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2024, February 25 ~ Genesis 17:1-7,15-16; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 25, 2024

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Reading

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (five books) in Latin. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1,650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics. These four strands are known as “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomistic) and “P” (Priestly).

Genesis is generally seen as having two major parts: (1) Chapters 1-11 (“The Primeval History”) and Chapters 12 to 50 (“The Ancestral History – with its focus on Abraham and his descendants.) The Ancestral History is subdivided into the story of Abraham (11:17 to 25:18), the Jacob Cycle (25:19 to 36:43) and the Story of Joseph (37:1 to 50:26).

Today’s reading is one of the three accounts of YHWH’s covenant with Abraham to bless him with many descendants. It was written by the Priestly writers between 550 and 450 BCE. (The “J” version is in Chapter 15.) This account added that it will be Sarah who will bear the child that would lead to many descendants.

Although the reading today appeared to make an unconditional covenant with Abram about numerous offspring (v.2), the omitted verses (8 to 14) required Abram and his offspring to be circumcised. This made the covenant a conditional one in which both parties had obligations. It is also described as an “everlasting covenant” (vv.13, 19).

The reading is also about names. In the Hebrew Bible, one’s name described who you were and your destiny. Abram means “exalted ancestor” and has the same root as “Abba/father.” He was renamed Abraham (“ancestor of a multitude”) (v.5). The New Oxford Annotated Bible explains: “A new name signifies a new relationship or status. Abraham, a dialectical variant of Abram means ‘the [divine] ancestor is exalted.’ Here the name is explained by its similarity to the Hebrew for ancestor of a multitude referring to nations whose ancestry was traced to Abraham, such as the Edomites and the Ishmaelites.”

Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah (“princess”) when Abraham was told that she (at age 90) would conceive and bear a son (v.15).

The Priestly writers took the position that the name YHWH was not known to the Israelites until the Exodus (Exodus 3 and 6). In verse 1 of today’s reading, YHWH disclosed the divine name to Abram as “El Shaddai” – translated variously as “God Almighty” or “God of the Mountains” or even as “God with Breasts” (a fertile god). In the other places in this reading, the word translated as “God” is either “El” (an ancient name for God) or Elohim (literally, “the Gods”) – the name used by the Priestly writers in the first Creation Story in Genesis 1.

Romans 4:13-25

Reading

13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 Therefore, his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ.

Paul exhorted the Jesus Follower Community in Rome to follow the Commandments, particularly to love one another as neighbors.

In his epistles, Paul used a number of terms that need to be understood in context. “Righteousness” (vv.13 and 22) is one of them. “Righteousness” is understood generally as being in right relationships with God and others. It is sometimes translated as “justified.” A “just” person is also a “righteous” person, and “justified” is used the same way that a page of type is “justified” – all the margins are straight and in order.

Another term that needs explanation is “faith,” a word Paul used seven times in this reading alone. “Faith” for Paul was not used the way it is now typically used — as an intellectual assent to one or more propositions. The Greek word for “faith” (pistis) has an active aspect and should be understood as “faithfulness” – actively living into one’s beliefs through grace and trust in God in a steady way. Paul emphasized that “faith” is a matter of the heart (the innermost part of our being) — not the intellect — and that faithfulness leads to righteousness (v.13).

In today’s reading, Paul held up Abraham as an example of “righteousness” (being in right relation with God and man) who was blessed by God, not because of obedience to the law (v.13) and prior to the requirement that he be circumcised (Gen. 17:10), but because of his faithfulness to YHWH. The Jewish Annotated New Testament says that the word “law” (v.13) is “nomos” and refers not to Torah but to the convention of circumcision.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that Paul would have understood that Abram’s faithfulness occurred prior to the giving of the Law at Sinai. It also points out that there was a tradition in 1st Century Judaism that Abraham (somehow) knew the Law and obeyed it even before the Law was promulgated. This tradition was based on Sirach 44:20 (“Abraham kept the law of the Most High”).

In verse 16, Paul relied on Genesis 12:3 to assert that Abraham is the father of all – both Jews and Gentiles – and all inherit God’s promises as they share in the faithfulness of Abraham. The NAOB points out that Abraham was justified because of his faithfulness before he was circumcised. Therefore, he could be ancestor of both the circumcised and uncircumcised.

The NAOB notes: “God’s ability to do what he had promised is at stake throughout Romans, especially regarding Israel.” Paul argued that God can do what God has promised (v.21). Most particularly, Paul asserted (v.23) that Abraham’s faithfulness was “reckoned to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6) and that this was a gift from God (v.4). Similarly, our faithfulness will be reckoned to us as righteousness by God who raised Jesus from the dead (v.24). That is, both Gentile and Jewish Jesus Followers who share in the faithfulness of Abraham will be “justified” and in a state of righteousness with God and man – just as Abraham was (v.25).

The NJBC points out that Paul asserted that God is the actor in the “handing over” of Jesus and who “raised [Jesus] for our justification” (v.25). The JANT says that the phrase “for our trespasses” is to be understood as meaning that in his faithfulness (as shown by his death) the Christ pays the penalty for human sin.

Mark 8:31-38

Reading

31 Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading comes immediately after a passage in which the disciples said that others suggested that Jesus might be [reincarnations of] John the Baptist, or Elijah or one of the prophets [i.e., Moses] (v. 28). In response to a more direct question, Peter offered “You are the Messiah” (or the Christ) (v. 29). The NOAB notes that there is very little evidence of “standardized” expectations of the Messiah in the First Century.

In today’s reading, Mark said that Jesus taught them that the “Son of Man” (an apocalyptic figure based on Daniel 7:13 and best understood as “The Human Being”) would undergo great suffering, be killed, and rise after three days (v.31). For the Jesus Follower audience hearing Mark’s Gospel in the early 70’s, this “future” was already past and confirmed by the Faith Community.

In the story, Peter served as a stand-in for all those who were expecting a Messiah who would be God’s anointed, rid the country of the hated Romans, and restore Israel. Jesus rebuked Peter in startling terms reminiscent of the rebuke of Satan by the High Priest Joshua (whose name is “Jesus” in Greek) in Zech. 3:2.

Today’s reading was a turning point in Mark’s Gospel. From now on, Jesus was portrayed in terms that are based on the Suffering Servant Songs in Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12, including the statement in Mark 10:45 that “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The JANT points out that the words “must undergo” (v.31) reflect the perceived determinism of God’s plan, similar to apocalyptic texts such as Daniel.

In addition, from now on, the enemies of Jesus were stated in Mark to be “the elders, the chief priests and the scribes” (v.31). In the other Synoptic Gospels, the opponents of Jesus are primarily the Pharisees, and they are severely criticized. In the Fourth Gospel, the enemies are “the Jews” — a translation of the Greek word “Ioudaios” (literally, the Judeans). In the 70+ times the word is used in John, it is clear from each of the contexts that the word actually referred to the Temple Authorities and the Pharisees, not to “the Jews” generally.

The Gospel passage today also made clear to the generation that had endured the turbulent events of the Jewish Insurrection in 66 CE and the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE that self-preservation is not the highest value — “those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it” (v.35).

Regarding crucifixion, The NAOB states: “The Romans used crucifixion as a gruesome means of terrorizing subject peoples by hanging rebels and agitators from crosses for several days until they suffocated to death. They required condemned provincials to carry the crossbeam on which they were to be hung.”

2024, February 18 ~ Genesis 9:8-17; 1 Peter:18-22; Mark 1:9-15

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 18, 2024

Genesis 9:8-17

Reading

8 God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (five books) in Latin. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1,650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics. These four strands are known as “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomistic) and “P” (Priestly).

Genesis is generally seen as having two major parts: (1) Chapters 1-11 (“The Primeval History”) and Chapters 12 to 50 (“The Ancestral History – with its focus on Abraham and his descendants.) The Ancestral History is subdivided into the story of Abraham (11:17 to 25:18), the Jacob Cycle (25:19 to 36:43) and the Story of Joseph (37:1 to 50:26).

Today’s reading is from the “Priestly” writers (550 to 450 BCE) whose name for God (Elohim) is translated “God” (not “LORD” as used by the Yahwistic writers). In these verses, God made the first covenant recorded in the Bible. A “covenant” is different from a “contract” in that a covenant is a solemn long-term continuing relationship, whereas a contract has a specific purpose and an end date. A covenant is often (but not always) between a superior party (such as God) and an inferior (Noah and humankind).

Covenants in the Bible are sometimes unconditional (such as God’s promise not to destroy the earth again by flood) that do not require a reciprocal action on the part of Noah or humankind. More often, however, Biblical covenants are presented as conditional so that if the “inferior” parties fulfill their obligations, the “superior” (usually God) will provide reciprocal benefits. These obligations include circumcision (Gen. 17:12) or faithfulness to the Law (Joshua 24:21).

The Jewish Study Bible points out that in the Talmud, it is taught that the “descendants of Noah” – that is, universal humanity – are obligated by seven commandments based on Genesis 9:6-17: (1) to establish courts of justice; (2) to refrain from blaspheming the God of Israel as well as from (3) idolatry, (4) sexual perversion, (5) bloodshed and (6) robbery, and (7) not to eat meat cut from a living animal. It notes that Jews have hundreds of commandments (613) in addition to these seven. Gentiles who observe these seven commandments can meet with God’s full approval. The New Oxford Annotated Bible refers to these laws as the Noachide Laws applicable to all persons (Acts 15:20).

1 Peter 3:18-22

Reading

18 Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Commentary

In the First Century, it was not uncommon to write something in another person’s name so that the writing would have extra “authority” – particularly when the writer believed he knew what the “authority” (in this case, Peter) would have said. Similarly, authorship of the Torah was historically attributed to Moses, the Psalms to David, and Wisdom Literature to Solomon.

The First Letter of Peter was likely written in the last quarter of the First Century, long after Peter’s death in the 60’s CE. It was written in sophisticated Greek (not a style a Galilean fisherman would use) and resembled Paul’s letters. Its focus was not on the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth, but on the Resurrection and the affirmation that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that this epistle is one of the “general” or “catholic” epistles, along with James, John, 2 Peter and Jude. These letters do not address a particular church but were directed to the general condition of Jesus Follower communities. It notes that 1 Peter 4:16 is the only place in the Christian Scriptures where the term “Christian” appears, and that the letter teaches recipients to identify with the suffering of Christ who also suffered unjustly. Suffering as a result of being a Christian was said to be a sign that the end of history is at hand. The JANT notes that 1 Peter adopted terms and scriptural citations that Jews had used to express their exclusive covenant with God and applied them to the Christian community. In effect, for the author of 1 Peter, Israel’s promises now belong to the Church.

In today’s reading, the author urged his audience to be willing to suffer for doing what is right, just as Jesus of Nazareth suffered for doing good. He noted that Jesus was “put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (v.18), which is not to say that “part” of Jesus survived death, but that God raised him as the Christ to a new life in the divine realm where (metaphorically) he is “at the right hand of God” (v.22). The JANT points out that in early Jewish mystical literature (Kabbalah), the right hand of God was “implicitly identified with the angel Metatron” – which is the name sometimes given to Enoch after he was taken to heaven/God Gen. 5:24).

