Matthew 4
Matthew 4:1
Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the adversary.
Matthew 4:2
When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.
Matthew includes the detail that Yeshua not only fasts for forty days, but also for “forty nights”. This links to Exodus 34:28,
“He was there with the HaShem forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread, nor drank water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”
Exodus 34:28
The Midrash says,
“AND HE WAS THERE WITH THE LORD FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS (34:28). Is it then possible for any man to be forty days without food or drink? …When Moses ascended on high, where there is no eating or drinking, he emulated the heavenly example…For whereas the entire world and the fullness thereof were created in six days, the Torah was given at the end of forty days.’ HE DID NEITHER EAT BREAD, eating only the bread of the Torah: NOR DRINK WATER. drinking only of the water of the Torah. He learnt [fresh] Torah by day and revised it by himself at night. Why did he do thus? In order to teach …Another explanation of AND HE WAS THERE WITH THE LORD. HE DID NEITHER EAT BREAD, NOR DRINK WATER, that is, in this world; but in the World to Come he will eat of the bread of the Torah and drink of its waters. For this reason HE DID NEITHER EAT BREAD, etc. Whence did he derive his nourishment?- From the lustre of God’s presence. Lest this seem surprising, then remember that the Chayyot who bear the Divine Throne are also nourished from the splendor of the Shechinah.”
Exodus Rabbah 47:5, Soncino Press Edition
Matthew 4:3
The tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.
Matthew 4:4
But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’
Matthew 4:5
Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the Temple,
Matthew 4:6
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you and, on their hands they will bear you up, so that you do not dash your foot against a stone.
This is a powerful temptation for Yeshua, as there is a Jewish expectation that the Messiah will be revealed on top of the Temple,
“When the king Messiah appears, he will come stand on the roof of the Temple and will make a proclamation to Israel saying, “Meek ones, the day of your redemption is come. And if you do not believe me, behold my light which rises upon you, as is said ‘Arise and shine for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’
Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 36, Translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press, pg. 682, Cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Isaiah 499
Jumping into the midst of the priests and the people would absolutely stun them, and would provide a dramatic entrance for the Redemption.
