Matthew 6:13, For Thine is the Kingdom
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
//Today's verse concludes the Lord's Prayer as recorded in the book of Matthew. But this final stanza, beginning with For thine is the kingdom, isn't original to the prayer. You won't find it in Luke's rendition, and you won't find it in our earliest copies of Matthew. It was added sometime later.
Why did it get added? I can offer an opinion, but it’s only an opinion.
First, it must be recognized that this is an eschatological prayer. That is, it anticipates the arrival of God's kingdom on earth; presumably with the return of Jesus. So, likewise, the final pre-edited stanza: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Many scholars recognize this as a plea for rescue from the trying times that must precede the Lord's arrival. Readers of Paul's letters and the book of Revelation will know what I mean: Jews and Christians both anticipated a period of suffering, sometimes called the Woes of the Messiah, before the inauguration of God's kingdom, God's era of righteous rule on the earth.
But the prayer ends rather abruptly, and on a dark note. Evil. Something like, Please, God, guide us safely through that awful time, so that we might participate in the coming age of plenty ... when debts will all be forgiven, and there will be bread to eat every day, and your righteous rule will extend your kingdom over the entire earth.
Then comes the new addition to the prayer, speaking of power and glory forever. Gently redirecting us away from our fears and dreams of the future, with one very important word: is. While all of the rest of the prayer is futuristic, looking ahead to a better time, this little word "is" suddenly invites participation in the glorious kingdom of God now. Perhaps it was added by someone who recognized the silliness of living entirely in anticipation of a future day, encouraging us instead to grasp what is ours now through the goodness of God. It is a shift in understanding of what the Kingdom of God is ... from a future arrival of a Messiah to a living, worldwide Christian movement, already under the reign of Jesus.
[image error]
//Today's verse concludes the Lord's Prayer as recorded in the book of Matthew. But this final stanza, beginning with For thine is the kingdom, isn't original to the prayer. You won't find it in Luke's rendition, and you won't find it in our earliest copies of Matthew. It was added sometime later.
Why did it get added? I can offer an opinion, but it’s only an opinion.
First, it must be recognized that this is an eschatological prayer. That is, it anticipates the arrival of God's kingdom on earth; presumably with the return of Jesus. So, likewise, the final pre-edited stanza: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Many scholars recognize this as a plea for rescue from the trying times that must precede the Lord's arrival. Readers of Paul's letters and the book of Revelation will know what I mean: Jews and Christians both anticipated a period of suffering, sometimes called the Woes of the Messiah, before the inauguration of God's kingdom, God's era of righteous rule on the earth.
But the prayer ends rather abruptly, and on a dark note. Evil. Something like, Please, God, guide us safely through that awful time, so that we might participate in the coming age of plenty ... when debts will all be forgiven, and there will be bread to eat every day, and your righteous rule will extend your kingdom over the entire earth.
Then comes the new addition to the prayer, speaking of power and glory forever. Gently redirecting us away from our fears and dreams of the future, with one very important word: is. While all of the rest of the prayer is futuristic, looking ahead to a better time, this little word "is" suddenly invites participation in the glorious kingdom of God now. Perhaps it was added by someone who recognized the silliness of living entirely in anticipation of a future day, encouraging us instead to grasp what is ours now through the goodness of God. It is a shift in understanding of what the Kingdom of God is ... from a future arrival of a Messiah to a living, worldwide Christian movement, already under the reign of Jesus.
[image error]
No comments have been added yet.
