19. The History of the Our Father

The "Synoptic" Question

The Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke are called 'synoptic', since their numerous parallel passages can be seen and studied together (sun-optein: 'to see together'). Compare:

We are immediately struck, both by the obvious similarity of the passages and by the significant differences in them. This gives rise to the so-called "synoptic question": how are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke related to one another? Moreover many other questions suggest themselves: which of the different versions is the original one? (Did God the Father say: 'This is My Son' or 'You are My Son'?) was it not superfluous to inspire three passages which are so similar? Do such parallel passages contain the same message, or do we have to look for specific teaching in each of them?

These questions can, only be answered satisfactorily if we take into account the long and complicated history of Gospel formation. For the Gospels reflect all the stages through which Jesus' message came to us: the historical circumstance of Jesus' own preaching, the pastoral stress given to it in the oral catechesis, the formulations of memorized and fixed traditions, the particular style and purpose of the evangelists. We will not be able to deal extensively with the whole Gospel text and its formation. But we should at least gain some insight into the various aspects of Gospel formation which influenced its coming about. By elaborating a few examples of select passages (all dealing with prayer). we will soon understand and appreciate the process as such.

Our knowledge of this process will - it need hardly be said - greatly help us in judging Gospel passages as to their meaning. It will also give us a solid foundation in our defence of Gospel veracity. In this chapter we will consider the history of the "Our Father", not only because the "Our Father" is such an important prayer, but also because having seen one example very well we will learn how the Gospel passages were handed on from Jesus' own teaching, through the instructions of the apostles and the writing of the evangelists to our own days.

The "Our Father" Mt 6:9-15, Lk 11:2-4

We find the "Our Father", 'Our Lord's Own Prayer', both in the Gospel of St Matthew and in the Gospel of St Luke. It is obvious that these passages are closely related to one another. Let us therefore examine, very closely all the characteristics of the two texts that could help us to determine how these two versions of the 'Our Father' came about. Of course, in these few pages we cannot possibly go into all details (whole books have been written on the matter), but we may try to take a few of the more obvious features that can easily be understood.

We will approach the text in a scientific way. This means that we will begin by making OBSERVATIONS: features of the texts that we can observe with the help of various sciences. From a study of our observations, we will proceed to formulate a SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESIS regarding the formation of these texts. We will then show how this scientific hypothesis leads us to important EXEGETICAL CONCLUSIONS as to the meaning of the texts.

(Example: Scientists all over the world have made careful observations of metals expanding under heat. From these observations they deduced the scientific hypothesis that these metals increase in volume when heated. This hypothesis has led to many practical conclusions: e.g. when laying railway lines one always leaves some space between the metal joints. This prevents the bending of the steel in summer).

1. First Observation. The Greek Texts of Matthew's and Luke's "Our Father" have so much in common that they must be derived from one common Greek source.

(a) The words in italics, are absolutely identical in Greek. In fact, we find the following statistical data:

NUMBER OF WORDS:

This means that more than half of the Greek words are identical!

b) Moreover, the words in question are not such as do normally occur in Greek. The expression 'Your Name be sanctified', e.g. is so unusual in Greek and the construction employed so rare, that it becomes clear that the two identical formulations must go back to Greek original.

c) Absolutely conclusive is the word used for "daily" in "daily bread". The Greek term is ''epiousion". It is the only time that this word occurs in the Bible. Moreover, in all the thousands of Greek writings that are known to us the word has been found only in one single text (of uncertain date). The word was so strange that the Fathers of the early centuries do not agree on its meaning. Some say that it should mean: "daily", others: "necessary". Yet the word is undoubtedly a Greek word, composed from the Greek words 'epi' and 'ousios'. The fact that we find this same, identical term in both versions proves that both go back to one Greek original.

(Example: Suppose that two schoolboys have to write an essay in English. Half the words they use are identically the same .They employ some rare expressions. Moreover, both use a word like 'membranaciousness'. We will then conclude that both derived their essay from one and the same English text which they partly copied).

