Reading Matthew 21, I began to think about the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer; Thy will be done. In the Small Catechism, Luther asks, “What does this mean?” His answer, “The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.”
Jesus is doing the Father’s will. He, himself, is very consciously headed toward the cross. But after the triumphal entry and cleansing the Temple, we see the religious authorities confronting him. “Do you hear what these are saying?” They don’t believe Jesus is the Son of David. They hear the praises and are offended. “By what authority do you do these things?” Who do you think you are Jesus?
God’s will was being done right in their midst, and they were missing it. They were even trying to hinder in Jesus and oppose him, but he continued and did his will – teaching, preaching, and even doing miracles. Ironically, as these Jewish leaders pitted themselves against Jesus and against God’s will, they became part of achieving his will as they would be the ones who paid Judas, who pleaded to Pilate, who mocked at the foot of the cross and rejected the Christ, thereby fulfilling Scripture’s prophecy.
God’s good and gracious will is done even without our prayer, but we pray that it may be done among us also. These people played a part in Jesus’ death and resurrection, but they received no benefit from it. (I hope that some of them realized later, repented and received the forgiveness that it is God’s will to give. In Acts it says that many of the converts on Pentecost were priests, so it is possible.)
How is God’s will done among us today? Luther talks about God breaking and hindering the evil plans and purposes of the devil, the world and our sinful nature, and about God strengthening and keeping us in his Word and faith until we die. God’s will is done today when we proclaim the name of Jesus and people receive forgiveness of sins. God’s will is done when we reach out to those in need, and our lives show them a testimony of the hope we have in Christ. God’s will is done when we worship and we hear his Word and receive his forgiveness and are strengthened in our faith. God’s will is done when we love someone for Jesus’ sake. God’s will is done when we share our faith with our children. It’s done when we pray, bound in faith, with our spouses.
God’s will is inward, transforming us by his grace so that our faith in Jesus grows and our lives deepen in knowing, loving and following Jesus as he forgives us for our sins and leads us to eternal life. And God’s will is outward transforming our lives to use us to help others to know, love, and follow Jesus through our words and actions so that they, too, can know the Good Shepherd, and Jesus’ flock will grow.
Rejecting that will for us brings us into judgment. That is what the cursing of the fig tree is about. It is an “enacted prophecy” that pointed ahead to the judgment God would visit on the unbelievers of Jerusalem – those who rejected Jesus. (Jeremiah 8:13 and Micah 7:1 both compare those without faith to a barren fig tree.) When we reject God’s good and gracious will we move ourselves outside of his good and grace.
So we cling to God’s promises. We are saved by faith alone, through God’ grace alone. Now we pray for God to make us fruitful by the working of his Spirit, asking for God’s will to be done in us – that it that we believe in Jesus and act upon his salvation. And we also ask that his will be done around us as others receive the salvation Jesus won for everyone who will believe in him on the cross.
Father, let your good and gracious will be done in me and through me for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Jesus is doing the Father’s will. He, himself, is very consciously headed toward the cross. But after the triumphal entry and cleansing the Temple, we see the religious authorities confronting him. “Do you hear what these are saying?” They don’t believe Jesus is the Son of David. They hear the praises and are offended. “By what authority do you do these things?” Who do you think you are Jesus?
God’s will was being done right in their midst, and they were missing it. They were even trying to hinder in Jesus and oppose him, but he continued and did his will – teaching, preaching, and even doing miracles. Ironically, as these Jewish leaders pitted themselves against Jesus and against God’s will, they became part of achieving his will as they would be the ones who paid Judas, who pleaded to Pilate, who mocked at the foot of the cross and rejected the Christ, thereby fulfilling Scripture’s prophecy.
God’s good and gracious will is done even without our prayer, but we pray that it may be done among us also. These people played a part in Jesus’ death and resurrection, but they received no benefit from it. (I hope that some of them realized later, repented and received the forgiveness that it is God’s will to give. In Acts it says that many of the converts on Pentecost were priests, so it is possible.)
How is God’s will done among us today? Luther talks about God breaking and hindering the evil plans and purposes of the devil, the world and our sinful nature, and about God strengthening and keeping us in his Word and faith until we die. God’s will is done today when we proclaim the name of Jesus and people receive forgiveness of sins. God’s will is done when we reach out to those in need, and our lives show them a testimony of the hope we have in Christ. God’s will is done when we worship and we hear his Word and receive his forgiveness and are strengthened in our faith. God’s will is done when we love someone for Jesus’ sake. God’s will is done when we share our faith with our children. It’s done when we pray, bound in faith, with our spouses.
God’s will is inward, transforming us by his grace so that our faith in Jesus grows and our lives deepen in knowing, loving and following Jesus as he forgives us for our sins and leads us to eternal life. And God’s will is outward transforming our lives to use us to help others to know, love, and follow Jesus through our words and actions so that they, too, can know the Good Shepherd, and Jesus’ flock will grow.
Rejecting that will for us brings us into judgment. That is what the cursing of the fig tree is about. It is an “enacted prophecy” that pointed ahead to the judgment God would visit on the unbelievers of Jerusalem – those who rejected Jesus. (Jeremiah 8:13 and Micah 7:1 both compare those without faith to a barren fig tree.) When we reject God’s good and gracious will we move ourselves outside of his good and grace.
So we cling to God’s promises. We are saved by faith alone, through God’ grace alone. Now we pray for God to make us fruitful by the working of his Spirit, asking for God’s will to be done in us – that it that we believe in Jesus and act upon his salvation. And we also ask that his will be done around us as others receive the salvation Jesus won for everyone who will believe in him on the cross.
Father, let your good and gracious will be done in me and through me for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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