The Good Shepherd Prays the Shepherd’s Psalm 23 & Matthew 6 – the Fifth Petition Study # 6

Jesus is leading and guiding me as my Good Shepherd into the ultimate, ________/________ relationship of a Shepherd to His sheep – “His” prayer expresses this truth! As my Good Shepherd He gives me a voice before our Heavenly Father to pray that He would fulfill His work for His glory unto His name, reign and will as we wait for our Lord’s return, and, to be content in knowing He will provide all that I need now, beginning with asking Him for Our bread which is coming – give to us today ...

A. As I am invited to pray for my bread which is coming... I am acknowledging that I ____________ am and ____________ under the Shepherd’s care lying down in green pastures and drinking from still waters and that my Good Shepherd is the one Who restores my soul!

B. To pray, our bread which is coming – give to us today is to captures David’s cries from Psalm 23: “Teach us to distinguish what we actually need from what we can do without. Give us today our needed bread, which comes from You. And lead us today to give to others what they lack.” (Gibbs, Jeffrey, Matthew 1-11, pg 335)

C. Within this faith/trust relationship of sheep to a Shepherd I am claimed within the community as a sheep within the flock, calling out “The LORD is my Shepherd...” Who makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside the still waters which is far more than just the food, clothing and physical needs of my life – He is the one Who and restores my soul ... this phrase serves as a link into the fifth petition our Good Shepherd gives us in “His” prayer in bringing to fulfillment the “shepherd’s” prayer of King David...

1. Matthew 6: And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. This fifth petition is part of the second half of “His” prayer that Jesus gives to us, His followers. The emphasis of the second half of the prayer is for our needs ____________, living in Christ and in the world, ____________ we wait for His return. Its not surprising, then, that one of the petitions we are given for daily life deals with forgiveness – ____________ from our Father through the gift of His Son!

A. the Good News of Jesus is so powerful that it enables us as His disciples to forgive those who are indebted to us – this receiving and giving of forgiveness is part and parcel of our ____________ existence! How do we know this?I. The Greek grammar uses the aorist indicative - ἀφήκαμεν = aphēkamen which means that we are

praying as ones who have already been forgiven AND have already forgiven our debtors prior to praying this petition – that is ____________!

II. So, the entire prayer, as Jesus’ gift to His disciples as an invitation to speak to the Father as His children, is to pray as one who has ____________ been brought under the blessing and the power of His gracious rule and forgiveness! This is what Jesus had just taught about in chapter 5:1-12 ... Already forgiven, we continue to live under His forgiveness and live in forgiveness toward others!

B. This brings us to a two-fold dilemmaI. One dilemma for us is the monstrum incertitudinis gratiae: that is, “the monstrosity that grace is

uncertain.” Grace becomes uncertain when it is said to be in any way dependent on something like our own good works, infused grace (this was a big point of the Reformation: Luther and the reformers believed that that justification was a declaration of righteousness made by God regarding human beings through the righteous work of His Son. This was counter to Catholic teaching that justification was God’s action of “making” someone righteous by infusing grace into them. We Protestants believe that righteousness is not infused into the believer, but is imputed to the believer – that sinners are justified on account of Christ’s righteousness which is reckoned or imputed to us

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by grace through faith We are declared as “righteous” based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ in which there is no room for us to boast!), or our moral/ethical advancement. God’s grace for us as sinners is sure and certain because it is solely based on the work and merits of JESUS CHRIST = grace alone by faith alone through Christ alone! “Thus, the Fifth Petition should not be taught as if we sinners must first forgive others before God in Christ will forgive us; that would make God’s grace toward us in Christ dependent on our own prior actions, and therefore uncertain.” (Gibbs, Jeffery, Matthew 1-11, pg 335)

II. The other dilemma is this, “If Christ’s death for us has already forgiven us all sins of past, present, and future, why do we need to confess and be forgiven in church?” Because we know that the Word of the LORD is clear as it speaks to us “as our lives are lived”, that is, to the experience of sin and forgiveness, of weakness and need, of dependency upon our Shepherd to whom we are dependent! Because we are “____________” finished unto life everlasting we need forgiveness for sins we commit because the evidence of sins committed is the evidence of our sinful nature still at work within us! We need sustenance through His Means of Grace: the Word of God; through the celebrating of the Sacraments in “remembering” our baptism and receiving the Lord’s Supper; through the personal/private and personal/corporate forgiveness of sins (of which Luther argued should be a third sacrament)!

