Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 4:6
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
6. it is written ] Psa 91:11-12. The words “to keep thee in all thy ways” are omitted in the text. The omission distorts the meaning of the original, which is that God will keep the righteous on their journeys, and is no inducement to tempt God by rash venture or needless risk. The Psalmist himself probably quotes Pro 3:23. “Thus [i. e. by obedience: see preceding verses] shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down – The temptation here was, that he should at once avail himself of the protection of a promise of safety made to him, and thus demonstrate that he was the Messiah. If he was the true Messiah he had a certain assurance of protection, a promise that no harm could befall him; and thus, by so surprising a miracle, and such a clear proof of the divine interposition, he could at once establish his claim to the Messiahship. How much more easy would this be than to engage in a slow work of years to establish that claim; to encounter fatigue, and want, and poverty, and persecution, before that claim would be admitted! And where could be a more suitable place for thus at once demonstrating that he was the Son of God, than on this pinnacle of the temple, in the very midst of Jerusalem, and perhaps in the presence of thousands who would see the wonderful performance? The temptation, therefore, in this case was, that by thus establishing his claim he would avoid all the obloquy, persecution, and suffering which he must otherwise endure if he attempted to prove that he was the Son of God by a life of toil and privation.
It is written – That is, there is a passage of Scripture which promises special protection in such a case, and on which you may rely. The argument was not, perhaps, that this applied exclusively to the Messiah, but that, if applicable in any case, it would be in this; if any one could plead this promise, assuredly he could who claimed to be the Son of God.
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee … – That is, they shall protect thee.
And in their hands they shall bear thee up – They shall sustain thee, or hold thee up, so that thou shalt not be endangered by the fall.
Lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone – This would be especially appropriate in such a case. The promise, as Satan applied it, was that he should not be injured by the stones lying at the bottom of the wall or in the valley below. The case, therefore, seemed to be one that was especially contemplated by the promise.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 4:6
Angels charge.
The angelic ministers of the good
I. Commissioned by God. They are His angels-obey His behests, carry out His purpose.
II. Exercised for the godly as individuals. God does not overlook the individual in the multitude (1Ki 19:4-8; Dan 6:22; Act 12:7-10)
III. By means of the exercise of this angelic ministry the godly are enabled to surmount all the hindrances and conquer all the foes that beset their way.
1. Encouragement to trust in God.
2. The dignity of the godly. (W. Jones.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. Cast thyself down] Our Lord had repelled the first temptation by an act of confidence in the power and goodness of God; and now Satan solicits him to make trial of it. Through the unparalleled subtlety of Satan, the very means we make use of to repel one temptation may he used by him as the groundwork of another. This method he often uses, in order to confound us in our confidence.
He shall give his angels charge, c.] This is a mutilated quotation of Ps 91:11. The clause, to keep thee in all thy ways, Satan chose to leave out, as quite unsuitable to his design. That God has promised to protect and support his servants, admits of no dispute but, as the path of duty is the way of safety, they are entitled to no good when they walk out of it.
In their hands they shall bear thee up] This quotation from Ps 91:11, is a metaphor taken from a nurse’s management of her child: in teaching it to walk, she guides it along plain ground; but, when stones or other obstacles occur, she lifts up the child, and carries it over them, and then sets it down to walk again. Thus she keeps it in all its ways, watching over, and guarding every step it takes. To this St. Paul seems also to allude, 1Th 2:7. We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. Thus the most merciful God deals with the children of men, ever guarding them by his eye, and defending them by his power.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Before the devil had tempted our Lord to diffidence or distrust in Gods providence, and the use of means not allowed by God to supply himself; here he tempts him to an unwarrantable presumption, and confidence of and concerning the Divine protection. In the former temptation the devil used no Scripture, but having been repelled in that assault by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph 6:17, he here takes up the same weapon. The thing to which the tempter solicits our Saviour, was the throwing himself down from a precipice, a temptation, in effect, to destroy himself; which is one of those fiery darts which he commonly throws at the people of God in their hours of melancholy, or under great pressures of affliction; but the usual argument which he useth to them, is deliverance from their terrors, the preventing of want, or avoiding shame. The argument he useth to our Lord is quite of another nature, the special protection of God promised to Gods people, Psa 91:11,12. Herein he transforms himself into an angel of light, according to 2Co 11:14, and lets us know that truth may be abused to the patronage of lies; and that there is no hook more dangerous to the members of Christ, than that which is baited with Scripture misinterpreted and misapplied, which holy writ always is when it is so interpreted or so applied as to be made an argument to sin. This portion of holy writ is both:
1. Falsely cited; and,
2. As ill applied.
a) In the quotation the tempter leaves out those words, in all thy ways. This was none of our Savours ways, he had no call, no warrant from God to decline the stairs by which he might have gone down, and to throw himself down. God had never promised, nor ever given, any the protection of angels in sinful and forbidden ways.
