Scripture Study
The Twenty- First Sunday after Pentecost
OCTOBER 25, 2009
SCRIPTURE: Mark 10:46-52
Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 8-11: THE CONTEXT
In these chapters, we have two stories of the healing of blind men (8:22-26 and 10:46-52). Between these two stories, Jesus travels with the disciples toward Jerusalem. On the way, he tells the disciples three times of his coming death (8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34), but they respond to each of these predictions inappropriately, showing that they are blind to the future that Jesus is seeking to reveal to them.
Mark uses these two stories of blind men to bracket a series of stories about disciples who are spiritually blind. Furthermore, he singles out Jesus' inner circle –– Peter, James, and John –– for special attention. They were privileged to be with Jesus at the Transfiguration (9:2-8), but seem to be blind to the truths that Jesus is trying to show them.
The story of Bartimaeus is the last healing miracle of this Gospel and ends chapter 10. Chapter 11 introduces Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (11:1) which, of course, is the prelude to his crucifixion.
VERSE 46: A BLIND BEGGAR SITTING BY THE ROADSIDE
46They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus (Aramaic: bar means son of) son of Timaeus (Greek: ho huios timaiou, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside (Greek: ten hodon –– the road, the way).
"They came to Jericho" (v. 46). Fifteen mountainous miles downhill from Jerusalem, Jericho is one of the world's oldest continuously occupied cities.
"As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho" (v. 46). The streets would be filled with pilgrims coming from everywhere and heading for the Holy City. Jesus' reputation precedes him, and people hope to catch a glimpse of the man whom some think to be the Messiah. Perhaps they will witness a miracle –– or receive a blessing –– or hear a word of wisdom –– or even see sparks fly between Jesus and his enemies. It promises to be a grand parade.
Jericho is the home of many priests and Levites who serve at the temple in Jerusalem. Some are surely in this crowd, perhaps fearful of the impact that this young prophet might have on their lives –– lives deeply rooted in tradition. Jesus' apparent disdain for tradition must make them uneasy. Some surely stand on the sidelines trying to screw up courage to challenge Jesus as he walks by.
"Bartimaeus son of Timaeus" (v. 46). Bar means son of in Aramaic, a language similar to Hebrew and the common language of Palestinian Jews in Jesus' day. Mark gives the Aramaic name and translates into Greek for Gentile readers. Timao (Greek) means to honor, so Bartimaeus can mean son of honor. "Mark sets in stark contrast the meaning of the name and the occupation of the man. A son of honor is begging beside the road! This man, living daily with the shame of his condition, bestows on Jesus titles of honor. Before the narrative is over, we see Bartimaeus, his honor now fully restored, joining Jesus on the way to dishonor and shame" (Geddert, 253).
Mark does not usually name beneficiaries of miracles –– he names only Jairus and Bartimaeus in this Gospel. It could be that Bartimaeus is active in the church and is known to Mark's readers.
"Blind beggar" (v. 46). Most blind men would be beggars, and begging is regarded charitably. "Bartimaeus is the very image of one without anything to offer, anything to claim" (Craddock, 452).
"was sitting by the roadside" (v. 46). The roadside is a place for marginal people. Usually rather quiet alongside the road, on this day it would be noisy with pilgrims headed for Jerusalem. Imagine Bartimaeus' difficulty understanding what is happening in the confusion of the noisy crowd. Not only is he blind, but also seems not to have friends to help him.
VERSES 47-48: "SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME"
47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth (Greek: ho Nazarenos –– the Nazarene), he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
"Jesus of Nazareth" (ho Nazarenos) (v. 47a) –– literally "Jesus the Nazarene" –– not Iesous apo Nazaret (Jesus of Nazareth) as in 1:9. "A similar expression is used of Samson in Judg 16:17…, who is called naziraios theou, God's powerfully anointed one. Mark's use of the term 'Nazarene' in the healing stories of 1:24 and 10:47 may also carry connotations of Jesus' powerful anointing by God" (Edwards, 329).
"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (v. 47b). Mark includes no genealogy, so he may intend this title, "Son of David," to establish Jesus' Davidic descent –– his royal blood. In Matthew, the angel appears to Joseph, addressing him, "Joseph, son of David" (Matthew 1:20), presumably for this same purpose. Mark could also intend "Son of David" as a messianic title. Later, Jesus will quote scripture to show himself to be, not only David's son, but also David's Lord (12:35-37).
Matthew, who wrote his Gospel for Jewish readers, uses the title "Son of David" eleven times. Mark and Luke, who wrote their Gospels for Gentile readers, use the title only once and twice respectively. Jesus' Davidic descent obviously means more to Jewish readers than to Gentiles readers.
Until now, Jesus has tried to keep talk of his messiahship at a minimum –– scholars talk of the "messianic secret." But Jesus does not rebuke Bartimaeus for calling him, "Son of David," a title that can be understood messianically. The reason is quite simple. Before now, his time had not come, but now it has. He is ready to enter Jerusalem –– ready to confront the religious establishment –– ready to die.
It is significant that Bartimaeus focuses on Jesus instead of begging. In that culture, people believe that they earn merit by helping beggars, and pilgrims on the way to the Holy City could be expected to be especially generous. Beggars would depend on special days such as this for much of their income –– rather like merchants today who depend on Christmas.
We could not fault Bartimaeus if he were content with his circumstances. He punches no clock and answers to no man. His life as a beggar, while less than ideal, is familiar and comfortable. However, Bartimaeus' shout shows that he has heard of Jesus, has been listening for him, and is determined to get his attention. He wants the help that he believes Jesus to be able to offer.
"Many sternly ordered him to be quiet." (v. 48a). The crowd is trying to enjoy the parade. Bartimaeus disturbs their fun, so they order him to be quiet –– but Bartimaeus will not be stilled. Never has he had such hope! If Jesus disappears around the bend, he will never have such hope again. For Bartimaeus, this is literally the chance of a lifetime. He continues to shout –– to plead for mercy.
but he cried out even more loudly, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!" (v. 48b). Bartimaeus will not be quiet just to please this crowd. His future –– his life –– is at stake.
VERSES 49-50: JESUS SAID, "CALL HIM HERE"
49Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." 50So throwing off (Greek: apobalon –– casting aside –– abandoning) his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
"Jesus stood still" (v. 50a). Amidst the noise of the crowd, Jesus hears the cry of this beggar, and stops in his tracks. Jesus' ears are attuned to hear the marginal person: The woman with a hemorrhage (5:25-34) –– the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20) –– the sick in Gennesaret (6:53-56) –– the Syrophoenician woman (7:24-30) –– the blind man at Bethsaida (8:22-25) –– the boy with a spirit (9:14-29) –– little children (10:13-16) –– and now this blind man who sits beside the road.
Jesus does not address the blind man directly, but orders the crowd to "call him here" (v. 49) –– commands them to stop obstructing and to start enabling –– turns stiff arms into helping hands. Then, before healing the blind man, Jesus dignifies him –– moves him from the wings to center stage –– puts him in the spotlight –– gives him a starring role. "The contrast is marked: Jesus, the son of David (and, as such, Israel's 'first' citizen), stopping to help a beggar of no account… (…one of Israel's 'last' citizens)" (Evans, 131).
There are strong parallels between this story and Jesus' earlier blessing of little children (10:13-16):
• The disciples tried to prevent parents from bringing their children to Jesus just as the crowd tried to shush Bartimaeus (vv. 13, 48)
• Jesus' instructions to the disciples "Let the little children come to me" (v. 14), parallel his instructions to this crowd, "Call him here" (v. 49).
• In both cases, Jesus reaches out with authority to include powerless, vulnerable people, modeling authentic Christian ministry.
"So throwing off (apobalon –– casting aside –– abandoning) his cloak, (Bartimaeus) sprang up and came to Jesus" (v. 50). Beggars typically sit with their cloak spread on the ground before them to catch coins tossed by passersby. This man's cloak is as important to his livelihood as boats are to a fisherman or a booth to a tax collector. Just as others abandoned boats and booths to follow Jesus, this man tosses aside cloak and coins to stand before the Son of David. He is quite unlike the rich man who, earlier in this chapter, could not bring himself to abandon his wealth (10:17-27). The blind man's actions bring to mind:
• The admonition to "lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and…run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).
• Jesus' words, "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24).
This is the last healing miracle recorded in this Gospel.
VERSE 51: "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?"
51Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher (Greek: Rabbouni), let me see again."
"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus has brought this man to center stage. Now he further dignifies him by asking what he wants. He asks the same question that he asked of James and John (10:36) in the incident immediately preceding this story. James and John responded by asking for places of honor at Jesus' right- and left-hand –– positions where they would be seen and envied –– where ordinary people would have to look up to them.
"My teacher" (Rabbouni). In the New Testament, we see this word Rabbouni only here and when Mary recognizes the risen Christ outside the tomb (John 20:16). It is a reverent form of Rabbi, "used by the rabbis themselves only in addressing God" (Boring, 306).
"let me see again." The blind man's petition is very different from that of James and John. He asks not to be seen, but to see –– not for honor, but for vision –– not to be superior to ordinary people, but to become ordinary himself –– not to rule over others, but to join them in their experience of a normal life.
VERSE 52: HE REGAINED HIS SIGHT AND FOLLOWED HIM ON THE WAY
52Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well" (Greek: sesoken se –– healed or saved you). Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way (Greek: hodo).
"Go; your faith has made you well" (sesoken). The word sesoken (root word sozo) has a happy ambiguity. It can mean healed, made whole, or saved. In this man's case, all three are true. The man not only regains his sight and, thereby, his place in society, but he also becomes a follower of Jesus "on the way." On the way to where? To Jerusalem! To the cross! To the open tomb!
"Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way" (hodo). At the beginning of this story, we found Bartimaeus "sitting by the roadside (hodon)" (v. 46). Now, at the end of the story, we find him following Jesus "on the way" (hodo). While in verse 46 hodon "is simply a geographical indication, in 10:52 the same word functions theologically as a reference to the 'way' of discipleship" (Donahue and Harrington, 317). The different sense of the word in these two verses illustrates how dramatically a brief encounter with Jesus changed Bartimaeus' life.
It is only a few days until Good Friday. We can't help but wonder how Bartimaeus will fare during the tumultuous events of the coming week. Given the vigor of his faith, it seems possible that he will fare better than the other disciples. After all, Bartimaeus can see now, but the disciples are still blind.
"The healing of Bartimaeus is especially significant for those who sit outside the church…. (It) calls attention to persons who, though lost in the crowd, may be ready and eager for some vital contact with Jesus Christ" (Williamson, 199-200).
TRUE STORY:
When I was a little boy, I studied piano, and my mother was my teacher. When it came time for a recital, my mother made me go over the conclusion again and again. I had to get it down perfect! "Keep on practicing the conclusion, Bob. Learn those last measures!" she used to say. "Look, Bob, you can make a mistake in the beginning; or you can make a mistake in the middle; the people will forget it –– if you make the ending glorious!" Make the ending glorious!
I don't know what kind of childhood you had. I don't know what kind of life you had. I don't know where you are now! But where you are now, Jesus is present. Take Him into your life now, and I can tell you the ending will be glorious!
Robert Schuller, Life Changers
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
* * * * * * * * * *
When Jesus prayed to the one who could save him from death,
he did not get that salvation;
he got instead the salvation of the world.
Philip Yancey
* * * * * * * * * *
For as the devil through pride
leads man from pride to death,
so Christ through lowliness
leads back man through obedience to life.
St. Augustine
* * * * * * * * * *
Jesus Christ is God's everything
for man's total need.
Richard Halverson
* * * * * * * * * *
The terms for "salvation" in many languages
are derived from roots like salvus, saos, whole, heil,
which all designate health,
the opposite of disintegration and disruption.
Salvation is healing in the ultimate sense;
it is final cosmic and individual healing.
Paul Tillich
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Donahue, John R. and Harrington, Daniel J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2002)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Evans, Craig A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 8:27 –– 16:20 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Welcome. Below are my Church School materials by date.
Church School Lessons
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
September 12, 2009 - The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
SCRIPTURE STUDY
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
PROPER 19,YEAR B
SEPTEMBER 13, 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to September 14
Proper 19
Year B
RCL
Wisdom of Solomon 7:26-8:1
Psalm 116:1-8
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
The Collect
O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Wisdom of Solomon 7:26-8:1
Wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
She is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
and she orders all things well.
Psalm 116:1-8
1
I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.
2
The cords of death entangled me;
the grip of the grave took hold of me; *
I came to grief and sorrow.
3
Then I called upon the Name of the LORD: *
"O LORD, I pray you, save my life."
4
Gracious is the LORD and righteous; *
our God is full of compassion.
5
The LORD watches over the innocent; *
I was brought very low, and he helped me.
6
Turn again to your rest, O my soul, *
for the LORD has treated you well.
7
For you have rescued my life from death, *
my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
8
I will walk in the presence of the LORD *
in the land of the living.
James 3:1-12
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
Mark 8:27-38
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Then he began to teach them 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. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 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."
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. 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 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."
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 27-38: THE CONTEXT
This lesson is bracketed by the story of Jesus healing a blind man at Bethsaida (8:22-26) and another blind man, Bartimaeus, at Jericho (10:46-25). During this period, Jesus is struggling with disciples who are blind to the truth that he would teach them. "Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?" he asked (8:18). "Do you not yet understand?" (8:21). In his great confession (v. 29), Peter shows that he has caught a glimpse of the truth, but the following verses will show that his vision was distorted by his prior understanding of messiahship.
In verses 31-33, Jesus speaks to the disciples. In verses 34-38, he calls the crowd to join the disciples in hearing the criteria for discipleship.
This is the first of three occasions in this section where Jesus predicts his suffering and death (see also 9:31 and 10:33-34). On all three occasions, the disciples demonstrate their lack of understanding and Jesus responds by expanding his teaching on discipleship.
"The significance of this text lies in its paradoxes. I learn who I am by discovering who Jesus is. The way to self-fulfillment is the way of self denial." (Williamson, 156)
VERSES 27-30: YOU ARE THE MESSIAH
27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way (Greek: te hodo) he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah (Greek: Christos)." 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
"Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi" (v. 27a). Jesus has most recently been at Bethsaida (8:22-26), a town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Now he travels to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles (40 km) further north, at the foot of Mount Hermon. This far to the north, and symbolizes a major turning point in his ministry. He has been working in Galilee, a relatively friendly place, healing and teaching. Now he will begin his journey southward toward Jerusalem, the center of the opposition to him and the place where he will die.
"and on the way" (te hodo) (v. 27b). The phrase, "the way" (te hodo) is important to this Gospel. John the Baptist came to prepare the way (hodon) of the Lord (1:2), and Mark uses the word hodo at 9:33; 10:17 and 10:32, 52 to remind us that Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem, where Jesus will be crucified. Caesarea Philippi seems like an odd place for Jesus to begin such a significant journey. Its roots are more Greek and Roman than Jewish.
"Who do people say that I am?" (v. 27c). Earlier named Paneas after the Greek God Pan, the city was then named Caesarea to honor Caesar Augustus. They built a temple to Caesar not far from the temple to Pan. Then they changed the name to Caesarea Philippi to honor the local ruler, Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod the Great –– and to distinguish this city from another Caesarea located on the Mediterranean shore. "It was here, amid the interplay between the forces of nature and the deification of the state in the emperor, that Christ asked his disciples: "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" (Myers, 180).
"John the Baptist; …Elijah; …one of the prophets" (vv. 27-28). Earlier, when Jesus was performing miracles, people speculated regarding his identity and came up with these same three possibilities –– and in the same order (6:14-15). The people think of Jesus, not as the Messiah, but as a great man like one of the great men of their history. They have their own ideas about the Messiah, and Jesus does not fit the mold. They think of the Messiah as David's successor, who will drive out the Roman garrison, re-establish Israel's glory, and usher in a golden age. To accomplish these goals, they expect the Messiah to use traditional power –– military or economic dominance. They expect the Messiah to be a super-man –– a man like other men except for his greater power. Jesus re-defines power to mean drawing people to himself through love. His love will be expressed in self-denial and cross-bearing.
"But who do you say that I am?" (v. 29). In the Greek, the "you" is emphatic.
"You are the Messiah" (Christos) (v. 29). Christos is the Greek word and Messias is the Hebrew equivalent. Both mean "anointed." Mark began this Gospel by saying, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ (Greek: Christou), the Son of God" (1:1) –– thus establishing Jesus as both Christ and Son of God.
• The NRSV translates Christos as Christ in 1:1 and Messiah here in 8:29. It would seem better to use Christ in both verses, maintaining the parallelism that Mark surely intended. Messiah transliterates the Hebrew mashiach, which means, "anointed." The Jews anointed three classes of people: priests, prophets and kings. Jesus is all three.
• Shortly before Jesus' death, the high priest will ask, "Are you the Christos, the Son of the Blessed One?" and Jesus will answer, "I am."
• At 15:39, at the conclusion of Jesus' journey, the centurion will restate that Jesus is God's Son.
"And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him" (v. 30). Matthew adds an account of Jesus' blessing of Peter for this confession (Matthew 16:17-19), but neither Mark nor Luke (9:18-22) includes it. Jesus orders the disciples not to tell anyone about him. Peter believes that Jesus is the Messiah, but will not understand how Jesus is redefining the role Messiah until after the resurrection. "The time for...public declaration will come in 14:61-62, but for now it is inappropriate. When that time comes, it will be Jesus himself, not the disciples, who breaks the secrecy" (France, 330).
VERSES 31-33: HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM
31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must (Greek: dei) undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me (Greek: opiso mou), Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."
The words, "he began to teach them" (v. 31a) signal a change. Until now, this Gospel has been establishing Jesus' power and authority. Now Jesus turns his disciples away from Galilee, where he has experienced such success, and faces them towards Jerusalem, where he will die. As he changes to this new phase of his ministry, he must begin to teach the disciples what to expect.
"that the Son of man must undergo great suffering" (v. 31b). Jesus refers to himself as Son of Man rather than Christ or Messiah, which is how Peter identified him in v. 29. The title, Son of Man, is more neutral than the title, Christos. The Jewish people expect the Christos to be a great king and military leader like David, but have no such expectations of the Son of Man. "Instead of emphasizing Jesus' human nature, ...the term connotes his glorious, celestial, supernatural, indeed his divine, nature, in the sense of Dan. 7" (Grant, 768). "More sophisticated readers might know that the figure in Daniel is identified with the righteous of Israel who suffer…. (I)t promises that God has not abandoned them to the evils of the oppressor. They will be vindicated" (Perkins, 624).
While the Jews expect a triumphant Messiah, Isaiah 52:13 –– 53:12 speaks of a suffering servant who "shall be exalted and lifted up" (52:13) –– who "was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity" (53:3) –– who "was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities" (53:5) –– who "was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked" (53:8-9). (See also Psalm 22, Psalm 69, and Zechariah 9-14).
"the Son of Man must" (dei –– it is necessary) (v. 31b). This little word dei appears frequently in the Gospels, and in precisely this manner. Some scholars speak of it as the Divine Imperative, because it is God's will that Jesus suffer, die, and be resurrected.
"and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes" (v. 31c). These three groups comprise the Sanhedrin, the ruling body for the Jewish people. "It is not humanity at its worst that will crucify the Son of God but humanity at its absolute best…. He will be arrested with official warrants, and tried and executed by the world's envy of jurisprudence –– the Jewish Sanhedrin and the principia iuris Romanorum" (Edwards, 254).
"and be killed" (v. 31d). Jesus predicts his death, but does not yet reveal that it will be by crucifixion.
"and after three days rise again" (v. 31e). Upon hearing the word, "killed," we are inclined to stop listening, because death usually spells the end of the story –– but we must not stop listening prematurely. The bad news of Jesus' death will be trumped by the good news of his resurrection. Jesus must (dei) not only die, but he must also rise again.
"He said all this quite openly" (v. 32a). Many of Jesus' teachings have been couched in parables or stories, which conceal as much as they reveal. Here, however, Jesus "said all this quite openly" (v. 32). Given this clarity, we wonder why the disciples fail to understand. The answer, of course, is that Jesus' teachings run counter to everything that they believe. Regardless of what is said, people often hear what they expect to hear.
Also, the disciples have sacrificed a great deal to follow Jesus, and it is beginning to pay off. Jesus has been working wonder after wonder, and the crowds are responding nicely. The disciples see great possibilities ahead, and cannot welcome anything that suggests otherwise. We should not be too critical of them for refusing to accept Jesus' talk of suffering and death. It must sound to them as if he is having a bad moment and needs a bit of encouragement. Even today, having known all our lives how the story turns out, we prefer a gospel that promises success. The cross is a hard sell.
"And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him" (v. 32b). Note Peter's boldness. He has just identified Jesus as the Messiah, but now he is rebuking Jesus. How bold to rebuke even the Messiah! We too are tempted to rebuke Jesus when he fails to meet our expectations –– when he fails to answer our prayers as we expect.
"Peter 'took him' and 'began to rebuke him.' Both verbs express superiority and authority…. The issue is, who is in charge…. Jesus will not be patronized" (Williamson, 153). Note the parallel between "began to teach" (v. 31) and "began to rebuke" (v. 32).
"Get behind me" (opiso mou) (v. 33). When he first met Peter, Jesus said, "Deute opiso mou" –– "Come after me" –– a phrase translated "Follow me" in the NRSV. Peter has been coming after Jesus ever since, however imperfectly –– but in rebuking Jesus he steps out in front. Now Jesus orders him to resume his proper place as a disciple –– coming after –– following rather than leading.
"Get behind me, Satan!" (v. 33a). Jesus refers to Peter as Satan. This Gospel provides little detail about the temptation in the wilderness (1:12-13). Some scholars think of this encounter between Peter and Jesus as "the temptation story in Mark…. Mark tells the story this way so that we will recognize that the enduring temptation of Jesus' life was to resist the cross, to use his charisma to muster enough political clout to become what the crowds wanted him to become" (Johnson, 61). It seems likely that Jesus finds Peter's temptation even more dangerous than Satan's earlier temptations, because Peter is a disciple and friend rather than an opponent –– a well-intentioned man rather than the personification of evil. We are much more inclined to be persuaded by a friendly voice than by that of a known evildoer.
Note the story's twists and turns. First, Peter stuck out his neck and got the right answer. How good it feels to get the right answer! Now Jesus calls him Satan. In the blink of an eye, Peter has gone from Star Pupil to Dunce. Imagine how confused he must feel. Jesus' response makes it clear that the disciples belong behind Jesus. They are to follow, not lead.
"For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things" (v. 33b). Cousar thinks that Peter would see it very differently –– would believe that he is thinking of divine things while Jesus is introducing human things. The question is, "Which person, Jesus or Peter, knows what things are 'human things' and what things are 'divine things'? A side glance at 1 Cor. 1:18-25 would be helpful…. (T)he cross appears to be foolishness, but by God's standards it is wisdom" (Cousar, 209).
Some scholars think that Peter was one of Mark's sources for the stories in this Gospel. If so, Peter may be the source for this negative story about himself.
VERSES 34-38: DENY YOURSELF, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS, AND FOLLOW
34He 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. 35For 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. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those 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."
"He called the crowd with his disciples" (v. 34a). Jesus has been speaking to the disciples, but now he calls the crowd to join the disciples for a lesson on discipleship. "By calling the crowd Jesus indicates that the conditions for following him are relevant for all believers, and not for the disciples alone" (Lane, 306).
"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (v. 34b). Discipleship involves self-denial and cross-bearing. At the time in which this Gospel was written, Christians were literally bearing crosses and losing their lives. These words of Jesus speaks very directly to their situation, and hold out a great promise. "The end of the road of discipleship is not crucifixion; it is resurrection…. Mark 8:34-38 is not finally about losing one's life, forfeiting the world, and unashamedly joining the Son of Man's rejection. It is finally about saving one's life, gaining one's soul, and seeing the kingdom" (Geddert, 211).
Sports provide an analogy. Games are won, not just on the playing field, but also on the practice field. To experience glory on game day, the athlete must first push himself or herself to the limit on the practice field. Physical conditioning is painful and practicing fundamentals is tiresome, but the purpose of discipline is neither pain nor boredom but victory. So it is in the spiritual realm. Spiritual discipline begets spiritual victory. The church is always tempted to offer less costly discipleship in the hope of attracting more people. A weak call, however, produces weak disciples. "A church may win people by disguising the true meaning of discipleship. But it cannot do anything with them after it gets them" (Luccock, 768).
The challenge to lose our lives for Jesus' sake conflicts with modern values. Preservation of life is a major industry. Modern medicine, proper diet, and exercise extend our lives. Cosmetics and plastic surgeons preserve our appearance. Funeral directors continue the work even after we die. We find it difficult to hear Jesus' call to lose our lives for his sake.
When this Gospel was first written, Christians were literally in danger of losing their lives for their faith. They were tempted to deny Christ to save their lives. That is still true for many Christians today. Persecution of Christians is alive and well. More Christians died for their faith in the 20th Century than in the 1st Century. The list of nations where Christians are routinely persecuted is a long one: China, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, East Timor, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba –– to name only a few. We who are not subject to martyrdom need to keep that issue before our congregations. We need to support and pray for Christian brothers and sisters to alleviate their suffering in any way possible. The fact that Christ blesses Christian martyrs is no excuse for allowing our apathy to contribute to the martyrdom of our Christian brothers and sisters.
The challenges that most of us face seem trivial by comparison. Workplaces are inhospitable to Christian witness. Coaches schedule games on Sunday mornings, forcing young people to choose between sports and Jesus. People label Christians as fanatics or bigots for beliefs that run counter to the prevailing culture. These are serious and painful issues, but fall far short of the kind of persecution that Christians endured through the centuries and are still enduring even today in many parts of the world.
Since our challenges are not issues of life-and-death, we are tempted to feel that they aren't important. We would be willing to die for Christ, but find it difficult to live for Christ day by day. Fred Craddock reminds us that most Christians are never called to make the grand gesture, but are instead called to pay the price of discipleship a quarter at a time. That is not as glorious as martyrdom, but our willingness to spend quarters when they are needed is more important than our willingness to die when that is not needed.
Jesus gives a threefold standard for discipleship. We are to (1) deny ourselves (2) to take up our cross and (3) to follow Jesus. Jesus does not call us to deny our value. We are created in God's image, so how could we not have value? Neither does he call us to deny ourselves pleasure. The ascetic can be the most ego-centered person of all. "The denial of self…is making ourselves not an end, but a means, in the kingdom of God. It is subordinating the clamoring ego….for Christ's sake, for the sake of putting the self into his cause" (Luccock, 770). "It is (replacing) the self with God-in-Christ as the object of affections. It is (placing) the divine will before self-will" (Brooks, 137).
"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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?" (vv. 35-37). The game is for the biggest stakes of all –– life itself–– eternal life –– meaningful life –– life lived in the presence of the Father. There is no no-risk strategy where faith is concerned–– no safe but profitable harbor. People speak of "the leap of faith" precisely because faith, at some point, involves letting go of traditional forms of security and leaping into the darkness in the faith that Jesus will help us to land safely.
Jim Elliot, a missionary who was murdered on the mission field by the Auca Indians as he tried to minister to them, earlier assessed the risk, saying: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
"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" (v. 38). "In the first century being ashamed of Jesus and his words had particular reference to denying him in time of persecution" (Brooks, 138). The picture is of a judgment scene where we will be utterly dependent on Jesus' help. Jesus is portrayed elsewhere as our advocate (Greek: parakleton) (1 John 2:1). (The Holy Spirit is also called a paraclete –– John 14:16, 26; 15:26, etc.) A paraclete is a helper –– a defender. A defense lawyer is one kind of paraclete, and that is an appropriate image here. On Judgment Day, we will need Christ to serve as our paraclete –– our advocate –– our defender.
Because we live among an "adulterous and sinful generation" (v. 38), we cannot expect a pat on the back for faithful proclamation, but should instead expect opposition. An adulterous and sinful generation cannot abide truth. We should expect it to twist truth so it sounds like a lie –– and to deal ruthlessly with truth-tellers. Living among such people, we will always be tempted to mute our witness to Christ to avoid controversy and to escape persecution.
However, Jesus warns that, on Judgment Day, he will be ashamed of the person who has been ashamed of him –– the person who has muted his/her witness. Jesus warns that he will not "be there" for that person –– will not serve as his/her advocate –– thus leaving that person vulnerable –– defenseless.
Jesus implies that the reciprocal is also true –– that Jesus will "be there" to speak for the person who has spoken for Jesus –– that he will serve as our advocate. Matthew and Luke make this explicit –– "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:32; see also Luke 12:8). Jesus' purpose in v. 38 is not to establish grounds for abandoning us, but is rather to tell us how to gain his support and to avoid forfeiting life (v. 36).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
Certain it is that we are saved not by one cross but by two ––
Christ's and our own.
We must be crucified with Christ,
must die with him, and rise with him
into a new way of life and being.
Arthur John Gossip
* * * * * * * * * *
In our day heaven and earth are on tiptoe
waiting for the emerging of a spirit-led, spirit-intoxicated,
spirit-empowered people.
All of creation watches expectantly
for the springing up of a disciplined, freely gathered, martyr people
who know in this life the life and power of the kingdom of God.
It has happened before. It can happen again.
Individuals can be found here and there
whose hearts burn with divine fire.
But they are like flaming torches scattered in the night.
As yet there has been no gathering of a people of the spirit.
Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline
* * * * * * * * * *
If we answer this call to discipleship, where will it lead us?
What decisions and partings will it demand?
To answer this question we shall have to go to him,
for he only knows the answer.
Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him,
knows the journey's end.
But we do know that it will be a road of boundless mercy.
Discipleship means joy.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
* * * * * * * * * *
Faith is obedience, nothing else;
literally nothing else at all.
Emil Brunner
* * * * * * * * * *
To accept the will of God
never leads to the miserable feeling that it is useless to strive any more.
God does not ask for the dull, weak, sleepy acquiescence of indolence.
He asks for something vivid and strong.
He asks us to cooperate with him,
actively willing what he wills,
our only aim his glory.
Amy Carmichael
* * * * * * * * * *
HYMN STORY: Nearer My God to Thee
This hymn was written by two sisters. Sarah Flower Adams wrote the words and her sister, Eliza Flower, wrote the music. Together they wrote a number of hymns, but this is the only one still in common use today.
Sarah (the author of the words) enjoyed a successful career on the stage playing Lady MacBeth in Shakespearean drama, but retired from the stage due to health problems. Not long thereafter, her sister, Eliza, came down with tuberculosis. Sarah, determined to nurse her, came down with the disease as well, and both died at a relatively young age.
However, their hymn acknowledges the possibility of suffering but refuses to allow suffering to have the last word. It says:
"E'en though it be a cross
that raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be,
nearer my God to Thee."
The message of the hymn is that every experience, good or bad, can draw us nearer to God, who gives us comfort and strength.
• Bearing a cross brings us nearer to God.
• Darkness brings us nearer to God.
• Angels bring us nearer to God.
• And grief brings us nearer to God.
The things that the hymn mentions (a cross, darkness, grief) tend to be difficulties. Sometimes when life is good we tend to forget that we need God. It is the difficult times that reinforce our deep need for God's grace -- that do, indeed, bring us nearer to God.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Evans, Craig A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 8:27 –– 16:20 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Myers, Allen C. (ed.), The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
PROPER 19,YEAR B
SEPTEMBER 13, 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to September 14
Proper 19
Year B
RCL
Wisdom of Solomon 7:26-8:1
Psalm 116:1-8
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
The Collect
O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Wisdom of Solomon 7:26-8:1
Wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
She is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
and she orders all things well.
Psalm 116:1-8
1
I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.
2
The cords of death entangled me;
the grip of the grave took hold of me; *
I came to grief and sorrow.
3
Then I called upon the Name of the LORD: *
"O LORD, I pray you, save my life."
4
Gracious is the LORD and righteous; *
our God is full of compassion.
5
The LORD watches over the innocent; *
I was brought very low, and he helped me.
6
Turn again to your rest, O my soul, *
for the LORD has treated you well.
7
For you have rescued my life from death, *
my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
8
I will walk in the presence of the LORD *
in the land of the living.
James 3:1-12
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
Mark 8:27-38
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Then he began to teach them 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. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 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."
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. 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 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."
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 27-38: THE CONTEXT
This lesson is bracketed by the story of Jesus healing a blind man at Bethsaida (8:22-26) and another blind man, Bartimaeus, at Jericho (10:46-25). During this period, Jesus is struggling with disciples who are blind to the truth that he would teach them. "Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?" he asked (8:18). "Do you not yet understand?" (8:21). In his great confession (v. 29), Peter shows that he has caught a glimpse of the truth, but the following verses will show that his vision was distorted by his prior understanding of messiahship.
In verses 31-33, Jesus speaks to the disciples. In verses 34-38, he calls the crowd to join the disciples in hearing the criteria for discipleship.
This is the first of three occasions in this section where Jesus predicts his suffering and death (see also 9:31 and 10:33-34). On all three occasions, the disciples demonstrate their lack of understanding and Jesus responds by expanding his teaching on discipleship.
"The significance of this text lies in its paradoxes. I learn who I am by discovering who Jesus is. The way to self-fulfillment is the way of self denial." (Williamson, 156)
VERSES 27-30: YOU ARE THE MESSIAH
27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way (Greek: te hodo) he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah (Greek: Christos)." 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
"Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi" (v. 27a). Jesus has most recently been at Bethsaida (8:22-26), a town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Now he travels to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles (40 km) further north, at the foot of Mount Hermon. This far to the north, and symbolizes a major turning point in his ministry. He has been working in Galilee, a relatively friendly place, healing and teaching. Now he will begin his journey southward toward Jerusalem, the center of the opposition to him and the place where he will die.
"and on the way" (te hodo) (v. 27b). The phrase, "the way" (te hodo) is important to this Gospel. John the Baptist came to prepare the way (hodon) of the Lord (1:2), and Mark uses the word hodo at 9:33; 10:17 and 10:32, 52 to remind us that Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem, where Jesus will be crucified. Caesarea Philippi seems like an odd place for Jesus to begin such a significant journey. Its roots are more Greek and Roman than Jewish.
"Who do people say that I am?" (v. 27c). Earlier named Paneas after the Greek God Pan, the city was then named Caesarea to honor Caesar Augustus. They built a temple to Caesar not far from the temple to Pan. Then they changed the name to Caesarea Philippi to honor the local ruler, Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod the Great –– and to distinguish this city from another Caesarea located on the Mediterranean shore. "It was here, amid the interplay between the forces of nature and the deification of the state in the emperor, that Christ asked his disciples: "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" (Myers, 180).
"John the Baptist; …Elijah; …one of the prophets" (vv. 27-28). Earlier, when Jesus was performing miracles, people speculated regarding his identity and came up with these same three possibilities –– and in the same order (6:14-15). The people think of Jesus, not as the Messiah, but as a great man like one of the great men of their history. They have their own ideas about the Messiah, and Jesus does not fit the mold. They think of the Messiah as David's successor, who will drive out the Roman garrison, re-establish Israel's glory, and usher in a golden age. To accomplish these goals, they expect the Messiah to use traditional power –– military or economic dominance. They expect the Messiah to be a super-man –– a man like other men except for his greater power. Jesus re-defines power to mean drawing people to himself through love. His love will be expressed in self-denial and cross-bearing.
"But who do you say that I am?" (v. 29). In the Greek, the "you" is emphatic.
"You are the Messiah" (Christos) (v. 29). Christos is the Greek word and Messias is the Hebrew equivalent. Both mean "anointed." Mark began this Gospel by saying, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ (Greek: Christou), the Son of God" (1:1) –– thus establishing Jesus as both Christ and Son of God.
• The NRSV translates Christos as Christ in 1:1 and Messiah here in 8:29. It would seem better to use Christ in both verses, maintaining the parallelism that Mark surely intended. Messiah transliterates the Hebrew mashiach, which means, "anointed." The Jews anointed three classes of people: priests, prophets and kings. Jesus is all three.
• Shortly before Jesus' death, the high priest will ask, "Are you the Christos, the Son of the Blessed One?" and Jesus will answer, "I am."
• At 15:39, at the conclusion of Jesus' journey, the centurion will restate that Jesus is God's Son.
"And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him" (v. 30). Matthew adds an account of Jesus' blessing of Peter for this confession (Matthew 16:17-19), but neither Mark nor Luke (9:18-22) includes it. Jesus orders the disciples not to tell anyone about him. Peter believes that Jesus is the Messiah, but will not understand how Jesus is redefining the role Messiah until after the resurrection. "The time for...public declaration will come in 14:61-62, but for now it is inappropriate. When that time comes, it will be Jesus himself, not the disciples, who breaks the secrecy" (France, 330).
VERSES 31-33: HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM
31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must (Greek: dei) undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me (Greek: opiso mou), Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."
The words, "he began to teach them" (v. 31a) signal a change. Until now, this Gospel has been establishing Jesus' power and authority. Now Jesus turns his disciples away from Galilee, where he has experienced such success, and faces them towards Jerusalem, where he will die. As he changes to this new phase of his ministry, he must begin to teach the disciples what to expect.
"that the Son of man must undergo great suffering" (v. 31b). Jesus refers to himself as Son of Man rather than Christ or Messiah, which is how Peter identified him in v. 29. The title, Son of Man, is more neutral than the title, Christos. The Jewish people expect the Christos to be a great king and military leader like David, but have no such expectations of the Son of Man. "Instead of emphasizing Jesus' human nature, ...the term connotes his glorious, celestial, supernatural, indeed his divine, nature, in the sense of Dan. 7" (Grant, 768). "More sophisticated readers might know that the figure in Daniel is identified with the righteous of Israel who suffer…. (I)t promises that God has not abandoned them to the evils of the oppressor. They will be vindicated" (Perkins, 624).
While the Jews expect a triumphant Messiah, Isaiah 52:13 –– 53:12 speaks of a suffering servant who "shall be exalted and lifted up" (52:13) –– who "was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity" (53:3) –– who "was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities" (53:5) –– who "was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked" (53:8-9). (See also Psalm 22, Psalm 69, and Zechariah 9-14).
"the Son of Man must" (dei –– it is necessary) (v. 31b). This little word dei appears frequently in the Gospels, and in precisely this manner. Some scholars speak of it as the Divine Imperative, because it is God's will that Jesus suffer, die, and be resurrected.
"and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes" (v. 31c). These three groups comprise the Sanhedrin, the ruling body for the Jewish people. "It is not humanity at its worst that will crucify the Son of God but humanity at its absolute best…. He will be arrested with official warrants, and tried and executed by the world's envy of jurisprudence –– the Jewish Sanhedrin and the principia iuris Romanorum" (Edwards, 254).
"and be killed" (v. 31d). Jesus predicts his death, but does not yet reveal that it will be by crucifixion.
"and after three days rise again" (v. 31e). Upon hearing the word, "killed," we are inclined to stop listening, because death usually spells the end of the story –– but we must not stop listening prematurely. The bad news of Jesus' death will be trumped by the good news of his resurrection. Jesus must (dei) not only die, but he must also rise again.
"He said all this quite openly" (v. 32a). Many of Jesus' teachings have been couched in parables or stories, which conceal as much as they reveal. Here, however, Jesus "said all this quite openly" (v. 32). Given this clarity, we wonder why the disciples fail to understand. The answer, of course, is that Jesus' teachings run counter to everything that they believe. Regardless of what is said, people often hear what they expect to hear.
Also, the disciples have sacrificed a great deal to follow Jesus, and it is beginning to pay off. Jesus has been working wonder after wonder, and the crowds are responding nicely. The disciples see great possibilities ahead, and cannot welcome anything that suggests otherwise. We should not be too critical of them for refusing to accept Jesus' talk of suffering and death. It must sound to them as if he is having a bad moment and needs a bit of encouragement. Even today, having known all our lives how the story turns out, we prefer a gospel that promises success. The cross is a hard sell.
"And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him" (v. 32b). Note Peter's boldness. He has just identified Jesus as the Messiah, but now he is rebuking Jesus. How bold to rebuke even the Messiah! We too are tempted to rebuke Jesus when he fails to meet our expectations –– when he fails to answer our prayers as we expect.
"Peter 'took him' and 'began to rebuke him.' Both verbs express superiority and authority…. The issue is, who is in charge…. Jesus will not be patronized" (Williamson, 153). Note the parallel between "began to teach" (v. 31) and "began to rebuke" (v. 32).
"Get behind me" (opiso mou) (v. 33). When he first met Peter, Jesus said, "Deute opiso mou" –– "Come after me" –– a phrase translated "Follow me" in the NRSV. Peter has been coming after Jesus ever since, however imperfectly –– but in rebuking Jesus he steps out in front. Now Jesus orders him to resume his proper place as a disciple –– coming after –– following rather than leading.
"Get behind me, Satan!" (v. 33a). Jesus refers to Peter as Satan. This Gospel provides little detail about the temptation in the wilderness (1:12-13). Some scholars think of this encounter between Peter and Jesus as "the temptation story in Mark…. Mark tells the story this way so that we will recognize that the enduring temptation of Jesus' life was to resist the cross, to use his charisma to muster enough political clout to become what the crowds wanted him to become" (Johnson, 61). It seems likely that Jesus finds Peter's temptation even more dangerous than Satan's earlier temptations, because Peter is a disciple and friend rather than an opponent –– a well-intentioned man rather than the personification of evil. We are much more inclined to be persuaded by a friendly voice than by that of a known evildoer.
Note the story's twists and turns. First, Peter stuck out his neck and got the right answer. How good it feels to get the right answer! Now Jesus calls him Satan. In the blink of an eye, Peter has gone from Star Pupil to Dunce. Imagine how confused he must feel. Jesus' response makes it clear that the disciples belong behind Jesus. They are to follow, not lead.
"For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things" (v. 33b). Cousar thinks that Peter would see it very differently –– would believe that he is thinking of divine things while Jesus is introducing human things. The question is, "Which person, Jesus or Peter, knows what things are 'human things' and what things are 'divine things'? A side glance at 1 Cor. 1:18-25 would be helpful…. (T)he cross appears to be foolishness, but by God's standards it is wisdom" (Cousar, 209).
Some scholars think that Peter was one of Mark's sources for the stories in this Gospel. If so, Peter may be the source for this negative story about himself.
VERSES 34-38: DENY YOURSELF, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS, AND FOLLOW
34He 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. 35For 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. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those 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."
"He called the crowd with his disciples" (v. 34a). Jesus has been speaking to the disciples, but now he calls the crowd to join the disciples for a lesson on discipleship. "By calling the crowd Jesus indicates that the conditions for following him are relevant for all believers, and not for the disciples alone" (Lane, 306).
"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (v. 34b). Discipleship involves self-denial and cross-bearing. At the time in which this Gospel was written, Christians were literally bearing crosses and losing their lives. These words of Jesus speaks very directly to their situation, and hold out a great promise. "The end of the road of discipleship is not crucifixion; it is resurrection…. Mark 8:34-38 is not finally about losing one's life, forfeiting the world, and unashamedly joining the Son of Man's rejection. It is finally about saving one's life, gaining one's soul, and seeing the kingdom" (Geddert, 211).
Sports provide an analogy. Games are won, not just on the playing field, but also on the practice field. To experience glory on game day, the athlete must first push himself or herself to the limit on the practice field. Physical conditioning is painful and practicing fundamentals is tiresome, but the purpose of discipline is neither pain nor boredom but victory. So it is in the spiritual realm. Spiritual discipline begets spiritual victory. The church is always tempted to offer less costly discipleship in the hope of attracting more people. A weak call, however, produces weak disciples. "A church may win people by disguising the true meaning of discipleship. But it cannot do anything with them after it gets them" (Luccock, 768).
The challenge to lose our lives for Jesus' sake conflicts with modern values. Preservation of life is a major industry. Modern medicine, proper diet, and exercise extend our lives. Cosmetics and plastic surgeons preserve our appearance. Funeral directors continue the work even after we die. We find it difficult to hear Jesus' call to lose our lives for his sake.
When this Gospel was first written, Christians were literally in danger of losing their lives for their faith. They were tempted to deny Christ to save their lives. That is still true for many Christians today. Persecution of Christians is alive and well. More Christians died for their faith in the 20th Century than in the 1st Century. The list of nations where Christians are routinely persecuted is a long one: China, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, East Timor, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba –– to name only a few. We who are not subject to martyrdom need to keep that issue before our congregations. We need to support and pray for Christian brothers and sisters to alleviate their suffering in any way possible. The fact that Christ blesses Christian martyrs is no excuse for allowing our apathy to contribute to the martyrdom of our Christian brothers and sisters.
The challenges that most of us face seem trivial by comparison. Workplaces are inhospitable to Christian witness. Coaches schedule games on Sunday mornings, forcing young people to choose between sports and Jesus. People label Christians as fanatics or bigots for beliefs that run counter to the prevailing culture. These are serious and painful issues, but fall far short of the kind of persecution that Christians endured through the centuries and are still enduring even today in many parts of the world.
Since our challenges are not issues of life-and-death, we are tempted to feel that they aren't important. We would be willing to die for Christ, but find it difficult to live for Christ day by day. Fred Craddock reminds us that most Christians are never called to make the grand gesture, but are instead called to pay the price of discipleship a quarter at a time. That is not as glorious as martyrdom, but our willingness to spend quarters when they are needed is more important than our willingness to die when that is not needed.
Jesus gives a threefold standard for discipleship. We are to (1) deny ourselves (2) to take up our cross and (3) to follow Jesus. Jesus does not call us to deny our value. We are created in God's image, so how could we not have value? Neither does he call us to deny ourselves pleasure. The ascetic can be the most ego-centered person of all. "The denial of self…is making ourselves not an end, but a means, in the kingdom of God. It is subordinating the clamoring ego….for Christ's sake, for the sake of putting the self into his cause" (Luccock, 770). "It is (replacing) the self with God-in-Christ as the object of affections. It is (placing) the divine will before self-will" (Brooks, 137).
"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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?" (vv. 35-37). The game is for the biggest stakes of all –– life itself–– eternal life –– meaningful life –– life lived in the presence of the Father. There is no no-risk strategy where faith is concerned–– no safe but profitable harbor. People speak of "the leap of faith" precisely because faith, at some point, involves letting go of traditional forms of security and leaping into the darkness in the faith that Jesus will help us to land safely.
Jim Elliot, a missionary who was murdered on the mission field by the Auca Indians as he tried to minister to them, earlier assessed the risk, saying: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
"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" (v. 38). "In the first century being ashamed of Jesus and his words had particular reference to denying him in time of persecution" (Brooks, 138). The picture is of a judgment scene where we will be utterly dependent on Jesus' help. Jesus is portrayed elsewhere as our advocate (Greek: parakleton) (1 John 2:1). (The Holy Spirit is also called a paraclete –– John 14:16, 26; 15:26, etc.) A paraclete is a helper –– a defender. A defense lawyer is one kind of paraclete, and that is an appropriate image here. On Judgment Day, we will need Christ to serve as our paraclete –– our advocate –– our defender.
Because we live among an "adulterous and sinful generation" (v. 38), we cannot expect a pat on the back for faithful proclamation, but should instead expect opposition. An adulterous and sinful generation cannot abide truth. We should expect it to twist truth so it sounds like a lie –– and to deal ruthlessly with truth-tellers. Living among such people, we will always be tempted to mute our witness to Christ to avoid controversy and to escape persecution.
However, Jesus warns that, on Judgment Day, he will be ashamed of the person who has been ashamed of him –– the person who has muted his/her witness. Jesus warns that he will not "be there" for that person –– will not serve as his/her advocate –– thus leaving that person vulnerable –– defenseless.
Jesus implies that the reciprocal is also true –– that Jesus will "be there" to speak for the person who has spoken for Jesus –– that he will serve as our advocate. Matthew and Luke make this explicit –– "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:32; see also Luke 12:8). Jesus' purpose in v. 38 is not to establish grounds for abandoning us, but is rather to tell us how to gain his support and to avoid forfeiting life (v. 36).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
Certain it is that we are saved not by one cross but by two ––
Christ's and our own.
We must be crucified with Christ,
must die with him, and rise with him
into a new way of life and being.
Arthur John Gossip
* * * * * * * * * *
In our day heaven and earth are on tiptoe
waiting for the emerging of a spirit-led, spirit-intoxicated,
spirit-empowered people.
All of creation watches expectantly
for the springing up of a disciplined, freely gathered, martyr people
who know in this life the life and power of the kingdom of God.
It has happened before. It can happen again.
Individuals can be found here and there
whose hearts burn with divine fire.
But they are like flaming torches scattered in the night.
As yet there has been no gathering of a people of the spirit.
Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline
* * * * * * * * * *
If we answer this call to discipleship, where will it lead us?
What decisions and partings will it demand?
To answer this question we shall have to go to him,
for he only knows the answer.
Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him,
knows the journey's end.
But we do know that it will be a road of boundless mercy.
Discipleship means joy.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
* * * * * * * * * *
Faith is obedience, nothing else;
literally nothing else at all.
Emil Brunner
* * * * * * * * * *
To accept the will of God
never leads to the miserable feeling that it is useless to strive any more.
God does not ask for the dull, weak, sleepy acquiescence of indolence.
He asks for something vivid and strong.
He asks us to cooperate with him,
actively willing what he wills,
our only aim his glory.
Amy Carmichael
* * * * * * * * * *
HYMN STORY: Nearer My God to Thee
This hymn was written by two sisters. Sarah Flower Adams wrote the words and her sister, Eliza Flower, wrote the music. Together they wrote a number of hymns, but this is the only one still in common use today.
Sarah (the author of the words) enjoyed a successful career on the stage playing Lady MacBeth in Shakespearean drama, but retired from the stage due to health problems. Not long thereafter, her sister, Eliza, came down with tuberculosis. Sarah, determined to nurse her, came down with the disease as well, and both died at a relatively young age.
However, their hymn acknowledges the possibility of suffering but refuses to allow suffering to have the last word. It says:
"E'en though it be a cross
that raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be,
nearer my God to Thee."
The message of the hymn is that every experience, good or bad, can draw us nearer to God, who gives us comfort and strength.
• Bearing a cross brings us nearer to God.
• Darkness brings us nearer to God.
• Angels bring us nearer to God.
• And grief brings us nearer to God.
The things that the hymn mentions (a cross, darkness, grief) tend to be difficulties. Sometimes when life is good we tend to forget that we need God. It is the difficult times that reinforce our deep need for God's grace -- that do, indeed, bring us nearer to God.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Evans, Craig A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 8:27 –– 16:20 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Myers, Allen C. (ed.), The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Saturday, September 5, 2009
September 6, 2009 - 14th Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture Study
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
PROPER 18, YEAR B
SEPTEMBER 6, 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to September 7
Proper 18
Year B
RCL
or
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Psalm 146
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17
Mark 7:24-37
The Collect
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
"Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you."
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water.
The Psalm
Psalm 146 Page 803, BCP
Lauda, anima mea
1
Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, O my soul! *
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
2
Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *
for there is no help in them.
3
When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
and in that day their thoughts perish.
4
Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!*
whose hope is in the LORD their God;
5
Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
who keeps his promise for ever;
6
Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
and food to those who hunger.
7
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; *
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
8
The LORD loves the righteous;
the LORD cares for the stranger; *
he sustains the orphan and widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked.
9
The LORD shall reign for ever, *
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Hallelujah!
James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. [For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.]
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
Mark 7:24-37
Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-- the demon has left your daughter." So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 6-8: EYES TO SEE & EARS TO HEAR
Beginning with the Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:30-44), Mark relates a series of miracles, including the restoration of the deaf man's hearing and speech (7:31-37) and a blind man's sight (8:22-26). The passage culminates in Peter's confession of faith, "You are the Messiah" (8:29). Along the way, Jesus encounters the antagonism of the scribes and Pharisees (7:1-23; 8:11-13) and the lack of faith of the disciples (8:14-21). When the latter worry about not having enough bread (keep in mind that Mark has just related both the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the Feeding of the Four Thousand), Jesus says, "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?" (8:17-18). Jesus' has come to impart physical healing, but his greater purpose is opening spiritual eyes and ears.
VERSES 24-30: THE GENTILE WOMAN OF SYROPHOENICIAN ORIGIN
24From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs" (Greek: kynariois) 28But she answered him, "Sir (kurie –– sir or Lord), even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go––the demon has left your daughter." 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
"From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre" (v. 24a). This is Gentile country. The region of Tyre and Sidon was the home of Jezebel, Elijah's enemy (1 Kings 16:31). It inspired the ire of the prophets (Ezekiel 26:15-17; Zechariah 9:3). "Tyre probably represented the most extreme expression of paganism, both actually and symbolically, that a Jew could expect to encounter…. In journeying to 'the vicinity of Tyre,' and particularly in receiving a Syrophoenician woman, Jesus expands the scope of his ministry beyond anything conceivable of the Messiah. From a socioreligious perspective, Jesus' visit to Tyre universalizes the concept of Messiah in terms of geography, ethnicity, gender, and religion in a way entirely unprecedented in Judaism" (Edwards, 217).
"He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there" (v. 24b). Given the character of this story, the house seems likely to be a Jewish home. Jesus' purpose for visiting this area is unclear. Verse 24 makes it sound as if he is looking for solitude from the crowds that have pursued him in his Galilean ministry. Perhaps he simply wants time alone with the disciples.
Craddock suggests that, having redefined clean and unclean (vv. 1-23), Jesus is now putting that teaching into practice by ministering to the unclean (Craddock, 405). Williamson echoes that sentiment, saying, "If in the preceding passage Jesus 'declared all foods clean' (7:19), in these stories he declares all persons clean" (Williamson, 137; see also Brooks, 120).
When Mark wrote this Gospel (65-70 A.D.), the church included many Gentiles. The fact that Mark must explain Jewish customs (7:3-4; 7:11, 19) suggests that his readership is predominantly Gentile. By Mark's time, the church has gone through considerable struggles to determine its right relationship to Gentiles. This story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman reflects that struggle in its earliest moments. "The Markan Jesus... rejects both Jewish exclusivism ('The Gentiles get no 'bread' unless they become Jews first...') and Gentile supersessionism ('The Jewish 'bread' has been taken from them and now given to us Gentiles')" (Boring, 213).
"Yet he could not escape notice" (v. 24c). In both this story and the next, Jesus' efforts to maintain a low profile are frustrated. Just as the sun cannot be hidden in the sky, neither can the Son be hidden on the earth.
The "woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin" (vv. 25-26). Mark double-emphasizes that this woman who lives in Gentile territory is herself a Gentile –– a Syrophoenician Gentile, no less –– a Gentile of this abominable Gentile area. "She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter" (v. 26).
Phoenicia is a long narrow coastal strip bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west and mountains on the east –– the coastal plain of modern-day Lebanon. Its southern boundary is Mount Carmel (due east of the Sea of Galilee), and it extends approximately 185 miles (300 km) north from there. Major cities include Ptolemais, Tyre, and Sidon. "Syrophoenician" links this woman with Syria and Phoenicia.
We are shocked at Jesus' response. "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs" (kynariois) (v. 27). This is one of the most troubling verses in the New Testament. The mother is asking healing, not for herself, but for her daughter. It must be difficult for a Gentile woman to ask a Jewish man for help, but her need is overwhelming. She comes in faith as a deferential supplicant –– what more could Jesus ask? As it turns out, he could ask that she be Jewish –– "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."
Some scholars try to soften Jesus' words, suggesting that this is a well-known proverb that would not sound so harsh in context –– or that the diminutive, kynariois, refers to household pets, implying an affectionate tone. However, it seems inappropriate to try to domesticate Jesus' words. We cannot validate this saying as a common proverb, and it is a cutting remark even if it refers to household pets. Most Biblical references to dogs are negative (see Exodus 22:31; 1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 16:9; 1 Kings 21:23; 22:38; 2 Kings 9:36; Isaiah 56:10; Matthew 7:6; Luke 16:21; Philippians 3:2).
