VERSE 3: Then came to him the Tempter, and said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stone
First, to confirm unto us the truth of his manhood; for some man might say, it was an easy thing for him to fast forty days and forty nights, seeing he had not a true body, but only the show and shadow of a body: therefore to show that he was true man, and had a true natural body as we have, he was content to sustain hunger, as we do, and that truly. Secondly, that hereby he might cast an object before the devil, to cause him to be the more eager and violent in his temptations, and to show his malice in full measure against him; for by virtue of his office whereto he was now called, Christ was to encounter with Satan our common enemy, and therefore gives him not only the advantage of the place, but also the opportunity of estate, that Satan perceiving his infirmity of bodily hunger, might thereby be emboldened to give the more violent assault upon him.
And thus much of the second part of Christ's preparation to his combat.
VERSE 3.
Then came to him the Tempter, and said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones may be made bread. - MAT. 4.3
Here begins this strange combat between our Savior Christ and the devil, consisting of three great conflicts: The first whereof is contained in this verse and the next, being indeed the greatest of them all, as after shall appear. In this temptation observe these three things: first Satan's preparation to this conflict: secondly the temptation itself: thirdly, Christ's answer and repulse made thereunto.
I. Point: The devils preparation is in these words: Then came to him the Tempter, and said: herein observe four things; first, the title given to Satan the author of this temptation, the Tempter; so Paul calleth him, 1 Thess. 3.5. I sent to know of your faith, left the Tempter had tempted you in any sort: And Satan is called the Tempter, because his continual study and practice hath been and is, by all means to tempt all men; he omits no times, neither spares any pains day or night, but by all means seeks to draw men from God, and to bring them to destruction: the consideration whereof should move us to the practice of these duties.
First, to be watchful in all manner of prayers and supplication against Satan, for the gracious protection of God against his assaults:
If any of us had our dwelling among Lions, Bears, or Tigers, which were hungerbit, and therefore would seek greedily for their pray, we would be sure never to go out of our dwelling houses, without preparation for rescue and defense, whereby we might avoid their danger. Well, though we have no such wild beasts to endanger our bodies; yet our souls are daily assaulted by a more deadly enemy, even the devil, whose continual study and practice is by temptation to devour us, 1 Pet. 5.8. and therefore we must always be watchful against temptations, putting upon us the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against his assaults.
Secondly, as it is the Devils practice always to tempt, and to seek to draw men from God, so because we must be unlike him in all things, we must draw near to God in the practice of all good duties, James
4.7. 8. Resist the devil and he will fly; draw near to God, and he will draw near to you: the conjunction of these two duties shows, that the nearer we come to God, the more we oppose ourselves to Satan: now he that cometh unto God must believe, Heb. 11.6. and therefore by faith must we exercise ourselves unto godliness, as Paul exhorteth
Timothy; and unless we thus strive to be unlike him, we shall never be able to withstand his temptations.
Thirdly, we must hence learn to beware of the practice of seducers, in seeking to draw back others from the love or practice of religion, or in hindering the good means whereby religion is begun and furthered in men; for if either by endeavor in action, or by bad example we shall thus do, doubtless we become tempters, and the children of the devil: for to tempt and draw to sin is the property of Satan, and he that in tempting fulfils the lusts of Satan, must needs be his child, John. 8. 44. hence it was, that our Savior Christ calls
Peter Satan, when he went about to dissuade him from that work for which his Father had sanctified him and sent him into this world, saying, Get behind me Satan, Matt. 16.23. And when Elymas sought to turn away the Deputy from the faith, Paul calls him enemy to all righteousness, full of all subtlety, and child of the devil, Act. 13.10.
The second thing in this preparation is, the time when Satan began to tempt our Savior Christ in a more strong and violent manner, noted in this word Then, that is, when Christ had now fasted forty days and forty nights, and was an hungered; when the devil saw
Christ not only to be alone in the wilderness, but also perceived that he was afflicted with hunger, and so the more weak being in the low estate of a miserable man, Then he prepares to assault Christ with a most violent temptation.