We observe, therefore, that the two versions of the 'Our Father' presuppose one common Greek source from which they were derived.

2. Second Observation. The Thought and the Language of the common phrases in the "Our Father" are so Aramaic that they presuppose an original version in Aramaic.

In this observation we learn from what linguists tell us:

a) Many of the thoughts in the "Our Father" can only be understood fully against the background of Jewish belief. It was the Jews (not the Greeks) who waited for God's Kingdom to come When asking for the 'daily bread', the Jews (not the Greeks) would understand that we are asking God to look after us as He looked after the people in the desert to whom He gave 'daily bread' (see Ex 16:4: God gave manna, enough for each day). When saying: 'lead us not into temptation', only Jews would think of the temptations in the desert which are presupposed in the petition (cf. Ex.17: 2-7; Num 20: 2-13; Dt 8:2-5; etc.). These typically Jewish thoughts argue to an original Aramaic (Jewish) version of the Our Father'.

b) The constructions used in the Our Father' also point to an Aramaic original. To limit ourselves to one example: in Greek the verb follows on the subject. In Aramaic, however, the verb begins certain sentence constructions. In Aramaic one says:

yithqaddesh (be sanctified) shemekha (your name) tabho (let come) malkuthekha (your kingdom).

The Greek version of the Our Father follows this order:

hagiastheto (be sanctified) to onoma sou (your name) elthato (let come) he basileia sou (your kingdom), whereas it should be in the inverted order according to normal Greek grammar. An Aramaic original is, therefore, presupposed.

c) The phrase 'Your Name be sanctified' makes no sense in Greek. According to the Greek words it would express the wish that God's name (which so far has been unholy) be purified and cleansed. But in Aramaic (as in Hebrew) the phrase is an idiomatic expression which has a very precise meaning. The "name" stands for the person himself. When God says: "I will sanctify My Name" (Ez 36:23), it means: I will prove Myself to be holy by My deeds In Aramaic the phrase expresses, therefore: "God, may Your holiness be shown by Your deeds." Again an indication of the fact that the original must have been spoken in Aramaic.

(Example: Suppose you find in an English book a story with lines such as these: "While Uncle Moon was shining bright, Lalitha, said to Nageswarrao: 'Husband, tomorrow to your elder brother let us go'." We know immediately that the original story was in Telegu. Because the thoughts are so Telegu: Uncle Moon ( Chendra Mama); saying 'husband' instead of calling him by his name; speaking of the 'elder brother' (anna). The construction of the last sentence also is Telugu, not English) Consequently, we observe that an Aramaic original must underlie the actual Greek text of the "Our Father."

3. Third Observation: The differences of the two versions can he explained if we remember the specific purpose of each evangelist.

St MATTHEW wrote his Gospel for Jews.

— 'OUR FATHER WHO ART IN THE HEAVENS' is an appellation very congenial to the Jewish way of praying. They used to call God 'Father', but always added another title to bring out the difference with 'fathers' on earth

"Father, Our King"! "Father our God"! "Our Father who art in the heavens" (Seder Elij. 7:33) (Tanna debe Elija 21 ).

Matthew therefore, makes Christ recite the prayer as we would say it. That is why we read our Father. That is why we say: 'who art in the heavens'. Almighty God is 'Father; to Jesus in a far more exalted sense than He is 'Father' to us ( cf. ,Jn 20:-17).

"YOUR WILL BE DONE AS IN HEAVEN SO ALSO ON EARTH". God's kingdom is in heaven. There His Almighty will is completely executed. When Christ said: 'Your kingdom come; He wants to say precisely. that 'God's Will be done on earth'. In other words: "Your will be done" explains the meaning of 'Your kingdom come'. This explanation was necessary for Jews. For the Jews were expecting a political Kingdom that would liberate them from Roman rule. Christ did not mean this when saying 'Your Kingdom Come'. St. Matthew, therefore, adds the explanatory phrase which is so necessary for the Jews. In this he follows accurately Christ's mind, if not His actual words.

