Jump Start # 3506
Matthew 4:4 “but He answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Our verse today takes us to Matthew’s account of the Lord’s temptation. Alone in the wilderness, hungry from fasting, the devil thought he could trip the Lord. The flow in Matthew’s gospel shows us three different temptations, dealing with the belly, pride and trust. The other Gospels seem to indicate that there were many temptations.
Each time Jesus replies with “it is written,” and then He quotes Deuteronomy. The Greek scholar, A.T. Robertson says that the expression, “It is written,” means it remains written. Nothing has changed. Those words are still true. It is written.
Consider for us:
First, it remains true through the passing of time. A lot of time had gone from when Moses wrote those words in Deuteronomy until the Lord used them. Yet, they remain true. And, a lot of time has gone from when our Lord said those words to where we are today. Yet, they remain true.
When Moses wrote those words, Egypt was the power player in the world. When Jesus spoke those words, Rome was. And, today we talk about China and Russia. Assyrians, Philistines, Babylonians, each major factors in the history of the world, but now, they are not. They are items to be studied in history classes. They are the stuff of museums. Yet, God’s word remains. Times change, but God’s word stands.
Second, it remains even though situations and conditions change. Moses wrote those Deuteronomy words soon before the nation was to enter the promise land. Jesus spoke those words while personally being tempted. Words to a nation, words to an individual, they still work. And, this is important for us to see. Times of peace and times of war. Times of prosperity and times of financial crisis. Good times. Bad times. Times of global or national unrest. Times of personal struggle. The situations change, but God’s word remains. It still teaches, warns, encourages and draws us closer to the Lord.
We will turn to God’s word when we are tempted and there we find help and solutions. We will turn to God’s word in times of sorrow and there we will find encouragement. We will turn to God’s word when fearful and there we find hope. Moderns have given up on God’s word. Not us. They do not realize that “it still stands.” Some are looking for a new answer. Some want a different answer. But it is that ole’ ole’ gospel that still remains.
Third, most importantly, the Word of God still works. It helped Israel going into the promise land. It drove the tempter away from Jesus and it will work in your life. It will build your faith. It will make you stand strong against the shifting ideas of culture. It will give you assurance through the darkest storms. It will be there and it has been there and it will always be there.
The prophet Isaiah said, later quoted by Peter, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God abides forever.” It still stands. It remains written. It remains written even though laws and people want it to go away. It remains written even though many never read it. It remains written when people are looking for something else. It remains. It works. It is the Word of God.
It is written.
Roger