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
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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
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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.”
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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!
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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).
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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!
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.).
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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
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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).
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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
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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.
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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).
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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).
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Next week:
Psalm 91:9-16
Isaiah 53:4-12
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
Wrestling with the Word, episode 41: Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B (October 4, 2009) September 22, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: WrestlingWithTheWord, fostermccurley, Revised Common Lectionary, lectionary, preaching, Christianity, Bible studies, Pentecost, Psalm 8, Genesis 2:18-24, Hebrews 1:1-4, Hebrews 2:5-12, Mark 10:2-16
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Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Christians have a much better chance to prove faithful when we move beyond ourselves to recall God’s commitment to the whole human race, even to the world. God’s call to discipleship and mission forces us to see the broad scope of God’s gifts. Our lessons for the day begin with these powerful insights that set the stage for Jesus’ teachings, to say nothing about Jesus’ identity.
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Psalm 8
This hymn glorifying God the Creator exults in the wonder of what it means to be human. Though small and seemingly insignificant, the worshipper casts in poetic form what Genesis 1 sets forth in praise, namely the awesome “royal” dignity and identity given to humanity by God. Perhaps because of the expression “son of man” in verse 4, the early church interpreted the psalm as a prophecy about Jesus Christ. In its own context, however, “son of man” is simply parallel to “humanity” (’ādām). The power of the poem lies in its amazement at the majesty of God on the one hand, and the status and responsibility God has given to human beings on the other hand.
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Genesis 2:18-24
God’s will for humanity is community, and the primary expression of that community is the committed relationship of marriage.
Context
The creation story of the Yahwist (10th century B.C.) begins at 2:4b. In contrast to that of the Priest (Genesis 1:1–2:4a) which is universal in scope, the second story takes place at a local oasis. The Lord began by creating Adam, made the Garden of Eden for his dwelling place, planted trees for food and beauty, gave the man a garden and held him responsible for working and protecting it, and laid down the law forbidding eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Key Words
V. 18. lō’-tôb heyôt hā’ādām lebaddô = “not good (is) the being of the man alone”: Interestingly the “not good” contrasts sharply with the tôb = “good” which occurs repeatedly throughout Genesis 1, indicating that everything functions according to the purpose for which it was made.
V. 18. ‘ēzer kenegdô = “a help/strength as his opposite”: The word ‘ēzer appears elsewhere in the OT only in relationship to YHWH. Either YHWH is the source of help (Ps. 20:2; 121:1-2; 124:8) or YHWH is help/strength (Exod. 18:4; Deut. 33:7; Ps. 33:20; 70:5; 115:9-11). As for kenegdô, the preposition neged means “opposite,” and to it is attached the preposition and a pronominal suffix.
V. 21. tardēmā = “a sleep”: The point is not so much an anesthesia against pain but an elimination of the possibility of observing God at work; cf. also Gen. 15:12 and the prohibition against looking back at Gen. 19:17.
V. 23. ‘etsem mē‘atsāmay ûbāsār mibbesārî = “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”: The expression occurs also at Gen. 29:14; 2 Sam. 5:1 = 1 Chron. 11:1; 2 Sam. 19:13-14 to indicate people formed of the same parents, i.e., the source is the same.
V. 24. dābaq = “cleave to”: The word is used at Deut. 30:20 where Israel is called upon to “cleave to YHWH.” The expression connotes fidelity in relationships as YHWH expected Israel to remain loyal in the covenant.
V. 24. “a man leaves his father and mother”: The expression appears to point to a societal arrangement when the wife was not considered the husband’s property. Contrast the law at Exod. 20:17 (although note the change at Deut. 5:21).
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Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Reflecting the glory of God and bearing God’s nature, Jesus Christ, superior to the angels, became less than the angels for our sakes in order to taste death and become perfect through suffering.