St LUKE wrote his Gospel for converted Greek Christians.

— 'FATHER'. Christ prayed to God with the simple appellation 'father' thereby expressing a personal relationship that no Jew would dare to express:

"I thank You, Father... " Lk 10:22). "Abba, Father, take this cup away from Me (Mk 14:36) `"Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit" (Lk 23: 46)

Christ speaks about God as "My Father" in a special way (Lk 10:22; Mt 20:23; 25:34; 26:29, 53)

Through Christ all Christians have become God's children in a special way. That is why all can say: "Abba, Father" when praying (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). St Luke, consequently gives the "Our Father" as it was recited by the early ( Greek ) Christians with Christ's own appellation Luke also explains things to non-Jews by saying 'Sins' instead of 'debts' and by explaining that we are asking not only for to-day but for food enough for each day: "KEEP GIVING US FROM DAY TO DAY". He stresses that we should forgive "EVERYONE".

From these considerations it becomes clear to us why Matthew's and Luke's versions are different in some details. The meaning of both versions is the same, but we find a difference in stress and formulation on account of the different audience to which the texts are addressed.

4. Fourth Observation: Luke mentions the historical occasions when the "Our Father" was taught by Jesus. Oral Tradition linked the prayer to Christ's saying on forgiveness (MATTHEW and MARK).

LUKE introduces the "Our Father" in this way:

"Once He was somewhere engaged in prayer. When He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him 'Lord, teach us how to pray, just as John taught his disciples'. He said to them: 'When you pray, say as follows:.. 'Father... (Lk 11:1-2)

There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of this information. Jesus always taught in this fashion. Whenever a certain matter arose (the occasion) Jesus would speak His mind on the subject in a brief and short oracle (Jesus' word). This 'word" would then be explained by Him at length (the instruction) the most important thing was Jesus' word itself: this the disciples would learn by heart. The occasion and the explanatory instruction have also been retained at times, but not always. In this instance Luke has preserved for us the occasion of Jesus' teaching the "Our Father". etc. (Luke 11:12)

The occasion given by Luke is of great importance: we learn from it that Christ meant the 'Our Father' to be a real model of prayer. MATTHEW and MARK, however, do not give the occasion, but combine the prayer with Christ's statement on forgiveness:

When Christ was giving His explanatory instruction, He would explain each of the petitions in the "Our Father". The statement on forgiveness recorded here, undoubtedly originated in this way. Since both Matthew and Mark connect the 'prayer' with the statement on forgiveness, we may conclude that this connection came about in oral tradition. MARK omits the 'Our Father', probably because it was so well known to Christians in any case, but he retains the statement on forgiveness. MATTHEW gives both together as he found it in oral tradition.

We observe, therefore, that Jesus' prophetic word (the 'Our Father' itself) was preserved by Matthew and Luke. Luke, moreover, retained the occasion (the disciple's question). Matthew and Mark add a part of Christ's explanatory instruction (on forgiveness), according to a connection that existed already in oral tradition.

5. Fifth Observation. Matthew integrates the 'Our Father' into the Sermon on the Mount. Luke puts it together with other passages on prayer.

It is obvious that the 'Our Father' did not originally belong to the text of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7). We have already seen in the fourth observation that Luke provides the actual historical occasion. That the 'Our Father' was added to the Sermon on the Mount at a later stage can also be shown from Matthew's Gospel itself. This is proved by the fact that it interrupts another statement of Christ.

Mt 6:1 "Do not practise your religion before men..."
Mt 6:2-4 First example: "When you are about to give alms, do not send a trumpeter ahead of you...

Thus your alms should be given in secrecy. Then your Father who sees what is secret will reward you!"

Mt 6:5-6 Second example:

"Again, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites... Pray to your Father in secrecy. Then your Father who sees what is secret will reward you!"

