Tag Archive for: Abraham

You are here: / / Abraham

Posts

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

/in /by

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.”

2023, July 2 ~ Genesis 22:1-14; Jeremiah 28:5-9; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 2, 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 22:1-14

Reading

1 God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

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 prior chapter, Abraham sent away his firstborn son, Ishmael, at Sarah’s insistence. In today’s account, the reader was told (v.1) that God tested Abraham by telling him to offer “your only son whom you love” (v.2) as a burnt offering. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes that “only son” is inaccurate since Abraham had another son, Ishmael, and says that the LXX correctly interpreted the Hebrew word as “favored.”

Just as Abraham was asked by God in Chapter 12 to “go from your country,” in today’s reading, he responded promptly and “rose early in the morning” (v.3) to go to the place God would show him. The Jewish Study Bible says: “There is no good English equivalent for the Hebrew ‘hineni’ translated in this verse [vv.1 and 7] as Here I am. The term indicates readiness, alertness, attentiveness, receptivity, and responsiveness to instructions.”

Although the Akedah — the Binding of Isaac (as the story is known in Jewish tradition) — has been understood by some as a condemnation of child sacrifice, most scholars observe that there was no general practice of child sacrifice in Ancient Israel, particularly because of the large number of verses in the Bible that condemn the practice as Canaanite idol worship.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible says: “The story does not presuppose a general practice of sacrifice of the firstborn but does suggest that such a practice could be performed under extraordinary circumstances (see 2 Kings 3:27).” The NJBC observes: “Infant sacrifice was widely practiced in Canaan and in Phoenician colonies of North Africa. It was even practiced in Israel as the OT polemic against it shows (2 Kgs 16:3; Mic 6:7) in critical times as a means of averting divine wrath. Israel recognized that the firstborn belonged to Yahweh (Exodus 13:11-16; 34:19-20) but ‘redeemed’ firstborn human beings by an alternative sacrifice.”

The JSB observes: “The context of the Akedah is sacrificial. A sacrifice is not an execution, and in a sacrificial context the unblemished condition of the one offered does not detract from, but rather commends, the act.”

The NAOB notes that Abraham’s promise “we will come back to you” (v.5) may “suggest a faith that God will work out an alternative sacrifice (see v. 8)” but The JSB observes that “Abraham may be concealing the truth from his servants (lest they prevent him from carrying out God’s will), from Isaac (lest he flee) and from himself (lest the frank acknowledgement of his real intention cause his resolve to break).”

It is difficult to know how old Isaac was in the story. He was old enough to carry the wood for the burnt offering (v.6) and to ask about the lamb for the sacrifice (v.7). Some Jewish commentators see Isaac as an adult and a willing participant in his own sacrifice – a prototype of the Jewish martyr. Some Christian interpreters see Isaac as a “type” anticipating Jesus’ carrying of the cross.

Regarding the phrase “fear of God” (v.12), The JSB notes: “In the Tanakh, the ‘fear of God’ denotes an active obedience to the divine will. God is now able to call the last trial of Abraham off because Abraham has demonstrated that this obedience is uppermost for him, surpassing even his paternal love for Isaac.”

The NAOB points out that “like other characters in Genesis (e.g. Jacob in 28.19 and 32.2, 30), Abraham named the place in response to his encounter with God” but “the name The LORD will provide is not attested elsewhere as a place name.” In this reading, the name of God from verse 1 to 13 is Elohim but in verses 14-16 it is YHWH, indicating that the stories came from two sources.

The location of Moriah is not known, but 2 Chronicles 3:1 (written around 450 BCE) identified it as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a tradition that continues to today.

Based on Surah 37 of the Qur’an, Muslims believe that the son whom Abraham was asked to sacrifice was Ishmael.

Jeremiah 28:5-9

Reading

5 The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD; 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles. 7 But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.”

Commentary

After the righteous and reforming King Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo (from which we get the Greek word Armageddon) in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE.

The Babylonians deported most of the Judean leaders to Babylon in 597 and took most of the treasures from the Temple. In 586, the Babylonians deported a larger number (the beginning of the Babylonian Exile) and destroyed the Temple. Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e. speaking for YHWH) began around 609 and continued until 586 BCE when he died in Egypt.

Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 586 BCE) and the First Century. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were different versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The Ancient Greek Septuagint Translation (the LXX – dating from 300 to 200 BCE) has some chapters that are not in the Hebrew versions.

Jeremiah is largely a prophet of doom and gloom, and the English word “jeremiad” means a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes.

Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” were likely added later by writers whose theological outlook was closely aligned with the Deuteronomists. (In fact, Chapter 52 in Jeremiah is virtually word-for-word with 2 Kings 24:18 to 25:30 written by the Deuteronomists after the Exile.)

Today’s reading is in prose style and is set in the period from 597 to 594 BCE. The NJBC sees this chapter as biographical and suggests it may have been written by Baruch, the secretary to Jeremiah.

A false prophet, Hananiah, prophesied that the treasures from the Temple that were taken as spoils by the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, would be returned soon (v.3) and that King Jehoiachin would return – even though Judah had not repented and Babylon was as strong as ever.

In today’s verses, Jeremiah said he hoped Hananiah’s prophesies would come true (v.6) but suggested they would not (vv.8-9). In the verses that follow today’s reading, Hananiah broke the wooden yoke that had been placed on Jeremiah (v.12) to symbolically show the liberation of Judea. After a short time, YHWH told Jeremiah to tell Hananiah that an iron yoke would be placed upon Judea (v.13). Jeremiah told Hananiah that he did not have a commission from God, asserted that the Babylonians would continue to enslave the Judeans, and told Hananiah that he would die within a year (v.16) – which (according to the account) is what happened (v.17).

Romans 6:12-23

Reading

12 Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13 No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace.

15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18 and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.

20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life 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.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that the Letter to the Romans is 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 continued Paul’s discussion of the effects of Baptism (which joins us in the death of Christ Jesus and unites us with him in overcoming death through resurrection).

In speaking of “sin” rather than “sins” (v.12), Paul was referring to the human propensity to assert one’s own ego and power rather than living as “instruments of righteousness” (v.13) – living in right relationships with God and others. The word “instruments” is literally “weapons” and The NAOB suggests that “through martial imagery Paul calls Christians not to surrender themselves as sins prisoners of war.”

The JANT understands the phrase “not under the law” as meaning “not circumcised” and this would mean that this section was addressed to Gentile Jesus Followers. When Paul referred to the law and grace (vv.14-15), he also expressed the view that mere obedience to rules will not bring about human wholeness or salvation or righteousness or Eternal Life (v.22), terms which Paul uses interchangeably. The NAOB interprets Paul’s words this way: “If grace provided immunity from the law’s verdict, then we might well ‘continue in sin.’”

Matthew 10:40-42

Reading

40 Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and 42 whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

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 conclusion of a series of instructions given by Jesus to his disciples. The NAOB sees today’s verses as saying that “mutual support and provision is a hallmark of the communities gathered around Jesus.” A prophet (one who speaks for God) is “equivalent to God who sent him (Ex.16.8; 1 Sam 8.7).”

