All three of the synoptic gospels agree that Jesus experienced a period of temptation; all three give us similar versions of the incident. In addition, Hebrews 4:15 also testifies to Jesus' temptation episode. The author of Hebrews used the temptation narrative to show that Jesus, like us, faced threats to his own fragile humanity.

Luke, however, has a different agenda. Seeking to address both the Jewish and Christian worlds, Luke's explicit reference to Jesus' "40 days" of temptation would surely ring a bell with his Jewish audience. Jesus' 40 days are like Moses' 40 days spent on Mt.Sinai (Exodus 34:28), or Elijah's 40 day journey to Mt.Horeb (Kings 19:4 8), and even the 40-year sojourn of Israel in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2-6). Luke has already tied Jesus genetically to the long h…