And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
And when the tempter came to him. Evidently we have here a new scene.
He said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread, х artoi (G740)] - rather, 'loaves,' answering to "stones" in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, "Command this stone," in the singular, adds, "that it be made bread" х artos (G740)] in the singular. The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the 40 days, seems now to have come on in all its keenness-no doubt to open a door to the tempter, of which he is not slow to avail himself: q.d., 'Thou still clingest to that vainglorious confidence, that thou art the Son of God, carried away by those illusory scenes at the Jordan. Thou wast born in a stable-but thou art the Son of God! hurried off to Egypt for fear of Herod's wrath-but thou art the Son of God! a carpenter's roof supplied thee with a home, and in the obscurity of a despicable town of Galilee thou hast spent 30 years-yet still thou art the Son of God; and a voice from heaven, it seems, proclaimed it in thine ears at the Jordan! Be it so; But after that, surely thy days of obscurity and trial should have an end. Why linger for weeks in this desert, wandering among the wild beasts and craggy rocks, unhonoured, unattended, unpitied, ready to starve for want of the necessaries of life? Is this befitting "the Son of God?" At the bidding of "the Son of God" sure those stones shall all be turned into loaves, and in a moment present an abundant repast?'