Jesus Christ · On the Father
The Father's Will
Jesus teaches His disciples to ask for it (“Thy will be done”), warns that saying His name is not the same as doing it, tells the crowd that doing it is what makes someone family to Him — and then, in a garden the night before He died, does it Himself, at the one moment it cost Him everything to mean it. He does not only teach the Father’s will. He does it, and He says, in so many words, what it is.
The Text
— Matthew 6:10; 7:21; 12:50Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.The petition He teaches every disciple to pray, before He teaches them to ask for anything else.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.Calling Him Lord and doing what He said are not the same thing — only one of them gets you in.
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”Doing the will is not a condition of family standing with Jesus. It is what the standing is.
Three sayings, three settings — a prayer taught on a hillside, a warning given in the same sermon, a family redefined in front of His own mother and brothers. All three turn on the same phrase: “the will of my Father.”
The Five Sayings
— one thread, traced from a prayer to a garden- 1Matthew 6:10ASKED
“Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
He teaches the whole room to ask for it, before He teaches them to ask for anything else.
- 2Matthew 7:21REQUIRED
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Naming Him Lord is not the same as doing what He said. Only one of the two gets you in.
- 3Matthew 12:50BELONGED
“For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Doing it is not a condition of the family. Doing it is what the family is.
- 4John 6:38–40DEFINED
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me… And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life.”
He does it Himself, then says outright what it is: not a mood, not a mystery — everlasting life for everyone who believes on the Son.
- 5Matthew 26:39DONE
“O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
The same sentence He taught them to pray, prayed by Himself, at the one moment it cost Him everything to mean it.
What He Is Saying
— not only taught — doneAnyone can teach a prayer. What sets this thread apart is that the same man who taught “Thy will be done” is later found saying, of Himself, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38) — and then saying plainly what that will is: “that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life” (John 6:40). The Father’s will is not left as a mood or a mystery. Jesus names it, in the same breath He commits to doing it.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”He does the will Himself, then states outright what it is.
The ancient church already saw this whole threadCyprian, 258
Writing two centuries before any of this page’s other quotes, Cyprian strings together John 6:38, the Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 7:21, and Matthew 26:39 as one argument — the same arc this page traces, drawn from memory of the whole New Testament rather than a modern cross-reference tool:
That we are not to obey our own will, but the will of God. In the Gospel according to John: "I came not down from heaven to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt." Also in the daily prayer: "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth." Also according to Matthew: "Not every one who saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." Also according to Luke: "But that servant which knoweth his Lord's will, and obeyed not His will, shall be beaten with many stripes." In the Epistle of John: "But he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever, even as He Himself also abideth for ever."
Cyprian· Treatise XII, Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews (258)
The Voices on “Thy Will Be Done”
— the church hears Matthew 6:10These words, As in heaven so in earth, must be taken as common to all three preceding petitions. Observe also how carefully it is worded; He said not, Father, hallow Thy name in us, Let Thy kingdom come on us, Do Thy will in us. Nor again; Let us hallow Thy name, Let us enter into Thy kingdom, Let us do Thy will; that it should not seem to be either God's doing only, or man's doing only. But He used a middle form of speech, and the impersonal verb; for as man can do nothing good without God's aid, so neither does God work good in man unless man wills it.
Pseudo-Chrysostom· Catena Aurea by Aquinas (500), on Matt 6:10
When we pray "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we do not imply that anyone could prevent the fulfillment of God's will or that he needs our prayer to accomplish his will. Rather, we pray that his will be done in all. Think of heaven and earth as a picture of our very selves, spirit and flesh. The sense of the petition is the same, namely, that in us (as spirit and flesh, as heaven and earth combined) the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now, what does God will more than that we ourselves walk according to his ways? We ask therefore that he supply us with the energy of his own will and the capacity to do it, that we may be saved, both in heaven and on earth. The sum of his will is the salvation of those whom he has adopted.
Tertullian· On Prayer 4.1-2 (220), on Matt 6:10
The Voices on “He That Doeth the Will”
— the church hears Matthew 7:21Not every one - That is, no one that saith, Lord, Lord - That makes a mere profession of me and my religion, shall enter - Whatever their false teachers may assure them to the contrary: He that doth the will of my Father - as I have now declared it. Observe: every thing short of this is only saying, Lord, Lord.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755), Matt 7:21
Otherwise; Having taught that the false prophets and the true are to be discerned by their fruits, He now goes on to teach more plainly what are the fruits by which we are to discern the godly from the ungodly teachers. And what the will of God is the Lord Himself teaches, This is, (John 6:40.) He says, the will of him that sent me, that every man that seeth the Son and believeth on him should have eternal life. The word believe has reference both to confession and conduct. He then who does not confess Christ, or does not walk according to His word, shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Pseudo-Chrysostom· Catena Aurea by Aquinas (500), on Matt 7:21
The Voices on Family Redefined
— the church hears Matthew 12:50The Lord deigned to call faithful disciples His brethren, saying, Go, tell my brethren. Since then a man may be made a brother of the Lord by coming to the faith, it should be enquired how one may become also His mother. Be it known by us then, that he that by believing is made brother or sister of Christ, becomes His mother by preaching; for in pouring Him into the heart of the hearer, he may be said to beget the Lord; and he is made the Lord's mother, when by his word love of the Lord is begotten in the mind of his neighbour.
Gregory the Dialogist· Catena Aurea by Aquinas (604), on Matt 12:50
Whosoever shall do the will of my Father, etc. - Those are the best acknowledged relatives of Christ who are united to him by spiritual ties, and who are become one with him by the indwelling of his Spirit. We generally suppose that Christs relatives must have shared much of his affectionate attention; and doubtless they did: but here we find that whosoever does the will of God is equally esteemed by Christ, as his brother, sister, or even his virgin mother. What an encouragement for fervent attachment to God!
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1832), Matt 12:50
The Voices on What the Will Is
— the church hears John 6:38-40"I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." What sayest Thou? Why, is Thy will one, and His another? That none may suspect this, He explaineth it by what follows, saying; "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life." Is not then this Thy will? And how sayest Thou, "I am come to send fire upon the earth, and what have I desired to see, if that be already kindled"? For if Thou also desirest this, it is very clear that Thy will and the Father's is one.
John Chrysostom· Homily on the Gospel of John 45 (407), on John 6:38-40
Since therefore God teaches humility, He saith, "I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." For this is pride, to do one's own will: for humility, to do the will of God. Wherefore, "him that cometh to me, I will not cast out." Why? "Because I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." I came humble, I came to teach humility, I came a master of humility: he that cometh to me, is incorporated with me; he that cometh to me becomes humble; he that cleaveth to me will be humble; because he doth, not his own will, but the will of God; and therefore he is not cast out, because when he was proud he was cast out.
Augustine of Hippo· Tractates on John 25 (430), on John 6:38
The Voices on Gethsemane
— the church hears Matthew 26:39Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”The same words He taught the room to pray, prayed by Himself, in the dark.
The disciples were admonished, and the Lord beseeches the Father that they might confront the force of the present temptation with watchful prayer: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as you will." The first petition arises from weakness, the second from strength: He desired the former based on our nature and chose the latter based on his own. Equal to the Father, the Son knew that all things were possible to God; rather, he descended into this world to take up the cross against his will so that he might suffer through this conflict of emotions with a disquieted mind. But in order to show the distinction between the receiving nature and the received nature, what was proper of humanity desired divine intervention and what was proper of God looked upon the human situation. The lower will yielded to the higher will, and this demonstrated what the fearful person may pray for and what the divine healer should not grant. "For we do not know how to pray as we ought," and it is good for us that what we want, for the most part, is not granted. God, who is good and just, shows mercy toward us by denying us those things we ask for which are harmful.
Leo the Great· Sermon 43.2.26 (461), on Matt 26:39
And going a little farther - About a stone's cast, Luke xxii, 41 - So that the apostles could both see and hear him still. If it be possible, let this cup pass from me - And it did pass from him quickly. When he cried unto God with strong cries and tears, he was heard in that which he feared.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755), Matt 26:39
A closer look at Gethsemane
Mark keeps the Aramaic word Jesus actually used to open this prayer — “Abba, Father” — the one place in the Gospels it survives on His own lips. That word, and what Paul says happens to it next, has its own page.
Where It Points
— the same will, named again after the resurrectionThe world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.John closes the loop: “he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
John’s own letter picks the thread back up: the world and its lust pass away, but the one who does God’s will abides forever. Cyprian already noticed the same verse belonged with this thread, seventeen centuries before this page did.
Closing
“Thy will be done” is easy to pray in the daylight. Jesus prayed it Himself in a garden at night, sweating over a cup He asked to have removed, and still finished the sentence: “not as I will, but as thou wilt.” He had already told the crowd what that will was for — “that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life.” The prayer He taught, He kept.