The Lord's Prayer, Page 2

The Lord's Prayer, continued

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matt 6:13a, KJV); "And lead us not into temptation." (Luke 11:4b, NIV). – The Greek verb peirasmos (#3986) can mean either "to tempt" or "to test," with some ambiguity and overlap in Scripture. For example, Jesus "was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" (Matt 4:1, NRSV). From God's standpoint, this was an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate both his obedience and sinlessness. What is clear throughout Scripture is that God never seeks to lead anyone into sin (James 1:13) and also that Christians should expect testing and trials of many kinds (James 1:2-4). Lamsa's Bible translation from the Aramaic reads here, "And do not let us enter into temptation."83 The Aramaic language had a "desiderative" verb construction which, combining a verb with a present passive particle, could be used to express an idea like "Let us not be led…"84 However, since the Greek language had no such verb construction, translation at this point was frustrating. Jeremias translated this clause as "And let us not succumb to temptation"85 and the GNB, somewhat differently, as "Do not bring us to hard testing." Even with hard tests, we need the Lord's strength. Overall, what we pray for here is: Father, help us when we face temptation, be with us in the hour of trial, and do not allow us to fall into despair and doubt You!86 "By ourselves we are too weak to hold our own even for a moment … so, Lord, uphold us and make us strong with the strength of your Holy Spirit…" (Heidelberg Catechism).87

The pronoun used in the second half of this petition, apo (“away from,” #575) – rather than ek (“out of,” #1537) – points to this being a reference to the Evil One (of whom Jesus often spoke), instead of evil in a general sense, although the Greek tou ponerpou (#4190) may be read either as neuter ("evil") or masculine ("the evil one") in gender.88 We must not overestimate or underestimate the power of our enemy, often called Satan (satan = the "adversary") or the devil (diabolos = the "slanderer"). We forget, to our peril, that he is a malevolent angel whose age, intellect and experience far exceeds our own; and we are advised to face him with the "full armor of God" (Eph 6:10-18). Yet, if he prowls around like a lion (1 Pet 5:8), he is still on the Lord's leash (Hanegraaff)!89 However, we can be lead into "evil" also by our sinful self, greedy desires, and foolish pride (cf. 1 John 2:16, GNB). What pervades this petition is Jesus' conviction that the Father controls all of the events in the believer's life; as Paul said, "[God] will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but … will also provide the way out…" 1 Cor 10:13, NRSV).90 "For we do not have a high priest [mediator with the Father] in heaven who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, [because he was] tempted in every way, just as we are [yet] without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence…" (Heb 4:15-16, NIV). Shriver says that "three temptations of the spirit" we face are: (1) to stop praying, (2) to forget Jesus, and (3) to forget the rest of the Church.91

DOXOLOGY: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matt 6:13b, KJV), but omitted in Luke. Moreover, this ending appears only in some later manuscripts of Matthew, from the 4th century on.92 – Yet, since it was always common Jewish practice to conclude prayers with a doxology, Jeremias considers it inconceivable that the Lord's Prayer was ever prayed without some closing words of praise to God – and also it would have been unthinkable to end any prayer with words like "temptation" and "evil."93 Matthew's doxology recalls David's longer doxology in 1 Chron 29:11, which includes, "Thine, O Lord, is … the power, and the glory, and the … kingdom…" (KJV). The oldest copy outside of Scripture that we have of the Lord's Prayer is in the Didache ("Teaching" of the Twelve Apostles), an early church manual from ca. 100 A.D.; and this version (from Matthew) ends with the doxology, "For power and glory are yours forever."94 At the end, the Lord's Prayer returns our vision back to God, because what we should ultimately seek in our prayers are not gifts, but the Giver. We will never receive all of our desires or answers to all of our questions, but we surely can be confident that our Dear Father is all sufficient for us.