b) He misapplies this text, using it not to instruct, but to deceive; dividing between mans duty and Gods providence; making this word a promise to be fulfilled upon Christs neglect of his duty; extending the promise of special providence as to dangers into which men voluntarily throw themselves; putting God upon working miracles to declare Christ to be his Son, where there was no need, and of which there was no use, mocking our Saviours true use of Scripture, with Scripture abused, and many other ways: but he had to do with one not ignorant of his devices.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. And saith unto him, If thou bethe Son of GodAs this temptation starts with the same point asthe firstour Lord’s determination not to be disputed out of HisSonshipit seems to us clear that the one came directly after theother; and as the remaining temptation shows that the hope ofcarrying that point was abandoned, and all was staked upon adesperate venture, we think that remaining temptation is thus shownto be the last; as will appear still more when we come to it.
cast thyself down“fromhence” (Lu 4:9).
for it is written(Psa 91:11; Psa 91:12).”But what is this I see?” exclaims stately BISHOPHALL. “Satan himselfwith a Bible under his arm and a text in his mouth!” Doubtlessthe tempter, having felt the power of God’s Word in the formertemptation, was eager to try the effect of it from his own mouth (2Co11:14).
He shall give his angelscharge concerning thee: and in their handsrather, “ontheir hands.”
they shall bear thee up, lestat any time thou dash thy foot against a stoneThe quotationis, precisely as it stands in the Hebrew and the Septuagint,save that after the first clause the words, “to keep thee in allthy ways,” are here omitted. Not a few good expositors havethought that this omission was intentional, to conceal the fact thatthis would not have been one of “His ways,” that is,of duty. But as our Lord’s reply makes no allusion to this, butseizes on the great principle involved in the promise quoted, so whenwe look at the promise itself, it is plain that the sense of it isprecisely the same whether the clause in question be inserted or not.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God,…. He addresses him after the same manner as before; if, or seeing,
thou art the Son of God, show thyself to be so; give proof of thy sonship before all the priests which are in and about the temple, and before all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
cast thyself down that is, from the pinnacle of the temple: for since thou art the Son of God, no hurt will come to thee; thou wilt be in the utmost safety; and this will at once be a full demonstration to all the people, that thou art the Son of God: for hither Satan brought him, hoping to have got an advantage of him publicly; otherwise, had his view only been to have got him to cast himself down from any place of eminence, and so to have destroyed himself, he might have set him upon any other precipice; but he chose to have it done in the sight of the people, and in the holy city, and holy place. Let it be observed, that Satan did not offer to cast him down himself; for this was not in his power, nor within his permission, which reached only to tempt; and besides, would not have answered his end; for that would have been his own sin, and not Christ’s: accordingly, we may observe, that when he seeks the lives of men, he does not attempt to destroy them himself, but always puts them upon doing it. To proceed, Satan not only argues from his divine power, as the Son of God, that he would be safe in casting himself down; but observing the advantageous use Christ made of the scriptures, transforms himself into an angel of light, and cites scripture too, to encourage him to this action; assuring him of the protection of angels. The passage cited is Ps 91:11 which expresses God’s tender care and concern for his people, in charging the angels with the guardianship and preservation of them, in all their ways, that they might be secured from sin and danger. It does not appear that Satan was wrong in the application of this passage to Christ; for since it respects all the righteous in general, why not Christ as man? the head, as well as the members? And certain it is, that angels had the charge of him, did watch over him, and were a guard about him; the angels of God ascended, and descended on him; they were employed in preserving him from Herod’s malice in his infancy; they ministered to him here in the wilderness, and attended him in his agony in the garden: but what Satan failed in, and that wilfully, and wickedly, was, in omitting that part of it,
