I, Wineskin: Part II

And so, we have followed God’s new Kingdom back to the parable of the wineskins. Having arrived here, we must take note that there are actually two “new” things in this parable: the new wineskins, yes, but also the new wine. It is interesting, and important, to realize that Luke, when affixing the adjective “new” to the wine and the skins, uses two different words. The wine is called new by the Greek “neos”, meaning new in a temporal sense, speaking of something that has recently become present or come into existence; something that is newly made, created, or has appeared for the first time. The wineskins are qualified by the Greek “kainos” which bears the primary meaning of new quality or superior in quality, a quality that had not previously been known. Let us consider what bearing Luke’s intentional use of these two different and specific “new” words has on the parable by asking these questions: What have we seen in the story from Luke 4:16 through 5:37 that is new in the “neos” sense, and what have we seen that is new in the “kainos” sense? As pointed out previously, it is the new Kingdom that comes or appears before man and that brings with it a new quality or renewal to those it exercises its authority over. The Kingdom is “neos” new; those it affects are “kainos” new. From this we can safely surmise that in the wineskins parable Luke is naming the new Kingdom, and it as embodied in Christ, as the new wine, and the new wineskins as that which the wine affects. But what is the Kingdom, what is Christ affecting here? Surely, as the new wine is poured into the new skins, it must be something that is affected strongly and directly and in such a way that would destroy an old in quality subject. To answer this question, let us again look at the immediate context of the parable; let us go back to Levi’s party.

There they were, looking on with judgmental disdain and bewilderment as the young Rabbi and His followers mingled amongst the tax collectors and sinners, drinking their wine and eating their food; this is no way for religious men to act! And then questions come. First, to the disciples: “Why do you eat and drink with sinners?” Then to Christ: Why don’t your disciples act like those of John and the Pharisees? Again, Christ answers the first question for His disciples saying that He came to call the likes of these to repentance, to new life. After the answer had been given, the Pharisees ask the second question to which Christ answers by way of parables including the parable of the wineskins; Christ speaks of the wineskins as a direct answer to a question about His disciples. If, in the parable that speaks of Christ’s disciples, the new wine is the new in appearance, temporally new Kingdom of God, then it can only be concluded that the new in quality, the renewed wineskins are the very disciples of Christ themselves. The authority of the new Kingdom, present in, and exercised by Christ, has called these men to be subject to it, made new the spiritual quality of their lives, and, having done as much, has made them able to be keepers of the Kingdom, to have the Kingdom in its new, expanding state poured into them until such time when it was ready for consumption. These men were not entrenched in tradition like the Pharisees and their disciples, were not devoted to a prophet who had taken on a life of obscurity like the disciples of John. Those disciples were old wineskins, already stretched by old wine; had the Kingdom been poured into them, they would have fought to contain it in there rigid, un-flexible skins and would have burst, destroying both themselves and fouling the nature and message of the Kingdom, spilling it on the ground. The new wine of the Kingdom could not expand in confines of the religious, political, and social structures these disciples followed and represented within their culture; nor could it be poured out at the time of its maturity.

The main feature of new wine, which may be obvious, is that it is new. It is not ready for consumption; it needs time to ferment. This characteristic speaks to the “already-not yet” aspect of the Kingdom of God. Christ inaugurated the Kingdom in His coming, the Kingdom is come, but the Kingdom is not yet fully realized, not yet consummated; the Kingdom is not yet fully fermented. The new wineskins of the disciples had been entrusted with the stewardship of the Kingdom as it began to expand, as it grew and matured throughout the ministry of Christ. This being said, we must take note that this duty of the disciples, the wineskins theme, is carried by Luke not only throughout his Gospel narrative, but also into his account of the Acts of the Apostles. The introduction of the wineskins theme in Luke 5 prepares the reader for the events of Acts 2.

