The tempter came to Him
The term "tempter" refers to Satan, who is known for his role in testing and tempting individuals to sin. This encounter occurs in the wilderness, a place often associated with testing and spiritual struggle in the Bible. The wilderness setting echoes Israel's 40 years of testing in the desert, drawing a parallel between Jesus' 40 days of fasting and Israel's journey. Satan's approach to Jesus after His fasting period highlights the strategic timing of temptation, often occurring during moments of physical or spiritual vulnerability.

and said,
The act of speaking signifies the beginning of a direct confrontation. In biblical narratives, dialogue often serves as a means of revealing character intentions and testing faith. This moment marks the first of three temptations, each designed to challenge Jesus' identity and mission. The dialogue format is reminiscent of the serpent's conversation with Eve in Genesis, where questioning and deceit are used to lead astray.

“If You are the Son of God,
This phrase challenges Jesus' divine identity, echoing the declaration made at His baptism, "This is My beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17). The conditional "if" is a tactic to sow doubt and provoke Jesus to prove His divine sonship through miraculous means. This challenge is not just about identity but also about trust in God's provision and timing. The title "Son of God" is significant, as it affirms Jesus' unique relationship with the Father, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah (e.g., Psalm 2:7).

tell these stones to become bread.”
The temptation to turn stones into bread targets Jesus' physical hunger after fasting for 40 days. It also symbolizes a deeper temptation to use divine power for personal gain rather than relying on God's provision. This mirrors Israel's temptation to doubt God's provision in the wilderness when they longed for the bread of Egypt (Exodus 16). Jesus' refusal to perform this miracle underscores His commitment to His mission and His reliance on God's word, as He later responds by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, emphasizing spiritual sustenance over physical needs.

1. Jesus Christ
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is in the wilderness fasting for forty days and nights. He is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, facing temptation.

2. The Tempter (Satan)
The adversary who approaches Jesus to tempt Him. Known as Satan, he is a fallen angel who opposes God and seeks to lead people away from Him.

3. The Wilderness
The desolate place where Jesus is fasting and praying. It symbolizes a place of testing and preparation, often associated with spiritual trials.

4. Stones
The inanimate objects that Satan suggests Jesus turn into bread. They represent the temptation to misuse divine power for personal gain.

5. Bread
A basic necessity of life, symbolizing physical sustenance. The temptation is to prioritize physical needs over spiritual obedience.Understanding Temptation
Recognize that temptation often comes when we are vulnerable, as it did for Jesus after His long fast. Being aware of our weaknesses can help us prepare and stand firm.

Identity in Christ
Satan's challenge, "If You are the Son of God," targets Jesus' identity. As believers, we must be secure in our identity in Christ to withstand similar attacks.

Spiritual Priorities
Jesus' refusal to turn stones into bread teaches us to prioritize spiritual nourishment over physical needs. Our ultimate reliance should be on God's word and His provision.

Victory through Scripture
Jesus' response to temptation with Scripture highlights the power of God's word in overcoming challenges. Memorizing and meditating on Scripture equips us to resist temptation.

Dependence on God
The temptation to act independently of God is strong, but Jesus models complete dependence on the Father. We are called to trust in God's timing and provision.(3) When the tempter came.--Nothing in the narrative suggests the idea of a bodily presence visible to the eye of sense, and all attempts so to realise it, whether as Milton has done in Paradise Regained, or as by rationalistic commentators, who held that the Tempter was, or assumed the shape of, a scribe or priest, are unauthorised, and diminish our sense of the reality and mystery of the Temptation. The narrative is not the less real and true because it lies altogether in the spiritual region of man's life.

If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.--"These stones," as if in union with glance and gesture, pointing to the loaf-like flints of the Jordan desert. The nature of the temptation, so far as we can gauge its mysterious depth, was probably complex. Something there may have been, suggested from without, like that which uttered itself in Esau's cry, "What profit shall this birthright do to me?" (Genesis 25:32). Hungry, exhausted, as if life were ebbing away in the terrible loneliness of the desert, the "wild beasts" around him, as if waiting for their victim, what would it avail to have been marked out as the Son of God, the long-expected Christ? With this another thought was blended. If He were the Son of God, did not that name involve a lordship over nature? Could He not satisfy His hunger and sustain His life? Would He not in so exercising the power of which now, for the first time it may be, He was the conscious possessor, be establishing his status as the Christ in the eyes of others? That thought presented itself to His mind, but it was rejected as coming from the Enemy. It would have been an act of self-assertion and distrust, and therefore would have involved not the affirmation, but the denial of the Sonship which had so recently been attested.

