Isaiah 1:10-20

10 Hear the word of the LORD,

you rulers of Sodom!

Listen to the teaching of our God,

you people of Gomorrah!

11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?

says the LORD;

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,

or of lambs, or of goats.

12 When you come to appear before me,

who asked this from your hand?

Trample my courts no more;

13 bringing offerings is futile;

incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation-

I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.

14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals

my soul hates;

they have become a burden to me,

I am weary of bearing them.

15 When you stretch out your hands,

I will hide my eyes from you;

even though you make many prayers,

I will not listen;

your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your doings

from before my eyes;

cease to do evil,

17 learn to do good;

seek justice,

rescue the oppressed,

defend the orphan,

plead for the widow.

18 Come now, let us argue it out,

says the LORD:

though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be like snow;

though they are red like crimson,

they shall become like wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient,

you shall eat the good of the land;

20 but if you refuse and rebel,

you shall be devoured by the sword;

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 1:10-20, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with revision and supplement from November 29, 2004, two years ago (Monday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One):

Yesterday’s reading concluded with a comparison of desolated Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah.. As the prophet continues the LORD’s indictment of his people in today’s reading, Judah’s rulers are addressed as “rulers of Sodom,” and the people as “people of Gomorrah,” implying similarity not only in terms of the desolating punishment, but especially in terms of character. They are directed to “Listen to the teaching of our God” (Isa. 1:10). “In the prophets,” says Joseph Blenkinsopp, “Sodom and Gomorrah (see Gen. 18:16-19:28) became bywords for spectacular divine judgment on immoral conduct” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Isa. 1:10). Speaking through the prophet, the LORD deplores their superficial religious practices when he asks, “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? / says the LORD; / I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams / and the fat of fed beasts; / I do not delight in the blood of bulls, / or of lambs or of goats (v. 11; cf. Amos 5:21-24; Jer. 6:20).

Their religious processionals “trample my courts” (v. 12). God has become weary of their “new moon” and “sabbath” assemblies and festivals (vv. 13-14), and he will not hear their prayers because “your hands are full of blood” (v. 15). The remedy is repentance and cleansing: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; / remove the evil of your doings / from before my eyes; / cease to do evil, / learn to do good (vv. 16-17a). They need to turn away from injustice, “seek justice” (v. 17b), turn away from oppression (v. 17c), “defend the orphan” (v. 17d) and “plead for the widow” (v. 17e). Blenkinsopp calls this “a very strong statement of the prophetic protest against worship divorced from social justice (cf. Am. 5:21-24; Mic. 6:6-8; Jer6:20-21; 7:1-15)” (on vv. 10-17).

The basis for the hope seen here by Benjamin D. Sommer (cf. the citation in yesterday’s comments from The Jewish Study Bible, p. 784, on Isa. 1:2-31) is a call to repentance. “Come now, let us argue it out, / says the LORD: / though your sins are like scarlet, / they shall be like snow; / though they are red like crimson, / they shall become like wool” (v 18). This cleansing is conditional: on the one hand, “If you are willing and obedient, / you shall eat the good of the land,” says the LORD (v. 20); but on the other hand, “if you refuse and rebel, / you shall be devoured by the sword; / for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (v. 20).

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Salutation

1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9 For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead-Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, NRSV)

After the introductory paragraph, the following comments are combined with revision and supplement here from November 29, 2004, two years ago (Monday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from May 9, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two):

First Thessalonians is one of Paul’s earliest Letters, perhaps the first New Testament book written. Some, who hold to an early date for Galatians, would put it before First Thessalonians. They identify the “Galatians” addressed as the peoples of southeast Asia Minor evangelized by Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary Journey (Acts 13-14). These people are in the Roman Province of “Galatia,” extended south from the territory of ethnic “Galatians.” They would assume that the Letter to the Galatians was written before the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15), which resolved issues addressed in Galatians. Others hold to the view that by “Galatia,” Paul means the territory of ethnic Galatians (who migrated there earlier from Gaul, modern France), in the highlands of north-central Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The first reference in Acts to Galatia (Acts 16:6) comes after the Jerusalem Conference, early in the second missionary journey. In any case, whether Galatians or First Thessalonians was written first, the latter was likely written soon after Paul’s hasty departure from Thessalonica (Acts 17:10, cf. vv. 5-9), to address misunderstandings he would have addressed had he remained longer. (It’s possible, however, that there was another visit not described in detail in Acts. Paul’s own description of his work at Thessalonica, 1 Thess. 2:1-12, implies a longer period. “You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God,” 2:9).