R.T. France gives a refreshing perspective with regard to this problem. He says, "Misunderstandings of (this passage) spring largely from the failure to read it as a whole..... The whole encounter builds up to the totally positive conclusion of vv. 29-30, while the preceding dialogue serves to underline the radical nature of this new stage in Jesus' ministry into which he has allowed himself to be 'persuaded' by the woman's realism and wit. He appears like the wise teacher who allows, and indeed incites, his pupil to mount a victorious argument against the foil of his own reluctance. He functions as what in a different context might be called 'devil's advocate', and is not disappointed to be 'defeated' in argument" (France, 296).
The scriptures are clear that Jesus knows people's hearts and responds accordingly. A rich man comes asking what he must do to gain eternal life, and Jesus, knowing how the man loves money, says, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me" (Mark 10:21). There are other accounts like this in the New Testament –– accounts where Jesus knows people's hearts and responds accordingly (see 12:15). If that is true, Jesus surely knows this mother's heart too –– and knows that she will not buckle if he presses her a bit. He does so to give her the opportunity to win her case.
Jesus clearly feels it necessary to focus his mission on the Jews. "The four Gospels, all of which were written for primarily Gentile audiences, indicate that Jesus' contacts with Gentiles were few and exceptional" (Hare, 85). The time will come when Gentiles will be welcome in the church, but the time is not yet.
As Paul said in his letter to the Romans (written earlier than Mark's Gospel), "To the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). There is a natural order in every good endeavor. A builder must lay a solid foundation before erecting walls and roof. So it is that Jesus limits his ministry to Gentiles in deference to the people whom God chose so many centuries prior. Ministry to Gentiles will come in good time.
"But she answered him, 'Sir (kurie –– sir or Lord), even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs' " (v. 28). In this Gospel, on several occasions Jesus refers to himself as Lord (2:28; 5:19; 11:3; 12:36), but this is the only place where another person calls him "Lord." It is ironic that the person calling him "Lord" is a Gentile woman rather than one of his disciples.
The woman answers well, acknowledging the special place of the Jews, calling attention to her own need, and using Jesus' words to press her plea. The kynarion –– pets indeed –– are part of the household and are under the master's care. The woman uses the image of children carelessly (or perhaps purposely) dropping bits of food on the floor. What harm will come from allowing the kynarion to partake of the scraps that will not be eaten by the children in any event? What harm will come of their participating in the bounty of the messianic banquet?
"Then he said to her, 'For saying that, you may go –– the demon has left your daughter' " (v. 29). Note that:
• Jesus does not accompany her to her home. He does not touch the child. He does not issue a healing command. He simply reports a healing that has already taken place. The emphasis in this story is not on the healing but on Jesus' relationship to Gentiles.
• In Matthew's account, Jesus commends the woman's faith (Matthew 15:28), but here he commends her good answer.
"So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone" (v. 30). The woman does not plead for Jesus to come to visit her daughter. She first expressed a simple but profound faith by coming to Jesus, and she now expresses a simple but profound faith by departing. Her faith is much like that of the Roman centurion (Matthew 5:5-13; Luke 7:1-10) –– also a Gentile. Arriving at her home, she finds the demon gone and the child well.
This woman serves as an example of persistent prayer that refuses to be discouraged when prayer is not immediately answered. She provides us with a model for engaging God fully and passionately in prayer rather than simply reciting rote prayers or a laundry list of our needs. Not every fervent prayer will be answered as we ask, but God honors fervor and has little regard for half-hearted, lukewarm prayer (Revelation 3:16). The archetypical model of fervent prayer is Jacob wrestling with God at Peniel until he received a blessing (Genesis 32:22-32).
This woman also serves as a model of a parent who loves her child enough to take an active role in the child's life. She could have found excuses for not going to Jesus, but she went. She could have allowed herself to be discouraged at Jesus' initial response, but she persisted. "Suppose that all Christian parents and all churches had the same persistence and ingenuity in bringing to their children the saving influence of Christ!" (Luccock, 755). It would be a different world! Many parents today are content to practice laissez faire parenting, and the results are often disastrous. The church needs to call parents to take an active role in guiding their children. Just as the inattentive gardener begets weeds, so do inattentive parents beget troubled children.
The woman also provides a stark contrast to the scribes and Pharisees who challenged Jesus in the preceding story (7:1-23). They know what the prophets said about the coming messiah. They have seen (or at least heard about) the Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:30-44) and the healing of the sick in Gennesaret (6:53-56), but they chose to find fault with Jesus and his disciples (7:1-23). In other words, given every opportunity to see through the eyes of faith, they chose to see through the eyes of unfaith. This woman, a Gentile, chooses to see through the eyes of faith.
VERSES 31-35: THE DEAF AND MUTE MAN
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech (Greek: mogilalon); and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released (Greek: kai eluthe ho desmos tes glosses –– and was loosened the bond of the tongue), and he spoke plainly.
"Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis" (v. 31). This itinerary seems odd. Sidon is north of Tyre and the Sea of Galilee is southeast, so Jesus goes out of his way to visit Sidon. Some scholars suggest that Mark is unfamiliar with the geography of this area, but it seems more likely that Jesus simply decides to visit Sidon before leaving the area.
The word Decapolis comes from two Greek words (deka and polis) that mean "ten cities" –– although more than ten cities were members over time. Most member cities are located south and east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River, but Damascus (located 60 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee) is a member city. The Decapolis is not only these cities but also the region in which they are located. The population of the region is primarily Gentile, but there are Jews living there as well.
These cities were established by Greeks, and the Jews resented this Gentile presence on their border –– a resentment that sometimes broke into open warfare. The Greeks responded by devising a loose confederation of cities to provide for the common defense, not only against Jewish incursions, but also against desert marauders.
The Romans encouraged the growth of Greek culture in the Decapolis as a way of limiting Jewish influence in the region.
The mention of the Decapolis in verse 31 is significant because it shows that Jesus is choosing to stay in Gentile territory rather than to return to the more familiar nearby cities of Galilee.
"They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him" (v. 32). This is reminiscent of the healing of the paralytic, whose friends brought him to Jesus (2:1-12). We know very little about this man or his friends. Some reliable scholars think of them as Gentiles (Edwards, 226-227), but it seems possible that they are Jewish. Given Mark's care to label the Syrophoenician woman as Gentile (v. 26), it would seem that he would do the same here if the man were not Jewish. Also, the laying on of hands is a Jewish healing practice, and the request that Jesus perform this act (v. 32) may indicate that the man's friends are Jewish. However, there is no mention of faith on the part of the friends or the deaf man.
Deaf people commonly have difficulty speaking clearly, because they cannot hear how words sound. The man has "an impediment in his speech," which might indicate that he was not deaf from birth but that he learned some speech (however imperfectly) before becoming deaf.
There is a significant parallel between the deaf man and Jesus' disciples. The man can neither hear nor speak properly. The disciples cannot understand what Jesus is telling them, and are thus hampered in their proclamation. They, too, need Jesus' touch so that they might see, hear, and understand.
We, too, need Jesus' touch so that we might understand. Just as Jesus' first disciples failed to understand and to proclaim him faithfully, the church today often experiences the same failings:
• Preachers are tempted to proclaim a Prosperity Gospel ("Believe and Grow Rich!") instead of challenging people to take up their cross and follow Jesus. Not only is the Prosperity Gospel is an easier "sell" than the cross (at least in some quarters), but preachers are more likely to grow rich by preaching it.
• The church too easily tolerates divisions within its midst –– racial, gender, national, denominational, and socio-economic –– because crossing these dividing lines makes us so uncomfortable. We find it far easier to stay with our own kind than to reach out to those who are different. However, Jesus' visit to the Decapolis demonstrates his commitment to those who are different and calls us to share that commitment.
• The scriptures call us to worship God –– to give God glory –– but our worship agenda is too often "what we get out of it" –– God serving us rather than us serving God.
• In these and a thousand other ways, we demonstrate our own blindness and deafness. We, too, need Christ's healing touch.
Jesus "took him aside in private, away from the crowd" (v. 33a). We don't know why Jesus takes the man aside for healing. Perhaps Jesus' action is related to his desire in the previous story to keep his presence secret (v. 24).
"and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue" (v. 33b). This healing is very different from that of the woman's daughter. In that story, Jesus took no action other than to report the healing to the mother (v. 29). If Jesus seemed too-little-engaged in that instance, he seems too-much-engaged in this one. He puts his fingers into the man's ears. He spits and touches the man's tongue. These are common healing procedures. If we were offended by Jesus' sharp words to the woman (v. 27), now we are offended by the fingers in the ears and the spittle on the tongue. If Jesus could heal the woman's daughter without even a word, why does he not do the same for this man?
"Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened' " (v. 34). Looking to heaven demonstrates Jesus' dependency on the Father. His sigh demonstrates his sympathy and compassion. "Ephphatha" is an Aramaic word, which Mark translates for his Gentile readers –– "Be opened."
"And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released" (Greek: eluthe ho desmos tes glosses –– was loosened the bond of the tongue) (v. 35) The image is that of a man whose tongue was in bondage –– literally tongue-tied –– and whose tongue, at Jesus' command, finds freedom of movement and expression.
While Jesus puts his fingers in the man's ears and touches his tongue, "the actual healing takes place through Jesus' authoritative word. The presence and accumulation of the therapeutic gestures form part of the process" (Guelich, 395).
VERSES 36-37: THEY WERE ASTOUNDED BEYOND MEASURE
36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed (Greek: ekerusson –– from kerusso –– a word related to kerygma, which is the preaching of the Gospel by the early church) it. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
"Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one" (v. 36a). The irony is that the deaf/mute man can now speak clearly, but Jesus forbids him and his friends to speak of this miracle –– the most important thing that has ever happened to him. Jesus has commanded silence in several earlier instances –– of unclean spirits (1:25, 34; 3:12) –– of a leper (1:44) –– and of the little girl's parents (5:43). We are not sure why, but there are several possibilities:
• Perhaps these commands to silence are intended to emphasize the impossibility of silence –– "that the spread of the good news about Jesus is an act of God, and no one can stop it –– not even Jesus himself (Marcus, 479).
• Perhaps "these physical cures cannot really be spoken of with understanding at this stage, because they point forward to events and spiritual changes which still lie in the future" –– after the resurrection (Hooker, 185).
• "The identical language in Ch. 1:44f. and Ch. 7:36 suggests that the purpose of the injunction was to avoid a recurrence of the situation which developed subsequent to the healing of the leper when the presence of crowds in each town clamoring for Jesus' healing touch hindered his movement and interrupted his healing mission" (Lane, 268).
"but the more he ordered them the more zealously they proclaimed it" (v. 36b). Just as in the previous story (v. 24), Jesus will not be permitted anonymity or privacy. However, Mark gives no hint that the crowd's kerygma –– their proclamation –– is bad (v. 36). Instead he portrays them as "astounded beyond measure" (v. 37).
"They were astounded beyond measure, saying, 'He has done everything well' " (v. 37a). Their proclamation, "he has done everything well" (v. 37), hearkens back to Genesis 1:31: "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."
Their assessment, "he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak" (v. 37b), alludes to Isaiah 35:5-6a: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy." This allusion is strengthened by the use of the word mogilalos in v. 32. This word is used only twice in the Bible –– here and in Isaiah 35:6 (LXX –– the Septuagint or Greek version of the Old Testament).
There is a good deal of linkage between Isaiah 35 and the Gospel of Mark. Geddert notes the following parallels:
1. The promise, "The wilderness and the dry land shall… see the glory of the LORD" (Isaiah 35:1-2), is fulfilled in the feeding miracles in the desert (Mark 6:35; 8:4).
2. The promise, "Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God…. He will come and save you' " (Isaiah 35:4), is fulfilled when Jesus comes to the disciples on the sea in a storm, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid" (Mark 6:50).
3. The promise, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped" (Isaiah 35:5) is fulfilled with the healing of the deaf/mute man (Mark 7:35) and the blind man (Mark 8:22-26).
4. The promise, "A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way" (Isaiah 35:8) is fulfilled when Jesus takes the twelve on the road to Jerusalem and begins to tell them what is going to happen to him (Mark 10:32).
5. The promise, "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing" (Isaiah 35:10) is fulfilled on Palm Sunday as the crowds greet Jesus with the words, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9).
"The parallels are close and the chronological order identical" (Geddert, 192).
The Isaiah passage looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, and the crowd's proclamation in verse 37 reveals Jesus as the Messiah. In the next chapter, Peter will confess Jesus as Messiah (8:27-30), but the crowd (perhaps without fully realizing the significance of their proclamation) has already beaten him to it.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God doesn't always smooth the path,
but sometimes he puts springs in the wagon.
Marshall Lucas
* * * * * * * * * *
There are three ways that prepare us for life's trials. One is the Spartan way that says, "I have strength within me to do it, I am the captain of my soul. With the courage and will that is mine, I will be master when the struggle comes." Another way is the spirit of Socrates, who affirmed that we have minds, reason and judgment to evaluate and help us cope with the enigmas and struggles of life. The Christian way is the third approach. It doesn't exclude the other two, but it adds, "You don't begin with yourself, your will or your reason. You begin with God, who is the beginning and the end."
Lowell R. Ditzen
* * * * * * * * * *
I am quite happy to be called an optimist,
but my optimism is not of the utopian variety.
It is based on hope.
The optimist is a person who has the conviction
that God knows, can do, and will do
what is best for mankind.
Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J.
EDITOR'S NOTE: To fully appreciate the significance of Fr. Arrupe's comment, it is helpful to know something about his life. Serving as a missionary to Japan at the outbreak of World War II, he was arrested and imprisoned on the day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Later, he was freed and allowed to continue his ministry. He was living in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb exploded there, and he used his medical skills to help the wounded and dying. On August 7, 1981, he suffered a stroke that robbed him of his ability to speak. He lived his last ten years with very little ability to communicate. He was a man who knew suffering and was "acquainted with infirmity" (Isaiah 53:3), but whose faith was undiminished throughout his long life.
* * * * * * * * * *
God does not offer us a way out of testings of life.
He offers us a way through,
and that makes all the difference.
W. T. Purkiser
* * * * * * * * * *
Many of us have experienced healing miracles without ever knowing it. Dr. Karl Menninger, founder of the Menninger Clinic, said:
"If all families were loving,
our national health would improve to the point
where we might have a surplus of physicians."
So if you were raised in a loving family or live in one now, it is quite possible that Christ has given you the gift of healing by helping you to avoid getting ill in the first place.
Richard Niell Donovan
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hamilton, V.P., "Decapolis," in Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume One: A-D - Revised (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), pages 907-908
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Myers, Allen C. (ed.), The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Rasmussen, Carl G., Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
PROPER 18, YEAR B
SEPTEMBER 6, 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to September 7
Proper 18
Year B
RCL
or
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Psalm 146
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17
Mark 7:24-37
The Collect
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
"Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you."
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water.
The Psalm
Psalm 146 Page 803, BCP
Lauda, anima mea
1
Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, O my soul! *
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
2
Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *
for there is no help in them.
3
When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
and in that day their thoughts perish.
4
Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!*
whose hope is in the LORD their God;
5
Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
who keeps his promise for ever;
6
Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
and food to those who hunger.
7
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; *
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
8
The LORD loves the righteous;
the LORD cares for the stranger; *
he sustains the orphan and widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked.
9
The LORD shall reign for ever, *
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Hallelujah!
James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. [For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.]
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
Mark 7:24-37
Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-- the demon has left your daughter." So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 6-8: EYES TO SEE & EARS TO HEAR
Beginning with the Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:30-44), Mark relates a series of miracles, including the restoration of the deaf man's hearing and speech (7:31-37) and a blind man's sight (8:22-26). The passage culminates in Peter's confession of faith, "You are the Messiah" (8:29). Along the way, Jesus encounters the antagonism of the scribes and Pharisees (7:1-23; 8:11-13) and the lack of faith of the disciples (8:14-21). When the latter worry about not having enough bread (keep in mind that Mark has just related both the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the Feeding of the Four Thousand), Jesus says, "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?" (8:17-18). Jesus' has come to impart physical healing, but his greater purpose is opening spiritual eyes and ears.
VERSES 24-30: THE GENTILE WOMAN OF SYROPHOENICIAN ORIGIN
24From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs" (Greek: kynariois) 28But she answered him, "Sir (kurie –– sir or Lord), even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go––the demon has left your daughter." 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
"From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre" (v. 24a). This is Gentile country. The region of Tyre and Sidon was the home of Jezebel, Elijah's enemy (1 Kings 16:31). It inspired the ire of the prophets (Ezekiel 26:15-17; Zechariah 9:3). "Tyre probably represented the most extreme expression of paganism, both actually and symbolically, that a Jew could expect to encounter…. In journeying to 'the vicinity of Tyre,' and particularly in receiving a Syrophoenician woman, Jesus expands the scope of his ministry beyond anything conceivable of the Messiah. From a socioreligious perspective, Jesus' visit to Tyre universalizes the concept of Messiah in terms of geography, ethnicity, gender, and religion in a way entirely unprecedented in Judaism" (Edwards, 217).
"He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there" (v. 24b). Given the character of this story, the house seems likely to be a Jewish home. Jesus' purpose for visiting this area is unclear. Verse 24 makes it sound as if he is looking for solitude from the crowds that have pursued him in his Galilean ministry. Perhaps he simply wants time alone with the disciples.
Craddock suggests that, having redefined clean and unclean (vv. 1-23), Jesus is now putting that teaching into practice by ministering to the unclean (Craddock, 405). Williamson echoes that sentiment, saying, "If in the preceding passage Jesus 'declared all foods clean' (7:19), in these stories he declares all persons clean" (Williamson, 137; see also Brooks, 120).
When Mark wrote this Gospel (65-70 A.D.), the church included many Gentiles. The fact that Mark must explain Jewish customs (7:3-4; 7:11, 19) suggests that his readership is predominantly Gentile. By Mark's time, the church has gone through considerable struggles to determine its right relationship to Gentiles. This story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman reflects that struggle in its earliest moments. "The Markan Jesus... rejects both Jewish exclusivism ('The Gentiles get no 'bread' unless they become Jews first...') and Gentile supersessionism ('The Jewish 'bread' has been taken from them and now given to us Gentiles')" (Boring, 213).
"Yet he could not escape notice" (v. 24c). In both this story and the next, Jesus' efforts to maintain a low profile are frustrated. Just as the sun cannot be hidden in the sky, neither can the Son be hidden on the earth.
The "woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin" (vv. 25-26). Mark double-emphasizes that this woman who lives in Gentile territory is herself a Gentile –– a Syrophoenician Gentile, no less –– a Gentile of this abominable Gentile area. "She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter" (v. 26).
Phoenicia is a long narrow coastal strip bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west and mountains on the east –– the coastal plain of modern-day Lebanon. Its southern boundary is Mount Carmel (due east of the Sea of Galilee), and it extends approximately 185 miles (300 km) north from there. Major cities include Ptolemais, Tyre, and Sidon. "Syrophoenician" links this woman with Syria and Phoenicia.
We are shocked at Jesus' response. "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs" (kynariois) (v. 27). This is one of the most troubling verses in the New Testament. The mother is asking healing, not for herself, but for her daughter. It must be difficult for a Gentile woman to ask a Jewish man for help, but her need is overwhelming. She comes in faith as a deferential supplicant –– what more could Jesus ask? As it turns out, he could ask that she be Jewish –– "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."
Some scholars try to soften Jesus' words, suggesting that this is a well-known proverb that would not sound so harsh in context –– or that the diminutive, kynariois, refers to household pets, implying an affectionate tone. However, it seems inappropriate to try to domesticate Jesus' words. We cannot validate this saying as a common proverb, and it is a cutting remark even if it refers to household pets. Most Biblical references to dogs are negative (see Exodus 22:31; 1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 16:9; 1 Kings 21:23; 22:38; 2 Kings 9:36; Isaiah 56:10; Matthew 7:6; Luke 16:21; Philippians 3:2).
R.T. France gives a refreshing perspective with regard to this problem. He says, "Misunderstandings of (this passage) spring largely from the failure to read it as a whole..... The whole encounter builds up to the totally positive conclusion of vv. 29-30, while the preceding dialogue serves to underline the radical nature of this new stage in Jesus' ministry into which he has allowed himself to be 'persuaded' by the woman's realism and wit. He appears like the wise teacher who allows, and indeed incites, his pupil to mount a victorious argument against the foil of his own reluctance. He functions as what in a different context might be called 'devil's advocate', and is not disappointed to be 'defeated' in argument" (France, 296).
The scriptures are clear that Jesus knows people's hearts and responds accordingly. A rich man comes asking what he must do to gain eternal life, and Jesus, knowing how the man loves money, says, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me" (Mark 10:21). There are other accounts like this in the New Testament –– accounts where Jesus knows people's hearts and responds accordingly (see 12:15). If that is true, Jesus surely knows this mother's heart too –– and knows that she will not buckle if he presses her a bit. He does so to give her the opportunity to win her case.
Jesus clearly feels it necessary to focus his mission on the Jews. "The four Gospels, all of which were written for primarily Gentile audiences, indicate that Jesus' contacts with Gentiles were few and exceptional" (Hare, 85). The time will come when Gentiles will be welcome in the church, but the time is not yet.
As Paul said in his letter to the Romans (written earlier than Mark's Gospel), "To the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). There is a natural order in every good endeavor. A builder must lay a solid foundation before erecting walls and roof. So it is that Jesus limits his ministry to Gentiles in deference to the people whom God chose so many centuries prior. Ministry to Gentiles will come in good time.
"But she answered him, 'Sir (kurie –– sir or Lord), even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs' " (v. 28). In this Gospel, on several occasions Jesus refers to himself as Lord (2:28; 5:19; 11:3; 12:36), but this is the only place where another person calls him "Lord." It is ironic that the person calling him "Lord" is a Gentile woman rather than one of his disciples.
The woman answers well, acknowledging the special place of the Jews, calling attention to her own need, and using Jesus' words to press her plea. The kynarion –– pets indeed –– are part of the household and are under the master's care. The woman uses the image of children carelessly (or perhaps purposely) dropping bits of food on the floor. What harm will come from allowing the kynarion to partake of the scraps that will not be eaten by the children in any event? What harm will come of their participating in the bounty of the messianic banquet?
"Then he said to her, 'For saying that, you may go –– the demon has left your daughter' " (v. 29). Note that:
• Jesus does not accompany her to her home. He does not touch the child. He does not issue a healing command. He simply reports a healing that has already taken place. The emphasis in this story is not on the healing but on Jesus' relationship to Gentiles.
• In Matthew's account, Jesus commends the woman's faith (Matthew 15:28), but here he commends her good answer.
"So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone" (v. 30). The woman does not plead for Jesus to come to visit her daughter. She first expressed a simple but profound faith by coming to Jesus, and she now expresses a simple but profound faith by departing. Her faith is much like that of the Roman centurion (Matthew 5:5-13; Luke 7:1-10) –– also a Gentile. Arriving at her home, she finds the demon gone and the child well.
This woman serves as an example of persistent prayer that refuses to be discouraged when prayer is not immediately answered. She provides us with a model for engaging God fully and passionately in prayer rather than simply reciting rote prayers or a laundry list of our needs. Not every fervent prayer will be answered as we ask, but God honors fervor and has little regard for half-hearted, lukewarm prayer (Revelation 3:16). The archetypical model of fervent prayer is Jacob wrestling with God at Peniel until he received a blessing (Genesis 32:22-32).
This woman also serves as a model of a parent who loves her child enough to take an active role in the child's life. She could have found excuses for not going to Jesus, but she went. She could have allowed herself to be discouraged at Jesus' initial response, but she persisted. "Suppose that all Christian parents and all churches had the same persistence and ingenuity in bringing to their children the saving influence of Christ!" (Luccock, 755). It would be a different world! Many parents today are content to practice laissez faire parenting, and the results are often disastrous. The church needs to call parents to take an active role in guiding their children. Just as the inattentive gardener begets weeds, so do inattentive parents beget troubled children.
The woman also provides a stark contrast to the scribes and Pharisees who challenged Jesus in the preceding story (7:1-23). They know what the prophets said about the coming messiah. They have seen (or at least heard about) the Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:30-44) and the healing of the sick in Gennesaret (6:53-56), but they chose to find fault with Jesus and his disciples (7:1-23). In other words, given every opportunity to see through the eyes of faith, they chose to see through the eyes of unfaith. This woman, a Gentile, chooses to see through the eyes of faith.
VERSES 31-35: THE DEAF AND MUTE MAN
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech (Greek: mogilalon); and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released (Greek: kai eluthe ho desmos tes glosses –– and was loosened the bond of the tongue), and he spoke plainly.
"Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis" (v. 31). This itinerary seems odd. Sidon is north of Tyre and the Sea of Galilee is southeast, so Jesus goes out of his way to visit Sidon. Some scholars suggest that Mark is unfamiliar with the geography of this area, but it seems more likely that Jesus simply decides to visit Sidon before leaving the area.
The word Decapolis comes from two Greek words (deka and polis) that mean "ten cities" –– although more than ten cities were members over time. Most member cities are located south and east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River, but Damascus (located 60 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee) is a member city. The Decapolis is not only these cities but also the region in which they are located. The population of the region is primarily Gentile, but there are Jews living there as well.
These cities were established by Greeks, and the Jews resented this Gentile presence on their border –– a resentment that sometimes broke into open warfare. The Greeks responded by devising a loose confederation of cities to provide for the common defense, not only against Jewish incursions, but also against desert marauders.
The Romans encouraged the growth of Greek culture in the Decapolis as a way of limiting Jewish influence in the region.
The mention of the Decapolis in verse 31 is significant because it shows that Jesus is choosing to stay in Gentile territory rather than to return to the more familiar nearby cities of Galilee.
"They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him" (v. 32). This is reminiscent of the healing of the paralytic, whose friends brought him to Jesus (2:1-12). We know very little about this man or his friends. Some reliable scholars think of them as Gentiles (Edwards, 226-227), but it seems possible that they are Jewish. Given Mark's care to label the Syrophoenician woman as Gentile (v. 26), it would seem that he would do the same here if the man were not Jewish. Also, the laying on of hands is a Jewish healing practice, and the request that Jesus perform this act (v. 32) may indicate that the man's friends are Jewish. However, there is no mention of faith on the part of the friends or the deaf man.
Deaf people commonly have difficulty speaking clearly, because they cannot hear how words sound. The man has "an impediment in his speech," which might indicate that he was not deaf from birth but that he learned some speech (however imperfectly) before becoming deaf.
There is a significant parallel between the deaf man and Jesus' disciples. The man can neither hear nor speak properly. The disciples cannot understand what Jesus is telling them, and are thus hampered in their proclamation. They, too, need Jesus' touch so that they might see, hear, and understand.
We, too, need Jesus' touch so that we might understand. Just as Jesus' first disciples failed to understand and to proclaim him faithfully, the church today often experiences the same failings:
• Preachers are tempted to proclaim a Prosperity Gospel ("Believe and Grow Rich!") instead of challenging people to take up their cross and follow Jesus. Not only is the Prosperity Gospel is an easier "sell" than the cross (at least in some quarters), but preachers are more likely to grow rich by preaching it.
• The church too easily tolerates divisions within its midst –– racial, gender, national, denominational, and socio-economic –– because crossing these dividing lines makes us so uncomfortable. We find it far easier to stay with our own kind than to reach out to those who are different. However, Jesus' visit to the Decapolis demonstrates his commitment to those who are different and calls us to share that commitment.
• The scriptures call us to worship God –– to give God glory –– but our worship agenda is too often "what we get out of it" –– God serving us rather than us serving God.
• In these and a thousand other ways, we demonstrate our own blindness and deafness. We, too, need Christ's healing touch.
Jesus "took him aside in private, away from the crowd" (v. 33a). We don't know why Jesus takes the man aside for healing. Perhaps Jesus' action is related to his desire in the previous story to keep his presence secret (v. 24).
"and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue" (v. 33b). This healing is very different from that of the woman's daughter. In that story, Jesus took no action other than to report the healing to the mother (v. 29). If Jesus seemed too-little-engaged in that instance, he seems too-much-engaged in this one. He puts his fingers into the man's ears. He spits and touches the man's tongue. These are common healing procedures. If we were offended by Jesus' sharp words to the woman (v. 27), now we are offended by the fingers in the ears and the spittle on the tongue. If Jesus could heal the woman's daughter without even a word, why does he not do the same for this man?
"Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened' " (v. 34). Looking to heaven demonstrates Jesus' dependency on the Father. His sigh demonstrates his sympathy and compassion. "Ephphatha" is an Aramaic word, which Mark translates for his Gentile readers –– "Be opened."
"And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released" (Greek: eluthe ho desmos tes glosses –– was loosened the bond of the tongue) (v. 35) The image is that of a man whose tongue was in bondage –– literally tongue-tied –– and whose tongue, at Jesus' command, finds freedom of movement and expression.
While Jesus puts his fingers in the man's ears and touches his tongue, "the actual healing takes place through Jesus' authoritative word. The presence and accumulation of the therapeutic gestures form part of the process" (Guelich, 395).
VERSES 36-37: THEY WERE ASTOUNDED BEYOND MEASURE
36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed (Greek: ekerusson –– from kerusso –– a word related to kerygma, which is the preaching of the Gospel by the early church) it. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
"Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one" (v. 36a). The irony is that the deaf/mute man can now speak clearly, but Jesus forbids him and his friends to speak of this miracle –– the most important thing that has ever happened to him. Jesus has commanded silence in several earlier instances –– of unclean spirits (1:25, 34; 3:12) –– of a leper (1:44) –– and of the little girl's parents (5:43). We are not sure why, but there are several possibilities:
• Perhaps these commands to silence are intended to emphasize the impossibility of silence –– "that the spread of the good news about Jesus is an act of God, and no one can stop it –– not even Jesus himself (Marcus, 479).
• Perhaps "these physical cures cannot really be spoken of with understanding at this stage, because they point forward to events and spiritual changes which still lie in the future" –– after the resurrection (Hooker, 185).
• "The identical language in Ch. 1:44f. and Ch. 7:36 suggests that the purpose of the injunction was to avoid a recurrence of the situation which developed subsequent to the healing of the leper when the presence of crowds in each town clamoring for Jesus' healing touch hindered his movement and interrupted his healing mission" (Lane, 268).
"but the more he ordered them the more zealously they proclaimed it" (v. 36b). Just as in the previous story (v. 24), Jesus will not be permitted anonymity or privacy. However, Mark gives no hint that the crowd's kerygma –– their proclamation –– is bad (v. 36). Instead he portrays them as "astounded beyond measure" (v. 37).
"They were astounded beyond measure, saying, 'He has done everything well' " (v. 37a). Their proclamation, "he has done everything well" (v. 37), hearkens back to Genesis 1:31: "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."
Their assessment, "he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak" (v. 37b), alludes to Isaiah 35:5-6a: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy." This allusion is strengthened by the use of the word mogilalos in v. 32. This word is used only twice in the Bible –– here and in Isaiah 35:6 (LXX –– the Septuagint or Greek version of the Old Testament).
There is a good deal of linkage between Isaiah 35 and the Gospel of Mark. Geddert notes the following parallels:
1. The promise, "The wilderness and the dry land shall… see the glory of the LORD" (Isaiah 35:1-2), is fulfilled in the feeding miracles in the desert (Mark 6:35; 8:4).
2. The promise, "Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God…. He will come and save you' " (Isaiah 35:4), is fulfilled when Jesus comes to the disciples on the sea in a storm, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid" (Mark 6:50).
3. The promise, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped" (Isaiah 35:5) is fulfilled with the healing of the deaf/mute man (Mark 7:35) and the blind man (Mark 8:22-26).
4. The promise, "A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way" (Isaiah 35:8) is fulfilled when Jesus takes the twelve on the road to Jerusalem and begins to tell them what is going to happen to him (Mark 10:32).
5. The promise, "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing" (Isaiah 35:10) is fulfilled on Palm Sunday as the crowds greet Jesus with the words, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9).
"The parallels are close and the chronological order identical" (Geddert, 192).
The Isaiah passage looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, and the crowd's proclamation in verse 37 reveals Jesus as the Messiah. In the next chapter, Peter will confess Jesus as Messiah (8:27-30), but the crowd (perhaps without fully realizing the significance of their proclamation) has already beaten him to it.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God doesn't always smooth the path,
but sometimes he puts springs in the wagon.
Marshall Lucas
* * * * * * * * * *
There are three ways that prepare us for life's trials. One is the Spartan way that says, "I have strength within me to do it, I am the captain of my soul. With the courage and will that is mine, I will be master when the struggle comes." Another way is the spirit of Socrates, who affirmed that we have minds, reason and judgment to evaluate and help us cope with the enigmas and struggles of life. The Christian way is the third approach. It doesn't exclude the other two, but it adds, "You don't begin with yourself, your will or your reason. You begin with God, who is the beginning and the end."
Lowell R. Ditzen
* * * * * * * * * *
I am quite happy to be called an optimist,
but my optimism is not of the utopian variety.
It is based on hope.
The optimist is a person who has the conviction
that God knows, can do, and will do
what is best for mankind.
Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J.
EDITOR'S NOTE: To fully appreciate the significance of Fr. Arrupe's comment, it is helpful to know something about his life. Serving as a missionary to Japan at the outbreak of World War II, he was arrested and imprisoned on the day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Later, he was freed and allowed to continue his ministry. He was living in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb exploded there, and he used his medical skills to help the wounded and dying. On August 7, 1981, he suffered a stroke that robbed him of his ability to speak. He lived his last ten years with very little ability to communicate. He was a man who knew suffering and was "acquainted with infirmity" (Isaiah 53:3), but whose faith was undiminished throughout his long life.
* * * * * * * * * *
God does not offer us a way out of testings of life.
He offers us a way through,
and that makes all the difference.
W. T. Purkiser
* * * * * * * * * *
Many of us have experienced healing miracles without ever knowing it. Dr. Karl Menninger, founder of the Menninger Clinic, said:
"If all families were loving,
our national health would improve to the point
where we might have a surplus of physicians."
So if you were raised in a loving family or live in one now, it is quite possible that Christ has given you the gift of healing by helping you to avoid getting ill in the first place.
Richard Niell Donovan
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hamilton, V.P., "Decapolis," in Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume One: A-D - Revised (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), pages 907-908
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Myers, Allen C. (ed.), The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Rasmussen, Carl G., Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Friday, August 28, 2009
August 30, 2009 -3th Sunday after Pentecost
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 30, 2009
Proper 17, Year B, RCL
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The Collect
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Moses said: So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.
You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children.
The Psalm
Psalm 15 Page 599, BCP
Domine, quis habitabit?
1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong
and does not take back his word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.
THE EPISTLE
James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
THE GOSPEL
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 1-23: CONTEXT:
This story is bracketed by stories of Jesus' power to do miraculous works and people's response to his display of power.
It is preceded by the feeding of the five thousand (6:30-44), Jesus walking on water (6:45-52) and the healing of the sick in Gennesaret (6:53-56). The concluding verse of chapter 6 reads, "And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed" (6:56).
It is followed by several stories of ministry with Gentiles:
• The healing of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter (7:24-30).
• Travel through Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis (literally, "Ten Cities") (7:31). Tyre and Sidon are Phoenician cities. The Decapolis has a large Greek and Roman population. To speak of Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis is to speak of Gentiles.
• The healing of a deaf man in the Decapolis (7:31-37).
• The Feeding of the Four Thousand which, in the absence of any additional geographical marker, appears to have taken place in or near the Decapolis.
"The Markan church, predominantly Gentile, struggles with not only the issues that separate them from the Jewish community but the problem of table fellowship among Jewish and Gentile Christians in its own midst" (Boring, 196).
The Pharisees in today's lesson ignore compelling evidence of Jesus' power to do good, and focus instead on the failure of his disciples to observe their traditions. They ignore the inbreaking of God's power, and focus on trivial concerns. The church today is similarly tempted to ignore its core ministry –– word and sacrament –– and focus instead on new fads in ministry –– or even the color of the carpet.
We should be careful not to portray the Pharisees as completely bad. The Pharisees are dedicated to obeying and pleasing God. They observe distinctive practices, such as kosher food and circumcision, that help them to maintain their identity as God's people in a world that tempts them to worship their neighbors' gods. Their traditions, which come into question in this text, grow out of a need to maintain that identity.
The Jewish law, while quite detailed, leaves room for interpretation in many situations. The Pharisees, out of a desire to obey God, established rules to clarify the law in those situations. Their findings became known as tradition of the elders. As time passed, these traditions hardened into a surrogate law that Jewish leaders regarded as equal to scripture. They lost sight of the line between God's law and their opinion, and that was their sin.
The church always struggles with knowing God's will. What is God's will concerning abortion? Homosexuality? AIDS? A host of other issues? Men and women of faith find themselves in opposition to other men and women of faith over such issues. How do we determine God's will in such matters? As we consider that question, perhaps we can appreciate the Pharisees and the problems that they were trying to solve.
"The tendency that Jesus criticizes in the Pharisees and scribes appears in most religious groups. People come to hold on to merely human traditions as if they were divinely revealed" (Williamson, 133). And so we find ourselves asking, What did Wesley have to say about this issue? Or Luther? Or Calvin? Or our denominational convention? It is not wrong to ask such questions, but we must be careful not to equate the answers with scripture. Scripture reveals truth –– the rest is opinion.
Denominational loyalties often assume far too much importance. Over the years, I have too often heard sermons entitled, "Why I am a (Methodist, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, etc.)." Seeing the title, I knew that I was going to hear, not an exposition of scripture, but a collection of not-very-helpful opinion. Where, by the way, do you find a text for such a sermon? We have no right to criticize the Pharisees for love of their traditions when we hew so firmly to our own.
Furthermore, if we paint the Pharisees as bad-to-the-core, we gut the story. The story has life only insofar as Jesus faces worthy opponents. The Pharisees are, indeed, worthy opponents. However misguided, they are deeply religious men trying to do God's will.
VERSES 1-5: EATING WITH DEFILED HANDS
1Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live (Greek: peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (Greek: ten paradosin ton presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?"
"Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him" (v. 1). Mark seems to be distinguishing local Pharisees from Jerusalem scribes. It is possible that the Jerusalem scribes are also Pharisees, given the nature of their challenge to Jesus. "The local Pharisees are already established in the narrative as the focus of opposition to Jesus in Galilee (2:16, 24; 3:6)" (France, 280).
The word "Jerusalem" carries an ominous quality, because Jerusalem is the seat of opposition to Jesus, and they will kill him in Jerusalem. Mark has already told us that the scribes have determined that Jesus is demonic (3:22), and the Pharisees have begun a conspiracy to kill him (3:6). It seems odd that these Jerusalemites are in Galilee. Jerusalem draws pilgrims from afar, and not the other way around. It seems likely that these men have come to Galilee for the purpose of destroying Jesus (3:6, 22).
"they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them" (v. 2). Leviticus 11-15 prescribes in detail how Israel is to deal with various issues of ritual cleanliness, to include food (11:1-23; see also Deuteronomy 14:3-21) –– animals (11:24-47) –– purification of women after childbirth (chapter 12) –– leprosy (chapters 13-14), and bodily discharges. This is Torah law, handed down by God, so we cannot criticize the Pharisees and scribes for taking it seriously.
However, by criticizing Jesus' disciples because they eat with defiled hands, the Pharisees and scribes go beyond the requirements of the law by trying to enforce human interpretations of the law that have been handed down by rabbis through the centuries. Exodus 30:18-21 and 40:31 require the cleansing of hands, but only for priests ("Aaron and his sons") –– and only when they go into the tent of meeting or come near the altar –– in other words, when they are attending to sacred duties within sacred space. The Pharisees gradually adopted this practice of ritual handwashing as a way of showing devotion to God –– and as a "boundary marker," a way for Jews to proclaim their identity as distinct from their pagan neighbors (Hooker, 441).
Ritual cleanliness has nothing to do with hygiene –– Pasteur will not discover germs until the 17th century, and will have difficulty even then persuading physicians to wash their hands before performing surgery. People of the first century have no understanding of hygiene. Pharisaic handwashing involves the use of only a small amount of water poured over the hands to wash away ritual defilement, such as defilement caused by touching an unclean object or person (i.e., a bodily discharge such as spittle or semen, a dead body, a leper, a menstruating woman, or a Gentile). While most of us would want to wash our hands for hygienic purposes in many of these circumstances, the manner in which ritual handwashing is done offers no hygienic benefit.
By the time of the writing of this Gospel (probably 65 to 70 A.D.), Christians have begun to free themselves from the observance of Jewish law. Stories such as this one help to provide a rationale for the church to distance itself from Jewish law. They also instruct Christians who might otherwise hold too closely to Jewish law and traditions.
"For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands" (v. 3a). In verses 3-4, Mark explains Pharisaic tradition to Gentile readers who might not otherwise understand it. "All the Jews" is hyperbole. Only some Jews follow these strict rules.
"thus observing the tradition of the elders" (v. 3b). "In distinction from the Sadducees for whom the written law of the Torah alone was authoritative, Pharisees accepted the evolving oral law as equally authoritative…. By Jesus' day, adherence to the unwritten oral tradition was as important for the Pharisees as was adherence to the Torah itself" (Edwards, 208). Prior to his Damascus road experience, Paul (a Pharisee) was especially zealous with regard to observing and enforcing the traditions of the elders (Galatians 1:14). The "tradition of the elders" is oral tradition at this point. By the third century it will be codified as the Mishnah.
"and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles" (v. 4). This is consistent with the emphasis on ritual purity of food. If the food is to be clean (ritually clean in accord with Torah law), the vessels in which it is cooked or served must also be clean. Leviticus 11 prescribes the washing of clothes and other objects that have been touched by unclean animals (Leviticus 11:28-38), saying, "Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such (unclean) vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you" (Leviticus 11:33-35). We see this sort of emphasis on dishes and utensils reflected in kosher kitchens today where people have "meat" dishes and "milk" dishes to avoid mixing meat and milk. They do this to honor the commandment of Exodus 23:19, "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."
We must recognize, then, that Jewish people have cause for concern regarding the ritual cleanliness of food and the containers in which food is prepared or served. Torah law requires them to be concerned about such things. In being observant, they are trying to carry out God's will as prescribed by scripture, a concern which we must respect.
Jesus' dispute with these Pharisees and scribes has to do, not with the observance of Torah law, but with traditions that had grown up around the law. These traditions were an attempt by rabbis to define how the law should be applied in specific situations. That, too, was honorable –– an honest attempt to determine what people must do to please God. The problem arose when people began to equate their traditions with the law itself –– to regard their interpretations as equal in importance to the law.
"Why do your disciples not live (peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?" (v. 5). Jesus has given his opponents plenty of opportunity to criticize him directly. He has healed on the Sabbath (1:21-34; 3:1-6); touched a leper (1:41); claimed to forgive sins (2:5); called a tax collector to be his disciple (2:14); defended his disciples for plucking grain on the sabbath (2:23-28); and blessed an unclean woman who touched him (5:24-34). While his opponents criticize Jesus directly on occasion, here they choose an indirect approach –– drawing attention to the failure of Jesus' disciples' to observe their tradition. If Jesus is an authentic teacher, why can't he control his disciples?
VERSES 6-8: YOU ABANDON THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD
6He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites (Greek: hypokriton), as it is written,
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
7in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
8You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (Greek: ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men).
"Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites" (hypokriton) (v. 6a). Instead of defending the disciples (and himself), Jesus goes on the offense, accusing his accusers of hypocrisy. In classical Greek literature, the word translated "hypocrites" (hypokriton) is used for acting on a stage.
"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines" (vv. 6b-7). Jesus quotes scripture, adding force to his accusations. The quotation is from Isaiah 29:13, and is in keeping with other prophetic pronouncements (see also Isaiah 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-24; and Micah 6:6-8). As noted above, Exodus 30:19 requires priests to practice ritual handwashing before coming near the altar, but later Pharisaic tradition expanded such observance to ordinary people on ordinary occasions. While the expanded practice is intended to honor God, it has the opposite effect. "The elevation of the oral law (or the tradition of the elders) to a place of parity alongside the Torah ultimately undercuts the Torah" (Brueggemann, 192).
"You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men) (v. 8). Jesus employs two contrasts here:
• The first is the contrast between the tradition of the elders (the phrase used by the Pharisees) and the tradition of men (the phrase used by Jesus). By changing one word (presbyteron to anthropon), Jesus brings the lofty elders down to earth. They are no longer elders, enforcing God's laws. They are only men, enforcing human opinions.
• The second is the contrast between "the commandment of God" and "the tradition of men" (or "human tradition"). This contrast highlights the Pharisaic reliance on the opinions of men rather than the will of God. "In the apocalyptic Markan worldview, to take one's cues from human beings is to oppose the will of the holy God, whose eschatological power is now revealing itself through Jesus' teaching (cf. 8:33; 10:9; 11:27, 30, 32; 12:4, where the antithesis between God and human beings is repeated" (Marcus, 451).
Jesus does not condemn all tradition, but only the improper elevation of human tradition to sacred status. The church has a responsibility to preserve tradition, but must take care to distinguish between scriptural teachings (essential) and other traditions (non-essential). We are always tempted to require that which is not essential. For instance, a generation ago, many Christians emphasized "dressing up" for worship as a mark of respect for God, but that is no longer an issue for most Christians. Today, we are more inclined to make a litmus test of Political Correctness. We, too, find it difficult to keep secondary issues secondary. "The immediate and burning issues of the controversy (between Jesus and the Pharisees) have long since passed away into history; but the principles which Jesus laid down have been immediate and burning issues in every century" (Luccock, 746-747).
VERSES 9-13: CORBAN
While these verses are omitted from the lectionary reading, they illustrate what Jesus meant when he said, "You abandon the commandment of God" (v. 8a). In these verses, Jesus shows how his accusers, apparently devout men, use human tradition to sidestep one of the Ten Commandments –– "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12). This commandment means, among other things, providing financial support to aging parents. In Jesus' day, aging parents often transferred property to their children, who then assumed a responsibility for the parents' welfare in their old age.
Corban is a form of deferred giving, similar to today's tax-avoidance scheme of transferring title to a charity now (and receiving a tax deduction now) with the provision that we can continue to use the property until our death. In like manner, a person in Jesus' day could declare something Corban –– dedicated to God –– and then tell his or her parents that their old-age support had been given to God. In truth, the property has only been promised to God, but that promise gives the child an excuse to dodge his or her obligation to parents. "A man goes through the formality of vowing something to God, not that he may give it to God, but in order to prevent some other person from having it" (T. W. Mansori, quoted in Edwards, 210). It is treachery cloaked in religious garb. The religious establishment encourages the practice, because the deferred gift ultimately ends up in the religious treasury.
VERSES 14-15: THAT WHICH DEFILES
14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."
"Then he called the crowd again" (vs. 14a). The fact that Jesus can summon a crowd means that the Pharisees and scribes have failed to discredit him. The people are anxious to hear Jesus' response.
"Listen to me, all of you, and understand" (v. 14b). It is not just the Pharisees and scribes who do not understand, but "all of you" –– Pharisees, scribes, crowd, and disciples alike.
"there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile" (v. 15a). When Jesus explains this to his disciples, he makes it clear that he is speaking about food (vv. 18-19). He says that it is not the food that we eat or ritual defilement that make us unclean, but the thoughts and feelings of our hearts. This is strong language in the context of a culture that prizes Jewish food laws and other ritual observance. The Torah goes into great detail regarding clean and unclean foods, and Jewish people distinguish themselves from their pagan neighbors by observance of these food laws. To say that a person is not defiled by what he or she eats is a bold statement, although in keeping with Jesus actions in other situations. He touched a leper (1:41), ate with sinners (2:15-17), and was not troubled that an unclean woman touched him (5:30-34).
"but the things that come out are what defile" (v. 15b). In his explanation to the disciples, Jesus will make it clear that he is not talking about excrement (vv. 18b-19a). The things that defile are the things that come out of an evil heart, "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly" (vv. 21b-22).
It would seem that Jesus is guilty of replacing God's commandment with his own teaching –– in effect, doing the same thing that he accuses the Pharisees of doing. In fact, he "is teaching with an authority given to him by God…. (He) –– like Moses –– is entrusted by God to declare his commandments directly" (Hooker, 180). Jesus does not abolish the law and prophets, but expands our understanding of how to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).
VERSES 16, 19b: THUS HE DECLARED ALL FOODS CLEAN
Verse 16 is not included in the best manuscripts, and most modern translations leave it out or mention it in a footnote.
Verse 19b (not included in this lesson) says, "Thus he declared all foods clean." These are not Jesus' words, but Mark's interpretation. "For Mark's early gentile readers the practical effect was to legitimate their ignoring the ritual laws of Judaism" (Hurtado, 111).
VERSES 21-23: EVIL THINGS COME FROM WITHIN
21For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
"For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come" (v. 21a). "The vices include actions proscribed by the Ten Commandments (theft, murder, adultery, avarice or envy, deceit). Consequently, Jesus continues to uphold the commandment of God, which his opponents undermine" (Perkins, 608).
In an environment that emphasizes piety (honoring God by devout fulfillment of religious duties), Jesus changes the emphasis to ethical behavior (honoring God by right actions in relationship to other people). He teaches us to be especially mindful of thoughts and feelings that give rise to unethical behavior in our relationships with family, friends and neighbors. It is those thoughts and feelings, conceived and nurtured in our hearts that give rise to truly serious sins. "The source of true defilement in man is the human heart, and the tragedy… reaches its demonic fulfillment in man's wanting to sin…. By this interpretation Jesus does not alleviate the demand for purity but sharpens it" (Lane, 257-258).
This is an important word for us to hear today. We live in a culture that honors that which comes from within the human heart –– that gives us permission to act on our feelings instead of bringing them under control. Our culture tells us to "get in touch" with our inner selves, and to "go with the flow." It celebrates freedom and personal choice, and fiercely resists any constraint that Christ or common sense would place on behavior. The result is that we live in a world characterized by "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly" (vv. 21b-22).
"The initial six items are in the plural, denoting repeatable actions, with the final six entries in the singular, pointing more to traits of character" (Boring, 205).
"All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person" (v. 23). Jesus points us in a radically different direction. His "main point is that uncleanness is moral rather than ritual" (Brooks, 119). He tells us that "evil things come from within" –– from the human heart –– and implies that we have a responsibility to nurture holy things rather than evil things in our hearts.
In recent years, we have become increasingly aware that what we take into our bodies can make a great deal of difference to our physical health. We need to learn that what we take into our hearts and minds is even more important, because what we take into our hearts and minds has the potential to injure us spiritually as well as physically –– to kill the soul as well as the body (see Matthew 10:28).
In recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the importance of environmental issues. In some cases, the church has placed far more emphasis on the cleanliness of our world than the cleanliness of our hearts –– ignoring the degree to which Jesus emphasized the latter. That is ironic, because it is easy to teach a person with a holy heart to respect the environment. Psychologist Gordon Allport observed, "We could probably prove that throughout history those Christians who have accomplished the most practical benefit in this world are those who have believed most fervently in the next." Our first concern needs to be the creation of holy hearts and holy lives.
The church needs to emphasize healthy reading, television viewing, and entertainment. We need to highlight the corrosive effects of drugs and alcohol, violent video games, vulgar sitcoms, pornography, gambling, and consumerism. We need to call people away from an "anything goes" business ethic. The sea in which people swim today is filthy with spiritual pollution, but we tend to say little about it. We are embarrassed to make a serious issue of "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly," but Jesus was not. He tells us that "All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (v. 23).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
He that accuses all mankind of corruption
ought to remember that he is sure to convict only one.
Edmund Burke
* * * * * * * * * *
No man's really any good
till he knows how bad he is, or might be;
till he's realized exactly how much right he has
to all this snobbery and sneering,
and talking about "criminals"
as if they were apes in a forest ten thousand miles away;
till he's got rid of all the dirty self-deception
of talking about low types and deficient skulls;
till he's squeezed out of his soul
the last drop of the oil of the Pharisees;
till his only hope is somehow or other
to have captured one criminal,
and kept him safe and sane under his own hat.
G.K. Chesterton
* * * * * * * * * *
If you judge people,
you have no time to love them.
Mother Teresa
* * * * * * * * * *
If it be an evil to judge rashly or untruly any single man,
how much greater sin it is to condemn a whole people.
William Penn, A Key Opening the Way
* * * * * * * * * *
Rare is the person who can weigh the faults of others
without putting his thumb on the scales.
Byron J. Langenfield
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
August 30, 2009
Proper 17, Year B, RCL
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The Collect
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Moses said: So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.
You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children.
The Psalm
Psalm 15 Page 599, BCP
Domine, quis habitabit?
1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong
and does not take back his word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.
THE EPISTLE
James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
THE GOSPEL
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 1-23: CONTEXT:
This story is bracketed by stories of Jesus' power to do miraculous works and people's response to his display of power.
It is preceded by the feeding of the five thousand (6:30-44), Jesus walking on water (6:45-52) and the healing of the sick in Gennesaret (6:53-56). The concluding verse of chapter 6 reads, "And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed" (6:56).
It is followed by several stories of ministry with Gentiles:
• The healing of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter (7:24-30).
• Travel through Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis (literally, "Ten Cities") (7:31). Tyre and Sidon are Phoenician cities. The Decapolis has a large Greek and Roman population. To speak of Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis is to speak of Gentiles.
• The healing of a deaf man in the Decapolis (7:31-37).
• The Feeding of the Four Thousand which, in the absence of any additional geographical marker, appears to have taken place in or near the Decapolis.
"The Markan church, predominantly Gentile, struggles with not only the issues that separate them from the Jewish community but the problem of table fellowship among Jewish and Gentile Christians in its own midst" (Boring, 196).
The Pharisees in today's lesson ignore compelling evidence of Jesus' power to do good, and focus instead on the failure of his disciples to observe their traditions. They ignore the inbreaking of God's power, and focus on trivial concerns. The church today is similarly tempted to ignore its core ministry –– word and sacrament –– and focus instead on new fads in ministry –– or even the color of the carpet.
We should be careful not to portray the Pharisees as completely bad. The Pharisees are dedicated to obeying and pleasing God. They observe distinctive practices, such as kosher food and circumcision, that help them to maintain their identity as God's people in a world that tempts them to worship their neighbors' gods. Their traditions, which come into question in this text, grow out of a need to maintain that identity.
The Jewish law, while quite detailed, leaves room for interpretation in many situations. The Pharisees, out of a desire to obey God, established rules to clarify the law in those situations. Their findings became known as tradition of the elders. As time passed, these traditions hardened into a surrogate law that Jewish leaders regarded as equal to scripture. They lost sight of the line between God's law and their opinion, and that was their sin.
The church always struggles with knowing God's will. What is God's will concerning abortion? Homosexuality? AIDS? A host of other issues? Men and women of faith find themselves in opposition to other men and women of faith over such issues. How do we determine God's will in such matters? As we consider that question, perhaps we can appreciate the Pharisees and the problems that they were trying to solve.
"The tendency that Jesus criticizes in the Pharisees and scribes appears in most religious groups. People come to hold on to merely human traditions as if they were divinely revealed" (Williamson, 133). And so we find ourselves asking, What did Wesley have to say about this issue? Or Luther? Or Calvin? Or our denominational convention? It is not wrong to ask such questions, but we must be careful not to equate the answers with scripture. Scripture reveals truth –– the rest is opinion.
Denominational loyalties often assume far too much importance. Over the years, I have too often heard sermons entitled, "Why I am a (Methodist, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, etc.)." Seeing the title, I knew that I was going to hear, not an exposition of scripture, but a collection of not-very-helpful opinion. Where, by the way, do you find a text for such a sermon? We have no right to criticize the Pharisees for love of their traditions when we hew so firmly to our own.
Furthermore, if we paint the Pharisees as bad-to-the-core, we gut the story. The story has life only insofar as Jesus faces worthy opponents. The Pharisees are, indeed, worthy opponents. However misguided, they are deeply religious men trying to do God's will.
VERSES 1-5: EATING WITH DEFILED HANDS
1Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live (Greek: peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (Greek: ten paradosin ton presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?"
"Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him" (v. 1). Mark seems to be distinguishing local Pharisees from Jerusalem scribes. It is possible that the Jerusalem scribes are also Pharisees, given the nature of their challenge to Jesus. "The local Pharisees are already established in the narrative as the focus of opposition to Jesus in Galilee (2:16, 24; 3:6)" (France, 280).
The word "Jerusalem" carries an ominous quality, because Jerusalem is the seat of opposition to Jesus, and they will kill him in Jerusalem. Mark has already told us that the scribes have determined that Jesus is demonic (3:22), and the Pharisees have begun a conspiracy to kill him (3:6). It seems odd that these Jerusalemites are in Galilee. Jerusalem draws pilgrims from afar, and not the other way around. It seems likely that these men have come to Galilee for the purpose of destroying Jesus (3:6, 22).
"they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them" (v. 2). Leviticus 11-15 prescribes in detail how Israel is to deal with various issues of ritual cleanliness, to include food (11:1-23; see also Deuteronomy 14:3-21) –– animals (11:24-47) –– purification of women after childbirth (chapter 12) –– leprosy (chapters 13-14), and bodily discharges. This is Torah law, handed down by God, so we cannot criticize the Pharisees and scribes for taking it seriously.
However, by criticizing Jesus' disciples because they eat with defiled hands, the Pharisees and scribes go beyond the requirements of the law by trying to enforce human interpretations of the law that have been handed down by rabbis through the centuries. Exodus 30:18-21 and 40:31 require the cleansing of hands, but only for priests ("Aaron and his sons") –– and only when they go into the tent of meeting or come near the altar –– in other words, when they are attending to sacred duties within sacred space. The Pharisees gradually adopted this practice of ritual handwashing as a way of showing devotion to God –– and as a "boundary marker," a way for Jews to proclaim their identity as distinct from their pagan neighbors (Hooker, 441).
Ritual cleanliness has nothing to do with hygiene –– Pasteur will not discover germs until the 17th century, and will have difficulty even then persuading physicians to wash their hands before performing surgery. People of the first century have no understanding of hygiene. Pharisaic handwashing involves the use of only a small amount of water poured over the hands to wash away ritual defilement, such as defilement caused by touching an unclean object or person (i.e., a bodily discharge such as spittle or semen, a dead body, a leper, a menstruating woman, or a Gentile). While most of us would want to wash our hands for hygienic purposes in many of these circumstances, the manner in which ritual handwashing is done offers no hygienic benefit.
By the time of the writing of this Gospel (probably 65 to 70 A.D.), Christians have begun to free themselves from the observance of Jewish law. Stories such as this one help to provide a rationale for the church to distance itself from Jewish law. They also instruct Christians who might otherwise hold too closely to Jewish law and traditions.
"For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands" (v. 3a). In verses 3-4, Mark explains Pharisaic tradition to Gentile readers who might not otherwise understand it. "All the Jews" is hyperbole. Only some Jews follow these strict rules.
"thus observing the tradition of the elders" (v. 3b). "In distinction from the Sadducees for whom the written law of the Torah alone was authoritative, Pharisees accepted the evolving oral law as equally authoritative…. By Jesus' day, adherence to the unwritten oral tradition was as important for the Pharisees as was adherence to the Torah itself" (Edwards, 208). Prior to his Damascus road experience, Paul (a Pharisee) was especially zealous with regard to observing and enforcing the traditions of the elders (Galatians 1:14). The "tradition of the elders" is oral tradition at this point. By the third century it will be codified as the Mishnah.
"and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles" (v. 4). This is consistent with the emphasis on ritual purity of food. If the food is to be clean (ritually clean in accord with Torah law), the vessels in which it is cooked or served must also be clean. Leviticus 11 prescribes the washing of clothes and other objects that have been touched by unclean animals (Leviticus 11:28-38), saying, "Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such (unclean) vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you" (Leviticus 11:33-35). We see this sort of emphasis on dishes and utensils reflected in kosher kitchens today where people have "meat" dishes and "milk" dishes to avoid mixing meat and milk. They do this to honor the commandment of Exodus 23:19, "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."
We must recognize, then, that Jewish people have cause for concern regarding the ritual cleanliness of food and the containers in which food is prepared or served. Torah law requires them to be concerned about such things. In being observant, they are trying to carry out God's will as prescribed by scripture, a concern which we must respect.
Jesus' dispute with these Pharisees and scribes has to do, not with the observance of Torah law, but with traditions that had grown up around the law. These traditions were an attempt by rabbis to define how the law should be applied in specific situations. That, too, was honorable –– an honest attempt to determine what people must do to please God. The problem arose when people began to equate their traditions with the law itself –– to regard their interpretations as equal in importance to the law.
"Why do your disciples not live (peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?" (v. 5). Jesus has given his opponents plenty of opportunity to criticize him directly. He has healed on the Sabbath (1:21-34; 3:1-6); touched a leper (1:41); claimed to forgive sins (2:5); called a tax collector to be his disciple (2:14); defended his disciples for plucking grain on the sabbath (2:23-28); and blessed an unclean woman who touched him (5:24-34). While his opponents criticize Jesus directly on occasion, here they choose an indirect approach –– drawing attention to the failure of Jesus' disciples' to observe their tradition. If Jesus is an authentic teacher, why can't he control his disciples?
VERSES 6-8: YOU ABANDON THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD
6He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites (Greek: hypokriton), as it is written,
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
7in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
8You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (Greek: ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men).
"Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites" (hypokriton) (v. 6a). Instead of defending the disciples (and himself), Jesus goes on the offense, accusing his accusers of hypocrisy. In classical Greek literature, the word translated "hypocrites" (hypokriton) is used for acting on a stage.
"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines" (vv. 6b-7). Jesus quotes scripture, adding force to his accusations. The quotation is from Isaiah 29:13, and is in keeping with other prophetic pronouncements (see also Isaiah 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-24; and Micah 6:6-8). As noted above, Exodus 30:19 requires priests to practice ritual handwashing before coming near the altar, but later Pharisaic tradition expanded such observance to ordinary people on ordinary occasions. While the expanded practice is intended to honor God, it has the opposite effect. "The elevation of the oral law (or the tradition of the elders) to a place of parity alongside the Torah ultimately undercuts the Torah" (Brueggemann, 192).
"You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men) (v. 8). Jesus employs two contrasts here:
• The first is the contrast between the tradition of the elders (the phrase used by the Pharisees) and the tradition of men (the phrase used by Jesus). By changing one word (presbyteron to anthropon), Jesus brings the lofty elders down to earth. They are no longer elders, enforcing God's laws. They are only men, enforcing human opinions.
• The second is the contrast between "the commandment of God" and "the tradition of men" (or "human tradition"). This contrast highlights the Pharisaic reliance on the opinions of men rather than the will of God. "In the apocalyptic Markan worldview, to take one's cues from human beings is to oppose the will of the holy God, whose eschatological power is now revealing itself through Jesus' teaching (cf. 8:33; 10:9; 11:27, 30, 32; 12:4, where the antithesis between God and human beings is repeated" (Marcus, 451).
Jesus does not condemn all tradition, but only the improper elevation of human tradition to sacred status. The church has a responsibility to preserve tradition, but must take care to distinguish between scriptural teachings (essential) and other traditions (non-essential). We are always tempted to require that which is not essential. For instance, a generation ago, many Christians emphasized "dressing up" for worship as a mark of respect for God, but that is no longer an issue for most Christians. Today, we are more inclined to make a litmus test of Political Correctness. We, too, find it difficult to keep secondary issues secondary. "The immediate and burning issues of the controversy (between Jesus and the Pharisees) have long since passed away into history; but the principles which Jesus laid down have been immediate and burning issues in every century" (Luccock, 746-747).
VERSES 9-13: CORBAN
While these verses are omitted from the lectionary reading, they illustrate what Jesus meant when he said, "You abandon the commandment of God" (v. 8a). In these verses, Jesus shows how his accusers, apparently devout men, use human tradition to sidestep one of the Ten Commandments –– "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12). This commandment means, among other things, providing financial support to aging parents. In Jesus' day, aging parents often transferred property to their children, who then assumed a responsibility for the parents' welfare in their old age.
Corban is a form of deferred giving, similar to today's tax-avoidance scheme of transferring title to a charity now (and receiving a tax deduction now) with the provision that we can continue to use the property until our death. In like manner, a person in Jesus' day could declare something Corban –– dedicated to God –– and then tell his or her parents that their old-age support had been given to God. In truth, the property has only been promised to God, but that promise gives the child an excuse to dodge his or her obligation to parents. "A man goes through the formality of vowing something to God, not that he may give it to God, but in order to prevent some other person from having it" (T. W. Mansori, quoted in Edwards, 210). It is treachery cloaked in religious garb. The religious establishment encourages the practice, because the deferred gift ultimately ends up in the religious treasury.
VERSES 14-15: THAT WHICH DEFILES
14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."
"Then he called the crowd again" (vs. 14a). The fact that Jesus can summon a crowd means that the Pharisees and scribes have failed to discredit him. The people are anxious to hear Jesus' response.
"Listen to me, all of you, and understand" (v. 14b). It is not just the Pharisees and scribes who do not understand, but "all of you" –– Pharisees, scribes, crowd, and disciples alike.
"there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile" (v. 15a). When Jesus explains this to his disciples, he makes it clear that he is speaking about food (vv. 18-19). He says that it is not the food that we eat or ritual defilement that make us unclean, but the thoughts and feelings of our hearts. This is strong language in the context of a culture that prizes Jewish food laws and other ritual observance. The Torah goes into great detail regarding clean and unclean foods, and Jewish people distinguish themselves from their pagan neighbors by observance of these food laws. To say that a person is not defiled by what he or she eats is a bold statement, although in keeping with Jesus actions in other situations. He touched a leper (1:41), ate with sinners (2:15-17), and was not troubled that an unclean woman touched him (5:30-34).
"but the things that come out are what defile" (v. 15b). In his explanation to the disciples, Jesus will make it clear that he is not talking about excrement (vv. 18b-19a). The things that defile are the things that come out of an evil heart, "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly" (vv. 21b-22).
It would seem that Jesus is guilty of replacing God's commandment with his own teaching –– in effect, doing the same thing that he accuses the Pharisees of doing. In fact, he "is teaching with an authority given to him by God…. (He) –– like Moses –– is entrusted by God to declare his commandments directly" (Hooker, 180). Jesus does not abolish the law and prophets, but expands our understanding of how to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).
VERSES 16, 19b: THUS HE DECLARED ALL FOODS CLEAN
Verse 16 is not included in the best manuscripts, and most modern translations leave it out or mention it in a footnote.
Verse 19b (not included in this lesson) says, "Thus he declared all foods clean." These are not Jesus' words, but Mark's interpretation. "For Mark's early gentile readers the practical effect was to legitimate their ignoring the ritual laws of Judaism" (Hurtado, 111).
VERSES 21-23: EVIL THINGS COME FROM WITHIN
21For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
"For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come" (v. 21a). "The vices include actions proscribed by the Ten Commandments (theft, murder, adultery, avarice or envy, deceit). Consequently, Jesus continues to uphold the commandment of God, which his opponents undermine" (Perkins, 608).
In an environment that emphasizes piety (honoring God by devout fulfillment of religious duties), Jesus changes the emphasis to ethical behavior (honoring God by right actions in relationship to other people). He teaches us to be especially mindful of thoughts and feelings that give rise to unethical behavior in our relationships with family, friends and neighbors. It is those thoughts and feelings, conceived and nurtured in our hearts that give rise to truly serious sins. "The source of true defilement in man is the human heart, and the tragedy… reaches its demonic fulfillment in man's wanting to sin…. By this interpretation Jesus does not alleviate the demand for purity but sharpens it" (Lane, 257-258).
This is an important word for us to hear today. We live in a culture that honors that which comes from within the human heart –– that gives us permission to act on our feelings instead of bringing them under control. Our culture tells us to "get in touch" with our inner selves, and to "go with the flow." It celebrates freedom and personal choice, and fiercely resists any constraint that Christ or common sense would place on behavior. The result is that we live in a world characterized by "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly" (vv. 21b-22).
"The initial six items are in the plural, denoting repeatable actions, with the final six entries in the singular, pointing more to traits of character" (Boring, 205).
"All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person" (v. 23). Jesus points us in a radically different direction. His "main point is that uncleanness is moral rather than ritual" (Brooks, 119). He tells us that "evil things come from within" –– from the human heart –– and implies that we have a responsibility to nurture holy things rather than evil things in our hearts.
In recent years, we have become increasingly aware that what we take into our bodies can make a great deal of difference to our physical health. We need to learn that what we take into our hearts and minds is even more important, because what we take into our hearts and minds has the potential to injure us spiritually as well as physically –– to kill the soul as well as the body (see Matthew 10:28).
In recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the importance of environmental issues. In some cases, the church has placed far more emphasis on the cleanliness of our world than the cleanliness of our hearts –– ignoring the degree to which Jesus emphasized the latter. That is ironic, because it is easy to teach a person with a holy heart to respect the environment. Psychologist Gordon Allport observed, "We could probably prove that throughout history those Christians who have accomplished the most practical benefit in this world are those who have believed most fervently in the next." Our first concern needs to be the creation of holy hearts and holy lives.
The church needs to emphasize healthy reading, television viewing, and entertainment. We need to highlight the corrosive effects of drugs and alcohol, violent video games, vulgar sitcoms, pornography, gambling, and consumerism. We need to call people away from an "anything goes" business ethic. The sea in which people swim today is filthy with spiritual pollution, but we tend to say little about it. We are embarrassed to make a serious issue of "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly," but Jesus was not. He tells us that "All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (v. 23).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
He that accuses all mankind of corruption
ought to remember that he is sure to convict only one.
Edmund Burke
* * * * * * * * * *
No man's really any good
till he knows how bad he is, or might be;
till he's realized exactly how much right he has
to all this snobbery and sneering,
and talking about "criminals"
as if they were apes in a forest ten thousand miles away;
till he's got rid of all the dirty self-deception
of talking about low types and deficient skulls;
till he's squeezed out of his soul
the last drop of the oil of the Pharisees;
till his only hope is somehow or other
to have captured one criminal,
and kept him safe and sane under his own hat.
G.K. Chesterton
* * * * * * * * * *
If you judge people,
you have no time to love them.
Mother Teresa
* * * * * * * * * *
If it be an evil to judge rashly or untruly any single man,
how much greater sin it is to condemn a whole people.
William Penn, A Key Opening the Way
* * * * * * * * * *
Rare is the person who can weigh the faults of others
without putting his thumb on the scales.
Byron J. Langenfield
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Saturday, August 22, 2009
August 23, 2009 - 12th Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture Study
Proper 16, Year B
AUGUST 23, 2009
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
The Collect
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
The Psalm
Psalm 34:15-22
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them
and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and will save those whose spirits are crushed.
19 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the LORD will deliver him out of them all.
20 He will keep safe all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants,
and none will be punished who trust in him.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
John 6:56-69
Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
EXEGESIS of the Gospel:
VERSES 56-59: THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever." 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood" (v. 56a). Earlier in this discourse (vv. 50-51), Jesus used the polite Greek word for "eat" –– phage. Now he shifts to a coarser word, trogan –– used for the munching of feed by animals. His use of the word here is shocking –– attention-getting.
"abide (menei) in me, and I in them" (v. 56b). Jesus promises that those who eat and drink abide in him and him in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• Jesus expresses the same idea of deep relationship (without using the word, meno) in his High Priestly Prayer, when he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21).
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
"Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father" (v. 57a). The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old and New Testaments, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
"so whoever eats me will live because of me" (v. 57b). Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats his body and drinks his blood (believes in him/ accepts him/ participates in the eucharist) will live. As the Father gave Jesus life, so Jesus gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
"This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died" (v. 58a). Jesus' listeners first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Nor was manna the true bread from heaven, but it was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
"But the one who eats this bread will live forever" (v. 58b). Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54), which is a quality of spiritual life that we can enjoy now and forever rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life –– "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
"He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum" (v. 59). This is the first of five times that the words, "synagogue" or "synagogues", are used in this Gospel. Here and in 18:20, the mention of the synagogue has a neutral character, but the other three instances speak of those who believe in Jesus being banished from the synagogues (9:22; 12:42; 16:2).
Capernaum is Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13; 9:1; Mark 2:1). It is the home of Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14) –– and possibly of Peter and Andrew as well. Jesus performed many miracles in Capernaum, including healing the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13) the woman with the hemorrhage, and Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:21-43). But Jesus warned, "And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you" (Matthew 11:23-24).
VERSES 60-65: THIS TEACHING IS DIFFICULT
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" 61But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (Greek: gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it, said to them, "Does this offend you (Greek: humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble)? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (Greek: sarx) is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
"This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?" (v. 60). It is not "the Jews" (v. 52) who make this complaint, but Jesus' disciples. They are offended by Jesus' language –– his imagery –– his metaphors. We are reminded of Paul, who spoke of "the offense of the cross" (Galatians 5:11), and who said that "the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18).
"But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it" (v. 61a). The grumbling of these disciples links them to the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled because they did not trust the Lord to provide for their needs (Deuteronomy 1:27; Psalm 106:25). Godly people are not exempt from the usual difficulties of life, and sometimes find themselves the objects of persecution. We are always tempted to imagine that God has abandoned us –– that God is not trustworthy.
"Does this offend you?" (humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble) (v. 61). The Gospel causes people to stumble, in part, because God's ways are not our ways. We would not save the world by weakness but by power. We would not choose to have God's son born in a manger but in a palace. We would not choose a cross, but a sword –– or a classroom–– or a medical lab –– or a wealthy charitable foundation –– or some other instrument that would offer us opportunity to use power and to exercise control.
The Gospel also causes people to stumble because it is costly. When Christ calls us to eat his flesh and to drink his blood, he is inviting us to participate in his death. The Christians who first read this Gospel experienced persecution. They knew martyred Christians, suffered under the threat of martyrdom, and knew Christians who avoided martyrdom by compromising their faith.
The church is always tempted to remove the offense of the Gospel by tailoring its message to fit the world's values. Someone has said that, if we want to know what the church will be saying in a decade, we need only know what the world is saying today. While such cynical judgment is patently unfair to the many Christians who stand, often heroically, as witnesses against their culture, it is all too fair a judgment on other Christians who too readily bless popular trends. When we hear what passes for preaching in some pulpits, we have to wonder how much comes from Galilee and how much from Hollywood. The more prosperous and sophisticated we become, the more we are tempted to love prosperity and sophistication –– and the less we are likely to challenge the culture in which we live.
The Gospel with no offense, however, is like a surgeon with no scalpel –– having no power to heal. Christ, truly revealed, will always be an offense except to the redeemed. The cross will always be an offense, except to the redeemed. The church must always be ready to give offense –– to speak out for Christ and against the destructive beliefs and behaviors that the world finds so attractive.
"Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" (v. 62). These disciples were offended by Jesus' claim to be the "bread which came down from heaven" (v. 58). Will they also be offended when they see him ascending into heaven? (v. 62). In this Gospel, the process that ends in Jesus' ascension begins with his being "lifted up" on the cross (3:14; 12:42). "That is the supreme scandal. However offensive the linguistic expression 'eating flesh and drinking blood' may be, how much more offensive is the crucifixion of an alleged Messiah! The very idea is outrageous, bordering on blasphemous obscenity, 'a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles' (1 Cor. 1:23)" (Carson, 301).
"It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (sarx) is useless" (v. 63a). On the one hand, it seems natural that Jesus would say that the sarx is useless. In this Gospel as well as elsewhere in the New Testament, sarx is often used to contrast that which is worldly with that which is Godly (1:13; 3:6; Romans 7:5; 8:3; 13:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; Galatians 3:3).
But on the other hand, we are surprised to hear Jesus say that sarx is useless. A key theme of this Gospel is that the Word has become sarx and lived among us (1:14). Jesus has just promised that those who eat his sarx and drink his blood abide in him (v. 56). However, "Jesus is not speaking of eucharistic flesh but of flesh as he spoke of it in ch. iii, namely, the natural principle in man which cannot give eternal life. This contrast between flesh and Spirit appears also in Paul, for example, Rom viii, v. 4: '…who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit'" (Brown, 300).
"This confusion (between the negative and positive aspects of the word sarx) can be avoided when it is observed that the evangelist employs 'flesh' positively when it is linked with Jesus and negatively when it is associated with human response to the divine revelation" (Lincoln, 237).
"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (v. 63b). This mention of spirit "is unquestionably a reference to the Holy Spirit, the Life-giver" (Morris, 340). In this Gospel, Jesus will impart the Holy Spirit to the disciples on the first Easter (20:22), but the Spirit is already active, having come to rest upon Jesus at his baptism (1:32). Jesus' words impart Spirit and life to the disciples (v. 63b).
"But among you there are some who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him" (v. 64). Early critics of Christianity claimed that Jesus' choice of Judas as an apostle proved Jesus' fallibility. This Gospel says that he knew that he would be betrayed, and knew who the betrayer would be (see also 6:71; 13:11, 21). The betrayal is evil, but Jesus will not permit evil to have the final word.
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father" (v. 65). Jesus has already stated this principle in verses 37 and 44. Faith is a gift of God.
VERSES 66-69: TO WHOM CAN WE GO?
66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (Greek: periepatoun –– were walking) with him. 67So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
"Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (periepatoun –– were walking) with him" (v. 66). The phrase, "were walking," implies following –– discipleship.
The disciples who turned back clearly expected something other than what Jesus offers. They expected a messiah in the image of David –– a great leader to re-establish their glory days. Following the feeding of the five thousand, they tried to make Jesus king, but he refused their overture (v. 15). "What they wanted, (Jesus) would not give; what he offered, they would not receive" (Bruce, 164).
This "large-scale defection marks a watershed.... Chapter 6 ends on a note of failure. As a result, the scope of Jesus' followers is narrowed, so that only a believing remnant remains" (Kostenberger, 218).
"So Jesus asked the twelve" (v. 67a). We don't know how many disciples turned back, but "the twelve" remain. This is one of only four references to "the twelve" in this Gospel (see also 6:70-71; 20:24). This Gospel usually speaks of "the disciples" rather than "the twelve," but speaks of "the twelve" here to distinguish this smaller core group with the larger group of disciples, some of whom were offended by Jesus' teachings and turned away from him.
"Do you also wish to go away?" (v. 67b). The question as formulated in the Greek expects a negative response –– expects the twelve to respond that they do not wish to go away.
As so often happens, Peter emerges as the spokesman for the disciples. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life" (v. 68). Peter is asking, "Is there a better rabbi? Is there someone at whose feet we can sit who will reveal God's will more faithfully than you?" When Peter asks this question, he makes it obvious that he believes the answer to be "No!" He believes that Jesus has "the words of eternal life."
"Believers are driven, so to say, into the arms of faith. Their acknowledgment of the truth of Jesus' words of eternal life is as much a matter of having no alternative as of positive reasons" (Sloyan, 76).
Scholars generally treat Peter's words here as the Johannine equivalent of Peter's confession of faith (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-20), even though Matthew and Mark report Peter making that confession at Caesarea Philippi while John reports it as happening at Capernaum. Another significant difference is that in the accounts of Peter's confession in Matthew and Mark, Peter's confession is followed by Jesus' telling the disciples that he must suffer and die. This is followed by Peter's protest and Jesus' rebuke of Peter (Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33). There is no hint of Peter's protest or Jesus' rebuke in this Johannine account.
"We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (v. 69). In the Greek, "we" is emphatic, contrasting the faith of the twelve with the faithless disciples who went away. The title, "The Holy One of God" is found elsewhere only from the mouth of a demon-possessed man –– or, perhaps, from the mouth of the demon (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34). Peter clearly means it as a lofty title here, distinguishing Jesus as a special gift from God.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of Peter's words in this context. Some of the other eleven disciples might have been on the verge of going away with the others. By seizing the initiative and voicing unequivocal faith in Jesus, Peter holds the little group together. Had he failed to speak, things might have gone very differently. The influence of one person is often critical. We should never doubt the importance of our witness, however unimpressive it might seem to us at the time.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
In the best sense of the word, Jesus was a radical....
His religion has so long been identified with conservatism...
that it is almost startling sometimes to remember
that all the conservatives of his own times were against him;
that it was the young, free, restless, sanguine,
progressive part of the people
who flocked to him.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
The essential teachings of Jesus...were literally revolutionary,
and will always remain so if they are taken seriously.
Herbert J. Muller
* * * * * * * * * *
Christ is God
or He is the world's greatest liar and impostor.
Dorothy Day
* * * * * * * * * *
A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things Jesus said
wouldn't be a great moral teacher.
He'd either be a lunatic ––
on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg ––
or else he'd be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God,
or else a madman or something worse.
C.S. Lewis
* * * * * * * * * *
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild" is a sniveling modern invention,
with no warrant in the Gospels.
George Bernard Shaw
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Four: Q-Z - Revised, the article, "Stumbling Block," by G.L. Archer (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Proper 16, Year B
AUGUST 23, 2009
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
The Collect
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
The Psalm
Psalm 34:15-22
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them
and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and will save those whose spirits are crushed.
19 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the LORD will deliver him out of them all.
20 He will keep safe all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants,
and none will be punished who trust in him.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
John 6:56-69
Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
EXEGESIS of the Gospel:
VERSES 56-59: THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever." 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood" (v. 56a). Earlier in this discourse (vv. 50-51), Jesus used the polite Greek word for "eat" –– phage. Now he shifts to a coarser word, trogan –– used for the munching of feed by animals. His use of the word here is shocking –– attention-getting.
"abide (menei) in me, and I in them" (v. 56b). Jesus promises that those who eat and drink abide in him and him in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• Jesus expresses the same idea of deep relationship (without using the word, meno) in his High Priestly Prayer, when he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21).
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
"Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father" (v. 57a). The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old and New Testaments, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
"so whoever eats me will live because of me" (v. 57b). Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats his body and drinks his blood (believes in him/ accepts him/ participates in the eucharist) will live. As the Father gave Jesus life, so Jesus gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
"This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died" (v. 58a). Jesus' listeners first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Nor was manna the true bread from heaven, but it was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
"But the one who eats this bread will live forever" (v. 58b). Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54), which is a quality of spiritual life that we can enjoy now and forever rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life –– "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
"He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum" (v. 59). This is the first of five times that the words, "synagogue" or "synagogues", are used in this Gospel. Here and in 18:20, the mention of the synagogue has a neutral character, but the other three instances speak of those who believe in Jesus being banished from the synagogues (9:22; 12:42; 16:2).
Capernaum is Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13; 9:1; Mark 2:1). It is the home of Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14) –– and possibly of Peter and Andrew as well. Jesus performed many miracles in Capernaum, including healing the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13) the woman with the hemorrhage, and Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:21-43). But Jesus warned, "And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you" (Matthew 11:23-24).
VERSES 60-65: THIS TEACHING IS DIFFICULT
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" 61But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (Greek: gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it, said to them, "Does this offend you (Greek: humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble)? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (Greek: sarx) is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
"This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?" (v. 60). It is not "the Jews" (v. 52) who make this complaint, but Jesus' disciples. They are offended by Jesus' language –– his imagery –– his metaphors. We are reminded of Paul, who spoke of "the offense of the cross" (Galatians 5:11), and who said that "the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18).
"But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it" (v. 61a). The grumbling of these disciples links them to the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled because they did not trust the Lord to provide for their needs (Deuteronomy 1:27; Psalm 106:25). Godly people are not exempt from the usual difficulties of life, and sometimes find themselves the objects of persecution. We are always tempted to imagine that God has abandoned us –– that God is not trustworthy.
"Does this offend you?" (humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble) (v. 61). The Gospel causes people to stumble, in part, because God's ways are not our ways. We would not save the world by weakness but by power. We would not choose to have God's son born in a manger but in a palace. We would not choose a cross, but a sword –– or a classroom–– or a medical lab –– or a wealthy charitable foundation –– or some other instrument that would offer us opportunity to use power and to exercise control.
The Gospel also causes people to stumble because it is costly. When Christ calls us to eat his flesh and to drink his blood, he is inviting us to participate in his death. The Christians who first read this Gospel experienced persecution. They knew martyred Christians, suffered under the threat of martyrdom, and knew Christians who avoided martyrdom by compromising their faith.
The church is always tempted to remove the offense of the Gospel by tailoring its message to fit the world's values. Someone has said that, if we want to know what the church will be saying in a decade, we need only know what the world is saying today. While such cynical judgment is patently unfair to the many Christians who stand, often heroically, as witnesses against their culture, it is all too fair a judgment on other Christians who too readily bless popular trends. When we hear what passes for preaching in some pulpits, we have to wonder how much comes from Galilee and how much from Hollywood. The more prosperous and sophisticated we become, the more we are tempted to love prosperity and sophistication –– and the less we are likely to challenge the culture in which we live.
The Gospel with no offense, however, is like a surgeon with no scalpel –– having no power to heal. Christ, truly revealed, will always be an offense except to the redeemed. The cross will always be an offense, except to the redeemed. The church must always be ready to give offense –– to speak out for Christ and against the destructive beliefs and behaviors that the world finds so attractive.
"Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" (v. 62). These disciples were offended by Jesus' claim to be the "bread which came down from heaven" (v. 58). Will they also be offended when they see him ascending into heaven? (v. 62). In this Gospel, the process that ends in Jesus' ascension begins with his being "lifted up" on the cross (3:14; 12:42). "That is the supreme scandal. However offensive the linguistic expression 'eating flesh and drinking blood' may be, how much more offensive is the crucifixion of an alleged Messiah! The very idea is outrageous, bordering on blasphemous obscenity, 'a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles' (1 Cor. 1:23)" (Carson, 301).
"It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (sarx) is useless" (v. 63a). On the one hand, it seems natural that Jesus would say that the sarx is useless. In this Gospel as well as elsewhere in the New Testament, sarx is often used to contrast that which is worldly with that which is Godly (1:13; 3:6; Romans 7:5; 8:3; 13:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; Galatians 3:3).
But on the other hand, we are surprised to hear Jesus say that sarx is useless. A key theme of this Gospel is that the Word has become sarx and lived among us (1:14). Jesus has just promised that those who eat his sarx and drink his blood abide in him (v. 56). However, "Jesus is not speaking of eucharistic flesh but of flesh as he spoke of it in ch. iii, namely, the natural principle in man which cannot give eternal life. This contrast between flesh and Spirit appears also in Paul, for example, Rom viii, v. 4: '…who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit'" (Brown, 300).
"This confusion (between the negative and positive aspects of the word sarx) can be avoided when it is observed that the evangelist employs 'flesh' positively when it is linked with Jesus and negatively when it is associated with human response to the divine revelation" (Lincoln, 237).
"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (v. 63b). This mention of spirit "is unquestionably a reference to the Holy Spirit, the Life-giver" (Morris, 340). In this Gospel, Jesus will impart the Holy Spirit to the disciples on the first Easter (20:22), but the Spirit is already active, having come to rest upon Jesus at his baptism (1:32). Jesus' words impart Spirit and life to the disciples (v. 63b).
"But among you there are some who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him" (v. 64). Early critics of Christianity claimed that Jesus' choice of Judas as an apostle proved Jesus' fallibility. This Gospel says that he knew that he would be betrayed, and knew who the betrayer would be (see also 6:71; 13:11, 21). The betrayal is evil, but Jesus will not permit evil to have the final word.
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father" (v. 65). Jesus has already stated this principle in verses 37 and 44. Faith is a gift of God.
VERSES 66-69: TO WHOM CAN WE GO?
66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (Greek: periepatoun –– were walking) with him. 67So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
"Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (periepatoun –– were walking) with him" (v. 66). The phrase, "were walking," implies following –– discipleship.
The disciples who turned back clearly expected something other than what Jesus offers. They expected a messiah in the image of David –– a great leader to re-establish their glory days. Following the feeding of the five thousand, they tried to make Jesus king, but he refused their overture (v. 15). "What they wanted, (Jesus) would not give; what he offered, they would not receive" (Bruce, 164).
This "large-scale defection marks a watershed.... Chapter 6 ends on a note of failure. As a result, the scope of Jesus' followers is narrowed, so that only a believing remnant remains" (Kostenberger, 218).
"So Jesus asked the twelve" (v. 67a). We don't know how many disciples turned back, but "the twelve" remain. This is one of only four references to "the twelve" in this Gospel (see also 6:70-71; 20:24). This Gospel usually speaks of "the disciples" rather than "the twelve," but speaks of "the twelve" here to distinguish this smaller core group with the larger group of disciples, some of whom were offended by Jesus' teachings and turned away from him.
"Do you also wish to go away?" (v. 67b). The question as formulated in the Greek expects a negative response –– expects the twelve to respond that they do not wish to go away.
As so often happens, Peter emerges as the spokesman for the disciples. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life" (v. 68). Peter is asking, "Is there a better rabbi? Is there someone at whose feet we can sit who will reveal God's will more faithfully than you?" When Peter asks this question, he makes it obvious that he believes the answer to be "No!" He believes that Jesus has "the words of eternal life."
"Believers are driven, so to say, into the arms of faith. Their acknowledgment of the truth of Jesus' words of eternal life is as much a matter of having no alternative as of positive reasons" (Sloyan, 76).
Scholars generally treat Peter's words here as the Johannine equivalent of Peter's confession of faith (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-20), even though Matthew and Mark report Peter making that confession at Caesarea Philippi while John reports it as happening at Capernaum. Another significant difference is that in the accounts of Peter's confession in Matthew and Mark, Peter's confession is followed by Jesus' telling the disciples that he must suffer and die. This is followed by Peter's protest and Jesus' rebuke of Peter (Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33). There is no hint of Peter's protest or Jesus' rebuke in this Johannine account.
"We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (v. 69). In the Greek, "we" is emphatic, contrasting the faith of the twelve with the faithless disciples who went away. The title, "The Holy One of God" is found elsewhere only from the mouth of a demon-possessed man –– or, perhaps, from the mouth of the demon (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34). Peter clearly means it as a lofty title here, distinguishing Jesus as a special gift from God.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of Peter's words in this context. Some of the other eleven disciples might have been on the verge of going away with the others. By seizing the initiative and voicing unequivocal faith in Jesus, Peter holds the little group together. Had he failed to speak, things might have gone very differently. The influence of one person is often critical. We should never doubt the importance of our witness, however unimpressive it might seem to us at the time.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
In the best sense of the word, Jesus was a radical....
His religion has so long been identified with conservatism...
that it is almost startling sometimes to remember
that all the conservatives of his own times were against him;
that it was the young, free, restless, sanguine,
progressive part of the people
who flocked to him.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
The essential teachings of Jesus...were literally revolutionary,
and will always remain so if they are taken seriously.
Herbert J. Muller
* * * * * * * * * *
Christ is God
or He is the world's greatest liar and impostor.
Dorothy Day
* * * * * * * * * *
A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things Jesus said
wouldn't be a great moral teacher.
He'd either be a lunatic ––
on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg ––
or else he'd be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God,
or else a madman or something worse.
C.S. Lewis
* * * * * * * * * *
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild" is a sniveling modern invention,
with no warrant in the Gospels.
George Bernard Shaw
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Four: Q-Z - Revised, the article, "Stumbling Block," by G.L. Archer (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Saturday, August 15, 2009
August 16, 2009 - 11th Sunday after Pentecost
SCRIPTURE STUDY
FOR THE 11TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOS
PROPER 15, YEAR B
AUGUST 16, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 6:51-58
Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: CONTEXT
These verses constitute the ending of the Bread of Life Discourse (vv. 22-58), given at the synagogue in Capernaum (v. 59), Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The discourse follows the stories of the feeding of the five thousand (vv. 1-15) and Jesus walking on water (vv. 16-21).
The fact that Jesus delivers this discourse in his hometown makes it especially difficult for his listeners to accept his words –– provocative words and claims that appear to be exaggerated. Jesus' neighbors ask him for a validating sign, and mention Moses' gift of the manna in the desert as an example of the kind of sign that they expect (v. 31). Jesus corrects them –– "It was not Moses who gave you (past tense) the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you (present tense) the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). He then identifies himself as the bread of life (v. 35).
Jesus' listeners complain about his apparent grandiosity. How can this local boy, their neighbor, claim to be bread from heaven (v. 41)? How can his Father give them the true bread from heaven? They know his father, Joseph (v. 42) –– an ordinary carpenter –– not a baker of heavenly bread.
Jesus responds by making even bolder claims. The Israelites ate manna in the wilderness, but the manna sustained their lives for only a few years –– they are long since dead. By contrast, Jesus claims to be "the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51). Small wonder that these listeners find his words difficult!
VERSES 51-52: I AM THE LIVING BREAD
51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)." 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and thus represents a one-time action. To eat of this bread, in this context, means the once-and-for-all action of accepting or believing in Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). Jesus does not retreat from the offense of his words, but instead adds to it with his mention of flesh (sarx).
• This is sacrificial language. "In the larger narrative context, this refers to Jesus' body given on the cross for the sins of humanity" (Kostenberger, 215).
The Torah requires ritual sacrifices of animals, and specifies in detail how they are to be prepared and how their flesh is to be used. Some flesh is to be burned on the altar and other flesh is to be eaten. The gift of one's flesh is the most personal of all sacrifices that a person can make in behalf of another. In this instance, Jesus makes it in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb sacrificed to save the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12), a sacrifice which Israel commemorates annually.
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
• "God's salvation is often described in Scripture in terms of eating and drinking…, nowhere more impressively than in Isa 55, where the descent of the word from God's mouth is likened to that of rain and snow, which water the earth and make possible its production of bread (v. 10). This after the opening…invitation:
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. (Isa 55:1)" (Smith, 159-160).
"The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" (v. 52). This phrase, "the Jews," refers to the Jewish religious leaders, who are in most cases Jesus' opponents. "Flesh" is a provocative word, raising the specter of cannibalism. It is especially provocative in a culture that distinguishes so precisely between clean and unclean meat and emphasizes strict observance of dietary laws. The first consideration for any Jew, contemplating the eating of any flesh, would be whether that flesh is permitted or forbidden. No observant Jew would consider eating human flesh.
VERSE 53: UNLESS YOU EAT AND DRINK
53So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat (Greek: phagete) the flesh (Greek: sarka –– from sarx) of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
"Very truly, I tell you" (v. 53a). These words make emphatic that which follows.
"unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (v. 53b). The title, Son of Man, comes from Daniel 7:13, where God "delegated his power of absolution to a "Son of Man' who carries out his gracious will in the earthly sphere; therefore, 'upon the earth the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins" (Marcus, 223). (NOTE: Because of its inclusive language agenda, the NRSV translates the phrase in Daniel 7:13 as "human being" rather than "Son of Man." This is an especially unfortunate translation, given the significance of the title, Son of Man).
This title has the advantage of having none of the militaristic connotations associated with the title, Messiah. People expect the Messiah to raise an army, to drive out the Romans, and to re-establish the great Davidic kingdom. They have no such expectations regarding the Son of Man.
Jesus frequently refers to himself as Son of Man (1:51; 3:13; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23; 13:31). Only four times in the New Testament (John 12:34; Acts 7:56; Revelation 1:13; 14:14) does anyone other than Jesus use the phrase, and then always to refer to Jesus.
Guelich gives three possible meanings for the title, Son of Man (Guelich, 89-90). It might mean:
• Humanity in general
• "I who speak to you"
• It might be a Messianic title.
The first significant issue here is whether Jesus' words are Eucharistic in nature (referring to the Lord's Supper) or simply incarnational/sacrificial (referring to the incarnation and the cross). The question is significant. Is Jesus emphasizing participation in the Eucharist here? Should a sermon based on this text emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper? Scholars are divided on this question, and raise a number of points for consideration –– three of which favor not emphasizing participation in the Eucharist:
• First, the word "flesh" (sarx) in verse 51c is unusual. In all of the accounts of the institution of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24), the word is "body" (soma) –– not "flesh" (sarx). However, Raymond Brown questions the validity of this argument, noting that "there is really no Hebrew or Aramaic word for 'body,' as we understand the term; and many scholars maintain that at the Last Supper what Jesus actually said was the Aramaic equivalent of 'This is my flesh' " (Brown, 285).
• Second, the word "flesh" brings to mind, not the Lord's Supper, but the Incarnation –– "And the Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). It could be that the emphasis of 6:51-58 is incarnational rather than Eucharistic.
• Third, in verse 47, Jesus established belief as the condition for receiving eternal life. In verse 53, his language changes, and eating his flesh and drinking his blood become the condition for receiving eternal life. If we interpret this eating and drinking to be participation in the Eucharist, it sounds as if any person who partakes of the bread and wine is guaranteed salvation regardless of any other consideration, such as belief or baptism. It is difficult, based on our reading of other New Testament passages, to believe that could be the case.
• Jesus' listeners would not have understood Jesus to be referring to a sacramental feast.
However, other considerations favor a Eucharistic interpretation –– suggesting that Jesus is speaking, at least in part, about participation in the Lord's Supper:
• The crowd's mention of manna ("bread from heaven") as the kind of sign that they expect Jesus to perform (v. 31) constitutes the background of 6:51. Jesus responds by identifying himself as "the bread of life" (v. 35) and "the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51). He then says, "and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51c). The language seems Eucharistic at this point.
• The Gospel of John does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, but instead tells only the story of the foot washing (13:1-20). Some scholars think of 6:51-58 as the Johannine equivalent of the institution of the Lord's Supper.
• At the beginning of this Bread of Life discourse, John establishes that the Passover is near (6:4). This is significant, because the Passover ritual involves the sacrifice and eating of the Pascal (Passover) lamb. Earlier in this Gospel, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (1:29), and the Lord's Supper in the Synoptics is a Passover meal. The Passover context, then, gives Jesus' words a decidedly Eucharistic flavor.
• "John may expect his readers to read Jesus' words in light of the church's observance of the Lord's Supper, though not necessarily in a sacramental sense" (Kostenberger, 217).
I conclude that incarnational, sacrificial, and Eucharistic emphases are intertwined in 6:22-58, and that the emphasis shifts to favor the Eucharistic at verse 51c. If this is correct, it is appropriate, perhaps even important, to emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper when preaching from this text.
A second significant issue has to do with the relationship of belief and eating and drinking as requirements for receiving eternal life. Jesus first establishes belief as a requirement (v. 40), and then establishes eating and drinking as a requirement (v. 53). Do these function independently? Are we saved either by belief or by eating/drinking –– or are both required? O'Day concludes that these are also intertwined. "Participation in the eucharist and the faith decision are parallel in the Fourth Gospel, not either/or acts" (O'Day, 608).
We should note two things that were happening at the time of the writing of this Gospel that might have influenced the author to emphasize the eating of Jesus flesh and the drinking of his blood:
• The first was the influence of Docetic and Gnostic heresies, both of which considered flesh to be evil and denied that Christ could have a physical body. 6:53ff. emphasizes the physical nature of his body –– perhaps, in part, to counter these heresies.
• The second was Jewish discrimination against Christian believers. Christians who observed the Lord's Supper were likely to be banned from synagogues. It is possible that, by emphasizing the Lord's Supper as a requirement for receiving eternal life, the author intends to push fence-straddlers off the fence. Such participation is important, not only for their personal religious lives, but also as a visible witness to their faith. As Paul says, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
VERSE 54-55: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK HAVE ETERNAL LIFE
54Those who eat (Greek: trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life" (v. 54a). Jesus shifts from the polite word for eating (phage) to a much coarser word (trogan) ––munch –– a word more commonly used for animals munching on their feed. Trogan, like sarx, is provocative –– designed to get attention. Jesus will continue to use trogan through the rest of this discourse.
"The command to 'munch' is literal, but the flesh that is eaten is not" (Howard-Brook, 165).
As noted above, observant Jews would find the talk of eating human flesh abhorrent. Leviticus 17:10-14 also prohibits the consumption of blood.
"have eternal life" (v. 54a). The promise is not only eternal life (available now –– realized eschatology) but also resurrection (available only later –– final eschatology) (Brown, 292).
Jesus flesh and blood are true food and drink, bringing us sustenance at the deepest level of our being, in contrast with manna, which fed only the body.
In our culture, we are bombarded by advertisements for things as diverse as toothpaste and sports cars, each claiming to meet our deepest needs. Such claims are empty, and ultimately disappoint. However, when we believe in Jesus and partake of his flesh and blood, he strengthens and sustains us in ways that nothing else can.
However important the Eucharist might be, it is one of the means by which we experience the presence of God. "The true sustenance and refreshment of our spiritual life are to be found… in all ways in which his people feed on him by faith –– not only at the Holy Table, but in reading and hearing the Word of God, or in private or united prayer and meditation" (Bruce, 160).
"and I will raise them up on the last day" (v. 54b). "The continuing reference to Christ's raising up the believer at the last day is interesting. There may be more to eternal life than life in the age to come, but life in that age is certainly prominent" (Morris, 336).
"for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink" (v. 55). Earlier in this discourse, Jesus told the people who had experienced the feeding of the 5000, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 24-25). The manna that their ancestors experienced in the wilderness was not true food –– did not give them life (v. 49). The bread that Jesus used to feed the 5000 on the mountaintop was something less than true bread, because it satisfied the people's hunger only momentarily. By way of contrast, Jesus' flesh and blood are true food because "whoever eats of this bread will live forever" (v. 51) –– and "have (present tense) eternal life" (v. 54).
VERSE 56: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK ABIDE
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them.
The promise to those who eat and drink is that they abide in Jesus and Jesus in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• In his High Priestly Prayer, he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21). While the word, meno, is not found in this prayer, the concept of deep relationship is.
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
VERSE 57: WHOEVER EATS ME WILL LIVE BECAUSE OF ME
57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me.
The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old Testament and New Testament, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats him (believes in him/ accepts him/participates in the Eucharist) will live. As the Father gave him life, so he gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
VERSE 58: THE ONE WHO EATS THIS BREAD WILL LIVE FOREVER
58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors (hoi pateres –– the fathers –– ancestors) ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever."
As noted above, it was Jesus' listeners who first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Manna was not the true bread from heaven, but was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought again here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54) –– a quality of spiritual life that we can begin enjoying now rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus will define eternal life in terms of the relationship of the believer to the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God's help is nearer than the door.
William G. Benham
* * * * * * * * * *
It is impossible for that person to despair
who remembers that his helper is omnipotent.
Jeremy Taylor
* * * * * * * * * *
God is no distant deity but a constant reality,
a very present help whenever needs occur.
So? So live like it. And laugh like it!
(The apostle) Paul did.
While he lived, he drained very drop of joy
out of every day that passed.
Charles R. Swindoll
* * * * * * * * * *
O Lord, support us all the day long,
until the shadows lengthen
and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in Thy mercy grant us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest,
and peace at the last.
Book of Common Prayer
* * * * * * * * * *
God does not offer us a way out of testings of life.
He offers us a way through,
and that makes all the difference.
W. T. Purkiser
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
THE OLD TESTAMENT
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"You that are simple, turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
EXEGESIS:
THE CONTEXT
The book of Proverbs is generally considered to have eight sections, each introduced by a verse that usually gives the author of that particular collection. For instance, the first section begins with the words, "The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel" (1:1). The eight sections are as follows:
Chapters 1-9 (Solomon)
10:1 - 22:16 (Solomon)
22:17 - 24:22 (no attribution)
24:23-34 (sayings of the wise)
Chapters 25-29 (Solomon)
Chapter 30 (Agur son of Jakeh)
31:1-9 (King Lemuel)
31:10-31 (no attribution)
Proverbs 9, then, concludes the first section of the book, which contrasts wisdom and folly and the consequences that typically follow from each, as a way of preparing the reader for the wise sayings that follow, beginning in chapter 10.
Wisdom is personified as a woman here and elsewhere in Proverbs 1-9 (1:20-33; 3:13-20; 7:4; 8:1-36). It seems odd that, in a patriarchal society, scripture would present a woman as speaking and acting with Godly authority. However, "in languages that mark their nouns as masculine or feminine, that gender marking guided the poetic imagination in personifications" (Waltke, 83, citing Karl Brugman's findings).
Wisdom is the antithesis of the foolish "loose woman" or "adulteress" of 2:16-19; 5:3-14, 19, 20; 6:24-35; 7:1-27.
Lady Wisdom's words are reminiscent of the Deuteronomist and the prophets, but she speaks of wisdom versus foolishness instead of right living versus sinfulness. Wisdom, Deuteronomist, and prophets all spell out the consequences of right versus sinful living in the hope of persuading listeners to choose the right way instead of the sinful way.
In this chapter, Lady Wisdom (vv. 1-6) is contrasted with Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18). In the middle, (vv. 7-12) are a series of maxims that contrast the scoffer with the wise person –– encouraging the reader to choose wisdom. They repeat the signature verse of Proverbs, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (v. 10a; see also 1:7; 1:29; 2:5; 8:13; 10:27; 14:26; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 23:17).
VERSES 1-3: WISDOM CALLS OUT FROM THE HIGHEST PLACES IN TOWN
1Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
3She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"Wisdom has built her house" (v. 1a). In most societies, and especially in patriarchal societies, the building of a house would be the work of a man rather than a woman. Here, though, Lady Wisdom builds her house. We are reminded of the ideal woman presented in chapter 31, who "considers a field and buys it" (31:16) –– and "girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong" (31:17) –– and "opens her mouth with wisdom" (31:26).
"she has hewn her seven pillars" (v. 1b). This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who does not build her house but merely sits at its door (v. 14).
Scholars debate the meaning of these seven pillars. In the Bible, seven is an ideal number that symbolizes completeness or perfection. It was on the seventh day of creation that God rested, symbolizing the completion of the task (Genesis 2:2-3). Jewish law requires people to let the land to lie fallow every seven years (Leviticus 25:2-7). Solomon's temple had seven pillars (1 Kings 7:17).
The size of a house would dictate the number of pillars needed to support the roof. Waltke says that three would be typical (Waltke, 433), although some modest homes probably required none. A house so large as to require seven pillars would be a grand house indeed.
"She has slaughtered her animals; she has mixed her wine" (v. 2a). Like building a house, slaughtering animals would usually be a man's job, but Lady Wisdom isn't intimidated by difficult and messy work. Like the ideal woman of Proverbs 31, she is quite capable of doing what needs to be done.
Animals are good for more than meat. Some animals pull plows or provide milk or wool. Others provide eggs. In that culture, most people would count their livestock as a significant portion of their physical assets, so they would not casually slaughter an animal to eat. Lady Wisdom is providing abundant food for the banquet to which she intends to invite those in need of her instruction. This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who provides only "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"she has also set her table" (v. 2b). Her table is set with words of wisdom from this book –– proverbs and maxims that enable growth and prolong life. If we have any doubt that wisdom can be life-enhancing, we need only look at the many people in our communities who live foolishly and pay a terrible price for their foolishness.
"She has sent out her servant-girls" (v. 3a). That Lady Wisdom has servant girls suggests the kind of prosperity that would naturally result from wise living. There is no mention of servant girls in the verses about the Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18).
"she calls from the highest places in the town" (v. 3b). The highest places in town would typically be used for temples or palaces. Shouts from high places carry further than calls from low places. While the Foolish Woman is loud (v. 13), she issues her invitations from the door of her house (v. 14) –– surely in the lowest part of town.
VERSES 4-6: LAY ASIDE IMMATURITY, AND LIVE
4"You that are simple (Hebrew: peti), turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
5"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6Lay aside immaturity (Hebrew: peta'•yim), and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
"You that are simple (peti), turn in here!" (v. 4a). The peti are the foolish –– the simpleminded –– the naive –– the inexperienced –– the young (Baker & Carpenter, 930). The purpose of this book is "to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young" (1:4). Those who are already wise can also listen and learn (1:5), but it is the young and foolish who most desperately need wisdom for living.
"To those without sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed'" (v. 4b-5). Wisdom has set the table with the best of the best. She has shouted the invitation from the rooftops. She has sent servant-girls to call the simple to her banquet. Now it is up to those who have been called. Will they respond, or will they ignore the invitation? We can expect that some will ignore her, but others will respond.
Lady Wisdom's bread and wine contrast with the Foolish Woman's "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"Lay aside immaturity (peta'•yim), and live" (v. 6). Peta'•yim is related to peti in verse 4a. Verse 6, then, calls foolish, inexperienced young people to lay aside their foolishness and inexperience so that they might avoid the dangers that so often ensnare the young. The benefit of doing so is life. The way of life offered by Lady Wisdom contrasts with the way of death offered by the Foolish Woman, whose "guests are in the depths of Sheol" (v. 18).
"and walk in the way of insight" (v. 6b). When the peti –– those who are foolish, simpleminded, naive, and inexperienced –– accept Lady Wisdom's invitation, they will gain insight and cease to be foolish.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Baker, Warren and Carpenter, Eugene, The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2003)
Deane, W.J., The Pulpit Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. IX (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date)
Garrett , Duane A., New American Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. 14 (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993)
Horne, Milton P., Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Proverbs-Ecclesiastes (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 2003)
Hubbard, David A., The Preacher's Commentary: Proverbs (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)
Kidner, Derek, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Proverbs, Vol. 15 (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1964)
Murphy, R., and Huwiler, E., New International Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999)
Murphy, Roland E., Word Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Vol. 22 (Dallas: Word Publishing, Inc., 1998)
Perdue, Leo G., The Old Testament Library: Proverbs, (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2000)
Tucker, Gene M. in Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Van Leeuwen, Raymond C., The New Interpreter's Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the book of Wisdom, and Sirach, Vol. 5 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1997)
Waltke, Bruce K., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1-15 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004)
SermonWriter.com
FOR THE 11TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOS
PROPER 15, YEAR B
AUGUST 16, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 6:51-58
Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: CONTEXT
These verses constitute the ending of the Bread of Life Discourse (vv. 22-58), given at the synagogue in Capernaum (v. 59), Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The discourse follows the stories of the feeding of the five thousand (vv. 1-15) and Jesus walking on water (vv. 16-21).
The fact that Jesus delivers this discourse in his hometown makes it especially difficult for his listeners to accept his words –– provocative words and claims that appear to be exaggerated. Jesus' neighbors ask him for a validating sign, and mention Moses' gift of the manna in the desert as an example of the kind of sign that they expect (v. 31). Jesus corrects them –– "It was not Moses who gave you (past tense) the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you (present tense) the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). He then identifies himself as the bread of life (v. 35).
Jesus' listeners complain about his apparent grandiosity. How can this local boy, their neighbor, claim to be bread from heaven (v. 41)? How can his Father give them the true bread from heaven? They know his father, Joseph (v. 42) –– an ordinary carpenter –– not a baker of heavenly bread.
Jesus responds by making even bolder claims. The Israelites ate manna in the wilderness, but the manna sustained their lives for only a few years –– they are long since dead. By contrast, Jesus claims to be "the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51). Small wonder that these listeners find his words difficult!
VERSES 51-52: I AM THE LIVING BREAD
51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)." 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and thus represents a one-time action. To eat of this bread, in this context, means the once-and-for-all action of accepting or believing in Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). Jesus does not retreat from the offense of his words, but instead adds to it with his mention of flesh (sarx).
• This is sacrificial language. "In the larger narrative context, this refers to Jesus' body given on the cross for the sins of humanity" (Kostenberger, 215).
The Torah requires ritual sacrifices of animals, and specifies in detail how they are to be prepared and how their flesh is to be used. Some flesh is to be burned on the altar and other flesh is to be eaten. The gift of one's flesh is the most personal of all sacrifices that a person can make in behalf of another. In this instance, Jesus makes it in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb sacrificed to save the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12), a sacrifice which Israel commemorates annually.
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
• "God's salvation is often described in Scripture in terms of eating and drinking…, nowhere more impressively than in Isa 55, where the descent of the word from God's mouth is likened to that of rain and snow, which water the earth and make possible its production of bread (v. 10). This after the opening…invitation:
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. (Isa 55:1)" (Smith, 159-160).
