And lead us not into temptationThis phrase acknowledges human vulnerability to sin and the need for divine guidance. In biblical context, "temptation" refers to trials or tests that can lead to sin.
James 1:13 clarifies that God does not tempt anyone to do evil, suggesting that this plea is for God to guide us away from situations where we might fall. The Israelites' journey in the wilderness (Exodus 16-17) serves as a historical example of God testing His people, highlighting the importance of reliance on God for strength and guidance. The phrase also reflects the human condition post-Fall, where sin entered the world through Adam and Eve's temptation (Genesis 3).
but deliver us from the evil one.
This part of the prayer requests protection from Satan, the "evil one," who is often depicted as the adversary in Scripture (1 Peter 5:8). The term "deliver" implies a rescue or salvation, which is a central theme throughout the Bible, culminating in Jesus Christ's redemptive work on the cross. The phrase echoes the deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 14), symbolizing God's power to save His people from bondage. In the New Testament, Jesus' victory over Satan's temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) serves as a type of His ultimate victory over evil, offering believers assurance of protection and deliverance through faith in Him.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Jesus ChristThe speaker of the Sermon on the Mount, where this verse is found. Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray.
2.
DisciplesThe immediate audience of Jesus' teaching, representing all believers who seek to follow Christ's teachings.
3.
The Evil OneRefers to Satan, the adversary of God and His people, who seeks to lead believers into sin and away from God.
Teaching Points
Understanding TemptationRecognize that temptation itself is not sin, but yielding to it is. Pray for strength to resist and discernment to avoid situations that lead to sin.
God's GuidanceTrust in God's guidance to lead you away from situations where you might be tempted. Seek His wisdom in daily decisions.
Spiritual WarfareAcknowledge the reality of spiritual warfare and the presence of the evil one. Equip yourself with prayer and Scripture to stand firm.
Deliverance and ProtectionRegularly pray for deliverance from evil influences and protection from the schemes of the devil.
Dependence on GodCultivate a heart of dependence on God, recognizing that victory over temptation and evil comes through His power, not our own strength.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Matthew 6:13?
2.How does Matthew 6:13 guide us in resisting daily temptations?
3.What does "deliver us from evil" reveal about God's protective nature?
4.How can we apply "lead us not into temptation" in our prayer life?
5.Which other scriptures emphasize God's deliverance from evil and temptation?
6.How does understanding Matthew 6:13 strengthen our reliance on God's guidance?
7.Why does Matthew 6:13 include "deliver us from the evil one" in the Lord's Prayer?
8.How does Matthew 6:13 relate to the concept of spiritual warfare?
9.What is the significance of "lead us not into temptation" in Matthew 6:13?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Matthew 6?
11.Is the Kingdom, Power, and Glory Thine forever?
12.What does "deliver us from evil" mean?
13.What does 'deliver us from evil' mean?
14.What is the meaning of the Lord's Prayer?What Does Matthew 6:13 Mean
And- The prayer doesn’t start over here—it keeps flowing. “And” reminds us that every request in the Lord’s Prayer is part of a single conversation with our Father (Matthew 6:9-12).
- We ask for daily bread, forgiveness, and now protection; none of these stands alone (Philippians 4:6-7).
- The simple connective urges us to keep talking to God about every need, big or small (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
lead us- We are asking God to guide every step, confident He “leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).
- His leading is personal: “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
- By inviting His leadership, we admit our dependence and reject self-reliance (Proverbs 3:5-6).
- Practical picture:
• Decisions we face today
• Relationships that influence us
• Opportunities that look harmless but carry hidden danger (Psalm 25:4-5)
not into temptation- We ask to be steered away from situations that lure us to sin. God never entices anyone to do evil (James 1:13), yet He may permit testing that refines faith (1 Peter 1:6-7).
- The plea is for the fork in the road to tilt toward obedience. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man…He will also provide an escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
- Real-life application:
• Choosing wholesome media over corrupting content
• Walking past the gossip circle instead of joining in
• Closing the laptop when purity is threatened (Job 31:1)
but deliver us- A rescue request: “I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).
- Deliverance is both immediate (help in the moment) and ultimate (eternal security,2 Timothy 4:18).
- God’s pattern:
• He rescued Israel from Egypt (Exodus 14:29-30).
• He saved Daniel from lions (Daniel 6:22).
