Esther 5:1-14

Esther’s Banquet

5:1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, opposite the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne inside the palace opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won his favor and he held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. 3 The king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” 4 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet that I have prepared for the king.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 7 Then Esther said, “This is my petition and request: 8 If I have won the king’s favor, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and then I will do as the king has said.”

Haman Plans to Have Mordecai Hanged

9 Haman went out that day happy and in good spirits. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and observed that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was infuriated with Mordecai; 10 nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home. Then he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh, 11 and Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the ministers of the king. 12 Haman added, “Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king to the banquet that she prepared. Tomorrow also I am invited by her, together with the king. 13 Yet all this does me no good so long as I see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go with the king to the banquet in good spirits.” This advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made. (Esther 5:1-14, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from September 26, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two):

At the end of yesterday’s reading, Mordecai follows Esther’s directions about gathering the Jews for a three-day fast (Esth. 4:16-17). Today, after the three days, Esther follows Mordecai’s direction “to go to the king to make supplication to him and entreat him for her people” (4:8). She puts on “her royal robes” and stands “in the inner court of the king’s palace, opposite the king’s hall” (5:1), thus where he cannot miss seeing her. According to Mary Jean Winn Leith, she “resembles women who plead on another’s behalf (1 Sam. 25:24-31 [Abigail]; 2 Sam. 14:4-17 the woman of Tekoa])” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Esth. 5:2). Esther is surely relieved to see that the king “held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand,” so she responds by approaching and touching “the top of the scepter” (Esth. 5:2). The king asks about her request with the assurance that “It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom” (v. 3), a request and promise that will be repeated twice more, at the banquet to which she is about to invite the king and Haman (v. 6), and again at Esther’s second banquet (7:2). According to Leith, the words half of my kingdom are exaggerated for emphasis, and represent a folk-tale motif–she considers the book “a historical novella”–“the third offer succeeds (7:2)” (op. cit., on v. 3). J. G. McConville, however, who favors the view that “the things narrated actually happened” (Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, The Daily Study Bible Series, vol. 11, p. 154 in the Introduction to Esther), says,

There is unquestionably an element of oriental exaggeration in this. Kings were wont to make extravagant offers at such moments, more or less by way of a compliment, and without the intention that they be taken literally. Both the offerer and the one favoured knew that the real limits were less than what was named. In a similar situation King Herod [Antipas] would later be embarrassed when pushed to his real limits by Herodias’ daughter; Mark 6:22ff. Xerxes himself, according to Herodotus, wriggled in vain to extricate himself from a promise to a mistress which cost him a beautiful rob made for him by Queen Amestris. (Ibid., p. 176 on Esth. 5:1-14)

McConville adds that “Esther, therefore knows the score well. Xerxes can be fickle. . . . This explains [her] failure to come to the point straight away” (ibid.). So Esther’s first request is an invitation for the king and Haman to “come today” to a banquet (5:2). At that banquet, her request is an invitation to “come tomorrow” to another banquet, at which time she will state her request (v. 8).

So Haman, still unsuspecting, leaves the first banquet happy; but his happiness is spoiled by the sight of “Mordecai in the king’s gate” and his observation that Mordecai “neither rose nor trembled before him” (v. 9; cf. 3:2). Although restraining himself for the moment, Haman assembles a group of his friends and his wife Zeresh (v. 10), for some bragging about his wealth, honors and promotions (v. 11). “Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king to the banquet that she prepared. Tomorrow also I am invited by her, together with the king,” he says (v. 12). But Mordecai’s disrespect nullifies all this glory. “Yet all this does me no good so long as I see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate” (v. 13). According to McConville, “Haman, fool that he is, sees none of the dark clouds gathering on the horizon. He is impressed only with the fact that he is getting his feet further under the table than he had ever hoped (vv. 11-12), and that his bliss is sullied by Mordecai’s continued refusal to do him honour–an offense that seems all the greater to him in the light of his increased standing in his own eyes (vv. 9, 13)” (ibid., p. 177). So, at his wife’s suggestion, he prepares a very tall gallows–“fifty cubits high,” or about 72 feet high (Leith, op. cit., on vv. 10-14), upon which he is to “tell the king to have Mordecai hanged” and then enjoy the next banquet with the king and Esther” (v. 14). McConville quotes Proverbs in reference to Haman. “‘Pride goes before destruction’ (Prov. 16:18) and again: ‘There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death’ (Prov. 16:25). Haman is the perfect fool. At what seems to him the height of his glory, he devises the petard with which he will himself be hoist” (op. cit., p. 177).

Judith 8:9-17, 9:1

9 When Judith heard the harsh words spoken by the people against the ruler, because they were faint for lack of water, and when she heard all that Uzziah said to them, and how he promised them under oath to surrender the town to the Assyrians after five days, 10 she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon Uzziah and Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her town. 11 They came to her, and she said to them:

“Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the town to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days. 12 Who are you to put God to the test today, and to set yourselves up in the place of God in human affairs? 13 You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test, but you will never learn anything! 14 You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or understand the workings of the human mind; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brothers, do not anger the Lord our God. 15 For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies. 16 Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading. 17 Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him. (Judith 8:9-17, NRSV)

9:1 Then Judith prostrated herself, put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing. At the very time when the evening incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and said, (Judith 9:1, NRSV)

7 “Here now are the Assyrians, a greatly increased force, priding themselves in their horses and riders, boasting in the strength of their foot soldiers, and trusting in shield and spear, in bow and sling. They do not know that you are the Lord who crushes wars; the Lord is your name. 8 Break their strength by your might, and bring down their power in your anger; for they intend to defile your sanctuary, and to pollute the tabernacle where your glorious name resides, and to break off the horns of your altar with the sword. 9 Look at their pride, and send your wrath upon their heads. Give to me, a widow, the strong hand to do what I plan. 10 By the deceit of my lips strike down the slave with the prince and the prince with his servant; crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman. (Judith 9:7-10, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from September 26, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two):

In yesterday’s reading from Judith, we saw that the Israelites of Bethulia, under siege and without water, were ready to surrender to Holofernes, the Assyrian general, but are persuaded by Uzziah, a leader of the town to “hold out for five days more” (Jdt. 7:30). On Friday, September 19 (last week), we noted the view of Linda Day that, though the Book of Judith “contains historical inaccuracies so great that they strike a reader as absurd,” it is nevertheless, “a well-crafted work of fiction, an example of the ancient Jewish novel in the Greco-Roman period” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, in the Introduction to Judith). She points out that “many of the geographical sites, including the principal scene of the action (the town of Bethulia), are unknown” (ibid.). The location is given as “Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which faces Esdraelon opposite the plain near Dothan” (4:6), which would put it about ten miles north of the city of Samaria, in the northern part of “the hill country of Ephraim about fourteen miles south of Jezreel. But there is frequent reference to Judea as the scene and Holofernes’s target. Among other countries, it is said that Nebuchadnezzar was “very angry with this whole region [including] . . . the people of Ammon, and all Judea” (1:12; cf. 3:9; 4:1, 3, 7, 13, 8:21; 11:19). A reference to “Israel” refers to the location as Jerusalem ( 4:8, 9). Apparently, a “post-exilic” situation is assumed, when it would no longer make sense to refer to the “Northern Kingdom of Israel.

In the reading from Esther, we have seen the Queen begin to take charge. Now Judith, first introduced in chapter 8 of the book that bears her name, begins to take charge of the situation in Bethulia. According to Day, “the word Judith [Ioudiq, Ioudith] is the grammatically feminine form of the word ‘Jew’ or Judean.’ Her name reflects how she functions as a representative of the Jewish community as a whole. Like ‘Israel,’ it is a name both of a people and of a significant individual within its rank” (ibid., on Jdt. 8:1).

“Now in those days,” says the author, “Judith heard about these things [i.e., the siege of Bethulia]” (Jdt. 8:1). Judith is identified, says Day, with a “genealogy [which] is the longest attributed to any woman in the Bible” (ibid.). The author also tells us of her husband’s death, overcome by burning heat” during the barley harvest (vv. 2-3a), her appropriate widowhood and mourning, with “sackcloth . . . dressed in widow’s closing (vv. 4-5), her fasting (v. 6), “suspended only for those days when it was forbidden to fast” (Day, ibid., on v. 6), her beauty, wealth and estate (v. 7). She is described as a model Jewish widow. “No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God with great devotion” (v. 8).

