Motley Crew
September 9, 2009
Another Scheler girl had her birthday yesterday – 11!
Thankfully she is still the least expensive of the group!
The Questions
Matthew 6:1-4
1. The King James says
“alms”; the NIV says “acts of righteousness”;
the original simply says “righteousness.” What does this
mean?
2. How does this
discourse compare with what Jesus has just said in Matthew 5:16?
3. How does this apply
specifically to those of us who really appreciate and even need
praise from other people?
Matthew 6:5-14
4. Notice Jesus says
“when” you pray. What does this mean?
5. So is the closet the
only place to pray?
6. So is the closet a
good place to pray?
7. What constitutes
babbling?
8. Is verse 8 a call to
prayer or a call to less prayer?
9. What's missing here?
10. Should we pray this
prayer if we are not willing to forgive?
Motley Crew
September 9, 2009
Another Scheler girl had her birthday yesterday – 11!
Thankfully she is still the least expensive of the group!
Some Answers
[Jesus
is next examining three Pharisaic practices related to righteousness:
(1) alms, (2) prayer, and (3) fasting. Over time, God's messages had
become highly distorted by commentaries and exceptions. Here Christ
is clarifying the true intention of God's laws. His concern here is
with the motives behind such acts.
Matthew 6:1-4
1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
1. The King James says
“alms”; the NIV says “acts of righteousness”;
the original simply says “righteousness.” What does this
mean?
It seems that Jesus is
talking about lives and our lifestyle at this point. Contextually we
have to realize that many people, especially the religious leaders,
wanted others to see their righteousness and praise them.
[An
underlying theme throughout these verses is not intentionally touting
your righteousness in front of others, and thereby, for your glory.
The acts of the faithful need to bring glory to God, not to us.
[Alms
formed a very prominent part of Pharisaic righteousness, and was in
rabbinical dialect called righteousness. Alms were not the
whole, but was a name for a whole category of giving.
[“Hypocrite”
is a Greek word meaning “play actor.” Here it refers to
those who fake being pious, especially when seen by others in public.
Their virtue, then, was theatrical, which does not count for much in
the Kingdom of God, where right motive is essential.
2. How does this
discourse compare with what Jesus has just said in Matthew 5:16 (“In
the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your
good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”)?
Jesus is in no way
saying that we are to not let others know about our good works. Think
about it – if no one ever saw any Christians helping the poor
or doing good works – that would make it the most hypocritical
religion in the world. We are His witnesses and that includes our
deeds (see Acts 1:8 and James 2:17). But above all Jesus is concerned
about the heart and the motives of the heart.
Acts
1:8. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on
you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
James 2:17. In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead.
[In
short, let your light shine before people; give honor to the Father
in Heaven. True faith involves a full commitment to God, what is in
our heart as well as what is on our lips. But do not let your lamp be
put under a bowl …
Matthew
5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a
bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to
everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before
men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in
heaven. [Emphasis added]
3. How does this apply
specifically to those of us who really appreciate and even need
praise from other people?
We have to be very
careful and prayerful to check our motives regularly.
Matthew 6:5-14
5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
"
'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your
will be done
on earth as it
is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily
bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as
we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead
us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the
evil one.[a]'
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you.
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. [See Question 9.]
See: Luke 11:1-13,
Jesus' Teaching on Prayer.
4. Notice Jesus says
“when” you pray in verse 5. What does this mean?
Jesus takes for granted
the necessity of prayer and that we are all praying regularly.
[There
is also the aspect that we are being encouraged to pray. This
encouragement occurs elsewhere in the Gospels and in the New
Testament. In Luke 18:1, it written: “Then Jesus told them a
parable to show them they should always pray
and not lose heart.” Likewise, the apostle Paul frequently
urges the readers of his epistles to pray, including this well-known
citation from 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “pray without ceasing.”
(KJV) Finally, there is this verse in Ephesians 6:18: “With all
prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit” (NET
Bible)
5. So is the closet the
only place to pray?
Only if you are
struggling with ego and only praying for your own honor. Check out
the context of Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and to prayer.”
[There
are many places and ways to pray.
[One
commentator asked rhetorically: “Is social prayer negatived by
this directory? No, but it is implied that social prayer will be a
reality only in proportion as it proceeds from a gathering of
(worshipers) accustomed to private prayer.”
