<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.\u201d<\/p>\n
This request comes at the close of the Lord\u2019s Prayer, perhaps better called the\u00a0Disciples\u2019 Prayer<\/em>.\u00a0Several English translations render the final phrase \u201cdeliver us from evil\u201d rather than \u201cdeliver us from the evil one.\u201d6<\/sup>The Greek could mean either. While it\u2019s possible that deliverance from evil in general is Jesus\u2019 primary meaning, protection from the author of evil is a suitable request for disciples learning to pray.<\/p>\n \u201cDo not bring us into temptation\u201d does not imply \u201cdon\u2019t bring us to the place of temptation,\u201d or even \u201cdon\u2019t allow us to be tempted.\u201d Jesus already endured temptation at the hands of the evil one after the Holy Spirit drove him into the wilderness following his baptism (Matt. 4:1). It cannot mean \u201cdon\u2019t tempt us,\u201d either, for God does not tempt us with evil (Jas. 1:13).<\/p>\n Rather, as Craig Blomberg points out, these words seem best taken as \u201cdon\u2019t let us succumb to temptation\u201d or \u201cdon\u2019t abandon us to temptation.\u201d\u00a0At times, of course, we\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0give in to temptation, but it\u2019s not God\u2019s fault, for he always provides us with an avenue of escape (1 Cor. 10:13).<\/p>\n This leads naturally to our request that God deliver us from the evil one, from whom all evil ultimately proceeds. The emphasis in this verse is on our human vulnerability and, thus, our utter dependence upon God, who is the only one capable of conquering Satan, sin, and death through Jesus\u2019 finished work on the cross. Only \u201cthe Holy One of God\u201d breaks the curse of the evil one (Mark 1:24).<\/p>\n \u201cWhen anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn\u2019t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesus is explaining the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-9) to his disciples. In this familiar story, the Lord prepares his disciples for opposition to the gospel. Further, he encourages them to persevere in sowing the message of God\u2019s kingdom wherever they go, for a harvest is certain (cf. Matt. 13:24-30; 28:19-20). Clearly, Jesus is the sower, the seed is \u201cthe word about the kingdom\u201d (13:18), and the various types of soil are those who hear the message. By extension, Jesus\u2019 followers are sowers who are to experience a wide range of responses to the gospel.<\/p>\n Jesus describes four different types of soil, depicting four different states of human readiness to receive the message of God\u2019s kingdom. The sower scatters his seed indiscriminately, just as the gospel message goes out to the entire world. Some seeds fall on hard-packed footpaths, where birds snatch them away. Some seeds fall on shallow, rocky soil, where the sun scorches them as soon as they sprout. Some seeds fall on thorny ground, where weeds smother the tender shoots and prevent maturity. Finally, some seeds fall on fertile ground, resulting in varying degrees of fruitfulness.<\/p>\n Jesus ties these four types of soil to four conditions of the human heart. In the first case, he likens the footpath to persons who don\u2019t \u201cunderstand\u201d the word of the kingdom. These are careless hearers. They are not necessarily hostile to the message. In fact, they may recognize the truth in it. But they don\u2019t act. The Greek verb rendered \u201cunderstand\u201d is\u00a0syniemi<\/em>. It means \u201cto put together;\u201d that is, mentally, \u201cto comprehend.\u201d By implication, it means \u201cto act piously: consider, understand, be wise.\u201d<\/p>\n While this type of understanding sometimes is depicted as a gift from God, such as the understanding Jesus\u2019 disciples receive from him (Matt. 16:12; 17:13; Luke 24:45),\u00a0syniemi<\/em>\u00a0also may be used to describe a lack of understanding due to sin or hard-heartedness (Mark 6:52). That\u2019s the meaning in Jesus\u2019 parable.<\/p>\n Hard-heartedness makes hearers of the gospel easy pickings for the evil one. Like a bird swooping down from the sky to pluck seeds on the ground, Satan snatches away what is sown in unbelieving hearts. Jesus clearly has Satan in mind here, for the Gospel writers who record this parable identify him as \u201cthe evil one\u201d (Matt. 13:19), \u201cSatan\u201d (Mark 4:15), and \u201cthe devil\u201d (Luke 8:12).<\/p>\n Jesus graphically describes Satan\u2019s work as \u201csnatching away\u201d the word. The verb\u00a0harpazo<\/em>\u00a0generally connotes a forceful or violent seizing. The word is used of burglary (Matt. 12:29), mob action (John 6:15); animal attacks (John 10:12); and arrests (Acts 23:10). However,\u00a0harpazo<\/em>\u00a0also appears as the forceful proclamation of sound doctrine (Jude 23); Paul\u2019s visit to heaven (2 Cor. 12:2); and the catching up of believers to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17).<\/p>\n In the case of this parable, of course, Jesus has in mind a sudden and violent ripping out of what has been sown \u2013 the saving message of Christ and his kingdom. We should note that Satan\u2019s work runs concurrently with the work of Jesus and his followers. Just as birds don\u2019t wait for the farmer to leave his field before snatching seeds from the footpaths, the evil one descends immediately on hardened hearts to keep them from truly hearing and thus being saved.<\/p>\n Jesus goes on to describe three other types of listeners. And make no mistake: the evil one actively pursues them. The \u201crocky ground\u201d represents those who enthusiastically receive the message. However, because their faith is shallow, they abandon the gospel when \u201cdistress or persecution \u2026 because of the word\u201d confronts them (13:21). In essence, they succumb to Satan\u2019s convincing argument, \u201cYou didn\u2019t sign up for this.\u201d<\/p>\n The thorny soil depicts those who hang on a little longer,\u00a0but eventually \u201cthe worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word\u201d (13:22). Their loyalties are divided, and the devil succeeds in wooing them into legitimate worldly concerns, which morph into various forms of idolatry. \u201cYou have to take care of yourself first,\u201d he whispers. \u201cJust think of all the good you can do if you rise in the ranks of your organization.\u201d \u201cThink of the noble causes you can advance if you pursue those financial opportunities.\u201d \u201cRemember how gifted God made you; you can\u2019t limit what he\u2019s given you to this small rural church.\u201d And on it goes.<\/p>\n Lastly, however, there is great hope. The message of the kingdom takes root in the \u201cgood ground,\u201d\u00a0\u200bthose who hear and understand the word and yield a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what is sown (13:23). The evil one is present here as well. He viciously attacks God\u2019s people, and Jesus has another parable to illustrate that: the parable of the wheat and weeds, which follows immediately (Matt. 13:24-30; 36-43).<\/p>\n Even so, as followers of Jesus invest their spiritual gifts, time, talents, and other resources in the kingdom of God, the Lord of the harvest produces much fruit through them and rewards them for their faithfulness (Matt. 24:45-51; 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27).<\/p>\n Craig Blomberg writes:<\/p>\n This parable provides a sober reminder that even the most enthusiastic outward response to the gospel offers no guarantee that one is a true disciple. Only the tests of time, perseverance under difficult circumstances, the avoidance of the idolatries of wealth and anxiety over earthly concerns, and above all the presence of appropriate fruit (consistent obedience to God\u2019s will) can prove a profession genuine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matthew 6:13 \u201cAnd do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.\u201d This request comes at the close of the Lord\u2019s Prayer, perhaps better called the\u00a0Disciples\u2019 Prayer.\u00a0Several English translations render the final phrase \u201cdeliver us from evil\u201d rather than \u201cdeliver us from the evil one.\u201d6The Greek could mean either. … Continue reading “Once Delivered – Devotion”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-prayers"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194028"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194031,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194028\/revisions\/194031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMatthew 13:19<\/h2>\n