Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Matthew 4:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Makes hunger the setting for the tester's challenge to turn stones into bread as God's Son.
Read It With
- Matthew 4:1–4:11
Matthew 4:3 makes hunger the setting for the tester's challenge to turn stones into bread as God's Son; within Matthew 4:1–4:11, it contributes to this controlling movement: The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, where after fasting he answers three temptations with Deuteronomy and refuses to exploit sonship, test God, or worship for rule.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Makes hunger the setting for the tester's challenge to turn stones into bread as God's Son. This precise contribution belongs inside “Jesus resists the tester in the wilderness” because The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, where after fasting he answers three temptations with Deuteronomy and refuses to exploit sonship, test God, or worship for rule.
What Remains True
Because Matthew 4:3 makes hunger the setting for the tester's challenge to turn stones into bread as God's Son, faithful readers should preserve this verse's exact role, first setting, affected people, and the complete movement of Matthew 4:1–4:11 before naming an enduring conclusion.
How It Can Shape Life
- For Matthew 4:3, first state this verse-specific contribution—makes hunger the setting for the tester's challenge to turn stones into bread as God's Son; then explain it inside Matthew 4:1–4:11; preserve the source-controlled uncertainty—The narrative portrays a real theological contest in scriptural language; it does not disclose the mechanics of the experience or make every hardship a direct demonic encounter.; and refuse this misuse: This testing does not encourage dangerous fasting, reckless proofs of faith, demonizing illness, or seizing power while claiming righteous ends.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Matthew 4:1–4:11 — Jesus resists the tester in the wildernessSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 4:1–4:11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 4:1–4:11
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 4:1–4:11
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 4:1–4:11
Open source ↗