The use. This discovereth unto us the deep policy of Satan in making choice of the fittest time for his assaults: he will not tempt all men at all times, neither always with the greatest temptations; but he forecasts for the time of man's greatest weakness, and thereto he reserveth his strongest assaults: Now usually a man is most weak, when he is under some grievous affliction; either in body, mind, or
both; or when he lieth in the pangs of death: these times doth Satan observe; and keep his strongest temptations against they come, as doth notably appear by his dealing with Christ, not only at this time when he was an hungered, but also and especially at his passion; for the Scripture saith, He spoiled principalities and powers upon the cross: whereby is apparent, that the Devil with his greatest power did then assault him, thinking either then or never to give him the foil, when as he did sustain the wrath of God due unto the sins of man; and so will he handle all the members of Christ; in their greatest extremities they shall be sure to feel Satan's deepest malice, unless
God restrain his power. Which must teach us in the day of peace and strength, to prepare against the day of weakness by any affliction or by death itself, that so we may by God's grace be able to stand against the rage of Satan; for then he will be sure most eagerly to seek our ruin, and unless we prepare beforehand, we shall never be able to stand: Now our best preparation is to come to hear the words of Christ and to do the same, for then, though the winds blow, the rain fall, the waves beat, and Satan do his worst, yet being built upon the rock Christ Jesus, we shall never fall, Matth. 7.24, 25.
The third thing in this preparation, is the occasion of Satan's onset at this time, namely, Christ's bodily hunger, as the knitting of this verse to the former will plainly show, for Christ being a hungered, Satan came unto him and tempted him. He could not find in Christ's most holy manhood any blemish of sin, or inclination thereto whereon to build his temptation; yet such is his malice, that rather than Christ should escape his hands, he will take occasion from the infirmity of his nature in bodily hunger to provoke and allure him unto sin.
Herein we learn a special point; namely, that the devil will have some ground in us for those temptations wherewith he doth assault us; for as we may see by his dealing here with Christ, he observes not only
the inclination of man's heart and soul, but the state and constitution of the body, that if either body or mind will afford him the least advantage, thereon he will be sure to take occasion to tempt. If we regard the seed and root of sin, it is true that every man hath all sins in him, but yet through the work of God, restraining corruption in some, and renewing grace in others, it comes to pass, that each man is more inclined naturally to some sins then to others, which thing
Satan doth observe most diligently; and as an enemy that besiegeth a city will go about it and espy where the wall is weakest and most fit for his entrance, and there will be sure to give his strongest onset; and as a man that would strike fire with a flint, will turn it about in his hand, to see what part is fittest; even so the devil, he goes about a man, and as it were turns him to and fro, to spy out his weakness, and to what sins he is most inclined, and there he will, be sure to try him often, and to assault him with greatest violence. Example: If a man be impatient of poverty, he will seek to carry him to picking and stealing: If a man be prove to covetousness, he will provoke him to fraud and oppression: If he be inclined to ambition, Satan will puff him up with pride and vainglory: nay, which is far more, Satan will take occasion from the very constitution of a man's body to draw him unto sin; if choler be predominant in him, Satan will labor to stir him up to wrath, anger, and fury, and if he can, to bloodshed and murder:
If a man be of a sanguine complexion, Satan will seek to carry him to immoderate mirth, and to excess in pastimes, pleasures and delight, that if it be possible he may drown him therein, whether they be good or bad: If a man be melancholic, Satan will sometime take occasion by that humor to strike him with exceeding sadness, with terrors and fears; and otherwhile to intoxicate his brain with strange fantasies and delusions, causing a man to think himself to be Elias,
John the Baptist, Christ, &c. So as it is true which an ancient Divine saith of this humor, that it is the Devils bait wherewith he sports himself. See the experience hereof in the lunatic person, whose
disease was, to be exceedingly troubled certain times of the month, by reason of melancholy oppressing the brain. Now Satan (as it there appears) took advantage of that humor to abuse him most fearfully, not only in making him deaf and dumb, but also causing him to cast himself into fire and water. So that look how many sins and infirmities we have in us, so many dares we carry about us, wherewith Satan will seek to wound us. He taketh ground or occasion from us, of all the advantage he hath against us; his temptations are like fire and bellows, and our infirmities and corruptions are wood and fuel.
