First Sunday of Lent
Matthew 4:1-11
‘Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, in order to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry.
And approaching, the tempter said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” And in response he said, “It has been written: ‘Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil took him up, into the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it has been written: ‘For he has given charge of you to his angels, and they shall take you into their hands, lest perhaps you may hurt your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again, it has been written: ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
Again, the devil took him up, onto a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to him, “All these things I will give to you, if you will fall down and adore me.” Then Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan. For it has been written: ‘You shall adore the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”
Then the devil left him. And behold, Angels approached and ministered to him.
What do the Fathers say?
St John CHRYSOSTOM. If after your baptism you suffer grievous trials, do not be troubled; for thus you receive arms to fight, not to sit idle. God does not hold all trial from us; firstly, so that we may feel that we have become stronger; secondly, that we may not be puffed up by the greatness of the gifts we have received; thirdly, that the Devil may experience that we have entirely renounced him; fourthly, that by it we may be made stronger; fifthly, that we may receive a sign of the treasure entrusted to us; for the Devil would not come upon us to tempt us, if he did not see us advancing to greater honours.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. The Lord being baptized by John with water, is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be baptized by the fire of temptation.
Not Christ only is led into the desert by the Spirit, but also all the sons of God who have the Holy Spirit. For they are not content to sit idle, but the Holy Spirit stirs them to take up some great work, i. e. to go out into the desert where they shall meet with the Devil. To such a desert then all the sons of God go out that they may be tempted. The children of the Devil do not go out to the Devil that they may be tempted. For what need that he should seek the strife who desires not victory? But the sons of God having more confidence and desirous of victory, go forth against him beyond the boundaries of the flesh. For this cause then Christ also went out to the Devil, that He might be tempted of him.
The Lord knew the thoughts of the Devil, that he sought to tempt Him; He (the devil) had heard that Christ had been born into this world through the preaching of Angels, the witness of shepherds, the inquiry of the Magi, and the testimony of John. Thus the Lord proceeded against him, not as God, but as man, or rather both as God and man. For after forty days of fasting, to not have been hungry was not as man; to be hungry was not as God. He was hungered then so that the God might not be manifested, and so the hopes of the Devil in tempting Him be extinguished, and His own victory hindered.
The Devil who had begun to despair when he saw that Christ fasted forty days, now again began to hope when he saw that he was hungry; and then the tempter came to him. If you have fasted and thereafter been tempted, say not, I have lost the fruit of my fast; for although it will not have availed to hinder temptation, it will avail to hinder you from being overcome by temptation.
St HILARY. The Devil’s snares are chiefly spread for the sanctified, because a victory over the saints is more desired than over others.
ANSELM OF LAON. This desert is that between Jerusalem and Jericho, where the robbers used to resort. It is called Hammaim, i. e. ‘of blood,’ from the bloodshed which these robbers caused there; hence the man was said (in the parable) to have fallen among robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, bearing a figure of Adam, who was overcome by demons. It was therefore fit that the place where Christ overcame the Devil, should be the same in which the Devil in the parable overcomes man.
St JEROME. But you are caught, O Enemy, in a dilemma. If these stones can be made bread at His word, your temptation is vain against one so mighty. If He cannot make them bread, your suspicions that this is the Son of God must be vain.
In the several temptations the single aim of the Devil is to find if He be the Son of God, but he is so answered as at last to depart in doubt.
St BASIL the Great on Fasting :- Fasting was ordained in Paradise. The first command given to Adam was: ‘Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.’ This ‘you shall not eat’ was the first instance of fasting and abstinence. If Eve had fasted from the tree, we would have no need of this fast now. We were wounded by sin; we must be healed by repentance. But repentance without fasting is shallow and useless.