An exceeding high mountain, and showeth him - If the words, all the kingdoms of the world, be taken in a literal sense, then this must have been a visionary representation, as the highest mountain on the face of the globe could not suffice to make evident even one hemisphere of the earth, and the other must of necessity be in darkness.

But if we take the world to mean only the land of Judea, and some of the surrounding nations, as it appears sometimes to signify, (see on Luke 2:1 (note)), then the mountain described by the Abbe Mariti (Travels through Cyprus, etc). could have afforded the prospect in question. Speaking of it, he says, "Here we enjoyed the most beautiful prospect imaginable. This part of the mountain overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Amorites, the plains of Moab, the plains of Jericho, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea. It was here that the devil said to the Son of God, All these kingdoms will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Probably St. Matthew, in the Hebrew original, wrote הארץ haarets, which signifies the world, the earth, and often the land of Judea only. What renders this more probable is, that at this time Judea was divided into several kingdoms, or governments under the three sons of Herod the Great, viz. Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip; which are not only called ethnarchs and tetrarchs in the Gospels, but also βασιλεις, kings, and are said βασιλευειν, to reign, as Rosenmuller has properly remarked. See Matthew 2:22; Matthew 14:9.

the devil.

Matthew 4:5 Then the devil takes him up into the holy city, and sets him on a pinnacle of the temple,

Luke 4:5-7 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time...

and sheweth.

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Esther 1:4 When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.

Esther 5:11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him...

Psalm 49:16,17 Be not you afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased...

Daniel 4:30 The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power...

Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter...

1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass wither, and the flower thereof falls away:

1 John 2:15,16 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him...

Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying...

The Early Welcome and the First Ministers of the King
'From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him. 21. And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Knox -- the First Temptation of Christ
John Knox, the great Scottish reformer, was born at Giffordgate, four miles from Haddington, Scotland, in 1505. He first made his appearance as a preacher in Edinburgh, where he thundered against popery, but was imprisoned and sent to the galleys in 1546. In 1547 Edward VI secured his release and made him a royal chaplain, when he acquired the friendship of Cranmer and other reformers. On the accession of Mary (1553) he took refuge on the Continent. In 1556 he accepted the charge of a church in Geneva, …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

The Temptation in the Wilderness.
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons