8 May 2026 We are proceeding to study the SERMON of YESHUA on the MOUNT…
THE GOSPELS, Matthew 4:2-4, & Mark 4:2-4, Eating the Bread of Life
25 April 2025
We are studying Mathew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13 about THE TEMPTATION of YESHUA THE MESSIAH in the WILDERNESS. And today we are going to focus on Matthew 4:2-4.
We are mainly reading from the Complete Jewish Study Bible – insight for Jews and Christians. And use the Hebrew names of God, YHVH (Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh) where the word LORD in English are indicated in capital letters in the Scriptures and use the Hebrew Name Yeshua the Messiah instead of the English Name Jesus Christ translated from the Greek.
We read in Matthew 4:2-4 “After Yeshua had fasted for forty days and nights, He was hungry. The Tempter (Satan) came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread. But He answered, “The Tanakh (the Old Testament) says, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of YHVH.” This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3. Also read the Luke 4:2-4 version).
There are three important matters to take note of in these verses:
First, we see Satan is referring to Yeshua as the “Son of God”.
The Jewish Study Bible explains: This theologically important New Testament term means: Yeshua was viewed as a godly (devout, holy, pious) human being, the special ONE send by God the Father, the Son of God in the flesh, a human whose presence on earth required a special creative act of God the Father. Yeshua, in His earthly lifetime, related to God as His personal Father, calling Him ABBA; and He is the divine, eternally existent individual, called THE WORD who always has and always will be ONE being with YHVH the Father. Read John 1:1-14, 10:31, 14:9-10 & 28 and Philippians 2:5-11.
Next, we see in Matthew 4:2 Yeshua is hungry after 40 days of fasting and the TEMPTER (referring to Satan) is now being allowed to TEST Yeshua to know what is in HIS HEART – whether He would OBEY the Word of God. How do we know this was his purpose? Because we read in Matthew 4:1 the Holy Spirit led Yeshua to the dessert to be TESTED. And we see Yeshua answering Satan by quoting the WORD to him, specifically Deuteronomy 8:3.
We read in Deuteronomy 8:1-3 the following: “All the mitzvoth (the commandments) I am giving you today you are to take care to obey, so that you will live, increase your numbers, enter and take possession of the land YHVH swore about to your ancestors. You are to remember everything of THE WAY in which YHVH LED you. These FORTY YEARS in the DESERT, HUMBLING and TESTING you in order to KNOW WHAT WAS IN YOUR HEART – WHETHER YOU WOULD OBEY HIS MITZVOT (COMMANDMENTS) OR NOT. He HUMBLED you, allowing you to BECOME HUNGRY, and then FED YOU WITH MANNA, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, TO MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT A PERSON DOES NOT LIVE ON FOOD ALONE BUT ON EVERYTHING THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF YHVH (the NIV says: “…to teach you that man does not live on BREAD alone but on EVERY WORD that comes from the mouth of YHVH”).”
And Yeshua our Messiah later explains it in John chapter 6 where we first see He feeds a crowd of five thousand people, who followed Him because they saw the signs He performed by healing the sick, with five small barley loaves and two small fish (John 6:1-15). Then He and His disciples went to Capernaum and the next day the same crowds went searching for Him. And when they found Him, Yeshua told them: “Yes indeed! I tell you, you’re not looking for Me because you saw miraculous signs, but because YOU ATE BREAD and had all you wanted! Don’t WORK for the FOOD which PASSES AWAY but for the FOOD THAT STAYS ON INTO ETERNAL LIFE, which the SON OF MAN WILL GIVE YOU. For this is THE ONE on whom GOD the FATHER has put HIS SEAL.” (John 6:26-27).
The Afrikaans Bible in Practice explains: Yeshua spoke out STRONGLY against the people who only followed Him because they wanted to benefit temporarily or materially and not because they wanted to be spiritually benefited. Their stomachs were full but they still want more. The people’s motives were selfish and self-centered.
We further read in John 6:28-29 “So they said to Him, ‘What should we do in order to perform the WORKS OF GOD? Yeshua answered, ‘Here’s what the WORK OF GOD IS – to TURST (believe, have faith, hope) in the ONE HE SENT!”
