Matthew 4:5

Then. In Luke the order of the second and third temptations as they appear in Matthew is reversed. We do not know what was the actual chronological order, but there is reason to believe that the three temptations occurred in the order given by Matthew. A careful study of the nature and purpose of each temptation leads to the conclusion that the three reach a climax when Satan takes Jesus to an “exceeding high mountain” (v. 8) and shows Him the kingdoms of this world. In the first two, as listed by Matthew, Satan appears in the role of an angel of light, but in the third he overtly demands that Christ worship him (v. 9). It is this blasphemous suggestion that, according to Matthew, elicits the peremptory command, “Get thee hence, Satan” (v. 10). It is also worthy of note that The Desire of Ages comments on the three temptations in the order given by Matthew (see DA 129). See on v. 9.

The sequence of events as given in one of the Synoptic Gospels often differs from that in the others. It should be noted that none of the evangelists claim to have arranged the narrative in strictly chronological sequence (see p. 274), and it is certainly evident that not all of them have done so. See Additional Notes on Chapter 3, Note 2.

The holy city. Some Maccabean coins bear the inscription “Jerusalem the Holy.” The Arabic name for Jerusalem today is el-Quds, “the Holy.” It is obvious that Satan did not select the Temple as a site for his second temptation because of the lack of heights and precipices in the mountains of the wilderness; there must have been another motive. It may be that Satan sought to surround the second temptation with an air of sanctity.

Pinnacle. Gr. pterugion, diminutive form meaning, literally, “little wing,” thought by some here to represent the outer rim of the Temple. A later Greek writer uses the nondiminutive form pterux to represent the point of a building. Hence pterugion may describe a turret, battlement, pointed roof, or peak. The English word “pinnacle” is from the Latin, pinnaculum, a diminutive form of pinna, “wing.”

Temple. Gr. hieron, a term used to refer to the entire Temple area and the buildings it contained. The sanctuary building itself, comprising the holy and most holy places, is called, in Greek, naos. Both hieron and naos are rendered “temple” in the NT.