The NJBC states that this principle was based on a “legal principle governing a Jewish emissary that a man’s agent is like himself.” Similar statements that Jesus’ disciples can speak for him are found in Luke 10:16, John 13:20 and Mark 9:37.

2023, June 25 ~ Genesis 21:8-21; Jeremiah 20:7-13; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 25, 2023

During Pentecost Season 2020, 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 21:8-21

Reading

8 The child grew and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” 11 The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

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 Stories 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”).

The verses before today’s reading tell of the conception of Isaac by the 90+ year old Sarah and his birth when Abraham was 100 (v.5). Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave, gave birth to Abraham’s first son, Ishmael, 14 years before Isaac’s birth when Abraham was 86 (16:16). Hagar was presented as a person who spoke directly with YHWH (16:10-12) and named God as “El-roi” – God who sees (16:13).

Today’s account is another etiology – a story of the origins of the non-Jewish Semitic peoples who claim their ancestral fatherhood of Abraham through Ishmael. In the story, God said, “I will make a great nation of him” to Abraham (v.13) and to Hagar (v.18).

Sarah became upset because Ishmael was “playing with her son Isaac” (v.9). Literally, the words are “”making him laugh” but other translations are Ishmael was “toying with” or “laughing at” Isaac. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary and the NRSV translator’s notes observe that the words “with her son Isaac” are not in the Masoretic Text even though they are in the LXX and the Vulgate. This was likely a copying error. The Jewish Study Bible’s
JPS translation does not include the words. The JSB suggests that “playing” is another pun on Isaac’s name and that Ishmael was “Isaacing” or “taking Isaac’s place.”

The JSB also states that the expulsion of Hagar in Chapter 16 is an account attributed to “J” but the account in today’s reading is attributed to “E.” The name YHWH never appears in this reading. For example, God (not YHWH) urged Abraham to acquiesce to Sarah’s demand that he cast out the slave woman, Hagar, and her son (v.10).

Although the passage referred to Ishmael as a “boy” (v.12) and as a “child” (v.16), the chronology of the over-all story indicates that the events occurred after Isaac had been weaned (v.8), so this meant that three years had passed since Isaac’s birth. The NJBC says that three years was the age for weaning and showed that Isaac would survive in an age of high infant mortality.

Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born (16:16) and was 100 when Isaac was born (21:5), so Ishmael would have been at least 16 or 17 years old when he and Hagar were expelled. Notwithstanding this, the account said that Hagar placed the food and water (and the child Ishmael) over her shoulder (v.14). The JSB accounts for this discrepancy based on “source criticism” and notes that although the story in today’s reading comes from “E,” the chronology comes from “P.”

When Hagar and Ishmael ran out of water and food (v.15), God heard Hagar’s lament (“Ishmael” means “God hears”) and protected both Hagar and Ishmael.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees a parallel between the endangerment of Ishmael’s life in this story and the near sacrifice of Isaac in Chapter 22. In both stories, Abraham rose early in the morning to fulfill God’s commands (21.14 and 22:3); the child was delivered from danger when an angel of God/the LORD intervened (21:17 and 22:11); and Hagar and Abraham found ways to save the sons (21:19 and 22:13).

Based on the Qur’an, Mohammed (who was from what is now Saudi Arabia) traced his hereditary roots to Abraham through Ishmael. Muslims trace their religious roots to Abraham.

Jeremiah 20:7-13

Reading

7 O LORD, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
10 For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him, and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the L0RD is with me like a dread warrior; therefore, my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 O LORD of hosts, you test the righteous, you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

Commentary

After the righteous and reforming King Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo (from which we get the Greek word Armageddon) in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE. The Babylonians deported most of the Judean leaders to Babylon in 597 and a larger number in 586 (the beginning of the Babylonian Exile). Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e. speaking for YHWH) began around 609 and continued until 586 BCE when he died in Egypt.

Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 586 BCE) and the First Century. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were different versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The Ancient Greek Septuagint Translation (the LXX – dating from 300 to 200 BCE) has some chapters that are not in the Hebrew versions.

Jeremiah is largely a prophet of doom and gloom, and the English word “jeremiad” means a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes.

Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” were likely added later by writers whose theological outlook was closely aligned with the Deuteronomists. (In fact, Chapter 52 in Jeremiah is virtually word-for-word with 2 Kings 24:18 to 25:30 written by the Deuteronomists after the Exile.)

Today’s reading is in “poetry style” and is the fifth (of six) of Jeremiah’s laments. In it, he claimed that YHWH exerted such irresistible power over him (v.7) that he could not help but proclaim the unpopular message that unless the king and people reformed, Babylon would overcome them and place them in captivity. The JSB points out that the word “entice” (vv. 7 and 12) is used in other contexts in the Hebrew Scriptures to denote the seduction of a woman by a man (Judg.14:15 and 16:5) or of a man by a woman (Hos. 2:16).

Notwithstanding his lament and the plotting of his enemies (v.10), Jeremiah expressed confidence in the LORD’s God’s protection for those who rely on YHWH (v.13).

Romans 6:1b-11

Reading

1b Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

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 much of the Letter to the Romans is 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 the reader is encountering Paul’s views directly or those of others as presented by Paul.

Today’s reading begins with a “leading question” which Paul used as a rhetorical vehicle to present his views. The NAOB suggests that the underpinning of the question was the notion (which Paul rejects) that grace is “simply a matter of being relieved of the punishment for trespasses.” For Paul, grace is much more this, and led to his discussion of the effects of Baptism. The NJBC says “the baptismal rite symbolically represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The convert descends into the baptismal bath, is covered with its waters, and emerges to a new life.”

Paul asserted that in our Baptism we are united with Christ Jesus in his death, and we will be united with the Christ in resurrection (v. 5). He urged that we consider ourselves “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v.11). For Paul, “sin” (as contrasted with “sins”) can be understood as our human propensity to put ourselves and our egos in first place rather than (as Jesus did) having the good of others as our primary focus. The NJBC says “For Christ was raised from the dead not merely to publicize his good news or to confirm his messianic character, but to introduce human beings into a new mode of life and give them a new principle of vital activity, the Spirit.”

Paul was clear that Christ was raised (vv.4 and 9) — the “actor” was God and Jesus the Christ was acted upon. It is not clear, however, when Paul thought our “resurrection” would occur. In one verse, Paul suggested that Baptism allows us to “walk in newness of life” (v.4). In verse 5, he suggested that we “will” be united with Jesus the Christ “in a resurrection like his.” In verses 10 and 11, he seems to suggest that our resurrection is now because we are “alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The JANT understands “once and for all” in this way: “though the death was a past event, it is operative (in a way not specified) on behalf of everyone now.”

Matthew 10:24-39

Reading

24 Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

26 “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

32 “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

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 was 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 continues to present Jesus’ teaching to the disciples. His statements about slaves/servants not being above their masters (v.24) is echoed in the Fourth Gospel in 13:16 and 15:20. In commenting on the verse that the disciple is not above his teacher (v.24a), The NJBC observes that “disciple” means learner or student. The NJBC continues: “In the background stands the Jewish school relationship of that time but precisely that [relationship] poses a danger. In the normal school relationship, once the disciple has learned what the master has to teach, he moves on to another master or becomes a teacher himself. This is what the gnostics did — make Jesus only one among many teachers. It was to block the possibility of twisting Jesus’ original simple statement (as it still can be found in Luke 6:40 – “A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.”) in a gnostic direction that Matthew reshaped it to include the words ‘nor a slave above his lord.’ This means that for the believer Jesus is not only a teacher but also an abiding lord.”

