no salvation wrought for men. Also, Y‘shua could never have spoken on the subject of discipleship and self-
denial (as He so often did – Matt 10:31-39; Luke 9:23, 57-62) unless He Himself had experienced it.
4) The principles: Y‘shua‘s response indicates several vital principles of godly service, as relevant for
us today as they were 2,000 years ago. First of all, the physical hunger which Y‘shua experienced was the
will of YHWH for His life. The account of the temptation begins: ―Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted by the devil‖ (Matt 4:1, Luke 4:1). Y‘shua was Spirit-led to fast and hunger in
the wilderness.
Second, obedience to the will of YHWH takes precedence to one‘s physical appetites. That is the implication
of the statement, ―Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God‖ (Matt 4:4). Physical appetites are good because they are God-given. Bread is important to physical life,
but there is no real life apart from obedience to the revealed will of YHWH. Third, physical deprivation in the
will of YHWH is not bad, but good; for it tests our faith and strengthens it. This is the force of the context of
Y‘shua‘s quotation in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Note the words, which immediately precede those, quoted by
Y‘shua to Satan:
(2) ―And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the
wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou
wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
(3) And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest
not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live‖. (Deut 8:2-3)
Israel hungered in the wilderness by the will of YHWH. Submission cannot be tested in abundance so much
as in adversity. We do not test the obedience of our children by telling them to go to the ice cream store, but
by telling them to go to the doctor for a shot. Israel‘s faith was strengthened as they learned to trust YHWH
for their every need.
Likewise, Y‘shua‘s hunger was a test of His submission to the Father‘s will. Just as YHWH provided
sustenance for the Israelites in the wilderness, so He would do for His Son, in His own time. The Son would
not act independently of the Father to provide food for Himself. After the test was completed, YHWH did
supernaturally provide for this need (Matt 4:11).
Finally, the measure of a man is not to be found in the assertion of his rights, but in his submission to YHWH.
One of the things which have always hindered Biblical belief is the false notion that devotion to YHWH is a
womanly trait, and that real ̳he men‘ don‘t go for the sissy stuff of submission to YHWH. That is one of
Satan‘s lies. The measure of a man is his submission to YHWH. Satan suggested that Y‘shua look out for
Himself and act independently of the Father. To do that would have depreciated His manhood.
The first temptation denied YHWH‘s provision. YHWH had sustained Y‘shua during His fast. To accept
Satan‘s challenge would have been a confession that YHWH‘s provision was insufficient. Y‘shua then
responded with Scripture: ―Man shall not live by bread alone‖ (Deut 8:3), referring to similar circumstances
which prevailed when the people of Israel wandered through the desert relying upon YHWH to provide them
with manna.
4:5 Setteth him on a pinnacle of the Temple
―Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple‖.
―And he led Him to Jerusalem, and stood Him on the wing of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the
Son of God, throw Yourself down from here‖. (Luke 4:9)
Y‘shua and the devil now stand on the kanaf (wing) of the Temple. ―Wing of the Temple‖ more literally
translates the more familiar term, ―pinnacle of the temple‖. Christian legend locates the site of Y‘shua‘s
second temptation upon the so-called pinnacle of the Temple on the southeastern corner of Herod‘s
retaining wall. Other scholars say it was on the southwestern corner of the retaining wall, as this was found
to be the highest point following excavations which they did to the original base of the Western Wall in the
Tyrapeoen Valley.
These traditions are probably incorrect. In the minds of the Gospel writers, ―the wing of the Temple‖ must
have been more centrally located. Perhaps Y‘shua was situated upon the height of the Sanctuary building
shelf, which would have provided greater visibility. While no archaeological evidence has suggested the
point, some identifiable part of the architecture may have depicted the wings of the Divine Presence