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