We sometimes miss part of the significance of this verse because some of the wording is different from Mark and Luke. Notice carefully that Jesus was LED INTO the wilderness TO BE TEMPTED by the devil. Jesus' temptations were no accident. Clearly, the evil one wanted to derail Jesus' ministry before it began. But Jesus defeating the devil in his temptations was part of God's plan just as Jesus' crucifixion was part of God's plan (Acts 2:23). In both situations — Jesus' temptations and his crucifixion — the evil one was involved, and in both, even the devil was beaten.
Jesus was tempted like we are so that we can be assured that God knows what it is like to be tempted. Yes, God knows all things. Nevertheless, for our sake, he chose to experience things in Jesus so that we can be sure he knows what it is like to be hungry, alone, abandoned, betrayed, tempted, belittled, mocked, ridiculed, denied, treated unfairly, and even murdered. We know that God not only knows, but that he also felt, what it was like to be in our world and face these horrors. Thus, we can go to him knowing we will receive grace, help, and a sympathetic ear in our times of trouble (Hebrews 2:14-18; Hebrews 4:14-16).