Question about the part where Christ says that "you wont tempt the Lord"

[sidetrack]

When I come here I honestly wish I could quote the passages percisely instead of just recalling a vauge memory of how it’s said -_- but here it goes anyway.

In the part in the Bible where Jesus is out in the desert for many days the evil one says something to him (I think something about how if he falls from a cliff angels will come save him,so why doesn’t he do it?) and he responds with along the lines of like “You shall not tempt the Lord”.

That does not make sense to me and out of the many tings said in the Bible to me this seems like one of the ones that just seems to come out of nowhere.Tempt God;the incorruptible creator?:ehh:.He’s omnipotent.Why would he ever be tempted to give a demonstration of his power?.Does he mean not to tempt God to punish us for doing things that are defiant,foolish and sinful?.Help me out here please.

 

[patrick457]

When I come here I honestly wish I could quote the passages percisely instead of just recalling a vauge memory of how it’s said -_- but here it goes anyway.

In the part in the Bible where Jesus is out in the desert for many days the evil one says something to him (I think something about how if he falls from a cliff angels will come save him,so why doesn’t he do it?) and he responds with along the lines of like “You shall not tempt the Lord”.

That does not make sense to me and out of the many tings said in the Bible to me this seems like one of the ones that just seems to come out of nowhere.Tempt God;the incorruptible creator?:ehh:.He’s omnipotent.Why would he ever be tempted to give a demonstration of his power?.Does he mean not to tempt God to punish us for doing things that are defiant,foolish and sinful?.Help me out here please.

You have to remember that the Greek word traditionally rendered as ‘to tempt’, peirazo, is more correctly rendered ‘to test’ or ‘to try’. The idea being of course that one must not try to force God’s hand, which is the whole point of the Scripture Jesus was alluding to, Deuteronomy 6:16: “You (in the original context, the Israelites) must not test Yhwh your God, as you tested Him at Massah.”

 

[Fiasco]

When I come here I honestly wish I could quote the passages percisely instead of just recalling a vauge memory of how it’s said -_-

Patrick has already answered your query, but, in relation to your very first sentence, there`s a site called Biblos which has helped me a number of times.

Typing in your exact words: “You shall not tempt the Lord.”, brought up 3 Scripture verses on Biblos:
bible.cc/luke/4-12 [etc]
bible.cc/matthew/4-7 [etc]
bible.cc/deuteronomy/6-16 [etc], mentioned by Patrick.

Although your quote isnt exactly how its worded in Scripture, the site still got it right.
eg: clicking Matthew 4:7 brought up this:
www.bible.cc/matthew/4-7.htm

Even if you don`t like any of the quotes, at least you can go straight to the verse in your favourite Bible.

There are other sites, but this one seems more comprehensive than most.

Not being a Catholic site, Scripture lessons, commentaries or similar from it would have to be approached with extreme caution. The only thing ive ever used it for is to home in on books, chapters and verses. Its AOK for that.

 

[Fidelis]

In his Letter, St. James expands a bit on this when he says:

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one; 14 but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:13-17)

In other words, we can’t recklessly go around exposing ourselves to what we know is considered sin by God, and then afterwards blame God that he put sin in our path.

The Navarre Bible comments on Matthew 4:7 in this way:

Jesus rejects the second temptation as He did the first; to do otherwise would have been to tempt God. In rejecting it, He uses a phrase from Deuteronomy (6:16): “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”. In this way He alludes to the passage in Exodus where the Israelites demand a miracle of Moses. The latter replies, “Why do you put the Lord to the proof?”

To tempt God is the complete opposite of having trust in Him. It means presumptuously putting ourselves in the way of unnecessary danger, expecting God to help us by an exceptional use of His power. We would also tempt Him if, by our unbelief and arrogance, we were to ask Him for signs or proof. The very first lesson from this passage of the Gospel is that if ever a person were to ask or demand extraordinary proofs or signs from God, he would clearly be tempting Him.