And do not lead us into temptation,
Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1: 14, 15)
But deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6: 13; Luke 11: 4 )
This section of the Lord’s model prayer speaks a simple message: Trouble is bad, but sin is worse.
If you get into trouble, if you fall into tribulation, if you are afflicted by the evil one then Jesus says, “It’s O.K. Ask God for deliverance.”
Bad things will happen to you, but don’t panic. God will bring you through.
That’s why John 16:33 ends with Jesus’ reassurance that In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.(John 16: 33)
So, even though you know that evil times are inevitable, you can “Keep calm and carry on.”
That’s why John 16: 33 begins with Jesus explaining that These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
Evil situations are bad, but what should you most isn’t evil; it’s TEMPTATION.
Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1: 14, 15)
So pray: Lord, do not lead us into temptation .
Jesus basically said, “You don’t even want to go there---- at all,” and Jesus knew a thing or two about how being led into temptation.
After He was baptized by John, then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1)
God Himself didn’t personally do the tempting. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God” (James 1: 13); but God did lead Jesus into the place where He would be tempted. Tempted to sin.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4: 15)
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.(James 1: 12)
Jesus did not fall to the temptation. But He felt it.
Jesus experienced temptation, and He experienced suffering at the hands of evil one(s).
Every day of His life down here on Earth, Jesus suffered with the deprivation of Heaven. Jesus was hated, misunderstood, and targeted for attack essentially from the day of His conception. Every day Jesus lived with the heart-wrenching knowledge that He would be betrayed and denied by the men He trusted most and abandoned by all of His best friends. Jesus knew that His Earthly life would be ended by injustice, torture, and execution in the most painful manner devised by the collective intelligence of the most advanced civilization in the Western world.
Of course Jesus didn’t enjoy or want any of that suffering. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He sweated blood from the stress (Luke 22: 44) and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26: 39)
Yet, despite His suffering, Jesus did not teach His disciples to pray for God to let them avoid evil/ the evil one. In comparison, Jesus regarded temptation, the enticement to disobey God, as so bad that His disciples we should ask God to keep them away from it all together.
Being tempted hurt Jesus more than being mistreated.
The whip hurt. The punches, the nail, the spear to His side, they pained Him and/ or left scars. But it was only when the weight of all sin fell on Him that Jesus spoke with despair---- and gave up.
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” … And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (Matthew 27: 46, 50)
For Jesus, sin was worse than suffering.
And so Jesus taught His disciples (then and now) to ask God to deliver us from the evil one; but please, please whatever you do, Lord, do not lead us into temptation.
Which is exactly the opposite of how we actually pray.
Except when we recite the Lord’s Prayer, most Christian prayers sound more like: Deliver us from temptation and do not lead us into evil.
We excuse our continual sin and we relish our temptations.
"Don’t judge me."
"Everyone has a right to..."
"I should be able to choose for myself."
"Blah blah blah blah---- grace."
(Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly NOT!)
I’ve actually heard people pray, “And if I should do anything that displeases you this week, then, Lord forgive me.” (They said this out loud, and they weren’t on any heavy medication at the time.)
We want to yield to every temptation and then get God to deliver us.
But we don’t want to even touch tribulation. We don’t want to endure any suffering. We don’t want to experience any pain. In fact, popular Christianity claims ease and exemption from all unpleasantries as the birthright of every true child of the King.
We want God to keep us away from pain and get us out of sin.
Generally, we Christians are more worried about suffering than about sinning. And that is the opposite of what Jesus taught.
Jesus said: In the world you WILL have tribulation.
In the midst of trouble, Jesus tells us that we can still have peace. We can claim victory and deliverance even while we are being afflicted.
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
Surrounded and affected by a world of suffering we can be of good cheer, because Jesus has already overcome the world and we are always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Corinthians 4: 8-10)
So, though we wish that this cup could pass from us, nevertheless we trust that God will deliver us from evil.
Popular Christianity portrays suffering as avoidable (with enough faith) and sin as inevitable. But that’s not what the Bible says.
Though our flesh longs to yield to temptation, we who have received grace should not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin (Romans 6: 13).
Though there’s a part of us that wants to go there and ask for forgiveness later, we are taught to flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)
I know what everyone says. I know how everyone thinks. As Christians, our goal is to transcend our thinking and come to think like Jesus.
Well, Jesus thought that sin was worse than suffering.
And so, we deliberately and obediently pray:
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
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To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .
You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .
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