The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
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Luke 4:5-6 sits inside this longer paragraph.
The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want. If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.”
Parallel Translations
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The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
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And the devyll toke him vp into an hye moutayne and shewed him all the kyngdoms of the worlde even in the twincklinge of an eye.
And the devyll sayde vnto him: all this power will I geve the every whit and the glory of them: for that is delyvered to me and to whosoever I will I geve it.
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Then the deuill tooke him vp into an high mountaine, and shewed him all the kingdomes of the world, in the twinkeling of an eye.
And the deuill saide vnto him, All this power will I giue thee, and the glory of those kingdomes: for that is deliuered to mee: and to whomsoeuer I will, I giue it.
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Cross-references (24)
- John 12:31 (v6) Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- Ephesians 2:2 (vv5–6) in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works…
- John 14:30 (v6) I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
- 1 John 5:19 (v6) We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
- 1 John 2:15-16 (v5) Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. For all that is in the…
Show all 23 cross-references
- Revelation 13:2 (v6) The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave…
- Revelation 13:7 (v6) It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given…
- Revelation 20:2-3 (v6) He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand…
- 1 Peter 1:24 (v6) For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
- Revelation 12:9 (v6) The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown…
- Job 20:5 (v5) that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
- Psalms 73:19 (v5) How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.
- Matthew 4:8 (v5) Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
- 1 Corinthians 15:52 (v5) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we…
- 2 Corinthians 11:14 (v6) And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
- Matthew 24:14 (v5) This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
- Mark 4:8-9 (v5) Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one…
- John 8:44 (v6) You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand…
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 (v5) For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory,
- Ephesians 6:12 (v5) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the…
- Esther 5:11 (v6) Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how…
- Isaiah 5:14 (v6) Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who…
- 1 Corinthians 7:31 (v5) and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away.
23 distinct cross-references across this passage (24 total citations).
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Explain this passage (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v6 That is surely so, for he is prince of…
That is surely so, for he is prince of the world yet not absolutely, and is the sovereign over it, but by sufferance, and way of entreaty, and therefore he saith not true, that he can give it to whom he will.
By this word power, are the kingdoms themselves meant, which have the power: and so it is spoken by the figure Metonymy.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–6 5 And the devil, taking him up into an…
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Ver. 5. Showed unto him all the kingdoms] In a visible landscape of his own making, presented to the eye.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v5 See Poole on "Mat 4:8-10". Those words, Luk 4:6,
See Poole on "Mat 4:8-10". Those words, Luk 4:6,
for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it, are only mentioned by Luke; where we may observe, that the devil was a liar from the beginning. The dominion over the things of the world was not given to the angels, but to man. Neither hath he any such power as he pretends to, being not able to do any thing against Job till he had obtained leave from God, nor to enter into the swine without licence first obtained from Christ.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v5 Observe, 1. The next sin which Satan tempts our…
Observe, 1. The next sin which Satan tempts our Saviour to is the sin of idolatry, even to worship the devil himself. Oh thou impudent and foul spirit, to desire thy Creator to worship thee, an apostate creature! Doubtless there is no sin so black and foul, so horrid and monstrous, but the Christian may be tempted to it, when Christ himself was tempted to worship the tempter, even the devil himself.
St. Matthew reads it, If thou wilt worship me: St. Luke, If thou wilt worship before me.
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From whence we may gather, that if to worship before the devil, be to worship the devil, then to worship before an image, is to worship the image. Dr. Lightfoot.
Observe, 2. The bait which Satan makes use of to allure our Saviour to the sin of idolatry, representing to his eye and view all the glories of the world in a most inviting manner, and that in a moment of time, that so he might affect him the more, and prevail the sooner.
Learn thence, that the pomp and grandeur of the world is made use of by Satan as a dangerous snare to draw men into a compliance with him, in his temptations unto sin: He showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.