Believers praise God because of his greatness manifested both in nature and history; and we recognize him as Creator, Sustainer, Ruler and Redeemer of the world. Above all, we praise him for His mercy, faithfulness, righteousness, and love displayed in his acts of salvation on our behalf, and because also he is a fortress and saviour to those in distress (Lambert & Martin).95 Praising God is also important because of the joy, exhilaration, strength, and health (even) that believers receive from their words and songs of praise. (We certainly do better to sing than to argue!)96 As Connolly notes, "When we worship, we join our voices with the angels of God and millions of believers who are already in heaven." This makes even a small prayer circle significant. Genuine worship brings a receptive and open heart to God,97 so it always departs refreshed! The Hebrew amen means "surely, truly [it is so, or may it be so]."98 "Amen is an expression of faith in the reliability of God who promises."99 In Revelation, Jesus is called God's "Amen, the faithful and true witness" (3:14); and there we find "Amen" and "Hallelujah! [halelu-ya = ‘Praise ye the Lord!’]” resounding throughout the corridors of heaven (Rev 5:14; 7:12; 19:1,3,4,6). Peterson dramatically renders this doxology in contemporary English as: "You're in charge! / You can do anything you want! / You're ablaze in beauty! / Yes. Yes. Yes." Most of the petitions in the Lord's Prayer, in time, will no longer be needed. Certainly, in heaven, we will no longer have to ask the Father for food, forgiveness or fortification. Yet the petition to "Give God glory" and the final Doxology will never grow cold, "because God's name will be of great use and request in heaven [and] we shall be ever singing hallelujahs, which is nothing else but the hallowing of God's name" (Thomas Watson).100

The Lord's prayer is so beautiful, it is like a work of art. Its words are plain, yet majestic as mountains. Its petitions are grave, yet they fill the heart with joy and peace. A child can easily read and remember it, yet the most wise and spiritual will forever be plumbing its treasures.101 Tertullian noted how it offers "the whole Gospel" in a nutshell.102 Aquinas praised this prayer because it is confident, suitable, devout, and humble.103 More so, Cyprian wrote, how wonderful it is to beseech God with a loving prayer that contains his own words!104 By praying this prayer and using it as a guide, how can we fail to receive abundant blessings from our Father and Lord, who gave us this matchless prayer to pray?

Dear Father in Heaven,
May your Name be glorified,
May your Rule be honored,
May your Will be done –
as now in Heaven, so also in my life and everywhere on earth.
Give us today what we need, and
Forgive us our offenses, which requires us likewise to forgive everyone who offends us, and
Help us when we are tempted and
deliver us from harm by the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

