What Old Testament scriptures support Jesus' response to Satan's challenge in Luke 4:3? Setting the Challenge • “The devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’” • “But Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone.”’” Primary Old Testament Quotation “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Why Deuteronomy 8:3 Fits the Moment • Israel’s wilderness hunger parallels Jesus’ forty-day fast. • God used physical need to reveal a deeper spiritual reality: His Word sustains life more surely than food. • Jesus, the true Israel, embraces that lesson and refuses to bypass the Father’s provision or timing. Additional Old Testament Passages Echoing the Same Truth • Exodus 16:4 — “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you…that I may test them whether they will walk in My law or not.” • Deuteronomy 8:16 — “[He] fed you in the wilderness with manna…to humble and test you so that it might go well with you in the end.” • Psalm 78:24-25 — “He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven. Men ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.” • Nehemiah 9:15 — “You provided bread from heaven for their hunger; You brought them water from the rock for their thirst…” • Job 23:12 — “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.” • Jeremiah 15:16 — “Your words were found, and I devoured them; Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight…” Key Takeaways for Today • God allows material need to highlight our ultimate dependence on His Word. • Scripture, received and obeyed, nourishes the soul more deeply than food sustains the body. • Following Christ’s example, believers meet temptation by standing on the settled authority of what “is written.” |
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