Matthew 4:3-7
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 comes 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 command his angels concerning 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 put the Lord your God to the test.’”
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was strongly tempted by the devil. It is instructive for us as we are tempted to learn how Jesus responded to temptation. One thing Jesus did is he used scripture to refute the temptations. For example, in response to the first temptation, Jesus responded, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (verse 4). If we need "every word that comes from the mouth of God", how much time are we spending learning those words that have been revealed in scripture? When we are tempted, we need to have an external guide like scripture that we can rely on, as our own thinking may get muddled. It helps to memorize and learn scripture, so that we can apply it when we are faced with temptation. However, we need to beware of taking scripture out of context, as the devil himself does in verse 6. We need to learn all of scripture and the principles therein to correctly answer the lies of temptations.
Lord, help me to learn and apply the truths of Your word.
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 comes 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 command his angels concerning 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 put the Lord your God to the test.’”
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was strongly tempted by the devil. It is instructive for us as we are tempted to learn how Jesus responded to temptation. One thing Jesus did is he used scripture to refute the temptations. For example, in response to the first temptation, Jesus responded, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (verse 4). If we need "every word that comes from the mouth of God", how much time are we spending learning those words that have been revealed in scripture? When we are tempted, we need to have an external guide like scripture that we can rely on, as our own thinking may get muddled. It helps to memorize and learn scripture, so that we can apply it when we are faced with temptation. However, we need to beware of taking scripture out of context, as the devil himself does in verse 6. We need to learn all of scripture and the principles therein to correctly answer the lies of temptations.
Lord, help me to learn and apply the truths of Your word.