What is the meaning of Matthew 4:10? Away from Me, Satan! Jesus meets the tempter’s blatant invitation to bow down (Matthew 4:9) with a sharp dismissal. • The phrase is an explicit command. Christ does not negotiate with evil; He orders it to depart, echoing His later words in Matthew 16:23 and foreshadowing the believer’s charge to “resist the devil” (James 4:7). • This is spiritual warfare conducted in real time. Genesis 3 introduced the serpent; here the Second Adam confronts him directly and wins, anticipating the ultimate defeat described in Revelation 20:10. Jesus told him. The authority is personal—God the Son speaks. • Every realm must obey His voice, whether wind and waves (Mark 4:39), unclean spirits (Mark 1:25-27), or the adversary himself. • By addressing Satan directly, Jesus models the believer’s reliance on His name (Luke 10:17). No formula, no ritual—just the living Word speaking the written Word. For it is written Jesus grounds His rebuke in Scripture, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13. • He treats the Pentateuch as the final, unbreakable authority (John 10:35). • The repeated “it is written” throughout the temptation narrative (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) shows the sufficiency of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17). • Satan had tried to twist Psalm 91 earlier; Jesus answers with correct context, illustrating how believers must “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Worship the Lord your God Worship is exclusive, directed only to Yahweh. • The first commandment—“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3)—stands behind Jesus’ quote. • Angels refuse worship (Revelation 22:8-9); even good gifts can become idols when they displace God (Romans 1:25). • True worship combines reverence (Psalm 95:6) with joyful allegiance (Philippians 3:3), focusing heart, mind, and strength on the Creator alone. and serve Him only Service flows out of worship; what we adore, we obey. • Joshua’s challenge—“Choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15)—echoes here. • Divided loyalties are impossible: “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). • Serving God “only” means every sphere—work, family, ambitions—is offered “as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), rejecting any rival claim to ultimate allegiance. summary Matthew 4:10 records Christ’s decisive command, grounded in Scripture, that banishes the tempter and reaffirms the first commandment. By quoting Deuteronomy, Jesus shows that God’s written Word is the unassailable standard. The verse calls believers to imitate their Lord: confront evil with Scriptural truth, reserve worship for God alone, and channel every act of life into single-hearted service to Him. |
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