Observe, 3. What an impudent liar and proud boaster the devil is; he was a liar from the beginning: All this will I give thee, for it is delivered unto me. An impudent untruth, for the dominion over the things of the world was never given to the angels, neither has the devil any power over the creatures, but by permission from God. The devil is a most impudent liar; he told the first lie, and by long practice has become a perfect master in the art of lying.
Observe also, the devil’s boasting as well as lying; All this will I give thee, when he had not one foot of ground to dispose of. Great boasters are for the most part great liars, and such boasters and liars are like the devil.
Observe, 4. How our Saviour declares the true and only object of religious worship; namely, God himself: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Religious worship is to be given to none of the creatures, neither to angels nor men, how excellent soever, but to God alone. We read but of two creatures that ever desired in scripture to be worshipped with divine worship; namely, the devil and antichrist; but the command is peremptory. Thou shalt worship the Lord, and him only.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–6 And the devil taking him up into an high…
And the devil taking him up into an high mountain,.... Somewhere near Jerusalem, but what mountain is not certain. The Evangelist Luke makes this to be the second temptation, which, with Matthew, is the third and last; and whose order seems to be more proper and natural than this, and to be the true and genuine one, which Luke neglects, though he does not contradict it: he relates matters of fact, without attending to the strict order of them; whereas Matthew strictly regards it, observing, that after the first temptation, "then the devil taketh him, &c." and that being finished, says, "again the devil taketh him, &c." and upon those words, "get thee hence", with what follows, remarks, that then the devil leaveth him: all which show, that his order is the most accurate, and to be followed. But to go on with the account; the devil having taken him from the pinnacle of the temple, and carried him to some high mountain, as Lebanon, or Pisgah, or some other near Jerusalem, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world; not of the Roman empire only, though that consisted of many kingdoms, and is called the whole world, Luk 2:1 where the same word is used, as here; but of the whole universe, every kingdom that was under the heavens; which he represented to Christ, not in a map, since the glory of them could not be described in that way: for
he showed him all the glory of them, as Matthew adds; and for this a mountain was no more a proper place, than any other; nor was, it any real object he presented to his bodily sight, or any real prospect he gave him of the kingdoms of the world, which are not to be seen from any one place, no not one of them, not even from the highest mountain in the world, and still less to be seen together at once in a moment: but this was a mere phantasm, a deception of the sight, with which he endeavoured to impose on Christ, but could not; nor did Christ; who is the maker of the world, and the governor among the nations, need any representation of the kingdoms of the world from him; see Gill on Mat 4:8 and this he did in a moment of time; in the twinkling of an eye, not by succession, and in process of time, as one kingdom after another, but all at once, and in an instant: what a moment of time is; see Gill on Mat 4:8.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v6 I give it to whomsoever I will - Not…
I give it to whomsoever I will - Not so, Satan. It is God, not thou, that putteth down one, and setteth up another: although sometimes Satan, by God's permission, may occasion great revolutions in the world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v5 5. Up into a high mountain—Matthew, no doubt, follows…
5. Up into a high mountain—Matthew, no doubt, follows the true historical order of the three temptations—Luke, a doctrinal order. Hence, while Matthew’s connective phrases then, again, claim to affirm the true order, Luke cautiously has only and. Luke’s order Isaiah , 1. The appeal to the appetite; 2. The appeal to the desire for an earthly monarchy; 3. The appeal to the desire for a dashing supernatural exploitation, a showy triumph over the laws of nature. In Matthew there is a climax of faculties, namely, the appetites, the tastes, and the ambition. In Luke the climax is, power over personal gratification, power over men, power over the laws of nature.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–6 5. And the devil, taking him up into a…
5. And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain] Probably “the devil” and “into a high mountain” are added from St Matthew. How the devil took Him up we are not told. Scripture, to turn away our thoughts from the secondary to the essential, knows nothing of those journeys through the air which we find in Apocrypha and in the ‘Gospel of the Hebrews.’
