Giotto, di Bondone, Nativity, 1310s
Matthew 4:1-4
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,” ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
John 19:28
28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”
John 4:5-6
5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Matthew 8:24
24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
My husband-pastor told me this week that Jesus’s birthplace, Bethlehem, means House of Bread. The name comes from two Hebrew words. Beth means house and Le-hem means bread. Imagine that…the town which means house of bread is where the bread of life was born.
Even more interesting is how His Word tells us that He provides spiritually in all of the ways in which we see Him needing physically.
The bread of life chose to fast in the desert. His own stomach grumbled for food. He declared our need for His Word…Himself. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst (John 6:35).”
He was thirsty and He is the living water. “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water’ (John 4:13-15).”
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink’ (John 7:37).”
He was weary and slept and yet He is the one who gives us rest. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).”
The Creator and Sustainer became the Created and Sustained. He experienced our needs as he continued on his mission to free us.
How does it make you feel that….when you are thirsty and hungry or weary and tired…you have a God who knows how you feel?
To do right now: Meditate on the above verses. When you feel hungry, thirsty, tired or weary today…will you think about these things? Thank Him for His willingness to become like us and to experience life in the flesh in order to save us. Write a prayer or journal your thoughts. Listen to the song: Born Where the Shadows Lie .
Beyond the Nativity Week 3 PDF
Linking up with these sisters today:
