Matthew 6:13 – What is the Bullseye?

…but deliver us from the evil one.

Summary: We need deliverance from the evil one every day. If we don’t understand why, we need understanding, too.

In 1962 Elvis Presley first performed the song “Return To Sender.” The lyrics begin:

“I gave a letter to the postman
He put it his sack
Bright in early next morning
He brought my letter back

“She wrote upon it
Return to sender, address unknown
No such number, no such zone”

The word “deliver” normally means to pick something up and carry it to someone else, just like the “postman” in Elvis’ song. . It seems odd that we still use the word “deliver” in modern translations of Matthew 6:13, but we do. The reason for using it may be tied to the importance of the Lord’s Prayer and how it was originally translated. Other translations of the original Greek word include “rescue us,” “keep us safe,” “protect us,” “save us,” and “keep us from.” These are all different ways of saying the same thing.

Personally, given my particular background, I prefer using the phrase “rescue us” in place of “deliver us.” “Rescue us” sounds more urgent to me, and it makes clear that we are trapped and need rescuing. The word “rescue” seems more active and involved than “deliver,” so that is another reason I like it.

Regardless of your preference for how a word is translated, as long as the meaning is clear to you, that is what is important.

The reason Jesus has us pray “rescue us from the evil one” is simple; we are trapped! Since Adam and Eve were deceived in the Garden of Eden, mankind has been enslaved by Satan.

“Wait a minute!” you might say. “We are not slaves of anyone!”

Uh-huh.

The Jews of Jesus day said the same thing (John 8:33). The reason that the Jews said such a thing was in response to Jesus saying, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8: 31-32)

When the Jews objected, Jesus added, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)

Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Everyone.

So what does it mean to sin? If you don’t know that, then you don’t know what Jesus is talking about.

A sin (hamartia in Greek) is either missing the mark or willful disobedience. To “miss the mark” is a reference to target practice. Whether you are shooting darts or using a bow and arrow, anything less than a bullseye is missing the mark. Willful disobedience is, of course, worse.

And what is the bullseye?

When it comes to doing God’s will, Jesus sums it up nicely when he says:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Assuming we are trying to please God, putting our own interests before God’s, even for a second, is missing the mark. You might think, “Well, that’s not so bad…” and you would be right. It’s not. But it is not so good, either. The reason we miss the mark, or “sin” as the Bible calls it, is that our natural self keeps clamoring for attention. When it succeeds in distracting us from our focus on God, we sin. If we don’t want to sin, then the flesh, our natural self, has shown us who is the boss and who is the slave.

Until we can master the flesh every second of every minute, we are slaves to the flesh. You might think we only need Jesus to save us from sin once. But as we see in the prayer he is teaching us, we need God to “deliver us from the evil one” every day.

Application: The next time your flesh sends you a distracting message, mark it “Return to Sender.”

Food for Thought: Why is “missing the mark” still a sin if we are at least trying to do good?