Today's Verse - Matthew 4:4 (NIV): Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
This verse, of course, comes from the temptation of Jesus in the desert, by Satan. The devil has challenged Jesus to end His fast. In answer, Jesus cites Deuteronomy 8:3. He also cites from the same book for the other two temptations, as well. In this verse, he compares His test, in the desert, to the test of the Israelites during the Exodus. In the desert, the Israelites were given manna instead of being forced to rely on their own capabilities to feed themselves. And, here, Jesus is replying that his spiritual needs are more important than the physical needs, and the implication is that God's word is sufficient to sustain Him, as well as any other man and that God will provide, as necessary, for Jesus' needs beyond that.
Today's Comments: The obvious implication of this verse for Christians today is that our own view of what we need for sustenance may be significantly different than that of what God thinks that we need. Do we need big houses and fast cars? Do we need our morning coffee at Starbucks or our evening cocktail and dinner at some expensive restaurant. Jesus went to the desert to fill himself with His father's word. He emptied Himself of worldly things to fill himself with spiritual things and to allow His faith to be tested. Now, I don't think that God wants us, necessarily to go to the desert and be tempted by Satan. But, He does want us to focus on spiritual things over material things. In other words, if we spend too much time on physical enjoyment, we will not spend any time at all on satisfying our spiritual necessities.
This verse, of course, comes from the temptation of Jesus in the desert, by Satan. The devil has challenged Jesus to end His fast. In answer, Jesus cites Deuteronomy 8:3. He also cites from the same book for the other two temptations, as well. In this verse, he compares His test, in the desert, to the test of the Israelites during the Exodus. In the desert, the Israelites were given manna instead of being forced to rely on their own capabilities to feed themselves. And, here, Jesus is replying that his spiritual needs are more important than the physical needs, and the implication is that God's word is sufficient to sustain Him, as well as any other man and that God will provide, as necessary, for Jesus' needs beyond that.
Today's Comments: The obvious implication of this verse for Christians today is that our own view of what we need for sustenance may be significantly different than that of what God thinks that we need. Do we need big houses and fast cars? Do we need our morning coffee at Starbucks or our evening cocktail and dinner at some expensive restaurant. Jesus went to the desert to fill himself with His father's word. He emptied Himself of worldly things to fill himself with spiritual things and to allow His faith to be tested. Now, I don't think that God wants us, necessarily to go to the desert and be tempted by Satan. But, He does want us to focus on spiritual things over material things. In other words, if we spend too much time on physical enjoyment, we will not spend any time at all on satisfying our spiritual necessities.
No comments:
Post a Comment