Luke 4:13 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

He departed—for a season.— This implies that he assaulted him afterwards; see John 14:30. We may therefore believe, that he was not much wiser for the trial which he now made. It is true, we find the devils more than once confessing our Lord in the course of his ministry; but it does not thence follow, that theywere fully satisfied of his character. If they suspected him to be theMessiah, they might give him the title, in order to make his enemies believe that he acted in concert with them. Besides, towards the conclusion of his ministry, wefind the devil active in procuring his death; which he could not have been, had he known who our Lord was, or understood the method in which the redemption of the world was to be accomplished. It cannot be denied, indeed, that the devils had some knowledge of God's merciful intentions to save the world by his Son. At the same time it is equally true, that the knowledge of this grand event was very imperfect, the prophesies relating to it having been all along conceived in such terms, as made it difficult, if not impossible, to understand them fully in all their parts, till the events explained them; probably on purpose that evil spirits might not have it in their power to frustrate the beneficent work, in the execution of which, contrary to their dispositions, they were to be active; and in which God did not judge it proper to act by a constant exertion of omnipotence.