to keep thee in all thy ways; which he saw was contrary to his purpose, and would have spoiled his design at once; and also in urging this passage, which only regards godly persons, in the way of their duty, to countenance actions which are out of the way of a man’s calling, or which he is not called unto; and which are contrary to religion, and a tempting God. Satan before tempted Christ to distrust the providence of God, and now he tempts him to presume upon it: in like manner he deals with men, when he argues from the doctrines of predestination and providence to the disuse of means, for their good, either for this life, or that which is to come; and if he tempted the Son of God to destroy himself, it is no wonder that the saints should be sometimes harassed with this temptation.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Cast thyself down ( ). The appeal to hurl himself down into the abyss below would intensify the nervous dread that most people feel at such a height. The devil urged presumptuous reliance on God and quotes Scripture to support his view (Ps 91:11f.). So the devil quotes the Word of God, misinterprets it, omits a clause, and tries to trip the Son of God by the Word of God. It was a skilful thrust and would also be accepted by the populace as proof that Jesus was the Messiah if they should see him sailing down as if from heaven. This would be a sign from heaven in accord with popular Messianic expectation. The promise of the angels the devil thought would reassure Jesus. They would be a spiritual parachute for Christ.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
In their hands [] . On their hands (so Rev.) is more correct, and gives a different picture from the A. V. in : lifted on their hands, as on a litter or platform.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God,” (kai legei auto ei huios ei tou theou) “And he (the devil) said directly to him (to Jesus, tempting him) If you are or exist as the Son of God,” the redemptive heir of God. Once again Satan by questioning the Divinity of Jesus, sought His obedience or servitude as a proof of His Deity. All who question the Divinity and Deity of Jesus are agents of Satan, Mat 27:40; Joh 8:44.
2) “Cast thyself down:” (Bale seauton kato) “Just try to cast yourself down,” from this pinnacle wing of the temple, and see what will happen, is the idea. And Luk 4:9 adds, “from thence,” from this particular high point. Our Lord would not be disputed out of His Sonship.
3) “For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee:” (gegraptai gar hoti angelois autou enteleitai peri sou) “Because it has been written that he will give to his angels a charge or command concerning you,” if you are the Son of God, and if you will do it, Heb 1:4; Heb 1:14.
4) “And in their hands they shall bear thee up,”(kai epi cheiron arousin se) “And upon (their) hands they will bear you up or sustain you,” as your serving angels, Psa 91:11-12. Angels of Gabriel’s informing retinue did minister to Him, help Him understand Satan’s perversion of this very Scripture.
5) “Lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” (mepote proskopses pros lithon ton poda sou) “Lest you should strike your foot against a stone.” This is Satan’s effort to secure Christ’s submission and servitude to him; He came to Jesus as a false apostle, as an angel of light, as Satan came to Eve in Eden, 2Co 11:13-15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. He will charge his angels concerning thee. We must observe this malice of Satan, in misapplying a quotation of Scripture, for the purpose of rendering life deadly to Christ, and of converting bread into poison. The same kind of stratagem he continues daily to employ; and the Son of God, who is the universal model of all the godly, chose to undergo this contest in his own person, that all may be industriously on their guard against being led, by a false application of Scripture, into the snares of Satan. And undoubtedly the Lord grants such a permission to our adversary, that we may not remain in indolent ease, but may be more careful to keep watch. Nor ought we to imitate the madness of those who throw away Scripture, as if it admitted of every kind of interpretation, because the devil misapplies it. For the same reason, we ought to abstain from food, to avoid the risk of being poisoned. Satan profanes the Word of God, and endeavors to torture it for our destruction. But it has been ordained by God for our salvation; and shall the purpose of God be frustrated, unless our indolence deprive his word of its saving effect?
We need not dispute long on these matters. Let us only inquire, what Christ enjoins on us by his example, which we ought to follow as a rule. When Satan wickedly tortures Scripture, does Christ give way to him? Does he allow him to seize and carry off the Scripture, with which he formerly armed himself? On the contrary, he quotes Scripture in his turn, and boldly refutes Satan’s wicked slander. Whenever Satan shall cover his deception by Scripture, and ungodly men shall labor to subvert our faith by the same means, let us borrow our armor exclusively from Scripture for the protection of our faith.
