We learn many things about Jesus, satan, and temptation in this passage.
My translation and notes on Luke 4:1-13
Luke Chapter 4
Jesus is Tempted by the Devil
(Matthew 4:1–11 and Mark 1:12-13)
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
[Matthew and Mark have slightly different versions of the temptation. Eyewitnesses do give slightly different accounts of what they saw or researched. This confirms Scripture. If eyewitnesses give the same account word for word, then there is collusion. ‘Full of the Holy Spirit’ refers to having a full measure of every gift the Holy Spirit gives. Jesus had the greatest mission of any human and needed the full complement of gifts. For others who had a measure of gifts, see Exodus 31:1-6 and Deuteronomy 34:9. For a list of some gifts given to Messiah, see Isaiah 9:6—Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty, God, Everlasting, Father, and Prince of Peace; Isaiah 11:2—the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of Might (strength and bravery), Spirit of Knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. How He was led into the wilderness is conjecture. The wilderness is the wilderness of Judea on the west coast of the Dead Sea].
2 [And] being tempted by the Devil for forty days. During that time, he ate nothing, and afterward, he was hungry.
3 Then the Devil said to him, “If yous are the Son of God, command this stone so that it becomes bread.”
[The devil knew who He was. The devil gave challenges such as sarcasm, mockery, and hate. He was demanding that Jesus obey him. Jesus was omniscient and omnisapient so clearly saw the devil’s motives. Jesus refused this temptation, then quoted Scripture to rebuke the devil. ‘Son of God’ is a title for Messiah throughout eternity. Jesus has always been the Son of God].
4 Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘That man will not live on bread alone but on every word of God.’”
[Deuteronomy 8:3. Wilbur Pickering PhD adds: Less than half a percent of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit “but by every word of God” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). ‘Bread’ is used to indicate food. Food is needed for physical life. More important than physical life is spiritual life. Spiritual life comes from the Word of God. The Word of God is the Gospel. It is a title of Jesus (Revelation 19:13). It is God’s message (Luke 3:2 and Luke 5:1). It is the written/recorded messages of God to humanity referring to the Bible/Scriptures (Mark 7:13). The message of God, specifically the Gospel (Acts 11:1). It is God’s beliefs referring to doctrine (Acts 18:11). It is the spoken word referring to acts as creation (Hebrews 11:3). How do we live on the Word of God? We live by growth. We grow in knowledge about God, His lifestyle, His worldview, His beliefs (doctrine), and His character traits. We grow in wisdom as we learn how to apply the knowledge we have learned to our daily lives. We grow in truth knowing more about the difference between lies and truth. We learn how to handle spiritual attacks. We learn how to handle temptations. We learn about the character traits God’s wants for us. We learn from other’s actions to either avoid something or do something. We learn how to build up others, comfort others, and bless others. We learn the schemes of satan and his false teachers, false prophets, and false pastors. We learn how to handle defeat. We how much God loves us and helps us every day. We learn many things about the future. We learn about God’s promises for believers. We learn about the defeat of satan and destruction of evil].
5 Then the Devil, taking him up onto a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
[What mountain is unknown. Barclay (beware) writes (DAILY STUDY BIBLE):
First of all let us think of the scene, namely, the wilderness. The inhabited part of Judaea stood on the central plateau which was the backbone of Southern Palestine. Between it and the Dead Sea stretched a terrible wilderness, thirty-five by fifteen miles. It was called Jeshimmon, which means “The Devastation.” The hills were like dust heaps; the limestone looked blistered and peeling; the rocks were bare and jagged; the ground sounded hollow to the horses’ hooves; it glowed with heat like a vast furnace and ran out to the precipices, 1,200 feet high, which swooped down to the Dead Sea. It was in that awesome devastation that Jesus was tempted.
The Greek word for ‘showed’ is (G1166) δεικνύω deiknýō. It means to make something known; to exhibit something that can be apprehended by one or more of the senses, point out, show, make known (BDAG). ‘All kingdoms of the world’ refers to all kingdoms of this world, not just a portion of the world. A ‘moment of time’ is literally an instant of time; the Greek word means a point or dot. The devil does have some abilities. How he showed the Lord Jesus all these things is not known.
The temptation was to ‘get it now’ instead of waiting for the proper time. There are 3 broad categories/sets of temptations—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). All temptations are subsets of these three. The Lord Jesus knew this principle—1 John 2:17 But, this world and its lust is fleeting. On the other hand, the one who keeps doing the will of God continues forever. He wanted to do God’s will (Hebrews 10:9)].
6 The Devil said to him, “All this authority, I will give yous and their glory, for that has been given to me, and I can give it to anybody I want.
[The devil is the prince of this world (John 12:31). Some understand that Lucifer, before his sin, was the guardian angel of the earth. The Greek word for ‘authority’ is (G1849) ἐξουσία exousia. It means authority and here as power to rule/govern. Satan is saying, “I will be the highest authority, and you will be the authority over the kingdoms of the world.” Jesus would have been given worldly and satanic authority and glory. He refused. Jesus came to earth on a mission, and He wanted to do the Father’s will. See John 14:31, John 4:34, John 6:38, and Matthew 26:39. Even though satan claims—with some truth—to rule the world, the true sovereign is God, not satan].
