“But He answered, It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
(Matthew 4:4)
Jesus’ public ministry began with His baptism by John in the Jordan River. But instead of going immediately to teaching and preaching and calling His disciples, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. In fact, Mark states it much more emphatically: “The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness,” (Mark 1:12).
Why did Jesus spend 40 days and nights in the harsh Judean desert without food and water? The implications of this time of preparation for His earthly ministry and mission are multiple, but one simple takeaway is this: that He might demonstrate for us the significance of the spiritual over the physical.
Food and water are essentials for life. And yet Jesus set aside His physical needs of not only food and water, but also of warmth and comfort, to spend the first 40 days of His earthly ministry with no one other than His Father, in prayer and fasting, in the wilderness.
This does not mean God is not interested in our physical needs. As a matter of fact, Scripture makes it abundantly clear that God takes notice of everything, all necessities of life, even down to the minutest detail. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,” (Matt. 10:30). God in accordance with His sovereign purpose in our life makes everything useful, helpful, and serviceable to us (1 Tim. 6:17).
In addition, God is not only interested in what we need for living; He is also directly responsible for providing those essentials. In His sovereign power and will He sustains life… moment by moment, breath by breath, day by day, and year by year by His powerful Word (Job 14:5, 33:4, Isa. 42:5, Heb. 1:3).
And yet, when compared to the spiritual and eternal, this temporary, physical life is nothing more than a vapor that shows up for an instant and then is gone (James 4:14). That’s why food, drink, clothing, shelter… everything we need physically is predicated on first seeking the kingdom and Christ’s righteousness. All these physical necessities will be provided if you prioritize God’s Word in your life, believe and follow what He says, and seek Him first (Matt. 6:33).
God’s Word is not only necessary for life now… and ever after; it is also essential for godliness – life and godliness. Both. In the words of John Brinsley, “Then may a man comfortably assure himself of a blessing, when he seeks it in the ordinance of God, in a way which God himself has sketched out, and appointed for that end and purpose.”
God has, in His counsel and purpose, set the Word of God apart as the only ordinary means for beginning, increasing, and perfecting the work of grace in the hearts of His chosen. As such, He has ordained His Word to be our source for both life and godliness. It is the bread which sustains us and directs us in all things that are good before the Creator. Surely, if we considered this truth seriously, and believed it certainly, we would wait and depend on those blessings that are found in His Word with more confidence and more assurance of success.
- Lord, You gave us Your most sacred Word, a taste of Your wisdom that I so need for living well and living holy before You. It is my heavenly food (Matt. 4:4), by which my spirit is fed to eternal life, and by which Your providence for my life here and now directs me. If I seek first the Kingdom of heaven and Your righteousness, these things that I often worry about will be added to me in Your sovereign providence.
- Let me labor, O Lord, for that heavenly food which directs me to look to Christ from where it comes. You fed the Israelites with manna to sustain their bodies (Ex. 16). Let me be as careful to hear the Word to feed my soul. During His earthly ministry, many people followed Christ to fill their bellies (John 6:26); help me look to the Bread of Life which fills my soul and sustains me in God’s good providence that I might live before You as You so direct and command.
- I know the Word of God is Your word, Lord, but sometimes I take it for granted. I should seek the Word of God reverently because it is Christ speaking to me. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” (Matt. 4:4). “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28). Help me receive Your Word with gladness, whether You speak to me in my quiet time with You, or through my pastor, the minister of Your Word to me.
Further References for Matthew 4:4
Deut. 8:3; Eph. 6:17; John 4:34; Ps. 119:103; Jer. 15:16; Rom. 15:4
