Wrestling with the Word, episode 51: Third Sunday of Advent, Year C (December 13, 2009) November 26, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Advent, Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Isaiah 12:2-6, lectionary, Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7, preaching, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord, Zephaniah 3:14-20
add a comment
Third Sunday of Advent
Some time ago, I learned that when I write to someone requesting a favor, I should never thank him or her in advance. As I recall the lesson in diplomacy, the reason for the prohibition was the audacious assumption that the person would accept, almost reducing the freedom of the person to choose. Yet the Bible abounds in calls to thank and praise God for the promises about coming near to us, comforting and saving us, and even turning the world upside down. In other words, the Bible calls us to thank God in advance. However, far from an enticement to improper etiquette, the call assumes that once God has made a promise, the thing promised is as good as done! With that assurance of God’s effective word, we can already give thanks and live with the joy that the coming event has already defined our lives now and eternally. This Third Sunday of Advent opens our eyes to the possibilities of the Reign of God as well as to the dangers of assuming God’s coming will be warm and fuzzy.
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 51: Third Sunday of Advent, Year C.
—————————————-
Isaiah 12:2-6
This song of thanksgiving and praise bears many resemblances to the Song of Moses at the deliverance of the people from the Pharaoh and his army (Exodus 15:1ff.). That early hymn immediately follows the announcement that “Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day” (Exod. 14:30). The song here in Isaiah 12 begins with the announcement “You will sing on that day” (12:1), but now “that day” and the event of salvation lie in the future. The call to thank and praise the “name” of God for that salvation yet to come pulls together the wording of several psalms (Ps. 119:82 in verse 1; Psalm 105:1 in verse 4) and uses words similar to Isaiah 52:7-10. The cause for joy and celebration among the people is the salvation of the Lord and the Lord’s presence among them (also in Zeph. 3:14-18a).
—————————————-
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Having warned the people through the prophet about the judgment on the Day of the Lord, God promises to appear among them to conquer evil and establish the divine reign as one of joy and a homecoming celebration.
Context
The prophet Zephaniah was active during the reign of King Josiah, 640-609 B.C. During the early part of this reign, the people’s worship of Canaanite gods, especially Baal, was still prominent. The threat of the Lord to “cut off from this place the remnant of Baal” (1:4) seems to be consistent with the reform measures taken by Josiah in the 9th year of his reign. The attitude of some of the people during this period is that God is irrelevant, that nothing about him really matters, and so the people say that the Lord is ineffective (1:12). The leaders of the people seem to be of no help, and so officials, judges, prophets and priests all come under the judgment of the prophet (3:3-4).
Like the prophets since the time of Amos, it was necessary for Zephaniah also to correct the impression that the expected day of the Lord will be a bed of roses. Repeatedly he proclaims that the day of the Lord is near, and then he adds “a day of wrath is that day” (1:7, 14, 15). Nothing can deliver the people from the coming wrath except repentance (2:1-4), and although most will not respond to the invitation, a remnant will be saved (2:7, 9) from the worldwide judgment (2:12-15). The agent of the Lord’s judgment in these oracles is difficult to identify, although there are some clues that point to the Scythians. Escaping the onslaught, Jerusalem escapes the predicted doom. Over the humble and lowly remnant, God will reign, turning shame into praise (3:19).
Key Words
V. 15. melek yisrā’ēl YHWH beqirbēk = “the King of Israel, YHWH, is in your midst”: In the ancient world a god usually attained kingship by accomplishing a victory over his enemies. In order to accomplish that victory, it was necessary that YHWH be a mighty Warrior (v. 17) to fight in Israel’s midst against the foe. In the days Moses and of the judges, the understanding of YHWH as the Divine Warrior who fought on Israel’s behalf was particularly prominent (see, e.g., Exod. 14:14; Josh. 10:1-11). Among the many characteristics of the so-called Holy Wars of YHWH was the notion that he was present (see the role of the pillar of cloud and fire in Exod. 14; note also the announcement of God’s presence in Ps. 46:5).
V. 19. wehôša‘tî ’et-hatstsōlē‘â wehanniddāchâ’ aqabbēts = “and I will save the lame and gather the outcast”: See Mic. 4:6-7 for the same understanding that the outcasts will be in. In other portrayals of the kingdom, the lame will be healed (see Isa. 35).
—————————————-
Philippians 4:4-7
The nearness of the Lord brings cause for rejoicing and gentleness, diminishing cause for worry and enabling prayer to be accompanied by praise and thanksgiving.
Context
Paul begins to conclude his letter, having expressed longing to see them again and preparing for his thanks over their financial support.
—————————————-
Luke 3:7-18
Through the preaching of the prophet John, God announced the “good news” of the imminent Day of the Lord and all the judgment that would take place in connection with that day.
Context
Luke identified all the players in 3:1-6 and gave us his explicit understanding of the identity of John: he is the one who announces the forthcoming salvation event but is not himself that event.
Key Words
Vv. 7-15. Note the list of players who come before John: multitudes, tax collectors, soldiers, the people, all people. Compare the list of people in Zephaniah’s audience. The multitudes are called “brood of vipers” in v. 7, and the paragraph indicates they are Jewish people who claim to have Abraham as their father as though that makes them immune from the judgment to come. Of the list, the tax collectors are the only ones of whom it is said that they came to be baptized; they were the outcasts of the society who were now offered the invitation to come in (cf. the promise at Zeph. 3:19).
Vv. 10-14. Note what is required to avoid the wrath to come: share clothing and food with the poor, be honest in taxation, avoid robbing and violence and false accusation. None of these forms of repentance have anything to do with ritual or cult but with just relations with one another, especially with the poor. Recall the repentance Zephaniah called for in the face of the coming Day of Wrath: “seek righteousness, seek humility” (Zeph. 2:3)
V. 15. The reference to the people who “were in expectation” indicates a debate in the first century about the actual role of John. Here his identity as the Messiah is clearly denied.
V. 18. euēggelizeto ton laon = “he preached good news to the people”: It is difficult to imagine how these many exhortations could be classified as “good news.” It is important to recognize that in Luke’s Gospel the noun euaggelion is never used, only the verb as here. In this sense Luke follows the use in the LXX. In the LXX the verb is used in two non-theological ways: (1) to announce the victory from the field of battle (see 2 Sam. 18:19-31 for example); and (2) to announce the birth of a baby (Jer. 20:15). In both cases, what is announced is such good news that it brings about a new time. That new time of which John speaks is the Day of the Lord when the Reign of God will begin.
Wrestling with the Word, episode 50: Second Sunday of Advent, Year C (December 6, 2009) November 17, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: WrestlingWithTheWord, fostermccurley, Revised Common Lectionary, lectionary, preaching, Christianity, Bible studies, Advent, Luke 1:68-79, Malachi 3:1-4, Philippians 1:3-11, Luke 3:1-6
add a comment
Second Sunday of Advent
God is full of surprises. What else are the Incarnation of the Word of God and the appearance of God’s Son as an artisan from Nazareth? At the same time, God consistently sends messengers to prepare people for the surprise. The biblical narratives abound in God’s use of messengers—Moses preparing the crowd at the foot of Mount Sinai for God’s appearance (Exodus 19:10-15); Second Isaiah preparing the people for the imminent salvation of God that would take them home from exile (Isaiah 40); the appearance of Elijah as “my messenger” to prepare people for the Day of the Lord (Malachi 3—4); and now comes John the Baptizer and the Apostle Paul. What makes the coming of God such a surprise is that it is usually very ordinary. The messengers warn and instruct us to see what we will be looking at and to listen to what we will hear.
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 50: Second Sunday of Advent, Year C.
————————————————-
Luke 1:68-79 (the Benedictus)
Filled with the Holy Spirit, the priest Zechariah, who had been mute for the past nine months, opens his mouth. His words bless God as Zechariah interprets God’s purpose for his newborn son John (vv. 68-75). The emphasis on salvation is typical of Luke, and the verbs “looked favorably” and “redeemed” appear in the past tense to indicate that the promise is as good as done. The song testifies to the faithfulness of God to promises by pointing to “the oath that he (the Lord) swore to our ancestor Abraham” (v. 73). True to the message given him by the angel Gabriel at 1:17, the proud father speaks to his baby son about the role he is to play: as “prophet of the Most High”: he will fulfill the function of Elijah in turning the hearts of people to one another and to God He will prepare the way for the promised salvation and God’s kingdom (v. 76). The goal of his mission appears to be that of giving “knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins” (v. 77).
————————————————-
Malachi 3:1-4
As a response to the priests’ weariness with their roles of sacrifice and of instructing the people in the ways of justice, God sends a messenger to refine the relationship that once existed between the Lord and the Levitical priesthood.
Context
The Book of Malachi seems to address the post-exilic community of Israel. Sufficient time has elapsed since the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem (520 B.C.) that the priests (1:6) have become weary at offering their sacrifices (see 1:12-13) and have failed at their responsibility for instructing the people in ways of truthfulness and justice. Further, they blame the people for asking the whereabouts of the “God of justice” (2:17). As a result, the Lord no longer accepts their offerings (2:13). While the priests are weary with worship, the Lord became weary with them (2:17).
Key Words
V. 1. hinenî šālēach mal’ākî = “Behold I am sending my messenger”: The Hebrew word mal’ākî provides the name of the book. While the identity of “messenger” becomes the prophet Elijah at the end of the book, the messenger in 2:4-9 seems to be a Levite priest, and the covenant mentioned in our passage is probably the one mentioned at 2:4-5 (“my covenant with Levi” as a “covenant of life and well-being”). More important is the almost identical expression in 4:5: hinnê ’ānōkî šōlēach lākem ’ēt ’ēlîyyâ hannābî’ = “Behold I am sending to you Elijah the prophet.” Elijah’s ascent on a cloud with the chariot of fire (2 Kings 2) leads to the hope that he would return.
V. 3. wehāyû laYHWH maggîšê minchâ bitsedāqâ = “and there will be bringers of sacrifice in righteousness”: The unclarity of the expression raises a note of caution, but the sense seems to be that in contrast to the sacrifices made out of the priests’ “weariness” and the lack of “justice” (2:17), a different attitude, one of righteousness, will prevail when the Lord refines the priesthood.
V. 4. we‘ārebâ … kîmê ‘ôlām ûkešānîm qadmōniyyôt = “and pleasing … as in the days of old and in former years”: The reference might be to the sweet-smelling (i.e., acceptable) sacrifice which Noah offered following the chaos of the flood (see Gen. 8:20-21). One will recall that the result of the cessation of the flood was a new creation, not unlike the expectation here.
————————————————-
Philippians 1:3-11
In anticipation of the coming of Jesus Christ, Paul moves from his personal thanks for the congregation at Philippi to his prayer that they may abound in love, so that they might be pure and blameless on the day of Jesus Christ and will have demonstrated the harvest of righteousness.
Context
Philippi was the first stop on Paul’s journey into Europe. He established a congregation there as early as A.D. 49, making it the first European congregation Acts 16:12-39). Paul indicates clearly in the paragraph following our pericope that he writes this letter from prison. The traditional view is his imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28:14-31), dating the epistle about 59-60. However, other scholars argue that the imprisonment mentioned might be the one in Caesarea (Acts 23:33–26:32), dating the epistle about 56-58. Still others point to the imprisonment in Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:30ff; 2 Cor. 1:8ff.), indicating the earliest date of 53-55.
————————————————-
Luke 3:1-6
Through the preaching of John the Baptist, God commences the dawning of the new Day and the ensuing kingdom that God promised through the prophets.
Context
The passage of time since Jesus’ birth can be traced somewhat by the reference in 2:1 that Jesus was born during the reign of Augustus, while the action in our pericope occurs after Tiberius had succeeded him. The 15th year of Tiberius would be A.D. 28, a date which is also consistent with the governorship of Pontius Pilate (26-36). The list of persons in 3:1-2 in quite intentional, as it lays forth the characters who will appear later in the Gospel: Tiberias at 20:20-26; Pilate at 13:1 and ch. 23; Herod Antipas at 3:19; 8:3; 9:7, 9; 13:31; 23:7-15; Philip at 3:19; Caiaphas at 22:50, 54. Only Lysanias is not mentioned again.
Key Words
V. 2. egeneto rēma theou epi Iōannēn = “the word of God came to John”: The typical expression of prophetic address implies that John is a prophet. The following OT quotation from Isaiah 40:3-5 verifies the claim and points to his function. Recall that in the Benedictus by John’s father Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79), the baby was identified at his birth as “prophet of the Most High,” who would go before the Lord to prepare his ways (1:76).
V. 3. kēryssōn baptisma metanoias eis aphesin hamartiōn = “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”: Recall the song of his father Zechariah in which John is destined to “give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins” (1:77). In Matthew’s Gospel, the sermon that both John and Jesus preached was the same: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2 and 4:17). Mark adds “repent and believe in the gospel” to Jesus’ announcement about the nearness of God’s kingdom (Mark 1:15), to limits John’s sermon to the words used here in Luke (Mark 1:4).
Vv. 4-6. “the words of Isaiah the prophet”: The Isaiah passage from Isa. 40:3-5 is part of the call of the prophet Second Isaiah, and it comes in the context of the new time of salvation for the Israelites who have been held captive in Babylon. The understanding of the people’s salvation from that long exile was based upon the Lord’s announcement that Israel has paid double for her sins and so the people would now be allowed to return home.
V. 6. kai opsetai para sarx to sōtērion tou theou = “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God”: These words belong to end of the quotation from Isaiah 40:3-5 where they introduce the preaching of Second Isaiah to the exiles in Babylon. They also appear at Isaiah 52:10 where they demonstrate the consequence of Israel’s homecoming to Jerusalem as the Reign of God. Furthermore, the words are virtually identical to Psalm 98:3 where they speak of the universal response to the victory of God over chaos, the result of which is the Reign of God.
Wrestling with the Word, episode 49: First Sunday of Advent, Year C (November 29, 2009) November 12, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, Advent, Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Jeremiah 33:14-16, lectionary, Luke 21:25-36, preaching, Psalm 25:1-10, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
add a comment
First Sunday of Advent
The time of Advent calls on us to perform an unnatural act: wait. The word “advent” means “coming,” and the arrival we await is (1) the coming of Jesus, the Son of God, to become one of us and live among us, (2) Christ’s appearance at the end time (the Second Coming). The first two Sundays of Advent focus on the Second Coming of Christ. The third Sunday focuses on the announcement of John the Baptizer who pointed to the coming ministry of Jesus. The fourth Sunday centers on Mary who, as God’s faithful servant, waited for Jesus’ birth. The New Testament writings developed after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus but obviously before the Second Coming when all things will become new. The critical question from New Testament times until this very day is not really the apocalyptic question about how long must we wait. Rather the question for the church in any day is: what do we do with our lives in the meantime? How do we wait? For what do we wait? Why do we wait?
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 49: First Sunday of Advent, Year C.
———————————-
Psalm 25:1-10
This acrostic psalm is a lament in which a pious worshipper pleads that those who wait for the Lord will not be put to shame. Typical of a lament, the worshipper acknowledges a history of God’s mercy and counts on it in the present situation to forgive sins. Wrapped up in this divine mercy are God’s salvation (v. 5), steadfast love, and faithfulness (vss. 7, 10). Along with the petitions are examples of Wisdom as the psalmist prays for instruction to bear the present time in faithfulness. (The plea for forgiveness in v. 7 is repeated in vv. 11 and 18).
———————————-
Jeremiah 33:14-16
In the midst of disaster all around and in spite of Jeremiah’s own personal tragedy, God promises through that prophet the new day when God will establish a peaceful reign and set over the kingdom a Davidic ruler.
Context
At the time of Jeremiah’s call, Josiah was king of Judah (640-609 B.C.). Josiah was succeeded by Jehoaz who ruled only a few months. Then Jehoiakim, king from 609-598 B.C., was succeeded by Jehoiachin who was king at the time of the first deportation to Babylon (598-597 B.C.). Jehoiachin himself was among the first deportees, and so Nebuchadnezzar put on the throne Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah and changed his name to Zedekiah (“Yah is righteousness” or perhaps “Yah is legitimate”). This puppet king, not directly of Davidic lineage, reigned until 587 B.C. (Note: this passage is virtually identical to Jer. 23:5-6.)
Key Words
V. 14. wahaqîmōtî ’et-haddābār hattôb = “and I will establish the good word”: The word is the promise God made to David (2 Sam. 7). That there was now an uncle rather than a succeeding son makes Zedekiah, the present king, illegitimate.
V. 15. ’atsmîach ledāwid tsemach tsedāqâ = “I will cause to spring up for David a righteous branch”: The image of the royal family tree as roots and branches occurs at Isa. 11:1. The prophecy there interprets the future king’s reign as one on which he judges the poor with righteousness and even wears “righteousness” as his intimate apparel. Further, at Zech. 3:8; 4:12 the candidate for the royal office is the “legitimate” successor Zerubbabel.
V. 15. mišpāt ûtsedāqâ = “justice and righteousness”: “Justice and righteousness” are the means by which YHWH rules the world, “the foundation of his throne” (Ps. 89:14; 97:2), and so the Davidic king, as the representative of God, reigns with the same foundations (Ps. 72:2).
———————————-
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
In anticipation of the coming again of the Lord, Paul prays for reunion with the congregation, for their abundance of love to one another and to all, so that the Lord might make their hearts unblamable in holiness before God.
Context
Cassander, a general in Alexander’s army, founded Thessalonica, a city in Macedonia, in 316 B.C. When Macedonia became a Roman province in 146 B.C., Thessalonica became the capital. The city’s prosperity was due in large part to its location along the Via Egnatia. According to Acts 17:1-9 Paul visited the city (Acts 17:1-9), accompanied by Silas and perhaps Timothy (Acts 16:1; 17:14-15; 18:5; 1 Tim. 1:1). His letter, written probably from Corinth in A.D. 50-51, seeks to guide the congregation that he founded and had to leave prematurely. His teachings focus on the Second Coming of Christ, the glories it will bring, the ethical responsibilities in the meantime, and the unpredictability of its timing.