• He pulls believers from sin’s pit today (Colossians 1:13).
- We lean on His promise: “Because he loves Me, I will rescue him” (Psalm 91:14).
from the evil one- The threat is personal. Scripture identifies “your adversary the devil” (1 Peter 5:8) who schemes against us (Ephesians 6:11-12).
- Jesus prayed the same protection for His disciples: “Keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15).
- Our defenses:
• The armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-17).
• The blood of Christ that already overcame Satan (Revelation 12:11).
• The indwelling Spirit greater than the enemy (1 John 4:4).
- The petition recognizes spiritual warfare yet rests in the Victor: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).
summaryMatthew 6:13 teaches us to rely daily on God’s leadership, to ask for detours around moral snares, and to trust His active rescue from the devil’s attacks. The verse invites us to walk in humble dependence, confident that our Father guides, shields, and triumphs for every child who calls on Him.
(13)
Lead us not into temptation.--The Greek word includes the two thoughts which are represented in English by "trials,"
i.e., sufferings which test or try, and "temptations," allurements on the side of pleasure which tend to lead us into evil. Of these the former is the dominant meaning in the language of the New Testament, and is that of which we must think here. (Comp.
Matthew 26:41.) We are taught not to think of the temptation in which lust meets opportunity as that into which God leads us (
James 1:13-14); there is therefore something that shocks us in the thought of asking Him not to lead us into it. But trials of another kind, persecution, spiritual conflicts, agony of body or of spirit, these may come to us as a test or as a discipline. Should we shrink from these? An ideal stoicism, a perfected faith, would say, "No, let us accept them, and leave the issue in our Father's hands." But those who are conscious of their weakness cannot shake off the thought that they might fail in the conflict, and the cry of that conscious weakness is therefore, "Lead us not into such trials," even as our Lord prayed, "If it be possible, let this cup pass away from me" (
Matthew 26:39). And the answer to the prayer may come either directly in actual exemption from the trial, or in "the way to escape" (
1Corinthians 10:13), or in strength to bear it. It is hardly possible to read the prayer without thinking of the recent experience of "temptation" through which our Lord had passed. The memory of that trial in all its terrible aspects was still present with Him, and in His tender love for His disciples He bade them pray that they might not be led into anything so awful.
Deliver us from evil.--The Greek may grammatically be either neuter or masculine, "evil" in the abstract, or the "evil one" as equivalent to the "devil." The whole weight of the usage of New Testament language is in favour of the latter meaning. In our Lord's own teaching we have the "evil one" inMatthew 13:19;Matthew 13:38;John 17:15 (probably); in St. Paul's (Ephesians 6:16;2Thessalonians 3:3), in St. John's (1John 2:13-14;1John 3:12;1John 5:18-19) this is obviously the only possible interpretation.Romans 12:9, and possiblyJohn 17:15, are the only instances of the other. Added to this, there is the thought just adverted to, which leads us to connect our Lord's words with His own experience. The prayer against temptation would not have been complete without reference to the Tempter whose presence was felt in it. We may lawfully pray to be spared the trial. If it comes, there is yet room for the prayer, "Deliver us from the power of him who is our enemy and Thine." . . .
Verse 13. -
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Luke omits the second half.
And lead us not (
καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς);
and bring us not (Revised Version), for
εἰσφέρω thinks rather of the issue (cf.
Luke 5:18, 19: 12:11) than of the personal guidance. This first clause is a prayer against being brought into the fulness and awfulness of temptation (cf.
Matthew 26:41; parallel passage's:
Mark 14:38;
Luke 22:46). As such it cannot, indeed, always be granted, since in exceptional cases this may be part of the permission given to the prince of this world. So it was in our Lord's case (cf.
Matthew 26:41, and context). The words are a cry issuing from a deep sense of our personal weakness against the powers of evil.
Into temptation;
i.e. spiritual. External trials,
e.g. persecution, may be included, but only in so far as they are the occasion of real temptation to the soul.
But. Do not bring us into the full force of temptation, but, instead, rescue us now and at any other time from the attack of the evil one (
vide infra). Thus this clause is more than a merely positive form of the preceding. It is a prayer against even the slightest attacks of the enemy
when they are made. Deliver us (
ῤῦσαι ἡμὰς). The thought is not merely preserve (
σώζειν τηρεῖν) or even guard (
φρουρεῖν, φυλάσσειν) from possible or impending danger, but "
rescue" from it when it confronts us.