In verse 25, the “they” who call the master of the house Beelzebul (the original name of the Canaanite god, Baal) were the Pharisees (9:34). The JANT notes that the name means “lord of lofty abode,” but when changed to Beelzebub in 2 Kings 1:2, it means “lord of the flies” which The NAOB suggests was intended to express the Deuteronomists’ scorn for this deity.

The teachings found in vv. 26-34 are “Q” material and are found in Luke 12:2-9. The NAOB understands verse 27 (“What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light”) as a “denial of any secret or esoteric teaching.” The NJBC understands the phrase “destroy both soul and body” (v.28) as presupposing a Hellenistic view that the soul is intrinsically immortal. Verses 34-39 have parallels in Luke and are largely derived from Micah 7:6.

2023, June 18 ~ Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7; Exodus 19:2-8a; Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:23

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 18, 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 18:1-15, 21:1-7

Reading

18:1 The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

21:1 The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

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 jumps from Abram’s entry into the land of Canaan in last week’s reading (Ch. 12). In the intervening chapters, Abram passed off his beautiful wife (aged 70+) Sarai, as his sister and Sarai was taken into Pharaoh’s palace so that riches were bestowed on Abram by Pharoah. But YHWH inflicted plagues on Pharaoh because of Sarai, and Pharaoh sent them both off. Then, Abram and Lot divided the lands and Lot chose the fertile lands east of the Jordan River. The LORD made another covenant with Abram (Ch.15) and Ishmael was born to Hagar, Sarai’s handmaiden, when Abram was 86 years old (Ch. 16). When Abram was 99, YHWH made another covenant with Abraham requiring him and his household to be circumcised; changed his name to Abraham (father of a multitude); changed Sarai’s name to Sarah (princess); and promised Abraham that Sarah would bear a son next year which made Abraham laugh (Ch. 17).

Today’s reading is prefaced (v.1) by the statement that the LORD appeared to Abraham at Mamre. It then shifted to an account of three “men” (v.2) who came to Abraham’s tent at Mamre (whose oaks/terebinths were regarded as oracles). The New Oxford Annotated Bible says that the motif of divine visitors is widespread in folklore. It observes that the account fluidly shifts from the LORD (v.1) to “three men” (v.2) to “they” (v.9) to “one” (v.10) to “the LORD” (v.13) to “I” and “he” (vv.14-15).

One of the “men” predicted that Sarah (who was over 90 years old by this time) would have a son in a year (v.10). Sarah laughed to herself (v.12) and this anticipated the name of her son, Isaac (which means “he laughs”).

Abraham’s hospitality to the three sacred figures was overwhelming: an entire calf and three “measures” of flour (about 63 quarts of flour). The Jewish Study Bible points out the contrast between Abraham’s self-deprecating language (vv.4-5 “a little water… a morsel of bread”) and the enormous quantities offered to his guests. The JSB also observes that Sarah did not believe she could conceive because Abraham was so old (v.12) but the LORD reversed her words to ask why she said she was so old (v.13).

This story is first part of Chapter 18 which shifted to YHWH’s decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham’s negotiation with YHWH to spare the cities if an ever-declining number of just persons resided there. In Chapter 19, the men of Sodom sought to sexually abuse Lot’s guests/angels. Lot refused and offered his two virgin daughters to the men. When the men tried to break in, the angels blinded them. This Chapter concluded with Lot, his wife and his two daughters escaping from the cities when they were destroyed, but Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back. Lot’s daughters were convinced there were no more men on the earth, so they got Lot drunk, had sex with him and conceived sons who were the forebears of Israel’s great enemies – the Moabites and the Ammonites. In Chapter 20, Abraham again passed off Sarah as his sister, this time to King Abimelech of Gerar. (In Chapter 26, Isaac also passed off his wife, Rebekah, as his sister to Abimelech.)

Today’s reading concludes with the fulfillment of God’s promise of a son to this aged couple. The JSB observes that there is a midrash (interpretation) that the LORD “dealt with” (NRSV) or “took note of” (JPS) Sarah (v.1) on Rosh Ha-Shanah and for this reason, Genesis 21 is the first Torah Reading on Rosh Ha-Shanah in synagogues today.

Exodus 19:2-8a

Reading

2 The Israelites had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

7 So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8 The people all answered as one: “Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do.”

Commentary

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

Like Genesis, Exodus is an amalgam of religious traditions. Today’s reading is mostly from the Priestly writer – shown by the emphasis on precise dates. These events occurred “on the very day” of the third new moon after leaving Egypt (v.1), the day the Israelites reached Sinai. (The holy mountain is called “Horeb” by other writers even within Exodus – for example, in Ex. 3:1.) According to the accounts, the Israelites stayed at Sinai for about a year.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible says that these chapters “incorporate a wide diversity of traditions reflecting different understandings of God and the divine relationship with Israel.” This is shown by the reference to the people as both “the house of Jacob” and “the Israelites” (v.3) but the reference in v.6 only to the Israelites. It is also shown by the “E” language that Moses went up to “God” (Elohim) (v.3a) and the “P” language that YHWH called him from the mountain (v.3b).

The Jewish Study Bible describes the encounter with God at Sinai as “momentous” and as “the defining and seminal moment in Israel’s relationship with God.” The JSB observes that the account of the encounters at Sinai (Chapters 19 to 24) is “extraordinarily difficult to follow” because “it was transmitted in multiple versions that differed about the nature of the event and what God communicated to the people.” It notes that text in these chapters combined material from J,E, and P and that the Redactor included these multiple versions because he thought all of them were true, even though they are inconsistent with each other. The JSB concludes that “despite, or perhaps because of, these tensions, the narrative has great power expressing the multifaceted, ambiguous nature of revelation.”

In today’s reading, YHWH proposed a conditional covenant to Moses and the Israelites (“If you obey my voice” v.5), and all the people responded that they would do all that YHWH had spoken (v.8). In the Chapters that follow (20 to 23), the Law was given. This covenant is summarized by the statement that Israel shall be God’s “treasured possession,” “a priestly kingdom” (consecrated for service to God”) and “a holy nation” (set apart as belonging to the holy God) (vv.5-6). The JSB notes that the Hebrew word for “treasured” is segulah and denotes private property of a king as distinct from that used for public purposes.

The JSB notes that the covenant proposed here went beyond the ones established with Israel’s ancestors and was modeled on ancient royal covenants in which a citizenry accepted a king and also on suzerainty treaties in which a weaker king (a vassal) accepted a more powerful one as his suzerain.

In Rabbinic Judaism, the giving of the Law at Sinai became the theological basis for the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost, a feast that originally celebrated the spring barley harvest (Ex. 23.16) and occurred 50 days after Passover. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary says, however, that some Jewish groups are recorded as connecting the giving of the Law with the Feast of Weeks as early as the 2nd century BCE.