The NAOB understands the phrase “in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey when God waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the ark” (vv.19-20) to refer to the idea of Christ’s preaching to the imprisoned evil spirits after his resurrection to announce his own victory. The NAOB suggests that this concept (sometimes called “the harrowing of hell”) is derived from 1 Enoch 10:4-6, a series of verses that described sending fallen angels to the darkness. (This notion also appears in Matthew 22:13: “throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”) The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that in some traditions, the rebellion of angels is expressly linked with the Flood.

Writers of the Christian Scriptures often looked for analogies in the Hebrew Bible to explain ritual practices in the Jesus Follower Movement. Here, the author presented the Flood in Noah’s time as prefiguring Baptism which is “an appeal to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (v.21). As The JANT points out, “baptism is not a mere ritual, but is meant to be grounded in a connection to God.”

It is noteworthy that the author of 1 Peter understood the Noah story literally in saying that eight persons (v.20b) survived the Flood and were saved.

Mark 1:9-15

Reading

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading follows the introduction of John the Baptist (1:4-8). Nazareth is about 16 miles from the Sea of Galilee, and the entire district was ruled by Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great who died in 4 BCE.

Martin Smith, in A Season for the Spirit, notes that although Jesus likely thought of himself as a sinless person, he nevertheless submitted to the baptism of John just as many others had done (1:5). Smith understood this story as one of the ways the Synoptic Gospel writers presented Jesus as being human and not thinking of himself as being separate and apart from other persons – an affirmation of his humanity and bond with others.

The words from heaven (“You are my Son, the Beloved”) have antecedents in the Hebrew Bible in references to kings, particularly David in 2 Sam.7:14 (“I will be a father to him”), in Psalm 2:7 (“You are my son”) and Psalm 89:26 (“You are my father”). it is not clear from the text if only Jesus heard the words from heaven or if they were heard by all who were in the area at the time. The JANT observes that the “heavens torn apart” (v.10) anticipated the tearing of the Temple curtain when Jesus died (15:38).

Apart from the reference to Jesus as “Son of God” in Mark 1:1 (a reference that is not in all ancient manuscripts), Jesus is not called “Son of God” in Mark by the disciples. Ironically, those who refer to Jesus as “Son of God” in Mark are unclean spirits (5:7), Jewish Authorities in a question (14:61) and a Roman centurion after Jesus’ death (15:39).

The JANT notes: “In some Christian circles the title Son of God included attributes of pre-existence (Jn 1:1-14) and equality with God (Jn 5.18). In Mark, “Son of God” was more likely understood as the raising of a human being to a status with God; some counterparts include both the Davidic king and the Roman emperor (Livy, Hist.1.16). God “adopted” Jesus as God’s son, as the king was adopted by God (as in Ps 2.7).

The NJBC disagrees and suggests that the evangelist interpreted the heavenly voice as confirmation of the already existing relationship between God and Jesus. It notes that the second part of the communication (“in whom I am well pleased”) echoed Isaiah 42:1 (“in whom my soul delights”), which suggests a connection between the Son of God and the Servant of God.

Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark did not describe Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness in any detail (compare Mt. 4:1-11 and Lk. 4:1-13). The power of the Spirit is emphasized by Mark in that it “drove” Jesus into the wilderness (v.12). The number 40 is a euphemism for “a long time” and is reminiscent of the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness, and the 40-day fasts of Moses (Deut. 9:18) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:8).

Regarding “Satan” (v.13), The JANT describes “Satan” as the “adversary” or “accuser” and notes that Ha-Satan (“the Satan”) first appeared in Post-Exilic Jewish sources. It continues: “Christian sources typically regard Satan as a demonic force; rabbinic tradition alternates between depicting Satan as evil and depicting him still as (the) Satan or “accuser” who serves to test the righteous (as in Job).”

The announcement that “the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near” (v.15) is an apocalyptic pronouncement. These are the first words spoken by Jesus in Mark’s Gospel. The idea of the “Kingdom of God” – an ideal state that is not yet accomplished – is found in a number of places in the Hebrew Bible, particularly in the Psalms. In the Gospel of Mark, these three ideas (time fulfilled, Kingdom near, and repentance – meaning a change of heart) are central to the message presented by the evangelist.

2024, January 7 ~ Genesis 1:1-5; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JANUARY 7, 2024

Genesis 1:1-5

Reading

1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (five books) in Latin. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1,650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics. These four strands are known as “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomistic) and “P” (Priestly).

Genesis is generally seen as having two major parts: (1) Chapters 1-11 (“The Primeval History”) and Chapters 12 to 50 (“The Ancestral History – with its focus on Abraham and his descendants.) The Ancestral History is subdivided into the story of Abraham (11:17 to 25:18), the Jacob Cycle (25:19 to 36:43) and the Story of Joseph (37:1 to 50:26).

Today’s reading described the first day of the seven-day “First Creation Story.” It is part of the “Priestly” tradition written in the period from 550 to 450 BCE. The name used for God in this account is “Elohim” (literally, “the gods”) and is different name from the name (YHWH or “LORD God”) used in the Second Creation Story (Gen. 2:4b – 24). The Second Creation Story is part of the “Yahwistic” tradition dated to about 970 to 930 BCE – the reigns of David and Solomon.

The First Creation Story emphasized order and categorizing by separation. Priestly writers portrayed order and precision as leading to “Shalom” (peace, good order). It is noteworthy that creation is not “out of nothing” (creation ex nihilo) but describes God’s decrees as “creating” by bringing order out of a “formless void” (v. 2) and a watery chaos (“the deep” and “the waters”). In verse 4 and other verses, God declares that the creation is good or very good.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that “creation” is accomplished through separating, ordering, and naming elements of the universe.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes: “God does not destroy darkness, one of the two chaotic forces mentioned in verse 2. He relegated it to the night time, where it too becomes part of the good world.”

The Jewish Study Bible points out that the biblical week in Genesis 1 (unlike the lunar month or the solar year) corresponds to no astronomical event. “The notion that the number 7 signified completeness and that things come to their fit conclusion on the 7th day did, however, have wide resonance in the ancient Near Eastern world in which Israel emerged and that understanding doubtless stands in the background of this passage.”

Overcoming the chaos of the ocean was an important theme in Middle Eastern Creation Myths such as the Babylonian Creation Myth (the “Enuma Elish”) which the Judeans would have encountered during the Babylonian Exile (587-539 BCE).

The JSB observes: “To the ancients, the opposite of the created order was something much worse than ‘nothing.’ It was an active malevolent force we can best term ‘chaos.’ … To say that a deity had subdued chaos is to give him the highest praise.”

Acts 19:1-7

Reading

1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied — 7 altogether there were about twelve of them.

Commentary

The book called “The Acts of the Apostles” was written around 85 to 90 CE by the anonymous author of the Gospel According to Luke. The first 15 chapters of Acts are a didactic “history” of the early Jesus Follower Movement starting with an account of the Ascension of Jesus and ending at the so-called Council of Jerusalem where it was agreed that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised and keep all the Kosher dietary laws to become Jesus Followers.

From Chapter 15 to Chapter 28, Paul’s missionary activities were recounted, ending with his house arrest in Rome.

Today’s reading is set in Ephesus and is part of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey, one that began in Antioch in Syria and ended in Jerusalem. Ephesus was a large and prosperous city in what is now western Turkey and was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. According to Acts 19:10, Paul spent two years in Ephesus converting both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) and performing miracles (v.11).

One of the major themes of both the Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles is the importance of the Holy Spirit – often portrayed as the driving force for all that happens. Today’s reading is an example of the prominence the author of Luke/Acts gave to the Holy Spirit and the power of “laying on of hands” as a means for conveying the Holy Spirit.

The NOAB points out that elsewhere in Acts, the word “disciples” (v.1) means Christians and that persons at all familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures would have been aware of the Holy Spirit (v.2) because of references in Psalm 51:11b (“do not take your holy spirit from me”) and Isaiah 63:10 (“but they rebelled and grieved his holy spirit.”) The NJBC says that the idea that these disciples never heard of the Holy Spirit is “inconceivable.”

The NJBC explains the context of today’s readings by looking at the concluding verses of Chapter 18. These verses described a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, who was eloquent, well-versed in the scriptures, but who knew only the Baptism of John (18:24-25). (Apollos was described as a rival of Paul’s in 1 Cor. 3:4-11.) In Acts, two of Paul’s disciples “took him [Apollos] aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately” (18:26). Acts also reported that Apollos was in Corinth when Paul was in Ephesus (v.1) – giving Paul the opportunity to preach without disputing with Apollos.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that the “Baptism of John” is likely presented here as a “rival messianic sect.” Similarly, The NJBC sees the Baptism of John as an “immature Christianity” because it was not grounded in the Holy Spirit that had been (according to Acts) poured out on the apostles on Pentecost.

This differentiation of the Baptism of John and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in today’s reading likely means that in the time of Paul’s ministry (late 40’s to early 60’s) or in Luke’s time (late 80’s), or both, there remained followers of John the Baptist who had not yet become believers in Jesus the Christ and were seen as a rival messianic sect. The author of Acts considered it important to portray the Baptism of John as incomplete.

Mark 1:4-11

Reading

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and formed the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85-90 CE. Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Like all the other gospels, it is anonymous (the names of the gospels were given in the late 2d Century CE). The New Oxford Annotated Bible describes it as a story of Jesus of Nazareth’s “multiple conflicts” – with the high priestly rulers and their Roman overlords and with his disciples (who consistently failed to understand him and deserted him at the end).

The Gospel was written in “everyday” (koine) Greek, and its style was not as elegant as Luke’s. The gospel introduced a new literary genre, the evangelion (or “good news”), which was distinguished from a “history.” The NAOB points out that the “good news” always referred either to the act of preaching or its content. Outside the Christian Scriptures, the term was used for various happy announcements such as a military victory, the birth of a son or a wedding. The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that the word was intended to suggest the good news of God’s deliverance.

The NOAB observes that the noun “evangelion” was not used for a literary genre until the mid-2nd century CE, and that Jesus’ preaching and manifestation of the Kingdom of God “as a decisive new development in the history of Israel, not as the beginning of a new religion.”

The JANT observes: “Although Mark presents an earthly Jesus and not the heavenly mediator emphasized in Paul’s letters (e.g., Phil. 2.6-11), Mark and Paul share several important themes: the centrality of the followers’ faith, the emphasis on Jesus’ death rather than his resurrection, and reservations about Peter’s role.”

In some respects, Mark has a “lower Christology” than the other gospels in that it placed more emphasis on Jesus’ humanity. Each of the gospels has its own “special theme” – and Mark’s presentation of Jesus used the motifs and imagery of the “Suffering Servant” found in Isaiah 52 and 53. It also substantially based many details of the Passion Crucifixion on Psalm 22.

Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark does not have a Birth Narrative for Jesus of Nazareth, and today’s Gospel reading is the first substantive story in this Gospel.

In today’s reading, John the Baptist was presented as a new Elijah in his garb and eating (v.6). This would have been seen as a fulfillment of Malachi 3:5 (“Lo, I [YHWH] will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.”)

The NOAB sees the Baptism of John as a “ritual of entrance into God’s renewed covenant with Israel in which those ready to change their ways are baptized as forgiven for having broken the covenantal laws.” The JANT observes that John’s was a movement similar to that of Jesus in preaching repentance and forgiveness, and that John’s Baptism was a parallel to the Jewish practice of bathing to cleanse ritual “impurities” which John the Baptist transformed into “a public testimony of repentance and preparation for the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom.”

Like most scripture writers, the author of Mark often used hyperbole to emphasize his points. For example, he spoke of “people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem” going to the River Jordan (v.5).

In verse 11, the Sonship of Jesus of Nazareth was affirmed by the voice from heaven, though it is not clear from the text whether only Jesus heard the voice or if others heard it also.

The JANT sees the words of verse 11 as influenced by Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1-2, and understands verse 11 as follows: “Psalm [2.7] depicts a royal adoption: when anointed, the Davidic king becomes a son of God. Jesus is never called ‘Son of God’ by the disciples, but he receives this title from God, from unclean spirits (5.7), from Jewish authorities (14.61 in a question) and from a Roman soldier (15.39). In some Christian circles the title Son of God included an attributes of pre-existence (Jn 1.1-14) and equality with God (Jn 5.18). In Mark, ‘Son of God’ was more likely understood as the raising of a human being to a special status with God; counterparts include both the Davidic king and the Roman emperor (Livy, Hist.1.16).”

In the progression of the four Gospels from Mark to Matthew to Luke and to John, the Sonship of Jesus was presented as occurring progressively earlier. In Matthew and Luke, the Sonship was affirmed at his conception. In John, the identity of Jesus with the Word (Logos) was stated to have existed from the beginning (Jn.1:1).

2023, September 17 ~ Exodus 14:19-31; Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
SEPTEMBER 17, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2023, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Exodus 14:19-31

Reading

19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24 At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25 He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

30 Thus, the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So, the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Commentary

The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible and covers the period from the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt under Pharaoh (around 1250 BCE, if the account is historical), the Exodus itself, and the early months in the Wilderness.

The Book of Exodus (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which were written about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

In last week’s reading, YHWH gave Moses and Aaron specific instructions about the conduct of the Passover ritual and directed the Israelites to put blood on their doors so that YHWH (or the “destroyer” 12:23) would pass over their houses and not kill the firstborn. At midnight, YHWH struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, including the firstborn of Pharaoh. This tenth “plague” convinced Pharaoh and the Egyptians to tell the Israelites to leave. (As part of the departure, the Isrealites asked the Egyptians for silver and gold and were given it! The silver and gold show up in the story of the Golden Calf in Chapter 32.)

Consistent with Numbers 1:46, 600,000 men with children, flocks and herds (women were completely ignored) departed Rameses and began the trip to the Promised Land after 430 years in Egypt (12:40). At Succoth, YHWH gave further instructions for Passover when the Israelites were in their own land and also directed that the firstborn should be set apart for YHWH (13:12).

YHWH led them in a “roundabout way toward the Red Sea” (13:18) to avoid the Philistines. (This is an anachronism. The Philistines did not come into these lands until the 12th Century BCE.) As to the body of water to be crossed, The New Oxford Annotated Bible explains: “The Hebrew name for Red Sea is ‘yam suf’ which can mean both Sea of Reeds and Sea of the End (that is, distant). Some retain the traditional meaning, the Red Sea, while others think a shallow body of water farther north, perhaps in the area of Lake Timsah is meant. It seems more fitting contextually that the climax of the liberating process should involve a miraculous splitting of a great and distant sea rather than a storm in a shallow lake.” The traditional designation “Red Sea” resulted from the translation into Greek in the Septuagint (LXX) in the 4th Century BCE.

YHWH then told Moses to tell the Israelites to turn back and pitch a camp so that the Egyptians would pursue them. YHWH said, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will pursue them so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD” (14:4). The approach of the Egyptians with hundreds of chariots made the Israelites fearful. As part of a pattern of complaining during the Exodus, they asked Moses “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us bringing us out of Egypt?” (14:11).

YHWH told Moses to reassure the Israelites that he (YHWH) would defeat the Egyptians and “gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his chariot drivers” (14:17).

Today’s reading tells the story of the deliverance of the Israelites from Pharaoh by the parting of the Sea of Reeds/Red Sea. It combines at least two traditions, one in which the sea was turned into dry land (vv.21 and 29) and another in which the mud clogged the wheels of the Egyptians’ chariots (v.25). The two traditions are also shown by the statements that both an angel and a pillar of cloud led them (v.19).

In this portion of the Exodus, the focus was on the power of YHWH versus the power of Pharaoh (whom Egyptians saw as a god). The exercise of YHHW’s power led the Israelites to “fear the LORD and believe in YHWH and his servant Moses” (v. 31).

The story of the deliverance through the sea is found a number of times in Exodus and in Psalms 78:13, 53 and 106:9. The oldest account is the “Song of Moses” and is in poetry form in Chapter 15:1-20. In that reading, Miriam (identified as Aaron’s sister) is described as a prophet because she led the celebration of the deliverance (15:20).

Genesis 50:15-21

Reading

15 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” 16 So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died, 17 ‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. 21 So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

Commentary

The word “Genesis” means “origin” and the Book of Genesis starts with the two Creation Stories and concludes with the death of Joseph (Jacob’s son) in Egypt. If the stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are historical, these events took place in the period from 1900 to 1700 BCE.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which were written down about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

Today’s reading continues the story of Joseph. In the last reading, Joseph was reconciled with his brothers (Ch. 45). In the intervening chapters, Jacob and his family relocated to Goshen in Egypt (47:27); Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons and favored the younger son, Ephraim (48:20); Jacob gave blessings to each of his sons (Ch.49); and Jacob/Israel died and was buried at Mamre with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah (Gen.50:1-14).

Today’s reading is from the last chapter of Genesis. The Jewish Study Bible states: “The overall mood of this chapter is marked by reverence for these larger-than-life figures and awareness that the promise that started their ancestor Abraham on his fateful journey (12:1-3) that has now amazingly largely been fulfilled.” It adds that a “discordant note” is “the anxiety of Joseph’s brothers that their earstwhile victim will seek revenge now that he is no longer accountable to his father” (v.15).

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes: “Now that Jacob has died, what will Joseph be like? [The brothers’] message to Joseph (vv.16-17) is the first explicit request for forgiveness that is recorded and they slyly invoke their father’s command [to seek forgiveness]. No wonder Joseph wept. Would they ever learn? Their second attempt begins with the sign of abjection (v.18). Joseph does not deny their evildoing, but points to a higher factor, God’s doing.”

The NOAB notes: “Since [the brothers] had just spoken of themselves as God’s slaves/servants (v.17), their description of themselves as Joseph’s slaves/servants (v.18) implicitly equated him [Joseph] with God. Echoing his father’s words to Rachel (“Am I in the place of God? 30:2), Joseph rejected this equation, attributing his dominion over his brothers as resulting from God’s plan for him to provide for them (v.21).”

Joseph told them that even though they intended to do harm to him, God intended their sale of him into slavery “for good, in order to preserve a numerous people” (v. 20). This statement reflected two important theological ideas of the authors of Genesis and Exodus – that God controls everything and God’s purposes are not always readily apparent.

Other portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, such as much of the Deuteronomic History, Ezekiel, and some of the Minor Prophets, emphasize the importance of human “agency” and the idea that the decisions which people make have an effect on outcomes.

Romans 14:1-12

Reading

1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also, those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” 12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. The term “Christian” had not been invented in his lifetime.

In today’s reading, Paul urged Gentile Jesus Followers not to look down on (“despise” v.3) Jewish Jesus Followers who follow the Kosher laws (vv. 2-3) and who observe the Lord’s Day (Sabbath) on a different day (v. 5-6). Paul emphasized that Jews and Gentiles both live in honor of the Lord (v.8). Paraphrasing (and expanding) Isaiah 45:23b, Paul urged both groups to honor God and reminded them that they will each be accountable in their own ways (v.12).

The NOAB observes: “Those who eat only vegetables are most likely keeping kosher by avoiding ‘unclean’ meat (v.14) or meat ‘sacrificed to idols’ (Acts 15:29). Paul calls them weak in faith (or “conviction”), not because they adhere to the Torah, but because they are scandalized by Gentile Christians who eat non-kosher food (vv.13,15,20). The NJBC notes: “Once it is seen that such an issue is not related to the essentials of Christian faith, the obligation of mutual charity becomes clear. Each must accept the other as God would.”

The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that “day” (v.6) “is not specified; it could be the Sabbath or other feast days, but could also reflect disputes regarding correct observance based on differing calendars.”

Matthew 18:21-35

Reading

21 Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times.

23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Commentary

The Gospel of Matthew highlights Jesus’ origins and identity. Written around 85 CE by an anonymous author, the Gospel began Jesus’ genealogy with Abraham and depicted Jesus as a teacher of the Law like Moses. More than any other Gospel, Matthew quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (using the Greek Septuagint translation) to illustrate that Jesus was the Messiah.

Because it was written after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Gospel reflected the controversies between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees for control of Judaism going forward. Accordingly, the Gospel contains many harsh sayings about the Pharisees. The Gospel is aimed primarily at the late First Century Jewish Jesus Follower community.

The Gospel relied heavily on the Gospel of Mark and included all but 60 verses from Mark. Like Luke, Matthew also used a “Sayings Source” (called “Q” by scholars) which are stories and sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. There are also a substantial number of stories that are unique to Matthew: the Annunciation of Jesus’ conception was revealed to Joseph in a dream (rather than by an angel to Mary as in Luke); the Visit of the Magi; the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod; the Flight to Egypt; the Laborers in the Vineyard; and the earthquake on Easter Morning, among others.

Today’s reading is in two parts. The first is “Q” material, and appears in Luke 17:4 (with forgiveness seven times). The idea of “seventy-seven” as representing a large number is found in Genesis 4:24.

The second part of the reading is the “Parable of the Unjust Servant” and is found only in Matthew. The NOAB points out that a Talent was worth more than 15 years wages of a laborer. If (in today’s dollars), a laborer was paid $100 a day or $30,000 in a year, a Talent would be $450,000, and 10,000 Talents would be $4.5 Billion. By comparison, a denari was a day’s wages ($100 in today’s dollars) and the slave who owed 100 denarii would have owed about $10,000.