"The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" (v. 52). This phrase, "the Jews," refers to the Jewish religious leaders, who are in most cases Jesus' opponents. "Flesh" is a provocative word, raising the specter of cannibalism. It is especially provocative in a culture that distinguishes so precisely between clean and unclean meat and emphasizes strict observance of dietary laws. The first consideration for any Jew, contemplating the eating of any flesh, would be whether that flesh is permitted or forbidden. No observant Jew would consider eating human flesh.
VERSE 53: UNLESS YOU EAT AND DRINK
53So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat (Greek: phagete) the flesh (Greek: sarka –– from sarx) of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
"Very truly, I tell you" (v. 53a). These words make emphatic that which follows.
"unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (v. 53b). The title, Son of Man, comes from Daniel 7:13, where God "delegated his power of absolution to a "Son of Man' who carries out his gracious will in the earthly sphere; therefore, 'upon the earth the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins" (Marcus, 223). (NOTE: Because of its inclusive language agenda, the NRSV translates the phrase in Daniel 7:13 as "human being" rather than "Son of Man." This is an especially unfortunate translation, given the significance of the title, Son of Man).
This title has the advantage of having none of the militaristic connotations associated with the title, Messiah. People expect the Messiah to raise an army, to drive out the Romans, and to re-establish the great Davidic kingdom. They have no such expectations regarding the Son of Man.
Jesus frequently refers to himself as Son of Man (1:51; 3:13; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23; 13:31). Only four times in the New Testament (John 12:34; Acts 7:56; Revelation 1:13; 14:14) does anyone other than Jesus use the phrase, and then always to refer to Jesus.
Guelich gives three possible meanings for the title, Son of Man (Guelich, 89-90). It might mean:
• Humanity in general
• "I who speak to you"
• It might be a Messianic title.
The first significant issue here is whether Jesus' words are Eucharistic in nature (referring to the Lord's Supper) or simply incarnational/sacrificial (referring to the incarnation and the cross). The question is significant. Is Jesus emphasizing participation in the Eucharist here? Should a sermon based on this text emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper? Scholars are divided on this question, and raise a number of points for consideration –– three of which favor not emphasizing participation in the Eucharist:
• First, the word "flesh" (sarx) in verse 51c is unusual. In all of the accounts of the institution of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24), the word is "body" (soma) –– not "flesh" (sarx). However, Raymond Brown questions the validity of this argument, noting that "there is really no Hebrew or Aramaic word for 'body,' as we understand the term; and many scholars maintain that at the Last Supper what Jesus actually said was the Aramaic equivalent of 'This is my flesh' " (Brown, 285).
• Second, the word "flesh" brings to mind, not the Lord's Supper, but the Incarnation –– "And the Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). It could be that the emphasis of 6:51-58 is incarnational rather than Eucharistic.
• Third, in verse 47, Jesus established belief as the condition for receiving eternal life. In verse 53, his language changes, and eating his flesh and drinking his blood become the condition for receiving eternal life. If we interpret this eating and drinking to be participation in the Eucharist, it sounds as if any person who partakes of the bread and wine is guaranteed salvation regardless of any other consideration, such as belief or baptism. It is difficult, based on our reading of other New Testament passages, to believe that could be the case.
• Jesus' listeners would not have understood Jesus to be referring to a sacramental feast.
However, other considerations favor a Eucharistic interpretation –– suggesting that Jesus is speaking, at least in part, about participation in the Lord's Supper:
• The crowd's mention of manna ("bread from heaven") as the kind of sign that they expect Jesus to perform (v. 31) constitutes the background of 6:51. Jesus responds by identifying himself as "the bread of life" (v. 35) and "the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51). He then says, "and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51c). The language seems Eucharistic at this point.
• The Gospel of John does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, but instead tells only the story of the foot washing (13:1-20). Some scholars think of 6:51-58 as the Johannine equivalent of the institution of the Lord's Supper.
• At the beginning of this Bread of Life discourse, John establishes that the Passover is near (6:4). This is significant, because the Passover ritual involves the sacrifice and eating of the Pascal (Passover) lamb. Earlier in this Gospel, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (1:29), and the Lord's Supper in the Synoptics is a Passover meal. The Passover context, then, gives Jesus' words a decidedly Eucharistic flavor.
• "John may expect his readers to read Jesus' words in light of the church's observance of the Lord's Supper, though not necessarily in a sacramental sense" (Kostenberger, 217).
I conclude that incarnational, sacrificial, and Eucharistic emphases are intertwined in 6:22-58, and that the emphasis shifts to favor the Eucharistic at verse 51c. If this is correct, it is appropriate, perhaps even important, to emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper when preaching from this text.
A second significant issue has to do with the relationship of belief and eating and drinking as requirements for receiving eternal life. Jesus first establishes belief as a requirement (v. 40), and then establishes eating and drinking as a requirement (v. 53). Do these function independently? Are we saved either by belief or by eating/drinking –– or are both required? O'Day concludes that these are also intertwined. "Participation in the eucharist and the faith decision are parallel in the Fourth Gospel, not either/or acts" (O'Day, 608).
We should note two things that were happening at the time of the writing of this Gospel that might have influenced the author to emphasize the eating of Jesus flesh and the drinking of his blood:
• The first was the influence of Docetic and Gnostic heresies, both of which considered flesh to be evil and denied that Christ could have a physical body. 6:53ff. emphasizes the physical nature of his body –– perhaps, in part, to counter these heresies.
• The second was Jewish discrimination against Christian believers. Christians who observed the Lord's Supper were likely to be banned from synagogues. It is possible that, by emphasizing the Lord's Supper as a requirement for receiving eternal life, the author intends to push fence-straddlers off the fence. Such participation is important, not only for their personal religious lives, but also as a visible witness to their faith. As Paul says, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
VERSE 54-55: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK HAVE ETERNAL LIFE
54Those who eat (Greek: trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life" (v. 54a). Jesus shifts from the polite word for eating (phage) to a much coarser word (trogan) ––munch –– a word more commonly used for animals munching on their feed. Trogan, like sarx, is provocative –– designed to get attention. Jesus will continue to use trogan through the rest of this discourse.
"The command to 'munch' is literal, but the flesh that is eaten is not" (Howard-Brook, 165).
As noted above, observant Jews would find the talk of eating human flesh abhorrent. Leviticus 17:10-14 also prohibits the consumption of blood.
"have eternal life" (v. 54a). The promise is not only eternal life (available now –– realized eschatology) but also resurrection (available only later –– final eschatology) (Brown, 292).
Jesus flesh and blood are true food and drink, bringing us sustenance at the deepest level of our being, in contrast with manna, which fed only the body.
In our culture, we are bombarded by advertisements for things as diverse as toothpaste and sports cars, each claiming to meet our deepest needs. Such claims are empty, and ultimately disappoint. However, when we believe in Jesus and partake of his flesh and blood, he strengthens and sustains us in ways that nothing else can.
However important the Eucharist might be, it is one of the means by which we experience the presence of God. "The true sustenance and refreshment of our spiritual life are to be found… in all ways in which his people feed on him by faith –– not only at the Holy Table, but in reading and hearing the Word of God, or in private or united prayer and meditation" (Bruce, 160).
"and I will raise them up on the last day" (v. 54b). "The continuing reference to Christ's raising up the believer at the last day is interesting. There may be more to eternal life than life in the age to come, but life in that age is certainly prominent" (Morris, 336).
"for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink" (v. 55). Earlier in this discourse, Jesus told the people who had experienced the feeding of the 5000, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 24-25). The manna that their ancestors experienced in the wilderness was not true food –– did not give them life (v. 49). The bread that Jesus used to feed the 5000 on the mountaintop was something less than true bread, because it satisfied the people's hunger only momentarily. By way of contrast, Jesus' flesh and blood are true food because "whoever eats of this bread will live forever" (v. 51) –– and "have (present tense) eternal life" (v. 54).
VERSE 56: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK ABIDE
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them.
The promise to those who eat and drink is that they abide in Jesus and Jesus in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• In his High Priestly Prayer, he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21). While the word, meno, is not found in this prayer, the concept of deep relationship is.
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
VERSE 57: WHOEVER EATS ME WILL LIVE BECAUSE OF ME
57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me.
The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old Testament and New Testament, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats him (believes in him/ accepts him/participates in the Eucharist) will live. As the Father gave him life, so he gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
VERSE 58: THE ONE WHO EATS THIS BREAD WILL LIVE FOREVER
58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors (hoi pateres –– the fathers –– ancestors) ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever."
As noted above, it was Jesus' listeners who first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Manna was not the true bread from heaven, but was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought again here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54) –– a quality of spiritual life that we can begin enjoying now rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus will define eternal life in terms of the relationship of the believer to the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God's help is nearer than the door.
William G. Benham
* * * * * * * * * *
It is impossible for that person to despair
who remembers that his helper is omnipotent.
Jeremy Taylor
* * * * * * * * * *
God is no distant deity but a constant reality,
a very present help whenever needs occur.
So? So live like it. And laugh like it!
(The apostle) Paul did.
While he lived, he drained very drop of joy
out of every day that passed.
Charles R. Swindoll
* * * * * * * * * *
O Lord, support us all the day long,
until the shadows lengthen
and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in Thy mercy grant us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest,
and peace at the last.
Book of Common Prayer
* * * * * * * * * *
God does not offer us a way out of testings of life.
He offers us a way through,
and that makes all the difference.
W. T. Purkiser
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
THE OLD TESTAMENT
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"You that are simple, turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
EXEGESIS:
THE CONTEXT
The book of Proverbs is generally considered to have eight sections, each introduced by a verse that usually gives the author of that particular collection. For instance, the first section begins with the words, "The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel" (1:1). The eight sections are as follows:
Chapters 1-9 (Solomon)
10:1 - 22:16 (Solomon)
22:17 - 24:22 (no attribution)
24:23-34 (sayings of the wise)
Chapters 25-29 (Solomon)
Chapter 30 (Agur son of Jakeh)
31:1-9 (King Lemuel)
31:10-31 (no attribution)
Proverbs 9, then, concludes the first section of the book, which contrasts wisdom and folly and the consequences that typically follow from each, as a way of preparing the reader for the wise sayings that follow, beginning in chapter 10.
Wisdom is personified as a woman here and elsewhere in Proverbs 1-9 (1:20-33; 3:13-20; 7:4; 8:1-36). It seems odd that, in a patriarchal society, scripture would present a woman as speaking and acting with Godly authority. However, "in languages that mark their nouns as masculine or feminine, that gender marking guided the poetic imagination in personifications" (Waltke, 83, citing Karl Brugman's findings).
Wisdom is the antithesis of the foolish "loose woman" or "adulteress" of 2:16-19; 5:3-14, 19, 20; 6:24-35; 7:1-27.
Lady Wisdom's words are reminiscent of the Deuteronomist and the prophets, but she speaks of wisdom versus foolishness instead of right living versus sinfulness. Wisdom, Deuteronomist, and prophets all spell out the consequences of right versus sinful living in the hope of persuading listeners to choose the right way instead of the sinful way.
In this chapter, Lady Wisdom (vv. 1-6) is contrasted with Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18). In the middle, (vv. 7-12) are a series of maxims that contrast the scoffer with the wise person –– encouraging the reader to choose wisdom. They repeat the signature verse of Proverbs, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (v. 10a; see also 1:7; 1:29; 2:5; 8:13; 10:27; 14:26; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 23:17).
VERSES 1-3: WISDOM CALLS OUT FROM THE HIGHEST PLACES IN TOWN
1Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
3She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"Wisdom has built her house" (v. 1a). In most societies, and especially in patriarchal societies, the building of a house would be the work of a man rather than a woman. Here, though, Lady Wisdom builds her house. We are reminded of the ideal woman presented in chapter 31, who "considers a field and buys it" (31:16) –– and "girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong" (31:17) –– and "opens her mouth with wisdom" (31:26).
"she has hewn her seven pillars" (v. 1b). This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who does not build her house but merely sits at its door (v. 14).
Scholars debate the meaning of these seven pillars. In the Bible, seven is an ideal number that symbolizes completeness or perfection. It was on the seventh day of creation that God rested, symbolizing the completion of the task (Genesis 2:2-3). Jewish law requires people to let the land to lie fallow every seven years (Leviticus 25:2-7). Solomon's temple had seven pillars (1 Kings 7:17).
The size of a house would dictate the number of pillars needed to support the roof. Waltke says that three would be typical (Waltke, 433), although some modest homes probably required none. A house so large as to require seven pillars would be a grand house indeed.
"She has slaughtered her animals; she has mixed her wine" (v. 2a). Like building a house, slaughtering animals would usually be a man's job, but Lady Wisdom isn't intimidated by difficult and messy work. Like the ideal woman of Proverbs 31, she is quite capable of doing what needs to be done.
Animals are good for more than meat. Some animals pull plows or provide milk or wool. Others provide eggs. In that culture, most people would count their livestock as a significant portion of their physical assets, so they would not casually slaughter an animal to eat. Lady Wisdom is providing abundant food for the banquet to which she intends to invite those in need of her instruction. This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who provides only "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"she has also set her table" (v. 2b). Her table is set with words of wisdom from this book –– proverbs and maxims that enable growth and prolong life. If we have any doubt that wisdom can be life-enhancing, we need only look at the many people in our communities who live foolishly and pay a terrible price for their foolishness.
"She has sent out her servant-girls" (v. 3a). That Lady Wisdom has servant girls suggests the kind of prosperity that would naturally result from wise living. There is no mention of servant girls in the verses about the Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18).
"she calls from the highest places in the town" (v. 3b). The highest places in town would typically be used for temples or palaces. Shouts from high places carry further than calls from low places. While the Foolish Woman is loud (v. 13), she issues her invitations from the door of her house (v. 14) –– surely in the lowest part of town.
VERSES 4-6: LAY ASIDE IMMATURITY, AND LIVE
4"You that are simple (Hebrew: peti), turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
5"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6Lay aside immaturity (Hebrew: peta'•yim), and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
"You that are simple (peti), turn in here!" (v. 4a). The peti are the foolish –– the simpleminded –– the naive –– the inexperienced –– the young (Baker & Carpenter, 930). The purpose of this book is "to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young" (1:4). Those who are already wise can also listen and learn (1:5), but it is the young and foolish who most desperately need wisdom for living.
"To those without sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed'" (v. 4b-5). Wisdom has set the table with the best of the best. She has shouted the invitation from the rooftops. She has sent servant-girls to call the simple to her banquet. Now it is up to those who have been called. Will they respond, or will they ignore the invitation? We can expect that some will ignore her, but others will respond.
Lady Wisdom's bread and wine contrast with the Foolish Woman's "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"Lay aside immaturity (peta'•yim), and live" (v. 6). Peta'•yim is related to peti in verse 4a. Verse 6, then, calls foolish, inexperienced young people to lay aside their foolishness and inexperience so that they might avoid the dangers that so often ensnare the young. The benefit of doing so is life. The way of life offered by Lady Wisdom contrasts with the way of death offered by the Foolish Woman, whose "guests are in the depths of Sheol" (v. 18).
"and walk in the way of insight" (v. 6b). When the peti –– those who are foolish, simpleminded, naive, and inexperienced –– accept Lady Wisdom's invitation, they will gain insight and cease to be foolish.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Baker, Warren and Carpenter, Eugene, The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2003)
Deane, W.J., The Pulpit Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. IX (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date)
Garrett , Duane A., New American Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. 14 (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993)
Horne, Milton P., Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Proverbs-Ecclesiastes (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 2003)
Hubbard, David A., The Preacher's Commentary: Proverbs (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)
Kidner, Derek, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Proverbs, Vol. 15 (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1964)
Murphy, R., and Huwiler, E., New International Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999)
Murphy, Roland E., Word Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Vol. 22 (Dallas: Word Publishing, Inc., 1998)
Perdue, Leo G., The Old Testament Library: Proverbs, (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2000)
Tucker, Gene M. in Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Van Leeuwen, Raymond C., The New Interpreter's Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the book of Wisdom, and Sirach, Vol. 5 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1997)
Waltke, Bruce K., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1-15 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004)
SermonWriter.com
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
August 9, 2009 - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture Study
AUGUST 9, 2009
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Old Testament
1 Kings 19:4-8
Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
The Psalm
Psalm 34:1-8 Page 627, BCP
Benedicam Dominum
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;
let us exalt his Name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the LORD heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are they who trust in him!
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 6:35, 41-51
Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: BACKGROUND
"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (v. 35). Jesus has just fed five thousand people (vv. 1-15), but the crowd failed to see the significance of the miracle and responded only to the free lunch. Jesus counsels, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 26-27). Jesus offers to meet their deepest needs, but they cannot see beyond their bellies.
The crowd asks, "What must we do to perform the works (plural) of God?" Jesus answers, "This is the work (singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (vv. 28-29). The crowd is asking how to fulfill the requirements of the law, but Jesus responds with the simple requirement that they believe in him.
The crowd, sensing the radical nature of Jesus' answer, asks Jesus to validate his claims. "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (vv. 30-31). They make no mention of the fact that Jesus has just fed five thousand people.
Jesus corrects them. It was not Moses, but God, who gave the Israelites bread from heaven, "but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). Unlike the manna that sustained physical life only –– for the Israelites only–– and for a short time only –– the bread of God "gives life to the world" (v. 33). The people respond, "Sir, give us this bread always" (v. 34).
VERSE 35: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The crowd failed to understand when Jesus spoke of "the bread of God (that) comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (v. 33), so Jesus makes his meaning clear. "I am the bread of life," he says (v. 35).
This is the first of a series of "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi) sayings in this Gospel that remind us of the burning bush story. When Moses asked God his name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). "I am," of course, can be simple self-identification, but in John's Gospel it clearly means more. The "I AM" sayings in this Gospel are as follows:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel…. Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
VERSES 41-42: THEN THE JEWS BEGAN TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HIM
41Then the Jews began to complain (Greek: egonguzon –– from gonguzo) about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
"Then the Jews began to complain about him" (v. 41a). In this Gospel, the phrase, "the Jews," most often refers to Judeans in opposition to Jesus (2:18 ff; 5:10 ff; 6:41 ff; 7:11 ff; 8:31 ff; 9:18 ff; 10:19 ff; 11:8, 54; 18:31 ff; 19:7ff; 20:19). However, in this story, Jesus is in Capernaum (6:24-25), so "the Jews" could be Galilean religious leaders.
They "begin to complain" (egonguzon) (v. 41a). This is the same word used in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) of the Israelites who complained about God's apparent failure to provide adequately for them in the wilderness (Exodus. 15:24; 16:2, 7-17; Numbers 11:1). Given the mention of manna in this passage (v. 31), the parallel between those who complained about manna and these who complain about the bread of life can hardly be coincidental. Jesus' critics manifest the same lack of faith as the critics of Moses (and God) so many centuries earlier.
The Israelites were famous complainers, but they are hardly alone. We are all tempted to feel abandoned when life becomes difficult –– and to challenge the scriptures and historical Christian beliefs when they run counter to popular culture –– and to complain when God fails to meet our expectations.
"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?" (v. 42a). Jesus is in Galilee –– in the city of Capernaum, his home as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The local folks can hardly contain themselves when Jesus claims to be the "bread of life" (v. 35) who has "come down from heaven" (v. 38). They know his father and mother (v. 42), and think of him as just another local boy –– one with unusual promise if the tales told about him prove to be true –– but a local boy nevertheless.
"How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'" (v. 42b). These people can remember when Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. How can he claim to have "come down from heaven" (vv. 38, 42)?
Some scholars accuse the Capernaum people of misquoting Jesus here, but they have pieced together what Jesus said in verses 35 and 38 with reasonable integrity.
We should not wonder that these people would question Jesus' claims. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic –– on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg–– or else he'd be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse" (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity).
Paul speaks of the offense (Greek: skandalon –– stumbling block) of the cross (Galatians 5:11), and the cross is surely a skandalon to anyone who expects God to behave in keeping with his stature. But the incarnation is also a skandalon –– perhaps an even greater skandalon.
This Gospel leaves the nativity story to the Synoptics and, instead, tells us Jesus' true origins in 1:1-18. He is only incidentally from Bethlehem and Nazareth and Capernaum, but is really the Son of God from heaven. In their focus on what seems obvious about Jesus, these people miss that which is most significant about him.
VERSES 43-47: NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS DRAWN BY THE FATHER
43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.
"Do not complain among yourselves" (v. 43). Jesus does not address the crowd's complaints directly, but simply tells the people not to complain. Then he continues his discourse in an even more provocative tone –– one that even his disciples find difficult to accept (vv. 60-66).
"No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me" (v. 44a). This fits with his earlier words, "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me" (v. 37a) to show that salvation depends on God's initiative. Also, "this 'drawing' is selective, or else the negative note in v. 44 is meaningless. Many attempt to dilute the force of the claim by referring to 12:32, where the same verb for 'to draw' (helkyo) occurs: Jesus there claims he will draw 'all men' to himself. The context shows rather clearly, however, that 12:32 refers to 'all men without distinction' (i.e. not just Jews) rather than to 'all men without exception'" (Carson, 293).
This word, "drawn," has inspired debate between those representing Calvinist and Arminian theologies. The former, favoring predestination, emphasize the power of God to draw people to himself. The latter, favoring free will, emphasize the necessity of belief on the part of those drawn to God. Perhaps a middle position would be best –– a position "that maintains the biblical tension of the divine and human aspects of salvation found in this text. Salvation is never achieved apart from the drawing power of God, and it is never consummated apart from the willingness of humans to hear and learn from God" (Borchert, 268).
Barclay notes that this word, drawn, "almost always implies some kind of resistance. It is the word for drawing a heavily laden net to the shore (John 21:6, 11). It is the word that is used of Paul and Silas being dragged before the magistrates in Philippi (Acts 16:19)…. Always there is this idea of resistance. God can and does draw men, but man's resistance can defeat the pull of God" (Barclay, 226).
"and I will raise that person up on the last day" (v. 44b). This is the great promise –– and is the third of four instances in this discourse in which Jesus promises resurrection to believers (vv. 39, 40, 54).
"It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God'" (v. 45a). The quotation paraphrases Isaiah 54:13, where the prophet assures the people of Jerusalem, newly returned from the Babylonian exile, that God will instruct their children (see also Jeremiah 31:31-34). Later in this Gospel, Jesus will tell his disciples that "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (14:26) –– and that "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (16:13).
"Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me" (v. 45b). Jesus states again the role of the Father's initiative in the salvation enterprise. "The focus here is on the fact that 'all' will be taught by God and that 'everyone' truly receptive to divine revelation will come to Jesus –– not merely Jews (cf. 11:51-52; 12:32)" (Kostenberger, 214).
"Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father" (v. 46). Exodus tells of Moses hiding his face, because he was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:6) –– and being permitted to see God's back but not God's face (Exodus 33:22-23). Looking on God's holiness is too much for mortals. It is different, however, for the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God (1:1). This "Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14) to make known the God whom no one else has ever seen (1:18).
"Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life" (v. 47). Jesus has emphasized the role of the Father's initiative in salvation (vv. 44-46), but now he emphasizes the role of the believer. Even though the Father draws (v. 44) and teaches (vv. 45-46), the drawing and teaching require a believing response.
The reward of belief is eternal life (v. 47). The believer has (present tense) eternal life. In this Gospel, eternal life is a quality of life that we possess in the present (3:36a) and will possess even more fully in the future. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus defines eternal life in terms of relationship with the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3). Eternal life is the opposite of eternal condemnation (3:14-18; 5:29) and includes the promise of life free from death (6:50-51; 10:28).
VERSES 48-51: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage –– aorist of esthio) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)."
"Verses 32-35 have been replicated by 48-51, but with the introduction of the graphic concept 'my flesh' " (Sloyan, 71).
Jesus reiterates, "I am the bread of life" (v. 47; see also v. 35), and contrasts this bread with the manna eaten by the Israelites in the wilderness. The people spoke of "our ancestors" in verse 30, but Jesus speaks of "your ancestors" (v. 49), drawing a distinction between himself and these people. The Israelites are Jesus' ancestors too, because he is from the house of David. This Gospel, however, leaves such language to the Synoptics. The Word is from God and is therefore unique.
"Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died" (v. 49). The manna sustained Israel for a while in the wilderness, but then they died. Because of their lack of faith, they died in the wilderness without ever seeing the Promised Land (Numbers 14:22-23).
"This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die" (v. 50). Jesus contrasts the bread that he offers, which leads to eternal life, with the bread of their ancestors, who died in the wilderness without having seen the Promised Land. The death that the Israelites experienced in the wilderness was physical death, but "the Rabbis believed that the fathers who died in the wilderness not only missed the promised land, but that they also missed the life to come" (Barclay, 226). Jesus, of course, speaks of spiritual life when he promises that the one who eats of the bread that comes down from heaven will not die.
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and therefore represents an action that occurs and then stops. To eat of this bread, in this instance, is a metaphor for the once-for-all-time acceptance of Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). This is sacrificial language –– the gift of one's flesh is the greatest and most personal of all sacrifices. In this instance, Jesus makes his sacrifice in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb, sacrificed for the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12).
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
The word, "flesh" (as compared with "body") is earthy and provocative:
• Torah law prescribed that Israelites should eat the flesh only of clean animals, which the law defined in great detail (Leviticus 11:1-3). Any mention of eating flesh would immediately raise the issue of the ritual cleanliness of the flesh in question.
• At the time of the writing of this Gospel, the Gnostic movement, which considered flesh (and all physical matter) as evil, was a substantial threat to the church. This Gospel's claim that "the Word became flesh and dwelled among us" (1:14) is intended, in part, to refute Gnosticism.
• However, in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit" (3:6), emphasizing that physical birth must be succeeded by spiritual birth –– and Jesus will also say, "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (6:63).
• "Many commentators speak as though the word 'flesh' self-evidently marked a reference to Holy Communion. It, of course, does nothing of the sort. The word is not found in the narratives of the institution, nor in 1 Corinthians 10 or 11 in connection with the sacrament…. The usual word in sacramental usage is 'body'" (Morris, 331-332).
In fact, for reasons that we do not understand, this is the only Gospel that does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper (see Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-23).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
No person in this world attains to freedom from any slavery
except by entrance into some higher servitude.
There is no such thing as an entirely free person conceivable.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
Christians today bear little resemblance to those of the first century.
We twentieth-century Christians have become soft.
We have become absorbed with the world,
until it is now difficult to tell the difference
between the Christian and the worldling.
The Bible teaches that every Christian is to live a life of self-discipline.
We Christians need to tighten our belts
and harden ourselves for the trials that lie ahead.
Billy Graham
* * * * * * * * * *
Self-discipline never means giving up anything ––
for giving up is a loss.
Our Lord did not ask us to give up the things of earth,
but to exchange them for better things.
Fulton J. Sheen
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard N. Donovan, SermonWriter.com
AUGUST 9, 2009
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Old Testament
1 Kings 19:4-8
Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
The Psalm
Psalm 34:1-8 Page 627, BCP
Benedicam Dominum
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;
let us exalt his Name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the LORD heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are they who trust in him!
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 6:35, 41-51
Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: BACKGROUND
"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (v. 35). Jesus has just fed five thousand people (vv. 1-15), but the crowd failed to see the significance of the miracle and responded only to the free lunch. Jesus counsels, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 26-27). Jesus offers to meet their deepest needs, but they cannot see beyond their bellies.
The crowd asks, "What must we do to perform the works (plural) of God?" Jesus answers, "This is the work (singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (vv. 28-29). The crowd is asking how to fulfill the requirements of the law, but Jesus responds with the simple requirement that they believe in him.
The crowd, sensing the radical nature of Jesus' answer, asks Jesus to validate his claims. "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (vv. 30-31). They make no mention of the fact that Jesus has just fed five thousand people.
Jesus corrects them. It was not Moses, but God, who gave the Israelites bread from heaven, "but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). Unlike the manna that sustained physical life only –– for the Israelites only–– and for a short time only –– the bread of God "gives life to the world" (v. 33). The people respond, "Sir, give us this bread always" (v. 34).
VERSE 35: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The crowd failed to understand when Jesus spoke of "the bread of God (that) comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (v. 33), so Jesus makes his meaning clear. "I am the bread of life," he says (v. 35).
This is the first of a series of "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi) sayings in this Gospel that remind us of the burning bush story. When Moses asked God his name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). "I am," of course, can be simple self-identification, but in John's Gospel it clearly means more. The "I AM" sayings in this Gospel are as follows:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel…. Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
VERSES 41-42: THEN THE JEWS BEGAN TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HIM
41Then the Jews began to complain (Greek: egonguzon –– from gonguzo) about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
"Then the Jews began to complain about him" (v. 41a). In this Gospel, the phrase, "the Jews," most often refers to Judeans in opposition to Jesus (2:18 ff; 5:10 ff; 6:41 ff; 7:11 ff; 8:31 ff; 9:18 ff; 10:19 ff; 11:8, 54; 18:31 ff; 19:7ff; 20:19). However, in this story, Jesus is in Capernaum (6:24-25), so "the Jews" could be Galilean religious leaders.
They "begin to complain" (egonguzon) (v. 41a). This is the same word used in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) of the Israelites who complained about God's apparent failure to provide adequately for them in the wilderness (Exodus. 15:24; 16:2, 7-17; Numbers 11:1). Given the mention of manna in this passage (v. 31), the parallel between those who complained about manna and these who complain about the bread of life can hardly be coincidental. Jesus' critics manifest the same lack of faith as the critics of Moses (and God) so many centuries earlier.
The Israelites were famous complainers, but they are hardly alone. We are all tempted to feel abandoned when life becomes difficult –– and to challenge the scriptures and historical Christian beliefs when they run counter to popular culture –– and to complain when God fails to meet our expectations.
"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?" (v. 42a). Jesus is in Galilee –– in the city of Capernaum, his home as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The local folks can hardly contain themselves when Jesus claims to be the "bread of life" (v. 35) who has "come down from heaven" (v. 38). They know his father and mother (v. 42), and think of him as just another local boy –– one with unusual promise if the tales told about him prove to be true –– but a local boy nevertheless.
"How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'" (v. 42b). These people can remember when Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. How can he claim to have "come down from heaven" (vv. 38, 42)?
Some scholars accuse the Capernaum people of misquoting Jesus here, but they have pieced together what Jesus said in verses 35 and 38 with reasonable integrity.
We should not wonder that these people would question Jesus' claims. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic –– on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg–– or else he'd be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse" (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity).
Paul speaks of the offense (Greek: skandalon –– stumbling block) of the cross (Galatians 5:11), and the cross is surely a skandalon to anyone who expects God to behave in keeping with his stature. But the incarnation is also a skandalon –– perhaps an even greater skandalon.
This Gospel leaves the nativity story to the Synoptics and, instead, tells us Jesus' true origins in 1:1-18. He is only incidentally from Bethlehem and Nazareth and Capernaum, but is really the Son of God from heaven. In their focus on what seems obvious about Jesus, these people miss that which is most significant about him.
VERSES 43-47: NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS DRAWN BY THE FATHER
43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.
"Do not complain among yourselves" (v. 43). Jesus does not address the crowd's complaints directly, but simply tells the people not to complain. Then he continues his discourse in an even more provocative tone –– one that even his disciples find difficult to accept (vv. 60-66).
"No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me" (v. 44a). This fits with his earlier words, "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me" (v. 37a) to show that salvation depends on God's initiative. Also, "this 'drawing' is selective, or else the negative note in v. 44 is meaningless. Many attempt to dilute the force of the claim by referring to 12:32, where the same verb for 'to draw' (helkyo) occurs: Jesus there claims he will draw 'all men' to himself. The context shows rather clearly, however, that 12:32 refers to 'all men without distinction' (i.e. not just Jews) rather than to 'all men without exception'" (Carson, 293).
This word, "drawn," has inspired debate between those representing Calvinist and Arminian theologies. The former, favoring predestination, emphasize the power of God to draw people to himself. The latter, favoring free will, emphasize the necessity of belief on the part of those drawn to God. Perhaps a middle position would be best –– a position "that maintains the biblical tension of the divine and human aspects of salvation found in this text. Salvation is never achieved apart from the drawing power of God, and it is never consummated apart from the willingness of humans to hear and learn from God" (Borchert, 268).
Barclay notes that this word, drawn, "almost always implies some kind of resistance. It is the word for drawing a heavily laden net to the shore (John 21:6, 11). It is the word that is used of Paul and Silas being dragged before the magistrates in Philippi (Acts 16:19)…. Always there is this idea of resistance. God can and does draw men, but man's resistance can defeat the pull of God" (Barclay, 226).
"and I will raise that person up on the last day" (v. 44b). This is the great promise –– and is the third of four instances in this discourse in which Jesus promises resurrection to believers (vv. 39, 40, 54).
"It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God'" (v. 45a). The quotation paraphrases Isaiah 54:13, where the prophet assures the people of Jerusalem, newly returned from the Babylonian exile, that God will instruct their children (see also Jeremiah 31:31-34). Later in this Gospel, Jesus will tell his disciples that "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (14:26) –– and that "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (16:13).
"Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me" (v. 45b). Jesus states again the role of the Father's initiative in the salvation enterprise. "The focus here is on the fact that 'all' will be taught by God and that 'everyone' truly receptive to divine revelation will come to Jesus –– not merely Jews (cf. 11:51-52; 12:32)" (Kostenberger, 214).
"Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father" (v. 46). Exodus tells of Moses hiding his face, because he was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:6) –– and being permitted to see God's back but not God's face (Exodus 33:22-23). Looking on God's holiness is too much for mortals. It is different, however, for the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God (1:1). This "Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14) to make known the God whom no one else has ever seen (1:18).
"Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life" (v. 47). Jesus has emphasized the role of the Father's initiative in salvation (vv. 44-46), but now he emphasizes the role of the believer. Even though the Father draws (v. 44) and teaches (vv. 45-46), the drawing and teaching require a believing response.
The reward of belief is eternal life (v. 47). The believer has (present tense) eternal life. In this Gospel, eternal life is a quality of life that we possess in the present (3:36a) and will possess even more fully in the future. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus defines eternal life in terms of relationship with the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3). Eternal life is the opposite of eternal condemnation (3:14-18; 5:29) and includes the promise of life free from death (6:50-51; 10:28).
VERSES 48-51: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage –– aorist of esthio) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)."
"Verses 32-35 have been replicated by 48-51, but with the introduction of the graphic concept 'my flesh' " (Sloyan, 71).
Jesus reiterates, "I am the bread of life" (v. 47; see also v. 35), and contrasts this bread with the manna eaten by the Israelites in the wilderness. The people spoke of "our ancestors" in verse 30, but Jesus speaks of "your ancestors" (v. 49), drawing a distinction between himself and these people. The Israelites are Jesus' ancestors too, because he is from the house of David. This Gospel, however, leaves such language to the Synoptics. The Word is from God and is therefore unique.
"Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died" (v. 49). The manna sustained Israel for a while in the wilderness, but then they died. Because of their lack of faith, they died in the wilderness without ever seeing the Promised Land (Numbers 14:22-23).
"This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die" (v. 50). Jesus contrasts the bread that he offers, which leads to eternal life, with the bread of their ancestors, who died in the wilderness without having seen the Promised Land. The death that the Israelites experienced in the wilderness was physical death, but "the Rabbis believed that the fathers who died in the wilderness not only missed the promised land, but that they also missed the life to come" (Barclay, 226). Jesus, of course, speaks of spiritual life when he promises that the one who eats of the bread that comes down from heaven will not die.
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and therefore represents an action that occurs and then stops. To eat of this bread, in this instance, is a metaphor for the once-for-all-time acceptance of Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). This is sacrificial language –– the gift of one's flesh is the greatest and most personal of all sacrifices. In this instance, Jesus makes his sacrifice in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb, sacrificed for the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12).
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
The word, "flesh" (as compared with "body") is earthy and provocative:
• Torah law prescribed that Israelites should eat the flesh only of clean animals, which the law defined in great detail (Leviticus 11:1-3). Any mention of eating flesh would immediately raise the issue of the ritual cleanliness of the flesh in question.
• At the time of the writing of this Gospel, the Gnostic movement, which considered flesh (and all physical matter) as evil, was a substantial threat to the church. This Gospel's claim that "the Word became flesh and dwelled among us" (1:14) is intended, in part, to refute Gnosticism.
• However, in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit" (3:6), emphasizing that physical birth must be succeeded by spiritual birth –– and Jesus will also say, "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (6:63).
• "Many commentators speak as though the word 'flesh' self-evidently marked a reference to Holy Communion. It, of course, does nothing of the sort. The word is not found in the narratives of the institution, nor in 1 Corinthians 10 or 11 in connection with the sacrament…. The usual word in sacramental usage is 'body'" (Morris, 331-332).
In fact, for reasons that we do not understand, this is the only Gospel that does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper (see Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-23).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
No person in this world attains to freedom from any slavery
except by entrance into some higher servitude.
There is no such thing as an entirely free person conceivable.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
Christians today bear little resemblance to those of the first century.
We twentieth-century Christians have become soft.
We have become absorbed with the world,
until it is now difficult to tell the difference
between the Christian and the worldling.
The Bible teaches that every Christian is to live a life of self-discipline.
We Christians need to tighten our belts
and harden ourselves for the trials that lie ahead.
Billy Graham
* * * * * * * * * *
Self-discipline never means giving up anything ––
for giving up is a loss.
Our Lord did not ask us to give up the things of earth,
but to exchange them for better things.
Fulton J. Sheen
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard N. Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Thursday, July 30, 2009
August 2, 2009 - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to August 3
Proper 13
Year B
RCL
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm 78:23-29
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35
The Collect
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Exodus 16:2-4,9-15
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, `Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."
The Psalm
Psalm 78:23-29 Page 696, BCP
Attendite, popule
23
So he commanded the clouds above *
and opened the doors of heaven.
24
He rained down manna upon them to eat *
and gave them grain from heaven.
25
So mortals ate the bread of angels; *
he provided for them food enough.
26
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens *
and led out the south wind by his might.
27
He rained down flesh upon them like dust *
and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
28
He let it fall in the midst of their camp *
and round about their dwellings.
29
So they ate and were well filled, *
for he gave them what they craved.
Ephesians 4:1-16
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said,
"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people."
(When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.
John 6:24-35
The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 22-23: THE CONTEXT
21Then (the disciples) wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going. 22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
This chapter opens with the feeding of the five thousand (vv. 1-15) and continues with Jesus walking on the water (vv. 16-21) and the crowd realizing that Jesus has departed (vv. 22-23).
Verses 21-23 are draw attention to a miracle that speaks to Jesus' identity. In the "walking on water" miracle, Jesus came to the disciples in their boat and they wanted him to get into the boat, but "immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going" (v. 21) –– the implication being that Jesus never did get in the boat –– that he made his journey across the sea from beginning to end on foot.
Then the narrator adds that the crowd realized that there had been only one boat and that Jesus had not gotten in it.
These facts constitute essential background for the question that the crowd will pose to Jesus in verse 25.
VERSES 24-27: RABBI, WHEN DID YOU COME HERE?
24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
In verse 1, Jesus "went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee" –– presumably the eastern side. Then in verse 16, the disciples "got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum," on the northwestern side. They rowed three or four miles, nearly across the lake, when Jesus walked on water to join them. After he did so, "the boat reached the land toward which they were going" (v. 21).
"So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus" (v. 24). Surely only a few of the five thousand people actually cross the sea in their small boats. This verse doesn't tell us why the crowd is seeking Jesus, but the last time we saw them, they were trying to make Jesus king (v. 15).
Finding Jesus, they ask, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" (v. 25). Much of this Gospel can be understood on two levels, and that is true of this question. The crowd means to ask only about the manner by which Jesus transported himself to Capernaum, but we learned in verses 22-23 that the crowd had noticed that there was only one boat and that Jesus had not gotten into it. Jesus got there by walking on the water –– a miracle that speaks to his identity as the Son of God (Ridderbos, 223).
And this Gospel has already told us that "the Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). The incarnation is the more profound answer to the question of when Jesus came here.
VERSES 26-27: DO NOT WORK FOR THE FOOD THAT PERISHES
26Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."
Jesus ignores their question and rebukes them for their superficial interest. "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves" (v. 26). "Instead of seeing in the bread the sign, they had seen in the sign only the bread" (Lange, quoted in Morris, 317). In its hierarchy of needs, the crowd is focused at stomach-level rather than spirit-level. At the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus satisfied their physical hunger, and now they are looking for more of the same.
The meeting of physical needs never loses its appeal. "If (God) will give us loaves and fishes, better houses, shorter hours, bigger wages, gadgets to lessen work and add to our leisure, ...we will follow him for (these things). But who wants his spiritual gifts? What would we do with them? What difference would they make?" (Gossip, 563).
"Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (v. 27a). Jesus challenges the crowd to raise their eyes to see beyond the physical realm. Earlier he said of himself, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work" (4:34). Now he challenges the crowd to join him on his spiritual journey. We first heard these words, "perish" and "eternal life" in 3:16, where Jesus speaks of God loving the world and giving the Son "so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
Jesus is not saying that physical needs are unimportant. Elsewhere he speaks of food, drink, and clothing, assuring his listeners that "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things," and promising that, if they will seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, "all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:32-33). Much of Jesus' earthly ministry is focused on healing people's physical ills. But now he calls the crowd to acknowledge their need for "food that endures for eternal life" –– promising that the Son of Man will give them that food.
The people addressed Jesus as rabbi (v. 25), but he refers to himself as "the Son of Man" (v. 27). He could refer to himself as Messiah, but that word would raise expectations that he has no intention of fulfilling. People expect the Messiah to drive out the Romans and to make Israel great once again, but that is not the focus of Jesus' ministry. The phrase, Son of Man, carries less political baggage and, in this Gospel, "is increasingly laden…with associations of revelation brought from heaven to earth" (Carson, 284).
"For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal" (v. 27b). A seal authenticates authorship or ownership. An official uses a signet ring with a distinctive design to stamp an impression in wax on a document. Such a seal gives the document official status, just as a signature does today. The bearer of such a document would be accorded the respect due the person who sealed it. God the Father has set his seal on the Son, who acts as his emissary from heaven to earth (1:51; 3:13). Jesus does not tell us when this sealing took place, but perhaps it took place at his baptism, when the Spirit descended on him (1:33) and a voice from heaven said, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11).
VERSES 28-29: THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD, THAT YOU BELIEVE
28Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works (Greek: erga ––plural) of God?" 29Jesus answered them, "This is the work (Greek: ergon –– singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
"What must we do to perform the works (plural) of God?" (v. 28). Every since the giving of Torah law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20 ff.) the Jewish people have accepted obedience to the law as the approved way of serving God. Torah law is complex, however, and it sounds as if this crowd is asking Jesus to point them to the heart of the law –– in much the same way that the young ruler will ask, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 18:18). Understanding the law to be complex, they do not ask Jesus to summarize it in one commandment, as one of the scribes will do (Mark 12:28) –– although Jesus will later do just that (13:34; 15:12 –– see also Mark 12:30-31, where Jesus summarizes the law in two commandments). Instead, this crowd asks Jesus to identify the works (plural) –– the truly critical laws –– so that they might focus their attention on those. They are asking Jesus for a faithful guide through the maze of laws and commentary that lies at the center of their religious practice.
In the Synoptics, Jesus summarizes the law for his listeners (Mark 12:29-31), but here he directs them away from the law and toward himself. "This is the work (singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (v. 29). While the crowd seemed confident that they could perform whatever works that Jesus might identify as critical, the fact is that obedience to the law is fraught with failure. As Paul put it, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15). Our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak (Mark 14:38). By inviting the crowd to believe in him, Jesus provides an achievable alternative to the Sisyphean task of law-keeping. Paul stated much the same idea in these words: "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law" (Romans 3:28).
VERSES 30-31: WHAT SIGN ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE US?
30So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "
"What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?" (v. 30). Signs have been part of human life from the very beginning when God set a bow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant that God would never destroy the earth by flood again (Genesis 9:12 ff.), God has employed signs of various kinds –– symbols or miracles that point beyond themselves to something greater. Thus circumcision is a sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:11). The unleavened bread of the Passover is a sign to remind Israel of the salvation that God afforded them in Egypt (Exodus 13:9). The sabbath is a sign (Exodus 31:13, 17). God expected the Israelites to respond to signs and wonders by believing, and was disappointed when they failed to do so (Numbers 14:11, 22; Deuteronomy 4:34).
The Exodus from Egypt and its accompanying miracles served as the greatest sign of all (Joshua 24:17). Particular signs included Aaron's miraculous rod (Exodus 7:8-13) –– the various plagues (Exodus 7:14 –– 12:32) –– the Passover (Exodus 12) –– pillars of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:17-22) –– crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14) –– bitter water made sweet (Exodus 15:22-26) –– manna from heaven (Exodus 16) –– and water from a rock (Exodus 17). These miracles not only saved Israel, but also served as signs to authenticate Moses' leadership and to point to God's love and special provision for Israel.
This crowd recognizes the radical nature of Jesus' invitation and demands assurance that he has authority to advocate such a sweeping departure from their traditional religious practice. They want a sign to authenticate him as God's prophet. For twelve centuries, they have observed Torah law –– Mosaic law –– God-given law –– as the way to please God and to assure their own salvation. For centuries, their rabbis have devoted their best efforts to applying the law to every situation. Throughout Israel's history, God has called Israel again and again to faithful observance of the law, and has called prophets to help them to understand it.
Now this thirty-something-year-old uncredentialed product of an undistinguished father and an even less distinguished town is suggesting that they abandon their long-held allegiance to the law and stake their lives on him. No wonder they want to authenticate his authority in some unmistakable, compelling way! To follow him otherwise would be the height of recklessness. However, the crowd seems to have lost sight of the fact that Jesus has just now authenticated his Godly connection by feeding five thousand (or more) people with a boy's lunch!
"Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat' " (v. 31). They ask for a sign (v. 30), and cite manna as the kind of sign that they expect (v. 31). They quote scripture, but imprecisely –– "He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (v. 31) is an amalgam of several scriptures (Exodus 16:4; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalms 78:24; 105:40). Moses' gift of manna authenticated his status as prophet. If Jesus expects this crowd to accept him as a Moses-like prophet, he must give them a Moses-like sign. They have seen false prophets come and go, and want rock-solid proof that Jesus is not one of them.
Their demand represents the response of ordinary people faced with a new situation. Jesus has thrown them off-center, and they are struggling to regain their balance. So they establish the criterion that Jesus must meet if they are to believe, and establish themselves as judge and jury. "Show us a sign, we will see, we will weigh the evidence, we will draw conclusions, and we might even decide to believe" (Craddock, 367).
Their vision seems astonishingly myopic, given that Jesus has just fed the five thousand (or perhaps ten or twenty thousand including women and children) with a few loaves and fishes (vv. 1-15), but Jesus' miracle pales when compared to Moses' miracle. Jesus fed a few thousand people on one occasion; Moses fed the whole nation every day for forty years. Jesus gave the crowd ordinary bread; Moses gave Israel bread from heaven. The crowd has seen Jesus perform a miracle, but now they raise the bar to demand that he match Moses' miracle.
There is a lesson here for us. We, too, suffer from spiritual myopia. Wonderful things happen in our presence every day, but we fail to see them or take them for granted. Martin Luther observed:
"God's wonderful works which happen daily are lightly esteemed,
not because they are of no import
but because they happen so constantly and without interruption.
Man is used to the miracle that God rules the world and upholds all creation,
and because things daily run their appointed course, it seems insignificant,
and no man thinks it worth his while to meditate upon it
and to regard it as God's wonderful work,
and yet it is a greater wonder
than that Christ fed five thousand men with five loaves
and made wine from water."
God feeds billions daily, but we take notice only when we miss a meal –– or when the feeding takes place under dramatic circumstances. We, too, say, "Give us a sign, Jesus. Do something spectacular, so we can believe in you." Sometimes we even present Jesus with trivial tests –– "Find me a parking place, Jesus, and then I will believe."
VERSES 32-34: THE BREAD OF GOD GIVES LIFE TO THE WORLD
32Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus makes a half-dozen points here:
• It was God, not Moses, who gave the manna (v. 32).
• The manna was not the true bread from heaven (v. 32), but was "at most a type of the true bread that God, who is in a unique sense Jesus' Father, now gives" (Smith, 153).
• It isn't that the Father "gave" (past tense), but that the Father "gives" (present tense) (v. 32).
• The bread of God is incarnational –– comes down from heaven (v. 32). That is in keeping with the Prologue of this Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth" (1:1, 14).
• The bread of God gives life (v. 33). The manna sustained physical life, but the true bread of God gives eternal life (see 3:16).
• The scope of the life-giving "bread from heaven" is broad, embracing the whole world (v. 33; 3:16). Manna gave life to the Israelites, but only temporarily –– the wilderness Israelites died centuries earlier. The true bread of life gives eternal life –– and gives it to the whole world –– not just to Israel.
The crowd responds, "Sir, give us this bread always" (v. 34). Their answer parallels that of the Samaritan woman, who said, "Sir, give me this water" (4:15a). Both sound as if they are asking Jesus for a spiritual gift, but the Samaritan woman added, "so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water" (4:15b). Her understanding was only superficial. We suspect that the same is true of this crowd.
VERSE 35: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
35Jesus said to them, "I am (Greek: ego eimi) the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The crowd failed to understand when Jesus spoke of "the bread of God (that) comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (v. 33), so Jesus makes his meaning clear. "I am the bread of life," he says (v. 35a).
This is the first of a series of "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi) sayings in this Gospel that remind us of the burning bush story. When Moses asked God his name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). "I am," of course, can be simple self-identification, but in John's Gospel it clearly means more. The "I AM" sayings in this Gospel are as follows:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel…. Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
"Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (v. 35b). "According to Deut. 8.3, the manna had been given as an object lesson in order that Israel should 'understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord'. The latter clause clearly has in view the Torah in particular.... Philo makes a similar connection...of the manna as a type of Wisdom... or of the Logos.... Now as the divine revealer and giver of the life of the age to come, Jesus claims to fulfil and surpass what Torah, Wisdom and the Logos would have signified for first-century Judaism. This central claim of the discourse relates back both to v. 27 and to v. 31. The food which remains for eternal life and the bread given from heaven are both to be found in Jesus, who is the bread of life" (Lincoln, 228-229).
Jesus' comments will elicit complaints from "the Jews," who will say, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" (v. 42). We should not wonder that they complain. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic –– on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg –– or else he'd be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse" (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity).
Paul speaks of the offense (Greek: skandalon –– stumbling block) of the cross (Galatians 5:11), and the cross is surely a skandalon to anyone who expects God to behave in keeping with his stature. But the incarnation is also a skandalon –– perhaps an even greater skandalon.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
Who worships God as God, God hears.
But he who worships God for worldly goods, worships not God;
he worships what he worships God for
and employs God as his servant.
Meister Eckhart
* * * * * * * * * *
Don't forget until too late
that the business of life is not business,
but living.
B.C. Forbes,
founder of Forbes, a magazine about business
* * * * * * * * * *
For a small living, men run a great way;
for eternal life, many will scarce move a single foot from the ground.
Thomas à Kempis
* * * * * * * * * *
Pity the nation whose factory chimneys
rise higher than her church spires.
John Kelman
* * * * * * * * * *
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars
have any God-given role to play in our society
it is to teach us that happiness, satisfaction in life, has nothing to do with fun.
These rich, beautiful and celebrated individuals
do indeed have constant access to what they desire ––
glamorous parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, luxurious vacations,
a steady supply of attractive sex partners,
invitations to exciting sporting and theatrical events.
And yet in memoir after memoir,
many of these celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all the fun:
depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages,
troubled children, profound loneliness.
We should feel greatly indebted to all the Hollywood stars
who have written about their sad lives.
If we could only learn from their experiences....
Dennis Prager
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
Sunday closest to August 3
Proper 13
Year B
RCL
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm 78:23-29
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35
The Collect
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Exodus 16:2-4,9-15
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, `Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."
The Psalm
Psalm 78:23-29 Page 696, BCP
Attendite, popule
23
So he commanded the clouds above *
and opened the doors of heaven.
24
He rained down manna upon them to eat *
and gave them grain from heaven.
25
So mortals ate the bread of angels; *
he provided for them food enough.
26
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens *
and led out the south wind by his might.
27
He rained down flesh upon them like dust *
and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
28
He let it fall in the midst of their camp *
and round about their dwellings.
29
So they ate and were well filled, *
for he gave them what they craved.
Ephesians 4:1-16
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said,
"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people."
(When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.
John 6:24-35
The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 22-23: THE CONTEXT
21Then (the disciples) wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going. 22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
This chapter opens with the feeding of the five thousand (vv. 1-15) and continues with Jesus walking on the water (vv. 16-21) and the crowd realizing that Jesus has departed (vv. 22-23).
Verses 21-23 are draw attention to a miracle that speaks to Jesus' identity. In the "walking on water" miracle, Jesus came to the disciples in their boat and they wanted him to get into the boat, but "immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going" (v. 21) –– the implication being that Jesus never did get in the boat –– that he made his journey across the sea from beginning to end on foot.
Then the narrator adds that the crowd realized that there had been only one boat and that Jesus had not gotten in it.
These facts constitute essential background for the question that the crowd will pose to Jesus in verse 25.
VERSES 24-27: RABBI, WHEN DID YOU COME HERE?
24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
In verse 1, Jesus "went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee" –– presumably the eastern side. Then in verse 16, the disciples "got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum," on the northwestern side. They rowed three or four miles, nearly across the lake, when Jesus walked on water to join them. After he did so, "the boat reached the land toward which they were going" (v. 21).
"So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus" (v. 24). Surely only a few of the five thousand people actually cross the sea in their small boats. This verse doesn't tell us why the crowd is seeking Jesus, but the last time we saw them, they were trying to make Jesus king (v. 15).
Finding Jesus, they ask, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" (v. 25). Much of this Gospel can be understood on two levels, and that is true of this question. The crowd means to ask only about the manner by which Jesus transported himself to Capernaum, but we learned in verses 22-23 that the crowd had noticed that there was only one boat and that Jesus had not gotten into it. Jesus got there by walking on the water –– a miracle that speaks to his identity as the Son of God (Ridderbos, 223).
And this Gospel has already told us that "the Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). The incarnation is the more profound answer to the question of when Jesus came here.
VERSES 26-27: DO NOT WORK FOR THE FOOD THAT PERISHES
26Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."
Jesus ignores their question and rebukes them for their superficial interest. "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves" (v. 26). "Instead of seeing in the bread the sign, they had seen in the sign only the bread" (Lange, quoted in Morris, 317). In its hierarchy of needs, the crowd is focused at stomach-level rather than spirit-level. At the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus satisfied their physical hunger, and now they are looking for more of the same.
The meeting of physical needs never loses its appeal. "If (God) will give us loaves and fishes, better houses, shorter hours, bigger wages, gadgets to lessen work and add to our leisure, ...we will follow him for (these things). But who wants his spiritual gifts? What would we do with them? What difference would they make?" (Gossip, 563).
"Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (v. 27a). Jesus challenges the crowd to raise their eyes to see beyond the physical realm. Earlier he said of himself, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work" (4:34). Now he challenges the crowd to join him on his spiritual journey. We first heard these words, "perish" and "eternal life" in 3:16, where Jesus speaks of God loving the world and giving the Son "so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
Jesus is not saying that physical needs are unimportant. Elsewhere he speaks of food, drink, and clothing, assuring his listeners that "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things," and promising that, if they will seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, "all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:32-33). Much of Jesus' earthly ministry is focused on healing people's physical ills. But now he calls the crowd to acknowledge their need for "food that endures for eternal life" –– promising that the Son of Man will give them that food.
The people addressed Jesus as rabbi (v. 25), but he refers to himself as "the Son of Man" (v. 27). He could refer to himself as Messiah, but that word would raise expectations that he has no intention of fulfilling. People expect the Messiah to drive out the Romans and to make Israel great once again, but that is not the focus of Jesus' ministry. The phrase, Son of Man, carries less political baggage and, in this Gospel, "is increasingly laden…with associations of revelation brought from heaven to earth" (Carson, 284).
