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RIGHTEOUS PRAYER
A. Introduction: For a number of weeks we’ve been looking at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ most famous
teaching, and we have more to say tonight. To fully appreciate what Jesus taught, we must consider His
sermon in terms of why He came into the world.
1. Jesus came into this world to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). Lost refers to men and women who
are lost to their created purpose. The salvation Jesus came to provide restores us to that purpose.
a. Human beings were created become sons and daughters of God and to live in loving relationship
with Him. God created men and women in His image and likeness, with the capacity to reflect His
character (His moral attributes) to the world around them. Gen 1:26; Eph 1:4-5
b. But because of sin, human beings are cut off from God, disqualified for His family, and lost to their
created purpose. Jesus came into this world to die as a sacrifice for sin and open the way for men
and women to be restored to our purpose as sons and daughters who reflect God’s character.
1. God desires sons and daughters who are Christ-like character—like Jesus in their attitudes,
motives, and actions. Jesus is God become fully man without ceasing to be fully God. In His
humanity He is the pattern for God’s family. Rom 8:29
2. During the three plus years before Jesus died on the Cross, He demonstrated and taught what
sons and daughters of God look like—their character (the attitudes, motives, and actions that
they are to express). The Sermon on the Mount is an example of Jesus’ teaching.
2. The first people who heard Jesus’ sermon were mostly Jewish. Based on the writings of their prophets
in the Old Testament, the Jewish people were expecting God to bring His kingdom into this world.
a. They knew from the prophets that only those who are righteous can enter God’s kingdom. In the
Sermon on the Mount Jesus elaborated on the kind of righteousness needed to enter His kingdom.
b. Everything that Jesus’ audience knew about righteousness came from their religious teachers, the
Scribes and Pharisees. However, in His sermon Jesus told His listeners that their righteousness
had to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. Matt 5:20
1. Jesus’ listeners understood righteousness to mean right actions. But Jesus revealed that true
righteousness includes more than right outward actions. It includes interior righteousness,
meaning right attitudes, right motives and intentions, right thoughts.
2. In His sermon, Jesus exposed the false righteousness preached and practiced by the Pharisees
and Scribes. They practiced an outward righteousness, but inwardly, they were full of sinful
motives, attitudes, and thoughts. Matt 23:1-39
3. Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount with a description of the kind of people who qualify for God’s
kingdom. They are humble, truly sorry for sin, and gentle (or meek). They long to do and be right.
They are merciful, pure in motives, and make an effort to get along with others. Matt 5:3-10
a. Then Jesus revealed how that through adding rules and regulations to God’s Law, the Scribes and
Pharisees had misinterpreted His Law. The religious leaders kept the letter of the Law (their
regulations and rules), but missed the spirit or intent behind the Law. Matt 5:21-42
1. Jesus will later sum up God’s entire Law in two commands: Love God with all your heart,
mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. The main way sons of God express their
love for God (as well as His character) is by how they treat others. Matt 22:37-40; I John 4:20
2. Jesus concluded this section of His sermon by telling the listeners that sons and daughters of
God are supposed to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, so that they may
be sons of their Father in Heaven. Matt 5:43-48
b. A son of God is a God-like man, a man who reflects God by expressing His character. (The
Hebrew language doesn’t use many adjectives. Instead, they used the phrase son of with a noun.)
4. By this point in the sermon, Jesus has referred to God as our Father in Heaven three times, first as a
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Father who is glorified by His children through their works and then as a kind Father who should be
emulated by His sons and daughters (Matt 5:16; Matt 5:45-48). Jesus will refer to God as our Father
thirteen more times.
a. With these words, Jesus introduced a revolutionary concept—the ides of God as your Father. The
Jewish people had no concept of an individual Father-son relationship between God and man.
b. God was the Father of Israel in general as their Creator, Deliverer, and Covenant maker (Isa 63:16;
Isa 64:8; Jer 31:9). They referred to Abraham as their father.
B. In the next section of His sermon Jesus told His audience to do what they do with the awareness that they
have a Father in Heaven who sees and knows all—not only their actions, but their motives.
1. Jesus began by saying: Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen
by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven…(the hypocrites give,
pray, and fast) that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward
(Matt 6:1-2, ESV).
a. By righteousness, Jesus meant righteous acts. Jesus used three examples of righteous acts (giving
to the poor, prayer, and fasting) to reveal that the Pharisees and Scribes’ motives were wrong.
They did those things to be seen and praised by men.
