Lead Us Not into Temptation, But Deliver Us from Evil

There’s a bumper sticker that states: “I can resist anything but temptation.” So true. For it wouldn’t BE temptation if it was easy to resist. Temptation is wanting to do something bad, because it would feel so good. Temptation is wanting something good that is not good for us or for the world. No wonder temptation is so hard to resist.

Temptation is hard to resist when you want to do something good for the wrong reasons, like running for public office because it will give one power in the community. Temptation is hard to resist when you want to do something good at the wrong time, like taking on organizing the food drive when your plate is already full.

Temptation is hard to resist when we want to do something good that distracts us from the will of God for us, like cleaning the house when the Holy Spirit has said, “Sit with your neighbor, she’s feeling lonely today.”

Temptation is hard to resist when we want to do something good that is beyond what we need, like running out for Forbush’s ice cream for the third day in a row.

The evil one can use the obvious evils of lying or stealing or pornography to send us down the wrong road. But, for me, those are too easy to say “No” to. I don’t even have to think about the answer to those temptations from the evil one. To tempt me, the evil one has to take a different tact and say, “Can I distract her from doing God’s will? Can I get her to do the right thing for the wrong reason or at the wrong time? Let’s see if she will buy this good thing (that she doesn’t need), again.” The evil one knows that, for some, it is often the good thing that can tempt us most cruelly.

So when we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” we need to remember that sometimes it is a good thing we are asking God to deliver us from, not just something bad.

So when we pray “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we are praying for discernment. Sometimes we have before us, what looks like two, or three or even four, good things, good choices. And we don’t know which is the right one for that moment. Only God does. But you and I have to make the choice. We have to make the decision. Which good thing should we do? “Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil!” We must decide. God has given us a wonderful, dangerous gift, the gift of choice; the gift of free will. So we make the best decisions we can, with this prayer on our lips: “Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” And then we decide, as best we can, between the choices before us. And we find that we need the Lord’s prayer again. Before we made the decision, we prayed the Lord’s prayer for discernment. Now we pray, “Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” because we are at God’s mercy, “We are trusting you, O God, to lead us and deliver us.”

When travelers take long camel trips into the deserts of the Middle East, they must have a guide. The guide knows how to reach the destination. Without that information the traveling party will die. From experience Ken Bailey knows that selecting the right guide must be done with great care. The party must trust the guide and have full confidence that he knows exactly where he is going and will not play Russian roulette with their lives. They must feel that the guide is capable of coping with any emergency that might arise on the journey.

Uncle Zaki was such a guide. He was a self-confident, humble man with enormous personal dignity. He never walked in the desert but flowed over sand and rock like a ship moving gently through calm seas. His gait was akin to a slow run - beautiful to observe. As Ken and his group would leave the village on the edge of the Nile and head out into the almost trackless Sahara, each member of the group, in turn, felt the inner pressure to say, “Uncle Zaki, don’t get us lost!” What they meant by that statement was, “We have chosen you, because we don’t know the way to where we are going, and if you get us lost we will all die. We have placed our total trust in your leadership.”

They were not saying to Uncle Zaki, “We don’t think we can trust you, and are nervous lest you get us lost. Please don’t do so.” If that had been their view they would never have followed him out of the village. The phrase, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” expresses the confidence of an earthly pilgrim traveling with a divine guide. The journey requires the pilgrims to affirm daily, “Lord, we trust you to guide us, because you alone know the way that we must go.” (edited from Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Kenneth E. Bailey, 128-9).

