Sermon: The Lord’s Prayer
Bible Passage: Matthew 6:11
Most Translations from William Tyndale 1525: Give us this day our daily bread
Subash’s Translation: Father, give us today our bread [provisions] that comes to us from you [God]
I. Questions?
1. Does the expression “daily bread” mean “material bread”?
a. Most people have got their groceries for weeks, months, and even for years!
b. How does this prayer apply to them?
c. Or does it apply only to those who do not have food daily?
d. When you already have resources, would you still ask for it for the sake of formality?
2. Could the expression “daily bread” mean something more than just material bread—a super meal?
3. The Greek word epiousios is not used anywhere outside before the NT till Matthew and Luke used in the Lord’s Prayer
a. Who could have introduced this word?
b. It looks like the early teachers used it to refer to something more than “daily bread”
4. A good number translations have “daily bready” when the Greek word epiousios does not mean “daily”
II. Let’s look at the verse more detailed:
1. As I said earlier, the Greek word which is translated as “daily” is not used anywhere outside the NT until Matthew and Luke used it
2. Matthew and Luke used this word for Jesus’ corresponding Aramaic word which is not available to us now
3. Early translators (the Church Fathers of fourth centuries) used different expressions when they translated from Greek to Syriac and Latin:
a. Today’s bread (Kannada, New Century, most translations)
b. Essential bread (Tamil, Malayalam, NLT, Good News Bible)
c. Tomorrow’s bread
d. Future bread
e. Spiritual bread
f. The bread that comes from God to men (most probable one!)1
i. God is the supplier of our needs
ii. “The bread” refers to the sum total of all human needs— food, cloths, love, security, comfort, etc.
iii. It does not refer to just “daily bread” but all God’s provisions that is necessary for man
4. The bread that comes from God reminds us about the manna in the wilderness
a. Exod 16:4: I [Yahweh] am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out and gather the amount for each day
b. Exod 16:15: When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you for food
c. Deut 8:3a: So, he [God] humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna
d. John 6:32-33: Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world
5. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray to God for food/provision, Jesus appears to make references to the “manna” of the Old Testament
a. Manna was from God
b. Manna pointed to God’s care for His people
c. Manna sustained and nourished people in the wilderness—a superfood
d. Manna was shared among the people, was never hoarded
6. Jesus teaches that the believers are sustained with the provisions that the Father provides
a. May be, we are all famished despite being full!
b. God removes our hunger with His divine provisions
7. There is a corporate element in this prayer
a. Notice the words “us” and “our” not “me” and “my”
b. Just like the manna in the Old Testament, God’s provisions are for the benefit of everyone
III. Verse 11 teaches:
1. Because only God’s provisions sustain Jesus’ disciples, they must depend on God for their daily sustenance—the manna
a. John 6:35: Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty
b. John 6:41: “I am the bread that came down from heaven”
c. Jesus’s disciples need “Jesus the bread of life” every day of their life; without Jesus, His disciples remain famished
2. Though Jesus’ disciples have labored and gathered provisions in stock, they must still pray for their apportioned provisions—it is their superfood
3. Jesus’ disciples must not hoard the provisions that come from God just as the manna could not be hoarded
4. This prayer protects Jesus’ disciples from greed but breeds dependance and simplicity
Take Away:
Pray for Father’s provision (i.e., the Superfood) to be healed from spiritual famine and develop spiritual vitality