The prayer wording in
Secret Path is taken from
Matthew.
Luke's version is the more compact, leading some scholars to think that
Matthew's writer amplified
Luke's older rendition.. The shorter version, they believe, may be what the Lord actually said. Though this suggestion may well be correct, we must also concede that Jesus could have taught about this prayer on more than one occasion.
In any case, the best manuscripts of
Luke give the model prayer in what to us looks like abbreviated form. The matter in square braces is what appears in
Matthew but not in the early
Luke manuscripts. The matter in curly braces is my commentary.
Luke 11:2-4
2 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 each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us {literally, in Greek, "is indebted to us"}.
And lead us not into temptation [but deliver us from the evil one]."
There are various conjectures as to why what seems to be the original
Luke version (not found in the King James version and other Bible translations) is a slimmed down version of what appears in
Matthew. Of course, nearly everyone knows that the last verse in Matthew's version of the prayer is very likely a pious addition, perhaps a bit of a hymn.
My take is not that two different versions were known, but that
Matthew's writer added explanatory matter in order to make clear the intended meaning. He did not feel obliged to give a verbatim report on what he found in the source scholars call Q or in some other source. He was giving what he considered to be a fair representation of what Jesus told his disciples. The Matthean wanted to make sure his account related to first century Jews. But he, or a scribal editor prior to the third century, also thought it important to put Jesus' spare words into context. This is very similar to the way in which a modern newspaper reporter paraphrases someone's words in order to make the meaning clear to the reader. We must remember that there was no convention of placing verbatim words within quotation marks.
Our Father..
A Matthean editor or writer doubtless wanted to make crystal clear to newcomers that Father = God, and not some mortal human. And we have the probability that the prayer was amplified for purposes of group recitation. Whose Father? Our Father. This is a WE church.
Now, though it is evident that Jesus was looking forward to the day, not far off, when his disciples would be born again in spirit and in truth and become true sons of God, we should not think un-Jewish those who regarded God as a Father. Consider that Old Testament Scripture calls him a Father to the fatherless.
Indeed The composer of
Matthew's Sermon on the Mount may have been thinking of the verse from Psalm 68.
Psalm 68:5-6
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Father in heaven.
I conjecture that Jesus did not usually qualify "Father" with the modifier "heavenly" or "in heaven." That modifier looks like something the writer or an editor decided upon in order to distinguish between God as father and one's earthly father. But, in any case, as the writer of
John would have been quick to note, only those who have been born again (or, possibly, who are destined to be born again) can rightly call God "our Father." And once he becomes our Father, that is it! He is the Father. One's earthly father deserves respect, but he is father of the old, unregenerate man. The new man has only one father, God.
Though fashioned in the image of God, we soon, as a result of growing up in this world, died to God. By Christ's sacrifice, the original image of God in us – hopefully – has been and is being restored. This is an important point. God chose us in advance for salvation, for restoration. In a sense, we were always sons of God. But that relationship (which tends to elude our memories) was destroyed by sin. Now it is restored, better than ever. By this reasoning, we can draw a parallel with the idea that Jesus was always the son of God, but events in his human life correspond to a renewal of that sonship.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew has added this thought, I suggest, in order to make plain that the unfolding of the divine kingdom implies that God's will is to be done in the here and now. Again, we can see this in the context of the born-again believers. God's kingdom has come into their hearts and minds through trust in Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit. So these folks are much more inclined to do God's will, though most still have battles to fight against the flesh. When the kingdom arrives in its full splendor, those battles against the flesh will presumably be at an end and only the will of God will be done.
But deliver us from the evil one.
I suggest these words were included in order to bolster the faith and understanding of new believers. These words are certainly implied by the previous words: "Lead us not into temptation." The Matthean composer of the Sermon on the Mount wished to assure the readers that Jesus really saves.
Do not lead us to temptation.
During refining, metal is tested to see what needs yet to be done, to assure that it is purged of nonessential weak material so that only the durable matter is left. When your faith is tested, God is helping you to see where you are in your spiritual progress, so that you learn to cast off the inessential. Its purpose is somewhat like the goal of Marine Corps boot camp or Army basic training.
Further, how can you learn to rely on God without being placed in situations where you have little wiggle room?
If a person indulges in much self-will, perhaps God will lead him to learn a hard lesson, in order that he become more modest and humble toward God, which is for his own good, since those who primarily serve themselves serve Satan, the evil one. For example, observe that the alcoholic or drug addict has followed a path that leads him into the hands of the evil one. If he is fortunate, he turns to God and recovers, perhaps through Alcoholics Anonymous, from the disordered condition that has overcome him. [AA favors no particular creed or religious doctrine.]
Though God did not wish that person to go down that road, even so he ordained that difficult path for that person. That person was "led into temptation" on account of the poor choices he made. Of course, this principle doesn't only apply to alcoholics and addicts. It is a consequence of our blindness in this fallen world.
Such a fall certainly doesn't mean that God is angry with people who have fallen into the devil's snares. After all, God sent his son to deliver us from the evil one. Yet, as long as a person refuses to turn to Jesus, the "wrath of God" remains on him. God is not personally angry. But by refusing to turn to the light, the balky person is keeping the disorderly state of mind, and the pain, of this fallen world.