From. If we may press the contrast to
Colossians 1:13 (
ἐρύσατο...
ἐκ),
ἀπὸ suggests that the child of God is no longer actually in the power (
1 John 5:19) of the evil one. but has been already delivered thence. The peril is, as it were, something outside him (compare, however, Chase,
loc. cit.)
. Evil. So also the Revised Version margin; but
the evil one (Revised Version). In itself
τοῦ πονηροῦ might, of course, be either neuter or masculine, but in view of
(a)Matthew 13:19,
(b) the many passages in the New Testament where the expression is either certainly or probably masculine;e.g.1 John 2:13, 14;1 John 5:18, 19;John 17:15;2 Thessalonians 3:3;
(c) the many allusions to the masculine reference of this petition shown by Bishop Lightfoot ('Revision,' etc., edit. 1891) and Mr. Chase (lot. cit.) to exist in early Christian literature - there seems little doubt that the Revised Version is right. Chase (loc. cit.) shows that the primary notion of bothπονηρός, and its Hebrew equivalentרע, is not malignity (Trench), but worthless ness, essential badness. For thine is the kingdom, etc. Omitted in the Revised Ver sion on overwhelming authority (e.g.א, B, D, Z, Old Latin, Memphitic, "all Greek commentators on the Lord's Prayer except Chrysostom and hisfollowers," Westcott and Hort, 'App.,q.v.). In the 'Didache,' §§ 8, 9, 10, however, we find our doxology with very little other variation than the omission of "the kingdom," this itself being explained in the two latter sections by the immediately preceding mention of the kingdom. Similar omissions of one or more of the three terms, "kingdom, power, glory," are found in the Old Syriac, an "African" text of the Old Latin, and the Thebaic. "It was probably derived ultimately from1 Chronicles 29:11 (Hebrews), but, it may be, through the medium of some contemporary Jewish usage: the people's response to prayers in the temple is said to have been 'Blessed be the name of the glory of his kingdom for ever and ever'" (Westcott and Hort,loc. cit.). Indeed, it was so usual for doxologies of one kind or another to be added by the Jews to prayers, that, though we cannot for one moment accept the words here as genuine, we must consider it very doubtful in the Lord's Prayer was ever used in Jewish circles without a doxology, or that our Lord, as Man, ever intended it to be so used (cf. further, Taylor, 'Lectures,' p. 64). At all events, the feeling of the Christian Church in using the doxology is fully justified by its contents; for it places us more emphatically than ever in a right relation to God. By our praise to him it induces in us the remembrance that it is to God'skingdom that we belong, having him for King and Source of law; that it is by God'spower that we live on earth and stand freed from Satan's grasp; that it is for the furtherance of God'sglory that all has been done for us, all wrought in us, all these petitions are now made and all our hopes and aims are directed. Hereafter, as Bengel says. the whole prayer will be doxology: "Hallowed be the Name of our God. His kingdom has come; his will is done. He has forgiven us our sins. He has brought our temptation to an end; He has delivered us from the evil one. His is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen."
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
AndΚαὶ(Kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.leadεἰσενέγκῃς(eisenenkēs)Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1533:To lead into, bring in, announce. From eis and phero; to carry inward.usἡμᾶς(hēmas)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1473:I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.notμὴ(mē)Adverb
Strong's 3361:Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.intoεἰς(eis)Preposition
Strong's 1519:A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.temptation,πειρασμόν(peirasmon)Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3986:From peirazo; a putting to proof (of good), experience (of evil), solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication, adversity.butἈλλὰ(Alla)Conjunction
Strong's 235:But, except, however. Neuter plural of allos; properly, other things, i.e. contrariwise.deliverῥῦσαι(rhysai)Verb - Aorist Imperative Middle - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4506:To rescue, deliver (from danger or destruction).usἡμᾶς(hēmas)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1473:I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.fromἀπὸ(apo)Preposition
Strong's 575:From, away from. A primary particle; 'off, ' i.e. Away, in various senses.theτοῦ(tou)Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.evil [one].’πονηροῦ(ponērou)Adjective - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 4190:Evil, bad, wicked, malicious, slothful.
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NT Gospels: Matthew 6:13 Bring us not into temptation but deliver (Matt. Mat Mt) 
