“worship.” The Devil wanted Jesus to revere him as he revered God. Thus “worship” is appropriate here. See commentary on Matthew 2:2, “pay homage.”

This is one of the many places the Bible reveals that Jesus Christ was not God, but a human being. If the doctrine of the Trinity is true, and Jesus was God and an indivisible part of the Trinity, there is no way that he, as God, could have or would have worshipped the Devil. Jesus and the Devil would have been intimately acquainted for many eons of time. Jesus, as part of the Trinity, would have created the angel who eventually rebelled against God and became known as the Devil, the archenemy of himself and the Father. Jesus and the Devil would have been battling each other for ages, especially during the 4,000 years since the Fall of Adam and Eve. Given that huge history of animosity, and given that if Jesus was God, would the Devil really think that now that Jesus was on earth he would somehow decide to worship his age-long enemy—and to gain what? To become the ruler of the world? The idea is absurd. If Jesus as God would have made the world, he could even make another one if he wanted to. The Devil would know that God would not worship him. The Devil would know that he had nothing of value to offer God Himself. The very fact that the Devil offered Jesus the rulership of the world if Jesus would worship him is very strong evidence that Jesus was not God.

[For more information about Jesus not being God, see Appendix 10, “Jesus is the Son of God, Not God the Son.”]