The Temptation on the Mountain (1)
• Not only the three temptations — the element of doubt… and why?
• Examples of temptations — the meaning of the intended sonship
• On the tongue of Peter — Christ does not use His divinity for the comfort of His humanity
• On the tongues of His crucifiers — care for the spirit also
• Temptations since the birth — solving Adam’s problem
• “To aid those who are tempted” — the use of bread as a means
• The devil loves to fight the strong — first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
• Three kinds of fruits — livelihood and wrong examples
• Temptation does not mean falling
• Not incidental points
• Confusion
Introductions
Before presenting the temptation of the Lord Christ on the mountain, it is good to first offer some important observations:
First: Christ’s temptation was not limited to the three temptations that occurred at the end of the forty days, but rather lasted throughout the entire forty days.
Our teacher St. Luke the Evangelist says that the Lord “was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil for forty days” (Luke 4:1–2; Mark 1:13). These temptations were not recorded, but they did not prevent the tempter from coming to Him afterward with the three great temptations.
And after these three temptations, the devil did not leave Him without trials, for St. Luke says: “When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).
The phrase “until a time” means that he returned again, perhaps many times. One example is when the Lord spoke of His crucifixion days before it happened — Peter came and rebuked Him saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You.” But the Lord answered, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me” (Matthew 16:21–23).
Here the devil offered temptation through the lips of Peter — a temptation to avoid the cross.
And later, the same temptation appeared again through the words of the thief on the left: “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us” (Luke 23:39).
And through the passers-by: “Save Yourself and come down from the cross! Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:30, 32).
And also, “If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross… He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him” (Matthew 27:40, 42).
Truly, coming down from the cross is the devil’s desire — even if the One crucified is the Son of God.
The temptations also began since His birth.
When King Herod waged war against the newborn Child, ordering the slaughter of all infants in Bethlehem, forcing the Holy Family to flee to Egypt — where hardships occurred and idols fell before this Child (Isaiah 19:1).
Second: The temptations extended throughout Christ’s whole life, and they had their purposes.
Scripture says about Him: “He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
And also: “In that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).
Christ’s temptation does not show weakness but rather power — for He overcame Satan in every temptation. And had He not been powerful, the devil would not have fought Him so fiercely.
Here we note an important principle: the devil delights in fighting the strong.
He fought Job because he was strong — the Lord said of him: “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8).
Job’s perfection did not deter Satan; rather, it provoked him further.
He also fought Elijah — even after Elijah’s great victory over the prophets of Baal and Asherah, and after calling down rain upon the earth — the devil fought him through Jezebel’s threats, filling him with fear (1 Kings 19:3, 10).
The devil also fought Solomon, the wisest of men, who had received wisdom as a gift from God (1 Kings 3:12).
God appeared to Solomon twice — once in Gibeon (1 Kings 3:5) and again in Jerusalem (1 Kings 9:2) — yet the devil tempted him through foreign wives until, in his old age, “his wives turned away his heart after other gods” (1 Kings 11:4).
He fought theologians and scholars — like Origen, who said of himself, “O high tower, how have you fallen!”
He fell into heresy; so did Arius, the famous Alexandrian priest and preacher, and even patriarchs of Constantinople like Macedonius and Nestorius, and the theologian Theodoret, teacher of Nestorius, and Eutyches, a renowned monk and abbot of a large monastery.
The devil does not respect greatness — he wars against the mighty.
As it is written: “She has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men” (Proverbs 7:26).
He fought Peter the Apostle — the most zealous disciple — and caused him to deny Christ three times, cursing and swearing, “I do not know the man” (Matthew 26:74).
Hence the Lord told him: “Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail” (Luke 22:31–32).
Likewise, the devil targets hermits, ascetics, and anchorites — while the weak, who fall by themselves, need no effort from him.
There are three kinds of fruits:
Some lie fallen at the base of the tree — they need no effort to be taken.
Some require shaking the tree to make them fall.
And some, like dates, require climbing high to pluck them.
The devil does not bother with fallen fruits; he reserves his effort for those who are still standing firm.
Third: Temptation does not mean falling.
The devil tempts everyone, but he cannot make all fall. He merely suggests, proposes, and presents thoughts; he cannot compel anyone to obey. Each person, with free will, can accept or reject him.
Many have refused and defeated him — even the Lord Jesus was tempted but rejected the devil and conquered him, showing us how to triumph in spiritual warfare.
