"Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone"

Last Updated on May 24, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 186

Context: After Jesus is baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist, the Spirit of God descends upon Him like a dove. A voice from heaven declares, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Then Jesus, led by the Spirit into the wilderness, fasts for forty days and forty nights. The devil comes to Him with three temptations. In the first two, he dares Jesus, if He be the Son of God, to command stones to turn to bread and to throw Himself from the top of the temple in Jerusalem. The third temptation, that Jesus fall down and worship the devil, will bring a reward of all the kingdoms of the world. When Jesus declines, the devil departs, and angels minister to the pure Son. Of the first temptation, Matthew writes:

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And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.