Context
The Epistle to the Hebrews is a powerful yet puzzling book. Evidence is not sufficient to identify the author, the date of its origin, or the place where the author wrote it. Even the audience called in the title “the Hebrews” is difficult to understand. In spite of these unanswerable questions, the book presents in eloquent Greek the announcement that Christ is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system that God had given to Israel. Jesus Christ was the true and ultimate sacrifice that ends the system, but as Exalted One he serves as high priest in the sanctuary of heaven. The unknown author seems to expound this powerful testimony so that the unknown audience might persevere in faith and love.
Key Words
2:6-7. The use of Psalm 8:5-7 demonstrates that the expression “son of man” is a prophecy about Jesus Christ who seems to have used that expression as his favorite means of identifying himself.
2:12. The quotation of Psalm 22:22 (LXX 21:23) demonstrates that the speaker of the psalm of lament and its thanksgiving is the Risen Christ. Likewise, the author uses in the following verses (12-13) two verses from Isaiah (originally the voice of the prophet) as the words of Jesus regarding his disciples.
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Mark 10:2-16
Against a legalistic attempt to define what is legal or permissible in marriage and divorce, Jesus asserts the will of God for marriage, and at the same time indicates that the children (of marriage) demonstrate the required stance of us all before God.
Context
The action at the end of the ninth chapter took place in Capernaum. Now, according to 10:1, Jesus moves into Judea, the area where the passion and crucifixion will occur. In that area, the reader can expect the testing from the Pharisees that occurs in these verses. The first 31 verses of this chapter seem to be a list of catechetical instructions for the community of faith, much like the lists which occur in the pastoral epistles and 1 Peter 2:13–3:7; 5:1-5.
Key Words
V. 2. ei exestin = “is it lawful?”: The Pharisees knew very well the law of Moses at Deut. 24:1-4 which permitted a man to write a divorce decree. Jesus responds by going back beyond the law of Moses to God’s will at creation.
V. 13. paidia = “children”: From the use of the word we are not able to determine anything about their ages, for the word describes a baby at John 16:21 and a 12-year-old child at Mark 5:39-42.
V. 13. hoi de mathētai epetimēsan autois = “but the disciples rebuked them”: Throughout the Bible the only legitimate subjects of the verb epitimaō are YHWH in the OT and Jesus in the NT. Note the trouble Peter gets into by taking over the verb “rebuke” Jesus at 8:32.
V. 14. tōn gar toioutōn estin hē basilea tou theou = “for of/ to such (the children) is the kingdom of God”: Whether the passage should read “of such is” or “to such belongs” is difficult to determine, but in either case, the vulnerable little children and the kingdom belong together. Jesus had used little children as the example of discipleship at 9:36. Here and through v. 15, he uses the model of little children as the only way to receive the kingdom or the ones who comprise the kingdom. Elsewhere, the possession of the kingdom belongs to the “poor in spirit” and to “those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” at Matt. 5:3, 10 (simply “the poor” at Luke 6:20).
Wrestling with the Word, episode 40: Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B (September 27, 2009) September 15, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, James 5:13-20, lectionary, Mark 9:38-50, Numbers 11:10-16, Numbers 11:24-29, Numbers 11:4-6, Pentecost, preaching, Psalm 19:7-14, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
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Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Making human judgments is part of living together responsibly as a human community. God has given us the knowledge of God’s will and the gift of reason to make those necessary judgments. Yet, God takes a risk in giving us this responsibility because with it we can make judgments that actually limit God’s freedom to speak and act. On the one hand, the lessons for this Sunday extol the various ways God speaks in the world. On the other hand, they point to the dangers of our excluding others from doing the work of God because they do not fit the standards we impose. Doing God’s work is not limited to committed disciples, but disciples are committed to discipline.
