Which version of the lords prayer in the gospels is the correct one?

Question

The bible gives two different versions of the lords prayer
1. Matthew 6:9-15
2. Luke 11:2-4

In Luke one of the diciples asks Jesus to teach them to pray as John taught his diciples.

In Matthew Jesus is speaking in a Poetic parable tone rather than responding to a direct question.
So which one is correct? Now obviously both cannot be eye witness accounts or else they would both have the same writing style and they would both be texutually accurate with each other. So which one did Jesus really say? And why are the stories in each gospel written so differently than the others?

Answer 1

They are both invented.

Answer 2

They are both correct! But Jesus probably actually said the longer one (or something very like it).

Luke may not have been an eye-witness. As he suggests in the beginning of his "Gospel" account, he gathered reports from other witnesses. However, that doesn't make his version of the prayer guideline incorrect, just a different person's recollection.

When you say, "Now obviously both cannot be eye witness accounts or else they would both have the same writing style and they would both be texutually accurate with each other," I'm reminded of the party game "Telephone." Where a person starts a message and it gets passed around the room in a whisper. when the message gets to the end, it is usually VERY different from what it began as. Also, any investigator knows that any two witnesses of the same event will naturally be different.

In the Bible, the "Gospel" witnesses of Jesus' teachings are more about getting the essence of the account passed on to us, rather than a precise recount of his exact words.

Answer 3

Doesn't matter. This is not the Lord's prayer really, it is the Disciple's Prayer. Jesus was just using it as an example, a pattern to teach the disciples how to pray. There is no benefit in reciting this passage. It's just a model. Catholics have always been Pharisaical about such things, a trend which unfortunately has followed into mainline protestantism (and other made-up religions). The true Lord's prayer is recorded in John 17 — the one where He prays for all future Christians. The one, also, where He clearly shows the doctrine of limited atonement.

Answer 4

You are right in saying that both could not have been eye witnesses. The fact that the four gospels don't necessarily agree verbatim expresses the validity of the events that took place and not the other way around. The story of the life of Jesus Christ was told to Luke. Matthew did not join the crew until after the sermon on the mount. Therefore they had to be told what happened from other eye witnesses who in their humanness could only express what happened from their point of view, yet the message of all the Gospels are very clear and do not contradict one another. So the small technicalities within the Bible are things that nay sayers and critics like to point to, ignoring the fact that throughout all the books of the Bible with it's many writers there is yet only one doctrine.

Answer 5

"So which one is correct?"
Both.

"Now obviously both cannot be eye witness accounts or else they would both have the same writing style and they would both be texutually accurate with each other."
This argument has a *very* obvious logical fault. You mentioned yourself that in Mat, Jesus was speaking in a poetic parable, whereas in Luk, Jesus was answering a direct question. Clearly, these are two separate instances. Why, then, would they be identical?

"So which one did Jesus really say?"
Both.

"And why are the stories in each gospel written so differently than the others?"
Because they are different stories about the same people, of course.

Jim, http://www.life-after-harry-potter.com

Answer 6

Of course they were not both eyewitness accounts. In fact neither were. Luke was a Gentile who became part of the early church under Paul's ministry. Matthew didn't join Jesus until three chapters after the Lord's prayer in his own gospel.

The version in Luke is just an abbreviated version of the one in Matthew. They both say the same thing, but Luke uses fewer words.

Also consider that not all of the ancient manuscripts of Matthew have, "for Yours is the kingdom, power, and glory forever," so even different versions may exist simply because of that.

Answer 7

Oh actually you are totally wrong. You are mixed up because you think they are both describing the same instance. Matthews account gives the Lord's prayer during the Sermon on the Mount. Luke gives the Lord's prayer when Jesus was apparently in private conversation with the disciples. These are two different times, one when Jesus told the disciples the prayer, and another when he told it in a sermon.

There is no contradiction whatsoever. I for instance had a private conversation about God's will and then gave a sermon on it. You do not say, "Ah! One person said you talked about God's will in a sermon, another says you told it to them in person! Hence you never talked about God's will at all, and you probably never existed and both those accounts are not eyewitnesses"

So its very simple. Matthew records the sermon at the public sermon on the mount, Luke gives it in private conversation with the disciples. No contradiction at all. Its not uncommon for someone to speak about the same thing twice! One in private, one in public. Is that the best you got?

Answer 8

It's like asking which X-ian sect is the correct one.

I've known several (equally valid) versions of the Lord's Prayer as well as seen seen different phrasing of the two bible references you've given.

.

Answer 9

The Bible is a selection of ancient texts (written by men) chosen by other men long after the death of Christ. How can you ask which is correct? Depends on who wrote them and who picked them out for inclusion in the Book. You're never going to know - so choose the one you like best and be happy with it.

Answer 10

The answer to your question comes from the fact that Jesus was teaching them "how" to pray. He wasn't passing along some arcane pagan spell where a person chants the exact words in the correct order in some vain attempt to bind a demonic spirit to his or her will.

Jesus was giving an example or a model of prayer. The elements are that God who accepts followers of Jesus as his children can be addressed as "Father" and yet we still need to remember to come in an attitude of worship by counting his name which represents who He is as being high and set apart from the things of this earth. Then our first priority should be to ask that His will comes to pass here on earth as the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus is advanced in opposition to the rule of Satan. We present our specific needs as exemplified by our "daily bread", remind ourselves that we need to repent of any sin and forgive others who may have sinned against us, and ask for supernatural protection against the enemy of our souls.

Those are the basic elements of prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. The words a Christian uses to incorporate those elements will vary according to their personality, their level of faith and understanding, and the circumstances in their lives that they are praying about.

Answer 11

It does not matter which person wrote down the words of the scripture. The scriptures are all inspired and is written as the Holy Spirit deemed necessary.