why does the gospel of john not record jesus' temptation in the wilderness?
John's Gospel portrays Jesus as the Son of God in His deity, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke portray His humanity. The wilderness temptations had an immediate effect on His human side but no effect on His deity, so John leaves them out.
Les explains that Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because they deal with Christ in His humanity. Matthew depicts Him as the King who would rule on David's throne, Mark depicts Him as the servant, and Luke depicts Him as the Son of Man. John, however, depicts Him as the Son of God in His deity. Because the wilderness temptations had an immediate effect upon the human side of Him, but no effect upon His deity side, John leaves the account out.