“And the tempter coming said to him: If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Who answered and said: ‘It is written, ‘Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.’’”
Wanting to fill the soul of Jesus with glory, self-gratification, and an end to his trial, Satan says, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” He tempts Jesus in the same way that he had tempted Adam, with satisfaction of the belly, ambition, and covetousness, particularly of a high place in life. O dull creature! There is truly nothing new under the sun, and all the serpent offers are bland satisfactions, starting with mere bread, inviting Jesus to manifest His divinity. Jesus in His littleness, though, confounds the enemy with simplicity, and uses the words of the Book of Life as His weapon against the fallen angel, something so simple, yet so accessible. It is the sword that proceeds from the Savior’s mouth, that you may have love on your heart at all times, not bending to the voice of hate that tries to pull you from becoming love incarnate, from your every action being an expression of love. Since all things were made out of love, and each possesses an incredible beauty, it is within all things to lift your heart to love, and the words of Sacred Scripture can reinforce this when you are sinking. When the world seems dark and bleak, God speaks: “And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good” (Genesis 1:31). When a temptation comes to doubt God’s love for you, He reassures: “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, and called thee by thy name: thou art mine… I have loved thee, and I will give men for thee, and people for thy life” (Isaias 43:1, 4). When you see something displeasing in your neighbor, “Love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34), for though He sees your lowliness and failures, love embraces all that you are, He loves you in your weakness, thus you should love all with a torrent of love, “and by the torrent on the banks thereof on both sides shall grow all trees that bear fruit: their leaf shall not fall off, and their fruit shall not fail” (Ezechiel 47:12). Because every word of the Scriptures abounds with Divine Love, these words keep you swooning, consumed in love at all times: “My soul melted when he spoke” (Song 5:6) when you understand the love that undergirds them all. Thus Jesus says that man does not live on the bread that passes, but on love: “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of man will give you” (John 6:27). This is also a type of the land of milk and honey, for the Christian life promises the necessities of life, represented by the milk: “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33), as well as what makes it worth living and sweet like honey, which is love: “As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love” (John 15:9). The entirety of Sacred Scripture is God’s love letter to you, it is by these words that you live on love: “My soul shall live and shall praise thee: and thy judgements shall help me” (Psalm 118:175), something far more necessary and wonderful than the bread that fades away.