upon the bread of life, the son of man, the perfect example of how to live. And that you’ll praise the God who set in all in place.
Mary
