45. Tempted By Food

Deuteronomy 8:1-3, Matthew 4:2-4, Luke 4:1-4,

Key Verse: "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Deuteronomy 8:3B Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4

This temptation seems easy enough for us to understand.  Physically, Jesus was hungry.  He hadn't eaten for forty days. Hunger would certainly be a natural, physical response. It would certainly be an area in which Jesus would be vulnerable at that time. And so this is evidence that Jesus was really human. If he was all God he wouldn't have gotten hungry.

Satan loves to find our vulnerabilities and exploit them for his own benefit.  Hadn't Eve been tempted by food?  True, Eve was tempted to doubt God's goodness and sincerity, but food was the vehicle that satan was able to use to accomplish man's first sin.  Jesus was hungry.  It worked once on Eve.  Perhaps it would work again. Maybe that's why they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

"Turn these stones into bread."  Well, how ironic, daring Jesus, the Bread of Life, to turn dead stones into nourishing bread.  And Jesus could have done it.  They were out in the desert.  No one would know if Jesus just took enough to stop the hunger pains.  Perhaps one small rock would be enough.  What could that hurt?

Jesus, however, understood two things that Eve did not.  First of all, Jesus was aware of the larger story of man.  He understood that He was on this earth for a purpose beyond self-gratification.  He was here on a mission to save humanity.  Eve may have never understood this.  She may have thought that her calling was simply to live and enjoy life in the garden.  She may have never known that she was a pawn in a cosmic battle far beyond herself.  Jesus, however, knew the battle and knew His adversary.  They had met many times before.  Jesus knew that no ground could be relinquished, no matter how small.  Satan would never be satisfied until he had conquered it all. 

Secondly, Jesus was aware of God's presence at all times.  Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening, but Jesus was with God, Jesus was God constantly.  God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were a team, working together to defeat their enemy. 

Satisfying hunger would not tempt Jesus because of the bigger picture.  Jesus knew that "Man does not live on bread alone."  Man should live and depend on the word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  That is our daily bread, our daily food.  Jesus, therefore, used that bread, God's word, to fight back against the devil's schemes.  It is in digesting God's word that we receive our strength for the day, our strength to resist the temptations that satan sends our way.  Jesus is setting here an example for us to follow.  He's keeping the bigger picture in view and refusing to be distracted by the moment. 

Are you like Eve, thinking that you are with God only in church or during your daily quiet time?  Or, are you like Jesus, aware of His presence always, beside you, before you and within you. 

Hymn: "Christ Be Beside Me"