It is remarkable that St Luke (whom Milton follows in the Par. Regained) here adopts a different order of the temptations from St Matthew, perhaps because he thought that the temptation to spiritual pride (which he places third) was keener and subtler than that to temporal ambition; perhaps, too, because he believed that the ministering angels only appeared to save Christ from the pinnacle of the Temple. That the actual order is that of St Matthew is probable, because (1) he alone uses notes of sequence, “then,” “again;” (2) Christ closes the temptation by “Get thee behind me, Satan” (see on Luk_4:8); (3) as an actual Apostle he is more likely to have heard the narrative from the lips of Christ Himself. But in the chronology of spiritual crises there is little room for the accurate sequence of ‘before’ and ‘after.’ They crowd eternity into an hour, and stretch an hour into eternity.
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of the world] See above on Luk_2:1.
in a moment] Rather, in a second; comp. 1Co_15:52, “in the twinkling of an eye”—in the sudden flash of an instantaneous vision. The splendour of the temptation, and the fact that it appealed to
“the spur which the clear spirit doth raise,
The last infirmity of noble minds,”
might seem to Satan to make up for its impudent, undisguised character. He was offering to One who had lived as the Village Carpenter the throne of the world.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–6 (5) The kingdoms of the world.—St. Luke uses the…
(5) The kingdoms of the world.—St. Luke uses the word (literally, the inhabited world) which was commonly used as co-extensive with the Roman empire. On the difference in the order of the temptations, see Note on Mat_4:5.
In a moment of time.—The concentration of what seems an almost endless succession of images into the consciousness of a moment is eminently characteristic of the activity of the human soul in the state of ecstasy or vision.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v5 And the devil, taking him up into a high…
And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. This temptation was something more than "offering to One who had lived as a village carpenter the throne of the world." It appealed to his ambition certainly, but in Jesus" case it was a high, pure, sinless ambition. This much he certainly knew already, that he was destined to rule over men from pole to pole. It was for him a righteous longing, this desire to have the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as his possession. No false ambition was this in Jesus, this desire to realize the glorious Messianic hope. Again, how typical a temptation! All ranks and orders are often soon tempted here. A noble end as they think, and in the beauty of the goal they forget that the road leading to it is paved with evil and wrong.
Vers. 5-8. Temptation: outward and inward grandeur.
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Of course, literal exactness is necessarily excluded here; we must look for, and shall have no difficulty in finding, the sense and spirit of the words. We will look at
I THE APPEAL THAT WAS MADE TO OUR LORD, and the corresponding attack that is made on ourselves. Christ was tempted to seize "power and glory" for himself by an act of unholy submission. These were the prize which the worldly minded Jews of his age imagined to be within reach of their Messiah. To one of his humble circumstances but limitless capacity, and also of rightful and honorable ambition, there might very easily be presented a most powerful temptation to aim at a great and glorious supremacy a throne like that of the Caesar himself, on which imperial power might be exercised and human glory at its topmost height be enjoyed. And the force of this temptation would be very greatly intensified by the fact that such a throne as this would be gained by very different measures from those Jesus had been contemplating in his solitude. The collecting of multitudes by appealing to their national passions, the leading of armies and gaining of victories, the command of great bodies of men, the excitements of political strife, all this is full of enjoyment to the ambitious soul. A vastly different experience this (and to all that was human in the mind of Jesus Christ immensely more attractive) from that of speaking unappreciated truth, living a life too noble to be understood, suffering from keen and malignant persecution, dying in the pangs and shame of martyrdom! The price to be paid for surrendering the higher for the lower aim, and the distressing for the delightful means, was "worshipping" Satan; in other words, declining the course which he most disliked, and adopting the course which he most desired. The attack which is now made on us, corresponding to this, is the suggestion that we should turn aside from the higher aspiration (whatever it may be) to the lower ambition. It may come to the Christian minister in his study, to the statesman in his cabinet, to the doctor in his consulting-room, to the author or editor at his table: it is a suggestion to leave the straight line of duty, of faithfulness, of service, of truth, of loyalty to conviction, of moral and spiritual integrity, and take the lower path of popularity, of honor, of temporal success. To do this is to take a course which we may dignify by some fair name, but which, in Scripture language, is worshipping the devil.
