On Earth as in Heaven: The Lord’s Prayer from Jewish Prayer to Christian Ritual

246 Pages·2017·4.53 MB·English

by  David Clark

T A l ’ P
he fTerlife of The ords rAyer
C
L
Convinced that we no longer have immediate access to the meaning of Jesus’s words but
A
must account for the history of its “effects,” David Clark seeks to trace the message of the R
Lord’s Prayer through the early centuries of the faith. Clark begins by arguing that the K
prayer’s origin is in Jesus’s oral teaching, then traces its transmission and representation
in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and the Didache, and finally examines the first full
commentary on the prayer, that of Tertullian in the third century CE.
Praise for On Earth as in Heaven

“Has there ever been a set of words that has been known by heart by so many people, O
in so many languages, over so many cultures, and recited so often and for so many
centuries as the Lord’s Prayer? Yet its early history is far more complex than most n
realize. In this book, Clark deploys meticulous historical scholarship to look at its

origins, contexts, and early use in such a way that our appreciation of the prayer— E
a central element in the common identity and life of Christians—is renewed and
a
enhanced.”
Thomas O’Loughlin, University of Nottingham r
t
“With fresh and pleasant prose, David Clark provides a thoughtful Christian
appli ca tion of the Gadamerian understanding of reception history to the Lord’s h
Prayer, honoring the value of both the historical situation of the original composi- On Earth

tion and the history of its effects in the first two centuries of the church. A delight a
to read from beginning to end!” s

Jonathan T. Pennington, Southern Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky i
as in Heaven
n
“David Clark has done a rich service to twenty-first-century followers of Jesus. His

brilliant and intriguing tour along varying paths that Christians have followed H
while interpreting and practicing—both liturgically and devotionally—the Lord’s
Prayer is far more than historical; his insights tie our contemporary faith into the e
legacy of those who have preceded us. Clark’s research reveals the Lord’s Prayer as a
one unending ‘worship service’ two thousand years in length and counting. It’s a v The Lord’s Prayer from
single, simple piece of genetic code linking us all, those alive on earth with those
e Jewish Prayer to Christian Ritual
alive in Eternity, as one family under ‘Our Father.’ ”
n
Mark Herringshaw, author of Six Prayers God Always Answers
David Clark is a leader and teacher in Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and an adjunct
professor of historical theology. He has traveled to fifty countries and teaches regularly in
Latin America. He holds an MDiv from Bethel University and completed a PhD at the
University of Nottingham under the supervision of Thomas O’Loughlin. David and his
wife, Kimberly, live in the Minneapolis area and are the parents of five children.  
David Clark
NEW TESTAMENT
On Earth as in Heaven

On Earth as in
Heaven
The Lord's Prayer from Jewish Prayer to Christian Ritual
David Clark
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN
The Lord’s Prayer from Jewish Prayer to Christian Ritual
Copyright © 2017 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations
in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner
without prior written permission from the publisher. Email [email protected]
or write to Permissions, Fortress Press, PO Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN
55440-1209.
Cover image: Figure of a young woman with a veiled head praying with her arms
outstretched, Via Salaria (fresco), Roman, (3rd century AD) / Catacombs of
Priscilla, Rome, Italy / Bridgeman Images.
Rock wall background brown ©iStock/Thinkstock
Cover design: Tory Herman
Print ISBN: 978-1-5064-1438-6
eBook ISBN: 978-1-5064-1439-3
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
This book was produced using Pressbooks.com, and PDF rendering was done by
PrinceXML.
This book is dedicated to all of the people around the world
who have been part of my YWAM family over the past twenty
years. In our friendship, prayer, worship, proclamation, and
labor, I can say that I’ve truly tasted the communion of the
Trinity (John 17:21). Thank You! I will always remember and
treasure that which we have shared.

Contents
Introduction ix
1. A Prayer Revival 1
2. Prayer and Covenant Renewal 25
3. Matthew’s Vision of Heaven and Earth 59
4. Order and Chaos in theDidache 87
5. Luke on Prayer 117
6. Tertullian: “Prayer Alone Conquers God” 163
7. Conclusion 193
Appendix: Praying the Lord’s Prayer 207
Index of Ancient Sources 211
Index of Modern Authors 223

Introduction
The Quest for the Origin
It was on a hot, humid day in the summer of 1832 that the discovery
wasmade.ForseveralweeksHenrySchoolcraftandhismenhadbeen
traversing lakes, portaging through thick forests, and winding along
streams in pursuit of their goal. For 290 years, the object of their
pursuit had been a mystery. Others had tried, only to be thwarted
byMinnesota’simpenetrableterrainandunforgivingclimate.Butthis
expedition was destined to succeed. Plunging down a thorny trail
discernible only to the eye of their Ojibwa guide, crossing a shallow
pond, and ascending one last hill, Schoolcraft at last caught sight of
it:“Atlength,theglitteringofwaterappeared,atadistancebelow,as
viewedfromthesummitofoneoftheseeminences.Itwasdeclaredby
ourIndianguidetobeItascaLake,”thesourceoftheMississippi.1With
thisdiscovery,oneofthelastgeographicalmysteriesofNorthAmerica
had been solved. The birthplace of the continent’s greatest river had
been found.
Schoolcraft stands in a long line of adventurers, historians,
philosophers, scientists, and theologians who have been driven to
discover. The quest for origins is a common theme in the narrative
of Western civilization. A river is a mystery until its headwaters are
found. A historical event cannot be comprehended apart from its
1.HenryRoweSchoolcraft,PersonalMemoirsofaResidenceofThirtyYearswiththeIndianTribesonthe
American Frontiers(Kindle Edition, 2012), 388.
ix