"For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal" (v. 27b). A seal authenticates authorship or ownership. An official uses a signet ring with a distinctive design to stamp an impression in wax on a document. Such a seal gives the document official status, just as a signature does today. The bearer of such a document would be accorded the respect due the person who sealed it. God the Father has set his seal on the Son, who acts as his emissary from heaven to earth (1:51; 3:13). Jesus does not tell us when this sealing took place, but perhaps it took place at his baptism, when the Spirit descended on him (1:33) and a voice from heaven said, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11).
VERSES 28-29: THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD, THAT YOU BELIEVE
28Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works (Greek: erga ––plural) of God?" 29Jesus answered them, "This is the work (Greek: ergon –– singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
"What must we do to perform the works (plural) of God?" (v. 28). Every since the giving of Torah law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20 ff.) the Jewish people have accepted obedience to the law as the approved way of serving God. Torah law is complex, however, and it sounds as if this crowd is asking Jesus to point them to the heart of the law –– in much the same way that the young ruler will ask, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 18:18). Understanding the law to be complex, they do not ask Jesus to summarize it in one commandment, as one of the scribes will do (Mark 12:28) –– although Jesus will later do just that (13:34; 15:12 –– see also Mark 12:30-31, where Jesus summarizes the law in two commandments). Instead, this crowd asks Jesus to identify the works (plural) –– the truly critical laws –– so that they might focus their attention on those. They are asking Jesus for a faithful guide through the maze of laws and commentary that lies at the center of their religious practice.
In the Synoptics, Jesus summarizes the law for his listeners (Mark 12:29-31), but here he directs them away from the law and toward himself. "This is the work (singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (v. 29). While the crowd seemed confident that they could perform whatever works that Jesus might identify as critical, the fact is that obedience to the law is fraught with failure. As Paul put it, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15). Our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak (Mark 14:38). By inviting the crowd to believe in him, Jesus provides an achievable alternative to the Sisyphean task of law-keeping. Paul stated much the same idea in these words: "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law" (Romans 3:28).
VERSES 30-31: WHAT SIGN ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE US?
30So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "
"What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?" (v. 30). Signs have been part of human life from the very beginning when God set a bow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant that God would never destroy the earth by flood again (Genesis 9:12 ff.), God has employed signs of various kinds –– symbols or miracles that point beyond themselves to something greater. Thus circumcision is a sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:11). The unleavened bread of the Passover is a sign to remind Israel of the salvation that God afforded them in Egypt (Exodus 13:9). The sabbath is a sign (Exodus 31:13, 17). God expected the Israelites to respond to signs and wonders by believing, and was disappointed when they failed to do so (Numbers 14:11, 22; Deuteronomy 4:34).
The Exodus from Egypt and its accompanying miracles served as the greatest sign of all (Joshua 24:17). Particular signs included Aaron's miraculous rod (Exodus 7:8-13) –– the various plagues (Exodus 7:14 –– 12:32) –– the Passover (Exodus 12) –– pillars of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:17-22) –– crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14) –– bitter water made sweet (Exodus 15:22-26) –– manna from heaven (Exodus 16) –– and water from a rock (Exodus 17). These miracles not only saved Israel, but also served as signs to authenticate Moses' leadership and to point to God's love and special provision for Israel.
This crowd recognizes the radical nature of Jesus' invitation and demands assurance that he has authority to advocate such a sweeping departure from their traditional religious practice. They want a sign to authenticate him as God's prophet. For twelve centuries, they have observed Torah law –– Mosaic law –– God-given law –– as the way to please God and to assure their own salvation. For centuries, their rabbis have devoted their best efforts to applying the law to every situation. Throughout Israel's history, God has called Israel again and again to faithful observance of the law, and has called prophets to help them to understand it.
Now this thirty-something-year-old uncredentialed product of an undistinguished father and an even less distinguished town is suggesting that they abandon their long-held allegiance to the law and stake their lives on him. No wonder they want to authenticate his authority in some unmistakable, compelling way! To follow him otherwise would be the height of recklessness. However, the crowd seems to have lost sight of the fact that Jesus has just now authenticated his Godly connection by feeding five thousand (or more) people with a boy's lunch!
"Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat' " (v. 31). They ask for a sign (v. 30), and cite manna as the kind of sign that they expect (v. 31). They quote scripture, but imprecisely –– "He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (v. 31) is an amalgam of several scriptures (Exodus 16:4; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalms 78:24; 105:40). Moses' gift of manna authenticated his status as prophet. If Jesus expects this crowd to accept him as a Moses-like prophet, he must give them a Moses-like sign. They have seen false prophets come and go, and want rock-solid proof that Jesus is not one of them.
Their demand represents the response of ordinary people faced with a new situation. Jesus has thrown them off-center, and they are struggling to regain their balance. So they establish the criterion that Jesus must meet if they are to believe, and establish themselves as judge and jury. "Show us a sign, we will see, we will weigh the evidence, we will draw conclusions, and we might even decide to believe" (Craddock, 367).
Their vision seems astonishingly myopic, given that Jesus has just fed the five thousand (or perhaps ten or twenty thousand including women and children) with a few loaves and fishes (vv. 1-15), but Jesus' miracle pales when compared to Moses' miracle. Jesus fed a few thousand people on one occasion; Moses fed the whole nation every day for forty years. Jesus gave the crowd ordinary bread; Moses gave Israel bread from heaven. The crowd has seen Jesus perform a miracle, but now they raise the bar to demand that he match Moses' miracle.
There is a lesson here for us. We, too, suffer from spiritual myopia. Wonderful things happen in our presence every day, but we fail to see them or take them for granted. Martin Luther observed:
"God's wonderful works which happen daily are lightly esteemed,
not because they are of no import
but because they happen so constantly and without interruption.
Man is used to the miracle that God rules the world and upholds all creation,
and because things daily run their appointed course, it seems insignificant,
and no man thinks it worth his while to meditate upon it
and to regard it as God's wonderful work,
and yet it is a greater wonder
than that Christ fed five thousand men with five loaves
and made wine from water."
God feeds billions daily, but we take notice only when we miss a meal –– or when the feeding takes place under dramatic circumstances. We, too, say, "Give us a sign, Jesus. Do something spectacular, so we can believe in you." Sometimes we even present Jesus with trivial tests –– "Find me a parking place, Jesus, and then I will believe."
VERSES 32-34: THE BREAD OF GOD GIVES LIFE TO THE WORLD
32Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus makes a half-dozen points here:
• It was God, not Moses, who gave the manna (v. 32).
• The manna was not the true bread from heaven (v. 32), but was "at most a type of the true bread that God, who is in a unique sense Jesus' Father, now gives" (Smith, 153).
• It isn't that the Father "gave" (past tense), but that the Father "gives" (present tense) (v. 32).
• The bread of God is incarnational –– comes down from heaven (v. 32). That is in keeping with the Prologue of this Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth" (1:1, 14).
• The bread of God gives life (v. 33). The manna sustained physical life, but the true bread of God gives eternal life (see 3:16).
• The scope of the life-giving "bread from heaven" is broad, embracing the whole world (v. 33; 3:16). Manna gave life to the Israelites, but only temporarily –– the wilderness Israelites died centuries earlier. The true bread of life gives eternal life –– and gives it to the whole world –– not just to Israel.
The crowd responds, "Sir, give us this bread always" (v. 34). Their answer parallels that of the Samaritan woman, who said, "Sir, give me this water" (4:15a). Both sound as if they are asking Jesus for a spiritual gift, but the Samaritan woman added, "so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water" (4:15b). Her understanding was only superficial. We suspect that the same is true of this crowd.
VERSE 35: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
35Jesus said to them, "I am (Greek: ego eimi) the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The crowd failed to understand when Jesus spoke of "the bread of God (that) comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (v. 33), so Jesus makes his meaning clear. "I am the bread of life," he says (v. 35a).
This is the first of a series of "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi) sayings in this Gospel that remind us of the burning bush story. When Moses asked God his name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). "I am," of course, can be simple self-identification, but in John's Gospel it clearly means more. The "I AM" sayings in this Gospel are as follows:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel…. Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
"Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (v. 35b). "According to Deut. 8.3, the manna had been given as an object lesson in order that Israel should 'understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord'. The latter clause clearly has in view the Torah in particular.... Philo makes a similar connection...of the manna as a type of Wisdom... or of the Logos.... Now as the divine revealer and giver of the life of the age to come, Jesus claims to fulfil and surpass what Torah, Wisdom and the Logos would have signified for first-century Judaism. This central claim of the discourse relates back both to v. 27 and to v. 31. The food which remains for eternal life and the bread given from heaven are both to be found in Jesus, who is the bread of life" (Lincoln, 228-229).
Jesus' comments will elicit complaints from "the Jews," who will say, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" (v. 42). We should not wonder that they complain. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic –– on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg –– or else he'd be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse" (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity).
Paul speaks of the offense (Greek: skandalon –– stumbling block) of the cross (Galatians 5:11), and the cross is surely a skandalon to anyone who expects God to behave in keeping with his stature. But the incarnation is also a skandalon –– perhaps an even greater skandalon.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
Who worships God as God, God hears.
But he who worships God for worldly goods, worships not God;
he worships what he worships God for
and employs God as his servant.
Meister Eckhart
* * * * * * * * * *
Don't forget until too late
that the business of life is not business,
but living.
B.C. Forbes,
founder of Forbes, a magazine about business
* * * * * * * * * *
For a small living, men run a great way;
for eternal life, many will scarce move a single foot from the ground.
Thomas à Kempis
* * * * * * * * * *
Pity the nation whose factory chimneys
rise higher than her church spires.
John Kelman
* * * * * * * * * *
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars
have any God-given role to play in our society
it is to teach us that happiness, satisfaction in life, has nothing to do with fun.
These rich, beautiful and celebrated individuals
do indeed have constant access to what they desire ––
glamorous parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, luxurious vacations,
a steady supply of attractive sex partners,
invitations to exciting sporting and theatrical events.
And yet in memoir after memoir,
many of these celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all the fun:
depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages,
troubled children, profound loneliness.
We should feel greatly indebted to all the Hollywood stars
who have written about their sad lives.
If we could only learn from their experiences....
Dennis Prager
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
Friday, July 10, 2009
July 26, 2009 - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture Study
PROPER 12
YEAR B
JULY 26, 2009
THE READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE
A reading from Second Kings
A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat." But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So he repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the LORD, `They shall eat and have some left.'" He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.
Remaining seated, let us read responsively from Psalm 85
10 All your works praise you, O LORD,
and your faithful servants bless you.
11 They make known the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your power;
12 That the peoples may know of your power
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14 The LORD is faithful in all his words
and merciful in all his deeds.
15 The LORD upholds all those who fall;
he lifts up those who are bowed down.
16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O LORD,
and you give them their food in due season.
17 You open wide your hand
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
18 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving in all his works.
19 The LORD is near to those who call upon him,
to all who call upon him faithfully.
A Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians [Ephesians 3:14-21]
I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
Glory to you, Lord Christ. [John 6:1-21]
Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."
When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: GALILEE, JERUSALEM, GALILEE, JERUSALEM
The end of chapter 4 finds Jesus in Galilee. Chapter 5 moves to Jerusalem. Chapter 6 (our reading for this week) moves back to Galilee. In chapter 7 Jesus returns to Jerusalem. It would simplify the geography to put chapter 6 between chapters 4 and 5, but this author is more concerned with theology than geography. Jerusalem will be the place of Jesus' death during a subsequent Passover. There he will break bread with the disciples in the Upper Room, temporarily closeted away from his enemies. Here, at Passover, far from Jerusalem, he will break bread with thousands on a mountaintop.
This week's Gospel lesson includes two stories. The first (vv. 1-15) recounts the feeding of the five thousand. The second, (vv. 16-21) tells of Jesus walking on water. Both the miraculous feeding of bread from heaven and the miraculous crossing of the sea are reminiscent of the Exodus.
VERSES 1-4: JESUS WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN AND SAT DOWN
1After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.
"After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee" (v. 1a). The "other side" is probably the eastern side, across from Tiberius, but this isn't certain. Wherever they are, the disciples will get in their boat and depart for Capernaum, at the north end of the sea, when evening comes (6:16).
"also called the Sea of Tiberias" (v. 1b). The Sea of Tiberius is a name found in the Gospels only here and at 21:1. The name comes from the city of Tiberius which was built on the west shore of the sea by Herod Antipas, completed in 20 A.D. and named in honor of Tiberius Caesar, who reigned as the Roman emperor from 14-37 A.D. The sea is also known as Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).
"A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick" (v. 2). In Galilee, Jesus healed the son of a royal official (4:46-54). In Jerusalem he healed a man who had been sick for 38 years (5:1-18). This verse suggests that there were additional healings in Galilee during this visit.
"they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick" (v. 2b). The words "sign" and "signs" are important in this Gospel, occurring 17 times. A sign is "something that points to, or represents, something larger or more important than itself.... In the New Testament, ...signs point primarily to the powerful, saving activity of God as experienced through the ministry of Jesus and the apostles" (Lockyer, 991). "Miraculous 'signs' as a source of faith play an important part in the gospel of John (cf. John 20:30). The positive and correct reaction of the people to Jesus' signs is recorded (6:2, 14; 7:31; 10:41-42; 12:18-19). But, even in John, Jesus retains a skeptical assessment of faith induced by signs (2:23-25; 4:48) and attempts to point beyond the signs to the demands and promises of his message (3:2-3; 6:26-27, 35-40)" (Myers, 949).
"Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples" (v. 3). These words signal that something important is about to happen. Mountains are places where God and God's will are revealed –– where God gave the Torah to Moses (Exodus 19) –– where God defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18) –– where Jesus gave his greatest sermon (Matthew 5-7) –– and where he will be transfigured (Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9).
This reference to the mountain is one of a series of Exodus/Moses images in this chapter. Others include crossing the sea (v. 1), the mention of the Passover (v. 4), God's provision of bread (manna) (v. 11), the gathering of fragments (v. 12), the mention of manna (vv. 31-32, 49-50), and the mention of "the bread that came down from heaven" (v. 58). Jesus is like Moses, but is greater than Moses.
"Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near" (v. 4). The mention of the Passover is another signal that something important is happening. This Gospel tells of three Passovers:
•The first was in Jerusalem, where Jesus cleansed the temple at Passover (2:13-25). In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the cleansing takes place near the end of Jesus' ministry, but this Gospel reports it as taking place immediately after the first of Jesus' signs, a miracle of abundance, the making of wine from water at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (2:1-11).
• Now, at Jesus' second Passover, we have another miracle of abundance, the feeding of the five thousand (6:1-14), a miracle like unto God's gift of manna in the wilderness –– a linkage that Jesus will make clear in the Bread of Life discourse (6:22-40) that follows the feeding of the five thousand.
• The story of Jesus' third Passover will require eight chapters for its telling (11:55 - 19:42), and will include the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion as well as the crucifixion itself. The Passover celebrates the Exodus, with the Passover lamb commemorating the salvation of the Israelites from the death angel. In this Gospel, Jesus is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (1:29, 36 –– see also 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18; Revelation 5:12). Just as the Passover lamb saved the lives of the Israelites, so the Lamb of God has come into the world "so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (3:16).
VERSES 5-9: WHERE ARE WE TO BUY BREAD FOR THESE PEOPLE TO EAT?
5When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He said this to test (Greek: peirazon) him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, "Six months' wages (Greek: diakosion denarion –– two hundred denarii) would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?"
Unlike Matthew 14:14 and Mark 6:34; 8:2, this Gospel does not mention Jesus' compassion for the crowds, who are like sheep without a shepherd. In this Gospel, this story has to do with faith in Jesus rather than his compassion.
The story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand is also found in Luke 9:10-17, making it the only miracle story to be found in all four Gospels.
"Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" (v. 5). Jesus addresses his question to Philip, whose home is in nearby Bethsaida (1:44). If anyone would know where to purchase bread locally, Philip should know.
This is an allusion to the question raised by Moses to God in the wilderness: "Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?" (Numbers 11:13).
Jesus "said this to test (peirozon) him" (v. 6a). Peirazon can mean "to examine" or "to tempt." The examiner hopes that the student will pass the test, while the tempter hopes that the student will fail. Jesus is an examiner here –– hoping to find in Philip a man of faith.
"for he himself knew what he was going to do" (v. 6b). Jesus has a plan in mind. He is not asking Philip a question to initiate a brainstorming session to solve a difficult problem. He is probing Philip to learn the depth of his faith.
"Six months' wages (diakosion denarion –– two hundred denarii) would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little" (v. 7). Philip points out the obvious difficulty –– the purchase of bread for such a large crowd would be very expensive. The Greek says diakosion denarion –– two hundred denarii. A denarius is a day's wages for a working man, so two hundred denarii represents at least six month's wages –– a capital sum that would seem enormous to a man like Philip. How can he get that kind of money?
Philip could go even further by pointing out the logistical problems associated with the procurement and transportation of such a large quantity of bread. Even if the disciples could collect sufficient funds, they could hardly expect to find bread already baked in sufficient quantities to feed thousands. How many ovens would be required? How many bakers? How much flour? How long would it take for the dough to rise? To bake? How could the disciples transport thousands of loaves of bread? What about water? What about toilet facilities? If the disciples were to tackle this monumental task and gather the necessary food, could Jesus reorganize the crowd for teaching again after dinner? Wouldn't it make more sense to dismiss them now and let them find their own dinner?
But doesn't Philip remember Jesus' miracle at Cana (2:1-11) –– "the first of his signs" (2:11) –– revealing Jesus' glory and causing his disciples to believe in him (2:11)? Philip was already Jesus' disciple when Jesus worked that miracle of abundance (1:43-48). While we are not specifically told that Philip was present at the Cana wedding, surely he has heard about that miracle. For whatever reason, he fails to connect that miracle of abundance with the need for abundance here.
"One of (Jesus') disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 'There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?'" (vv. 8-9). Andrew makes a feeble stab at a solution, identifying a modest resource –– a boy with his lunch. But then he endorses Philip's pessimism by saying, "But what are they among so many people?" Both Philip and Andrew help us to understand the magnitude of the coming miracle by stressing the obvious difficulties.
"five barley loaves" (v. 9). Barley loaves are an inferior bread usually eaten by poor people. It is less nutritious, less tasty, and harder to digest than bread made from wheat.
These barley loaves recall Elisha's miraculous feeding of one hundred people with a small supply of barley loaves. In that story, a man from Baal-shalishah brought twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain to give to Elisha for the offering of the first fruits. Elisha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat." But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So Elisha repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, 'They shall eat and have some left.'" The servant "set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord" (2 Kings 4:42-44). The connections between the stories of the prophet Elisha and the prophet Jesus are unmistakable.
"and two fish" (v. 9). The fish are probably small –– an accompaniment for the bread, which is the main course.
This is all that the Gospels have to say about this boy (the Synoptics don't even mention him). The boy is an unlikely candidate to save the day, just as the shepherd-boy, David, was an unlikely opponent for Goliath many years earlier. His pitiful offering is as inadequate as was David's sling. The boy has little to offer, but he offers that little bit. Jesus will transform that little bit into more-than-enough.
What if the boy were unwilling to share his lunch? What if he were to say, "I need this for myself" –– or "My little bit won't make any difference"? "In the parable of the talents our Lord makes it plain that... it is the one-talent people who are most likely to falter and fail him; and this on the ground that anything they could do is so trivial as to be not worth doing.... That, says Christ, is a fallacy that has disastrous consequences" (Gossip, 555). "There would have been one great and shining deed fewer in history if that boy had refused to come or if he had withheld his loaves and fishes. The fact of life is that Jesus Christ needs what we can bring Him. We may not have much to bring but He needs what we have" (Barclay, 207).
VERSES 10-14: THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND
10Jesus said, "Make the people (Greek: anthropous –– men) sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they (Greek: hoi andres –– the men) sat down, about five thousand in all. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks (Greek: eucharistesas), he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 13So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world (Greek: erchomenos eis ton kosmon)."
"Jesus said, 'Make the people sit down'" (v. 10a). Jesus might intend this gesture to signal the crowd to prepare for lunch. If so, it is a bold move for a man with so many mouths to feed and so little food.
"Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they (hoi andres –– the men) sat down, about five thousand in all" (v. 10b). The "in all" at the end of this sentence is absent in the Greek, and might mislead us to assume that it includes women and children. In that time and place, this sort of count would include only men, so the total crowd would be larger, probably much larger. Matthew's Gospel makes this explicit by saying, "And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children" (Matthew 14:21).
"Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks (eucharistesas), he distributed them to those who were seated" (v. 11). Eucharistesas is the Greek word from which we get our word Eucharist. "At this point in the story, (eucharistesas) carries little meaning beyond its obvious sense of giving thanks to God.... But as the chapter unfolds, the term will take on a particular meaning for the Johannine community and its audience" (Howard-Brook, 145). The traditional prayer of thanksgiving is "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth" (Carson, 270). It expresses, not a blessing of food, but thanks to God.
In the Synoptics, the disciples distribute the bread, but in this Gospel, Jesus does it. "Jesus' actions do not reflect the more liturgically stylized actions of the synoptic accounts (e.g., Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16), but rather reflect the actions of a host at a Jewish meal" (O'Day, 594). The emphasis is less clearly eucharistic in this gospel than in the Synoptics.
"When they were satisfied" (v. 12a). The people eat their fill –– not just a token amount as some scholars have suggested. Nor is this a lesson in sharing, as others have suggested. This is NOT the story of a young boy who sets an example of generosity that inspires the rest of the crowd to share their food which turns out to be adequate for the occasion. This IS a story –– one of many in both Old and New Testaments –– about God's/Jesus' ability to transform too little into more than enough.
Attempts to explain this story by rationalistic or humanistic interpretations only diminish it –– shrinking the miracle to fit our vision instead of expanding our vision to see God's majesty. We must ask why some interpreters find it possible to believe in the miracle of the resurrection but not the miracle of the loaves and fishes –– and if they do not believe in the miracle of the resurrection, how can they be faithful spiritual guides?
Jesus commands, "Gather up the fragments left over, so nothing may be lost" (v. 12b). This is somewhat different from the Exodus account, where God commanded the Israelites to gather the manna but not to keep it until the next day (Exodus 16:16-21). When the Israelites disobeyed this order by keeping food for the next day, "it bred worms and became foul" and was lost (Exodus 16:20). "The discourse will allude to this in terms of the food that perishes (v. 27). It will also go on to talk of Jesus not losing anything that the Father has given him (v. 39; cf. also 10.28; 17.12; 18.9)" (Lincoln, 213).
The emphasis in the Exodus story was the faithfulness of God's providence, while the emphasis here is the abundance of God's providence. Jesus makes no mention of gathering only what is needed for the day.
"So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets" (v. 13). The twelve baskets of leftovers are more food than Jesus started with –– one basket each for the twelve tribes of Israel. The supply is abundant. God provides plenty to meet our needs.
In an article on the significance of various numbers in the Bible, Borchert says, "The combinations of four and three (the world and the divine) are important. Three and four when added equal seven, which is regarded as a reference to fullness or perfection. The multiplication of three and four equals twelve, which is the representative number of the people of God. Five and ten often are regarded as signifying human or mortal completeness.... A thousand (three multiples of ten), the general big number" (Borchert, 255 –– see also the article on "Numbers" in Bromiley, 556-561). While our text provides no interpretation of the numbers involved here, it includes several of these significant numbers –– seven resources (five loaves and two fish) (v. 9) –– a crowd of five thousand (v. 10) –– and twelve baskets of leftovers (v. 13).
Seeing the miracle, the people say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world" (erchomenos eis ton kosmon) (v. 14). This apparently refers to Moses' promise, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet" (Deuteronomy 18:15). "In Greek, the phrase is the same as the description of the as yet unnamed Jesus in the prologue (1:9): 'The true light was coming into the world' (erchomenos[n] eis ton kosmon). It is John's way of speaking of the advent of Jesus" (Smith, 149).
VERSE 15: JESUS WITHDREW AGAIN TO THE MOUNTAIN BY HIMSELF
15When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
"When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king" (v. 15a). The crowd wants to institutionalize Jesus' role as provider and deliverer. Having seen power at work, they want to harness it for their own purposes. "If this was the second Moses, he would surely do for them what the first Moses had done for their ancestors and deliver them from oppression" (Bruce, 146).
While the crowd's response is natural enough, it makes too little of Jesus, whom they wish to claim as their own personal genie. Their response "reverses the answer to the catechism question so that it would read, 'Our chief end is to be glorified by God forever" (Brueggemann, 446).
"he withdrew again to the mountain by himself" (v. 15b). Seeing that they are about to make him king by force, Jesus withdraws. He has a ministry to fulfill, but not the one that these people envision. To become the king that they want would shrink his ministry from the world (3:16) to the eastern end of the Mediterranean –– from all of history to a generation or two –– from a giver of eternal life to a giver of temporal security. And to become their king would expose Jesus to a justifiable charge of treason, legitimizing his execution as a criminal. No longer would he be the innocent lamb dying for the sins of the world, but he would instead die as a rightfully convicted felon.
There is "much of St. John's irony in the passage; He who is already King has come to open His kingdom to men; but in their blindness men try to force Him to be the kind of king they want; thus they fail to get the king they want, and also lose the kingdom He offers" (R.F. Bailey, Saint John's Gospel, quoted in Morris, 307).
VERSES 16-21: THEY SAW JESUS WALKING ON THE SEA
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles (Greek: hos stadious eikosi pente e triakonta –– about twenty-five or thirty stadia), they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, "It is I (Greek: ego eimi); do not be afraid." 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
"When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum" (vv. 16-17a). In Matthew 14:22 and Mark 6:45, the disciples depart on Jesus' orders. Here they leave on their own initiative. Luke 9 doesn't report this departure.
"It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them" (v. 17b). In this Gospel, darkness is more than the absence of physical light –– it signals evil or danger. It is now dark, and Jesus is absent.
"The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing" (v. 18). Located nearly 700 feet (215 meters) below sea level, the sea is nearly surrounded by high hills. The topography is such that high winds often sweep down suddenly from the hills, making the sea a dangerous place to be in a small boat. There is no indication yet that the disciples are in danger or afraid, but their journey will not be easy.
"When they had rowed about three or four miles" (hos stadious eikosi pente e triakonta) –– about twenty-five or thirty stadia) (v. 19a). A stadion is a little more than 600 feet (180 meters), so this distance is 15,000-18,000 feet or roughly 3 - 3.5 miles (4.8 - 5.6 km). The sea (really a good-sized lake) is 8 miles (13 km) east to west at its widest point and about 13 miles (21 km) north to south. The point here is that the disciples are somewhere in the middle of the lake. They have rowed a considerable distance in the storm, but have a considerable distance left to go. Their group includes experienced fishermen who have surely been on the lake during storms. While the text doesn't say that they are afraid, anyone who has ever been caught in a storm in the middle of a large lake will appreciate the challenge that they face –– the danger that the storm poses.
"they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified" (v. 19b). Now, for the first time, we hear that the disciples are terrified. It is not the storm that terrifies them, but the sight of Jesus walking on the sea and coming near their boat. John doesn't specify the cause of their fear, but the Synoptic Gospels tell us that the disciples are afraid because they think that Jesus is a ghost (Matthew 14:26; Mark 6:49; Luke 24:37).
Jesus says, "It is I (ego eimi); do not be afraid" (v. 20). Ego eimi can be translated "I AM" –– God's name (Exodus 3:14) –– and Jesus uses this phrase often in this Gospel to say "ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35) –– "ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12) –– "ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11) –– etc. Here on the chaos of these troubled waters, therefore, Jesus is revealing himself on two levels. He is the leader whom the disciples have been following, but he is also the presence of God in their midst. He comes to help them in their distress. "Jesus' glory is not revealed for power, but for grace-filled pastoral care" (O'Day, 597).
Matthew includes the story of Peter attempting to walk on the water to meet Jesus (Matthew 14:28-31), a story not found in the other Gospels.
"Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going" (v. 21). The immediacy of their arrival suggests that Jesus is somehow responsible for their quick return to land. The movement of this story is from the chaos that the disciples experience when separated from Jesus to the peace that he brings when he joins them. It echoes Psalm 107:23-30:
23Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
24they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
27they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits' end.
28Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
In many of the families I visited nothing was certain, nothing predictable, nothing totally safe. Maybe there would be food tomorrow, maybe there would be work tomorrow, maybe there would be peace tomorrow. Maybe, maybe not. But whatever is given –– money, food, work, a handshake, a smile, a good word, or an embrace –– is a reason to rejoice and say gracias. What I claim as a right, my friends in Bolivia and Peru received as a gift; what is obvious to me was a joyful surprise to them; what I take for granted, they celebrate in thanksgiving; what for me goes by unnoticed became for them a new occasion to say thanks.
Henri J. M. Nouwen, Gracias! A Latin American Journal
* * * * * * * * * *
One of the characteristics of truly great people is that they can receive graciously. I know a very famous man in the academic world who by no means always dresses like an academic. In a London railway station he saw an old lady in difficulties and offered to carry her bag. When he had put it in her carriage for her, she gave him sixpence –– which he gravely and courteously received rather than embarrass the old lady who offered it.
Jesus could receive. He could take a boy's picnic lunch because it was all that the boy could offer –– and with it he could work a miracle.
William Barclay, Everyday with William Barclay
* * * * * * * * * *
To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own. It is like presents made for older people when you were a child. So much went into them –– dreams and prayers and hours of knotted fingers and frozen effort and there... only a dirty piece of knotted string came out of it. But you knew, even if they didn't, that you were giving them something worthy of them.
There is something of worship or prayer in laying down an offering at someone's feet and then going away quickly. The nicest gifts are those left, nameless and quiet, unburdened with love, or vanity, or the desire for attention.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Flower and the Nettle
* * * * * * * * * *
The fragrance always stays
in the hand that gives the rose.
Hada Bejar,
17th century British playwright
* * * * * * * * * *
A candle loses nothing
by lighting another candle.
Anonymous
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Three: K-P - Revised (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Hoyer, Robert J., Lectionary Bible Studies: The Year of Mark: Pentecost 1 (Minneapolis and Philadelphia: Augsburg and Fortress Press, 1976)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Lockyer, Herbert, Sr., Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
Myers, Allen C., The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987)
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Richard Niell Donovan, Sermonwriter.com
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PROPER 12
YEAR B
JULY 26, 2009
THE READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE
A reading from Second Kings
A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat." But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So he repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the LORD, `They shall eat and have some left.'" He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.
Remaining seated, let us read responsively from Psalm 85
10 All your works praise you, O LORD,
and your faithful servants bless you.
11 They make known the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your power;
12 That the peoples may know of your power
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14 The LORD is faithful in all his words
and merciful in all his deeds.
15 The LORD upholds all those who fall;
he lifts up those who are bowed down.
16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O LORD,
and you give them their food in due season.
17 You open wide your hand
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
18 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving in all his works.
19 The LORD is near to those who call upon him,
to all who call upon him faithfully.
A Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians [Ephesians 3:14-21]
I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
Glory to you, Lord Christ. [John 6:1-21]
Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."
When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: GALILEE, JERUSALEM, GALILEE, JERUSALEM
The end of chapter 4 finds Jesus in Galilee. Chapter 5 moves to Jerusalem. Chapter 6 (our reading for this week) moves back to Galilee. In chapter 7 Jesus returns to Jerusalem. It would simplify the geography to put chapter 6 between chapters 4 and 5, but this author is more concerned with theology than geography. Jerusalem will be the place of Jesus' death during a subsequent Passover. There he will break bread with the disciples in the Upper Room, temporarily closeted away from his enemies. Here, at Passover, far from Jerusalem, he will break bread with thousands on a mountaintop.
This week's Gospel lesson includes two stories. The first (vv. 1-15) recounts the feeding of the five thousand. The second, (vv. 16-21) tells of Jesus walking on water. Both the miraculous feeding of bread from heaven and the miraculous crossing of the sea are reminiscent of the Exodus.
VERSES 1-4: JESUS WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN AND SAT DOWN
1After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.
"After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee" (v. 1a). The "other side" is probably the eastern side, across from Tiberius, but this isn't certain. Wherever they are, the disciples will get in their boat and depart for Capernaum, at the north end of the sea, when evening comes (6:16).
"also called the Sea of Tiberias" (v. 1b). The Sea of Tiberius is a name found in the Gospels only here and at 21:1. The name comes from the city of Tiberius which was built on the west shore of the sea by Herod Antipas, completed in 20 A.D. and named in honor of Tiberius Caesar, who reigned as the Roman emperor from 14-37 A.D. The sea is also known as Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).
"A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick" (v. 2). In Galilee, Jesus healed the son of a royal official (4:46-54). In Jerusalem he healed a man who had been sick for 38 years (5:1-18). This verse suggests that there were additional healings in Galilee during this visit.
"they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick" (v. 2b). The words "sign" and "signs" are important in this Gospel, occurring 17 times. A sign is "something that points to, or represents, something larger or more important than itself.... In the New Testament, ...signs point primarily to the powerful, saving activity of God as experienced through the ministry of Jesus and the apostles" (Lockyer, 991). "Miraculous 'signs' as a source of faith play an important part in the gospel of John (cf. John 20:30). The positive and correct reaction of the people to Jesus' signs is recorded (6:2, 14; 7:31; 10:41-42; 12:18-19). But, even in John, Jesus retains a skeptical assessment of faith induced by signs (2:23-25; 4:48) and attempts to point beyond the signs to the demands and promises of his message (3:2-3; 6:26-27, 35-40)" (Myers, 949).
"Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples" (v. 3). These words signal that something important is about to happen. Mountains are places where God and God's will are revealed –– where God gave the Torah to Moses (Exodus 19) –– where God defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18) –– where Jesus gave his greatest sermon (Matthew 5-7) –– and where he will be transfigured (Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9).
This reference to the mountain is one of a series of Exodus/Moses images in this chapter. Others include crossing the sea (v. 1), the mention of the Passover (v. 4), God's provision of bread (manna) (v. 11), the gathering of fragments (v. 12), the mention of manna (vv. 31-32, 49-50), and the mention of "the bread that came down from heaven" (v. 58). Jesus is like Moses, but is greater than Moses.
"Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near" (v. 4). The mention of the Passover is another signal that something important is happening. This Gospel tells of three Passovers:
•The first was in Jerusalem, where Jesus cleansed the temple at Passover (2:13-25). In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the cleansing takes place near the end of Jesus' ministry, but this Gospel reports it as taking place immediately after the first of Jesus' signs, a miracle of abundance, the making of wine from water at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (2:1-11).
• Now, at Jesus' second Passover, we have another miracle of abundance, the feeding of the five thousand (6:1-14), a miracle like unto God's gift of manna in the wilderness –– a linkage that Jesus will make clear in the Bread of Life discourse (6:22-40) that follows the feeding of the five thousand.
• The story of Jesus' third Passover will require eight chapters for its telling (11:55 - 19:42), and will include the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion as well as the crucifixion itself. The Passover celebrates the Exodus, with the Passover lamb commemorating the salvation of the Israelites from the death angel. In this Gospel, Jesus is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (1:29, 36 –– see also 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18; Revelation 5:12). Just as the Passover lamb saved the lives of the Israelites, so the Lamb of God has come into the world "so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (3:16).
VERSES 5-9: WHERE ARE WE TO BUY BREAD FOR THESE PEOPLE TO EAT?
5When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He said this to test (Greek: peirazon) him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, "Six months' wages (Greek: diakosion denarion –– two hundred denarii) would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?"
Unlike Matthew 14:14 and Mark 6:34; 8:2, this Gospel does not mention Jesus' compassion for the crowds, who are like sheep without a shepherd. In this Gospel, this story has to do with faith in Jesus rather than his compassion.
The story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand is also found in Luke 9:10-17, making it the only miracle story to be found in all four Gospels.
"Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" (v. 5). Jesus addresses his question to Philip, whose home is in nearby Bethsaida (1:44). If anyone would know where to purchase bread locally, Philip should know.
This is an allusion to the question raised by Moses to God in the wilderness: "Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?" (Numbers 11:13).
Jesus "said this to test (peirozon) him" (v. 6a). Peirazon can mean "to examine" or "to tempt." The examiner hopes that the student will pass the test, while the tempter hopes that the student will fail. Jesus is an examiner here –– hoping to find in Philip a man of faith.
"for he himself knew what he was going to do" (v. 6b). Jesus has a plan in mind. He is not asking Philip a question to initiate a brainstorming session to solve a difficult problem. He is probing Philip to learn the depth of his faith.
"Six months' wages (diakosion denarion –– two hundred denarii) would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little" (v. 7). Philip points out the obvious difficulty –– the purchase of bread for such a large crowd would be very expensive. The Greek says diakosion denarion –– two hundred denarii. A denarius is a day's wages for a working man, so two hundred denarii represents at least six month's wages –– a capital sum that would seem enormous to a man like Philip. How can he get that kind of money?
Philip could go even further by pointing out the logistical problems associated with the procurement and transportation of such a large quantity of bread. Even if the disciples could collect sufficient funds, they could hardly expect to find bread already baked in sufficient quantities to feed thousands. How many ovens would be required? How many bakers? How much flour? How long would it take for the dough to rise? To bake? How could the disciples transport thousands of loaves of bread? What about water? What about toilet facilities? If the disciples were to tackle this monumental task and gather the necessary food, could Jesus reorganize the crowd for teaching again after dinner? Wouldn't it make more sense to dismiss them now and let them find their own dinner?
But doesn't Philip remember Jesus' miracle at Cana (2:1-11) –– "the first of his signs" (2:11) –– revealing Jesus' glory and causing his disciples to believe in him (2:11)? Philip was already Jesus' disciple when Jesus worked that miracle of abundance (1:43-48). While we are not specifically told that Philip was present at the Cana wedding, surely he has heard about that miracle. For whatever reason, he fails to connect that miracle of abundance with the need for abundance here.
"One of (Jesus') disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 'There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?'" (vv. 8-9). Andrew makes a feeble stab at a solution, identifying a modest resource –– a boy with his lunch. But then he endorses Philip's pessimism by saying, "But what are they among so many people?" Both Philip and Andrew help us to understand the magnitude of the coming miracle by stressing the obvious difficulties.
"five barley loaves" (v. 9). Barley loaves are an inferior bread usually eaten by poor people. It is less nutritious, less tasty, and harder to digest than bread made from wheat.
These barley loaves recall Elisha's miraculous feeding of one hundred people with a small supply of barley loaves. In that story, a man from Baal-shalishah brought twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain to give to Elisha for the offering of the first fruits. Elisha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat." But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So Elisha repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, 'They shall eat and have some left.'" The servant "set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord" (2 Kings 4:42-44). The connections between the stories of the prophet Elisha and the prophet Jesus are unmistakable.
"and two fish" (v. 9). The fish are probably small –– an accompaniment for the bread, which is the main course.
This is all that the Gospels have to say about this boy (the Synoptics don't even mention him). The boy is an unlikely candidate to save the day, just as the shepherd-boy, David, was an unlikely opponent for Goliath many years earlier. His pitiful offering is as inadequate as was David's sling. The boy has little to offer, but he offers that little bit. Jesus will transform that little bit into more-than-enough.
What if the boy were unwilling to share his lunch? What if he were to say, "I need this for myself" –– or "My little bit won't make any difference"? "In the parable of the talents our Lord makes it plain that... it is the one-talent people who are most likely to falter and fail him; and this on the ground that anything they could do is so trivial as to be not worth doing.... That, says Christ, is a fallacy that has disastrous consequences" (Gossip, 555). "There would have been one great and shining deed fewer in history if that boy had refused to come or if he had withheld his loaves and fishes. The fact of life is that Jesus Christ needs what we can bring Him. We may not have much to bring but He needs what we have" (Barclay, 207).
VERSES 10-14: THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND
10Jesus said, "Make the people (Greek: anthropous –– men) sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they (Greek: hoi andres –– the men) sat down, about five thousand in all. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks (Greek: eucharistesas), he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 13So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world (Greek: erchomenos eis ton kosmon)."
"Jesus said, 'Make the people sit down'" (v. 10a). Jesus might intend this gesture to signal the crowd to prepare for lunch. If so, it is a bold move for a man with so many mouths to feed and so little food.
"Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they (hoi andres –– the men) sat down, about five thousand in all" (v. 10b). The "in all" at the end of this sentence is absent in the Greek, and might mislead us to assume that it includes women and children. In that time and place, this sort of count would include only men, so the total crowd would be larger, probably much larger. Matthew's Gospel makes this explicit by saying, "And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children" (Matthew 14:21).
"Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks (eucharistesas), he distributed them to those who were seated" (v. 11). Eucharistesas is the Greek word from which we get our word Eucharist. "At this point in the story, (eucharistesas) carries little meaning beyond its obvious sense of giving thanks to God.... But as the chapter unfolds, the term will take on a particular meaning for the Johannine community and its audience" (Howard-Brook, 145). The traditional prayer of thanksgiving is "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth" (Carson, 270). It expresses, not a blessing of food, but thanks to God.
In the Synoptics, the disciples distribute the bread, but in this Gospel, Jesus does it. "Jesus' actions do not reflect the more liturgically stylized actions of the synoptic accounts (e.g., Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16), but rather reflect the actions of a host at a Jewish meal" (O'Day, 594). The emphasis is less clearly eucharistic in this gospel than in the Synoptics.
"When they were satisfied" (v. 12a). The people eat their fill –– not just a token amount as some scholars have suggested. Nor is this a lesson in sharing, as others have suggested. This is NOT the story of a young boy who sets an example of generosity that inspires the rest of the crowd to share their food which turns out to be adequate for the occasion. This IS a story –– one of many in both Old and New Testaments –– about God's/Jesus' ability to transform too little into more than enough.
Attempts to explain this story by rationalistic or humanistic interpretations only diminish it –– shrinking the miracle to fit our vision instead of expanding our vision to see God's majesty. We must ask why some interpreters find it possible to believe in the miracle of the resurrection but not the miracle of the loaves and fishes –– and if they do not believe in the miracle of the resurrection, how can they be faithful spiritual guides?
Jesus commands, "Gather up the fragments left over, so nothing may be lost" (v. 12b). This is somewhat different from the Exodus account, where God commanded the Israelites to gather the manna but not to keep it until the next day (Exodus 16:16-21). When the Israelites disobeyed this order by keeping food for the next day, "it bred worms and became foul" and was lost (Exodus 16:20). "The discourse will allude to this in terms of the food that perishes (v. 27). It will also go on to talk of Jesus not losing anything that the Father has given him (v. 39; cf. also 10.28; 17.12; 18.9)" (Lincoln, 213).
The emphasis in the Exodus story was the faithfulness of God's providence, while the emphasis here is the abundance of God's providence. Jesus makes no mention of gathering only what is needed for the day.
"So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets" (v. 13). The twelve baskets of leftovers are more food than Jesus started with –– one basket each for the twelve tribes of Israel. The supply is abundant. God provides plenty to meet our needs.
In an article on the significance of various numbers in the Bible, Borchert says, "The combinations of four and three (the world and the divine) are important. Three and four when added equal seven, which is regarded as a reference to fullness or perfection. The multiplication of three and four equals twelve, which is the representative number of the people of God. Five and ten often are regarded as signifying human or mortal completeness.... A thousand (three multiples of ten), the general big number" (Borchert, 255 –– see also the article on "Numbers" in Bromiley, 556-561). While our text provides no interpretation of the numbers involved here, it includes several of these significant numbers –– seven resources (five loaves and two fish) (v. 9) –– a crowd of five thousand (v. 10) –– and twelve baskets of leftovers (v. 13).
Seeing the miracle, the people say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world" (erchomenos eis ton kosmon) (v. 14). This apparently refers to Moses' promise, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet" (Deuteronomy 18:15). "In Greek, the phrase is the same as the description of the as yet unnamed Jesus in the prologue (1:9): 'The true light was coming into the world' (erchomenos[n] eis ton kosmon). It is John's way of speaking of the advent of Jesus" (Smith, 149).
VERSE 15: JESUS WITHDREW AGAIN TO THE MOUNTAIN BY HIMSELF
15When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
"When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king" (v. 15a). The crowd wants to institutionalize Jesus' role as provider and deliverer. Having seen power at work, they want to harness it for their own purposes. "If this was the second Moses, he would surely do for them what the first Moses had done for their ancestors and deliver them from oppression" (Bruce, 146).
While the crowd's response is natural enough, it makes too little of Jesus, whom they wish to claim as their own personal genie. Their response "reverses the answer to the catechism question so that it would read, 'Our chief end is to be glorified by God forever" (Brueggemann, 446).
"he withdrew again to the mountain by himself" (v. 15b). Seeing that they are about to make him king by force, Jesus withdraws. He has a ministry to fulfill, but not the one that these people envision. To become the king that they want would shrink his ministry from the world (3:16) to the eastern end of the Mediterranean –– from all of history to a generation or two –– from a giver of eternal life to a giver of temporal security. And to become their king would expose Jesus to a justifiable charge of treason, legitimizing his execution as a criminal. No longer would he be the innocent lamb dying for the sins of the world, but he would instead die as a rightfully convicted felon.
There is "much of St. John's irony in the passage; He who is already King has come to open His kingdom to men; but in their blindness men try to force Him to be the kind of king they want; thus they fail to get the king they want, and also lose the kingdom He offers" (R.F. Bailey, Saint John's Gospel, quoted in Morris, 307).
VERSES 16-21: THEY SAW JESUS WALKING ON THE SEA
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles (Greek: hos stadious eikosi pente e triakonta –– about twenty-five or thirty stadia), they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, "It is I (Greek: ego eimi); do not be afraid." 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
"When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum" (vv. 16-17a). In Matthew 14:22 and Mark 6:45, the disciples depart on Jesus' orders. Here they leave on their own initiative. Luke 9 doesn't report this departure.
"It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them" (v. 17b). In this Gospel, darkness is more than the absence of physical light –– it signals evil or danger. It is now dark, and Jesus is absent.
"The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing" (v. 18). Located nearly 700 feet (215 meters) below sea level, the sea is nearly surrounded by high hills. The topography is such that high winds often sweep down suddenly from the hills, making the sea a dangerous place to be in a small boat. There is no indication yet that the disciples are in danger or afraid, but their journey will not be easy.
"When they had rowed about three or four miles" (hos stadious eikosi pente e triakonta) –– about twenty-five or thirty stadia) (v. 19a). A stadion is a little more than 600 feet (180 meters), so this distance is 15,000-18,000 feet or roughly 3 - 3.5 miles (4.8 - 5.6 km). The sea (really a good-sized lake) is 8 miles (13 km) east to west at its widest point and about 13 miles (21 km) north to south. The point here is that the disciples are somewhere in the middle of the lake. They have rowed a considerable distance in the storm, but have a considerable distance left to go. Their group includes experienced fishermen who have surely been on the lake during storms. While the text doesn't say that they are afraid, anyone who has ever been caught in a storm in the middle of a large lake will appreciate the challenge that they face –– the danger that the storm poses.
"they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified" (v. 19b). Now, for the first time, we hear that the disciples are terrified. It is not the storm that terrifies them, but the sight of Jesus walking on the sea and coming near their boat. John doesn't specify the cause of their fear, but the Synoptic Gospels tell us that the disciples are afraid because they think that Jesus is a ghost (Matthew 14:26; Mark 6:49; Luke 24:37).
Jesus says, "It is I (ego eimi); do not be afraid" (v. 20). Ego eimi can be translated "I AM" –– God's name (Exodus 3:14) –– and Jesus uses this phrase often in this Gospel to say "ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35) –– "ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12) –– "ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11) –– etc. Here on the chaos of these troubled waters, therefore, Jesus is revealing himself on two levels. He is the leader whom the disciples have been following, but he is also the presence of God in their midst. He comes to help them in their distress. "Jesus' glory is not revealed for power, but for grace-filled pastoral care" (O'Day, 597).
Matthew includes the story of Peter attempting to walk on the water to meet Jesus (Matthew 14:28-31), a story not found in the other Gospels.
"Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going" (v. 21). The immediacy of their arrival suggests that Jesus is somehow responsible for their quick return to land. The movement of this story is from the chaos that the disciples experience when separated from Jesus to the peace that he brings when he joins them. It echoes Psalm 107:23-30:
23Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
24they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
27they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits' end.
28Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
In many of the families I visited nothing was certain, nothing predictable, nothing totally safe. Maybe there would be food tomorrow, maybe there would be work tomorrow, maybe there would be peace tomorrow. Maybe, maybe not. But whatever is given –– money, food, work, a handshake, a smile, a good word, or an embrace –– is a reason to rejoice and say gracias. What I claim as a right, my friends in Bolivia and Peru received as a gift; what is obvious to me was a joyful surprise to them; what I take for granted, they celebrate in thanksgiving; what for me goes by unnoticed became for them a new occasion to say thanks.
Henri J. M. Nouwen, Gracias! A Latin American Journal
* * * * * * * * * *
One of the characteristics of truly great people is that they can receive graciously. I know a very famous man in the academic world who by no means always dresses like an academic. In a London railway station he saw an old lady in difficulties and offered to carry her bag. When he had put it in her carriage for her, she gave him sixpence –– which he gravely and courteously received rather than embarrass the old lady who offered it.
Jesus could receive. He could take a boy's picnic lunch because it was all that the boy could offer –– and with it he could work a miracle.
William Barclay, Everyday with William Barclay
* * * * * * * * * *
To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own. It is like presents made for older people when you were a child. So much went into them –– dreams and prayers and hours of knotted fingers and frozen effort and there... only a dirty piece of knotted string came out of it. But you knew, even if they didn't, that you were giving them something worthy of them.
There is something of worship or prayer in laying down an offering at someone's feet and then going away quickly. The nicest gifts are those left, nameless and quiet, unburdened with love, or vanity, or the desire for attention.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Flower and the Nettle
* * * * * * * * * *
The fragrance always stays
in the hand that gives the rose.
Hada Bejar,
17th century British playwright
* * * * * * * * * *
A candle loses nothing
by lighting another candle.
Anonymous
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Three: K-P - Revised (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Hoyer, Robert J., Lectionary Bible Studies: The Year of Mark: Pentecost 1 (Minneapolis and Philadelphia: Augsburg and Fortress Press, 1976)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Lockyer, Herbert, Sr., Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
Myers, Allen C., The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987)
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Richard Niell Donovan, Sermonwriter.com
July 19, 2009 - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
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PROPER 11
YEAR B
JULY 19, 2009
THE READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE
A reading from the Second Samuel [2 Samuel 7:1-14a]
When David, the king, was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."
But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
From Psalm 89
20 "I have found David my servant;
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
21 My hand will hold him fast
and my arm will make him strong.
22 No enemy shall deceive him,
nor any wicked man bring him down.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and love shall be with him,
and he shall be victorious through my Name.
25 I shall make his dominion extend
from the Great Sea to the River.
26 He will say to me, 'You are my Father,
my God, and the rock of my salvation.'
27 I will make him my firstborn
and higher than the kings of the earth.
28 I will keep my love for him for ever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his line for ever
and his throne as the days of heaven."
30 "If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my judgments;
31 If they break my statutes
and do not keep my commandments;
32 I will punish their transgressions with a rod
and their iniquities with the lash;
33 But I will not take my love from him,
nor let my faithfulness prove false.
34 I will not break my covenant,
nor change what has gone out of my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness:
'I will not lie to David.
36 His line shall endure for ever
and his throne as the sun before me;
37 It shall stand fast for evermore like the moon,
the abiding witness in the sky.' "
A Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians
[Ephesians 2:11-22]
Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision" -- a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 30-56: OVERVIEW
The Gospel lesson this Sunday is composed of two passages linked by their similar content –– the story of Jesus and the apostles going away to a deserted place for solitude together, but being interrupted by the crowds with their great needs (vv. 30-34) –– and the story of the crowds coming to Jesus in Gennesaret for healing (vv. 53-56). Between these two passages, Mark tells the stories of the feeding of the five thousand (vv. 35-44) and Jesus walking on the water (vv. 45-52). This is an example of a story (or stories) within a story –– a favorite genre for Mark. In this case, Mark ties together stories of Jesus' teaching and healing ministry (vv. 30-34, 53-56) with a story of his providing bread –– a story with eucharistic overtones (vv. 35-44).
These passages speak to us, because we have felt like the disciples must have felt –– hurried and harried. The needs were great; the crowds were large; and the disciples could not even find time to eat. If busyness was a problem for them, it seems even worse now. Our problem is a world in which experts have engineered out all the breathing room. Our laborsaving appliances fail to save us from laboring –– our communications technology (voicemail, for instance) creates barriers instead of bringing us together –– and our leisure is filled with chores.
Worst are the interruptions! If we could just concentrate on the task at hand, we could get the job done. If we could just plan our work and work our plan, life would be simple. If it weren't for the phone –– and the person with a question –– and the sudden requirement for a new report –– and the line of people at the counter!
And these passages speak to us, because we have felt like the people who came to Jesus. We, too, have been sick in body and sick in spirit –– in desperate need of Jesus' healing touch. We, too, have rushed around hoping to find help –– begging Jesus that we might touch even the fringe of his cloak so that we might be healed.
VERSES 30-32: THE APOSTLES GATHERED AROUND JESUS
30The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
Mark 6:7-13 tells of Jesus sending out the Twelve two-by-two with authority over unclean spirits. They preached repentance, cast out demons, and healed the sick. In verses 14-29, Mark interrupts that story to tell of the death of John the Baptist. Now, in verses 30-34, Mark resumes the story of the Twelve, who report the results of their mission to Jesus. This is another example, then, of one of Mark's story within a story –– the story of John the Baptist set inside the story of the mission of the Twelve.
"The apostles gathered around Jesus" (v. 30). Jesus sent them out as "the twelve" (v. 7), but now Mark calls them apostles (v. 30). This is the only place in this Gospel where Mark uses the word "apostles" (except for 3:14, where the word is disputed). The word "apostles" is particularly appropriate in verse 30, because it comes from the Greek word apostello, which means "to send" –– and it was that word that Mark used in verse 7 to speak of sending out the Twelve. Apostle is "a technical term for the early Christian missionaries, (indicating) that they are official agents (...saliah)" (Perkins, 600). Such a person is considered to have the authority and stature of the person whom they represent –– in this case, Jesus.
"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves, and rest a while" (v. 31a). Jesus sees that the apostles are weary after their busy mission tour, and invites them to a place of solitude where they can rest. Soon Jesus will have compassion on the crowd, but first he has compassion on his apostles, who have not even had time to eat. Discipleship must balance time for service with time for physical and spiritual renewal. Vincent de Paul advises, "Be careful to preserve your health. It is a trick of the devil, which he employs to deceive good souls, to incite them to do more than they are able, in order that they may no longer be able to do anything."
"For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (v. 32b). It is the disciples who are so busy that they have not had time even to eat. People can miss a meal now and then without harm –– but people who are too busy to eat or rest or gather their thoughts soon find the stress wearing –– debilitating.
Contrast the hunger of the disciples in this verse with that which went before (the grim feast at which Herod had the head of John the Baptist served on a platter at his debauched banquet) and what will follow (the feeding of the five thousand).
VERSES 33-34: AND HE HAD COMPASSION FOR THEM
33Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion (Greek: esplanchnisthe) for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
"Now many say them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them" (v. 33). The crowds see where the boat is going, and move in that direction to intercept Jesus.
"As (Jesus) went ashore, he saw a great crowd" (v. 34a). When Jesus arrives at his resting place, a great crowd awaits him. Jesus and the disciples have reason to be annoyed. They have not eaten (v. 31), and were in need of rest even before rowing the boat to this destination. We would expect tired, hungry men to respond with anger to this unexpected demand on their ebbing energy.
"and he had compassion (esplanchnisthe) for them" (v. 34b). Mark doesn't tell us how the disciples respond, but Jesus has compassion on the crowd, because they are "like sheep without a shepherd" (v. 34). Jesus has a sharp tongue for the self-satisfied, but a soft heart for people in need. He "seems never put off by our interruptions, by our constant need of his compassion and teaching. This text affirms his extraordinary availability" (Brueggemann, 436). It also affirms the depth of his feeling for people in need. The word translated "compassion," esplanchnisthe, is also the word for bowels –– guts, and describes a sympathetic feeling that starts in the deepest regions of a person's being.
