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Suppertime at the Hornes’
Posted by Jay at 6:16 pm
I’ve been teaching an adult Sunday School class on the vocation/identity of Jesus and the implications for the church using the Lord’s Prayer as an outline. This morning, as I was reviewing the previous week (”thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”), I suddenly noticed a pattern that proved very helpful in summarizing the previous week.
The basic premise is that the initial clauses of the prayer line up well with Israel’s history and therefore point all the more strongly to Christ’s fulfillment of Israel’s vocation. I haven’t worked it all out, but here are some initial thoughts.
When Israel is first called as a nation, God calls them as His son (Exodus 4:22-23 [+/-]Exodus 4:22-23
[22]Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD,
Israel is my firstborn son, [23]and I say to you, "Let my
son go that he may serve me." If you refuse to let him go,
behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'" (ESV)
)… i.e. He is their Father. This is the first reference to the fatherhood of God in redemptive history. The Israelites go into the wilderness, where Moses goes up the mountain and receives the heavenly pattern for the tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5 [+/-]Hebrews 8:5
[5]They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.
For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was
instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything
according to the pattern that was shown you on the
mountain." (ESV)
). This tabernacle becomes the dwelling place of God. The Israelites then wind up in the wilderness for some time, during which time they are sustained by the bread of heaven, manna (Deuteronomy 8:3 [+/-]Deuteronomy 8:3
[3]And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you
with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers
know, that he might make you know that man does not live by
bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from
the mouth of the LORD. (ESV)
).
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus calls on God as Father, pointing toward his church as the people of the true exodus, the sons of God. At this point it gets interesting, because he immediately prays that “thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”. This strikes me as a parallel to the pattern of the tabernacle, and gives the entire clause an interesting flavor. Specifically, it moves us toward an incarnational understanding of God’s kingdom being brought to bear on the earth.
Jesus “tabernacled” among us and revealed the Father to us (John 1 [+/-]John 1
[1:1]In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. [2]He was in the beginning
with God. [3]All things were made through him, and without
him was not any thing made that was made. [4]In him was
life, and the life was the light of men. [5]The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome
it.
[6]There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
[7]He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light,
that all might believe through him. [8]He was not the
light, but came to bear witness about the light.
[9]The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming
into the world. [10]He was in the world, and the world was
made through him, yet the world did not know him. [11]He
came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
[12]But to all who did receive him, who believed in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God, [13]who
were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of
the will of man, but of God.
[14]And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth. [15](John bore witness
about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He
who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before
me.'") [16]And from his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace. [17]For the law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18]No one has
ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side,
he has made him known.
[19]And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews
sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who
are you?" [20]He confessed, and did not deny, but
confessed, "I am not the Christ." [21]And they asked him,
"What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you
the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." [22]So they said to
him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who
sent us. What do you say about yourself?" [23]He said, "I
am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make
straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
[24](Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
[25]They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are
neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" [26]John
answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands
one you do not know, [27]even he who comes after me, the
strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." [28]These
things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John
was baptizing.
[29]The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and
said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world! [30]This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a
man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' [31]I
myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came
baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."
[32]And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from
heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. [33]I myself
did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water
said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and
remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
[34]And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the
Son of God."
[35]The next day again John was standing with two of his
disciples, [36]and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and
said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" [37]The two disciples
heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. [38]Jesus
turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are
you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means
Teacher), "where are you staying?" [39]He said to them,
"Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was
staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was
about the tenth hour. [40]One of the two who heard John
speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
[41]He first found his own brother Simon and said to him,
"We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). [42]He
brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you
are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas"
(which means Peter).
[43]The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He
found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." [44]Now Philip
was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
[45]Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found
him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." [46]Nathanael said
to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip
said to him, "Come and see." [47]Jesus saw Nathanael coming
toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed,
in whom there is no deceit!" [48]Nathanael said to him,
"How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip
called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
[49]Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God!
You are the King of Israel!" [50]Jesus answered him,
"Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do
you believe? You will see greater things than these."
[51]And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you
will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and
descending on the Son of Man." (ESV)
). He was the ultimate heavenly pattern, revealing the Father (and His will) perfectly. As we pray the Lord’s prayer and call on God as Father, we yearn to see His kingdom brought to bear here on earth. But this is not a desire apart from us, his Church. Called by Christ, in the power of the Spirit, the bringing of the Kingdom to bear on the world is the bringing of us to bear on the world… or more accurately we should say it is the bringing of Jesus to bear through us in the power of the Spirit.
