A Commentary on the Lord's Prayer

A Commentary on the LORD’s Prayer Matthew 6:5-13 and Luke 11:1-4 version 2 Probably no prayer, in English or any other language, is prayed more often than the one Jesus taught his disciples to pray and use for modeling. Unfortunately, the prayer is too often recited mechanically, without the person saying it or those hearing it fully understanding what is being said. These notes on the LORD’s Prayer should give Bible readers some useful insights into the stylistic and literary aspects of the prayer. Preliminary Notes Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. And Jesus gave them this model, with some context and elaboration. Note that technically, the “LORD’s Prayer” is an incorrect description, because it is not a prayer that Jesus made to the Father; it is an example prayer for the disciples. Maybe it should be called, “The Disciples’ Prayer,” or even, “The Christian’s Prayer.” Jesus’ Background Commentary Jesus introduces his discussion of the LORD’s Payer with some general comments on prayer. 1. Pray in secret. Don’t pray just to let others know you are praying. Praying ostentatiously in front of others will create the appearance of showing off just to be seen by others or just to brag about how spiritual you are (Matthew 6:5). Close the door of your prayer room and talk to the Father, “who sees in secret” (Matthew 6:6). However, the fact that this prayer itself begins with “Our father,” rather than “My father,” shows that the model assumes corporate or group prayer will take place. Jesus wants us not to show off when praying during our personal time with God, but to take part humbly and simply with others of faith in addressing our Father in heaven. 2. Do not use meaningless repetition. God can hear even the shortest prayers, and he does not pay more attention to those who use many words or fancier words over those whose prayers are brief and simple. God hears the prayers of those who love him and obey his commandments. 3. Remember that “your Father [God] knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). This is one of the most comforting thoughts Jesus tells us. Text of the Prayer Mat 6:9: “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Mat 6:10: ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Mat 6:11: ‘Give us this day our daily bread, Mat 6:12: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.* Mat 6:13: ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Mat 6:[‘For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”] Text Notes Bible translation: New American Standard Bible (NASB) 6.9.1 Pray, then, in this way. The words, “in this way,” show that Jesus is offering a model, not a mantra. The idea of saying a hundred “Our Fathers” as some kind of penance or blessing price is just not Scriptural. Christians are encouraged to create their own prayers, following the model. As noted above, because the prayer begins with, “Our” instead of “My,” Jesus clearly intended that the prayer (and the public prayers modeled on it) should be prayed aloud in groups of Christians. 6.9.2 Our Father. The being who made us likes to use the metaphor of parent-child relationship. A Father loves his child, disciplines his child, rewards his child, protects his child, directs his child. He is Father to all of us, so no one can say he is only, “My Father.” The father-son relationship enjoys a higher position among human relationships than others because it includes relational, emotional, personal, intellectual, and spiritual aspects. Other relationships are connected by only one or a few of these aspects. Employer-Employee, King-Subject, Teacher-Student, Pastor-Church Member, Friend-Friend, Mentor-Mentee all have different aspects, some more than one aspect, but none have the dynamics of a Father-Son relationship. Note, however, that women can enjoy this Father-Son relationship also, because it is a spiritual relationship. And the relationship is not “just” metaphorical. Every human being can participate in this closely parental affiliation, but none as close as those who share DNA with each other.. 6.9.3 Our Father Who is in Heaven, The opening words of the prayer address God directly, forming an apostrophe (uh POSS troh fee) to God. (An apostrophe is a direct address to someone, whether present or absent.) The apostrophe focuses attention. The fact that someone is being addressed directly in the narrative provides evidence that the addressee is an important person. Here Jesus shows that the disciples (and we, too) can address God directly without fear or hesitation and without an intermediary to do the praying either for them or for us. That we address a God “in Heaven” rather than on earth reminds us that God is in a higher realm than we are, and we should be deferential and humble before him. 6.9.4 Our Father Who is in Heaven. The opening apostrophe of the prayer embodies the trope (figure of language) of a pleonasm (PLEE oh naze um), a type of amplification. Pleonasms are used to slow down the pace of a sentence and increase the gravity and seriousness, thus strengthening the focus and emphasis. The words used to create the pleonasm could all be eliminated if Jesus had elected to. Some of the “word for word” translations render this opening with “who is” as well as the remaining words. Our Father who is in heaven Note, then, that Jesus’ words could have been only “Our Father in heaven.” The words “in heaven” are not required for a full meaning, so they could be eliminated also. Our Father Finally, “Our” could have been omitted: Father, The prayer would then have begun, “Father. . . .” But then, notice how the pacing, dignity, and connection would have been weakened without the extra words. 6.9.4 Who is in Heaven. Which God do you worship? Where does he live? What is his name? When discussing theology, it is crucial to know what others are thinking when they mention God. A hundred years ago, you could have asked someone, “Do you believe in God?” and you would likely get only either a “Yes” or a “No” answer. Today you would get the question thrown back at you, in the form of, “Which god?” Traditionally, God has been identified by the Tetragrammaton as the being “Who Is,” (YHWH, or Yahweh). In many places in the Old Testament, God is referred to as the creator of the heavens and the earth: May you be blessed of the LORD, Maker of heaven and earth —Psalm 115:15. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever. . . .” —Psalm 146:5-6 (NASB) For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. —Psalm 96:4-5. “Maker of the heavens and the earth” is actually a powerful and distinctive epithet, for it reminds us of the size and power and strength and creativity of the person we worship—the person who made 300 billion trillion stars and gave each a name. 6.9.5 Hallowed be Your name. Hallowed (hagiazo) in the New Testament means consecrate, venerate, make holy, to sanctify, revere, or deeply respect. When we pray for God’s name to be hallowed, then, we are asking that God be worshipped, revered, reverenced, adored, blessed. In a culture like ours that has essentially returned to paganism, these adjectives are especially important to remember and practice. We need to worship, revere, adore him. We want God to be recognized as holy. 6.9.6 Hallowed be Your name. The expression “hallowed be your name,” is another pleonasm, used in place of “May you be hallowed.” In other words, by including the word name, the expression becomes an intensifier which adds some solemnity to the phrase. There are many other passages in the Bible that use this same trope: “Blessed be the name of the Lord” means “blessed be the Lord himself.” The new formulation also continues to clarify “which God” we are thinking of. For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God. —Deuteronomy 32:3 (NASB) "Now the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. —1 Kings 8:17 Because of this, having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, perfectly hope on the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves to your former lusts in your ignorance, but according to the Holy One who has called you, you also become holy in all conduct; because it has been written, "Be holy, because I am holy." —1 Peter 1:13-16 (from Lev. 19:2 And remember that holy means, “set apart for a specific purpose, dedicated to.” It is the Hebrew word Qodesh. When we think of holiness and that we will never be able to achieve it, we need to remember this definition. “Be holy, because I am holy” means “set yourself apart from the emptiness and wickedness of the world and come grow in relationship with God.” 6:10.1 Your kingdom come. God’s kingdom power is emergent, and we are to pray that its full realization will be hastened. God’s true purpose is to rule the entire realm he created. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. —Luke 21:31 (NASB) So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." —Acts 1:6-8 (NASB) 6.10.2 Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. God already has sovereignty over all of heaven. But thanks to a couple of Edenites awhile back, his will is not always done on earth. So he has sent us a remedy. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. —John 3:17 (NASB) 6:11.1 Give us this day our daily bread. This petition is a deep metonymy. A metonymy (meh TAWN uh mee) is a type of metaphor which substitutes a closely associated thing in place of the thing meant. In this case, bread is metonymy for food, since bread is closely associated with food. So the metaphorical meaning of the sentence is “Give us this day our daily food.” But, food can function as a metonymy for needs of every kind, so the meaning of the sentence is, “Give us this day all of our needs.” And among our daily needs are spiritual and emotional needs. So this petition reminds us of the need to communicate with God, by praying and reading his word, and to joining in fellowship and worship with other believers. Mat 6:12.1 And forgive us our debts. Debts is a metaphor for sins. It is much more vivid and immediate to remind us that we have various kinds of debt—various kinds of sin—we need to ask God to forgive us for. And we need forgiveness from other people whom we have sinned against (we owe an apology for calling a neighbor kid “a fool,” we need to forgive the kids who broke the window, we need to seek forgiveness from our spouse for misbehaving, etc.). The fact that this petition remains a standard part of the LORD’s Prayer, for all believers at all times, recognizes that all Christians will still commit sins and need forgiving for them. 6.12.2 as we also have forgiven our debtors. The grammatical tenses in this petition make it clear that our forgiveness of others must take place before God’s forgiveness for our sins will take place. A little clearer translation would be: “And forgive us for our sins, as we have already forgiven those who have sinned against us.” So, if we want to be forgiven for our sins, we cannot pretend to forgive others while still holding guilty grudges or resentments or bitterness any longer. (Why is this instruction so easily and so often ignored?) 6.13.1 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Rescue us from even the smallest temptation to sin, but save us from Satan taking advantage of our weakness. 6.13+ [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. ] Amen.’ Some manuscripts omit the closing acknowledgement of God’s greatness. Such an omission is unfortunate because it exemplifies a beautiful rhetorical trope called hendiatris. The sentence, before the trope, was, “For Yours is the kingdom—and the powerful and glorious kingdom too, forever.” Hendiatris changes the two adjectives (powerful and glorious) to nouns (power and glory), resulting in a remarkable increase in emphasis. Jesus uses a similar hendiatris when he and the disciples are discussing “the way” Jesus is going next. His response is to say that he is the way: “I am the true and living way: the way, and the truth, and the life. By raising the two adjectives to nouns, he emphasizes the way with more powerful language. The solemnity of the truth is also enhanced by the slow and rhythmic quality given through the use of anaphora (the repetition of “and the” (John 14:6). _______________________ *"Forf if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions (Matthew 6:14-15) --Robert Harris ###