Hermeneia: Matthew 1–7: A Commentary on Matthew 1–7 (Herm)

Top Highlights

“Tertullian sees in the Lord’s Prayer a summary of all of the teaching of faith and morals, an ‘abridgement of the entire Gospel.’” (Page 312)

“When Jesus prays ‘let your will be done,’ he is not only asking God to do whatever he wants to do; at the same time he is also asking for the power to associate himself actively with this will of God. Thus our petition includes something the praying person actively does.⁹² However, it is not simply a disguised imperative; it lays the person’s conduct at God’s feet in the form of a petition.” (Page 319)

“Thus the Lord’s Prayer is an aid in praying and is designed to help the person who recites it to discover the Father’s loving presence. It wants to make prayer possible.” (Page 325)

“Augustine is of the opinion that no day should go by on which Christians do not perform this prayer.” (Page 313)

“Further, ‘kingdom of heaven’ (βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν) is both the catchword that in the title verse 4:23* characterizes the content of Jesus’ proclamation as well as the important key term (cf. 5:20*; 6:10*, 33*) that frames the entire discourse (5:3*, 10*; 7:21*). For these two reasons, ‘Discourse on the Righteousness of the Kingdom of Heaven’ may be a fitting title.” (Page 177)