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Psalm 19:7-14
The first six verses of this psalm actually comprise a separate psalm, and so our loss by their absence here is their praise of the universe (three-storied) that speaks the glory of God apart from words. Actually, that theme would serve well the teaching of the lesson from Numbers 11 and of Jesus in the Gospel lesson. Nevertheless, the selected verses for today comprise two parts. The first part, verses 7-10, is a powerful hymn in praise of the Torah. It extols the Torah of God as the highest value, because the law serves as God’s means of bestowing benefits on the people. The second part, verses 11-14, is a prayer in which the worshipper acknowledges sinfulness, even when it is not discernible. Only God can make such discernment and protect the psalmist from domination by insolence (or insolent ones). Yet because of the graciousness of God, the worshipper can plead for God’s forgiveness and for guidance. Finally, the prayer itself asks humbly that its words are acceptable to the Lord, “my rock and my redeemer.”
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Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29
In order to assist Moses in the pursuit of his difficult ministry, God inspired elders to prophesy among the people, even a few who were not among the designated group.
Context
At 10:33, the Sinai stopover ended, and the people reconvened their journey through the wilderness toward the Promised Land. Picking up precisely where they left off in Exodus 16–17, the people complained about the journey, the so-called “murmuring motif.” Prior to the Sinai experience, that included making the golden calf, the murmuring centered on the lack of necessities for life. Following the Sinai narrative, the murmuring seems to be about the luxury of life.
Key Words
Vv. 4, 10, 13. bākâ = “weep”: the word provides the theme of this section of the pericope. Unlike some of the people’s murmuring, Moses recognizes a certain legitimacy about their weeping and turns to YHWH to provide.
V. 12. he’ānōkî hārîtî ’et kol-hā‘ām hazze ’im-’ānōkî yelidtîhû = “Did I conceive all this people? Did I bear them?”: The implication, of course, is that God gave birth to the people and God is responsible for feeding them (see Deut. 32:18; Isa. 49:14-15).
V. 14. lō’-’ûkal ’ānōkî lebaddî lāsē’t ’et-kol-hā‘ām hazzeh kî kābēd mimmennî = “Not able am I to carry alone all this people, for it is too heavy for me”: This stark reality of this complaint sounds like the laments of Jeremiah whose divinely ordained office led him to unbearable pain.
V. 25. wayyēred YHWH be‘ānān wayedabbēr ’ēlāyw = “and the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him”: YHWH had been guiding the people through the wilderness by a cloud during the day and by a torch during the night. Beyond the guiding function of the cloud, however, the cloud was a vehicle for divine travel in ancient mythology. That the Lord uses the cloud to “come down” (see Gen. 11:5, 7; Exod. 3:8) attests to God position in the heavens.
V. 25. kenôach ‘alêhem hārûach wayyitnabbe’û = “and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied”: For prophesy as a result of receiving the spirit, see also Isa. 61:1ff; Ezek. 37:1ff.; Joel 2:28-29; cf. John 20:22; Acts 2:17; 13:2.
V 28. “And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’” Joshua here plays the role of the adversary to the Lord’s generous spirit, expressing jealousy to protect Moses’ exclusive gift.
V. 29. ûmî yittēn kol-‘am YHWH nebî’îm kî-yittēn YHWH ’et-rûchô ‘alêhem = “Would that all the people of the Lord (were) prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!”: The desire expressed by Moses here is unusual, but the prophecy about the Day of the Lord promises to pour out his spirit on men and women, old and young, slaves and free—indeed “all flesh” (Joel 2:28-29).
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James 5:13-20
The power of prayer is affirmed by examples of its effectiveness in the lives of people, and so God invites prayer not only for ourselves in suffering but also for others that they might be saved.
Context
These verses conclude the Epistle of James. Just prior to our reading, the author cites the example of suffering and patience “the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (5:10). Now the book moves to the need in the community of the church to care for one another through prayer and mutual (or public) confession.
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Mark 9:38-50
Against attempts to exclude good deeds performed “in the name of Jesus” simply because they do not belong to “our group,” Jesus cautions against the church’s arrogance that insists only members can do God’s work in Jesus’ name, and he teaches that discipleship means living faithfully and with discipline.
