Too often, the importance of the Jewish background of the prayer and of the language that Jesus used has been overlooked or minimized.
For many people, prayer is an enigma. It is not surprising that Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. Jesus’ response has become perhaps all too familiar. Even though many know “The Lord’s Prayer” by heart, few know the meaning of the words they recite. A legion of books has been written explaining the meaning of this short prayer, but few have been able to grasp the full impact of Jesus’ words. In fact, the first barrier to a proper understanding of the prayer is the traditional title, “The Lord’s Prayer.” Jesus never prayed these familiar words himself; rather, he passed this prayer on to his followers. Hence it is really “The Disciples’ Prayer.”
Unfortunately, this is only where the misunderstandings begin. The main problem is one of approach. Too often, the importance of the Jewish background of the prayer and of the language that Jesus used has been overlooked or minimized. Jesus was a Jew, speaking Hebrew to his Jewish followers during the difficult days of the Roman occupation of Israel in the Second Temple Period. A modern Christian has a quite different understanding of prayer, Scripture, and faith than a
Jewish teacher like Jesus, not to mention the great differences
| To view the remainder of this article, please log in at the top of this page. | OR | |
OR
If you are not yet a Premium Content subscriber, please consider this amazing tool for Bible study. Premium Content membership gives you access to hundreds of articles, written by many of the best New Testament scholars in Israel and abroad, which illuminated Jesus' sayings. (Read our free sample articles!)
New articles are continually being added to this database of knowledge. Articles are searchable by keyword, category or scripture reference.