Romans 5:1-8

Reading

1 Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

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 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. The JANT suggests that today’s reading is not a statement by Paul but the voice of a “Christ-following Gentile dialogue partner (“we” and “us”) who is commenting on what Paul has argued about their equal standing with Jews, or it is Paul speaking inclusively for them.” Seeing today’s reading as the “voice” of persons other than Paul gives additional insights into it.

In his epistles, Paul used a number of terms that need to be understood in context. “Justified” (v.1) is sometimes translated as “righteousness” – that is, being in right relationships with God and others. 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.

“Faith” (v.1) 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 and steadily living into one’s beliefs through grace and trust in God. Paul emphasized that “faith” is a matter of the heart — not the intellect — and that faithfulness leads to being “justified” or righteousness (v.1).

The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests the phrase “we are justified by faith” (v.1) may, however, refer to the faith[fulness] of Jesus the Christ in his life. This is supported by Paul’s statement that “we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation (v.11). The NAOB also understands the phrase “while we were still weak” (v.6) as meaning that “God’s grace preceded any human act that might constitute a claim to righteousness before God.”

All during Paul’s life, animal sacrifices at the Jerusalem Temple (which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE) were a way Jews were reconciled to YHWH. It is therefore not surprising that Paul used “sacrifice” language to interpret the meaning of the Crucifixion: “Christ died for us” (v.8); and we are “justified by his blood” (v. 9).

Matthew 9:35-10:23

Reading

35 Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

10:1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

16 “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

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 primarily about mission and reflects the use of hyperbole in much of scripture (“all the cities and villages” v.35a) and the growing split between Matthew’s community and Pharisaic Judaism in Matthew’s time (“teaching in their synagogues” v.35b). In Jesus’ lifetime, he would have been welcomed in synagogues, but by Matthew’s time (50 years later), there was growing tension within Judaism between the Jesus Followers and nascent Rabbinic Judaism. Similarly, the “prediction” that “they” would “hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues” reflects Matthew’s time, not the time of Jesus 50 years earlier.

The NAOB observes that vv.35-38 was a summation of Jesus’ activities and ministries over the last five chapters of this Gospel. Jesus was portrayed as a teacher, healer, and proclaimer of good news to all the people. The description of the people as “sheep without a shepherd” (v.36) is a traditional image from the Hebrew Bible. The quote about laborers being few (v.38) is from the Q-Source and is found in Luke 10:2.

Matthew’s list of the 12 “disciples” (v.1) – learners or students – who are also called “apostles” in v.2 – those who are sent – is slightly different from the lists in the other Synoptic Gospels. The “12” is seen as a symbolic representation of the 12 tribes of Israel. According to The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, only Matthew refers to the 12 as “apostles.”

Only in Matthew were the apostles instructed to go only to Israel and not to Gentiles or Samaria (v.5). This limitation began to change in Chapter 15 when the Canaanite woman asked that her daughter be healed and reminded Jesus that “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (15:27). The restriction was fully abrogated in the post-Resurrection’s Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all nations” (28:19).

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that the sentence in verse 8b (“Your received without payment; give without payment”) is “surprisingly Pauline” citing Romans 3:24 and 2 Corinthians 11:7 and “the point of the statement is that the divine truths of salvation are so important for everyone that they must be taught without regard for the listeners ability to pay.”

The JANT notes that although the mission was expanded to the Gentiles, the mission to Israel was never abrogated. The JANT sees Matthew’s Gospel as one in which Gentiles were already included, for example, in Matthew’s genealogy (1:1-17) in which the four women who are mentioned are Gentiles.

The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah (v.15) was the failure to express and hospitality, and its punishment would befall the places that “do not welcome you” (v.14).

Matthew, like Paul and Mark, believed the eschaton (the final judgment) was near (”you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes”) (v.23).

2023, June 11 ~ Genesis 12:1-9; Hosea 5:15-6:6; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13,18-26

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 11, 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 12:1-9

Reading

1 The LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and invoked the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.

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, 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.

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 oldest writings and presented YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters) anthropomorphically in that the LORD had a conversation with Abram.

This chapter in Genesis began the “ancestral history of Israel” in which YHWH called Abram (whose name is the same root word as “Abba” or father) to go to a land that YHWH would show him. There, Abram would become a father of a great nation and (as a descendent of Shem) his “name” will be great (v.2). Similar promises of YHWH making another a “great name” were reported to be made to David (2 Sam. 7:9) and to Solomon (1 Kings 1:47). The promise to make Abram “a great nation” (v.2) created an immediate tension in that Sarai was presented as barren in 11:30.

The Jewish Study Bible observes that the LORD “singled out one Mesopotamian – in no way distinguished from his peers as yet.” It continues: “These extraordinary promises come like a bolt from the blue, an act of God’s grace alone; no indication has been given as to why or even whether Abraham merits them.” Later, they will be seen as merited after the fact by Abram’s obedience and his willingness to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac.

Unlike some other covenants in Genesis, these promise by the LORD were “conditional” in that they would not become effective unless Abram went to the land YHWH would show him.

In Verse 3 is the phrase “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” – which Paul interpreted as a blessing on the Gentiles through Abraham. This phrase is also translated as “by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves” – or in other words, people will say “may we be like Abraham.”

The places where Abram went (Shechem in v.6 and Bethel in v. 8) appear in later stories – Shechem as the place where the Israelites took an oath to YHWH in Joshua 24 and Bethel as the place where Jacob settled in Genesis 35. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that Abram’s journey to Shechem in the center of the land and then to Bethel and to the Negev is duplicated in Jacob’s journeys in Genesis 33, 35 and 46 and in the general route of the conquest under Joshua.

Today’s reading is followed by a story of Abram’s passing Sarai off as his beautiful sister and her being “taken into Pharaoh’s house” (v.15).

Hosea 5:15 – 6:6

Reading

15 Thus says the LORD: “I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor: 6:1 ‘Come, let us return to the LORD; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.’ 4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Commentary

After Solomon died in 928 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel with 10 tribes) and the South (Judea with two tribes). Each Kingdom had its own king.

The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous but was a time of great inequality between rich and poor in which large landowners gained control of the lands of small farmers and mistreated the poor.

Hosea was one of the 12 “minor” prophets whose works were shorter than the three “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). He was a contemporary of Amos. His prophesying (speaking for YHWH) began towards the end of the reign of King Jeroboam II and continued until the Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 BCE. He severely criticized the political, social, and religious life in the Northern Kingdom. He was the first of the prophets whose speeches were collected and edited as literary documents. The call for “steadfast love and not sacrifice” (v.6) is a persistent theme of the prophets, particularly Amos and Micah.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible interprets today’s reading as stating that YHWH punishes “not to annihilate but in order to inspire repentance.” It also notes that “two days … three days” (v.2) is “an idiomatic expression for a brief period of time.”

This reading is structured as a dialogue. Verse 15 was spoken by YJWH. Verses 6:1-3 were spoken by the people who half-heartedly urged repentance and assumed YHWH would forgive, and verses 4-6 are a response by YHWH with a fatherly – but exasperated – tone. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that Israel’s words of repentance are “insufficient” and that the repentance was spoken of in terms of fertility symbols such as rain. The unshakeable judgment of YHWH’s light (v.5) was contrasted with Israel’s inconstancy that is likened to the ephemeral dew (v.4)

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 — 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 New Jerome Biblical Commentary says that Paul would have known 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 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.

