Bread

Jesus Christ was being tempted as to the sufficiency of the grace of God the Father in providing His every need. Human viewpoint here would be for Christ to turn the stones to bread because He was extremely hungry. However, in order to turn stones into bread, He would have had to use His volition apart from the plan of God the Father. If He had, He would no longer be in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit. Hence, the relationship of Jesus Christ’s humanity and the Holy Spirit were under testing. Matt. 4:3.

“And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”“  (Matthew 4:3, NASB)

Jesus Christ was being tempted to obtain much needed food apart from the timing of God the Father’s plan. He could have performed the miracle for Himself or He could wait for the Father. He knew the Father had a plan for Him – to go to the Cross. He chose to wait for the Father’s timing. This introduces the faith-rest issue. At this time, the Father would not permit the humanity of Jesus Christ to die. The Old Testament tells how He would die.

Bread (physical food) is necessary for life, but bread is a detail in man’s dependence on God. It is not the food, but the promise that guarantees the food that counts. You always have the promise in God’s Word. Matt. 4:4.

“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’““  (Matthew 4:4, NASB)

While bread is necessary to sustain life, it is a detail in survival. What really sustains the believer is the promises of the Word in their spiritual life. Note that it says man shall live on “every word.” A pastor-teacher needs to get the whole counsel of the Word. This can be done only through application of the I.C.E principles. “I” stands for Isagogics which is interpreting the Bible in accordance with the time in which it was written - historical settings, cultural facts and so on. “C” stands for Categories or Bible doctrine subject matter. “E” stands for Exegesis which is verse by verse exposition using the original languages. Isaiah 28. See category on Hermeneutics.