Whose Teaching is the Lord's Prayer?

Ask any number of Christians the above question, and I will guarantee you that the answer will be, "It was Jesus' teaching." But was it? Luke 11:1 says: "He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'" (RSV) Jesus is asked to teach His disciples the method of praying that John taught his disciples. We have a tendency to downplay John the Baptist. That is a product of a Christian theology that seeks to eliminate everything Hebraic.

Now it could be that the disciples of Jesus asked Him to teach them to pray in a similar fashion as the way John taught his disciples. From the text, both interpretations have validity. Why assume the latter over the first? The reason is that we don't appreciate the work of John the Baptist the way we should. Consider John 3:22-23: "After this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were baptized." (RSV)From these verses, we learn that Jesus is working in the south in Judea while John is working the northern region. However, and this is the point overlooked, both Jesus and John were baptizing. Instead of seeing them as competing, see them as working together. Both preaching repentance; both seeking to deliver the people from Roman domination.

Perhaps we need to read Scripture again with fresh eyes. Instead of assuming you know what a passage says, actually read what it says. Don't be afraid if you find some long held beliefs invalid because you are on a search for truth. It really will set you free.