Matthew 4:3

And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

This "if" is characteristic of Satan. He always cast a doubt if possible. Satan himself had no doubt that Christ was indeed the Messiah; but the devil tried to raise a doubt in the heart of Christ himself! The tempter appeared in this passage as the Lord's antagonist in three different guises, giving rise to the impression that Satan too has a triune nature. Three names characterize Satan in the book of Revelation. He is called the devil, the beast, and the false prophet (Revelation 20:10). He appears in three guises: as a serpent (Revelation 20:2), as a lion (1 Peter 5:8), and as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). This same triple pattern is seen in the temptation of Adam and Eve, through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the vain-glory of life (1 John 2:16). It is noteworthy that the temptation of Christ followed this same three-phase pattern.

Command that these stones become bread ... This was the first temptation, and it struck through the basic hunger of the body. Hunger is the body's great passion. Every other appetite or desire may be and has been subordinated to this instinctive need. The outstanding example of how this is so terribly true is seen in the tragic behavior of Jerusalem mothers (2 Kings 6:28). Hunger is the first and the last appetite of the body. By pressing the attack in this quarter, Satan attempted to steal into our Lord's heart as a serpent. Much more than mere physical hunger entered into this temptation, although the hunger itself must have been very great. Like all temptations, this one had reference to filling a genuine need, legitimate enough in itself. Christ surely required food that he could be strengthened and returned to the thousands who would attend his ministry. Christ did not know at that point how his need would be met. Satan's proposal was sinful because it would have involved Jesus in the use of supernatural powers for the ease and comfort of his own body. Also, it would have shown a lack of trust on Jesus' part if he should have taken things into his own hands and performed a miracle in order to eat.