Table of Contents. Coming soon Planting seeds Here it comes! Bringing Heaven to Earth The main thing Barking dogs and big pictures

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Table of Contents. Coming soon Planting seeds Here it comes! Bringing Heaven to Earth The main thing Barking dogs and big pictures"

Antony Barber
5 years ago
Views:

2 To Janice:... memories that stretch across the years like a clothesline, upon which worn and comfortable recollections dance in the breeze as they are warmed by the sun. 3

3 Table of Contents Foreword Introduction Section 1: Our Father The world in a word Private property or public domain? When you hear bells Rooted or roaming? Hard times and rich incentives One Father One Father, one world Section 2: Hallowed be Your Name The God who is unlike us Casual(ty) Friend of God Holy hope Your God is too small Heavenly sunlight Tuning the soul Section 3: Your kingdom come Coming soon Planting seeds Here it comes! Bringing Heaven to Earth The main thing Barking dogs and big pictures Section 4: Our daily bread Bart Simpson and Thanks for nothing Manna in the morning Living at a fast pace Dependent or desperate? Revolution We need more than bread 4

4 Section 5: Forgive us our sins Fundamental Great or small? Beyond reciprocity Forgiveness and reconciliation Bridge building and peppermint sticks The folly of failing to forgive Becoming a force for forgiveness Section 6: Lead us not into temptation Resistance I can find it by myself Picnics and battlefields Stones or bread? (1) Stones or bread? (2) Section 7: For Yours is the kingdom, power and glory Something to remember The kind of power we need We must have wonder Seeing and shuddering Forever Afterword Selected Bibliography and Websites

5 Foreword The Lord s Prayer. The model prayer. The Pater Noster. Most of us are familiar with at least one of these ways of referring to the prayer Jesus gave His disciples (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). But what else do we know about it? If you could crack the prayer open like a pecan or a walnut what would you find inside? It s the purpose of this little book to explore that question. A disclaimer the purpose of Praying in the Reign is not to prod you into praying more often or with greater intensity (although that could be a good thing). Of course, it does have something to say about prayer, but that s not its main thrust either. What it does seek to do is to reach out and grab you in regard to the glory of our Father and the greatness of His kingdom. It seeks to help you understand more of what it means to allow Him to rule in your lives. With apologies to Gene Kelly, as you read the words that follow you might imagine yourself outside in the rain not a cold, hard, downpour, but a gentle, spring-time shower, full of comforting sounds and fragrant scents. It s my prayer that each of these little pieces could be like a drop of rain: pleasant, nurturing, and in some small way, contributing to the life that is found in Jesus. 7

6 Introduction What follows is for those who wish to know something about the context surrounding the model prayer in Matthew s Gospel. Setting a passage in its context can be a little bit like the dirt work that is done before construction starts on a building. While it s not very glamorous and offers little in terms of excitement, it is absolutely fundamental. It s where you need to begin if you want to build something solid. To place the model prayer in its context in Matthew, we need to understand something about: Matthew s Gospel, how what we refer to as the Sermon on the Mount fits into that, how the model prayer fits into the Sermon. It might be helpful to think of a nesting doll that you open up and inside is a smaller doll. If you open the second doll, there is a third, even smaller doll. That doll would be the model prayer. It is found inside the Sermon on the Mount, which is found inside Matthew s Gospel. 9

7 Introduction The Gospel of Matthew Without attempting anything exhaustive, there are a few things we can say to take Matthew s story of Jesus out of the clouds and root it in the soil of the first century. 1. Matthew wrote his Gospel primarily to Jewish believers. He starts his Gospel with an extended genealogy (you can t get much more Jewish than that), never bothering to explain who any of the people are because their stories are part of the Old Testament Scriptures. He goes on to speak of the Messiah (1:18), the law (1:19), and the prophet (1:22). He does this kind of thing throughout his writing. Contrast this with Mark s gospel which was written to Gentiles. He also tells about Jewish customs and practices, but he often stops to explain them for his readers. If you want to get a feel for the different audiences of Matthew and Mark, you can compare their accounts of the same story (Matthew 15:1-10; Mark 7:1-15), and note how Mark pauses to elaborate. 2. Matthew wrote before the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70). In a book absolutely ripe with the fulfillment of prophecy, it s hard to fathom that Jesus words about Jerusalem s future (Matthew 24), would receive no comment if they had already been fulfilled. Therefore, he must have written sometime before Titus and his legions surrounded the city. 3. Matthew had multiple purposes in writing. Why would you say the Bible was written? There are a lot of good 10