1. Jesus made it clear that if you seek a reward from men, you will get it. But that is all you’ll get.
You have the approval of men, but not the reward of God’s praise and approval.
2. True righteousness is living for God’s approval, not the praise and approval of men. It’s living
living with the consciousness that God sees what you do and knows why you do it.
b. To Jesus’ audience, righteous prayer was what the Pharisees and Scribes did. They prayed long
prayers to be seen of men. They took money from widows in exchange for praying for them.
They took the chief seats in the synagogue to be more easily seen and heard. They made broad
their phylacteries and enlarged their borders to seem more pious. Matt 23:5-6; Matt 23:14
1. Phylacteries were strips of parchment with Scriptures written on them. They were place in
small boxes that were worn by men when they prayed. The boxes were attached with leather
straps either to the forehead or the left arm.
2. Borders refers to fringe attached to the hem of their garments as per Moses’ instructions to
remember God’s commandments (Num 15:37-41). The Pharisees made the boxes big and the
fringe long so that people would see them and praise them for their devotion to God.
c. Jesus told the crowds: When you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father in
secret. Jesus wasn’t making a rule about where to pray (use a prayer closet). He was making a
point about motives. Don’t pray like these hypocrites do. Don’t pray to be seen of men.
2. Next Jesus told His listeners not to pray as the heathen or Gentiles pray, with empty words. Jesus said
they think that they’ll be heard because of their many words. Matt 6:7
a. A quick side note. Jesus wasn’t saying that it is wrong to pray more than once. Scripture tells us
that both Jesus and Paul each prayed about an issue three times (Matt 26:44; II Cor 12:8). Nor was
He saying that it is wrong to repeat a memorized prayer. Jesus was referring to meaningless words.
1. Eastern people had a habit of hypnotizing themselves by endless repetition of a phrase or word.
The prophets of Baal cried out “O Baal answer us” for half a day (I Kings 18:26). The pagan
mob at Ephesus cried “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” for two hours (Acts 19:34). Jews did
the same thing with the Shema—Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord (Deut 6:4, KJV).
2. True prayer comes out of relationship with God as your Father, and it involves devotion to and
trust in Him, as opposed to many words spoken for the sake of the words themselves.
A. Jesus said: Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him
(Matt 6:8, KJV). The idea of God as a Father was an unknown concept not only to the
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Jews, but also to the Gentiles, who they worshipped multitudes of petty, angry, jealous
gods that had to be appeased.
B. At that point, no one in the audience knew yet that Jesus, through His sacrifice at the Cross,
was going to open the way to relationship with God the Father, and make it possible for
men and women to become sons and daughters of God through faith in Him.
b. Jesus then gave them an example of how to pray. He said—Pray then like this: Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors. And lead us not into temptations, but deliver us from evil (Matt 6:9-13, ESV).
1. Jesus gave them this example to help them understand true righteous prayer in contrast with the
hypocritical righteousness of the religious leaders and the empty prayers of the Gentiles.
2. This prayer, known as the Lord’s Prayer of the Our Father, has become the classic prayer of
Christendom. But, in the context of the sermon it is a description of how those who qualify for
God’s kingdom approach their Father in Heaven—they are humble, meek, merciful, truly sorry
for sin, long to do and be right, make an effort to get along with people, and are devoted to God.
3. The first three petitions in the prayer have to do with God and His glory—hallowed be your name; your
kingdom come; your will be done on earth as in Heaven.
a. Jesus began His prayer with the phrase our Father, meaning approach God as your Father. Our
Father was also a culturally appropriate phrase, since it was a common saying among the Jews that a
man should not pray alone, but should join with others. Whether they were at the synagogue or
alone, they used the plural in prayer—our God.
1. God in Heaven was also a commonly used expression among the Jews. In the Old Testament
the phrase expressed God’s omnipotence (I Kings 8:27), His majesty and dominion over
creation (II Chron 20:6), His power and might (Ps 115:3), His omniscience (Ps 11:4; Ps
33:14-15), His holiness and purity (Deut 26:15; Isa 57:15).
2. The true gospel is God-ward, not man-ward and begins with God. The audience doesn’t know
it yet, but Jesus is going to die to turn men and women from living for themselves to living for
God (II Cor 5:15), and call men and women to deny themselves and follow Him (Matt 16:24).
A. All human beings are born with a corruption that inclines us to put ourselves above God
and others. The essence of sin is exalting self above God.
