Well, it's obviously a retelling of Elijah's forty-day sojourn in the wilderness (1 Kings 19), including the angels who minister to him.Was "And he is in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan" intended primarily or at least secondarily to be an editorial comment? In other words, a summary of the rest of the Gospel narrative?
But I've also heard it suggested that the brief episode informs us of Jesus' ministry, to combat and overcome Satan. This is explained further during the Beelzebul discourse.