Though the promise, he will charge his angels concerning thee, (Psa 91:11,) relates to all believers, yet it belongs peculiarly to Christ, who is the Head of the whole Church, possesses authority over angels, and commits to them the charge of us. Satan is not wrong in proving from this passage, that angels have been given to Christ, to wait on him, to guard him, and to bear him on their hands. But the fallacy lies in this, that he assigns a wandering and uncertain course to that guardianship of angels, which is only promised to the children of God, when they keep themselves within their bounds, and walk in their ways. If there is any force in that expression, in all thy ways, (Psa 91:11,) the prophet’s meaning is wickedly corrupted and mutilated by Satan, when he applies it, in a violent and wild and confused manner, to extravagant and mistaken courses. God commands us to walk in our ways, and then declares that angels will be our guardians: Satan brings forward the guardianship of angels, for the purpose of advising Christ to put himself unnecessarily in danger, as if he would say: “If you expose yourself to death, contrary to the will of God, angels will protect your life.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) If thou be the Son of God.In this case, as before, the temptation starts from the attestation of the character of Jesus as the Son of God. With this there is now joined an appeal to familiar and sacred words, and the subtlety of the Tempter lay in his perversion of their true meaning. Here, too, the words throw light on the previous spiritual life of the Son of Man. As in all analogous temptations (and the history would have but little significance or interest for us if it were not analogous to many human experiences) the words which were presented to the soul, with their true meaning obscured and perverted, must have been precisely those that had before been most precious. We can think of Him as having fed on those words, found in them the stay and comfort of His life, without ever dreaming (if one may venture so to speak) of putting them to the test by devices of His own imagining.
In their hands.Better, on. The angelic hands are thought of as sustaining and up-bearing.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. If thou be the Son of God By resisting the former temptation, Jesus had maintained himself to be the Son of God, and had sustained his own faith in his own divide mission. Let him now show that faith in his mission on a more heroic scale. A sublime faith is just the temper for a sublime display. Let him leap from the summit of the pinnacle to the depth of the gorge. All the world will wonder at so grand an exploit. Cast thyself down Put God to the test, and astonish the universe. Use thy Father’s power, like a wanton son, for freaks and experiments at miracle. For it is written And so the devil can quote Scripture to make out his point. Nothing makes wicked men so self-satisfied as to be able to bless their crime with a holy text. They can ridicule the Bible, and trample upon it at any other time. But they are profoundly biblical, and deep reverers of God’s holy and inspired word, if a text can be wrested to their purpose. They, like Satan, only use the Bible for the occasion, as the plaster for sin. They truly insult the word of God, and do truly add blasphemy to the sin which they try to make it cover. He shall give charge Psa 91:12. Some have questioned how this text in the Psalms is truly to be applied to Christ. But it is a probable fact that the main body of the book of Psalms has for its subject, a holy one, a perfect and therefore divine man, a Messiah.
Mark that the Bible, like every other good, can be misused and wrested for our own destruction. It is a part of our probation, that God has not given a revelation so unequivocal that perverse minds may not pervert it to the service of error and sin. The honest heart can alone use it with true security. Charge concerning thee As a parent gives the nurse charge concerning the tottering child, so God has given his angels charge concerning thee, his dear son. Hands shall bear thee up Angel nurses shall carry thee in their arms. Dash thy foot Hit thy foot against an obstacle and stumble.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And says to him, “If You are the Son of God, cast yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest it happen that you dash your foot against a stone’ .” ’
So Satan again approached His mind with a suggestion, taking Him in His mind to the temple precincts. Why not throw Himself from the topmost tower which towered over the valley beneath, in front of all the festal crowds. As He stood there ready to jump the whole of Jerusalem would quickly gather to watch what He was doing. The Chief Priests, and the great Teachers, and the aristocratic elders, and everyone who counted, (even no doubt the Roman representatives) would be there. They would all gather. Then He could spectacularly launch Himself, confident that He would be upheld by angels. If He really was the Son of God, and really believed it, that is what He would do, so that all might know Him for what He was.
Note the deliberate possibility of doubt he was seeking to sow in Jesus’ mind. He was not expressing specific doubt. He was emphasising what he knew that Jesus believed. But it left open the possibility of doubt, and if he could get Him to doubt that He was the Son of God so that He was not sure whether He could do it, he would have achieved his goal. Alternately his hope was that it would spur Him to foolish action. For Satan knew perfectly well that what he was suggesting would have aligned Jesus on his side. It was exactly in accordance with his own methods. Win men’s hearts by giving them what they want, whether it will do them good or not. Act for the short term and leave the future to look after itself.
