Sermon Series: Pray Like Jesus: The Lord’s Prayer
#6 “For Thine is the Kingdom, Power, Glory, Forever”
Luke 19:28-40 (NIV); Rev. 5:11-13 (NIV); Mt. 6:13c (KJV only)
By John Gill ~ April 2, 2023

Over the past six weeks, we have been delving into the Lord’s Prayer striving to gain some new insights about a prayer we recite every week in our worship. We have come to see that every phrase is filled with meaning if we will only take the time to stop and think about what we are saying.

Finally today we come to the last phrase of the prayer, “For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”

You know, if I asked you to turn in your Bibles to the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew, chap. 6, vs. 13, you may be surprised. You would be surprised because, in most Bible translations, this phrase is not included in the Lord’s Prayer at all. MOST Bibles concludes Jesus’ model prayer with these words: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” PERIOD.

Those of you who prefer to use the King James Version, however, WOULD find this final phrase included in the text. What’s going on here? Why this discrepancy?

If you have ever been in Bible study where people used several different translations, you may have a clue about the reasons for this inconsistency in the text. When Bible translators set out on the daunting task of translating the Bible out of the original languages, they have many ancient manuscript copies of the Scriptures to choose from, and often times, the wording of these manuscripts is not exactly identical.

For instance, sometime, look up the ending of Mark’s Gospel (which actually will the scripture for next Sunday). Did Mark end his gospel at 16:8 or did it end at 16:19? Most Bibles will put chapter 16, vs. 9-19 in brackets, and have a notation that this account of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus is not found in the most ancient manuscripts of Mark. But other manuscripts, dated later, DO include those stories as part of Mark’s Gospel – hence the notation in our Bibles.

The same kind of situation exists in this portion of the Lord’s Prayer. When the King James Bible was translated in the early 17th century, the manuscripts they had to go by included the words, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever,” as PART of the prayer. But, since that that time, manuscripts which are even MORE ancient have surfaced and these do NOT include that phrase at all.

So what happened? What does it all mean? Our best guess is that the Early Church used the Lord’s Prayer regularly as part of its worship services, and added this phrase as a “doxology of praise” at the end of the prayer.

In other words, this part of the prayer probably grew out of the worship-life of these early Christians, and, when later manuscripts were written they simply included the prayer exactly as it was commonly prayed by the faith community.

So, if Jesus didn’t actually say these words, should WE? I have been to some churches (the Roman Catholic Church, for instance) where they do NOT say this last part of the prayer for THAT very reason. But I think they are over-reacting.

Should we say these words? I SAY “YES!” (for two reasons:)

First of all, this phrase of doxology is in complete harmony with the rest of the prayer… it “fits” the style and content of Jesus’ words.

But, secondly, and more importantly, this phrase should be repeated precisely BECAUSE it grew out of the worship-life of the Church. You see, the Church doesn’t simply recite Jesus’ words and leave it at that. No, the Church responds to the challenge of Jesus’ words, with an out-burst of doxology and praise!

This also goes to show that the Biblical text isn’t some lifeless conglomeration of words set down in concrete, static, and rigid and monolithic. Instead, it demonstrates the vital interchange which took place (and continues to take place) between the text of Scripture and the life and experience of the Church.

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible didn’t just fall out of the sky. It was conceived by God, but was given birth by the Church. And the Church and the Scriptures continue to be in dialogue with one another.

This dynamic relationship we see demonstrated by this verse stands to remind us that it is not enough just to RECEIVE God’s Word, we must also RESPOND to it.

The early church heard the actual words of Jesus in the prayer as Matthew recorded them. But it wasn’t enough for them just to receive them, they felt compelled to respond to them with an outburst of praise: “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever!”

It was their way of affirming their engagement with Jesus’ prayer… that the Lord’s Prayer was not some abstract thing distant from them but had become a vital part of their Christian walk. It was their “doxology.”

You know, we all grew up singing the “Doxology” in church, but do we really know what the word “doxology” means? According to the dictionary, a “doxology” is “a liturgical expression of praise to God.” Or, in other words, “a joyful out-burst of praise to God.”

Doxologies can take many forms. In our worship services, we usually sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow……” as a response to the offering.

But we also find them in the Psalms and Hymns - the scriptures are full of “doxologies:” For example, in Psalm 48, the Psalmist proclaims, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised… Your praise reaches the ends of the earth.” And, as we have heard from our lesson from Revelation, all the residents of heaven – as well as all creation – will sing praise to God: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever.”

