by
Randy Felton
shalom2@home.com
He answered them, When you pray say, Our Father Who art in heaven. Here Matthew preserves the Hebrew idiom "Our Father" which is typically Hebraic. This emphasizes that we are God's creation and that, as His children, we have a responsibility to Him. The use of the word "our" means that no single individual has a monopoly on God and that, as His followers, we have responsibility to one another.
"Who art in heaven" is an indication of God's supernatural qualities. The rich Hebrew imagery describes the disciples relationship to God, but does not neglect His connection to the family of God. In a father/son relationship, the father will embrace his son, will look out for his best interest and will also chastise his son. This image is a common theme in many rabbinic parables.
"Hallowed be Thy name" might be more easily understood if translated "May Your name be sanctified." This seems to parallel Ezekiel 38:23 which reads So I will show...my Holiness. This forms the background of many Hebrew prayers. The meaning of the word "sanctify" is often clarified by its antonym, "profane." We can again look at Ezekiel who writes And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, and which ye have profaned in the midst of them. (Ezekiel 36:23) The name of the Lord can either be sanctified or profaned by the conduct of His people. One may sanctify God's name by living a holy life!
"Thy kingdom come" - the kingdom of Heaven - a future monarch? Or heaven? We do not read in the Gospels about the kingdom that "comes." In Hebrew, one would talk of the "coming" of a kingdom. The Kaddish expresses the thought as MAY HE CAUSE HIS KINGDOM TO REIGN. Therefore, our passage may be rendered MAY YOU CONTINUE ESTABLISHING YOUR KINGDOM. You see, God has a kingdom now and He reigns now. The kingdom is being continually established in the hearts of men. A person who accepts God's authority in his life has entered the reign of God. This statement is the call to evangelism. God is establishing His kingdom in the hearts of men and believers are sharing the Gospel with mankind to effect the work of God.
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We do not pray "If Thy will be done, or if it be Thy will" but THY WILL BE DONE... God's will is automatically and immediately done in Heaven and will be the same on Earth in time. It is God's will that all repent and come to know God. In Psalms 40:8 we read, To do your will, O my God, is my desire; your law is within my heart. God's will is taught in His law. Many rabbinic teachings are similar. Rabban Gamaliel in about 220 A.D. said, "Do His will as if it were your will." The sense is to defer to God. Jesus struggled with this at the Garden of Gethsemane when He said, Not my will, but thine be done in Luke 22:41. Rabbinic sources refer to "leaven in the dough," meaning man's evil inclination to sin. This is the sin nature, or iniquity, that conflicts with man's desire to do good, to do God's will. Romans 7:22 tells us, For in my inner being I delight in God's law... We also see Paul's struggle and realize that we are rescued by Jesus Christ, our Lord, according to Romans 7:23-25. We could say this, MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE, expressing an inward yearning. "Give us this day our daily bread." There is much debate regarding the meaning of this phrase. The Hebrew background would seem to come from Proverbs 30:8, Feed me with the food that is needful for me. This is not asking for wealth or poverty, but that which God has assigned, our proper allotment. When Jesus, speaking in Hebrew, alluded to the verse in Proverbs, those listening would have been acquainted well enough with the Hebrew scriptures to have understood this. There is a problem when the text is translated into Greek and this reference is lost. This concept is also found in Exodus 16:4-10 regarding the manna, sufficient for the day. Worry and anxiety have no place in the life of the believer. Each day, we shall have what is sufficient for the day. We find in Matthew 6:32-33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be yours as well.
"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Forgiveness, one man to another, is a responsibility God has given us. Matthew 18:23-35 tells us of the unforgiving servant. Early Jewish thought contains the theme forgiving your fellow man and seeking his forgiveness before seeking forgiveness from God. Forgive, make peace before you pray. God shows mercy to the merciful. The Hebrew word for debts, CHAYAV, means guilt for which one is held accountable, a debt to be paid. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the work appears as meaning "to sin." In Luke 23:34, we see that Jesus follows His own admonition when praying from the cross.
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." This phrase is a Hebrew parallelism where the second line reinforces the first. The Hebrew word for temptation has the sense of test or trial. Jesus was tempted three times by Satan. The context of the disciples' prayer seems to relate temptation to man's inclination to sin, known as iniquity. To avoid sin, one must not place himself in a position where he could be tempted or put to the test. You cannot determine beforehand the power of temptation or your ability to resist. Jesus teaches us to pray that we may be led away from the temptation. The second line of the parallelism "but deliver us from evil" is repeated in Hebraic thought. From the Psalms to the Talmud, Paul tells us that God will not allow us to be tempted without providing a way of escape (I Corinthians 10:13). It is also reported that early Christians used the disciples' prayer at baptism. It is a prayer of surrender, repentance, forgiveness and protection. Such a simple yet concise prayer of dedication! What else would you expect Jesus to teach those who were most close to Him?
The scriptures used above are taken from an English translation of a reconstructed Hebrew text by Dr. Brad Young. This lesson on The Disciples' Prayer was taken from the book The Jewish Background to the Lord's Prayer by Dr. Brad Young. Used with Permission.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS These lessons were prepared by the Reverend Randy Felton for use by him and his students in lecture classes. This is not intended to be a work that will "stand alone," but as a study guide and a compilation of notes for classroom use. This material may not be copied or reproduced without written permission of the author.
Additional copies may be ordered from:
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Materials used for reference as noted are with permission. Copyright 1996 I would like to acknowledge the following people for their help in assembling this work:
Jim Outon for his help in compiling the manuscript by
computer.
Fran Outon for placing the original into the computer.
Will Cunningham for proof reading and suggesting corrections to
the text.
The authors and publishers of works cited for the material used
to draw some of the insight contained within.
Yeshua HaMasicah and the Ruach Ha Kodesh for revealing to me that our Lord and Savior is a Jew and that He has chosen to graft me into His "Tree."
Teaching Trips to Israel with Randy Felton
Teaching Articles by Randy Felton