8 PRAYING IN THE REIGN answers of course, but in the end, you d look for something that brought all of them (or at least most of them) together. Your answer would be something like, The Scripture was written that man might walk with God. That little statement would embrace several important concepts: redemption, revelation, relationship, obedience, etc. In the same way, Matthew has many important themes in regard to Jesus: He is the Messiah, the fulfillment of Scripture, the interpreter and model of Torah (the law of God given to Moses), the King, the blessing of Abraham, everything Israel failed to do and be, etc. At the present time, I m satisfied with something along the lines of The Messiah and His Kingdom as a unifying overall theme. I think this brings together the major topics that Matthew pursues in telling us the story of Jesus. But we still need to tweak this just a bit more because, while the Bible is composed of books that were written to multiple audiences over approximately sixteen hundred years, that is not the case with Matthew s Gospel. Its historical context is much more narrow and focused. As we have seen, his primary audience is first century believers with a Jewish background. What else do we know about the people to whom he is writing? It appears that Matthew s audience was experiencing persecution as a result of their faith in Christ. His Gospel has quite a bit to say about suffering not only in regard to Jesus but also as it relates to those who would follow Him (5:10-12; 10:34-39; 13:20-21; 18:8-9; 24:9-13, etc.). Since he has more to say about Jesus 11

9 Introduction opposition from the Pharisees and Sadducees than any of the other Gospels, many have suggested that this persecution was coming primarily from the Jewish religious establishment. With that in mind we end up with this: Matthew was written sometime before the fall of Jerusalem, to a Jewish Christian community experiencing persecution, to assure and instruct them in regard to Jesus and His kingdom. How does the Sermon on the Mount fit in with Matthew s purpose in writing? Everyone agrees that Matthew s Gospel is a blend of six narrative and five teaching sections punctuated by the anchoring statement, From that time on, (4:17, 16:21). The five teaching blocks are especially self-identifying in that they conclude with statements to the effect of, When Jesus had finished saying/instructing..., (7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26:1). Some think this design is meant to mirror the five books written by Moses. I don t know if that s true, but I do know that when Matthew presents the block of teaching Augustine first referred to as The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29), there are several obvious parallels with Moses and the Ten Commandments. Both take place on a mountain (Exodus 19:17ff; Matthew 5:1) Both Moses and Jesus speak to the chosen (Exodus 19:5; Matthew 5:1-2) 12

10 PRAYING IN THE REIGN Both give a mission to their followers (Exodus 19:5-6; Matthew 5:13-16) What does all of this mean? I think Matthew would have us to understand that the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount is as fundamental to the kingdom of heaven as the Ten Commandments were to the Jewish nation. But I think we can do better than that. I think Matthew means for us to understand that what Jesus is teaching us in the Sermon on the Mount is the true meaning of the Torah. He had come not to take it away, but to fully model its moral and ethical aspects as no one had done before (5:17). How does the model prayer fit into the Sermon on the Mount? With this in mind, it s not surprising that one of the central themes of the sermon is righteousness. Again, 5:17-20 is instructive. Jesus came to keep the Law. He called upon His disciples to do the same (v. 19), and said that our righteousness must go beyond that of the Pharisees and teachers of law (v. 20). This means we must hunger and thirst for righteousness (5:6), and be willing to be persecuted because of it (v. 10). Jesus develops Torah righteousness as it relates to anger (v ), lust (v ), speech (v ), retribution (v ), and loving people (v ). This is the deeper meaning of the Torah as represented by the Ten Commandments and in contrast to the teaching of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. 13

