Matthew 4:5-7

⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

holy city (v.5) — Jerusalem

it is written (v.6) — Psalm 91:11-12 — leaving out “to keep you in all your ways”

it is written (v.7) — Deuteronomy 6:16

Now, what was the evil in this suggested act? It was twofold, evil alike on the Godward and on the manward side. In the first aspect it meant that God should be forced to do for Him what He had before refused to do for Himself — make Him an object of supernatural care, exempted from obedience to natural law, a child of miracle, exceptional in His very physical relations to God and nature. In the second aspect it meant that He was to be a Son of Wonder, clothed in marvels, living a life that struck the senses and dazzled the fancies of the poor vulgar crowd. — Pentecost, page 103

It is as though the enemy had said to the perfect Man, You have declared your allegiance in response to my first temptation; you have declared your trust in God; very well; if you do trust Him, venture something on your trust; do something heroic; do something splendid; show how much you trust in God by flinging yourself from the pinnacle of the temple. — Morgan, page 32

Christ responded to this temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: “Do not test the Lord your God.” Once again the tempted One submitted Himself to the authority of the Word of God, accepting it as the will of God rather than submitting to the solicitation of the evil one. Christ’s refusal to put God to the test did not come because He was afraid God could not prove Himself. To the contrary, Christ’s trust was so implicit that He saw no need to put God to a test. Christ believed God because of His Word, not because of evidence that had been presented that He is faithful. In this test Jesus Christ showed absolute confidence in God and remained in perfect obedience to God’s will. — Pentecost, page 104.