Luke 4:9

And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

And {G2532} he brought {G71} him {G846} to {G1519} Jerusalem {G2419}, and {G2532} set {G2476} him {G846} on {G1909} a pinnacle {G4419} of the temple {G2411}, and {G2532} said {G2036} unto him {G846}, If {G1487} thou be {G1488} the Son {G5207} of God {G2316}, cast {G906} thyself {G4572} down {G2736} from hence {G1782}:

Then he took him to Yerushalayim, set him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, jump from here!

Then the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here.

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:

Luke 4:9 KJV is a pivotal moment in the biblical narrative, detailing the third (or second, depending on the Gospel account) temptation of Jesus by the devil. Following His baptism and forty days of fasting in the wilderness, Jesus faces direct challenges to His identity and mission.

Context

This verse is part of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, immediately after He was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1). The devil had previously tempted Him to turn stones into bread (Luke 4:3-4) and to gain all the kingdoms of the world by worshipping him (Luke 4:5-8). In Luke 4:9, the scene shifts to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, intensifying the spiritual battle.

Key Themes

  • The Nature of Temptation: The devil's strategy evolves, moving from physical needs and worldly power to a spiritual test, challenging Jesus' trust in God. This highlights the cunning and persistent nature of temptation.
  • Challenging Christ's Identity: The phrase "If thou be the Son of God" directly attacks Jesus' divine sonship, which had just been affirmed at His baptism. The devil seeks to provoke Jesus into proving His identity through a presumptuous act.
  • Presumption vs. Faith: The temptation is not to trust God, but to presumptuously test Him by demanding a miraculous intervention. True faith relies on God's promises without needing to force His hand or put Him to the test.
  • Misuse of Scripture: Significantly, the devil quotes Scripture (Psalm 91:11-12) to justify his temptation. This reveals a key tactic of spiritual deception: twisting God's Word out of context to serve a deceptive purpose.

Linguistic Insights

The term "pinnacle of the temple" translates the Greek word pterygion (πτερύγιον), which literally means "little wing" or "battlement." It likely refers to the southeast corner of the Temple complex in Jerusalem, a dizzying height overlooking the Kidron Valley, offering a dramatic stage for such a temptation.

Related Scriptures

Jesus' response to this temptation is crucial, where He quotes Deuteronomy 6:16: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." This emphasizes the importance of not putting God to the test. The parallel accounts of this temptation can be found in Matthew 4:5-7.

Practical Application

For believers today, this verse offers vital lessons in spiritual warfare. We are often tempted to doubt our identity in Christ, to seek worldly validation, or to presumptuously test God's faithfulness. Like Jesus, we must rely on the true and accurate understanding of God's Word to discern deception and stand firm against the enemy's schemes. Knowing and applying Scripture in its proper context is essential for resisting temptation and living a life of genuine faith and trust in God's perfect will.

Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Matthew 4:5

    Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

  • Matthew 4:6

    And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

  • Luke 4:3

    And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

  • Romans 1:4

    And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

  • 2 Chronicles 3:4

    And the porch that [was] in the front [of the house], the length [of it was] according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height [was] an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

  • Job 2:6

    And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he [is] in thine hand; but save his life.

  • Matthew 8:29

    And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

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