“Thou shalt worship the Lord Thy God and Him only shalt thou serve” Matthew 4:10 KJV

“You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Matthew 4:10 NASB

In the temptation in the wilderness and the defeat of Satan, the Lord Jesus bound the strong man. The chapters which follow show Him spoiling his goods (Matt 12:29). Satan attacked Christ at a moment of hardship – when He hungered, at a Holy place – the Temple, and on a high mountain. The Lord Jesus responded as a Man dependent on His God. He made three choices in His responses to Satan. Each showed a priority in His life. This third command showed that He would only worship God.

Questions to Consider

  1. What choice did the Lord Jesus actually make when Satan tried to offer Him the kingdoms without the cross? Is He saying that He would worship God even if it meant a cross at the end?
  2. What is worship? In what sense did the Lord Jesus “worship” God? If worship is acknowledging the “worth” of another, how did the choice of Christ “worship” God?
  3. The order of the temptations differs in Matthew and Luke. What is so significant about this change in order? Luke has Matthew’s second temptation as the third and vice-versa.
  4. Worship and service are linked. How did the Lord’s life of Service flow from a heart of worship?
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