This is an article first printed in Christianity Today, July 19, 2018. It brought up some aspects of the Lord’s Prayer I’ve not thought of before.
Scripture itself isn’t unified on the wording. The Bible gives us two versions of the prayer—also often referred to as the Our Father—one from Matthew’s gospel (Matt. 6:9–13) and one from Luke’s gospel (Luke 11:2–4).
Then there’s the question of translations and traditions. If Matthew’s wording probably borrows a term that refers to financial debts in the original Greek, is it okay that many traditions say “trespasses”? Pope Francis recently waded into the wording of the Lord’s Prayer by supporting a decision by the French Catholic church to change the wording of a line in the French translation of the prayer.
“I think that the pope is correct in his concern about the way the English translation can be misconstrued. (Of course, this is not the only place it can be misunderstood by those who recite it without understanding it. As I recall, they still prayed this prayer in public schools when I was little, and I wondered what it meant to make a name ‘hollow.’) The most likely sense is for God to protect us from succumbing to testing (as is clear in the parallel text in Matthew 26), and in Matthew it is parallel to deliverance from the evil one. The liturgical problem would be that people accustomed to praying the prayer a particular way might not adapt well to the change in wording. But whether they change the wording or not, the public raising of the question will help people have a better understanding of what they mean—or should mean—when they pray this prayer.” – Craig S. Keener, professor of biblical studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
“The expression ‘do not lead us into temptation’ could suggest God might do this. Others texts say he never does. ‘No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one’ (NRSV). (James 1:13–15). The rhetorical point of the request is the disciple knows that if one is to be protected from sin and temptation, God must take us there. So the sense of the request is very much ‘protect us from temptation.’ It is expressed negatively to make the point. It expresses a dependence of disciples on God for every area of life while recognizing who he is and affirming a desire for his will to take place. Interestingly we call it the Lord’s Prayer as it comes from the Lord, but it really is the Disciples’ Prayer, a prayer from Jesus we are to pray for each other. (Note all the plurals showing it is not a private prayer only but what we pray as a group for each other). I would prefer a rendering that says ‘protect us from temptation.’ The second part of the request is deliver us from the evil one, a point that underscores the protection idea. The one problem with ‘let us not fall into temptation’ is it suggests God is reacting to us. In fact, the request is the opposite. It is a request from the disciple to be responsive to God, recognize the need to be responsive, and ask him for a leading that does not take the believer into temptation, thus for protection that the disciples recognize God must do in order for things to go well.” – Darrell L. Bock, executive director of cultural engagement and senior research professor of New Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
“This is newsworthy, in one sense, because it’s the pope trying to make changes to the tradition in yet another area, which will cause all the usual flutters (as indeed it already has). But in another sense, it’s as old as the hills. A member of my church made the exact same point about that line in the Lord’s Prayer a month ago: What Jesus actually said (‘lead us not’) is different from what he should have said (‘don’t let us fall’). Personally, I think we should translate texts accurately and leave the strangeness as it is, although I can see why people and pastors (and popes) want to tidy it up. As to the meaning of the original, though, it’s pretty clear. I’m going to stick with ‘lead us not …’” – Andrew Wilson, teaching pastor at King’s Church London
Question: So what do you think of Pope Francis’ comments, or those commenting?