As soon as He was baptized by John and then anointed by the Spirit (Matt. 3:13-17), Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil (Matt. 4:1-11). As we all know, Jesus answered every temptation by quoting from the Scripture. In his Word Studies in the New Testament, M.R. Vincent states of this, in his comments on Matthew 4:4, that

…The first recorded words of Jesus after His entrance upon His ministry are an assertion of the authority of Scripture, and that, though He had the fullness of the Spirit.

As highlighted below, Vincent then goes on to comment on verses 6-7, and in doing so provides a quotation from R.C. Trench. His point is that the Lord, in His dealing with the Devil in this passage, gives us a great principle regarding how we as the followers of Christ are to use the Word. That is, we must never take a verse of Scripture in isolation, but rather, must balance it with the truths contained in other portions of the Bible. This will save us from a great deal of trouble in our interpretation of Scripture.

May we receive the lesson the Lord gives us here and take the full Scripture in a fully balanced way!

M.R. Vincent:
“Again It Is Written”

And [the Devil] said to Him, If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down! For it is written,

He will command His angels concerning you,
— Psalm 91:11

and

On their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you strike your foot against a stone.
— Psalm 91:12

Jesus said to him, Again it is written,

You shall not tempt the Lord your God.
— Deuteronomy 6:16

— Matthew 4:6-7

[The “again” in verse 7 is] emphatic, meaning “on the other hand,” with reference to Satan’s “it is written” (ver. 6); as if He had said “the promise which you quote must be explained by another passage of Scripture.” Archbishop Trench aptly remarks,

In that ‘Again it is written’ of Christ lies a great lesson….There lies in it the secret of our safety and defense against all distorted use of isolated passages in holy Scripture. Only as we enter into the unity of Scripture, as it balances, completes, and explains itself, are we warned against error and delusion, or defect on this side or the other. Thus the retort, “Again it is written,” must be of continual application; for indeed, heresies are very often but one sided, exaggerated truths, truths rent away indeed from the body and complex of the truth, without the balance of the counter-truth, which should have kept them in their due place, coordinated with other truths or subordinated to them; and so, because all such checks are wanting, not truth any more, but error.

M.R. Vincent, Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament, Volume 1, pages 29-30; in his comments on Matthew 4:7, edited slightly for clarity. The Scripture quotation is from the Standard Version of the New Testament.

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—  26 September 2024 —