Next up then is the prayer for bread, once again paralleling Israel’s history. Here we find Jesus is the true manna, the Bread of Life. Just as the Church resonates with the Father/Son theme and the Heavenly Pattern transforming the earth, so too we have bread to seek. We see this in all areas of our lives, and certainly the Sermon on the Mount leaps to mind when we juxtapose thoughts of daily needs and the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33 [+/-]Matthew 6:33
[33]But seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(ESV)
). But I believe the redemptive-historical parallel between manna and Jesus the Bread of Life also points us very directly toward the Lord’s Supper. Though the Lord’s Prayer doesn’t explicit point to the Supper, and I wouldn’t want to limit its application to Communion, the association is not unwarranted. This very connect-the-dots sort of movement through redemptive history is seen in 1 Corinthians 10 [+/-]1 Corinthians 10
[10:1]For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers
were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
[2]and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the
sea, [3]and all ate the same spiritual food, [4]and all
drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the
spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
[5]Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for
they were overthrown in the wilderness.
[6]Now these things took place as examples for us, that
we might not desire evil as they did. [7]Do not be
idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The
people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play."
[8]We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them
did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. [9]We
must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and
were destroyed by serpents, [10]nor grumble, as some of
them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. [11]Now these
things happened to them as an example, but they were
written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the
ages has come. [12]Therefore let anyone who thinks that he
stands take heed lest he fall. [13]No temptation has
overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful,
and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but
with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape,
that you may be able to endure it.
[14]Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. [15]I
speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I
say. [16]The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a
participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we
break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
[17]Because there is one bread, we who are many are one
body, for we all partake of the one bread. [18]Consider the
people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices
participants in the altar? [19]What do I imply then? That
food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is
anything? [20]No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they
offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be
participants with demons. [21]You cannot drink the cup of
the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the
table of the Lord and the table of demons. [22]Shall we
provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
[23]"All things are lawful," but not all things are
helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build
up. [24]Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his
neighbor. [25]Eat whatever is sold in the meat market
without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
[26]For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness
thereof." [27]If one of the unbelievers invites you to
dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set
before you without raising any question on the ground of
conscience. [28]But if someone says to you, "This has been
offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, for the sake of
the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience--
[29]I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should
my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience?
[30]If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced
because of that for which I give thanks?
[31]So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do
all to the glory of God. [32]Give no offense to Jews or to
Greeks or to the church of God, [33]just as I try to please
everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage,
but that of many, that they may be saved. (ESV)
.
Now, I’ve only gotten this far… does the pattern continue? We have drawn parallels between Israel, Jesus, and the Church for the first three clauses of the prayer (Father, Kingdom on Earth, Daily Bread). Do the parallels continue through the remainder of the prayer?
June 21st, 2004 at 8:24 am
Excellent! We will consider your questions and attempt to formulate a cogent comment. And speaking of fathers . . . hope you had a happy Fahter’s Day!
July 12th, 2004 at 3:45 pm
Dear Pastor Horne,
Your lining-up of the Lord’s Prayer with Israel’s history is upbuilding, insightful and thought-provoking. Thank you for posting your exploration!
, after Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. He tells his disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Regarding the prayer for bread, have you ever thought of, noted or had pointed out to you a statement the Lord makes elsewhere that suggests some kind of link with the prayer for the Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? That statement is John 4:34 [+/-]John 4:34
[34]Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of
him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (ESV)
Could one (metaphorical) level of the prayer for bread be Jesus’ inciting his followers to ask the Father to give them daily opportunities to do his will and advance his work?
Your bro’ in the Lord, Charles Wood (a Roman Catholic priest)
July 12th, 2004 at 3:55 pm
Dear ELDER Horne,
For what it’s worth, I made the above posting after having come from your Theologia site, and I was confused about which of the Brothers Horne is the Horne of Horne.org. (Thus, the mistaken “Pastor” salutation.)
I had just added Theologia to my favorites and will now do so with horne.org so I can keep up with what I hope will be a continuation of reflections of the Lord’s Prayer.
–Charles W.