Jesus said the darnedest things.

He had been fasting in the desert for 40 days when Satan suggested he tell stones to become bread.

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Matthew 4:3

Which, honestly, doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

No reason to walk around hungry when you’ve got the power to make a bagel from a rock.

While you’re at it, turn some sand into cream cheese.

Instead of whipping up a balanced breakfast, Jesus quoted scripture.

Weird scripture.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Deuteronomy 8:3

I used to think Jesus rejected the stone-to-bread idea just because it came from Satan.

Maybe Christ was following an ancient adage: If Satan suggests it, don’t do it.

Maybe he heard his mother’s voice in his head.

“If Satan tells you to jump off a bridge or the temple roof, would you do it?”

(Stay tuned to find out!)

But that scripture is such a weird response…

…until you read it in context.

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 8:3

Jesus was reminding Satan (and me) that life comes from God – not bread.

I think Satan already knew that.

He said, “…TELL these stones to become bread…”

It was understood that a word was the only thing necessary.

Bread doesn’t exist until God speaks.

Satan was tempting Jesus to be ungrateful.

It’s not a sin to be hungry.

The sin is thinking we have the power to feed ourselves.

God’s people have struggled with this for a long time.

“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!

Numbers 21:5

While the manna rains down from heaven, we complain because it isn’t roast beef.

We forget that roast beef is also spoken into being by almighty God.

Jesus wasn’t so arrogant.

He knew which side of his stone was buttered.