Day 4: Matthew 4
The fourth day's reading plan concludes with Matthew 4, which documents Satan's fruitless efforts to tempt Jesus. Jesus prevails in his faith, even in his physically weakened state, having already fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Matthew 4 then closes with the setup for the Sermon on the Mount.
The account of Satan's failed attempts to corrupt Jesus begins with Satan appealing to Jesus's physical hunger. Personally, I think Luke's account of Jesus's response is easy to understand.
If the response ended there, I think I'd be all set. But Matthew includes Jesus's next sentence, which leaves me wondering about its meaning.
To me, "man shall not live by bread alone" implies that man should also live by faith. Does "by every word that comes from the mouth of God" mean the same thing? Actually, now that I think about it some more, I believe it does.
It is impossible for man to truly know and understand God's infinite wisdom. As such, it would be difficult for man to live a life that is pleasing to God without some direction from God. Throughout the Old Testament, God communicates directly with man to give man instructions on what to do (and to not do). So Jesus's response is much better than my simple conjecture about faith being the complementary ingredient, because the truly faithful must remember and abide by God's words.
The ESV Bible website notes that Jesus is citing Deuteronomy 8:3. I sneaked a peak at Deuteronomy 8, and the basic gist seems to be indeed that faith is tested by adherence to God's commands. There's a lot more in the chapter providing context for Jesus's citation, but I won't spoil the fun of exploring that chapter in sequence, when the reading plan takes me there.
Understanding Jesus's response to the first temptation
The account of Satan's failed attempts to corrupt Jesus begins with Satan appealing to Jesus's physical hunger. Personally, I think Luke's account of Jesus's response is easy to understand.
And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” (Luke 4:4 ESV)
If the response ended there, I think I'd be all set. But Matthew includes Jesus's next sentence, which leaves me wondering about its meaning.
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 ESV)
To me, "man shall not live by bread alone" implies that man should also live by faith. Does "by every word that comes from the mouth of God" mean the same thing? Actually, now that I think about it some more, I believe it does.
It is impossible for man to truly know and understand God's infinite wisdom. As such, it would be difficult for man to live a life that is pleasing to God without some direction from God. Throughout the Old Testament, God communicates directly with man to give man instructions on what to do (and to not do). So Jesus's response is much better than my simple conjecture about faith being the complementary ingredient, because the truly faithful must remember and abide by God's words.
The ESV Bible website notes that Jesus is citing Deuteronomy 8:3. I sneaked a peak at Deuteronomy 8, and the basic gist seems to be indeed that faith is tested by adherence to God's commands. There's a lot more in the chapter providing context for Jesus's citation, but I won't spoil the fun of exploring that chapter in sequence, when the reading plan takes me there.