Luke 4:1
Yeshua, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
Luke 4:2
for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.
The Midrash Rabbah says,
“AND HE WAS THERE WITH THE LORD FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS (XXXIV, 28). Is it then possible for any man to be forty days without food or drink? …When Moses ascended on high, where there is no eating or drinking, he emulated the heavenly example…For whereas the entire world and the fullness thereof were created in six days, the Torah was given at the end of forty days.’ HE DID NEITHER EAT BREAD, eating only the bread of the Torah: NOR DRINK WATER. drinking only of the water of the Torah. He learnt [fresh] Torah by day and revised it by himself at night. Why did he do thus? In order to teach …Another explanation of AND HE WAS THERE WITH THE LORD. HE DID NEITHER EAT BREAD, NOR DRINK WATER, that is, in this world; but in the World to Come he will eat of the bread of the Torah and drink of its waters. For this reason HE DID NEITHER EAT BREAD, etc. Whence did he derive his nourishment?- From the lustre of God’s presence. Lest this seem surprising, then remember that the Chayyot who bear the Divine Throne are also nourished from the splendor of the Shechinah.”
Exodus Rabbah 47:5, Soncino Press Edition