The NJBC comments that the Parable of the Unjust Servant “is only loosely attached to this teaching [in vv. 21-22]. It is properly a homiletic midrash on the instruction of Matthew in 6:12, 14-15 [The Our Father and verses following], probably composed by the evangelist himself to make part of the Lord’s Prayer vivid to his people.”

2023, August 20 ~Genesis 45:1-15; Isaiah 56:1,6-8; Romans 11:1-2a,29-32; Matthew 15:10-28

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 20, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2023, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Genesis 45:1-15

Reading

1 Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So, no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

Commentary

The word “Genesis” means “origin” and the Book of Genesis starts with the two Creation Stories and concludes with the death of Joseph (Jacob’s son) in Egypt. If the stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are historical, these events took place in the period from 1900 to 1700 BCE.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

Today’s reading continues the story of Joseph. In the intervening chapters since last week’s story of Joseph’s being sold into slavery by his 10 older brothers, he was then sold to Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh who put him in charge of his own house. Potiphar’s wife tried unsuccessfully to seduce Joseph, then falsely accused him, and had him imprisoned. When in prison, Joseph (with YHWH’s help) interpreted dreams for the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. Later, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and Pharaoh placed Joseph in charge of the nation. Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams was accurate, and Egypt prepared for (and survived) a famine.

The famine also hit Canaan, and Jacob/Israel sent his 10 oldest sons to Egypt where they bought grain. Joseph did not identify himself to them when they came to Egypt. When the grain ran out again in Canaan, the 10 brothers (along with Benjamin, the youngest and favorite son of Jacob) went to Egypt. After Joseph devised a ruse by which the brothers unknowingly took Joseph’s silver cup, Joseph accused them of stealing it and threatened to keep Benjamin as his slave. Judah (the fourth oldest brother) agreed to be Joseph’s slave if Joseph would spare Benjamin. In Judah’s long speech, he even suggested that Joseph would effectively kill Jacob if Joseph did not agree to return Benjamin to Jacob (44:30-31). Judah’s selflessness showed he was a true brother to Benjamin and to his other brothers.

Hearing this affirmation of brotherhood, Joseph identified himself to his brothers in today’s emotional reading. In affirming that he was the “ruler over the whole land of Egypt” (v.8), The Jewish Study Bible notes that Joseph was (in effect) answering the question posed by his brothers in 37:8 “Do you mean to rule over us?”

The author of the story conveyed the theological idea that God controls everything – that Joseph’s being sold into slavery was God’s plan (v.5); God made Joseph “a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land” (v.8); and “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors” (v.7). Other parts of the Bible emphasize human agency to a greater extent.

It is not known where the “land of Goshen” (v.10) is located. The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that it is probably located in the eastern Nile delta.

The term “remnant” is a shorthand expression used in other parts of the Bible to designate those Judeans who were preserved in Babylon during the Exile and who were permitted to return to Jerusalem in 539 BCE when the Exile ended. Its use in today’s reading in anachronistic and reflects the late date at which the Joseph story was finalized.

Isaiah 56:1,6-8

Reading

1 Thus says the LORD: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.
6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant —
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
8 Thus says the LORD GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile ended.

Today’s reading is part of Third Isaiah and is inclusive in tone. Speaking for YHWH, Isaiah affirmed that foreigners (Gentiles) who join themselves to YHWH and keep the sabbath will be joyful in the Temple, YHWH’s house (v.7). The NAOB notes that Sabbath observance is seen here as the distinguishing mark of the covenant with YHWH. The JSB says: “This passage shows the beginnings of the religious institution that later came to be called conversion, and rabbinic commentators understand the passage as referring to converts.”

In the omitted verses (2-5), Isaiah spoke for YHWH in giving eunuchs (generally, sexually mutilated persons) who observe the sabbath access to the Temple (v.4-5). These verses contradict the prohibitions in Lev. 21:18 and Deut. 23:1. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary understands the reason for the exclusion of eunuchs from “the assembly of the LORD” was because “it seemed improper for a person, deprived of the power of transmitting life, to associate with the God of life [citing secondary sources].”

In the period after the Exile, there was a tension between those who sought to keep Judaism only for Jews and those who were open to including Gentiles. Ezra and Nehemiah (who wrote around 450 BCE) were exclusivists who sought to keep Judeans “pure” by excluding foreigners, including the foreign wives some Jews in Jerusalem had married during the Exile (Ezra 10). An inclusivist position was taken by the authors of Third Isaiah, and the Books of Jonah and Ruth.

This disagreement continued into the First Century of the Common Era. In opposition to the exclusivist Sadducees, Jesus of Nazareth was clearly presented in the Gospels as an inclusivist. As shown in Acts of the Apostles and in the reading today from Romans, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement (which remained a Jewish sect for most of the First Century), as inclusive and welcoming to Gentiles.

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Reading

1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2a God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. The term “Christian” had not been invented in his lifetime.

In today’s reading, Paul reaffirmed that he was an “Israelite” (v.1) and noted that God had not rejected the Israelites in favor of Gentile Jesus Followers. The NAOB describes the omitted verses and the conclusion of Chapter 11 as the “heart of the purpose” of the letter to the Romans. The NAOB continues: “Paul stated that he was obliged as apostle to the Gentiles to address the Christians of Rome and to give a solemn warning against arrogance towards the Jews.”

The NJBC summarizes this chapter as saying that Israel’s disbelief is only partial and is only temporary. In God’s plan, mercy will be shown to all, Jews included.

In other omitted verses (17-24), Paul introduced a metaphor of an olive tree to which the Gentiles who believe in the Christ have been grafted. The Jewish Annotated New Testament sees the tree as all who are in the family of God — Israelite branches as well as ones from other nations. Paul warned that the grafted branch (Gentile Jesus Followers) could be severed from the tree if it looked arrogantly upon the broken branches.

In the concluding verses of today’s reading, Paul warned against arrogance towards Jews (including Jewish Jesus Followers) by Gentile Jesus Followers (v.31-32). The JANT says: Paul urged the Gentile Jesus Followers not to be arrogant but instead to recognize that the grace with which they had been blessed should be internalized and turned to regard the Israelites’ suffering with a spirit of grace.

For Paul, the Jesus Follower Movement was a part of a reformed and expansive Judaism, one that was also open to uncircumcised Gentiles. Paul’s view was consistent with the inclusivism of Jesus in the Gospels and the inclusivism in Third Isaiah as seen in today’s reading.

Matthew 15:10-28

Reading

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Commentary

The Gospel of Matthew highlights Jesus’ origins and identity. Written around 85 CE by an anonymous author, the Gospel began Jesus’ genealogy with Abraham and depicted Jesus as a teacher of the Law like Moses. More than any other Gospel, Matthew quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (using the Greek Septuagint translation) to illustrate that Jesus was the Messiah.

Because it was written after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Gospel reflected the controversies between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees for control of Judaism going forward. Accordingly, the Gospel contains many harsh sayings about the Pharisees. The Gospel is aimed primarily at the late First Century Jewish Jesus Follower community.

The Gospel relied heavily on the Gospel of Mark and included all but 60 verses from Mark. Like Luke, Matthew also used a “Sayings Source” (called “Q” by scholars) which are stories and sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. There are also a substantial number of stories that are unique to Matthew: the Annunciation of Jesus’ conception was revealed to Joseph in a dream (rather than by an angel to Mary as in Luke); the Visit of the Magi; the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod; the Flight to Egypt; the Laborers in the Vineyard; and the earthquake on Easter Morning, among others.

Today’s reading has two passages that are not related. The first part of the reading is the continuation of a story about the Pharisees’ asking Jesus about his disciples’ “breaking the tradition of the elders” by not washing their hands before they eat. The “tradition of the elders” were regulations generally adopted in Judaism, but not contained in the Torah. These interpretations were also known as the “Oral Torah.” Jewish Tradition asserted that not only was the written Torah given to Moses, but also the Oral Torah, and that the religious authorities (the “elders”) were able to know and express these regulations. Eventually, the Oral Torah was written down in the Mishnah by 200 CE, and then was further interpreted in the Gemara by about 350 CE, and finally was codified in the Talmud in Babylon around 500 CE.

As the story continued in the portion before today’s reading, Jesus pushed back at the Pharisees by accusing them of breaking the commandment to honor one’s parents by engaging in a practice called “Korban.” Korban involved a vow to give funds to the Temple and using this as a reason not to support their own parents. The “theory” supporting Korban was that funds had been given to them by God and giving them to the Temple was giving them back to God. This exonerated them from having to support their parents. The NAOB points out that later rabbinic tradition said that the obligation to support one’s parents overrode a vow of giving funds to religious causes.

In today’s reading, Matthew portrayed Jesus as continuing his rejection of the Pharisees’ argument that failure to wash hands would “defile” (v.11) a person. The NAOB notes that in this context, “defiled” means being ritually unclean and therefore unable to participate in worship in the Temple. Continuing the pushback, Matthew says that Jesus referred to the Pharisees as “blind” (v.14).

The JANT observes that Matthew omitted Mark’s claim (Mk. 7:19) that Jesus declared all foods clean. For Matthew (given his Jewish Jesus Follower audience), the dietary laws remained in place but some traditions of the elders were not followed.

In the second pericope, Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon (v.21). Tyre and Sidon were cities on the Mediterranean Sea and were part of the Province of Syria. According to The JANT, these cities had been rebuked many times in the Hebrew Bible for their extravagant wealth [citing examples]. These cities were about 30 miles from Gennesaret (near the Sea of Galilee where Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees) and some scholars have speculated that (if the story is historical) Jesus was going to Tyre and Sidon for some R&R.

As he approached the region, a Canaanite woman (traditional enemies of Israel and Baal-worshipers) addressed Jesus as “Lord, Son of David” – a Jewish messianic title. In their exchange, Jesus indirectly insulted the woman by referring to her and her child as a “dog” (v.26). Her rejoinder, however, caused Jesus to understand that his mission was not only to “the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (v.24) but was to all people – a theme reiterated by Matthew in the Great Commission (28:19).

2023, August 13 ~ Genesis 37:1-4,12-28; 1 Kings 19:9-18; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 13, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2023, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Reading

1 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of the family of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

He came to Shechem, 15 and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’“ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan.18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” — that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Commentary

The word “Genesis” means “origin” and the Book of Genesis starts with the two Creation Stories and concludes with the death of Joseph (Jacob’s son) in Egypt. If the stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are historical, these events took place in the period from 1900 to 1700 BCE.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

Today’s reading jumps from the marriage of Jacob and Rachel (Chapter 29) to the long and remarkably cohesive story of Joseph and his brothers in Chapters 37 to 50. In the intervening chapters (29 to 37) Jacob had 12 sons, six by Leah, two by Leah’s maid (Zilpah), two by Rachel’s maid (Bilhah), and two by Rachel (Joseph and Benjamin). He also had a daughter, Dinah, by Leah. As the stories continued, Jacob left Haran and traveled to Canaan, wrestled with an angel/God who changed his name to “Israel” (Ch. 32) and encountered (and reconciled with) Esau along the way (Ch. 33).

