Zechariah 13:1-9

13:1 On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

Idolatry Cut Off

2 On that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. 3 And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD”; and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy. 4 On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive, 5 but each of them will say, “I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil; for the land has been my possession since my youth.” 6 And if anyone asks them, “What are these wounds on your chest?” the answer will be “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”

The Shepherd Struck, the Flock Scattered

7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,

against the man who is my associate,”

says the LORD of hosts.

Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;

I will turn my hand against the little ones.

8 In the whole land, says the LORD,

two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,

and one-third shall be left alive.

9 And I will put this third into the fire,

refine them as one refines silver,

and test them as gold is tested.

They will call on my name,

and I will answer them.

I will say, “They are my people”;

and they will say, “The LORD is our God.” (Zechariah 13:1-9, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with revision and supplement from November 25, 2004, two years ago (Thursday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two):

Today’s reading continues what, based on the title “An Oracle” in the text (at Zech. 12:1) has been called “the Second Burden” (Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Zech. 12:1-14:21; cf. comments yesterday). References continue to what will happen “on that day,” that is, when the LORD takes decisive action (cf. 12:3, 4, 6). After struggles and conflict within Judah and Jerusalem, followed by mourning and weeping (12:10-11), chapter 13 begins with a fountain for the cleansing of the people. Now we learn that “On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity” (Zech. 13:1). The fountain has been compared to the river of Psalm 46:4 or of Ezekiel chapter 47 and Revelation 21:6; 22:1-2, the water of life that Jesus promises to the Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:10-14) and to all Israel (Jn. 7:38).

This cleansing of the LORD’s people will include dealing with idolatry and the false prophets who promote it. “On that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit” (Zech. 13:2). If the lying prophets “appear again,” they will even be opposed by their own parents, who will say “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD,” and these parents, “ their fathers and their mothers who bore them[,] shall pierce them through when they prophesy” (v. 3). Such prophets “will be ashamed,” disclaiming their visions and their deception with hairy mantles (v. 4). They will claim to be, not prophets, but tillers of the soil (v. 5). The wounds about which they are asked result from “self-laceration as part of prophetic activity” (Mobley, on v. 6, with ref. to 1 Kgs. 18:28). Mobley says that “Prophecy is placed beside idolatry among the impurities that must be removed. For a negative glimpse of postexilic prophecy,” he says, “see Neh. 6:12-14. Though generally respected, prophets sometimes were mocked as ‘madmen’ who ‘babble’ (2 Kings 9:11)” (on vv. 2-6)

W. Sibley Turner says that Zechariah 13:7-9 is “a continuation of 11:15-17”.(HarperCollins Study Bible, on Zech. 13:7-9). The earlier passage concludes with a description of a “worthless shepherd, / who deserts the flock” (v 17a, b). The present passage describes “my shepherd . . . the man who is my [God’s] associate” (13:7). This person, says Turner, “might be the prophet who serves at God’s behest (Dan. 8:16-17), an angel (Dan. 9:21), or even the messianic leader of the remnant of Judah in the time of God’s act of judgment (Dan. 7:13). In any case, the suffering of this ‘man’ opens the way for the purification and final salvation of the people (see Mt. 26:31; Mk. 14:27)” (Ibid.). There will be a purging of the people. “In the whole land, says the LORD, / two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, / and one-third shall be left alive” (v. 8). Even this remaining third will be refined with fire and tested “as gold is tested” (v. 9a, b, c). But there is grace in the end. “I will say, ‘They are my people’;/and they will say, ‘”The LORD is our God’” (v. 9d, e).

Ephesians 1:15-23

Paul’s Prayer

15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23, NRSV)

The following comments are combined with revision and supplement here from November 25, 2004, two years ago (Thursday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), and from January 11, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One):

Paul has heard of the readers’ faith and love (Eph. 1:15), for which he gives thanks (v. 16). Because his thanks is not for specific help, as in Philippians 1:5, “because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now,” but for basic Christian values, it would apply to many Christian congregations. His prayer is for those who have “faith in the Lord Jesus” (v. 15),. He prays for their wisdom and revelation, that God may give them “a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him” (v. 17)., and for their enlightenment and knowledge of the Christian hope and inheritance, “that the eyes of your heart [may be] enlightened, [so that] you may know the hope to which he has called you . . . the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints” (v. 18). Their coming to know God better would be a deepening of their spiritual experience.

The inheritance has its basis in God’s power which raised Christ from the dead and placed him above “all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (v. 21). The chapter concludes with a view of Christ similar to that of Philippians 2:9-11: “And he [God] has put all things under his [Christ’s] feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (vv. 22-23). Paul’s language overflows, waxing eloquent as he seeks to express his understanding of Christ..

