Satan approached Jesus to tempt him as, possibly, the physical form of the tempting snake, or by talking to Jesus as a spirit, but he could not influence Jesus’ sinless human heart directly.
Satan probably approached Jesus physically by appearing in the bodily form of the snake in paradise, albeit as a spirit. The temptation therefore came from the outside, from Satan himself, and did not in any way arise in Jesus’ own heart.1 After all, Satan could not have influenced Jesus’ thoughts, for that would require the cooperation of his human nature. Satan must have come from the outside, as is also clear from the passage. Furthermore, Satan appearing in a physical form would of course not have been absolutely necessary, for the Savior, who showed that he knows the thoughts of the Pharisees, also knows those of Satan as a spirit.2
3 Le tentateur, s'étant approché, lui dit: Si tu es Fils de Dieu, ordonne que ces pierres deviennent des pains.