Joseph was Jacob’s 11th son; his mother was Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. Joseph’s older brothers had antipathy and resentment toward him because of a “bad report” Joseph gave to Jacob (v. 2) and because of Jacob’s giving Joseph a robe with sleeves (not many colors notwithstanding the LXX) (v.3), a sign of royalty (See 2 Sam. 13:18). This animosity was enhanced when Joseph recounted to his brothers (in verses 5 to 11) two dreams which he interpreted as showing that he would lord over his older brothers. The New Oxford Annotated Bible notes that Jacob saw the dream as predicting that he and Joseph’s mother, Rachel, would join the brothers in submitting to Joseph (v.10). The NAOB suggests that “this episode was probably part of an independent Joseph story that originally did not follow an account of Rachel’s death [Gen.35:19].”

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that the enmity caused by Joseph’s reports comes from “P”; the enmity from favoritism is from “J”; and the hostility from the “ruling” dreams is from “E.”

According to the story, Joseph traveled a long distance to find his brothers. It is about 50 miles from the valley of Hebron (v.14) to Shechem and another 20 miles north from Shechem to Dothan (v.17), a town along a trade route from Syria to Egypt, where Joseph was thrown into a pit. The NOAB observes that the pits were cisterns for storing rain water and sometimes used to imprison people. It continues: “The advice of Reuben and Judah reflects the ancient idea that blood cannot be “concealed” (v.26) but cries out for requital (See 4:10-11 [Cain and Abel].” It shows the brothers’ callousness that after throwing Joseph in a pit, they sat down to eat (v.25).

Joseph was sold into slavery (depending on the source) to Ishmaelites (v.27) (the descendants of Abraham’s son by Sarah’s maid, Hagar) or to Midianites (v.28). Joseph was and saved from death by the oldest brother, Reuben (v.22) (who planned to rescue him), and the fourth oldest brother, Judah (v.27).The Jewish Study Bible observes that Reuben and the Midianites are derived from the “E” version of the story and Judah and the Ishmaelites fare rom the “J” version.

Continuing this inconsistency from multiple sources, the story later says that Joseph was sold to Potiphar in Egypt by the Midianites (v.36) and by the Ishmaelites (39:1). Judah later took the leadership role in dealing with Joseph in Egypt. Judah’s tribe eventually inhabited Jerusalem and the area around it.

The multiplicity of sources is also shown by Jacob’s name being recounted as “Israel” (v.3) and elsewhere as Jacob (42:4).

The JSB points out that the patriarchal narrative is replete with appearances of God or his messengers and oracles from them, but Joseph never sees or hears God or his messengers. The only direct revelation in these chapters comes to Jacob in chapter 46. In the Joseph story, God is understood as working in hidden ways – secretly guiding the course of human events and even bringing good out of human evil (50:20).

1 Kings 19:9-18

Reading

9 At Horeb, the mount of God, Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Commentary

The authors of the Book of Kings also wrote the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel, usually called the “Deuteronomic History,” a didactic history of Ancient Israel from the time in the Wilderness (c. 1250 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity in 587 BCE.

These books were given their final form around 500 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH properly and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. His wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.

The prophet Elijah is the subject of today’s reading. Just prior to these verses, Elijah invoked the power of YHWH to overcome the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel in the Northern part of Israel. He successfully urged YHWH to bring fire upon a huge sacrifice and then to bring rain to end a drought. Elijah then killed all the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).

King Ahab told his Baal-worshiping wife, Jezebel, what Elijah had done (19:1). Jezebel swore to kill Elijah (v.2), so he ran away as far south in Israel as he could – first to Beer-sheba and then to the Wilderness where he hoped to die (v.4). (The theme of a prophet wishing to die out of a sense of isolation and failure was repeated in Jonah 4:3.)

YHWH’s angels provided food to Elijah so he could journey to Horeb (meaning “dry place”) and continue his ministry (v.5,7). For the Deuteronomists, the holy mountain was called “Horeb” rather than Sinai. “Sinai” was the name used by most of the authors of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Elijah’s receiving food in the wilderness was parallel to Hagar’s story in Genesis 21:19 and gave him strength for the journey to Horeb which took “forty days and forty nights” (v.8). Horeb was also the place where Moses had the Burning Bush experience (Ex. 3:1).

The Jewish Study Bible points out that, depending on the terrain, a person could cover 15-25 miles a day walking. If Elijah walked for 40 days and 40 nights, he could have covered between 600 and 1,000 miles. The JSB suggests that 40 is merely a “formulaic number” for “a long time” and is not to be taken literally.

When Elijah was at Horeb, the voice of YHWH came to him in the silence (vv.12-13) and told him to anoint Hazael as king of Aram (modern Syria). YHWH also told Elijah to commit treason by anointing Jehu as King of Israel even while Ahab was still alive (v.16). The NAOB says: “The new order is to succeed the old, and it is that order which will bring about the final victory over Baal worship, not through obviously spectacular demonstrations of divine power as in chapter 18, but through the (quieter) political processes as God removes certain kings and sets up others.”

This is not the first instance of treasonous activity in the Deuteronomists’ accounts. YHWH told Samuel to anoint David as King even though the anointed king, Saul, was still alive. (1 Sam.16:13).

The NAOB observes that “the emphasis at Carmel had been on God’s spectacular ways and particularly on his use of fire. The emphasis here is upon God’s quiet ways. He is not to be found on this occasion in the spectacular elements of the storm outside the cave.”

Romans 10:5-15

Reading

5 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15 And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. The term “Christian” had not been invented in his lifetime.

The NJBC interprets the verses preceding today’s reading as follows: “They explain how Paul could not only regard Christ as the goal of the law but also look upon uprightness through faith in him as a way to fulfill the law itself and uphold all that it stood for. The prized status of uprightness before God is now available to everyone through faith.”

According to The NAOB, the righteousness from the law and righteousness from faith are not opposed since there is only God’s righteousness (v.3). It continues: “The promise of life to the person who does these things (Lev 18.5) requires not human effort to produce the messiah, but faith in the messiah whom God has sent. Such is Paul’s christological reading of Deut 30.11-14.”

Regarding today’s reading, The NAOB suggests that in verses 5-13, “using a common Jewish technique, Paul interprets one passage of scripture (Lev. 18.5) in light of others.” (Lev.18:5 reads: “You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live; I am the LORD.”) Paul then used Deut. 30:14 (“The word is very near you.”) which Paul paraphrased in v.8; Isaiah 28:16b (“One who trusts [in the LORD] will not panic”) which Paul loosely paraphrased in verse 11; and Joel 2:32a (“Then everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved”) which Paul quoted in verse 13.

Paul used terms in Romans that need to be unpacked. “Righteousness” (v.5) is understood as being in right relationships with God and others and is sometimes translated as “justified.” A “just” person is also a “righteous” person, and “justified” (v.10) is used the same way that a page of type is “justified” – all the margins are straight and in order. The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes: “Righteousness is an expression of one’s intent, of doing right for the right reasons.”

“Faith” (v.6) is not used as an intellectual assent to one or more propositions. The Greek word for “faith” (pistis) has an active aspect and should be more properly understood as “faithfulness” – active living into one’s beliefs through grace and trust in God. Paul emphasized that “belief” is a matter of the heart (v.10), not the intellect.

As a Jewish Jesus Follower, Paul continued to respect the “law” (the Torah) but emphasized that mere obedience to the Law was not sufficient for salvation, wholeness, or righteousness. Righteousness is a matter of the heart and living in active faithfulness just as Jesus the Christ was faithful to the God of Love. The NAOB observes: “For Paul, observing Torah involves being faithful to the revelation of Christ; he is not arguing for Torah’s abolition but for recognizing its goals.”

In verse 9, Paul once again asserted God’s agency in raising Jesus from the dead. The NJBC notes that in verse 10, Paul was implying that one should not “overstress the differences between justification and salvation.”

In verses 12 and 13, Paul continued his call for unity between the Jewish Jesus Followers and the Gentile Jesus Followers (“no distinction between Jew and Greek”). The NJBC also observes: “Paul’s use of Kyrios can only refer to Jesus who is the risen Lord of the Jew and Greek.”

“Kyrios” was the Greek word used in the Septuagint to translate “YHWH,” so Paul was making a clear equivalence between YHWH as LORD and Jesus the Christ as LORD.

In the concluding verses (14 and 15), Paul asserted that God was remaining faithful to Israel by having the “good news” preached to them. Verse 15 is a paraphrase of Isaiah 52:7 (“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation…”)

Matthew 14:22-33

Reading

22 Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Commentary

The Gospel of Matthew highlights Jesus’ origins and identity. Written around 85 CE by an anonymous author, the Gospel began Jesus’ genealogy with Abraham and depicted Jesus as a teacher of the Law like Moses. More than any other Gospel, Matthew quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (using the Greek Septuagint translation) to illustrate that Jesus was the Messiah.

Because it was written after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Gospel reflected the controversies between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees for control of Judaism going forward. Accordingly, the Gospel contains many harsh sayings about the Pharisees. The Gospel is aimed primarily at the late First Century Jewish Jesus Follower community.

The Gospel relied heavily on the Gospel of Mark and included all but 60 verses from Mark. Like Luke, Matthew also used a “Sayings Source” (called “Q” by scholars) which are stories and sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. There are also a substantial number of stories that are unique to Matthew: the Annunciation of Jesus’ conception was revealed to Joseph in a dream (rather than by an angel to Mary as in Luke); the Visit of the Magi; the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod; the Flight to Egypt; the Laborers in the Vineyard; and the earthquake on Easter Morning, among others.

Today’s reading follows the story of the feeding of the 5,000 and is a story that shows Jesus’ dominion over nature. It appears in Mark and John, but not in Luke.

The NAOB points out that Jesus’ response “it is I” is literally “I am” – a reference to the divine name in Ex. 3:14 and a clear identification by the author of Jesus with God. It also notes that the story with Peter (vv. 28-31) is not found in Mark or John and is an echo of Psalm 69:1-3.

The JANT observes that the disciples’ calling Jesus “Son of God” (v.33) indicated the author’s assertion of Jesus’ divine nature. The JANT goes on to say that the phrase “may have been a messianic reference [citing sources]; no Jewish texts identify the Messiah as the son of God.”

