4:5 taking him up. The order of the second and third temptations, as given in Luke, is opposite to that recorded in Matthew. A comparison of the sequential conjunctions (“then” in Matthew, “and” in Luke) indicates that Matthew’s sequence is chronological, Luke’s is topical. This, in fact, is fairly evident throughout both gospels, and should be kept in mind in comparing their accounts of various events.

4:5 moment of time. There are three “moments” mentioned in the New Testament, each using a different Greek word, and each used only one time in the Bible. In this verse, the Greek word for “moment” is stigma, meaning “a point” in time. But ruling the world for just an instant in time (compared to eternity) was a poor bargain, and Jesus rejected it. In I Corinthians 15:51-52, we shall all be changed “in a moment.” Here the Greek word is atomos, meaning “an indivisible particle” of time. At present we are experiencing “light affliction, which is but for a moment” (II Corinthians 4:17). The word here is parautika, meaning the “present moment.”