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The Lords Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer.

We all know it: 

But as I was reading the Lord’s prayer in Matthew this week I was struck by something.

Where is the ending?

In the ESV version and most modern versions of the Bible you will see the Lord’s prayer end at “deliver us from evil.” The famous “For yours is the kingdom…” is found in the KJV, but not in newer English translations.

Which was shocking to me.

I mean first off, it just sounds wrong, ending at “deliver us from evil,” and secondly, why was this important part in the KJV and not in newer versions?

My investigation

After some investigation I found what appears to be the answer.

The original Lord's prayer actually does end at “deliver us from evil” but early Christian tradition added the ending as a doxology — a praise to God.

This doxology became so ingrained in tradition that it eventually made its way into Byzantine versions of the Bible in the 4-5th century, and it was only with the recent finding of early biblical manuscripts that it was discovered that the Lord’s prayer was not part of what Jesus really said.

Interesting.

But what’s my point?

It’s this.

I have been a Christian my whole life, read the Bible countless times, read the Lord’s Prayer hundreds of times — and just now realized the Biblical version and traditional version of the Lord’s prayer differ. 

How did I never notice it before? I am not sure, but I always assumed that the whole Lord’s prayer as said by tradition was just in the Bible in some place or another.

But its not.

And this leads me to the real point.

Christian tradition

Christian tradition is not a bad thing.

It comes with many beautiful forms and rituals that deepen our spiritual experience as body of believers. But we also have to be careful to distinguish tradition from truth.

And in this case – saying “for thine is the Kingdom…” turns out to be tradition. 

I will continue saying the Lords prayer as we all know it. It is still good and praising words that I get to speak to God. 

But it is also enlightening to know when I am speaking/following scripture and when it’s just tradition.

This finding also encourages me to continue to seek Gods truth in the Bible.

And not just when faced with new teachings, but also, and perhaps especially, when faced with old tradition.

Until next time,

Be Blessed,

Aaron

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