See also "The Lord's Prayer": www.dobhran.com/greetings/GRinspire297.htm

FOOTNOTES: 1. Ayo, p. 5-6. 2. Jeremias, p. 91. 3. Senior, p. 106. 4. Liefeld, W.L., "Lord's Prayer," ISBE III(1986),160. 5. Cf. Carson, p. 167-68. 6. Connelly, p. 51. 7. Hanegraaff, p. 1. 8. Jeremias, p. 63. 9. Radmacher, p. 1274. 10. Ayo, p. 5. 11. Barclay, I,228; Trueblood, p. 45; Roberts, p. 52. 12. In Hanegraaff, p. 32-33. 13. Barclay, I:229. 14. Senior, p. 107. 15. Barclay, I,242-44. 16. Barclay, I,229-30. 17. Ayo, p. 16-17. 18. Albright & Mann, p. 75. 19. Ayo, p. 16. 20. In Ayo, p. 41. 21. Jeremias, p. 58-61. 22. Ashton, John, "Abba," ABD, I,7. 23. Jeremias, p. 65,91,95-97; Boff, p. 29; Phillips translation of Mark 14:36. 24. Danker, p. 227. 25. Jeremias, p. 12,21,62-63. 26. Boff, p. 30. 27. Cf. Shriver, p. 16-19. 28. Mollenkott, p. 51-71. 29. Ayo, p. 23-25. 30. Robert Hamerton-Kelly, in Shriver, p. 22-23. 31. Ayo, p. 21. 32. Cf. Hanegraaff, p. 38. 33. Kuyvenhoven, p. 274. 34. See "venerate" in Webster's dictionary. 35. Harrison, E.F., "Holiness, holy," ISBE II(1982),725. 36. Boff, p. 32. 37. Shriver, p. 18. 38. John Henry Newman, in Ayo, p. 29-30. 39. Roberts, p. 53-54. 40. Carson, p. 169. 41. Connelly, p. 61. 42. Cf. Wright, C.J.H., "God, Names of," ISBE, II(1982),507. 43. Barclay, I:236. 44. Cyprian, p. 450. 45. Trueblood, p. 50. 46. Kuyvenhoven, p. 279. 47. Calvin, I,318. 48. Chrysostom, p. 134. 49. Lewis, p. 36. 50. Hanegraaff, p. 44-45. 51. Schnackenberg, p. 67. 52. Augustine, p. 40. 53. Luther, p. 481-82. 54. Cf. Connelly, p. 55. 55. Barclay, I:243. 56. Minear, p. 157. 57. Green's translation of Matt 6:9c-10. 58. Barclay, I:245-47. 59. Smith, p. 112. 60. Cyprian, p. 451. 61. Van Selms, A., "Bread," ISBE, I(1979),549. 62. Smith, p. 112. 63. Carson, p. 171. 64. Cf. Trueblood, p. 53-54. 65. Calvin, I,325. 66. Barclay, p. 247-48. 67. Liefeld, "Lord's Prayer," ISBE, III(1986),161. 68. Boff, p. 79-80. 69. Cf. Ambrose, p. 134. 70. Cf. Augustine, p. 42. 71. Cf. Schnackenburg, p. 68. 72. Trueblood, p. 53. 73. In Kuyvenhoven, p. 295. 74. Luther, p. 483. 75. Jeremias, p. 92. 76. Cf. Carson, p. 172. 77. Trueblood, p. 57. 78. Connelly, p. 57. 79. Cf. Luke 7:41-43; 15:11-32. 80. Radmacher, p. 1175. 81. Chrysostom, p. 136. 82. Barclay, I:257-58. 83. Lamsa's Peshitta translation; also cf. Lamsa, Gospel Light, p. 46-47. 84. Arayathinal, II:47-48. 85. Jeremias, p. 105. 86. Cf. Carter, p. 168. 87. In Kuyvenhoven, p. 307. 88. Cf. Carson, p. 174. 89. Hanegraaff, p. 77-78. 90. Johnson, p. 178. 91. Shriver, p. 97-99. 92. Houldon, "Lord's Prayer," ABD, IV:357. 93. Cf. Jeremias, p. 106. 94. Didache, p. 165. 95. Lambert, J.C., & B.L. Martin, "Praise," ISBE, III(1986),930. 96. Kuyvenhoven, p. 315. 97. Connelly, p. 60. 98. Millar, J., "Amen," ISBE I(1979),110. 99. Kuyvenhoven, p. 316. 100. In Hanegraaff, p. 39-40. 101. Cf. Adolph Saphir, in Hanegraaff, p. 35-36. 102. In Ayo, p. 5. 103. Aquinas, p. 431. 104. Cyprian, p. 488.

