The theme here obviously is protection. All of us know at least the general theme of Psalm 91 and that is what Satan quoted here. Luke 4:10-11 are verses 11 and 12 of Psalm 91, and so he is quoting back to Jesus the very words that Jesus Himself inspired. But he did it without quoting the whole thing, I don't mean all of Psalm 91; he missed part of the verses that are given there in verses 11 and 12. What he left out was one phase that says "in all your ways". Very interesting that he left that out. Jesus immediately came back and showed him that he had misapplied it and what Jesus is saying is that God does not guarantee He will protect us in all our ways.
Look at this: is Jesus going to protect us in rebellion—in our rebellion? Is Jesus going to protect us if we are downright foolish in what we are doing? God does expect us to do things in faith—I should say involving faith in Him. The unconverted may even consider this faith to be foolish or dangerous. But willfully exposing ourselves to any danger, presuming that God is going to protect us, is tempting Him. Man has no right to dictate to God what God should do.
It's as if Satan said this to Jesus: "Since you are God's son, certainly He will protect you from whatever danger you may go into. His angels will always be there to help you. You cannot be hurt. Deliverance will always be there, you can trust Him." It sounds good, but it is built upon a presumption.