INTERRUPTION

Vs. 7-8 Don't pray with many words.
Vs. 9-13 The 'Our Father'.
Vs. 14-15 The statement on forgiveness.

Mt 6:16-18 Third example:

"Again when you fast do not imitate the gloomy-looking hypocrites... Your Father will notice your fasting in secrecy. Then your Father, who sees what is secret, will reward you!"

In other words: Mt 6:16-18 were originally one prophetic statement of Jesus against hypocrisy, containing three examples: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. The texts of Mt 6:7-15 have also been put here (interrupting the oracle) since they also speak of prayer (as vs. 5-6 do). In this way St Matthew has added many teachings of Jesus which he knew from other traditions, to the original text of the Sermon on the Mount. If we inspect the Gospel of St Luke, we observe that this evangelist too has tried to bring order in Christ's teachings by putting similar passages (on prayer) in the same chapter.

Lk 11:1-2a Occasion of the 'our Father'.
2-4 The 'Our Father' (Parallel: Mt 6:9-13)
5-8 Parable about the importuning friend. ( No. par.)
9-13 About the efficacy of prayer ( Parallel: Mt 7:7-11).

The last of these passages has been put by Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount, whereas Luke puts it here. From these facts we learn that connections between various Gospel passages may have different origins:
— Some connections are due to the fact that the passages were linked in the historical occurrence (Lk 11:1-2a; 2b-4);
— Some connections have come about by oral tradition which put traditions together (Mt 7:9-13; 14-15)
— Some connections have come about by the evangelist who put traditions together for the sake of composition.

The History of the Our Father

Having made our 'scientific' observations about the Our Father, we can now proceed to reconstruct its history (composing a so called 'hypothesis' of how it arose). This reconstruction may be considered as quite certain:

27-30AD

At the request of the disciples (Lk 11 :1-2) Jesus taught the Our Father in Aramaic. We may call this the Aramaic Original of the Our Father. Jesus used the opportunity also to teach certain aspects of prayer (e.g. that we have to forgive others).

30-50 AD

The apostles had learned the Our Father by heart. After the resurrection they taught it to the new disciples who were converted to Christ. So the Aramaic Original was handed on in oral tradition. The apostles taught it, together with the occasion at which Jesus had formulated it and His teaching on prayer.

50 AD

In the Aramaic edition of St Matthew's Gospel the Our Father got its place in the Sermon on the Mount. As the Gospel was addressed to Jews, the Our Father received its typically Jewish formulation. St Matthew preserved the link with the forgiveness text (Mt, 6:14-15).

64 AD

In St Mark's Gospel the Our Father itself is not mentioned, perhaps because St Mark presupposed it as a text every Christian knew. The forgiveness text is given however (Mk 11:25).

65 AD

Meanwhile the Aramaic text of the Our Father had been translated into Greek for the use of the Greek converts. This Greek version of the Our Father was known to the translator who translated the Aramaic Matthew into Greek. Also St Luke knew this Greek version. He adapted it in a form intelligible to new hellenistic (Greek) converts and put it together with other texts on prayer.

Other Forms of the our Father

In the early Church an extended form of the Our Father became known as we know from the so called "didache of the twelve apostles". The form is the same as the one we find with Matthew except for some addition at the end:

"Thus you shall pray:

'Our Father who art in heaven. Your Name be sanctified! Your Kingdom come. Your Will be done on earth as in heaven! Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Power and the Glory through the ages'.

Three times a day you shall pray in this fashion".

Another form of the Our Father is found with Marcion (2nd cent. AD). It is based on St Luke's version, but with some free adaptations which show that the early Christians still expressed the Our Father in their own words:

"Father, Your Name be sanctified! May Your Holy Spirit come on us and purify us! Keep giving us from day to day Your daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves too forgive everyone who is our debtor. And do not permit us to be led into temptation."

Conclusion

From the history of the Our Father we can learn much regarding the way in which Jesus' words were handed down in tradition. In chapter twenty we will discuss this topic.