The Lord's Prayer: Aspiration, Part I
Matthew 6.13a
Introduction
The June 6, 2019 edition of USA Today ran this headline – “Our Father: Pope Francis approves changes to words of Lord’s Prayer, reports say.” The article explains,
Instead of saying, "Lead us not into temptation," Catholics will say, "Do not let us fall into temptation." The pope said he thought the English translation of the prayer was not correct. "It is not a good translation because it speaks of a God who induces temptation," he told Italy’s TV2000 channel in 2017. "I am the one who falls. It’s not him pushing me into temptation to then see how I have fallen.
There are a couple of things worth noting from this article. (1) Concerning the headline, the pope, or any person for that matter, has no right to change anything in Scripture. (2) Though that is the headline of the article, that’s not really what the pope is doing. He’s arguing that the English translation of the Lord’s Prayer is inaccurate. So it’s fair to ask, is he right?
This morning we consider the 1st half of the last petition of the most important prayer in the history of the world. No words have been uttered by more human beings in history than the Lord’s Prayer. It is the most important prayer in history because when Jesus Christ, the eternal 2nd person of the holy Trinity who took on flesh and lived in sinless obedience, taught us to pray, this is the prayer he gave us.
The Lord’s Prayer begins with adoration, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. It then moves to submission, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Then petition, give us this day our daily bread, and then confession, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Jesus concludes the prayer with aspiration, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. We will meditation on that 1st phrase this morning, and lead us not into temptation.
There is logic to Jesus’ model prayer. When we spend time in adoration of God it produces submission. Once we’re submitted, we can correctly petition him. As we petition we’re drawn to our greatest need and we confess our sins. After that we can move forward in aspiration until his kingdom fully comes.
The Question
Let’s begin with the question, is the pope correct? Is and lead us not into temptation a bad translation? When you read the USA Today quote it seems Francis has a theological problem with the translation but we must begin with the text itself. The verb we translate lead is the aorist subjunctive of εἰσφέρω, which Louw-Nida defines as, “to cause someone to enter into a particular event or state—‘to cause to, to bring in to, to lead to.’” At least grammatically lead us not is accurate.
So then let’s move to the theological interpretation. What does it mean for our Father to lead us not into temptation? As CS Lewis said, we misunderstand this petition when we develop, “’a fiend-like conception of God’ as one who 1st forbids us certain fruits and then lures us to taste them.” Let’s acknowledge that the pontiff is correct, God does not tempt. James 1.13 says, let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. James uses the same derivative for temptation as Matthew– πειράζω, which can mean, “tempt” or “test.”
In English they are distinct words with distinct meanings. In Greek they are the same word with distinct meanings, depending on context. Similar to the English word cleave, which can mean to separate – cleave a piece of meat, or to make one – a man shall cleave to his wife. The difference between “tempt” or “test” is in intention. When Satan πειράζω, tempts he wants us to fail; when God πειράζω, tests he wants us to succeed.
The Answer
Matthew doesn’t write that Jesus prayed, “and do not tempt us,” if that were the case then Francis would right. No, Jesus prayed and lead us not into temptation. Remember that’s what the verb means, “to cause to, to bring in to, to lead to.” And what we’ve been learning as we move through Jesus’ prayer is that we are following our Father in heaven: we hallow his name, we submit to his kingdom and will, we ask him for bread and we confess our sins to him. What we’re praying as we say and lead us not into temptation is, “Father, as we follow you please keep us from the world, the flesh, and the devil.”
We’re acknowledging that on the sojourn from conversion to glorification there are temptations along the way and we’re aspiring to avoid as many as possible. The prayer isn’t a guarantee that God will say “yes.” Sometimes God allows us to be tested, even if the enemy’s intentions are for us to fail. The prayer to keep us from temptation is, in many ways, a prayer to save us from ourselves. Charles Spurgeon said, “And do not bring us into temptation… [teaches that] I am a sinner in danger of being a still greater sinner.” This petition of the Lord’s Prayer is absolutely imperative, for Jesus never promised us that following him would mean the elimination of temptation. In fact, the opposite is true. When you reject the world, when you crucify yourself, when you denounce the devil and all of his ways, there will be more temptation.
This petition acknowledges that temptation is real. Every Christian faces temptations, trials, and tribulation. It acknowledges that God can spare us but that he also may choose not to. If we had a God that was not able to remove temptations, he wouldn’t be God. And if we only loved him if he did, we don’t trust our Father but command a genie. It acknowledges that we need God’s help and that he wants us to ask him.
How can we do this? Where can we find the strength to pray and lead us not into temptation? I know the persuasion of the world. I know the pull of my flesh. What confidence can I have in this aspiration? The answer is in the Christ who taught us to pray.
The Christ
Immediately preceding Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (where the Lord’s Prayer was given) he experienced the great eschatological temptation. Matthew 4.1 says, then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. We’ll explore the idea of personal evil next week, but the emphasis today is Christ’s victory in our place. Because Satan had successfully tempted humanity, we need a representative that is successful against Satan’s temptation and Jesus was! Jesus is not only recapitulating the testing of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, he is also reversing the curse of Adam. Adam was tempted by the serpent in the garden and failed. Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil in the wilderness and succeeded!
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. That’s the same noun πειράζω, temptation. Adam was tempted with the tree and failed. Israel was tested in the wilderness and failed. You and I have been tempted and failed.
It is because Jesus was victorious in the wilderness that the Father accepted his sacrifice on the tree. Jesus sinless obedience, his active righteousness, his success as the last Adam and the new Israel are what give power to his death on the cross. Because Jesus lived a sinless life he could offer a substitutionary death and the result is a saving resurrection. Jesus was led into temptation by the Spirit of God so that we could pray and lead us not into temptation.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted (πειράζω) as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4.15). And lead us not into temptation has always been considered by the church to be the aspiration of the Lord’s Prayer. This is what we work toward but we will and do fail. But when we do, it’s ok; we just take a step back and pray forgive us our sins. We can keep coming back to Jesus’ aspiration though because he was led into temptation and succeeded. We just sang it; “Christ the sure and steady anchor as the tempest rages on. When temptation claims the battle and it seems the night has won, deeper still then goes the anchor though I justly stand accused. I will hold fast to the anchor it shall never be removed. Christ the sure and steady anchor through the floods of unbelief. Hopeless somehow, oh my soul now, lift your eyes to Calvary. This my ballast of assurance see his love forever proved. I will hold fast to the anchor it shall never be removed.”
Conclusion
Like the title of Dr. Moore’s book, Jesus Christ has been tempted and tried and in him God is well pleased. You can pray and lead us not into temptation because Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into temptation and he did not fail. So if you see the pope, tell him the Lord’s Prayer is just fine.