Investigating the Bible: Fighting evil

These days, evil can be non-partisan. On one side of the political aisle, people say President Trump should be imprisoned for the things he has done or allegedly done. On the other side, some say New York Senator Chuck Schumer should be behind bars for standing on the steps of the Supreme Court and shouting that two justices would “pay the price” and “won’t know what hit you” if they ruled against abortion rights. And then there is evil on which all agree. In 2010, 7-year-old Kyron Horman attended Portland’s Skyline Elementary School Science Fair. There’s a picture of him there, bespectacled and with a big smile. One hour later he left the school and disappeared, never to be hugged by his parents again. In spite of repeated investigations, no one has been arrested and he is still missing. If you pray, pray for his parents and some kind of closure.

Jesus lived in an ancient world full of evil. He died at the hands of evil men. The prayer that he gave his disciples, which we call “The Lord’s Prayer”, begins and ends with a holy battle cry against evil. In that prayer, he gave his disciples two valuable weapons in this struggle.

The weapon of God’s powerful hand. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10, King James Version used throughout). Jesus promised to return. This Son of God, who calmed a raging sea with a word and raised the dead, will wave his hand and dismantle evil from the earth. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth…And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:1,4). Jesus told his disciples to pray for that day and to place their hope in it.

The weapon of trusting in God. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13).

A note on the text: The translators of the King James version also added at the end of the prayer, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” When they published their elegant new translation in 1611, many of the older Greek texts of the New Testament had not yet been discovered. They relied on later Greek versions, many dating to the ninth century. The best manuscripts here date back to the fourth century and these omit the positive ending. Scholars reason that the words were added to give the prayer a more uplifting ending.

So, why would a person ask God to not lead them into temptation? The answer is in asking and answering a reversed question: Why would anyone ask God to lead them into temptation? Because that person has the prideful belief of having enough self-control to defeat it. The prayer to not be walked into a place of temptation is the humble prayer of someone who realizes only God has the power to defeat evil and so they ask for deliverance. The apostle Paul, through whom God performed many miracles, said, “Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10).

The prayer Jesus gave his disciples instructs them to avoid places of temptation. King David wrote, “Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1). Martin Luther established what became the Lutheran Church. He said in the 1500’s: “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

David Carlson Pastor (yes, that is his last name, not his profession) lives in Oregon and is a graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary in Minnesota (M.Div., M.Th.).