———————————-
Luke 21:25-36
In response to the concern about the sign for the Day of the Lord, Jesus tells of a variety of signs common to human existence, and he urges constant preparedness to stand before the Son of man on the last day.
Context
Whether or not the author of Luke-Acts was the Luke that traveled with Paul, he wrote some time between A.D. 70 and 90, probably in the 80s. The author addressed his work to an audience consisting primarily of Gentile Christians. He quoted the Old Testament in the LXX version rather then the Hebrew. He used no Hebrew words, as did the other evangelists. Further, the content of his writing betrays a broader, even universal, message than that of the other synoptic gospels. In his two-volume work, the author presents the history of salvation in three periods: (1) the time prior to Jesus Christ; (2) the time of Jesus; (3) the time of the church.
As he presented the passion story, Luke began his account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at 19:28. Jesus’ teachings in the city and the temple had, in the previous verses, prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem (21:20-24), a subject raised earlier in the chapter (21:5-6).
Key Words
V. 25. ēchous thalassēs kai salou = “at the roaring of sea and waves”: The words recall the chaotic force of the sea versus the orderly reign of God (see Isa. 17:12-14; Ps. 46:1-3; in NT see Mark 4:35-41 and parallels).
V. 27. ton huion tou anthrōpou erchomenon en nephelē = “the son of man coming in a cloud”: In Dan. 7:13, the source of the quotation, the direction is from earth to the heavenly throne of God.
V. 28. dioti eggizei hē apolytrōsis hymōn = “because your redemption is near”: Luke uses the expression “is near” in reference to the kingdom of God at 10:9 and at 21:31, and then connects the coming kingdom with Jesus’ coming near Jerusalem (18:35; 19:29, 37, 41). The nearness of the kingdom, of course, lies at the heart of Jesus’ own preaching (Mark 1:14-15).
V. 32. hē genea autē = “this generation”: In light of the date of Luke in the 70s or 80s, the author would know that many people in Jesus’ generation did pass away. Perhaps the expression refers to the kinds of people who seek signs, indicating it is evil (see 11:29).
Wrestling with the Word, episode 48: Christ the King, Year B (November 22, 2009) November 8, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel 7:9-10, fostermccurley, John 18:33-37, lectionary, preaching, Psalm 93, Revelation 1:4b-8, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
add a comment
Christ the King
Nothing is what it seems, and what is real does not appear. As we look around the world at its disastrous events—human-made and natural, it seems that chaos rules supreme. That God and not chaos rules the universe is contrary to human sense and unobservable to human senses. Since it is neither a political agenda nor a social phenomenon, God’s reign is independent of votes and opinions. Moreover, completely contrary to worldly reason, the Reign of Christ occurs only through Jesus’ suffering on the cross at the hands of religious and political authorities and his resurrection from that awful death. God’s rule over the cosmos and the Reign of Christ the King are comprehended only through faith.
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 48: Christ the King, Year B.
——————————————–
Psalm 93
This song of praise of YHWH’s kingship is the one of a series dealing with the same theme (47, 95–99). It begins with the acclamation that the Lord indeed is king. That the reign of God extends not only over Israel but over the whole world results from God’s creating and arranging the world’s order. Though tumults threaten his rule, God is firmly established on the throne.
——————————————–
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
In the vision, God Almighty who is seated on the heavenly throne, grants everlasting dominion to one like a son of man who appears before him.
Context
Although the story of the book dates the action in the Persian period (6th-4th centuries B.C.), the authors of the book lived in and wrote for people between 167-164 B.C. This period was a time of persecution by the Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
After six chapters in which the people of faith accomplish all kinds of miracles in the face of their persecutions by the Persians, this chapter begins a series of visions. While the former part of the book appears to emphasize the old wisdom theme that the righteous will be rewarded, this latter section is apocalyptic. It focuses on the end time and the timing of the end.
Unfortunately, verses 11-12 are omitted from the reading. They describe the slaying of the final beast and the loss of dominion by all the beasts mentioned in vv. 4-8. Their loss of dominion and the granting of dominion to the one like a son of man provide a necessary sequence that is lost by the omission of these two verses.
As a whole, this vision is about four beasts representing the kingdoms of the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks. In other words, the history of the people of Israel from the eighth century B.C. until the present second century B.C. is laid out, indicating that human history has run its course, the cosmic clock is ticking away, and the kingdom of God is about to break in.
Key Words
Vv. 9-10. Much of the imagery used in these verses (and in the preceding ones) appears in the vision of Ezekiel in the first chapter of his book: fire, four creatures, throne, wheels, brightness, a likeness of a human form.
V. 13. wa’arû `im-‘anānê šemayyā’_’ kebar ’enāš ’ātēh hawâ we`ad-‘attîq yômayyā’ metâ ûqedāmôhî haqrebûhî = “and with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him”: Two major issues appear here. First, the direction of movement of the one like a son of man is from earth to heaven. Second, the identity of “the son of man” figure as the recipient of the kingdom (v. 14) is “the saints of the Most High” (vss. 18, 22, 27).
——————————————–
Revelation 1:4b-8
To those in tribulation the author assures that they can count on God’s enduring existence and constant love and on Christ’s resurrection and lordship over the world.
Context
After a brief introduction (vv. 1-3) these verses make up the salutation of the letter and a description of the first vision.
Old Testament Allusions
V. 4. “who is and who was and who is to come”: Exod. 3:14; Rev. 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:5.
V. 4. “seven spirits”: Isaiah 11:2-3 (a messianic reference).
V. 5. “first-born” and “ruler of the kings on earth”: Psalm 89:27 (a Davidic allusion).
V. 5. “witness”: Isaiah 55:4 (a Davidic allusion).
V. 6. “kingdom, priests”: Exod. 19:6 (cf. 1 Peter 2:9).
V. 7. “coming with the clouds”: Dan 7:13 (used of one like “a son of man).
V. 7. “will see … pierced … wail”: Zech 12:10-12 (used of Davidic family and the people of Jerusalem).
V. 7. “all the tribes of the earth”: Gen. 12:3 (the mission given to Abraham and Sarah).
V. 8. eigō eimi = “I AM”: Exod. 3:14; Isa. 42:6, 8; 43:1, 3, 10, 11, 13, 15, 2, etc;
V. 8. “the Almighty”: Amos 3:13 and often (used for Yahweh starting at Gen. 17:1); Rev. 4:8; 16:7.
——————————————–
John 18:33-37
While the Jewish authorities lead Pilate to believe Jesus has claimed to be a king, Jesus admits only to kingship/kingdom, identifying his domain as out of this world.
Context
Following Jesus’ arrest in verse 12, the soldiers and the officers of the Jews led him first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas the high priest. After Caiaphas questioned him, they led him to Pilate the governor. In the praetorium (NRSV “headquarters”) they accused Jesus as an evil doer and a claimant to Caesar’s royal title. Pilate urged them to judge him by their own law, but they indicated their own law did not permit capital punishment.
V. 36. “my kingship/kingdom is not from the world”: Neither, according to John’s Gospel, is Jesus’ origin from this world (1:1-14; 3:1-2, 13). Likewise, the Reign of God in the OT is not from this world but from above. Since God is the Creator of the world, God’s reign does not originate with the world. The issue of Jesus as king continues through chapter 19 where the soldiers mock him as king (title, crown, and purple robe) while Pilate seems prophetically to write the title on the cross.
V. 36. “if my kingship/kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight:” In 6:15 Jesus withdrew from the crowds when they, inspired by his miraculous feeding, wanted to “take him by force to make him king.”
Vss. 37-38 alētheia = “truth”: The connection between “truth” and Jesus begins with the 1:14, continues in Jesus’ teaching in the temple 8:32-36, and becomes part of his identity in the I AM saying at 14:6. As in the OT, “truth” is not a philosophical principle or an ethical norm; it is as relational as knowledge, righteousness, loyalty, and fidelity.
Wrestling with the Word, episode 47: Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B (November 15, 2009) October 29, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, Daniel 12:1-3, fostermccurley, Hebrews 10:11-25, lectionary, Mark 13:1-8, preaching, Psalm 16, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
add a comment
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Throughout history, human beings have sought hope and comfort in the teachings of apocalyptic writings. Those end-time writings—filled with stop watches and calendars—become important whenever people lose confidence that historical trends can reverse their spiraling course. The good news of apocalyptic is that God will intervene at some point to create new heavens and a new earth. The bad news is that the same teaching can offer people an excuse to withdraw from the world and leave it all up to judgment of God. The Old and the New Testaments of the Bible, therefore, use apocalyptic only moderately. The apocalyptic writings in Daniel, sections of Isaiah and Ezekiel, Revelation, and sections of the gospels and epistles announce the intervention of God into human history. At the same time, they exhort believers not to cop out on the world but to engage the world, to bear witness to the gospel of Christ and to make the world more just and merciful. The end will come by God’s will and through God’s own timing, just as the dawning of the Kingdom began “in the fullness of time” with God’s sending and offering as sacrifice God’s only Son. People of faith, enabled and encouraged by that sacrificial act, wait for the end with a “meantime ethos.”
