If thou be the Son of God— The Jews were undoubtedly right in thinking that the Messiah is spoken of by Daniel, Daniel 7:13-14. But they fell into a gross mistake, when, interpreting that passage literally, they believed the Messiah would actually come in the clouds of heaven, and wrest the kingdom from the Romans.
See Matthew 24:30. The Pharisees, however, had the destruction of the Romans and the miraculous erection of a temporal empire in view, when they required our Lord to shew them a sign from heaven; Matthew 16:1. And the people in general were so strongly impressed with the belief of it, that they overlooked all the proper proofs of Christ's mission, and rejected him, because he did not confirm it by that sign, John 7:27. Howbeit we know this man whence he is; but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is: "No man knoweth from what particular place he shall first come:" for the doctors thought that though the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem, he was immediately to be conveyed thence, and concealed, till Elijah the Tishbite came from heaven, and prepared matters for his reception; after which he was to be manifested in a miraculous manner: and as they expected that the Messiah was to come in the clouds of heaven, they thought his first appearance was to be in the temple; grounding this opinion on Malachi 3:1.Psalms 110:2.Isaiah 2:3. Now the second temptation, considered in the light of this popular error, had considerable strength in it; for the tempter's meaning was, "Since thou art the Son of God, thou shouldst cast thyself down from this battlement into the courts below, where the numerous worshippers, seeing thee borne up by angels, will immediately acknowledge thee as the Messiah coming to them in the clouds of heaven: for it is written, he shall give his angels charge, &c." Had not this been the devil's meaning, there was not the least reason for carrying Jesus to Jerusalem, and setting him on the battlements of the temple. He might as well have bidden him cast himself down from any precipice in the wilderness, or from the turret of any neighbouring town; where the interposition of angels in his preservation, would have been as conspicuous a proof to himself of his Messiahship as in the holy city of Jerusalem. It may be objected indeed, that the text cited by no means promises a visible interposition of ministering spirits for the preservation of the Messiah, as this sense of the temptation seems to require. But the answer is, that there was nothing to hinder the father of lies from putting an artful gloss upon a text of Scripture in order to delude; as if he had said, "Since God hath promised that his angels shall bear good men up in their hands, and particularly the Messiah, he may therefore well expect the favour, if he be the Son of God, and especially when it is necessary for the erecting of his kingdom."—And farther, the tempter's argument would have the more weight, if, as is probable, he was now transformed into an angel of light, and feigned a willingness to assist Jesus in the undertaking. See Macknight, Sherlock on Prophesy, appendix, p. 304 and the notes on Psalms 91:11.