Don’t Test God

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, 'He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.' Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the LORD your God.' Matthew 4:5-7 

Meditate. Consider Jesus’ word and listen to what He is saying.

 

Jesus was being confronted by the devil at the tallest point in Jerusalem, at the top of the Temple. Remember that they were in the Judean desert and now immediately in Jerusalem. Did the devil just whisk Jesus away from the desert to the Holy city...or did Jesus walk? We don't know. It might be interesting to see how someone would depict that scene if they were to make a movie of the temptations. Note that the devil is misquoting scripture. Matthew Henry, a minister and author in the 1600's, has given a thorough and comprehensive review of this chapter, just like his evaluation of all the other books of the entire Bible in his commentary. See that on the Blue Letter Bible website. Matthew Henry points out that the evil, cunning devil wanted Jesus to throw Himself down from the Temple so that He would die, but then used the promises that God gave in the Psalms.

For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. Psalm 91:11-12

Even Satan knows God's word, and he intentionally misuses it. He didn't use the entire verse, leaving out wherever you go. By leaving out those words, he inferred that God's angels will not protect Jesus or us everywhere. Not true. As long as we are following God's will—His direction--then we are assured of His promise to be under His protection. Additionally, we must be very careful that we handle God's word correctly, not misusing it. The devil was tempting Jesus, thus tempting God. Jesus retort was that we are not to tempt God. Jesus quote from the Old Testament.

You must not test the LORD your God as you did when you complained at Massah. Deuteronomy 6:16

Since Jesus didn't get caught up in the issue of angels’ protection, but addressed the testing God issue, I perceive the greatest lesson we learn from Jesus' second temptation is that we are not to test God. How often do we do that? Do we say, Lord, if You will do this or that for me, I'll follow Your way. Actually, that is backwards. It should be...Lord, I am following Your way, please send Your angels to protect me...or whatever. By this being included in the book of Matthew, Jesus was teaching that we need to honor God by not testing Him.

 

Prayer – Lord, You are awesome and wise above all. Thank You for this lesson on temptation that we can learn more about You and Your plan for each of us, for mankind that we would be able to live to please You...day by day...moment by moment.  

Verse of Salvation ~ Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. Isaiah 58:8     

© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

Revised and reused from January 11, 2018, blog Banquet With The King.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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