These kinds of struggle with temptation is what is happening between Jesus and his disciples and the crowd. First, Jesus wants a good thing - a little private time after hearing about the death of John the Baptist. He just wants to get away with his closest companions and grieve, or reflect on what to do next. You see, King Herod held a banquet for hundreds of guests - a banquet of death - beheading John the Baptist at the request of a dancing girl. Jesus wants to go away to a deserted place; have some quiet time; grieve. He and his disciples get into a boat and head for a place they know. They find the spot, but it is not quiet. Instead, Jesus finds himself before a crowd of thousands. Yes, grieving is a good thing, but God has something different in mind. God is going to answer King Herod by holding a different banquet - a banquet of life. So Jesus takes five loaves and two fish (a pittance compared to what Herod served to his guests) and feeds over 5000 people with them. Jesus shows the people what God can do. And you can be sure that the people will talk about these two banquets for years. We, too, can be tempted to want a good thing for ourselves when God wants to do, through us, a good thing to counter evil in the world.

The disciples’ interaction with Jesus illustrate for us what Ken Bailey was talking about - trusting in our guide when we face temptation and trials. The disciples can see the mass of people - over 5000 men, women, and children. They can see that the hour is getting late and that they and the crowd are a long way from the town - with no Taco Bell in sight. They think they are right, that it is a good thing to suggest to Jesus to send the crowd away. But Jesus turns and says to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” (Mt 14:16) Can you see their faces fall? The sweat break out as they consider the impossible task? The look of despair in their eyes trying to comprehend the command of their Lord? The situation before them is hopeless: there are over 5000 people out there and they have nothing but five loaves and two fish.

You and I know this fear, this despair, and this hopelessness. How does one consider giving 10% of your income to the church when your food bill just doubled? How do we build up a church with less than a dozen under the age of 18 and more than 4 dozen over the age of 50? How can we expect people to serve as elder when they are already overwhelmed with their lives? Things are impossible, hopeless, despairing. The disciples look over the crowd and their faces fall as they contemplate following Jesus’ command, “You give them something to eat.” And then the disciples decide to put their trust in Jesus. They hand Jesus five loaves and two fish, saying, “This is all we have. Do with it what you can, Lord. Lead us not into the temptations of despair, hopelessness, and impossibilities, but deliver us from these evils.” And Jesus prays a blessing over the meager fare, breaks the bread and gives the loaves and fish back to the disciples to give to the people. “All ate and were filled.” (Mt 14:20) Jesus fed over 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. And we doubt that God will supply our own needs with what is left over after giving to the church? We doubt that God can build a church with a faithful few? We doubt that God’s call is stronger than the world’s demand on our time and energy? “Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Is Jesus with us or not? Is the Holy Spirit in this place or not? Daily, we are tempted to give up on God. Daily we are tempted to believe that the powers in this world will prevail. Just look at Jacob. He is scared to death. He is about to meet his brother Esau, after 15 years of separation. The last time Jacob saw Esau, Esau was furious with him because Jacob had tricked Esau of his birthright and had stolen Esau’s blessing from their father. Now, Jacob is coming home, accompanied by his household and flocks. And Esau is coming to meet Jacob with a company of 400 men. Jacob will surely die and his household with him. Jacob prays to God for deliverance from despair and sure death: “God deliver us from evil.”

Then he sends his household ahead of him and spends the night at the river Jabbok. And a man wrestles with him until daybreak. Jacob has been wrestling with his conscience for quite some time. Now he is wrestling for his life. And Jacob prevails. Jacob has striven with God and with humans, and he has prevailed. (Ge 32:28) Jacob has seen the face of God and lived. (Ge 32:30) Jacob has prevailed over his despair; he has prevailed over sure death. And the next morning when he sees Esau, he is able to do what he could not imagine himself doing the day before. He goes out ahead of his household, to meet Esau and his company of 400 men. Jacob does not succumb to the temptation of despair, of hopelessness. God has delivered Jacob from certain death - for no one sees God and lives. So Jacob stands before his brother, ready for whatever may come. And Esau sees him and runs to meet him, embracing him and kissing him and weeping. (Ge 33:4)

“Lord, lead US not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Lead us, by your fierce love, on the way you would have us go. Lead us, by your grace, through the trials set before us. Lead us, O Lord, and deliver us from evil - the evil we have done, the evil done to us, and the work of the evil one in the world. For the glory of God. Amen.