Verse 3. - The tempter (1 Thessalonians 3:5 only; cf. 2 Corinthians 11:3). Came; came up to him (προσελθών). The word expresses local nearness, and suggests, though we cannot affirm it as certain, that he appeared visibly. The thought of physical nearness is continued in "taketh him" (vers. 5, 8), and "the devil leaveth him" and "angels came near" (ver. 11; cf. ver. 5, note). On the other hand, such expressions may be parabolic, and intended to express the closeness of the spiritual combat. To him; not after "came," but after "said" (Revised Version, with manuscripts). If thou be; art (Revised Version) (εἰ... εϊ) - the "if" of assumption (cf. Colossians 3:1). The devil does not attempt to throw doubt on the truth of the utterance in Matthew 3:17. His words rather mean, "Thou knowest what was said, thou bast been gradually realizing that assurance of Sonship; use, then, that privilege which thou undoubtedly hast" (comp. Matthew 27:40, where, in mockery, the same truth is assumed). Wetstein, following Origen and pseudo-Ignatius,' Philipp.,' § 9, says that the tempter did not know, or at least doubted, whether Jesus was really God, for otherwise he would never have tempted him. This is, surely, to miss the meaning of the temptation for our Lord himself; for he was tempted as Man. Satan might well haw known that he was God incarnate, and yet not have known whether as Man he might not yield. Weiss ('Life,' 1:343) mistakenly thinks that the object of this first temptation was to insinuate doubt in the mind of Jesus as to his Messiahship. "Command that these stones become bread, and if thou canst not do so, then thou art not the Son of God." Command that; εἰπὸν (cf. Westcott and Hort, 2. App., p. 164) ἵνα (cf. Matthew 20:21, and Winer,§ 44:8). These stones, ie. lying about. Farrar (on Luke 4:3; and especially in 'Life of Christ,' illustrated edit., pp. 99, 100) suggests that there is a special reference to the "loaf-shaped fossils," septaria, which are found in Palestine - as, indeed, in most other countries. But though these "flattened nodules of calcareous clay, ironstone, or other matter" (Page, ' Handbook of Geolog. Terms,' etc., 1859, p. 327) often assume fantastic shapes, perhaps even distantly resembling either an English loaf or a fiat Jewish cake (vide infra) , it seems quite unnecessary to see any allusion to them here. (For the comparison of bread and a stone, cf. Matthew 7:9.) Be made; Revised Version, become; rightly, because there is no thought of the process of manufacture in γένωνται, Bread; Revised Version margin, "Greek, loaves" (ἄρτοι). "The Israelites made bread in the form of an oblong or round cake, as thick as one's thumb, and as large as a plate or Platter; hence it was not cut, but [e.g. Matthew 14:19] broken" (Thayer). In Luke the devil points to one stone only, and tempts him to bid it become a loaf.

Parallel Commentaries ...


The
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

tempter
πειράζων (peirazōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3985: To try, tempt, test. From peira; to test, i.e. Endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline.

came
προσελθὼν (proselthōn)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4334: From pros and erchomai; to approach, i.e. come near, visit, or worship, assent to.

to Him
αὐτῷ (autō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

[and] said,
εἶπεν (eipen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

“If
Εἰ (Ei)
Conjunction
Strong's 1487: If. A primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.

You are
εἶ (ei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

[the] Son
Υἱὸς (Huios)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

of God,
Θεοῦ (Theou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

tell
εἰπὲ (eipe)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

these
οὗτοι (houtoi)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

stones
λίθοι (lithoi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3037: A stone; met: of Jesus as the chief stone in a building. Apparently a primary word; a stone.

to become
γένωνται (genōntai)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

bread.”
ἄρτοι (artoi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 740: Bread, a loaf, food. From airo; bread or a loaf.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 4:3 The tempter came and said to him (Matt. Mat Mt)