Bible Study Luke 4:3-5

[clark thompson]

Luke 4:3-5 King James Version (KJV)
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luke 4:3-5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

3 The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.”
5 So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

These are my thoughts, please share yours.

3 The Devil spoke to Him the Devil often times uses lies to convince us to sin or tries to miss guide us in what the truth is. Jesus is the Son of God, Satan was questioning Jesus’ power because of His physical need.

4 If we have a need should trust God to meet it instead of sinning to get it. Bread was the most common thing they ate, it was eaten with every meal they had. If we have a need should trust God to meet it instead of sinning to get it.

5 Satan has control over this world but one day God will take control back. This shows that Satan does have power, we can only stand against him by relying on our Lord.

 

[th1b.taylor]

Luke 4:3-5 King James Version (KJV)
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
These are my thoughts, please share yours.

3 The Devil spoke to Him the Devil often times uses lies to convince us to sin or tries to miss guide us in what the truth is. Jesus is the Son of God, Satan was questioning Jesus’ power because of His physical need.

I agree but I do feel it goes deeper than you have gone with it. Jesus has fasted for forty days and any normal man would have given up fasting much earlier but Jesus, as illustrated with Jesus in the garden was feeding on His relationship as a man and as the Son of God. I have found that I need the normal things this world offers much less than I ever did before I converted and surrendered.

4 If we have a need should trust God to meet it instead of sinning to get it. Bread was the most common thing they ate, it was eaten with every meal they had. If we have a need should trust God to meet it instead of sinning to get it.

As I understand from my past research, the use of the word translated for bread but bread is not it's only use because, as in this case, I believe, it also means complete provision.

5 Satan has control over this world but one day God will take control back. This shows that Satan does have power, we can only stand against him by relying on our Lord.

Completely agree.

 

[About the Son of God]

4 If we have a need should trust God to meet it instead of sinning to get it. Bread was the most common thing they ate, it was eaten with every meal they had. If we have a need should trust God to meet it instead of sinning to get it.

Hmmmm.... Clark, I don't think creating bread is a sin. eg: Jesus did it to feed 5000 and 4000 people in deserted places later. And notice carefully scripture makes it very clear they were deserted locations, or wilderness, such that the people could not possibly find anything to eat: Matthew 14:13. Mark 6:31. Luke 9:10. John 6:1. Matthew 15:33, Mark 8:4

So... I'll try to explain my view in different words so as not to confuse the two issues:

You may want to look through the scriptures a bit, for the very miracles I cited, I seem to recall -- also later lead to a conversation with the Apostles where Jesus very clearly tries to teach them that the proportion of gifts given to him had nothing to do with the amount of bread he chose to make. But I don't remember exactly where that passage is right now.

But what I'm sure of, is that Jesus' miracles are not a "stretching" miracle, like some Jewish rabbis supposed Elijah did where a certain amount of bread can be magnified by a specific amount. Jesus made it clear he could produce as much bread as needed, whenever needed. eg: I do believe after reading the conversation with the Apostles that he could have made bread from nothing at all except the word of Power of God.

With respect to the devil, then, the temptation is of a different sort. And the real question is -- why does Satan mention stones ?

It's irrelevant what source material Jesus would use to produce food for himself; but it is relevant, that Satan would try to tempt him to fulfill old testament prophecy about turning stones into bread without doing for God's people what the prophecy said God would do.

For in terms of prophecy, both symbols and metaphors are used in the OT to represent people, priest, and the future acts of God according to his promise(s);

For example, in prophecy -- Isaiah spoke of the messiah coming through Bethlehem Judah, not the least of the princes (the 12 tribes). And the word beth-lehem, literally means "house of bread" -- possibly, meaning a milling town where the main type of work was once to use a stone to crush corns of grain to make bread.

And the tribe of Judah, not surprisingly, is also represented in prophecy in the OT as a stone.

For all the Israelites, themselves, were called stones, Both with respect to Abraham -- Isaiah 51:1, and also even from the time of Moses, they were prophetically symbolized by a name upon a rock in the priests shoulders (Exodus 28:9-10,12 ), and twelve stones in the ephod, and again in the river which split like baptism (Joshua 4:3,7-8), and in altars against the pagans in wars (1Kings 18:31-32) etc. and even in the new testament, we ourselves ( Christians ) are called "living stones" with the 12 apostles being the foundation "stones" (names included) with which Jesus is going to build the temple of his sanctuary. And also in Revelation, all those who persevere to the end are given a new name on a precious white stone which only God knows.

So, the temptation here in Luke by the Devil, I don't think is really about Jesus feeding himself -- it's about re-interpreting scripture to fulfill it in a trivial way; to get Jesus out of hunger to fulfill the prophecy of God in a way that hides the Glory of the Father's promise throughout thousands of years of time rather than reveals it.

I'm also sure that far away from the Devil himself, God wished to keep the meaning of these words hidden -- eg: God's strategy included keeping the real nature of his Son hidden from Satan until too late; for if even angels do not know the future although they are the "watchers" over all times: Mark 13:32, therefore surely the Devil knows even less for he is not in communion with God, but an enemy.

It was God's purpose to hide from all the princes of this world who he was: 1Corinthians 2:8 ; and that includes the Devil, for you do not tell enemy what exactly your plan is, lest he try to defeat you in a different way that hurts more innocent people.

Even John the baptist seemed to see the irony of it all, for the Pharisees as a sect were not on the names of the marker stones laid in the OT in the Jordan river: Matthew 3:9 ; Matthew 5:20