Zechariah 1:7-17

First Vision: The Horsemen

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo; and Zechariah said, 8 In the night I saw a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen; and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, "What are these, my lord?" The angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you what they are." 10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, "They are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth." 11 Then they spoke to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, "We have patrolled the earth, and lo, the whole earth remains at peace." 12 Then the angel of the LORD said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry these seventy years?" 13 Then the LORD replied with gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, Proclaim this message: Thus says the LORD of hosts; I am very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 And I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse. 16 Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Proclaim further: Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7-17, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from October 24, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One):

For several days our Old Testament readings have focused on the period of restoration after the Babylonian exile. For the time being, we have one reading from Zechariah, the first of eight visions. Within a three-week series of readings from Ezra and Nehemiah (last Thurs., Oct. 25, to Wed., Nov. 14), we get two readings from contemporary prophets. Yesterday, the reading Haggai 1:1-2:9, dated within “the second year of King Darius,” 620 B.C., fits into the early part of the period narrated by Ezra. Today’s reading, Zechariah 1:7-17, is dated a few months earlier. “On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo” (Zech. 1:7). By our calendar, the date would be February 15, 519 BCE (W. Sibley Towner, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Zech. 1:7). Zechariah says, “In the night I saw a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen; and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses” (v. 8). This introduces the first of eight reports of visions presented in the book of Zechariah (1:6-6:15) which, according to Gregory Mobley, follow a pattern: “(a) vision, (b) question about its meaning, (c) angelic interpretation” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Zech. 1:6-6:15).

Zechariah’s question here, “What are these, my lord?” is promised an answer by “the angel who talked with me”: “I will show you what they are” (v. 9). But the immediate answer comes from “the man who was standing among the myrtle trees” (v. 10a): “They are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth” (v. 10b). And this answer is confirmed by the riders, who “spoke to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and lo, the whole earth remains at peace’ ” (v. 11). But the angel asks, “O LORD of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry these seventy years?” (v. 12). The LORD responds “with gracious and comforting words,” says Zechariah, “to the angel who talked with me” (v. 13). And a word is passed from the LORD to the angel to Zechariah, “Thus says the LORD of hosts; I am very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse” (vv. 14-15). In view of the severe judgments upon Judah pronounced earlier by Jeremiah, this seems rather mild. The LORD “was only a little angry [with Judah, but] they (i.e., the foreign nations, esp. Babylon] made the disaster worse.” But of course the present narrative is within the time of return and restoration from exile. The word of the LORD continues. “Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem” (v. 16). And he adds, “My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem” (v. 17).

According to Towner, “The red, sorrel and white colors of the horses might have symbolic values; however, they probably simply reflect the colors of horses known in the ancient Near East” (op. cit., on Zech. 1:8). However, this appears to be the beginning of prophetic motif that takes on a life of its own. The horses and their riders are mentioned again in verses 10 and 11). Later, in the eighth vision (6:1-8), four chariots appear, one with red horses, another with black horses (6:2), another with white horses, and another with dappled gray horses (v. 3). These are interpreted as “the four winds of heaven” who go out “after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth” (v. 5), and continue to patrol the earth in their respective spheres, the black horses to the north country, the white ones to the west, and the dappled ones to the south (v. 6). Within this context, says Mobley, “The North Country, Babylon, receives special attention” (op. cit., on Zech. 6:8).

In the Book of Revelation, this symbolism of colored horses finds its echo with the judgments of the first four seals (Rev. 6:1-8). John sees “a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer” (Rev. 6:2). He also sees “another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword” (v. 4). The third seal reveals “a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand” (v. 5). Famine is implied by the exorbitant prices of wheat and barley (v. 6). The fourth seal reveals a pale green horse whose “rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him,” bringing sword, famine and pestilence” (v. 8). But the initial vision in Zechariah, as noted above promises blessing and prosperity, not the famine, destruction and death of “the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” According to Mobley, “Zechariah speaks in the dialect of apocalyptic, with angelic interpreters and esoteric imagery. For his city, Zechariah had utopian expectations: the rebuilding of the Temple would inaugurate nothing short of the transformation of the world” (op. cit., in the Introduction to Zechariah). Mobley adds, “Yet despite the apocalyptic style, Zech. 1-8 also has a down-to-earth focus on the rebuilding of the Temple, practical concerns such as fasting (7:1-14), and a given historical moment” (Ibid.).

