Zechariah 2:1-13

Third Vision: The Man with a Measuring Line

2:1 I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length." 3 Then the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him, 4 and said to him, "Run, say to that young man: Jerusalem shall be inhabited like villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and animals in it. 5 For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the LORD, and I will be the glory within it."

Interlude: An Appeal to the Exiles

6 Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the LORD; for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the LORD. 7 Up! Escape to Zion, you that live with daughter Babylon. 8 For thus said the LORD of hosts (after his glory sent me) regarding the nations that plundered you: Truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye. 9 See now, I am going to raise my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the LORD. 11 Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 12 The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

13 Be silent, all people, before the LORD; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. (Zechariah 2:1-13, NRSV)

You are the apple of God's eye. God loves you and cares for you. Zechariah calls Judah the apple of God's eye, but we can extend it to all of God's people. Today's reading also offers the only use of the phrase, "the holy land," in the Hebrew Bible (Zech. 2:12), though "the concept reappears in the Apocrypha (Wisdom of Solomon 12:3; 2 Macc. 1:7)" R. L. Hicks & W. Brueggemann, NOAB, on Zech. 2:12). Zechariah's message is full of promise. In the third vision (2:1-5) he sees "a man with a measuring line in his hand" (Zech. 2:1) "to measure Jerusalem" (v. 2). This act, "as in Ezek. 41:13, is part of the restoration" (Hicks & Brueggemann on Zech. 2:1), but the real promise is the protection provided by God's presence. "For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the LORD, and I will be the glory within it" (v. 5). From Jerusalem, where he lives with the first Jews who returned from Babylon, Zechariah appeals to exiles, "Up, up! flee from the land of the north [i.e. Babylon]" (v. 6). "Up! Escape to Zion, you that live with daughter Babylon" (v. 7). "For thus said the LORD of hosts...regarding the nations that plundered you: Truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye" (v. 8). The tables will be turned on Judah’s oppressors, who “shall become plunder for their own slaves” (v. 9). The LORD “will come and dwell in your midst” (v. 10). “Jerusalem will be the religious center of the world” (Hicks & Bruggemann on v. 11). "The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem" (v. 12). (Comments are adapted and supplemented here from an E-mail sent December 15, 2003, for December 16, 2003.)

Revelation 3:14-22

The Letter to Laodicea

14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God's creation:

15 "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. 21 To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." (Revelation 3:14-22, NRSV)

John's seventh letter is to Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22), "a proud and wealthy city near Colossae" whose "lukewarm Christianity is nauseating" (B.M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on vv. 14-22, cf. vv. 15-16). This letter, as the others, is from Christ, called here “the Amen” (v. 14; cf. 2 Cor. 1:20) and “the faithful and true witness”(Rev. 14: cf. Rev. 1:5). The Laodiceans are rebuked for being “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot” (v. 16). They don’t understand–or at least don’t admit–their true spiritual condition. “For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (v. 17). They are advised to focus on true values, to “buy from me gold refined by fire . . . and white robes to clothe you . . . and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see” (v. 18), metaphors for repentance (refinement), purity (white robes), and spiritual insight. They are called to repent (v. 19) with the invitation, "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me" (v. 20), "an invitation to share the joys of the Messianic banquet in the coming age (compare Mt. 26:29)" (Metzger on v. 20). (Comments are adapted and supplemented here from an E-mail sent December 15, 2003, for December 16, 2003.)

Matthew 24:32-44

The Fig Tree Lesson (Mk 13.28-31; Lk 21.29-33)

32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

You Must Be Ready! (Mk 13.32-37; Lk 17.26-27, 34-35; 21.34-36)

36 "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Matthew 24:32-44, NRSV)

The following comments on this passage combine and adapt comments from an E-mail message sent December 15, 2003, for December 16, 2003, and comments on Marks version of this passage posted for August 23, 2005.

Jesus' answer to the question about "the signs of your coming and of the end of the age" (Mt. 14:3) continues today with a lesson "from the fig tree" (Mt. 24:32-33), a comparison to the days of Noah and the flood (vv. 37-39) and admonitions to "be ready": “Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left” (v. 42. The coming of the Son of Man will be as unexpected as the coming of a thief in the night (v. 43). "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour" (v. 44).

The three versions of the Parable of the Fig Tree (Mt. 24:32-36; Mk. 13:28-32; Lk. 21:29-33) are in essential agreement; the main exception is Luke’s omission of the words, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk. 13:32; cf Mt. 24:36), but this taken as the beginning of the next paragraph (NRSV, NIV), and in any case the point that the day of the Son of Man’s coming might catch the disciples unexpectedly is made in Luke 21:34-36.

The point of the Parable of the Fig Tree is what tender leaves indicate: “summer is near” (Mt. 24: 32; Mk. 13:28; “summer is already near,” Lk. 21:30). By analogy the signs Jesus describes (vv. 14-27) are signs that the Son of Man’s coming “is near,” “he is near, at the very gates” (Mt. 24:33; Mk. 13:29; “the kingdom of God is near,” Lk. 21:31). Richard A. Horsley says that the image of the fig tree here (Mk. 13:28-31) “reverses the image of the fig tree from Mk. 11:12-14 (cf. Mt. 21:18-19), now symbolizing new blessing for the people” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on v. 28). In this passage Horsley sees “reassurance that the resolution of the historical crisis is near, as symbolized by the impending coming of the Son of Man, and that Jesus’ words are utterly credible (on vv. 28-31).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com