11 Introduction In 6:1ff, Jesus continues by warning His disciples of practicing their righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. He then develops this in relationship to giving (v. 1-4), praying (v. 5-15), and fasting (v ). It is when He touches upon prayer that He gives them a model for prayer. The prayer is given with the instructions, when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you, (v. 6). This conduct is in obvious contrast to the righteousness of the Pharisees (v. 1, 5). But it is also in contrast to the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words (v. 7). They are to understand and trust that their Father knows what they need even before they speak (v. 8). Thus, there is no need to address Him as if He were some remote, detached deity who is unfamiliar with the circumstances of His children. What do we learn from all of this? 1. The model prayer is about righteousness. Do the right thing in the right way. I saw this at a place of business and I think that is exactly what this prayer challenges us to do. Prayer is undoubtedly a right thing, but it can be done in a wrong way. The model prayer is about doing the right thing in the right way. Having said that, we must be careful to recognize that it is not a formula of words to be mindlessly repeated, but a spiritual 14

12 PRAYING IN THE REIGN pattern to guide and shape us. It is not an end in itself, but a means of leading us into a deeper righteousness. 2. The model prayer is about simple faith in a sublime Father. The prayer is brief because God is great! He not only knows our needs before we speak them, He knows our needs when we are unaware of them and makes allowances for that through the Spirit s intercession (Romans 8:26ff). All of this means that prayer is less about us and more about our Father. 3. The model prayer is about joy and peace. These are major components of the rule of heaven in our lives (Romans 14:17). Jesus assures us that there is reward in praying (Matthew 6:6), and part of that reward is joy and peace. Somber religion is its own reward (6:17), but something better awaits the children of the King! With these things in mind, I invite you to turn the page and enter the prayer. 15

13 Our Father May we know You more intimately, Walk with You more closely, And honor You more fully. The world in a word Can one word make a difference? Not usually, but every once in a while a single word has great significance (think about the answer to a marriage proposal or the verdict from a jury). Clearly this is the case when the disciples asked Jesus about prayer, and He taught them to address God as Our Father (Matthew 6:9). Our Father! This word forbids membership in the exclusive religion of individualism to which so much of our culture caters. It rejects all thinking that looks at life from the limited perspective of self and in its place gives us something deeper, richer, and nobler. It demands that we look at others in such a way that we do not draw lines between ourselves and them. It tells us that we are to be builders of bridges rather than walls. It speaks of God as the Father of all, not just a few, elite individuals. It sounds a death knell to the thinking that says, God loves everyone, but I m His favorite. It is the world in a word. 17

14 Our Father There is one God and He is the God of all (Ephesians 4:6; Romans 3:29-30). Our Father says that as I come to Him, I must acknowledge this if I am to acknowledge Him. Our Father also says something about God s size. He is large enough to be the God of all. He is not a tribal god or a local deity; He is the sovereign of the universe. Our Father says something about His heart. It s big enough to love everyone. Our Father says something about His holiness. Whatever else holiness is about, it involves this inclusiveness. Humility should be one of the consequences of this word for us. Pride is buried forever by the word Our. Since we all have the same Father, we re all family. If we re family, then though we re not identical, we re equal. No one is better or worse than anyone else. Imagine someone wanting to sell a two thousand square foot house, but instead of advertising it that way, they added an extra zero so the sign read twenty thousand square feet (and priced it accordingly). Who would be fooled? No one! It would be an ordinary house making a spectacular claim. No one would believe the claim and no one would buy the house. Pride is exactly like that. It s when we overestimate our square footage and think we occupy a larger space than we do (see Romans 12:3). The Pharisee was under the mistaken impression that he was better than others because of his relationship with God (Luke 18:9,12). That s the essence of bad religion. Our relationship with our Father should work exactly the opposite way and should enhance our connection with all. 18

15 PRAYING IN THE REIGN That s the way it worked with the One who taught us to pray, Our Father. QUESTIONS 1. What do you think causes people to have the attitude, God loves everyone, but I m His favorite? Can you think of anyone in the Bible who had a similar view? 2. What does it do to the world s concept of God if He is represented as the Father of only a few rather than the Father of all? 3. What are some ways our relationship with God enhances our connection to all people believers and unbelievers? 19

This study will help you to understand the basis for being a Christ-follower and how this demands an inner change in us.

This study will help you to understand the basis for being a Christ-follower and how this demands an inner change in us. What Jesus Commanded Study 2 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Matthew 5:1-2 Read Matthew