Zechariah 12:1-10

Jerusalem's Victory

12:1 An Oracle.

The word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus says the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within: 2 See, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples; it will be against Judah also in the siege against Jerusalem. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it shall grievously hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth shall come together against it. 4 On that day, says the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But on the house of Judah I will keep a watchful eye, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.”

6 On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot on a pile of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.

7 And the LORD will give victory to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, at their head. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning for the Pierced One

10 And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:1-10, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated with revision and supplement here from November 24, 2004, two years ago (Wednesday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two):

The title “An Oracle (maśśā’)” appears in Zechariah 9:1 and again here (12:1). The term, which means “pronouncement,” is distinguished from the homonym which means “burden,” as of an ass, mule, etc., or metaphorically “hardship” (William L. Holladay, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, s.v. maśśā’ I and II). Holladay suggests that “burden” is used with a play on the meaning “pronouncement” in Jeremiah 23:33-38. The noun maśśā’ is related to the verb nāśā’, which means “to lift up” in a variety of senses, including “carry,” “bear” (Holladay, s.v. nāśā’). In Jeremiah’s case, the LORD’s command to deliver his “pronouncement,” was often a severe “burden” in the metaphorical sense. Gregory Mobley takes the term as a label for two major sections of Zechariah, “the first burden” (Zech. 9:1-11:17, which he calls “a collection of poetic speeches about the Day of the LORD,” and “the second burden” (12:1-14:21) (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on these two sections respectively).

In today’s reading Zechariah presents “the word of the LORD (d^evār YHWH) concerning Israel: Thus says the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within” (Zech. 12:1). The cosmic setting emphasizes both the majesty of the LORD and the need to take him seriously in this matter. Zechariah seems to describe a certain tension between Jerusalem and Judah, but the LORD will give victory to Judah (v. 7a), and also to Jerusalem (vv. 8, 9), but no so that Jerusalem may “be exalted over [the glory] of Judah” (v. 7b). At the beginning, Jerusalem is “a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples” (Zech. 12:2). Jerusalem will be “a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it shall grievously hurt themselves” (v. 3). No longer are Judah and Jerusalem to be the victims of oppressive superpower neighbors. “On the house of Judah I will keep a watchful eye, when I strike every horse of the peoples [their enemies?] with blindness. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God’” (vv. 4-5). As already noted, there will be victory for Judah (v. 7). “The feeblest” of “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” will “be like David” (v. 8). The passage appears to describe external conflict, but perhaps also “Jerusalem’s conflict . . . with Judah itself” (W. Sibley Towner, HarperCollins Study Bible, on Zech. 12:1-9). We see “Jerusalem mourning over a prophet or king whom it has martyred” ( R. Lansing Hicks and Walter Brueggemann, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Zech. 12:10-14). According to Mobley,

The identification of the one whom they have pierced is uncertain. According to the Hebrew (see textual note a), it is apparently the putative speaker of the oracle, the LORD, but the text is difficult. Other proposals include some historical figure, such as a member of the Davidic line, a prophet (see 13:3), or a group; for the New Testament identification with Jesus, see Jn. 19:37” (on v. 10)

In the Old Testament setting, “The land shall mourn, each family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves” (v. 13). Other families will mourn as well, including “the family of the house of Levi,” and “the family of the Shimeites” (v. 13), as well as “all the families that are left (v. 14). When John applies his quotation to Jesus’ crucifixion, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced” (Jn. 19:37, citing Zech. 12:10), he aptly understands what some have called, in relating Old Testament passages to the New Testament, “the fuller sense [sensus plenior] of scripture.

Ephesians 1:3-14

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 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, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 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, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 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; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14, NRSV)

The following comments are combined with revision and supplement here from November 24, 2004, two years ago (Wednesday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), from January 8, 2006 (the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), and from May 24, 2006 (Wednesday of the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from January 10, 2005 (Monday of the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One):

Paul usually begins with a “thanksgiving” that expresses gratitude for the faith and lives of his addressees, and indicates something of the contents of the letter to follow, for example, Romans 1:8-15; 1 Corinthians 1:4-9; Philippians 1:3-11. Sometimes, as here in Ephesians, the “thanksgiving” takes the form of a “blessing” (cf. 2 Cor. 1:3-7). In Ephesians, the thanksgiving (Eph. 1:15-23) follows the blessing (vv. 3-15). This benediction reviews God’s plan of salvation, in which “he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” (v. 4) for adoption (v. 5), redemption, which is “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (v. 7), and our inheritance (vv. 11, 13). Eventually, Paul will emphasize the fact that his gentile readers are included, not excluded (2:11-22), but in chapter 1 he provides a detailed description of God’s plan of redemption and how it applies to Christian believers.