There, in Acts chapter 2, a climactic, unprecedented event takes place within the Kingdom of God; something dramatic happens to the new wine. It is rightly said that the Kingdom of God is not yet consummated to this day, therefore the event at Pentecost is not the pouring out of new wine for consumption, rather the account of rapid expansion, rapid growth of the Kingdom; a spike in the fermentation process. Could it be said that the coming of the Holy Spirit acted as a powerful catalyst in the fermenting process, and at the empowering of the Apostles that there was such a rapid expansion of the Kingdom that the Apostles themselves could no longer contain it and had to pour it into even more new wineskins, bringing about the manifestation of the church? Was this not the charge given to the Apostles by Christ at His ascension? Though Luke makes no explicit mention of it neither in his gospel nor his account of Acts, he hints at the great commission delivered in Matthew 28 (Matthew contains both the great commission and the wineskins parable) when he says, in Acts 1:2, that Christ had given commands to the disciples through Holy Spirit. Christ had given the Apostles the authority to make disciples, just as He had called them into discipleship. Surely the 3000 converts on the day of Pentecost, the added numbers on the days following, and the Gentiles to whom the Kingdom flowed can all be called new disciples, new wineskins; and not just those in Acts, but those converts, those new disciples throughout the New Testament Scriptures. In fact, the wineskins theme is still being played out today. You see, we are new wineskins as well! Every member of the Kingdom of God is entrusted with caring for, accommodating, and facilitating the still expanding, still fermenting, still growing new wine of the Kingdom until such time, known only to the Father, it is consummated; until that time when it is ready to be partaken of in its full maturity, its perfect state. Christ Himself, while leading the disciples in the Passover celebration and instituting the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper said, as He passed the wine, that He would not, “drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes,” (Lk 22:18). Christ, no longer physically present in His Kingdom, sits at the right hand of the Father. There, He waits until the time of the consummation when He will again be physically present in the Kingdom as He sits on His throne; but that Kingdom will not be the Kingdom He departed from at His ascension. When Christ returns, it will be to a mature Kingdom that has been brought about by the care and expansion, the good stewardship of His disciples; a Kingdom that is fully fermented. It is at this time that the wineskins will be opened up and the perfect new wine poured out to all the members of the Kingdom as they partake of it in the company of their King; they will enjoy the full blessings of the consummated, fully fermented Kingdom of God.

What a blessing to be called to be a new wineskin! Who wouldn’t long with all their being to be stewards of the Kingdom of God, to have the hope of one day drinking in the full blessing of the Kingship of Christ? It seems absurd to think that there would be any who would shun this responsibility. However, Christ ends the parable by stating that indeed there are those who do just that. “And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’” (5:39). Some translations, such as the English Standard and New American Standard Versions, state that these people say that the old wine is “good,” rather than better; indeed, the Greek word here, “chrestos”, carries both meanings . This would imply that those that reject the new wine are not doing so out of comparison, but rather out of complacency with the old wine. They are unwilling to even try the new wine as they are content with the taste of the old, it satisfies them now. While the translation of the chrestos as “better” would imply a comparison, it is not clear from the text that comparison is necessarily based on partaking of or tasting both wines to make the comparison. As mentioned before, new wine is new, it needs to ferment before it can be enjoyed; new wine is not ready to be consumed. The partakers of the old wine may say that their wine is better for the simple reason that it can be consumed now, it is able to satisfy them immediately; they don’t have to wait. Here we again see a demonstration of the “already, not yet” character of the Kingdom. It is in the wineskins, but not ready to be put to the lips. With either use of chrestos, “better” or “good”, those that have drunken the old wine, the disciples of John and the Pharisees, the old wineskins, do not see the future and perfect satisfaction of the fully fermented new wine and are unwilling to wait for it to come to maturity. These disciples will continue to drink in and be drunk with the Law and the prophets, the message of the coming of the Messiah rather than the Messiah Himself, for these things have given them structure, direction, purpose, position, and identity; they have satisfied them up until now. These things have stretched their skins to their full capacity; why should they look for something new to drink? The old is good enough.

Going forward through Luke’s Gospel from the parable of the wineskins, we see the continual stretching of the wineskins of the disciples: They are the first to experience the Sabbath under the Kingship of Christ (6:1-5), they are told the explanations of Christ’s parables (8:9ff), they are given duties under the authority of Christ (10:1-12), they are taught how to speak with God (11:1-4); indeed, Christ even tests their elasticity to make sure they are expanding as they are supposed to: “But who do you say that I am?” (9:18-20). This gradual stretching, this tempering of the disciples as wine skins is greatly and abundantly exceeded at the event of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the manifestation of the church at Pentecost. As the expanding wine can not be accommodated by even those new wineskins prepared before hand by the earthly ministry of Christ, as the Kingdom can not be contained by anything less than the full number of its members (cf 2Pt 3:8-14), and not willing to allow those new wineskins to burst like the old, the Holy Spirit descended and opened the wineskins of the Apostles and disciples allowing the still expanding new wine to overflow. Likewise unwilling to allow the wine to be wasted in the dirt, the coming of the Spirit clothed the Apostles and disciples with power from on high (Lk 24:29) to exercise the authority given them by Christ, the same authority by which they themselves were made disciples, to call more new wineskins, more disciples, to receive the deluge and facilitate the rapid growth of the new wine which continues even today until the completion of the fermentation process, the day of drinking in the perfect wine, the full blessing of the consummated Kingdom of God under the Kingship of Christ.

Indeed, Levi’s party must have been quite the scene. Good food, good drink, and a raucous crowd. And there, in the midst of it all was Christ, expanding the The New Wine of His Kingdom, filling a few of His new wineskins, starting the fermentation process. The Pharisees, the old wine skins content with their old wine, could not understand it for they had never tasted anything like it before. And that is precisely the point.

I, Wineskin: Part I

OK, so I lied. Well, at least I failed to live up to a well intentioned statement: I'm putting up another long, two part post. The following is the first half of a paper I wrote on the parable of the wineskins found in Luke 5 that I thought went well with the last post.

As you may have noticed (at least, I hope you've noticed), I've been stricken with and convicted by the topic of the Kingdom of God and how we, how I, am supposed to be living in light of it. I know that I haven't really delved into the "practicality" aspect of it yet, and I do plan to, but, first, I really want to lay a firm foundation of why I believe we need to discuss the practicality aspect of it. As I said in a previous post, I'm no longer content in my life to let eschatology be one of those things that "isn't really important" because "whatever's gonna' happen is gonna' happen." I believe the Scriptures show us that the Christian identity now is rooted in the fullness of the Kingdom to come, and all that we do must attend to both that identity and the Kingdom. In Luke 5, Christ likens that identity to a new wineskin. Also, I know I haven't really put up any "discussion starters" as of yet, but if you have a comment, a question, a complaint, whatever (about this or any other post), please, throw it out there. I don't begin to presume that I have it all right, and covet your points of view, unique wisdom, and am just generally curious as to what folks are thinking!

With that, here's my take on Luke 5....


It must have been quite the scene; as a tax collector, well, at least a former tax collector, with his stipend and all the “fringe benefits” of being a publican, Levi most likely had the resources to throw a good party. Good food, good drink, and a raucous crowd. And there He stood in the midst of them, with a few of His new fisherman friends, laughing and conversing. Yet, wasn’t this man was supposed to be a good Jew? Hasn’t He demonstrated the ability to heal and even claimed to be able to forgive sin? How could He be partaking of such a feast and associating with the likes of tax collectors? Hypocrite! Where was His respect for the Law, where was His piety? The Pharisees couldn’t believe what they were seeing, for they had never seen anything like it before. And, little did they know, that was precisely the point.

In an act of judgment, the Pharisees posed two questions to Christ at Levi’s feast. Actually, the first was to His disciples, but Christ stepped in and offered the answer. The first question, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”, was answered by Christ in that He said these were precisely the kinds of people that He came to save. The second question, which was more of an accusation really, received a much more involved answer, and it is that answer in which we are interested.

Let us look at the question: “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking”, (Lk 5:33). The Pharisees and Scribes challenge Christ by comparing the behavior, the “righteousness” if you will, of His disciples to those of John the Baptist and, indeed, their own disciples. They had heard Christ pronounce the forgiveness of sin, they had seen Him make a paralyzed man walk, and now He has said He has come to save tax collectors and sinners; how can He do any of these if there are others that are more righteous than He that can not do them? How can He serve God if He does not keep God’s Law? From the very start, Christ’s answer contains language of newness, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast,” (5:34-35). In using marriage as the metaphor for His answer, Christ invokes the meaning of a new beginning; just as the friends of the bridegroom celebrate the imminent, new union to his bride, the disciples are celebrating the presence of Christ and His ministry. Christ continues answering the Pharisees with the first of two parables, that of a patch of new cloth. Here, He continues to invoke the image and feel of newness, and new quality. “No-one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old,” (5:36). While the specific meaning of Christ’s example here is that a new piece of cloth has not been shrunk and the old has, and to put the new on the old, and then wear and wash it as normal, would cause the new cloth to shrink and tear the old again, resulting in the old cloth, the old garment being worse off than it was before it was patched, and the new garment also being ruined as it has had a patch cut from it, the general theme is the comparison of the old versus the new. Christ’s next parable will continue the conflict between old and new.

“And no-one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins,” (5:37-38). During the fermentation process, new wine releases gasses and needs room to expand; it requires a container that will stretch and adapt, one that will grow to contain the wine. As old wineskins have been through the process before, they have lost their elasticity and will not expand, rather would tear during the fermentation process resulting in both ruined skin and wasted wine. New wine skins, on the other hand, are fresh and pliable; they will stretch and expand, and accommodate the new wine. What Christ was saying is that something new, new wine, new cloth, a bridegroom, has come, and it requires room to grow, to be prepared. But what was Christ speaking of? What is the new wine? What are the new and old wineskins? What were the Pharisees and Scribes to understand from hearing these parables? To get a better idea of what Christ was saying, we must look at the place in the story where the well ordered, carefully investigated Luke places this parable. Starting at Levi’s party, we will go backwards.

Immediately preceding the account of his feast, Luke, in 5:27-28, records Levi’s calling to discipleship under Christ. There he was, sitting at his booth, and up comes Christ and speaks two simple words to him, “Follow me,” (5:27). And he did; Levi left everything and followed Christ; he abandoned the old and took on the new. Prior to calling Levi, Christ had forgiven the sins of the paralytic, as recorded in 5:17-26, and, in a confrontation with the Pharisees, made him able to walk. Another healing, that of a leper, is recorded in 5:12-26. In the section of Scripture preceding this account, Luke records yet another call to discipleship. Here, in 5:1-11, Christ calls the fishermen Peter, James, and John. In response, just like Luke would later say of Matthew, they, “ left everything and followed him,” (5:11). This brings us to the beginning of the chapter, However, we shouldn’t stop here; we must continue backward through the narrative to engage the full context of the wineskins parable in verses 37-39. A theme of “newness” stretches back from the parables of 5:33-39: new wineskins, new wine, new cloth, new disciples with new lives, new legs and new life for the paralytic as well as for the leper. All of these, like Levi, left the old and took on the new. We must continue backward through Luke’s Gospel to determine where this theme is introduced so that we may understand why it is there.

Chapter 4 of Luke, proceeding backward from the start of chapter 5, tells us that Christ was preaching the good news of the Kingdom in the Judean synagogues (4:42-44), and that He had cast out demons and healed the sick with new authority (“What is this word?” 4:36) (4:31-41). However, it is in the text preceding these accounts in which we see the introduction of the theme of newness. Luke 4:16-30 tells of Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth. Here He reads from the Prophet Isaiah, announces its fulfillment on that day, and declares the inauguration of the Kingdom of God, a new Kingdom. Luke tells us in verse 16 of chapter 16 that “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached…” (emphasis added). John preached of the coming of the new, and Christ actually brought it. This account defines the context of newness and qualifies the use of the theme in the following verses stretching to the parable of the wineskins in 5:37-39. Christ’s authority is new because it is seated in a new Kingdom; the leper and paralytic have new health and new spiritual quality because the power and authority of a new Kingdom has been exercised over them. The lives of the disciples are new because they are servants of a new Kingdom. Simply stated, the new Kingdom of God makes things new.

On Earth as it is in Heaven...

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:10.

How many countless times have we uttered this phrase as we repeat the Lord's words of instruction? We have recited them in the seats of our sanctuaries with the brethren of our congregation. We have pleaded them in the privacy of our closets and inner rooms. We have mouthed along with them on bended knee at our children's bedside. So many times we have followed Christ in His example of prayer, but how often have we actually stopped to think what we are praying for? How often, if ever, have we asked ourselves if we really mean what we are praying in these words, or even if we are able to pray them at all?

