Matthew 4:1-10
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
Tag: Temptation/Trials vs IT IS WRITTEN
In the above passage, the phrase, “it is written” is used four times. It is used three times by Jesus and once by Satan, himself. Jesus’ first use is:
Matthew 4:4
But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
The point He is making is that the power of God’s Word is the sustenance we need for life. Satan tells Jesus he can meet his hunger needs. Jesus tells Satan that the only “need” He has is to be sustained by the Word of God. This phrase, “it is written” is so powerful, Jesus uses it three times. It is so powerful that Satan steals it to use it on Jesus and uses “parts” of Scripture to make his point. In our battle agains evil we need to realize the power of the words, “it is written.” The actual verbal saying the words are not magical, but saying it verbally out loud does remind us of the power of God’s Word and it emulates what Jesus did, Himself, to fight the spiritual warfare with Satan. When we are in the midst of temptation and/or trials, there is power in the phrase, “it is written,” followed by God’s Word, quoted. Even Satan himself can’t fight the power of the Written Word!!
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