"He did not betray us for a crust of bread."

The temptations were intended to induce him to externalize his being, to turn his life into an expression of power, to dominate, to be "extraordinary"; and not, on the contrary, to hold out to the end, enduring whatever was to befall him, hiding his immediate personal divinity in the obscurity of his way of life, not imposing himself upon anyone, living cheerfully and peacefully among simple people, and not forcing God's hand even his most extreme need.  When Christ rejected the temptations, he won back the essence of humanity.  He let the powers of evil come right up to him.  And at the decisive moment he shattered them with a simple No.  He did not betray us for a crust of bread.  To him our wretchedness was sacred.  He did not hesitate for a moment.  His victory was not a dazzling triumph, since no one knew of it.  It took place in utter solitude.  Nevertheless it made possible a new future for mankind -- the turning of hearts to goodness, not of stones to bread. 

Ladislaus Boros, In Time of Temptation, translated by Simon and Erika Young, Herder and Herder, 1968, New York, NY.