Anchor My Faith

Temptation 1: Turn Stones into Bread

Scripture: Mark 1:13; Matthew 4:2-4

We ended our previous lesson with Jesus in the wilderness. In this lesson we will learn what happens to him there. “And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him” (Mark 1:13 ESV). This verse gives an over view of the wilderness experience. We learn that Jesus spent 40 days there and at some point during that time, Satan tempted Jesus in some way. Only from Mark do we learn that Jesus was with wild animals. This would suggest that Jesus was located in a remote part of the wilderness in which people spent little time there. As a result, it had become populated with wild animals and was a savage part of the desert. The presence of these wild animals and the temptations of the devil, is an indication of the savage and brutal cruelty Jesus was to face as he approached his death on the cross. How and when these angels ministered to Jesus was not told, but they were employed by God at some point.

We now direct out attention to Matthew for more information: “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matthew 4:2 ESV). It is here reported that Jesus went 40 days and nights without food. Is it possible that those 40 days in the wilderness correspond to the 40 years of testing of Israel in the wilderness as described in Deuteronomy 8:2 – 3 (ESV): “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”? They were tested to know what was in their hearts and here Jesus is tested to see his response.

After 40 days without food, Jesus was real hungry and at a very vulnerable moment, “And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But [Jesus] answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”” (Matthew 4:3 – 4 ESV). How strong was the desire that Jesus had to eat? Knowing that Jesus was the Son of God, he tempts Jesus to use his power to change the stones, that were near him, into bread to eat. That would have been a simple task for Jesus, but he refused to use his divine prerogatives to make the trial easier for himself. As a man, Jesus refused to satisfy himself, but to set an example for all men to follow to not give in when tempted, but to endure the trial to reap its benefits according to God’s plans.

Jesus responds to the tempter, the devil, from the Scriptures, from Deuteronomy, which links his experience to the experience of Israel’s in the desert, as noted above in Deuteronomy 8:2. As Jesus did, they experienced great hunger and God fed them manna. At the end of 40 days it appears that angels came and provided nourishment for Jesus. Much later in our study, we will find that Jesus came as manna from heaven to provide eternal nourishment for our souls.

Round one and we have victory for Jesus and defeat for the tempter, but there is more to come.

Prayer

Father, what a beautiful picture of provision: manna for Jews in the wilderness, the angel’s provision for Jesus, and later Jesus providing for us. The more I study the Scriptures the greater its value to me. Father, this leads me to some questions: How great is its value to you, my readers? Would you be willing to risk your life to own a copy if it came to that someday as it has in many parts of the world? Is your Bible of greater importance to you than any other possession? If not, why not?