"because they were like a sheep without a shepherd" (v. 34c). These words remind us of Moses' request for God to appoint someone to succeed him as leader of the people "so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd" (Numbers 27:17). God chose Joshua, whose name is a variant of the name Jesus.
"Sheep without a shepherd" also reminds us of the words of Ezekiel the prophet, who said, "So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them" (Ezekiel 34:5-6).
Sheep need a shepherd to lead them on safe pathways, to help them to find food, to defend them against danger, to find them when they wander off, and to restore them to the fold. "Shepherd" is often used in the Bible as a metaphor:
• For faithful or unfaithful kings, priests and prophets (2 Samuel 5:2; Psalm 78:70-72; Isaiah 56:11-12; Jeremiah 3:15; 10:21; 23:1-4; 50:6).
• For God (Psalms 23:1-4; 28:9; 80:1; Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 31:10)
• For Jesus (Matthew 26:31; John 10:11-18; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; Revelation 7:17)
• For church leaders (John 21:15; Acts 20:28ff; 1 Peter 5:2-4). (Myers, 939-940).
The words, "sheep without a shepherd" imply a rebuke on the religious leaders of Jesus' day, who have failed in their shepherd role.
And Jesus "began to teach them many things" (v. 34d). "Here the Marcan emphasis on teaching is evident.... Now, in response to a crowd probably seeking a miracle, Jesus offers teaching" (Williamson, 126). Mark gives us no sense, however, that the crowd is disappointed. As we will see shortly, they just keep coming (vv. 53-56).
Teaching (v. 34), feeding (vv. 35-44) and healing (v. 56) show Jesus' concern for people's physical and spiritual welfare, providing a model for ministry that has served the church well through the centuries. Word and sacrament constitute the core of our ministry, but bread and blankets are almost as important.
VERSES 35-55: NOT INCLUDED IN THE LECTIONARY READING
While these verses are not included in the lectionary reading, the preacher needs to be aware of them. They are comprised of two stories:
• The feeding of the five thousand (vv. 35-44).
• Jesus walking on the water (vv. 45-52).
VERSES 53-56: PEOPLE BEGAN TO BRING THE SICK ON MATS
53When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats (Greek: krabattois) to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe (Greek: kraspedou) of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed (Greek: esozonto –– from sozo –– to heal or to save).
"When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat" (v. 53). After feeding the five thousand (vv. 35-44) and walking on water (vv. 45-52), Jesus travels by boat with his disciples to Gennesaret, a fertile plain about three miles long and a mile wide between Capernaum and Tiberius on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee.
"When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region" (v. 54). The people recognize Jesus and rush to bring sick people to him. The picture is at once awful and wonderful –– awful in that dozens or even hundreds of pitiful people converge on one place seeking Jesus' help –– wonderful in the faithful devotion of people who spare no effort to help their loved ones –– and wonderful in that all who touch even the fringe of Jesus' cloak are healed (v. 56).
"and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was" (v. 55). The mats on which the sick lie are known as krabattois –– mattresses commonly used by the poor. The poor and needy are often more receptive to Jesus than are more prosperous people. We are even more receptive when we are seriously ill.
"the fringe (kraspedou) of his cloak" (v. 56a). This fringe is probably the fringe or tassels worn by Jewish men in compliance with Torah law to remind them of God's commandments (Numbers 15:38-39; Deuteronomy 22:12) –– thereby marking Jesus as an observant Jew, concerned with obedience to Torah law. Significantly, Mark will tell us next of Pharisees and scribes who rebuke Jesus for his disciples' failure to comply with the "tradition of the elders" (7:5) –– in this case, ritual handwashing. "The reference to the fringe of Jesus' garment, then, provides a fitting transition to a passage in which he will set the divine commandment over against traditions of human beings whose hearts have strayed from God" (Marcus, 439).
"and all who touched it were healed" (v. 56b). The Greek word for healed is sozo, which also means saved. As anyone who has survived a serious illness knows, to be healed is to be saved, not only from death but from suffering and incapacitation, which can be even worse than death.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
In 1991, before the advent of the Internet, Joseph Epstein had this to say:
"Hell, I assume, will be full of newspapers,
with a fresh edition every 30 seconds,
so that no one will ever feel caught up."
Which makes me wonder, "Who needs Hell?"
We have CNN and Fox News.
* * * * * * * * * *
The treasure to be found in the quiet times alone with the Lord
can seldom be found in the rush of a too-busy day.
Herman Riffel, Learning to Hear God's Voice
* * * * * * * * * *
Most of us are working ourselves to death. At least we feel that way as we rush to our next appointment. We are consumed by our jobs, working longer hours than ever before, struggling to stay employed and to get the next promotion. Cellular phones and E-mail make it harder for us to escape. We search restlessly for the meaning of life in what we accomplish. Most of us are also caught up in a spiral of materialism and consumer spending. We want more money so we can buy more things. We may deny that our happiness depends on these purchases, but the more we have, the more we seem to want.
Robert Wuthrow, God and Mammon in America
* * * * * * * * * *
Nothing is more indicative of false timesaving than the current emphasis on speed reading. It is almost made to appear that giving adequate time to a book or to serious ideas in print smacks of retardation. An author may spend days in composing a paragraph or two in order to get at the essence of an idea or to bring out the full force of a paradox. Lingering over such a passage and allowing it to stimulate the mind is a civilizing experience. No one need apologize for savoring the full meaning of print or for combining thinking with reading. Time given to thought is the greatest timesaver of all.
Norman Cousins
* * * * * * * * * *
Jack Welch, while still serving as CEO of General Electric, said:
If someone tells me, "I'm working 90 hours a week,"
I say, "You're doing something terribly wrong.
I go skiing on the weekend.
I go out on Friday.
Make a list of 20 things that make you work 90 hours,
and ten of them have to be nonsense."
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Donahue, John R. and Harrington, Daniel J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2002)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Myers, Allen C. (ed.), The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Copyright 2009, Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
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Monday, July 6, 2009
July 12, 2009 - 6th Sunday after Pentecost
Image by Sacred Destinations via Flickr
Sunday closest to July 13
Year B
Proper 10
RCL
Amos 7:7-15
Psalm 85:8-13
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
The Collect
O Lord…mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Amos 7:7-15
This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said,
"See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,
`Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.'"
And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."
Then Amos answered Amaziah, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, `Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'"
The Psalm
Psalm 85:8-13 Page 709, BCP
Benedixisti, Domine
8 I will listen to what the LORD God is saying,
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.
9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring up from the earth,
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 The LORD will indeed grant prosperity,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him,
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.
Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of the demons cast out and the many who were anointed and cured, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him." But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it." And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of the demons cast out and the many who were anointed and cured, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him." But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it." And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 14-29: THE MARTYRDOM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
The opening words of this Gospel are: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way'" (1:1-2). The messenger was John the Baptist (1:3-11). John prepared the way by preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (1:4). After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee preaching much the same message, "Repent, and believe in the good news" (1:14-15).
The mission of the twelve (6:6b-13) leads into this story of John's martyrdom, but Mark concludes the mission story (6:30) only after telling us the martyrdom story (6:14-29). He sandwiches the martyrdom story within the mission story for a reason. The disciples' mission is quite successful (6:12-13), and reassures us that God's work continues unabated even in the face of the martyrdom of a great, Godly servant. Mark's church needed to hear this, because they were suffering great persecution. We need to hear it too, because we, like God's people through the ages, are prone to interpret difficult times as a sign that evil has trumped God. This story tells us that God does not always reward faithful discipleship with an easy life. The prophetic Christian might be beheaded –– crucified –– thrown to the lions –– expelled from college –– fired from a job –– required to apologize. The truth-teller's road is narrow and filled with potholes. We should not expect applause for living or preaching prophetically.
VERSES 14-16: JESUS' NAME HAD BECOME KNOWN
14King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him." 15But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." 16But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."
"King Herod heard of it" (v. 14a). Hearing of Jesus' ministry, Herod immediately thinks of John the Baptist, whom he killed some time earlier (1:14). The story of John's death that follows, then, is a flashback to that time.
Herod Antipas is not really king, but tetrarch –– governor over one fourth of the territory over which his father reigned. His portion is Galilee and Perea (Matthew 14:1; Luke 9:7). He rules at Rome's pleasure, and is subject to Rome's guidance. Calling him "king" is "an example of the evangelist's irony, for it is prominent in a passage in which Herod is outwitted and manipulated by two women and hamstrung by his own oath and his fear of losing face before his courtiers" (Marcus, 398). He has reigned since 4 B.C., but will be deposed and sent into exile in 36 A.D. Consider that for a moment –– Herod's forty-year reign will come to an ignominious end not long after he is involved in the deaths of John and Jesus.
Herod's name raises a red flag. Earlier, Herod the Great tried to kill the baby Jesus (Matthew 1-20). Herod Archelaus threatened Joseph and his little family (Matthew 2:22). Now Herod Antipas murders John the Baptist. "The Herod family left bloody footprints across the New Testament" (Craddock, 343). The mention of Herod's name warns us of trouble ahead.
"for Jesus' name had become known" (v. 14b). While this is the story of John's death, it begins by mentioning both Herod and Jesus. The linkage of Herod, John, and Jesus is important to this text. We have seen linkages between John and Jesus from the beginning:
• Mary and Elizabeth celebrated their pregnancies together, and Elizabeth told Mary of the preeminent role that Mary's son would play.
• John prepared the way for Jesus.
• John baptized Jesus, and his baptism became an occasion God to reveal Jesus' sonship.
Now both John and Jesus are linked to Herod, who will play a role in their deaths (see Luke 23:7-15):
• Herod kills John for telling the truth. In due time, we will see Herod involved in Jesus' death.
• Herod is ambivalent about John, as he will be about Jesus (Luke 23). Both Herod and Pilate will have misgivings about authorizing Jesus' execution, but both will be persuaded by a crowd of people.
• John's disciples "came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb" (v. 29). Joseph of Arimathea will do the same for Jesus.
• Both John and Jesus continue to wield power after their deaths. The thought of John's death continues to haunt Herod, and he believes Jesus to be John resurrected (6:16). Jesus will, in fact, be resurrected.
This, then, is more than a story about John. It is a story about Jesus –– a glimpse into the death that he will die and the resurrection that will follow. John blazed the trail for Jesus both in life and in death.
The disciples will also find themselves on that trail. Norman Perrin discovered the following pattern (mentioned in Williamson, 123):
• John the Baptist preaches (1:4-8) and is delivered up (1:14; 6-17-29).
• Jesus preaches (1:14-15) and is delivered up (9:31; 10:33, 14, 15:1, 10, 15).
• The disciples preach (6:7-13) and are delivered up (13:9-13).
"But others said, 'It is Elijah" (v. 15). Based on the prophecy of Malachi 4:5, the people of Jesus' day expected Elijah to return to usher in the day of the Lord. In this Gospel, John is Elijah the prophet. Jesus said, "Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him" (9:13).
There are close parallels between this story and the story of Elijah, Ahab, and Jezebel (1 Kings 16):
• John wore a leather belt, like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8; Mark 1:6).
• The sin of both kings involves their marriage to wicked women (1 Kings 16:31; Mark 6:1-8).
• Both Elijah and John challenge their respective kings prophetically, causing both Jezebel and Herodias to scheme murder.
• Both kings are weak men who find themselves caught between their confrontation with a prophet and their fear of a strong wife.
• But Jezebel fails in her attempt to kill Elijah, while Herodias succeeds in her effort to kill John.
But Herod sees Jesus as "John, whom I beheaded," raised from the dead (v. 16):
• It doesn't make sense for Jesus to be John resurrected, because Jesus and John lived at the same time and knew each other. "What is meant is simply that the spirit of John now rests on Jesus, just as Elijah's spirit rested on Elisha (2 Kings 2:15)" (Hare, 75).
• Soon Peter will correctly identify Jesus: "You are the Messiah" (8:29).
VERSES 17-20: AND HERODIAS HAD A GRUDGE AGAINST JOHN
17For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. 18For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.
"For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison" (v. 17a). Josephus says that John was imprisoned at Herod's order at Herod's palace at Machaerus in southern Perea, a place far removed from Tiberius, where we believe this banquet takes place. However, the executioner's quick action in vv. 27-28 suggests that John is a prisoner in the palace at which the banquet takes place.
"on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her" (v. 17b). Herod arrested John and imprisoned him because of John's opposition to Herod's marriage to Herodias, formerly the wife of Herod's brother. The name of Herod's brother is in question. Mark calls him Philip, but Josephus says that the brother is also named Herod, as are many men in that family.
The Herod family tree is both complex and disturbing. Herod the Great married several women who bore him seven sons. Herodias is the daughter of one of these seven sons and marries two of the other seven sons –– which means that both of her husbands are also her uncles. Herod the Great was quite paranoid, and murdered three of his seven sons for fear that they might try to depose him. Of the remaining four sons, three marry either Herodias or Herodias' daughter (Barclay, 150-152).
"For John had been telling Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife'" (v. 18). John exhibited great courage in criticizing the king for violating Torah law by marrying his brother's wife (Leviticus 18:16; 20:21). That would have been legal under certain circumstances were the brother dead (Deuteronomy 25:5-10), but Herod's brother is alive.
"And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him" (vv. 19-20). We are surprised at Herod's response to John's criticism. "He protected him" (v. 20). It sounds as if Herod's motive in arresting John may have been twofold –– to curtail John's criticism and to protect John from Herodias' wrath. If John is in Herod's custody, he cannot provoke Herodias further, and he is also beyond Herodias' reach.
Herod, hearing John, "was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him" (v. 20). We would expect Herod to close his ears to John's criticism, but holiness and truth have great power. People in positions of power tend to surround themselves with "Yes men" –– people who tell them what they want to hear. They do so because they prefer flattery to criticism –– they don't want their subordinates to raise objections to their program. But sometimes, like someone who has overindulged on candy, the ruler who has heard nothing but flattery yearns for something more substantial–– something more nourishing–– a word of truth.
"for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man" (v. 20). Even though John is a simple man with no trappings of power, Herod is afraid of him. Even though John confronts Herod, telling him things that Herod prefers not to hear, Herod nevertheless likes to listen to John. Even though Herod surely has advisors who readily offer comfortable counsel, he is drawn to John's rock-solid integrity. As preachers, we need to remember the authority of holiness and truth.
Herodias, formerly Philip's wife and now Herod's wife, is a different story. She "had a grudge against (John), and wanted to kill him" (v. 19). She "felt that the only place where her marriage-certificate could safely be written was on the back of the death-warrant of John the Baptist" (T.W. Manson, quoted in Edwards, 186). Frustrated by Herod's protection of John, she bides her time and waits for her opportunity. Herodias is the archetypical evil queen, much like Jezebel.
Jewish rabbis taught that a good woman might marry a bad man and hope to reform him, but a good man should not marry a bad woman lest she drag him down. The truth is that neither a bad man nor a bad woman is any bargain. The New Testament tells Christians to be equally yoked –– to seek a believing spouse.
VERSES 21-25: BUT AN OPPORTUNITY CAME
21But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it." 23And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." 24She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." 25Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
"But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and offers and for the leaders of Galilee" (v. 21). Herodias' opportunity finally comes as a result of her daughter's dance (v. 22). The NRSV identifies the daughter as Herodias, but acknowledges, "Other ancient authorities read the daughter of Herodias herself." Josephus calls the daughter Salome.
"When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests" (v. 22). The dance was most likely a licentious dance that most fathers would quickly stop –– but not Herod. The Herod family is known for debauched behavior, and this scene is believable based on what we know about Herod from other sources.
"Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom" (v. 23). Herod's offer of half his kingdom is "a sham, for Rome would not allow him to part with an acre of land" (Edwards, 187).
Little does Herod guess what the daughter will ask. She seeks advice from her mother, who tells her to ask for the head of John the baptizer (v. 24). "The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her" (v. 26). Like Pilate, Herod's convictions melt easily in the face of a crowd.
Herodias asks only for John's head; Salome adds her own personal touch –– "on a platter" –– an especially macabre touch for a banquet setting (v. 25).
There are a number of parallels between this scene and the story of Esther –– parallels that would be quite apparent to early Jewish readers of Mark's Gospel:
• Both Esther and Salome gain advantage over their enemies at a banquet.
• Esther won the king's favor (Esther 5:2) and Salome "pleased Herod" (v. 22).
• Both kings offer up to half of their kingdoms (Esther 5:3; Mark 6:23).
• While Esther did not ask for the death of her enemy, Haman, her exposure of his treachery resulted in his being hung from the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, Esther's uncle (Esther 6). Salome asks for John's death, a request that Herod quickly answers.
• The major difference between the two stories is that Esther sought only to expose Haman's treachery so that she might save her people –– her motives were pure. We cannot say the same for Salome and Herodias.
VERSES 26-29: HE WENT AND BEHEADED JOHN
26The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
"Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison" (v. 27). The king dispatches a soldier to bring John's head on a platter, which is done.
The guard "brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl" (v. 28). The head is presented to the daughter, who gives it to her mother. It is hard to imagine a girl and her mother who could face such a gory sight, but Mark notes no distaste on the part of either one.
Marcus notes the parallel between the passing of this platter and the passing of the bread in the story of the feeding of the five thousand (6:30-44), which follows immediately on the heels of this story. He suggests that what we have in this story of John is "a kind of demonic eucharist" (Marcus, 403).
"When (John's) disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb" (v. 29). This is another parallel with Jesus' burial. While Jesus' disciples will abandon Jesus and fail to claim his body (14:50), Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple, will take care of the burial (15:43-46).
Josephus reports an interesting sequel to this story. To marry Herodias, Herod Antipas divorced his first wife, who was the daughter of King Aretas of Nabatea. To avenge the insult, Aretas will start a war with Herod Antipas and soundly defeat him. That, among other things, will lead to Rome deposing Antipas and sending him into exile in Gaul. Early Christians saw this as punishment for Herod's role in the executions of John and Jesus.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
I was drawn into the reading of the Bible when I got my first Bible from an American army chaplain as a young prisoner of war in 1945, while I was in a Belgian prison camp. The psalms of lamentation spoke to me when I felt completely lost and forsaken. And the passion story of Jesus spoke to me, because I felt that Christ understood me in my situation. Step after step I discovered the Gospel and the promise of God for the poor and the imprisoned. The Bible is the book which rescued me from resignation and despair.
Juergen Moltmann, German theologian
* * * * * * * * * *
If God sends us on stony paths,
he will provide us with strong shoes.
Alexander MacLaren
* * * * * * * * * *
There are times in the life of every disciple
when things are not clear or easy,
when it is not possible to know what to do or say.
Such times of darkness come as a discipline to the character
and as the means of fuller knowledge of the Lord.
Such darkness is a time for listening, not for speaking.
The Lord shares the darkness with his disciple; he is there.
Oswald Chambers
* * * * * * * * * *
I never had great suffering
that I did not turn into a poem.
Goethe
* * * * * * * * * *
I must be poor and want,
before I can exercise the virtue of gratitude;
miserable and in torment,
before I can exercise the virtue of patience.
John Donne
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
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Thursday, July 2, 2009
July 5, 2009 - 5th Sunday after Pentecost
SCRIPTURE STUDY
PROPER 9
ORDINARY TIME 14, YEAR B
JULY 5, 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to July 6
Proper 9, Year B, RCL
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
Psalm 48
or
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm 123
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
The Collect
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel." So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.
Psalm 48 Page 651, BCP
Magnus Dominus
1
Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; *
in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2
Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, *
the very center of the world and the city of the great King.
3
God is in her citadels; *
he is known to be her sure refuge.
4
Behold, the kings of the earth assembled *
and marched forward together.
5
They looked and were astounded; *
they retreated and fled in terror.
6
Trembling seized them there; *
they writhed like a woman in childbirth,
like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them.
7
As we have heard, so have we seen,
in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; *
God has established her for ever.
8
We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God, *
in the midst of your temple.
9
Your praise, like your Name, O God, reaches to the world's end; *
your right hand is full of justice.
10
Let Mount Zion be glad
and the cities of Judah rejoice, *
because of your judgments.
11
Make the circuit of Zion;
walk round about her; *
count the number of her towers.
12
Consider well her bulwarks;
examine her strongholds; *
that you may tell those who come after.
13
This God is our God for ever and ever; *
he shall be our guide for evermore.
or
Old Testament
Ezekiel 2:1-5
The Lord said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD." Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
The Psalm
Psalm 123 Page 780, BCP
Ad te levavi oculos meos
1
To you I lift up my eyes, *
to you enthroned in the heavens.
2
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, *
and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
3
So our eyes look to the LORD our God, *
until he show us his mercy.
4
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy, *
for we have had more than enough of contempt,
5
Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, *
and of the derision of the proud.
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven-- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person-- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows-- was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
Mark 6:1-13
Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 3-6: THE CONTEXT
The stories of Jesus' visit to his hometown and his commissioning of the twelve are two separate stories. The first story has to do with belief and unbelief. The second story has to do with the call of disciples and the proclamation of the Gospel. Both stories have to do with the acceptance or rejection of Christ or his representatives. Brueggemann suggests that the preacher choose one of the stories rather than trying to integrate both of them into a single sermon (Brueggemann, 418).
Mark positions these two stories after the miracle stories of chapter 5: Jesus' healing of the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20), the healing/resurrection of Jairus' daughter (5:21-23, 35-43), and the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (5:24-34). In these stories, Jesus' demonstrated his great power on both sides of the Sea of Galilee –– the eastern Gentile side and the western Jewish side. Those who witnessed his power, Gentile and Jew, were amazed (5:20, 42). Jesus' visit to his hometown therefore follows great demonstrations of Jesus' power. To the extent that they are aware of these miracles, Jesus' hometown folk have reason to be proud. We would expect them to welcome him with a ticker-tape parade –– but they don't.
However, this isn't the first account in this Gospel of Jesus visiting his hometown. In an earlier visit, his family "went out to restrain (Jesus), for people were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind.' And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons'" (3:21-22). Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the hometown folk fail to welcome Jesus more warmly in this later visit.
Immediately following these two stories, Mark tells us of the death of John the Baptist (6:14-29). The call of the disciples is therefore sandwiched between two stories of rejected prophets –– Jesus rejected by his hometown people (vv. 1-6a) and John killed by the king (vv. 14-29). Following the death of John the Baptist, Mark reports the disciples gathering around Jesus to report the results of the mission on which he has sent them (6:30) –– perhaps suggesting that, no matter how dark the moment, the church continues its work. God will not be stymied even by the death of one of his greatest servants.
The report of the death of John the Baptist (6:14-29) is sandwiched between the account of Jesus sending the disciples on a mission (6:7-13) and their reporting the results of that mission to Jesus (6:30). The stories of Jesus' rejection at Nazareth and John's death demonstrate the power of evil arrayed against God's prophets and give us a hint of what lies ahead for Jesus. They also prepare us for the opposition that the disciples will face in the early church and warn us that we cannot expect an evil world to welcome our witness to Christ more warmly that it welcomed Christ.
VERSES 1-3: AND THEY TOOK OFFENSE AT HIM
1He left that place and came to his hometown (Greek: patrida), and his disciples followed him. 2On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3Is not this the carpenter (Greek: tekton), the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense (Greek: eskandalizonto –– scandalized –– offended) at him.
"He left that place and came to his hometown" (patrida) (v. 1a). Padrida is related to patros, the Greek word for father. Padrida can mean fatherland, but here it is rightly translated hometown. Nazareth is not identified by name here, but Mark told us earlier that "Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee" (1:9). He has since made Capernaum his home (2:1; see also Matthew 4:13), but Nazareth is his hometown –– the place where he grew up –– the place where his family lives –– the place to which he would be expected to come to revisit his roots.
Nazareth is a village of 500 people (Hare, 68; Edwards, 169) or 1,600 to 2,000 people (Perkins, 592) –– a town small enough that everyone would know everyone else –– and everyone else's business. We would not expect such villagers to be very sophisticated or accepting of new ideas.
"and his disciples followed him" (v. 1b). This is not just a hometown boy returning for a casual visit. Having disciples in attendance marks Jesus as a rabbi.
"On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue" (v. 2a). Jesus' ministry is characterized by both teaching and mighty works. The synagogue is central to the religious and social life of the community, and teaching is central to synagogue ministry. In a day when many people cannot read and do not have access to the precious scrolls, hearing the scriptures read and expounded in the synagogue is their primary way of learning their religious heritage. However, this Gospel will not tell us of another occasion where Jesus teaches in a synagogue again. Hereafter, he will teach in houses (7:17, 24; 9:33; 10:10).
"and many who heard him were astounded" (v. 2b). The people are astounded, and ascribe wisdom and deeds of power to Jesus. It sounds as if they are responding favorably and are properly proud of this hometown boy-made-good. But then they ask, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary.... And they took offense at him" (v. 3). Even though they hear something special in Jesus' teaching –– a word of wisdom –– Jesus' words repel rather than attract them. "The defection of the Nazareth citizens is obviously linked to Jesus' roots. Their expectations preclude the possibility that he could be anything more than a hometown kid who is putting on airs" (Brueggemann, 419).
"Is not this the tekton?" (v. 3a). A tekton is a carpenter or stonemason –– almost certainly a carpenter in this instance. Such craftsmen are respected and well-paid, and rabbis are "expected to themselves by a trade and teach without pay. Such was the practice of Paul" (Brooks, 99). However, there are two problems here. The first is that Jesus has not had the formal training required for rabbis. The second is that Jerusalem scribes have begun to spread malicious rumors about him –– "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons" (3:22). Jesus' hometown neighbors are therefore reluctant to accept him as anything other than a tekton –– a carpenter.
Luccock labels these neighbors "factfinders" –– people who place their faith in facts and the conclusions that they reach by adding the facts (Luccock, 727). The phrase today is "bean counters" –– people who place too much trust in the data –– who fail to see the forest for the trees –– who are prone move in wrong directions because of their "right" answers.
"the son of Mary" (v. 3b). People would usually identify a man by his relationship with his father rather than his mother, and he is so identified in John 6:42. It is possible that Joseph is dead by this time, although we would expect people to identify Jesus by his father's name even after the father's death. Identifying Jesus as Mary's son may be intended as a slur on the legitimacy of his birth.
"brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" (v. 3c). Earlier, Jesus' family "went out to restrain him, for people were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind' " (3:21). When the people told Jesus that his mother and brothers were waiting for him, he responded, "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" (3:35).
After the resurrection, Jesus will make an appearance to James (1 Corinthians 15:7). James will become an apostle (Galatians 1:9) and a pillar of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9). Jude might be the author the New Testament book by his name, but that is not certain. We know little about the rest of Jesus' brothers and sisters, "but references to Jesus' brothers as meeting with the disciples in Acts 1:14, and to the adelphoi tou kuriou alongside Paul, Peter, and the other apostles in 1 Cor. 9:5 suggest that the family as a whole eventually joined the church" (France, 243).
There is a long-standing controversy over Jesus brothers and sisters. Protestants regard them as natural children of Joseph and Mary. Catholics, favoring a doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, regard them otherwise –– as cousins of Jesus or sons of Joseph by a previous marriage.
"and they took offense at him" (v. 3d). Jesus has experienced opposition from demons (1:24; 5:7) and religious authorities (2:16, 18, 24; 3:6, 22) and even his own family (3:21), but this is the first time that he experiences rejection by ordinary Jewish people. It will not be the last time (15:11-14).
VERSES 4-6a: AND HE WAS AMAZED AT THEIR UNBELIEF
4Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." 5And he could do no deed of power (Greek: dunamin –– the word from which we get "dynamite") there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6aAnd he was amazed at their unbelief.
"Prophets are not without honor except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house" (v. 4). Jesus expands a familiar proverb to include "kin" and "house" –– drawing three concentric circles, each circle bringing the proverb closer home (Edwards, 174). By applying this proverb to himself, Jesus implies that he is, indeed, a prophet, and that the people of Nazareth are guilty of rejecting him as the people of Israel have so often rejected the prophets.
"And he could do no deed of power (dunamin) there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them" (v. 5). Chapters 4-5 are replete with deeds of power –– the stilling of the storm (4:35-41); the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20); the resurrection of Jairus' daughter (5:21-24; 35-43); and the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage (5:25-34). The exorcism took place in Gentile territory, but Jesus can work no mighty deeds in his hometown. He is amazed at their unbelief (v. 6). This raises the question of the relationship between faith and healing. Does Jesus refuse to heal unbelievers –– or is his power constrained in the presence of unbelief –– is he unable to heal unbelievers?
The belief that failure to achieve a healing miracle demonstrates a failure of faith "is common as a rationalization for unfulfilled healing requests today, but it is not a biblical concept" (Geddert, 136). Well-meaning Christians sometimes further injure sick people by telling them that their lack of faith is the reason for their continued infirmity. The truth is that full-of-faith people get sick and die too. The Lord heals some, but not all, faithful people.
There is a bit of mystery here –– some ambiguity with which we must live. Perhaps the best answer is that two phenomena are at work here: First, unbelievers fail to avail themselves of God's power. Second, God is less disposed to act in favor of unbelievers. Beyond that, perhaps we should not be too certain.
VERSES 6b-7: HE CALLED THE TWELVE
6bThen he went about among the villages teaching. 7He called the twelve and began to send them out (Greek: apostellein) two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
"Then he went about among the villages teaching" (v. 6b). He accepts rejection in stride, leaving behind people who have rejected him, and continuing his ministry elsewhere –– a good model for the church today.
"He called the twelve" (v. 7a). "Mark does not tell us of the existence of a wider group of mathetai (disciples) such as could supply the seventy (-two) missioners of Lk. 10:1" (France, 247). Mark will refer to these twelve as "apostles" when they report back to Jesus in 6:30 –– the only time that Mark uses the word "apostles" in this Gospel.
"and began to send them out (apostellein) two by two" (v. 7b). The word "apostle" comes from this word apostellein, which means "sent out."
There are parallel accounts in Matthew 10:1-42 and Luke 9:1-6 –– as well as an account of the sending of the seventy in Luke 10:1-16. These accounts vary somewhat, as we would expect of stories that had their origins in oral tradition.
Jesus sends out the twelve two-by-two. This strategy is powerful for three reasons:
• A partner bestows strength –– "For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help" (Ecclesiastes 4:10). Not only do partners protect each other from physical danger, but they also provide pleasant companionship and encourage each other in difficult circumstances.
• A second person lends credibility. Deuteronomy 15:19 requires two or three witnesses to convict a person of a crime, because a single witness is likely to make a mistake. For that same reason, one witness has less credibility than two –– an important consideration when sending disciples to bear witness. Jesus could have sent them in groups of three, but two people are usually more effective than three. In a group of three, often two will bond with each other and will not fully accept the third person.
• A partner fosters accountability. A person is less likely to succumb to temptation when accompanied by a partner.
"and gave them authority over unclean spirits" (v. 7c). Mark doesn't mention teaching, which has been an important component of Jesus' ministry. The emphasis for the disciples on this particular journey is on preaching (v. 12), casting out demons, and healing the sick (v. 13).
VERSES 8-11: HE ORDERED THEM TO TAKE NOTHING FOR THEIR JOURNEY
8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money (Greek: chalkon –– the smallest of copper coins) in their belts; 9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony (Greek: marturion –– testimony, witness –– this is where we get our word, martyr) against them."
"He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics" (vv. 8-9). Jesus tells the twelve to take nothing but a staff and sandals –– no bread, no bag, no money, and only a single tunic. Jesus prohibits not only frivolous items, but essential ones as well. His requirements go beyond simplicity to reckless faith. The disciples are to proceed without adequate preparation, trusting local people for hospitality but, above all, trusting God to provide for their needs.
Jesus is no ascetic –– people have called him a drunk and a glutton (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34) –– and he does not require his disciples to be ascetics. He does, however, require faith, and starting a journey without provisions is a profound act of faith.
There are several parallels with the Exodus:
• Jesus' instructions to the twelve sound very much like God's instructions regarding the Passover lamb: "This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand" (Exodus 12:11).
• The requirement that the twelve not carry bread is reminiscent of God's instructions to the Israelites regarding manna. They were to trust that God would provide daily manna, gathering only an omer of manna per person each day and not keeping any of it overnight (Exodus 16:16-19).
• The requirement that they carry no money reminds us of the problems that the Israelites experienced when they stole gold from the Egyptians in preparation for their journey (Exodus 3:22). While the gold was useful for adornment of the Tabernacle, it led to their undoing when the people persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf (Exodus 32).
"Mark probably wishes to imply that the disciples' missionary journey will be a participation in the new exodus inaugurated by Jesus.... The Twelve will not need to take along with them the usual travel kit, because they will be entering into this divine act of eschatological liberation, and the God of the exodus and of Jesus Christ will sustain them along the way" (Marcus, 389-390).
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place" (v. 10). The requirement for the disciples not to move from house to house serves two purposes: First, it prevents bad feelings among hosts who might be embarrassed if the disciples leave their home for better accommodations. Second, it prevents the disciples from being distracted by concern for their physical comfort.
To what extent do these prohibitions apply to disciples today? Does Christ require this same freedom from possessions of us?
• On the one hand, we can say no. Jesus gives these instructions to disciples engaged in a particular, short-term ministry. Also, their environment is quite different –– Jewish hospitality demanded that villagers receive and provide for travelers. "When a stranger entered a village, it was not his duty to search for hospitality; it was the duty of the village to offer it" (Barclay, 144). No such requirement exists today in most places, so we must be prepared to provide for our own needs while traveling.
• On the other hand, we can say yes. Jesus' instructions called for the disciples to focus on mission rather than personal comfort. Jesus called them to a great purpose, and they were not to be distracted by trivia. That emphasis is timeless. "In this regard, we of the twentieth-century American church need first to repent in order effectively to proclaim repentance to others" (Williamson, 121).
• The example of the New Testament church is helpful at this point. Brooks notes that there is no indication that Paul observed the restrictions that Jesus gave to the twelve. "Nevertheless some basic mission principles have relevance for all times, such as simplicity of life-style and contentment with provisions. Many modern ministers in all their affluence have forgotten these things" (Brooks, 102).
This tension is never easily resolved. Is ministry enhanced by the pastor having an automobile –– and a computer –– and a professional library? Probably! Is ministry enhanced by a congregation having an attractive church building? Probably! Do these things sometimes become ends in themselves, detracting from our mission? Certainly! How do we manage ministry without church budgets and pastoral compensation packages becoming distractions? By prayer and constant vigilance!
"If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them" (v. 11). Jews returning from Gentile lands would shake off pagan dust as a gesture of cleansing and contempt. When the disciples shake off the dust of an unreceptive village, they are declaring that village pagan –– announcing God's judgment on that village –– washing their hands of further responsibility for that village (Guelich, 322-323). The gesture serves as a warning to the offending village and frees the disciples to move to more fertile fields. Their responsibility is faithful proclamation –– not success.
VERSES 12-13: THEY CAST OUT MANY DEMONS
12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
The disciples go where Christ sends them and do what Christ tells them to do. They are not great men, but they accomplish great things in Christ's name. Like John the Baptist (1:4) and Jesus (1:15), they preach repentance (v. 12). Like Jesus, they cast out demons (1:25-26, 34, 39, 5:1-13). Like Jesus, they cure the sick, but unlike Jesus they anoint with oil. By the time of the writing of this Gospel, anointing with oil is a regular ministry of the church. James calls for the anointing of the sick, but says that it is the prayer of faith that saves them (James 5:14-15).
VERSE 30: THE DISCIPLES REPORT TO JESUS
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
This is a very spare account of the disciples' report to Jesus, giving no details regarding their difficulties or accomplishments. It brings to a close the story of the disciples' mission. It also serves as an ending bracket (the story of Jesus' instructions to the disciples for their mission is the opening bracket) for the story of the death of John the Baptist. The story of John's death is therefore a story set inside the story of this mission.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
Some things have to be believed
to be seen.
Ralph Hodgson
* * * * * * * * * *
To see the world in a grain of sand
And Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake
* * * * * * * * * *
Leonaro da Vinci spoke of three classes of people:
Those who see.
Those who see when they are shown.
Those who do not see.
* * * * * * * * * *
He was a member of the crew of Columbus's caravel.
He kept wondering whether he would get back to his home village
in time to succeed the old shoemaker
before anybody else could grab the job.
Dag Hammarskjold
* * * * * * * * * *
Just as a hand held before the eyes conceals the greatest mountain,
so does petty earthly life conceal from view
the vast lights and mysteries of which the world is full.
Rabbi Nachman of Bratislava
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
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PROPER 9
ORDINARY TIME 14, YEAR B
JULY 5, 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to July 6
Proper 9, Year B, RCL
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
Psalm 48
or
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm 123
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
The Collect
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel." So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.
Psalm 48 Page 651, BCP
Magnus Dominus
1
Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; *
in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2
Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, *
the very center of the world and the city of the great King.
3
God is in her citadels; *
he is known to be her sure refuge.
4
Behold, the kings of the earth assembled *
and marched forward together.
5
They looked and were astounded; *
they retreated and fled in terror.
6
Trembling seized them there; *
they writhed like a woman in childbirth,
like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them.
7
As we have heard, so have we seen,
in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; *
God has established her for ever.
8
We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God, *
in the midst of your temple.
9
Your praise, like your Name, O God, reaches to the world's end; *
your right hand is full of justice.
10
Let Mount Zion be glad
and the cities of Judah rejoice, *
because of your judgments.
11
Make the circuit of Zion;
walk round about her; *
count the number of her towers.
12
Consider well her bulwarks;
examine her strongholds; *
that you may tell those who come after.
13
This God is our God for ever and ever; *
he shall be our guide for evermore.
or
Old Testament
Ezekiel 2:1-5
The Lord said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD." Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
The Psalm
Psalm 123 Page 780, BCP
Ad te levavi oculos meos
1
To you I lift up my eyes, *
to you enthroned in the heavens.
2
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, *
and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
3
So our eyes look to the LORD our God, *
until he show us his mercy.
4
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy, *
for we have had more than enough of contempt,
5
Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, *
and of the derision of the proud.
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven-- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person-- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows-- was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
Mark 6:1-13
Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 3-6: THE CONTEXT
The stories of Jesus' visit to his hometown and his commissioning of the twelve are two separate stories. The first story has to do with belief and unbelief. The second story has to do with the call of disciples and the proclamation of the Gospel. Both stories have to do with the acceptance or rejection of Christ or his representatives. Brueggemann suggests that the preacher choose one of the stories rather than trying to integrate both of them into a single sermon (Brueggemann, 418).
Mark positions these two stories after the miracle stories of chapter 5: Jesus' healing of the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20), the healing/resurrection of Jairus' daughter (5:21-23, 35-43), and the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (5:24-34). In these stories, Jesus' demonstrated his great power on both sides of the Sea of Galilee –– the eastern Gentile side and the western Jewish side. Those who witnessed his power, Gentile and Jew, were amazed (5:20, 42). Jesus' visit to his hometown therefore follows great demonstrations of Jesus' power. To the extent that they are aware of these miracles, Jesus' hometown folk have reason to be proud. We would expect them to welcome him with a ticker-tape parade –– but they don't.
However, this isn't the first account in this Gospel of Jesus visiting his hometown. In an earlier visit, his family "went out to restrain (Jesus), for people were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind.' And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons'" (3:21-22). Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the hometown folk fail to welcome Jesus more warmly in this later visit.
Immediately following these two stories, Mark tells us of the death of John the Baptist (6:14-29). The call of the disciples is therefore sandwiched between two stories of rejected prophets –– Jesus rejected by his hometown people (vv. 1-6a) and John killed by the king (vv. 14-29). Following the death of John the Baptist, Mark reports the disciples gathering around Jesus to report the results of the mission on which he has sent them (6:30) –– perhaps suggesting that, no matter how dark the moment, the church continues its work. God will not be stymied even by the death of one of his greatest servants.
The report of the death of John the Baptist (6:14-29) is sandwiched between the account of Jesus sending the disciples on a mission (6:7-13) and their reporting the results of that mission to Jesus (6:30). The stories of Jesus' rejection at Nazareth and John's death demonstrate the power of evil arrayed against God's prophets and give us a hint of what lies ahead for Jesus. They also prepare us for the opposition that the disciples will face in the early church and warn us that we cannot expect an evil world to welcome our witness to Christ more warmly that it welcomed Christ.
VERSES 1-3: AND THEY TOOK OFFENSE AT HIM
1He left that place and came to his hometown (Greek: patrida), and his disciples followed him. 2On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3Is not this the carpenter (Greek: tekton), the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense (Greek: eskandalizonto –– scandalized –– offended) at him.
"He left that place and came to his hometown" (patrida) (v. 1a). Padrida is related to patros, the Greek word for father. Padrida can mean fatherland, but here it is rightly translated hometown. Nazareth is not identified by name here, but Mark told us earlier that "Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee" (1:9). He has since made Capernaum his home (2:1; see also Matthew 4:13), but Nazareth is his hometown –– the place where he grew up –– the place where his family lives –– the place to which he would be expected to come to revisit his roots.
Nazareth is a village of 500 people (Hare, 68; Edwards, 169) or 1,600 to 2,000 people (Perkins, 592) –– a town small enough that everyone would know everyone else –– and everyone else's business. We would not expect such villagers to be very sophisticated or accepting of new ideas.
"and his disciples followed him" (v. 1b). This is not just a hometown boy returning for a casual visit. Having disciples in attendance marks Jesus as a rabbi.
"On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue" (v. 2a). Jesus' ministry is characterized by both teaching and mighty works. The synagogue is central to the religious and social life of the community, and teaching is central to synagogue ministry. In a day when many people cannot read and do not have access to the precious scrolls, hearing the scriptures read and expounded in the synagogue is their primary way of learning their religious heritage. However, this Gospel will not tell us of another occasion where Jesus teaches in a synagogue again. Hereafter, he will teach in houses (7:17, 24; 9:33; 10:10).
"and many who heard him were astounded" (v. 2b). The people are astounded, and ascribe wisdom and deeds of power to Jesus. It sounds as if they are responding favorably and are properly proud of this hometown boy-made-good. But then they ask, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary.... And they took offense at him" (v. 3). Even though they hear something special in Jesus' teaching –– a word of wisdom –– Jesus' words repel rather than attract them. "The defection of the Nazareth citizens is obviously linked to Jesus' roots. Their expectations preclude the possibility that he could be anything more than a hometown kid who is putting on airs" (Brueggemann, 419).
"Is not this the tekton?" (v. 3a). A tekton is a carpenter or stonemason –– almost certainly a carpenter in this instance. Such craftsmen are respected and well-paid, and rabbis are "expected to themselves by a trade and teach without pay. Such was the practice of Paul" (Brooks, 99). However, there are two problems here. The first is that Jesus has not had the formal training required for rabbis. The second is that Jerusalem scribes have begun to spread malicious rumors about him –– "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons" (3:22). Jesus' hometown neighbors are therefore reluctant to accept him as anything other than a tekton –– a carpenter.
Luccock labels these neighbors "factfinders" –– people who place their faith in facts and the conclusions that they reach by adding the facts (Luccock, 727). The phrase today is "bean counters" –– people who place too much trust in the data –– who fail to see the forest for the trees –– who are prone move in wrong directions because of their "right" answers.
"the son of Mary" (v. 3b). People would usually identify a man by his relationship with his father rather than his mother, and he is so identified in John 6:42. It is possible that Joseph is dead by this time, although we would expect people to identify Jesus by his father's name even after the father's death. Identifying Jesus as Mary's son may be intended as a slur on the legitimacy of his birth.
"brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" (v. 3c). Earlier, Jesus' family "went out to restrain him, for people were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind' " (3:21). When the people told Jesus that his mother and brothers were waiting for him, he responded, "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" (3:35).
After the resurrection, Jesus will make an appearance to James (1 Corinthians 15:7). James will become an apostle (Galatians 1:9) and a pillar of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9). Jude might be the author the New Testament book by his name, but that is not certain. We know little about the rest of Jesus' brothers and sisters, "but references to Jesus' brothers as meeting with the disciples in Acts 1:14, and to the adelphoi tou kuriou alongside Paul, Peter, and the other apostles in 1 Cor. 9:5 suggest that the family as a whole eventually joined the church" (France, 243).
There is a long-standing controversy over Jesus brothers and sisters. Protestants regard them as natural children of Joseph and Mary. Catholics, favoring a doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, regard them otherwise –– as cousins of Jesus or sons of Joseph by a previous marriage.
"and they took offense at him" (v. 3d). Jesus has experienced opposition from demons (1:24; 5:7) and religious authorities (2:16, 18, 24; 3:6, 22) and even his own family (3:21), but this is the first time that he experiences rejection by ordinary Jewish people. It will not be the last time (15:11-14).
VERSES 4-6a: AND HE WAS AMAZED AT THEIR UNBELIEF
4Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." 5And he could do no deed of power (Greek: dunamin –– the word from which we get "dynamite") there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6aAnd he was amazed at their unbelief.
"Prophets are not without honor except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house" (v. 4). Jesus expands a familiar proverb to include "kin" and "house" –– drawing three concentric circles, each circle bringing the proverb closer home (Edwards, 174). By applying this proverb to himself, Jesus implies that he is, indeed, a prophet, and that the people of Nazareth are guilty of rejecting him as the people of Israel have so often rejected the prophets.
"And he could do no deed of power (dunamin) there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them" (v. 5). Chapters 4-5 are replete with deeds of power –– the stilling of the storm (4:35-41); the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20); the resurrection of Jairus' daughter (5:21-24; 35-43); and the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage (5:25-34). The exorcism took place in Gentile territory, but Jesus can work no mighty deeds in his hometown. He is amazed at their unbelief (v. 6). This raises the question of the relationship between faith and healing. Does Jesus refuse to heal unbelievers –– or is his power constrained in the presence of unbelief –– is he unable to heal unbelievers?
The belief that failure to achieve a healing miracle demonstrates a failure of faith "is common as a rationalization for unfulfilled healing requests today, but it is not a biblical concept" (Geddert, 136). Well-meaning Christians sometimes further injure sick people by telling them that their lack of faith is the reason for their continued infirmity. The truth is that full-of-faith people get sick and die too. The Lord heals some, but not all, faithful people.
There is a bit of mystery here –– some ambiguity with which we must live. Perhaps the best answer is that two phenomena are at work here: First, unbelievers fail to avail themselves of God's power. Second, God is less disposed to act in favor of unbelievers. Beyond that, perhaps we should not be too certain.
VERSES 6b-7: HE CALLED THE TWELVE
6bThen he went about among the villages teaching. 7He called the twelve and began to send them out (Greek: apostellein) two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
"Then he went about among the villages teaching" (v. 6b). He accepts rejection in stride, leaving behind people who have rejected him, and continuing his ministry elsewhere –– a good model for the church today.
"He called the twelve" (v. 7a). "Mark does not tell us of the existence of a wider group of mathetai (disciples) such as could supply the seventy (-two) missioners of Lk. 10:1" (France, 247). Mark will refer to these twelve as "apostles" when they report back to Jesus in 6:30 –– the only time that Mark uses the word "apostles" in this Gospel.
"and began to send them out (apostellein) two by two" (v. 7b). The word "apostle" comes from this word apostellein, which means "sent out."
There are parallel accounts in Matthew 10:1-42 and Luke 9:1-6 –– as well as an account of the sending of the seventy in Luke 10:1-16. These accounts vary somewhat, as we would expect of stories that had their origins in oral tradition.
Jesus sends out the twelve two-by-two. This strategy is powerful for three reasons:
• A partner bestows strength –– "For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help" (Ecclesiastes 4:10). Not only do partners protect each other from physical danger, but they also provide pleasant companionship and encourage each other in difficult circumstances.
• A second person lends credibility. Deuteronomy 15:19 requires two or three witnesses to convict a person of a crime, because a single witness is likely to make a mistake. For that same reason, one witness has less credibility than two –– an important consideration when sending disciples to bear witness. Jesus could have sent them in groups of three, but two people are usually more effective than three. In a group of three, often two will bond with each other and will not fully accept the third person.
• A partner fosters accountability. A person is less likely to succumb to temptation when accompanied by a partner.
"and gave them authority over unclean spirits" (v. 7c). Mark doesn't mention teaching, which has been an important component of Jesus' ministry. The emphasis for the disciples on this particular journey is on preaching (v. 12), casting out demons, and healing the sick (v. 13).
VERSES 8-11: HE ORDERED THEM TO TAKE NOTHING FOR THEIR JOURNEY
8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money (Greek: chalkon –– the smallest of copper coins) in their belts; 9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony (Greek: marturion –– testimony, witness –– this is where we get our word, martyr) against them."
"He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics" (vv. 8-9). Jesus tells the twelve to take nothing but a staff and sandals –– no bread, no bag, no money, and only a single tunic. Jesus prohibits not only frivolous items, but essential ones as well. His requirements go beyond simplicity to reckless faith. The disciples are to proceed without adequate preparation, trusting local people for hospitality but, above all, trusting God to provide for their needs.
Jesus is no ascetic –– people have called him a drunk and a glutton (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34) –– and he does not require his disciples to be ascetics. He does, however, require faith, and starting a journey without provisions is a profound act of faith.
There are several parallels with the Exodus:
• Jesus' instructions to the twelve sound very much like God's instructions regarding the Passover lamb: "This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand" (Exodus 12:11).
• The requirement that the twelve not carry bread is reminiscent of God's instructions to the Israelites regarding manna. They were to trust that God would provide daily manna, gathering only an omer of manna per person each day and not keeping any of it overnight (Exodus 16:16-19).
• The requirement that they carry no money reminds us of the problems that the Israelites experienced when they stole gold from the Egyptians in preparation for their journey (Exodus 3:22). While the gold was useful for adornment of the Tabernacle, it led to their undoing when the people persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf (Exodus 32).
"Mark probably wishes to imply that the disciples' missionary journey will be a participation in the new exodus inaugurated by Jesus.... The Twelve will not need to take along with them the usual travel kit, because they will be entering into this divine act of eschatological liberation, and the God of the exodus and of Jesus Christ will sustain them along the way" (Marcus, 389-390).
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place" (v. 10). The requirement for the disciples not to move from house to house serves two purposes: First, it prevents bad feelings among hosts who might be embarrassed if the disciples leave their home for better accommodations. Second, it prevents the disciples from being distracted by concern for their physical comfort.
To what extent do these prohibitions apply to disciples today? Does Christ require this same freedom from possessions of us?
• On the one hand, we can say no. Jesus gives these instructions to disciples engaged in a particular, short-term ministry. Also, their environment is quite different –– Jewish hospitality demanded that villagers receive and provide for travelers. "When a stranger entered a village, it was not his duty to search for hospitality; it was the duty of the village to offer it" (Barclay, 144). No such requirement exists today in most places, so we must be prepared to provide for our own needs while traveling.
• On the other hand, we can say yes. Jesus' instructions called for the disciples to focus on mission rather than personal comfort. Jesus called them to a great purpose, and they were not to be distracted by trivia. That emphasis is timeless. "In this regard, we of the twentieth-century American church need first to repent in order effectively to proclaim repentance to others" (Williamson, 121).
• The example of the New Testament church is helpful at this point. Brooks notes that there is no indication that Paul observed the restrictions that Jesus gave to the twelve. "Nevertheless some basic mission principles have relevance for all times, such as simplicity of life-style and contentment with provisions. Many modern ministers in all their affluence have forgotten these things" (Brooks, 102).
This tension is never easily resolved. Is ministry enhanced by the pastor having an automobile –– and a computer –– and a professional library? Probably! Is ministry enhanced by a congregation having an attractive church building? Probably! Do these things sometimes become ends in themselves, detracting from our mission? Certainly! How do we manage ministry without church budgets and pastoral compensation packages becoming distractions? By prayer and constant vigilance!
"If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them" (v. 11). Jews returning from Gentile lands would shake off pagan dust as a gesture of cleansing and contempt. When the disciples shake off the dust of an unreceptive village, they are declaring that village pagan –– announcing God's judgment on that village –– washing their hands of further responsibility for that village (Guelich, 322-323). The gesture serves as a warning to the offending village and frees the disciples to move to more fertile fields. Their responsibility is faithful proclamation –– not success.
VERSES 12-13: THEY CAST OUT MANY DEMONS
12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
The disciples go where Christ sends them and do what Christ tells them to do. They are not great men, but they accomplish great things in Christ's name. Like John the Baptist (1:4) and Jesus (1:15), they preach repentance (v. 12). Like Jesus, they cast out demons (1:25-26, 34, 39, 5:1-13). Like Jesus, they cure the sick, but unlike Jesus they anoint with oil. By the time of the writing of this Gospel, anointing with oil is a regular ministry of the church. James calls for the anointing of the sick, but says that it is the prayer of faith that saves them (James 5:14-15).
VERSE 30: THE DISCIPLES REPORT TO JESUS
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
This is a very spare account of the disciples' report to Jesus, giving no details regarding their difficulties or accomplishments. It brings to a close the story of the disciples' mission. It also serves as an ending bracket (the story of Jesus' instructions to the disciples for their mission is the opening bracket) for the story of the death of John the Baptist. The story of John's death is therefore a story set inside the story of this mission.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
Some things have to be believed
to be seen.
Ralph Hodgson
* * * * * * * * * *
To see the world in a grain of sand
And Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake
* * * * * * * * * *
Leonaro da Vinci spoke of three classes of people:
Those who see.
Those who see when they are shown.
Those who do not see.
* * * * * * * * * *
He was a member of the crew of Columbus's caravel.
He kept wondering whether he would get back to his home village
in time to succeed the old shoemaker
before anybody else could grab the job.
Dag Hammarskjold
* * * * * * * * * *
Just as a hand held before the eyes conceals the greatest mountain,
so does petty earthly life conceal from view
the vast lights and mysteries of which the world is full.
Rabbi Nachman of Bratislava
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Friday, June 26, 2009
June 28, 2009 - Pentecost 4
SCRIPTURE STUDY
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
PROPER 8, YEAR B
JUNE 28, 2009
SCRIPTURE:
FIRST READING: Lamentations 3:22–33
A reading from the book of Lamentations.
The book of Lamentations is one of our most important sources of information about the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Though the people admit that God’s judgment was just, today’s reading declares a fervent trust that God will not leave them forever.
22The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
25The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
27It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
28to sit alone in silence
when the LORD has imposed it,
29to put one's mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
30to give one's cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.
31For the LORD will not
reject forever.
32Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.
PSALM: Psalm 30
1I will exalt you, O LORD, because you have lifted me up
and have not let my enemies triumph over me.
2O LORD my God, I cried out to you,
and you restored me to health.
3You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead;
you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.
4Sing praise to the LORD, all you faithful;
give thanks in holy remembrance.
5God's wrath is short; God's favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping spends the night, but joy comes in the morning. Page 3
6While I felt secure, I said,
"I shall never be disturbed.
7You, LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains."
Then you hid your face, and I was filled with fear.
10Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me;
O LORD, be my helper."
11You have turned my wailing into dancing;
you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
12Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing;
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 8:7–15
A reading from the second letter to the church in Corinth.
Paul encourages the Corinthians to honor their commitment to participate in the collection his churches are organizing for the Christians in Jerusalem. He presents Jesus as an example of selfless stewardship and reminds them that Christians have received abundantly so that they can share abundantly.
7Now as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you — so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
8I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 9For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something — 11now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has — not according to what one does not have. 13I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15As it is written,
"The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little."
The Gospel: Mark 5:21-43
Jairus, a respected leader, begs Jesus to heal his daughter. A woman with a hemorrhage is ritually unclean, treated as an outcast in Jewish society. Both Jairus and the unnamed woman come to Jesus in faith, believing in his power to heal and bring life out of death.
21When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." 24So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32He looked all around to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."
35While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 4-5: THE CONTEXT
The stories of the woman with a hemorrhage and Jairus' daughter (5:21-43) are two of four miracles in this section. The first was Jesus' calming of the storm (4:35-41), demonstrating Jesus' power over nature. The second was Jesus healing the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20), demonstrating Jesus' power over demons. The third and fourth miracles (5:21-43) now demonstrate Jesus' power over sickness and death –– his power to bring salvation even to hopeless situations.
