R.C. Sproul

And so Satan comes to him just like he came to Adam, you know, basically, did God say, you know, if you're the Son of God, you're hungry, turn these stones into bread.

And that was the first temptation when Jesus responds by saying, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

I'm involved in a fast here.

I'm involved in a test.

I'm sorry, Mr. Satan, but I'm not going to turn those stones into bread.

I can do it, but I don't have the permission of my Father to do it, so get away from me.

And he quotes Scripture to Satan.

Now Satan, in the midst of this temptation, starts to quote Scripture back to Jesus when he says, let me take you to the pinnacle of the temple and throw yourself down from the temple.

because the Scriptures say that God will give His angels charge over you lest you dash your foot against the stone.

So let's see if it's true.

Let's see if you really are the Son of God.

Let's get up to the pinnacle of the temple and take a swan dive and see if the angels catch you.

And Jesus had to correct the devil's hermeneutic and say, yeah, the Bible says that, but you have to interpret Scripture by Scripture, and you can't accept Scripture against Scripture because the Bible also says, thou shalt not tempt the Lord your God.

So thank you very much.

I'm not going to do that.

And so when the temptations are finished, we are told almost as a concluding unscientific footnote,

that after Satan departed from Jesus for a season, what's the very next thing that happened?

The angels came and ministered to Jesus.

They were there all the time.

Makes you wonder if He could see them like Elisha could.