Sermon on the Mount: Daily Bread

Sermon on the Mount – Daily Bread

Matthew 6:9-13

1. Introduction – What an incredible prayer this is.

a. Whether we use it as a model prayer and fill in our own words…or we pray this prayer word for word…

i. There’s a lot of meaning packed in to these few words.

1. But as great as this prayer has been – it would incomplete if it was simply left at “your will be done.”

a. Because to NOT pray for our own needs is just as offensive as only praying for our needs.

ii. In this amazing prayer – Jesus is teaching is disciples how to pray.

1. We start with God – we remember the nature and status of our relationship with him.

a. We hallow his name – pray that God’s name will be see as great in our world.

i. We pray for his kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done…

1. And we pray for all those things to happen on earth as they are currently happening in heaven.

b. However, if God is our Father in heaven, if he is more willing to bless than we are to receive blessing,

i. Then it is only appropriate that we come to our heavenly Father with our needs.

1. Notice…needs…not our wants.

a. Our Father in heaven cares for us, his children, he cares for our total welfare…

i. Our spiritual needs and our physical needs and he wants us to bring those to him.

1. Our need for food, forgiveness and deliverance.

c. It’s a shocking twist…considering where we just were – basking in God’s glory, kingdom and will.

i. But it’s wonderful that Jesus gave us this second half of the Lord’s Prayer.

1. Because in it – we learn that it is not selfish to pray for personal things.

a. And the second half starts with a prayer for sustained life.

i. If we don’t have life, the other requests are useless.

1. We start a prayer for bread.

a. But as we’ll find out today, this prayer is about a lot more than a mere loaf of bread.

2. Hear God’s Word – Matthew 6:9-13.

2. Bread – Have you ever noticed how prominent bread is throughout the Bible?

a. There is the unleavened bread that Israel ate as part of the Passover meal.

i. God sustained the people of Israel for 40 years by providing them with bread from heaven.

1. Manna – a daily provision. And no doubt this petition is alluding to this event.

a. There is the bread that was placed on the table in the Temple.

b. Bread was broken in order to feed 5000 men plus women and children.

i. Jesus referred to himself as the Bread of Life.

1. At the Last Supper, Jesus took the unleavened bread that represented a hasty exodus out of Egypt…and he repurposed it.

a. He said that the bread represents his broken body.

i. And in the Lord’s Supper – a meal we partake of today – we remember Jesus broken body on our behalf by taking a piece of broken bread.

1. By his stripes we are healed.

ii. Bread in the Bible represents life – and really it is a case of a part representing a whole.

1. Bread is really emblematic of all food – all that sustains life. We’ll touch on this at the end.

c. But over the millennia, this idea of bread has been interpreted, reinterpreted and misinterpreted.

i. Some have allegorized this petition for daily bread…some have spiritualized it…

1. Thinking that it was inappropriate to ask God for something like bread.

a. Some have interpreted this idea of daily bread as spiritual food and spiritual nourishment…it’s a petition for Christian growth.

i. Some have interpreted it as the bread of the Lord’s Supper.

d. But this request for bread…it is best interpreted as a request for bread…actual, life giving, life sustaining bread.

i. So what are we praying when we say this fourth petition of the Lord’s prayer?

1. I believe the best way for us to answer this question is to look at each word of this petition individually.

a. Because each word is absolutely loaded with meaning.

2. So today we’ll examine – Give…us…this day…daily bread.

a. At it’s core is a prayer for bread…but it is so much more too

3. Give – Let’s start by looking at this first word “give.”

a. This little word reminds us that everything we are and everything we have comes from God.

i. This one little word…and this whole phrase really…teaches us to be utterly dependent on God for everything.

1. And this is an incredible concept…and incredible petition.

a. Think about all that we have previously studied in this Prayer…all that we have just studied about God…

ii. He is our Father in heaven – omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent…God, who is the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth…

1. Not only Creator, but Sustainer also. God, who is currently bringing his kingdom to earth…

a. Who will one day make all things new…it’s wonderful to think that this God listens to our requests when we pray.

i. Even down to the smallest details of life…like bread.

b. This first word ‘give’ is so important – for we can’t live a day without God’s sustaining power.

i. Nothing would continue if it were not kept and sustained by God.

1. Give – a reminder that every good and perfect gift comes from above…from the Father light.

a. Give – teaches us that God himself is the ultimate source of every good – food, clothing, work, leisure, strength, intelligence, friendship…

c. However, this word ‘give’ is not an excuse for laziness.

i. Not “give me my provisions while I sit and do nothing.”

1. No, work is something that is ordained by God.

a. Jesus reprimands some Pharisees later in Matthew’s Gospel for neglecting their parental work.

ii. Give…not a handout, but a deep dependence on God for everything.

4. Us/Our – Let’s move on to the 2nd word of this petition.

a. It’s the word ‘us’ – and we’ll combine it with the word ‘our’.

i. Right off the bat we should notice that these words are plural.

1. In fat, from here on out – all of the pronouns are plural.

a. We aren’t simply praying for my bread, my forgiveness, my deliverance…

i. But this is a communal prayer.

b. This petition teaches us to pray not only for our personal needs, but pray for other people’s bread too.

i. This word ‘our’ teaches us that the Christian life isn’t about a solitary life lived on our own.

1. But it is a life lived in community – a life lived serving each other…making sure that everyone receives daily bread.

a. One commentator wrote this – this word ‘our’ should be a goad in our sides.

i. For us who are not poor, who have few needs – this should really be a prayer for ‘their’ daily bread.