The story of the woman with a hemorrhage demonstrates great faith on the part of a woman who had tried every remedy without avail –– a woman who could have been expected to give up –– to lose all hope. The story of Jairus and his daughter demonstrates great faith on the part of a religious leader –– part of the establishment. Most religious leaders oppose Jesus, but Jairus comes as a believer.
These two stories of belief in the midst of adversity lead into the story of Jesus' rejection at Nazareth, his hometown (6:1-6a). We would expect the hometown folk to receive Jesus gladly as the hometown boy made good –– but they will not believe, and Jesus will be amazed at their unbelief.
VERSES 21-43: A STORY WITHIN A STORY
This is a story within a story –– the story of the woman with the hemorrhage set within the story of Jairus and his daughter. The stories belong together. Mark creates dramatic tension by telling the two stories together. Each story finds enhanced interest and power through its juxtaposition with the other.
• The stories show Jesus dealing with people of vastly different standing. Jairus is well-to-do and influential, while the woman with the hemorrhage is financially impoverished and socially outcast. Jesus does not favor one over the other. He neither rebukes Jairus for his money and social standing nor ignores the woman because of her poverty and marginality.
• The interruption of Jesus' journey to Jairus' house heightens the drama. Just imagine Jairus' impatience as Jesus talks with the woman. He must wonder what is happening to the little girl while they delay. The answer, as they will learn, is that the little girl was dying. Jesus is now faced with a requirement, not for healing, but for undoing death.
• In both stories, competent authorities have proven that no remedy is possible. The woman spent all her money on physicians over the years, and their best remedies failed. The crowd at Jairus' house has started mourning ceremonies, because the little girl is dead. They laugh when Jesus says the little girl is only sleeping.
• Both stories involve issues of ritual uncleanness. The woman is unclean because of her hemorrhage (Leviticus 15:25-30). The child is unclean because she is dead (Numbers 19:11-20). Anyone who touches either of them is rendered unclean by that touch.
• In the miracle stories in this Gospel, only Jairus and blind Bartimaeus (10:46) are named. Neither the woman with the hemorrhage nor the little girl is named. While both Matthew and Luke use Mark's Gospel as one of their primary sources, Luke uses Jairus' name (Luke 8:41), but Matthew does not (Matthew 9:41).
• The woman has been afflicted for twelve years and the little girl is twelve years old.
• Both the little girl and the woman are called "daughter" (vv. 22, 34).
• In both stories, the Greek word sozo is important. Jairus begs that Jesus might come and sothe his daughter. Jesus says to the woman, Daughter, your faith has sesoken you. Sozo can refer to healing or delivery from danger, but the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) often uses it to refer to the salvation of the Israelites (Psalm 44:1-8; Isaiah 43:11; 45:21; 63:9; Hosea 14:3) and the New Testament uses it to refer to Christian salvation (1 Corinthians 1:21; 9:22; Ephesians 2:5). The stories of Jairus' daughter and the woman with the hemorrhage are not just healing stories, but salvation stories as well.
• Both Jairus and the woman demonstrate considerable faith in Jesus. Jairus is convinced that Jesus' touch will make his daughter well (v. 23), and the woman is convinced that just touching Jesus' garment will heal her (v. 28). Jesus commends the woman for her faith, saying, "Daughter, your faith has made you well" –– or "has saved you" (sesoken –– a form of sozo –– v. 34). When Jairus gets the word that his daughter is dead, Jesus says, "Do not fear, only believe" (v. 36), and then restores the little girl's life. Faith is a key component in both of these stories.
In that patriarchal society, women were second-class citizens. Jesus, however, attends to the needs of this woman and this little girl as if they are the most important people in the world –– just as he earlier devoted his full attention to the healing of the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20).
VERSES 21-24a: MY LITTLE DAUGHTER IS AT THE POINT OF DEATH
21When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well (Greek: sothe –– healed or saved), and live." 24So he went with him.
"When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side" (v. 21a). The Sea of Galilee has a Gentile eastern shore and a Jewish western shore. Jesus moves by boat between the two, ministering to both communities. "By this arrangement of the material, Mark is declaring that Christ blesses without partiality Jew and Gentile, near and far, clean and unclean" (Craddock, 328). Jesus is now returning to the Jewish side.
"Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet" (v. 22). Jairus is a prominent member of the community. Lay people routinely lead synagogue services, but the synagogue leader is responsible for the synagogue facilities, the security of the scrolls, the selection and oversight of worship leaders, and the general administration of the synagogue. Jairus is clearly an "insider" –– a person who counts –– a person who belongs.
It is worth noting that that the last time Jesus visited a synagogue, the Pharisees and Herodians tried to kill him (3:6) and the next time he visits a synagogue they will take offense at him (6:3 –– in Luke's version, they will try to kill him –– Luke 4:29).
Jairus "fell at (Jesus') feet and begged him repeatedly" (vv. 22b-23a). In one sense, this is remarkable. "Jairus had to cast aside his rank, his prestige, in falling at the feet of an unauthorized, itinerant teacher" (Luccock, 718). Jairus would be accustomed to other people begging him for favors, and would himself stoop to begging only in a terrible situation. We might expect him to send an emissary rather than appearing in person before Jesus. While Jesus' popularity gives him a kind of prominence, the established religious leadership –– Jairus' colleagues –– views him askance. Mark has already told us that the Pharisees and Herodians are plotting against Jesus to destroy him (3:6).
In another sense, though, there is nothing at all remarkable about Jairus' appeal. A parent of a dying child will do nearly anything to save the child. Jairus is driven by desperation to seek Jesus' help. This is the first of three stories in this Gospel of parents bringing their child to Jesus for help. The other two are the Syrophoenician woman (7:25-30) and the father of the son with a spirit (9:14-29). In all three cases, the parents experience obstacles to the child's healing, but persist –– and Jesus heals all three children.
"My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live" (v. 23b). Jairus' invitation to come contrasts with the Geresenes' request that Jesus go away (v. 17). Where the Geresenes responded to Jesus' miracles with fear, Jairus responds with faith. He does not ask Jesus to help if he can, but instead expresses confidence that Jesus can restore his daughter's health if he will only lay his hands on her.
"So he went with him" (v. 24a). "In that simple statement, ...Mark testifies to Jesus' commitment to minister to human need and to the inestimable worth of the human individual for Jesus" (Edwards, 162).
VERSES 24b-34: DAUGHTER, YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL
24bAnd a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?' " 32He looked all around to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well (Greek: sesoken –– healed or saved you); go in peace, and be healed (Greek: hugies –– healed or healthy) of your disease."
"Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years" (v. 25). Thus begins a story set within another story –– the story of the woman with the hemorrhage (vv. 25-34) set inside the story of Jairus and his daughter (vv. 21-24; 35-41). Jairus must be beside himself as Jesus delays on his journey to Jairus' daughter, who is at the point of death (v. 23) to help this woman whose condition is serious but not life-threatening.
"She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse" (v. 26). This woman has suffered at the hands of many physicians, who took her money but failed to cure her. Her circumstance is very different from that of Jairus. Her bleeding, most likely a vaginal discharge, renders her ritually unclean, isolating her from most human contact. Not only is she unclean, but her touch renders unclean anyone whom she touches. She defiles even the bed upon which she lies and the chair on which she sits, and these then transmit her uncleanness to anyone who touches them (Leviticus 15:25-30). Given the ease with which a man can divorce his wife (see Matthew 5:31), it seems likely that her husband has long since divorced her. Her condition would make it impossible for her to find a job as a household servant and would, ironically, make her ineligible to attend Jairus' synagogue (Cousar, 410). Her situation is very much like that of a leper (see 1:40-45), in that she is cut off from social contact. Such isolation must be nearly unbearable. This woman is clearly an "outsider"–– a person who does not count –– does not belong.
The real purpose behind this verse, however, is to set up a contrast between the physicians, who did not help the woman, and Jesus, who does.
"She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak" (v. 27). Jairus approached Jesus directly, face to face, but this woman approaches Jesus from behind, cloaked in the anonymity of the crowd. She believes that just touching Jesus' garment will make her well (v. 28). Having avoided touching other people for so many years, it must require a great effort to reach out and touch even Jesus' cloak. Because she is unclean, "there is a danger that any physical contact she may have with the healer will annul his miracle working power and wreck the whole effort" (Marcus, 366). Even if she has heard the story about Jesus touching a leper (1:41), it must be hard to imagine that Jesus would welcome her touch.
However, "Instead of uncleanness passing from the woman to Jesus, healing power flows from Jesus to the woman" (Davies and Allison, quoted in Marcus, 367). Immediately upon touching Jesus' cloak, "her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease" (v. 29). Jesus senses that power has gone from him and asks, "Who touched my clothes?" (v. 30). The disciples believe this to be an unreasonable question, given the press of the crowd, but the woman falls down before Jesus and tells him the whole truth (v. 33). Jesus says, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease" (v. 34). Jesus does not say, "Be healed" or "I will heal you." Instead, he says, "Your faith has made you well."
When the woman touched Jesus' cloak, she was healed of her disease. However, only after she presents herself to Jesus does he say, "Daughter, your faith has sozo you" –– has saved you (Williamson, 110).
Note the relationship of faith and healing. "Daughter, your faith has made you well" (v. 34). In the next chapter, Jesus will visit his hometown, where he will be unable to do any deed of power because of their unbelief (6:1-6). The power by which Jesus heals is God's power. The faith of the individual, however, is an important component in receiving the blessing of healing.
The word, "daughter," might seem paternalistic to our ears, but was a common form of address in Jesus' day. His use of the word reflects a kind of warmth and acceptance that this woman has most likely not heard in a long time –– a daughter is a beloved member of a family. In this context, daughter is a healing word.
VERSES 35-43: LITTLE GIRL, GET UP
35While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
"Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" (v. 35). This story is reminiscent of Lazarus' resurrection in John 11. If Jesus had come earlier, he could have prevented Lazarus' death. Once Lazarus died, Martha and Mary lost hope in Jesus' power to help. Mark does not tell us Jairus' reaction when he sees the mourners, but we can imagine his desolation when he sees that rites for the dead have begun.
"He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James" (v. 37). These three men constitute Jesus' inner circle, and will be invited to accompany Jesus at the Transfiguration (9:29) and at Gethsemane (14:33).
Jesus "saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly" (v. 38b). Mourning includes professional mourners, who wail, beat their breasts, tear their hair, and rend their garments. Flutes play a dirge. These actions alert the community to the death and signify grief. They are "designed to stress the desolation and the final separation of death. The triumphant victorious hope of the Christian faith (is) totally absent from them" (Barclay, 133). "The professional mourners represent the hard-core realists of every age who decide when empirical realities have foreclosed on divine possibilities" (Lane, 167).
However, when we consider the custom of professional mourners, we should not discount the presence of real grief. The tragic death of a child would break the hearts of friends and neighbors in any time or circumstance.
The crowd greets Jairus, saying "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" (v. 35). Jesus tells Jairus, "Do not fear, only believe" (v. 36). He allows no one to follow as they go to see the little girl (v. 37) –– mourners are inappropriate for a girl who will soon be walking and eating.
To the crowd, Jesus says, "Why do you make a commotion? The child is not dead but sleeping" (v. 39). His comment is difficult to understand, because this is clearly a story of resurrection rather than of healing. However, sleep is a temporary condition and death is permanent. This girl will soon be "up and running," so Jesus considers her condition temporary.
"And they laughed at him" (v. 40a). The crowd has no doubt regarding the little girl's death. Their comment prepares us for the difficulty of the miracle that Jesus will work.
Jesus limits the audience for the healing/resurrection to the parents of the little girl and "those who were with him," (Peter, James and John) (v. 40). "He took her by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha cum,' which means, 'Little girl, get up!'" (v. 41). "Talitha cum" is Aramaic, a Semitic language related to Hebrew. "Among the Jews, Aramaic was used by the common people, while Hebrew remained the language of religion and government and of the upper class" (Encyclopedia Britannica 2003, "Aramaic"). Mark translates "Talitha cum" into Greek for Gentile Christians of the early church who might not know Aramaic.
"He took her by the hand" (v. 41a). Touching this girl violates Torah law, which renders a person who touches a dead body unclean until evening (Leviticus 11:39) or for seven days (Numbers 19:11). Such a person is required to remain outside the camp (Numbers 5:2-3).
In this chapter, Jesus violates many taboos. The story of the demoniac (vv. 1-20) "featured unclean spirits (Legion), an unclean place (the graveyard), unclean animals (pigs) in an unclean land (Decapolis). Jesus was not at all reluctant to minister there" (Geddert, 122). Jesus affirmed the unclean woman for touching his garment in faith. Now he touches a corpse. "But the miracle makes the issue moot by removing the cause of the defilement" Guelich, 302). How can anyone accuse Jesus of touching a woman with a discharge if she is now clean –– or touching a corpse if the girl is now walking and eating (vv. 42-43).
"And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was about 12 years of age)" (v. 42a). Immediately is one of Mark's favorite words, occurring 27 times in this Gospel. The little girl is 12 years old, which corresponds to the 12 years that the woman suffered with a hemorrhage (v. 25).
"He strictly ordered them that no one should know this" (v. 43). This seems odd, because there was no way that the crowd would not learn of the girl's healing/resurrection, and there was no way that the crowd would keep the news quiet. "A similar command to the leper had been immediately disregarded (1:44-45)" (Perkins, 589).
"We have here once again the theme of secrecy in connection with one of Jesus' miracles: the child's cure must not be announced to those who are unable to comprehend it –– which includes, of course, all of Jesus' contemporaries. The miracle of resurrection can only be understood by those who believe in the one who has himself been raised from the dead" (Hooker, 151).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
A 1996 Yakelovich Partners survey of 269 doctors at an American Academy of Family Physicians meeting showed that 99 percent of the doctors thought that religious beliefs have a healing effect on patients. 75 percent believed in the power of intercessory prayer.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Bible,
the greatest medicine chest of humanity.
Heinrich Heine
* * * * * * * * * *
Healing and the healing of the whole person
are creative acts of God,
no matter what the agent may be.
He who has healing in his hands,
be he physician, surgeon, psychiatrist,
pastor or layman,
may only thank God humbly
that he is used in this ministry.
John Sutherland Bonnell
* * * * * * * * * *
In the central place of every heart
there is a recording chamber;
so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage,
so long are you young.
When the wires are all down
and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism,
then and only then have you grown old.
Douglas MacArthur
* * * * * * * * * *
Doubtless there are many doctors
who in their struggles against disease have had, like me,
the feeling that they were confronting not something passive,
but a clever and resourceful enemy.
Paul Tournier, Swiss psychiatrist, A Doctor's Casebook
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Campbell, Charles L., in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001)
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV -- Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Donahue, John R. and Harrington, Daniel J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2002)
Edwards, James R., The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Jensen, Richard A., Preaching Mark's Gospel (Lima, OH: C.S.S. Publishing Co., 1996)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Thayer, Joseph Henry, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (NY: American Book Company, 1889)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, Sermonwriter.com
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
PROPER 8, YEAR B
JUNE 28, 2009
SCRIPTURE:
FIRST READING: Lamentations 3:22–33
A reading from the book of Lamentations.
The book of Lamentations is one of our most important sources of information about the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Though the people admit that God’s judgment was just, today’s reading declares a fervent trust that God will not leave them forever.
22The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
25The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
27It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
28to sit alone in silence
when the LORD has imposed it,
29to put one's mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
30to give one's cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.
31For the LORD will not
reject forever.
32Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.
PSALM: Psalm 30
1I will exalt you, O LORD, because you have lifted me up
and have not let my enemies triumph over me.
2O LORD my God, I cried out to you,
and you restored me to health.
3You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead;
you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.
4Sing praise to the LORD, all you faithful;
give thanks in holy remembrance.
5God's wrath is short; God's favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping spends the night, but joy comes in the morning. Page 3
6While I felt secure, I said,
"I shall never be disturbed.
7You, LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains."
Then you hid your face, and I was filled with fear.
10Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me;
O LORD, be my helper."
11You have turned my wailing into dancing;
you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
12Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing;
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 8:7–15
A reading from the second letter to the church in Corinth.
Paul encourages the Corinthians to honor their commitment to participate in the collection his churches are organizing for the Christians in Jerusalem. He presents Jesus as an example of selfless stewardship and reminds them that Christians have received abundantly so that they can share abundantly.
7Now as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you — so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
8I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 9For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something — 11now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has — not according to what one does not have. 13I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15As it is written,
"The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little."
The Gospel: Mark 5:21-43
Jairus, a respected leader, begs Jesus to heal his daughter. A woman with a hemorrhage is ritually unclean, treated as an outcast in Jewish society. Both Jairus and the unnamed woman come to Jesus in faith, believing in his power to heal and bring life out of death.
21When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." 24So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32He looked all around to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."
35While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 4-5: THE CONTEXT
The stories of the woman with a hemorrhage and Jairus' daughter (5:21-43) are two of four miracles in this section. The first was Jesus' calming of the storm (4:35-41), demonstrating Jesus' power over nature. The second was Jesus healing the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20), demonstrating Jesus' power over demons. The third and fourth miracles (5:21-43) now demonstrate Jesus' power over sickness and death –– his power to bring salvation even to hopeless situations.
The story of the woman with a hemorrhage demonstrates great faith on the part of a woman who had tried every remedy without avail –– a woman who could have been expected to give up –– to lose all hope. The story of Jairus and his daughter demonstrates great faith on the part of a religious leader –– part of the establishment. Most religious leaders oppose Jesus, but Jairus comes as a believer.
These two stories of belief in the midst of adversity lead into the story of Jesus' rejection at Nazareth, his hometown (6:1-6a). We would expect the hometown folk to receive Jesus gladly as the hometown boy made good –– but they will not believe, and Jesus will be amazed at their unbelief.
VERSES 21-43: A STORY WITHIN A STORY
This is a story within a story –– the story of the woman with the hemorrhage set within the story of Jairus and his daughter. The stories belong together. Mark creates dramatic tension by telling the two stories together. Each story finds enhanced interest and power through its juxtaposition with the other.
• The stories show Jesus dealing with people of vastly different standing. Jairus is well-to-do and influential, while the woman with the hemorrhage is financially impoverished and socially outcast. Jesus does not favor one over the other. He neither rebukes Jairus for his money and social standing nor ignores the woman because of her poverty and marginality.
• The interruption of Jesus' journey to Jairus' house heightens the drama. Just imagine Jairus' impatience as Jesus talks with the woman. He must wonder what is happening to the little girl while they delay. The answer, as they will learn, is that the little girl was dying. Jesus is now faced with a requirement, not for healing, but for undoing death.
• In both stories, competent authorities have proven that no remedy is possible. The woman spent all her money on physicians over the years, and their best remedies failed. The crowd at Jairus' house has started mourning ceremonies, because the little girl is dead. They laugh when Jesus says the little girl is only sleeping.
• Both stories involve issues of ritual uncleanness. The woman is unclean because of her hemorrhage (Leviticus 15:25-30). The child is unclean because she is dead (Numbers 19:11-20). Anyone who touches either of them is rendered unclean by that touch.
• In the miracle stories in this Gospel, only Jairus and blind Bartimaeus (10:46) are named. Neither the woman with the hemorrhage nor the little girl is named. While both Matthew and Luke use Mark's Gospel as one of their primary sources, Luke uses Jairus' name (Luke 8:41), but Matthew does not (Matthew 9:41).
• The woman has been afflicted for twelve years and the little girl is twelve years old.
• Both the little girl and the woman are called "daughter" (vv. 22, 34).
• In both stories, the Greek word sozo is important. Jairus begs that Jesus might come and sothe his daughter. Jesus says to the woman, Daughter, your faith has sesoken you. Sozo can refer to healing or delivery from danger, but the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) often uses it to refer to the salvation of the Israelites (Psalm 44:1-8; Isaiah 43:11; 45:21; 63:9; Hosea 14:3) and the New Testament uses it to refer to Christian salvation (1 Corinthians 1:21; 9:22; Ephesians 2:5). The stories of Jairus' daughter and the woman with the hemorrhage are not just healing stories, but salvation stories as well.
• Both Jairus and the woman demonstrate considerable faith in Jesus. Jairus is convinced that Jesus' touch will make his daughter well (v. 23), and the woman is convinced that just touching Jesus' garment will heal her (v. 28). Jesus commends the woman for her faith, saying, "Daughter, your faith has made you well" –– or "has saved you" (sesoken –– a form of sozo –– v. 34). When Jairus gets the word that his daughter is dead, Jesus says, "Do not fear, only believe" (v. 36), and then restores the little girl's life. Faith is a key component in both of these stories.
In that patriarchal society, women were second-class citizens. Jesus, however, attends to the needs of this woman and this little girl as if they are the most important people in the world –– just as he earlier devoted his full attention to the healing of the Gerasene demoniac (5:1-20).
VERSES 21-24a: MY LITTLE DAUGHTER IS AT THE POINT OF DEATH
21When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well (Greek: sothe –– healed or saved), and live." 24So he went with him.
"When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side" (v. 21a). The Sea of Galilee has a Gentile eastern shore and a Jewish western shore. Jesus moves by boat between the two, ministering to both communities. "By this arrangement of the material, Mark is declaring that Christ blesses without partiality Jew and Gentile, near and far, clean and unclean" (Craddock, 328). Jesus is now returning to the Jewish side.
"Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet" (v. 22). Jairus is a prominent member of the community. Lay people routinely lead synagogue services, but the synagogue leader is responsible for the synagogue facilities, the security of the scrolls, the selection and oversight of worship leaders, and the general administration of the synagogue. Jairus is clearly an "insider" –– a person who counts –– a person who belongs.
It is worth noting that that the last time Jesus visited a synagogue, the Pharisees and Herodians tried to kill him (3:6) and the next time he visits a synagogue they will take offense at him (6:3 –– in Luke's version, they will try to kill him –– Luke 4:29).
Jairus "fell at (Jesus') feet and begged him repeatedly" (vv. 22b-23a). In one sense, this is remarkable. "Jairus had to cast aside his rank, his prestige, in falling at the feet of an unauthorized, itinerant teacher" (Luccock, 718). Jairus would be accustomed to other people begging him for favors, and would himself stoop to begging only in a terrible situation. We might expect him to send an emissary rather than appearing in person before Jesus. While Jesus' popularity gives him a kind of prominence, the established religious leadership –– Jairus' colleagues –– views him askance. Mark has already told us that the Pharisees and Herodians are plotting against Jesus to destroy him (3:6).
In another sense, though, there is nothing at all remarkable about Jairus' appeal. A parent of a dying child will do nearly anything to save the child. Jairus is driven by desperation to seek Jesus' help. This is the first of three stories in this Gospel of parents bringing their child to Jesus for help. The other two are the Syrophoenician woman (7:25-30) and the father of the son with a spirit (9:14-29). In all three cases, the parents experience obstacles to the child's healing, but persist –– and Jesus heals all three children.
"My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live" (v. 23b). Jairus' invitation to come contrasts with the Geresenes' request that Jesus go away (v. 17). Where the Geresenes responded to Jesus' miracles with fear, Jairus responds with faith. He does not ask Jesus to help if he can, but instead expresses confidence that Jesus can restore his daughter's health if he will only lay his hands on her.
"So he went with him" (v. 24a). "In that simple statement, ...Mark testifies to Jesus' commitment to minister to human need and to the inestimable worth of the human individual for Jesus" (Edwards, 162).
VERSES 24b-34: DAUGHTER, YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL
24bAnd a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?' " 32He looked all around to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well (Greek: sesoken –– healed or saved you); go in peace, and be healed (Greek: hugies –– healed or healthy) of your disease."
"Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years" (v. 25). Thus begins a story set within another story –– the story of the woman with the hemorrhage (vv. 25-34) set inside the story of Jairus and his daughter (vv. 21-24; 35-41). Jairus must be beside himself as Jesus delays on his journey to Jairus' daughter, who is at the point of death (v. 23) to help this woman whose condition is serious but not life-threatening.
"She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse" (v. 26). This woman has suffered at the hands of many physicians, who took her money but failed to cure her. Her circumstance is very different from that of Jairus. Her bleeding, most likely a vaginal discharge, renders her ritually unclean, isolating her from most human contact. Not only is she unclean, but her touch renders unclean anyone whom she touches. She defiles even the bed upon which she lies and the chair on which she sits, and these then transmit her uncleanness to anyone who touches them (Leviticus 15:25-30). Given the ease with which a man can divorce his wife (see Matthew 5:31), it seems likely that her husband has long since divorced her. Her condition would make it impossible for her to find a job as a household servant and would, ironically, make her ineligible to attend Jairus' synagogue (Cousar, 410). Her situation is very much like that of a leper (see 1:40-45), in that she is cut off from social contact. Such isolation must be nearly unbearable. This woman is clearly an "outsider"–– a person who does not count –– does not belong.
The real purpose behind this verse, however, is to set up a contrast between the physicians, who did not help the woman, and Jesus, who does.
"She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak" (v. 27). Jairus approached Jesus directly, face to face, but this woman approaches Jesus from behind, cloaked in the anonymity of the crowd. She believes that just touching Jesus' garment will make her well (v. 28). Having avoided touching other people for so many years, it must require a great effort to reach out and touch even Jesus' cloak. Because she is unclean, "there is a danger that any physical contact she may have with the healer will annul his miracle working power and wreck the whole effort" (Marcus, 366). Even if she has heard the story about Jesus touching a leper (1:41), it must be hard to imagine that Jesus would welcome her touch.
However, "Instead of uncleanness passing from the woman to Jesus, healing power flows from Jesus to the woman" (Davies and Allison, quoted in Marcus, 367). Immediately upon touching Jesus' cloak, "her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease" (v. 29). Jesus senses that power has gone from him and asks, "Who touched my clothes?" (v. 30). The disciples believe this to be an unreasonable question, given the press of the crowd, but the woman falls down before Jesus and tells him the whole truth (v. 33). Jesus says, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease" (v. 34). Jesus does not say, "Be healed" or "I will heal you." Instead, he says, "Your faith has made you well."
When the woman touched Jesus' cloak, she was healed of her disease. However, only after she presents herself to Jesus does he say, "Daughter, your faith has sozo you" –– has saved you (Williamson, 110).
Note the relationship of faith and healing. "Daughter, your faith has made you well" (v. 34). In the next chapter, Jesus will visit his hometown, where he will be unable to do any deed of power because of their unbelief (6:1-6). The power by which Jesus heals is God's power. The faith of the individual, however, is an important component in receiving the blessing of healing.
The word, "daughter," might seem paternalistic to our ears, but was a common form of address in Jesus' day. His use of the word reflects a kind of warmth and acceptance that this woman has most likely not heard in a long time –– a daughter is a beloved member of a family. In this context, daughter is a healing word.
VERSES 35-43: LITTLE GIRL, GET UP
35While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
"Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" (v. 35). This story is reminiscent of Lazarus' resurrection in John 11. If Jesus had come earlier, he could have prevented Lazarus' death. Once Lazarus died, Martha and Mary lost hope in Jesus' power to help. Mark does not tell us Jairus' reaction when he sees the mourners, but we can imagine his desolation when he sees that rites for the dead have begun.
"He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James" (v. 37). These three men constitute Jesus' inner circle, and will be invited to accompany Jesus at the Transfiguration (9:29) and at Gethsemane (14:33).
Jesus "saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly" (v. 38b). Mourning includes professional mourners, who wail, beat their breasts, tear their hair, and rend their garments. Flutes play a dirge. These actions alert the community to the death and signify grief. They are "designed to stress the desolation and the final separation of death. The triumphant victorious hope of the Christian faith (is) totally absent from them" (Barclay, 133). "The professional mourners represent the hard-core realists of every age who decide when empirical realities have foreclosed on divine possibilities" (Lane, 167).
However, when we consider the custom of professional mourners, we should not discount the presence of real grief. The tragic death of a child would break the hearts of friends and neighbors in any time or circumstance.
The crowd greets Jairus, saying "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" (v. 35). Jesus tells Jairus, "Do not fear, only believe" (v. 36). He allows no one to follow as they go to see the little girl (v. 37) –– mourners are inappropriate for a girl who will soon be walking and eating.
To the crowd, Jesus says, "Why do you make a commotion? The child is not dead but sleeping" (v. 39). His comment is difficult to understand, because this is clearly a story of resurrection rather than of healing. However, sleep is a temporary condition and death is permanent. This girl will soon be "up and running," so Jesus considers her condition temporary.
"And they laughed at him" (v. 40a). The crowd has no doubt regarding the little girl's death. Their comment prepares us for the difficulty of the miracle that Jesus will work.
Jesus limits the audience for the healing/resurrection to the parents of the little girl and "those who were with him," (Peter, James and John) (v. 40). "He took her by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha cum,' which means, 'Little girl, get up!'" (v. 41). "Talitha cum" is Aramaic, a Semitic language related to Hebrew. "Among the Jews, Aramaic was used by the common people, while Hebrew remained the language of religion and government and of the upper class" (Encyclopedia Britannica 2003, "Aramaic"). Mark translates "Talitha cum" into Greek for Gentile Christians of the early church who might not know Aramaic.
"He took her by the hand" (v. 41a). Touching this girl violates Torah law, which renders a person who touches a dead body unclean until evening (Leviticus 11:39) or for seven days (Numbers 19:11). Such a person is required to remain outside the camp (Numbers 5:2-3).
In this chapter, Jesus violates many taboos. The story of the demoniac (vv. 1-20) "featured unclean spirits (Legion), an unclean place (the graveyard), unclean animals (pigs) in an unclean land (Decapolis). Jesus was not at all reluctant to minister there" (Geddert, 122). Jesus affirmed the unclean woman for touching his garment in faith. Now he touches a corpse. "But the miracle makes the issue moot by removing the cause of the defilement" Guelich, 302). How can anyone accuse Jesus of touching a woman with a discharge if she is now clean –– or touching a corpse if the girl is now walking and eating (vv. 42-43).
"And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was about 12 years of age)" (v. 42a). Immediately is one of Mark's favorite words, occurring 27 times in this Gospel. The little girl is 12 years old, which corresponds to the 12 years that the woman suffered with a hemorrhage (v. 25).
"He strictly ordered them that no one should know this" (v. 43). This seems odd, because there was no way that the crowd would not learn of the girl's healing/resurrection, and there was no way that the crowd would keep the news quiet. "A similar command to the leper had been immediately disregarded (1:44-45)" (Perkins, 589).
"We have here once again the theme of secrecy in connection with one of Jesus' miracles: the child's cure must not be announced to those who are unable to comprehend it –– which includes, of course, all of Jesus' contemporaries. The miracle of resurrection can only be understood by those who believe in the one who has himself been raised from the dead" (Hooker, 151).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
A 1996 Yakelovich Partners survey of 269 doctors at an American Academy of Family Physicians meeting showed that 99 percent of the doctors thought that religious beliefs have a healing effect on patients. 75 percent believed in the power of intercessory prayer.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Bible,
the greatest medicine chest of humanity.
Heinrich Heine
* * * * * * * * * *
Healing and the healing of the whole person
are creative acts of God,
no matter what the agent may be.
He who has healing in his hands,
be he physician, surgeon, psychiatrist,
pastor or layman,
may only thank God humbly
that he is used in this ministry.
John Sutherland Bonnell
* * * * * * * * * *
In the central place of every heart
there is a recording chamber;
so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage,
so long are you young.
When the wires are all down
and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism,
then and only then have you grown old.
Douglas MacArthur
* * * * * * * * * *
Doubtless there are many doctors
who in their struggles against disease have had, like me,
the feeling that they were confronting not something passive,
but a clever and resourceful enemy.
Paul Tournier, Swiss psychiatrist, A Doctor's Casebook
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Campbell, Charles L., in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001)
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV -- Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Donahue, John R. and Harrington, Daniel J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2002)
Edwards, James R., The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Jensen, Richard A., Preaching Mark's Gospel (Lima, OH: C.S.S. Publishing Co., 1996)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Thayer, Joseph Henry, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (NY: American Book Company, 1889)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, Sermonwriter.com
Friday, May 29, 2009
May 32, 2009 - The Day of Pentecost
SCRIPTURE STUDY
PENTECOST, YEAR B
MAY 31, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 15:26-27; 16:4-15
Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But, now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 14-17: THE PARACLETE
Parakletos (the word translated "Advocate" in verse 26 below) is used only five times in the New Testament, four times in this Gospel to refer to the Spirit (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) and once in 1 John 2:1 to refer to Jesus. Parakletos can mean a lawyer who pleads your case or a witness who testifies in your behalf. It can refer to a person who gives comfort, counsel, or strength in time of need. The literal meaning is "someone called in; but it is the reason why the person is called in which gives the word its distinctive associations.... Always a parakletos is someone called in to help when the person who calls him in is in trouble or distress or doubt or bewilderment" (Barclay, 194).
Parakletos has been translated Advocate, Counselor, Comforter, and Intercessor, but each of those expresses only one facet of parakletos. The original readers of this Gospel would have heard the full richness of its various meanings. Some Bibles use the word Paraclete, which is not an English word but a transliteration of the Greek word. The problem is that most people don't know what a Paraclete is, so using Paraclete without explanation will probably convey less meaning rather than more.
The Paraclete, of course, is the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit dwelling in and among God's people. In this Gospel, two of the Paraclete sayings (14:16 and 14:26) are found prior to today's Gospel lesson. The others (15:26 and 16:7; see also 16:13-14) are part of this lesson.
Note that the various translations of Paraclete (Advocate, Counselor, Comforter, and Helper) all point to the helping, supporting role of the Spirit. In our culture, we are accustomed to paying expensive professionals for these services. We speak of lawyers as Counselors or Advocates, because they advise and defend us in legal matters. We depend upon psychology professionals to comfort us –– to help us through life's difficult times. Not only are such professionals expensive, but they are available only by appointment and are subject to error. The Paraclete is with us always, and offers power and wisdom that are simply unavailable elsewhere at any price. This is not to say that we should not consult lawyers and psychologists, but it gives us an appreciation for the ever-present and powerful help that God makes available to us through the Paraclete.
This was good news to those early Christians, whom the world would hate, the synagogues would excommunicate, and Rome would persecute (15:18-25; 16-1-4). They had no access to professional counsel, but they did have each other –– and they had the Paraclete. This is also good news for us. Neither our lawyer nor our psychiatrist welcomes a phone call in the middle of the night when terror jolts us from our slumbers. The Paraclete, however, is always present and ready to help.
VERSES 18-25: THE CONTEXT
In these verses, Jesus talks about the persecution that his disciples can expect to experience –– about a world (Greek: kosmos –– the realm opposed to God) that will hate them for not belonging to the kosmos. He talks about kosmos-people who hate the Son for exposing them to the light and making them accountable for their sins. He says that these kosmos-people hate both the Father and the Son. He said, "They hated me without a cause," thus fulfilling the prophecy of scripture (either Psalm 69:4 or 35:19).
VERSES 26-27: WHEN THE ADVOCATE COMES
26"When the Advocate (Greek: parakletos) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify (Greek: marturesei) on my behalf. 27You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
"When the Advocate (parakletos) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father" (v. 26a). See above for information about the parakletos.
The language suggests a courtroom setting. Jesus outlined the problem in verses 18-25 (see above), and now outlines the response that the disciples can expect.
"he will testify on my behalf" (v. 26b). John the Baptist testified on Jesus' behalf earlier (1:7, 15, 32, 34; 3:26; 5:33). Jesus' works testified that the Father had sent him (5:36; 10:25), and the Father testified on his behalf (5:37). The scriptures testified on his behalf (5:39). Jesus also testified on his own behalf (8:14, 18). Now the Spirit testifies on his behalf (15:26b).
"You will also testify because you have been with me from the beginning" (v. 27). Jesus' disciples are to testify on Jesus' behalf, because they have been with him from the beginning (15:27). The church must also serve as a witness for Jesus. The testimony (marturesei) of the Paraclete and the testimony of the church go hand in hand. The Paraclete's testimony came first, and provides the power without which the church's testimony would fall flat. The church's testimony, steeped in personal experience and bathed in the Spirit, makes the witness visible to the world. Jewish Law requires two witnesses to convict (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). The two witnesses, the Spirit and the church, will convict the world of its sin and its need for Christ.
VERSES 1-4a: THEY WILL KILL YOU
1"I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. 3And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4aBut I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
In these verses (not included in this Gospel lesson) Jesus warns the disciples that the world will respond with great hostility to their testimony. The Paraclete will not only strengthen the disciples for the trials that lay ahead, but will insure the eventual triumph of the Gospel message. The disciples need not fear, because Christ has already overcome the world.
VERSES 4b-11: IT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE THAT I GO AWAY
4b"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11about judgment, because the ruler of this world (Greek: kosmou) has been condemned.
"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you" (v. 4b). Verses 1-4a tell of the coming persecution. Jesus did not tell the disciples of this persecution while he was with them, but is telling them now "so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them" (v. 4a). The world's hostility should not come as a surprise, because the disciples have been warned. Now Jesus is "going to the one who sent me" (v. 5a), with the result that "sorrow has filled (the disciples') hearts" (v. 6b). Not only will the disciples face terrible opposition, but they will face it without Jesus. It is no wonder that they are sad.
"yet none of you asks me 'Where are you going?'" (v. 5b). This seems like a peculiar statement in view of 13:26, where Peter asked, "Lord, where are you going?" and 14:5, where Thomas said, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Much scholarly ink has been spilled in an attempt to resolve this. Some have suggested that it reflects weak organization on the part of the author or weak editing on the part of a redactor. Lincoln says that Jesus is not saying "none of you has asked me," (past tense) but rather "none of you is asking me" (present tense) (Lincoln, 418). Borchert says that trying to read this Gospel "within sequential time and space frames" doesn't work (Borchert, 164). Morris says that Peter's question "had not been a serious inquiry as to Jesus' destination, (and that he) had been diverted immediately, and he made no real attempt to find out where Jesus was going" (Morris, 617). This diversity of proposals, none of them compelling, suggests that we won't resolve this issue this side of heaven. There is nothing to be gained by airing this kind of unresolved issue in our preaching.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (v. 7). The disciples are sad that Jesus is leaving, but he gives them reason to rejoice. He is leaving so that the Paraclete might come. The net result will be a gain for the disciples. "This reflects the characteristic Johannine concept that during his earthly ministry Jesus embodies the presence of God among humans, while after Jesus' exaltation through death and resurrection the Holy Spirit is the way the presence of the Father and the Son is experienced on earth" (Williamson, 209).
Preachers often note that the Paraclete is not subject to the limitations of humanity that Jesus took upon himself. Jesus could be only in one place at a time, while the Paraclete can be present with believers everywhere. Jesus, however, does not call attention to that advantage but to the fact that the Paraclete will "prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment" (v. 8).
"The picture is clearly one of a trial, in which the Paraclete has the role of prosecuting attorney and the world is the defendant, standing before the believing community" (O'Day, 771) "By convicting the world on three counts he will reverse its erroneous judgment passed upon Jesus in his crucifixion" (Howard, 731). The Paraclete will expose the world for what it is –– will convict the world –– will prove the world wrong (elengcho):
• "about sin, because they do not believe in me" (v. 9). In this Gospel, "sin is a theological, not a moral category. The world's sin is not to believe in Jesus" (O'Day, 772). The world's sin is to reject Christ in favor of "the ruler of this kosmos" (v. 11).
• "about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer" (v. 10). The world judged Jesus guilty, and condemned him to a sinner's death. Jesus, however, has overcome the death sentence and is going back to the Father. His resurrection and ascension not only vindicate his life and ministry, but also stand as judgment on those who condemned him. Their joy at Jesus' death has turned out to be "the rejoicing of the damned" (Blank, quoted in Borchert, 167).
"It is possible, however, to understand 'righteousness' in the sense of moral goodness and to read the verb as 'expose'.... On this reading, Jesus' return to the Father exposes the world's error about what constitutes moral goodness. It is not strict adherence to the law.... (It) includes mercy as well as justice" (Williamson, 210).
• "about judgment, because the ruler of this world (kosmou –– from kosmos) has been condemned" (v. 11). In this Gospel, the kosmos (world) is the sphere of evil that is opposed to God. It has given its heart to the ruler of the kosmos –– the devil (6:70; 8:44; 13:2) or Satan (13:27) instead of God. God has condemned the ruler of the kosmos, but still loves the world and seeks to save it (3:16). The kosmos, however, cannot be saved as it is, but must be redeemed –– must accept the Christ that it has rejected. Otherwise, it can expect to suffer the same judgment as the ruler of the kosmos –– the ruler whom it has chosen to follow (Lincoln, 420).
VERSES 12-15: THE SPIRIT WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL THE TRUTH
12"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (v. 12). Jesus has pointed to the cross, but the disciples were not been able to see it. They expected a warrior-king, and could not imagine a suffering servant. They will have to walk the walk –– to make the journey –– to experience the darkness –– before the light will begin to break through.
Jesus will ascend to the Father a short time after the resurrection, and the Paraclete will assume responsibility for the disciples' enlightenment. The Spirit of Truth "will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears" (v. 13). Jesus has spoken what he heard from God (7:16-18; 8:26-28, 40; 12:49-50), and now the Spirit of Truth will speak what it hears. The faithfulness of Jesus and the Spirit in proclaiming what they heard guarantees the truth of their proclamation as well as its continuity.
The Spirit of Truth "will declare to you the things that are to come" (v. 13b). Every generation of Christians faces new challenges to its faith and practice. What is the right Christian response to cloning? To euthanasia? To abortion? To economic systems such as capitalism and socialism? The Spirit of Truth keeps God's word alive and fresh through every changing circumstance.
"He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (vv. 14-15). Earlier, Jesus had declared that his teaching was not his own but was from the one who had sent him. He continued, "Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false about him" (7:18). Jesus has been faithful in glorifying the Father, and the Spirit will be faithful in glorifying the Son.
"Like Elijah, Jesus has ascended into heaven –– but his mantle falls not on just one successor. The gift of the Holy Spirit is poured out at Pentecost upon all people" (Burridge, 572).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God is no distant deity but a constant reality,
a very present help whenever needs occur.
So? So live like it.
And laugh like it!
(The apostle) Paul did.
While he lived, he drained every drop of joy
out of every day that passed.
Charles R. Swindoll
* * * * * * * * * *
Even the most Starless midnight
may herald the dawn of some great fulfillment.
Martin Luther King
* * * * * * * * * *
God's might to direct me,
God's power to protect me,
God's wisdom for learning,
God's eye for discerning,
God's ear for my hearing,
God's Word for my clearing.
Saint Patrick
* * * * * * * * * *
The true believer in the Holy Spirit
is one who knows how to hoist the sail of his own spirit
to catch the winds of God.
Ralph W. Sockman
* * * * * * * * * *
To the church, Pentecost brought light, power, joy.
There came to each illumination of mind,
assurance of heart,
intensity of love,
fullness of power,
exuberance of joy.
No one needed to ask if they had received the Holy Ghost.
Fire is self-evident.
So is power!
Samuel Chadwick
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1957)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 12-21, Vol. 25B (Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002)
Burridge, Richard A., in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993).
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Keener, Craig S., The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume II (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John, Revised (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995)
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, Interpretation: John (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Williamson, Lamar, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
PENTECOST, YEAR B
MAY 31, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 15:26-27; 16:4-15
Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But, now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 14-17: THE PARACLETE
Parakletos (the word translated "Advocate" in verse 26 below) is used only five times in the New Testament, four times in this Gospel to refer to the Spirit (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) and once in 1 John 2:1 to refer to Jesus. Parakletos can mean a lawyer who pleads your case or a witness who testifies in your behalf. It can refer to a person who gives comfort, counsel, or strength in time of need. The literal meaning is "someone called in; but it is the reason why the person is called in which gives the word its distinctive associations.... Always a parakletos is someone called in to help when the person who calls him in is in trouble or distress or doubt or bewilderment" (Barclay, 194).
Parakletos has been translated Advocate, Counselor, Comforter, and Intercessor, but each of those expresses only one facet of parakletos. The original readers of this Gospel would have heard the full richness of its various meanings. Some Bibles use the word Paraclete, which is not an English word but a transliteration of the Greek word. The problem is that most people don't know what a Paraclete is, so using Paraclete without explanation will probably convey less meaning rather than more.
The Paraclete, of course, is the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit dwelling in and among God's people. In this Gospel, two of the Paraclete sayings (14:16 and 14:26) are found prior to today's Gospel lesson. The others (15:26 and 16:7; see also 16:13-14) are part of this lesson.
Note that the various translations of Paraclete (Advocate, Counselor, Comforter, and Helper) all point to the helping, supporting role of the Spirit. In our culture, we are accustomed to paying expensive professionals for these services. We speak of lawyers as Counselors or Advocates, because they advise and defend us in legal matters. We depend upon psychology professionals to comfort us –– to help us through life's difficult times. Not only are such professionals expensive, but they are available only by appointment and are subject to error. The Paraclete is with us always, and offers power and wisdom that are simply unavailable elsewhere at any price. This is not to say that we should not consult lawyers and psychologists, but it gives us an appreciation for the ever-present and powerful help that God makes available to us through the Paraclete.
This was good news to those early Christians, whom the world would hate, the synagogues would excommunicate, and Rome would persecute (15:18-25; 16-1-4). They had no access to professional counsel, but they did have each other –– and they had the Paraclete. This is also good news for us. Neither our lawyer nor our psychiatrist welcomes a phone call in the middle of the night when terror jolts us from our slumbers. The Paraclete, however, is always present and ready to help.
VERSES 18-25: THE CONTEXT
In these verses, Jesus talks about the persecution that his disciples can expect to experience –– about a world (Greek: kosmos –– the realm opposed to God) that will hate them for not belonging to the kosmos. He talks about kosmos-people who hate the Son for exposing them to the light and making them accountable for their sins. He says that these kosmos-people hate both the Father and the Son. He said, "They hated me without a cause," thus fulfilling the prophecy of scripture (either Psalm 69:4 or 35:19).
VERSES 26-27: WHEN THE ADVOCATE COMES
26"When the Advocate (Greek: parakletos) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify (Greek: marturesei) on my behalf. 27You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
"When the Advocate (parakletos) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father" (v. 26a). See above for information about the parakletos.
The language suggests a courtroom setting. Jesus outlined the problem in verses 18-25 (see above), and now outlines the response that the disciples can expect.
"he will testify on my behalf" (v. 26b). John the Baptist testified on Jesus' behalf earlier (1:7, 15, 32, 34; 3:26; 5:33). Jesus' works testified that the Father had sent him (5:36; 10:25), and the Father testified on his behalf (5:37). The scriptures testified on his behalf (5:39). Jesus also testified on his own behalf (8:14, 18). Now the Spirit testifies on his behalf (15:26b).
"You will also testify because you have been with me from the beginning" (v. 27). Jesus' disciples are to testify on Jesus' behalf, because they have been with him from the beginning (15:27). The church must also serve as a witness for Jesus. The testimony (marturesei) of the Paraclete and the testimony of the church go hand in hand. The Paraclete's testimony came first, and provides the power without which the church's testimony would fall flat. The church's testimony, steeped in personal experience and bathed in the Spirit, makes the witness visible to the world. Jewish Law requires two witnesses to convict (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). The two witnesses, the Spirit and the church, will convict the world of its sin and its need for Christ.
VERSES 1-4a: THEY WILL KILL YOU
1"I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. 3And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4aBut I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
In these verses (not included in this Gospel lesson) Jesus warns the disciples that the world will respond with great hostility to their testimony. The Paraclete will not only strengthen the disciples for the trials that lay ahead, but will insure the eventual triumph of the Gospel message. The disciples need not fear, because Christ has already overcome the world.
VERSES 4b-11: IT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE THAT I GO AWAY
4b"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11about judgment, because the ruler of this world (Greek: kosmou) has been condemned.
"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you" (v. 4b). Verses 1-4a tell of the coming persecution. Jesus did not tell the disciples of this persecution while he was with them, but is telling them now "so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them" (v. 4a). The world's hostility should not come as a surprise, because the disciples have been warned. Now Jesus is "going to the one who sent me" (v. 5a), with the result that "sorrow has filled (the disciples') hearts" (v. 6b). Not only will the disciples face terrible opposition, but they will face it without Jesus. It is no wonder that they are sad.
"yet none of you asks me 'Where are you going?'" (v. 5b). This seems like a peculiar statement in view of 13:26, where Peter asked, "Lord, where are you going?" and 14:5, where Thomas said, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Much scholarly ink has been spilled in an attempt to resolve this. Some have suggested that it reflects weak organization on the part of the author or weak editing on the part of a redactor. Lincoln says that Jesus is not saying "none of you has asked me," (past tense) but rather "none of you is asking me" (present tense) (Lincoln, 418). Borchert says that trying to read this Gospel "within sequential time and space frames" doesn't work (Borchert, 164). Morris says that Peter's question "had not been a serious inquiry as to Jesus' destination, (and that he) had been diverted immediately, and he made no real attempt to find out where Jesus was going" (Morris, 617). This diversity of proposals, none of them compelling, suggests that we won't resolve this issue this side of heaven. There is nothing to be gained by airing this kind of unresolved issue in our preaching.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (v. 7). The disciples are sad that Jesus is leaving, but he gives them reason to rejoice. He is leaving so that the Paraclete might come. The net result will be a gain for the disciples. "This reflects the characteristic Johannine concept that during his earthly ministry Jesus embodies the presence of God among humans, while after Jesus' exaltation through death and resurrection the Holy Spirit is the way the presence of the Father and the Son is experienced on earth" (Williamson, 209).
Preachers often note that the Paraclete is not subject to the limitations of humanity that Jesus took upon himself. Jesus could be only in one place at a time, while the Paraclete can be present with believers everywhere. Jesus, however, does not call attention to that advantage but to the fact that the Paraclete will "prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment" (v. 8).
"The picture is clearly one of a trial, in which the Paraclete has the role of prosecuting attorney and the world is the defendant, standing before the believing community" (O'Day, 771) "By convicting the world on three counts he will reverse its erroneous judgment passed upon Jesus in his crucifixion" (Howard, 731). The Paraclete will expose the world for what it is –– will convict the world –– will prove the world wrong (elengcho):
• "about sin, because they do not believe in me" (v. 9). In this Gospel, "sin is a theological, not a moral category. The world's sin is not to believe in Jesus" (O'Day, 772). The world's sin is to reject Christ in favor of "the ruler of this kosmos" (v. 11).
• "about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer" (v. 10). The world judged Jesus guilty, and condemned him to a sinner's death. Jesus, however, has overcome the death sentence and is going back to the Father. His resurrection and ascension not only vindicate his life and ministry, but also stand as judgment on those who condemned him. Their joy at Jesus' death has turned out to be "the rejoicing of the damned" (Blank, quoted in Borchert, 167).
"It is possible, however, to understand 'righteousness' in the sense of moral goodness and to read the verb as 'expose'.... On this reading, Jesus' return to the Father exposes the world's error about what constitutes moral goodness. It is not strict adherence to the law.... (It) includes mercy as well as justice" (Williamson, 210).
• "about judgment, because the ruler of this world (kosmou –– from kosmos) has been condemned" (v. 11). In this Gospel, the kosmos (world) is the sphere of evil that is opposed to God. It has given its heart to the ruler of the kosmos –– the devil (6:70; 8:44; 13:2) or Satan (13:27) instead of God. God has condemned the ruler of the kosmos, but still loves the world and seeks to save it (3:16). The kosmos, however, cannot be saved as it is, but must be redeemed –– must accept the Christ that it has rejected. Otherwise, it can expect to suffer the same judgment as the ruler of the kosmos –– the ruler whom it has chosen to follow (Lincoln, 420).
VERSES 12-15: THE SPIRIT WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL THE TRUTH
12"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (v. 12). Jesus has pointed to the cross, but the disciples were not been able to see it. They expected a warrior-king, and could not imagine a suffering servant. They will have to walk the walk –– to make the journey –– to experience the darkness –– before the light will begin to break through.
Jesus will ascend to the Father a short time after the resurrection, and the Paraclete will assume responsibility for the disciples' enlightenment. The Spirit of Truth "will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears" (v. 13). Jesus has spoken what he heard from God (7:16-18; 8:26-28, 40; 12:49-50), and now the Spirit of Truth will speak what it hears. The faithfulness of Jesus and the Spirit in proclaiming what they heard guarantees the truth of their proclamation as well as its continuity.
The Spirit of Truth "will declare to you the things that are to come" (v. 13b). Every generation of Christians faces new challenges to its faith and practice. What is the right Christian response to cloning? To euthanasia? To abortion? To economic systems such as capitalism and socialism? The Spirit of Truth keeps God's word alive and fresh through every changing circumstance.
"He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (vv. 14-15). Earlier, Jesus had declared that his teaching was not his own but was from the one who had sent him. He continued, "Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false about him" (7:18). Jesus has been faithful in glorifying the Father, and the Spirit will be faithful in glorifying the Son.
"Like Elijah, Jesus has ascended into heaven –– but his mantle falls not on just one successor. The gift of the Holy Spirit is poured out at Pentecost upon all people" (Burridge, 572).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God is no distant deity but a constant reality,
a very present help whenever needs occur.
So? So live like it.
And laugh like it!
(The apostle) Paul did.
While he lived, he drained every drop of joy
out of every day that passed.
Charles R. Swindoll
* * * * * * * * * *
Even the most Starless midnight
may herald the dawn of some great fulfillment.
Martin Luther King
* * * * * * * * * *
God's might to direct me,
God's power to protect me,
God's wisdom for learning,
God's eye for discerning,
God's ear for my hearing,
God's Word for my clearing.
Saint Patrick
* * * * * * * * * *
The true believer in the Holy Spirit
is one who knows how to hoist the sail of his own spirit
to catch the winds of God.
Ralph W. Sockman
* * * * * * * * * *
To the church, Pentecost brought light, power, joy.
There came to each illumination of mind,
assurance of heart,
intensity of love,
fullness of power,
exuberance of joy.
No one needed to ask if they had received the Holy Ghost.
Fire is self-evident.
So is power!
Samuel Chadwick
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1957)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 12-21, Vol. 25B (Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002)
Burridge, Richard A., in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993).
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Keener, Craig S., The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume II (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John, Revised (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995)
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, Interpretation: John (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Williamson, Lamar, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Friday, May 22, 2009
May 24, 2000 - The 7th Sunday of Easter
SCRIPTURE STUDY
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B
MAY 24, 2009
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13
John 17:6-19
The Collect
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The First Lesson
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, "Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus-- for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us-- one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection." So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
The Psalm
Psalm 1 Page 585, BCP
Beatus vir qui non abiit
1
Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2
Their delight is in the law of the LORD,
and they meditate on his law day and night.
3
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither;
everything they do shall prosper.
4
It is not so with the wicked;
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5
Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes,
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
1 John 5:9-13
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
The Gospel
John 17:6-19
Looking up to heaven, Jesus prayed, "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."
EXEGESIS OF THE GOSPEL:
CHAPTERS 13-18: THE CONTEXT
Following the Passover foot washing (13:1-20), Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for his departure. He foretells his betrayal (13:21-30), gives them the great love commandment (13:31-35), and foretells Peter's denial (13:36-38). He then tells them that he is going to the Father's house where he will prepare a place for them (14:2) and that he will come again to take them with him (14:3). He promises them the gift of the Holy Spirit (14:16) –– not to leave them orphaned (14:18) –– and that the Holy Spirit will teach them everything (14:26). Also implied in his call for them to abide in him is a promise of ongoing connectedness (15:1-17). He warns of the world's hatred (15:18 - 16:4a), and gives the rationale that the Spirit cannot come unless he goes (16:4b-15). He promises them joy (16:16-24) and peace (16:25-33).