But when she hears of the situation in Bethulia–apparently her home (vv. 3, 10)–she acts in ways we wouldn’t have expected. “When Judith heard the harsh words spoken by the people against the ruler, because they were faint for lack of water and when she heard all that Uzziah said to them, and how he promised them under oath to surrender the town to the Assyrians after five days” (v. 9), she was appalled, and took immediate action. “She sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon Uzziah and Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her town” (v. 10). She challenges and rebukes the elders. “Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the town to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days” (Judith 8:11). “Who are you,” she demands, “to put God to the test today, and to set yourselves up in the place of God in human affairs?” (v. 12). According to Day, “Judith argues that the rulers are in error to put God to the test (see Deut. 6:16)” (ibid., on v. 12). “You [the elders] are putting the Lord Almighty to the test,” she says, “but you will never learn anything!” (v. 13). It is futile to test the Lord, she says. “You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or understand the workings of the human mind; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brothers, do not anger the Lord our God” (v. 14). God is free to act, or to refrain from acting, quite apart from any human actions or desires. “For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies” (v. 15). With this point, Judith points out the futility and absurdity of Uzziah’s oath (7:29-31, cf. v. 28). And Judith continues with a warning not to attempt to control God’s action. “Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading” (v. 16). She recommends prayer in a form close to the spirit of Jesus’ words in Gethsemane, “yet, not my will but yours be done” (Lk. 22:42b). “Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him” (Jdt. 8:17).

In the interval in today’s reading, Judith’s speech continues (vv. 18-27), and “the leaders acknowledge [her] wisdom and she vows to deliver the city” (vv. 28-36, Day’s section title, ibid., on vv. 28-36). She warns the elders to let her act in her own way. “Stand at the town gate tonight,” she says, “so that I may go out with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the town to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand. Only, do not try to find out what I am doing; for I will not tell you until I have finished what I am about to do” (8:33-34). Uzziah and the rulers agree to these terms. “Go in peace,” they say, “and may the Lord God go before you, to take vengeance on our enemies” (v. 35). And with that, “they returned from the tent and went to their posts” (v. 36).

Chapter 9 presents Judith’s prayer, introduced by the picture of her prayer “at the very time when the evening incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem” (9:1). The prayer begins with a reminder of God’s help in former times (vv. 2-6), but the reading continues with her description of the present situation. “Here now are the Assyrians, a greatly increased force, priding themselves in their horses and riders, boasting in the strength of their foot soldiers, and trusting in shield and spear, in bow and sling. They do not know that you are the Lord who crushes wars; the Lord is your name” (v. 7). “Break their strength by your might,” she prays, “and bring down their power in your anger; for they intend to defile your sanctuary, and to pollute the tabernacle where your glorious name resides, and to break off the horns of your altar with the sword” (v. 8). Her prayer matches her earlier advice to allow God to work in the situation as he chooses. But she is under no illusions about the strength of the Assyrian enemy. “Look at their pride, and send your wrath upon their heads. Give to me, a widow, the strong hand to do what I plan” (v. 9). And her prayer hints at her intended method. “By the deceit of my lips strike down the slave with the prince and the prince with his servant; crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman” (v. 10). According to Day, “Judith announces that she plans to perform her strategy through subterfuge and asks for God’s blessing.” And Day explains: “Deceit is a common mode of operation for trickster figures (Rebekah, Jacob, Tamar, Abraham)” (ibid., on vv. 10-13).

Acts 18:12-28

12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. 13 They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” 14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; 15 but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he dismissed them from the tribunal. 17 Then all of them seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.

Paul’s Return to Antioch

18 After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow. 19 When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay longer, he declined; 21 but on taking leave of them, he said, “I will return to you, if God wills.”

Then he set sail from Ephesus.

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Ministry of Apollos

24 Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus. (Acts 18:12-28, NRSV)

On August 7, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from September 26, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two); the revised comments are repeated here:

As we have followed Paul on his second missionary journey in Acts, we have noted that he frequently has had to move on to escape persecution. At Philippi, charged and imprisoned by the local authorities, but freed by the earthquake and the authorities’ chagrin when Paul pointed out that he and Silas were Roman citizens, they departed freely and openly (Acts, chap. 16). At Thessalonica some Jews rioted against him (17:5), but believers helped Paul and Silas escape to go to Beroea (v. 10), where they were well received until Jews came from Thessalonica (17:13) and believers conducted Paul to Athens (v. 15). At Corinth, there was resistance by Jews in the synagogue (18:6), but also some success with winning Jews over, for example, Crispus (v. 8), as noted in yesterday’s comments.