Before the conversation starts, let me issue a quick caveat: Although my thoughts on this matter stem from studies in the Gospel according to Luke, and are based on themes found throughout that gospel, I will, for translational and familiarity reasons, be using the form of the Lord's prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13, and referring to that text specifically (unless otherwise noted). Some translations of Luke, such as the NIV, NASB, and the ESV, exclude chunks of the prayer that appear in Matthew, while other translations, the KJ family in particular, include them. Also, I am writing a paper on this topic, and these observations are my key premise; this is not a full exposition on the topic. I might link to my paper when I'm done. (I'm trying to break the habit of putting up huge posts =)

As I have been studying Luke's Gospel these past three months, I don't think I have yet been so halted by an event as the giving of the Lord's prayer. Luke records the Lord's prayer in his 11th chapter, and it comes at the request of His disciples.

1 And it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

In Matthew 6, the instruction was delivered within the Sermon on the Mount

8 Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. 9a Pray, then, in this way:

The "them" in verse 8 is defined in the preceding verses starting in verse 5. While there is some debate as to how many times Christ delivered this instruction based on the seemingly different contexts in the two gospels, it is quite apparent that Christ, in both accounts, is teaching His followers a way to pray that is different from "them" (Matt 6:5-8) and different than John's disciples (Luke 11:1). What Christ was teaching His disciples was indeed something different, it was something new. Now, obviously, Christ did not intend to deliver a new in word only prayer, no. In Matthew 6, when speaking of the way the Gentiles prayed, He warns those listening to him of meaningless, or vain repetition (6:7). Indeed, we do not see that Christ Himself ever repeated these words in the many Scriptural accounts of His prayers, and neither do we see the Apostles repeat them as they delivered the gospel of Christ and built the Church. So, we must conclude that Christ's intention was not that His disciples utter the exact words that He spoke as example, but that those words were meant to model something else. This prayer was new in form, and new in meaning.

After the address, "Our Father, who art in Heaven", Consider the three opening petitions of the prayer: 1) Hallowed be Thy name, 2) Thy Kingdom come, and 3) Thy will be done. (Yes, "Hallowed be Thy name" is a request. The Greek used here for "hallowed" is a verb, not an adjective: "May Your name be revered, called holy.") These three, petitions regarding God, are followed by another three regarding man: 1) Give us this day our daily bread, 2) Forgive us our debts, and 3) Lead us not into temptation. And right there, right in the middle, is a phrase that must not be overlooked nor understated; right in the middle lays the qualifier of the whole thing: "On earth as it is in Heaven."

Because the phrase falls where it does, it touches every petition of the prayer; it, serves as a kind of "textual bracket". When we ask that God’s will be done, we can not do so in any other way than to ask for it in all areas of life. For to pray that His will be done in one area and not another, is to not pray for His will at all. Rather it is the imposition of our own will upon that of God; it is the request that God exercise His will according to the way and in the areas that we want Him to exercise it. Therefore, when we ask for our daily bread, when we ask that God’s name be revered, when we bring any petition before the Lord, we must ask for it to be done in accordance to His will alone, not how we think it should be done. In this prayer, by attaching "on earth as it is in heaven" to "thy will be done," Christ dictates that when we pray for God’s will, that we pray for it to be done in our lives and in our context, that it be realized in our time now, as it is in the place where God dwells. Having prayed this, the rest must follow: The first three petitions: "Hallowed be Thy name," on earth as it is in heaven; "Thy kingdom come," on earth as it is in heaven; "Thy will be done," on earth as it is in heaven; and the last three: "Give us this day our daily bread," on earth as it is in heaven; "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors," on earth as it is in heaven; "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil," on earth as it is in heaven. This consideration vastly expands our understanding of the model that Christ gave His disciples, and has given us. As to pray for God to be known, to reign, to work on earth as it is in heaven, and to pray that we be provided for, that we deal with our neighbor, and that we not be affected by evil on earth as it is in heaven, to pray that all aspects of our lives before God and man be on earth as it is in heaven, is to pray that the state of earth be "heavenly", to be a place and time in which God’s will is realized in such a way as can only be done in His presence; it is to pray for the full consummation of the Kingdom of God here on earth. The Lord's prayer is a Kingdom prayer; it cries out to God for the manifestation of His Kingdom here on earth. It is a plea to God for the redemption of His people (Our Father, Give us our daily bread, forgive us our debts, lead us not into temptation), and the redemption of all of creation (on earth as it is in heaven). When Christ instructs His disciples with this prayer, He is telling them to so earnestly desire the day when the tabernacle of God will be among men, when God Himself will dwell among them (Rev 21:3), the time when the presence of God will make things on earth as [they are] in heaven, He tells them to so earnestly desire the day of the consummation of the Kingdom, that they desire everything else, in form and manner, in accordance with that Kingdom. And not just to desire these things, but to petition God to make things thus. Indeed this is solidified in the closing of the prayer: "For Thine is Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" (Matt 6:13). In giving this model, Christ is telling His disciples to seek first the Kingdom of God, and God's righteousness, and everything else will be added unto them (Matt 6:25-33; Luke 12:22-31). Christ modeled this perfectly in the Garden when He prayed to His Father, "Yet not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42). He sought His Father’s will and the salvation of His Kingdom more than His own well being, and, indeed, the citizens of the Kingdom were added unto Him through the salvation accomplished by His sacrifice.

