Study Focus: Exodus 14, Exod. 15:22–27, Exod. 17:1–7, Proverbs 3, Luke 4:1–13, 1 Pet. 1:6–9.
Part I: Overview
Last week, we studied various types of crucibles. This week’s lesson focuses more on crucibles of maturity. While it is true that many of our troubles are created by us, God is ultimately the Sovereign of the entire universe and the history of nations, as well as our individual lives. God not only wants us to grow as individuals but also as families, as communities, and as nations. In the context of our fallenness, growth takes on additional dimensions.
Yes, God saves us by His grace. Yes, He justifies us by the substitutional sacrifice of Jesus Christ and by our acceptance of that sacrifice by faith. But God’s grace is not a cheap fix, stopping at the declarative level. His grace is educational and transformative. Life and salvation are not theoretical experiences. We grow only when we actually experience His unconditional love for us, when we commit to loving Him back unreservedly, and to living with Him and permitting Him to live in us. And, as both we and God are involved in a cosmic conflict, we commit to take God’s side and to promote His kingdom in response to His rescuing us from the kingdom of sin and Satan. This way, God becomes the Lord of hosts, the One leading us in this experience, the One leading us to grow, to be transformed.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights two themes.
God leads us through the struggle of this fallen world. While this comforts us, it also gives us strength and confidence in God.
It is only when God leads us through the battles of our life that we grow and are transformed.
Part II: Commentary
“Lead Us Not Into Temptation but Deliver Us From Evil”
In May–June of 2019, Pope Francis sparked a controversy by officially endorsing a change in the Lord’s Prayer. Instead of “lead us not into temptation,” the new Roman Catholic version of the Lord’s Prayer would read “do not let us fall into temptation.” The pope’s main argument was that the translation “lead us not into temptation” is wrong from theological and pastoral points of view, as this phrase identifies God as the tempter instead of Satan. A father, claimed the pope, would not lead his son into temptation but, rather, help the son up when he falls. One may very well relate to this attempt to exculpate God from the status of tempter.
But changing the text of the Lord’s Prayer is not justifiable. Numerous other biblical phrases, much as this one, pose difficulties. The principles of biblical hermeneutics and the history of theology teach us that we must try to understand the text and its message rather than to change the biblical text or its translation to help resolve its mysteries in a way that a certain culture or person feels is more appropriate.
A brief study of Matthew 6:13 and its key concepts in both the immediate and broader biblical contexts will help us better understand this phrase in the prayer. In the New Testament Greek, both Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4 use exactly the same wording to render the phrase “ ‘ “lead us not into temptation” ’ ” (NIV). Thus, the phrase is correctly translated in most versions. Rather than trying to rearrange or reinterpret this verse, we need to understand its meaning. The key verb “lead” in Greek is the active aorist subjunctive form of the verb eispheró, which means “to carry inward,” “to bring in,” “to introduce” (see, e.g., Henry George Lindell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon [Oxford: Clarendon, 1996], p. 497). So, there is no mistake here, no way of reinterpretation: Jesus meant to say “Do not lead us,” not “Do not let us fall.” In Matthew 26:41 (see also Mark 14:38; Luke 22:40, 46), Jesus describes temptation as something one could “enter into” (NKJV) or “fall into” (NIV).
Those who argue in favor of changing the wording of this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer focus on the word temptation, concluding that God cannot tempt us because He cannot be the source of temptation. But the Greek word for “temptation” (peirasmos) has two distinct meanings. The first is “temptation” and is related to allurement or enticement to sin (see, e.g., Matt. 26:41, 1 Tim. 6:9). In this sense, it is true that God is not, and cannot be, leading us into temptation, because He is not the tempter, as James 1:13, 14 clearly establishes. The second meaning of temptation is “experiment,” “trial,” “probation,” or “test.” In Galatians 4:14, Paul’s illness was a trial to the Galatians, and in 1 Peter 4:12, Peter admonishes Christians not to be surprised by the trial or ordeal that befell them.
Perhaps James gives the most explicit explanation of the process of temptation, especially as he uses the two meanings of temptation together in the same passage. He affirms that Christians meet trials with joy and endurance (James 1:2, 12) and must not say that God tempts them, because God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). Rather, each person wanders away from God when enticed or tempted by their own desire (James 1:14). Thus, in the New Testament, temptation means both seduction to sin and probation.