———————————————–
Psalm 16
The psalm expresses the worshiper’s exclusive commitment to the Lord in whom the psalmist places trust. The psalmist recognizes that those who choose other gods will not find favor with the Lord, but those who, like himself, choose only YHWH will experience blessing and joy. Some parts of the psalm allude to deliverance from death, and so they appear in the New Testament as virtual prophecies about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The author of Acts cites Peter as quoting verses 8-11 (Acts 2:25-28 and 31), and Paul uses verse 10 in a sermon in Antioch’s synagogue (Acts 13:35). It is somewhat doubtful that the psalm speaks about resurrection from the dead. More likely, the psalmist praises the Lord for divine rescue from peril. In its own context, the psalm teaches about rewards for the upright and sorrows for those who worship a different god. This teaching is quite consistent with the themes of wisdom teachers, and the words about divine “counsel” and instruction in verse 7 seem to support this view. In any case, the psalmist praises the Lord for showing the way to life and a fullness of joy!
———————————————–
Daniel 12:1-3
In the midst of trial and persecution because of their faith, God promises to the people the apocalyptic appearance of Michael, Israel’s patron angel, on the day of resurrection to salvation and to judgment.
Context
The Book of Daniel, purported to be written at the end of the Babylonian Exile, in the sixth century B.C., was composed between 167 and 164 B.C. The years set the book between the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his death, described only by wishful thinking, at 11:45. The biblical prophecy sees him dying between the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Jerusalem, but in fact, Antiochus died at Tabal in Persia of a mysterious disease in 164 B.C. Those three years of persecution and suffering and rebellion separated the sheep from the goats, the faithful from the unfaithful, and the promise of the book is that the end is coming, and it is coming soon
Typical of hope in apocalyptic is the limit to the time of suffering (see 11:24c, 27c, 35c, 36c, 40a), specifically “for a time, two times, and a half time” (12:7).
Key Words
V. 1. “Michael the great prince”: Michael appears at 10:13 as one of the chief princes whom God (or God’s messenger) left with the prince of the kingdom of Persia to help the righteous. At 10:21, the messenger tells Daniel that “Michael, your prince” is the only one left to contend against the powers of Persia.
V. 1. kol-hannimtsā’ kātûb bassēpher = “all who are found written in the book”: The so-called “book of life” appears elsewhere in the Old Testament at Exod. 32:32; Mal. 3:16; Ps. 69:29.
V. 1. wehāyetâ ‘ēt tsārâ = “and there shall be a time of trouble”: Typical of apocalyptic is the notion that just prior to the end of times, particularly perilous times will occur for the people of God; see the uproar caused when the devil, defeated in heaven, is thrown down to earth (Rev. 12:12).
V. 2. werabbîm miyyešēnê ’admat-‘āphār yāqîtsû = “and many of those who sleep in the land of dust shall arise”: Since the division that follows speaks of “some” who will rise to life and “some” to contempt, the likelihood is that the meaning of “many” here is “all.”
V. 3. wehammaskîlîm yizhîrû kezōhar hārāqîa‘ = “and those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament”: The wise in Daniel, as often in the Book of Proverbs, are those who learn and live the Torah of God. As in the old wisdom traditions, the wise will reap divine rewards (often expressed in beatitudes like Psalm 1), while the fools will entrap themselves in the snares of death. While the Book of Daniel is usually known as an apocalyptic book on the basis of chaps. 7—12, the first part of the book seems to present a collection of wisdom stories and wise people who serve as role models for others.
V. 3. ûmatsdîqê hārabbîm kakkōkābîm le‘ōlām wā‘ed = “and those who make many righteous (will be) like the stars forever and ever”: The verb to “make righteous” appears usually in connection with acquitting someone. Those who are indeed righteous deserve the verdict (1 Kings 8:32; Ps. 82:3), but acquitting the guilty represents an injustice in the court system (Isa. 5:23), except when it is done by the Servant of the Lord (Isa. 53:11).
———————————————–
Hebrews 10:11-25
The forgiveness of sins given through the sacrifice of Christ provides the basis for the author’s exhortations to persist in faith and in hope, to encourage love and good works, and to meet together while they wait for the dawning of the Lord’s Day.
Context
Starting at 8:1 and continuing through 10:18, the author defines the ministry of Jesus as high priest as a unique action in which the sacrificial system ended. From 10:19 through 12:29 appear the exhortations to persevere in the faith. Our pericope ends the previous section and begins the next. The transition between the two sections is the word “therefore” (v. 19), one of the key theological words in the Bible!
———————————————–
Mark 13:1-8
Against all human claims to greatness through our own achievements, Jesus speaks of the coming time of war and destruction that will demolish all such human claims to greatness.
OR
In response to questions about when the end will come, Jesus turns the attention of his disciples to warnings against false teachers who will claim to know more than they do about the timing.
Context
At the end of chapter 12 Jesus finished his ministry among people as he moved from Galilee in the first half of the Gospel toward and into Jerusalem in the second half. Now the shadow of the cross which falls all the way back to the second chapter becomes much more prominent as talk of the end and end time increases. One can understand why many scholars have dated Mark’s Gospel around the time of the persecution under Nero in A.D. 64 or around the time of the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, for the questions raised by the disciples here were surely ones that the people were asking several decades after Jesus’ resurrection.
It is most unfortunate that the lectionary cuts off the lesson at the end of v. 8, thereby depriving preachers and readers of Jesus’ command that until the end the gospel must be preached to all nations (v. 10).
Key Words
V. 2. “there will not be left here one stone upon another”: The destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple was prophesied already in the OT period, first by Micah (3:12) in the latter half of the 8th century B.C. and then a century later by Jeremiah (7:14; 26:6). Like the prophecy about the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes in Daniel 11:45, this prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem seems to originate prior to the destruction in A.D. 70, because the method for destroying the Temple was burning with fire and not dismantling stone from stone.
V. 4. pote tauta estai kai ti to sēmeion hotan mellē tauta synteleisthai panta = “when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be consummated/fulfilled?”: The question “when” is the typical apocalyptic question which some believed could be answered (cf. Daniel’s “a time, two times and a half time”). The issue of signs became an increasingly important issue in the community, and occupied much attention and energy. The question about the consummation connects in the minds of some at least the destruction of the local Temple with the goal of all history.
Vv. 7-8. The signs that Jesus mentions are those that derive from OT prophecies about the Day of the Lord, especially Isa. 13:2-10 which connects the eschatological War of Yahweh with the effects on sun and moon, and Amos 8:8-10 which relates sun and moon phenomena with earthquakes. General signs of conflict and turbulence appear also at such places as Isa. 3:5; Jer. 9:4; Ezek. 38:21; Mic. 7:6 — family conflicts prevail at the end. All this indicates that both Jewish and Christian folks held similar views about the signs preceding the end.
V. 8. esontai limoi archē ōdinōn tauta = “this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs”: The imagery of birth-pangs appears in the prophecy about the Day of the Lord at Isa. 13:8. The same imagery describes the agony of the people who have been exiled to Babylon (Mic. 4:9-10), a passage that continues the same imagery to prophesy the coming of a Davdic king who will rule over the rescued exiles (Mic. 5:2-4).
Wrestling with the Word, episode 46: Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, Year B (November 8, 2009) October 28, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: 1 Kings 17:8-16, Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Hebrews 9:24-28, lectionary, Mark 12:38-44, preaching, Psalm 146, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
add a comment
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
The amazing news of the Bible is that God loves everyone, but when push comes to shove, God takes the side not of the powerful but of the oppressed and vulnerable. The other side of that same coin is that the oppressed and the vulnerable appear repeatedly as examples of faith and generosity. In part, these people appear as role models, but in another sense, they point to the role of Christ.
——————————
Psalm 146
The psalm is one of praise to the Lord who can accomplish what no mortal human can. A beatitude is expressed for those who count on the God of Jacob for help. As Creator of the universe, the Lord is faithful, executes justice for the oppressed, feeds the hungry. As Savior of prisoners, healer of the blind, and lover of justice, the Lord protects the most vulnerable people in the land—sojourners, widows, and orphans. With all these wondrous acts of God in mind, the psalm calls on hearers to trust, not in humans, even royal ones, but in the Lord and to acclaim Yahweh as king forever.
——————————
1 Kings 17:8-16
No matter how difficult it is to trust in the promises of God, the Lord demonstrates through repeated occasions that his word can be trusted.
OR
The word of the Lord comes through inspired spokespersons to address all people in need, even those who stand outside the confessing community.
OR
The Lord calls upon even the poor to share what they have in order to accomplish the Lord’s purposes and to bring people to faith.
Context
The Elijah cycle (1 Kings 17:1 through 2 Kings 2) opens with an introduction of Elijah from Tishbe in Gilead. The introduction occurs in the context of an address from the prophet to King Ahab (869-850 B.C.) regarding a drought that would continue in the land until Elijah said otherwise. The drought continued until Elijah’s victory over the prophets of Baal (18:41-45). For the prophet himself to survive the drought, God provided means of sustenance for Elijah—first the ravens fed him in verses 4-7. Now God appoints someone else.
Key Words
V. 8. wayehî debar-YHWH ’ēlāw = “and the word of the Lord was to him”: The formula is common in the preaching prophets to indicate that their speeches were not their own but YHWH’s. Furthermore, almost every speech is unique.
V. 14. kî kōh ’āmar YHWH ’elōhê yisrā’ēl = “for thus says YHWH the God of Israel”: This expression is another formula used by the preaching prophets to introduce an oracle from the Lord.
V. 16. kidbar YHWH ‘ašer dibbēr beyad ’ēlîyyāhû = “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke through Elijah”: This formula is critical and expected because it indicates that the promise of God stated in v. 14 has come true. Note that at the conclusion of the following paragraph, the woman recognizes the power and effectiveness of God’s word when she says, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is faithful” (v. 24). Thus, the non-Israelite woman is brought to faith in the Lord and his promises because of his bringing to pass what was promised.
——————————
Hebrews 9:24-28
In contrast to the ongoing process of priests entering the earthly temple in order to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus offered the once for all sacrifice and entered the heavenly temple, from which he will come again, not to deal with sin but to save those who are waiting for him.
Context
Beginning at 8:1 and continuing through 10:18, the author describes the ministry of Jesus as that of a high priest. Leading the readers from Jesus’ role as high priest in the heavenly sanctuary and contrasting him with the priests of the earthly sanctuary (8:1-5) and to the establishing of the promised new covenant (8:6-13), the author contrasts the sacrifices of animals with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus’ own body and blood (9:1-14). As a result of his sacrifice, Jesus “is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (9:15ff.).
——————————
Mark 12:38-44
Jesus condemned the scribes for making show of everything they do, but Jesus commended the poor widow who, like himself, gave up everything in quiet and faithful obedience to God.
Context
In Mark’s Gospel, the Transfiguration story marks the turning point from Jesus’ ministry in Galilee to his fateful journey toward Jerusalem which he entered at the beginning of chap. 11. Having cleansed the temple, Jesus left the city and returned on two other occasions, each time confronted by various groups of people: chief priests, scribes, and elders (11:27); Pharisees and Herodians (12:13); Sadducees (12:18); scribes (12:28). In our pericope, Jesus, still teaching in the temple, takes aim at the scribes. In a sense, this passage concludes the accounts of Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry, for following this pericope is the Apocalypse of Mark and then the narratives about the plot to capture Jesus and kill him.
Key Words
V. 40. hoi katesthiontes tas oikias tōn chērōn = “who devour widows’ houses”: At Isa. 10:1-2, judges and scribes are guilty of oppressing the poor and making widows their spoil. Such oppression runs counter to the explicit command of God at Exod. 22:22 where widows and orphans fall under the watchful eye of God because they are the most vulnerable in the land. Compare this indictment with the one at Matt. 23:1-11.
V. 41. chalkon eis to gazophylakion = “money into the treasury”: Perhaps the treasury Jesus is watching is similar to the one in the first temple mentioned at 2 Kings 12:9. There the reference is to a chest with a hole in it so that contributors would make their offerings for the payment of the artisans who worked on the temple building project and maintained it.
V. 42. mia chēra ptōchē = “a poor widow”: Jesus’ example of generous faith in this widow is apparently the only reason for the selection of 1 Kings 17 as the first lesson.
V. 43. “and he called his disciples to him”: This formula is a favorite device of Mark to mention that Jesus took the disciples aside to teach them things that were not said to the general public audience (see, e.g., 4:33-34; 6:45ff.; 9:33; 10:10).
V. 44. panta hosa eichen … holon ton bion autēs = “everything which she had, her whole living”: The final four Greek words might be translated literally “her whole life” and thus point ahead to the sacrifice of Jesus in giving up his life.
Wrestling with the Word, episode 45: All Saints Day, Year B (November 1, 2009) October 19, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: All Saints Day, Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Isaiah 25:6-9, John 11:32-44, lectionary, preaching, Psalm 24, Revelation 21:1-6a, Revised Common Lectionary, Wrestling WithTheWord
2 comments
All Saints Day
The Sundays of the church year move expectedly through the calendar months. We preach, we listen, we learn, we feel the guilt of our sins in God’s presence, and we know of the exhilaration that comes from God’s forgiveness. Some people feel highs from attending Christmas Eve worship or from Easter sunrise services. Others prefer the season of Lent when we realize that God’s Word became flesh to walk in our sandals and to die in our place. Nevertheless, this one day called All Saints Day hits many of us personally when we hear aloud the name of a loved who died since the last November 1. This year I will hear my Mother’s name among the others who died in the nursing home in 2009. Hearing the names during the service recalls and even stimulates the grief we knew earlier in the year and thought we were over. Along with other listeners, I will undoubtedly join in their sadness, their anger, their guilt, and their loneliness that will resurface for a time. Yet the lessons assigned for this day enable us to reinvest our pains into new life based on comfort, companionship, trust, forgiveness, hope, promise, and reunion.
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 45: All Saints Day, Year B.
—————————————–
Psalm 24
Used as part of the liturgy at a festival of the Lord, the psalm extols the glory of God in creation (vss. 1-2). Then in verses 3-6, like Psalm 15, those who have made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem ask about the worthiness required to enter the temple, to which the priest responds that those who have clean hands and a pure heart may enter and there receive the Lord’s blessings and vindication (righteousness). The final verses (7-10) provide the liturgical responses to the coming of the people and of the glory of the King, acclaimed as “the Lord of hosts.”
—————————————–
Isaiah 25:6-9
On the coming Day of the Lord, God will hold a celebration of life for all peoples on his holy mountain, as the Lord once invited the elders of Israel to feast on Sinai.
Context
Chapters 24 through 27 comprise the “Apocalypse of Isaiah.” The chapters are probably later than any other material in the book. They reflect the apocalyptic view that a heavenly battle will occur (24:21-23), after which God will reign as king on the mountain where he will preside over the eschatological banquet.
Key Words
V. 5. lekol-hā‘ammîm = “for all peoples”: The banquet is a universal one which goes far beyond the people of Israel at meal on Mount Sinai (Exod. 24:9-11) and at various meal-offerings on Mount Zion in Jerusalem (see Deut. 12:7; 14:26).
V. 7. ûbilla‘ hāhār hazzeh penê-hallôt hallôt ‘al-kol-hā‘ammîm = “And he will swallow on this mountain the surface of the covering that covers over all the people”: While the expression is not used elsewhere, the noun form of lot appears to mean “secrecy, mystery,” and so is used to indicate the mystery surrounding death.
V. 8. billa‘ hammāwet lānetsach = “he will swallow up death forever”: The expression seems to be a twist on an old Canaanite poem in which Death (Mot) threatens to swallow up Ba`al and thus end the season of fertility and life. The twist is actually twofold: (1) Death will be the one swallowed up; (2) the swallowing will be the eschatological act of the last days rather than a seasonal end to fertility.
—————————————–
Revelation 21:1-6a
Against the present reality of chaos, death, and mourning, God will make a new creation in which God’s presence with humanity will end all the horrors of the present.
Context
John the Seer had just reported the vision of the demise of Satan and of the judgment before the great white throne. Now the Seer begins his report of the final vision.
Key Words
V. 1. “a new heaven and a new earth”: See the vision in Isa. 65:17-22, along with Genesis 1:1. The new represents the opposite of the old or present.
V. 1. hē thalassa = “the sea”: The sea is an image of the chaotic force that is opposed to God’s Reign. In OT often portrayed as a sea monster (sometimes called Leviathan or Rahab); see Job 9:8; Psalm 74:12-14; Isaiah 27:1; 50:2; 51:9-10; Nahum 1:4; and often. In NT, see Mark 4:35-41; 6:45-52 and parallels.
V. 2. “the holy city,… Jerusalem”: Recall the eschatological reference at Isa. 52:1 where Zion is commanded to put on power and glory; the context there is the coming salvation of the exiles from Babylon. See also Neh. 11:1, 18.
V. 2. “a bride adorned for her husband”: see 19:7. See Isa. 61:10 where an individual represents the community redeemed by the Lord and dresses for the occasion. On the image of marriage between Yahweh and Israel, see Hos. 1:1-3; 2:15; 3:1ff.; also Ezek. 20; Isa. 54:5-8. On marriage as an image for Christ and the church, see 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32, and here.
V. 3. hē skēnē tou theou … kai skēnōsei met’ autōn = “the dwelling/tent of God … and he will dwell with them”: skēnē is used for the tabernacle which God instructed Moses to build in order to be present with the people (Exod. 26–27); on the whole expression see Exod. 29:45. On God’s presence among the people, see also Lev. 26:11-12; Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 37:27. On God’s dwelling place in heaven, see Deut. 26:15; 1 Kings 8:30, 39, 43, 49.
V. 4. “mourning … crying … pain”: See prophecies about the eschaton at Isa. 35:10 = 51:11; esp. 65:17, 19 in the new creation. Recall the beatitudes of the kingdom that Jesus taught (Matt. 5:1-12; Luke 6:21-23).