Fourth: The devil’s temptations of Christ were not about trivial points, but concerned the whole course of His mission — aiming to alter His goals, means, and principles. Yet Christ remained steadfast and ultimately drove him away.
So, what was the devil’s intent? How did he act? And how did the Lord respond?
The Temptation: When? What? How?
The devil came to tempt Christ, fully aware of His power, unable to find any weakness — yet, being obsessed with challenging the strong, he tried.
The puzzle that tormented the devil was the Sonship of Christ to God.
The temptation occurred after the baptism — at the baptism, Christ’s identity was revealed:
The Father’s voice declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
The heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove (Luke 3:22).
John the Baptist testified, saying, “I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:30–34).
But then — how could the Son of God be hungry? (Luke 4:2)
Does the Son of God hunger? The devil was perplexed.
He thought, “If He truly is the Son of God, I must do everything to stop redemption from being accomplished. But if He is the Son of God, why is He hungry? Why not remove His hunger?”
The answer: “Christ emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:7).
But the devil, filled with pride (Isaiah 14:14), could not comprehend divine self-emptying.
So he came to test and provoke, saying:
The Temptation of Bread
The Gospel says: “The tempter came to Him and said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread’” (Matthew 4:3).
“If You are…” — words of doubt. Either the devil himself doubted, or he wanted to sow doubt in Christ’s humanity.
How could the Son of God be hungry? Where is the Father’s love? Where is His divine power? Why not turn stones into bread and eat?
Here lies the meaning of sonship.
The devil was not speaking of general sonship, shared by all humans — as when we say “Our Father who art in heaven,” or as God said, “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me” (Isaiah 1:2), or as in “the sons of God saw the daughters of men” (Genesis 6:2).
No — the devil referred to the divine Sonship: the Son who can turn stones into bread, the Son of the same essence, nature, and divinity as the Father.
Thus he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Christ could have done it — but He chose not to.
Why?
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Because He does not listen to the devil’s proposals — the devil never suggests good. Even if his proposal seems beneficial, it hides destruction.
This recalls the story of St. Anthony the Great: when the devil woke him once to pray, the saint replied, “I pray to God when I will — but not at your command.” -
More importantly: Christ had determined never to use His divinity for the comfort of His humanity.
Otherwise, His incarnation would be mere formality. If His divine power shielded His body from pain or hunger, then the cross and redemption would be meaningless.
If He used His divinity to prevent His own suffering, then what would “the price of sin” mean?
The crucifixion would be only an illusion.
Thus, the issue was not simply bread — it was the temptation to use divine power for personal relief.
Just as He hungered on the mountain, He also said on the cross, “I thirst” (John 19:28).
His humanity endured all the pain.
The divine justice flame burned in the sacrifice until all was consumed (Leviticus 6:10).
Hence He cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) — forsaken, not in unity, but in allowing His humanity to suffer fully.
Christ uses His divinity for the comfort of others, not Himself — healing the sick, cleansing lepers, opening blind eyes, casting out demons, doing good — yet never to satisfy His own body.
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The devil’s proposal concerned bodily satisfaction, but Christ spoke of spiritual nourishment:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).
Here Christ corrected Adam’s error.
Adam was tempted through food and fell.
But Christ rose above material desire, focusing on the spirit’s nourishment — thus blessing human nature by His incarnation, as we say in the Gregorian Liturgy: “You blessed my nature in You.”
Perhaps the devil also offered another lure — the use of bread as a means to attract people.
“Do You want to spread God’s word? Turn stones into bread! The world runs after ‘daily bread.’ Feed them, and they’ll follow You. Meet their physical needs, and You’ll win their loyalty easily.”
But Christ refused this easy path.
He came to establish a spiritual kingdom, not a material one.
His way was not through bread but through God’s word.
He came not to fill stomachs, but to purify hearts.
He knew people needed bread, and He gave it — yet He said: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
And also: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink… Is not life more than food?” (Matthew 6:25).
Christ does not want followers motivated by bread, but by love for the kingdom.
Wrong Examples:
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Parents who care only for feeding their children’s bodies, neglecting their souls — as if they had begotten bodies without spirits.
Some even forbid their children from fasting for fear of harming their health. -
Church social service offices that focus solely on feeding the poor without tending to their souls.
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Those who, for the sake of livelihood, break God’s commandments — withholding tithes and offerings, working excessively for extra income, abandoning prayer, worship, and spiritual life.
To all these, Christ says:
“Man shall not live by bread alone.”
The subject has become lengthy — let us continue it, God willing, in the next issue.
(Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani Newspaper, March 23, 1986)
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