Mat 4:5-7 | KingComments | STEP | The second temptation is not directed at the physical, but at the religious needs. For this the devil takes the Lord Jesus to Jerusalem, the holy city, to the most holy place in that city, the temple. He lets Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. Then He does what the Lord has done. He cites something that is written. But when the devil cites the Word of God, it is always to misuse it and he always misquotes it. The text quoted by the devil in order to seduce the Lord to commit a reckless act ( ) refers to God’s promise that He will protect the Messiah from disaster. By quoting this text, the devil says, as it were: “Here is a word from God for You.” The distortion of the Word is that the devil omits the word “in all Your ways”. Again the devil wants Him to do something without walking in the way of God. But his guile goes even further. He wants Christ to challenge God to prove that He will preserve and protect the Messiah. This is evident from the Lord’s answer, an answer that again consists of a quotation from Scripture ( ). Here too He does not enter into discussion with the devil. In His answer, He indicates that He trusts in God unconditionally and that it is sin to ask in unbelief whether God is worthy of His trust. We distrust God if we want Him to prove His care through outward actions. The first two temptations show two principles that lead to victory. The first principle is simple and absolute obedience. The second is complete trust in the way of obedience. To have the courage to obey, we need trust. But trust is found only in the way of obedience.

‏ Matthew 4:5-7

The Second Temptation

The second temptation is not directed at the physical, but at the religious needs. For this the devil takes the Lord Jesus to Jerusalem, the holy city, to the most holy place in that city, the temple. He lets Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. Then He does what the Lord has done. He cites something that is written. But when the devil cites the Word of God, it is always to misuse it and he always misquotes it.

The text quoted by the devil in order to seduce the Lord to commit a reckless act (Psa 91:11-12) refers to God’s promise that He will protect the Messiah from disaster. By quoting this text, the devil says, as it were: “Here is a word from God for You.” The distortion of the Word is that the devil omits the word “in all Your ways”. Again the devil wants Him to do something without walking in the way of God.

But his guile goes even further. He wants Christ to challenge God to prove that He will preserve and protect the Messiah. This is evident from the Lord’s answer, an answer that again consists of a quotation from Scripture (Deu 6:16). Here too He does not enter into discussion with the devil. In His answer, He indicates that He trusts in God unconditionally and that it is sin to ask in unbelief whether God is worthy of His trust. We distrust God if we want Him to prove His care through outward actions.

The first two temptations show two principles that lead to victory. The first principle is simple and absolute obedience. The second is complete trust in the way of obedience. To have the courage to obey, we need trust. But trust is found only in the way of obedience.