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The Concerns of Jesus, Part 11

Copyright © 2005, Roy F. Osborne. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Jesus was always so clear and simple in His teaching that it is easy to discern what His real concerns were. All one has to do is carefully note what He is saying, especially in His prayers. In this prayer, which He is giving to us as a model to follow when we pray, He teaches us how to relate to the Father...to our basic needs as humans in this physical existence... and how to deal with the evil forces which surround us. Thus He covers every facet of our lives in a very direct and succinct way.

"Lead us not into temptation", is surprising when we first read it, for every Bible student knows that God tempts no one. Someone has said the word for tempt should be translated "test". However, God does test us, and tells us that testing is to strengthen us. Therefore, Jesus is surely not praying for God not to test us. So what is the essence of this part of Jesus' prayer?

Let us look at our natural tendencies as human beings. We progress from the negative "terrible twos", through the "look at me" sixes, the headstrong eights, to rebellious teenagers. We want to be our own boss...run our own ship...make our own decisions. As we have noted before, this was the problem in the Garden, and it has been the bane of mankind ever since. 

Because this is a built-in part of our nature, we need help to overcome it, and to live a disciplined and meaningful life. When one becomes a Christian, he is promised that God's Spirit will indwell him, and enable him to defeat the self-will which threatens all of us, if he will let It. As a human, I am drawn to many things which are destructive and damning to the soul. The devil is very active.

When Jesus prayed, "lead us not into temptation", He was not implying that God might lead us into temptation. Instead He is praying that God will override our human will, and lead us away from the direction we would go without His intervention. In other words, "Father, lead us, so that we do not go into the dangerous areas of temptation. Override the power of the evil one, and help us to defeat him." As a child, walking with his father on dangerous ground says, "Daddy, hold my hand", Jesus is saying, as we walk in this world of temptation pitfalls, "Father, hold our hand, and lead us so that we not fall into temptation's power". 

However, just as the prayer for forgiveness must be accompanied by a recognition of my sinful nature, and my need for forgiveness, so the prayer for God's overriding leadership must be accompanied by a realization of my human weakness and my need for guidance from above. Only when I genuinely believe this can I truly surrender to His Spirit within, for He will not guide me against my will. It is my choice.

Whether you believe the Devil is personally attacking you or not, we live in a world of evil. Our surroundings are designed to appeal to the human animal's lust and ego centered desires. The temptation to forsake the spiritual road, and embark on the path of physical pleasure and ego satisfaction is at every crossroads. We are weak human beings, even the most pious of us, and we need constant guidance from a power, greater than ourselves, to be led "not into temptation", but on the path of righteousness and truth. This was Jesus' concern.
 
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