‘And the Devil said to him, “To you will I give all this authority, and the glory of them, for it has been delivered to me, and to whoever I will I give it. If you therefore will worship before me, it shall all be yours.” '
But there was a short cut available, a quick fix. The Devil has been allowed a certain level of authority over these Kingdoms (something of this is made known in Daniel 10), although it is only because man has submitted to it, or even sought it in its idolatry. Yet clearly if the temptation were to be meaningful Jesus must have accepted that there was truth in what the Devil said. He claimed that he was able to give to Jesus authority over all these kingdoms (here indeed was something for Caesar to be afraid of), and give Him their glory (all their wealth and power), for it is in his hands and he is able to give it. The Devil clearly believed that God had given him permission to do this (compare how he had sought permission in other circumstances in Job 1-2). So if Jesus was only willing to bow and worship him, submitting to his ways, then it could all be His.
Here was an alternative to the way of suffering. The prophets had suffered because they had not controlled the kingdom. But Jesus could control all kingdoms, and then do what He would with them. Of course, like Adam He would have lost His integrity and His righteousness, but He had only to think to realise how much good He could do. He could rule them wisely and justly and thus almost accomplish His purpose (of course He would eventually die but that was yet a long time ahead and not to be thought of). The very fact that Jesus is seen as interested in such a position demonstrates that His concern is not just for Israel, but for the world.
It does seem that we must recognise here that the Devil does not fully realise Who he is talking to. By His self-emptying even the Devil had been deceived. But he did know that He was the One sent from God to deal with sin. And that was what he was seeking to prevent. However, there was some awareness there, for he carefully avoids drawing His attention to the fact that He is the Son of God. He realises only too well that this would be incompatible with what he is suggesting. He is trying to make Him a ‘son of Belial'.
Outwardly for Jesus there was great temptation. Much of what He wanted to achieve could be achieved. He could go out and by the power now available to Him He could subdue the world and subject it to His will (at least outwardly). And if he submitted to the Devil there would be no opposition. The Devil would be on His side. It would fulfil prophecy (Psalms 2:8, but ignoring Luke 4:7; Isaiah 9:7, but ignoring Luke 4:6; Daniel 7:14, but ignoring Luke 4:13). And instead of humiliation and suffering He could have power and splendour and glory, (but without being the Son of God). And He could lead the people justly. But what He would not be able to do was lead them to God and to truth. He would have surrendered that ability. Nor would the hearts of men be changed. He would become a Messiah, but a false Messiah. He would be trying to achieve some of God's purposes in ways that were not of God, and He would end up with a world empire full of sinners, whose end was destruction.
Again we recognise that in His self-emptying He recognises His mission, for He has learned it from the Scriptures, But He also knows that it is His Father's will that He be identified with the suffering Servant, and the anointed Prophet of Isaiah, although as yet not being fully aware of all the implications. This must all be so for this to be a temptation at all. And thus again for His solution He turns to the word of God.