Context
Following upon the disciples’ quarreling about greatness in 9:33-37, Jesus warns against exclusiveness and explains true discipleship in terms of willingness to be vulnerable. In our pericope, verses 38-41 appear to intrude into discussion of the disciples as “little ones” that started in vss. 36-37.
Key Words
Vv. 38, 39, 41. “name”: Picking up the “name” from the previous verse (v. 37), these verses demonstrate the centrality of “the name” in the church. The expression “in the name of” is not typically Greek but belongs to the Old Testament (“the name of the Lord” beginning at Gen. 4:26; see also 12:8; 13:4; 21:33 and too often to mention) and appears in the NT elsewhere at Mark 16:17; Luke 10:17; Acts 3:6; 4:7, 10; James 5:14.
V. 38. kai ekōlyomen auton, hoti ouk ēkolouthei hymin = “and we tried to stop him, because he is not following us”: John’s attempt to stop someone from exorcising demons in the name of the Lord recalls the attempt of Joshua to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying. The use of “follow” seems to be used in the technical sense of discipleship, and so John’s concern focuses on the exclusiveness of the group. See the interesting discussion on requirements for belonging by Eduard Schweizer, The Good News according to Mark (Atlanta: John Knox, 1970), pp. 194f.
V. 42. ou mē apolesē ton misthon autou = “will not lose his reward”: This mention of “reward” is the only occurrence in Mark’s Gospel, and the same teaching occurs at Matt. 10:42. At Matt. 5:12, Jesus promises “reward in heaven” for those who are persecuted on Jesus’ account (also Luke 6:23). People can lose their reward from God by practicing false piety and hypocrisy (Matt. 6:1-2, 5, 16). The Apostle Paul uses the word for appropriate wages in the labor market (Rom. 4:4; 1 Cor. 3:8, 14). At 1 Cor. 9:17-18, Paul contrasts the reward of acting out of self-will with the reward of God’s commission (stewardship) which is proclaiming the gospel free of charge. (For other uses of “reward,” see 1 Tim. 5:8; 2 Pet. 2:13; 2 John 8; Jude 11; Rev. 11:18; 22:12.) “Reward” is, therefore, what God gives freely. Refusing the gift would mean losing the reward.
Vss. 42, 43, 45, 47. kai ean skandalizē se = “if … causes you scandal/to stumble/to sin”: The repetition of these words listing various sources for stumbling indicate a list to be memorized, probably for catechetical instruction. The first cause is an outsider. The remaining causes are our own body parts: hand, foot, eye. The teachings do not advocate self-mutilation, but warn disciples about the sources of temptation that could lead them to stumble from the faith.
VV. 43, 45, 47. eiselthein eis tēn zōēn … eiselthein eis tēn zōēn … eiselthein eis tēn basileian tou theou = “enter the life … enter the life … enter the kingdom of God”: The repetition of the phrases again points to a device for memorization. The interchangeability of these expressions shows that “the life” and “the kingdom of God” are one and the same. The interchangeability in Mark leads us to understand the use in John’s Gospel of “life” almost exclusively of “kingdom” (only John 3:3, 5; 18:36).
V. 48. “their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched”: Some ancient manuscripts repeat this verse as verses 44 and 46. The words quote Isaiah 66:24, the final verse of the Book of Isaiah. Strikingly, verses 22-23 promise that “all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.” Then, another faction of ancient Judaism added the final verse, indicating that when the worshippers depart their worship in the temple on Mount Zion, they can look down into the Valley of Hinnom (Greek - Gehenna; see Jer. 7:31-32; 19:2, 6; 32:35) to see the dead bodies of non-worshipers rotting in perpetuity. The universal eschatological expectation evident in the promise is dashed by the nationalistic, exclusive wishes of apocalyptists.
V. 50. echete en heatois hala kai eir_neuete = “have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another”: This expression about salt is odd, especially in comparison with Jesus teaching on the Mount: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13). But salt and fire have something to do with each other in various contexts—preserving food, preparation for sacrifice, adding flavor, etc. Clearer and emphatic is the exhortation to be “at peace with one another.”
