March 11, 2025
Temptation - Part 2
Matthew 4:2-4
03/11/2025
2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he
was hungry.
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.''' (ESV)
This week we are looking at the temptation which Jesus
experienced in the days following His baptism. Directly after
the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the
form of a dove, directly after the Father exclaimed, ``This is My
beloved Son,'' the Spirit led Jesus into the barren wilderness.
And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was
hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ``If you
are the Son of God, command these stones to become
loaves of bread.'' But he answered, `It is written,
`Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that comes from the mouth of God.'''
Here the devil, the father of lies, begins by mocking the
declaration of God the Father. He calls into question the
declaration, ``This is My beloved Son.'' So the devil suggests,
``If this is the case, prove it by making bread so that you are
no longer hungry. The Son of God should be able to do such a
simple thing.'' Jesus counters, not with power, not with a
display of force, not by using His creative abilities to serve
Himself, but by quoting the lesson learned by the children of
Israel as they ate manna in the desert. We live eternally, not
by bread that satisfies an immediate and temporal need, but by
trusting God's Word and His promises alone.
Later Jesus taught, ``But seek first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you.''[1] Or as Luther explained, ``We should fear, love, and
trust in God above all things.''[2] May our Lord grant that we
hear His Word and trust in His promises alone. Amen.
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1. Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
2. Small Catechism, Explanation of the First Commandment