2023, July 30 ~ Genesis 29:15-28; 1 Kings 3:5-12; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 30, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2023, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Genesis 29:15-28

Reading

15 Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. 23 But in the evening, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country — giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

Commentary

The word “Genesis” means “origin” and the Book of Genesis starts with the two Creation Stories and concludes with the death of Joseph (Jacob’s son) in Egypt. If the stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are historical, these events took place in the period from 1900 to 1700 BCE.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

Today’s story is the concluding part of Jacob’s journey to find a wife in the land from which Abraham came, Haran. Like many other Biblical men, Jacob met his wife Rachel at a well. Rachel was Jacob’s first cousin in that her father, Laban, was Rebekah’s brother. Although Jacob was previously described in 25:27 as “a mild man who stayed in camp” (JPS) or “a quiet man, living in tents” (NRSV), when he saw Rachel he performed a feat of great strength and singlehandedly rolled the stone from the mouth of the well – a task that would have required the efforts of all the other shepherds who were there (v.10). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes that Jacob, the “heelgripper” (25:26), “knows how to seize the opportunity.”

When Jacob saw Rachel, he kissed her (v.11), and agreed to work for Laban for seven years so Rachel would be his wife (v.18). Scholars note that this story contains one of the few accounts of romantic love in the Bible.

Previously, Jacob (with Rebekah’s assistance) had tricked his father Isaac into giving him the blessing that belonged to Esau, his older twin brother (27:5-29). When the time came for Jacob to marry Rachel, in a clearly ironic twist, Laban tricked the trickster Jacob by substituting his older daughter (Leah) for Rachel in Jacob’s tent on his wedding night (v.23). The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that this exchange could be made because the bride was brought veiled to the bridegroom (24:65). The NJBC observes that although Leah’s eyes were described as “lovely” (v.17), the Hebrew word is “rak” which can also mean dull and without luster.

Jacob was understandably unhappy about this development but agreed with Laban to “complete Leah’s week” of marriage festivities, and Laban gave Rachel to Jacob as another wife (v.28). Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years (v.30). Leah bore Jacob’s first four sons, including Judah.

Continuing the theme of the “barren matriarch” that began with Sarah and Rebekah, Rachel was unable to conceive until Jacob had already sired a total of ten sons by Leah, Rachel’s maid (Bilhah) and Leah’s maid (Zilpah). After many years, Rachel gave birth to Joseph (who had the famous coat) (30:22-24) and later died in childbirth when Jacob’s last son, Benjamin, was born (35:19).

1 Kings 3:5-12

Reading

5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”

10 It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.”

Commentary

The authors of the Book of Kings also wrote the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel, usually called the “Deuteronomic History,” a didactic history of Ancient Israel from the time in the Wilderness (c. 1250 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity in 587 BCE.

These books were given their final form around 500 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH properly and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

Prior to today’s story, Solomon (who was David’s son by Bathsheba, and not the oldest of David’s sons) acceded to the throne upon David’s death in about 965 BCE through the machinations of Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan (1 Kings 1). Solomon was anointed king even before David’s death, and then ruthlessly eliminated those who might have challenged him as king (1 Kings 2).

Immediately before today’s reading, the author reported that Solomon made a marriage alliance with the Pharaoh and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to Jerusalem (v.1) — an action which The NAOB describes as “questionable from a moral point of view” (see Deut. 17:16). The marriage, along with having other foreign wives was noted in 11:1 as one of the reasons for YHWH’s anger with Solomon (11:9). The Jewish Study Bible observes: “Since Egyptian sources indicate it is unlikely that the actual daughter of a reigning pharaoh would have been given in marriage to a non-Egyptian, “daughter” may refer to a woman closely related or descended from the royal family.”

In addition, “the people were sacrificing at high places” (v.2) – another violation of Deuteronomic Law – although (according to The JSB) this prohibition did not arise until after Solomon built the First Temple.

The NJBC takes a more generous view. It sees the marriage as “a common political practice of the day” and notes that worship of YHWH at high places was acceptable before Solomon built the First Temple. The NJBC observes that “Solomon loved YHWH, offered incense at high places” and made an extravagant (1,000 burnt offerings) at Gibeon (v.3).

Today’s story is recounted as a dream sequence in which Solomon asked YHWH for wisdom, and YHWH granted him a wise and discerning mind (v.12). The NAOB suggests that the phrase “not knowing how to go out and come in” (v.7) likely implied a lack of military experience. The notion that the people were “so numerous that they cannot not be numbered or counted” is likely a reference back to the census taken by David (2 Sam. 24) that made YHWH angry – perhaps because it was an act of pride on David’s part.

As events unfolded in 1 Kings, Solomon gained great wealth, expanded Israel’s borders, and exhibited wisdom in the famous “cut the baby in half” incident (3:16-28). But as his rule progressed, he governed Israel harshly and married many foreign wives who turned his heart away from YHWH (1 Kings 11).

According to the Deuteronomists, Solomon’s harsh rule contributed greatly to the breakup of the Kingdom in 930 BCE when he died (1 Kings 12 and 13). Eventually, both the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judea) were conquered, respectively, by the Assyrians in 722 BCE and the Babylonians (587 BCE).

Romans 8:26-39

Reading

26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

38 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. The term “Christian” had not been invented in his lifetime.

Today’s reading concludes Paul’s theologically dense discussion in Chapter 8. The NAOB interprets the earlier portions of this chapter as follows: The inclinations of human “flesh” prevented earlier generations – including those who received the law at Mount Sinai — from fulfilling the “just requirement of the law.” The law is “thus weakened by the flesh” but Christ satisfied “the just requirement” through “his own act of righteousness.” The law’s “just requirement” is the standard of righteous living.

The NAOB continues that when Paul spoke of “the law of the spirit of life and of death” he was not referring to two different laws but rather to God’s law experienced under two opposing dominions — sin and of righteousness.

Paul’s theology included the idea that “all things work together for good for those who love God” (v.28). Even if matters are not going well, God’s purpose nevertheless prevails (v.28). Paul asserted “foreknowledge” on God’s part (v.29) and predestination (v.30). The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that Paul assumed in verse 30 that justification and glorification have been accomplished.

Verses 31 to 35 are presented as rhetorical questions, and The JANT suggests that verse 34b is also a rhetorical question even though the NRSV does not translate or punctuate it that way.

In verse 36, Paul quoted Psalm 44:22, a psalm in which Israel stated that it was being mistreated and implored God to intervene on its behalf.

The reading concluded with an oft-quoted affirmation that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (vv. 38-39).

Matthew 13:31-33,44-52

Reading

31 Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Commentary

The Gospel of Matthew highlights Jesus’ origins and identity. Written around 85 CE by an anonymous author, the Gospel began Jesus’ genealogy with Abraham and depicted Jesus as a teacher of the Law like Moses. More than any other Gospel, Matthew quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (using the Greek Septuagint translation) to illustrate that Jesus was the Messiah.

Because it was written after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Gospel reflected the controversies between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees for control of Judaism going forward. Accordingly, the Gospel contains many harsh sayings about the Pharisees. The Gospel is aimed primarily at the late First Century Jewish Jesus Follower community.

The Gospel relied heavily on the Gospel of Mark and included all but 60 verses from Mark. Like Luke, Matthew also used a “Sayings Source” (called “Q” by scholars) which are stories and sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. There are also a substantial number of stories that are unique to Matthew: the Annunciation of Jesus’ conception was revealed to Joseph in a dream (rather than by an angel to Mary as in Luke); the Visit of the Magi; the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod; the Flight to Egypt; the Laborers in the Vineyard; and the earthquake on Easter Morning, among others.

Out of respect for his Jewish Jesus Follower audience, Matthew did not refer to “the Kingdom of God,” but instead to the “kingdom of heaven.”

The parables/comparisons to the kingdom of heaven in today’s readings are all intended to convey the great value of seeking the kingdom of heaven wholeheartedly and the enormous impact that seeking the kingdom will have in the world. The parables, do not, however, make sense on a literal or practical level.

No sane farmer would sow a mustard seed in his field. A mustard bush is like kudzu – it grows wild and takes over everything in its path. Moreover, what person cultivating a field wants birds in his field where they will eat the seeds and the crops? On a non-literal level, however, the parable emphasized the enormous impact a person who is righteous (in right relation with God, others and oneself) can have. The JANT notes that Jesus was using hyperbole to refer to the growth of the kingdom of heaven.

It would be an extraordinary First Century woman who would have “three measures” (v.33) of flour – about 60 pounds. Is she making bread for the entire village? The JANT observes that it is “an account of unexpected exaggeration.” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out: “Leaven in Jewish tradition often had the symbolic meaning of evil, the proneness or tendency to sin in an individual, connected with the rituals of Passover as the feast of Unleavened Bread.”

Selling everything one owns (v.44) to buy a field to get a “treasure” also makes no practical sense. What would this person be left with after having the treasure? No home, no other assets to buy food or anything else. What would the person do with the treasure? Similarly, the pearl merchant was said to “sell all that he had” (v. 46). Now what? The JANT points out that in Rabbinic Literature, pearls relate to piety and Torah Study.

The comparison of the kingdom of heaven to the net (v.47) describes an apocalyptic process in which the good will be separated from the bad at the end of the age (v.48). The JANT says, “Fishermen in the Sea of Galilee would have had to separate kosher and non-kosher fish from their nets.”

Some commentators take Jesus’ question “Have you understood all this?” (v.51) as ironic in that the later behaviors of the disciples showed that they did not fully understand the importance of giving one’s full efforts to the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus’ rejoinder (vv.52-53) is interpreted by The JANT as a positive reference to “Matthew’s own scribes (citing references).” The JANT understands “what is old and what is new” as “implying that older Torah teachings are still valid, but Jesus’ new interpretations must be heeded as well. The rabbis [in the Talmud] also utilized ‘old’ and ‘new’ to refer to the teachings of the Torah and the scribal interpretations of those teachings, respectively [citing Talmud sources].”

2023, July 23 ~ Genesis 28:10-19a: Isaiah 44:6-8; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 23, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2023, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Genesis 28.10-19a

Reading

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place — and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19a He called that place Bethel.

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (“five books”) in Greek. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

The first 11 Chapters of Genesis are called the “primeval history” which ends with the Tower of Babel story — an “etiology” (story of origins) relating to the scattering of humankind and the multiplicity of languages. The last chapter of the primeval history also traces Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”).

In the intervening chapters since last week’s reading, after a famine, Isaac went to Abimelech, the King of the Philistines in Gerar, where he passed Rebekah off as his sister in order to save his own life (26:6) but the King found out and protected Rebekah. Isaac prospered in Gerar and then moved to Beer-sheba where God reiterated to him the promises made to Abraham (26:24). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes that the site of Gerar “cannot be identified with certainty but that it seems to be about midway between Beer-sheba and Gaza.”

Scholars agree that the reference to the Philistines is anachronistic in that the Philistines did not arrive in Canaan until about 1,200 BCE.

When Isaac was very old and nearly blind, Jacob (with Rebekah’s connivance) tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing that should have gone to Jacob’s older twin brother, Esau (27:1-29). Esau begged Isaac for a blessing and received one that was inferior to the one given to Jacob (27:30-40).

Regarding the “blessing,” The NJBC says it is a “vitality that is passed on by the one who is departing from life to the one who is continuing in life. Because the blessing is concerned with vitality as a whole, the blessing cannot return or be subsequently altered.”