This brief study helps us better understand the phrase “lead us not into temptation.” While God is not the tempter, He does lead us in the struggles that befall us. His leading in these trials helps us exercise our freedom, grow in love and commitment to Him, and grow in our understanding of Him and ourselves in the context of the history of the great controversy. Only when we truly experience trials can we also truly experience freedom and growth. God created us to live and thrive in a perfectly happy world. But He also created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that we could have the opportunity to choose. God did not create the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to entice humanity to sin. Rather, God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to express their freedom and grow in their love and loyalty to Him by obeying His commands. God led the Israelites to the cul-de-sac at the Red Sea, not to allure them to sin but to help them grow in their trust and love for Him in individual and collective spiritual discipline.
But if the hardships of life in the context of the great controversy only help us grow, why does Jesus teach us to ask God not to take us through these trials? This part of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us about at least two important aspects of the Christian life. First, whatever the benefit of suffering, it is not an enjoyable experience, because God did not create us to suffer. Jesus Himself, who came to take upon Himself our suffering and death, prayed in the hour of His utmost distress: “ ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what You will’ ” (Mark 14:36, NKJV; see also Matt. 26:39, Luke 22:42). By including “do not lead us into temptation” in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to feel free to tell our Father how much we want to avoid the trials of life, even if they can, at times, be beneficial. However, He taught us by example that we must always lovingly yield to God’s will and leading, because He knows what is best for us and for the plan of salvation.
Second, “lead us not into temptation” is immediately and purposefully coupled with “but deliver us from evil.” Given that suffering is unavoidable in this world tainted with sin, we want God to lead us through all of our trials; but we do not want to be overcome by the enticement of Satan. Here the Lord’s Prayer proclaims the very essence of the gospel of grace, because it teaches us that, as Christians, we are not saved as superhumans fighting the battles of life and the devil himself. Rather, it is God who delivers us from the evil one. But how are we delivered from Satan? Matthew 4:1 tells us that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (NKJV). Of course, we understand that the Holy Spirit did not lead Jesus into the desert to make Him sin but to reveal Jesus as the Messiah, as the Savior of the world, as the One who overcame where Adam failed, and as the One who overcame evil and Satan (see Matt. 4:1–11, Matt. 12:28, Mark 1:13, John 12:31, John 14:30, Heb. 2:14–18, 1 John 3:8). When facing trials and the enticements of the devil, the Christian is delivered by Christ’s victory over sin and Satan. So, though suffering and trials are not pleasant and desirable, we must go through them for our own benefit. We pray that God leads us, covered in Christ’s victory over Satan.
Thus, the proposal to change the wording of the Lord’s Prayer is not only unjustifiable and unbiblical but also superficial, rendering an impoverished theological and pastoral content. Such revision also is dangerous for another reason: it sets yet another precedent for changing the Word of God because of human and cultural impulse. Changing the wording in question in the Lord’s Prayer will involve changing many other biblical texts and concepts. It is imperative to leave the text as it is and seek to understand it rather than to change it simply because it does not fit a particular theology or practical concern.
Handel’s New Song
By the third decade of the eighteenth century, George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) could consider himself an accomplished composer, having written various genres of music. As he wrote mostly nonreligious music, many in the Church of England viewed him as a secular composer, which led to tensions with the church. However, Handel always thirsted for God and for salvation. In April 1737, he suffered a stroke or some other psychological affliction. Although he recovered, he soon landed in a financial, relational, and spiritual crisis. In conflict with the church, in conflict with many at the court and with other musicians, Handel thought he would collapse. On April 8, 1741, he gave what he thought was his last concert and at the age of 56, retired from public life.
But Handel was looking for a new song! He soon found it. A friend, Charles Jennings, shared with Handel a libretto that focused on the life of Christ, containing three parts: (1) prophecies about the coming of the Messiah; (2) the first coming of the Messiah and His passions; and (3) the future glory of His second coming, the end of sin, and the eternal acclamation of the Messiah. Handel rediscovered the glorious image of Jesus as the Messiah and Savior and decided to dedicate to Him an oratorio. An invitation from Dublin for Handel to compose something for a charity concert served as the catalyst, and, thus, Messiah, the greatest oratorio of all time, was born.