II THE SPIRIT IN WHICH IT WAS REPELLED BY HIM, and in which it should be defeated by us. This was one of holy indignation: "Get thee behind me," etc. Our Lord indignantly refused to entertain a suggestion so utterly opposed to his spirit of consecration, so subversive of all his high purposes and lofty hopes. He met it by the quotation of a word which demanded entire obedience to the will of God and full devotedness to his service. In this spirit of holy indignation let us repel the first advances of a temptation to leave the higher and the heavenly road of truth and service for the lower and the earthly one of mere temporal success. To take that lower course would be to play into the hands of the evil one; to lose the commendation of our conscience and to live under the shadow of its rebuke; to lower ourselves and to degrade our life in the estimate of all the true and wise on earth and in heaven; to lose our true and high reward; to break the word and depart from the will of the Lord our God. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Luk_4:5; Luk_4:8
Luk_4:5; Luk_4:8
And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time
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Satan a close solicitor
1.
The importunity of Satan: he is upon our Saviour again: Again the devil taketh Him up.
2. The variety of his shifts: from the pinacle of the Temple he taketh Him up to an exceeding high mountain.
3. Note by what gate or passage he would enter his temptation: by the eye; he shows a goodly object unto Him.
4. The dignity of the object: he shows Him kingdoms.
5. For the amplitude and generality: All the kingdoms of the world.
6. In their most amiable and desirable shape he showed them in their glory.
7. Satan showed himself to be an arch juggler, or prestidigitator, as artists call it, for St. Luke adds, that he showed all this in a moment of time. A close solicitor, and a diligence worthy to be commended, if it had been in a good cause; but they that are in a wrong way are most zealous in their course, and negotiate for hell more urgently than we do for heaven. (Bishop Hacker.)
Temptation recurrent
But that tyranny is uncessant, the hatred of the devil hath no stint; expect it, be ready for it, and let it not sting your conscience with horror if you find somewhat within you always warring against the Spirit; temptations are not like some diseases, which are not incident to a man above once in his life, escape once and secure for ever, but like hereditary infirmities which are ever recurring to torment the flesh. A quotidian is more like to be cured, if it be well looked to, than an ague whose paroxysms keep longer distance. (Bishop Hacker.)
Principle not place the safeguard
But it is not the shifting to this place or that place that breeds contrary affections in a good man. Where there is an inward principle of goodness, firm and sure under every cope of heaven the mind is unalterable. (Bishop Hacker.)
Reviewed temptation
His mouth was stopped, and he was set non plus in the former temptation, yet how soon doth he begin to open his mouth again? He was repulsed, yet he comes to fight again. He hath many strings to his bow, and many arrows in his quiver. When one way takes not he tries forth with another; yea, he will make proof of all ere he leaves. (Bishop Hacker.)
The eye the portal to the heart
There is nothing so soon enticed and led away as the eye; it is the broker between the heart and all wicked lusts that be in the world. And therefore it was great folly in Hezekiah to show his robes and treasure (Isa_39:2), as he was told by the prophet; itstirred up such coals of desire in them that saw them, as could not be quenched till they had fetched away all that he had, and all that his ancestors had laid up, even till that day. It is the wisdom that is used nowadays, when men would have one thing for another, to show the thing they would so exchange; as the buyer showeth his money, and the seller his wares in the best manner that he can, each to entice the ether (by the eye) to the desire of the heart. (Bishop Andrewes.)
Fancy enticed
His power and work upon the fancies of men is none of the least of his ways whereby he advanceth the pleasures of sin. That he hath such a power, hath been discoursed before, and that a fancy raised to a great expectation makes things appear otherwise than what they are, is evident from common experience. The value of most things depends rather upon fancy than the internal worth of them, and men are more engaged to a pursuit of things by the estimation which fancy hath begat in their minds, than by certain principles of knowledge. Children by fancy have a value of their toys, and are so powerfully swayed by it, that things of far greater price cannot stay their designs, nor divert their course. Satan knows that the best of men are sometimes childish, apt to be led about by their conceits, and apt in their conceits to apprehend things far otherwise than what they are in truth. (R. Gilpin.)
