Thesis Statement
In this paper, I argue that the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew is intentionally an redacted text to encourages Christians to expect the Kingdom of God with eschatological hope as well as to bring forth the Kingdom of God in their here and now daily lives through the practice of Jesus’ radical forgiveness as the liturgical prayer of baptism in the ancient Christian church.
In order to prove the thesis of this paper, first, I will analyze the structure of the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Matthew. Second, I will explore how the Lord’s Prayer was used as the liturgical prayer in ancient Church, especially the relation with baptism. Third, I will study about the eschatological hope in the first three petitions for God as well as
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In order to do this, a church needs to educate candidates of baptism what Christianity is and how to live as a Christian. Luz mentions about this that the Lord’s Prayer was multifunctional text used in the ancient church as “the essence of the new truth in which they live, the prayer of the new covenant, and the catechetical synthesis of the liturgy.” In this view, the Lord’s Prayer can be a mighty educational tool to manifest and imprint the meaning of baptism through having liturgy and the catechism before and after baptism. Through this, the ancient Jewish church educated the candidates of baptism to change their worldview with eschatological hope as people who have a salvation through God’s forgiveness and their life to live as a citizen in the kingdom of …show more content…
Anton Vögtle, who is author of his article “The Lord’s Prayer: A Prayer for Jews and Christians?” in The Lord’s Prayer and Jewish Liturgy, insists that the sanctification of God’s name and the disclosure of his reign pronounce eschatological revelation of God in Jewish context. It is very clear in history that Jews had experienced the exile for a longtime without their nation, and ancient Christian communities had been persecuted for a longtime until Edict of Milan. For these reasons, most Christian churches focused on the hope coming from the Kingdom of God. In this context, Hagner argues that “the petition for God refers to God acting in fulfillment of the promises to Israel, and God’s name will only be properly honored when he brings his kingdom and accomplishes his will on earth” In this view, the petitions for God in the Lord’s Prayer not only endow Christians the hope of their future but also imply the exhortation to live as the citizen of the Kingdom of God even though their reality was not seemed to have a hope for
The prayer evokes the many theological events about the relationship between God and man, and the omnipresence and power God encompasses. The prayer reveals the prefiguration of the sacrament of baptism and how the power and purpose of water, created by God, has through theological history and its relationship with present faithful. The sign of the cross, on the threshold of the celebration, marks with the imprint of Christ the one who is going to belong to him and signifies the grace of the redemption Christ won for man by his cross. The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy
The four fundamental claims of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Human beings exist in a relation to a triune God, God’s presence in the world is mediated through nature and reality, faith and reason are compatible, the dignity of the human being is inviolable and therefore the commitment to justice for the common good is necessary. However, the great books in the Catholic Intellectual tradition show that they represent these fundamental claims in a broad distinctive way. This essay will show that these readings better represent one of the fundamental claims, human beings exist in a relation with a triune God, from the view point of three great books from the bible, Genesis, Exodus and the Gospel of Matthew. The Bible clearly supports the
“Recovering the Scandal of the Cross,” (Green, Baker) presents an alternative means of thinking for Christians theologically. The author’s task of interpreting culture and communicating within a culture is incredibly difficult. Much of the biblical teaching of God is rooted into communicating to a specific group of people and a certain culture. Yet God has chosen the Bible as the method of communicating himself to the world. Green and Baker begin to lay the groundwork of historical influence of atonement from Anselm and Irenaeus. They later introduce ideas from Charles Hodge and penal substitution. There are four major models of explanations of the atonement: Christus Victor, penal substitution, satisfaction and moral influence. Although others are mentioned in the book, this sets the stage of the historic dilemma from which they can view atonement in their discussion of tradition.
