page_title: Temptation of Christ
section_title: Stones into bread
hierarchical_section_title: Temptation of Christ / The Temptations / Stones into bread
context_page_description: The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days and nights in the Judaean Desert. During this time, Satan came to Jesus and tried to tempt him. Jesus having refused each temptation, Satan then departed and Jesus returned to Galilee to begin his ministry. During this entire time of spiritual battle, Jesus was fasting.
  The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews also refers to Jesus having been tempted "in every way that we are, except without sin."
  Mark's account is very brief, merely noting the event. Matthew and Luke describe the temptations by recounting the details of the conversations between Jesus and Satan. Since the elements that are in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark are mostly pairs of quotations rather than detailed narration, many scholars believe these extra details originate in the theoretical Q Document. The temptation of Christ is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospel of John but in this gospel Jesus does refer to the Devil, "the prince of this world", having no power over Him.
context_section_description: The temptation of making bread out of stones occurs in the same desert setting where Jesus had been fasting. Alexander Jones  reports that the wilderness mentioned here has since the fifth century been believed to be the rocky and uninhabited area between Jerusalem and Jericho, with a spot on Mount Quarantania traditionally being considered the exact location. The desert was seen as outside the bounds of society and as the home of demons such as Azazel (Leviticus 16:10). Robert H. Gundry states that the desert is likely an allusion to the wilderness through which the Israelites wandered during the Exodus, and more specifically to Moses. Jesus' struggle against hunger in the face of Satan points to his representative role of the Israelites, however he does not fail God in his urge for hunger. This temptation may have been Jesus' last, aiming towards his hunger.
  In response to Satan's suggestion, Jesus replies, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (a reference to Deuteronomy 8:3) Only in Matthew is this entire sentence written.
caption: Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness (Jésus tenté dans le désert), James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum
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