The Prayer of Jesus
Historically, the most defining if not central practices of the Church are baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. In the late first century, Didache [ is an early handbook of an anonymous Christian community] called for repeating the Lord’s Prayer three times a day (Did. 8.2).
The prayer of Jesus is the only prayer that He recorded as having urged upon His disciples. From this First-century perspective, substantial worship and theological findings were prominent during this time for the church practice. The second-century church father Tertullian summary of the Lord’s Prayer as an abridgment of the entire Gospel, thus he summoned believers to preface their own personal prayers with the words of this prayer.
The purpose of today’s blog post is to look deeper into this first-century Lord’s Prayer in an attempt to discover some potential hidden spiritual truths that we in our generation may be blessed with. The Master’s Prayer when studied parallels the traditional Jewish prayer of His time.
Reference note: the majority of this content was observed and gleaned from the book: Jesus The Priest, by Nicholas Perrin and The Messianic Prophecy Bible Project: Article, Discover the Very Jewish Lord’s Prayer [quotes are bold and italicized in the analysis of the petitions of the Prayer]
Grace and Peace
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. You, therefore, pray like this:
Our Father in heaven!
May your Name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us the food we need today.
Forgive us what we have done wrong,
as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.
And do not lead us into hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.
For kingship, power and glory are yours forever. Amen
Matthew 6:9-13 The Complete Jewish Bible
The Master’s Prayer: Multiple Petitions of an Eschatological Prayer
Our Father in heaven!
The Master’s usage of calling and praying to God as “Father” was distinctive and purposeful. Throughout His history, the Master verbalization of God as “Father” is essentially a kind of executive proclamation of His earthly and heavenly program. In the Lord’s Prayer and elsewhere, there is little doubt that the Master did, in fact, call God ‘Father.’ In an overwhelming number of instances in which Jesus speaks of divinity, He uses the term ‘Father.’
Theologian Wilhelm Bousset writes, “It is in the proclamation of God as heavenly Father that we meet the most original and truly creative aspect of Jesus preaching.’ The Master’s emphasis on the fatherhood of God stood at the core of His revolt against the nationalism and legalism of Judaism.
Such intimate communication of the Master toward God naturally, if not spiritually, flowed out of His own personal intimacy of divine union with the Father that He experienced throughout God’s tending to His presence and care in the uniqueness of His ministry on earth.
Such childlike trust that defined both the Master and His movement essentially set Him apart from the entirety of the first-century practice of Judaism as a whole. The Master’s consciousness of His sonship is bound up with His perceived role as exclusive recipient and mediator of the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our Father in Heaven is asking each of us to acknowledge that we are His children right at the start of our prayer and that we rely on Him as the one who can provide us with everything we need.
Petition One
‘Hallowed be Your Name
The Master operating out of His Priestly role consecrates the Holy name of Yahweh. Some contend that Jesus is ‘praying out loud the Holy Scriptures. There are two places in which Yahweh’s name is sanctified: Isaiah 29:23 and the vision of Ezekiel 36:23-32. The Isaiah verse communicates a scenario on which the people will be restored to proper reverence before God. The Ezekiel verse likewise refers to a restoration of worship, and in the context of freedom from exile.
Jesus was centrally concerned with Israel’s restoration which provided a renewed stage for the Nation’s destiny to increase and be fruitful. God’s promise to Israel was that He will lead people upon you-my people Israel, and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance (v. 12)
Next in Ezekiel’s vision, God promises to ‘sprinkle clean water upon you, (v. 25). This sprinkling of water represents not simple cleansing rather, it communicates the initial stage of the ordination ceremony of the Levitical priest as they prepare to take up their sacred calling. Jesus would consecrate a new priesthood.
The people of God would be freed or specifically purified from idol worship and eventually filled with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.
God cares about His reputation, about keeping His promises, especially to all of Israel. But He makes it clear that the reason He keeps His promises is to protect His reputation [His Name] as a holy, righteous, promise keeper.
Petition Two
‘Your kingdom come
The Master, His disciples, and those present during these first-century ears would understand this petition, ‘Your kingdom come’ would be linked to Ezekiel’s vision and other Old Covenant prophets. Jesus is preparing His followers to take their spiritual stations in the preparation for an upcoming futuristic unfolding of death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and humankind.
The coming of the kingdom would hardly be possible without tribulation and resulting consecration; consecration, the preparation of the holy space, would be pointless without God actually coming into it. Jesus would have known of the Heavenly Father’s promise to establish a final end-time temple that is not made by human hands or will, but by God’s divine design!
For ancient Judaism, the reign of God was fundamentally based on God’s identity as Creator. This verbiage such as the Lord is king is connected with an end-time vision involving Yahweh’s prophetic rule over the nations and the nations’ response of submission and worship.
