Matthew 4:4

Matthew 4:1-4 Matthew 4:1-4 Mark 1:12-13 Luke 4:1-4 1. Then Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit, that he might be tempted by the devil; 2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he at length was hungry. 3. And when he who tempteth had approached to him, he said, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones may become loaves. [301] 4. But he answering said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth from the mouth of God. 12. And immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness, 13. And he was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights; and was tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. [302] 1. And Jesus, full of the Holy Ghost, returnined from Jordan, and was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. 2. Forty days he was tempted by the devil; and he ate nothing in those days, afterwards he was hungry. [303] 3. And the devil said to him, If thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it may become bread. 4. And Jesus replied to him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Matthew 4:1 . Then Jesus was led. There were two reasons why Christ withdrew into the wilderness. The first was, that, after a fast of forty days, he might come forth as a new man, or rather a heavenly man, to the discharge of his office. The next was, that he might be tried by temptation and undergo an apprenticeship, before he undertook an office so arduous, and so elevated. Let us therefore learn that, by the guidance of the Spirit, Christ withdrew from the crowd of men, in order that he might come forth as the highest teacher of the church, as the ambassador of God, -- rather as sent from heaven, than as taken from some town, and from among the common people. In the same way Moses, when God was about to employ him as his agent in publishing his law, was carried into Mount Sinai, withdrawn from the view of the people, and admitted, as it were, into a heavenly sanctuary, ( Exodus 24:12 .) It was proper that Christ should be surrounded by marks of divine grace and power -- at least equally illustrious with those which were bestowed on Moses, that the majesty of the Gospel might not be inferior to that of the Law. If God bestowed singular honor on a doctrine which was "the ministration of death," ( 2 Corinthians 3:7 ,) how much more honor is due to the doctrine of life? And if a shadowy portrait of God had so much brightness, ought not his face, which appears in the Gospel, to shine with full splendor? Such also was the design of the fasting: for Christ abstained from eating and drinking, not to give an example of temperance, but to acquire greater authority, by being separated from the ordinary condition of men, and coming forth, as an angel from heaven, not as a man from the earth. For what, pray, would have been that virtue of abstinence, in not tasting food, for which he had no more appetite than if he had not been clothed with flesh? [304] It is mere folly, therefore, to appoint a forty days' fast, (as it is called,) in imitation of Christ. There is no more reason why we should follow the example of Christ in this matter, than there formerly was for the holy Prophets, and other Fathers under the law, to imitate the fast of Moses. But we are aware, that none of them thought of doing so; with the single exception of Elijah, who was employed by God in restoring the law, and who, for nearly the same reason with Moses, was kept in the mount fasting. Those who fast daily, during all the forty days, pretend that they are imitators of Christ. But how? They stuff their belly so completely at dinner, that, when the hour of supper arrives, they have no difficulty in abstaining from food. What resemblance do they bear to the Son of God? The ancients practiced greater moderation: but even they had nothing that approached to Christ's fasting, any more, in fact, than the abstinence of men approaches to the condition of angels, who do not eat at all. Besides, neither Christ nor Moses observed a solemn fast every year; but both of them observed it only once during their whole life. I wish we could say that they had only amused themselves, like apes, by such fooleries. It was a wicked and abominable mockery of Christ, to attempt, by this contrivance of fasting, to conform themselves to him as their model. [305] To believe that such fasting is a meritorious work, and that it is a part of godliness and of the worship of God, is a very base superstition. But above all, it is an intolerable outrage on God, whose extraordinary miracle they throw into the shade; secondly, on Christ, whose distinctive badge they steal from him, that they may clothe themselves with his spoils; thirdly, on the Gospel, which loses not a little of its authority, if this fasting of Christ is not acknowledged to be his seal. God exhibited a singular miracle, when he relieved his Son from the necessity of eating and when they attempt the same thing by their own power, what is it but a mad and daring ambition to be equal with God? Christ's fasting was a distinctive badge of the divine glory: and is it not to defraud him of his glory, and to reduce him to the ordinary rank of men, when mortals freely mix themselves with him as his companions? God appointed Christ's fasting to seal the Gospel: and do those who apply it to a different purpose abate nothing from the dignity of the Gospel? Away, then, with that ridiculous imitation, [306] which overturns the purpose of God, and the whole order of his works. Let it be observed, that I do not speak of fastings in general, the practice of which I could wish were more general among us, provided it were pure. But I must explain what was the object of Christ's fasting. Satan availed himself of our Lord's hunger as an occasion for tempting him, as will shortly be more fully stated. For the present, we must inquire generally, why was it the will of God that his Son should be tempted? That he was brought into this contest by a fixed purpose of God, is evident from the words of Matthew and Mark, who say, that for this reason he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. God intended, I have no doubt, to exhibit in the person of his Son, as in a very bright mirror, how obstinately and perseveringly Satan opposes the salvation of men. For how comes it, that he attacks Christ more furiously, and directs all his power and forces against him, at the particular time mentioned by the Evangelists, but because he sees him preparing, at the command of the Father, to undertake the redemption of men? Our salvation, therefore, was attacked in the person of Christ, just as the ministers, whom Christ has authorized to proclaim his redemption, are the objects of Satan's daily warfare. It ought to be observed, at the same time, that the Son of God voluntarily endured the temptations, which we are now considering, and fought, as it were, in single combat with the devil, that, by his victory, he might obtain a triumph for us. Whenever we are called to encounter Satan, let us remember, that his attacks can, in no other way, be sustained and repelled, than by holding out this shield: for the Son of God undoubtedly allowed himself to be tempted, that he may be constantly before our minds, when Satan excites within us any contest of temptations. When he was leading a private life at home, we do not read that he was tempted; but when he was about to discharge the office of Redeemer, he then entered the field in the name of his whole church. But if Christ was tempted as the public representative of all believers, let us learn, that the temptations which befall us are not accidental, or regulated by the will of Satan, without God's permission; but that the Spirit of God presides over our contests as an exercise of our faith. This will aid us in cherishing the assured hope, that God, who is the supreme judge and disposer of the combat, [307] will not be unmindful of us, but will fortify us against those distresses, which he sees that we are unable to meet. There is a slight apparent difference in the words of Luke, that Jesus, full of the Holy Ghost, withdrew from Jordan They imply, that he was then more abundantly endued with the grace and power of the Spirit, in order that he might be more fortified for the battles which he had to fight: for it was not without a good reason that the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a visible shape. It has been already stated, that the grace of God shone in him the more brightly, as the necessity arising out of our salvation became greater. [308] But, at first sight, it appears strange, that Christ was liable to the temptations of the devil: for, when temptation falls on men, it must always be owing to sin and weakness. I:reply: First, Christ took upon him our infirmity, but without sin, ( Hebrews 4:15 .) Secondly, it detracts no more from his glory, that he was exposed to temptations, than that he was clothed with our flesh: for he was made man on the condition that, along with our flesh, he should take upon him our feelings. But the whole difficulty lies in the first point. How was Christ surrounded by our weakness, so as to be capable of being tempted by Satan, and yet to be pure and free from all sin? The solution will not be difficult, if we recollect, that the nature of Adam, while it was still innocent, and reflected the brightness of the divine image, -- was liable to temptations. All the bodily affections, that exist in man, are so many opportunities which Satan seizes to tempt him. It is justly reckoned a weakness of human nature, that our senses are affected by external objects. But this weakness would not be sinful, were it not for the presence of corruption; in consequence of which Satan never attacks us, without doing some injury, or, at least, without inflicting a slight wound. Christ was separated from us, in this respect, by the perfection of his nature; though we must not imagine him to have existed in that intermediate condition, which belonged to Adam, to whom it was only granted, that it was possible for him not to sin. We know, that Christ was fortified by the Spirit with such power, that the darts of Satan could not pierce him. [309] Matthew 4:3. And when he, who tempteth, had approached to him. This name, ho peirazon, the tempter, is given to Satan by the Spirit for the express purpose, that believers may be more carefully on their guard against him. Hence, too, we conclude, that temptations, which solicit us to what is evil, come from him alone: for, when God is sometimes said to tempt or prove, ( Genesis 22:1 ; Deuteronomy 13:3 ,) it is