Wrestling with the Word, episode 39: Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B (September 20, 2009) September 4, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, James 3:13–4:3, James 4:7-8a, Jeremiah 11:18-20, lectionary, Mark 9:30-37, Pentecost, preaching, Psalm 54, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
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Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
It is not easy being a Christian in the world. It never has been, of course, because the message that Jesus preached and the gospel message about Jesus run contrary to everything the world stands for—power, control, success, and superiority over others. Those worldly traits often disguise themselves as religion of one form of another. If they indeed represent religion in and to the world, then Jesus calls his disciples to be irreligious in order to be faithful. In any case, Jesus puts his disciples in a precarious situation on planet earth. This call, however, lies at the very heart of the nature of God.
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 39: Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B.
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Psalm 54
The psalm is a lament in which the worshipper pleads for vindication from God in the face of his enemies (called “insolent” and “ruthless”). The name of God and the might of God are used in synonymous parallelism as the means that YHWH uses to save and vindicate. The final verses (6-7), if interpreted as simultaneous with the lament, might be an attempt to please God. However, if these two verses are to be offered after experiencing God’s vindication, then they form part of a liturgy of thanksgiving—a sacrifice of thanksgiving, maybe even a todah meal. Whatever the connection between the two parts, the desire to gloat over the defeat of enemies is itself a lamentable piece of the psalmist’s theology. On that issue, however, the psalm joins many others (Ps. 23:5; 112:8; 118:7; also Judg. 16:27; Mic. 7:10, cf. Ps. 22:18).
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Jeremiah 11:18-20
Against the attempts of the wicked to stop prophetic preaching, Jeremiah uses the typical psalm of lament in order to effect satisfaction over his enemies.
Context
Because of his persistent condemnation of the religious and political authorities in Jerusalem, Jeremiah became the object of the community’s derision, and so the prophet uttered repeated laments regarding his rejection. These oft-called “confessions of Jeremiah” are typical of psalms of lament and might therefore be more stereotypical than autobiographical. Uncertain is whether or not these verses are connected with the preceding or with the following verses. If they are, as seems probable, related to vv. 21-23 and 12:1-6, then the schemes against the prophet are being made by “the people of Anathoth,” Jeremiah’s hometown. The problem is abundantly clear in their insistence that he “not prophesy in the name of the Lord” (v. 21). The Lord’s response, as Jeremiah reports it, will be to annihilate these wicked people before they blot out the remembrance of God’s prophet (vss. 22-23)—precisely what the prophet pleads for in v. 20..
Key Words
V. 19. wa’anî kekebes ’allup yûbal litbōach = “and I am like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter”: The terminology is similar the suffering servant at Isa. 53:7: kasseh lattebach yûbal = “like a lamb to the slaughter is led.”
V. 19. wenikretennû mē’erets chayyîm = “and let us cut him off from the land of the living”: See the suffering servant of Isa. 53:8: kî nigzar mē’erets chayyîm = “for he was cut off from the land of the living.”
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James 3:13–4:3, 7-8a
Christians are called to exhibit their faith by virtues that stand over against the world’s values and vices.
Context
The Epistle of James is a collection of teachings instructing Christians how to live out their faith in the world. The collection resembles the Book of Proverbs in contrasting the wisdom that brings God’s pleasure and the folly that destroys. Lists of vices and virtues, as in vv. 17-18, are not common in the OT or in Palestinian Judaism. Such lists are common, however, in Hellenistic Judaism and in the NT (Rom. 1:29-31; 1 Tim. 3:2-4; Gal. 5:20-21). Unfortunately, the pericope excludes verses 4-6 that speak both of “friendship with the world” as “enmity with God” as an explanation of wars, fighting, coveting. We also lose the important quotation from Proverbs 3:34: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” The quote is consistent with the teaching of Jesus in Mark 9:30-37.
