Matthew 4:10 records Jesus rejecting the devil’s offer of the world’s kingdoms and sending him away. Jesus tells Satan to leave and quotes Deuteronomy to show that worship belongs to God alone. The words are spoken by Jesus himself to the devil, at the end of a forty-day stay in the wilderness, after Satan has tried to tempt him three times.
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 opening phrase, “Get behind me, Satan,” is a firm dismissal. Jesus does not argue or bargain. He orders the tempter away, much as a person would step back from a path they have no intention of taking. The same wording Jesus uses to Peter in Matthew 16:23 shows that he treats this as a clear refusal rather than an open debate.
The second half of the verse is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:13. Jesus answers with Scripture, which tells the reader that his authority to refuse comes from God’s own written word. The command has two parts: worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Worship is the inner honor and devotion owed to God, while service is the daily shape that devotion takes in what a person does.
The verse does not promise that temptation will vanish, nor does it describe every situation where a believer faces a choice of loyalty. What it does show is the pattern Jesus follows: when offered a rival to God, he names the one he serves and refuses everything else.
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 author is traditionally identified as Matthew, the former tax collector among the twelve disciples, though scholars debate the exact date and authorship. The wilderness account immediately follows Jesus’ baptism, where a voice from heaven declared him God’s beloved Son, so the temptations test the identity he has just received.
The verses before Matthew 4:10 show Satan quoting Psalm 91 and Jesus answering with Deuteronomy 6:16. The verse after it, Matthew 4:11, reports that the devil leaves and angels come to serve him. Read in that sequence, Jesus’ final rebuke marks the moment the test ends, and the closing image of angels serving him points to God vindicating the one who stayed faithful.
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 Old Testament command Jesus quotes in Matthew 4:10, found in Moses’ words to Israel before they enter the land. Reading it in its original setting shows how deeply the call to exclusive worship runs through the whole story of God’s people.
Matthew 16:23
But he turned, and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.”
(WEB)
Here Jesus speaks to Peter with the same words he used to Satan, which helps show how he consistently refuses any path that would turn him from God’s purpose. The parallel shows that rejecting competing loyalties was central to his ministry.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 4:10
Lord, you are the one I worship and the one I serve, and I ask you to keep my heart from dividing its loyalty. When I am tempted to trade faithfulness for comfort, approval, or control, give me the clarity to name the offer for what it is and turn away from it. Shape my habits and my choices so that they reflect that you alone are worthy of my devotion. Help me to stay close to you in the ordinary moments of each day. Amen.
