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Hi! As usual, this week generated a lot of notes. Remember, you can always use email or my contact form if you have any questions about my work in this or any other post.
Last Week’s Work
WRITING TYPES
From my survey, the predominant writing type in Matthew is narrative: it’s the story of Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth. For our study text, I also found a lot of instruction. That’s because Jesus used commands, outlined proper prayer procedure, and drew comparisons for his audience. All of these are effective teaching techniques used in instructional design. I also think the literal context and interlinear research backs this up as well.
LITERAL CONTEXT
Matthew 6:5-15 is taken from text commonly recognized as The Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7), during which Jesus taught his disciples (5:1-2). In the opening verses of chapter 6, I noticed He introduced his topic in v1 (righteousness), then used parallel phrases to outline three aspects of that practice: … when you give… (vv2-4), … when you pray… (vv5-13), and … when you fast… (vv16-18). This is another instructional technique that helps learners remember important information.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
According to the ESV Global Study Bible, this book was written between AD 55 and 65 by Matthew (also known as Levi), a disciple and former tax collector. It’s likely he wrote this directly for members of the early Christian church in Antioch of Syria. According to Bibleatlas.org, this Antioch (not to be confused with the Pisidian Antioch mentioned in Acts 13-14), was a large city, home to Jews and Gentiles, and one of the first places Christianity was established outside Palestine.
The purpose of Matthew’s gospel was to show his audience (Jewish and Gentile) Jesus was the awaited Messiah and to encourage them in this new and different belief system.
Based on all this information, I believe our study text should be interpreted literally.
INTERLINEAR RESEARCH
In my focus verse (6:13), the Spirit directed me to research the key English words lead and temptation:
- Lead (G1533 eisenenkēs). This word appears just two times in the whole Bible: both in recitations of this prayer Jesus taught His followers (Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4). Derivatives of G1533 appear six more times, though; and those instances are consistently translated to bring in English. A very different action!
In my struggle to make sense of this, the Spirit reminded me of similar English phrasing found in Matthew 4:1, where Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness for one specific purpose: to be tempted by the devil! Matthew didn’t use the same verb for led there (it’s G321, anēchthē, which, interestingly, is also sometimes translated brought!), but I’m planning to revisit this as a cross-reference anyway since the phrasing is so close. - Temptation (G3986 peirasmon). This refers to an experiment or test by which something—like a theory or a trait—is proven or developed. I wonder if Jesus was instructing His disciples to ask God to be excused from trials they might not successfully complete-? I don’t yet know. I’m looking forward to getting more clarity next week.
One final note: I commented a couple weeks ago on Jesus’s use of different terms to describe what petitioners should ask God to forgive ( our debts, v12), and what He said petitioners themselves must forgive (the trespasses of others, vv14-15) to gain personal absolution. This week, I reviewed those two Greek words and found:
- Debts (G3783 opheilēmata). In v12, this is used to denote something owed; an after effect of an obligation. That made me think about our study of Genesis 3 and how God could have killed Adam and Eve immediately when they ate the fruit, but He didn’t. Instead, the debt of disobedience carried forward, until Jesus’s death paid it in full for all who believe in Him.
- In vv14-15, Matthew used paraptōmata (G3900), meaning unintentional error or willful transgression. That seems to cover about anything someone could do to need forgiveness, doesn’t it? It also helps me see the difference: we ask God to forgive us when we willfully disobey (as Adam and Eve did) only to the extent that we forgive others’ mistreatment, whether they did it on purpose or not. Not easy!
Dig-In Challenges
This week, let’s wrap up the second half of the Refine step by examining cross-references and other translations.
- Don’t forget to begin with your prayer from Step 1.
- REFINE: Then consult a concordance or online cross-reference study tool (I’ll be starting at this blb.org page) to find and read through the available cross-references for the verses you’re most interested in and log what the Spirit shows you.
NOTE: if you’re interested in other verses, follow the above link, then scroll to the verse you want to study, click the TOOLS button on the left side, and choose Cross-Refs from the menu. - REFINE: Finally, compare at least a few other translations of your study verses and write about what you find in your study journal. I’ll be comparing ESV, AMP, NIV, and GNT using this biblehub.com page. You can compare your own verses from that link by entering them in the Enter Reference or Keyword box at the top of the page and clicking the spyglass icon there.
I’m looking forward to sharing what I discover with you next week. I hope you’ll join me then!