for a different purpose, namely, to try their faith, or to inflict punishment on unbelievers, or to discover the hypocrisy of those who do not sincerely obey the truth. That these stones may become loaves. Here the ancients amused themselves with ingenious trifles. The first temptation, they said, was to gluttony; the second, to ambition; and the third, to covetousness. But it is absurd to suppose that it arises from the intemperance of gluttony, [310] when a hungry person desires food to satisfy nature. What luxury will they fancy themselves to have discovered in the use of bread, that one who satisfies himself, as we say, with dry bread, must be reckoned an epicure? But not to waste more words on that point, Christ's answer alone is sufficient to show, that the design of Satan was altogether different. The Son of God was not such an unskillful or inexperienced antagonist, as not to know how he might ward off the strokes of his adversary, or idly to present his shield on the left hand when he was attacked on the right. If Satan had endeavored to allure him by the enticements of gluttony, [311] he had at hand passages of Scripture fitted to repel him. But he proposes nothing of this sort. 4. Man shall not live by bread alone. He quotes the statement, that men do not live by bread alone, but by the secret blessing of God. Hence we conclude, that Satan made a direct attack on the faith of Christ, in the hope that, after destroying his faith, he would drive Christ to unlawful and wicked methods of procuring food. And certainly he presses us very hard, when he attempts to make us distrust God, and consult our own advantage in a way not authorized by his word. The meaning of the words, therefore, is: "When you see that you are forsaken by God, you are driven by necessity to attend to yourself. Provide then for yourself the food, with which God does not supply you." Now, though [312] he holds out the divine power of Christ to turn the stones into loaves, yet the single object which he has in view, is to persuade Christ to depart from the word of God, and to follow the dictates of infidelity. Christ's reply, therefore, is appropriate: "Man shall not live by bread alone. You advise me to contrive some remedy, for obtaining relief in a different manner from what God permits. This would be to distrust God; and I have no reason to expect that he will support me in a different manner from what he has promised in his word. You, Satan, represent his favor as confined to bread: but Himself declares, that, though every kind of food were wanting, his blessing alone is sufficient for our nourishment." Such was the kind of temptation which Satan employed, the same kind with which he assails us daily. The Son of God did not choose to undertake any contest of an unusual description, but to sustain assaults in common with us, that we might be furnished with the same armor, and might entertain no doubt as to achieving the victory. It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. The first thing to be observed here is, that Christ uses Scripture as his shield: for this is the true way of fighting, if we wish to make ourselves sure of the victory. With good reason does Paul say, that, the sword of the Spirit is the word of God," and enjoin us to "take the shield of faiths" ( Ephesians 6:16 ,17.) Hence also we conclude, that Papists, as if they had made a bargain with Satan, cruelly give up souls to be destroyed by him at his pleasure, when they wickedly withhold the Scripture from the people of God, and thus deprive them of their arms, by which alone their safety could be preserved. Those who voluntarily throw away that armor, and do not laboriously exercise themselves in the school of God, deserve to be strangled, at every instant, by Satan, into whose hands they give themselves up unarmed. No other reason can be assigned, why the fury of Satan meets with so little resistance, and why so many are everywhere carried away by him, but that God punishes their carelessness, and their contempt of his word. We must now examine more closely the passage, which is quoted by Christ from Moses: that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live, ( Deuteronomy 8:3 .) There are some who torture it to a false meaning, as referring to spiritual life; as if our Lord had said, that souls are not nourished by visible bread, but by the word of God. The statement itself is, no doubt, true: but Moses had quite a different meaning. He reminds them that, when no bread could be obtained, God provided them with an extraordinary kind of nourishment in "manna, which they knew not, neither did their fathers know," ( Deuteronomy 8:3 ;) and that this was intended as an evident proof, in all time coming, that the life of man is not confined to bread, but depends on the will and good-pleasure of God. The word does not mean doctrine, but the purpose which God has made known, with regard to preserving the order of nature and the lives of his creatures. Having created men, he does not cease to care for them: but, as "he breathed into their nostrils the breath of life," ( Genesis 2:7 ,) so he constantly preserves the life which he has bestowed. In like manner, the Apostle says, that he "upholdeth all things by his powerful word," ( Hebrews 1:3 ;) that is, the whole world is preserved, and every