Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the First Sunday in Lent

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1–13)

The devil led him onto the roof, to the highest point of the temple, and urged him to throw himself headlong from there. He proposed this dishonestly and, under the pretext of having Christ display His glory, strove for a different end. So the Savior stated, “Scripture says, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Consider, too, how the devil tempts. He does not dare to tempt with any means other than the Divine Books. He takes his text from the Psalms and says, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For Scripture says, ‘He gave his angels a command concerning you, that they should raise you up in their hands, lest perhaps you strike your foot against a stone.’” How can you, o devil, know that these words have been written? Have you read the prophets, or do you know the divine utterances? Even though you remain silent, I shall answer for you. You read, not to become better through reading the holy books, but to use the simple, literal sense for killing those who are the friends of the letter. You know that, if you wish to speak to him from other books, you will not deceive him, nor will your assertions have any authority.…

Therefore, let us see what the devil says to the Lord from the Scriptures: “Scripture says, ‘He gave his angels a command concerning you, that they should raise you up in their hands, lest perhaps you strike your foot against a stone.’” See how crafty he is, even in the texts he quotes. For, he wishes to diminish the Savior’s glory, as if the Savior needed the help of angels. It is as if he would strike his foot unless he were supported by their hands. The devil takes his verse from Scripture and applies it to Christ. Yet it is written not of Christ, but about the saints in general. Freely and in total confidence I contradict the devil. This passage cannot be applied to the person of Christ, for Christ does not need the help of angels. He is greater than the angels and obtained a better name than they by inheritance. For, God never said to any of the angels, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” He has spoken to none of them as to a son. “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants a burning fire.” But to his own Son he speaks properly, and says countless things about him in the prophets.

Origen, Homilies on Luke 51.2, 4