The use. I. Hence then we may behold our miserable estate by reason of sin; for thereby it comes to pass that we bear about us those darts, wherewith the devil doth wound us. And since Satan's craft and malice is such to take advantage from us, for to work our woe, we must labor the more diligently, to be thoroughly acquainted with our natural dispositions and inclinations, yea with our bodily infirmities, for the Devil will search us; and when we have truly found out our own estate, we must set a strong watch and guard about our own hearts in respect of our infirmities, and so shall we be the better able to break the neck of Satan's temptations.
The fourth thing in this preparation is, Satan's coming to Christ; The Tempter came unto him: By which phrase it is probable, though not certain, that the Devil took upon him the form of some creature, and so appeared unto Christ; thus he came to Eve in Paradise, abusing the serpent to further his assault against the first Adam: And it is like, that in his combat with the second Adam, he came in the shape of some creature, for otherwise he could not properly be said to come and speak. Some indeed think that these temptations were inward in mind only, and by vision; others think they were altogether visible and done actually; but the safest way is to hold that they were in part
actually done in bodily manner, and partly showed in vision. And thus much for the preparation to the first conflict.
II. Point. The temptation itself: containing matter of great importance, being indeed the main temptation of all, in these words:
If thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread.
The Devil being well provided for time and place, and advantaged also by Christ's bodily hunger, doth here assault our Savior Christ like a cunning Sophister, and frame his argument Syllogistically, thus:
If thou be the son of God, thou canst make these stones bread.
But thou canst not make these stones bread:
Therefore thou art not the son of God. The ground of this temptation is this: It is no reason that the Son of God should starve for want of food; but thou must starve unless thou canst make these stones bread: and therefore unless thou canst do so, thou mayest persuade thyself it was but a false voice which thou heardest from heaven; This is my well-beloved Son, &c.
The scope and drift of Satan in this temptation stands in two things; First he labors to overthrow the faith of Christ. Secondly, to bring him to a practice of unbelief. For the first, By faith I mean, a gift or grace in Christ, whereby as he was man, he believed his Fathers words to be true, which said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: whereby we may see, what the Devil aims at principally in his temptations against God's children; for these his assaults against our Savior Christ are set down for our instruction in this behalf. Satan's main drift then in temptation is to overthrow our faith, whereby we believe every part and parcel of God's word to be true: See this in his tempting of Eve; first he labors to weaken her
faith in the truth of God's threatening, which done, he easily brought her to actual disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit. The same course he holdeth at this day; first he will seek to nuzzle men in ignorance, that he may keep them in unbelief: if he fail that way, then will he endeavor to plunge their souls into some damnable error and heresy; and by one of these means doth he destroy the faith of many; for while a man remains in ignorance he can have no saith; and if he miss of the truth of God, he wants ground for his faith. Now the reason why the Devil labors so much against our faith is, because we cannot truly rely upon God's mercy, nor depend upon his providence, nor yield any acceptable obedience to his commandments, unless we believe his word.
More particularly we are to observe that special branch of God's word which the Devil would have Christ not to believe; even that voice of his Father, which a little before Christ heard from heaven at his baptism; This is my well-beloved Son in whom I am well pleased:
And this hath the holy Ghost recorded in great wisdom and mercy to God's Church; for hereby doth appear a main drift of Satan against Christ's members in his temptations, namely to make them doubt of their adoption, and to destroy this persuasion in them, that they are the sons and daughters of God; for if herein he spared not the head, doubtless the members shall not escape his hands. This appears by his usual assault against them, specially when God shall lay upon them any lingering cross or affliction, either in mind, in body, or in goods; then the devil will suggest this into their minds; If thou werst the child of God, he would never lay his hand upon thee so long a time and in so grievous manner; never was any child of God in this case that thou art in: But God lays his hand thus heavy on thee; and therefore thou mayest persuade thy self that thou art not the child of God.
