Bruce has been leading us week by week through the Lord’s Prayer and it falls to me to tackle the final phrase in the last in this series: ‘Lead us not into temptation.’ And, of course, when we say the Lord’s Prayer, it comes naturally to add the phrase from the version in Matthew’s Gospel 6:13 – ‘But deliver us from evil’ (or, probably better) ‘from the evil one’ – that is, Satan or the Devil.
‘Lead us not into temptation.’ When you don’t just rattle it off, but start to think about it, this is undoubtedly a difficult idea to grapple with. If we take the word here translated ‘temptation’ to mean enticement to commit an evil action, contrary to God’s commandments; or If we picture someone beckoning us like the serpent in the story of the garden of Eden, and saying: ‘I know it goes against the commandments, but do it anyway’; Or ‘Look, that person is really attractive, surely it won’t do any harm to commit adultery just this once.’ Then, of course, we are in serious difficulties with this phrase. Is it God who is leading us into such temptations, and we have to pray that he won’t? That sounds not only entirely unlikely but entirely false. God surely does not ‘entice’ or ‘beckon’ or ‘invite’ us to commit sin. This cannot be the meaning of ‘Lead us not into temptation’.
And we have good scriptural evidence that God doesn’t do it. Look at the letter of James chapter 1 verses 13 – 15: “When tempted, no-one should say, ‘God is tempting me’. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
That is a very graphic description of what happens to us. It rings true, and it tells us quite specifically that God cannot ever be the initiator of temptation to sin or evil. So the idea that we have to pray that God will not entice us into temptation, sin or evil cannot be right.
But the word used here can have an equally powerful meaning which translates best as ‘test’. Think of a person taking a driving test. It is not the examiner’s specific desire that the person at the wheel should fail. That is not the point of the test. But the examiner will subject him or her to a rigorous examination, a test, to make as absolutely sure as possible that – let loose on the road with control of a car – the person is fit and equipped to drive safely, for his or her own sake, and for the sake of everyone else. It is an essential test. And if the person cannot satisfy the examiner, then they will have to take more lessons and take the test again – and, if necessary, again. It is for their own good, and for the good of everyone they meet.
So, does God ‘test’ us – or allow us to be tested – in order for us to mature and become competent to handle the life he has given us? Let’s go back in Luke’s Gospel to chapter 4 and the temptations of Jesus. We read in verses 1 & 2: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit (that’s God Holy Spirit) into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” In Mark’s Gospel (1: 12,13) it is even stronger: “At once the Spirit drove him (or sent him) into the desert for forty days, being tempted by Satan.” God knew very well that, after his baptism, it was essential that Jesus faced the reality of the ministry to which he was committing himself, considered the various options open to him, and made the right and irrevocable choice as to how he would fulfil his ministry. And that meant allowing Satan to offer him various false options, so that Jesus might see their flaws and deceits, and settle once for all on the right path.
Now, if we follow this through in the New Testament to the letter to the Hebrews, we find in chapters 2 and 12 that God subjected Jesus to testing, and because Jesus was fully human as we are, we are brothers and sisters to Jesus in being subject to a father’s discipline. So - Hebrews 12 – quoting Proverbs 3: ‘We must not lose heart when God rebukes you, “Because the Lord disciplines those he loves and punishes everyone he accepts as a son” therefore “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you like sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” (See Hebrews 12: 5 – 13 and chapter 2: 10 – 18).
So we are encouraged in the New Testament to regard God’s testing as a privilege. We are being treated as his beloved children, (and as brothers and sisters of Jesus) and it is imperative that we mature and grow in character. In Romans chapter 5: 3 – 5, Paul puts it like this: “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope...”
Now, if being tested and facing down temptation is so necessary, and indeed a privilege, we have now to ask why Jesus teaches us to pray ‘Lead us not into temptation (or testing)’. If this testing is good and necessary, why pray against it?
My answer to that lies in the fact that each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer is very condensed and needs to be thoroughly unpacked and expanded, as indeed we have been discovering over five weeks of sermons. Testing, suffering and temptation come at many levels and at many degrees of intensity. I don’t think we are here in the realm of all the various difficulties we face more or less every day, and which test our character and perseverance. We all have our ups and downs, our successes and failures, our worries, temptations, illnesses and frailties. As the hymn says, we take them to the Lord in prayer, and press on with life as best we can.
But there are certain things which make us deeply afraid – death, loss of a loved one, falling into Satan’s grip, and – perhaps worst of all – losing our relationship with God which must lead to despair, the end of all hope, and the death of the soul. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus faced all of those, and himself faced the very depths of human experience and existence. And in one translation of the Lord’s prayer, ‘Lead us not into temptation’ is rendered ‘Do not bring us to the time of trial’ which has an implicit reference to the final day of judgment.
So when we pray “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” I think that it is the realm of all-encompassing darkness, dread and death that Jesus has in mind. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples this prayer while he is on his way to Jerusalem for the last and fatal time, knowing very well what is in store, and the horrors he must face. In Matthew’s Gospel they are going to culminate in the terrible cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” I believe that may be the true context.
We pray, then, in the Lord’s Prayer that God will not bring us into such deep, dark and overwhelming waters of eternal trial and death. That is why this last phrase in the Lord’s Prayer is coupled today with the famous passage in Ephesians chapter 6. It enables us to end this series, not leaving us in fear of death and ultimate despair, but on a strong note of power over the evil one. “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.....so that, when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Buckle on the belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness; the shoes that carry the gospel of peace; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; keep alert and pray constantly in the spirit. The Christian life is not easy. It was not easy for Jesus. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. But if we are strong in the Lord, then we shall stand indeed and conquer in the power of his might. And you and I will win through to the crown of glory which God has promised to us on the last day.
Discussion
1.Looking back over the series on the Lord’s Prayer, what are the points that have struck you most strongly? Are there specific lessons you feel you have learned and can share?
2.The phrase ‘Lead us not into temptation’ trips easily off the tongue. Do you find this sermon helpful in understanding what it means? In what way(s)?
3.As time allows, look at the various Bible passages referred to above in their biblical context, and work through them. They are powerful. What particular points strike you most? What can you learn?
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