Even back in the stories of the Old Testament, we come across doxologies. In fact, some scholars think the early church modeled the doxology in the Lord’s Prayer after one David said which is recorded in 1st Chronicles (29:10-13): “Lord God of our ancestor Jacob, may You be praised forever and ever! You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is Yours, and You are King, supreme Ruler over all…. Now, our God, we give You thanks and praise your glorious name.”

So you see, a “doxology” can be long and elaborate (like David’s) or as simple as “For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory forever.” But whatever form it takes, it s an out-burst of praise to God.

And those early Christians were right in adding it to the Lord’s Prayer… and so are WE.

But you know, there IS something even MORE remarkable about all this that inspires me. When you stop to think about what early Christians were experiencing in those first few centuries… harassment, persecution, and the real threat of being put to death for their faith, it’s amazing that they offered God ANY doxologies at all!

After all, what did they REALLY have to praise God for? They had answered God’s call to follow Christ, they had professed their faith in his resurrection, and what did it get them? Pain suffering …and even death. Jesus was risen from the dead, yet sin and evil still seemed to hold the upper hand. They would have had every right to CURSE God. But instead, they offered Him a “doxology” of praise! - Pretty remarkable!

Perhaps they took their “cue” from Jesus. No one in the history of the world has had to face anything worse than He did that final week of his earthly life – a week you and I call “Holy.” Indeed, if you or I had been in his place, we would have cursed God.

But not Jesus. In spite of the pain and agony of the crucifixion that awaited Him, Jesus never cursed God. Instead, as He hung on that cross, he offered his life as the ultimate act of praise to his Heavenly Father.

There is a true story about a time of persecution several decades ago in the 1970s in the South American country of Chile. The dictator of that country, Augusto Pinochet, decided to round up all those who opposed his tyranny and placed them in a sports stadium in the capital city of Santiago. Among those arrested was a popular folk singer who happened to be a Christian.

When the thousands of prisoners were pushed onto the stadium field, this young singer pulled out his guitar and began to sing a popular hymn. The frightened people around him took comfort and courage from his singing and they all began to sing along.

This spontaneous “movement” of the Spirit of God was threatening to the oppressors (as it always is) and so they came and took the young man away. When they returned him to the stadium, his guitar was smashed, and, to the horror of those in the crowd, all his fingers had been cut-off.

The other prisoners stood in shocked silence. But to their surprise, the young singer held up his bloody hands and began to sing the hymn again, this time unaccompanied. Gradually, they ALL began to sing again.

The guards became even more angry, and again took the young man away. When they returned this time, they threw his limp body onto the field. The other prisoners backed away thinking that he was dead.

But slowly, the young man staggered to his feet, and the people could see that they had cut-out his tongue. Horrified, they watched his bloody body begin to sway, and at first, they thought he was about to faint.

But then it became clear - He wasn’t fainting…. he was DANCING!

He was swaying to the music he could no longer sing… a silent dance of praise to God, rhythmically swaying from side to side.

And before long, the other prisoners gathered around to support his body, and the entire stadium began to silently sway in rhythm, praising God with their bodies.

Finally, in a fit of desperation, the guards walked into the middle of the crowd and shot the young man dead. …..BUT, YOU KNOW… THE “DANCE OF PRAISE” WENT ON!

Like those courageous 20th century martyrs in Chile, the early Christians who first prayed the Lord’s Prayer also knew how to dance that “Dance of Praise…” a dance they had learned from Jesus himself who refused to let suffering, or pain, or even death defeat Him.

There is a hymn in our hymnal that calls us to join in the Dance of Praise: If you know it, sing along with me on the chorus:

--------------------------

I danced in the morning when the world was begun

and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,

And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth.

At Bethlehem I had my birth.

DANCE, THEN, WHEREVER YOU MAY BE.

I AM THE LORD OF THE DANCE, SAID HE,

AND I’LL LEAD YOU ALL WHERE EVER YOU MAY BE

AND I’LL LEAD YOU ALL IN THE DANCE, SAID HE.

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;

it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;

They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,

but I am the dance, and I still go on. (DANCE, THEN…)

They cut me down and I leapt up high,

I am the life that’ll never, never die;

I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;

I am the Lord of the dance, said he. (DANCE, THEN…)

--------------------------

The Good News is that, in spite of whatever you and I must suffer in this life, we can learn that “Dance of Praise” as well, if we will follow the lead of the “Lord of the Dance.”

Thanks to the promise of resurrection and eternal life made possible in Jesus Christ, you and I can join the millions of believers down through the centuries in offering our lives as a “doxology of praise” to God.

“For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”

© 2023 by John B. Gill, III

Previous
Previous

April 9, 2023

Next
Next

March 26, 2023