part of it keeps its place, by the will and decree of Him, whose power, above and below, is everywhere diffused. Though we live on bread, we must not ascribe the support of life to the power of bread, but to the secret kindness, by which God imparts to bread the quality of nourishing our bodies. Hence, also, follows another statement: by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God shall men live. God, who now employs bread for our support, will enable us, whenever he pleases, to live by other means. This declaration of Moses condemns the stupidity of those, who reckon life to consist in luxury and abundance; while it reproves the distrust and inordinate anxiety which drives us to seek unlawful means. The precise object of Christ's reply is this: We ought to trust in God for food, and for the other necessaries of the present life, in such a manner, that none of us may overleap the boundaries which he has prescribed. But if Christ did not consider himself to be at liberty to change stones into bread, without the command of God, much less is it lawful for us to procure food by fraud, or robbery, or violence, or murder. Footnotes: [301] "Ut lapides hi panes fiant;" -- "Que ces pierres devienent pains." [302] "Et estoit avec les bestes sauvages." [303] "Mais apres qu'ils furent passez, il ent faim;" -- "but after that they were past, he was hungry." [304] "Car, je vous prie, quelle virtu d' abstinence y-eust-il eue a, ne taster point de viande, veu qu'il n'avoit nulle faim qui le pressast? Car il est certain, et les Evangelistes le donnent a entendre assez clairement, qu'il s'est passe de manger tout ainsi que s'il n'eust point este revestu de notre chair." -- "For what virtue of abstinence, pray, was there in not tasting food, since he had no hunger that pressed him? For it is certain, and the Evangelists give us plainly enough to understand, that he had left off eating as completely as if he had not been clothed with our flesh." [305] "En ce qu'ils se sont essayez par leur jeusne, forge a leur fantasie, de se mettre du rang de Christ, et se mesurer a luy." -- "In having attempted, by their fast, forged according to their fancy, to place themselves in the same rank with Christ, and to vie with him." [306] "chachozelia." -- "Ceste singerie et imitation contrefaite;" -- "that apishness and counterfeit imitation." [307] "Agonotheta." This word, slightly altered from the Greek word agonothetes, signifiesthe judge who presided at the public games." The Epistles of Paul contain many allusions to the Olympic games, -- sometimes so rapid and indirect, that they are apt to be lost in a translation, and at other times swelling into an extended picture, which arrests and captivates every reader. Those who are familiar with his writings, and who have occasion to treat of the same class of subjects, will naturally employ the same kind of illustrations, in conveying to the minds of others those conceptions, for which they have been indebted to this great master. While they describe the contests of the people of God with outward foes, or their more violent struggles with the old man within, they will frequently, and sometimes unconsciously, fall into similar allusions. -- Ed. [308] Here the French copy gives an additional illustration, of which no trace is found in the Latin original. "Le mesme S. Luc avec S. Marc enseigne que le commencement des tentations estoit de plus loin. Car Satan avoit assailli Christ quarante jours au paravant qu'il eust faim: mais les principaux et plus excellens combats sont icy recitez, afin que nous sachions que Satan veincu en plusieurs assaux, s'est finalement rue furieusement, et de toute sa force, pour voir s'il pourroit d'aventure veincre finalement celuy duquel il n'avoit peu venir a bout. Car d'autant plus qu'on est exere aux combats spirituels, Dieu permet aussi qu'on soit plus rudement assailli. Parquoy apprenons a ne nous lasser jamais, jusqu'a ce qu' ayans paracheve tout le cours de notre guerre, nous soyons parvenus au but." -- "The same St Luke, as well as St Mark, informs us, that the commencement of the temptations was more distant. For Satan had attacked Christ forty days before he was hungry: but the most important and valuable combats are here related, in order that we may know that Satan, vanquished in many assaults, had fallen upon him furiously, and with all his might, to see if perhaps he might finally vanquish him, with whom he had not been able to succeed. For the more that we are exercised in spiritual combats, God allows us to be the more violently attacked. Wherefore let us learn, never to become weary, till, having finished the whole course of our war, we have reached the end." [309] "Car nous savons que Christ a este muni d'une telle vertu de l'Esprit, que les dards de Satan ne le pouvoyent navrer ne blesser: c'est a dire, qcu'il estoit impossible que peche tombast en luy." -- "For we know that Christ was fortified by such a power of the Spirit, that the darts of Satan could not pierce or wound him: that is, that it was impossible for sin to fall upon him." [310] "Friandise ou gourmandise;" -- "epicurism or gormandizing." [311] "A friandise, ou a quelque excez de la bouche." -- "To epicurism, or any excess of the palate." [312] "Combien que pour couvrir sa malice;" -- "though, to cover his malice."