Jesus then prays his High Priestly Prayer, of which our Gospel lesson is part. This prayer "really belongs to the discourses. Prayers of Jesus in this Gospel are sermonic (11:42; 12:30), and therefore the readers of 17:1-26 are as a congregation overhearing a pastoral prayer" (Craddock, 277). (Editor's note: Lengthy passages of Jesus' teachings are often called discourses. Craddock is suggesting that this prayer of Jesus is also a discourse –– a vehicle for conveying Jesus' teachings.)
After this prayer, Jesus and his disciples will go to a garden in the Kidron Valley where he will be arrested. This prayer, then, serves as a transition from the discourses of the Upper Room to Jesus' passion (his death on the cross).
VERSES 1-26: JESUS' HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER
This prayer concludes the farewell dinner. It is often called The High Priestly Prayer for two reasons: First, Jesus is preparing to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Second, he intercedes for his disciples (vv. 6-26) in the same way that the high priest intercedes for the people of Israel (see Romans 8:34).
This prayer is often likened to Moses' farewell address (Deuteronomy 31:30ff), which concluded with Moses' final blessing on Israel (Deuteronomy 33). The tone of that address was positive, very much like Jesus' prayer. Moses was preparing to die, but he said, "Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord" (Deuteronomy 33:29). Jesus is preparing to die, but he prays, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you" (17:1).
Lincoln suggests that this prayer is the Johannine equivalent of the Lord's Prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-15. He calls it "the Lord's prayer transposed into a Johannine key," and notes the following parallels (Lincoln 432-433):
• "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9) is paralleled in John 17:1 by a mention of heaven and Jesus addressing God as Father. Jesus also addresses God as Father in 17:11.
• "hallowed be your name" (Matthew 6:9) is paralleled in several places by concerns for God's holiness or God's name (John 17:6, 11, 26).
• "Your kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10) is paralleled by a concern for Jesus' hour having come (John 17:1) and a concern about eternal life (John 17:2-3).
• "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) is paralleled by Jesus' comment that he has finished the work that the Father sent him to do (John 17:4).
• "And do not bring us to the time of trial" (Matthew 6:13) is paralleled by Jesus' plea for the Father to protect the disciples, living as they do in a hostile kosmos (John 17:11b-16).
This Johannine prayer is quite unlike Jesus' Gethsemane prayer in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46). There Jesus sweats drops of blood and prays, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me." In John's Gospel, there is a hint of anxiety in Jesus' earlier prayer, "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say –– 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour," (12:27) but no anxiety about his personal fate in chapter 17. "Far from being shaken and shattered by the ruin of all his hopes, as one might have expected him to be, Christ blesses God with a full heart for enabling him to carry through the task with which he had been entrusted" (Gossip, 744).
But though Jesus' prayer is positive, we hear an urgent, concerned tone. He is, after all, about to depart, leaving his disciples in a difficult world with a critical mission. He includes three petitions for the disciples in this prayer:
• First, he prays, "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one" (v. 11).
• Second, he prays, "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one" (v. 15).
• Third, he prays, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (v. 17).
• He also prays, "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21). This expands on the emphasis one oneness in the first petition.
"Although the prayer is set within the ministry of the historical Jesus, the perspective of the prayer is also that of the glorified Christ looking pastorally on his church in the world.... The prayer seems, then, to hang between heaven and earth, between the historical and the glorified Christ" (Craddock, 291).
Verses 1-11 have to do with the interrelationship between Jesus, God and the disciples. While Jesus has promised the Holy Spirit on several occasions (7:39; 14:16-26; 15:26; 16:13), there is no mention of the Spirit in this prayer.
VERSES 1-5: GLORIFY THE SON
These verses are not included in this Gospel lesson. In these verses, Jesus deals with various concerns, including his "hour," by which he means his death and resurrection (v. 1a) –– the glorification of the Son and Father (v. 1b) –– the Son's God-given authority (v. 2) –– and eternal life (vv. 2-3).
VERSES 6-8: I HAVE MADE YOUR NAME KNOWN
6"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word (Greek: logos). 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words (Greek: rhemata) that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
"I have made your name known" (v. 6a). From the beginning, Jesus' mission has been revelation. He is the Logos, the Word, the one sent to reveal God to us (1:1). He has made the Father's name known.
The Jewish people have always been sensitive about God's name, because they consider God's name to be synonymous with God's true nature or character. At the burning bush, Moses asked God's name, and God replied, "I AM WHO I AM" (Hebrew: YHWH or Yahweh) and commanded Moses to tell the people, "I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). In John's Gospel, Jesus frequently uses this "I AM" formula (Greek: ego eimi) to identify himself ("I AM the bread of life" –– "I AM the light of the world" –– "I AM the gate for the sheep" –– "I AM the good shepherd").
For much of their history, Jewish people considered God's name, YHWH, too sacred to pronounce, so they substituted the word adonai. Now Jesus makes God's name known "to those whom you gave me from the world" (v. 6) –– and the name is Father. Jesus makes God accessible –– makes it possible for us to address God as Father.
"to those whom you gave me from the world" (v. 6b). The disciples about whom Jesus speaks are not outstanding in any way. Jesus could easily complain about their mediocrity, but instead speaks of them respectfully, as if they were a treasure that the Father has placed into his hands. As events will prove, once they are filled with the Spirit, they will become worthy witnesses –– powerful advocates for the kingdom.
"and they have kept your word" (logos) (v. 6c). It is surprising that Jesus would say that the disciples have kept the Father's word. Their performance thus far has been mixed at best –– but see below on verse 8a.
"Now they know that everything you have given me is from you" (v. 7). The disciples do not yet understand Jesus' teachings about his death and resurrection, but they have placed their faith in Jesus as God's prophet –– as one who speaks God's word.
"for the words (rhemata) that you gave to me I have given to them" (v. 8a). Note the difference between "word" singular (logos) in verse 6 and "words" plural (rhemata) in verse 8. Logos (singular) and rhemata (plural) are two different words with significantly different meanings.
• Logos is important in this Gospel. Jesus is Logos –– Word –– the revelation of God. "In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God" (1:1).
• Rhemata is a different word. "A good case can be made that when the Fourth Gospel Jesus refers to his words (plural) he is talking about the precepts he lays down, almost equivalent to his 'commands'…, but when he refers to his word (singular) he is talking about his message as a whole, almost equivalent to 'gospel' " (Carson, 559).
"for they have received them and know in truth that I came from you" (v. 8b). Jesus does not say that the disciples have kept his rhemata –– his words –– his teachings –– but only that they have received them. It would be stretching things to say that the disciples have been faithful to Jesus' teachings, which they have thus far understood only dimly. Prior to the resurrection, they are more clueless than faithful. However, they have been faithful to the Father's logos –– to the Father's revelation of himself through the Son, who is the Logos. The disciples have hung in there with Jesus through good times and bad, because, "You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (6:68-69). It is the disciples' faithfulness to himself to which Jesus refers when he says, "they have kept your word" (v. 6).
"and they have believed that you sent me" (v. 8c). Jesus establishes the chain of custody by which God's words are transmitted. The words came from the Father, who gave them to the Son, who in turn gave them to the disciples. These disciples have not rejected these words, but have "received" them. They are receptive to the words that Jesus gives them, because they believe that Jesus was sent by the Father. If Jesus is truly sent by the Father, it follows that his words are trustworthy.
VERSES 9-11a: I AM ASKING ON THEIR BEHALF
9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world (Greek: kosmou –– from kosmos), but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11aAnd now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
"I am not asking on behalf of the world (kosmou), but on behalf of those whom you gave me" (v. 9). This has a harsh ring to it, as if Jesus cares only about his little band of disciples and nobody else. However, when Jesus speaks of the world, he is not speaking of planet earth or all humanity but of the kosmos, which is the "sphere of enmity to God…. The only hope for the kosmos is precisely that it should cease to be the kosmos" (O'Day, 792). The kosmos poses a threat to the disciples, who "are in the kosmos" even as Jesus is preparing to depart from the kosmos (v. 11).
But God and Jesus do not respond with hostility to a hostile world. Instead, this Gospel portrays them as loving the world and working to redeem it. Jesus said:
• "For God so loved the world (kosmon) that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world (kosmon), but in order that the world (kosmos) might be saved through him" (3:16-17)
• "I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world (kosmon), but to save the world" (kosmon) (12:47).
This was clear even to the Samaritans, who said to the woman at the well, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world" (kosmou) (4:42).
"But the salvation of the world depends on the witness of those whom the Father has given him 'out of the world' (see vv. 21, 23), and it is they that need (Jesus') intercession at this junction" (Bruce, 331).
"All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them" (v. 10). "What strikes one... most in our Lord's prayer is not even (Jesus') moving loyalty to his friends, ...but rather his unmistakable pride in them" (Gossip, 746). It seems astonishing that Jesus would claim to be glorified in these disciples. They are a small and ordinary group of people who exhibit no unusual intelligence or talent. They seem unable to learn from the numerous clues that Jesus gives them concerning his future. No matter what Jesus says, they just don't get it. How can Jesus claim to have been glorified in them?
Keep in mind that this Gospel was written quite late, probably after most of Jesus' original disciples died. The author has seen that, somehow, through the grace of God and the work of the Spirit, Jesus has indeed been glorified by these disciples. The church is growing and spreading. However imperfect these disciples might have been, they have succeeded in glorifying the Lord. In fact, when Jesus says that he has been glorified in them, he uses the perfect tense, suggesting an already completed glorification, showing full confidence that they have glorified him and will glorify him.
This is an encouraging word to those of us who are tempted to despair of disciples and discipleship today –– who long for a wart-free church. While the future of the church might seem compromised by the quality and commitment of its people, we can rest assured that the glorification that began with those first disciples continues with the work of the church today. The church is one example of the principle that God chooses the foolish and weak to shame the wise and strong (1 Corinthians 1:27).
"And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you" (v. 11a). Technically, Jesus is still present in the world, and his death and resurrection lie ahead, but he has begun the process by which he will be glorified and will return to the Father. The kosmos will soon succeed in killing him, but he will emerge victorious through the resurrection. The disciples, however, will continue to live in the kosmos, an alien and hostile kosmos, and we can hear a note of angst in Jesus' voice as he speaks of leaving them behind.
VERSES 11b-16: HOLY FATHER, PROTECT THEM IN YOUR NAME
11bHoly Father, protect (Greek: tereson –– keep, hold, maintain) them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost (Greek: ho huios tes apoleias –– the son of perdition), so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14I have given them your word (Greek: logon), and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
"Holy Father" (v. 11b) –– in verse 25, Jesus says, "Righteous Father." God is indeed holy and righteous. The holiness of God is "a divine characteristic which we are allowing to fall out of sight. We talk much about the love of God. But...we are not blinded these days by the blazing whiteness of God's holiness" (Gossip, 743). Neither have we adequately emphasized personal holiness as an important element of discipleship. It is an emphasis that we would do well to revive.
This righteous aspect of God was emphasized in the Old Testament to the extent that Jewish people did not feel worthy to address God by name. Now Jesus makes known God's name –– and that name is Father. That name helps us to see God in a new light, not simply as holy and righteous, but also as nurturing. But we must not forget that the nurturing Father is also holy and righteous.
"protect (tereson –– keep, hold, maintain) them in your name" or "keep them in your name that you have given me" (v. 11b). Jesus has been their protector, and gives an account of his stewardship (v. 12). Now he is preparing to depart, so he asks the Father to assume the role of protector to these disciples who are in the kosmos (world) but not of the kosmos –– belonging to the Father but dwelling in a hostile land. If we had been praying, we would have asked simply that the Father protect them, but Jesus prays, "protect them in your name" –– by which he means, " 'keep them in loyalty to you' or 'keep them in full adherence to your character' " (Carson, 562) –– the concern being not so much for physical danger –– and by the time of the writing of this Gospel, the church will have experienced the full savagery of Rome's persecution –– but for spiritual victory in the face of great trials.
"so that they may be one, as we are one" (v. 11b). In recent years, the ecumenical movement has worked to bring denominations together organizationally, their efforts reflecting concerns both for this petition of Jesus and for the church's witness. The unity for which Jesus is praying, however, is deeper –– a unity of heart and purpose. Organizational unity is only a first step. We must also be concerned about disunity within denominations –– within congregations –– between individual Christians.
This is a prayer that, in many respects, has not been answered. The church has fragmented into many denominations and factions. Christians spend altogether too much time fighting one another. And yet, in some respects, Jesus prayer has been answered. Christians work together across denominational lines in many ways –– from sponsoring community worship services to financing relief efforts. There have been a number of efforts to bring together denominations, either in formal mergers or through shared initiatives and mutual recognition of clergy. It is not enough, but it is a beginning.
"While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost" (Greek: ho huios tes apoleias –– literally, "the son of perdition" or "the son of utter ruin") (v. 12a). This probably refers to Judas, who is "characterized by 'lostness,' (rather than being) predestined to be 'lost'…. The reference to the fulfilling of Scripture brings out the divine purpose. This does not mean that Judas was an automaton. He was a responsible person and acted freely. But God used that man's evil act to bring about his own purpose" (Morris, 645).
In a dissenting opinion, Moloney regards this as a reference to Satan rather than Judas. "The only figure in the story Jesus could not 'care for' is Satan who planned the betrayal (cf. 13:2). Jesus washed the feet and shared the morsel with Judas despite Satan's designs (cf. 13:2). Nevertheless, Satan entered Judas (cf. 13:27) 'that the Scripture might be fulfilled' (17:12d; cf. 13:18). There is a divine order in the events of the life and death of Jesus beyond his control. The son of perdition is beyond the control of Jesus, but he has cared for his disciples" (Moloney, 467).
"so that the scripture might be fulfilled" (v. 12b). The fulfilled scripture is almost surely Psalm 41:9, which is applied to Judas in John 13:18.
"But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves" (v. 13). Earlier, Jesus commanded the disciples to abide in him and to keep his commandments "so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (15:11). The world in which we live –– the kosmos –– tends to think of joy in terms of the baser pleasures. Such joy tastes sweet for awhile, but then turns rancid, leaving a bitter aftertaste. There are joys with deeper roots –– the joy of hearth and home –– the joy of creativity and productivity –– the joy of service and benevolence –– the joy of knowing and serving truth –– the joy of having one's feet firmly planted on a solid foundation –– the joy of being in a right relationship with God. It is these joys that Jesus offers, and they "compensate for the world's hatred, which (the disciples) must encounter because of their loyalty to Christ, whose refusal to accept worldly standards has incurred the hostility of the world" (Howard, 748).
"I have given them your word (logos), and the world (kosmos) has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world" (v. 14). Jesus has given the disciples God's word –– God's logos –– and that word has made them different. These logos-people do not belong to the kosmos-world –– the world that is opposed to God. Their new identity, their separateness, draws the world's ire.
The kosmos-world is suspicious –– afraid of those who have rejected its ways. Kosmos-people feel insecure except in the company of other kosmos-people –– those who accept their values and seek the same pleasures. We see it with drug-addicts, who cannot abide the addict who has quit using drugs. We see it in the criminal world, that cannot abide the person who has "gone straight." Kosmos-people know that the person who used to belong to them but no longer belongs, is especially dangerous, because that person knows their secrets but no longer shares their loyalties.
We see something similar in the shadowy world of enterprises (legal or illegal) that profit from people's weaknesses –– manufacturers of cigarettes or alcohol, people who run casinos and bars, pimps, sellers of pornography and the like. Kosmos-people move among a small circle of colleagues and see the rest of the world as their enemy. They hate anyone who opposes them, whether overtly or by wholesome example, and respond viciously to any perceived threat to their kosmos-enterprise.
We see it in the movies, where Christians are seldom portrayed in a favorable light –– and in the news media, which seldom reports anything good about the church but delights in clergy-gone-awry stories. And we see it in places that we don't expect to see it. I have a neighbor who is likable enough but who has nary a good word to say about the church. I think that he senses something good there, but something that would require a change of heart –– a change that he is unwilling to make. Jesus has not overstated the case at all when he says that the kosmos "hates" the disciples "because they do not belong to the kosmos." That hatred is fueled by guilt, fear of exposure, and fierce resistance to change.
"I am not asking you to take them out of the world (kosmou), but I ask you to protect them from the evil one" (v. 15). "The juxtaposition of the language of being kept in the Father's name and that of being kept from the evil one indicates the two antithetical spheres of power operative in the world" –– God and Satan (Lincoln, 437).
The mission of the disciples is to carry on Christ's work in the kosmos-world, so Jesus cannot remove them from the kosmos. They will do their work in a world to which they no longer belong and in which they no longer feel wholly comfortable. "The church's radical otherworldliness…consists precisely in this: its protection by and orientation to a name not certified by the world. Whenever it neglects its otherworldliness and assumes it exists as an institution like all other institutions, it contradicts its very being" (Cousar, 344). The old gospel song comes to mind: "This world is not my home; I'm just a-passing through." The poetry might be doggerel, but the sentiment is exactly right.
Jesus does pray that God will "protect them from the evil one" (v. 15). Jesus doesn't pray that God would "wrap (the disciples) in some plastic, danger-free safety casing where they would never encounter evil. But the prayer of Jesus was to protect them from succumbing to the onslaught of evil or the evil one" (Borchert, 200).
What does seem to be overstated is Jesus' claim that "They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world" (v. 16). "That sounds by far too generous; more generous than true" (Gossip, 748). These disciples are flawed people who have failed Jesus in the past and who will fail him again in the future. Nevertheless, they have become different, because Jesus has given them God's word (v. 14). That word moved them from the kosmos camp to God's camp. Jesus is not just being generous. The disciples, in fact, no longer belong to the kosmos.
VERSES 17-19: SANCTIFY THEM IN THE TRUTH
17Sanctify (Greek: hagiason –– set apart as sacred to God –– make holy –– consecrate) them in the truth; your word (Greek: logos) is truth. 18As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify (Greek: hagiazo) myself, so that they also may be sanctified (Greek: hegiasmenoi) in truth.
"Sanctify (hagiason) them in the truth" (v. 17a). Hagiason comes from the word, hagios, which is often translated holy, but which also means separate or set apart (Barclay, 253). Hagiason (and variants) is the word used in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) for the consecration of animals for sacrifice to God (Deuteronomy 15:19). God required that animals set aside for sacrifice be without blemish or serious defect (Exodus 12:5; Leviticus 22:21). People were not allowed to sacrifice an animal that was lame or blind (Deuteronomy 15:19).
This is related to Jesus' concern in this passage for the holiness of the disciples (vv. 15-19). Jesus has already said that the disciples "do not belong to the world" (v. 14), which is simply another way of saying that they are separate or holy. We cannot perform our mission of witnessing to the love of the holy Father in this world unless we ourselves are holy. While the concern with regard to sacrificial animals was physical wholeness, the concern with regard to disciples is spiritual wholeness –– spiritual holiness –– freedom from serious spiritual defect.
Hagiason is also the word used for the consecration of prophets and priests (O'Day, 793). God did not set apart prophets and priests for honor but for service. The same is true today when we ordain people to church offices. While it is, in one sense, an honor to be chosen for such work, it is, in a larger sense, ordination to servitude –– to becoming a servant.
Hagios and its variants are found in only two places in this Gospel –– here and in 10:36 –– part of the Festival Cycle (chapters 10 ff.) where "the high priest, the one who bore the insignia of holiness/set-apartness to God...settled for an unholy compromise to kill Jesus in order to calm religious renewal and zeal and to maintain his own status and position (11:48-52)" (Borchert, 196-197, 202-203). Being holy in an unholy kosmos (world) was fatal for Jesus, and we should understand that being holy will be dangerous for us too.
"your word (logos) is truth" (v. 17b). " 'Your word is truth' (v. l7b) is a subtle allusion to John 1:14. Although Jesus is never explicitly called 'the Word' in the body of the Gospel, this understanding of him underlies the affirmation here. God's Word, incarnate in Jesus, is truth-as well as the way and the life (14:6)" (Williamson, 226).
It was the gift of God's word that made the disciples separate and holy in the first place (v. 14). Now Jesus calls for an additional measure of this same gift to make the demarcation even clearer and to equip the disciples for their difficult work.
"As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (v. 18). Jesus is not of this world, but emptied himself so that he might take on human form and live in the kosmos-world on a mission of mercy and salvation (Philippians 2:5-11). Now he is preparing the disciples to continue this incarnational ministry in a world that is no longer their own. "The task is no less than the sanctification of the world through the sanctification of the disciples" (Sloyan, 197). "The parallelism between (Jesus') sending and (the disciples' sending) is to be observed…. (Jesus is at the end of his earthly ministry, and) therefore hands over the mission to his men whom he has prepared for this task…. As Bultmann expressed it, 'The community takes over Jesus' assault on the world' " (Beasley-Murray, 300-301).
"And for their sakes I sanctify (hagiazo) myself" (v. 19a). "If the disciples are to be effectively set apart for the work which they must do, the Son must first set himself apart for the work which he must do" (Bruce, 334). When Jesus speaks of sanctifying himself, he is talking about setting himself apart for the sacrifice of the cross.
"so that they may be sanctified (hegiasmenoi) in truth" (v. 19b). "The holiness of God, made visible in the human story in the holiness of Jesus' gift of himself for his own (v. 19a), is to be matched by the holiness of the disciples (v. 19b) as Jesus is sending them into the world to make God known, just as God sent him (v. 18). To succeed in this mission they must be holy, as God is holy (cf. Lev 11:44; John 17:11b, 17,19)" (Moloney, 469).
TRUE STORY:
Speaking of mothers' prayers, Richard Moore's mother prayed for him for many years. Richard, you see, lost his eyesight as a child. He grew up in Northern Ireland during the troubled times there, and was hit by a rubber bullet fired by a British soldier. He was walking home from school –– ten years old.
Richard's mother prayed for him. He remembers waking up to find his mother kneeling beside his bed, pleading with God that her son's eyesight might be restored –– but, as nearly as anyone could tell, nothing happened.
Many years later, as a grown man, Richard learned the name of the soldier who shot him. He located the man's address and asked if he could come to visit. When the man gave his permission, Richard went to see him and to offer his forgiveness.
When he did that, he felt something change deep inside himself. He discovered a kind of peace that had eluded him throughout his life. He said:
"When I met the soldier and forgave him,
I believe my mother's prayers were answered.
I was given a new vision,
and my real wound,
the one that needed healing more than my eyes,
was healed."
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
There is nothing that makes us love a person so much
as praying for him....
By considering yourself as an advocate with God
for your neighbors and acquaintances,
you would never find it hard to be at peace with them yourself.
William Law
* * * * * * * * * *
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God that loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
The Ancient Mariner
* * * * * * * * * *
The servants of Christ are protected by invisible,
rather than visible, beings.
But if these guard you,
they do so because they have been summoned by your prayers.
Ambrose
EDITOR'S NOTE: And Jesus' prayer.
* * * * * * * * * *
No Christian escapes a taste of the wilderness
on the way to the Promised Land.
Evelyn Underhill
* * * * * * * * * *
The Church is not so much a continuously living thing,
as something that has survived a thousand crucifixions
through a thousand Resurrections.
Fulton J. Sheen
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Beasley-Murray, George R., Word Biblical Commentary: John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 12-21, Vol, 25B (Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI (Garden City: Doubleday, 1970)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Malcolm, Lois, in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Palmer, Earl F., The Book That John Wrote (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1975)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Lamar Williamson Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Wright, Tom (N.T.), John for Everyone: Part 2, Chapters 11-21 (London: SPCK and Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002, 2004)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B
MAY 24, 2009
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13
John 17:6-19
The Collect
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The First Lesson
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, "Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus-- for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us-- one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection." So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
The Psalm
Psalm 1 Page 585, BCP
Beatus vir qui non abiit
1
Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2
Their delight is in the law of the LORD,
and they meditate on his law day and night.
3
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither;
everything they do shall prosper.
4
It is not so with the wicked;
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5
Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes,
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
1 John 5:9-13
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
The Gospel
John 17:6-19
Looking up to heaven, Jesus prayed, "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."
EXEGESIS OF THE GOSPEL:
CHAPTERS 13-18: THE CONTEXT
Following the Passover foot washing (13:1-20), Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for his departure. He foretells his betrayal (13:21-30), gives them the great love commandment (13:31-35), and foretells Peter's denial (13:36-38). He then tells them that he is going to the Father's house where he will prepare a place for them (14:2) and that he will come again to take them with him (14:3). He promises them the gift of the Holy Spirit (14:16) –– not to leave them orphaned (14:18) –– and that the Holy Spirit will teach them everything (14:26). Also implied in his call for them to abide in him is a promise of ongoing connectedness (15:1-17). He warns of the world's hatred (15:18 - 16:4a), and gives the rationale that the Spirit cannot come unless he goes (16:4b-15). He promises them joy (16:16-24) and peace (16:25-33).
Jesus then prays his High Priestly Prayer, of which our Gospel lesson is part. This prayer "really belongs to the discourses. Prayers of Jesus in this Gospel are sermonic (11:42; 12:30), and therefore the readers of 17:1-26 are as a congregation overhearing a pastoral prayer" (Craddock, 277). (Editor's note: Lengthy passages of Jesus' teachings are often called discourses. Craddock is suggesting that this prayer of Jesus is also a discourse –– a vehicle for conveying Jesus' teachings.)
After this prayer, Jesus and his disciples will go to a garden in the Kidron Valley where he will be arrested. This prayer, then, serves as a transition from the discourses of the Upper Room to Jesus' passion (his death on the cross).
VERSES 1-26: JESUS' HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER
This prayer concludes the farewell dinner. It is often called The High Priestly Prayer for two reasons: First, Jesus is preparing to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Second, he intercedes for his disciples (vv. 6-26) in the same way that the high priest intercedes for the people of Israel (see Romans 8:34).
This prayer is often likened to Moses' farewell address (Deuteronomy 31:30ff), which concluded with Moses' final blessing on Israel (Deuteronomy 33). The tone of that address was positive, very much like Jesus' prayer. Moses was preparing to die, but he said, "Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord" (Deuteronomy 33:29). Jesus is preparing to die, but he prays, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you" (17:1).
Lincoln suggests that this prayer is the Johannine equivalent of the Lord's Prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-15. He calls it "the Lord's prayer transposed into a Johannine key," and notes the following parallels (Lincoln 432-433):
• "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9) is paralleled in John 17:1 by a mention of heaven and Jesus addressing God as Father. Jesus also addresses God as Father in 17:11.
• "hallowed be your name" (Matthew 6:9) is paralleled in several places by concerns for God's holiness or God's name (John 17:6, 11, 26).
• "Your kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10) is paralleled by a concern for Jesus' hour having come (John 17:1) and a concern about eternal life (John 17:2-3).
• "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) is paralleled by Jesus' comment that he has finished the work that the Father sent him to do (John 17:4).
• "And do not bring us to the time of trial" (Matthew 6:13) is paralleled by Jesus' plea for the Father to protect the disciples, living as they do in a hostile kosmos (John 17:11b-16).
This Johannine prayer is quite unlike Jesus' Gethsemane prayer in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46). There Jesus sweats drops of blood and prays, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me." In John's Gospel, there is a hint of anxiety in Jesus' earlier prayer, "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say –– 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour," (12:27) but no anxiety about his personal fate in chapter 17. "Far from being shaken and shattered by the ruin of all his hopes, as one might have expected him to be, Christ blesses God with a full heart for enabling him to carry through the task with which he had been entrusted" (Gossip, 744).
But though Jesus' prayer is positive, we hear an urgent, concerned tone. He is, after all, about to depart, leaving his disciples in a difficult world with a critical mission. He includes three petitions for the disciples in this prayer:
• First, he prays, "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one" (v. 11).
• Second, he prays, "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one" (v. 15).
• Third, he prays, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (v. 17).
• He also prays, "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21). This expands on the emphasis one oneness in the first petition.
"Although the prayer is set within the ministry of the historical Jesus, the perspective of the prayer is also that of the glorified Christ looking pastorally on his church in the world.... The prayer seems, then, to hang between heaven and earth, between the historical and the glorified Christ" (Craddock, 291).
Verses 1-11 have to do with the interrelationship between Jesus, God and the disciples. While Jesus has promised the Holy Spirit on several occasions (7:39; 14:16-26; 15:26; 16:13), there is no mention of the Spirit in this prayer.
VERSES 1-5: GLORIFY THE SON
These verses are not included in this Gospel lesson. In these verses, Jesus deals with various concerns, including his "hour," by which he means his death and resurrection (v. 1a) –– the glorification of the Son and Father (v. 1b) –– the Son's God-given authority (v. 2) –– and eternal life (vv. 2-3).
VERSES 6-8: I HAVE MADE YOUR NAME KNOWN
6"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word (Greek: logos). 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words (Greek: rhemata) that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
"I have made your name known" (v. 6a). From the beginning, Jesus' mission has been revelation. He is the Logos, the Word, the one sent to reveal God to us (1:1). He has made the Father's name known.
The Jewish people have always been sensitive about God's name, because they consider God's name to be synonymous with God's true nature or character. At the burning bush, Moses asked God's name, and God replied, "I AM WHO I AM" (Hebrew: YHWH or Yahweh) and commanded Moses to tell the people, "I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). In John's Gospel, Jesus frequently uses this "I AM" formula (Greek: ego eimi) to identify himself ("I AM the bread of life" –– "I AM the light of the world" –– "I AM the gate for the sheep" –– "I AM the good shepherd").
For much of their history, Jewish people considered God's name, YHWH, too sacred to pronounce, so they substituted the word adonai. Now Jesus makes God's name known "to those whom you gave me from the world" (v. 6) –– and the name is Father. Jesus makes God accessible –– makes it possible for us to address God as Father.
"to those whom you gave me from the world" (v. 6b). The disciples about whom Jesus speaks are not outstanding in any way. Jesus could easily complain about their mediocrity, but instead speaks of them respectfully, as if they were a treasure that the Father has placed into his hands. As events will prove, once they are filled with the Spirit, they will become worthy witnesses –– powerful advocates for the kingdom.
"and they have kept your word" (logos) (v. 6c). It is surprising that Jesus would say that the disciples have kept the Father's word. Their performance thus far has been mixed at best –– but see below on verse 8a.
"Now they know that everything you have given me is from you" (v. 7). The disciples do not yet understand Jesus' teachings about his death and resurrection, but they have placed their faith in Jesus as God's prophet –– as one who speaks God's word.
"for the words (rhemata) that you gave to me I have given to them" (v. 8a). Note the difference between "word" singular (logos) in verse 6 and "words" plural (rhemata) in verse 8. Logos (singular) and rhemata (plural) are two different words with significantly different meanings.
• Logos is important in this Gospel. Jesus is Logos –– Word –– the revelation of God. "In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God" (1:1).
• Rhemata is a different word. "A good case can be made that when the Fourth Gospel Jesus refers to his words (plural) he is talking about the precepts he lays down, almost equivalent to his 'commands'…, but when he refers to his word (singular) he is talking about his message as a whole, almost equivalent to 'gospel' " (Carson, 559).
"for they have received them and know in truth that I came from you" (v. 8b). Jesus does not say that the disciples have kept his rhemata –– his words –– his teachings –– but only that they have received them. It would be stretching things to say that the disciples have been faithful to Jesus' teachings, which they have thus far understood only dimly. Prior to the resurrection, they are more clueless than faithful. However, they have been faithful to the Father's logos –– to the Father's revelation of himself through the Son, who is the Logos. The disciples have hung in there with Jesus through good times and bad, because, "You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (6:68-69). It is the disciples' faithfulness to himself to which Jesus refers when he says, "they have kept your word" (v. 6).
"and they have believed that you sent me" (v. 8c). Jesus establishes the chain of custody by which God's words are transmitted. The words came from the Father, who gave them to the Son, who in turn gave them to the disciples. These disciples have not rejected these words, but have "received" them. They are receptive to the words that Jesus gives them, because they believe that Jesus was sent by the Father. If Jesus is truly sent by the Father, it follows that his words are trustworthy.
VERSES 9-11a: I AM ASKING ON THEIR BEHALF
9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world (Greek: kosmou –– from kosmos), but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11aAnd now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
"I am not asking on behalf of the world (kosmou), but on behalf of those whom you gave me" (v. 9). This has a harsh ring to it, as if Jesus cares only about his little band of disciples and nobody else. However, when Jesus speaks of the world, he is not speaking of planet earth or all humanity but of the kosmos, which is the "sphere of enmity to God…. The only hope for the kosmos is precisely that it should cease to be the kosmos" (O'Day, 792). The kosmos poses a threat to the disciples, who "are in the kosmos" even as Jesus is preparing to depart from the kosmos (v. 11).
But God and Jesus do not respond with hostility to a hostile world. Instead, this Gospel portrays them as loving the world and working to redeem it. Jesus said:
• "For God so loved the world (kosmon) that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world (kosmon), but in order that the world (kosmos) might be saved through him" (3:16-17)
• "I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world (kosmon), but to save the world" (kosmon) (12:47).
This was clear even to the Samaritans, who said to the woman at the well, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world" (kosmou) (4:42).
"But the salvation of the world depends on the witness of those whom the Father has given him 'out of the world' (see vv. 21, 23), and it is they that need (Jesus') intercession at this junction" (Bruce, 331).
"All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them" (v. 10). "What strikes one... most in our Lord's prayer is not even (Jesus') moving loyalty to his friends, ...but rather his unmistakable pride in them" (Gossip, 746). It seems astonishing that Jesus would claim to be glorified in these disciples. They are a small and ordinary group of people who exhibit no unusual intelligence or talent. They seem unable to learn from the numerous clues that Jesus gives them concerning his future. No matter what Jesus says, they just don't get it. How can Jesus claim to have been glorified in them?
Keep in mind that this Gospel was written quite late, probably after most of Jesus' original disciples died. The author has seen that, somehow, through the grace of God and the work of the Spirit, Jesus has indeed been glorified by these disciples. The church is growing and spreading. However imperfect these disciples might have been, they have succeeded in glorifying the Lord. In fact, when Jesus says that he has been glorified in them, he uses the perfect tense, suggesting an already completed glorification, showing full confidence that they have glorified him and will glorify him.
This is an encouraging word to those of us who are tempted to despair of disciples and discipleship today –– who long for a wart-free church. While the future of the church might seem compromised by the quality and commitment of its people, we can rest assured that the glorification that began with those first disciples continues with the work of the church today. The church is one example of the principle that God chooses the foolish and weak to shame the wise and strong (1 Corinthians 1:27).
"And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you" (v. 11a). Technically, Jesus is still present in the world, and his death and resurrection lie ahead, but he has begun the process by which he will be glorified and will return to the Father. The kosmos will soon succeed in killing him, but he will emerge victorious through the resurrection. The disciples, however, will continue to live in the kosmos, an alien and hostile kosmos, and we can hear a note of angst in Jesus' voice as he speaks of leaving them behind.
VERSES 11b-16: HOLY FATHER, PROTECT THEM IN YOUR NAME
11bHoly Father, protect (Greek: tereson –– keep, hold, maintain) them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost (Greek: ho huios tes apoleias –– the son of perdition), so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14I have given them your word (Greek: logon), and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
"Holy Father" (v. 11b) –– in verse 25, Jesus says, "Righteous Father." God is indeed holy and righteous. The holiness of God is "a divine characteristic which we are allowing to fall out of sight. We talk much about the love of God. But...we are not blinded these days by the blazing whiteness of God's holiness" (Gossip, 743). Neither have we adequately emphasized personal holiness as an important element of discipleship. It is an emphasis that we would do well to revive.
This righteous aspect of God was emphasized in the Old Testament to the extent that Jewish people did not feel worthy to address God by name. Now Jesus makes known God's name –– and that name is Father. That name helps us to see God in a new light, not simply as holy and righteous, but also as nurturing. But we must not forget that the nurturing Father is also holy and righteous.
"protect (tereson –– keep, hold, maintain) them in your name" or "keep them in your name that you have given me" (v. 11b). Jesus has been their protector, and gives an account of his stewardship (v. 12). Now he is preparing to depart, so he asks the Father to assume the role of protector to these disciples who are in the kosmos (world) but not of the kosmos –– belonging to the Father but dwelling in a hostile land. If we had been praying, we would have asked simply that the Father protect them, but Jesus prays, "protect them in your name" –– by which he means, " 'keep them in loyalty to you' or 'keep them in full adherence to your character' " (Carson, 562) –– the concern being not so much for physical danger –– and by the time of the writing of this Gospel, the church will have experienced the full savagery of Rome's persecution –– but for spiritual victory in the face of great trials.
"so that they may be one, as we are one" (v. 11b). In recent years, the ecumenical movement has worked to bring denominations together organizationally, their efforts reflecting concerns both for this petition of Jesus and for the church's witness. The unity for which Jesus is praying, however, is deeper –– a unity of heart and purpose. Organizational unity is only a first step. We must also be concerned about disunity within denominations –– within congregations –– between individual Christians.
This is a prayer that, in many respects, has not been answered. The church has fragmented into many denominations and factions. Christians spend altogether too much time fighting one another. And yet, in some respects, Jesus prayer has been answered. Christians work together across denominational lines in many ways –– from sponsoring community worship services to financing relief efforts. There have been a number of efforts to bring together denominations, either in formal mergers or through shared initiatives and mutual recognition of clergy. It is not enough, but it is a beginning.
"While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost" (Greek: ho huios tes apoleias –– literally, "the son of perdition" or "the son of utter ruin") (v. 12a). This probably refers to Judas, who is "characterized by 'lostness,' (rather than being) predestined to be 'lost'…. The reference to the fulfilling of Scripture brings out the divine purpose. This does not mean that Judas was an automaton. He was a responsible person and acted freely. But God used that man's evil act to bring about his own purpose" (Morris, 645).
In a dissenting opinion, Moloney regards this as a reference to Satan rather than Judas. "The only figure in the story Jesus could not 'care for' is Satan who planned the betrayal (cf. 13:2). Jesus washed the feet and shared the morsel with Judas despite Satan's designs (cf. 13:2). Nevertheless, Satan entered Judas (cf. 13:27) 'that the Scripture might be fulfilled' (17:12d; cf. 13:18). There is a divine order in the events of the life and death of Jesus beyond his control. The son of perdition is beyond the control of Jesus, but he has cared for his disciples" (Moloney, 467).
"so that the scripture might be fulfilled" (v. 12b). The fulfilled scripture is almost surely Psalm 41:9, which is applied to Judas in John 13:18.
"But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves" (v. 13). Earlier, Jesus commanded the disciples to abide in him and to keep his commandments "so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (15:11). The world in which we live –– the kosmos –– tends to think of joy in terms of the baser pleasures. Such joy tastes sweet for awhile, but then turns rancid, leaving a bitter aftertaste. There are joys with deeper roots –– the joy of hearth and home –– the joy of creativity and productivity –– the joy of service and benevolence –– the joy of knowing and serving truth –– the joy of having one's feet firmly planted on a solid foundation –– the joy of being in a right relationship with God. It is these joys that Jesus offers, and they "compensate for the world's hatred, which (the disciples) must encounter because of their loyalty to Christ, whose refusal to accept worldly standards has incurred the hostility of the world" (Howard, 748).
"I have given them your word (logos), and the world (kosmos) has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world" (v. 14). Jesus has given the disciples God's word –– God's logos –– and that word has made them different. These logos-people do not belong to the kosmos-world –– the world that is opposed to God. Their new identity, their separateness, draws the world's ire.
The kosmos-world is suspicious –– afraid of those who have rejected its ways. Kosmos-people feel insecure except in the company of other kosmos-people –– those who accept their values and seek the same pleasures. We see it with drug-addicts, who cannot abide the addict who has quit using drugs. We see it in the criminal world, that cannot abide the person who has "gone straight." Kosmos-people know that the person who used to belong to them but no longer belongs, is especially dangerous, because that person knows their secrets but no longer shares their loyalties.
We see something similar in the shadowy world of enterprises (legal or illegal) that profit from people's weaknesses –– manufacturers of cigarettes or alcohol, people who run casinos and bars, pimps, sellers of pornography and the like. Kosmos-people move among a small circle of colleagues and see the rest of the world as their enemy. They hate anyone who opposes them, whether overtly or by wholesome example, and respond viciously to any perceived threat to their kosmos-enterprise.
We see it in the movies, where Christians are seldom portrayed in a favorable light –– and in the news media, which seldom reports anything good about the church but delights in clergy-gone-awry stories. And we see it in places that we don't expect to see it. I have a neighbor who is likable enough but who has nary a good word to say about the church. I think that he senses something good there, but something that would require a change of heart –– a change that he is unwilling to make. Jesus has not overstated the case at all when he says that the kosmos "hates" the disciples "because they do not belong to the kosmos." That hatred is fueled by guilt, fear of exposure, and fierce resistance to change.
"I am not asking you to take them out of the world (kosmou), but I ask you to protect them from the evil one" (v. 15). "The juxtaposition of the language of being kept in the Father's name and that of being kept from the evil one indicates the two antithetical spheres of power operative in the world" –– God and Satan (Lincoln, 437).
The mission of the disciples is to carry on Christ's work in the kosmos-world, so Jesus cannot remove them from the kosmos. They will do their work in a world to which they no longer belong and in which they no longer feel wholly comfortable. "The church's radical otherworldliness…consists precisely in this: its protection by and orientation to a name not certified by the world. Whenever it neglects its otherworldliness and assumes it exists as an institution like all other institutions, it contradicts its very being" (Cousar, 344). The old gospel song comes to mind: "This world is not my home; I'm just a-passing through." The poetry might be doggerel, but the sentiment is exactly right.
Jesus does pray that God will "protect them from the evil one" (v. 15). Jesus doesn't pray that God would "wrap (the disciples) in some plastic, danger-free safety casing where they would never encounter evil. But the prayer of Jesus was to protect them from succumbing to the onslaught of evil or the evil one" (Borchert, 200).
What does seem to be overstated is Jesus' claim that "They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world" (v. 16). "That sounds by far too generous; more generous than true" (Gossip, 748). These disciples are flawed people who have failed Jesus in the past and who will fail him again in the future. Nevertheless, they have become different, because Jesus has given them God's word (v. 14). That word moved them from the kosmos camp to God's camp. Jesus is not just being generous. The disciples, in fact, no longer belong to the kosmos.
VERSES 17-19: SANCTIFY THEM IN THE TRUTH
17Sanctify (Greek: hagiason –– set apart as sacred to God –– make holy –– consecrate) them in the truth; your word (Greek: logos) is truth. 18As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify (Greek: hagiazo) myself, so that they also may be sanctified (Greek: hegiasmenoi) in truth.
"Sanctify (hagiason) them in the truth" (v. 17a). Hagiason comes from the word, hagios, which is often translated holy, but which also means separate or set apart (Barclay, 253). Hagiason (and variants) is the word used in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) for the consecration of animals for sacrifice to God (Deuteronomy 15:19). God required that animals set aside for sacrifice be without blemish or serious defect (Exodus 12:5; Leviticus 22:21). People were not allowed to sacrifice an animal that was lame or blind (Deuteronomy 15:19).
This is related to Jesus' concern in this passage for the holiness of the disciples (vv. 15-19). Jesus has already said that the disciples "do not belong to the world" (v. 14), which is simply another way of saying that they are separate or holy. We cannot perform our mission of witnessing to the love of the holy Father in this world unless we ourselves are holy. While the concern with regard to sacrificial animals was physical wholeness, the concern with regard to disciples is spiritual wholeness –– spiritual holiness –– freedom from serious spiritual defect.
Hagiason is also the word used for the consecration of prophets and priests (O'Day, 793). God did not set apart prophets and priests for honor but for service. The same is true today when we ordain people to church offices. While it is, in one sense, an honor to be chosen for such work, it is, in a larger sense, ordination to servitude –– to becoming a servant.
Hagios and its variants are found in only two places in this Gospel –– here and in 10:36 –– part of the Festival Cycle (chapters 10 ff.) where "the high priest, the one who bore the insignia of holiness/set-apartness to God...settled for an unholy compromise to kill Jesus in order to calm religious renewal and zeal and to maintain his own status and position (11:48-52)" (Borchert, 196-197, 202-203). Being holy in an unholy kosmos (world) was fatal for Jesus, and we should understand that being holy will be dangerous for us too.
"your word (logos) is truth" (v. 17b). " 'Your word is truth' (v. l7b) is a subtle allusion to John 1:14. Although Jesus is never explicitly called 'the Word' in the body of the Gospel, this understanding of him underlies the affirmation here. God's Word, incarnate in Jesus, is truth-as well as the way and the life (14:6)" (Williamson, 226).
It was the gift of God's word that made the disciples separate and holy in the first place (v. 14). Now Jesus calls for an additional measure of this same gift to make the demarcation even clearer and to equip the disciples for their difficult work.
"As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (v. 18). Jesus is not of this world, but emptied himself so that he might take on human form and live in the kosmos-world on a mission of mercy and salvation (Philippians 2:5-11). Now he is preparing the disciples to continue this incarnational ministry in a world that is no longer their own. "The task is no less than the sanctification of the world through the sanctification of the disciples" (Sloyan, 197). "The parallelism between (Jesus') sending and (the disciples' sending) is to be observed…. (Jesus is at the end of his earthly ministry, and) therefore hands over the mission to his men whom he has prepared for this task…. As Bultmann expressed it, 'The community takes over Jesus' assault on the world' " (Beasley-Murray, 300-301).
"And for their sakes I sanctify (hagiazo) myself" (v. 19a). "If the disciples are to be effectively set apart for the work which they must do, the Son must first set himself apart for the work which he must do" (Bruce, 334). When Jesus speaks of sanctifying himself, he is talking about setting himself apart for the sacrifice of the cross.
"so that they may be sanctified (hegiasmenoi) in truth" (v. 19b). "The holiness of God, made visible in the human story in the holiness of Jesus' gift of himself for his own (v. 19a), is to be matched by the holiness of the disciples (v. 19b) as Jesus is sending them into the world to make God known, just as God sent him (v. 18). To succeed in this mission they must be holy, as God is holy (cf. Lev 11:44; John 17:11b, 17,19)" (Moloney, 469).
TRUE STORY:
Speaking of mothers' prayers, Richard Moore's mother prayed for him for many years. Richard, you see, lost his eyesight as a child. He grew up in Northern Ireland during the troubled times there, and was hit by a rubber bullet fired by a British soldier. He was walking home from school –– ten years old.
Richard's mother prayed for him. He remembers waking up to find his mother kneeling beside his bed, pleading with God that her son's eyesight might be restored –– but, as nearly as anyone could tell, nothing happened.
Many years later, as a grown man, Richard learned the name of the soldier who shot him. He located the man's address and asked if he could come to visit. When the man gave his permission, Richard went to see him and to offer his forgiveness.
When he did that, he felt something change deep inside himself. He discovered a kind of peace that had eluded him throughout his life. He said:
"When I met the soldier and forgave him,
I believe my mother's prayers were answered.
I was given a new vision,
and my real wound,
the one that needed healing more than my eyes,
was healed."
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
There is nothing that makes us love a person so much
as praying for him....
By considering yourself as an advocate with God
for your neighbors and acquaintances,
you would never find it hard to be at peace with them yourself.
William Law
* * * * * * * * * *
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God that loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
The Ancient Mariner
* * * * * * * * * *
The servants of Christ are protected by invisible,
rather than visible, beings.
But if these guard you,
they do so because they have been summoned by your prayers.
Ambrose
EDITOR'S NOTE: And Jesus' prayer.
* * * * * * * * * *
No Christian escapes a taste of the wilderness
on the way to the Promised Land.
Evelyn Underhill
* * * * * * * * * *
The Church is not so much a continuously living thing,
as something that has survived a thousand crucifixions
through a thousand Resurrections.
Fulton J. Sheen
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Beasley-Murray, George R., Word Biblical Commentary: John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 12-21, Vol, 25B (Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI (Garden City: Doubleday, 1970)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Malcolm, Lois, in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Palmer, Earl F., The Book That John Wrote (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1975)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Lamar Williamson Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Wright, Tom (N.T.), John for Everyone: Part 2, Chapters 11-21 (London: SPCK and Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002, 2004)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Thursday, May 14, 2009
May 17, 2009 - The 6th Sunday of Easter
THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
MAY 17, 2009
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17
The Collect
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Lesson
Acts 10:44-48
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
The Psalm
Psalm 98 Page 727 BCP
Cantate Domino
1
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
2
With his right hand and his holy arm
has he won for himself the victory.
3
The LORD has made known his victory;
his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
4
He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to
the house of Israel,
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
5
Shout with joy to the LORD, all you lands;
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
6
Sing to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the voice of song.
7
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy before the King, the LORD.
8
Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it,
the lands and those who dwell therein.
9
Let the rivers clap their hands,
and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD,
when he comes to judge the earth.
10
In righteousness shall he judge the world
and the peoples with equity.
1 John 5:1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
The Gospel: John 15:9-17
Jesus said to his disciples, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another."
EXEGESIS:
CONTEXT:
This is near the end of Jesus' life. Jesus' lengthy discourse began in chapter 14 and will run through chapter 16. Chapter 17 is Jesus' prayer for his disciples, and chapter 18 starts with his arrest and betrayal.
Verses 1-8 set the stage for verses 9-17. Those earlier verses introduced the idea of abiding in Jesus ("Abide in me," v. 4), and the later verses continue that imagery ("Abide in my love," v. 9). They also introduce the idea that "everything begins with the Father" (Ridderbos, 519). This is reflected in the earlier portion with Jesus' statement, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower" (v. 1). It is repeated in the second section by Jesus' statement, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you" (v. 9).
VERSES 9-11: ABIDE IN MY LOVE
9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
In verses 1-8 Jesus told us that the Father is the vinegrower, Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. In those verses Jesus said, "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me" (v. 4). Now he continues, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love" (v. 9). The message throughout is of interrelationships among Father, Son, and disciples.
This Gospel, from the beginning, has emphasized the unity of Father and Son:
• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being" (1:1-3).
• Jesus has already said, "The Father and I are one" (10:30).
• In his high priestly prayer, shortly before his death, he will pray that the disciples "may be one, as we are one" (17:11, 22).
Now the emphasis is on love. Love begins with the Father and flows through the Son to the disciples (v. 9). It is contingent on obedience –– "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (v. 10). Jesus provides us with a model of obedience. He has come to do the will of the one who sent him (4:34; 6:38; 8:29). He keeps the Father's word (8:55). He does the Father's will so that the world might know that he loves the Father (14:31). The Father loves Jesus because he lays down his life in obedience to the Father's command (10:17-18).
Borchert speaks of the circle of love. "The Father loves the Son (cf. 3:35; 17:23, and the Son obediently loves the Father (cf. 10:17; 14:31); the Son loves his followers, and they are to love and obey him (cf. 13:34; 14:15, 23); loving and obeying the Son means being loved by the Father (cf. 14:21, 23; 17:23); being loved by the Son also implies loving one another (cf. 13:34; 15:12, 17); God not only loves the disciples but loves the world and gave his Son for its people (cf. 3:16); but many in the world love darkness and do not do the will of God (cf. 3:19; 14:24). In his first epistle John carries the theme of love further and insists that the disciple must not love in words only but in actual deeds of love (cf. I John 3:18) and that hating one's brother is actually an indication of not loving God (cf. 3:15) because love is the sign of knowing God (cf. 4:7)" (Borchert, 146).
Now Jesus asks us to obey the Father as he obeys the Father. "To be a disciple abiding in the love of Jesus means to 'do' something, and that 'doing' is determined by the commandments of Jesus" (Moloney, 421). The reward of faithful obedience is relationship –– abiding in the Son who abides in the Father.
The image that comes to mind is that of nested dolls –– the kind that pull apart to reveal a smaller doll inside –– and inside of that doll there is a still smaller doll. Jesus invites us to obey so that we might abide in him as he abides in the Father. If we abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in the Father, it follows that we also abide in the Father. The little disciple nestles into the larger Jesus, who then nestles into the great Father. This series of relationships is made complete as we keep Jesus' commandments.
Howard-Brook notes that 15:10 is the third time in a short time (see also 14:15 and 14:23) that Jesus enjoins our obedience. We respond, "'Enough of this already –– we get the message!' But alas, the problem is tha
YEAR B
MAY 17, 2009
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17
The Collect
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Lesson
Acts 10:44-48
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
The Psalm
Psalm 98 Page 727 BCP
Cantate Domino
1
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
2
With his right hand and his holy arm
has he won for himself the victory.
3
The LORD has made known his victory;
his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
4
He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to
the house of Israel,
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
5
Shout with joy to the LORD, all you lands;
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
6
Sing to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the voice of song.
7
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy before the King, the LORD.
8
Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it,
the lands and those who dwell therein.
9
Let the rivers clap their hands,
and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD,
when he comes to judge the earth.
10
In righteousness shall he judge the world
and the peoples with equity.
1 John 5:1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
The Gospel: John 15:9-17
Jesus said to his disciples, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another."
EXEGESIS:
CONTEXT:
This is near the end of Jesus' life. Jesus' lengthy discourse began in chapter 14 and will run through chapter 16. Chapter 17 is Jesus' prayer for his disciples, and chapter 18 starts with his arrest and betrayal.
Verses 1-8 set the stage for verses 9-17. Those earlier verses introduced the idea of abiding in Jesus ("Abide in me," v. 4), and the later verses continue that imagery ("Abide in my love," v. 9). They also introduce the idea that "everything begins with the Father" (Ridderbos, 519). This is reflected in the earlier portion with Jesus' statement, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower" (v. 1). It is repeated in the second section by Jesus' statement, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you" (v. 9).
VERSES 9-11: ABIDE IN MY LOVE
9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
In verses 1-8 Jesus told us that the Father is the vinegrower, Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. In those verses Jesus said, "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me" (v. 4). Now he continues, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love" (v. 9). The message throughout is of interrelationships among Father, Son, and disciples.
This Gospel, from the beginning, has emphasized the unity of Father and Son:
• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being" (1:1-3).
• Jesus has already said, "The Father and I are one" (10:30).
• In his high priestly prayer, shortly before his death, he will pray that the disciples "may be one, as we are one" (17:11, 22).
Now the emphasis is on love. Love begins with the Father and flows through the Son to the disciples (v. 9). It is contingent on obedience –– "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (v. 10). Jesus provides us with a model of obedience. He has come to do the will of the one who sent him (4:34; 6:38; 8:29). He keeps the Father's word (8:55). He does the Father's will so that the world might know that he loves the Father (14:31). The Father loves Jesus because he lays down his life in obedience to the Father's command (10:17-18).
Borchert speaks of the circle of love. "The Father loves the Son (cf. 3:35; 17:23, and the Son obediently loves the Father (cf. 10:17; 14:31); the Son loves his followers, and they are to love and obey him (cf. 13:34; 14:15, 23); loving and obeying the Son means being loved by the Father (cf. 14:21, 23; 17:23); being loved by the Son also implies loving one another (cf. 13:34; 15:12, 17); God not only loves the disciples but loves the world and gave his Son for its people (cf. 3:16); but many in the world love darkness and do not do the will of God (cf. 3:19; 14:24). In his first epistle John carries the theme of love further and insists that the disciple must not love in words only but in actual deeds of love (cf. I John 3:18) and that hating one's brother is actually an indication of not loving God (cf. 3:15) because love is the sign of knowing God (cf. 4:7)" (Borchert, 146).
Now Jesus asks us to obey the Father as he obeys the Father. "To be a disciple abiding in the love of Jesus means to 'do' something, and that 'doing' is determined by the commandments of Jesus" (Moloney, 421). The reward of faithful obedience is relationship –– abiding in the Son who abides in the Father.
The image that comes to mind is that of nested dolls –– the kind that pull apart to reveal a smaller doll inside –– and inside of that doll there is a still smaller doll. Jesus invites us to obey so that we might abide in him as he abides in the Father. If we abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in the Father, it follows that we also abide in the Father. The little disciple nestles into the larger Jesus, who then nestles into the great Father. This series of relationships is made complete as we keep Jesus' commandments.
Howard-Brook notes that 15:10 is the third time in a short time (see also 14:15 and 14:23) that Jesus enjoins our obedience. We respond, "'Enough of this already –– we get the message!' But alas, the problem is tha