1. A goad to all kinds of creative action.

a. Give us our daily bread…a perpetual call to social action.

c. This fourth petition – when prayed carefully and thoughtfully – keeps the church grounded in earthly reality…in tune with the needs of people.

i. Give us all…and use me if you have to…daily bread.

5. This Day – I hope you can see there’s a lot of meaning packed into this petition.

a. Next, look at these two words – this day.

i. These 2 words remind us that tomorrow is not guaranteed.

1. It’s a reminder to take one day at a time – one provision at a time.

a. As 21st century westerners – this seems like an absurd concept.

i. This day??? This day??? – I have a pantry full of food.

1. I have a freezer jammed packed with so much food it will probably go bad before I eat it all…

2. So, given that we are where we are…we should rarely pray this petition without also saying “Thank You” to God for the abundance of his blessing.

a. Give us this day our daily bread…thank you God!

b. But for Jesus’ original audience…life was a not more precarious than ours.

i. In 1st century Palestine – workers were commonly paid for the work they did each day.

1. And the pay was so abysmally low that it was next to impossible to save any of it.

a. The day’s pay purchased the day’s food.

i. More than that…there’s was a largely agrarian society.

1. So one crop failure – one devastating storm, a locust plague…that would spell disaster.

ii. So for 1st century Jews, “give us this day our daily bread” was not empty rhetoric.

1. They lived a precarious lifestyle – and Jesus’ followers were to learn to trust their heavenly Father to meet their physical needs.

c. But this whole request – especially these words ‘this day’ – should really affect us as 21st century Christians.

i. The wording of this petition recalls Israel’s reliance on God for manna in the desert.

1. Howe else were they going to get food?

a. How else were they going to be provided for?

i. They trusted that every morning when they woke up – manna would be there.

1. They trusted that there would be enough for everything.

a. They trusted that it would all happen again the next day.

ii. And in the same way – we are to rely on daily provisions for life from God.

1. “Don’t worry about tomorrow” Jesus will say later in the SM – focus on what’s happening today – focus on God’s provisions for this day.

d. This petition is a request for us to develop a sustained reliance on God…

i. A conscious dependence on him…while NOT being anxious about the future.

1. Since God cares about you today…he will provide for you…today. This day…

a. Give us…this day…not worrying about tomorrow…but on what we need to make it through today.

6. Daily Bread – And we come to the last 2 words of this wonderful petition.

a. Did you realize there was so much packed in here? What a verse this is!

i. Daily bread…give us, this day…what we need to survive.

1. What I want us to take note of is that we are praying for like’s necessities…not luxuries.

a. We are praying for daily bread…not daily cake.

i. We are grateful when cake comes along…but cake isn’t a necessity.

1. Cake is a want…not a need.

ii. We pray for…we depend on God for the basics of life.

b. But not only are we praying bread…but we are praying for all the things that go in to making bread.

i. Flour, yeast, salt, water….whatever else goes into bread.

1. The ingredients are necessary in order to make bread…or money is needed in order to buy bread.

a. Martin Luther rightly saw that ‘bread’ was a symbol for everything necessary for the preservation of life…

2. So, yes, food – but also a healthy body, good weather, a house, an oven to bake in.

a. Bread costs money….but money requires work…work requires good government, good business and good labour.

i. Have you ever thought about what this petition means?

1. It has far reaching effects.

ii. Daily bread – a prayer for food, clothes, health, work, money, good government, business and labour…

1. And in order for all of those things to function properly…we need peace.

a. So it is also a prayer that God will preserve us from calamities, sickness, war and hard times.

c. There is a prayer in the OT – in the book of Proverbs…Proverbs 30:7-8.

Proverbs 30:7–8 ESV

7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,

i. It’s a prayer by a man named Agur.

1. Hear these words.

a. Most of us ae with Agur through the first line of prayer.

i. We shouldn’t lie – we don’t want to be known as liars.

1. We are to be people of truth and we are to be trustworthy people.

a. So Agur we’re with you…Help us not to lie!

ii. Most of us are with him in the next phrase…give me not poverty.

1. None us want to be poor…We don’t wish poverty on ourselves….so once again Agur…great prayer. We hear add our “Amen” to it.

a. But very few of us would pray that next line…give me not riches.

i. OK – he’s lost us. You had me until that line. Why shouldn’t I pray for riches?

1. Because, when riches come, you will rely on your riches and your self-preservation, instead of relying on God.

iii. But the last line of Proverbs 30:8 is the OT equivalent to the 4th petition of the Lord’s Prayer.

1. Give me not poverty nor give me riches…but give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

a. Notice the word needs…not desires or wants.

i. But Agur prayed for God to give him exactly what he needed for that day.

2. The NIV really drives this point home…because it translates this line this way….

a. Give me poverty nor riches…but give me only my daily bread.

i. Agur’s prayer is incredible…a prayer for needs not wants.

1. A prayer for provision, but also a prayer for dependence in the midst of provision.

7. Conclusion – Hasn’t this been an incredible journey?

a. The 4th petition – an echo of manna in the wilderness.

i. It’s an echo of Agur’s prayer in Proverbs 30:8

1. It’s a reminder for us – in our largely self-sufficient society – to live each day in utter dependence on God.

a. To only look for the provisions for today, and to not worry about what we’ll need or what we’ll do tomorrow.

ii. It’s a prayer for us to look not only for our own needs, but also the needs the others.

1. A prayer for us to be thankful to God for all that he has given to us.

a. Thankful that God provided for us in past.

i. Thankful for what he gives us in the present…

iii. This petition is a reminder for us to take one day at a time and to trust that God will give us each day what we need to survive.

b. Give us this day our daily bread – there’s no filler in this petition.

i. Every word serves a purpose.