Church Fathers Commentary Luke 4:9-13

"And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season." — Luke 4:9-13 (ASV)

St. Ambrose of Milan: The next weapon he uses is boasting, which always causes the offender to fall, for those who love to boast of the glory of their virtue descend from the high ground of their good deeds. Therefore, it is said, And he led him to Jerusalem.

Origen of Alexandria: He clearly followed as a wrestler, gladly setting out to meet the temptation and saying, as it were, “Lead me where you will, and you will find me stronger in everything.”

St. Ambrose of Milan: It is the nature of boasting that while a person thinks they are climbing higher, their pretense to lofty deeds brings them low. Therefore, it follows, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.”

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: The devil did not enter into a contest with God (for he dared not, and therefore said, “If you are the Son of God...”), but he contended with man, over whom he once had the power to deceive.

St. Ambrose of Milan: That is truly the devil’s language, which seeks to cast down a person’s soul from the high ground of their good deeds, while at the same time showing both his weakness and malice, for he can injure no one who does not first cast himself down. For whoever forsakes heavenly things to pursue earthly ones rushes, as it were, willfully down a self-made precipice into a fallen life.

As soon as the devil perceived his dart was blunted, he who had subdued all people to his own power began to think he was dealing with more than a man. But Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and often weaves his net for the faithful from the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, it follows: It is written, He shall give, etc.

Origen of Alexandria: How do you know, Satan, that these things are written? Have you read the Prophets, or the oracles of God? You have read them, indeed, but not so that you might be improved by the reading, but so that from the mere letter you might slay those who are friends of the letter. You know that if you were to speak from His other books, you would not be able to deceive.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Do not let the heretic entrap you by citing examples from the Scriptures. The devil uses the testimony of the Scriptures not to teach, but to deceive.

Origen of Alexandria: But notice how cunning he is even in this testimony. For he would gladly cast a slur upon the glory of the Savior, as though He needed the help of angels and would stumble if He were not supported by their hands. But this was said not about Christ, but about the saints in general; He does not need the help of angels, for He is greater than angels.

But let this teach you, Satan, that the angels would stumble if God did not sustain them; and you stumble because you refuse to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But why are you silent about what follows: You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk? Is it not because you are the basilisk, you are the dragon and the lion?

St. Ambrose of Milan: But the Lord, to prevent the thought that the things prophesied about Him were fulfilled according to the devil’s will and not by the authority of His own divine power, again foils his cunning in such a way that he who had used the testimony of Scripture is himself overthrown by Scripture. Therefore, it follows: And Jesus answering said, It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord thy God.

St. John Chrysostom: For it is characteristic of the devil to cast oneself into danger and test whether God will rescue us.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: God does not give help to those who tempt Him, but to those who believe in Him. Christ therefore did not show His miracles to those who tempted Him, but said to them, An evil generation seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it.

St. John Chrysostom: But notice how the Lord, instead of being troubled, condescends to dispute from the Scriptures with the wicked one, so that you, as far as you are able, might become like Christ. The devil knew the arms of Christ, beneath which he sank. Christ took him captive by meekness; He overcame him by humility.

You also, when you see a man who has become like a devil coming to meet you, should subdue him in the same way. Teach your soul to conform its words to those of Christ. For just as a Roman judge on the bench refuses to hear the reply of someone who does not know how to speak as he does, so also Christ, unless you speak in His manner, will neither hear you nor protect you.

Gregory of Nyssa: In lawful contests, the battle is finished either when the adversary surrenders of his own accord to the conqueror or is defeated in three falls, according to the rules of wrestling. Therefore, it follows, And all the temptation being completed, etc.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He would not have said that all the temptation was ended if the three temptations described did not contain the material for every kind of sin, for the causes of temptations are the causes of desire: namely, the delight of the flesh, the pomp of vainglory, and the greed for power.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: The enemy came to Him as a man, but not finding in Him the marks of his ancient seed, he departed.

St. Ambrose of Milan: You see then that the devil is not obstinate on the field and is accustomed to yield to true virtue. And if he does not cease to hate, he still dreads to advance, for in this way he escapes a more frequent defeat. As soon as he heard the name of God, he retreated (it is said) for a season, because afterwards he does not come to tempt, but to fight openly.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, having tempted Him in the desert with pleasure, he retreats from Him until the crucifixion, when he was about to tempt Him with sorrow.

St. Maximus the Confessor: Or, the devil had prompted Christ in the desert to prefer the things of the world to the love of God. The Lord commanded him to leave Him (which was itself a mark of Divine love).

Afterwards, it was enough to make Christ appear to be a false advocate of love for His neighbors. Therefore, while He was teaching the paths of life, the devil stirred up the Gentiles and Pharisees to lay traps for Him so that He might be brought to hate them. But the Lord, out of the love He had for them, exhorted, reproved, and did not cease to bestow mercy upon them.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Matthew relates this entire narrative in a similar manner, but not in the same order. It is uncertain, therefore, which took place first: whether the kingdoms of the earth were shown to Him first, and He was afterwards taken up to the pinnacle of the temple, or whether the latter came first and the former afterwards. However, it matters little which it was, as long as it is clear that all these things did take place.

St. Maximus the Confessor: But the reason one Evangelist places this event first and another places that one first is because vainglory and covetousness, in turn, give birth to one another.

Origen of Alexandria: But John, who had begun his Gospel from God, saying, In the beginning was the Word, did not describe the temptation of the Lord, because God, about whom he wrote, cannot be tempted. But because the human genealogies are given in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and it is as a man that He is tempted in Mark, Matthew, Luke, and Mark therefore described the temptation of the Lord.