‘And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge concerning you, to guard you', and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest haply you dash your foot against a stone.' ”
The first temptation had been physical, the second political, although with great physical advantages, the third is religious. It was to do with favour in Jerusalem. By one great act, one quick fix, He could become the darling of the Jewish religion in Jerusalem. By this great demonstration He would be revealed as the darling of God, as the protected One, as the One who was borne by angels. By it He could win the favour even of the religious leaders. The Jews demanded signs (Luke 11:16; Luke 11:29; 1 Corinthians 1:22). It would be the ‘sign' that they were always looking for, and reveal Him as a child of the Temple. Of course, it would mean turning from the path of prophetic truth, for the leaders would not put up with what they saw as ‘heresy', as their fathers had not before them, but as long as He was compliant He would have their full support. Here then was the easy way to win men over, but to what?
The Devil knew of the regard that Jesus had for His Father's House (Luke 2:49). Surely therefore, here if anywhere he would be able to trust His Father to watch over Him. What He must do then is prove this to the nation. Let Him then climb to the pinnacle of the Temple and throw Himself off. Had He not Ezekiel's example to go by? Ezekiel had been caught up by what appeared to be an angel and by the Spirit and had flown through the air (Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 3:12-14; Ezekiel 11:1). Why then would His Father not do the same for Him?
The pinnacle of the Temple is usually seen as the royal colonnade on the south side of the outer court which overlooks a deep ravine. To dive from there into the ravine would make a spectacular display. Others have seen it as the lintel over the gate of the Temple, or the apex of the Temple. There was a belief that the Messiah would appear on the roof of the Temple, why not then add to it by diving off and really making an impact?
But the Devil has now become more subtle. He will not just make a suggestion, he will support it from Scripture (although a little misquoted, for he drops out the significant words ‘in all your ways', in other words in the normal course of life). Jesus keeps quoting Scripture, well, let Him consider what the Scripture says, it says ‘‘He will give his angels charge concerning you, to guard you' (Psalms 91:11), and again, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest haply you dash your foot against a stone ‘ (Psalms 91:12). So surely if Jesus launches Himself from His Father's House (Luke 2:49), how can he possibly doubt (unless He does not believe the Scripture) that as His Son, His angels will watch over Him and bear Him up and prevent even a foot being dashed against the stone? (That is surely what a father does in his house).
Then by this action He can convince Himself, and others, that He really is the Son of God, vindicate the Scriptures, and at the same time demonstrate to the people the preciousness of His life to God, and that He is the Son of His Father. Who then would fail to believe? And would it not be a demonstration of His great faith? (The Pharisees would later approach Him with a similar temptation (Luke 11:29 with Matthew 16:1)).
We are not to think that the Devil wanted Him to do it at that moment. He was only there in vision. The idea was possibly that He should do it later when the Temple was crowded.