rel summary paper

What the New Testament Teaches Us

By: Daniel J. Harrington, SJ

The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). Christianity is an incarnational religion. We believe that God, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, took on our humanity in the land of Israel in what we call the first century a.d.

As we learn from the gospels, Jesus made his own the language, literary forms, and theological themes of Jewish prayer of his time. Jesus’ prayers and teachings on prayer as we find them in the gospels fit well within this historical and literary context. At the same time, they point to him as not only a wise and challenging teacher but also as a distinctive and even unique figure, one worthy of such titles as “Son of God” and “Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jewish Prayer in Jesus’ Time

Jesus’ teaching about prayer and his practice are deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition as expressed in the biblical Book of Psalms and in the prayers of Jews throughout the centuries. His direct address to God, his praise of God’s work in creation and salvation history, and his emphasis on the prayer of petition were—and are—major elements in the Jewish prayer tradition.

The Book of Psalms consists of 150 prayers, ranging from a few short verses to the 176 verses in the elaborately structured Psalm 119. The present book is a collection of earlier collections and looks something like a hymnal. Many of these psalms were first composed for use in worship services held in the Jerusalem Temple. Some psalms were obviously intended to accompany the offering of sacrifices, whereas other psalms, such as Psalm 119, are more meditative and were perhaps designed for use in other communal and personal contexts.

In studying and praying the psalms, it is important to recognize the different categories or scripts. The Hebrew word for the psalms is Tehillim, which means “praises.” While all the psalms sing God’s praises in some way or other, the largest category is the lament. In these psalms, the individual or community addresses God with some complaint, expresses trust in God, and hopes that God will do something about the problem. There are psalms of confidence in God and thanksgiving to God as well as celebrations of God’s actions in creation and in Israel’s history. There are also wisdom psalms, songs of Zion about Jerusalem and its Temple, and royal psalms about the king or about God as king.

By Jesus’ time, the Book of Psalms had become the prayer book of the Jewish people. The many manuscripts of the psalms in the library of the community at Qumran, which gave us the most important of the Dead Sea scrolls, indicate how popular they were. The psalms not only served as prayers to be read and recited but also provided the language and theology for writing new prayers and hymns. The Jewish prayers composed in Jesus’ time drew freely on the words and images in the biblical psalms and placed them in new combinations and new contexts. To a large extent the biblical Book of Psalms shaped the language and theology of Jewish prayer in Jesus’ time.

Also by Jesus’ time, what has now become the traditional order of Jewish prayer was beginning to take shape. An observant Jewish male is expected to recite the “Eighteen Benedictions” three times a day. Those prayers are accompanied in the morning and evening by the recitation of three biblical passages (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41) plus opening and closing benedictions. These readings are called the Shema, the Hebrew word for “hear,” which is the first word in the text of Deuteronomy 6:4 (“Hear, O Israel”). It is likely that Jesus and his first followers were familiar with something like this routine of worship. In fact, Jesus may have intended the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) as a simplified version of the Eighteen Benedictions. This suggestion is strengthened by the notice in the Didache (8:3), an early handbook for Christian life, that the Lord’s Prayer was to be recited three times a day.

The theological framework of the Jewish daily prayer is set by the opening words of the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (see Deuteronomy 6:4). The proper human response is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The opening and concluding benedictions (“Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe”) praise God for his work of creation and redemption and for revealing his will to his people.

The “Eighteen Benedictions” constitute the core of the Jewish daily prayer. They are sometimes called Tephillah, which is the Hebrew word for “prayer,” because they form the Jewish prayer par excellence. They are also referred to as the Amidah, from the Hebrew word for “stand up,” since they are recited while standing. They are properly recited in a group of ten men, but may be said individually if it is not possible to find the right number or minyan in Hebrew. Women are not obligated to pray three times a day, since their domestic duties might make their participation impossible. Each man recites the prayers individually and at his own pace, allowing for differences in devotion or attention. The prayers have a fixed form. But individuals may expand the prayers or make minor substitutions.

The Eighteen Benedictions are in fact a combination of praises and petitions (See Joseph Heinemann with Jakob J. Petuchowski, Literature of the Synagogue, pp. 33–36). The first three benedictions address God as both the God of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the creator of heaven and earth; as the powerful and eternal one who revives the dead; and as the holy one whose name is awesome. The first set of petitions (four through nine) concerns personal matters in the present: understanding, repentance, forgiveness, redemption, healing, and abundant harvests. The second set (ten through fifteen) expresses national concerns about Israel’s future: the gathering of the dispersed Israelites, just leaders, no hope for apostates, compassion for converts, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the coming of the Davidic Messiah, and the hearing of prayers. The final three benedictions concern reverent worship of God, thanksgiving to God, and peace.