Paul’s customary salutation includes Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy as senders, who, though Paul was alone at Athens (Acts 17:16), caught up with him at Corinth (Acts 18:5; cf. 17:15), probably bringing some of the financial assistance for which Paul thanks the Philippians {Phil. 4:10-20; cf. 1:5). Although Paul engaged in “tent-making” at Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, preaching in the synagogue (Acts 18:2-4), when Silas and Timothy arrived, he “was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus” (v. 5).

In his typical thanksgiving, Paul says that he gives “thanks to God” for all of the Thessalonian believers, mentioning them “in our prayers, constantly (v. 2). He remembers their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3). He elaborates by reference to God’s choice of them (v. 4) and the coming of the gospel to them. He remembers delivering his “message of the gospel . . . not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction,” a message backed up by his way of living (v. 5). The following stands out: "And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia" (v. 6). Note that their exemplary faith was in spite of persecution. He praises them because “the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you . . . in every place your faith in God has become known” (v. 8). They have “turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and,” anticipating a later theme (4:13-5:11) “to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming” (vv. 9-10)..

Luke 20:1-8

The Authority of Jesus Questioned (Mt 21.23-27; Mk 11.27-33)

20:1 One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders 2 and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?” 3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” 5 They discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” (Luke 20:1-8, NRSV)

In each of the Synoptic Gospels, the account of Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple (Mt. 21:12-23; Mk. 11:15-17; Lk. 9:45-46) is soon followed by the Questioning of his Authority by the Chief Priests, the Scribes [omitted by Matthew] and the Elders (Mt. 21:23-27; Mk. 11:27-33; Lk. 20:1-8). The parallel accounts are in the separate file, Question about Authority. In each Gospel the introduction of the question about authority fits the context. In Matthew, after cleansing the temple, Jesus leaves the city for the night (Mt. 21:17), and as he returns in the morning, he withers the fig tree for its lack of fruit (vv. 18-22) before being confronted in the temple by “the chief priests and the elders of the people” (v. 23). Mark has a similar sequence except that the fig tree episode is divided. He finds it lacking fruit and curses it as he enters Jerusalem (Mk. 11:12-14) before the cleansing of the Temple (vv. 15-17). The discovery of the tree withered away occurs as they return to the city the following morning (vv. 20-24 [25]). Immediately after the cleansing, Mark and Luke report the conspiracy of the chief priests and scribes against Jesus (Mk. 11:18-19; Lk. 19:47-48). In Matthew this seems to be formalized in 26:3-5 (cf. Mk. 14:1b, 2; Lk. 22:2), though it is anticipated in 21:45-46 (cf. Mk. 12:12; Lk. 20:19) when the chief priests and Pharisees realized that they were the point of Jesus’ Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Mt. 21:33-46). In Matthew, especially, it seems that this conspiracy is always just below the surface. In Mark it’s clear that the authority question comes on the morning when Jesus has returned to Jerusalem after the cleansing of the temple (cf. Mk. 11:19, 20; 27), but Luke is less definite. “Every day he was teaching in the temple” (Lk. 19:47a), and “One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders” (20:1).