REFERENCES:
Aquinas, Thomas, "On Prayer: Exposition of the Lord's Prayer," in An Aquinas Reader, ed. Mary T. Clark, orig. 13th cent., trans. 2000, p. 430-432.
Albright, W.F., and C.S. Mann, Matthew, 1971 (Anchor Bible).
Ambrose, "The Lord's Prayer," in Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, ed. M.F. Toal, vol. 3, orig. 4th cent., trans. 2000, p. 133-135.
Anchor Bible Dictionary, chief ed. David Noel Freedman, 1992, vols. 1-5.
Arayathinal, Thomas, Aramaic Grammar, vol 1, 1957; vol. 2, 1959.
Augustine, Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Book II (Matt 6-7), in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 6, ed. Philip Schaff, orig. ca. 400, trans. 1887, repr. 1994, p. 34-63.
Ayo, Nicholas, The Lord's Prayer: A Survey Theological and Literary, 1992.
Barclay, William, The Gospel of Matthew, vols. 1-2, 1956, 1975, 2001.
Boff, Leonardo, The Lord's Prayer: The Prayer of Integral Liberation, Portuguese orig. 1979, English trans. 1983.
Calvin, John, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark and Luke, vols. 1-3, orig. 1563, trans. 1845.
Carson, D.A., "Matthew," in Expositor's Bible Commentary, VIII, 1984, p. 3-599.
Carter, Warren, Matthew and the Margins: A Socio-Political Religious Reading, 2000.
Chrysostom, "Homily XIX: Matthew VI.1 [to v. 15]," from Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Mathew, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed. Philip Schaff, First Series, vol. 10, orig. ca. 400, trans. 1851, repr. 1994, p. 130-140.
Connelly, Douglas, The Lord's Prayer, 2003 (A LifeGuide Bible Study).
Cyprian, "On the Lord's Prayer" (Treatise IV), from The Treatises of Cyprian, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Philip Schaff, vol. 5, orig. ca. 250, trans. 1887, repr. 1994, p. 447-457.
Danker, Frederick W., Jesus and the New Age: A Commentary on St. Luke's Gospel, 1988.
Didache, in Barnabas and the Didache, ed. Robert A. Kraft, orig. ca. 100, trans. 1965.
Hanegraaff, Hank, The Prayer of Jesus: Secrets to Real Intimacy with God, 2001.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, gen. ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, vols. 1-4, 1979-1988.
Jeremias, Joachim, The Prayers of Jesus, 1967 (including "The Lord's Prayer in the Light of Recent Research," 1964).
Johnson, Luke Timothy, The Gospel of Luke, 1991 (Sacra Pagina Series).
Kuyvenhoven, Andrew, Comfort & Joy: A Study of the Heidelberg Catechism (1562), 1988.
Lamsa, George M., Gospel Light, 1936.
Lewis, C.S., Mere Christianity, 1943, 1952.
Luther, Martin, "The Small Catechism," in Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, ed. Timothy F. Lull, orig. 1529, trans. 1989, p. 471-496.
Minear, Paul S., The Good News According to Matthew: A Training Manual for Prophets, 2000.
Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey, Women, Men & the Bible, 1977.
Radmacher, Earl, et al., eds., Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary, 1999.
Roberts, Howard W., Praying Like Jesus, 1999.
Schnackenburg, Rudolf, The Gospel of Matthew, German orig. 1985-87, English trans. 2002.
Senior, Donald, The Gospel of Matthew, 1997.
Shriver, Donald W., Jr., The Lord's Prayer: A Way of Life, 1983.
Smith, Robert H., Matthew, 1989 (Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament).
Strong, James, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Abingdon's Strong's…, 1890.
Trueblood, Elton, The Lord's Prayers,1965.
Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th ed. 2002.

TRANSLATIONS: CEV = Holy Bible. Contemporary English Version, 1995. KJV = Holy Bible. King James Version, 1611. GNB = Good News Bible, 1976, 1983. Green = Interlinear Bible. Hebrew-Greek-English, gen. ed. Jay P. Green, Sr., 1976, 1986. JB = Jerusalem Bible, 1966, 1968. Lamsa = Holy Bible. From the Ancient Eastern Text … the Aramaic of the Peshitta, trans. George M. Lamsa, 1933. LB = Living Bible, 1971. NASB = Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible, Updated, 1999. NEB = New English Bible, 1961, 1972. NIV = Holy Bible. New International Version, 1978. NKJV = Holy Bible. New King James Version, 1982. NRSV = Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version, 1989. Peterson = The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, trans. Eugene H. Peterson, 2002. Phillips = The Gospels Translated into Modern English, trans. J.B. Phillips, 1956. REB = Revised English Bible, 1989. RSV = Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, 1952. RSV2 = Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, 2nd ed. 1972. Williams = The New Testament. A Private Translation in the Language of the People, trans. Charles B. Williams, 1955.

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