—————————————–
John 11:32-44
Deeply moved by the death of his friend Lazarus of Bethany and the painful sadness it caused the family, Jesus raises him from the dead and restores him to his family and community.
Context
The pericope is preceded by the report from Mary and Martha that Lazarus, their brother, was seriously ill. Jesus indicated that his illness is not unto death but for the glory of God (11:4).
Key Words
Vss. 33, 35, 38. enebrimēsato tō pneumatic kai etaraxen heauton … edakrysen ho ’Iēsous … ’Iēsous oun palin embrimōmenos = “he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply troubled … Jesus began to weep … Then Jesus, again deeply moved, …”: The verb translated “disturbed” and “troubled” appears elsewhere in a different spirit. At Mark 14:5 it means “reproach” by those who witnessed the use of expensive myrrh for anointing Jesus. In the synoptics, the word for Jesus’ compassion is splangknizomai, used for his response to the leper at Mark 1:41 and for the hungry, the sick and the helpless at Mark 6:34; 8:2; Matt. 9:36; 14:14. At Luke 7:13 the same word describes Jesus’ compassion on the widow whose son had died and whom he instructs “Do not weep!” (There, in the previous chapter, Jesus had taught the crowds, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” [Luke 6:21]).
V. 41. pater, eucharistō soi hoti ēkousas mou = “Father, I thank you that you have heard me”: The expression of thanksgiving following a cry for help is characteristic of psalms of lament and thanksgiving (see, e.g., Ps. 30).
Wrestling with the Word, episode 44: Reformation Sunday, Year B (October 25, 2009) October 11, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 8:31-36, lectionary, preaching, Psalm 46, Reformation Sunday, Revised Common Lectionary, Romans 3:19-28, WrestlingWithTheWord
add a comment
Reformation Sunday
Boasting is not included in the list of appropriate behaviors, especially in church. In fact, all the lessons assigned for Reformation Sunday eliminate “boasting” from the Christian vocabulary, simply because God is accomplishing all the work. The biblical passages that make that point are innumerable, but the readings for today deliver a particularly powerful punch. The gospel of Jesus Christ is free! It sets us free! We are free to boast only about God!
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 44: Reformation Sunday, Year B.
————————————–
Psalm 46
The hymn about God’s defense of Jerusalem in the midst of chaos calls for a confident faith in the Lord. As Psalm 91 (last week) was a powerful expression of trust from an individual, this psalm demonstrates the same within the community. The imagery of a river in Jerusalem is quite unreal (like the sea battle in Psalm 48), but the divine protection of Jerusalem from attack assures the people and magnifies the Lord’s glory.
————————————–
Jeremiah 31:31-34
In spite of all appearances to the contrary, God promises that in the New Day to come, God will reconcile the people to himself, even giving them new hearts so that they will not again rebel.
Context
The prophet Jeremiah was called to “pluck up and break down” but also to “build and to plant” (1:10). While much of the prophecies speak of God’s judgment, there are many from the same prophet which promise God’s restoration and forgiveness. Jer. 30:1–31:22 contain poems about the restoration to come, while 31:23 through chap 33 deal with the same theme in prose.
Key Words
V. 31. hinnē yāmîm bā’îm = “behold, (the) days are coming”: One of the characteristic expressions to introduce a prophecy about the coming Day of the lord when the Reign of God would be established over all.
V. 31. wekārattî … berît chadāšâ = “and I will cut … a new covenant”: The former covenant was the one made by God through Moses at Mount Sinai. Interestingly, the “cutting of the covenant” actually occurred with the slaughtering of an animal, the sprinkling of blood on an altar and on the people, as the people themselves committed themselves to do what the Lord had spoken (Exod. 24:3-8). That commitment was not long lasting.
V. 32. hēpērû ’et-berîtî = “they broke my covenant”: See most directly 11:10; 33:20; cf. also 14:21. We can understand the power and passion of the words from the perspective that the covenant was a marriage and a parent-child relationship, spelled out most clearly by Jeremiah and Hosea.
V. 32. we’ānōkî bā‘altî bām = “and I was husband/owner/ba`al over them”: The word ba`al can carry all the above meanings, presumably on the basis that ba`al was the one who fertilizes (the land, thus its owner; a wife, thus her husband). The same words appear at 3:14 (translated “master”) because of the reference to Israel as “children”). YHWH is portrayed in Jer. as husband on other occasions; cf. 2:2; 3:20.
V. 33. nātattî ’et-tôrātî beqirbām we‘al-libbām ’ektabennâ = “I will put my instruction/law within them, and upon their heart I will write it”: See. 32:38-41 where the human heart is also God’s tablet and an “everlasting covenant” is mentioned, that is, one which cannot be broken. There also appears the promise of God “with all my heart and soul.” Ezekiel also uses the theme of a new heart so that God’s commandments might be kept (see Ezek. 36:26-27). That same prophet also writes of God’s promise of an “everlasting covenant” which will be “a covenant of peace” (Ezek. 37:26).
V. 34. kî-kûllām yēde‘û ’ôtî = “for all of them shall know me”: The Hebrew for “know” here is not intellectual but relational, as at Gen. 4:1; 19:8; Amos 3:2. “Knowledge of God” and “steadfast love” are God’s desires (Hos. 6:6).
V. 34. ’eslach la‘avônām = “I will forgive their iniquity”: Forgiveness is a common theme in Jeremiah; see 5:1, 7; 33:8; 36:3; 50:20. Recall also Isa. 53:11.
————————————–
Romans 3:19-28
In the new time begun with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God freely declares and makes us and all people innocent and free through faith.
Context
Beginning at 1:18 Paul set forth the sinfulness of humanity, both Gentiles who live apart from the law and Jews who have the law. All are included because “God shows no partiality” (2:11). Based on the universal experience, it would appear that humankind is in a hopeless state, especially based on 2:5-6.
Key Words
V. 21. nuni de = “but now”: the word “now” occurs in an eschatological sense throughout this epistle: 5:9, 10, 11; 6:19, 21, 22; 7:6; 8:1, 22; 11:30, 31; 13:11; 16:26. Paul’s understanding of time is divided into two periods: the time before Christ came, and the time since Christ. See also 2 Cor. 5:16–6:2; Gal. 3:23-26.
Vv. 21, 22. dikaiosynē theou = “the righteousness of God”: Also see 25b. At 1:17 “the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith” in the gospel of Jesus Christ. “God’s word of righteousness” is what brings the world from chaos to order (Isa. 45:18-19), responds to cries for help under injustice (Psalm 7:17), saves the exiles from their bondage (Isa. 46:13), and much more. In the OT “righteousness” (tsedeq or tsedāqâ) is the activity that fulfills the obligations of a relationship, and so the Hebrew tsedāqâ is sometimes translated “saving acts” (1 Sam. 12:7) or “victory.”
V. 23. pantes gar hēmarton kai hysterountai tēs doxēs tou theou = “all have sinned and keep falling short (pres. ptc.) of the glory of God”: The expression “glory of God” appears also at 5:2 and 15:17; humanity, all of it, has from the very beginning failed to attain the glory of God (see 11:32). The consequences for the “day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom. 2:5-6) are obvious (see Psalm 62:12).
V. 24. dikaioumenoi dōrean tē autou chariti = “they are justified/made righteous as a gift by his grace”: That “justified” is a key to the Epistle to the Romans see its use also at 2:13; 3:4, 20; 4:2; 5:1, 9; 8:30; 10:4, 10. As a law court term it means to be declared innocent and thus made innocent and free, and in the OT the suffering of the Servant of the Lord “makes many to be righteous” (Isa. 53:11). The God of justice who declares the righteous innocent and the wicked guilty (1 Kings 8:32; Exod 23:7; Psalm 82:3; Isa. 5:23; cf. Prov. 17:15) “now” acts out of character.
V. 24. dia tēs apolytrōseōs en Christō ‘Iēsou = “through the redemption in Christ Jesus”: The term appears in documents concerning the release of slaves to belong to another (even to a god). In the NT the term appears frequently: as Jesus’ promise for his return (Luke 21:28; for the coming “glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18-23); as the content of the “new covenant” begun with the death of Jesus (Heb. 9:15); as a parallel expression for “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1:7; also Col. 1:14); as the promised gift through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).
V. 25. hilasterion = “expiation” (RSV) or “a sacrifice of atonement”: The term derives from Lev. 16:2, 13-15 where it is used for the “mercy seat” on the ark of the covenant on which sacrificial blood was spilled for making atonement for the holy place.
V. 27. pou oun hē kauchēsis = “Where then is boasting?”: For proper and improper boasting see the references at 2:17, 23; 4:2; 11:18. Faith is the opposite of faith that accepts God’s unconditional and unmerited grace. Recall Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).
————————————–
John 8:31-36
Against all the forces of sin and evil that would constrain us, Jesus Christ, the Truth, came to set us free.
Context
According to 7:2 Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. There he was challenged by some and lauded by others. Some believed, while others, especially the chief priests and the Pharisees, tried to arrest him. In chapter 8 Jesus speaks of himself as “the light of the world” (8:12) and as the “I AM” (8:24).