Many Christians interpret ‘Your kingdom come’ to imply God’s dominion to come into their own hearts… but prophetically God’s universal reign is the focus petition, that in God’s timing, complete dominion will come about as written in Isaiah 65:17, “For, look! I create new heavens and a new earth; past things will not be remembered, they will no more come to mind. And Isaiah 66:22, “For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making will continue in my presence,” says Adonai, “so will your descendants and your name continue.
The beginnings of God’s Kingdom came to earth during the Master’s first advent, but the fullness of the Kingdom will come when He returns to Zion.
Petition Three
‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
There are many interpretations from Jewish and Christian theologians as to the most reliable meaning of this petition by the Master. The prophetic liberation of Israel ensures the liberation of all nations during the consummation of the end-times prophecy.
With that said, this third petition communicates that according to Rabbi Alechsandri, there are both internal and external hindrances to doing God’s will. The yeast in the dough refers to the evil inclination within human beings (cf. 1 Cor. 5:6-8), which resists God’s will, but Israel’s performance of God’s will is also thwarted by their subjection to foreign empires (cf. Luke 1:74).
To fulfill God’s will, it was necessary not only to receive the Kingdom of Heaven in a personal sense on the individual level, but it was also necessary for the Kingdom of Heaven—God’s reign over Israel—to be manifest on the communal level, which involved the redemption of Israel from foreign rule. (b. Ber. 17a) Source: Lord’s Prayer/Jerusalem Perspective, David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton-2011 Dec. 15/Articles.
Petition Four
‘Give us each day our daily bread
Most scholars have noted that this is an eschatological statement that has a couple of meanings. First, this petition is asking ‘Give us bread sufficient for today, as is second, the coming end-times meal promised and divinely provided on earth. [see Matt. 8:11-12; 22:1-14; 25:1-13; Luke 12:35-37; 13:28-29]
Theologian E. Lohmeyer noted that in this fourth petition by the Master, ‘tomorrow’s bread’ referred not to eschatological bread in a general sense but to a Bread of the Presence reserved for the eschatological priests. This future bread would presumably share at least some of the same supernatural properties as manna, which was thought to convey the Word of God. Jesus invited His disciples to pray that God would introduce this bread into the here and now.
The Master said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” John 6:51
Petition Five
‘And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us
Jesus’s petition about forgiveness communicates that throughout His/their ministry, they can look forward to God’s forgiveness because they have declared themselves, before God and one another, a community committed to forgiving their enemies’ wrongdoing.
The Master gives cause to the disciples, the spiritual and psychological capacity to extend forgiveness to those who played as Pharaoh to the Messianic movement in Israel. [see Matt. 18:21-35; Mark 11:25: Luke 17:3-4] Jesus’ words are recorded in Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Two major markers that this petition reveals are first, that praying for one’s enemies was one of the distinctive markers of His followers. This activity would be a shared commitment to pray for those who bore tangible malice towards the community.
Second, Jesus expected His followers to serve as a prompt for not just forgiveness but also regular intercessory prayer, a characteristically priestly function. Two noteworthy prayers for forgiveness were Stephen’s words of forgiveness as he is being martyred (‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them (Acts 7:60)). And Jesus’ words of forgiveness from the cross (‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).
“Forgive us Our Father for we have sinned, and pardon us Our King for we have transgressed; for You pardon and forgive. Blessed are You, Lord, Who is merciful and forgive abundantly.” [Sixth Blessing of the Amidah]
Petition Six
‘And do not bring us to the time of trial
The term peirasmos is used to define (trial or temptation). These types of trials were not just arbitrary suffering but rather the necessary appointed means by which Yahweh would define those who were true priestly sons were possessed the ‘fear of the Lord!’ Such acts of submission enhanced obedience.
By Jesus petitioning the Father in this manner on behalf of His followers, validated their status as sons and priests before Yahweh by faithfully passing through the divinely appointed trials and persecutions.
Petition Seven
‘but rescue us from the evil one
These last words only reinforce that the Master is praying for deliverance from the demonically inspired persecution which He and His followers are facing.
“May it be Your will, HaShem, my God and the God of my forefathers, that you rescue me today and every day from brazen men and brazenness, from an evil man, an evil companion, an evil neighbor, an evil mishap, the destructive spiritual impediment [Satan], a harsh trial and a harsh opponent, whether he is a member of the covenant or whether he is not a member of the covenant.” (The Complete Artscroll Siddur)
Some closing comments
The Lord’s Prayer is more than just a prayer, it’s essentially a summary of all that defines His ministry for all of Israel, Jewish and non-Jewish believers. It communicates the Master’s mission statement and His divinely called new end-times priesthood that He alone was implementing.
Those who were to be aligned with this Messianic movement could be affirmed as willing participants by willingly learning and then praying this very prayer within the ever-growing community.
Knowing that our Messiah chose these principles and petitions will aid us to know what our Heavenly Father is asking us to focus on as we enter into prayer with Him and as we too are called to live out our lives as His Disciples until He returns. Amen
Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzo