Matthew 6 Verses 9 to 15 Praying Like Jesus May 12, 2024, Lesson 6

Matthew 6 Verses 9 to 15 Praying Like Jesus May 12, 2024, Lesson 6

Sermon on the Mount Class Presentation Notes AAAAA

Background Scriptures:

· Luke 11:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." 2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."

· Luke 18:9-14 (NKJV) 9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise hiseyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Main Idea:

· Jesus gave us an example of our attitude and method of prayer.

Study Aim:

· Jesus teaches us to pray with boldness calling God our Father yet with reverence coming before Him with all humility.

Create Interest:

· At the disciples’ request, Jesus provided a pattern of prayer for them.

o Jesus did not give this prayer to us to be memorized and recited a given number of times.

o It is not a set group of words to repeat.

o It is fine to recite it, as we recite many parts of Scripture.

o It is certainly fine to memorize it and to rehearse it in our minds and meditate upon it in our hearts, but it is not so much a prayer as it is a skeleton which believers are to flesh out with their own words of praise, their own words of adoration, their own petitions, and so on.

o It is not a substitute for our own prayers, but a guide for them.[1]

Lesson in Historical Context:

· We must note that this is a prayer which taught Jesus’ disciples to pray. Both Matthew and Luke are clear about that. Matthew sets the whole Sermon on the Mount in the context of the disciples (Matthew 5:1). Luke tells us that Jesus taught this prayer in response to the request of one of his disciples (Luke 11:1). The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer which only a disciple can pray; it is a prayer which only one who is committed to Jesus Christ can take upon his lips with any meaning. Let’s see why, we as disciples can pray it.

· The Lord’s Prayer is not a child’s prayer, as it is so often regarded; it is, in fact, not meaningful for a child. The Lord’s Prayer is not the Family Prayer as it is sometimes called, unless by the word family we mean the family of the church.

o The Lord’s Prayer is specifically and definitely stated to be the disciple’s prayer; and only on the lips of a disciple has the prayer its full meaning.

o To put it in another way, the Lord’s Prayer can only really be prayed when the man who prays it knows what he is saying, and he cannot know that until he has entered into discipleship.

· We must note the orderof the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. The first three petitions have to do with God and with the glory of God; the second three petitions have to do with our needs and our necessities.God is first given his supreme place, and then, and only then, we turn to ourselves and our needs and desires.

o It is only when God is given his proper place that all other things fall into their proper places.

o Prayer must never be an attempt to bend the will of God to our desires; prayer ought always to be an attempt to submit our wills to the will of God.

· It deals with the three essential needs of man, and the three spheres of time within which man moves.

o First, it asks for bread, for that which is necessary for the maintenance of life, and thereby brings the needs of the present to the throne of God.

o Second, it asks for forgiveness and thereby brings the past into the presence of God.

o Third, it asks for help in temptationand thereby commits all the future into the hands of God.

§ In these three brief petitions, we are taught to lay the present, the past, and the future before the footstool of the grace of God.

· But not only is this a prayer which begins the whole of life to the presence of God; it is also a prayer which brings the whole of God to our lives.

o When we ask for bread to sustain our earthly lives, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Father, the Creator and the Sustainer of all life.

o When we ask for forgiveness, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer.

o When we ask for help for future temptation, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Strengthener, the Illuminator, the Guide and the Guardian of our way.

· In the most amazing way the Lord’s Prayer takes the present, the past, and the future, the whole of man’s life, and presents them to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, to God in all his fullness. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to bring the whole life to the whole of God, and to bring the whole of God to the whole of life.[2] Enjoy the study!

Bible Study:

Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV) 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

· Vs. 9-10: The purpose of prayer is to glorify God’s name, and to ask for help to accomplish His will on earth.

o This prayer begins with God’s interests, not ours: God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will. Robert Law has said,

o “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done in earth.”

o We have no right to ask God for anything that will dishonor His name, delay His kingdom, or disturb His will on earth.

· It is worth noting that there are no singular pronouns in this prayer; they are all plural. It begins with “OUR Father.” When we pray, we must remember that we are part of God’s worldwide family of believers.

o We have no right to ask for ourselves anything that would harm another member of the family.

o If we are praying in the will of God, the answer will be a blessing to all of God’s people in one way or another.

· What then does the prayer tell us about our regular approach to God?

· “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

o First, and so obvious that we might miss it, the prayer is deeply meaningful. It isn’t a magic formula, an ‘abracadabra’, which plugs into some secret charm or spell. It is something we can mean with our minds (though it will stretch our thinking) as well as say with our lips.

§ It implies strongly that we humans can and should use our ordinary language in talking to the creator of the universe, and that he wants and intends us to do so. It implies, in other words, that we share with the one true God a world of meaning which he wants us to explore.

o Second, everything is set within our calling God ‘father’ (as Jesus does throughout this Sermon—in fact, we could suggest that a title for the whole Sermon might be, ‘What it means to call God “father”’).

§ For Jews in Jesus’ day, this title for God went back to God’s action in the Exodus, rescuing Israel from Egypt and so demonstrating that ‘Israel is my son, my firstborn’.

§ Exodus 4:22 (NKJV) 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn.

o Third, this God is not a man-made idol. He is the living God, who dwells in ‘heaven’, and longs to see his sovereign and saving rule come to birth on ‘earth’.

o 10 “Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”

§ This is, in fact, a prayer for the kingdom of God to become fully present: not for God’s people to be snatched away from earth to heaven, but for the glory and beauty of heaven to be turned into earthly reality as well.

§ When that is done, God’s name—his character, his reputation, his very presence—will be held in high honor everywhere.

Thoughts to Soak on:

· The first half of the prayer is thus all about God.

o Before we ask anything for ourselves, we look for the hallowing of God’s name, the extending of God’s kingdom and the doing of God’s will. These are the issues that weed out all that is self-centered in our prayer lives.

§ It’s not just a matter of coming with our requests: it is coming with requests for things that will give glory to God, that will be in the interests of his gospel and that will produce more obedience to him in our own lives and in the lives of others.[3]

o Prayer that doesn’t start there is always in danger of concentrating on ourselves, and very soon it stops being prayer altogether and collapses into the random thoughts, fears and longings of our own minds.[4]

· The address—Our Father (Vs.9), suggesting close fellowship, which art in heaven, requiring reverence—is followed by six petitions. The first three are for Kingdom interests. The second three are for personal needs. The order is most significant. The needs of the Kingdom must always have priority over everything else.

· Actually, the prayer begins, as all prayers should, with worship: Hallowed be thy name. The Greek says, “Let thy name be sanctified.” This is a challenging petition: Let Thy holy name be sanctified by my life today, as I, bearing the name of Christ, live in a Christlike manner.

· The second petition is, Thy kingdom come (Vs.10). This must take precedence over personal interests. George Ladd says:

o “This prayer is a petition for God to reign, to manifest His kingly sovereignty and power, to put to flight every enemy of righteousness and of His divine rule, that God alone may be King over all the world.”

o But this petition is also related to world evangelism.

§ For it is particularly in the salvation of souls that God’s kingdom comes.

· The third petition, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven, was echoed by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

o Luke 22:42 (NKJV) 42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."

· There is no greater prayer that one can offer.

o We should make it personal: Thy will be done first in my heart, as in heaven. Then: Thy will be done everywhere on earth.[5]

Now, if we put God’s concerns first, then we can bring our own needs. God is concerned about our needs and knows them even before we mention them (Matt. 6:8) Let’s move on😊

· Vs. 11-12: . Knowing God knows our needs before we pray, then why pray?

§ James 4:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Where do wars and fights comefrom among you? Do they not come from your desires forpleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

o Prayer prepares us for the proper use of the answer. If we know our need, and if we voice it to God, trusting Him for His provision, then we will make better use of the answer than if God forced it on us without our asking.

· Vs. 11: Give us this day—not this month, not this year. Why does the Lord want us to pray day by day? Why can’t we just sort of blanket our requests by saying, “Lord, give us this month our monthly needs,” or “Give us this year our yearly bread”?

o The Lord wants us to pray for our daily needs because prayer in and of itself is our greatest need. If the Father gave things to us on a monthly basis, we wouldn’t pray very frequently. The Lord wants you and me to come before Him every day. Is it because He’s on an ego trip? No. Is it because He has need of us? No. Because we have need of Him. He is our Bread.

· Our Daily Bread: I think it’s rather foolish for people to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” but fail to take Communion. It’s like praying, “Lord, send light,” while keeping our eyes closed. “For this cause,” writes Paul, “many are weak and sick and even dying unnecessarily” (see 1 Corinthians 11:30). I believe the ultimate answer to this request is found at the Communion Table, for truly He is our Bread. Don’t let the pendulum swing too far, fundamental Protestant. Don’t diminish the mystery of the Lord’s Table by saying, “I don’t believe Communion is really mystical or miraculous. It’s not really necessary. It’s optional.”

o No. It’s foundational. It’s essential. Check out the Book of Acts.Communion was a key component of the early church. Jesus Himself said,

§ “Do this often in remembrance of Me.

§ Be constantly fed and refreshed in Me.”

· Vs. 12: And forgive us our debts… “What is found in Christianity which is not found in any other religion?” This was the question asked at a seminar featuring several prominent Christian theologians. C. S. Lewis, the brilliant thinker and gifted author, was caught in traffic while the rest of the panel puzzled over this question. After about an hour, Lewis arrived, and the question was posed to him. “That’s simple,” he replied. “The forgiveness of sin.”

o Our past is buried in the sea of God’s forgiveness and forgetfulness. He does not remember our sin anymore. And that is what makes Christianity absolutely unique.

o As we forgive our debtors. In the expression of this prayer is the explosion of forgiveness. I might begin praying the Lord’s Prayer with bitterness in my heart toward someone who hurt me six years ago, eight weeks ago, or ten minutes ago. But as I pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,” suddenly the resentment, the bitterness, the ill-will dissipates from me as I pray this prayer meaningfully.[6]

· Vs. 13: It is right to pray for daily physical needs, for forgiveness, and for guidance and protection from evil. “Lead us not into temptation” does not mean that God tempts His children (James 1:13–17).

o James 1:13-17 (NKJV) 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

· In this petition we are asking God to guide us so that we will notget out of His will and get involved in a situation of temptation.

o 1 John 5:18 (NKJV) 18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

· Also keep us from a situation of tempting God so that He must miraculously rescue us.[7]

o Matthew 4:5-7 (NKJV) 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORDyour God.' "

Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV) 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

· The prayer lesson concludes with a reminder that follows the teaching of forgiveness in verse 12. This is the Savior’s own commentary on our petition to God for forgiveness, and the only one of the petitions to which He gives added insight. Thus its importance is amplified.

· Vs. 14: For if you forgive men for their transgressionsputs the principle in a positive mode. Believers should forgive as those who have received judicial forgiveness (cf. Eph. 1:7; 1 John 2:1–2) from God. When the heart is filled with such a forgiving spirit, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

o Believers cannot know parental forgiveness, which keeps fellowship with the Lord rich and blessings from the Lord profuse, apart from forgiving others in heart and word. Forgive (aphiēmi) means literally “to hurl away.”

· Paul had this in mind when he wrote, “I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost [of sinners], Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience” (1 Tim. 1:16; cf. Matt. 7:11). An unforgiving spirit not only is inconsistent for one who has been totally forgiven by God, but also brings the chastening of God rather than His mercy. Our Lord illustrates the unmerciful response in the parable of Matthew 18:21–35. There a man is forgiven the unpayable debt representing sin and is given the mercy of salvation. He then refuses to forgive another and is immediately and severely chastened by God.