The use. The consideration hereof must move us above all things to labor for assurance of our adoption, even to have our consciences, assured out of God's word, that we are the sons and daughters of God in Christ. The devils drift is to overthrow this persuasion in us, and therefore our endeavor must be, to confirm and settle our hearts herein. This is the charge of the holy Ghost upon every child of God;
2 Pet. 1.10. Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure, that is, get the assurance thereof sealed up in your hearts, by the comfortable fruition and practice of the saving graces of God's spirit, joining virtue with your faith, and with your virtue knowledge, with your knowledge temperance, and with temperance patience, and with patience godliness, and with godliness brotherly kindness, and with brotherly kindness love, verse. 5, 6, 7. And indeed if we would have true peace and comfort in every estate whether adversity or prosperity, let us labor for the knowledge of our adoption: This will be our joy in want, in wealth, in bondage, in freedom, in sickness, in health, in life and in death. Herein is that joy of Christ which never can be taken from us, John. 16.22. We cannot do the Devil a greater pleasure, then to neglect the getting of this assurance; for hereupon he will take occasion (specially in time of distress) fearfully and dangerously to seek to break the neck of our souls; he cares not much otherways what men profess, and what knowledge and other common gifts of the spirit they have, so that they want this blessed assurance; and therefore with the Apostle Paul, we must account all other things to be but dross and dung in respect of this excellent knowledge of Christ, to be our Savior and Redeemer. True it is, that unto many this exhortation will seem needless; for ignorant persons that have nothing in them but mere presumption, will brag most of this persuasion; but they that have felt the smart of temptation, do know what it is that will stand us instead, even that assurance only which is rightly founded upon the word of God; and therefore forsaking the vain conceits of our ignorance, let us with all diligence
unfeignedly endeavor to get this resolution; if we cannot of ourselves attain unto it, we must use the direction and help of God's faithful
Ministers; for howsoever it pleaseth some to think otherwise, yet this is the undoubted truth of God, that a man in this life may ordinarily be resolved and assured of his salvation.
The second thing which the Devil aimed at in this temptation, was to bring Christ to a practice of unbelief, namely in want of bread to turn stones into bread, for the present satisfying of his hunger; for the Devil would needs persuade our Savior. Christ that he must have bread to save his life, and therefore in the want of bread would have brought him to this distrustful course, to turn stones into bread.
And as the Devil here deals with Christ, so he assays to do with all his members; as he labors to work unbelief in their hearts, so he seeks to bring them to the practice of unbelief in their lives. See the truth hereof in the course of the world; Is a man oppressed with outward want and poverty? The Devil will tell him, he must needs live, and therefore will persuade him to rob and steal and to filch for his living.
If a man be sick, and want present help in lawful means, or else be afflicted somewhat extraordinarily, then will the Devil move him to seek to Wizards and Witches, suggesting this into him by one means or other, that they can do more good in such a case then all the Physicians in the world. This is a most vile practice of unbelief, and yet too common in the world, wherein men for the removal of some outward evil, will not stick to hazard the loss of their souls. We therefore must labor to be acquainted with these wiles of Satan, and by the practice of faith in our lives, labor to express the power of faith in our hearts, as in all manner of godly conversation, so especially in using only lawful means for our relief in the time of misery and distress.
But to come more particularly to the words of this temptation; If thou be the Son of God command these stones, &c. It may be demanded, why the Devil should make choice of this question wherewith to tempt our Savior Christ, rather than any other?
