Church Fathers Commentary Luke 4:5-8

"And he led him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." — Luke 4:5-8 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: The enemy first assailed Christ with the temptation of the appetite, just as he did with Adam. He next tempts Him with the desire for gain, or covetousness, by showing Him all the kingdoms of the world. Therefore, the text continues, And the devil, taking him up...

St. Gregory the Great: Is it any wonder that He allowed Himself to be led by the devil into the mountains, when He even endured having His own body crucified?

Theophylact of Ohrid: But how did the devil show Him all the kingdoms of the world? Some say that he presented them to Him in his imagination, but I believe that he brought them before Him in a visible form and appearance.

Titus of Bostra: Or, the devil described the world with words and, as he thought, brought it vividly before our Lord’s mind as if it were a specific house.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Truly, in a moment of time, the kingdoms of this world are shown. This signifies not so much a rapid glance of the eye as it declares the frailty of mortal power. For in a moment all this passes by, and often the glory of this world has vanished before it has even arrived. It follows, And he said to him, I will give you all this power.

Titus of Bostra: He lied in two ways. For he neither had the authority to give, nor could he give, what he did not possess; he possesses nothing, but is an enemy compelled to fight.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For it is said elsewhere that all power is from God. Therefore, the bestowing of power comes from God's hands, while the lust for power is from the evil one. Power itself is not evil, but the one who uses it for evil is.

What then? Is it good to exercise power or to desire honor? It is good if it is bestowed upon us, not if it is seized. However, we must make a distinction within this good itself. There is one good use of the world, and another of perfect virtue. It is good to seek God, and it is a good thing that the desire to know God should not be hindered by any worldly affairs.

But if the one who seeks God is often tempted because of the weakness of his flesh and the narrowness of his mind, how much more is the one who seeks the world exposed to temptation? We are taught, then, to despise ambition, because it is subject to the devil's power.

Honor from the world is followed by danger at home. To rule others, a person must first be their servant, prostrating himself in obedience to be rewarded with honors. The higher he aspires, the lower he bends with false humility, which is why the devil adds, If you will fall down and worship me.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: And do you, whose fate is the unquenchable fire, promise the Lord of all what is already His own? Did you think you could make Him your worshiper—the very one before whom all creation trembles in fear?

Origen of Alexandria: Or, to look at the whole in another light, two kings are earnestly fighting for a kingdom: the king of sin who reigns over sinners (that is, the devil), and the king of righteousness who rules the righteous (that is, Christ).

The devil, knowing that Christ had come to take away his kingdom, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world—not the kingdoms of the Persians and the Medes, but his own kingdom by which he reigned in the world, through which some are under the dominion of fornication and others of covetousness. He shows them to Him in a moment of time, that is, in the present age, which is but a moment compared to eternity. For the Savior did not need to be shown the affairs of this world for long; as soon as He turned His eyes to look, He saw sin reigning and people enslaved to vice. The devil therefore says to Him, "Have you come to fight with me for dominion? Worship me, and I will give you the kingdom I hold."

Now, the Lord did indeed intend to reign, but being Righteousness itself, He would reign without sin. He would have all nations subject to Him so that they might obey the truth, but He would not reign over others in such a way that He Himself would be subject to the devil. Therefore, the scripture follows, And Jesus answering said to him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God.

The Venerable Bede: When the devil says to our Savior, If you will fall down and worship me, he receives the answer that he himself ought to worship Christ as his Lord and God instead.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But how is it that the Son is worshiped, if He is a created being, as the heretics say? What charge can be brought against those who served the creature rather than the Creator, if we are to worship the Son as God, who (according to them) is a created being?

Origen of Alexandria: Or else, Christ is saying, "I would have all these people subject to me so that they might worship the Lord God and serve Him alone. But do you wish for sin, which I came here to destroy, to begin with Me?"

St. Cyril of Alexandria: This command struck him to the core, for before Christ’s coming, he was worshiped everywhere. But the law of God, casting him down from his stolen dominion, establishes the worship of Him alone who is truly God.

The Venerable Bede: But someone may ask how this command agrees with the word of the Apostle, which says, Beloved, serve one another. In Greek, one word for "service" signifies a general service (which can be given to God or man), and this is the service by which we are told to serve one another. However, another word refers specifically to the service of worship due to the Deity, and it is with this service that we are commanded to serve God alone.