These Jewish prayers have been composed and practiced in a theological framework that is typical not only of Jewish prayer but also of the prayers that we find in the New Testament and the Christian tradition. These Jewish prayers balance the transcendence of God as Creator and Lord with the immanence of God, who may be addressed directly and who can and does enter into human affairs. Most of the phrases come from the Hebrew Bible, but now appear in new combinations and new contexts. There is a fixed form but also room for individual expression and adaptation. And there is both a sense of community (the proper number or minyan for the prayer to be “official”) and a respect for individual persons praying at their own pace and according to their own devotion.

Another Jewish prayer that is essential for understanding Jesus’ own prayer is called the Kaddish, from the Hebrew word for “holy.” While in the Jewish tradition it has become associated with the death of a loved one, in its content it is a prayer for the coming of the kingdom of God. The Kaddish asks that God’s name be sanctified or “hallowed” by all creation and that God’s kingdom be fully established soon and in our lifetime:

May his great name be magnified and sanctified in the world that is to be created anew, when he will revive the dead and raise them up unto life eternal, rebuild the city of Jerusalem, and establish his temple in the midst thereof, and uproot all alien worship from the earth and restore the worship of the true God. May the Holy One, blessed be he, establish his kingdom and his glory during your life and during your days, and during the life of all the house of Israel, speedily and at a near time; and say Amen. (Heinemann, p. 84)

The parallels between the Kaddish and the Lord’s Prayer are striking. Whether Jesus was alluding to the Kaddish or something like it, is not certain. But there is clearly a kinship in wording and content between them, which suggests once more that the prayers included in the New Testament must be understood in the context of contemporary Judaism.

The Lord’s Prayer

Many Christians are not aware that there are two different versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the New Testament. The more familiar version (Matthew 6:9-13) appears in the Sermon on the Mount. A somewhat shorter version (Luke 11:2-4) is part of Jesus’ first instruction about prayer in Luke’s Gospel (11:1-13) during his long journey with his disciples from Galilee to Jerusalem. Both versions are prayers for the full coming of God’s kingdom. Both versions were used in early Christian communities—Matthew’s version by Jewish Christians, and Luke’s version by Gentile Christians.

Since the Lukan version is less familiar, it may be a better starting point. According to Luke 11:1, Jesus composed this prayer in response to a request from a disciple to give his followers a prayer like the one John the Baptist had apparently given to his followers. We do not have the text of John’s prayer. But from everything we know about John (see Luke 3:1-20), it must have concerned the full coming of God’s kingdom.

He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

(Luke 11:2-4)

The Lukan version of the Lord’s Prayer is addressed simply to God as “Father.” This title seems to reflect Jesus’ characteristic way of speaking to God and his consciousness of his own special relationship with God as the “Son of God.” By teaching his followers to call upon God as their “Father” too, Jesus invites them—and us—to share in his relationship of intimacy with God. In the ancient Mediterranean world, a father was expected to care for and form his children into adults. And in turn, children were expected to show respect and honor toward their father. Paul affirms that all Christians who have received the Holy Spirit in baptism can cry out to God with the words “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6; Abba is the Aramaic word for Father), and regard themselves as children of God alongside Jesus.

The body of the Lord’s Prayer is a prayer of petition. It contains two petitions for the full coming of God’s kingdom (Luke 11:2) that use second-person singular language (“your name … your kingdom”) and three petitions for sustenance, forgiveness, and protection during the kingdom’s coming (11:3-4) that are cast in first-person plural language (“give us … forgive us … do not bring us”).

The two “you” petitions concern what was the central theme of Jesus’ own preaching and activity: the kingdom of God. Most of Jesus’ parables and many of his other teachings challenged his hearers to discern the presence of God’s kingdom among them and to look forward in hope to its future fullness. His many healings and exorcisms are best understood as previews or anticipations of the fullness of God’s kingdom.

In Luke 11:2 the focus is on the future dimension of the kingdom. Here Jesus teaches us to pray that one day all creation may join in a cosmic chorus in praise of God as sovereign lord over all. In that way God’s name will be “hallowed.” The second “you” petition is parallel to the first: “Your kingdom come.” While God’s kingdom has been made present in and through Jesus, the fullness is yet to come. Like the Jewish Kaddish prayer, the Lord’s Prayer looks forward to the establishment of God’s perfect reign soon.