Paul argued that God can do what God has promised (v.21). Most particularly, Paul asserted (v.23) that just as Abraham’s faithfulness was “reckoned to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6), 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 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 asserts that God is the actor in the “handing over” and who “raised [Jesus] for our justification” (v.25).

Matthew 9:9-13,18-26

Reading

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.”
10 And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

18 While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And the report of this spread throughout that district.

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 began with the call of Matthew in Capernaum. In both Mark and Luke, this apostle is named Levi. Although The NJBC concludes that this tax collector named Matthew was not the author of the final Greek form of the Gospel According to Matthew, there may have been a tradition that one of the apostles was literate – as a tax collector would likely have been. The NJBC also regards as “psychologically implausible” an immediate obedience to the call (v.9) and suggests that Matthew must have possessed some prior knowledge of Jesus and his mission.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible describes the tax collection process as follows: “The Roman system, known as ‘tax farming,’ leased out the right to collect taxes (including customs fees) in a given area for a flat fee. The entrepreneur, usually a local aristocrat, who obtained this right would then try to collect more than the fee in order to profit by the arrangement, with obvious potential for abuse [citing Philo]. Actual collections were carried out by underlings, who would be under pressure to bring in as much as possible, and who were despised by the populace; most of the references to collect tax collectors are probably to this class.”

The NJBC describes “sinners” (v.10) as a technical term for members of despised trades thought susceptible of ritual uncleanness and other blemishes. The NJBC believes that the historical Jesus actually shared meals with sinners and that by doing so, he was “breaking with the model of the Pharisaic sage, not to destroy Judaism but to save its increasingly marginalized members.” The “commonsense” response to the Pharisees (v.12) recognized that a physician must often be exposed to contagious diseases (here analogized to legal impurities) to heal others.

Jesus continued to confront the Pharisees and in verse 13 paraphrased Hosea 6:6 (one of today’s readings). The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that in both Hosea and in Matthew, mercy takes precedence over sacrifices but sacrifices were not eliminated.

In the story of the resuscitation of the leader’s daughter, the words “of the synagogue” are not in the most authoritative texts of this Gospel and are likely taken from the longer version in Mark 5 where the leader of the synagogue was named Jairus. Similar miracles were attributed to Elijah (1 Kings 17:22) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:32).

The hemorrhaging woman would have been deemed ritually unclean. The NAOB says that it is not clear the extent to which such a ritual impurity would have affected village life. The NJBC suggests that she would have been socially marginalized – a pariah in her community.

The JANT points out that the fringe of Jesus’ garment was the tsitzit – tassels on his prayer shawl which Jewish men (and perhaps women) were commanded to wear to remind them of the commandments.

2023, March 5 ~ Genesis 12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 5, 2023

Genesis 12:1-4a

Reading

1 The LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4a So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.

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, 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.

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 traced Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”). It also noted that Abram’s wife Sarai was barren (11:30), and this fact presented much of the tension in the stories that follow.

Barrenness was perceived as a great misfortune in Scripture, and was a condition that affected Sarai, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah (Samuel’s mother), and Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptizer), among others.

Chapter 12 of Genesis began the “ancestral history of Israel” in which YHWH called Abram (whose name is the same root word as “Abba” or father) to go to a land that YHWH would show him. There, Abram would become a father of a great nation and (as a descendent of Shem) his own “name” would be great (v.2). Unlike some other covenants in Genesis, this promise of the LORD is “conditional” in that it would not become effective unless Abram went to the land YHWH showed him.

Today’s reading is part of the oldest writings in the Torah and presented YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters) anthropomorphically in that the LORD had conversations with Abram (whose name meant “exalted ancestor”). Abram’s name was changed by YHWH in Gen.17:5 to Abraham (“ancestor/father of a multitude”).

The distance to travel by foot was great. Ur, where the journey began in the southern part of Mesopotamia, is 500 miles from Haran. Haran (in northern Mesopotamia) is more than 600 miles from Canaan. The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that YHWH’s command and promise was similar to the commands and promises given to Isaac (26:2-5) and to Israel/Jacob (31:3,13).

The Jewish Study Bible observes that there text does not offer any reason this particular Mesopotamian (Abram) was selected by YHWH or if there is any indication that Abram merited the land, offspring and blessing he received. The JSB also notes that the blessings constituted, to some extent, a reversal of some of the curses on Adam and Eve.

The phrase “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (v.3) was interpreted by Paul as a blessing on the Gentiles through Abraham (Gal. 3:8). The NAOB says this phrase can also be translated as “by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves” – or in other words, people will say “may we be like Abraham.”

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Reading

1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

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.

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) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among other 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, the Roman Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. His successor, Nero (54-68 CE), allowed Jews (including Jewish Jesus Followers) to return to Rome, and this created tensions about leadership and worship within the Jesus Follower Community. (They were not called “Christians” until the 80’s.)

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.

In today’s reading, Paul’s initial statements were directed at Jewish Jesus Followers – persons who (like Paul) saw Abraham as their ancestor “according to the flesh” (v.1). The Jewish Annotated New Testament interprets “justified by works” (v.2) to mean justification (after the fact) by virtue of Abraham’s circumcision and the circumcision of the males of his extended household in Genesis 17. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes that “contemporary [from the Second Century BCE onwards] Judaism depicted Abraham as an observer of the law in advance (Sir.44:20)” but that Paul rejected this view in saying that Abraham was justified (righteous) apart from deeds and therefore he had no reason to boast.

Paul went on to assert that Abraham’s righteousness (right relationship with God) was a result of Abraham’s faithfulness and trust in God (v.13), rather than something “earned” like wages (v.4). In other words, Abraham’s justification/right relation to God was not a matter of something owed (like wages) to Abraham by God because of Abraham’s compliance with “law.”

In verse 3, Paul quoted Gen.15:6 as “proof” of Abraham’s righteousness. The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that Paul “shared his contemporaries’ view that God had called Abraham out of idolatry.” Similarly, Paul cited David (whom he regarded as the author of all the Psalms) for the view that God “reckons [grants] righteousness apart form works” (v.6).

In Paul’s epistles, the word “Faith” (pistis) is almost always better understood as “faithfulness.” For most modern persons, “Faith” is understood primarily as a cognitive assent to one or more propositions, but “faithfulness” for Paul is the active living into one’s beliefs through grace and trust in God.

In the last verses (13-17) of today’s reading, Paul continued his discussion of the law and its limitations. Paul did not diminish the value of adherence to the law by Jews (including Jewish Jesus Followers). For him, however, the two laws that did not have to be observed by Gentile Jesus Followers were the requirements of circumcision and eating only Kosher food.

Paul noted (v.13) that at the time the LORD made the promises to Abram, it was not “through the law” (i.e. Abram was not circumcised and did not obey the Kosher dietary laws at the time described in Genesis 12). For this reason, Paul said Abraham could be the ancestor of both the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

Paul emphasized that mere obedience to the law is not sufficient for the fullness of a right relationship with God. It depends on faithfulness (v.16). This right relationship (righteousness) is available through faithfulness to both those who are “adherents of the law’ (Jewish Jesus Followers) but also to those “who share the faith[fulness] of Abraham (v.16).

