IF GOD DOES NOT TEMPT ANYONE WHY DO WE PRAY “LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION “ - MATTHEW 6:13 – LUKE 11:4
St James declares plainly that God
does not tempt humans, inducing them to do evil instead of good:
“When
tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone;”
(James 1:13)
However when we read the Lord’s Prayer
as it is in the Gospel of Matthew and the simplified version in the Gospel of
Luke, both versions are translated as:
“And
lead us not into temptation”
(Matthew 6:13; Luke 11:4)
HOW
WE EXPLAIN THIS
1 – The word used in Matthew and Luke
for ‘lead’ us is εἰσενέγκῃς from the
verb εἰσφέρω, which
really indicates an action of directing someone or something into a place or
situation. Not just a permissive attitude but an active one.
Some have tried to explain the apparent
discrepancy by saying that to translate ‘lead us’ is not correct, but it is,
following a literal translation of the verse.
2 – The word used for ‘Temptation’ on
the other hand, it is πειρασμόν, from the noun πειρασμός, which implies also testing
or probation.
THE
MEANING
As when Lord Jesus was taken to the
desert by the Holy Spirit to be “tempted” (Matthew 4:1), in the same manner the
Lord’s Prayer reads ‘Lead us not into
temptation’; but what is really saying, is asking God to spare us from
testing considering our weak nature; and if He does test us, to give us the
strength to pass the trial.
The meaning of ‘Temptation’ here is
‘Trial”; not the type of temptation to do evil that comes from our own
sinfulness under demonic instigation.
Omar Flores
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