Luke 19:11-27

The Parable of the Ten Pounds (Mt 25.14-30)

11 As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. 13 He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ 17 He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ 18 Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ 19 He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ 20 Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ 24 He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) 26 ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them-bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’” (Luke 19:11-27, NRSV)

The following comments were repeated from June 8, 2005 (Wednesday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year One) on November 20, 2005 (the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), and are repeated again here. (For brief comments on this passage, see also November 25, 2004, two years ago (Thursday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two.)

As compared with Matthew’s Parable of the Talents (Mt. 25:14-30), Luke’s Parable of the Ten Pounds might seem to deal in “chump change.” The man who received “five talents” (Mt. 25:15) received the equivalent of a laborer’s wages for seventy-five years (NRSV, text note f on Mt. 25:14), but each of the slaves in Luke’s parable receive one pound (Lk. 19:13, cf. vv. 16, 18, 20–ten pounds, one for each of ten slaves). The pound represented about three month’s wages for a laborer (NRSV, text note a on Lk. 19:13). Perhaps the intended audience was a consideration. Luke’s Gospel often makes a special place for marginalized people. Another difference is the setting of the parables; the Parable of the Talents is one of three parables which conclude Matthew’s version of the eschatological speech (Mt. chaps. 24, 25), but Luke sets this parable on the approach to Jerusalem as a “corrective” “because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately” (Lk. 19:11). Again, the “man going on a journey” in Matthew’s version (Mt. 25:14; cf. Mk. 13:34), is “a nobleman [who] went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return” in Luke’s version (Lk. 19:12), a feature which leads many commentaries see the parable as based in part on a historical event. The parable adds that he came back “having received royal power” (v. 15) over the protests of the citizens. “But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to rule over us’” (v. 14). In the end this king orders the protesters to be slaughtered “in my presence” (v. 27).

William Barclay explains as follows:

[The parable] tells about a king who went away to receive a kingdom and whose subjects did their best to stop him receiving it. When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. he left his kingdom divided between Herod Antipas, Herod Philip and Archelaus. That division had to be ratified by the Romans, who were the overlords of Palestine, before it became effective. Archelaus, to whom Judaea had been left, went to Rome to persuade Augustus to allow him to enter into his inheritance, whereupon the Jews sent an embassy of fifty men to Rome to inform August that they did not wish to have him as king. In point of fact, Augustus confirmed him in his inheritance, though without the actual title of king. (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, Daily Study Bible, rev. ed., 1975, pp. 236-237)

Barclay adds that “Anyone in Judaea, on hearing the parable, would immediately remember the historical circumstances on which it was based” (Ibid.). Scholars differ on whether the Parables of the Talents and the Pounds are two versions of one parable told by Jesus, or different parables from different occasions (cf. I. Howard Marshall, Commentary on Luke, NIGTC, 701). They also differ on the significance. A Jülicher “claimed that the original form of the parable was meant simply to teach a moral lesson about using the gifts which God has given to man” (cited by Marshall, 702). Barclay follows a line similar to that: “The parable of the king and his servants illustrates certain great facts of the Christian life,” he says, and lists (1) “the king’s trust” (2) “the king’s test” (3) “the king’s reward” (Barclay, 237). Barclay adds that “the parable concludes with one of the inexorable laws of life. To him who has, more will be given; from him who has not, what he has will be taken away” (Barclay, 238). Eric Franklin, however, has trouble with such an interpretation:

That the nobleman-become-king stands for Jesus [or for God, presumably] is made more unlikely by the third servant’s wholly unflattering description of him (v. 21) as rapacious and a fraudster, an assessment that the king does not deny (v. 22). If his reply were to be taken as an accommodation to the servant’s assessment of him, that in itself would seem to confirm the judgement. It is more likely, however, that he is described as acknowledging the truth of the servant’s description. The king is not a pleasant character.

The parable therefore is unlikely to be an allegory, but is rather, in the words of Evans (1990),k ‘another of the risqué parables . . . in which the central figure is a reprehensible character’. In pointing to the demands made by the manner of the Kingdom’s appearing in Jesus, Luke has used this device, not only in the parable of the dishonest steward (16:1-9), but also, and with a close parallel, in that of the importunate widow (18:1-8), where one is encouraged to pray for its coming, and the friend at midnight (11:5-8) where one is told to ask to live out of its power. (Eric Franklin, The Oxford Bible Commentary, pp. 951-952, on Lk. 19:11-27 )

Franklin says that the third servant is “not to be admired as someone who refuses to play by the lord’s corrupt rules,” a view that he attributes to Herzog (1994).

His lord required of him a commitment and a willingness to venture all which he was not able to meet. Fear and self-protection held him back. For him there might be some excuse. There is none, says the parable, for those who have willingly committed themselves to discipleship in the service of him who is not to be feared but loved and whose treasures do not consist of unrighteous mammon but of the life of the Kingdom itself. Disciples must risk all for the Kingdom and not let its gifts come to nothing either by acquiescing in the present or by despairing of its future ([Lk.] 17:22-18:8). (Franklin, p. 952)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com