How did the devil bring Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Luke 4?

from the old testament

• The devil bringing Jesus to the pinnacle is not found in the Old Testament.

from the new testament

• Luke 4 (and Matthew 4) records a series of temptations Satan tried against Jesus. Satan attempted to cause Jesus to either worship him (Luke 4:7) or to fall for the trap of arrogantly proving that He was the Son of God (Luke 4:3). The verse about setting Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple was the latter type of temptation, with Him proving that He only did what the Father willed (John 6:38).
• Luke 4:9 reads, “he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here’.” Satan then quoted from Psalm 91:11–12, saying, “[God] will command his angels concerning you, to guard you [and] on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Luke 4:10–11).
• Jesus refused to take the bait, retorting, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Luke 4:12; cf. Deuteronomy 6:16).
• The point of the passage is the verbal exchange, not how Satan got Jesus to the pinnacle. However, we can surmise two possible options. The first is that it was a vision. In Luke 4:5, in the previous temptation, we read, “And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world.” It’s hard to imagine what else this could mean besides a vision of all the kingdoms.
• But this last temptation didn't have to be a vision. Though Luke says Satan “set him on the pinnacle,” it also says Satan “took him to Jerusalem.” That could be read naturally as Satan leading Jesus to Jerusalem and then the temple and then “setting Him” on the top, meaning taking Him to the specific jumping-off point. It’s also likely that this refers to the flat roof of the Temple, not the single, highest point, meaning the location could have been easily accessible to anyone.
• Regardless, what’s clear is that, however Satan brought Jesus there, Jesus did not succumb to the temptation, leading Satan to depart, looking for a more opportune time (Luke 4:13).

implications for today

With questions like these, if we focus on speculation or curiosity about the mechanics, we miss the main point. In this case, we miss learning that Jesus is the one human who has been able to resist temptation to sin, even when Satan brought his best and strongest arguments.

This temptation marked the start of Jesus’ ministry and set the stakes. Would Satan and sin win, or would the Son of God defeat Satan and death? By the end of the story, it’s clear: Jesus won! Because He remained faithful to the end, obeying the Father from beginning to end, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:9–11).

This is why Jesus can save us, and Jesus alone (John 14:6). As fully God (John 1:1), Jesus took on humanity to be like us but without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He is the only human who has lived perfectly and thus the only one who didn’t deserve to die (Romans 6:23). But He came for that purpose. By living perfectly, the Father could place our sin on Him (2 Corinthians 5:21) and His righteousness on those who believe in Him (Romans 4:5).

If you haven’t turned to Jesus yet, do so now. He stood up to Satan’s best attempts, but you aren’t even capable of going without leading yourself into sin (James 1:14–15). What hope do you have of saving yourself, then, from a God who demands sinlessness (Matthew 5:48)? None. Turn to Jesus now and be saved!