Matthew 4:4 is a famous bible verse and are powerful words by our Saviour Himself that holds so much weight for us today.

We know the extenuating circumstances too that prompted Christ to utter these powerfully defiant words.

Let us revisit this bit of scripture and seek out its applications for us today.

Scripture – Matthew 4:4

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Observation

Verse 4 here is Jesus’s response to the devil’s first of three temptations.

The most creative chess move Satan could strike with was to play to Jesus’s undeniable hunger.

Jesus is God as we know.

He is transcendent yet He chose the most humble and relatable course of action possible.

He chose to respond.

Not only that, He chose to respond with the most effective weapon of spiritual warfare there is.

Jesus used the very Word of God.

He, God in the flesh on earth decided to respond with the greatest fighting words any of us can ever use.

So simple, yet so incredibly powerful.

“It is written”.

This holds so much weight because in those 3 generally unimpressive words, Jesus showed complete devotion to the God-breathed Word that ‘preceded’ His human existence.

Jesus is a fighter like no other before Him.

No excitement or fanfare necessary – He chose to wield the already available, always reliable, incorruptible Word.

This is a wonderful model for us.

Here was Jesus, in His most vulnerable state at that time [not counting His vulnerability as a baby].

Yet, He chose not to wield His divine power to silence the snake, call on supernatural help or ignore the tempter completely.

He had all 3 options but giving us the blueprint of how to fight and overcome Satan was more important to Him.

We get to see undeniable proof that ‘It is written’ is crucial for us too.

“Man shall not live on bread alone”

Jesus submitted fully to His human nature, acknowledging that He is indeed suffering hunger.

He did not deny His need for bread but showed both the enemy and us that there is greater sustenance than what we feed our bodies with.

Satan’s cunning suggestion to turn the stones into bread wasn’t farfetched.

Surely, Jesus could turn them into bread, manna our a gourmet meal.

He could also have called on angel armies to bring Him an enviable buffet.

But again, His duty was greater.

Jesus needed to show that we can conquer our carnal needs.

That we have them is undeniable but that we should see them as our source and submit to the physical need over spiritual feeding will only be to our detriment.

So again, man must not neglect this physiological need but that alone cannot sustain us.

But on every word that comes from the mouth of God

Jesus skillfully delivers the blow that forces Satan to fold in round one of the temptations.

In the first half of this sentence, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3.

This is a sharp response and masterful wordplay by our Lord.

It is the Word of God that sustains.

More than satisfying temporal hunger, it satisfies us spiritually.

It’s effects has eternal implications.

Note He says ‘every word‘, highlighting the need for us to study or rather, chew on every piece of scripture.

We must not miss this.

While He is effectively countering Satan here, He is also speaking to us.

From the mouth of God tells us that there is no substitute for God’s Word.

So we need to pay keen attention not just to the model Jesus gives here, but also the instruction.

Application of Matthew 4:4

Matthew 4:4 is ripe with application for us now but I want to focus today on one crucial aspect.

Like Jesus demonstrated, there is no substitute for knowing the Word for ourselves.

We live in a rather microwave culture where we unfortunately have become so accustomed to an overflow of information.

Never has there been more access to a seemingly unending supply of online sermons and devotionals.

All of these in and of themselves are great on one hand but can pose quite the conundrum for those of us already dedicated to a life-long pursuit of Christ.

We risk becoming almost gluttonous consumers of sermons and bite-sized theology whilst failing miserably at personal, biblical exploration.

Many of us have grown accustomed to being spoon-fed theology.

But, should we really obey Jesus’s command here, we will invest in becoming self-feeders.

No Substitute

We need to be feeding on the Word daily.

There simply is no substitute for personal bible study.

Not for anyone who sincerely wants to have a deep, genuine connection with Holy Spirit.

We can either go through the motions of eating the remnants of bread already been chewed on by teachers and pastors in their own quiet time with God, or we can deep-dive ourselves.

We can feed ” on every word that comes [directly] from the mouth of God.

Failing to do so will leave us vulnerable when the enemy attacks.

Note, this is not a matter of ‘if’.

Jesus endured temptations and not one soul reading this can attest to not having already weathered numerous attempts from that unrelenting one we call Satan.

But, can sermons jump t our rescue when the enemy comes?

If we’re honest, can we effectively quote chunks of sermons in spiritual warfare?

I think not!

So let us really reflect on Jesus’s example here.

Let us take the wisdom of Matthew 4:4 to heart and prioritize personal time in the Word.

We can trust Holy Spirit to give us the perfect scripture for each unique temptation.

He will bring to memory, the perfect encouragement to lift our brother or sister up when they are thirsty and we get opportunities to nourish them.

Prayer

Yahweh,
I thank You for Your Word.
I thank You God that You have generously
given me access to this life-giving Book that
never fails to help me in any situation I face.
Only a good and perfect God could orchestrate
such a masterpiece.
Thank You Lord Jesus for being the ultimate 
example.
Thank You for showing us the power in the words
"it is written".
Show me how to wield the weapon of Your Word
whenever the devil comes trying to attack.
Empower me to use Your word to edify others 
I pray.
Holy Spirit, guide me as I pour through every word
that comes from the mouth of God.
Build up delight in me to feed on Your Word daily
and gift me wisdom and understanding as I come 
to know You more everyday.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.

Gift of Song

Here is a lively song by Fred Hammond to affirm our need and delight in God’s daily Word.

How better to show gratitude for God’s Word than to respond in praise?

Enjoy