The after-claps of sin
We, knowing this craft, must labour in these temptations to see that which the devil hides, and to apprehend the fearful after-claps. Let us labour to see Jaels nail as well as her milk; Delilahs scissors as well as her bosom; the snakes poison as well as her embrace; and the bees sting as well as her honey. (D. Dyke.)
True sight after sin
The devil blinds us so that we see not till afterward, as Gen_3:1-24., Then were their eyes opened. (D. Dyke.)
Distance lends enchantment to the view
Put a bit of broken glass, or a shred of worthless mica, in a ploughed field, and let the sun shine upon it, and it sparkles as vividly as that gem which spills its drop of light on the finger of beauty. Afar off, it is a glory: near, just a bit of broken glass, or shred of mica. My dear friends, beware of the glory, the splendour that seems to show very substantially at a distance, but which needs only to be approached to prove unreal. I remember very well how, up in the Italian and Styrian Alps, many an apparent sky-kissing range of yet mightier Alps seemed to tower, white and lustrous, over what we had deemed the loftiest peaks. They were but vanishing clouds, climbing higher than the peaks, but with no base--showing fair, glitteringly, astonishingly, unutterably beautiful, but carrying within them the rain that drenches, and the lightning that smites and the blast that loosens the roaring avalanche. Take heed to this artifice of the worlds show at a distance and from the mountain top. There is delusion and peril in the splendour. (A. B. Grosart.)
And the devil taketh Him up into an high mountain
Here the temptation seems eminently gross. Yet devil-worship can assume many forms, and some of these may be most refined. Worship is homage, and homage to a person, real or supposed, representative of certain principles, modes of action, and aims. What it here means seems evident enough. Jesus is recognized as seeking a kingdom, as intending, indeed, to found one. His aims are confessed to be more than Jewish, not national, but universal; not an extension of Israel, but a comprehension of the world. It is known that His purpose is to be the Messiah, not of the Jews, but of man. The only question is as to the nature of His kinghood and kingdom. The kingdom here offered is one not of the Spirit, but of the world. And world here means not what it may be to the good, but what it is to the bad it and its kingdoms may be won at once, and will be, if Jesus worships the devil, i.e., makes evil His good, uses unholy means to accomplish His ends. It is as if the tempter had said, Survey the world, and mark what succeeds. Away there in Italy lives and rules the emperor of the world, a selfish, sensual man, whose right is might. Over there in Caesarea sits his red-handed, yet vacillating, procurator. In your own Galilee a treacherous and lustful Herod reigns, its deputy lord. Up in Jerusalem are priests and scribes, great in things external, the fierce fanatics of formalism. Everywhere unholy men rule, unholy means prevail. Worldliness holds the world in fee. By it alone can you conquer. Use the means and the men of Caesar, and your success will be swift and sure. Worship me, and the kingdoms of this world are thine. The temptation was subtly adapted to the mood and the moment, and was as evil as subtle. Bad means make bad ends. Good ends do not justify evil means; evil means deprave good ends. So a Messianic kingdom, instituted and established by worldliness, had been a worldly kingdom, no better than the coarse and sensuous empire of Rome. And Jesus, while He felt the force, saw the evil of the temptation, and vanquished it by the truth on which His own spiritual and eternal city was to be founded, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, &c. (A. M.Fairbairn, D. D.)
