January 30, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be sorely tested by the devil. ” (Matthew 4.1)

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was sorely tested by the devil.” (Luke 4.1,2)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

For me it is important to lay out in review what was reflected upon in part and in whole as it pertained to Matthew’s presentation of the testing for integrity in Jesus’ commitment to “fulfill all righteousness.” There were three elements to the test, testing His: humanity; his obedience to God and His priority as a man of God. The testing of his humanity came with the means chosen to sustain Himself physically and spiritually. It was at the end of His forty-day fast when Satan made his appearance to put Jesus on trial. We do not know that Jesus had taken anything with Him into the wilderness following His baptism. It would stand to reason that all travelers in those days would have some supply with them in case of emergencies. It would be doubtful that such supply would have lasted forty days. We have the story of the feeding of the 5000 to portray that information. Whatever Jesus had with Him to meet His bodily needs would have been exhausted by that time just as the Hebrew exiles liberated from Egypt soon found their own provisions depleted. Of course, Satan knew this and appealed to the inevitable hunger Jesus’ body was experiencing. It is important to remember that Jesus was fully human. Just because He was also fully divine did not negate His need for food, water, shelter and inclusion. The opposite would be true in that just because Jesus was fully human it did not negate His need for His trust, faith and love of God. Satan was hoping the physical would override the spiritual. He challenged Jesus to turn stones into bread and satisfy His physical hunger. Jesus responded with all His strength to declare the Word of God saying, “Man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Deuteronomy 8.3) The verse was taken in part from a greater reality which Jesus and Satan both knew. The context was the recalling of manna being given by God to the Hebrew exiles. It appeared to them like hoarfrost on the ground each morning. They were commanded to gather only enough for one day’s provision for themselves and their families. It was the head of household who was to do the gathering. If more than what God had commanded was gathered, it would have been rotted by the morning (most likely maggot ridden which would have told us the spiritual relevance and source of the manna itself as being the “body of Christ” given for the “soul” purpose of “this do in remembrance of Me” in common fellowship.) From this we would later hear Jesus declare, “I AM, the bread of life; the one comes to me believing shall never hunger nor thirst.” (John 6.35) It was then, while Jesus was in the stresses of His physical self, He refused to not abide by the Word of God and fail to trust in it fully. To turn stones into bread (interestingly enough it would be at Meribah that water would spring from the rock thus given us the image of faith sustaining the believer in food and drink) would be to step outside the commitment to “Love the Lord your God and serve Him only with all your heart, soul and might; trusting in Him for all things.” (Deuteronomy 6.3)

What Matthew was sharing with his congregation and disciples of Jesus was the very reality of their conversion. When their fervor would wane because they lived only for the moment of conversion and not the truth of it, they would again hunger and thirst for physical satisfaction and sustenance over and above the spiritual. It was important for them and for us all to remember that our true provision comes from the Word of God. He sees, hears and listens to the words of our lives in times of every hunger and thirst both physically and spiritually. He only asks that we “Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3.5-6) “Straight paths” did not literally mean a straight line to fulfillment. It did mean the promise of fulfillment if we follow His direction and the words revealed to us as to where we should go and what we should do. There was and is a “direct line” to our supply and provision. It is in our declaration of it and believing in it that makes it so. As with the final spike driven into the last rail laid on the Transcontinental Railway at Promontory Summit in Promontory, Utah, our word of trust in God to provide connects the two. God is always ready to offer us what is truly needed to meet our need. We dare not believe there is another way. So it is that in this temptation and testing of Jesus that we find the answer to our greatest questions. It is to trust in the Word of God alone. In it we are made wise, competent and capable of being who we are intended to be.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.