Matthew 4:1-11

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says to the tempter: "It is written, 'One does not live by bread along, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke all record that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness before beginning his ministry. Although the gospel of Mark says nothing about fasting, the two later gospels tell us that Jesus fasted for forty days and nights before he faced the temptations of the devil. When the devil says to Jesus that, if he is the Son of God, all he need do is command the stones to become loaves of bread, Jesus answers by quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3.

The real issue, of course, is knowing what words come from the "mouth of God." If the church believed that all of Deuteronomy came from the mouth of God, it would impose on Christians the requirements of the law of Moses that Orthodox Jews find written there. Followers of the Way in Jerusalem in the generation after the death of Jesus argued for that approach, but the church generally embraced Paul's shift away from a literal interpretation of scripture to a more symbolic reading. The New Testament is the word of God for us in so far as it leads us to live and proclaim the love of God we know in Christ.

Grace and peace...Bob