The Meaning of Luke 4:9 Explained

Luke 4:9

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:

YLT: And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, 'If the Son thou art of God, cast thyself down hence,

Darby: And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the edge of the temple, and said to him, If thou be Son of God, cast thyself down hence;

ASV: And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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?

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 4:9

Led him [ηγαγεν]
Aorist active indicative of αγω — agō Matthew 4:5 has παραλαμβανει — paralambanei (dramatic present). [source]
The wing of the temple [το πτερυγιον του ιερου]
See note on Matthew 4:5. It is not easy to determine precisely what it was.From hence (enteuthen). This Luke adds to the words in Matthew, which see.To guard thee Not in Matthew 4:6 quoted by Satan from Psalm 91:11, Psalm 91:12. Satan does not misquote this Psalm, but he misapplies it and makes it mean presumptuous reliance on God. This compound verb is very old, but occurs here alone in the N.T. and that from the lxx. Luke repeats του διαπυλαχαι σε — hoti (recitative οτι — hoti after οτι — gegraptai is written) after this part of the quotation. [source]
From hence [enteuthen)]
This Luke adds to the words in Matthew, which see. [source]
To guard thee [εντευτεν]
Not in Matthew 4:6 quoted by Satan from Psalm 91:11, Psalm 91:12. Satan does not misquote this Psalm, but he misapplies it and makes it mean presumptuous reliance on God. This compound verb is very old, but occurs here alone in the N.T. and that from the lxx. Luke repeats του διαπυλαχαι σε — hoti (recitative οτι — hoti after οτι — gegraptai is written) after this part of the quotation. [source]
He brought [ἤγαγεν]
Rev., led. See on παραλαμβάνει ,taketh, Matthew 4:5. [source]
Pinnacle of the temple []
See on Matthew 4:5. [source]
Down from hence []
Matthew has down only. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 4:9

Luke 4:24 And he said [ειπεν δε]
Also in Luke 1:13. The interjection of these words here by Luke may indicate a break in his address, though there is no other indication of an interval here. Perhaps they only serve to introduce solemnly the new proverb like the words Verily I say unto you This proverb about the prophet having no honour in his own country Jesus had already applied to himself according to John 4:44. Both Mark 6:4 and Matthew 13:57 give it in a slightly altered form on the last visit of Jesus to Nazareth. The devil had tempted Jesus to make a display of his power to the people by letting them see him floating down from the pinnacle of the temple (Luke 4:9-11). [source]
Luke 4:41 Thou art the Son of God [Συ ει ο υιος του τεου]
More definite statement of the deity of Jesus than the witness of the demoniac in the synagogue (Luke 4:34; Mark 1:24), like the words of the Father (Luke 3:22) and more so than the condition of the devil (Luke 4:3, Luke 4:9). In the Canterbury Revision “devils” should always be “demons” Imperfect third singular active of εαω — eaō very old and common verb with syllabic augment ει — ei The tense accents the continued refusal of Jesus to receive testimony to his person and work from demons. Cf. Matthew 8:4 to the lepers.Because they knew Causal, not declarative, οτι — hoti Past perfect of the second perfect οιδα — oida he was the Christ Infinitive in indirect assertion with the accusative of general reference. Τον Χριστον — Ton Christon = the Anointed, the Messiah. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 4:9 mean?

He led also Him to Jerusalem and set upon the pinnacle of the temple said to Him If [the] Son You are - of God cast Yourself from here down
Ἤγαγεν δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἔστησεν ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ βάλε σεαυτὸν ἐντεῦθεν κάτω

Ἤγαγεν  He  led 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἄγω  
Sense: to lead, take with one.
δὲ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
Ἰερουσαλὴμ  Jerusalem 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: Ἰερουσαλήμ  
Sense: denotes either the city itself or the inhabitants.
ἔστησεν  set 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἵστημι  
Sense: to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set.
ἐπὶ  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
πτερύγιον  pinnacle 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: πτερύγιον  
Sense: a wing, a little wing.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἱεροῦ  temple 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: ἱερόν  
Sense: a sacred place, temple.
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.
Υἱὸς  [the]  Son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
εἶ  You  are 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
βάλε  cast 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: βάλλω 
Sense: to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls.
σεαυτὸν  Yourself 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative Masculine 2nd Person Singular
Root: σεαυτοῦ  
Sense: thyself, thee.
ἐντεῦθεν  from  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἔνθεν 
Sense: from this place, hence.
κάτω  down 
Parse: Adverb
Root: κάτω 
Sense: down, downwards.