Key Words
V. 31. elegen oun ho ’Iēsous pros tous pepisteukotas autō ‘Ioudaious = “Then Jesus said to those who had come to believe in him”: The perfect tense of pisteuō appears here as it does elsewhere in John’s Gospel at 3:18; 6:69; 11:27; and 16:27. Only in this verse is the Greek verb translated “had believed,” giving the impression they once did believe but believe no longer. At 3:18 the verb is “have (not) believed.” At 6:69; 11:27; and 16:27 the word indicates present faith and is translated not with “had” believed but with “believe” or “have believed.” Therefore, Peter said to Jesus, “we have believed and have come to know … (6:69). Martha said, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,…” (11:27). Jesus said to the disciples, “because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father … (16:27). In all those passages, the verb is in the perfect tense.
The verb tense at 8:31, therefore, does not imply that the listeners once did believe but believe no longer or that they once believed but now doubt their belief. The real problem lies not in the tense of the verb but in the context. The statement about “the Jews who believed in him” is a logical follow up to verse 30: “As he spoke thus, many believed (aorist) in him.” The problem is that immediately following verses 31-32, the responders seem to be not those who have come to believe in him but those who did not come to believe in the first place and in fact who were prepared to kill him. It is that group’s reaction and action that culminates in their attempt to stone him in verse 59.
V. 32. kai gnōsesthe tēn alētheian kai hē alētheia eleutherōsei hymas = “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”: One must allow the possibility that “knowing” here has the same intimate sense as in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Further, in John’s Gospel “the truth” and Jesus seem to be identified as one and the same (1:14; 14:6; 18:37-38; cf. v. 36.
V. 36. ean oun ho huios eleutherōsē, ontōs eleutheroi esesthe = “if the son makes you free, you will be free indeed”: When one considers Galatians 5:1, one wonders whether Paul might not have had an effect on the author of this Gospel, since “freedom” is not a major theme in the synoptics.
Wrestling with the Word, episode 43: Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B (October 18, 2009) September 30, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Hebrews 5:1-10, Isaiah 53:4-12, lectionary, Mark 10:35-45, Pentacost, preaching, Psalm 91:9-16, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
add a comment
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
The Bible is full of surprises. Perhaps we miss some of them because either they do not fit our established views of God or the ways we live to which we are accustomed. Maybe we miss them for the same reason that writers cannot proofread their own material: their eyes see what they expect to see rather than what appears on the printed page. But for those of us who keep missing the surprises, the Bible keeps blaring them out. The lessons for today offer once again the surprise that power and life result from weakness, suffering, and service.
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 43: Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B.
———————————————-
Psalm 91:9-16
The psalm is a powerful attestation to the strength that comes with an individual’s trust in God. Verses 9-13 represent a priest’s promise to such a faithful individual who regards the Lord as “my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust” (v. 2). The priest responds with colorful imagery, some of it familiar, like verses 11-12. That color is matched only by the confirming response from the Lord who promises deliverance, protection, response to prayers, rescue, honor, and long life with salvation (verses 14-16).
———————————————-
Isaiah 53:4-12
Because of the servant’s vicarious suffering to make others righteous, God will give the servant a share of the spoils due to heroes.
Context
These final verses of the fourth Servant Song move the issue of suffering in general to more specifically portray a servant who suffers for the sake of others (cf. Ezek. 4:1-8). In the first two servant songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6) the identity of the servant, especially in the present context, appears to be the exiled people of Jerusalem who have been dwelling for years in Babylon. At the third song, 50:4-11, the identity is not as clear, although it still could be that of the people. In this last song (52:13–53:12) many scholars argue that along with the new twist of vicarious suffering is a new identity that has more to do with an individual than with the people collectively. The difficulty caused by that interpretation is then identifying the individual the poet-prophet had in mind — a king, a prophet, and which one of those in particular.
Key Words
V. 4. ’ākēn cholāênû hû’ nāsā ûmak’ōbênû sebālām = “Surely he has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains”: The connection of the Servant and suffering is not new in this fourth song. The Servant suffers the feeling of failure in the second song at Isa. 49:4. In the third song the Servant undergoes physical and verbal abuse at the hands of his adversaries (50:6). Here, however, the terminology introduces vicarious suffering by the servant, an emphasis that is continued in vv. 5, 10, 11, 12. The words that describe the people (speaking in the first person plural) are infirmities and diseases (v. 4), transgressions and iniquities (v. 5), iniquity (vss. 6, 11), transgression/transgressors (vss. 8, 12). [The use of the verse at Matt. 8:17 has nothing to do with vicarious suffering but with Jesus' healing miracles.]
Vv. 5-6. The use of these verses at 1 Peter 2:24-25 is the only time in the NT that precise words of this Song are used for the vicarious suffering of Jesus.
V. 7. kasseh lattebach yûbal = “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter”: An almost identical expression appears in one of the laments of Jeremiah at Jeremiah 11:19. The similarity has led some to believe that the servant is a prophetic figure like Jeremiah. This entire verse and the next one appear at Acts 8:32-33 to point to Jesus’ death, but not to its vicarious effect.
V. 8. kî nigzar mē’erets chayyîm = “he was cut off from the land of the living”: See Jer. 11:19 (again, note the comment on the previous verse); Ezek. 37:11 where the expression is figurative for a “dead” community, that is, the exiles in Babylon.
V. 11. yatsdîq tsaddîq ‘abdî lārabbîm = “The righteous one will make many to be righteous”: The parallelism is instructive: “he will forgive their iniquities.” The causative form of the verb tsdq appears elsewhere with YHWH as the subject. At 1 Kings 8:32 the Lord is praised for “vindicating” the righteous according to his righteousness” in contrast to “condemning the guilty.” (see secular sense at Deut. 25:1; 1 Sam. 15:4). At Psalm 82:3 God charges the “gods” to “vindicate the afflicted and the destitute” (//give justice to the weak and the orphan”). The Servant of Second Isaiah finds strength in the belief that YHWH who “vindicates” him is near (Isa. 50:8). Even though YHWH declares he will “not acquit” the guilty (Exod 23:7) and promises judgment on “those who acquit the guilty” in courts of law (Isa. 5:23; cf. Prov. 17:15), he the object of the Lord’s “acquitting” are those who are sinners (see vss. 5, 8, here, and 12). [The LXX reads here dikaiōsai, the verb that Paul uses for “justify” (see especially Rom. 3: 24, 26).] As for the object of the verb here, the word rabbîm sometimes distinguishes “many” from “all”; however, the word might be idiomatic for “all,” a common idiom in several Semitic languages. The same appears to be true of the apocalyptic resurrection promised at Daniel 12:2.
V. 12. The use of “numbered with transgressors” at Luke 22:37 is related to the poverty of Jesus and his disciples. That the servant identified with the sinners for whom he suffered and died sounds like Paul’s announcement that Jesus became cursed for us (Gal. 3:13).
———————————————-
Hebrews 5:1-10
Like high priests chosen in human circles, Jesus Christ, having learned obedience through suffering and made perfect, was designated by God to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
———————————————-
Mark 10:35-45
Against the world’s way of making hierarchies among people, Jesus teaches that discipleship means the first must become slaves of others.
Context
After teaching the ways of discipleship, Jesus spoke for the third time about his death and resurrection waiting in Jerusalem, the opposite of what the disciples wanted or could handle.
Key Words
V. 35. “James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward”: Mark is never afraid to portray the disciples in their frailty, their incomprehension, or their brazenness. Matthew, usually concerned to whitewash the disciples’ blemishes, has their mother come forward to present this proposal on her sons’ behalf.
V. 38. ouk oidate ti aiteisthe = “You do not know what you are asking”: The words could be a natural response to a preposterous request, but in Mark the disciples’ incomprehension is a consistent theme.
V. 38. dynasthe piein to potērion ho ego pinō = “Are you able to drink the cup which I am to drink”: The “cup” here, of course, is the fate which awaits Jesus in Jerusalem, as the same image is used by Jesus in Gethsemane at 14:36. In the OT “the cup” is a metaphor for divine judgment: “cup of the wine of wrath” (Jer. 25:15); “a cup of horror and devastation” (Ezek 23:32-34), “the cup of his wrath” (Isa 51:17, 22), and “a cup of reeling” (Zech 12:2). See also Jer 51:7; Obad 16; Hab 2:16; Lam 4:21; Ps 75:9.
V. 45. kai dounai tēn psychēn autou lytron anti pollōn = “and to give his life as a ransom for many”: While one is reminded of the terms in Isaiah 53:10-12, this verse is not precisely a quotation of that passage. As indicated in the discussion of the first lesson, the vicarious nature of the servant song is not used often in the NT. The allusion of this passage to the end of the song, however, might be one of the rare exceptions, along with 1 Peter 2:24-25.