The three “we” petitions concern what we need if we are to enter and enjoy God’s kingdom when it comes in its fullness. Jews in Jesus’ time expected that the coming of the kingdom would be a time of testing and trial for humankind. Some texts (including Mark 13:8) describe this period as the “birth pangs” or “woes” of the Messiah. While for wise and righteous persons this time will end in their vindication and reward, it will nonetheless involve suffering and danger.

The three “we” petitions in Luke 11:3-4 must be interpreted in this context. We need for God to sustain us by providing us with “our daily bread.” We need also for God to forgive our sins. And we can receive such divine forgiveness provided that we too are willing to forgive those who are “indebted” to us. Whether “indebted” is to be taken in its financial sense or spiritually or both is not clear. In some Jewish circles, “debt” had become a metaphor for sin as an offense against God and/or other people. The third and last “we” petition (“and do not bring us to the time of trial”) is difficult to translate and interpret. It asks God to spare us the worst of the testing and to help us not to fall in whatever trial might come our way.

The more familiar Matthean version of the Lord’s Prayer (6:9-13) adapts the opening address to the more common Jewish title for God in prayer, “Our Father in heaven.” The pronomial adjective “our” alludes to God’s presence among us (God’s immanence), while “in heaven” reminds us of the cosmic scope of God’s reign (God’s transcendence). The third “you” petition (“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” 6:10) is parallel to the petitions about the hallowing of God’s name and the full coming of God’s kingdom. The “we” petition about forgiveness uses the image of “debt” twice (“our debts … our debtors”). Again it is not clear whether “debt” is meant on the financial or spiritual level. And the final “we” petition is expanded by the parallel clause “rescue us from the evil one” (6:13) The “evil one” may refer to Satan as the “tester” (see Job 1–2). Or it may simply be a way of referring to “evil” in general. The expanded address and the added petition are typical of the flexibility of Jewish prayer and may reflect the use of the Lord’s Prayer in Jewish Christian communities.

The Lord’s Prayer has deep roots in contemporary Jewish prayers, as we have seen from the psalms, the Eighteen Benedictions, and the Kaddish. And yet it fits perfectly with what we know about the teachings and activities of Jesus himself. As we learn from the Didache, it soon became the characteristic prayer of early Christians. Its different versions in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 attest to its use in both Jewish and Gentile Christian circles. The Lord’s Prayer is an expression of our intimacy with and dependence on God, of our hope for the full coming of God’s kingdom, and of our need for God’s sustenance, forgiveness, and protection in the meantime.

Persistence in Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer of petition. In form and content it is similar to the Jewish Eighteen Benedictions and the Kaddish. Its shorter Lukan version appears as the initial part in the first of two blocks of Jesus’ teachings about how to pray (see Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-14). Both of those blocks concern the prayer of petition and urge us to be persistent, bold, and humble in our prayers.

Jesus’ parable of the friend at midnight (11:5-8) reflects a common experience:

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”

(Luke 11:5-8)

Often a friend or family member, especially a child, will be so persistent in making a request that we find it easier to give in rather than to continue to resist. We grow weary of hearing, “Please, please, please …” The surprising point of this parable is that if we are persistent enough and bold enough in prayer, God, like a worn-down parent, will eventually give into our petitions and grant our requests.

Jesus continues the surprises by insisting on the almost automatic efficacy of prayers of petition in Luke 11:9-10: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Here there are no theological qualifications (if it be God’s will) or conditions (if the request is made sincerely, or if it is good for you). The absolute character of the saying further encourages us to boldness and persistence in prayer. There are no “ifs, ands, or buts” about it.

The first Lukan block of Jesus’ teachings on prayer is concluded in 11:11-13 with two more short parables. If your child asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? Or if your child asked for an egg, would you give her a scorpion? Of course not! Any parent and any adult in their right minds would give only good gifts to their own children. Then using the logical and rhetorical device of arguing “from the lesser to the greater” that was used extensively by the rabbinic sages, Jesus says, “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (11:13). Beside confirming us in being bold and persistent in prayer, this saying affirms that God wants to hear and answer our prayers and to give us good gifts, and that God especially wants to give us the best gift of all—the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit will enable us to enter into the divine life and live out of the power of the Spirit of God.

The second Lukan instruction on the prayer of petition in 18:1-14 reinforces the theme of persistence in prayer (18:1-8) and insists on the importance of humility in prayer (18:9-14). The parable of the persistent widow is prefaced by the notice that Jesus told this parable about the “need to pray always and not to lose heart.”