John 3:1-17

Reading

1 There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Commentary

The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.

The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who was described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder to be held the night he died.

Most scholars agree that the Gospel was written by an anonymous author around 95 CE, at a time when the “parting of the ways” between the Jesus Follower Movement and Rabbinic Judaism was accelerating.

In today’s reading, Nicodemus is described as a “Pharisee” – a member of a group which carefully observed the Jewish purity laws. He was also a “leader [archōn] of the Jews.” In the Fourth Gospel, “the Jews” is almost always the author’s shorthand expression for the Temple Authorities. As a leader, Nikodemus would likely have been a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest leadership in Jerusalem, presided over by the high priest, and responsible for the internal and autonomous affairs of the Jewish people. Its membership consisted of Sadducees and Pharisees.

According to The JANT, Nicodemus is a Greek name. He appears only in the Fourth Gospel. In John 7:51, he urged his fellow Pharisees to give Jesus a hearing (on the question whether a prophet could come from Galilee) and in John 19:39, he brought 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes for embalming the crucified body of Jesus. Scholars disagree whether Nicodemus was historical or a purely symbolic character.

In the Fourth Gospel, light and dark play major symbolic roles, so Nicodemus’ approach at night preserved his status within the Sanhedrin and was a symbol that he (as a Pharisee) was – in the opinion of the author of the Gospel — coming from a dark (spiritually unenlightened) place. In The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, Bishop Spong concluded that the story is wholly symbolic and that it depicted “those who prefer the security of the known darkness to the startling vision of life lived in a new understanding of God.” Spong also noted that calling Jesus “Rabbi” gave great status in First Century Israel.

The JANT points out that the phrase “kingdom of God” (vv.3 and 5) is used only once in the Fourth Gospel but is prominent in the Synoptic Gospels. The “wind (v.8) is pneuma in Greek and can also be understood as breath (of life) or spirit. Wind is unpredictable, has great power, and is essential for life.

The words “from above” (v.3) are a translation of anōthen, which The NJBC says is ambiguous and can also mean “from the beginning” or “again” or “anew.” The JANT observes that this verse is the origin of the phrase “born again Christian” – a phrase that Spong said can lead to “spiritual immaturity.” Spong suggested that in speaking of the kingdom of God, the author/Jesus was not speaking in a dualistic way but rather that the “realm” is to be understood experientially, not spatially. Spong observed that Jesus “represented a new dimension of humanity, a new insight, a new consciousness, a new way of relating to the holy: and all of this he [the author] placed into Jesus’ conversation with his mythical character named Nicodemus…. Jesus was saying, you must enter a transformative experience. You must see with insight or second sight.”

The JANT also notes that the word translated as “you” in verses 7 and 11 is plural, so the author of the Gospel was presenting Jesus as speaking to others in addition to Nicodemus (as a representative). The reference to “no one has ascended into heaven” (v.13) overlooked Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11).

The reference to Moses’ lifting up the serpent in the wilderness (v.14) is the story from Numbers 21 in which YHWH sent a plague of snakes upon the Israelites because of their complaining about the food and lack of water. To save the people, Moses prayed to YHWH and was told to cast a bronze snake so that the people could gaze upon it and be saved. The snake is now the medical symbol, the caduceus.

Because there was no punctuation in the Greek manuscripts, scholars are not sure whether the “speaker” in verses 16 and 17 is the author of the Gospel or whether the author was attributing these statements to Jesus. The NJBC states that (except for the Prologue, John 1:14 and 18), verse 16 is the only reference in this Gospel to Jesus as monogenēs, a possible reference back to Isaac as Abraham’s “only son” in Gen.22:2.

2022, July 24 ~ Hosea 1:2-10; Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:6-19; Luke 11:1-13

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 24, 2022

During Pentecost Season 2020, 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.

Hosea 1:2-10

Reading

2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” 3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 And the LORD said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. 7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.”

10 Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”

Commentary

After Solomon died in 928 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel with 10 tribes) and the South (Judea with two tribes). Each Kingdom had its own king.

The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous, but a time of great inequality between rich and poor in which large landowners gained control of the lands of small farmers. The Jewish Study Bible describes it as “a period of apostasy, social disintegration, wrongful leadership, failed alliances, and a lack of reverence for the LORD.”

Hosea is one of the 12 “minor” prophets whose works are shorter than the three “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). He was a contemporary of Amos. His prophesying (speaking for YHWH) began towards the end of the reign of King Jeroboam II (747 BCE) and continued until Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE. He severely criticized the political, social, and religious life in the Northern Kingdom. He was the first of the prophets whose speeches were collected and edited as literary documents.

His main themes were Israel’s abandoning of the LORD, the LORD’s punishment for that abandonment, calls for Israel’s repentance, and hope of a reconciliation.

Hosea sometimes referred to the Northern Kingdom as “Ephraim” (the largest tribe and named for Joseph’s son) or “Samaria,” its capital.

Hosea used powerful symbolic images of marriage and faithlessness to describe the covenant relationship between YHWH and Israel. He described Israel as a promiscuous woman and an unfaithful wife (v.2) and his wife’s children were given symbolic names – “God sows” (v.4), “not pitied” or “not loved” (v.6) and “not my people” (literally, “no-kin-of-mine”)(v.9). Hosea interpreted the unfolding disaster as a divine punishment for Israel’s violating the commands of YHWH by worshiping other gods and saw the Assyrians as God’s instrument.

The name “Jezreel” (God sows) is the name of an actual place in Israel. The Jezreel Valley is one of the most fertile parts of Israel (even today). It was the place where Jeroboam’s predecessors (the House of Jehu) staged a bloody coup against Ahab in 842 BCE. (Ironically, according to 2 Kings 9-10, the coup by Jehu was directed by YHWH through the prophet Elisha.) The name itself also includes a double meaning in that similar Hebrew words (zr and zrh) mean “to sow” and “to scatter.”

Hosea said that YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) had pity on Judea (v.7). Although Hosea addressed the situation in Northern Israel, The Jewish Study Bible points out that “its intended readers were the Judeans who could constructively reflect on the demise of the Northern Kingdom.” This reflection on Israel’s demise and the reforms of King Josiah (640-609 BCE) did not last, however, and Judea was conquered by the Babylonians in 597 BCE.

Genesis 18:20-32

Reading

20 The LORD said to Abraham, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! 21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.”

22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the LORD, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh do not let the LORD be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the LORD. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh do not let the LORD be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”

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, 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.

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 traces Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”).

This week’s reading begins after the “men” left Mamre and “looked toward” Sodom (v.16). Abraham went with them and sent them on their way. YHWH then had an internal conversation in which YHWH considered not disclosing to Abraham YHWH’s plan to destroy Sodom (v.17). Treating Abraham as a prophet (as later described in 20:7), YHWH disclosed the plan of destruction because Abraham would “become a great and prosperous nation” (v.18).

To learn if “the outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great” (v.20), this anthropomorphic YHWH checked on it (v.21), just as YHWH did in deciding the fate of Babel (Gen 11:5).

