Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 4:3

"And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." — Matthew 4:3 (ASV)

He said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made into bread.

He begins with an "if." He tries to cast a doubt upon the Saviour's Sonship, and this is the way that he often attacks a child of God now. He says to him, "If you are a son of God, do so-and-so." He challenged Christ to work a miracle for himself—to use his divine power on his own behalf, but this the Saviour never did.

He challenged Christ to distrust the providence of God, and to be his own Provider; and this is still a very common temptation to God's people.

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

"You can do it if you are indeed the Son of God. You are hungry, therefore feed yourself. Your Father has forgotten you, his providence has failed you; be your own providence, work a miracle for yourself." How little the tempter, with all his knowledge, understood the true character of Christ! Our Lord never worked a miracle in order to supply his own needs.

He adapted the temptation to the circumstances. He tempted a hungry man with bread. He put it very cunningly. Only one single word and the hard stone of the desert would be biscuit.

Let Him undertake to be His own provider and use His miraculous power as Son of God to spread a table for Himself. The tempter begins his suggestion with an if, an if about His Sonship. This is his usual fashion.

He urges the Lord to prove His Sonship by providing for Himself, and yet that would have been the surest way to prove that He was not the Son of God. A true son will not doubt his father and undertake to provide his own bread. He will wait to be fed by his father's hand. The evil one wanted the only-begotten Son to cease to depend on God and take matters into His own hands. Temptations to unbelieving self-help are common enough, but very dangerous.