Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. The third temptation escalates to the largest possible scale: all the kingdoms of the world and their glory displayed from the summit of a very high mountain. The image recalls Moses on Pisgah viewing the promised land (Deuteronomy 34:1–4) but expands it to include every kingdom. The Messiah is supposed to inherit the nations (Psalm 2:8 — ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage); the question is the path to that inheritance. The devil offers the destination without the cross; Jesus will receive the nations, but only through suffering, death, and resurrection. The vision from the mountain is real — the kingdoms are real, the glory is real — but the offer is fraudulent because they are not the devil's to give.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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