Matthew 4:10

He Himself, when tempted by the devil, demonstrated who it is that presides over and is the originator of temptation. This passage He confirms by subsequent ones, saying, "Pray that ye be not tempted; " yet they were tempted, (as they showed) by de-setting their Lord, because they had given way rather to sleep than prayer.

It should be noted, that the required texts are taken from the book of Deuteronomy only, that He might show the sacraments of the second Law. The Devil and Peter are not, as many suppose, condemned to the same sentence. To Peter it is said, Get thee behind me, Satan; i. e. follow thou behind Me who art contrary to My will. But here it is, Go, Satan, and is not added 'behind Me,' that we may understand into the fire prepared for thee and thy angels. When the Devil says to the Saviour, If thou wilt fall down and worship me, he is answered by the contrary declaration, that it more becomes him to worship Jesus as his Lord and God.

With these words He puts an end to the temptations of the Devil, that they should proceed no further. Observe how Christ when Himself suffered wrong at the hands of the Devil, being tempted of him, saying, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, yet was not moved to chide the Devil. But now when the Devil usurps the honour of God, he is wroth, and drives him away, saying, Go thy way, Satan; that we may learn by His example to bear injuries to ourselves with magnanimity, but wrongs to God, to endure not so much as to hear; for to be patient under our own wrongs is praiseworthy, to dissemble when God is wronged is impiety.

"Then saith He, Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." For since he was now come to sinning against the Father, saying, that all that is the Father's was his, and was endeavoring to make himself out to be God, as artificer of the universe; He then rebuked him: but not even then with vehemence, but simply, "Get thee hence, Satan;" which itself had in it something of command rather than of rebuke. For as soon as He had said to him, "Get thee hence," He caused him to take to flight; since he brought not against Him any other temptations.

Note that latria is worship owed to God alone and is rendered in such a way that it is owed to no other. God prohibits the worship of others in the negative, and by this he implied the worship of God in the affirmative, which …

Consider how great is the patience of God, and how great is our impatience. If we are provoked by injuries or some harm, moved by fury, we either avenge ourselves as much as we can, or we threaten what we cannot do. Behold, the Lord endured the adversity of the devil, and answered him with nothing but words of gentleness. He bore him whom he could have punished, so that his praise might grow higher from this: that he overcame his enemy not by destroying him, but by enduring him for the time being. "Begone, Satan"—by these words the Lord shows us that whenever we suffer anything from wicked people, we might be stirred to teaching rather than to vengeance.

(ap. Anselm.) Though Luke's order seems the more historical; Matthew relates the temptations as they were done to Adam.

The curbing of the enemy is described. In regard to this he does two things: first, he checks the temptation; secondly, he cites a text (v. 10b). He says, therefore, Then Jesus said to him. Note that Christ had heard many insults, but did not …

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. The Lord became angry with him when He saw him appropriating what was God's and saying, "All these …

Get thee hence, Satan - Not, get thee behind me, that is, into thy proper place; as he said on a quite different occasion to Peter, speaking what was not expedient.

Then saith Jesus to him, get thee hence, Satan.....

Get thee hence - Or, behind me, οπισω μου. This is added by a multitude of the best MSS., Versions, and Fathers. This temptation savoring of nothing but diabolical impudence, Jesus did not treat it as the others; but, with Divine authority, commanded the tempter to return to his own place. In the course of this trial, it appears that our blessed Lord was tempted, 1st. To Distrust. Command these stones to become bread. 2dly. To Presumption. Cast thyself down. 3dly. To worldly Ambition. All these will I give. 4thly. To Idolatry.

Once more the word "only," in the second clause--not expressed in the Hebrew and the Septuagint--is here added to bring out emphatically the negative and prohibitory feature of the command.

The first event in our Lord’s ministry which St. Matthew records after his baptism is his temptation. This is a deep and mysterious subject. There is much in the history of it which we cannot explain; but there lie on the face of the history plain practical lessons, to which we should do well to take heed. Let us learn in the first place, what a real and mighty enemy we have in the devil. He is not afraid to assault even the Lord Jesus himself.

The first event in our Lord’s ministry which St. Matthew records after his baptism is his temptation. This is a deep and mysterious subject. There is much in the history of it which we cannot explain; but there lie on the face of the history plain practical lessons, to which we should do well to take heed. Let us learn in the first place, what a real and mighty enemy we have in the devil. He is not afraid to assault even the Lord Jesus himself. Three times over he attacks God’s own Son: our Saviour was “tempted of the devil.” It was the devil who brought sin into the world at the beginning. This is he who vexed Job, deceived David, and gave Peter a heavy fall: this is he whom the Bible calls a “murderer,” a “liar,” and a “roaring lion” ( John 8:44 ; 1 Peter 5:8 ); this is he whose enmity to our souls never slumbers and never sleeps; this is he who for nearly 6,000 years has been working at one work, to ruin men and women and to draw them to hell; this is he whose cunning and subtlety pass man’s understanding, and who often “appears an angel of light.” ( 1 Corinthians 11:14 ) Let us watch and pray daily against his devices. There is no enemy worse than an enemy who is never seen and never dies, who is near us wherever we live, and goes with us wherever we go. Not least, let us beware of that habit of foolish talking and jesting about the devil which so unhappily common. Let us remember that if we would be saved we must not only crucify the flesh and overcome the world, but also “resist the devil.” Let us learn in the next place that we must not count temptation a strange thing. “The disciple is not greater than his master, nor the servant than his Lord.” If Satan came to Christ, he will also come to Christians. It would be well for believers if they would remember this. They are too apt to forget it.

Get thee hence - These temptations, and this one especially, the Saviour met with a decided rebuke. This was a bolder attack than any which had been made before. The other temptations had been founded on an appeal to his necessities, and an offer of the protection of God in great danger; in both cases plausible, and in neither a direct violation of the law of God. Here was a higher attempt, a more decided and deadly thrust at the piety of the Saviour. It was a proposition that the Son of God should worship the devil, instead of honoring and adoring Him who made heaven and earth; that he should bow down before the Prince of wickedness and give him homage. It is written - In Deu 6:13. Satan asked him to worship him. This was expressly forbidden, and Jesus therefore drove him from his presence.

Jesus didn't argue. He quoted Scripture—every time. That's our model. We don't overcome with cleverness or willpower. We overcome by knowing and declaring God's Word.