The cross was on the horizon and Jesus had set His face toward the horizon (Lk. 9:51). Though His disciples didn’t see it, the shadow of impending death hovered over Jesus. It was going to get hard — really hard — very soon. Not just the physical suffering of Roman execution but the unimaginable spiritual anguish of being forsaken of the Father (Matt. 27:46) as He who knew no sin became sin for those He loved (2Cor. 5:21). And though they were yet to fully appreciate it, if it was going to get hard for Jesus, it was going to get hard for those who had decided to follow Jesus. And that’s why Jesus told them to pray.

And [Jesus] came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”

(Luke 22:39-42 ESV)

Pray that you may not enter into temptation . . . that’s what I’m chewing this morning. Well, not just the what, but more so the why.

Jesus didn’t say His disciples should pray not to be tempted. Jesus was tempted (Lk. 4:1-13). Jesus knew we would be tempted; that’s the human experience. That’s why we’re told He was tempted just like us, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).

No, Jesus told His followers, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. Pray that you don’t give in to it (MSG). Temptation’s gonna come knockin’ . . . pray for power not to answer the door. It’s gonna whisper in your ear . . . pray for the awareness to recognize its voice and then plug your ears. It’s gonna look like the right thing to do . . . pray for discernment to deny it. The night they were together in the garden, that’s what Jesus counseled His friends to do.

But why? Because things were going to get very tense very soon. The pressure cooker was about to be set on high. On a scale of 1-to-10, the testing was about to become an eleven. And when the going gets really, really tough, it’s really, really easy for us mere mortals to enter into temptation. Combine high levels of uncertainty with low levels of control and the crucible has a way of surfacing gut-level, instinctive reactions — what Proverbs refers to as “a way that seems right to a man” (Prov. 14:12) . . . what Paul often refers to as “the flesh.”

Jesus knew that. It’s why He prayed. In His flesh He knew the intense, blood-sweating longing for some way to bypass the cross (Lk. 22:44). Yet, He prays, “Nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done.” And, it’s why He tells us to pray. So that when (not if) the temptation, testing, and trial brought on by the fire of ambiguity and angst comes, we will not enter into it.

What Jesus’ disciples were about to walk through was unprecedented. It defied their understanding of what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah. They knew that to follow Jesus was to swim upstream, but they hadn’t expected to have to scatter. They knew they were a minority, but soon they would fear they too were on the Jews’ most wanted list. And in that confusion, they would be placed in a crucible, they would be tested, they would be tempted. Pray, says Jesus, that you don’t give in.

Don’t give into the temptation to just give up and go away. Don’t give into the temptation of addressing evil with evil, even if you can rationalize it as leveraging the lesser of two evils (Rom. 12:17, 21). Don’t give into the temptation to fight fire with fire and do something crazy like pulling out a sword and taking off someone’s ear with it (Mt. 26:51).

So, pray. Pray, because things are going to get crazier. Pray, because things are going to get harder.

A word for our current, crazy, seemingly out-of-control cultural moment? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Pray that you don’t give in.

By His grace. For His glory.