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Luke 4:9
ESV And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
NIV The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down from here.
NASB And he brought Him into Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;
CSB So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.
NLT Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, 'If you are the Son of God, jump off!
KJV 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:

What does Luke 4:9 mean?

In this temptation (Luke 4:1–8), Satan simultaneously challenges Jesus in two ways. The tallest spot of the temple in Jerusalem was about 15 stories above the plaza below. To the ground, it was possibly 30 stories—or about 90 meters. The act of throwing Himself from a height would "force" God to make good on His promises (Luke 4:10–11). Being in a public place, it would also be a dramatic, crowd-pleasing expression of power. That would clearly reveal Jesus as the Christ to all of Israel, and the world. As with the temptation to worship Satan in exchange for power, this would mean short-cutting God's plan.

Satan will also use a tactic employed by false teachers even today, which is the twisting of God's written Word. Jesus has been responding to Satan's attacks with references to Scripture. To enhance this temptation, Satan will directly quote from the Old Testament (Luke 4:10–11). Of course, his reference is deliberately taken out of context and misapplied. As is the case with material wealth and prosperity, misusing God's promises is a favorite tactic of evil.
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