The Lord's Prayer [part 1]

There are 18 Benedictions in Judaism, recited 3x daily. These blessings/prayers were developed between 5th century BC and the 2nd century AD, strangely straddling the life of Jesus. They are also known as the Amidah and/or the Shmonah Esreh. Listen carefully to several of them.

#1 is a prayer/praise for YHWH being the Father of the biblical patriarchs [Abe, Isaac, Jake].

#3 ascribes worth to God because of His holiness.

#5 is a petition for God to guide His people in the ways of Torah.

#6 is a petition/praise concerning forgiveness.

#7 pleads for God to "look upon our affliction; fight our fight; redeem us speedily."

#10 asks God to restore the exiles back to the land.

#12 desires for God to execute justice on the enemies of His people.

#14 asks God to restore Jerusalem.

#15 cries out for God to usher in a Davidic/Kingly Messiah.

#17 asks God to restore Temple services and sacrifices. 

#18 requests that God would grant peace, mercy, and covenant love to His people, Israel.

Now remember, Jesus was a good Jew. He likely knew all of these and so did the people to whom he preached. So, when he says,

Our Father in heaven

Hallowed be your name

Your kingdom come
Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our debts

As we also have forgiven our debtors
And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

When he said this, those listening had a specific frame of reference. But what Jesus does is odd. It is especially odd if you read the whole sermon [the one on the mount in Mt 5-7]. He has already spoken poignantly about Torah and he just dished out some painful blows to the super-spiritual regarding their gaudy prayer lives. He now arrives at the "how to" of sincerity in prayer. Kenneth Bailey describes it vividly.

Jesus de-Zionizes the tradition. The Lord's Prayer contains no references to Jerusalem or the Temple, and the disciples are taught to pray for the Kingdom to come on earth, which reflects a global concern for all people. Forgiveness is tied to forgiving others. No attack on outsiders is voiced. And there is no request for God to look on the suffering of His people or for God to fight for them.

Jesus changes it up because he is now the faithful Servant of YHWH who will be a light to the nations [Is 49.6]. He is the Davidic/Kingly Messiah [Mt 1.1, 1.18-23, 4.17]. He is Temple of God [Jn 2, Rev 21]. He is the peace, mercy, and covenant love of YHWH come to His people. He is the only satisfactory sacrifice [Heb 10]. Prayer is now about what God is doing through Jesus.

This angle on the Lord's Prayer is far more potent because it sits comfortably in its own context. Yet, its potency carries with it a kind of contrition that should be evident as well.

For THiNE is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

prayers for Election Day

If you're reading this on Election Day 2008, join with God's people in prayer for His "will to be done and His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven" [Mt 6.10]. Also, go read and join Dr Mohler in prayer.

Don't forget, our King of kings doesn't question the extent His reign. He is not curious to whether His term as commander and chief will end. His kingdom is not of this world. To the increase of His government there will be no end. He will bring shalom.

church discipline, etc

Maybe we don't take Church [that's an intentional capital "C"] as seriously as the Bible does. Maybe when Jesus said "I will build my church" He meant that that included adding and taking away. It was the design of God to kill Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5. He used that so that "great fear filled the whole church" [Ac 5.11]. This is, of course, one of many examples.

Still, we even think that church membership is some random and modern phenomenon that we do to look like other social groups. The church at Corinth had to have some sort of corporate understanding of someone being a covenant and community member or else they would have had nothing to excommunicate people from. Paul says of wayward church members that he "handed them over to Satan" [1 Cor 5].

This is a fragile, yet needed discussion. There are some pastors and elders that need to grow a backbone. 1 Corinthians 5, Matthew 18, and the pastoral epistles are replete with examples of how the church and its members must be taken seriously. Preachers who pad their membership roles or see how many they can stuff in the bleachers so that they can get on TV or write a book - these guys are earning bonus points for the "False Teacher of the Year" award.

All of this rabid tangent means nothing unless it can positively be fleshed out and not merely negatively called out. So, here's a beautiful chart I recently found from one of Wayne House's books.

He will build His church. He will purge and sanctify His people.

how to follow JESUS [the Southern Baptist preacher]

We have four gospel accounts. Three are very similar. Thus, they are called the synoptic gospels. They share many similar stories and parables, etc. Some of the details, verbiage, and language used in these are slightly different, but it is clear that each gospel writer is retelling the same story. However, there is one particular passage that each of synoptics have that has ravished my attention as of late. Here it is in all three:

• Mt 16.24-27
• Mk 8.34-38
• Lk 9.23-27

Jesus is primarily defining one thing is these texts - what it looks like to come after Him. He says, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." It kind of appears that there are three parts to this thing:

• Deny yourself. Well, that stinks. I really like feeling nice. But I don't think it means "Go Ghandi" and pleasure is for wimps. I'll go with Dr Piper and say that earthly pleasures will burn and true delight is denial of self and taking great happiness and pleasure in God. That is denial of yourself.