“Then they asked Him: ‘So, what miraculous sign will you do for us, so we may see it and trust (believe, have faith, hope) in You? What work will you perform? Our fathers ATE MANNA IN THE DESERT – as it says in the Tanakh (the Old Testament), HE GAVE THEM BREAD FROM HEAVEN TO EAT (here they are referring to Psalm 78:24). Yeshua said to them, ‘Yes indeed! I tell you it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. But My FATHER IS GIVING YOU THE GENUINE BREAD FROM HEAVEN; for GOD’s BREAD is THE ONE WHO COMES DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN and GIVES LIFE TO THE WORLD. They said to Him: ‘Sir, give us this BREAD from now on’. Yeshua answered, ‘I am the BREAD which is life! WHOEVER COMES TO ME WILL NEVER GO HUNGRY, and WHOEVER TRUSTS (believe, have faith and hope) IN ME WILL NEVER BE THRISTY” (John 6:30-35).
And Yeshua proceeded to explain in John 6:36-38 “I told you that you have SEEN BUT STILL DON’T TRUST (believe, have faith and hope). EVERYONE THE FATHER GIVES ME WILL COME TO ME, and WHOEVER COMES TO ME I WILL CERTAINLY NOT TURN AWAY. For I have come down from heaven TO DO NOT MY OWN WILL but THE WILL OF THE ONE WHO SENT ME: that I should not lose any of all those He has GIVEN ME BUT SHOULD RAISE THEM UP ON THE LAST DAY. Yes, THIS IS THE WILL OF MY FATHER: that ALL WHO SEE THE SON and TRUST (believe, have faith, hope) in HIM SHOULD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that I SHOULD RAISE THEM UP ON THE LAST DAY.”
So, when is this LAST DAY? It is the 8th DAY, portrayed by the LAST DAY of the FEAST of TABERNACLES (read Leviticus 23:36) and refers to the THOUSAND YEAR REIGN of YEHSUA our MESSIAH and the final GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT DAY we read about in Revelation 20.
We see in John 6:41-50 “At this the JUDEANS (people from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin called the Southern Kingdom), began grumbling about him because He said: I AM THE BREAD WHICH CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN. They said: ‘Isn’t this Yeshua, the son of Joseph? We know His father and mother (referring to Joseph and Mary)! How can He now say, I HAVE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN?’ Yeshua answered them: ‘Stop grumbling to each other! NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS THE FATHER – the ONE who sent Me – draws him. AND I WILL RAISE HIM UP ON THE LAST DAY. It is written in the PROPHETS; THEY WILL ALL BE TAUGHT BY YHVH (referring to Isaiah 54:13 and Jeremiah 31:33-34). EVERYONE who LISTENS TO THE FATHER and LEARNS FROM HIM COMES TO ME. Not that anyone has seen the Father EXCEPT THE ONE WHO IS FROM GOD – HE HAS SEEN THE FATHER. Your father’s ATE THE MANNA IN THE DESSERT; THEY DIED. BUT THE BREAD THAT COMES DOWN FROM HEAVEN IS SUCH THAT A PERSON MAY EAT IT AND NOT DIE.”
The Afrikaans Bible in Practice explains: The MANNA that God provided in the dessert to the ISRAELITES could only still their physical hunger temporarily but could not save them from everlasting death (meaning the second death we read about in Revelation 20:14 and 21:8). It was a picture of the REAL BREAD from heaven that God would send, His only Son, Yeshua the Messiah to provide us with SPIRITUAL BREAD and give us EVERLASTING LIFE.
And we further read from John 6:51-59 “I AM THE LIVING BREAD that has come down from heaven; IF ANYONE EATS THIS BREAD; he will LIVE FOREVER. Furthermore, the BREAD that I will give you IS MY OWN FLESH; and I will give it for the LIFE OF THE WORLD. At this the Judeans disputed with one another, saying, How can this man give us HIS FLESH TO EAT? Then Yeshua said to them, ‘Yes, indeed! I TELL YOU THAT UNLESS YOU EAT THE FLESH OF THE SON OF MAN AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, YOU DO NOT HAVE LIFE IN YOURSELVES. WHOEVER eats MY FLESH and DRINKS MY BLOOD HAS ETERNAL LIFE – that is, I WILL RAISE HIM UP ON THE LAST DAY. (this is the THRID TIME that Yeshua said this in verses 39, 40 and 54). And then Yeshua continues in verses 55-58: “For MY FLESH is TRUE FOOD, and MY BLOOD is TRUE DRINK. WHOEVER eats MY FLESH and DRINKS MY BLOOD LIVES IN ME, and I LIVE IN HIM. Just as the LIVING FATHER sent Me, and I LIVE THROUGH THE FATHER, so also WHOEVER EATS ME WILL LIVE THROUGH ME. So, this is the BREAD that has come down from heaven – it is not like the bread the fathers ate, they’re dead, but WHOEVER EATS THIS BREAD WILL LIVE FOREVER!”
