Luke 4:12
in Luke 4But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.
KJV
And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
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This verse in Luke 4
Commentary
15 notes on this verseBut the Lord, to prevent the thought that those things which had been prophesied of Him were fulfilled according to the devil's will, and not by the authority of His own divine power, again so foils his cunning, that he who had alleged the testimony of Scripture, should by Scripture himself be overthrown. Hence it follows, And Jesus answering said, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
This site's exposition
the devil led Him to Jerusalem
on Luke 4:9-12
The third temptation turns Scripture itself into the tool, as the devil quotes Psalm 91 as a license to force God's hand. Jesus answers from Deuteronomy with the command given after Israel demanded proof at Massah.
This site's exposition
Do not put the Lord your God to the test
Jesus answers the devil's use of Scripture with Scripture, from Deuteronomy 6:16. Bede says the false arrows the devil takes from what is written are broken by the true shields of what is written. Cyril of Alexandria says God gives no sign to those who put Him to the test.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
But John, who had commenced his Gospel from God, saying, In the beginning was the Word, did not describe the temptation of the Lord, because God can not be tempted, of whom he wrote. But because in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke the human generations are given, and in Mark it is man who is tempted, therefore Matthew, Luke, and Mark have described the temptation of the Lord.
A commentator
Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 4.8B-C · Written before 373.
proposed
[Satan] set [Jesus] up on the pinnacle of the temple. Satan wanted him to suppose that he who was a man could become God, by means of the godly house, just as Satan had once made Adam suppose that he could become God by means …
God gives not help to those who tempt Him, but to those who believe on Him. Christ therefore did not show His miracles to them that tempted Him, but said to them, An evil generation seeketh a sign, and no sign shall be given to them. (Mat. 12:39.)
You see, ancient errors are undone in Christ's footprints, and the snares, first of the stomach, second of sexual sin, and third of ambition, are loosed. For Adam was enticed by food. Because he willingly transgressed in the matter of the forbidden tree, he also was charged with heedless ambition, for he desired to be like the Godhead. Therefore the Lord first remitted the debt of the ancient wrong, in order that, having shaken off the yoke of captivity, we may learn to overcome our faults with the help of the Scriptures.… The devil shakes the whole world with cunning deceit, in order to corrupt people, and fights with all the enticements of this age. You must beware of his flattery all the more. Food had not persuaded Eve, nor had the forgetfulness of the commands deprived her. If she had been willing to worship the Lord alone, she would not have sought what was not due to her. So a remedy is given, which blunts the dart of ambition, so that we serve the Lord alone. Pious devotion lacks ambition.
But mark how the Lord, instead of being troubled, condescends to dispute from the Scriptures with the wicked one, that thou, as far as thou art able, mightest become like Christ. The devil knew the arms of Christ, beneath which he sunk. Christ took him captive by meekness, He overcame him by humility. Do thou also, when thou seest a man who has become a devil coming to meet thee, subdue him in like manner. Teach thy soul to conform its words to those of Christ. For as a Roman judge, who on the bench refuses to hear the reply of one who knows not how to speak as he does; so also Christ, except thou speakest after His manner, will neither hear thee nor protect thee.
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church3 voices
When tempted by the devil, the Lord responded with the precepts of sacred Scripture, and he who could have plunged his tempter into the abyss by that Word which he was, did not display the power of his might, but gave only the precepts of divine Scripture, so that he might offer us an example of his patience, that whenever we suffer anything from wicked people, we might be stirred to teaching rather than to vengeance.
And Jesus answering said to him: It is said: You shall not tempt the Lord your God. The devil's false arrows from the Scriptures, he breaks with the true shields of the Scriptures. And it is to be noted that he brought forth necessary testimonies …
Here after the pestilential persuasion, he adds the Lord's response, brief and efficacious, when he says: Jesus answering said to him: It is said, namely in Deuteronomy six: You shall not tempt the Lord your God: and Sirach eighteen: "Do not be as a man …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Jesus answering said unto him, it is said,.... In Deu 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."
This Christ would be guilty of if he should say, "He did indeed prove me to be the Son of God, by sending the Spirit upon me, which is the greater; but can he also give his angels a charge concerning me, which is the less? " III. What was the result and issue of this combat,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The first event recorded in our Lord's history, after His baptism — is His temptation by the devil. From a season of honor and glory — he passed immediately to a season of conflict and suffering. First came the testimony of God the Father , "You are my beloved Son." Then came the sneering suggestion of Satan , " If you are the Son of God." The portion of Christ will often prove the portion of Christians. From great privilege to great trial, there will often be but a step.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The first event recorded in our Lord's history, after His baptism — is His temptation by the devil. From a season of honor and glory — he passed immediately to a season of conflict and suffering. First came the testimony of God the Father , "You are my beloved Son." Then came the sneering suggestion of Satan , " If you are the Son of God." The portion of Christ will often prove the portion of Christians. From great privilege to great trial, there will often be but a step. Let us first mark in this passage — the power and unwearied malice of the devil. That old serpent who tempted Adam to sin in Paradise — was not afraid to assault the second Adam, the Son of God. Whether he understood that Jesus was "God manifest in the flesh" may perhaps be doubted. But that he saw in Jesus, One who had come into the world to overthrow his kingdom — is clear and plain. He had seen what happened at our Lord's baptism. He had heard the marvelous words from Heaven. He felt that the great Friend of man was come — and that his own dominion was in peril. The Redeemer had come. The prison door was about to be thrown open. The lawful captives were about to be set free. All this, we need not doubt — Satan saw, and resolved to fight for his own. The prince of this world would not give way to the Prince of peace without a mighty struggle. He had overcome the first Adam in the garden of Eden — why should he not overcome the second Adam in the wilderness ? He had spoiled man once of Paradise — why should he not spoil him of the kingdom of God. Let it never surprise us, if we are tempted by the devil. Let us rather expect it, as a matter of course, if we are living members of Christ. The Master's lot will be the lot of His disciples.
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀποκριθεὶς | apokritheis | answering | G611 → | 231 times |
| εἶπεν | eipen | He said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | to him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰησοῦς | iesous | Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| εἴρηται· | eiretai | It has been said; | G2046 → | |
| οὐκ | ouk | Not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἐκπειράσεις | ekpeiraseis | you will test | G1598 → | |
| κύριον | kurion | [the] Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεόν | theon | God | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| σου. | sou | of you.’ | G4771 → | 2973 times |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀποκριθεὶςanswering
apokritheisG611 →231 times
εἶπενHe said
eipenG2036 →925 times
αὐτῷto him
autoG846 →5565 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἸησοῦςJesus
iesousG2424 →908 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
εἴρηται·It has been said;
eiretaiG2046 →
οὐκNot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἐκπειράσειςyou will test
ekpeiraseisG1598 →
κύριον[the] Lord
kurionG2962 →711 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
θεόνGod
theonG2316 →1312 times
σου.of you.’
souG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 4:7Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 6:16
Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.
- 1 Corinthians 10:9
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 78:18
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 78:41
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 6:16
Through
Deuteronomy 6:16Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.
it leads to
- Exodus 17:7
He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
- Matthew 4:7
Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
- Psalms 95:8–9
do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Exodus 17:7
Through
1 Corinthians 10:9We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
it leads to
- Numbers 21:5–6
and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
- Numbers 21:5–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
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About Luke
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Ambrose of Milan, Commentary on Luke; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4; Cyril of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 4.8B-C; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 16; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.