And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is pointing out that true sustenance comes not just from physical food, but from everything God speaks and ordains. He's subtly reminding Satan that God's power, not just bread, sustains life, and that obedience to God's word is more crucial than satisfying immediate physical need.
And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, has just been led into the wilderness where He will be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and nights, Jesus is hungry, and the tempter seizes this moment to challenge Jesus' identity and His reliance on God. Jesus responds to the first temptation by quoting Scripture to demonstrate that physical sustenance is secondary to obedience to God's word.
Satan comes with a tempting offer: turn stones into bread. Jesus counters not with divine power, but with Scripture. Why is the Word of God such a powerful weapon?
Jesus faces his first temptation not with a display of his divine power, but by wielding the written Word of God. He quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, a verse about the Israelites' wilderness journey.
God's Provision is Primary
Moses reminded the Israelites that God intentionally allowed them to hunger in the wilderness, only to feed them with manna. This wasn't just about physical sustenance; it was a divine lesson. God wanted them to understand that their physical existence, and indeed all of life, depended not just on food, but on His direct, continuous provision and His decree. "Man shall not live by bread alone" means that physical nourishment, while essential, isn't the ultimate source of life.
The Word as Life-Source
Jesus emphasizes that life is sustained "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." This points to a deeper reality: our spiritual and even our physical lives are meant to be sustained by communion with God and obedience to His commands. As the commentary notes, this isn't just about doctrine, but about God's sustaining power behind His creative and providential decrees. It’s about His ongoing faithfulness and His active involvement in upholding His creation. Jesus's response highlights that His ultimate sustenance comes from fulfilling His Father's will, not from yielding to immediate physical need through forbidden means.
Jesus, the Son of God, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. How does His experience reveal our own need for God's constant care?
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Even Jesus, fully divine and filled with the Holy Spirit, voluntarily entered a state of dependence on God. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and He chose to submit to God’s provision, even when it meant facing hunger and temptation.
A Model of Trust
Jesus’s response, "It is written," demonstrates that His "life" is not self-sufficient. While He could have commanded the stones to become bread, He recognized that His primary sustenance—His purpose, His mission, His very being—was tied to obeying God’s Word and His Father’s will. He teaches us that true life comes from aligning with God's purposes, not just meeting our physical needs.
God's Sustaining Power
The commentators point out that even bread nourishes us not by its own power, but by God's blessing. Similarly, Jesus asserts that God's power, conveyed through His word and His will, is the ultimate sustainer of life. This wasn't a denial of His divine ability, but a profound statement of His chosen path: trusting God’s provision and timing, even in the face of physical deprivation. He models for us a life lived in radical dependence on God, not just for spiritual guidance, but for the very continuation of life itself.
Understand the original words
graphō · Greek Verb
The foundational, divinely inspired Word of God. It serves as the ultimate authority for faith and practice, providing the defense against spiritual deception.
Jesus' quoting of Deuteronomy 8:3 during his temptation highlights that true life and sustenance come not just from physical food, but from obedience to and reliance on God's every word, a truth learned through Israel's own hard-won experience in the wilderness.
c. 1440 BC
Israelites Wander in Wilderness
After their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert. During this time, God provided manna for their sustenance, demonstrating that their survival depended on divine provision, not just physical food.
c. 1440 BC
Moses Delivers Deuteronomy
Before entering the Promised Land, Moses reminded the Israelites of their wilderness experience, emphasizing their total dependence on God's word and promises for life and well-being. This is the source of Jesus' quotation.
c. 27 AD
Jesus Baptized by John
Jesus' public ministry begins with his baptism in the Jordan River, where the Holy Spirit descends upon him, and God declares him his Son.
c. 27 AD— this verse
Jesus Led into Wilderness
Immediately after his baptism, Jesus is powerfully driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness near the Jordan River to prepare for his ministry.
c. 27 AD
Jesus Fasting for Forty Days
Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness, fasting and in intense spiritual struggle, facing hunger and the direct temptation of Satan.
This is the original source of Jesus' quote, emphasizing that God's provision and sustaining power are more essential than physical sustenance alone.
Job 23:12Job's testimony shows a deep hunger for God's words, prioritizing them above his necessary food, mirroring Jesus' focus on spiritual nourishment.
Jeremiah 15:16Jeremiah found joy and sustenance in God's words, eating them as a vital part of his calling, illustrating that God's word can be life itself.
John 4:34Jesus declares His 'food' is to do the will of God, demonstrating that fulfilling God's purpose provides a deeper, more essential nourishment than physical food.
1 Corinthians 10:3-4This passage connects the Israelites' spiritual nourishment from the rock (Christ) to the believer's spiritual sustenance through God's Word, echoing the idea that life comes from more than just physical means.
cambridgeLuke 4:4: "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
4 . It is written ] The perfect gegraptai means ‘it has been written,’ it standeth written as an eternal lesson. Jesus foils the tempter as man for man. He will not say ‘I am the Son of God,’ and ‘does not consider equality with God a prize at which to grasp’ ( Php 2:6 ), but seizes “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” ( Ephesians 6:17 ). man shall not live…
vincentLuke 4:4: "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
It is writtenSee on Matthew 4:4.By bread ( ἐπ' ἄρτῳ)Lit., "on bread," implying dependence. Compare, by every word (ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι, Matthew 4:4).
Jesus is pointing out that true sustenance comes not just from physical food, but from everything God speaks and ordains. He's subtly reminding Satan that God's power, not just bread, sustains life, and that obedience to God's word is more crucial than satisfying immediate physical need.
Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, has just been led into the wilderness where He will be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and nights, Jesus is hungry, and the tempter seizes this moment to challenge Jesus' identity and His reliance on God. Jesus responds to the first temptation by quoting Scripture to demonstrate that physical sustenance is secondary to obedience to God's word.
Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, has just been led into the wilderness where He will be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and nights, Jesus is hungry, and the tempter seizes this moment to challenge Jesus' identity and His reliance on God. Jesus responds to the first temptation by quoting Scripture to demonstrate that physical sustenance is secondary to obedience to God's word.
"And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”" — Jesus is pointing out that true sustenance comes not just from physical food, but from everything God speaks and ordains. He's subtly reminding Satan that God's power, not just bread, sustains life…
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Last reviewed October 2026