Lead Me Not Into Temptation
More and more often now, we read about disastrous and even dangerous encounters between Jesus and the religious establishment of his day. Today’s reading gives us another such account. Depending on which version you read, our scripture excerpt starts by saying that the Pharisees came and tested or tempted Jesus by asking him to perform a sign. The version I study from says tested but tempted is a much better translation. The Greek word is peirazo which has one of its meanings to be “to try or test one’s faith, virtue, (or) character by enticement to sin.” This is not a tactic that God endorses. James 1:13-15 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown gives birth to death.” Temptation is the tool of Satan, not God.
It was no small temptation they were ‘testing’ Jesus with. It is believed they were asking Jesus to perform a sign like Elijah in 1 Kings 18:30. This is where we read the account of Elijah confronting those who worshiped the false god, Baal. He posted a competition of sorts where the priests of Baal attempted to get their god to light the fire of their offering. After they failed miserably, Elijah had water drenched upon God’s altar three times. “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.” The Pharisees were demanding that Jesus prove himself by a unmistakable (though they would have found some way to deny it) act of the miraculous.
Jesus refuses to play their game. He does not give a spectacular sign to the Pharisees. David Guzik explains, “Jesus refused because His miracles are not done with the intention of convincing hardened unbelievers. Instead, Jesus did miracles to show the power of God in the context of mercy. Those who believe that if people see enough signs they will come to faith presume to know more than Jesus did. He condemned the generation who sought a sign.”
Let us not fall into the temptation of taking the bait. We do not have to attend every argument we are invited to. God does not need our help. The pure and simple truth can and will stand on its own.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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