Matthew 4:10

Friday, 20 September 2024

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Matthew 4:10

“Then Jesus, He says to him, ‘Withdraw, you, Satan! For it has been written, “The Lord your God you shall worship, and Him alone you shall serve”’” (CG).

The previous verse recorded the words of the Traducer saying that he would give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory if He would fall down and worship him. With that said, Matthew continues with, “Then Jesus, He says to him, ‘Withdraw, you, Satan!’”

The words include a new verb, hupagó. It comes from hypó, under and ágō, lead away. Thus, it gives the sense of to retire or withdraw. HELPS Word Studies notes that it is “to lead away under someone's authority.” It is clear, then, that Jesus has authority over Satan. He retained that authority and did not cede it to him.

Jesus has been tempted three times, the first was to His fleshly needs, making stone into bread. The second was the pride of life, casting Himself from the winglet of the temple, the third was the lust of the eyes, having seen and been offered every earthly desire that could be imagined.

However, He resisted the temptations, prevailing where Adam failed. Now, in His victory over these things, He instructs Satan to withdraw. This is also the first use of the word Satan in the New Testament. It is derived from the Hebrew word satan, an adversary or opponent. In the Hebrew Old Testament, when the word is preceded by a definite article, it would indicate the archenemy of God, Satan.

Along with His dismissal of Satan, He again cites Scripture, saying, “For it has been written.”

Jesus again relies on the words of Scripture to defend against the temptations levied against Him. This time, He will cite from the Greek translation of Deuteronomy 6:13, saying, “The Lord your God you shall worship, and Him alone you shall serve.”

The Hebrew reads, “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.” Rather than “fear,” the Greek says “worship,” using the same word as Satan said to Jesus in verse 9. However, one Greek text also translates the word as fear.

The word of God clearly stated that obedience in spiritual matters belonged to the Lord God alone. Any worship of or serving another in such ways was to be rejected. In His actions, Jesus prevailed, not falling to the human temptations set before Him.

Life application: The things that Jesus was tempted with are not wrong in and of themselves. There is nothing wrong with bread. Rather, it was the way in which Jesus was tempted to make the bread that was inappropriate.

There is nothing wrong with bungee jumping off a high bridge (although that has led to disaster at times). In Jesus’ case, casting Himself from the highpoint of the temple would have tested God’s promise concerning the Messiah already recorded in Scripture.

And there is nothing wrong with having worldly goods or being a ruler in some capacity in the world. However, Jesus was tempted by those things in a way that would have violated His allegiance to His Father.

Unfortunately, there are people who take things to extremes unintended in Scripture, sequestering themselves away or refraining from particular things because they have misunderstood the context of what is being said in Scripture.

We live in this world, and we are to interact with it and with others in a manner that any human would as long as our devotion to God is maintained. As long as our faith is in Him and our lives are lived in accord with that faith, God will be pleased with how we conduct our affairs.

This is a beautiful world that has been created and structured for man to enjoy. God is glorified through our proper enjoyment of it, meaning when we thank Him for the blessings that come through our conduct as we interact with it.

Glorious God, it is a joy and a delight to live in this world and experience the innumerable things You have set here for us to experience. May we do so with the mind that You are God and that what we participate in is from Your open hand of grace. May we never let anything in creation take our eyes off of You. Instead, may we consider You as we enjoy what You have given us. Amen.