Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 4:9

"and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." — Matthew 4:9 (ASV)

All these things will I give thee — Saint Luke’s addition, For that is (has been) delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it, is full of significance. The offer made by the Tempter rested on the apparent evidence of the world’s history. The rulers of the world—its Herods and its Caesars—seemed to have attained their eminence by trampling the laws of God underfoot and accepting Evil as the lord and master of the world.

In part, this claim is allowed by our Lord’s language and that of his apostles. Satan is “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; John 14:30). His hosts are the world-rulers (κοσμοκράτορας) of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). In this case, the temptation is no longer addressed to the sense of Sonship but to the love of power. To be a king like other kings—mighty to deliver His people from their oppressors and achieve the glory the prophets had predicted for the Christ—was possible for Him, if only He would go beyond the self-imposed limits of accepting whatever His Father ordered for Him.

Wilt fall down and worship me — The latter word properly expresses, as apparently throughout the New Testament, the homage offered to a king rather than the adoration due to God.