It is Written

This passage of Scripture teaches us how we can use God’s word to overcome temptation by speaking God’s truth to overcome lies. Jesus quotes God’s word from the Old Testament to be victorious over Satan.

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be temptedby the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

(Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, ³ He (God) humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.)

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

(Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, ¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.)

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

(Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, ¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.)

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. (Matthew 4:1-11, NIV)

This next passage of Scripture describes how Jesus demonstrated His divine authority as the Son of God by taking forceful action to purify His Father’s house, a significant display of power that challenged the religious leaders.

Jesus at the Temple

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:12-13, NIV)

(Jesus was quoting from two Old Testament verses:

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations. Isaiah 56:7, NIV

¹¹ Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord. Jeremiah 7:11, NIV)

In the last two devotionals, we explored the parts of the brain that are involved in the processes of reading and writing, so I am not including an anatomy & physiology section in this devotional. Next month, we will learn about what parts of the brain are involved in memory. 

So please let me encourage you to memorize God’s word, so that you can say, in all confidence, “It is written!”  Start with these two Scripture verses.  I will memorize them too!

Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Psalm 119:105, KJV

¹⁰⁵ Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Thy Word,  song by Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6LC8cu03Ig

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

When I feel afraid
Think I’ve lost my way
Still you’re there right beside me
And nothing will I fear
As long as you are near
Please be near me to the end

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

I will not forget
Your love for me and yet
My heart forever is wandering
Jesus be my guide
And hold me to your side
I will love you to the end

Nothing will I fear as long as you are near
Please be near me to the end

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
And a light unto my path
You’re the light unto my path