Handel was so absorbed by the writing of his new work that he wrote all three parts on some 260 pages in 24 days. During those days, Handel did not leave his apartment at all, barely touching the food prepared for him. Sometimes, during the composition, he would sob or cry at the great biblical texts he included or at the glory he was seeing in Jesus the Messiah. When the “new song,” Messiah, was presented at the charity concert in Dublin, it collected 400 pounds, which resulted in freeing 142 men from debtor’s prison. But it also freed Handel from the spiritual, and multifaceted, crucible he was in, and it has blessed numerous people around the globe since that time. Handel died on the morning of Good Friday, April 14, 1759, just eight days after having conducted his masterpiece, Messiah, for the last time, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The monument in the Abbey in his honor represents him holding the manuscript of Messiah, part 3, at the place where it reads, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.”
One inspirational source for this amazing story may be found in Patrick Kavanaugh’s Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, revised and expanded (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), pp. 3–7. Perhaps if it were not for the deep crisis that Handel went through, the world never would have enjoyed the greatest oratorio ever known. It was Handel’s humility before God, his search for God’s salvation in the midst of his angst, and his relentless spirit to push forward through adversity that helped him to rise again and sing a new song.
Part III: Life Application
John the Baptist was the faithful servant of God in a unique time in history. He received the privileged call to announce the advent of the Messiah and His mission. John lived an austere lifestyle and conducted his life with utmost spiritual and moral integrity. He accomplished his mission without any hesitation or attempt to take an iota of credit for himself. Yet, when Jesus started His ministry, John was led into a crucible. Yes, John was imprisoned, tried, and executed, but he did not yield to evil. For dedicated students of the Bible, John emerges as a victorious figure, despite death, setting an example for us all. Put yourself in the place of John the Baptist in prison. What thoughts would be going through your mind while you waited for the outcome of the trial? When facing the clear prospect of execution at the hands of the wicked Herod—a situation in which Jesus makes no move to intervene and extricate you—how and what would you feel?
Have you had cul-de-sac experiences in your life, similar to the one experienced by the Israelites at the Red Sea? Share them with your class. What principles and faith strategies can you think of that would help one successfully navigate these types of experiences?
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Key Text: 1 Peter 1:6
Study Focus: Exodus 14, Exod. 15:22–27, Exod. 17:1–7, Proverbs 3, Luke 4:1–13, 1 Pet. 1:6–9.
Part I: Overview
Last week, we studied various types of crucibles. This week’s lesson focuses more on crucibles of maturity. While it is true that many of our troubles are created by us, God is ultimately the Sovereign of the entire universe and the history of nations, as well as our individual lives. God not only wants us to grow as individuals but also as families, as communities, and as nations. In the context of our fallenness, growth takes on additional dimensions.
Yes, God saves us by His grace. Yes, He justifies us by the substitutional sacrifice of Jesus Christ and by our acceptance of that sacrifice by faith. But God’s grace is not a cheap fix, stopping at the declarative level. His grace is educational and transformative. Life and salvation are not theoretical experiences. We grow only when we actually experience His unconditional love for us, when we commit to loving Him back unreservedly, and to living with Him and permitting Him to live in us. And, as both we and God are involved in a cosmic conflict, we commit to take God’s side and to promote His kingdom in response to His rescuing us from the kingdom of sin and Satan. This way, God becomes the Lord of hosts, the One leading us in this experience, the One leading us to grow, to be transformed.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights two themes.
God leads us through the struggle of this fallen world. While this comforts us, it also gives us strength and confidence in God.
It is only when God leads us through the battles of our life that we grow and are transformed.
Part II: Commentary
“Lead Us Not Into Temptation but Deliver Us From Evil”
In May–June of 2019, Pope Francis sparked a controversy by officially endorsing a change in the Lord’s Prayer. Instead of “lead us not into temptation,” the new Roman Catholic version of the Lord’s Prayer would read “do not let us fall into temptation.” The pope’s main argument was that the translation “lead us not into temptation” is wrong from theological and pastoral points of view, as this phrase identifies God as the tempter instead of Satan. A father, claimed the pope, would not lead his son into temptation but, rather, help the son up when he falls. One may very well relate to this attempt to exculpate God from the status of tempter.
