Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
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.
Are you over or under-familiar with Matt 6:11?
Hearing something repeatedly can diminish its significance. I suspect that this is particularly true of Scripture.
Over-familiarity with a biblical passage can contribute to its misunderstanding. Sometimes it can reduce a
profound concept to nothing more than a cliché.
The Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:9-13) ranks among one of the most popular passages in the New Covenant. Most
people who regularly attend a church or synagogue can recite it from memory. It is a prayer that we have
heard and said many times. One of the more memorable lines of the prayer is, ―Give us this day our daily
bread" (Matt 6:11). Let us pause for a moment and consider this entreaty phrase by phrase.
The line begins with the blunt imperative, ―Give us"! This is a curious manner in which to address YHWH. I
have heard parents scold a spoiled child for using similar language.
The middle phrase is ―this day‖. I suppose that Y‘shua intended for his disciples to say this prayer each
morning, as they looked forward to YHWH Yireh's provision throughout the day.
The third and final phrase is ―our daily bread‖, which seems to mean simply the necessary portion of food
that a disciple needed to sustain him or herself. Apparently, Y‘shua taught his disciples to expect that YHWH
Yireh would meet their fundamental needs day by day.
For the majority of Believers who live in Western Europe, North America, and other prosperous areas, ―Give
us this day our daily bread" has little relevance. As audacious as this assertion may be, it can be easily
verified: simply go to the nearest refrigerator and take inventory of its contents. This line of the prayer is
largely irrelevant for me, too. My kitchen contains ample food for at least a week.
Unfamiliarity with Y‘shua‘s social and religious environment can also muffle the significance of his words.
―Give us this day our daily bread" makes excellent sense within the rich conceptual world of late Second
Temple-period Judaism. More specifically, this imperative aimed at YHWH belongs to the culture of what
would be called at a later time Talmud Torah (the joining of oneself to a sage in order to learn Torah from
him).
Y‘shua gathered disciples around him like the tannaic rabbis would continue to do in the Second Century
A.D. Y‘shua‘s agenda, however, was distinctive in that it centered on the Kingdom of Heaven. His agenda
was firmly rooted in Israel's Torah. He never dishonoured or violated it; but in focusing upon YWHW's
Kingdom, he stretched its parameters.
Y‘shua‘s demands for entering the Kingdom of Heaven were high. Among them was a readiness to leave
family, property and careers (Luke 5:11, 28; 14:25-33; 18:22). After a person joined Y‘shua‘s group of
disciples, the demands for remaining at the center of YHWH's Kingdom remained high. ―Give us this day our
daily bread" resonates with the values and priorities of this cultural context. Y‘shua expected his followers to
make moving with YHWH's redemptive activity their priority. Once committed to this program, they had no
reason to worry about their basic necessities – food, clothing and shelter. YHWH Yireh would take care of
these.
Y‘shua reiterated similar ideas on other occasions. Just before sending his disciples out two by two, he said:
―The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few...Go your way...Carry no purse, no bag, no
sandals...Whenever you enter a town and they receive you...heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The
Kingdom of God has come near to you'" (Luke 10:2-9). As the conclusion for a short lecture on anxiety, he
exhorted his audience, ―Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you. So, do not worry about tomorrow...The day's troubles will take care of themselves" (Matt 6:33-34).
(―These things" refer to food, drink and clothing.)
These sayings of Y‘shua were apparently not intended as an exaggeration or symbol. Y‘shua said what he
meant. Our hectic lifestyles with the prosperity and materialism of modern, Western society make them,