III. The prayer within this petition understands, then, that the person praying the Fifth Petition already has ____________ grace, has ____________ grace to others and ____________ for grace to be fully completed...

2. King David’s prayer to his Shepherd continues in Psalm 23: He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

A. To begin this section with He restores my soul is to acknowledge the leading and guiding of the shepherd for the sheep’s/flock’s total requirements – physical and inner/spiritual - my soul – nepes = the ______/______ of a living creature which in OT thought denoted the “inner self” or soul as it links the ultimate care of the shepherd for his sheep! To be restored as David is praying is to be turned back to where one came, to turn around or return and is used as an auxiliary verb to repeat the action of a following verb, which is for us the phrase ...He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake... so, while David’s shepherd leads beside the still waters He also guides in paths of righteousness... this is the linking nature of He restores my soul! To what might David be referring to concerning the restoration of his soul? There are three perspectives that David lifts up to which his Shepherd is working to restore:I. ...He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

a. He leads me... nahah = a powerful example of this verb is the leading of the Israelites by YHWH through the wilderness: a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day – He led them where He ____________ them to be... concerning sheep, they cannot be herded from behind they must be led from out front – David would have known this not only from his shepherding days but as his anointed position as king – now he is praying as a sheep under the leadership of his shepherd/King – my Good Shepherd will lead me where He wants me to be... which is:

b. ...in the paths of righteousness... – sedeq = having to do with the ____________ of whom David

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is calling his shepherd/King – for us to be led down the paths of righteousness is to be imputed/declared righteous by our Shepherd – it is to walk in His ways because of who we are through Him for the purpose of:

c. ...His name’s sake – remember, the name of David’s shepherd/King – YHWY – is His ____________ (who He is/what He does) – it is His righteousness! And David prays, because of His character/righteousness...

II. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...a. the way we most likely read this phrase is in the ____________ of moving through a

difficult time in life, or any time of dire temptation or persecution, or any season of gloom, or imminent danger; i. throughout Old Testament YHWH’s people refer to the term “valley” as rough times in life:

a. Joshua alludes to the Valley of ____________ in chapter 1 when dealing with Achan’s disobedience

b. Psalm 84 talks about the Valley of ____________c. Hosea speaks about the Valley of ____________

ii. we often associate this phrase to applications of life, but we know it to also capture the grief of death to which David was familiar; after all, the revolt of his son Absalom could only end in one way – Absalom’s death as a ____________

b. However, we have been discovering from this psalm that David, from his experience as a shepherd, is relating the actual experiences of sheep under a shepherd’s care, ie,i. David proclaims he is under the care of a shepherd... The LORD is my shepherdii. that his shepherd is caring for all his needs... I shall not want... He makes me to lie

down in green pastures... He leads me beside the still waters.... He restores my soul... He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake

iii. so it would make sense that this phrase also relates to an ____________ experience/place... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...

