The Temptation on the Mountain (4)
The Temptation on the Mountain (4)
• “Get away, Satan” (Matthew 4:10) — We do not take from the hand of Satan
• Examples of how we tempt the Lord — Satan gives nothing for free
• The temptation of kingship — The victory of the Lord and its benefits
• Can authority be used to spread evangelism? — The Lord rebukes him in our lives
• Christ refused kingship many times — Temptations He prevents before they reach us
• He was a King upon the Cross — If you find yourself in peace
• What about the millennial kingdom? — Renouncing Satan in baptism
• Satan: does he give or does he take? — Those who drive Satan away from you
• Those who do not say: Get away, may the Lord rebuke you, Satan
• How to rebuke him practically
In the previous article, we spoke about the temptation at the pinnacle of the Temple and how the Lord answered Satan saying, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” We explained that God’s love for us must not be put to the test, and that we must love God even amid trials, hardships, and pains. Yet, sometimes we do tempt God.
Examples of tempting God:
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In sickness: A person may refuse to take medicine or consult a doctor and say, “I leave the matter to God to heal me without means.”
No — you shall not tempt the Lord your God. For He Himself said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Matthew 9:12). Though this verse has a spiritual meaning, it also implies God’s approval of man’s need for physicians.
Saint Paul also prescribed a remedy for his disciple Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23) and did not rely solely on prayer (James 5:14). -
Another example: A student who does not study, asking God to grant him success miraculously. If the exam does not include the few pages he read, he doubts God’s love and help. Yet God calls us to be faithful in our work — including diligence in study.
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Another example: A person goes to a place of temptation and says, “God can save me from falling!” citing the stories of Saint Abraham who saved Mary, and Saint John the Short who rescued Paesius — forgetting he is not at their level.
He also forgets the Scripture: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners” (Psalm 1).
Do not put yourself into temptation and then ask God to deliver you from it. But if trials come upon you without your fault, God will deliver you. -
A fourth example: Some test God by asking Him for specific signs!
Though this happened with Gideon under unique, harsh circumstances (Judges 6), do not make it a rule.
The Third Temptation — The Temptation of Kingship
The Bible says that Satan took Christ to a very high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said: “All these I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” But the Lord rebuked him.
This could seem useful for evangelism — to become king, abolish idolatry by law, and enforce righteousness!
Yet the Lord refused this path. He rejected making people walk in goodness by authority and law. He wanted them to love God from their hearts and do good willingly, not under compulsion.
He desired inner purity that freely chooses good through love. Authority may produce outward righteousness, but the heart might remain full of lust and sin.
The path of inner purity is longer and harder, but more steadfast than external obedience.
Christ did not reject kingship only once on the mountain, but many times.
After the miracle of feeding the multitudes, the Bible says: “Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself” (John 6:15).
It happened again on Palm Sunday when they received Him as a king in Jerusalem. But He refused this kingship, saying: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
He lived without title or worldly authority — only as a teacher spreading spirituality and love among people, using persuasion rather than power. His words entered hearts deeply, calling people to faith, repentance, and the Kingdom — through the ministry of the word, not command; through inward work, not outward force.
Yet He was a King — how?
He reigned upon the wood of the Cross (Psalm 95). On the Cross He became King, purchasing all with His Blood and redeeming humanity from Satan, the so-called “ruler of this world” (John 16:11).
In Revelation, He is called “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16), but spiritually — not in the sense Satan suggested.
Even after His Ascension, the temptation of kingship still misleads some through the idea of the “millennial kingdom,” imagining that Christ will rule on earth for a thousand years! But His Kingdom cannot be earthly like that of emperors. He refused to sit on an earthly throne — His goal was to purify the temple, not to reign in it.
He desires to reign over hearts, not through crowns and thrones.
King Herod, thinking Christ was a rival earthly king, killed all the infants of Bethlehem for a delusion that never existed.
Christ was far above earthly kingship. All the kingdoms and glory Satan showed Him had no value or attraction in His eyes.
“All These I Will Give You”
This phrase reveals Satan’s deceit. He always claims he can give and tempt.
But did he truly possess all kingdoms and their glory to give them away?
The Lord did not debate him — for Satan is a liar, and lying is one of his tools. The Lord said of him: “He is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Satan never gives — he only takes, and takes more than he gives.