The force of this temptation
Could it be other than a temptation to think that He might, if He would, lay a righteous grasp upon the reins of government, leap into the chariot of power, and ride forth conquering and to conquer? Glad visions arose before Him of the prisoner breaking jubilant from the cell of injustice; of the widow lifting up the bowed head before the devouring Pharisee; of weeping children bursting into shouts at the sound of the wheels of the chariot before which oppression and wrong shrunk and withered, behind which sprung the fir-tree instead of the thorn, and the myrtle instead of the briar. Could He not mould the people at His will? Could He not, transfigured in snowy garments, call aloud in the streets of Jerusalem, Behold your King? And the fierce warriors of His nation would start at the sound; the ploughshare would be beaten into the sword, and the pruning-hook into the spear. Ah, but when were His garments white as snow? Not when He looked to such a conquest; but when, on a moment like this, He spake of the decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. But how would He, thus conquering, be a servant of Satan: I will not inquire whether such an enterprise could be accomplished without the worship of Satan. But I will ask whether to know better and do not so well, is not a serving of Satan? whether to lead men on in the name of God as towards the best, when the end is not the best, is not a serving of Satan? whether to flatter their pride by making them conquerors of the enemies of their nation instead of their own evils, is not a serving of Satan? Nothing but the obedience of the Son, the obedience unto death, the absolute doing of the will of God because it was the truth, could redeem the prisoner, the widow, the orphan. But it would redeem them by redeeming the conquest-ridden conqueror too, the strife-giving jailor, the unjust judge, the devouring Pharisee. He would not pluck the spreading branches of the tree; He would lay the axe to its root. It would take time; but the tree would be dead at last--dead, and cast into the lake of fire. It would take time; but His Father had time enough and to spare. It would take courage and strength and self-denial and endurance; but His Father could give Him all. The will of God should be done. Man should be free--not merely man as he thinks of himself, but man as God thinks of him. He shall grow into the likeness of the Divine thought, free not in his own fancy, but in absolute Divine fact of being, as in Gods idea.
The great and beautiful and perfect will of God must be done. (George Macdonald, LL. D.)
This was a temptation which every worker for God, weary with the slow progress of goodness, must often feel, and to which even good and earnest men have sometimes given way--to begin at the outside instead of within, to get first a great shell of external conformity to religion, and afterwards fill it with the reality. It was the temptation to which Mahomet yielded when he used the sword to subdue those whom he was afterwards to make religious, and to which the Jesuits yielded when they baptized the heathen first, and evangelized them afterwards. (J. Stalker, M. A.)
This was of all the temptations the most awful and searching. It was the only one of the three in which Satan suggests no doubt of the Divine Sonship and Divine glory of Christ. Could a Divine Son rightly refuse the houour and glory of a son? Could it be anything but a sin to turn His back on the only way that seemed to lead straight up to His throne? Was not this a tempting of God? How solemn and heart-searching are the lessons it may teach all those who profess to be servants of God among men; lessons which, perhaps, were never more needed than in the present day.
1. The conversion to Christ of the unconverted, and the evangelization of the masses, absorb the energies and the efforts of the Church. But the intensity of this passion for saving men may itself become a peril to the Church. In its zeal to save souls it may become indifferent to the means by which they are saved.
2. To resort to worldly and carnal methods for the extension of Christs kingdom; to lose faith in the power of the gospel of Christ to do its own work, and to win its own way in the world is treason to Christ and to God; it is the worship of the devil. (G. S. Barrett, B. A.)
What would the result have been if Christ had yielded!
There can be little doubt that in one sense Satan would have fulfilled his promise. No cross would have stood at the end of Christs earthly life. There would have been louder Hosannas than Jerusalem ever offered Him as its King; there would have been vaster throngs of people proclaiming Him their Messiah and Lord; a more splendid homage from the rich and great, from rulers and Pharisees, would have been laid at His feet; in a word, Christ would have received the crown of worldly dominion and glory. But at what a cost! The great burden of human guilt would have been left still resting on the world; the heart of man would have been still weary and heavyladen; the hope of immortal life would have been left a yearning and a longing, unsatisfied and unfulfilled; and the kingdom of God among men would have been unfounded and unknown. Christ would have lost the kingdom by appearing to gain it. The promise of the devil, like all his promises, would have turned out a black and terrible lie. He would have given the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them to our Lord, but only alter Christ had given Himself to the devil. Satan would have lost nothing of his kingdom, for he would have been king of the worlds King. Appearing to resign his sovereignty for a moment he would have secured it for ever. (G. S. Barrett, B. A. )
The temptation on the mountain
1. The vision was a splendid one, well fitted to appeal even to a mind that was actuated by no vulgar ambition.
2. The desire for power here appealed to is one of which the noblest natures are susceptible.
3. It was not a wrong thing, nor at variance with His mission, that Christ should contemplate the prospect of becoming universal King.
