Matthew And Luke
Matthew and Luke preserve the same refusal with a small textual difference.
Matthew gives the fuller Deuteronomy quotation. Humans do not live by bread alone. They live by every word from God’s mouth. 1
Luke’s shorter form gives the bread-alone line without Matthew’s second clause. 2
Many later manuscripts expand Luke toward Matthew, but the shorter reading is widely treated as earlier. 3
The difference does not change the main point. In both Gospels, Jesus refuses to make bread the proof of God’s favor.
The scene also reverses a common cultural instinct. We often treat bread as the sign of blessing. In the temptation, bread offered at the wrong moment becomes a false proof.
That does not condemn bread. It places bread under discernment.
Discernment means judging the meaning of a thing in context. Bread may be gift, provision, sacrament, hospitality, or temptation. The same object can carry different meanings.
This is the nuance the book needs. The Bible does not give readers permission to despise bread. It gives them permission to refuse bread when bread claims too much.
Related sections: The Verse Jesus Quotes; A Line Remembered Spiritually.