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. But he answered and said, It is written — "With his sore and great and strong sword" of the Spirit doth the Lord here "punish leviathan, that crooked piercing serpent," Isaiah 27:7 . With these shafts out of God’s quiver, with these pebbles chosen out of the silver streams of the Scriptures, doth he prostrate the Goliah of hell. The word of God hath a power in it to quail and to quash Satan’s temptations, far better than that wooden dagger, that leaden sword of the Papists, their holy water, crossings, grains, dirty relics, … It is not the sign of the cross, but the word of the cross, that overthrows Satan. He can no more abide by it than an owl by the shining of the sun. Set therefore the word against the temptation, and the sin is laid. Say, I must not do it, I may not, I dare not; for it is forbidden in such a place, and again in such a place. And be sure to have places of Scripture ready at hand (as Saul had his spear and pitcher ready at his head even while he slept), that ye may "resist the devil," "steadfast in the faith," grounded on the word. Joseph overcame him by remembering the seventh commandment: and David, by hiding this word in his heart, Psalms 119:11 . Wicked therefore was that advice of Dr Bristow to his agents, to labour still to get heretics out of their weak and false castle of Holy Scriptures into the plain fields of councils and fathers. The Scriptures are our armoury (far beyond that of Solomon, Song of Solomon 4:4 ), whither we must resort and furnish ourselves. One savoury sentence thereof shall do us more service than all the pretty, witty sayings and sentences of fathers and philosophers, or constitutions of councils. Man liveth not by bread alone — Though ordinarily, as having a nourishing property inherent in it for such a purpose; yet so, as that the operation and success is guided by God’s power and goodness, whereon (as on a staff) this staff of life leaneth, Ezekiel 4:16 ; "A wise woman buildeth her house," Proverbs 14:1 . As the carpenter lays the plan of the house in his head first, and contrives it, so doth she forecast, and further the well doing of her family: and yet "except the Lord also build the house, they labour in vain that build it," Psalms 127:1 . So the diligent hand and the blessing of God (meeting) make rich, Proverbs 10:4 ; Proverbs 10:22 . But by every word, … — That is, by anything else besides bread, whatsoever God shall think good, whatsoever he shall appoint and give power unto to be nourishment. Therefore if bread fail, feed on faith, Psalms 37:3 . Pascere fide: so Junius reads that text. Jehoshaphat found it sovereign when all other help failed him, 2 Chronicles 20:6 ; 2 Chronicles 20:6 . And the captive Jews lived by faith, when they had little else to live upon, and made a good living of it, Habakkuk 2:4 . To this text the Jews seem to allude in that fiction of theirs, that Habakkuk was carried by the hair of the head, by an angel, into Babylon, to carry a dinner to Daniel in the den. (History of Bel and the Dragon, /Apc Bel 33-39) It was by faith that he "stopped the mouth of lions, and obtained promises," Hebrews 11:33 ; and by faith that she answered the persecutors, "If you take away my meat, I trust God will take away my stomach." (Eliz. Young, Acts and Monuments.) God made the ravens feed Elias, that were more likely (in that famine) to have fed upon his dead carcase; and another time caused him to go forty days in the strength of one meal, 1 Kings 19:8 . Merlyn was nourished a fortnight together with one egg a day, laid by a hen that came constantly to that haymow, where he lay hidden during the massacre of Paris. (French Chronicle.) And who hath not read or heard how, by a miracle of his mercy, God relieved Rochelle in a strait siege by an innumerable company of fishes cast in upon them? Carissima semper munera sunt, author quae preciosa facit. Faith fears no famine ( fides famem non formidat ); and although it be but small in substance and in show (as the manna was), yet is it great in virtue and operation. The rabbins say, that manna had all manner of good tastes in it: so hath faith. It drinks to a man in a cup of nepenthe, and bids him be of good cheer, God will provide for him. The Bishop of Norwich kept Robert Samuel, martyr, without food and drink, whereby he was unmercifully vexed, saving that he had every day allowed him two or three morsels of bread, and three spoonfuls of water, to the end he might be reserved to further torment. How often would he have drunk his own water! But his body was so dried up with long emptiness, that he was not able to make one drop of water. After he had been famished with hunger two or three days together, he fell into a sleep, as it were one half in a slumber; at which time one