for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.
Jesus proved completely pleasing to God in His trials, but Satan was displeasing to Him. Jesus, filled with the Spirit, sided with God, whereas Satan, not filled with the Spirit, opposed Him. [Note: See Sydney H. T. Page, "Satan: God’s Servant," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 50:3 (September 2007):449-65.] Jesus was physically hungry, but He was full of the Spirit. Thus the importance of Spirit control is obvious in this passage as is the importance of familiarity with and fidelity to the Scriptures. Jesus had been fasting (Matthew 4:2; cf. Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9). Evidently Jesus experienced temptation all 40 days, but the three instances Luke recorded happened at the end of that period (cf. Mark 1:13).