The Lord's Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel

Charles Nathan Ridlehoover

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780567692351
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Charles Nathan Ridlehoover examines the Lord's Prayer in Matthew's Gospel, focusing on the prayer's centrality and showing how this centrality affects our reading of the Sermon on the Mount and subsequently, the prayer itself. Ridlehoover argues that the Lord's Prayer is structurally, lexically, and thematically central to the Sermon on the Mount, and the means through which disciples of Jesus are empowered to live out the kingdom righteousness it defines. In turn, the Sermon on the Mount clarifies what the answer to the petitions of the Lord's Prayer might look like in the life of the disciple of Jesus. Whilst the centrality of the Lord's Prayer has been noted by previous commentators, this centrality and its intended purpose has not hitherto been defined or examined in great depth. Ridlehoover fills this gap with a closely argued and in-depth study, ranging from methodology and the structure of the prayer itself to examining the Father, will, forgiveness and evil petitions, and the relevance of word and deed for hearers and doers. Ridlehoover's examination of the relationship between the Sermon and Prayer advances studies in compositional criticism and intratextuality.

1

Introduction and Survey of Scholarship

Matthew 6:9a: Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς

The Lord’s Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount continue to be among the most discussed texts within Christian scriptures, particularly in their Matthean versions. Because of their rich literary and theological import, it is no wonder that students of Matthew continue to bring out “treasures new and old” (Mt. 13:51-52) from these texts. The Lord’s Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount are found in two places in the Gospels. Matthew’s Gospel has the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:9-13) in the center of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), while Luke’s Gospel presents a shortened sermon (“on the plain”) in ch. 6 (vv. 20-49) followed by a shortened Lord’s Prayer in ch. 11 (vv. 2-4).¹

Luke’s recording of the Lord’s Prayer has Jesus responding to a disciple’s inquiry on how to pray (Lk. 11:1). This question (Κύριε, δίδαξον ἡμᾶς προσεύχεσθαι, καθὼς καὶ Ἰωάννης ἐδίδαξεν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ) and response (i.e., the Lord’s Prayer) forms the first part of an extended section on prayer (Lk. 11:1-13). Matthew, on the other hand, appears to have the Lord’s Prayer “out-of-place” in the Sermon on the Mount. Consider the comments of Matthean scholar Donald Hagner:

The Evangelist has here inserted further traditional material stemming from Jesus on the subject of prayer, thereby breaking the smooth sequence of the three parallel sections on the practice of righteousness (vv. 2-4; 5-6; 16-18). This entire pericope would hardly be missed if it were omitted from the present context. Vv. 9-15 (Lord’s Prayer) in particular do not fit well their present context.²

Graham Stanton agrees: “The Lord’s Prayer and two related sayings (6:9–15) partly ‘spoil’ the very impressive symmetry of this part of the Sermon.”³ France goes even further, calling the insertion of the Lord’s Prayer a “literary digression.”⁴ Each commentator has implied the insertion of something that does not seem to fit. Unfortunately, their assessments assert that the Lord’s Prayer is intrusive instead of a careful placement. Through the failure to recognize the centrality of the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, the interpretation of both texts has been impoverished. In the church and the academy, the tendency is to study these texts in isolation from one another.⁵

Central to this study are the following questions: What is the relationship between the Lord’s Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel? What role does the Sermon on the Mount have in properly understanding the Lord’s Prayer? And, what role does the Lord’s Prayer have in properly understanding the Sermon on the Mount? We will argue that the Lord’s Prayer is placed in the center of the Sermon on the Mount structurally and becomes a focal point for lexical and thematic parallels with the surrounding material in the Sermon. As we shall see, the Prayer’s centrality is not a new concept but, nonetheless, a concept that has lacked specificity and clarity. The aim of this book is not only to argue for the centrality of the Lord’s Prayer within the Sermon on the Mount but also to give definition and purpose to the Prayer’s central position. It is likely that Matthew noted similarities between the Lord’s Prayer and Sermon on the Mount from the traditions he received, leading him to establish the connection between the two texts. Matthew edited parts of the Sermon, and the Prayer itself, with a desire to increase the parallelism between the two texts, making prayer central. Matthew’s desire to make prayer a central feature of the Sermon on the Mount also includes his editing and placement of the instruction to “ask, seek, and knock” at the end of the Sermon’s body (Mt. 7:7-11). As we shall argue, the Sermon on the Mount was not built and ordered around the Lord’s Prayer, but Matthew has seen and enhanced lexical and thematic parallels with the petitions, bringing out continuity between the two texts. No single petition parallels all the material in the Sermon on the Mount, but rather, each petition, through its parallels to the Sermon, makes a case for its integrated position (structurally, lexically, and thematically) as the “centerpiece” of the Sermon.⁶