or Jeremiah 45:1-5 (alternative reading, Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions)

A Word of Comfort to Baruch

45:1 The word that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah: 2 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, "Woe is me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest." 4 Thus you shall say to him, "Thus says the LORD: I am going to break down what I have built, and pluck up what I have planted–that is, the whole land. 5 And you, do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for I am going to bring disaster upon all flesh, says the LORD; but I will give you your life as a prize of war in every place to which you may go." (Jeremiah 45:1-5, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from October 24, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One):

In Jeremiah, chapter 36, eighteen or nineteen years before the fall of Jerusalem, we are told that Jeremiah dictated a scroll which Baruch wrote, and when it was burned by King Jehoiakim, Jeremiah dictated another (Jer. 36:32). Both chapter 36 and chapter 45 are dated “in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim” (605 B.C., 36:1; 45:1). Jeremiah has a word from the LORD for Baruch (Jer. 45:2): Baruch has said, “Woe is me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest” (v. 3). This lament reminds us of Jeremiah’s own personal laments (11:18-20; 12:1-6; 15:10-21; 17:14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-12, 14-18; cf. Leo G. Perdue, rev. by Robert R. Wilson, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jer. 45:3 and 11:18-20:18). The word of the LORD through Jeremiah for Baruch, does not rescind the forecast punishments of Judah and Jerusalem, but promises safety and security for Baruch himself. “Thus says the LORD: I am going to break down what I have built, and pluck up what I have planted–that is, the whole land. And you, do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for I am going to bring disaster upon all flesh, says the LORD; but I will give you your life as a prize of war in every place to which you may go” (Jer. 45:4-5). The language about breaking down and plucking up what has been planted, refers of course to the judgment on Jerusalem and Judah, and echos the call of Jeremiah (Jer. 1:10; cf. 18:7-9; 24:6; 31:28; 42:10 and other refs.; cf. Perdue and Wilson on Jer. 1:10).

For Kathleen M. O’Connor, “Ch. 45 concludes chs. 26-45 by asserting that the prophetic word will survive because Baruch will ‘gain his life as a prize of war’ (v. 5)” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 521, on Jer. 45:1-5). This would be good to know, since it appears that Jeremiah ended his life in obscurity in Egypt (chaps. 43-44). We are told that Baruch, who was with Jeremiah when Johanan’s group planned to go to Egypt (43:3) was in Egypt (43:6). There are various opinions about what was in the scrolls dictated by Jeremiah. Mark E. Biddle, for example, says that “a superficial reading of 45:1 would suggest that the material falling between chs. 36 and 45 constituted the second scroll Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation. The events narrated, however, took place after Jehoiakim’s reign” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Jer. 45:1-5). In any case, it appears to me that we owe it to Baruch for preserving much of Jeremiah’s preaching and the story of his ministry in Judah.

Revelation 1:4-20

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;

every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him;

and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.

So it is to be. Amen.

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:4-8, NRSV)

A Vision of Christ

9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, "Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:9-20, NRSV)

The following comments are based on the comments of October 24, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One), and comparison with comments on Revelation 1:1-8 from December 29, 2006 (Friday of Christmas week, Year One) and comments on Revelation 1:9-16 from December 30, 2006 (Saturday of Christmas Week, Year One):

The book of Revelation begins by announcing a revelation, a series of visions, that “came from God through Jesus Christ and was communicated to John by an angel (referred to again in 22:16).” Although the book as a whole is considered apocalyptic, “it contains other elements as well, such as the the seven letters in chs. 2 and 3 and the scattered prophetic utterances throughout its pages” (B. M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Rev. 1:1-3). “This revelation,” says Metzger, “came from God through Jesus Christ and was communicated to John by an angel (referred to again in 22:16)” (Ibid., cf. Jean-Pierre Ruiz, in the 3^rd ed.).