Christianity is considered to be a living religion especially in terms of the reach for salvation. In the present through the practice of Baptism, Christians believe they die to the life of Original Sin and are born again to Christ, thus able to achieve Salvation. Thus, the tradition and sacred ritual of baptism implies that in order to be active adherents in the Catholic church, one must be baptised, just as Jesus was in the New Testament, “Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 2:38) Another way in which baptism demonstrate that Christianity is a living religious tradition, is through the teachings associated with the purpose of human existence. Through the act of Baptism, which is a direct display of the belief in Salvation through Jesus, the purpose of human life is presented in terms of adherent’s purpose to lov...
Jenkins, Phillips. The Lost History of Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. Phillips, Jonathan.
Hiestand, Gerald. "Not "Just Forgiven" : How Athanasius Overcomes The Under-Realised Eschatology Of Evangelicalism." Evangelical Quarterly Jan 2012 (2012): Christian Periodical Index. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
The Latin Cross displayed in nearly most if not all Protestant Churches throughout the world tells the story that Jesus is no longer on the cross but has risen. Jesus conquering death is the proclamation of our faith. The death and resurrection tells only some of the story. In the book Resurrection: The power of God for Christians and Jews, gives any reader the deeper meaning of what the kingdom of God means to us today, what it meant to Christians in antiquity and what it meant to the Jews primarily during the Second Temple period. Many of the things I was taught or learned throughout my Christian life have been challenged, as I will sprinkle some of them in this book review. As challenging as it was, this also provided me answers to questions
14 Jonathan T. Pennington. Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew. (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2009), 214.15 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 101.16 Frank J. Matera. Passion Narratives and Gospel Theologies: Interpreting the Synoptics Through Their Passion Stories. (New York: Paulist Press, 1986), 115.17 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 229.
"EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 & 2." EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
Baptist Publication Society, 1886). Clarke, Adam; ed. ; pp. 63-63. Clarke's Commentary (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 2003). no date. Criswell, W. A. & Co., W. A. Expository Notes on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).
Matthew refers heavily to Mark’s Gospel and goes beyond retelling the story. He asserts important theological concepts while building on Mark’s revelation that Jesus is God. Matthew demonstrates through references to the Old Testament, Mark and through connections within his own composition that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Eschatological and Salvific promise. “This expansion brings the preternatural signs surrounding the death of Jesus to a dramatic climax: at the moment of Jesus’ death, the temple curtain is t...
distinguish themselves from those who are not baptized; but is also a signal which points to the act of regeneration encompassing being born anew. In addition, the baptism of children is
God’s written law is something that is and should be continuously turned, to not only when Christians find themselves in need, but also throughout in one’s daily life. The four gospels tell to story of Jesus’ life and his teachings he gave while on the earth making it possible for there to be a true example of Christ-like faith. The proposition that there are differences in the story of Jesus and in his teachings seems to question the basis upon which the Christian faith is found upon. Rather than proclaiming the gospels as falsehoods because on the differences they possess, by analyzing the differences in the context of the particular gospel it can be understood that the differences are not made by mistake, rather as a literary device. While
However, I feel that the Lord's prayer is essentially a Jewish prayer, exhibiting the form and function of contemporary Jewish prayers. As with many other studies of any writings in the Gospels, it is important to discuss how these traditions have been brought to us, and what, if any modifications were made to the original text. Therefore it would be prudent, for the purpose of this paper to first look at the literary elements of the Lord's Prayer. To illustrate why the Lord's Prayer is essentially a Jewish prayer, we must first define and explore what Jewish prayers were like during the time of Jesus.
It is followed by years of catechesis before being completed late by Confirmation and the Eucharist, the summit of Christian initiation. Baptism is the Church 's way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God and the promise of salvation. 'Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised..." ' (Acts 2: 38-39) Baptism happens not only to the individual, but also the wider Church. At the time of Christ it signified that the person being baptised became a follower of Christ and acquired a relationship with him. '... I (Paul) also baptised the household of Stephanas... ' (1 Corinthians 1:16) The rite is celebrated with the community present and actively participating. It is the community, who will journey with them throughout their