The temptation of the gable took place in Jerusalem

And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: (Luke 4:9)

This is the temptation that has to do with personal ambition. The Lord Jesus did not move from the gable because He was waiting to hear God’s direction. He would be perched on the gable yet if God had not spoken. Jesus is faithful and true.

Why did Satan bring the Lord to Jerusalem? It is because it is in "Jerusalem" that the sin of personal ambition is so destructive, so satanic.

Sodom and Gomorrah represent the lusts of the flesh. Egypt represents the lust of the eyes, that is, covetousness and worldliness. Jerusalem symbolizes the pride of life. All of these proceed from the sons of the wicked one. But it is the pride of life that is the least recognized and the most destructive.

Several times in the Book of Acts we read that the Jews followed Paul as he preached Christ in the various cities and attempted to murder him. The Jews were filled with fury. Gamaliel had some understanding of God and advised the leaders to wait and see if what was happening was of God. This was wise.

But Satan entered the Jews through the door of personal ambition. They were tares—sons of the wicked one. Yet they had no consciousness whatever that they were not doing God’s will.

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