And this time he had a Scripture to back it up. Was it not God’s promise that He would protect His true people who trusted in Him, and put His angels in charge of them? (Psa 91:11). Had He not specifically promised that angels would bear His people up and prevent them being dashed on the stones? (Psa 91:12). Surely, applied to One Who was the Son of God, that must be a guarantee of total protection? And its clear and practical fulfilment could only bring honour to the Scriptures. What better visual aid than that?
To many of us that sounds a very sensible idea. That is precisely what we are constantly wondering. Why did God not do something like this, for if we could, that is precisely what we would have done. For many do often ask, why does God not do something spectacular to win the belief of men and women? How easily He could gain support if He did so. How easily He could force everyone to believe. The only atheists left would be the ones who were trying to work out what strange wind forces had made it happen. And even they would be baffled, although their minds would be set against belief. (Those who do not want to believe will always find some excuse). But the question was, how many of the people who saw Him do it would have been any better for it? How many wowuld have become men changed at heart? A few short months and it would have to be done all over again.
We must be content with the fact that both God, and the Devil knew what the result of his proposal would be (the Devil would not have suggested it if he had thought that it would work). Both know that such belief would not change men’s hearts. Both know that a world won in that way would go on as it had before, wanting to be pandered to by constant miracles, and never changing at its heart. It would possibly have produced a show of godliness, but not true godliness. Such a world would honour Him with its mouth, but its heart would be far from Him. It would basically be left just as it was before.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 4:6. If thou be the Son of God The Jews were undoubtedly right in thinking that the Messiah is spoken of by Daniel, Dan 7:13-14. But they fell into a gross mistake, when, interpreting that passage literally, they believed the Messiah would actually come in the clouds of heaven, and wrest the kingdom from the Romans.
See Mat 24:30. The Pharisees, however, had the destruction of the Romans and the miraculous erection of a temporal empire in view, when they required our Lord to shew them a sign from heaven; Mat 16:1. And the people in general were so strongly impressed with the belief of it, that they overlooked all the proper proofs of Christ’s mission, and rejected him, because he did not confirm it by that sign, Joh 7:27. Howbeit we know this man whence he is; but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is: “No man knoweth from what particular place he shall first come:” for the doctors thought that though the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem, he was immediately to be conveyed thence, and concealed, till Elijah the Tishbite came from heaven, and prepared matters for his reception; after which he was to be manifested in a miraculous manner: and as they expected that the Messiah was to come in the clouds of heaven, they thought his first appearance was to be in the temple; grounding this opinion on Mal 3:1. Psa 110:2. Isa 2:3. Now the second temptation, considered in the light of this popular error, had considerable strength in it; for the tempter’s meaning was, “Since thou art the Son of God, thou shouldst cast thyself down from this battlement into the courts below, where the numerous worshippers, seeing thee borne up by angels, will immediately acknowledge thee as the Messiah coming to them in the clouds of heaven: for it is written, he shall give his angels charge, &c.” Had not this been the devil’s meaning, there was not the least reason for carrying Jesus to Jerusalem, and setting him on the battlements of the temple. He might as well have bidden him cast himself down from any precipice in the wilderness, or from the turret of any neighbouring town; where the interposition of angels in his preservation, would have been as conspicuous a proof to himself of his Messiahship as in the holy city of Jerusalem. It may be objected indeed, that the text cited by no means promises a visible interposition of ministering spirits for the preservation of the Messiah, as this sense of the temptation seems to require. But the answer is, that there was nothing to hinder the father of lies from putting an artful gloss upon a text of Scripture in order to delude; as if he had said, “Since God hath promised that his angels shall bear good men up in their hands, and particularly the Messiah, he may therefore well expect the favour, if he be the Son of God, and especially when it is necessary for the erecting of his kingdom.”And farther, the tempter’s argument would have the more weight, if, as is probable, he was now transformed into an angel of light, and feigned a willingness to assist Jesus in the undertaking. See Macknight, Sherlock on Prophesy, appendix, p. 304 and the notes on Psa 91:11.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 4:6 . In Psa 91:11-12 , according to the LXX., it is God’s providential care for the pious in general that is spoken of. Here the tempter, who now himself grasps the weapon of Scripture, which had just been used against him, cunningly applies the typical expressions in the Psalms (the figure is borrowed from maternal anxiety) strictly to the Messiah.
