And the tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
This statement shows the first stage of the temptation, where Satan tests Jesus by saying that He should use His divine power for personal needs. He tries to undermine Jesus’ trust in the Father by urging Him to satisfy His hunger by His own authority. But Jesus, as we will see next, rejects this temptation, showing that spiritual obedience is higher than bodily demand. This temptation is the fundamental trial of the human being, in which a temptation arises for him to place his own will above God’s will. Jesus’ response, which we will see next, confirms that He did not come to serve His personal comfort, but to carry out the Father’s plan.