Matthew 4:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 4:1-11

The temptation of Jesus. In his baptism our Lord was proclaimed as the Messiah. This must have intensified his feeling of the burden and glory of his vocation. A ferment of emotions must have been stirred in his soul. The inquisitive, critical eyes around him, the eager questioning to which he must straightway have been subjected, the necessity of determining what course he should pursue, made solitude a necessity for him at this time. He must ascertain with definiteness the principles which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 4:1-11

The temptation. This appears to have extended through the forty days of the sojourn of Jesus in the wilderness. Mark says, "He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan" ( Mark 1:13 ). The text describes only the acme at the close of the forty days. It is given as a specimen of the wiles of Satan, and forms an epitome of all the temptations he has ever contrived. From it we learn— I. THAT SATAN IS ARMED WITH FORMIDABLE POWERS . 1 . Probably he appeared in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 4:5-7

The second ordeal-temptation. It is very naturally and universally supposed that the three temptations recorded here, as making their assault on Jesus, are typical of those to which human nature is exposed. All are exposed to temptations that come through the body, wide as is their range of variety. And therefore, probably, it was that this kind is exampled in the most generic instance and the simplest—one of hunger. According to this very supposable theory, we must expect to find the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 4:5-11

Presumption and ambition. All three of the temptations of our Lord turned on the abuse of his newly developed Messianic powers; but while the first temptation urged him to use those powers for the satisfaction of a natural appetite common to all men, the other two were concerned directly with his unique position and destiny. The tempter perceives that he has made a mistake in choosing too low a ground on which to approach One so completely emancipated from the dominion of the body as Christ.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 4:7

It is written again ; i.e. in addition, not to our Lord's previous quotation ( Matthew 4:4 ), in which case we should expect to lind πάλιν in Matthew 4:10 , but to the devil's appeal to Scripture. Bengel, "Scriptura per Scripturam interpretanda et concilianda". Thou shalt not tempt ( Deuteronomy 6:16 , verbally from the LXX ., and equivalent to the Hebrew, except that the Hebrew verb is in the plural). In Deuteronomy the sentence continues, "as ye tempted him in Massah;" i.e.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:7

Jesus said unto him, It is written again - Again the Saviour replied to Satan by a text of Scripture - a passage which expressly forbade an act like this.Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God - This is quoted literally from Deuteronomy 6:16. The meaning is, thou shalt not try him; or, thou shalt not, by throwing thyself into voluntary and uncommanded dangers, appeal to God for protection, or trifle with the promises made to those who are thrown into danger by his providence. It is true, indeed,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 4:5-7

Matthew 4:5-7. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city That is, the city Jerusalem, frequently called the holy city in Scripture, see Nehemiah 11:1; Isaiah 52:1; Daniel 9:24; and that with great propriety, as being for ages the place of the special residence of Jehovah. It has been supposed by many, that Satan transported our Lord through the air, but whether he did or not cannot be determined from this passage, the original word, παραλαμβανει , signifying no more than that he... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 4:1-11

17. Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13)Immediately after being appointed to his messianic ministry, Jesus was tempted by Satan to use his messianic powers in the wrong way. (For the identification of the devil with Satan see Revelation 20:2.) Satan’s aim was to make Jesus act according to his own will instead of in obedience to his Father.Jesus had gone many weeks without eating and was obviously very hungry. Satan therefore used Jesus’ natural desire for food to... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 4:7

Thou, &c. Quoted from Deuteronomy 6:16 ( App-107 . c). not. Greek. ou. See App-105 . tempt. Note the words which follow: "as ye tempted Him in Massah". A reference to Exodus 17:7 shows that there it was to doubt Jehovah's presence and care. It was the same here. the LORD = Jehovah. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 4:7

Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.Again it is written ... This is the key to the Scriptures! Every passage of the word of God is to be understood in the light of other passages bearing on the same subject. No isolated, proof-text method of interpreting the Scriptures is valid. God's will on any subject is to be understood in the light of ALL that is written. Christ made that principle clear in his words to the disciples on the road to Emmaus... read more

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