Matthew 4:10 is Jesus refusing the devil’s offer of worldly power by commanding him to leave and reminding him that worship belongs to God alone. Jesus gives the words of the verse himself, and he speaks them directly to Satan, who has just offered him every kingdom of the world in exchange for bowing down to him.
Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
Matthew 4:10 (WEB)
What Matthew 4:10 Means
The verse opens with “Get behind me, Satan!” This is a sharp, direct command. Jesus does not argue or bargain. He sends the tempter away, using words that echo his earlier rebuke to Peter in Matthew 16:23, where Peter’s suggestion is also seen as an attempt to turn Jesus from his path.
The second part of the verse is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:13, which Jesus uses as his answer. “You shall worship the Lord your God” names the proper object of worship. “And you shall serve him only” adds that devotion is not divided. The word “only” carries the weight of the whole statement. Jesus is saying that wealth, status, and authority cannot compete for the place that belongs to God.
The verse does not promise that resisting temptation will bring visible rewards, nor does it explain how the devil was dealt with in every later moment. What it does show is the pattern Jesus follows: he answers with Scripture and refuses the shortcut, trusting that the Father’s way is the only way to the kingdom he came to establish.
The Context of Matthew 4:10
Matthew’s Gospel was written for a largely Jewish audience and presents Jesus as the promised king who fulfills Israel’s story. The temptation account follows his baptism and forty days of fasting in the wilderness, a deliberate echo of Israel’s forty years of testing after the exodus. Where Israel failed, Jesus stands firm.
The verses just before this one show the devil quoting Scripture too, from Psalm 91, and Jesus answering each attempt with a text from Deuteronomy. The verses after show angels coming to serve Jesus once the devil leaves. Read in this sequence, Matthew 4:10 is the climax of a contest over whose words and whose worship will govern the Son of God, and the answer is clear.
Key Phrases in Matthew 4:10
Deuteronomy 6:13
You shall fear the LORD your God; and you shall serve him, and shall swear by his name.
(WEB)
This is the verse Jesus quotes in Matthew 4:10, and reading it in its original setting shows the command to fear and serve the Lord as the heart of Israel’s covenant life. It clarifies that Jesus is drawing on an established call to exclusive loyalty rather than introducing something new.
Matthew 4:4
But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
(WEB)
In the first temptation, Jesus answers with Deuteronomy 8:3, reminding us that life depends on every word from God. Read alongside Matthew 4:10, it shows the same confidence in God’s word as sufficient, whether the offer is bread, power, or spectacle.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 4:10
Lord, you know how easily my heart is drawn toward things that promise more than they can give. Where I have let other loyalties sit in the place that belongs to you, I ask you to forgive me and to bring me back. Teach me to answer temptation with your word the way Jesus did, and to trust that serving you alone is the path to true life. Keep my worship whole and my devotion undivided, so that I may honor you in what I choose today. Amen.