Key Words
3:18. tois poiousin eirēnēn = “to/by those who make peace”: Like that of the beatitude of Matt. 5:9: “Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Making peace is the sacrificial act of Jesus in Col. 1:20 (see also Eph. 2:15). This teaching seems to mean act peaceably rather than to conciliate opponents. However, in the context of killing, fighting, and waging war in 4:1-3, it might also mean conciliate.
4:7. hypotagēte oun tō theō = “submit yourselves, therefore, to God”: The same exhortation appears at Heb. 12:9 for the willing submission to God’s discipline for the reward of life; see also 1 Cor. 15:27-28 as the eschatological fulfillment of Satan’s submission (as defeated) and of Christ’s submission (as faithful in transferring the kingdom to the Father). In terms of failing to subject oneself to God’s will and righteousness, see Romans 8:7; 10:3. For the subjection of Christ to God, see Eph. 5:24. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt.6:11).
4:8. eggisate tō theō kai eggei hymin = “draw near to God, and he will draw near to you”: The expression appears in the LXX in terms of the priests who have opportunity to draw near to God (Exod. 19:22; Lev. 10:3), but in the NT the privilege of drawing near is extended to all believers (see also Heb. 7:19). The exhortation appears here as the opposite of “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (end of v. 7).
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Mark 9:30-37
Jesus’ prophecy about his own suffering, death and resurrection defines both God and discipleship in terms of vulnerability and service.
Context
When Jesus, Peter, James, and John had rejoined the rest of the disciples following the Transfiguration, they discovered a crowd, among whom were the scribes arguing with the disciples. Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about with them?” (cf. v. 33). They told him that the disciples were unable to exorcize a demon. Jesus rebuked the demon and drove him out of the child. Jesus and the twelve then went off together through Galilee.
Key Words
V. 30. “Jesus did not want any one to know where he was”: Once again, Mark emphasized Jesus’ secret—now about his imminent death–that only the disciples may hear.
V. 31. “The Son of Man will be delivered …” This is the second time the saying is reported by Mark. The first occurs at 8:31 and the third at 10:33-34.
V. 32. hoi de egnooun to rēma = “but they did not understand the saying”: The incomprehensibility of the disciples is common in Mark’s Gospel (cf. 6:52; 8:17, 21; 9:6). Their fear of asking him makes sense in the progression of events in Mark’s Gospel. At 8:33 Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan when he would not accept Jesus’ first prophecy about his suffering and death (8:31).
V. 33. ‘What were you arguing about on the way?”: The same question Jesus asked the crowds in v. 16, he asks now of his disciples.
V. 34. tis meizōn = “who (is) the greatest”: The question links this saying to the previous one about his imminent sacrifice. The sequence contrasts with the way of Jesus as sacrifice and service with the human desire for greatness. Like the teaching in James 3—4, the way of God revealed in Jesus is submission to God’s will.
V. 35. ei tis thelei prōtos einai, estai pantōn eschatos kai pantōn diakonos = “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all (people) and servant of all (people)”: Losing is winning and vice versa. The saying sounds much like Jesus’ words at 10:44-45. The saying indicates that not everyone is equal in the eyes of God: some are first on the list and others are last. The Apostle’s Paul’s discussion of the crucified Christ as “the power of God and the wisdom of God” conveys this same contrast with the ways of the world (1 Vor. 1:18-31)..
V. 37. “welcomes one such child … me … the one who sent me”: The message to the disciples is twofold. First, instead of striving for greatness, they should become like the little vulnerable ones. Second, welcoming such a child enables people to find him (Jesus), and through Jesus, they find the Father.
The whole message is quite a contrast to the desire to gloat over the destruction of one’s enemies. Finding Jesus in welcoming the vulnerable ones is so contrary to the ways of the world, even to the ways of religious people, that it seems downright irreligious.
Far more than a virtue, this life of service and submission and hospitality to the vulnerable lie at the heart of God’s identity.
