Chapter 4:1-13 The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

“Full of the Holy Ghost” and then led “into the wilderness” to be tempted. You would not expect that. 

Yet it is a sadder thing to be led into a wilderness when you are not filled with the Spirit, and a sadder thing to be tempted when the Spirit of God is not resting upon you. 

The temptation of our Lord was not one to which He wantonly exposed Himself, He “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” 

--The Spirit of God may lead us where we shall have to endure trial. If He does so, we are safe; and we shall come off conquerors even as our Master did.

4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.

Being forty days tempted of the devil - and in those days He did eat nothing not any sort of food whatever; ....during the whole space of forty days; nor in the nights neither, in which the Jews allowed persons to eat in times of fasting;

4:3 And the devil said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
And the devil said unto Him - Who now visibly appeared, and spoke unto Him with an articulate voice:
if Thou be the Son of God; as has been just now declared by a voice from heaven; or seeing Thou art in such a relation to God, and so equal to Him, and possessed of all divine perfections, and among the rest, of almighty power; wherefore, since Thou art hungry, and in a wilderness, where no food is to be had,
command this stone that it be made bread; say but the word, and this stone, which he held out to Him, or pointed at, as lying before them, or any one of the stones, which were in sight, for Matthew speaks of them in the plural number, will immediately be converted into bread, if He was what He was said to be: this he suggests might easily be effected by Him, and He had no need to continue hungry.

4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

That is Christ’s sword. 

See how swiftly He drew it out of its sheath. 

What a sharp two-edged sword is this to be used against Satan! 

--You also, believer, have this powerful weapon in your hand; let no man take it from you. Believe in the inspiration of Scripture. Just now there is a fierce attack upon the Book of Deuteronomy. 

It is a very curious thing that all the texts Christ used during the temptation were taken out of Deuteronomy, as if that was to be the very armory out of which he would select this true blade, with which He should overcome the tempter, “It is written,” “It is written,” “It is said.”

4:5 And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil taking Him up into an high mountain - Somewhere near Jerusalem, but what mountain is not certain. ...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:

4:6 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.
And the devil said unto Him, all this power will I give Thee - That is, all the kingdoms of the world, and all the government and jurisdiction over them:

4:7 If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.
If Thou - wilt worship me - Or "before me"; that is, fall down before him, and give him divine worship and homage. 

--A wide difference there is between a good angel and a fallen angel; a good angel will not suffer himself to be worshipped by men, but directs to the worship of God only, Revelation 19:10 but a fallen angel not only seeks to be worshipped by men, but by the Son of God Himself, even by Him whom all the holy angels worship, Hebrews 1:6 .

--This was what Satan at first aspired after, and by which he fell: 

he affected deity, 

and sought to have divine worship given him;

 and in this sin he still persisted, 

and grew worse and worse, 

more daring and insolent, 

desiring worship of Him who is God over all, 

blessed for ever.

4:8 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.
For it is written - Here flashed forth the sword again.

4:9 And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence:
Satan now takes Christ to holy ground. Temptations are generally more severe there. And he brought Him to Jerusalem -The holy city.

4:10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
Now Satan tries to quote Scripture, as he can do when it answers his purpose; but he never quotes it correctly. 

--You young brethren who go out preaching, mind that you do not imitate the devil by quoting part of a text, or quoting Scripture incorrectly. 

He did it, however, with a purpose; not by misadventure or from forgetfulness; he left out the very necessary words, “In all thy ways.” “He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” 

*Satan left out those last four words, for it was not the way of a child of God to come down from a pinnacle of the temple headlong into the gulf beneath.

4:11 And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.
Let not any abuse of Scripture by Satan or by men abate our esteem, or cause us to abandon its use; but let us study it still, seek to know it, and seek our defense from it in all kinds of assaults.

4:12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God - in the text in Deuteronomy the words are, "ye shall not tempt the Lord your God." 

The second person plural, is here changed into the second person singular, to accommodate the words to Satan; whom Christ singly addresses, and makes answer to, and who was under this same general law as other rational creatures:

4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.

Though Satan depart for a season, we shall never be out of his reach till removed from this present evil world.