In today’s reading, Abraham conducted a back-and-forth negotiation with a very human-like YHWH regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. By appealing to YHWH’s sense of fairness and justice, Abraham got YHWH to reduce to 10 the number of “righteous” people needed to save the cities.

The Jewish Study Bible notes that Abraham’s plea for mercy is not that YHWH save the innocent and punish the guilty, but that the entire city be spared. YHWH agreed to forgive all for the sake of the innocent. The JSB goes on: “The underlying theology maintains that the righteous effect deliverance for the entire community….This idea is prominent in rabbinic literature where it underlies the notion of thirty six righteous individuals for whom the world endures.”

Nevertheless, the two cities were destroyed by YHWH in the next chapter.

In verse 27, Abraham referred to himself as “but dust and ashes.” This is the same phrase used by Job after the theophany near the end of the book (Job 42:6)

Colossians 2:6-19

Reading

6 As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

Commentary

Colossae was a town in what is now western Turkey. A Jesus Follower community was founded there by Paul’s associate, Epaphras (1:7). The letter is short (three chapters) and expressed concern about apocalyptic and mystical practices that were inconsistent with Paul’s understanding of being a Jesus Follower.

Scholars debate whether this letter was written by Paul or by his disciples in the decade after Paul’s death in 63 CE. It lacks many terms used in Paul’s authentic letters and its style is more liturgical than Paul’s other letters.

Today’s reading is the theological core of the Letter to the Colossians – that Jesus the Christ was the living embodiment of God (v.9) and that the fullness of one’s humanity comes by “living one’s life in [Jesus the Christ]” (v.6).

The author noted that the Colossians had orally received Christ and warned against “philosophy” (other ethical or religious teachings) and practices associated with some forms of 1st Century Judaism: “elemental spirits” (v.8), physical circumcision (v.13), matters of food and drink (v.16), and observing festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths (v. 16).

The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees the reference to the “shadow of what is to come” (v.17) as “Platonic language indicating the superiority of Christ.” The church’s growth (the body) grows through the Christ which is “growth from God” (v.19).

The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that in this section, the author “simultaneously condemns Greek philosophical tradition, Jewish legal teaching and pagan worship.” Unlike Paul’s authentic letters, Colossians speaks of resurrection in the present (“you were also raised with him [Christ] through faith” in baptism (v.12).

Luke 11:1-13

Reading

1 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything, because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

This reading is in two parts – the first is Luke’s shorter version of the Lord’s Prayer, as compared to the one in Matthew 6:9-13. The NAOB points out that there is an eschatological cast to the petitions (“Thy kingdom come; thy will be done”) that look towards an end-times. But there are also concerns related to daily life.

The second part of the reading relates to persistence in prayer, Although it does not say that the praying person will get precisely what the person is praying for, the assurance given is that the person will “get whatever he needs” (v. 8); “the door will be opened” (v.10); and the heavenly Father will “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (v.13). All of these are open-ended and indefinite but tell us that our prayers will be “answered” in some way.

2022, July 17 ~ Amos 8:1-12; Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 17, 2022

During Pentecost Season 2020, 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.

Amos 8:1-12

Reading

1 This is what the LORD GOD showed me– a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by.

3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” says the LORD GOD; “the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!”

4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land,

5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances,

6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely, I will never forget any of their deeds.

8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?

9 On that day, says the LORD GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight.

10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.

11 The time is surely coming, says the LORD GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.

Commentary

After Solomon died in 930 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel with 10 tribes) and the South (called Judea with two tribes). Each of the Kingdoms had its own king.

The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous but was a time of great inequality between rich and poor in which large landowners gained control of the lands of small farmers.

Amos was a cattle herder and cared for fig trees in Judea, but he was called by YHWH to go north to prophesy (speak for the LORD) against the evils in Israel from about 760 to 750 BCE. Amos is one of the 12 “minor” prophets whose works are shorter than the three “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). He was the first (chronologically) of the prophets whose words left an indelible stamp on later thought in Israel about God. He used vivid language and called for justice and righteousness, social equality, and concern for the disadvantaged.

His writings included announcements that the “Day of the LORD” was imminent and urged that the special covenant with the LORD entailed special ethical responsibilities. Some of his presentations are indictments, some are exhortations, and others are visions.

In today’s reading, Amos criticized the unfair and fraudulent business practices of the wealthy and their impatience for the Holy Days to pass (v.5) so they could resume bilking the poor, enslaving them (v.6), and taking their lands.

An ephah (v.5) was about 35 pounds and making an “ephah small” would be to cheat the customer. “False balances” (v.5) are scales that weighted for the seller.

According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, “buying the poor … and needy” likely refers to outright slavery as opposed to “selling the righteous” (2:6) into debt slavery.

The reading has some clever linguistic aspects. In verse 2, the basket of fruit symbolized the immanence of Israel’s end. The Hebrew words for “fruit” (qayits) and for “end” (qets) sound alike. Amos saw fruit but YHWH saw the end of Israel as an independent nation.

The reading described the “Day of the LORD” – a time of terror and mourning and darkness at noon (v. 9), a motif used by the authors of the Gospels in describing the Crucifixion (see Mark 15:33). A solar eclipse was a customary portent for divine punishment.

Amos said that YHWH would remember these misdeeds and punish the evildoers. In 722 BCE, only 40 years later, Assyria conquered Israel and scattered its wealthy class.

Genesis 18:1-10a

Reading

1 The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 8 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.”

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, 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.

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 the account of three “men” (identified as YHWH in verses 1 and 13) who came to Abraham’s tent at Mamre (whose oaks were regarded as oracles). The NOAB points out that the motif of secretly divine visitors is widespread in ancient folklore.

In this story, the relation between the three visitors and YHWH is not clear. The narrative speaks of them as a group (“They said”), but in verse 13, “the LORD said to Abraham.”

Abraham’s “hospitality” was overwhelming. Three measures of flour (v. 6) would have been the equivalent of about 150 pounds of flour and would have produced a large number of average-size loaves of bread. Slaughtering an entire calf (v.7) would have produced about 500 pounds of meat if the calf were between 6 and 12 months old. Quite a feast for three men!

One of the men predicted that Sarah (who was over 90 years old) would have a son in a year (v.10).

In the verses that follow today’s reading, Sarah’s laughed (v.12) when she heard what the man said. This laugh anticipated the name of her son, Isaac (which means “he laughs”).

Colossians 1:15-28

Reading

15 Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers — all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him — 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25 I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Commentary

Colossae was a town in what is now western Turkey. A Jesus Follower community was founded there by Paul’s associate, Epaphras (1:7). The letter is short (three chapters) and expressed concern about apocalyptic and mystical practices that were inconsistent with Paul’s understanding of being a Jesus Follower.

Scholars debate whether this letter was written by Paul or by his disciples in the decade after Paul’s death in 63 CE. It lacks many terms used in Paul’s authentic letters and its style is more liturgical than Paul’s other letters.

Today’s reading is highly theological and focuses on the Christ as the “image of God,” the “firstborn of all creation” (v.15), as existing before all things and that in which all things hold together (v.17). It is “High Christology” in the sense that on a spectrum from “the Christ is fully human” to “the Christ is fully divine,” the presentation is much closer to the latter than to the former. It presents a Christology that is higher than any other New Testament Book.

