Matthew 4:6
Encyclopedia
Matthew 4:6 is the sixth verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. Jesus
has just rebuffed Satan's first temptation in this verse the devil presents him with the second one while the pair stands on the pinnacle of the Temple of Jerusalem.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 4:6
As with Matthew 4:3
Satan is not doubting that Jesus is the Son of God
but rather is stating that he should do these things because he is the Son of God. Satan here is trying to convince Jesus to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple because God has promised that he will not be hurt. To advance this temptation the devil quotes scripture, something Schweizer sees as an escalation over the first temptation. The verse quoted is from Psalm 91:11-12. In the KJV those verses read:
Satan omits the line "to guard you in all your ways." Gundry notes that the original wording makes it clear that God is promising only to protect from accidents, not from deliberate acts such as the one Satan is proposing.
The exact evil Satan is trying to induce in this verse is open to debate. The traditional view was that the temptation narrative was one of rejecting sin and this test was simply Satan luring Jesus with the sin of hubris
. Most modern scholars reject this view of the temptation. A view that was popular for a time was that the three temptation sequences each represent Jesus rejecting one vision of what the Messiah should be. In this verse Satan tries to convince him that he should be a magician and miracle worker who wins converts by his spectacular acts. Gundry notes that the choice of the Temple as a setting is evidence for this theory. There are many precipices in the wilderness, that Satan brings him to the top of the temple implies that the miraculous rescue would be a very public act. A view that is in vogue today is that Satan is placing before Jesus the same pitfalls that the Jewish people fell into during the period after Exodus. In the desert the Israelites attempted to test God and Satan is proposing that Jesus do the same. This interpretation fits most closely with Jesus' response to this temptation in the next verse.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
has just rebuffed Satan's first temptation in this verse the devil presents him with the second one while the pair stands on the pinnacle of the Temple of Jerusalem.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And saith unto him, If thou be the
- Son of God, cast thyself down: for it
- is written, He shall give his angels
- charge concerning thee: and in their
- hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any
- time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- and said to him, "If you are the
- Son of God, throw yourself down, for
- it is written, ‘He will put his angels
- in charge of you.’ and,‘On their hands
- they will bear you up, so that you
- don’t dash your foot against a stone.’
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 4:6
As with Matthew 4:3
Matthew 4:3
Matthew 4:3 is the third verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse opens the section in Matthew dealing with the temptation of Christ by Satan...
Satan is not doubting that Jesus is the Son of God
Son of God
"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
but rather is stating that he should do these things because he is the Son of God. Satan here is trying to convince Jesus to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple because God has promised that he will not be hurt. To advance this temptation the devil quotes scripture, something Schweizer sees as an escalation over the first temptation. The verse quoted is from Psalm 91:11-12. In the KJV those verses read:
- For he will command his angels concerning you
- to guard you in all your ways;
- they will lift you up in their hands,
- so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Satan omits the line "to guard you in all your ways." Gundry notes that the original wording makes it clear that God is promising only to protect from accidents, not from deliberate acts such as the one Satan is proposing.
The exact evil Satan is trying to induce in this verse is open to debate. The traditional view was that the temptation narrative was one of rejecting sin and this test was simply Satan luring Jesus with the sin of hubris
Hubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....
. Most modern scholars reject this view of the temptation. A view that was popular for a time was that the three temptation sequences each represent Jesus rejecting one vision of what the Messiah should be. In this verse Satan tries to convince him that he should be a magician and miracle worker who wins converts by his spectacular acts. Gundry notes that the choice of the Temple as a setting is evidence for this theory. There are many precipices in the wilderness, that Satan brings him to the top of the temple implies that the miraculous rescue would be a very public act. A view that is in vogue today is that Satan is placing before Jesus the same pitfalls that the Jewish people fell into during the period after Exodus. In the desert the Israelites attempted to test God and Satan is proposing that Jesus do the same. This interpretation fits most closely with Jesus' response to this temptation in the next verse.