Jesus meets the insult with proper dignity: Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written. Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.
Here Jesus rises in the power of His supreme authority, and passionately repels the Satanic suggestion. In the Greek we have here a single word: Begone! Out of My sight! It is a peremptory command. It terminates the disagreeable companionship which the devil had thrust upon the Lord. He applies the epithet "Satan" to the tempter, that is, adversary, enemy, 1 Kings 11:14; Psalms 109:6, since he not only interferes with Christ's Messianic work, but is, from the beginning, the arch-enemy of all mankind. Yet He condescends to support His majestic dismissal with a Scripture text, Deuteronomy 6:13, adapting it to the present circumstances. Jehovah alone is worthy of honor and glory and adoration; to Him only shall the ministering of divine service, of religious veneration, be made.