The purpose, or “why,” of this centrality for Matthew is to clarify what the answer to the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer might look like in the life of the disciple of Jesus. The results are as follows: (1) a prayer in which the petitions are grounded in the passages of the Sermon, sharing lexical and thematic parallels; (2) the Sermon on the Mount describes what happens when the Lord’s Prayer is answered in the disciple’s life; and (3) this prayer to the Father is key to committing to and living by the Sermon’s kingdom righteousness.

As we will show, little detailed historical and exegetical work has been done on the relationship between the Lord’s Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount. Although the two sets of texts can be understood apart from one another, the following study will argue that in Matthew’s Gospel, the best reading is one in which they are read together with consideration of their structural, lexical, and thematic relationship.

Why Is This Book Worth Writing?

This book is worth writing to contend for a fresh understanding of the Lord’s Prayer. Admittedly, to propose a fresh understanding of the Lord’s Prayer is a risky endeavor. Yet at an academic level, studies of the Lord’s Prayer have hit a stalemate. New treatments of the Lord’s Prayer typically reproduce the emphases of previous studies and little new understanding emerges. These previous studies have concentrated on the following: (1) the “form” in which the Lord’s Prayer was transmitted; (2) the sources which gave rise to the Lord’s Prayer; (3) a reconstruction of the communities that received their respective versions of the Lord’s Prayer; (4) the original language of the Lord’s Prayer; or (5) the various redactions in Matthew, Luke, and the Didache’s version. While these issues are important for understanding the history behind the Lord’s Prayer, they often become the sole means for understanding the Prayer.⁷ The following book will argue for an understanding of the Lord’s Prayer that takes into consideration the final or transmitted form of the text and its intentional placement by Matthew into the Sermon on the Mount. It will also seek to establish why Matthew has intentionally centered the Prayer within the Sermon.

The second benefit of writing this book is to establish an ignored angle of the Sermon on the Mount, notably the thrust of its central text. It is widely agreed that the Sermon on the Mount is the greatest collection of Jesus’s ethical teachings. If the Sermon on the Mount’s shape and themes connect with the Lord’s Prayer, it is reasonable to assume that the Lord’s Prayer gives vital clues as to how to fulfill the Sermon’s ethic. The standard themes of the Sermon on the Mount are generally agreed to be righteousness and kingdom living. By placing the Lord’s Prayer at the center of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew indicates that prayer is a prominent theme along with righteousness and the kingdom. As we will seek to argue, the Lord’s Prayer is placed at the center of the Sermon on the Mount to serve as the interpretive key to living out the kingdom righteousness prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount.

The third benefit arising from this book is the advance of compositional criticism and intratextuality in Matthean studies, as well as the Synoptic Gospels. The canonical writings of the Gospels were not created in a vacuum. Each writer used a variety of sources, both canonical and noncanonical. These written sources were a part of a shared cultural memory among the Jewish people. Studying the relationship between old and new texts/ideas and how they are shaped into new contexts is an exercise in intratextuality and part of the ongoing literary study of the New Testament. The present study will analyze how the Lord’s Prayer works intratextually within the Sermon on the Mount.⁸ If the relationship between these texts can be established by way of parallels, a fourth benefit arises.

By situating the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount and asserting that the Sermon on the Mount helps to explain the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, a new aspect of New Testament prayer emerges. This aspect is the marrying of word and deed, prayer and praxis. Unfortunately, prayer is often seen only for its communicative aspects or as a mantra to be repeated. A petitioner comes to God offering thanks, lament, praise, and petition. Yet, Mt. 6:33 (“But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”⁹) uses prayer language (“strive”) alongside a call to discipleship (i.e., “the kingdom and righteousness”). The Lord’s Prayer as the “centerpiece” of the Sermon on the Mount would evidence an extended example of...