Answer. The reasons hereof may be these: First, he knew well, that if Christ were the true and proper son of God, then he must needs be the true Messias; and if he were that anointed of God, then also he it was that must accomplish that old and ancient promise made to our first Parents for the bruising of the serpents head: This was the thing that of all other, the Devil was most afraid of, and could not endure to hear; and therefore by moving this question he intends to infringe, yea and (if he could) quite to overthrow our Savior Christ in the right of this title. Secondly, The Devil since his fall, bears an unspeakable deadly hatred against God himself, and according to his nature, as occasion serves, he cannot but show the same. Now in this question he doth notably bewray his malice and spite against God; for, whereas in Christ's baptism a little before, God had proclaimed him to be his beloved son in whom he was well pleased, hereby the Devil goes about to prove the clean contrary, and so as much as in him lieth, seeks to make God a liar; which, because it fitted his nature so well, he makes choice of at this time.
The use. I. In this practice of the devil we may learn what to judge of sundry false teachers; for as well in the Primitive Church as also since that time, there have been sundry men of great same for wisdom and learning, as Ebion, Cerinthus, Carpoorates, Samosatenus, and Arius; who have all labored severally to prove, that Jesus Christ the Son of Marie was not indeed the Son of God, very God, but only a worthy Prophet. Now of them we may safely think with the church of God in former times, that they were false prophets, heretics and seducers, yea the professed enemies of Christ,
guided by the spirit of Satan, for herein they do directly tread in his steps.
II. In this his practice we may observe the malicious and contradicting spirit of Satan against God himself, for here he labors to conclude that Christ was not the Son of God, notwithstanding God himself had a little before avouched that he was. And this is his continued practice unto this day; for where God in his church pronounceth grace, mercy and love, there on the contrary will the Devil pronounce a curse, hatred, and damnation. Again, where God denounceth his curse and judgment, there will the devil seek to persuade a conceit of grace and favor. If a man be the child of God, and have received the seal of grace for his assurance thereof; the Devil will seek to weaken this assurance, and persuade him if he can, that he is the child of wrath. And if a man be void of grace, and so indeed the child of the Devil, then will Satan suggest into his heart presumptuous thoughts, and make him think he is the child of God; so that every way he shows himself contrary to God.
Yet mark the devils words a little further; If thou be the son of God, command these stones, &c. that is, do but say the word, and bid these stones to become bread, and it will be done. And here in the very propounding of this temptation we may observe the deep policy of Satan; for in these few words (the better to effect his purpose) he coucheth three most true and notable points in Divinity: First, that he that is the Son of God by nature, is also true and very God; for here he ascribeth unto the Son of God the true prerogative of God himself; a point wherein the Pharisees withstood our Savior Christ, and which many heretics since have denied. Secondly, that the true
God can without pain or labor, yea without all means at his very beck do whatsoever he will; and by his word only make stones become bread. Thirdly, that to work a miracle of himself, is a property and
prerogative of him alone that is true God; as to turn stones into bread in this place. Now when the Devil acknowledgeth all this, a man would not think that herein he should intend any hurt to Christ or to his church; but in very truth his drift herein is, to destroy the faith of Christ in that word of his father which spake from heaven, and to overthrow the foundation of the church, by proving that Jesus Christ the Son of Marie, was not true God.
Here then observe a trick of the Devils cunning; when he speaks a truth, he doth it not to confirm the same as loving it, but indeed his meaning is to overthrow the truth thereby: which must admonish us, that when Satan shall any way assault us in temptation, we never give credit unto him, no not then when he speaketh the truth, because therein his purpose is to deceive us and to destroy the truth: hence it was that Christ forbad the unclean spirits to testify of him, though they acknowledged him to be the holy one of God: hence also
Paul was grieved at the testimony of the foul spirit that was in the maid, though in itself a most worthy truth, to wit, that they were the servants of the most high God which showed unto men the way of salvation.
Further, in comparing our Evangelist Matthew with S. Luke, there may seem some difference between them in propounding this temptation, for in Matthew the words are thus, command these stones &c. And in Luke thus, command this stone. But they are reconciled thus, Matthew sets down this temptation as the Devil first propounded it; and S. Luke shows how the Devil urged it: for first the devil comes to Christ and bids him, if he be the son of God, command all the stones which he saw round about him to be made bread, this S. Matthew sets down: or if that seemed too much, command one stone to be made bread and it should suffice; and this
S. Luke noteth.