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DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
In the name + of Jesus.
There is a translation question with this
final petition. Some have translated it,
“Deliver us from evil,” and others have it, “Deliver us from the Evil
One” (Matthew 6:13). Either translation
is valid. If your Bible has one
translation, there is likely a footnote to offer the other. Either we are praying to be delivered from
the devil, or we are praying to be delivered from all the evils that are caused
by the devil. No matter which one you
pick, your concerns are valid, and your prayers are proper.
If you surveyed people and asked them what
kind of evils they want to be delivered from, you would probably get similar
answers whether they are Christians or not.
What is on your list? Do you want
to be delivered from fear? There is
plenty that strikes fear in our hearts.
Some fears come from headlines or from phone calls. Other fears are fabricated as we fret over
things that have not happened and are unlikely to happen. But we would like to be delivered from all fears. Do you want to be delivered from poor health,
aches, and pains? That’s understandable. No one likes to feel lousy. We could go on, of course.
Almost everything we want to be delivered
from comes because we are living in a world that has been corrupted by
sin. The world is broken as evidenced by
sickness, disease, war, crime, poverty, debt, pain, loss, and death. Politicians promise to address these
things. They mean well, but they cannot
fix what sin has corrupted. Doctors
write prescriptions to fix these things.
But doctors are not miracle workers.
Sometimes what is broken is beyond repair. Job’s assessment of life may sound
pessimistic, but he is right: “Man born of woman has a few short days, and
they are full of anxiety” (Job 14:1). We
live in a broken world. Bad things
happen. That is why we pray, “Deliver
us from evil.” Your concerns are valid,
and your prayers are proper.
When the devil came into the world, he
brought the curse of sin upon it and all the people in it. When Jesus came into the world, he came to deliver
us from every evil in it and from the Evil One who caused it. “This is why the Son of God appeared: to
destroy the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8). Jesus began to reverse the brokenness of this
world through the miracles he did. Isaiah
had foretold this work: “The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears
of the deaf will be unplugged. The
crippled will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy”
(Isaiah 35:5,6). What Isaiah
foretold, Jesus did. Through his miracles,
we get a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.
In the kingdom of heaven, there are no blind, deaf, mute, or lame. There will be no need for walkers, hearing
aids, corrective lenses, or speech therapists.
When we finally enter the kingdom of heavenly glory, there will be no
evils.
This is what people pray for and long
for. But these are not the greatest
evils we face. No one is banned from heaven
because he needs a wheelchair. No one is
forbidden because the doctor reported bad test results. There is no car accident, no infection, no disfigured
body, and no epidemic that will keep anyone out of the kingdom of heaven. Even if such things send people to an early
grave, they do not condemn. You can pray
that the Lord will deliver you and defend you so that you will never experience
such evils. Your concerns are valid, and
your prayers are proper. But understand that
the hardships and frustrations of life are not your chief problem. Even if you are delivered from these evils,
you still have not been delivered from the Evil One.
One time when Jesus was preaching in a
house, some people tried to see him.
They were carrying a man on a mat because he was paralyzed. But there was no chance to get to Jesus
because the house was packed. So, they
carried him up to the roof top. Roofs in
Palestine were flat with a parapet around them.
They could be used as a spare room or as a workspace. These people carried their friend up there
and began to remove the tiles from the roof.
Once the hole was big enough, they lowered him on his mat right down in
front of Jesus. It was no secret what they
hoped Jesus would do for the paralyzed man.
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to
the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’” (Mark 2:5). I have to believe that some were there
thinking, “What is he doing? Isn’t it obvious
that this man was brought to have his legs restored? How is the forgiveness of sins going to help
him?” That is what many people would
like to have from Jesus—relief from physical problems. People want to be delivered from the evils of
failing health, threat of war, school shootings, acne, and poison ivy. If we have that, we believe, then we have
been delivered from all the evils that concern us. Then we have enough.
The man who was brought to Jesus obviously
wanted to have strength restored to his legs.
He wanted to be able to serve his family. He wanted to be free from being dependent on
his friends or on charity for all his needs.
It was a valid concern. Calling
upon Jesus to heal him was a proper prayer.
