Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord, your God, and serve Him only.'"
Matthew's Gospel Chapter 4 verse 10NIV
The Rebuke
- When did the Lord speak this words?
When He was tempted in the wilderness.
- How many temptations do the Evangelists record?
Three temptations.
- Why does Matthew record these three temptations?
To show us the nature of the temptations to which our Lord was subjected.
- Who, do you think, gave the disciples an account of the temptations?
It must have been the Lord Jesus Himself, for no-one else was present.
- What was the nature of the temptation in this verse?
The devil showed Him the kingdoms of the world and offered them to our Lord if He would fall down and worship him.
- When did this temptation come to our Lord?
At the beginning of His special life work.
- What lesson does this teach us?
That the devil is ever ready to use our lawful ambition for wrong ends.
- What special force had this temptation to our Lord?
The devil proposed to give Him that which He came to win.
- How did our Lord meet the temptation?
With an instant refusal.
- Why did the Lord refuse the devil's offer?
Because of the conditions attached.
- What was the condition?
"All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me."
- What is the meaning of the word "Worship?"
The offering of outward respect or reverence.
- With what words did the Lord rebuke Satan?
"Away from Me, Satan"
- What is the meaning of "Satan?"
An adversary.
- What is the meaning of the word "devil?"
A slanderer or accuser.
The Method of Resistance.
- What enabled the Lord to resist the attack of Satan?
His knowledge of the Word of God.
- How do we know this?
Because the Lord answered every temptation with a quote from Scripture.
- From which part of the Scripture did the Lord Jesus quote?
From the book of Deuteronomy.
- What is the significance of this?
This book urges us to remember, teach and to talk about God's commandments.
- What lesson does this teach us?
That studying the Scriptures is the best preservative against falling into sin.
- How is it possible for us to command the devil to go away?
When we are steadfast in the faith we can resist Satan. (1 Peter 5:8,9)
- What promise encourages us in this resistance?
James tells us "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)
The Message of Scripture
- With what words of Scripture did our Lord meet the devil's temptation?
"Worship the Lord, your God, and serve Him only."
- What do these words mean?
That worship and service are due to God, and to God only.
- What is meant by the word "serve"?
It describes our actions that are prompted by our awe for God's greatness, hence this word is adopted in English as "Liturgy."
- Into what parts is our reverence for God divided?
Into an outward appearance and an inward state of mind.
Text Ten
Adapted from:
"The one hundred texts of the society for Irish Church Missions."
T.C. Hammond, Dublin. 1939