He may offer worldly pleasures but takes away purity, peace, and eternal joy.
He promises the world but steals the soul.
And often, he gives nothing real — only false dreams and empty promises.
The spiritual person receives only from the hand of God: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
Satan’s gifts lead to loss — as Lot chose the well-watered plains of Sodom that “were like the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10), yet ended in ruin.
Satan never gives freely — he demands humiliating conditions to rob the kingdom from us, envious of those who enjoy it. His goal is to enslave souls and detach them from God’s love.
In tempting Christ, his arrogance reached the absurd: “If You fall down and worship me.” Perhaps he knew this was impossible, but out of spite, he sought at least to utter blasphemy. Yet the insult only dishonored himself.
So the Lord rebuked him, saying: “Get away, Satan!” and he left in shame.
Thus Christ triumphed in every temptation, answering each with Scripture: “For it is written…”
He gave us a model of victory, showing humanity’s purity and exposing Satan’s failure.
We pray to the Lord:
“As You defeated Satan in all temptations, defeat him also in his wars against us — for without You, we can do nothing. As You glorified our nature in Your Incarnation and granted it victory, lead us also in Your triumphal procession” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Just as You said, “Get away, Satan,” say it also in our temptations.
Christ repeated this phrase not only on the mountain but again when Peter said, “Far be it from You, Lord.” Jesus replied, “Get behind Me, Satan” (Matthew 16:22). The thought was from Satan; the Lord rebuked its true source.
“Get away, Satan” is thus a spiritual principle — not only for His temptations but for ours as well.
He rebukes Satan who attacks us so that he departs, and we find peace.
If the Lord had allowed Satan total freedom, no one could be saved, for he would destroy every good work. But Satan is bound by Christ’s word: “Get away, Satan.”
When he exceeds his limit or burdens humanity beyond measure, God rebukes him — for He does not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength but provides a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Many temptations never reach us because God blocks them beforehand, saying, “Get away, Satan.”
If you find yourself at peace — without temptations or inner struggles — know that the Lord has rebuked the enemy for you.
Do not attribute your peace to your purity or strength; if war arose, you might falter. God, in His love, spares us from continuous battle lest we despair.
God allows temptation to humble us and teach compassion, but never to destroy us. Sometimes, when one is about to fall, grace intervenes silently and saves — as Saint Basil said, “Such a person was helped by grace.”
So let us be confident: Satan’s power is not unlimited. The Lord has given us authority over all demons (Luke 9:1).
We can say, “Get away, Satan,” and he will go.
Our first encounter with this phrase happens at baptism — when we renounce Satan.
The mother holds her child, faces west, and says: “I renounce you, Satan, all your evil works, deceitful thoughts, armies, authority, and wickedness. I renounce you, I renounce you, I renounce you.”
Would that every mother said this with all her heart and taught her child to do the same!
Fathers, relatives, and friends should likewise cry out for one another: “Get away, Satan.”
This is the intercession of the living for the living.
Renouncing Satan must remain a lifelong stance.
Saying “Get away, Satan” must come not only from the lips but from the heart — firmly and sincerely.
A pure heart that rejects all Satan’s lures has power in this phrase that the enemy cannot bear.
Such a person inspires awe in Satan, for he knows there is no place for him — the heart is closed like “a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed” (Song of Songs 4:12).
But some never say “Get away” — because they are friendly with sin, enslaved by their desires, or bound by habits Satan built over years. Even if they say it, they say it weakly, and Satan knows it.
Some, when he leaves, call him back! They are already enslaved to him.
Such souls need prayer — from themselves, their loved ones, the Church, or even the angels and saints — like the Angel of the Lord who said, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan” (Zechariah 3:2).
Whoever says, “Get away, Satan,” must also cast out everything that belongs to him — cutting off all ties, as Lot was told: “Escape for your life; do not look behind you” (Genesis 19:17).
To say “Get away, Satan” truly is to act rightly — rejecting his agents, his tools, his thoughts, and staying absorbed in prayer, Scripture, fellowship, and service. Then, when Satan comes, he finds you too busy and leaves.
Reject every thought swiftly and decisively, “taking every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Christ was strong when He cast Satan away — so cast him out by Christ’s power working in you.
Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani Newspaper, April 13, 1986
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