clothed in white seemed to stand before him, which ministered comfort unto him by these words, "Samuel, Samuel, be of good cheer, and take a good heart unto thee; for after this day thou shalt never be either hungry or thirsty;" for speedily after this he was burned, and from that time, till he should suffer, he felt neither hunger nor thirst. And this declared he, to the end, as he said, that all men might behold the wonderful work of God. (Acts and Monuments.) He likes not to be tied to the second ordinary causes, nor that (in defect of the means) we should doubt his providence. It is true, he commonly worketh by them, when he could do without, that we may not neglect the means, as being ordained of him. (David shall have victory, but by an ambush, 2 Samuel 5:19-24 ; 2 Samuel 5:19-24 . Men shall be nourished, but by their labour, Psalms 128:2 ) But yet so, as that he doth all in all by those means (he made grass, grain, and trees, before he made the sun, moon, and stars, by the influence whereof they are and grow). Yea, to show himself chief, he can and doth work, other whiles, without means 2 Chronicles 14:11 , and against means, suspending the power and operation of the natural causes as when the fire burnt not, the water drowned not, the sun went back ten degrees, the rock gave water, the iron swam, … And then, when he works by means, he can make them produce an effect diverse from their nature and disposition; or can hinder, change, or mitigate their proper effect; at the prayer of Elias it rained not for three years and a half. "And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit," James 5:17-18 ; James 5:17-18 . A man would have thought that after such a long drought, the roots of trees and herbs should have been utterly dried up, and the land past recovery; but "God heard the heavens" (petitioning to him that they might exercise their influence for the fructifying of the earth), and the "heavens heard the earth, and the earth heard the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they heard Jezreel," Hosea 2:22 . Let all this keep us, as it did our Saviour here, from diffidence in God’s providence, and make us "possess our souls in patience," Luke 21:19 , hang upon the promise, and account it as good as present pay, though we see not how it can be effected. God loves to go away by himself. "He knows how to deliver his," saith St. Peter, 2 Peter 2:9 , and he might speak it by experience, Acts 12:9 , if ever any man might. "The king shall rejoice in God," saith David of himself when he was a poor exile in the wilderness of Judah, Psalms 63:11 . But he had God’s word for the kingdom, and therefore he was confident, seemed the thing ever so improbable or impossible. We trust a skilful workman to go his own way to work; shall we not God? In the sixth year of the reign of Darius Nothus was the Temple fully finished. That sacred work which the husband and son of an Esther crossed shall be happily accomplished by a bastard. The Israelites thought that Moses should presently have delivered them, and he himself thought as much, and therefore began before his time to do justice upon the Egyptian whom he slew and hid in the sand. But we see, God went another way to work; he sent Moses into a far country, and the bondage was for forty years after exceedingly increased upon them; yet all this to humble and try them, and to do them good in their latter end, Deuteronomy 8:2-3 ; Deuteronomy 8:2-3 . He crosseth many times our likeliest project, and gives a blessing to those times and means whereof we despair. He breaks in pieces the ship that we think should bring us to shore, but casts us upon such boards as we did not expect. Lose we then any particular means? saith one; it is but the scattering of a beam, the breaking of a bucket, when the sun and the fountain is the same. But we for the most part do as Hagar did: when the bottle was spent, she falls a crying she was undone, she and her child should die; till the Lord opened her eyes to see the fountain. It was near her but she saw it not; when she saw it she was well enough. "If thou hadst been here," said Martha, "my brother Lazarus had not died." As if Christ could not have kept him alive, unless he had been present. So if Christ will come and lay his hands on Jairus’ daughter, Mark 5:23 , and Elisha stroke his hand over Naaman’s leprosy, they shall be cured, 2 Kings 5:11 ; 2 Kings 5:11 . So the disciples believed that Christ could feed so many thousands in the wilderness, but then he must have two hundred pennyworth of bread, Mark 6:37 . But our Saviour gave them, soon after, an ocular demonstration of this truth, "That man liveth not by bread alone," … "They shall be helped with a little help," Daniel 11:34 . Why a little? that through weaker means we may see God’s greater strength.