The Christ has a greater role in creation (v.16) than Wisdom has in Proverbs 8 and is not only the firstborn of all creation (v.15) but also the firstborn from the dead (v.18). Just as the LOGOS is the organizing principle in John 1:1, so too is the Christ (v.17).

The author referred to Gentiles as “estranged” from God (v.21) before receiving the good news. The word “estranged” appeared only in the “Deutero-Pauline” letters – the ones written by Paul’s disciples after Paul’s death.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that “faith” (or pistis) shifted from meaning faithfulness, trust, and trustworthiness (as in Paul’s authentic letters) to a “belief” in specific statements.

In verses 23 to 29, the author of Colossians self-identified as “Paul.” In the seven authentic letters written by Paul himself, it was very rare for Paul to use his own name, except in the greetings in the letters.

Luke 10:38-42

Reading

38 As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

Today’s reading follows last week’s Parable of the Good Samaritan. According to John 11, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (who is not mentioned in any gospel except John) lived in Bethany, a town east of Jerusalem. Because Martha welcomed Jesus into “her” home (v.1), she is presented as a householder, and therefore a person of means.

According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, “this enigmatic account affirms the importance of listening to Jesus and at the same time the account shows Jesus’ openness to and acceptance of women among his followers.”

2022, March 13 ~ Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 13, 2022

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18

Reading

1 The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O LORD God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the LORD came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7 Then he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O LORD God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”

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, 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.

Most of today’s reading is part of an early tradition. One clue to the date of today’s reading is that God’s name is printed in the New Revised Standard Version as “LORD” in all capital letters. LORD is the translation of YHWH. The earliest written tradition called God “YHWH” and presented God anthropomorphically – a God who walked in Eden and spoke directly with humans.

In today’s reading, the LORD spoke with Abram (his name had not yet been changed in 17:5) and made a covenant that repeated in different words the covenant expressed in Gen. 13:14-17 that he would have substantial lands and descendants too numerous to count.

The name “Abram” means exalted ancestor. The name “Abraham” means the [divine] ancestor is exalted or the “ancestor of a multitude of nations (17:5)

This covenant was confirmed by cutting a number of animals in two (v.10). In the Hebrew, to “make” a covenant is literally to “cut” a covenant (we might say “cut a deal”). The covenant was “sealed” when the flaming torch passed between the cut pieces of the animals.

This covenant was “unilateral” or a “covenant of grant” and did not require Abram to take actions to uphold his part of the “bargain.” The covenant in Genesis 13 only told Abram to “walk through the length and breadth of the land” (13:17) that he was given.

The covenant was substantially repeated in Genesis 17 but was “bilateral” and required Abraham to “have every male among you” circumcised, which Abraham did in Gen. 17:23-27.

In the omitted verses (13-16), the LORD told Abram that his offspring would be slaves in a land not theirs for 400 years. In Exodus, the Priestly writer said the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years (Ex.12:40).

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Reading

17 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

Commentary

Philippi was a major city in Macedonia on the Roman road to Byzantium (Istanbul), and most of its inhabitants were Roman citizens. Paul wrote this letter from prison. For this reason, some think the letter was written from Rome around 62 CE. Other scholars note that Paul was also imprisoned earlier in Ephesus and made trips to Philippi from Ephesus. Paul had a deep affection for the believers in Philippi and thanked them for gifts sent to him in prison (4:18).

Among Paul’s apparent concerns were that some who claimed to be Jesus Followers were living “as enemies of the cross of Christ” (v.18). By this, Paul meant that these Jesus Followers did not accept the Crucifixion as central to their sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, to becoming like him in his death, and somehow attaining the resurrection from the dead (vv. 10-11).

Today’s reading also contains some of the politically subversive themes Paul presented in the letter. He asserted that Jesus Followers’ citizenship is in heaven (v.20), rather than with Rome. In many places in the Roman Empire, there were monuments depicting Caesar Augustus as savior and lord, but Paul claimed that we are “expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (v.20).

Paul never tried to describe the nature of “the body of glory” of Jesus the Christ, but he did affirm that “the body of our humiliation” will be conformed to this body of glory (v.21).

Luke 13:31-35

Reading

31 Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

It is difficult to determine the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and the Pharisees during his lifetime. Some scholars suggest that Jesus had a good relationship during his lifetime, but that the authors of the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke said very harsh things about the Pharisees (and attribute these words to Jesus) because of the contentions between the Pharisees and the Jesus Followers after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE until the so-called “Parting of the Ways” in the late First Century.

In today’s reading, the Pharisees warned Jesus that Herod [Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BCE to 40 CE, and a son of Herod the Great] wanted to kill Jesus (v.31). Although some scholars have interpreted this as an attempt by the Pharisees to thwart Jesus’ performing of his mission, the warning seemed helpful on its face.

Jesus responded by referring to Herod unflatteringly (a “fox”) and obliquely criticized the Pharisees by suggesting that they had access to Herod. Jesus affirmed that he needed to “finish my work” on “the third day” — a colloquialism that meant “soon” or in a little while.

In a theme that appeared frequently in Luke, Jesus was described as a “rejected prophet” who would be killed in Jerusalem (v.33).

The last verse of today’s reading was addressed to Jerusalem which will not see Jesus again until Jerusalem says, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (a quote from Ps. 118:26). In some ancient authorities, the words “the time comes when” are not included. This can be interpreted as a reference to a Second Coming.

2021, February 28 ~ Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38

/in /by

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 28, 2021

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 is 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 1,650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated by scholars 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 they 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 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. 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.

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). 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).

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 ten years before the first Gospel (Mark) was written – to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among other 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 the Roman Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome in 49 CE. His successor, Nero (54-68 CE), allowed Jews (including Jewish Jesus Followers) to return to Rome, and this created tensions about leadership and worship within the Jesus Follower Community. (Jesus Followers were not called “Christians” until the 80’s.)

Paul was a Jew who became a Jesus Follower who saw the Jesus Follower Movement as part of a broader Judaism. As such, he continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah/the Christ. Reflecting his Jewish roots, Paul exhorted the Jesus Follower Community in Rome to follow the Commandments, particularly to love one another as neighbors.

In Romans, Paul used a number of terms that need to be unpacked. “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. Paul emphasized that “faith” is a matter of the heart 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 the Law (which wasn’t given until Sinai) and prior to the requirement that he be circumcised, but because of his faithfulness.

Paul also argued that God can do what God has promised (v.21). Most particularly, Paul asserted that through faithfulness to the God who raised Jesus from the dead (v.24), both Gentile and Jewish Jesus Followers share in the faith of Abraham and are “justified” (i.e.in a state of righteousness with God and man as Abraham was) (v.25).

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 had suggested that Jesus might be [reincarnations of] John the Baptist, or Elijah or one of the prophets (v. 28). In response to a more direct question, Peter offered “You are the Messiah” (or the Christ) (v. 29).

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 history.

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 words reminiscent of the rebuke of Satan by the High Priest Joshua (whose name is “Jesus” in Greek) in Zech. 3:2.

Today’s reading is 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.”

In addition, from now on, the enemies of Jesus are stated 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, 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).