• Take up your cross. Dang again. This is equivalent to "Take up your noose" or "Take up your electric chair." The cross was an instrument of execution for criminals. Also, because this imperative comes from the lips of our Lord, some think this should/could mean to "embrace your purpose" because Jesus' purpose was the cross. Whatever it implies, it most assuredly includes a furthering of self-denial, a firm grip on the reality that the road will not always be pretty, and a contrite elation that "whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, 'It is well. It is well with my soul.'"

• Follow me. St Paul said that his friends should imitate him. That Greek verb is where we get our word "mimic" from. But never could he use the word that Jesus uses here. This kind of "following" encompasses imitating, a joining with, and accompaniment with whom you are following. If we unite the self-denial with the cross-taking and the following of our Lord, we have then arrived at what discipleship looks like. Obviously, this will be easier said than done and will work so much better in theory than practice. But here it lies - true discipleship.
  

So, here's the really cool Southern Baptist part. Like I said, the gospel writers are pretty much united on the general details of the stories they tell. But there is something that must be brought forth from these three passages about what, how, and why Jesus says what he says.

The three verbs he uses [deny, take up, follow] are the same in all three synoptic gospels! Each gospel writer has their own flavor and writing style, but this amount of linguistic agreement is hugely exceptional! But better yet, all three verbs in Greek begin with the same letter [aparneomai, airo, akoloutheo]. All the while Jesus is dissecting for them the intensities of discipleship, he is also employing the rhetorical device of alliteration so that they can remember what he said.

So, like a good Baptist, Jesus makes each point start with the same letter. Apparently, the gospel writers left out his standard poem or tear-jerking story that goes after the three points and before "Just as I am."

At least Jesus didn't forget the invitation, "If anyone wishes to come after me..."

"DO NOT FEAR!"

I love reading the Scriptures. It's fun, convicting, hope-giving, puzzling, and enlightening. I specifically love reading the Scriptures when Southern Baptist sermon outlines jump off the page at me. Here's the one that leaped out of Matthew 10 this morning [read the passage here].



Jesus was teaching his disciples about discipleship and about what they would face as they went out. He said that if they "called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign" you [10.25]? But then he commanded them not to fear [10.26]. Those who hate you [10.22] can only kill the body, but God can cast both body and soul into hell [10.28].

Dang.

But then, immediately following his shuttering statement about God throwing people's bodies and souls into hell, he mentions cute little birdies [10.29]. He says that one of them never dies apart from the Father. Then, if his previous transition from hell to cute little birdies wasn't odd enough, he goes from cute little birdies to the Father's precision in counting each hair on your head [10.30]. Finally, he returns to the little birdies by saying, "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows" [10.31].

The primary thing Jesus is saying to his disciples in 10.24-31 is simple - "Do not fear!" But why the mention of birds and stuff?

[here is where the mighty SBC sermon outline kicks in]

Jesus is etching in the brains of his followers that his Father is sovereign and wise over SOULS, SPARROWS, and SCALPS. He is the one who can throw bodies and souls into hell. He is the one watches over every sparrow. He is the one who know the 740 hairs on your uncle's head and the 20,740 on yours.

So, if the Father is wields His good providence over all things and you are out to make Him known - "Do not fear! He's in control of souls, sparrows, and scalps."

impressed with Jesus

My job painting is cool for different reasons. I get to hang with some good dudes and talk about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. I get to spend time meditating and praying some as well. I also get to listen to my "Wal-Mart iPod" [a really cheap-o mp3 player]. This usually includes music, sermons, lectures, etc. But this past week I listened to the first 12 or 13 chapters of the gospel of Matthew. It was fun to try to think really Jewish when I was listening to the genealogy. It was intense, imagining the birth narrative and all that happened with Herod, Mary, Jo, shepherds, and the Magi. The preaching, baptisms, and temptations of chapters three and four with John, Jesus, and Satan were all provoking to listen to as well.

But.

When I got to chapters 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount, I was blown away. This was God speaking. But He was a carpenter. This was the Messiah finally beginning His ministry, but He sure didn't look like an anointed king or a priest. As I listened, my puny theological categories were shattered. How I tend to think of Jesus was put back in its place. I was humbled, convicted, enthralled, and massively impressed with Jesus. He was, and is, full of grace and truth. I could hear it as clear as day. Every paragraph seemed to be evenly salted with compassion and justice, with tolerance and judgment, blessings and warnings, and with love and authority. And "when he finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching for he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes" [Mt 7.28-29].

The kingdom has come in Jesus. Life in and with Him now is going to look different. Is this true for me? I know it is in theory and in eternity, but for some odd reason that occasionally gets skewed in practice. Holy Spirit, help me. 

matthew 7.13-14

WHO
a. the many
b. the few

END
a. destruction
b. life

GATE
a. wide
b. small

WAY
a. broad
b. narrow