Jesus Tempted in the Desert: The Stones

19th century
Fresco
Ljubljana Cathedral

This is a literal rendition of the episode recounted in Matthew 4:1-11, in particular verses 3 and 4: "The tempter coming said to him: 'If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' Who answered and said: 'It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.'" In the painting the tempter, identified by nothing more than stubs of horns, points to a loaf-shaped stone while Jesus recoils.

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Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.