Jesus’ refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness." (Matt 4.10, The Message).
Eugene Petersen puts the interaction between Christ and Satan into language that makes sense to us today. Who wonders what the meaning of "Beat it, Satan" is? Christ is sending Satan off in the clearest most direct terms we can imagine. Notice that Christ has the power to do just that. Satan "beats it" with all haste; he must obey the Son of God; he is bound by God's authority.
Is it not a good thing to put one's faith and trust and dependence in the one who can tell Satan to "Beat it!"?
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