c. The word for "valley" is יא ג Zב - begei = a "deep ravine" or "gorge-like glen." The wilderness of Judea abounds with such ravines. The begei of the “shadow of death" is the genitive character describing "a very dark ravine or gorge." There is a place in the Judean wilderness called by its Arabic name today, the Wadi Qelt (Wadi means valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season). This deep gorge runs from Jerusalem down to Jericho. It’s a steep, deep and narrow canyon that takes between an hour and half to two hours to go through. The sun only hits the bottom of it when it’s directly overhead at high noon. The rest of the time the bottom of the canyon is dark. But in order to move their sheep to fresh pastures the shepherds would have had to traverse this gorge – David, in shepherding his sheep, would have known this gorge. The Wadi Qelt is better known as the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”. Experienced shepherd, Ferando D’Alphonso, relates from an article by James K. Wallace, “There is a valley of the shadow of death in the Holy Land. It is south of the Jericho Road leading from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and is a narrow defile through the mountain range. Climatic and grazing conditions make it necessary for the sheep to be moved through this valley for seasonal feeding. The valley is four and a half miles long. Its sidewalls are over 1500 feet high in places and it is only 10 or 12 feet wide at the bottom. Travel through the valley is dangerous, because its floor, badly eroded by cloudbursts, has deep gullies. Actual footing on solid rock is so narrow in places that a sheep cannot turn around, and it is an unwritten law of shepherds that flocks must go up the valley in the morning hours and down towards the eventide, lest flocks meet in the defile. Mules have not been able to make the trip for centuries,

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but sheep and goat herders from earliest Old Testament days have maintained a passage for their stock. About halfway through the valley, the walk crosses from one side to the other at a place where the path is cut in two by an eight-foot gully. One section of the path is about 18 inches higher than the other; the sheep must jump across it. The shepherd stands at this break and coaxes or forces the sheep to make the leap. If the sheep slips and lands in the gully, the shepherd's staff is brought into play. The old-style crook is encircled around a large sheep's neck or a small sheep's chest, and it is lifted to safety. If a more modern narrow crook is used, the sheep is caught about the hoofs and lifted up to the walk. Many wild dogs lurk in the shadows of the valley looking for prey. After a band of sheep has entered the defile, the leader may come upon such a dog. Unable to retreat, the leader baas a warning. The shepherd, skilled in throwing his rod, hurls it at the dog and knocks it into the washed-out gully where it is easily killed. Thus the sheep have learned to fear no evil, even in the valley of the shadow of death for their master is there to aid them and protect them from harm." So, the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” is a real place. In fact, it is referred to in other Biblical accounts: i. Zedekiah's battle with the

____________ (2 Kings 25:1-6) ii. the parable of the ____________

(Luke 10:25-37) 30 ...Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. (a monastery dedicated to the parable located a short distance west the valley on the ancient Jerusalem-Jericho road; it existed during the Byzantine era and its ruins can be visited today)

iii. and Jesus' travels from Jericho to ____________ (Luke 19:1ff) 1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through (visiting Zacchaeus’ home). 28 After Jesus had said this (the parable of the ten Minas), He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem (for Jesus to travel from Jericho to Jerusalem He would need to walk 14 miles and climb 3,300 feet in elevation). 29 As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives... (approaching Jerusalem from the east)

d. It is from Psalm 23 that we are most familiar with this “valley”. As David penned this psalm he led his people from Jerusalem to Manahaim through this shortcut as he fled from Absalom’s revolt. (2 Samuel 15-16). The “Valley of the Shadow of Death” would have taken on the double meaning we are familiar with today: a real, dangerous place with the possibility of death around every corner (wild animals, bandits, flash-flooding, falling rocks, etc.) AND the soul-wrenching experience of moving through a difficult, challenging time – a “dark night of the soul”

e. Yet David proclaims, ... I will fear no evil! 26

i. fear - yare = to be afraid which includes the emotional and intellectual ____________ of harm or danger and the sense of dread – in David’s case, would come from his own son!

ii. evil - ra-a = this term can mean that which would cause injury or harm, but it most importantly directs us to an improper ____________ toward God and/or man, as this term signifies the inability to measure up to the LORD God’s standard of righteousness – His ____________! And yet, that is where David just said his Shepherd is leading him, ...in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake! So, what is David getting reallydriving at – more on this in part 3... yet he can say he has no fear of this ra-a = evil, why?

III. For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.a. once again, the ____________ of the Shepherd is the defining point ... For You are with me.