We must understand that this came as a shock to the Judeans because Leviticus 17:10-11 prohibits the eating and drinking of blood for the LIFE of a creature is in its blood and YHVH HAS GIVEN IT ON THE ALTAR TO MAKE ATONEMENT FOR PEOPLE. They did not understand that YESHUA OUR MESSIAH, THE LAMB OF GOD THE FATHER, WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE AND PERFECT SACTIFICE, MAKING ATONEMENT ONCE AND FOR ALL FOR ALL PEOPLE WHO WOULD PUT HEIR TRUST, FAITH, BELIEVE and HOPE IN HIM (read Hebrews 9:28 and 10:10). After the death and resurrection of Yeshua our Messiah the disciples understood Yeshua’s words and Paul explained it in 1st Corinthians 11:23-26 and Romans 6:10.
So, WHAT DOES IT MEAN to EAT YESHUA? It means TWO THINGS:
- We have to accept Him as the Lamb of God the Father, as the once and for all blood sacrifice for our sins in our place at the cross of Calvary. Yeshua our Messiah explained it at the PASSOVER meal with His disciples before His crucifixion (read Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25 and Luke 22:19-20). And the prophet Isaiah 53:5-6 explains: “…He was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that fell on Him, and by His bruises we are healed. We all, like sheep, went astray; we turned, each one, to His own WAY; yet YHVH laid on Him the guilt of us all. (also read 1st Peter 1:17-25 and 2:24 as well as Romans 6:2).
- And we have to daily TAKE IN HIS WORD through our EYES (by reading the Word) and EARS (by hearing the Word) and allow it to become part of our TROUGHTS (the way we think) and our EMOTIONS (the way we feel) and then to ACT in accordance to the WORD with our hands, feet and mouth, OBEYING EVERY WORD of GOD. We can therefore say, He becomes a PART of US (in us), part of our DNA, who we are, and we become PART of HIM (in Him). We grow to be more like Him, especially in HOLINESS and LOVE.
Lastly, we see in Matthew 4:4 the clear demonstration by Yeshua our Messiah and Teacher, how to use the WORD as our SWORD to fight against the TEMPTER (Satan) and any other temptations (lures, enticements, attractions) from our own flesh!
We read in Hebrews 4:12 “See, THE WORD OF GOD IS ALIVE! IT IS AT WORK and IS SHARPER than any DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD – IT CUTS RIGHT THROUGH to WHERE SOUL MEET SPIRIT and JOINTS MEET MAROW, and it is QUICK TO JUDGE THE INNER REFLECTIONS and ATTITUDES of THE HEART.
We know from John 1:1-14 and in Revelation 19:11-13 that YESHUA IS THE WORD OF GOD. In effect that means HE IS THE TORAH!
And in Isaiah 49 we read ISRAEL is called to be a LIGHT TO THE NATIONS (remember, after the division of the kingdom in king Solomon’s son Rehoboam’s reign the NORTHERN KINGDOM, that is the TEN TRIBES under EFRAIM) were known as ISRAEL. So here God is calling them, and we read in Isaiah 49:1b-6 “YHVH called me from the womb; before I was born, he had spoken my name. He has made my mouth LIKE A SHARP SWORD while hiding me in the shadow of His hand; He has made me LIKE A SHARPENED ARROW while concealing me in His quiver. He said to me, ‘You are MY SERVANT, ISRAEL, THROUGH WHOM I WILL SHOW MY GLORY’. But I said, ‘I have toiled (worked) in vain spent my strength for nothing, futility. Yet my cause (source, foundation) is with YHVH, my REWARD is with my God.’ So now YHVH says – He formed me in my mother’s womb to be HIS SERVANT, to bring Jacob back to Him to have ISRAEL GATHERED TO HIM, so that I will be HONORED in the SIGHT of YHVH, my God having become my STREGTH – He has said, It is NOT ENOUGH that you are MERELY MY SERVANT to RAISE UP THE TRIBES OF JACOB and RESTORE the OFFSPRING of ISRAEL. I will also make you a LIGHT TO THE NATIONS, so MY SALVATION CAN SPREAD TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (to ALL PEOPLE).”
