“Jesus answered him, ‘it is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”. -Matthew 4:7
What did the devil say to Jesus that called for such an answer?
Matthew 4:5-6 describes the devil taking Jesus to the holy city and having him stand on the highest point of the temple. Then he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” We are told that it was a temptation.
Please note that Jesus’ answer implies that he interpreted the devil’s suggestion to be in actual fact putting God to the test. I am sure the devil knew it and that is why he used it to tempt him. See, both Jesus and the devil knew that the promise of the scripture the devil quoted (Psalm 91:11, 12) did not apply in case of anyone putting God to test by acting on it.
In other words, the devil knew that if Jesus had thrown himself down on his (devils) suggestion the angels were not going to be there to lift him up in their hands, and you can guess the rest…. He would have been on his own.
Commentators rightly note that the devil quoted the scripture but out of context. He gave the particular scripture a different context, his own context, and tried to have Jesus act on it out of its real context which is clear in Psalm 91:9, that is, “If you make the Most High your dwelling -even the Lord, who is my refuge”….
Please note that “If you are the Son of God” (devil’s word) is not the same as “If you make the Most High your dwelling” (God’s word). Psalm 91:9 is simply a call to make the Most High your dwelling, nothing more and nothing less! You are guaranteed safety if you make God your refuge, not if you throw yourself down the highest point of the temple because God promised to protect you -in fact, that is overstretching the word of God beyond what it actually says.
Putting God to test is dangerous, indeed. It often happens when a believer is tempted by the devil to act on a scripture out of context or misapply the word of God only to be disappointed and suffer serious consequences in the end.
I recall the case of a young Christian who was winning many souls to the kingdom of God and being used by the Lord through signs and wonders. One day he decided to drink poison because Mark 16:17-18 states that one of the signs to accompany those who believe is that “…when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all…” Needless to say, he never recovered from it and what a loss it was for the kingdom of God!
May the Lord grant us discernment to perceive any situation in which we are tempted to put God to the test so that we can resist it and escape the devil’s snares, in Jesus Christ’s name!