], not the recitative , but a part of the passage .
The Son of God, in reliance on the divine protection, must undertake a daring miracle of display in order to win over the masses for Himself. For the multitudes, with a view to influencing whom this miracle is proposed, are understood to be, as a matter of course , on the temple area; and therefore we are not to assume, with Kohlschtter, Ullmann, Engelhardt, that it was only an exhibition of divine favour and protection, and no public spectacle, which was aimed at. On that view no sufficient reason is shown why Jesus is brought from the wilderness to the most populous centre of the metropolis. Euth. Zigabenus strikingly remarks: .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Ver. 6. And he saith unto him ] The devil usually tempteth by speech, inward or outward. Senarclaeus (Epist. ad Bucerum) telleth of a plain countryman at Friburg in Germany, that lying on his deathbed, the devil came to him in the shape of a tall terrible man, and claimed his soul, saying, “Thou hast been a notorious sinner, and I am come to set down all thy sins;” and therewith he drew out paper and ink, and sat down at a table that stood by, and began to write. The sick man answered, “My soul is God’s, and all my sins are nailed to the cross of Christ. But if thou desire to set down my sins, write thus, ‘All our righteousnesses are as a filthy rag,’” &c. The devil set down that, and bid him say on. He did: “but thou, Lord, hast promised, for thine own sake, to blot out our iniquities, and to make our scarlet sins white as snow.” The devil passed by those words, and was earnest with him to go on in his former argument. The sick man said with great cheerfulness, “The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil.” With that the devil vanished, and the sick man departed.
If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself, &c. ] This is the devil’s logic, to argue from mercy to liberty, to do wickedly with both hands earnestly, Mic 7:3 . Whereas the heathen could say, In maxima libertate, minima licentia. And the father, Ideo deteriores sumus, quia meliores esse debemus: therefore are we worse, because we ought to be better. (Salvian.) Remember but this, that thou art son to a king (said one to Antigonus), and that will keep thee from base courses. Take thou those spoils to thyself, (said Themistocles to his friend that followed him), , for thou art not Themistocles, as I am: they are poor things, far below me. Shall such a man as I flee? Neh 6:11 . Shall I do anything to the dishonour of my heavenly Father? and therefore sin, because grace hath abounded?Rom 8:1Rom 8:1 ; that is not the guise of any of God’s children. They walk honestly, bravely, gallantly, worthy of God, who hath done so great things for them. , , . The more privileges, the more engagements. Scipio, when a harlot was offered unto him, said, Vellem, si non essem imperator. It was an aggravation of the fall of Solomon, that God had appeared unto him twice; and of Saul, that he fell as if he had not been anointed,1Ki 11:91Ki 11:9 ; 2Sa 1:21 . So it is of any of God’s saints to sin, as if they had not been adopted.
Cast thyself down ] Here our Saviour is tempted to suicide, by an old manslayer. And when Moses, Elias, Jonah, and others of the best sort of saints, were in a fit of discontent, and grew weary of their lives, wishing for death, divines doubt not but Satan gave a push at them with his ten horns, to despatch and ease themselves of the present trouble by cutting off their own days. A dangerous and hideous temptation; yet such as may befall the best, and few escape it that live out their time. But in all the book of God we read not of any of the generation of the just that ever did it, Psa 37:28 . That God who kept them, will (if we look up to him) do as much for us. Only we must set against this bloody temptation with God’s arm and with God’s armour. The word and prayer are the ordinances and power of God, and, by his might, do extinguish all the fiery darts of the devil. Oppose the commination to the temptation. Herein Eve faltered (in her lest ye die, though she held the precept), and so fell.
for it is written ] A vile abase of sacred Scripture, to persuade thereby to sin or plead for it; yet what more ordinary with men of corrupt minds and reprobate concerning the faith, 2Ti 3:8 . Qui caedem Scripturarum faciunt ad materiam suam, as Tertullian speaketh ( De Praescript, advers. Haeret. ), who murder the Scriptures to serve their own purposes? But of this more elsewhere.