In the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul does not address a series of specific local problems as he does in 1 Corinthians, nor a single specific problem such as the “Colossian Heresy” (Col. 2:8-23). Ephesus, a city of some 250,000 people and capital of the Roman Province of Asia (in the western part of Asia Minor, now Turkey), undoubtedly had many problems. Paul “did extraordinary miracles” there (Acts 19:11), exorcizing evil spirits (v. 12), making “some itinerant Jewish exorcists” jealous (vv. 13-16), and supervising a public burning of magic books valued at “fifty thousand silver coins” (v. 19). But these problems were within the surrounding culture, not within the Christian community. So in Ephesians, more than most of his other epistles, Paul waxes eloquently about “every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3), God’s choice of us “before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love” (v. 4), “the praise of his glorious grace” (v. 5) and other aspects of God’s “plan for the fullness of time” (v. 10). The Epistle does have an audience in mind: “So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth . . . at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise” (2:11-12), “have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v. 13). He did this to “reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross” (v. 16). The Gentiles so addressed “are no longer strangers and aliens, but . . . citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (v. 19). Paul envisioned the Christian community as one body, in which Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians are “joined together” (v. 21), “built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (v. 22). He may very well have written in this manner to most of his churches, and some see Ephesians as a general letter written for that purpose.

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10, NRSV)

Luke’s Gospel includes an extended section in which Jesus journeys from Galilee (Lk. 9:51) to Jerusalem (19:41). Near the end of that journey, after his Third Prediction of his Passion, that is, the events that awaited him in Jerusalem (18:31-34), and his healing of a blind man on the approach to Jericho (18:35-43), “he entered Jericho and was passing through it” (19:1). Mark reports the blind man’s name, Bartimaeus (Mk. 10:46), but places his healing at Jesus’ departure from Jericho (Mk. 46-52), as does Matthew the healing of two unnamed blind men (Mt. 20:29-34). Luke places the healing of the blind man on the entrance to Jericho in order to make the encounter with Zacchaeus “a climax in the ministry of Jesus [which] brings out several notable features which Luke considered important.” According to I. Howard Marshall, this episode “is a supreme example of the universality of the gospel offer to tax collectors and sinners with Jesus taking the initiative and inviting himself to the house of Zacchaeus” (Commentary on Luke, NIGTC, p, 694 on Lk. 19:1-10). It also brings to a climax the recurrent theme of rich people and their place in the kingdom of God and the plan of salvation. “Although he is rich,” says Marion Lloyd Soards, “Zacchaeus’s response to Jesus is a striking contrast to that of the rich man in 18:18-23” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Lk. 19:1-10).

At the outset, we are told two things about Zacchaeus: (1) “he was a chief tax collector,” and (2) he “was rich” (v. 2). His short stature, and his climbing the sycamore tree to see Jesus, are striking details in the story. They tell us something about his initiative and persistence–perhaps also his ingenuity. But the keys to his character, telling us who he was, are his career as a tax collector, as a “chief tax collector” (architelōnēs), no less, and his financial status: he was rich. According to J. Andrew Overman,

Tax collectors, the Roman system, known as “tax farming,” leased out the right to collect taxes (including customs fees) in a given area for a flat fee. The entrepreneur, usually a local aristocrat, who obtained this right would then try to collect more than the fee in order to profit by the arrangement, with obvious potential for abuse (Philo, Leg. Gai. 199). Actual collections were carried out by underlings, who would be under pressure to bring in as much as possible, and were despised by the populace; most of the references to tax collectors probably are to this class. (NOAB, 3^rd ed.) on Matthew 9:10)

Eric Franklin points out that

‘Chief tax-collector’ is not found elsewhere in the NT and probably not outside it. It seems coined by Luke to make this episode climactic in Jesus’ dealings with the tax collectors. For the same reason, he describes Zacchaeus as ‘rich’. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 951, on Lk. 19:1-10)

But Overman’s description of the entrepreneur as a local aristocrat with underlings who would do most of the “dirty work” of collecting taxes fits Luke’s description of Zacchaeus. And Jericho was likely the location of an important customs office. As a “chief tax collector,” says David L. Tiede, Zacchaeus “played a role in the Roman bureaucracy that many Jews regarded as traitorous to their law,” and they were also suspected of dishonesty (HarperCollins Study Bible, on Lk. 19:1-10).

“When Jesus came to the place [where Zacchaeus was waiting in the sycamore tree], he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today’” (v. 5). So though Zacchaeus “hurried down and was happy to welcome” Jesus (v. 6), “all who saw it [apparently including the disciples] began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner’” (v. 7). As Eric Franklin notes ( Ibid.), earlier, the Pharisees and scribes objected when “all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him” (15:1). They “were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them’” (15:2). Jesus has been a dinner guest of the Pharisees (7:6; 11:37; 14:1), but now he is to be the house guest of this tax collector.

Zacchaeus stands and declares his intentions to lead a new life. “Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much” (v. 8). Soards says that this is “a vow amounting to repentance” (on v. 8). Compare this ruling on stealing: “When someone steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, the thief shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Ex. 22:1a; cf. Lev. 6:5; Num. 5:6-7). When Nathan confronted Dave about the sin of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, using the story of the man who stole his poor neighbor’s lamb, David’s judgment, before realizing that it was about him, was, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity” (2 Sam. 12:5-6).

 But the vow to “give to the poor” “half of my possessions” goes beyond the requirements of the Mosaic law and demonstrates an attitude of true repentance and commitment to Jesus’ kingdom; whereas, the ruler was unwilling to respond to Jesus’ instruction, “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Lk. 18:22).

Although Zacchaeus would have been considered an outsider by the Jews, Jesus says to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham” (v. 9). And he concludes the matter by saying, “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost” (v. 10). (Those interested may compare comments of November 24, 2004, two years ago (Wednesday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), and from June 7, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year One).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com