Esau threatened to kill Jacob, and Rebekah urged Jacob to go to her brother Laban in Haran, where Abraham came from (27:43). At Rebekah’s behest, Isaac also directed Jacob to go to Laban to find a suitable (i.e. non-Canaanite) wife. The NJBC notes that according to “J,” Isaac departed to avoid Esau’s wrath but according to “P” Jacob departed to find a suitable wife.

In today’s reading, Jacob was enroute to Haran and dreamt of a ladder (preferably translated as a “stairway”) with angels descending and ascending from heaven to earth. In Jacob’s dream, YHWH stood beside Jacob and reaffirmed (vv.13-14) the promise of extensive lands and many offspring that was made to Abraham in various forms in Genesis 12, 13 and 15. The Jewish Study Bible observes “Jacob will inherit the patriarchal promise, thus demonstrating that, however deceitfully it was gotten, Isaac’s blessing on him conforms to God’s will and that Jacob’s exile will be temporary.” (As the stories progress, however, it will be 20 years before Jacob returned to Canaan.)

The JSB also notes that a “stairway” was a “ramp of the sort with which Mesopotamian temple towers (ziggurats) were equipped and atop which the deity was thought to appear to communicate to his worshippers.”

When Jacob awoke, he said this was a holy place and the “house of God” (v.19). He named the place “Bethel” because in Hebrew, “Beth” means house (as in “Bethlehem” – house of bread), and “el” is the most ancient name for God. The suffix “el” appears in many names that have meanings “of God” such as Gabriel (God is my strength), Daniel (God is my judge) and the like. The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that naming this place “Bethel” anticipated the future of Bethel as one of the two royal sanctuaries of the Northern Kingdom.

Regarding the setting up of a pillar (v.18), The JSB observes: “The Tanakh frequently associated sacred pillars, an important element of ancient worship, especially in Canaan, with idolatry [citing examples]. Nevertheless, Moses sets up twelve of them at the foot of Mount Sinai (Exod. 24.4), and Joshua erects one in the temple at Shechem (Josh.24.26). [An important commentator in the Talmud] suggests that sacred pillars were prohibited only if they were erected to the honor of other gods. More likely is a midrash that sees in the practice a vestige of an early form of worship that was later proscribed altogether.”

Isaiah 44:6-8

Reading

6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
7 Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.
8 Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

Today’s reading is part of Second Isaiah in which the prophet spoke for YHWH to the Judeans in Exile and reassured them that YHWH was “first and last” (v.6), unique (v.7) and the “rock” upon which they could rely (v.8). Because of YHWH’s power, the Judeans in Babylon were assured by Isaiah that they would return to Jerusalem.

The JSB interprets these verses: “The LORD is clearly unique since only the LORD predicted so far in advance events that in fact came to be. Cf.43.9-15.”

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary understands the phrase “Lord of hosts” (v.6) to mean “Yahweh has domain over the sun, moon and stars. In the present setting, however, Yahweh is discrediting the heavenly hosts, worshipped by the Babylonians, and thereby claiming for himself a cosmic sweep of power.”

Romans 8:12-25

Reading

12 Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. The term “Christian” had not been invented in his lifetime.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that portions of the Letter to the Romans are written as a diatribe, a rhetorical technique using questions and answers and changes in voice to represent different points of view. The use of this technique makes it difficult to distinguish whether we are encountering Paul’s views directly or those of others as presented by Paul.

Today’s reading continues Paul’s extended discussion of sin, the flesh, and the Spirit in Chapter 8. For Paul, “the flesh” is our human tendency towards self-centeredness and self-interest. “Sin” is our personal egoism that leads to “death” (both spiritual and physical). Life in the Spirit of God (or the Spirit of Christ Jesus) leads to wholeness and life. Although Paul does not generally equate the “body” with “flesh,” The NAOB says that “deeds of the body” (v.13) was being used interchangeably with the flesh in this instance. The NJBC, on the other hand, understands this phrase to be “the accomplishments of the body” which can be dominated by “flesh” and need to be put aside to “live” in the Spirit.

Paul emphasized that as children of God (v.14), we are in a new relationship with God as heirs of God and joint heirs with the Christ through the power of the Spirit (v.13). The NJBC notes that Paul used the word “huiothesia” (translated as “adoption”) from “current Hellenistic legal language and applied it to Christians … to denote that the baptized Christian has been taken into the family of God and has a status in it — not that of a slave (who belonged indeed to the ancient household) but of a son.”

If we suffer with him (v.17), we will be glorified with him. This suffering can take many forms, including rejection by those who embrace the values of the world/the flesh. The suffering is seen as transitional.

Paul also had a sense of “now, but not yet” in terms of the glory to be revealed (vv.19-23), and that God’s purposes for us are greater than the present time indicated (v.25), a theme that Paul explored more fully in Chapters 9-11. Paul’s apocalyptic view was that the present age was evil (“the bondage of decay,” v.21) and that “creation itself will be set free” (v.21). The NJBC understands it as follows: “Paul would be saying that God, though he cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin, still gave it a hope of sharing in human redemption or liberation …. Paul is actually the first biblical writer to introduce the note of ‘hope.’”

Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Reading

24 Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

Commentary

The Gospel of Matthew highlights Jesus’ origins and identity. Written around 85 CE by an anonymous author, the Gospel began Jesus’ genealogy with Abraham and depicted Jesus as a teacher of the Law like Moses. More than any other Gospel, Matthew quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (using the Greek Septuagint translation) to illustrate that Jesus was the Messiah.

Because it was written after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Gospel reflected the controversies between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees for control of Judaism going forward. Accordingly, the Gospel contains many harsh sayings about the Pharisees. The Gospel is aimed primarily at the late First Century Jewish Jesus Follower community.

The Gospel relied heavily on the Gospel of Mark and included all but 60 verses from Mark. Like Luke, Matthew also used a “Sayings Source” (called “Q” by scholars) which are stories and sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. There are also a substantial number of stories that are unique to Matthew: the Annunciation of Jesus’ conception was revealed to Joseph in a dream (rather than by an angel to Mary as in Luke); the Visit of the Magi; the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod; the Flight to Egypt; the Laborers in the Vineyard; and the earthquake on Easter Morning, among others.

Today’s reading is one of the parables in this chapter, and one of the few that has an allegorical explanation supplied by the evangelist. It is a parable that is unique to Matthew. The Son of Man (v.37) is a Messianic and eschatological figure derived from Daniel 7:13-14 (“one like a human being”) who comes at the end of times as we know them – the “harvest” is the “end of the age” (v.39). The phrase “the righteous will shine like the sun” (v.43) is a variation of Daniel 12:3 (“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the sky.”)

More than any other gospel, Matthew speaks of “judgment” and used the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” five times in the Gospel – 8:12, 13:42, 22:11, 24:51 and 25:30. Luke used the phrase in 13:28. The phrase “gnashing of teeth” as a sign of anger also appears in Psalm 112:10 and in Acts 7:54.

2023, July 16 ~ Genesis 25:19-34; Isaiah 55:10-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 16, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2023, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Genesis 25:19-34

Reading

19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.”

24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (“five books”) in Greek. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

The first 11 Chapters of Genesis are called the “primeval history” which ends with the Tower of Babel story — an “etiology” (a story of origins, in Greek, “etio” means a beginning and “logo” is a story) – relating to the scattering of humankind and the multiplicity of languages. The last chapter of the primeval history also traces Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”).

Today’s reading comes after the burial of Abraham by his sons Ishmael and Isaac (25:10), and a list of the 12 tribes descended from Ishmael residing in the deserts on both sides of the Red Sea (25:13-15).

Rebekah’s barrenness for 19 years put her in the line of “barren matriarchs” (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Hannah). The LORD’s response to Isaac’s plea is intended to show the power of God, just as it had in the story of Sarah.

The birth of Jacob and Esau is also an etiology a story of the origins of the Edomites and the Israelites. An anthropomorphic YHWH told Rebekah she had two nations in her womb (v.23). In these accounts, Jacob (whose name means “supplanter”) will become the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, and Esau (whose land, Edom, is a play on the word “admoni” which means “red”) will become the father of the Edomites, traditional enemies of Israel. Esau is described as “hairy” (v.25), and the Hebrew word for hairy (se’ar) is a play on the word “Seir” – a region in Edom.

In the story, the younger son Jacob bought Esau’s “birthright” (blessing, family leadership and a double share of inheritance when Isaac dies) for a bowl of stew. Esau was presented as dull-witted and willing to give up his birthright because he was temporarily famished. This was a slap at the Edomites whom Israel dominated during the reigns of David and Solomon (1005-930 BCE), but who pillaged Jerusalem during the middle years of the Babylonian Exile (587-539 BCE).

The Jewish Study Bible sees this story as another case of God’s being perceived as favoring the younger son, as with Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, and Joseph and his 10 older brothers.

Isaiah 55:10-13

Reading

10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

Today’s reading is the closing verses of Second Isaiah. It emphasized the effectiveness of YHWH’s word (v.11) and the joy the people would experience (v.12) when the Exile ended when Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonians in 539 BCE and allowed the Judeans to return to Jerusalem.

The Jewish Study Bible notes that this reading reflects the indirect manner in which God’s promises and prophecies are fulfilled. “The metaphor is significant: God sends rain which inevitably falls to the ground; then it is absorbed by soil and nourishes vegetation. Humans in turn harvest the vegetation and transform it into food. Similarly, God’s word is sure to have a series of effects, the most important of which are indirect and involve human input.”

The JSB goes on: “The nature of the fulfillment of restoration may be indirect and will depend on human response to God’s invitation. The prophet may be responding to the failure of most Judeans to move back to Zion after the Persian king Cyrus allowed them to do so in the 530s BCE.”

Romans 8:1-11

Reading

1 There is [therefore] no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law — indeed it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. The term “Christian” had not been invented in his lifetime.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that portions of the Letter to the Romans are written as a diatribe, a rhetorical technique using questions and answers and changes in voice to represent different points of view. The use of this technique makes it difficult to distinguish whether we are encountering Paul’s views directly or those of others as presented by Paul.

Today’s reading continues Paul’s extended discussion of law, sin, the flesh, and the Spirit. For Paul, “the flesh” is not our bodies as such, but our human tendency towards self-centeredness and self-interest. “Sin” for Paul is our personal egoism that leads to “death,” both spiritual and physical (v.6). (Paul saw, as was common in his time, the story of Adam’s disobedience as the cause of human mortality.)

Paul uses “law” in diverse ways – in some places, it means the Torah, the Jewish Law (v.3), but in other contexts it means a “way of living” as in “the law of the Spirit in the life of Christ Jesus” (v.2) and “the law of sin and death” (v.2).

Life in the Spirit leads to wholeness and Eternal Life (v.10). The JANT sees the thrust of this chapter as follows: “Although still in the body and thus subject to human limitations, God’s Spirit lives in those who set their minds on things of the Spirit in faithfulness to Christ. Conflict between spiritual conventions and human limitations will continue, for Christ followers are still living in bodies (i.e. in the present age), but victory is assured for all creation which will be rescued when the awaited age arrives fully.”