The Jewish Study Bible explains: Chapter 49 opens with the SERVANT speaking. He was called ISRAEL and since He will bring Jacob back to God, HE should be IDENTIFIED as the REDEEMER OF ISRAEL. The MESSIAH represents the NATION of ISRAEL and fulfills its ORIGINAL PURPOSE by BEING A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES (the ten dispersed tribes of ISRAEL), so MY SALVATION can spread to the ENDS of the EARTH.
Paul also tells us in Ephesians 6:12 and 17b that the SWORD of THE SPIRIT, THAT IS THE WORD OF GOD is part of our WEAPONRY God provides us with in our battle against the DECEPTIVE TACTICS of the ADVERSARY (the devil), and the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers GOVERNING THE DARKNESS, the SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL in the HEAVENLY REALM.
But what is Paul telling us in Ephesians 6:10-18 is required BEFORE we will be able to USE the SWORD of THE SPIRIT? FIRST and FOREMOST, we must have the BELT of TRUTH buckled around our waists – that means THE WORD OF GOD taught to us by the HOLY SPIRIT according to 1st John 2:27 is buckled around us like a belt and we measure everything against it to determine whether it is true or not, NEXT we have to put on the BREASTPLATE of RIGHTOUSNESS, meaning we PROTECT OUR HEARTS with the INSTRUCTIONS (His TORAH), WAYS and WILL of ABBA FATHER and we do not act on emotions but on our trust, believe and hope in His WORD. THEN we have to WEAR on our FEET the READINESS that comes from the GOOD NEWS of SHALOM (peace) – this is a WILLINGNESS and EAGERNESS to share His SALAVATION MESSAGE with ALL PEOPLE and WALKING on the NARROW WAY in ACCORDANCE with HIS SALVATION PLAN by following His SEVEN ANNUAL FEAST and HIS WEEKLY FEAST. Next we have to ALWAYS carry the SHIELD OF FAITH with which we will be able to extinguish ALL flaming arrows of the Evil One (the devil), and take the HELMET of DELIVERANCE – a SURE KNOWLEDGE and BELIEF in our SALVATION and knowing that we belong to Him and aligning all our THOUGHTS with His instructions, His TORAH and His will and WAYS. THEN we are ready to TAKE UP THE SWORD OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – FIGHTING against evil with the WORD of GOD.
So where on the NARROW WAY do we eat the BREAD of LIFE?
We see in the TABERNACLE PICTURE and the SEVEN FEASTS of YHVH – we need to go through the ONLY GATE (Yeshua the Messiah) on to the NARROW WAY to ABBA FATHER – starting with SALVATION, then DYING to the OLD NATURE by being baptized in His death, being raised as a new man or woman with our Messiah, with a new nature (read Romans chapter 6), and sitting down at HIS TABLE in the HOLY PLACE (referring to the Table of Showbread) to be TAUGHT the WORD BEFORE we will be ABLE to USE IT AS OUR SWORD! In Exodus 25:30 we see that God instructed: On the TABLE you are to PLACE the BREAD OF THE PRESENCE IN MY PRESENCE ALWAYS.
The Jewish study Bible explains: This phrase latterly means “INNER BREAD”, it was what the PRIESTS consumed in the HOLY PLACE of the TABERNACLE and later the TMEPLE. Today as BELIEVERS are PRIESTS made by Yeshua our Messiah for God the Father in the order of Melchizedek (Revelation 1:6, 1st Peter 2:9 and Hebrews 7:17). We therefore are to EAT THIS BREAD, THE WORD OF GOD, daily in the Holy Place (the inner sanctuary of our souls – our thoughts and hearts) at the TABLE of YESHUA our MESSIAH in the PRESENCE of YHVH the FATHER, then we will have the KNOWLEDE, the POWER and the STRENGHT to use the SWORD Of the HOLY SPIRIT, HIS WORD!