Now, the questions must be asked: Do I pray this way? Do I want what God wants me to want, or do I want what's easy? Do I understand that what's in my best interest is really what's in God's best interest? Do I so desire the Kingdom that I am willing to decrease so that I may contribute to its increase? When's the last time I prayed that God take something away from me? Do I truly seek to live in conformity to Christ and manifest heaven on earth, or do I continue an earthly life and seek to justify it as "heavenly" simply because I'm a Christian? Do I seek first the Kingdom, or am I stubbornly trying to add "all these things" unto it? Christ Himself, through instruction and example, shows us that prayer is a means of seeking out God's will and victory, and a humbling of ourselves to receive it and live accordingly. When we pray according to how Christ taught us, our lives must change; we must stop seeking our own agendas and start seeking first the ways of the Kingdom. In this regard, Christ shows us that our prayer is not just a means of communication with God, but also a means of sanctification of our lives. However, this prayer speaks not only of sanctification, but also of salvation.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." Is this not the Gospel, that God has a Kingdom and that man is able to be a part of it? When we share the good news of God, the news of the Kingdom (Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2, 11, 60), when we tell our friends and family that God gives meaning to life, are we not saying, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." (Matt 6:33)? Salvation lies in seeking the Kingdom of God and conforming to His righteousness! Yet, no man can do that on his own; man is sinful. The Scriptures themselves say that "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God" (Romans 3:10-11). However, there is hope. Let us not forget who has instructed us in this prayer that speaks the way of salvation. It is the very King of the Kingdom in which our salvation lay. Christ is saying believe Me that this is how you must pray, believe Me that there is a Kingdom to pray for, believe Me that when you seek it first, everything else will be added unto you. For when you believe Me, you believe the one who rules that Kingdom and who will do the adding of all these things unto you, when you believe Me, you believe the only begotten Son of the one true God, when you believe Me, you believe in the only name under heaven by which man must be saved (Acts 4:12). Had this model of prayer been deliverd by an Apostle or anyone in the Scriptures other than Christ, the Savior Himself, this Gospel hope would not be present in it. There is great signifigance in that it is Christ, in whose name we pray, that teaches men how to pray. Through this account in Scripture, Christ tells all mankind that there is a Kingdom over which He Himself reigns. He tells all mankind that there is a Kingdom in which man may dwell. And He tells all mankind that He is the only way into that Kingdom.

The next time we recite the Lords prayer, or the next time we pray at all, whether we quietly fold our hands or fall heavily on our knees, whether we shout thanks to God or call out in desperation, whether we call upon Him to meet our physical needs or cry out to Him for the very salvation of our soul, remember there is a Kingdom that we are to be seeking. There is a Kingdom we are to be evidencing. There is a Kingdom that we are to be living and desiring to see fully manifested. When we pray we proclaim that there is hope and promise that things will one day be “on earth as it is in heaven.”