Matthew 4:3

“And when the tempter came to him. etc.] By “the tempter”, is meant the devil, (see <520305>1 Thessalonians 3:5) so called, because it is his principal work and business, in which he employs himself, to solicit men to sin; and tempt them either to deny, or call in question the being of God, arraign his perfections, murmur at his providences, and disbelieve his promises. When he is here said to come to Christ at the end of forty days and nights, we are not to suppose, that he now first began to tempt him; for the other Evangelists expressly say, that he was tempted of him forty days, (<410113>Mark 1:13 <420402>Luke 4:2) but he now appeared openly, and in a visible shape: all the forty days and…”

“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--rather, "loaves," answering to "stones" in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, "Command this stone," in the singular, adds, "that it be made bread," in the singular (Luk 4:3). The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the forty 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; "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…”

“The tempter - The devil, or Satan. See Matthew 4:1. If thou be the Son of God - If thou art God’s own Son, then thou hast power to work a miracle, and here is a suitable opportunity to try thy power, and show that thou art sent from God. Command that these stones ... - The stones that were lying around him in the wilderness. No temptation could have been more plausible, or more likely to succeed, than this. He had just been declared to be the Son of God Matthew 3:17, and here was an opportunity to show that he was really so. The circumstances were such as to make it appear plausible and proper to work this miracle. “Here you are,” was the language of Satan, “hungry, cast out, alone, needy,…”

“Coming to him - In a visible form; probably in a human shape, as one that desired to inquire farther into the evidences of his being the Messiah. Matthew 4:4”

“4:3-4 Jesus refused to use his supernatural power to obtain the food that he trusted God to provide. Unlike the people of Israel, who sorely tested God through complaint and unbelief (see Exod 16), Jesus refused to question God’s faithfulness. Instead, he trusted God to provide for his true need, the sustenance of every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

“the tempter: Job 1:9-12, Job 2:4-7; Luk 22:31, Luk 22:32; Th1 3:5; Rev 2:10, Rev 12:9-11 if: Mat 3:17; Luk 4:3, Luk 4:9 command: Gen 3:1-5, Gen 25:29-34; Exo 16:3; Num 11:4-6; Psa 78:17-20; Heb 12:16 Matthew 4:4”