So also Luke 4:4 . There is no better answering the tempter than by opposing the precepts of holy writ to his motions to sin. The word is called the sword of the Spirit, Ephesians 6:17 . The papists, therefore, denying people the use of the word, disarm them as to the spiritual combat. It is written Deu 8:3 . Though man ordinarily liveth by common bread, such food as men usually eat, yet God’s power is not restrained, he can uphold the life of man when that is wanting, as he supported the Israelites by manna (to which that text relates); nor is God obliged to create any extraordinary means, for his power, which is seen in creating such means, can produce the same effect without such means if it pleaseth him. His power must be seen in creating the means, and in upholding the proper power and faculty of the means, in order to their end; why cannot he by the same power produce the effect without any such means?

But he answered and said, it is written,.... The passage referred to, and cited, is in Deuteronomy 8:3 the manner of citing it is what was common and usual with the Jews; and is often to be met with in the Talmudic writings; who, when they produce any passage of scripture, say "as it is written". The meaning of this scripture is; not that as the body lives by bread, so the soul lives by the word of God, and doctrines of the Gospel; though this is a certain truth: or that man lives by obedience to the commands of God, as was promised to the Israelites in the wilderness, and in the land of Canaan; but that God, in satisfying man's hunger, and in supporting and preserving his life, is not tied to bread only, but can make use of other means, and order whatever he pleases to answer these ends; as, by raining manna from heaven, which is mentioned in the passage cited; and therefore there was no occasion to change the nature of things, to turn stones into bread; since that was not so absolutely necessary to the sustenance of life, as that it could not be maintained without it. Our Lord hereby expresses his strong faith and confidence in God, that he was able to support him, and would do it, though in a wilderness, and destitute of supply; whereby he overcame this temptation of Satan. Christ, in this, and some following citations, bears a testimony to, and establishes the authority of the sacred writings; and though he was full of the Holy Ghost, makes them the rule of his conduct; which ought to be observed against those, who, under a pretence of the Spirit, deny the scriptures to be the only rule of faith and practice and at the same time points out to us the safest and best method of opposing Satan's temptations; namely, by applying to, and making use of the word of God.

Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special tokens of Divine favour, will not secure any from being tempted. But if the Holy Spirit witness to our being adopted as children of God, that will answer all the suggestions of the evil spirit. Christ was directed to the combat. If we presume upon our own strength, and tempt the devil to tempt us, we provoke God to leave us to ourselves. Others are tempted, when drawn aside of their own lust, and enticed, Jas 1:14; but our Lord Jesus had no corrupt nature, therefore he was tempted only by the devil. In the temptation of Christ it appears that our enemy is subtle, spiteful, and very daring; but he can be resisted. It is a comfort to us that Christ suffered, being tempted; for thus it appears that our temptations, if not yielded to, are not sins, they are afflictions only. Satan aimed in all his temptations, to bring Christ to sin against God. 1. He tempted him to despair of his Father's goodness, and to distrust his Father's care concerning him. It is one of the wiles of Satan to take advantage of our outward condition; and those who are brought into straits have need to double their guard. Christ answered all the temptations of Satan with It is written; to set us an example, he appealed to what was written in the Scriptures. This method we must take, when at any time we are tempted to sin. Let us learn not to take any wrong courses for our supply, when our wants are ever so pressing: in some way or other the Lord will provide. 2. Satan tempted Christ to presume upon his Father's power and protection, in a point of safety. Nor are any extremes more dangerous than despair and presumption, especially in the affairs of our souls. Satan has no objection to holy places as the scene of his assaults. Let us not, in any place, be off our watch. The holy city is the place, where he does, with the greatest advantage, tempt men to pride and presumption. All high places are slippery places; advancements in the world makes a man a mark for Satan to shoot his fiery darts at. Is Satan so well versed in Scripture as to be able to quote it readily? He is so. It is possible for a man to have his head full of Scripture notions, and his mouth full of Scripture expressions, while his heart is full of bitter enmity to God and to all goodness. Satan misquoted the words. If we go out of our way, out of the way of our duty, we forfeit the promise, and put ourselves out of God's protection. This passage, De 8:3, made against the tempter, therefore he left out part. This promise is firm and stands good. But shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? No. 3. Satan tempted Christ to idolatry with the offer of the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. The glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary; by that men are most easily imposed upon. Christ was tempted to worship Satan. He rejected the proposal with abhorrence. Get thee hence, Satan! Some temptations are openly wicked; and they are not merely to be opposed, but rejected at once. It is good to be quick and firm in resisting temptation. If we resist the devil he will flee from us. But the soul that deliberates is almost overcome. We find but few who can decidedly reject such baits as Satan offers; yet what is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Christ was succoured after the temptation, for his encouragement to go on in his undertaking, and for our encouragement to trust in him; for as he knew, by experience, what it was to suffer, being tempted, so he knew what it was to be succoured, being tempted; therefore we may expect, not only that he will feel for his tempted people, but that he will come to them with seasonable relief.

