Matthew 4:5

‘Then the devil takes him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple,'

But now His thoughts were turned again towards the question of success in His mission. How was He to gain the support of the Temple, and the Temple authorities. How was He to obtain the attention of the Teachers and the people? One possible way was a spectacular demonstration of His powers, for no one loved signs more than the Jews. They were renowned for it (1 Corinthians 1:22). Indeed He knew that they would demand them. They believed in a God Who had constantly given signs to His people. Why not give them a great sign that they would never forget? And to aid Him in this the Devil took Him into the holy city and set Him on the small wing of the Temple. We are not told whether it was in His mind, or in reality. Note the mention of ‘the holy city'. In Isaiah 52:1 it describes what we might call the Messianic city, the city from which all uncleanness has been removed. It may hint at the fact that the Devil was seeking to surround what he was doing with an aura of holiness. In the holy city such a presentation of His Messiahship must surely be holy? In mind here as well may have been Ezekiel's similar visit to the Temple, which also took place by extraordinary means, in Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 11:24.

‘The pinnacle of the temple.' Literally ‘the small wing'. We cannot certainly identify it but it was possibly a projection on the part of the Temple that towered over the Kidron valley far below. It would have made a spectacular fall.