[It
was noted that a member of our congregation, John Key, recently
observed that we can pray “in the instant.” When we see
someone and it appears that there is distress of some sort, we can
instantly offer up our prayer to God on behalf of that person. This
is something that we can do throughout the day, whenever the need
arises.
[And
in the morning, if one has overslept and running the risk of getting
to work late, a morning prayer could be little more than a “Glory
be to the Father ...” and quick prayer of thanksgiving for
another day. It takes “just an instant”, but is a good
start to a prayerful day.
6. So is the closet a
good place to pray?
Yes! All intrusion is
barred out which is a good thing at times. Plus, learning to pray in
secret will help us learn better to commune with God and will
ultimately be a blessing to us in public worship!
[It
is sometimes invaluable to have a place to go where there will be no
interruptions. In Biblical times, the “closet” was one of
the few rooms in the house where there was a door. In our own lives,
finding a place where we can go, close the door, and pray quietly and
without interruption, can be a great boost for our prayer life.
7. What constitutes
babbling?
βατταλογειυ
(battalogeiv) is found only here in Matthew and one other time in the
6th century! The derivation of the word is still in doubt.
It appears to have nothing to do with stammering. Luther called it
useless and superfluous words – that's not bad. Dr. Lenski said
it is heathen folly to measure prayer by the yard –
interesting.
[Zondervan's
TNIV Study Bible (2006), p. 1618: Pagans used long lists of the
names of their gods in their prayers, hoping that by constantly
repeating them they would call on the name of the god that could help
them. Jesus is not necessarily condemning all long prayers, but
meaningless verbiage in praying.
[Other
commentators have added that while some long prayer is salutatory,
other long prayers may be an attempt to display one's possession of
devotional talent or zeal.
[In
short, thank God appropriately, but don't let the meal get cold.
[Ecclesiastes 5:2 provides this bit of guidance:
Do
not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are
on earth,
so let your words
be few.
8. Is verse 8 a call to
prayer or a call to less prayer?
A call to prayer! James
4:2! Not to pray is to reject the commands and promises of God and to
throw away the means by which has been chosen to communicate with us,
and to pass on His blessings.
[James
4:2. You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you
cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have,
because you do not ask God.
[We
pray because, although God knows our needs, we cannot receive unless
we desire, and if we desire, we pray. Throughout the New Testament we
are admonished to pray, both to give thanks and to bring our concerns
to God. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
9. What's missing here?
The doxology (“For
thine is the kingdom ...”) It seems the doxology was added as
the prayer was more and more used in worship.
[The
doxology may be composed, at least in part, of language from the
Testaments.
1
Chronicles 29:11.
Yours,
LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
2
Timothy 1:7.
For
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of
love and of self-discipline.
Rev.
4:11.
"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to
receive glory and honor and power,
for you
created all things,
and by
your will they were created
and
have their being."
Rev.
19:1.
After
this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in
heaven shouting:
"Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our
God,
10. Should we pray this
prayer if we are not willing to forgive?
These are powerful and
healing words that we dare not ignore.
Mark 2:
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It
is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come
to call the righteous, but sinners."
Post Script.
Several
commentators write that the Lord's Prayer is intended both as a
concise but complete prayer, as well as a model for prayer. This
prayer contains six petitions, all of which originate in the Old
Testament (thereby reinforcing Matthew's goal of showing Jews that
Jesus was the Messiah).
In
this, Jesus is departing from some existing practices in that He is
inaugurating (1) freedom in prayer, (2) trustfulness of spirit, and
(3) simplicity in prayer.
Generally, the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer give praise and acknowledgment of God. The last three petitions are prayers asking that God's sustain of our needs, physically and spiritually. Several commentators write that this order of prayer – thanksgiving and praise followed by petition and intercession – should always be followed in our prayers.
The Prayer module from the
Grace Class, concentrating on the Lord's Prayer, is now posted on the web page
with other Motley Crew materials,
http://tinyurl.com/lj8tn7 .
Et Cetera
Luther:
short prayers are good; long prayers are the works of the devil.
Pastor
Eddie's Annotated Bible Commentary: But short prayers can also be
bad, while long prayers can be good. The issue is: where is your
heart?
Saint Paul: Did he say something to the effect that our prayers are joined with others? Looking.