Today’s reading begins with a salutation in the form of many in the New Testament Epistles, which anticipates the letters “to the seven churches that are in Asia” (v. 4a), separate letters to each (chaps. 2, 3). The term “Asia” here refers to the Roman province of Asia, located in the western portion of Asia Minor, of which Ephesus was the capital. Note that this “Epistle” is from “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (v. 5a), but also from God himself, “him who is and who was and who is to come” (v. 4, cf. 8). This salutation incorporates Christology, with an ascription “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (v. 5b-6) and the reference to his “coming with the clouds” (v. 7; cf. Dan. 7:13; Zech. 12:10-12).

Jean-Pierre Ruiz interprets the reference to the Greek alphabet, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God” (v. 8), as “the beginning and end of all things” NOAB, 3^rd ed., on v. 8). There’s no intrinsic connection, of course, but I’m reminded that news reports noted the formation of Tropical Storm Alpha in the Atlantic Ocean today (Oct. 23, 2004). While hurricanes are very difficult to understand, we believe that our times–including the weather-- are in the Lord’s hands.

John describes his circumstances, the least of which, you might say, is his being a prisoner “on the island called Patmos” (Rev. 1:9). More importantly, he “was in the spirit on the Lord’s day” (v. 10) and the recipient of divine revelation (vv. 10-11). The vision of Christ described in verses 12-18 draws imagery from various Old Testament texts” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Rev. 1:12-16). In the midst of the seven lampstands John saw “one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, . . . In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force” (Rev. 1:13-16). According to Bruce M. Metzger, “In the midst of the churches stands the the exalted Christ, whose royalty, eternity, wisdom, and immutability are suggested by means of symbols; the effect is that of terrifying majesty” (Ibid.).

For the effect, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead” (v. 17a), compare Isaiah’s response to his vision in the temple (Isa. 6:5). But the Lord (Christ) raises him up. “I am the first and the last” (v. 17; cf. God as “the Alpha and the Omega,” v. 8). Christ’s self-description continues: he is “the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades” (v. 18). John is told to write what he has seen (v. 19). It is explained to him that “the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches,” that is, the “seven lampstands” (v. 20).

After each church is addressed in turn (chaps. 2, 3), the book is addressed to one and all among Christian believers, and the book closes with the Lord’s open-ended invitation, “‘Come!’ / And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come!’ / And let everyone who is thirsty come. / Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” (Rev. 22:17). But in today’s reading John is instructed to “write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches” (1:11). These churches are symbolized by the “seven golden lampstands” (v. 12).

Matthew 12:43-50

The return of the Unclean Spirit

43 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.

The True Kindred of Jesus

46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:43-50, NRSV)

Parallels to these texts are presented in tables below. For a comprehensive table covering the texts of Matthew and parallels for Friday and Saturday (Oct. 26, 27) as well as today, see the separate file, Jesus and Beelzebul. For comments from the perspective of Mark’s version of these passages, see comments on Mark 3:19b-31 from July 21, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year One). For comments from Luke’s perspective, see comments on Luke 11:14-26 from October 30, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two). The following comments are based on comments of October 24, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One), with some reference to various comments on the parallel passages. See also comments on October 21, 2005, in reference to Mark 3:19b-21.

