Matthew 4:4

Saturday, 14 September 2024

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

“And having answered, He said, ‘It has been written, “Not upon mere bread - the man - he shall live, but upon every word coming out through God’s mouth”’” (CG).

In the previous verse, the tempter tried to prompt Jesus to command that the stones become bread. Now, in response to that, we read, “And having answered, He said, ‘It has been written.’”

Jesus defaults to the word of God. The tempter tried to get Jesus to lose His footing and slip up, but in order to remain on firm ground, He simply went to the book of Deuteronomy. He will do this in all three temptations.

The words in the Greek are in the perfect tense. It was written and what is written is authoritative and binding. It is of note that the very first words recorded as coming from His mouth after the initiation of His ministry through the rite of baptism rests on the absolute authority of Scripture. The words are written, they are unchanging, and they are obligatory.

The book of Deuteronomy comes at the end of the forty years of Israel wandering in the wilderness as they prepared to enter into Canaan through the Jordan River that would be cut off for them to cross over.

Likewise, citing the word by Jesus comes at the end of His forty days of testing in the wilderness in preparation for His ministry, which will culminate in His death, symbolized by the cutting off of the Jordan.

Jesus doesn’t argue with Satan. He doesn’t respond to the statement “If you are the Son of God,” nor does He say that He was appointed by a voice from heaven, as if it gave Him the authority to do certain things. Instead, He cites Scripture beginning with the words “Not upon mere bread - the man - he shall live.”

Jesus is citing Deuteronomy 8:3. The NKJV translates it loosely, but it is still understandable –

“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3

The translation from the Greek is not that far from the Hebrew, which says, “not upon the bread to separation [meaning alone] lives the man.” In this, there are two articles that should be considered, “the man,” and “the bread.” The Lord is teaching “the man,” meaning the Adam in every man, that he shall not live on “the bread” alone.

In providing the manna, the Lord was showing that what He spoke is what comes to pass. To eat, then, isn’t what ultimately sustains a person. That which has come to pass – meaning anything that we see, feel, eat, smell, and so on – came to pass because the Lord spoke it into existence.

The manna is a demonstration of this. It never existed, nobody ever knew of it, and yet it appeared. As it came at the command of God, just as the universe came at His command, then the truth is that man lives not by bread that is a result of the command, but from the spoken word (the command) itself. And that command is next explained by the words, “but upon every word coming out through God’s mouth.”

Again, the Hebrew reads, “for upon all outgoing of mouth Yehovah lives the man.” What the Lord speaks (the outgoing of His mouth) is what sustains the man.

Israel had the manna, and yet they continued to complain against the Lord. Jesus, understanding that the manna only existed because the word caused it to exist, conveyed to the tempter that the bread was only a part of God’s proclamation.

For Him to command the stones to become bread in order to satisfy His personal hunger would be to not rely on all that proceeds from the mouth of God. But later, we will see that the manna was only a shadowy type of Christ Himself – the Word of God –

“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’” John 6:35 

As Christ is the Word of God, He is everything that is needed to have life. The bread of the world can sustain life, but it cannot make man live. God, who gave the manna in the wilderness, showed that He can sustain a man apart from the common food of man. As He can do this, then He can make man live. How does the man live? He lives through Christ.

Jesus doesn’t normally cite a lot of Scripture to the people in His ministry as recorded in the gospels. Rather, He says things like, “I say unto you.” However, because He is establishing His state as a Man totally dependent on the Father, He defaults His words to Scripture when responding to the tempter.

His life would be lived wholly in accord with the word of God while at the same time conveying new information to the people who would follow Him.

Life application: Jesus has fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, meaning the entirety of the Old Testament law which came with the promise of life for the man who would keep them. That is seen in Leviticus –

“You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 18:5

Because Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly, life is found in Him. Now, when we put our trust in His completed work, that life is imparted to us. It is no longer a consideration that we must fulfill the law. Rather, it is fulfilled, and it is now set aside in Christ. Our work is not found in Moses. Instead, Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:29).

God directs us to Jesus, not to the law. He asks us to trust Him, not self. Be sure to get this right. An eternity of difference for the human soul is tied up in where we will trust. Come to Christ and be freed from the burden of the law!

Lord God, we are so thankful to You for the giving of Christ Jesus. He has done what no man could do. He has fulfilled the law and introduced a New Covenant where we are saved by grace through faith. Thank You, O God, for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.