“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”
Luke 11:4b
September 27, 2026
Some 2500 years ago, perhaps as early as 700 BC, in order to protect themselves, the feudal states of China began to build protective walls to guard against invaders. When the 1500-year-project was completed, those walls were joined to form the massive Great Wall around China. The wall eventually measured over 13,000 miles long and on average was over 25 feet tall (some sections as tall as 39 feet) and 13-16 feet wide.
The wall seemed to be an impenetrable defense: it was too high to climb, too thick to knock down, and too long to go around. And for many centuries, and during many dynasties, the wall served the people of China well. But it did not protect perfectly, as one historian noted:
“But the Great Wall was not always effective. Genghis Khan and his armies had no trouble invading Chinese territory, for example, nor did various other tribes from the north. In some cases, the invaders may have simply gone around sections of the wall; in others, they found more ingenious methods. The Tanguts, in 1002, were able to cross the wall easily by filling in trenches along its length when they noticed the guards of the Song dynasty weren’t paying attention.”
That incident points to a key weakness in the Great Wall: Defensive fortifications are only as good as the people manning them. This would prove true on more than one occasion during the Great Wall’s history. For example, in 1644, the Ming dynasty was betrayed to invading Manchu forces by a turncoat general who simply let the enemy army in through a gate.
The wall was only as good as the people manning them. There is a spiritual analogy there. God has provided for His followers everything they need for life and godliness (2 Pt. 1:3). But those provisions are only as effective as the people are faithful and obedient to implement what God has provided.
As Jesus concludes His teaching on how to pray in Luke 11, He instructs the Twelve (and us) about the importance of praying about temptation. He does not say to pray that there won’t be temptation (He makes no promise of removing temptation). Martin Luther also reminded us of the reality of temptation when he said, “There are three things [that] make a Christian: prayer, meditation, and temptation.” Temptation will not be removed from us, but, Jesus teaches, there is protection in the temptation…
You will be tempted by sin. Ask God to protect you from failure.
As we consider this petition remember three essential realities about sin and temptation…
- Our Relationship to Temptation
- God’s Relationship to Temptation
- God’s Provision for Temptation
Download the rest of this sermon on Luke 11:4b.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.