He shall give his angels charge over thee ] Hitherto the old liar speaketh truth. But, Satan et si semel videatur verax, millies est mendax, et semper fallax, saith Bucholcer: Satan, though he may sometimes seem a true speaker, yet he is a thousand times for it a liar, and always a deceiver. Because our Saviour had alleged Scripture, he also would do the like in a perverse, apish imitation, but mars the masculine sense by clipping off that clause, “they shall keep thee in all thy ways;” that is, in those courses that are appointed thee by God. In viis nostris, non in praecipitiis. (Bern.) But as the Israelites in the wilderness, when they went out of God’s precincts were out of his protection, so are all others. “As a bird that wandereth from the nest, so is a man that wandereth from his own place,” saith Solomon,Pro 27:8Pro 27:8 . God made a law that none should molest a bird upon her nest,Deu 22:6Deu 22:6 . Doth God take care of birds? A king undertaketh the safety of his subjects while they travel within due hours and keep the king’s highway; else not. So doth God. He hath given his angels charge over us while we hold his way, which is like Jacob’s ladder, where the angels were ascending and descending. Oh the dignity and safety of a saint, in a guard so full of state and strength! Well might David (after he had said, “the angel of the Lord pitcheth his tent round about them that fear him”) presently subjoin, Taste and see bow gracious the Lord is, in allowing his children so glorious an attendance, Psa 34:7-8 .
And with their hands they shall lift thee up, &c. ] As parents use to lift their little ones over rough and foul ways; or as servants in a house love to get up into their arms their young master. , in manus: ducta ab iis, significationis origine, qui onus aliquod gestaturi attollunt in humeros. (Beza.) In Christ and for Christ, they count it their greatest glory to do us any good office for soul or body; they save us from the foul fiends that else would worry us. These walk about as lions to devour us while alive, and to hinder our passage to heaven when we die; the other, as guardians, to keep us here, and to convey and conduct us through the devil’s territories (who is prince of the air) when we go hence to heaven, Luk 16:22 , in despite of the evil angels that would intercept us, Dan 10:21 .
Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone ] Oh the tender care of our heavenly Father; he is so kind, and, in the best sense, fond over his little ones, that he cannot abide the cold wind should blow upon them, as we say, and hath therefore commanded “that the sun shall not smite them by day, nor the moon by night,”Psa 121:6Psa 121:6 ; yea, which way soever the wind fit, it must blow good to his; “Arise, O north, and blow, O south, upon any beloved, that her spices may flow forth,” Son 4:16 . What so contrary as north and south wind, cold and hot, moist and dry? &c. Yet both must blow good to God’s beloved. Well might God exalt his love above that of natural parents, which yet is wondrous great, saith the psalmist, Psa 103:13 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6. ] cited (nearly verbatim from the LXX, as almost all the texts in this narrative) as applying to all servants of God in general, and fortiori to the Son of God: not as a prophecy of the Messiah.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 4:6 . : This suggestion strongly makes for the symbolic or parabolic nature of the whole representation. The mad proposal could hardly be a temptation to such an one as Jesus, or indeed to any man in his senses. The transit through the air from the desert to the winglet, like that of Ezekiel, carried by a lock of his hair from Babylon to Jerusalem, must have been “in the visions of God” (Eze 8:3 ), and the suggestion to cast Himself down a parabolic hint at a class of temptations, as the excuses in the parable of the Supper (Luk 14:16 ) simply represent the category of preoccupation . What is the class represented? Not temptations through vanity or presumption, but rather to reckless escape from desperate situations. The second temptation, like the first, belongs to the category of need . The Satanic suggestion is that there can be no sonship where there are such inextricable situations, in proof of which the Psalter is quoted (Psa 91:11-12 ). , it stands written, not precisely as Satan quotes it, the clause being omitted. On this account many commentators charge Satan with mutilating and falsifying Scripture.
Mat 4:7 . Jesus replies by another quotation from Deut. (Mat 6:16 ). , on the other hand, not contradicting but qualifying: “Scriptura per scripturam interpretanda et concilianda,” Bengel. The reference is to the incident at Rephidim (Exo 17:1-7 ), where the people virtually charged God with bringing them out of Egypt to perish with thirst, the scene of this petulant outburst receiving the commemorative name of Massah and Meribah because they tempted Jehovah, saying: “Is Jehovah among us or not?” An analogous situation in the life of Jesus may be found in Gethsemane , where He did not complain or tempt, but uttered the submissive, “If it be possible”. The leap down at that crisis would have consisted in seeking escape from the cross at the cost of duty. The physical fall from the pinnacle is an emblem of a moral fall. Before passing from this temptation I note that the hypothesis that it was an appeal, to vanity presupposes a crowd at the foot to witness the performance, of Which there is no mention.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
cast Thyself down. An attempt upon His life. See App-23, and note on Mat 23:16.
