I grew up reciting the Lord’s Prayer, which is also called the Disciples Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15). In our Lutheran Church, we said it every Sunday and you knew after that had been said, you’d be in the parking lot within 10 minutes. I have fond memories of saying that prayer. It always brought a familiar comfort and that is a problem. When we do something like that with great regularity, we cease to use it as a prayer and just enjoy the feeling of everybody saying it together. In the Baptist church we now attend, that prayer hangs on the east wall, but we rarely say it. It was told to me by Pastor Pete that the reason for not using that prayer was to not take it for granted, to actually use it to pray to God which is what Christ had meant when He gave it to the disciples. It should be used as a framework for how we pray to God. The devotionals I read every day from Grace Church had this recently:
The implications of the Disciples’ Prayer are profound and far-reaching. An unknown author put it this way:
I cannot say “our” if I live only for myself in a spiritual, watertight compartment. I cannot say “Father” if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child. I cannot say “who art in heaven” if I am laying up no treasure there.
I cannot say “hallowed be Thy name” if I am not striving for holiness. I cannot say “Thy kingdom come” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful day. I cannot say “Thy will be done” if I am disobedient to His Word. I cannot say “in earth as it is in heaven” if I will not serve Him here and now.
I cannot say “give us . . . our daily bread” if I am dishonest or an “under the counter” shopper. I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against anyone. I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path. I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.
I cannot say “thine is the kingdom” if I do not give to the King the loyalty due Him as a faithful subject. I cannot attribute to Him “the power” if I fear what men may do. I cannot ascribe to Him “the glory” if I am seeking honor only for myself. I cannot say “forever” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by the things of time.
My hope here is for you to look at how you use this prayer, given to the disciples and to us, and if you have fallen into the trap of just speaking these words with no more meaning than ordering fast food at a drive up window, stop right now and repent to God. Renew your relationship with He who created you and strive to be Holy because He is Holy. (1 Peter 1:16)
We are finishing up John 7 this week. When Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’”, (v. 36) the people began to talk among themselves. Some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? (vv. 40-41). Most all of them were following Him for the spectacle of healing and supernatural acts. Of the comment about Galilee, Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers has this to say:
It has often been asked, sometimes in the spirit of objection, sometimes in the spirit of inquiry, how the Apostle, if he really knew the history of our Lord’s birth at Bethlehem, could record these questions without a correction. But in these verses he is giving the feelings and opinions of the multitude, and it is a mark of the truthfulness of his narrative that he gives them just as they really occurred.
The scripture states that there was division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. (v. 43) The temple police who had been sent to arrest Jesus came back to their masters, the chief priest and Pharisees were incredulous and very angry with them for not arresting Jesus. You see, those sent to arrest this Son of Man had been amazed at what they heard. “No one ever spoke like this man!” they exclaimed, when asked why they hadn’t arrested God. (vv. 45-47)
The Pharisees answered back to them “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (vv. 48-52) Interesting that Nicodemus, after his shocking encounter with Jesus, (John 3:1-15) has the courage to speak out with those that would kill He who has come to redeem those that would believe.
Verse 53 states that “They went each to his own house”. And here starts a part of the scripture that I have struggled with. In most new translations of what I read, that being the NASB and ESV, this part of the scripture is listed with an asterisk and brackets: [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.] This is what’s known as “The Woman Caught in Adultery”
Here it is:
[[8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]
The lesson here is, now that you know of your sins, that you are held to account and convicted through the scripture, go now and sin no more. Believe, Obey and Continue. Do this and you will have eternal life. Or put more directly: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ is our only hope. So go forth and act upon that knowledge. Believe, Obey and Continue.