According to Luke, it was “as he [Jesus] was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news” when he was confronted by the question. (Lk. 20:1). On his visit to the temple at age twelve, Jesus answers the question of his parents who had been searching for him by asking, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk. 2:49 NRSV). The alternative translation, “be about my Father’s interests” (NRSV note f) is closer to the literal sense: “Did you not know that it is necessary for me to be in [‘taking care of?] the things (en tois) of my Father?” So we now find him still pursuing the Father’s interests, “teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news.” In this first of a series of controversies during Holy Week, Jesus and officials of Judaism exchange questions and answers in typical Rabbinic fashion, “similar to such material in the Talmud” (Krister Stendahl, Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, sec. 690f, p. 791, on Mt. 21:23-27).

The account of the debate is essentially the same, with a few differences of style in the wording of each Gospel. “Tell us,” say the chief priests, scribes and elders, “by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?” (Lk. 20:2). The question is essentially the same in the parallels, though Mark and Matthew lack the words “Tell us” (Mk. 11:28; Mt. 21:23b). Jesus responds, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me” (Lk. 20:3; cf. Mk 11:29a; Mt. 21:25a), but Luke omits Jesus’ redundant repetition of their question, “and I will tell you by what authority I do these things (Mk. 11:29b; cf. Mt. 21:24b). Jesus question, “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, o0r was it of human origin?” (Lk. 20:4; Mk. 11:30; Mt. 21:25a)) is the same in each Gospel except for the follow-up in Mark, “Answer me.” “They discussed it (synelogisanto) with one another,” says Luke (20:5a), or “argued (dielogizonto; ‘reasoned’ AV/KJV) with one another (Mk. 11:31a; Mt. 21:25b). The verbs are close to synonymous, but Luke’s verb, meaning “reason, discuss, debate,” occurs only here in the New Testament (BADG, s.v. sullogizomai). Mark’s verb, followed by Matthew, is frequent in the New Testament, meaning “consider and discuss, argue” in a few passages (BADG, s.v. dialogizomai, meaning no. 2, which includes Mk. 11:31), but “consider, ponder, reason” in many passages, including Mt. 21:25 according to the Lexicon (meaning no. 1). Why the Lexicon would distinguish the meanings in Matthew and Mark is not clear; perhaps due to the prepositional phrases, pros [often ‘toward’] heautous (Mk.), en [‘among’] heautois (Mt.), both translated “with one another.” In any case, they reach a common decision. “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why [then, Mt. Mk.] did you not believe him?’” (Lk. 20:5b; Mk. 11:31b; Mt. 21:25c)/ They conclude that the alternative, saying, “Of human origin,” would have unacceptable consequences, for “all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet” (Lk. 20:6). Mark’s version, “they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet” (Mk. 22:32), is put in the first person in Matthew, “we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet” (Mt. 21:26). Their answer, reported in the first person in Matthew and Mark, “We do not know” (Mt. 21:27a; Mk. 11:33a), is presented indirectly by Luke, “So they answered that they did not know where it came from” (Lk. 20:7). They as much as admit that Jesus has caught them on the horns of a dilemma. Either answer, from heaven, or of human origin, would embarrass them. Jesus concludes the discussion, saying, “Neither will [not can] I tell you by what authority I am doing these things” (Lk. 20:8 = Mk. 11:33b = Mt. 21:27b).

Eric Franklin says, “Elsewhere, when Jesus is questioned, and even when the question is motivated by hostility, he deals with it seriously (10:25; 17:20). Here, he engages in a form of one-upmanship” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 952, on Lk. 20:1-8). Franklin suggests that it was shaped by later Jewish-Christian debates. But at this point, it would seem that Jesus has given them ample opportunity to recognize him as “the Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (1:11). Their question challenged Jesus’ authority for the Cleansing of the Temple (19:45-46), says G. W. H. Lampe, “ but Jesus question dares them to admit that “through John’s baptism Jesus was marked out as the Messianic Son of God” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, sec. 731c, p. 838, on Lk. 20:1-8), which they were not prepared to do.

[NOTE: I have treated this passage a few times in the past. Those interested in additional comments, some from different perspectives, may use the Scripture Index of the Gospels to find dates when Matthew 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33; or Luke 20:1-8 was the Gospel reading and go to that date in the Archives.]

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com