The circumstances and surroundings of Christ were such as to make temptation upon this point peculiarly aggravating. The long fast had physically debilitated him, the pangs of hunger consumed his vitals, his fainting system clamored for food. He could have wrought a miracle in his own behalf, and satisfied his gnawing hunger; but this would not have been in accordance with the divine plan. It was no part of his mission to exercise divine power for his own benefit; this he never did in his earthly life; his miracles were all for the good of others. {2SP 92.2} Suffering humiliation, hunger, and contempt, Jesus repulsed Satan with the same scripture he had bidden Moses repeat to rebellious Israel: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” In this declaration, and also by his example, Christ showed that wanting temporal food was a much less calamity than meeting the disapprobation of God. {2SP 92.3}

Kristi omgivelser og de omstændigheder, hvorunder denne fristelse blev fremført, var af en sådan natur, at den var meget tung. Den lange faste havde svækket hans legeme, hungerens smerter fortærede hans liv, hans udtærede organismer måtte snart ophøre at virke, hvis de ikke fik nærring. Han kunne have udført et mirakel til gavn for sig selv og således tilfredsstillet sin gnavende hunger; men dette ville ikke have stemmet overens med Guds plan. Det hørte ikke til Kristi gerning at bruge sin guddommelige magt til sin egen fordel. Denne gjorde han aldrig, medens han var her på jorden; hans undergerninger var alle til gavn for andre.