Understanding The Armor of God by Stella Ashworth | Page 19

Matthew 4:4
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of
God.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Satan continued the attack
Matthew 4:5
“Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of
God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your
foot against a stone.’ (Psalm 91:11)
This is an incomplete quote from Psalm 91:11-12. Satan leaves out a very important thought. Here’s verse 11 with the
missing part.
“For He will command His Angels concerning you to keep you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11).
The idea being conveyed is that God will send angels for protection when it’s needed, not that you should throw
yourself from great heights just to see if God will save you.
Jesus saw through this tactic.
Matthew 4: 7
“Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Deuteronomy 6:16)
Satan made one final attempt:
Matthew 4:8-9
“8 Again,
the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their
splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Satan places all the cards on the table. The point of all these attacks was to have Jesus worship Satan instead of God.
Again, the final answer in the next verse comes from Scripture:
Matthew 4:10
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
(Deuteronomy 6:13)
This was the end (on this occasion) of Satan’s efforts to unseat Christ as the ruler of the world to come. In each case,
Jesus skilfully used a thorough knowledge of