Commenting on Matt 6:13, one scholar wrote the following about the meaning of the verse:
3. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
The sixth petition, the third “we” petition, agrees verbatim with Didache 8:2. The parallel (fifth) petition in Luke 11:4 has only the main clause (“And do not lead us into temptation”). The petition can be illustrated by the example of Jesus himself. In the story of Gethsemane, Jesus told his disciples to pray so that they may not enter into temptation (Matt 26:41). Before Jesus began his public ministry, he was tempted by the devil three times, and be overcame those temptation by the power and the word of God (Matt 4:1-11; cf. Luke 4:1-13). The petition for asking God not to be led into temptation implies one’s dependence on God because God alone can provide help in time of temptation. A Jewish prayer that seems to provide the background for the last petition reads, “Bring us not into the power of either sin or of transgression or iniquity or of temptation or shame . . . keep us far from an evil man and an evil companion” (b. Ber. 60a). This Jewish prayer suggests that God is not an active agent behind temptation, but some other evil impulse is behind it (cf. Jas 1:13-16). In Job 1:6-12, God seems to be a permissive force behind temptation. However, God does provide a way of escape from temptation (1 Cor 10:13).
The main issue in the interpretation of this last petition depends on the word πειρασμος, which ordinarily refers to “temptation.” Brown interprets the πειρασμος in the context of an eschatological trial, such as is reflected in the Book of Revelation: “Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you free from the hour of trial (πειρασμου) that is coming on the whole world to test (πειρασαι) the inhabitants of the earth” (Rev 3:10). In the Gethsemane scene, Jesus urges his disciples to pray to that they may not enter into the time of trial (Matt 26:41; cf. Matt 24:1-36). Brown asserts that the last petition is a petition for the trial of the end time and “the Christian community should take this instruction to pray and apply it to the final trial.” But Davies and Allison point out that the sixth petition, and third “we” petition, in Matt 6:13a should be understood in relation to Jesus and the church after him, including the commentary of Matthew, who interpreted their present in terms of the “messianic woes” (Matt 10:34-36; 11:12-13; cf. Rom 8:18; 1 Cor 7:26; Col 1:24; 2 Thess 2:7; Rev 7:9-17). For Jesus and the church, in the view of Davies and Allison, “every individual test or trial would inevitably be conceived as belonging to the eschatological drama.” The petition for divine support in the context of Matthew not only helps the followers of Jesus to resist succumbing to present trials or temptations but also prepares them to face the end-time trials with courage and endurance (cf. Matt 24:9-14).
The second clause of the temptation petition, “but deliver us from evil,” is found only in Matthew (Matt 6:13b; cf. Did. 8:2). It stands in a parallel position to the main clause of the petition and it emphasizes the reality of the power of evil from which deliverance is sought. The phrase του πονηρου is a favorite expression of Matthew. It occurs not only in Matt 6:13b but also in Matt 13:19 and 13:38, where it is associated with the “sons of the evil one” who snatch away the seed (the word of the kingdom) from the hearer’s heart. But the association of “the evil one” with “Satan” is not found in Matthew’s Gospel nor elsewhere in the New Testament. Therefore, there is no hard evidence to identity “the evil one” with “Satan.” It may, however, refer to the “evil inclination” or “evil work,” at attested in 2 Tim 4:18 (“evil work”—εργον πονηρου) and Did. 10:5 (“evil action”—εις το πονηρον. Therefore, the Matthean concluding petition contains not only a prayer for divine help in times of temptation in general but also a plea for divine deliverance from evil impulses in a precarious situation. (J. Samuel Subramanian, “The Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Matthew” in Allan J. McNicol, David B. Peabody, and J. Samuel Subramanian, eds. Resourcing New Testament Studies: Literary, Historical, and Theological Essays in Honor of David L. Dungan [London: T&T Clark, 2009], 107-22, here, pp. 121-22)
The JST of Matt 6:13 (v. 14 in the JST) reads "And suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil." On the JST, the Book of Mormon, and the meaning of the verse from an informed Latter-day Saint perspective, see:
Kevin L. Barney, Joseph Smith and Matthew 6:13
