Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” (Luke 4:4, 8, 12 NABRE)
In the desert, Satan tempted Jesus three times. And three times Jesus--a man like us--avoided the temptation offered to him. How did he do it? At the moment of choice, what did he do consistently to avoid a temptation?
Each time Jesus was tempted, he quoted scripture. In fact, he quoted Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible, the conclusion of the Torah, which contains laws given by Moses to the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 8:3 states, "He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD."
Deuteronomy 6:13 states, "The LORD, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve,* and by his name shall you swear."
Deuteronomy 6:16 states, "You shall not put the LORD, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah."
Today, on this First Sunday of Lent, I will try recalling scripture if I encounter temptation.
Saints Cyril and Methodius, patrons of Slavic peoples, pray for us.
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