And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Ver. 3. Then came unto him the tempter] ο πειραζων. So called, because he politicly feels our pulses which way they beat, and accordingly fits us a penny worth. He sets a wedge of gold before covetous Achan, a courtesan Cozbi before a voluptuous Zimri, a fair preferment before an ambitious Absalom: and finds well that a fit object is half a victory. So dealt his agents with those ancient Christians, επρισθησαν, επειρασθησαν, they "were sawn asunder, they were tempted," saith the apostle, Heb 11:37 to wit, with the proffers of preferment, would they but have renounced their religion and done sacrifice to an idol. So the Pope tempted Luther with wealth and honour. But all in vain; he turned him to God, Et valde protestatus sum, saith he, me nolle sic satiari ab eo, he said flat, that God should not put him off with these low things. (Melch. Adam.) Here was a man full of the spirit of Christ. The tempter came to Christ, but found nothing in him; that matter was not malleable. In vain shall the devil strike fire if we find not tinder; in vain shall he knock at the door if we look not out to him at the window. Let us but divorce the flesh from the world, and the devil can do us no hurt. Ita cave tibi, ut caveas teipsum. From that naughty man myself, good Lord, deliver me, said one.
If thou be the Son of God] As the devil quarrelled and questioned the law given in Paradise as nought, or naught; so doth he hear the voice from heaven as a mere imposture. And this he did out of deep and desperate malice; for he could not be ignorant nor doubtful. Neither is his dealing otherwise with us (many times), who are too ready (at his instigation) to doubt our spiritual sonship. We need not help the tempter, by holding it a duty to doubt; this is to light a candle before the devil, as we use to speak. Rather let us settle and secure this, that we are indeed the sons of God and heirs of heaven, by passing through the narrow womb of repentance, that we may be born again, and by getting an effectual faith, the property whereof is to adopt as well as to justify; viz. ratione obiecti, by means of Christ the object upon whom faith layeth hold, and into whom it engrafts the believer after an unspeakable manner. Now ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, Galatians 3:26; John 1:12, who hath both laid down the price of this greatest privilege, Hebrews 9:15; Galatians 4:5, and sealed it up to us by his Spirit, crying, "Abba, Father," in our hearts, whatever Satan or our own misgiving hearts object to the contrary, Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:13 .
Command that these stones be made bread] And so distrust the providence of God for relieving thy body in this hunger; help thyself by working a preposterous miracle, in this point of God's providence for this present life. Satan troubled David and Jeremiah, and so he doth many good souls at this day, who can sooner trust God with their souls than with their bodies; and for a crown than for a crust, as those disciples, Matthew 16:8 .