But changing the text of the Lord’s Prayer is not justifiable. Numerous other biblical phrases, much as this one, pose difficulties. The principles of biblical hermeneutics and the history of theology teach us that we must try to understand the text and its message rather than to change the biblical text or its translation to help resolve its mysteries in a way that a certain culture or person feels is more appropriate.
A brief study of Matthew 6:13 and its key concepts in both the immediate and broader biblical contexts will help us better understand this phrase in the prayer. In the New Testament Greek, both Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4 use exactly the same wording to render the phrase “ ‘ “lead us not into temptation” ’ ” (NIV). Thus, the phrase is correctly translated in most versions. Rather than trying to rearrange or reinterpret this verse, we need to understand its meaning. The key verb “lead” in Greek is the active aorist subjunctive form of the verb eispheró, which means “to carry inward,” “to bring in,” “to introduce” (see, e.g., Henry George Lindell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon [Oxford: Clarendon, 1996], p. 497). So, there is no mistake here, no way of reinterpretation: Jesus meant to say “Do not lead us,” not “Do not let us fall.” In Matthew 26:41 (see also Mark 14:38; Luke 22:40, 46), Jesus describes temptation as something one could “enter into” (NKJV) or “fall into” (NIV).
Those who argue in favor of changing the wording of this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer focus on the word temptation, concluding that God cannot tempt us because He cannot be the source of temptation. But the Greek word for “temptation” (peirasmos) has two distinct meanings. The first is “temptation” and is related to allurement or enticement to sin (see, e.g., Matt. 26:41, 1 Tim. 6:9). In this sense, it is true that God is not, and cannot be, leading us into temptation, because He is not the tempter, as James 1:13, 14 clearly establishes. The second meaning of temptation is “experiment,” “trial,” “probation,” or “test.” In Galatians 4:14, Paul’s illness was a trial to the Galatians, and in 1 Peter 4:12, Peter admonishes Christians not to be surprised by the trial or ordeal that befell them.
Perhaps James gives the most explicit explanation of the process of temptation, especially as he uses the two meanings of temptation together in the same passage. He affirms that Christians meet trials with joy and endurance (James 1:2, 12) and must not say that God tempts them, because God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). Rather, each person wanders away from God when enticed or tempted by their own desire (James 1:14). Thus, in the New Testament, temptation means both seduction to sin and probation.
This brief study helps us better understand the phrase “lead us not into temptation.” While God is not the tempter, He does lead us in the struggles that befall us. His leading in these trials helps us exercise our freedom, grow in love and commitment to Him, and grow in our understanding of Him and ourselves in the context of the history of the great controversy. Only when we truly experience trials can we also truly experience freedom and growth. God created us to live and thrive in a perfectly happy world. But He also created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that we could have the opportunity to choose. God did not create the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to entice humanity to sin. Rather, God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to express their freedom and grow in their love and loyalty to Him by obeying His commands. God led the Israelites to the cul-de-sac at the Red Sea, not to allure them to sin but to help them grow in their trust and love for Him in individual and collective spiritual discipline.
But if the hardships of life in the context of the great controversy only help us grow, why does Jesus teach us to ask God not to take us through these trials? This part of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us about at least two important aspects of the Christian life. First, whatever the benefit of suffering, it is not an enjoyable experience, because God did not create us to suffer. Jesus Himself, who came to take upon Himself our suffering and death, prayed in the hour of His utmost distress: “ ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what You will’ ” (Mark 14:36, NKJV; see also Matt. 26:39, Luke 22:42). By including “do not lead us into temptation” in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to feel free to tell our Father how much we want to avoid the trials of life, even if they can, at times, be beneficial. However, He taught us by example that we must always lovingly yield to God’s will and leading, because He knows what is best for us and for the plan of salvation.
Second, “lead us not into temptation” is immediately and purposefully coupled with “but deliver us from evil.” Given that suffering is unavoidable in this world tainted with sin, we want God to lead us through all of our trials; but we do not want to be overcome by the enticement of Satan. Here the Lord’s Prayer proclaims the very essence of the gospel of grace, because it teaches us that, as Christians, we are not saved as superhumans fighting the battles of life and the devil himself. Rather, it is God who delivers us from the evil one. But how are we delivered from Satan? Matthew 4:1 tells us that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (NKJV). Of course, we understand that the Holy Spirit did not lead Jesus into the desert to make Him sin but to reveal Jesus as the Messiah, as the Savior of the world, as the One who overcame where Adam failed, and as the One who overcame evil and Satan (see Matt. 4:1–11, Matt. 12:28, Mark 1:13, John 12:31, John 14:30, Heb. 2:14–18, 1 John 3:8). When facing trials and the enticements of the devil, the Christian is delivered by Christ’s victory over sin and Satan. So, though suffering and trials are not pleasant and desirable, we must go through them for our own benefit. We pray that God leads us, covered in Christ’s victory over Satan.
