City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

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

Commentary

When I was in college, I took a class called, Eastern Political Thought. Instead of teaching politics, the professor taught us Zen Buddhism and Taoism. He did this because, he said, you cannot understand the politics of the East unless you understand the religion. 

One story the professor told in class still sticks with me. As the story goes, the Zen Master was teaching a group of students, when he posed the question, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” After a long silence, one of the students took off his shoe, put it on his head and walked out of the class. The Zen Master then said, “He understands.”

If the story doesn’t make sense to you, then congratulations. You get it. It is nonsense. It is not intended to be understood.

Jesus was the Great Communicator. When He used metaphors and told parables, He did so because He meant to be understood. He recognized some people would not get what He was saying, but it was not because He was not clear but because they were deceived by their hardened hearts.

Application

Jesus said, “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). 

Another time, Jesus said He was the “bread of life” who had come “down out of heaven,” and that “he who comes to Me will not hunger” (John 6:33, 35).

The Gospel of John refers to Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1).

These metaphors are clear: words spoken by God are to be consumed by us like we consume food. It is for our spiritual nourishment. And the greatest expression of what God is saying to us is found in the Person of Jesus. 

Now here is the thing: eating is not a one-time event; it should be done daily or we will become malnourished and, after a number of weeks, die. So, to be sustained spiritually we need to spend time daily in the Bible just like we spend time daily in the kitchen. 

So to close, I pose the following question: “If the Lord speaks to you through the Bible, but you never read the Bible, has a communication taken place?”

Prayer

Lord, help me to develop the discipline to spend time in the Word daily. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.