The first point I would like to make is that is would be miraculous to survive such a jump.
Solomon's temple boasted an archway that stood 120 cubits high, equivalent to 180 feet (2 Chronicles 3:4). Herod's temple surpassed Solomon's in size, likely featuring an even loftier pinnacle.
Why did Satan take Jesus to the Temple to jump down from?
There are three points that I'd like to note:
- Location
The temple was not just a building, but it was one of the most, if not the most, prominent public building. If Jesus had jumped from there countless people would have been witnesses and the news would have likely spread far and fast.
The temple was the most sacred site in Judaism, and its pinnacle would
have been a place of visibility and significance. By placing Jesus
here, the devil tempts Him to perform a public miracle to prove His
divinity, challenging Jesus to misuse His power for self-glorification
rather than fulfilling His redemptive mission. This temptation echoes
the human desire for recognition and the misuse of spiritual gifts for
personal gain, which Jesus resists by remaining faithful to His divine
purpose. [1]
If a man jumped from the temple and survived, many people would see
it. Talk would spread from the Sadducees to Roman officials. Word of
such an event and a man would quickly move not only throughout Judea
but throughout the Roman world. [2]
- Symbolism of Jesus and Isaac
We read that the temple was on a hill in the northern sector of the city, identified in 2 Chronicles 3:1 as Mt. Moriah. This is the very site where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac before divine intervention halted him. Jesus knew the scriptures, so it would at least be surprising if Jesus didn't see the parallels in this temptation: Just as Isaac was a promised son spared by God on Mt. Moriah, so too would God's divine Son, Jesus, be protected.
The devil then makes the connection quoting Psalm 91:11-12, which promises God's protection for those who trust in Him.
Satan also tempted Jesus to be his own murderer, by unfitting
confidence in his Father's protection, such as he had no warrant for. [3]
Could Jesus have jumped and survived? Yes, absolutely, that's partly the point. There's only 2 possible outcomes if Jesus jumped:
- Jump and die
- Jump and prove you are the Son of God and be saved
Either way Satan wins. It was meant to force Jesus into a test where the outcome would either be death or a miraculous survival, both of which served Satan's aim to derail Jesus' mission.
You are sure that you are the Son of God: try this once, and see. If
you triumphantly come out of this trial, all men will recognize you,
and your reign as Messiah will commence forthwith." This temptation
was of a more subtle nature than the other two. It appeals again to
all ranks of men, and warns them of the sore danger of selfishly
courting danger. The angels will ever watch over us with a tender care
when, to accomplish a duty or to perform an act of self-denying love,
we confront peril; not so when we presumptuously and for our own ends
rush into danger. [4]
Matthew 26:53-54
Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once
send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the
Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
- Sacred ground
The Temple was considered the dwelling place of God on earth.
Josephus calls the cloister 'better than any other under the sun' ('Ant.,' 15:11. 5)
and this cloister deserves to be mentioned better than any other under
the sun; for while the valley was very deep, and its bottom could not
be seen, if you looked from above into the depth, this further vastly
high elevation of the cloister stood upon that height, insomuch that
if any one looked down from the top of the battlements, or down both
those altitudes, he would be giddy, while his sight could not reach to
such an immense depth. This cloister had pillars that stood in four
rows one over against the other all along, for the fourth row was
interwoven into the wall, which [also was built of stone]; and the
thickness of each pillar was such, that three men might, with their
arms extended, fathom it round, and join their hands again, while its
length was twenty-seven feet, with a double spiral at its basis; and
the number of all the pillars [in that court] was a hundred and
sixty-two. Their chapiters were made with sculptures after the
Corinthian order, and caused an amazement [to the spectators], by
reason of the grandeur of the whole [5]
The Temple was remarkable and held a holy status. Satan could have been challenging the integrity of that holy place and Jesus' faith so he chose the place with the closest connection to God. It was meant to question Jesus' trust in God's protection.
