The Lord’s Prayer - 2nd and 3rd Petitions
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In Matthew 8:1-4, right after Jesus comes down from the mountain where he had been preaching, there is quite a startling scene. A man who is a leper approaches Jesus. This is startling because lepers were supposed to keep their distance and yet this man came right up to Jesus and he prayed to him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus responds by touching him (truly shocking) and saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
What is most remarkable about this little scene is that what happens is the opposite of what we would expect to have happen. Normally, when someone touches someone who is ritually unclean, like this leper, then they themselves also become ritually unclean. But when Jesus, the Son of God, touches the leper the leper becomes clean.
This is exactly what happens when God’s kingdom comes to us. Christ’s present reign and rule as King is constantly being extended by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. When a sinful person hears of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and by the work of the Holy Spirit believes, the Kingdom of God has come upon him. Notice the Holy Spirit’s work in this. The advancement of God’s Kingdom is dependent upon God’s action. If someone hears and believes, it is God’s work. If the one who hears and believes was already a Christian, then they will grow in their assurance and sanctification. If the one who hears previously unbelieved, then they have undergone a kingdom transfer – out of the kingdom of darkness and into God’s Kingdom of marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
In this prayer to Jesus, the leprous man prefaces his prayer by saying, “If you are willing…” When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,” it is quite possible the disciples thought of this man and his pious, faithful prayer. There is no presumption or demand. He simply and humbly requested that God’s Will be done and that he would be cleansed from his leprosy.
All three petitions, the leper’s, Thy kingdom come, and Thy will be done, recognize two very simple theological truths. God is God. I am not. If the leper is going to be healed, it is not dependent upon his prayer, but Jesus’ will. God’s kingdom is going to come; it is not dependent upon on your work, but on God’s. God’s will is done; it is not dependent upon your desire, but God’s.
This does not mean that you should do nothing. As we saw in January, God invites us to pray. Likewise, God graciously invites us to hear His Word and believe the Gospel. Through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, God graciously gives us a new heart and transforms our mind so that we would walk in His commandments, carrying out His will.