4. But he answered and said, It is written—(De 8:3). Man shall not live by bread alone—more emphatically, as in the Greek, "Not by bread alone shall man live." but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God—Of all passages in Old Testament Scripture, none could have been pitched upon more apposite, perhaps not one so apposite, to our Lord's purpose. "The Lord … led thee (said Moses to Israel, at the close of their journeyings) these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only," &c., "Now, if Israel spent, not forty days, but forty years in a waste, howling wilderness, where there were no means of human subsistence, not starving, but divinely provided for, on purpose to prove to every age that human support depends not upon bread, but upon God's unfailing word of promise and pledge of all needful providential care, am I, distrusting this word of God, and despairing of relief, to take the law into My own hand? True, the Son of God is able enough to turn stones into bread: but what the Son of God is able to do is not the present question, but what is man's duty under want of the necessaries of life. And as Israel's condition in the wilderness did not justify their unbelieving murmurings and frequent desperation, so neither would Mine warrant the exercise of the power of the Son of God in snatching despairingly at unwarranted relief. As man, therefore, I will await divine supply, nothing doubting that at the fitting time it will arrive." The second temptation in this Gospel is in Luke's the third. That Matthew's order is the right one will appear, we think, quite clearly in the sequel.

But he answered and said ... - In reply to this artful temptation Christ answered by a quotation from the Old Testament. The passage is found in Deuteronomy 8:3 . In that place the discourse is respecting manna. Moses says that the Lord humbled the people, and fed them with manna, an unusual kind of food, that they might learn that man did not live by bread only, but that there were other things to support life, and that everything which God had commanded was proper for this. The term "word," used in this place, means very often, in Hebrew, thing, and clearly in this place has that meaning. Neither Moses nor our Saviour had any reference to spiritual food, or to the doctrines necessary to support the faith of believers; but they simply meant that God could support life by other things than bread; that man was to live, not by that only, but by every other thing which proceeded out of his mouth; that is, which he chose to command people to eat. The substance of his answer, then, is: "It is not so imperiously necessary that I should have bread as to make a miracle proper to procure it. Life depends on the will of God. He can support it in other ways as well as by bread. He has created other things to be eaten, and man may live by everything that his Maker has commanded." And from this temptation we may learn: 1. That Satan often takes advantage of our circumstances and wants to tempt us. The poor, the hungry, and the naked he often tempts to repine and complain, and to be dishonest in order to supply their necessities. 2. Satan's temptations are often the strongest immediately after we have been remarkably favored. Jesus had just been called the Son of God, and Satan took this opportunity to try him. He often attempts to fill us with pride and vain self-conceit when we have been favored with any peace of mind, or any new view of God, and endeavors to urge us to do something which may bring us low and lead us to sin. 3. His temptations are plausible. They often seem to be only urging us to do what is good and proper. They seem even to urge us to promote the glory of God, and to honor him. We are not to think, therefore, that because a thing may seem to be good in itself, that therefore it is to be done. Some of the most powerful temptations of Satan occur when he seems to be urging us to do what shall be for the glory of God. 4. We are to meet the temptations of Satan, as the Saviour did, with the plain and positive declarations of Scripture. We are to inquire whether the thing is commanded, and whether, therefore, it is right to do it, and not trust to our own feelings, or even our wishes, in the matter.