“Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”
Our first parents were tempted in paradise; our blessed Savior is tempted in a desert.  The place of temptation is that strip of land east of Jerusalem towards Jericho... the gateway city into the Promised Land.  It is called Damin, “the place of blood,” for this region houses all manner of robbers who attack and steal from passersby.  This is the same place the merchant is robbed and left semi-vivo (half-living) until he is found by the Good Samaritan who brings him back to life.

“After forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.”  It does not say, “He wanted something to eat,” but “He was hungry” to indicate His very great desire to eat.  “And the tempter came.”  The devil does not come after the first day, nor after a week, but he waits and tempts our Lord on the last day of His fast when He would be most vulnerable to demonic influence.  The more we mortify our lower nature, the more we shall experience demonic persuasions.  If we are ruled by our appetites the devil has less to worry about, but if we detach ourselves from earthly delights, so the devil becomes more zealous against us lest he lose us altogether. 

We may also ask, out in this desert, this ‘land of blood,’  “Where did Christ sleep?”  Not a Super 8; no, but His room was the open air, all manner of weather laid upon Him as a blanket, His bed was a hard earth.  “Where did He bathe?”  Forty days is a long time.  He had no modern shower stall, no hot and cold tap, nor five brands of shampoo, but probably only some cold mountain stream, a tributary of the Jordan River where He washed with the aid of gravel.  “What was His appearance?”  He was not ready for a job interview; no preening of self with diligent care.  By these surmises, so we understand the battle is not just over food, but to overcome all sensuality.

But why forty days? 
St. Gregory the Great gives us some answers. ‘Because the perfection of the Decalogue (containing the 10 Commandments) is completed by 4 books and 4 multiplied by 10 equals forty; or, because the mortal body is made up of 4 elements and as the flesh needs tempering, so it is fitting that the body which despises the 10 Commandments of God should be chastised 10 times 4.  Or, St. Gregory continues, the fast is forty days because just as the law obliges us to tithe our goods to God so we are obliged to tithe our days as well in the mortification of our flesh.  From the first Sunday in Lent to Easter is 6 weeks which is 42 days but less the Sundays becomes 36.  As there are 365 days in the year and a tenth of this gives 36 so it is as though we pay a tenth of our year to God in this fast. (Since Gregory’s time, Lent begins now at Ash Wednesday to make-up for those missing days.)  
 
Now why the order in the temptation?
In the Garden, the serpent tempts our first parents by gluttony when he persuades them to eat the forbidden fruit; by vain glory when he says to them, “you shall be like unto gods”; by avarice when he adds, “knowing good and evil”... for avarice, greed, concerns not just money but even an overmuch desire for pride of place.

 St. Gregory says the serpent tempted the first man towards gluttony, vain glory, and pride of place to rob him of his friendship with God; by these same, the serpent is defeated by the second Adam, Christ.

In the desert, our blessed Lord is tempted towards gluttony, “command that these stones be turned into bread”; by vain glory when Satan takes Him to the pinnacle of the temple and says, “If thou be the Son of God cast thyself down...”; by greed of place when he shows Him the kingdoms of the world and says, “all these I will give You...”

And how did our dear Savior overcome?... by turning to the words of divine truth.
As St. Gregory points out when Christ answers the devil He refers to the precepts of the divine word... with mildness.  He says our Savior could have cast the devil into the abyss below, but He did not manifest His Power so that we might have an example.  When we are sorely tried and suffer from evil men, we ought to have recourse to the words of divine truth rather than towards vengeance.

Lastly, recall that it is only after He was baptized that our blessed Savior takes Himself to the desert, practices all manner of mortification, and is finally tempted by the devil before routing him.

If in our fast from things of this earth (radio, TV, chocolate,...) we are tempted it should be no surprise but opportunity.  St. John Chrysostom says, “Whoever is even more tempted after baptism should not be troubled.  It is for this that you have received arms: not to stand at ease, but to fight.  God will not then keep temptation away from you, and this He does for many reasons. First, that you may learn that you are now stronger.  Second, that you not become overly exalted by the greatness of His gifts.  Third, that the devil may receive proof that you have fully renounced him.  Fourth, that by this trial you may become stronger.  Fifth, that you may receive an indication of the treasure you have received... for the devil would not so pursue you to tempt you did he not see that you had now come to a higher dignity”... to which we may add, not just a higher dignity, but we have moved further from his grasp.

We have begun our Lent.  At this holy Mass, ask our blessed Lord to firm-up our resolve and  increase our mastery over those desires of the flesh which rule most men today.  For added encouragement, we ought to consider often: as the gospel records, if we fight valiantly, after a few short days, the angels themselves will come and comfort us.