4. The prospect held out to Him was well-fitted to stir the loftiest and holiest ambition.
5. It may well, then, foster our reverence for His character, while it teaches us lessons of the greatest practical importance, that although His universal dominion would lead to such blessed results, He would not procure or hasten it by entering into compromise with, or doing the slightest homage to, wrong.
6. Paying homage to evil with a view to the easier and speedier accomplishment of good is a sin to which the Church has always been powerfully tempted.
7. Christs kingdom is not of this world. It is neither formed on worldly principles nor furthered by worldly measures. (W. Landels, D. D.)
An high mountain
The high mountain is most probably Abarim, with its three peaks of Pisgah, Peer, and Nebo. From the western point, Peer, Balaam overlooked the tents of Israel and blessed them, when brought there by Balak to curse the people. From the northernmost peak, Nebo, above Baal Maon, a complete panorama of the Dead Sea is obtained. Thence it was that She Lord God showed Moses all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and all the land of Judah … unto Zion (Deu_34:1-4). Now Satan takes Christ to the point where Moses stood to view the Promised Land which he was not to enter. And here again we notice a covert sneer. O Thou Prophet of the Most High, like unto Moses, who comest to lead the people of God out of bondage into liberty, to restore again the kingdom to Israel! Thou wilt, may be, do what Thou undertakest. But what will be the result to Thyself?. Wilt Thou profit in any way by it? God gave to Moses a hard forty years in the wilderness, and instead of rewarding him with rest at the end, let him see the Promised Land from afar, even from this spot, and let him die without allowing him to set foot on it. That is how God deals with His prophets, and that is how He will deal with Thee! And as he spake may be the eye of the Son of Man rested on far-off Calvary, which is visible from this spot. Then Satan went on with the contrast: But!--I reward my servants at once. Come, bend the knee to me, and I will give Thee glory, and power, and dominion in the present. And there rose a mirage of the desert, and in that mirage was a vision of palaces and palm trees, and glittering sheets of water, on which gay barges sailed, apparently very real, but it was only a phantom scene painted in the unwholesome vapours that rose from the Dead Sea, and from the hot bituminous desert sands and rocks. A phantom splendour over desolation and death. That was what Satan offered. And observe likewise the difference between his offers and those of God, offers which he makes quite unabashed, and emphasizes. God gives present pain and future glory; Satan gives present satisfaction and future wretchedness. Only note how he pitches on one half of each offer, and contrasts only the present, say ing nothing of the future. God gives present sadness, Satan present satisfaction; and he utters not a word about the future. The vision was but for a moment. Satan showed unto Him, in a moment of time, all the kingdoms of the world; the desert mirage does not last long, but while it lasts it is thoroughly deceptive. So it is with the gifts of Satan; they are but for a moment, and then they vanish away, and leave dust, and ashes, and barrenness, and death behind. (S. Baring.Gould, M. A.)
