Luke 4:5-8 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.… 1. The importunity of Satan: he is upon our Saviour again: "Again the devil taketh Him up." 2. The variety of his shifts: from the pinacle of the Temple "he taketh Him up to an exceeding high mountain." 3. Note by what gate or passage he would enter his temptation: by the eye; he shows a goodly object unto Him. 4. The dignity of the object: he shows Him kingdoms. 5. For the amplitude and generality: "All the kingdoms of the world." 6. In their most amiable and desirable shape he showed them in their glory. 7. Satan showed himself to be an arch juggler, or prestidigitator, as artists call it, for St. Luke adds, that he showed all this "in a moment of time." A close solicitor, and a diligence worthy to be commended, if it had been in a good cause; but they that are in a wrong way are most zealous in their course, and negotiate for hell more urgently than we do for heaven. (Bishop Hacker.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. |
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