Verse 5: Next in verse five, the Adversary takes Jesus to Jerusalem and the Temple. Note: it was God who took Jesus to the desert for testing, just as it was God who took the Israelite to the desert for testing. This time, it is the Devil who takes Jesus to the holy city, Jerusalem for testing. He takes Him to the pinnacle of the Temple. Once again, he tries to sow seeds of doubt.
He says, “IF you are the Son of God then jump.” Will Jesus have the faith to do this? Will He jump and trust that His Father will catch Him? Wouldn’t the Father spare Jesus’ life IF He was actually the Son of God?
Satan goes so far as to quote Scripture to Jesus in order to convince Him to take the leap: “For he will order his angels to care for you and guard you whoever you go. They will carry you in their hands, so that you won’t trip on a stone.” (Psalm 91:11-12)
This is legitimate Scripture Satan is using. Even the context for it (which is about God caring for His own) seems correct. Jesus’ response is more than appropriate. It is a cation to us. Many of us are very good at remembering Scripture passages/ Ad sometimes when we encounter a difficult or stressful situation or a tough decision, we can find ourselves hearing one those Bible passages telling us to do something frightening. But then we have to remember a principle which Jesus teaches us right here:
“Do not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.” (Deuteronomy 6:16)
At Massah, the Israelites complained that there was no water for them to drink. Despite God providing for them over and over again, the Israelites had short memories. When things got tough, they whined and complained. Jesus rebukes this test of Satan by recalling the Massah incident during Israel’s exodus from Egypt. This is once again providing a connection between Jesus and Moses.
Verse 8: In verse eight, again the Devil leads Jesus to a high place. This time, it is even higher than the pinnacle on the Temple. It is to a mountain top in order to gain a wide vantage point so that Satan can dramatically make his offer. Notice how we go from a low place, the desert to a high place, the pinnacle of the Temple tot he highest place, a mountain top. This coincides with the ascending temptations.
The Devil offers Jesus the world which he lays out before Him. He makes it clear that he has the ability to give Jesus all the world’s kingdoms for Him to rule over. But what is the price? It is to bow down and worship Satan.
The point is not hard to see. It is Satan’s attempt to replace God. The world belongs to God because He is the Creator of it. It is His and His alone to rule over, or to assign the rule to another.
The Devil’s offer of Jesus worshiping him in exchange for world rule uses the same word in Greek that the Magi used when worshiping Jesus: proskuneo. It is better translated as homage. That is, just as the Magi paid homage to Jesus (who the Magi saw as king), so is the Devil telling Jesus to pay homage to the Devil, with he Devil seeing himself as the ruler (king) of the world. Satan is proposing a role reversal since we know form other Bible passages that God has designated Jesus to be the ruler of the world, with Satan bowing down to Him.
Verse 10: Jesus rebukes the Evil One with Scripture:
“You are to fear the LORD your God, serve Him and swear by His name.” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
Verse 11: The next words are “Then the Adversary left Him alone.” At that moment, the Devil’s hopes were crushed. The testing was over. There was nothing left to test. He had failed to shake the faith of our Messiah.
One of the early church fathers Chrysotom noticed the that the three temptations start with food. The first Adam was tempted by food in the Garden of Eden. Food is a powerful need in humans. It is therefore a powerful force in swaying humans.
Adam and Eve were given one rule: do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And unfortunately, they broke that rule. The breaking of the rule is known in various church doctrines as the Fall of Man, the Fall from Grace and a few other titles. So the first law ever given to mankind involved food. And breaking the law which involved food completely redirected the destiny of all humanity Centuries later, at Mount Sinai, God would give Israel a more extensive set of laws regarding diet—laws which have come to be popularly known as Kosher food laws.
Nearly all of the earliest church fathers noticed this connection between Adam and Jesus, and many of them recognized the matter of food as the object of temptation they both faces. In Adam’s case, he had an abundance of food in the garden of Eden. And still, when the devil tempted him with the one food which was off limits, Adam succumbed to it. In Jesus’ case, the temptation in the wilderness came when Jesus had no food. He was starving. The devil told Him to turn stones into food to satisfy His hunger pains (which apparently Jesus could do as He did not dispute this with the devil). Jesus resisted the temptation.
The second temptation of Jesus involved the devil taking Him up to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was told to jump off of it. The devil taunted that “IF” He was truly God’s son, He Father would send angels to catch Him. The devil was trying to sow seeds of doubt into Jesus by employing the word “IF”. Jesus overcome this temptation also. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 that men should not put God on trial by doing such a foolish thing as jumping off a high place and expecting God to catch him.
The third temptation Jesus faces is when the devil offers Jesus rulership over the entire planet in exchange for bowing down to him. Jesus’ response to him was “away with you Satan”. When the devil cannot tempt Jesus, he leaves Him alone.
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