Regarding verses 4-6, The JANT says: “Paul moves from declaring a state of change already accomplished, to a conditional state that one can accomplish in a new way, but one that requires ‘walking’ or ‘norms for living’ (i.e. ‘halakah’) to accomplish it.”

Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

Reading

1 Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Commentary

The Gospel of Matthew highlights Jesus’ origins and identity. Written around 85 CE by an anonymous author, the Gospel began Jesus’ genealogy with Abraham and depicted Jesus as a teacher of the Law like Moses. More than any other Gospel, Matthew quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (using the Greek Septuagint translation) to illustrate that Jesus was the Messiah.

Because it was written after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Gospel reflected the controversies between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees for control of Judaism going forward. Accordingly, the Gospel contains many harsh sayings about the Pharisees. The Gospel is aimed primarily at the late First Century Jewish Jesus Follower community.

The Gospel relied heavily on the Gospel of Mark and included all but 60 verses from Mark. Like Luke, Matthew also used a “Sayings Source” (called “Q” by scholars) which are stories and sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. There are also a substantial number of stories that are unique to Matthew: the Annunciation of Jesus’ conception was revealed to Joseph in a dream (rather than by an angel to Mary as in Luke); the Visit of the Magi; the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod; the Flight to Egypt; the Laborers in the Vineyard; and the earthquake on Easter Morning, among others.

Today’s reading is the familiar parable of the sower and the seed, one of a series of parables in Chapter 13. The New Oxford Annotated Bible describes parable (“mashal” in Hebrew) as a story, fable, proverbial saying, or a riddle. It goes on: “Narrative parables involve analogy or comparison between the situation and the subject being discussed.” This parable is also in Mark and Luke and is one of the few parables in the gospels for which an interpretation is given in the gospels.

2023, July 9 ~ Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Zechariah 9:9-12; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 9, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2023, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Reading

34 The servant said to Laban, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has. 37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’

42 “I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! 43 I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also” — let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’

45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms. 48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”

58 And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes.” 61 Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

62 Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi and was settled in the Negeb. 63 Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. 64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, 65 and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (“five books”) in Greek. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah called “J” (Yahwistic), “E” (Elohistic), “D” (Deuteronomic) and “P” (Priestly). These sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

The first 11 Chapters of Genesis are called the “primeval history” which ends with the Tower of Babel story — an “etiology” (story of origins) relating to the scattering of humankind and the multiplicity of languages. The last chapter of the primeval history also traces Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”).

Today’s reading is part of the longest chapter in Genesis and is the conclusion of the story of how Abraham’s servant – not named in Chapter 24 but thought to be Eliezer of Damascus (Gen. 15:2) – obtained a wife for Isaac by going back to Haran, the land from which Abraham came.

Because of the emphasis on Isaac’s not taking a wife from the Canaanites (v.37), the story is attributed by scholars to the Deuteronomic writers (650 to 550 BCE). Intermarriage with Canaanites is strictly forbidden in Deut. 7:1-4.

In the verses before today’s reading, Abraham’s servant did what everyone looking for a wife does – he went to a well where women draw water (v.11). (Jacob and Moses also met their wives this way.) There, the servant encountered Rebekah, who was Isaac’s first cousin, once removed. (Her father, Bethuel, was Isaac’s first cousin.) Rebekah was described as very beautiful and a virgin (v.16). In response to the servant’s request, she gave him water to drink and watered his camels (v.20). The servant gave her gold jewelry, and she told him that he and his animals could come to her home (v.25). Rebekah then told her mother’s household all that had occurred (v.28).

Rebekah’s brother, Laban, met with Eliezer (vv. 31-49) who recounted to him his conversation with Rebekah in which she answered Eliezer’s questions satisfactorily (v.46). Laban and Bethuel gave her to Eliezer to be Isaac’s wife (v.51) and Eliezer brought her to Isaac (v.66).

In future readings, Rebekah will give birth to the twin brothers, Esau and Jacob.

Scholars have noted that, although camels may have been domesticated in Saudi Arabia as early as 2,500 BCE, they were not domesticated in Israel until about 1,000 BCE – long after the events in today’s reading were said to occur.

Computing the approximate dates of the events in today’s reading requires “backward” counting because there is no evidence outside the Bible for the historicity of these events. There are sources outside the Bible for the building of the store cities of Pithom and Rameses in the reign of Rameses II (1,279 -1,213 BCE) around 1,250 BCE. If the Exodus was historical, it would have occurred around 1,225 BCE. According to Ex. 12:40, the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years after the death of Joseph (which would mean Joseph died around 1,655 BCE). Abraham was Joseph’s great-grandfather. The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) had great longevity, so there were about 220 years between the events described in today’s reading and the death of Joseph at age 110 (Gen. 50:26). Isaac was 60 (25:26) when Jacob was born and he died when he was 180 (35:28). Jacob lived to 147 (47:28). Accordingly, the events in today’s reading (if they are historical) might have occurred around 1,900 to 1,875 BCE.

Zechariah 9:9-12

Reading

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

Commentary

Zechariah is the longest and most obscure of the “Minor” Prophets (so called because their books are much shorter than the three “Major Prophets” – Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). The Book has 14 chapters, and Chapters 9 to 14 are referred to as “Second Zechariah” or “An Oracle” – the superscription at the beginning of Chapter 9. First Zechariah is dated to about 525 to 500 BCE and Second Zechariah is dated to about 400 to 300 BCE.

Today’s reading is one of the many (sometimes contradictory) descriptions of the anticipated Messiah found in the Hebrew Bible. The image presented here is a king who brings peace and rides on a donkey (v.9) rather than on a war-horse. The king’s dominion is not only over Israel, but is from sea to sea, from “the River” (the Euphrates in northern Syria) to the ends of the earth (v.10).

The Hebrew Bible contains many parallelisms, and the description of the king “on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (v.9) was intended to describe one animal. The Gospel of Matthew (unlike Mark and Luke) treated the phrase as describing two animals (Matt.21.5).

This peace-bringing king cuts off the instruments of war from “Ephraim” which was pre-Exilic Northern Israel, named for its most powerful tribe, and the war-horse of Jerusalem (v.10), the capital of Judea.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that the voice shifted from the third person to the first person in verses 11 and 12. This represents the idea that God will accomplish what is promised in these verses. The phrase “blood of my covenant with you” (v.11) referred to the covenant at Sinai that was sealed by a blood rite (Ex. 24:6-8).

Romans 7:15-25a

Reading

15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 19 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) (about 10 years before the earliest Gospel (Mark) was written) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among many messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

Paul died in 63 or 64 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism and continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. The term “Christian” had not been invented in his lifetime.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that the Letter to the Romans is sometimes written as a diatribe, a rhetorical technique using questions and answers and changes in voice to represent different points of view. The use of this technique makes it difficult to distinguish whether we are encountering Paul’s views directly or those of others as presented by Paul.

Today’s reading is part of Paul’s extended discussion of the law, sin, the flesh, and the Spirit. As a First Century Jew, Paul was recognized that Jewish Jesus Followers were still bound by the Law, but that Gentile Jesus Followers were not bound by the requirement of circumcision or the Jewish dietary laws.

As to the effects and purposes of the Law, Paul seemed ambivalent. He saw the Jewish Law as “spiritual” (v.14), but as a Jesus Follower, he recognized that mere obedience to the Law would not lead to wholeness/salvation. Sometimes he used “law” to mean a principal or norm (“I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand” v.21), and at other times it meant the Torah.

Without the Spirit, Paul asserted, even outward obedience to the Law could be a manifestation of “the flesh” (our human tendency towards self-centeredness and self-interest) that is grounded in sin (our personal egoism). Paul said it is through the Spirit that we can be rescued from “this body of death” (v.24).

In the early part of this chapter, Paul analogized the binding effects of the law to the convention of marriage. That is, if a person’s spouse dies, that person is no longer bound by the laws of that marriage. The Jewish Annotated New Testament says: “The convention since Adam of being slaves to sin no longer binds the Gentiles since Christ has died. They are now bound to a new life in Christ.”

The JANT continues: “The language [in this chapter] is very difficult to follow: the same terms are used with different referents and connotations….Paul’s point seems to be that these Gentiles who have turned to God in Christ are not bound to the limitations of their previous identity in Adam, in sin leading to death. They are not under Torah because they are not Israelites but they are nevertheless now free from the law of sin to live a Torah-based life, i.e. to live according to God’s standards.”

In some ways, although the Revised Common Lectionary does not include it, the last part of the concluding verse in today’s reading serves as a useful summary: “So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin” (v.25b).

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Reading

16 Jesus said to the crowd, “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Commentary

The Gospel of Matthew highlights Jesus’ origins and identity. Written around 85 CE by an anonymous author, the Gospel began Jesus’ genealogy with Abraham and depicted Jesus as a teacher of the Law like Moses. More than any other Gospel, Matthew quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (using the Greek Septuagint translation) to illustrate that Jesus was the Messiah.

Because it was written after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Gospel reflected the controversies between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees for control of Judaism going forward. Accordingly, the Gospel contains many harsh sayings about the Pharisees. The Gospel is aimed primarily at the late First Century Jewish Jesus Follower community.

The Gospel relied heavily on the Gospel of Mark and included all but 60 verses from Mark. Like Luke, Matthew also used a “Sayings Source” (called “Q” by scholars) which are stories and sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. There are also a substantial number of stories that are unique to Matthew: the Annunciation of Jesus’ conception was revealed to Joseph in a dream (rather than by an angel to Mary as in Luke); the Visit of the Magi; the Slaughter of the Innocents by Herod; the Flight to Egypt; the Laborers in the Vineyard; and the earthquake on Easter Morning, among others.

Today’s reading follows a section in which Jesus praised John the Baptist as “no one who has arisen greater than he” (v.11) and Matthew specifically compared JTB to Elijah (v.14) whose return was to be a sign of the coming of the Messiah (Mal. 4:5).

The criticism of “this generation” (v.16) is followed by a reproach of the cities in which Jesus did “deeds of power” (v.20) but they did not repent (vv.20-24).

Regarding vv.25-27, The New Oxford Annotated Bible comments, “The nature of true wisdom is an important question in Matthew. Powerful and influential people form the opposition in Matthew’s Gospel. Ironically, it is the younger students without influence, training and power who have heard and understood the message.”

The JANT points out that the image of the “yoke” (v.29) was commonly a reference to study of the Torah (Sir. 51:26). The NJBC interprets “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (v.30) to mean: “In comparison with the halaka of the Pharisees, Jesus’ teaching is quantitatively easier because shorter and centered on the essential. But in view of the exceeding righteousness demanded in [Matt.] 5:20, [“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”], it is qualitatively more difficult because the demands of love of God and neighbor are inexhaustible.”