“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Jesus answered, it is written: worship the Lord your God and serve him only — Deuteronomy 6:13 addresses the Shema's practical implication: the exclusive worship and service of the Lord. The response does not argue with the devil's claim to authority — it asserts the absolute priority of the divine claim regardless of what the devil can offer. Worship and serve only: the exclusive devotion that the Shema requires is the counter to the offer of kingdoms through false worship.
Church Fathers on Luke 4:8
The enemy had first assailed Christ by the temptation of the appetite, as also he did Adam. He next tempts Him with the desire of gain or covetousness, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world. Hence it follows, And the devil taking him up.
What marvel that He permitted Himself to be led by the devil into the mountains, who even in endured to be crucified in His own body?
Or, the devil described the world in language, and as he thought brought it vividly before our Lord’s mind as though it were a certain house.
Read all 14 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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