LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
Jesus taught His disciples to pray that the Lord would not lead them into temptation, but deliver them from evil (Matt. 6:13). Yet, the Spirit “led” Christ into the wilderness “where He was tempted.” How can this seeming contradiction be explained? Perhaps by understanding the two ways the word “temptation” might be understood in Scripture. First, from the human point of view, a trip through the wilderness is a temptation to sin, to lose faith. But from the second point of view, which is the Lord’s, the wilderness experience is a test— a test of one’s faith. Remember, the Lord does not tempt, nor is He tempted, but He does bless those who “patiently endure” temptation (James 1:12-15). So, we might understand the Lord’s Prayer like this, “Lead us not into temptation, but if You do, please help us endure it and overcome it by delivering us from evil.”