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

(Luke 18:1-8)

The parable features two characters: a widow and a judge. In the ancient world, a widow was among the most defenseless and powerless persons. Unless she had adult sons who were powerful and influential, a widow had no social standing and no political power. The other character is a judge, who in this case is an opportunist and a pragmatist, without respect for God or other persons. One might presume that nothing good could come from their interaction. But when the widow brings her case, she eventually prevails. She prevails not because she is influential or powerful and not because the judge is honest or compassionate. Rather, she wins her case only because she is persistent. She keeps after the judge and finally wears him down. Because the widow will not take no for an answer, the judge decides to give her what she wants in the hope of getting rid of her. The point of Jesus’ parable is clear. If a defenseless and powerless widow can wear down a corrupt judge through her persistence alone, how much more can we expect that God, the just and merciful judge, will hear our prayers and answer them positively if we persist?

But how can we pray always? Persistence is one thing, but praying always is something even more. When we hear the word “prayer,” most of us instinctively think of formal prayers like the Lord’s Prayer or the Rosary. And we should, since formal prayers are integral to Christian spirituality. There is, however, another way of thinking about prayer in Christian life. It is the effort to make our whole life into a prayer—that is, to pray always. This kind of prayer involves offering all that we are and have and do to the service of God, recalling God’s presence at various times during our day, and making all our personal encounters and actions into a kind of prayer. This form of prayer means bringing all our successes and failures, joys and sorrows, highs and lows to God in prayer. This habit of prayer, of course, needs to be complemented by formal prayers. But the combination of the two can add up to praying always.

Humility in Prayer

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14 reminds us that God hears the prayers of some surprising persons, and that we all must approach God in prayer with humility.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

(Luke 18:9-14)

To appreciate this parable and its message, we must place the two main characters in their historical and social context in first-century Palestine. In the gospels, the Pharisees often appear as negative characters. They are the most persistent opponents of Jesus, and he often criticizes their attitudes and behavior. In English today, the term “Pharisee” can refer to a legalist imposing strict views on others while really being a religious hypocrite or fraud, someone who pretends to be devout and observant but really is not.

In Jesus’ context, however, people would have heard the word differently. The Pharisees were members of a prominent and generally well-respected Jewish religious movement. Many of them were genuinely devout and observant. They were the progressives of their day, seeking to adapt biblical laws to changed historical circumstances and to the demands of their everyday life. They gathered regularly for prayer and study, and their common meals celebrated their group identity and religious commitment. Of all the Jewish groups of Jesus’ time, Jesus was closest to them. He shared an agenda with them, debated with them, and sometimes agreed with them. For example, Jesus and the Pharisees agreed about the resurrection of the dead. Those who first heard Jesus’ parable would have considered the Pharisee as an exemplar of Jewish learning and piety.

In Jesus’ time and place, the tax collector in the parable would have been regarded as the opposite of the Pharisee. Taxes were often let out for bid. The Roman government official or the agent for Herod Antipas might specify the amount to be collected from the inhabitants of a certain area. The tax collector would then contract to pay the specified amount to the government. What he collected above and beyond that amount was his to keep. So in Jesus’ day, tax collectors were suspect on two counts. They were suspected of dishonesty for overcharging the people and keeping the excess profits for themselves. They were also suspected of being collaborators and instruments of the Roman occupiers.

These two men went up to the Temple to pray. Whose prayer was heard by God? And why? The Pharisee’s prayer was not heard because he exalted himself. His prayer was so focused on himself, his superiority to the tax collector, and his own spiritual achievements that it was hardly a prayer at all. It was more like an exercise in self-congratulation than prayer. By contrast, the tax collector, whatever his failings may have been, knew who God is and who he was before God. And so he prayed simply and sincerely, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Whose prayer does God hear? If our prayer becomes an exercise in self-congratulation like that of the Pharisee, our prayer will not be heard because it is not prayer at all. However, if our prayer celebrates God’s justice and mercy, if it acknowledges our dependence on God, our sinfulness, and our need for God’s mercy, then God will hear our prayer, because it is genuine prayer made in a spirit of humility proper to us as God’s creatures and servants.

Think, Pray, and Act

Think

When you say the Lord’s Prayer, how do you imagine God? What do you want God to do? Where do you fit in?

Pray

Recite the Lord’s Prayer slowly and thoughtfully. Do you understand it as a prayer for the full coming of God’s kingdom?

Act

Set some time apart to pray for others and their needs.

An excerpt from Jesus and Prayer by Daniel J. Harrington, SJ.

http://wau.org/resources/article/re_jesus_and_prayer_in_his_jewish_context/