Wrestling with the Word, episode 42: Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B (October 11, 2009) September 29, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Amos 5:10-15, Amos 5:6-7, Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Hebrews 4:12-16, lectionary, Mark 10:17-31, Pentecost, preaching, Psalm 90:12-17, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
add a comment
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Striving for a high level of personal morality is a very good thing. Keeping oneself pure in terms of God’s commandments and expectations should and can lead to admiration from others. Biblically-speaking, however, those personal goals are not sufficient. The God of the Bible, known in both testaments, pushes us beyond spiritual self-enhancement to responsibility for others, especially for the poor. Even more, that same God frees us from worrying about ourselves to enable us to serve our neighbors near and far, individually and collectively.
———————————————–
Psalm 90:12-17
This psalm is a lament much like many other laments in that it seeks the Lord to remedy a problem. Usually, however, the problem is with oppression by enemies; their taunting and isolating accusations leave the psalmist no option but to turn to the Lord for salvation. Sometimes the problem is sickness or the infirmities of old age, and the psalmist pleads for the Lord’s presence and comfort. This lament develops out of a more philosophical base. The influence of wisdom teachers on the worshiping community leads this lament to probe the meaning of life. It contemplates the immortality of God’s life with the numbered days of us mortals. The lament defines what a horrible existence they are leading under the continuing anger of God (vss. 3-11). It alludes to the despair over the “toil” of their work (v. 17). Our section of the psalm begins with a prayer that God give them “a heart of wisdom” to make the most out of their limited life spans. In lament-fashion, they ask the Lord, “How long?” until God comes to express pity on them. God’s “covenant loyalty” provides them the freedom to have mercy. As they lament God’s afflictions on them, so they realize that only the realization of God’s work among them can will enable them to experience rejoicing and gladness. Only then can their own work cease to be toil and become productive.
———————————————–
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Through Amos, YHWH implores Israel to live by seeking the Lord and goodness, loving goodness, and establishing justice in the courts.
Context
The earliest of the preaching prophets whose sermons have been preserved, Amos lived in the southern kingdom of Judah. His home was Tekoa, a little village not far from Bethlehem, but his call was to preach primarily to the northern kingdom. According to the superscription in the book (1:1), he prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah of Judah (783-742 B.C.) and Jeroboam II of Israel (786-746 B.C.). Israel’s sins were selling the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes, etc. (2:6-8), arrogance and pride (cf. 6:1ff.), too much stock in their own exodus tradition (9:7), and concern about making profits instead of worshiping YHWH (8:4-6). Above all, their optimism about the Day of YHWH is all wrong, because for them it will be a day of darkness and gloom (5:18-20).
What is missing from our pericope by the exclusion of vss. 8-9 is the second stanza of a three stanza hymn in Amos (4:13; 5:8-9; 5-6) that announces and praises the name of God for making the universe orderly rather than chaotic. Since such understandings of creation include God’s universal work of, and command for, “justice.”
Key Words
V. 6. diršû ‘et-YHWH wichyû = “seek the Lord and live”: Compare v. 14: “seek good and not evil, that you may live.” In Deut. life is based on keeping the commandments. Clearly, the Lord wants to provide the means for life to the people.
V. 7. hahōphekîm lela‘anâ mišpāt ûtsedāqâ lā’āretz hinnîchû = “(You) who overturn justice into wormwood and have thrown righteousness to the ground”: The word “wormwood” is used only figuratively in the OT, only in a negative sense. At Amos 6:12, a verse similar to this one, “wormwood” is parallel to rō’š = “bitter herb, venom,” and the perversions of justice and righteousness are there also the prophet’s concern. The same pair of “poison and bitter fruit” occurs at Deut. 29:17 (Eng. v. 18) where it results in stubbornness against the law of the Lord. At Jer. 9:14; 23:15, the pair of words describes God’s chastisement of the people against forsaking the Torah. At Lam. 3:19 the pair describes that chastisement as the reason for the lament. Likewise, the expression “throw down to the ground” is used at Isaiah 28:2 for the judgment that comes through the agent of the Lord. In our verse, of course, all this negative activity is descriptive of the people’s dishonoring God by forsaking his Torah.
V. 10. sāne‘û bašša‘ar môkîach = “they hate the one who reproves in the gate”: “The gate” is the place where court cases are tried. In the cities of old, the only space large enough for an assembly of persons to gather was the gateway. In rural societies, court was held on the threshing floor. The people show no respect for the judges who try cases in court or for the witnesses who testify to the truth (see v. 12; elsewhere Isa. 3:9).
V. 11. lākēn ya‘an bôšaskem ‘al-dāl = “Therefore, because you trample upon the poor”: The word “therefore” introduces a pronouncement of judgment when what precedes is a description of human activity. When an action of God precedes, the word “therefore” introduces a promise of salvation. Here, the judgment follows the perversion of justice and righteousness and includes the trampling of the poor. What follows immediately is their description of God’s judgment.
V. 11. “houses … but you shall not dwell in them; vineyards … but you shall not drink their wine”: This imagery for God’s judgment, like that of Deut. 28:30, indicates that all the work that the people do will be unproductive (“toil” in Gen. 3:17). For the picture of the opposites in and through God’s salvation, see Josh. 24:13; Deut. 8:11-12; Isa. 65:21-23.
V. 12. Israel’s sins and transgressions take the form of oppressing the poor: afflict the righteous, take bribes, and push aside the needy in courts of law. See the parallel at Isa. 3:13-15. The context indicates that the opposite of “justice” and “righteousness” is sin.
Vss.14-15. In contrast to their prevailing behavior, God calls the people to opposites: pursue and love good (tôb) by establishing justice mišpāt in the court system,
V. 15. ’ûlay yechenan YHWH ’elōhê-tsebā’ôt še’ērît yôsēp = “Perhaps YHWH God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph”: The use of “perhaps” merely allows the possibility that God will show grace to what is left of the northern kingdom if they reverse their ways toward life and justice.
———————————————–
Hebrews 4:12-16
Having encouraged the readers to persevere toward God’s promise of eschatological rest, the author warns of the Word’s ability to penetrate thoughts and simultaneously encourages them to hold firm to the confession in Jesus Christ through whom they can be confident of God’s mercy.
———————————————–
Mark 10:17-31
Having demonstrated the difficulty of faith through the wealthy man who walked away from Jesus’ instruction to give all his possessions to the poor, Jesus teaches the disciples that the only way one can enter the kingdom of God is through the miraculous work of God.
Context
At 10:1 Jesus is in the region of Judea. At v. 32 he is headed toward Jerusalem, and so this teaching must be seen in terms of the movement toward his death. Perhaps key to understanding this pericope is the previous paragraph, vv. 13-16, in which Jesus teaches that in order to enter the kingdom of God, one must be “as a little child” (v. 15).
Key Words
V. 17. ti poiēsō hina zōēn aiōnion klēronomēsō = “What must I do in order that I might inherit eternal life”: The issue of what we must do is the key to the passage. In Amos 5, the answer is “seek the Lord” and “seek life” by doing “justice and righteousness.” In Deuteronomy, life is acquired by keeping the Torah of YHWH (what is the way of “justice”). At the same time, the question itself is interesting, because in the OT, “inherit” usually refers to the land of Canaan or life in the land (Deut. 30:15ff.). In the NT, what Jesus bestows as inheritance is the kingdom of God. Note that Paul speaks of the gospel in terms of a “last will and testament” (Gal. 3:15).
V. 21. ho de Iēsous emblepsas autō ēgapēsan auton = “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him”: The report of Jesus loving the man is not because he kept the commandments but because he came seeking the answer to his question. It was in love that Jesus provided the answer. Keeping the commandments does not suffice. Giving all his possessions to the poor (see Amos 5:6-15) will indicate he throws his eternal existence on the love of God and becomes a disciple of Jesus. The focus on attaining one’s own salvation must give way to trusting in God and to focus on serving others, especially the poor. At Luke 19:1-10 Jesus commends Zacchaeus for giving half his possessions to the poor; even more striking is the tax-collector’s practice of giving back fourfold the amount he might have defrauded from anyone.
V. 21. kai deuro akolouthei moi = “And come, follow me”: The call to discipleship is the key to Jesus’ instruction to sell all and give it to the poor. He will explain this connection in v. 29 when he explains to the disciples the cost of their discipleship along with its eternal blessing. The instruction sounds much like the call of Amos to “seek the Lord and live” and to “seek good that you may live” (Amos 5:6, 14). Yet, Mark has already given us Jesus’ description of the cost of discipleship and its promise at 8:34-35.
V. 23. eis tēn basileian tou theou eiseleusontai =”to enter the kingdom of God”: Jesus uses here kingdom terminology in place of the man’s request for the way to “inherit eternal life” (v. 17).
V. 27. para anthropois adynaton, all’ ou para theō = “not possible for humans, but not for God”: This is the answer to the disciples’ question “Who can be saved?” Recall the Lord’s statement at Gen. 18:14 where God indicates to Sara that while she is not physically capable of having the promised baby, God will make it happen.
V. 31. “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first”: The response is to Peter’s concern that since he and the others sacrificed so much, they should have no trouble entering the kingdom. It would appear that the primary problem here is Peter’s thinking that their own actions should qualify them for the kingdom. However, Jesus has already laid down different values in vs. 15: children who claim nothing to offer are the most qualified.
———————————————–
Next week:
Psalm 91:9-16
Isaiah 53:4-12
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
