Luke 4:3-4
The devil said to him, ‘if you are the son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘it is written: “Man cannot live by bread alone”.’
We all know what it is to feel a bit peckish, even to suffer from hypoglycaemia because we have an imbalance between the energy we are using and that immediately available to us. Beyond that, when we claim to be ‘starving’ just before a meal, most of us are doing no such thing. We trivialise a genuine problem for many people in the world with a trivial turn of phrase.
It is said that ‘an army marches on its stomach.’ Food is vital for battle fitness. Conversely, some of the worst civil unrest in history is associated to some extent with hunger and starvation driving disquiet about the ability of leaders, and loss of confidence in governments.
As Satan confronted Jesus in the wilderness he went straight for the stomach. Appeal to a person’s animal instinct for food for survival and that instinct will take over. Jesus was not so easily won over, not so easily tempted. For him, better a stone than to be so focused on bodily needs that spiritual maintenance was ignored.
Jesus was in the wilderness so that he could pray. As we see the picture in the context of Lent he was preparing for his ministry. The days, weeks and months ahead would be comprised of a constant series of demands for teaching and healing, demands that he saw as feeding. He knew that he could not feed his followers if he was not fed first. Prayer time with God was feeding him and it would give him life. There was time enough for ordinary bread. Jesus needed to be battle fit and he was aware that prayer would bring that about more readily than loaves of bread.
It is not that Jesus did not believe in eating. We come across various associations with food, not least the last supper itself. The devil wanted Jesus to get human and spiritual hunger out of balance, but this simple rebuff lays down the boundaries. Satan could try but Jesus was not to be distracted. He would not be unbalanced.
A Prayer
Father God, I thank you for my daily bread; help me not to overthink my bread and to focus instead on my need for the food of the gospel. Give me the good news that will make me fit for all life throws at me and fit me for the life to come when loaves of bread will be needed no more. I pray for the sake of Jesus, the bread of life. Amen.