And Jesus answering said to him. It is written: Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
και αποκριθεις αυτω ειπεν ο ιησους υπαγε οπισω μου σατανα γεγραπται προσκυνησεις κυριον τον θεον σου και αυτω μονω λατρευσεις
11 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 18 commentaries
The enemy had first assailed Christ by the temptation of the appetite, as also he did Adam. He next tempts Him with the desire of gain or covetousness, shewing Him all the kingdoms of the world. Hence it follows, And the devil taking him up.
But how did the devil shew Him all the kingdoms of the world? Some say that he presented them to Him in imagination, but I hold that he brought them before Him in visible form and appearance.
And dost thou, whose lot is the unquenchable fire, promise to the Lord of all that which is His own? Didst thou think to have Him for thy worshipper, from dread of whom the whole creation trembles?
But how comes it that the Son (if as the heretics say a created being) is worshipped? What charge can be brought against those who served the creature and not the Creator, if the Son (according to them a created being) we are to worship as God?
This command touched him to the quick; for before Christ’s coming he was every where worshipped. But the law of God casting him down from his usurped dominion, establishes the worship of Him alone who is really God.
“Depart from Me, Satan,” the Lord declared, rebuking him for his extensive deceit in claiming, “Mine is the kingdom” (cf. Lk. 4:6). He acted without regard for the truth of Scripture which states, “God has dominion over all the kingdoms of men, and... to whom He will, He gives (them)” (cf. Dan. 4:14). By this proclamation, the audacity and arrogance of Satan were vanquished, rendering him incapable of opposing the Lord's word. The Lord's action served to demonstrate the might of His truthful petition and to teach His faithful that they would undoubtedly receive all the blessings of His grace.
Truly in a moment of time, the kingdoms of this world are described. For here it is not so much the rapid glance of sight which is signified as is declared the frailty of mortal power. For in a moment all this passes by, and oftentimes the glory of this world has vanished before it has arrived. It follows, And he said unto him, I will give thee all this power.
For it is elsewhere said, that all power is from God. (Rom. 13:1.) Therefore from God’s hands comes the disposal of power, the lust of power is from the evil one; power is not itself evil, but he who evilly uses it. What then; is it good to exercise power, to desire honour? Good if it is bestowed upon us, not if it is seized. We must distinguish however in this good itself. There is one good use of the world, another of perfect virtue. It is good to seek God; it is a good thing that the desire of becoming acquainted with God should be hindered by no worldly business. But if he who seeks God, is from the weakness of the flesh, and the narrowness of his mind, often tempted, how much more is he exposed who seeks the world?
We are taught then to despise ambition, because it is subject to the power of the devil. But honour abroad is followed by danger at home, and in order to rule others a man is first their servant, and prostrates himself in obedience that he may be rewarded with honours, and the higher he aspires the lower he bends with feigned humility; whence he adds, If thou will fall down and worship me.
Or, to view the whole in another light. Two kings are earnestly contending for a kingdom; The king of sin who reigneth over sinners, that is, the devil; The king of righteousness who ruleth the righteous, that is, Christ. The devil, knowing that Christ had come to take away his kingdom, shews Him all the kingdoms of the world; not the kingdoms of the Persians and of the Medes, but his own kingdom whereby he reigned in the world, whereby some are under the dominion of fornication, others of covetousness. And he shews Him them in a moment of time, that is, in the present course of time, which is but a moment in comparison of eternity.
For the Saviour needed not to be shewn for any longer time the affairs of this world, but as soon as He turned His eyes to look, He beheld sins reigning, and men made slaves to vice. The devil therefore says unto Him, Camest Thou to contend with me for dominion? Worship me, and behold I give Thee the kingdom I hold. Now the Lord would indeed reign, but being Righteousness itself, would reign without sin; and would have all nations subject to Him, that they might obey the truth, but would not so reign over others as that He Himself should be subject to the devil. Hence it follows, And Jesus answering said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God.
Or else, All these, he says, I would have subject to me, that they might worship the Lord God, and serve Him alone. But dost thou wish sin to begin from Me, which I came hither to destroy?
Or, the devil described the world in language, and as he thought brought it vividly before our Lord’s mind as though it were a certain house.
He lied in two respects. For he neither had to give, nor could he give that which he had not; he gains possession of nothing, but is an enemy reduced to fight.
What marvel that He permitted Himself to be led by the devil into the mountains, who even endured to be crucified in His own body?
The devil saying to our Saviour, If thou wilt fall down and worship me, receives answer that he himself ought rather to worship Christ as his Lord and God.
But some one may ask how this injunction agrees with the word of the Apostle, which says, Beloved, serve one another. (Gal. 5:13.) In the Greek, δουλεία signifies a common service, (i. e. given either to God or man,) according to which we are bid to serve one another; but λατρεία is the service due to the worship of the Deity, with which we are bid to serve God alone.
“Get behind me, Satan,” proclaimed Jesus, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’” The forty days of testing had concluded, and Jesus faced them resolutely. The will of His Father was paramount, permitting no deviation. He resolutely chose the arduous journey of suffering and crucifixion to fulfill His purpose. The vanquished adversary retreated. In the Slavonic versions of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the Savior’s final appeal to the tempter is encapsulated in the phrase: “Follow Me, Satan.” This interpretation, understood literally and in a Russian context, has led some to believe that Jesus Christ did not repel Satan but rather extended an invitation to follow Him.
However, this view misrepresents Christ's response to Satan's audacious provocations, including his arrogant claims to authority he did not possess and the offer to bow down to him, the devil. Such an affront should have prompted a firm rejection from the depths of Jesus’ being—“Go away from Me”—rather than an invitation to “Follow Me.” As Euthymius Zigabenus, a learned twelfth-century monk, elaborates, the phrase “follow Me, Satan” signifies: “Depart from My sight, for one who is behind another remains unseen.” Furthermore, the Evangelist Luke, in recounting the conclusion of the temptation, notes that the devil left Him for a time (Luke 4:13) instead of following Him.
In this temptation, Satan's arrogance exceeded all limits, yet Christ responded with victory, declaring, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve’ (Deuteronomy 6:13).
The third temptation merges elements of the earlier trials, as worldly authority engenders pride and often leads to indulgence in physical pleasures. The devil once again leads Jesus to a lofty mountain and, in an instant (Luke 4:5), reveals to Him all the kingdoms of the earth and their splendor, asserting, "I will give all these things to You, if You will bow down to me." The devil, the ruler of this world (Jn. 14:30; 16:11), wields dark powers (Col. 2:15) and holds the dominion of death (Heb. 2:14). However, Christ came to establish the kingdom of God on earth, which is pure, holy, and spiritual (John 18:36), where sin and the wicked one are absent (12:31).
His reign is realized through spiritual means, not through an instant transformation, but rather by illuminating humanity with truth, leading by His example, and redeeming through His suffering and sacrifice. This path, envisioned from eternity, is how Christ was destined to enter into His glory (Luke 24:26) and to receive all power in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). The Lord firmly rejected the tempter's offer, emphasizing a fundamental principle of His kingdom: "Get behind Me, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone’" (Deuteronomy 6:13). The term Satan, derived from the Hebrew meaning adversary, signifies an evil spirit (1 Chron. 21:1; Ps. 108:6; Job 1:6, 8; 2:1; Zech. 3:1, 2), indicating that the tempter was the leader of all malevolent spirits (Rev. 12:7, 9; Mt. 12:24).
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 16 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS