Don't Give In

Jesus left and made his way to the Mount of Olives, as was his custom, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived, he said to them, ‘Pray that you won’t give in to temptation.’ Luke 22:39-40 (CEB)

How often I’d read this verse with a very shallow thought process toward the command to pray as to not give in to temptation. We all know what temptations are; we know how and by what things we are tempted. Just to review the meaning; however, here are two definitions from the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary:

1. Solicitation of the passions; enticements to evil proceeding from the prospect of pleasure or advantage.

2. The state of being tempted or enticed to evil. When by human weakness you are led into temptation resort to prayer for relief.

In our verse today, exactly what was the temptation that Jesus didn’t want his disciples to give in to? What specifically, would He not want us today to give in to? This question is an open-ended question, no doubt about it. So many answers could fit. The more I read this and turned it over and over in my mind the more confused I became. It was time to pull out the commentary! The answer in my Believer’s Bible Commentary made the light bulb come on for me. Here is the explanation and it narrows the answer pointedly: “The particular temptation He had in mind was the pressure to abandon God and His Christ when the enemies closed it.”

If you read on a few more verses has Judas appearing on the scene and betraying Jesus. In the company of all those Roman soldiers, chief priests and elders I can imagine it would be easy to fall prey to that particular temptation. No wonder Christ wanted, commanded that they pray against that danger. Do you recall that as Christ exits the garden, He finds that the disciples have fallen asleep? This ability to not fall into the tempter’s snare is so vital that Jesus again tells them to rise and pray!

This is just as important for us today. In times of trials and temptations we still need to pray that we won’t be overcome by Satan’s deception. When things are tough is the perfect time for the deceiver to plant questions of doubt in his desire to cause us to deny God and His Christ just as with the disciples.

Temptations come at us each and every day, so don’t give in…RISE AND PRAY!