The phrase literally reads, ...though you (me) your rod and your staff... which intimates for us in the English that the presence of the shepherd is known because of his rod and staff

b. the shepherd’s rod/club – shaivet = is a very formidable weapon used for ____________; generally made of oak about two feet long, with a huge rounded head, into which are driven a number of heavy iron nails; it would be attached to the shepherd's leather belt, or girdle, by a noose of cord passed through a small hole in the end by which it is grasped in order to defend the flock from outlaws and the nomad and semi-nomad (bedaween); there were also wild animals that were an even great danger, such as the hyena, the jackal, Syrian bears, leopards, and the cheetah, and though now the lion is never met with west of the Jordan it was once the terror of the deserts of the land of Israel; there were also huge birds of prey – the lammergeyer - ready with lightning speed to swoop down on the weakest of the flock; this club was the second weapon of defense the shepherd carried, along with the ____________

c. the shepherd’s staff - mish'eneth = or crook, is a tool employed on behalf of the sheep by ____________ with it, using it to ____________ them from danger, to ____________ the stragglers into order, and at times to administer needed ____________ to the disobedient; but at night, thrusting the staff down his back and under his shirt, and taking the club from his girdle and twisting its cord round his wrist, the shepherd stands prepared to do battle on behalf of the flock, ready to "lay down his life for the sheep." (John 10)

3. When Jesus the Good Shepherd gives us His prayer...

A. He is speaking as the Shepherd Who lays His life down for the sheep – the incarnation of the one to whom David was praying and the fulfillment of the of the promises he espoused! So, how are these Psalm 23 thoughts fulfilled as Jesus teaches us to pray, ...forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors...

I. our debts/sins are ____________ – the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” is ____________ yet David as a “sheep” knows what the shepherd does for the sheep: He restores my soul – he takes care of the total care/needs of the sheep. Jesus underscores this “realness” in the praying of this petition when He amplifies its importance immediately after giving His disciples “His” prayer; in verses 14 &

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15 He says, For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. This is not a “quid pro quo” statement! It IS a truth Jesus expresses from the understanding that those who are receiving “His” prayer and praying “His” prayer are ____________ disciples of His and have already ____________ from the Father the limitless forgiveness of their multitude of sins! “That prior divine forgiveness, procured by Christ’s universal atonement, then can and will produce in us as Jesus’ disciples the willingness and ability to forgive others. To turn away from the responsibility to forgive is ultimately to turn away from being forgiven.” (Gibbs, Jeffrey, Matthew 1-11, pg 345) To recognize that the power of forgiveness is real and the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” is real is critical for us, because:a. the threat of ____________ is real – living outside of a relationship with the shepherd is death =

living outside of the forgiveness of our Shepherd is death! My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James 5:19 & 20

b. the threat of getting ____________ is real – there are powerful enemies that would seek to separate (from the shepherd/the flock) = forgiveness from our Shepherd puts to death these enemies within our sinful nature and so that we can also forgive – forgiveness unites because it defeats that which would separate Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

II. because the forgiveness we know in Jesus is real, it is something we already possess in the reality of praying this prayer as our Good Shepherd ...leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. We know this by faith – a gift from our Father through the Holy Spirit – so that the grace given us in the righteousness of Christ is our ____________: What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith (to be His sheep and walk in His ways). I want to know Christ - yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death (where forgiveness is won!), and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8-11

III. the forgiveness we have extended to others is real as a prior fact in praying this prayer as our Good Shepherd directs because His presence in us ____________ us to be His sheep - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. The tools of the shepherd allow the sheep to be ____________ from death and ____________ in the way as they pass through the “Valley”; the tool(s) of our Good Shepherd keep us from eternal death, When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15) and allow us to move ____________ in His ways of righteousness because of what we already have, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has

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blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship (as an heir) through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will - to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:3-8)

B. So, ...in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake is where David proclaims his Shepherd is leading him! To pray as Jesus gives us, ...forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors... is to be walking in His righteousness – on this path and in the very ____________ of Jesus, the Son of God - This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified (forgiven) freely by His grace through the redemption (forgiveness) that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood - to be received by faith. Romans 3:22-25