In Matthew and Luke, the sayings about the return of the evil spirit (Mt. 12:43-45; Lk. 11:24-26) are presented in the larger context of the accusation by the Pharisees that Jesus is in collusion with Satan (Mt. 12:22-30; Mk. 3:22-27; Lk. 11:14-15, 17-23; cf. Mt. 9:32-34 and various texts in John), Jesus’ response about the sin against the Holy Spirit (Mt. 12:31-37; Mk. 3:28-30; Lk. 12:10), and, in Matthew, Jesus’ sayings about the sin against the Holy Spirit and knowing people by their fruit (Mt. 12:31-37; cf. Mk. 3:28-30; Mt. 7:16-20; Lk. 6:43-45)

Except for the application to “this evil generation” in the final statement, Matthew’s account of this quotation from Jesus is practically identical with that of Luke. (Minor variations in wording of the English translations are in bold print. The Greek texts have two or three differences in word order and two or three in wording that do not show up in the translations, for example, Matthew’s initial conjunction de (“And/But,” Mt. 12:43, lacking in Lk. 11:24) and different verbs translated as “return” (epistrepsō, Mt. 12:44, hypostrepsō, Lk. 11:24, both of which could translate the Aramaic twb, cf. Dan. 4:31, 33). William Barclay’s subtitle for this paragraph is “The Peril of the Empty Heart,” but he also calls it “this compact and eerie little parable about the haunted house” (The Gospel of Matthew, The Daily Study Bible Series, vol. 2, pp. 50-51, on Mt. 12:43-45). He finds three lessons here: (1) The evil spirit tries to return, for “Evil is a force which may be at bay but is never eliminated.” (2) “A negative religion can never be enough.” (3) The only permanent cure for evil action is Christian action. Barclay summarizes, “To put it quite simply, the Church will most easily keep her converts when she gives them Christian work to do” (pp. 51-52).

In spite of the generally parallel sequences in Matthew and Mark, the specific context of the Beelzebul controversy is different. Matthew begins with the healing of a blind and mute demoniac (Mt. 12:22; cf. 9:32–a mute demoniac–and Lk. 11:14), which becomes the occasion of the Pharisees’ accusation. Mark “sandwiches” the story between two parts of an account of Jesus’ relation to his family (Mk. 3:19b-21, 31-35). Some take Mark 3:21 to mean that Jesus’ family thought he was “out of his mind,” as in the New International Version, “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” But the two instances of “they” are indefinite–third person verb endings, sometimes the equivalent of an indefinite pronoun–and the NRSV distinguishes the first “they” (the family) from the second: “When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people [NIV’s ‘they’] were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’” If, as many believe, Mark is one of Matthew’s sources, Matthew chose to pass over this comment in silence. If Matthew 12:47 (missing in some manuscripts) is an original part of Matthew’s text, their accounts of what Jesus said about his true family (Mt. 12:46-50; Mk. 3:31-35); are very similar.

In Matthew, the positive emphasis upon followers of Jesus as a family is very significant. It is reflected in “the language of fictive kinship” used within the early Church (a phrase used by Dr. Wayne Meeks of Yale University in a seminar for college teachers on “The Social World of Early Christianity,” Summer 1979. Paul, for example, appeals to “you . . . brothers” (adelphoi) (Rom. 12:1, “brothers and sisters,” NRSV), and refers to “our sister Phoebe” (Rom. 16:1). He expresses concern that, when he came to Troas, he “did not find my brother Titus there” (2 Cor. 2:13). It is significant that all four Gospels emphasize this family relationship to Jesus. In John the disciples are “friends” (philoi, Jn. 15:14; cf. v. 10, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love” [agape]). “There is no essential difference between being Christ’s philos [‘friend’] and abiding in his agape [love]” (C. K. Barrett, The Gospel according to St. John, S.P.C.K, 1955, reprinted 1960, p. 398 on Jn. 15:14). William L. Gather has incorporated this family relationship in his gospel song, “The Family of God” (on the Internet, with music, at http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/family.html accessed again Oct. 28, 2007).

The four Gospel texts in the table above state a condition: “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Mt. 12:50; cf. Mk. 3:35–both including “sister,” adelphē–Lk. 8:21 and Jn. 15:14). Such obedience is a service of love. Wouldn’t we say it’s worth it?

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net