But this man’s paralysis was not going to keep him out of the kingdom of
heaven. Sin does that. Sin brings divine judgment, wrath, and
death. Sin comes with a curse and results
in eternal punishment. And sin marks us
all. Whether life is easy or stressful,
whether you enjoy robust health or endure chronic illness, whether you are
financially stable or struggle to pay the bills, you are a sinner. There is no salvation for those who die in
their sins. And that is why Jesus told
this man, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). Jesus addressed the great evil that afflicted
him. In mercy, he delivered him from
perdition. In love, he also delivered
him from paralysis.
Do not underestimate the significance of your
prayers. Our Lord spares our country and
community from many dangers when we call upon him to deliver us from evil. We don’t know the evils that our Father in
heaven delivers us from. We only know
the evils that still happen. That makes
us wonder if our prayers do any good. It
is also why the godless mock us for our prayers. Just last week, a former student opened fire
on the children and teachers at a Roman Catholic school in Minneapolis. Unbelievers spout off, “What good are your
prayers? Those children were actually
praying when this happened to them!” (The
mayor of Minneapolis said as much.) But
this is what the Lord says: “The prayer of a righteous person is able to do
much because it is effective” (James 5:16).
He was not lying when he said this to you.
We pray “Deliver us from evil”
because we want to be safe from the Evil One and all the evils he
produces. The evils produce fears in us. COVID had many fearing for their lives. A school shooting has every parent fearing
for their children. Your concerns are
valid, and your prayers are proper. Your
fears give you every reason to pray. But
fears also distort our focus. Our focus
shifts from the heavenly goal to maintaining earthly peace and security. Rather than listen to our Lord and his promises,
we listen to people who promise that their ideas will produce peace and
security for us here and now. But Jesus issued
this warning: “Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the
soul. Rather, fear the one who is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Jesus is telling you not to fear the Evil One
or any evils that may bring harm or death.
The devil may want people to go to hell, but he cannot send anyone
there. War, crime, and disease may bring
death, but they do not damn. The only one
who can damn or send anyone to hell is the Son of God. All judgment has been entrusted to him; so,
fear him.
But don’t just fear him. Flee to him!
For, this very same Son of God came so that we will not be destroyed
both soul and body in hell. Our fear is
not that we would die, but that we would die apart from the Son of God because
the one who could destroy both soul and body in hell has come to rescue us from
that judgment. The Son of God became a body-and-soul
man to redeem your body and soul from sin, death, and hell. In order to deliver you from the grasp of the
Evil One, Jesus substituted himself for you.
The judgment and punishment that we should have received was taken by Jesus. Jesus died the cursed death for you—totally
forsaken and utterly rejected by his Father for the sins he was bearing. Jesus’ death was an evil death—not because he
was falsely charged by the priests, not because he was unjustly sentenced by
Pontius Pilate, not because he was treated violently by Roman soldiers, and not
because he was stripped of all dignity as he hung from the cross. Jesus’ death was an evil death because he
died under God’s curse. Jesus did this
to deliver you from an evil death and to grant you a blessed death.
A blessed death is not that you die
peacefully, which would be nice. It is
not that you would be surrounded by your family, which would also be nice. Rather, Jesus taught us to pray that “when
our last hour comes, [our Father would] grant us a blessed end and graciously
take us from this world of sorrow to himself in heaven” (Luther’s Small Catechism:
Lord’s Prayer, 7th Petition).
This is a blessed death because it is died in the faith. Those baptized children in Minneapolis may
have died by a violent, evil, and senseless act, but they died a blessed
death. They were marked by Jesus, and
they went to be with Jesus. The goal of
every Christian is not to die at an old age.
It is not to die a peaceful death.
It is to die a blessed death, that is, to die in the faith. Ultimately, that is our prayer: “Deliver
us from evil.” It is our utmost
concern, and it is a most proper prayer.
It is also where we draw our comfort, no
matter what circumstances we endure. The
Lord Jesus Christ went into death to conquer it for us. The Savior rose body-and-soul from the grave
to assure you that you, too, will rise body-and-soul to dwell in the house of the
Lord forever. Even if you die in an act
of unspeakable evil, Jesus delivers you from the Evil One, from an evil death,
and from every evil that has ever plagued mankind.
If you surveyed what evils people want to be delivered from, you would get similar answers from Christians and non-Christians alike. People long to have good health, good relationships, peace, safety, and the like. While many people wish for all these things, you and I only have the wait for them. We pray, “Deliver us from evil,” and our Father in heaven will. He will grant you a blessed end. He will bring you to the unending joy, goodness, and peace of Paradise. Your concerns are valid. Your prayers are proper. And your Father in heaven hears and answers.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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