Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 4:12
And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
12. Thou shalt not tempt ] Rather, Thou shalt not utterly tempt, or tempt to the extreme. It is impious folly to put God to the test by thrusting ourselves into uncalled-for danger. The angels will only guard our perilous footsteps when we are walking in the path of duty. We cannot claim miracles when we court temptations. The quotation is from Deu 6:16, and it is remarkable that the three quotations with which our Lord met the tempter are all taken from the 6th and 8th chapters of this book.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And Jesus answering said unto him, it is said,…. In De 6:16
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: and Jehovah may be called the Lord his God, as he is his creator and governor; by whom he is upheld in his being, and to whom he is subject, whether he will or not; though not his covenant God: and even if our Lord Jesus Christ is intended by the Lord God, as some think; he is God over all; over all principalities and powers, good and bad, by whom all are created, and in whom all consist; and whose power and authority over Satan and his angels, have abundantly appeared, in dispossessing devils out of men, sending them where he pleased, and in spoiling the powers of darkness, and in destroying him that had the power of death, the devil; and great insolence and wickedness it must be in a creature, to tempt the Lord his God, in any way, or form whatever; [See comments on Mt 4:7]
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
It is said (). Perfect passive indicative, stands said, a favourite way of quoting Scripture in the N.T. In Mt 4:7 we have the usual “it is written” (). Here Jesus quotes De 6:16. Each time he uses Deuteronomy against the devil. The LXX is quoted. It is the volitive future indicative with , a common prohibition. Jesus points out to the devil that testing God is not trusting God (Plummer).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
It is said. For Matthew’s it is written, Mt 4:7. Luke omits Matthew’s again. See Mt 4:7.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And Jesus answering said unto him,” (kai apokrithes eipen auto ho lesous) “And replying Jesus said directly to him,” as a third rebuttal to Satan’s temptations, being tempted in all kinds of ways as we are, yet without sin, Heb 4:15.
2) “It is said,” (hoti eiretai) “That it has been said,” as recounted in the Scriptures, which are to be followed, as a reliable road map or compass in travel, Jos 1:7-9; Psa 1:1-3.
3) “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” (ouk ekpieraseis kurion ton theon sou) “You shall not over-tempt the Lord your God,” or mutiny against God, set yourself against God’s Word, will, and call or marked out way for you, Deu 6:16; Mat 6:7.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And Jesus answering said to him, “It is said, You shall not put to the test the Lord your God.” ’
Jesus reply was unequivocal. ‘You shall not put to the test the Lord your God’ (compare Deu 6:16). It is true that God promises His protection to His people, but only as they face the vicissitudes of life, not in order to test out God. It is when they make the Lord their refuge (Psa 91:9) not when they take advantage of his goodness. To do what was asked would not be an example of great faith but of great presumption. By this, as in the other two replies He has made, He reveals that He considers that attitude towards God is paramount. What comes first is pleasing God and walking before Him. He will perform signs when they are revealing the compassion of God, or when the power of the Devil must be overthrown, or in order to manifest Himself to men of faith so as to increase their faith, for all these are turning men’s thoughts towards God. But He will not do it in order to win men over to Himself alone. Men won over in that way are not won over to God at all.
We can summarise these three prominent temptations as:
Not being willing to accept from God only what comes to Him in the will of God, but rather using His powers to go outside it.
Taking the opportunity to use a quick and easy way to power by force, thus ignoring God’s essential purposes of establishing righteousness and ruling not just the people, but the hearts of the people.
Taking advantage of a suggestion that He use the spectacular in order to win men’s minds by taking wrong advantage of God’s promises.
All these, and all temptations related to them, He had discarded. He now knew from the Scriptures what was the way ahead (Luk 4:18-19).
The temptations did not end here. Often when He saw the poverty of the people and the struggle for food He must have been tempted to solve their problems, and there was a constant danger that the people would seek to stir Him to physical attempts to seek power. But He knew that neither the one nor the other would solve the problems of the world. Today in some parts of the world men have sufficiency, and over sufficiency of food. Are they thereby better people? History has demonstrated that when men grow fat they grow sinful. And today we have nations with comparatively righteous laws. But are their citizens without sin?
But in some ways the last temptation was the one He experienced most in the future. He would constantly have to decide when He should use His powers, and when He should refrain from doing so. He was challenged to produce signs by the Pharisees (Mat 16:1) and even to descend from His cross (Mat 23:35) at which they would believe in Him (Mat 27:40-42). So often in His life it would have been easier to give way and do something spectacular. But He knew that it would not achieve God’s real purpose. Was not what He did do spectacular enough? It was sufficient for those whose hearts were open to believe.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 4:12. Thou shalt not tempt, &c. See on Mat 4:7. To tempt God, in the sense in which the phrase is here used, is, to make an improper trial of his power. The expression of our Saviour may likewise be interpreted, as signifying that the scripture forbids us to prescribe to God in what instances he shall exert his power; and as we are not to rush into danger without a call, in expectation of extraordinary deliverance, so neither are we to dictate to divine wisdom what miracles shall be wrought for men’s conviction. Probably in this and the preceding temptations the devil transformed himself into an angel of light, or assumed the appearance of a good spirit, hoping the better to deceive Jesus. See the Inferences.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Ver. 12. See Trapp on “ Mat 4:7 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 4:12 gives Christ’s reply exactly as in Mt. The nature of this reply probably explains the inversion of the order of the second and third temptations in Lk. The evangelist judged it fitting that this should be the last word, construing it as an interdict against tempting Jesus the Lord . Lk.’s version of the temptation is characterised throughout by careful restriction of the devil’s power ( vide Luk 4:1 ; Luk 4:6 ). The inversion of the last two temptations is due to the same cause. The old idea of Schleiermacher that the way to Jerusalem lay over the mountains is paltry. It is to be noted that Mt.’s connecting particles ( , ) imply sequence more than Lk.’s ( , ). On the general import of the temptation vide on Mt.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
is said = hath been said, &c. Deu 6:16.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Luk 4:12. , It is said) viz. in Scripture.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Thou: Deu 6:16, Psa 95:9, Psa 106:14, Mal 3:15, Mat 4:7, 1Co 10:9, Heb 3:8, Heb 3:9
Reciprocal: Exo 17:2 – wherefore Mat 4:4 – It is
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Verse 12
By comparing this passage with the one which our Savior quotes, (Deuteronomy 6:16,) which refers to the conduct of the Israelites at Massah or Meribah, (Exodus 17:2,7,) it seems that the expression tempt God is applied to the sin of presumptuously calling for or expecting miraculous interpositions from him.