Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 4:5-7

"Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God." — Matthew 4:5-7 (ASV)

Pseudo-Chrysostom: From Christ's first answer, the Devil could learn nothing certain about whether He was God or man. He therefore resorted to another temptation, saying to himself, "This man who does not feel hunger, if not the Son of God, is at least a holy man."

Such people attain the strength not to be overcome by hunger. But when they have subdued every necessity of the flesh, they often fall through the desire for empty glory. Therefore, he began to tempt Him with this empty glory.

St. Jerome: "Took him," not because the Lord was weak, but because the enemy was proud; he attributed to necessity what the Savior did willingly.

Rabanus Maurus: Jerusalem was called the Holy City because in it was the Temple of God, the Holy of Holies, and the worship of the one God according to the law of Moses.

Remigius of Auxerre: This shows that the Devil lies in wait for Christ's faithful people even in sacred places.

St. Gregory the Great: Consider that when it is said that God was taken by the Devil into the holy city, pious ears tremble to hear. And yet, the Devil is the head and chief of the wicked. Is it any wonder, then, that He who allowed Himself to be crucified by the Devil's agents also allowed Himself to be led up a mountain by the wicked one himself?

Glossa Ordinaria: The Devil places us on high places by exalting us with pride, so that he may dash us to the ground again.¹

Remigius of Auxerre: The "pinnacle" is the seat of the teachers. The temple did not have a pointed roof like our houses but was flat on top, as was common in the region of Palestine, and it had three stories.

It should be known that "the pinnacle" was on the floor, and on each story there was one pinnacle. Whether he placed Him on the pinnacle of the first, second, or third story, he placed Him in a location from where a fall was possible.

Glossa Ordinaria: Observe here that all these things were done physically, and by a careful comparison of the context, it seems probable that the Devil appeared in human form.²

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Perhaps you might ask, "How could the Devil place Him bodily on the temple in full view of everyone?" Perhaps the Devil took Him in a way that seemed visible to all, while Christ, without the Devil being aware, made Himself invisible.

Glossa Ordinaria: He set Him on a pinnacle of the temple when he intended to tempt Him through ambition. He did this because, in this seat of the teachers, he had previously ensnared many through the same temptation. Therefore, he thought that if Christ were set in the same seat, He might similarly be puffed up with vain pride.³

St. Jerome: In the various temptations, the Devil's single aim is to find out if He is the Son of God, but he is answered in such a way that he finally departs in doubt. He says, "Cast yourself down," because the voice of the Devil, which always calls people downward, has the power to persuade them but cannot compel them to fall.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: How does the Devil expect to discover by this proposal whether He is the Son of God? Flying through the air is not a characteristic of the Divine nature, for it serves no useful purpose. If anyone were to attempt to fly when challenged, he would be acting out of ostentation and would belong more to the Devil than to God.

If it is enough for a wise man to be what he is, with no wish to seem what he is not, how much more should the Son of God consider it unnecessary to show what He is? For no one can know Him as He truly is in Himself.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But just as Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and lays a trap for the faithful even from the divine Scriptures, so here he uses its texts not to instruct but to deceive.

St. Jerome: We read this verse in the ninetieth psalm (Psalm 91:11), but that is a prophecy not about Christ, but about any holy person; thus, the Devil misinterprets Scripture.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For in truth, the Son of God is not carried by angels, but He Himself carries them. Or if He is carried in their arms, it is not from weakness, lest He dash His foot against a stone, but for the sake of honor. O Devil, you have read that the Son of God is borne in angels' arms; have you not also read that He shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk? But he brings forward the one text because he is proud, and he omits the other because he is crafty.

St. John Chrysostom: Observe that Scripture is quoted by the Lord only with its proper meaning, but by the Devil, it is used irreverently. For the passage where it is written, He will give his angels charge over you, is not an exhortation for Him to cast Himself headlong.

Glossa Ordinaria: We must explain it this way: Scripture says of any good person that God has commanded His angels—that is, His ministering spirits—to carry him in their hands. This means they are to guard him by their aid so that he does not dash his foot against a stone—that is, to keep his heart so that it does not stumble over the old law written on tablets of stone.⁴

Alternatively, the stone can be understood as any occasion for sin and error.

Rabanus Maurus: It should be noted that although our Savior allowed Himself to be placed by the Devil on a pinnacle of the temple, He refused to come down at his command. This gives us an example that we should obey whoever bids us to ascend the narrow way of truth. But if that same one would cast us down again from the height of truth and virtue into the depth of error, we should not listen to him.

St. Jerome: He counters the Devil's false darts of Scripture with the true shield of Scripture.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Thus, by defeating the Devil's efforts, He declares Himself to be both God and Lord.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Yet He does not say, "You shall not tempt me, your Lord God," but rather, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." This is something every person of God could say when tempted by the Devil, for whoever tempts a person of God, tempts God.

Rabanus Maurus: Alternatively, it was a suggestion to Him in His humanity that He should seek to know the greatness of God's power by demanding a miracle.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is a part of sound doctrine that when a person has other options, he should not tempt the Lord his God.⁵

Theod. non occ.: And it is to tempt God to expose oneself to danger for no reason.

St. Jerome: It should be noted that the cited texts are taken only from the book of Deuteronomy, so that He might show the sacraments of the second Law.

1. ord.
2. ord.
3. ap. Anselm
4. ap. Anselm
5. contr. Faust., 22, 36