7 “Therefore, if yous will worship me, all will be yourss.”
[The ultimate in arrogance. He wanted Jesus to submit to him. Jesus rebuked him severely. See next verse].
8 Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind me Satan, for it written, ‘Yous must worship the Lord yours God and serve only him.’”
[Deuteronomy 6:13] [Dr Wilbur Pickering PhD, “Some 3.5% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘Get behind me, Satan’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).” What is Jesus, Lord of all, saying? The Greek word for ‘get’ is (G5217) ὑπάγω hupago. It means take yourself and get out of here. It is Jesus pointing His finger indicating the direction satan is to leave. “Go.” “Get out of here.” The Greek verb is in the imperative mood. The Greek word for ‘behind’ is (G3694) ὀπίσω opiso. It means being used chronically as in Philippians 3:13. It can mean ‘turn around’ as in John 20:14. It has many other applications depending on the context. Jesus is humiliating satan. Satan is proud, and arrogant, and Jesus rebukes him severely. Jesus is telling him, “You are not of any worth to stand here in my presence.” Jesus then quotes Scripture as His source of authority. He does not need to do this as He is THE Messiah, the Son of God, and the Son of Man. He is the Creator. He has always existed. He is God (John 1:1). Nevertheless, He quotes Scriptures, so see Deuteronomy 6:13, Deuteronomy 10:20, and 1 Samuel 7:3. Believers today have no greater authority that we can read and apply than the Scriptures. It is our source of 100% truth and authority given to us by God Himself].
9 He brought him to Jerusalem, set him on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If yous are the Son of God, throw yourselfs down from here,
[Note the arrogant, supreme hate for God that satan shows. Why did Jesus allow this? He wants to teach us how to handle temptation, testing, seduction, etc. He is our savior. He withstood all temptations and did not sin (John 16:33). He understands and shows us compassion. He IS able to assist us. See 1 Corinthians 10:13 and Hebrews 2:17-18].
10 “For it is written, ‘He will command his angels to protect yous,’
[Psalm 91:11-12]
11 “And in [their] hands they will hold yous up, lest at any time yous smash yours foot on a stone.’” [Psalm 91:11-12]
[We can learn some lessons about Bible interpretation. Note, how satan quotes and interprets this passage (quote) correctly in its plain, normal sense, but he ignores the context. The immediate context: Psalms 91:10-13 WEB no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. 11 For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot. The context shows Messiah stomping and crushing His enemies.
12 Jesus answering said to him, “It is said, ‘Yous must not tempt the Lord yours God.’”
[Deuteronomy 6:16. Jesus states His divinity. Jesus is God the Son who has always existed. Who has always been the Son. Who has always been God. The word ‘Lord’ from Deuteronomy 6:16 is the Hebrew word (H3068) יהוה Yhvh with probably the best pronunciation is yäˌwā. The Lord uses it when speaking to Moses in Exodus 3:14-15 (‘I AM’ has sent me to you).’ His name carries the idea of self-existence and self-sufficiency. Jesus used this in speaking to the Jews in John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I say to youp, ‘Before Abraham existed, I Am.’” When Jesus states to satan ‘the Lord your God,’ He is not stating that He is satan’s God. He is simply quoting the Scriptures. Jesus rebukes satan about his attempts to induce Jesus to sin. Satan is seducing Jesus to sin, and Jesus replies it is against the law to tempt God. Tempting God is to provoke Him to anger through our thoughts, desires, words, or deeds. God hates certain things. See Some things that are an abomination to God Proverbs 3:32—Obstinate in the wrong; disposed to be contrary; stubborn; intractable (Webster 1828); Proverbs 6:16-19—pride, lying, murdering the innocent, planning wickedness, quickly do evil things, false witness, and causing trouble between people; Proverbs 8:7—deception; Proverbs 11:1—dishonest weighing/measuring; Proverbs 11:20—having an evil mind/heart; Proverbs 12:22—misleading agreements; Proverbs 15:8-9—hypocritical worship of God and living a wicked life; Proverbs 15:26—God hates the thoughts of wicked people; Proverbs 16:5—arrogant people; Proverbs 16:12—leaders who live and act wickedly; Proverbs 17:15—condemning the innocent and not punishing the wicked; Proverbs 20:10—having different standards for weights/measurement then what is official; Proverbs 20:23—having double standards; Proverbs 21:27—an evil person worshiping God with wicked motives; Proverbs 24:9—making foolish, evil plans and mocking others; Proverbs 28:9—refuse God’s instructions in the Bible].
13 After the Devil had finished all temptation, he left him for a time.
[The devil in his twisted, dark mind plans new evil temptations to stop Jesus and His ministry. Jesus had resisted the devil (James 4:7)].