And as Jesus refused to make stones bread, so throughout his life he never wrought a miracle to help himself; as he refused to cast himself from the temple to convince Satan or glory visibly in his Sonship, so he steadily refused to give the sign which the human Satans demanded...

Faith is that which, knowing the Lord’s will, goes and does it; or, not knowing it, stands and waits, content in ignorance as in knowledge...

If the Father told him to cast himself down, that moment the pinnacle pointed naked to the sky. If the devil threw him down, let God send his angels; or, if better, allow him to be dashed to pieces in the valley below. But never will he forestall the divine will...

Without bread a man will die; but he will not find that he dies. He will only find that the tent which hid the stars from him is gone, and that he can see the heavens. Our Lord says, “I can do without the life that comes of bread; without the life that comes of the word of my Father, I die indeed.”

Let us look at the individual temptations represented in the parable. First, he was hungry, and the devil said, Make bread of this stone. Let no one think to glorify the Lord’s fast by calling it miraculous

Think of our Lord’s understanding, imagination, and heart, in which lay the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Must he not have known, felt, imagined, and rejoiced in things that could not be told in human words, nor understood by human hearts?