Matthew 4:7

7 And Iesus sayde to hym it ys wrytten also: Thou shalt not tempte thy Lorde God.

Matthew 4:7 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 4:7

Jesus saith unto him, it is written again
Christ takes no notice of the false and wrong citation of scripture made by the devil, nor of any misapplication of it; but mildly replies, by opposing another passage of scripture to him, ( Deuteronomy 6:16 )

ye shall not tempt the Lord your God,
thereby tacitly showing, that he had produced scripture to a very wrong purpose, since that could never contradict itself; and also, that for a person to neglect the ordinary means of safety, and to expect, that as God can, so he will, preserve without the use of such means, is a tempting him. The Hebrew word (wont) "tempt", as Manasseh ben F6 Israel observes, is always taken in an ill part, and is to be understood of such who would try the power, goodness, or will of God. And which, as it is not fitting it should be done by any man, so not by himself; and perhaps he hereby intimates too, that he himself was God; and therefore as it was not right in him to tempt God the Father, by taking such a step as Satan solicited him to; nor would it be right in any other; so it was iniquitous in the devil to tempt him who was God over all, blessed for ever.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Conciliat. in Deut. Quaest. 3. p. 223.

Matthew 4:7 In-Context

5 Then the devyll tooke hym vp into ye holy cite and set hym on a pynacle of the teple
6 and sayd vnto hym: yf thou be the sonne of God cast thy sylfe doune. For it is wrytte he shall geve his angels charge over the and with their handes they shall holde yt vp that thou dashe not thy fote agaynst a stone.
7 And Iesus sayde to hym it ys wrytten also: Thou shalt not tempte thy Lorde God.
8 The devyll toke hym vp agayne and ledde hym in to an excedynge hye mountayne and shewed hym all the kyngdomes of ye worlde and all ye glorie of them
9 and sayde to hym: all these will I geue ye if thou wilt faull doune and worship me.
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