B. Righteous prayer begins with acknowledging God and His rightful place and position, not
just in this world but in our own lives. This attitude is an expression of humility on our part.
b. Matt 5:9—Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. The Greek word translated hallowed
means to regard or revere as holy. Name means nature, character, or personality. Ps 9:10, Ps 20:7
1. The word holy actually comes from a word that means different or separate: Let God’s name
be treated differently than all other names (Barclay); be revered (Moffat); be honored (Phillips).
2. This is a prayer for reverence: Help us to give you the place that your nature and character
deserve and demand. Jesus exhorted His followers to live with the awareness that Almighty
God in Heaven is our Father and to desire, first of all that, He be glorified and honored.
A. Matt 5:10—Pray that your Father’s kingdom come and that His will be done on earth as it
is in Heaven.
B. Righteous prayer has its priorities in order—desiring first and foremost that God’s will be
done and His plan and purposes be accomplished in this world.
3. Christ-like men and women long to see God glorified in the world He created. And God’s sons
and daughters long to see sin gone from their lives (mourn over sin and thirst for righteousness).
4. The second three petitions have to do with our physical and spiritual needs. Once your priorities are
straight, it is right to ask God your Father for these things. He knows you need them and will provide.
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Later in His sermon Jesus will assure the audience that if you seek Him first He will meet your earthly
needs. Matt 6:25-34
a. Matt 5:11—Give us daily bread or the things we need today. The audience would have been
familiar with the manna God provided for Israel basis when He delivered them from Egypt. Ex 16
b. Matt 5:12-13—Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, lead us not into temptation, deliver
us from evil. Jesus said that are to ask God to forgive us for our sin in proportion to how we forgive
those who wrong us in some way. We’re to ask God help us recognize and avoid sin before we fall.
1. Jesus has already told His audience to take radical action against sin. If your hand or eye
causes you to get trapped by sin, cut off your hand and pull out your eye. Matt 5:29-30
2. Jesus died to purify us, to make us righteous or right in every part of our being—inside and out.
Titus 2:14—He gave his life to free us from every type of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his
very own people, totally committed to doing what is right (NLT).
3. God does not tempt us to sin. “Lead is not into sin” is a Hebrew expression—God is said to do
what He only allows. Temptations to sin are part of life in a fallen world. But He promises to
provide us with a way out if we choose His will above our own. I Cor 10:13
5. After Jesus finished the prayer He said: For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses (Matt 6:14-15, ESV).
a. People sometimes interpret this passage (and Matt 6:12) to mean that you won’t go to Heaven if you
don’t forgive people. But that’s not Jesus’ point. Sons of God are definitely supposed to express
forgiveness. However, forgiving others doesn’t merit (earn us) salvation.
b. Jesus is broadening their understanding of what it means to live a righteous life. Remember that He
had the Pharisees and Scribes and their false righteousness in mind as He taught. They knew little
about forgiveness, mercy, or justice. Those men retaliated and did not forgive until there was
revenge and restitution. Matt 23:23
1. Note that Jesus just finished a section in His sermon where He exhorted men to give up the urge
to retaliate when wronged (another way of saying forgive). To forgive means to give up
payback in thought, word, or action and then pray for those who’ve wronged you. Matt 5:39-41
2. To ask God for what we refuse to give others is an insult to His name. He is the model of
forgiveness. Those who call God Father and have received His forgiveness are expected to
display His character through a forgiving attitude toward others—Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Eph 4:32, ESV).
C. Conclusion: We have more to say about Jesus’ sermon, but consider these thoughts as we close the lesson.
1. Jesus’ teachings were aimed at preparing the men and women He taught to receive the salvation and
restoration that He’s going to bring. Jesus will open the way for those who believe on Him to be
purified inside and out and restored to their created purpose as sons and daughters of God.
a. As Jesus deals with the kind of behavior and motives than God’s sons and daughters are to express,
He reveals to the audience that they have a Heavenly Father who sees them, cares for them, and
rewards them for their faithfulness and devotion to Him.
b. Through His prayer model, Jesus taught that true righteousness is a life lived with awareness that
God is your Father, and recognizing the blessings and the responsibilities of sons of God.
2. None of us is yet fully Christ-like. But it’s important to understand the goal we’re aiming at, and to put
forth effort in that direction, with a dependence on God to help us.
3. As always, remember, a process of restoration is going on. The end result is that we’ll be delivered
from sin and its effects, purified from all corruption in every part of our being—fully returned to our
created purpose—sons and daughters of God who are fully glorifying to Him.