Matthew 6:12-13

Matthew 6:12-13

And forgive us of the moral debt incurred because of our sinfulness as we also forgave the ones who incurred moral debt with us because of their sinfulness.  And do not bring us into a temptation but rescue us from the Evil One.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In these verses Jesus talks about forgiveness.  But it is interesting to note that Jesus is not speaking economically about debt but rather He is speaking ethically.  Jesus speaks using the Greek word opheilema (ὀφείλημα), which literally means the moral debt incurred by transgression, and opheiletes (ὀφειλέτης), which literally means the one who incurs moral debt because of their transgression.  Jesus is very much speaking the language of economics, however.  When we sin, there is a moral debt incurred against us.  We cannot repay that moral debt, so we ask God to forgive it because we have no other means of negating the debt!  What is especially interesting, however, is the verb tense in the end of verse 12.  Jesus doesn’t say, “as we forgive the ones,” He clearly says, “as we forgave the ones.”  The verb aphiemi (ἀφίημι), which means to remove the guilt associated with wrongdoing, is in the past (aorist) tense.  Our forgiveness of others is in the past.  It is an assumed event that already takes place prior to our own forgiveness by God.  In other words, the order should not be that I forgive others because God forgives me.  The order should be that because I model forgiveness in my life I then can come to God and ask for my own forgiveness.  Now, the truth is that I can forgive because I am forgiven.  But the focus from Jesus in this particular teaching is that we should be modeling forgiveness before being so bold as to come and ask God for our own forgiveness.  Of course God initiates by forgiving us first.  It speaks to our motivation – our internal spirit.  To go to God and ask for forgiveness before being forgiving is presumptuous and self-centered.  But to God to God and ask for forgiveness after demonstrating the capacity to be forgiving first is mature.  That’s what Jesus is getting at in this opening verse about forgiveness.

How mature are you in this light?  Do you forgive first and then go to God and ask for your own forgiveness?

Second Thought:

The second topic in these verses for today has to do with God not bringing us into temptation.  On one level, there is a question that undoubtedly always gets asked: “Can God lead us into temptation if He is righteous?”  And yes, on the surface level that answer is a resounding “No.”  God does not lead us into places so that we can sin.  However, if we allow ourselves to go much more deeply into the subject, God does allow us to be tested and to allow our faith to undergo trial.  For example, think about God’s position on the trial of Job.  Or think of Peter the night Jesus was arrested in the garden.  Or think of Abraham as God asked for the sacrifice of his son.  In each of those times, God allowed a faithful person to undergo trial.  Furthermore, God does send us out into the world!  In order to reach people and help bring them into a relationship with Christ, we need to first and foremost go to where they are!  We need to leave the safety and security of our “right world” – as if it could ever be totally right – and go into the regular world.  So we pray that as we go through life in both ministry and trial that God would not lead us into a temptation for sin to abound in our life.

Where is your temptation?  Where does God lead you in ministry that you must be careful to be the one doing the impacting instead of the one being influenced?

Third Thought:

Finally, we have the petition on protection.  This is one of my favorite “Did You Know” facts of the Bible.  Those with any kind of religious background that involves repeating the Lord’s Prayer are very familiar with the words, “Deliver us from evil.”  However, in the original Greek the word for evil, poneros (πονηρός), has a definite article (ὁ).  Thus, Jesus is actually teaching us to pray for deliverance from “the evil.”  Furthermore, in the Greek it is impossible to determine if this word is a neuter word or a masculine word.  That is essentially the difference between “the evil thing” or “the evil one.”  Given the definite article, it is my belief that what Jesus is actually saying here is a prayer for deliverance from “the evil one.”  In other words, Jesus is teaching us to pray that God te Father would protect us from the grip of Satan, our adversary.  That makes a ton of sense to me.

How does God protect you from the evil one?  Where in your life do you need this protection the most? 

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 6:14-15