C. In this fifth petition, Jesus defines the conversation for us with our Heavenly father which conveys the reason why He came as Messiah – to ____________ sins, and all who know Him by faith are forgiven their sins – as He died to forgive so He rose to ____________ us in His new life to forgive as we have been forgiven! His forgiveness moves us through our valley of death unto everlasting life. This is what David was driving at concerning the “Valley of the Shadow of Death.” He recognized it as a real place in his walk as a sheep under his shepherd/King where he might be overcome by evil - that the righteousness of the LORD might be forgotten when it comes to the forgiveness he needs to express to Absalom! For only my Shepherd Who ...restores my soul... by forgiving me can empower me to forgive others – this He does ...as He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake... where my forgiveness is found so that I might forgive others; Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me... because I know the presence of the Shepherd Who has the tools to bring about my salvation, procured for me in His forgiveness, of which I forgive others – even my enemies – even my traitorous son Absalom!

4. What does this mean for us:

A. To pray as Jesus teaches us, ...forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors..., is to pray in the grace we have already ____________ from our Good Shepherd and that we have already ____________ with our debtors!I. Because forgiveness is an act of the ____________ – God so loved (agape = to willfully love) the

world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (through the willful activity of love from Him who willfully forgives our sins) John 3:16 – we are forgiven ____________ of the grace shown to us from the Father’s will revealed through His Son!

II. As humans, forgiveness is also an act of the will (to agape another) which is ____________ in us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (faith within us by the Spirit) Who turns us to Christ and the promise of His forgiveness!

III. “When I forgive another who has wronged me, I decide that I am willing not to take revenge, not to bear a grudge, not to repay evil for evil, but instead to respond to evil by doing good when I have the opportunity. If the wrong done is particularly severe, a Christian can suffer extreme spiritual and emotional struggle (including physical distress), and the difficulty in forgiving the wrongdoer may will linger for months or years. However, just because the Christian retains mixed emotions after

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forgiving the wrongdoer does not mean that he or she has not forgiven the other. Moreover, even if the Christian finds that he or she must forgive more often that once, that is still part of the act of forgiving the other!” (Gibbs, Jeffrey, Matthew 1-11, pg 336)

B. There is a great spiritual distinction between finding it hard to forgive – perhaps even for a time unable to forgive – and being ____________ to do so.

I. As David prayed for his Shepherd to lead him through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”, David was dealing with real feelings of anger, despair, loss, etc., toward his son, Absalom. David didn’t want to stay in this “Valley” where a hard-heart, an unforgiving spirit, or an unwillingness to walk in the path of his shepherd’s righteousness would cause his death (of ____________ and life under the Shepherd – an unwillingness to forgive is a serious matter)! The condemnation we put ourselves under in an unwillingness to forgive, despite our feelings we are wrestling with, puts us in the midst of the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”!

II. Our Good Shepherd gives us a Kingdom insight into the practicality of forgiveness in the parable of the Unforgiving Servant. This negative example for us illustrates that the prior forgiveness of the Master, which is meant to ____________ forgiveness for others, can be withdrawn if we are unwilling to forgive because this says to the Master we have rejected his forgiveness ourselves! Matthew 18:21-35...

III. So, to live in the forgiveness Jesus brings us by His sacrificial ____________ is to pray this forgiveness having come through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”! By His ____________ life living in us through His Spirit our Good Shepherd ...leads me in the paths of righteousness (His character as defined by His willful love for me which brings me the forgiveness of my sins) for His name’s sake! To be led and to walk in the path of our Good Shepherd’s righteousness is to pray, forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors... as we have already come through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” and into the green pastures and still waters of His peace that we know ourselves and with others through His forgiveness!

IV. “In humble recognition of their own need for forgiveness and with the mercy supplied by Jesus’ clemency, His followers of all times are able to forgive others who have wronged them and pray the Fifth Petition.” (Gibbs, Jeffrey, Matthew 1-11, pg 337)

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