Why was Jesus' second temptation an appeal to the eye?
Jesus' second temptation appealed to the eye because Satan urged Him to plunge from the pinnacle of the temple, where a vast crowd would witness the miraculous spectacle. That public display would gratify the lust of the eye and pride of life, paralleling Satan's earlier appeal to Eve to look at the fruit.
Les teaches that the second temptation corresponds to the lust of the eye. The temptation involved a miraculous plunge from the pinnacle of the temple, and the vast crowd would have witnessed it. That public spectacle would appeal to the things of the eye, making it a temptation to draw attention through what people see. Les also notes the order is reversed in the temptations: the first was the lust of the flesh because Jesus was hungry; the second was the appeal to the eye; and the third was Satan offering power over all the kingdoms. He ties this to Satan's first appeal to Eve—"Look at the fruit"—which was also appealing to the eye.