Unpacking the Lord's Prayer Part 3 - A Deeper Dive
Part 3 - Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13
Message Recap
From the Gospel of Matthew:
“9 This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
This week, we conclude our sermon series, Unpacking the Lord’s Prayer. During the past two weeks, we’ve taken a closer look at one of the most well-known passages of scripture. Universally referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, these words are more than just the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. They are a guide to Christian living. In our previous sermons, we considered the assumption that everyone probably knows the Lord’s Prayer but found evidence to the contrary. We also discussed that a prayer recited nearly every week during worship might become almost too familiar. We’ve repeated it so many times we might find ourselves just saying the words and losing the underlying message. Our goal during this series is to make sure we all know what the prayer says and to focus on praying it, not just saying it. Last week, we unpacked the first half of the prayer. This week, we’ll dissect the remainder.
“Give us today our daily bread.” Praying this line is our commitment to trust God in all things and not worry about the outcome. If you trust the Lord, then you trust the outcome. It is likely when they heard this line, everyone who was listening to Jesus teach the prayer immediately thought of the manna from Heaven received by the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt. We recall from the story that the Israelites would gather enough manna in the morning to last the day but no more. This act, as well as the line in the Lord’s Prayer, is a reminder of our reliance on God daily. In a world that emphasizes self-reliance, this line of scripture reminds us that everything, down to our sustenance, comes from the Lord. We have nothing without God.
When Moses explained about the manna God provided, he wrote:
“3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
While bread represents our basic survival needs, it also symbolizes the spiritual nourishment we all need. Just as our body needs food, our soul needs spiritual bread that only God can provide. The daily bread is all about strengthening our bond with God.
The author of the Book of Proverbs gives us an additional reminder about the importance of our daily reliance on God:
“8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
By praying the Lord’s Prayer, we commit to a daily trust to rely on God for what we need.
“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This line first speaks to our sins and when we fall short of God’s expectations. It is a humble admission that we are not perfect and in constant need of God’s grace. It underscores the importance of self-awareness and confession. No matter how good we think we are, how much time we spend in prayer, or how many people we help, we all need God’s grace.
The second part of the verse ties the forgiveness of our sins to our ability to forgive others. In early June, we covered giving grace and forgiving others in the sermon series, If You Love Me. The parable of the wicked servant (see Matthew 18:23-25) illustrates the central point of the message: we all should extend the same forgiveness we’ve received without limit. The sins Jesus forgave through his sacrifice on the cross are much greater than any sin we are asked to forgive.
You can revisit that message here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/k3xpmUsgAYo?si=Y28vYyjh3rPFAyzj&t=2339
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Every believer, no matter how spiritually mature, faces temptation. It is part of our earthly journey. When we pray this verse, we are not asking God to shield us from the inevitable but to provide guidance and strength when facing trials and temptations. It is a recognition that we are vulnerable. Moments of trial and tribulation can either bring us closer to God or further separate us.
Some would suggest that this wording implies that God ultimately controls whether we’re tempted. In fact, some churches have adopted changes to this line of the prayer to eliminate any confusion as to God’s role in temptation and evil. However, we can resolve this dilemma by turning to the words of James:
“13 When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
”
This passage from James is an assurance that God does not lead us into temptation, but he can guide us through it - a subtle but important difference in semantics.
The second part of this verse is a plea for help in resisting evil. Spiritual battles are happening all around us. Evil is a real thing. But what is our role in fighting the forces of evil? Are we expected to simply pray this prayer and wait for God to do all the work? We can learn our role in the battle against evil by considering what Jesus did when he came face-to-face with evil after his 40 days in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus relied on scripture to fight back against Satan’s temptations. But it is not enough to simply quote memorized passages; we must learn and understand scripture. We must also be wary of those who misuse scripture to do evil. We must equip ourselves with the word of God. It is both our defense and our offense.
“For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” God’s kingdom is not of this world. As we long for his kingdom on Earth, we are reminded of the eternal nature of his reign. This declaration acknowledges God’s sovereignty and that all things are his. Recognizing God’s power is a source of strength in our weakness and vulnerability. Everything we do, every prayer we utter, and every step we take should be to the glory of God. Every time we pray this prayer, we commit to glorifying God with every thought and action. Do we consider these things when we speak the Lord’s Prayer? Do we evaluate ourselves and our actions to determine whether we really confess God’s power and authority?
Finally, “Amen” affirms everything we’ve declared and asked for. It means “let it be so.” We accept God's covenant with us, and, like a sacred contract, we agree to the terms and conditions he has laid out.
Phrase by phrase, the Lord’s Prayer outlines the values and priorities of the Christian lifestyle. Jesus didn’t give us just an outline or format for prayer. He gave us a description of the things that, if followed, would lead us to live the life he has planned for us.
Debts, Trespasses, or Sins?
As we have said throughout this series, the Lord’s Prayer is universally one of the most well-known prayers in existence. Most people, churched or unchurched, can recite at least a portion of it from memory. Yet there is one line, despite hundreds of millions of Christians praying it regularly, that we seem to disagree on. In the phrase, “And forgive us our…” which word should we use: debts, trespasses, or sins?
If you join a group of people outside your local church in reciting the prayer from memory, things usually go pretty smoothly until you get to the fourth line. Some will say, “forgive us our debts,” some will say, “trespasses,” and others will say, “sins.” Which is correct?
Nearly all English translations of the Bible use the word “debt” for the Greek opheilēma, found in Matthew’s Gospel, which conveys the meaning of owing a financial or moral debt or obligation. Luke’s version of the prayer uses the Greek word hamartia, which means sin or guilt. However, it is paired with opheilonti (“indebted to us”), which supports the idea that Jesus was thinking about debts when teaching the prayer.
“And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.”
So, it would seem both “debts” and “sins” are correct. But where did trespasses come from? If you look at the verses immediately following the prayer in Matthew (using the King James or New Revised Standard Version), you’ll find Jesus saying,
“14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
In these two verses, Jesus is emphasizing the importance of forgiveness. Matthew chose the Greek word paraptōma, which, in this context, refers to a kind of sin that oversteps limits or boundaries - what we call a “trespass.” It seems Jesus wanted his disciples (including us) to understand sin in both the sense of owing a debt and trespassing into territory that doesn’t belong to us.
We can probably conclude that all three terms - debts, sins, and trespasses - are correct. How we each recite the phrase is probably more dependent on the Christian tradition we belong to than the Bible translation we use. Presbyterian or Reformed traditions are more likely to say “debts.” Those raised in the Anglican/Episcopal, Methodist, or Catholic traditions will likely use “trespasses.” People whose churches follow a more non-denominational approach are probably more likely to say “sins.”
Regardless of your preference or how the prayer is recited in the church you attend, the underlying message remains the same: we are asking God to forgive us while we commit to always forgiving others.