Satans short cut
The devil fits his temptation nicely to his purpose. Christ is about to begin His mission, and to found His kingdom, which is to be universal, to extend throughout the world. Satan shows Him how to make the kingdoms of earth His own instantaneously, by doing homage to himself. No need then for Calvary, no laborious preachings, no persecutions, no martyrdoms, no sowing in tears, no casting of the bread on the waters and patient expectance of the result after many days. The kingdoms of the world will become the kingdoms of Christ at once, if He will conform to the world, and acknowledge the Evil One as supreme--if He will allow the presence of evil, legislate for it, accept it, and not fight against it. But this offer of Satan is an usurpation of power--of Gods power. No compromise with evil. Get thee behind Me, Satan. (S. Baring.Gould, M. A. )
Satans methods
An illustration of Satans method of beguiling to destroy, was one day witnessed by the writer when rambling near Scawfell. His guide said he thought he could find a trout, and stooping down over the grassy bank of a small mountain-stream, remained for a few minutes perfectly quiet, excepting a slight motion of the arm. Presently he brought up a large fish. He knew where it was likely to be; he gently touched its back, drew his hand lightly backwards and for wards, soothed and charmed his victim, then grasped and captured it. So the devils policy is to tickle his victims to death, and damn them with delights (Newman Hall, LL.B.)
Elation no temptation to Christ
The temper had tried the Son of Man through the power of depression; he now tries him by me power of exaltation. He had sought to vanquish Him by the scourge of poverty; he now seeks to overcome Him by the vision of plenty. He had brought Him down into the valley, and had tempted Him by the dangers of humiliation; he now carries Him up to the mountain and tempts Him by the dangers of elevation. Why was the Son of Man superior to all circumstances? Only because He was superior to all sin. The sinless heart will be free from temptation everywhere. It will neither be reduced by the exigencies of the valley of humiliation, nor by the allurements of the mountain of elevation; it will not turn the stones into bread to avoid the famine; it will not bow the knee to Baal to purchase a crown. (G. Matheson, M. A. , D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v5 "oikoumene" = "inhabited earth." (See Scofield "Luk 2:1").
world
"oikoumene" = "inhabited earth." (See Scofield "Luk 2:1").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v5 The second temptation:
The second temptation:
v. 5. And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
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v. 6. And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
v. 7. If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.
v. 8. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.
This temptation, in the chronological sequence, is really the third. Luke narrates the three’ in a different order, because he has a different climax in mind, that of the incident on the Temple’s roof. The attempt to incite care and worry about the body and its needs in the heart of Jesus had failed. But the devil believed that temporal riches and power would exert an irresistible appeal, if offered at the right moment and with the proper effect. So he took Jesus up very high, to the very summit of a high mountain and, by means of the power which he possesses, he was able to give Jesus a picture of all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. The suddenness of the view, coming without preparation or announcement, must have been a wonderful, overwhelming sight: All the riches of the world, the mined and the un-mined precious metals, the gems and precious stones with and without their setting of the appropriate foils; all the power of the many rulers, kings, emperors, princes wherever governments had been established, among all races, peoples, and nations. And then came the devil’s offer: To Thee will I give all this power (Thee emphatic). He asserts that all of the riches and all of the power have been given over to him, and that he can dispense his favors as he sees fit. But the condition was that Christ should bow down before him, should worship him, should acknowledge Satan as His Lord. To accede to this impudent demand would have put the Son of God into the power of the archenemy of mankind. But the Savior was fully equal to the occasion, and once more routed the enemy with a powerful quotation from Scripture, Deu 6:13. God is the only object of worship and service. To substitute any creature in heaven or on earth or under the earth for the one God is to commit idolatry. And in the case of Christ it would have been the end of His redemptive ministry.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v5 led Jesus up
led Jesus up
He led Jesus up a mountain. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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in an instant of time
"in an instant" or "instantly"
they have been given to me
This can be stated in active form. Possible meanings are that "them" refers to 1) the authority and splendor of the kingdoms or 2) the kingdoms. AT: "God has given them to me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Active or Passive)
if you will bow down ... worship me
These two phrases are very similar. They can be combined. AT: "if you will bow down in worship to me" (See: Doublet)
it will be yours
"I will give you all these kingdoms, with their splendor"
translationWords
Satan
kingdom
authority
rule
splendor
bow
worship
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v6 4:6 they are mine to give: The New Testament…
4:6 they are mine to give: The New Testament elsewhere describes Satan’s limited rule over the present world order (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Eph 2:2; 1 Jn 5:19).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.