the six temptations of Christ

 Matthew and Luke record three temptations presented by Satan in each book. They are roughly the same temptations in different orders.

The idea here is that all six can be spliced together to show the six temptations, that we have in the Bible. In theory there could be more. Let's take a look.

Matthew 4:3-4

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
[4] 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.
 

Matthew 4:5-7

[5] Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
[6] And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
[7] Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Luke 4:3-4

And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. [4] And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 

Luke 4:5-8 

[5] And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. [7] If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. [8] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Luke 4:9-12

[9] 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: [10] For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: [11] And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Matthew 4:8-10

[8] Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
[9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

The temptations fall into an interesting pattern.

Bread, jump bread,

Worship, jump, worship.

The wording in the Bible text supports this idea.

In bread temptation 1 Satan says "stones", plural, since they are in the wilderness. 

In jump temptation 1 Satan took Jesus "up into the holy city", this may be in heaven. The next jump temptation is in Jerusalem. Jesus Says, "it is written...". The next time the answer is different.

In bread temptation 2, this is the only temptation that doesn't say where they are, so they would be on the pinnacle of the temple and Satan may have brought a single stone, hence Satan says, "this stone".

In worship temptation 1 Satan takes Jesus to a "high mountain". Part of Jesus' reply is "get thee behind me", since the temptations are not complete yet.

In jump temptation 2 Jesus responds with "it is said...". The difference between "written" and "said" are significant.

Worship temptation 2 is the only temptation that begins with the word "again". This may indicate a different mountain. Satan takes Jesus to an "exceeding high mountain". This appears to be higher than the first mountain, possibly in a desperate last attempt. The wording is slightly different and Jesus concludes with "get thee hence". This may indicate that they both knew only six temptations were allowed at this time, similarly Satan was constrained in the attacks on Job. Also, presumably Jesus was not in control of the temptations. 

Also, in Luke Jesus never tells Satan to leave, as it may not have ended in Luke. It follows with:

Luke 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

 Only two of the temptations may have been on earth, the other four would have been in heaven. See if this makes sense to you.

And tempting Jesus to jump seems like a weak finish in Luke. Satan would probably finish on seeking worship.