Do We Know?

After being baptized, Jesus was led into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days and when that was finished, the enemy came to tempt Jesus. He attacked Him by putting Jesus' identity at question, "If you are the Son of God..." The enemy knew who he was dealing with, otherwise he wouldn't have wasted his time. Jesus also knew who He was in the presence of - the prince of darkness and lies. He knew that every word that should come forth from his mouth would lead to death and misery. Only God' words have the power to save and give life. That is why the enemy quoted Scripture. He knows of the power of the Word of God and he dared try to use it as part of his scheme to bring down Our Lord and all of humanity. The enemy tried to tempt Jesus with the most basic of necessities - food. He knew the Lord must have been hungry, having fasted for 40 days, and so he figured he ought to try to tempt the Lord to use His power for His own good, to turn the stones into bread, and by doing so show that He is the Son of God. However, Our Lord knew that His power was not to save Himself but to save others, to give life to others, and to bring others to His Father. More so than bread, Our Lord knew that it is the Word of God that will sustain Him and nurture Him. So too for us. It is the Word of God and the Bread of Life that came down from heaven that will truly satiate us and fill us. Let us not allow the enemy to tell us otherwise. It is not the earthly food or pleasures that will truly make us happy. Only what is from above can satisfy us because we were made for heaven. The devil knows this and we must too.