Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 4:3

"And the devil said unto him, if thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread." — Luke 4:3 (ASV)

The “devil” (Gk 1333) has several names in the Bible: notably the OT name “Satan” (e.g., 4:8; 10:18; 11:18). He opposes God and God’s servants (1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 1:6–12; Job 2:1–7; Zechariah 3:1–2). He may seem to be ubiquitous but is not omnipresent. Sometimes he works indirectly through the evil spirits who form his domain (cf. 11:14–20). The devil begins his temptation by picking up on the declaration of Jesus’ sonship in 3:22. The reference to bread is probably a temptation for Jesus to satisfy his own need and gratify himself. But since bread is not inherently evil (cf. 11:3), the main issue is not one of allurement to perverted self-gratification (as in Jas 1:14– 15), but a challenge to act apart from faithful dependence on God. Jesus’ reply is brief, a partial quotation of Dt 8:2, where Moses was reminding Israel of God’s testing of them for forty years. The next verse specifically refers to hunger and the provision of manna, which the Lord gave Israel so that the people might know that humans need not merely bread but the sustaining word of God. Thus, while he is being “tempted” (GK 4279) by the devil, Jesus is also proving faithful to God, in contrast to Israel’s response when they were “tested” by God in the desert. Jesus is dependent on God and obedient to his word.