it is written. Satan can quote Scripture and garble it by omitting the essential words “to keep Thee in all Thy ways”, and by adding “at any time”. Quoted from Psa 91:11, Psa 91:12 (not Mat 4:13; see note there).
in = upon. Greek. epi, as “on” in Mat 4:5.
against. Greek. pros. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6. ] cited (nearly verbatim from the LXX, as almost all the texts in this narrative) as applying to all servants of God in general, and fortiori to the Son of God: not as a prophecy of the Messiah.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 4:6. , it is written) A most specious temptation, which appears to quote Scripture appositely. There is no doubt but that Satan must have often felt the force of this saying, from the protection which the angels extended to the godly against him.– , …) He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. The LXX. render Psalms 91(90):11, 12,– , , …, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy way: they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. The fraud of Satan consists rather in false application, than in omission.- , in their hands) That is, they shall guard Thee with great circumspection.-, a stone) i.e., one of those of which the Temple was built. The tempter applies the psalm speciously.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
angels
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
for: Mat 4:4, 2Co 11:14
He shall: Psa 91:11, Psa 91:12, Luk 4:9-12, Heb 1:14
lest: Job 1:10, Job 5:23, Psa 34:7, Psa 34:20
Reciprocal: Gen 3:1 – hath Exo 6:13 – General Mal 3:15 – they that tempt Mat 4:11 – behold Mat 27:40 – If Mar 3:11 – the Son Luk 22:43 – an Joh 1:34 – this Joh 7:4 – show
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4:6
Much importance has been attached by commentators to the devil’s omission of the words “in all thy ways” from his citation to Psa 91:11-12. The word ways is from DEREK which Strong defines, “a course of life or mode of action,” regardless of whether that course is right or wrong. The context must determine in each case whether it is the one or the other. To say that casting himself down would have been wrong is to assume the very point in question. Had it been right for him to perform such a stunt as the devil suggested, then the passage which he cited would have given the assurance of divine protection according to the passage in Psalms.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 4:6. The devil takes the weapon with which he had been already overcome. He too, can cite Scripture for his purpose. But the result proves that Satan was but a surface reader, or rather a wilful perverter of the Scriptures.
He shall give, etc. From Psa 91:11-12.
On their hands, more literal.
Lest haply, not at any time.This promise to all Gods people seems specially applicable to the Son of God. The words, in all thy ways, are omitted here, but without altering the sense. The original is poetic. Satan uses it literally, tempting to a rash confidence, as in the first instance to distrust. It was also a temptation to avoid the appointed endurance, and by one striking exercise of power prove himself the Messiah.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here we have observable, first, the sin which Satan tempts Christ unto; and next, the argument which he tempts him from.
The sin tempted to, is the sin of self-murder; Cast thyself down.
Whence we learn, That self-murder is a sin which Christ himself was, and the best of saints may, by Satan, be tempted to the commission of.
But forasmuch as Satan tempted Christ to murder himself, but had not the power to do it himself,(do thou cast thyself down,) we learn, That though Satan may tempt, yet he cannot compel; he may entice, but cannot enforce any to sin, without their own consent.
Observe, 2. The argument which Satan uses; it is a scripture; argument; he quotes the promise of God. He shall give his angels charge over thee.
What a marvel is here, to find Satan with a Bible under his arm, and a text of scripture in his mouth! Christ had alleged scripture before to Satan; here Satan retorts scripture back again to Christ: It is written, says Christ; It is written, says Satan.
Learn thence, That it is no wonder to hear heretics and hypocrites quote scripture, when Satan himself durst recite it: he that had profanely touched the sacred body of Christ with his hand, sticks not presumptuously to handle the holy scripture of God with his tongue.
Yet observe, How wretchedly the devil wrests, perverts, and misapplies, the scripture. When God promises his angels shall keep us, it is in viis, non in praecipitiis; ’tis in all God’s ways, not in any of our own crooked paths.
Note here, That although the children of God have the promise of the guardianship of holy angels, yet then only may they expect their protection, when they are walking in the way of their duty, and using the means for their own preservation.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 6
Perhaps to make a public display of his miraculous powers.