The Meaning of Luke 4:8 Explained

Luke 4:8

KJV: 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.

YLT: And Jesus answering him said, 'Get thee behind me, Adversary, for it hath been written, Thou shalt bow before the Lord thy God, and Him only thou shalt serve.'

Darby: And Jesus answering him said, It is written, Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve.

ASV: And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Luke 4:8 Mean?

Study Notes

Lord
Jehovah. Deuteronomy 6:13 .

Context Summary

Luke 4:1-13 - The Threefold Temptation
As the waters of Jordan bisect the Holy Land, so does our Lord's baptism bisect His holy life. In that act He had identified Himself with the world's sin; and now, as the High Priest who was to deal with sin and sinners, He must be "in all points" tempted and tested "like as we are."
He took into the wilderness a perfect humanity of flesh and blood, made in all points like His brethren, though without sin. He elected to fight His great fight, not by the use of the divine attributes, but as Son of man. Where the first Adam fell, the second must stand.
First, He could not use His native power for His own gratification. Second, He would abide strictly within the limitations of the world He had entered, Hebrews 2:16-17. Third, He would win His kingdom by the Cross. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 4

1  The fasting and temptation of Jesus
14  He begins to preach
16  The people of Nazareth marvel at words, but seek to kill him
33  He cures one possessed of a demon,
38  Peter's mother-in-law,
40  and various other sick persons
41  The demons acknowledge Jesus, and are reproved for it
42  He preaches through the cities of Galilee

Greek Commentary for Luke 4:8

Thou shalt worship [προσκυνησεις]
Satan used this verb to Jesus who turns it against him by the quotation from Deuteronomy 6:13. Jesus clearly perceived that one could not worship both Satan and God. He had to choose whom he would serve. Luke does not give the words, “Get thee hence, Satan” (Matthew 4:10), for he has another temptation to narrate. [source]
Serve []
See on Luke 1:74. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 4:8 mean?

And answering - Jesus said to him It has been written You shall worship [the] Lord - God of you Him only you shall serve
Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ Γέγραπται Προσκυνήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου» αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις

ἀποκριθεὶς  answering 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀποκρίνομαι  
Sense: to give an answer to a question proposed, to answer.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
αὐτῷ  to  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Γέγραπται  It  has  been  written 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γράφω 
Sense: to write, with reference to the form of the letters.
Προσκυνήσεις  You  shall  worship 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: προσκυνέω  
Sense: to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence.
Κύριον  [the]  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
τὸν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεόν  God 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
σου»  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
μόνῳ  only 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: μόνος  
Sense: alone (without a companion), forsaken, destitute of help, alone, only, merely.
λατρεύσεις  you  shall  serve 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: λατρεύω  
Sense: to serve for hire.