· Vs. 15: But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. That states the truth of verse 14 in a negative way for emphasis. The sin of an unforgiving heart and a bitter spirit (Heb. 12:15) forfeits blessing and invites judgment. Even the Talmud taught that he who is indulgent toward others’ faults will be mercifully dealt with by the Supreme Judge (Shabbath 151b).

· Every believer must seek to manifest the forgiving spirit of Joseph (Gen. 50:19–21) and of Stephen (Acts 7:60) as often as needed (Luke 17:3–4).

o To receive pardon from the perfectly holy God and then to refuse to pardon others when we are sinful men is the epitome of abuse of mercy. And “judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).

§ James 2:13 (NKJV) 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Notes in Closing and an important review on why we should pray.

· Let us look back a Vs. 8: your Father knows what you need before you ask him. He is neither ignorant, so that we need to instruct him, nor hesitant, so that we need to persuade him. He is our Father—a Father who loves his children and knows all about their needs. If that be so, somebody asks, then what is the point of praying? Let Calvin answer your question:

o ‘Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to him, or of exciting him to do his duty, or of urging him as though he were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on his promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into his bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things.[8] (See Surgeon’s closing thought on “good” on page 11-12 below.)

· Our prayers are to be primarily concerned with the exaltation of the name, kingdom, and will of the Lord Jesus Christ.

· Prayer is primarily worship which inspires thanks and personal purity.[9]

· The abiding reality is that temptation is good for us. Temptation molded the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Jesus withstood it all and with the temptation conquered went on to live his peerless life. Some three and a half years later in Gethsemane he triumphed again over temptation as he conquered the impulse to flee from the cross. The writer of Hebrews bears testimony to this in Jesus life on earth.[10]

· Forgiveness is required for those who have been forgiven. We are not given the luxury of holding on to our bitterness towards other people.

o “Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity ofour offence against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely trifling. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offences of others, it proves that we have minimized our own.” (Stott, cited in Carson)

· Here, the emphasis is on the imperative of forgiveness; on the fact that it is not an option.[11]

Let Spurgeon close our study with this final thought

· “That all thingswork together for goodto them that love God, to them who are the calledaccording to his purpose”. Romans 8:28.

· We know this, for we have proved it in our own experience. “All things work.” God sets one thing over against another. The purpose of God to his people is good, and only good; and though this or that might be injurious, yet, allput together, they work for good to them that love God. Come, my soul, dost thou love God? Canst thou say to-night, “Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee”? All things work together forthy good. Not only shall they work, but they are working, they work now, forthy good. And learn another sweet lesson. Thou art one of those whom God calls, according to the sweet purpose of his electing love, for so it stands: they that love God are the same as those who are calledaccording to his purpose. If thou lovest God, God loves thee. Thy love to God, poor and faint though it be, is the assured token that he loves thee with an everlasting love, and, therefore, with bands of loving-kindness has he drawn thee.[12]

Grace and peace to you all😊

Shalom!

[1]Rod Mattoon, Treasures from the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 2, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2007), 37–38. [2]William Barclay, ed., The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976), 198–200. [3]Iain D. Campbell, Opening up Matthew, Opening Up Commentary (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2008), 48. [4]Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 58–59. [5]Ralph Earle, “The Gospel according to Matthew,” in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Beacon Bible Commentary (Beacon Hill Press, 1964), Mt 6:5–15. [6]Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 38–39. [7]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 26. [8]John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 144–145. [9]John F. MacArthur Jr., Matthew, vol. 1, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 397–398. [10]R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001), 195. [11]David Guzik, Matthew, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Mt 6:14–15. [12]C. H. Spurgeon, “Love’s Great Reason,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 60 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1914), 143.