Thus, the proposal to change the wording of the Lord’s Prayer is not only unjustifiable and unbiblical but also superficial, rendering an impoverished theological and pastoral content. Such revision also is dangerous for another reason: it sets yet another precedent for changing the Word of God because of human and cultural impulse. Changing the wording in question in the Lord’s Prayer will involve changing many other biblical texts and concepts. It is imperative to leave the text as it is and seek to understand it rather than to change it simply because it does not fit a particular theology or practical concern.
Handel’s New Song
By the third decade of the eighteenth century, George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) could consider himself an accomplished composer, having written various genres of music. As he wrote mostly nonreligious music, many in the Church of England viewed him as a secular composer, which led to tensions with the church. However, Handel always thirsted for God and for salvation. In April 1737, he suffered a stroke or some other psychological affliction. Although he recovered, he soon landed in a financial, relational, and spiritual crisis. In conflict with the church, in conflict with many at the court and with other musicians, Handel thought he would collapse. On April 8, 1741, he gave what he thought was his last concert and at the age of 56, retired from public life.
But Handel was looking for a new song! He soon found it. A friend, Charles Jennings, shared with Handel a libretto that focused on the life of Christ, containing three parts: (1) prophecies about the coming of the Messiah; (2) the first coming of the Messiah and His passions; and (3) the future glory of His second coming, the end of sin, and the eternal acclamation of the Messiah. Handel rediscovered the glorious image of Jesus as the Messiah and Savior and decided to dedicate to Him an oratorio. An invitation from Dublin for Handel to compose something for a charity concert served as the catalyst, and, thus, Messiah, the greatest oratorio of all time, was born.
Handel was so absorbed by the writing of his new work that he wrote all three parts on some 260 pages in 24 days. During those days, Handel did not leave his apartment at all, barely touching the food prepared for him. Sometimes, during the composition, he would sob or cry at the great biblical texts he included or at the glory he was seeing in Jesus the Messiah. When the “new song,” Messiah, was presented at the charity concert in Dublin, it collected 400 pounds, which resulted in freeing 142 men from debtor’s prison. But it also freed Handel from the spiritual, and multifaceted, crucible he was in, and it has blessed numerous people around the globe since that time. Handel died on the morning of Good Friday, April 14, 1759, just eight days after having conducted his masterpiece, Messiah, for the last time, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The monument in the Abbey in his honor represents him holding the manuscript of Messiah, part 3, at the place where it reads, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.”
One inspirational source for this amazing story may be found in Patrick Kavanaugh’s Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, revised and expanded (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), pp. 3–7. Perhaps if it were not for the deep crisis that Handel went through, the world never would have enjoyed the greatest oratorio ever known. It was Handel’s humility before God, his search for God’s salvation in the midst of his angst, and his relentless spirit to push forward through adversity that helped him to rise again and sing a new song.
Part III: Life Application
John the Baptist was the faithful servant of God in a unique time in history. He received the privileged call to announce the advent of the Messiah and His mission. John lived an austere lifestyle and conducted his life with utmost spiritual and moral integrity. He accomplished his mission without any hesitation or attempt to take an iota of credit for himself. Yet, when Jesus started His ministry, John was led into a crucible. Yes, John was imprisoned, tried, and executed, but he did not yield to evil. For dedicated students of the Bible, John emerges as a victorious figure, despite death, setting an example for us all. Put yourself in the place of John the Baptist in prison. What thoughts would be going through your mind while you waited for the outcome of the trial? When facing the clear prospect of execution at the hands of the wicked Herod—a situation in which Jesus makes no move to intervene and extricate you—how and what would you feel?
Have you had cul-de-sac experiences in your life, similar to the one experienced by the Israelites at the Red Sea? Share them with your class. What principles and faith strategies can you think of that would help one successfully navigate these types of experiences?