Eventually the Jews of Corinth did cause trouble for Paul by accusing him before Gallio, the “proconsul of Achaia” (Acts 18:12). As noted yesterday, L. Junius Gallio was a brother of the philosopher Seneca, who would later be a mentor for Nero in his early years (A.D. 54-59). The date of Gallio’s proconsulship of Achaia helps determine when Paul spent “a year and six months” in Corinth (Acts 18:11). Proconsuls were appointed for a year or so by the Roman Senate to govern provinces that were relatively trouble-free. According to Christopher R. Matthews, Gallio was “proconsul of Achaia about 52 C.E. The dating of Gallio’s proconsulship is crucial for the chronological reconstruction of Paul’s career” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on v. 12). If this event happened near the end of Paul’s eighteen months in Corinth, it would put his arrival there in A.D. 50 or 51 at the latest.

In the tribunal before Gallio (v. 12), the Jews accuse Paul of “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law” (v. 13). According to Matthews, “The law could mean the Jewish law (as Gallio takes it in v. 15) or Roman law, i.e., charges of sedition similar to the complaints raised in 16:21 and 17:7 (the latter would make more sense to present before a proconsul)” (op. cit., on Acts 18:13). Paul, about to speak in his own defense (v. 14a), is preempted by Gallio, who, addressing the Jews, dismisses the charge out of hand. “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters” (vv. 14b, 15). Matthews sees in this “one of the subthemes of the book [of Acts]: Christianity is not a cause of concern for Rome” (on vv. 14-15). Gallio dismisses the crowd from the tribunal (v. 16, but they take their anger out on one of the Christians anyway. Sosthenes, “the official of the synagogue,” was beaten in front of the synagogue, apparently by Paul’s would-be accusers. He “may be the one mentioned in 1 Cor. 1:1, but the name is common” (Matthews on v. 17). According to Beverly Roberts Gaventa, identifying this man with the Sothsenes mentioned in 1 Cor. 1:1 “seems unlikely since it is not clear that this Sosthenes is a Christian, much less a co-worker of Paul. Gallio’s lack of concern about Jewish debates,” she says, “extends to a lack of concern when Sosthenes is beaten” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 18:17).

Paul leaves Corinth, “after staying there for a considerable time” (v. 18a, cf. “a year and six months,” v. 11). He says “farewell to the believers” and sails “for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila” (v. 18b). At Cenchreae, “a harbor seven miles east of Corinth, on the Saronic Gulf” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v. Cenchreae), Paul “had his hair cut, for he was under a vow” (v. 18c). The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers, chapter 6, “although,” says Gaventa, “the requirement is that the hair not be cut until the end of the vow. As in 21:20-26,” she adds, “this action conveys continuity with Jewish practice” (op. cit., on v. 18). After crossing the Aegean Sea to Ephesus, Paul leaves Priscilla and Aquila there, after he enters the synagogue for “a discussion with the Jews” (v. 19). He declines their request to stay longer (v. 20), “but on taking leave of them, he said, ‘I will return to you if God wills’,” before setting sail from Ephesus (v. 21).

The next paragraph reads like a whirlwind tour. “When he [Paul] had landed at Caesarea [Maritima], he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch [of Syria]” (v. 22). These travels covered at least a thousand miles, much by sea. But the next verse reports travel by land of about as much distance. “After spending some time there [i.e. Antioch, his “home base”] he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia [thus covering the length of Asia Minor and returning to the vicinity of Ephesus], strengthening all the disciples” (v. 23). Antioch of Syria was the location of the church which sent Paul and Barnabas out on the First Missionary Journey (Acts. 13:1-3). The brief reference here to time at Antioch is commonly taken as the end of the Second Missionary Journey and the beginning of the Third. Gaventa says “This sketchy description,” apparently referring to verses 19-23, “sets the stage for Paul’s return to Ephesus (19:1) and reconnects Paul with the two central communities, Jerusalem and Antioch” (op. cit., on 18:22-23).

In the meantime, “a Jew named Apollos” comes to Ephesus. Luke describes him as”a native of Alexandria,” and “an eloquent man (ajnh;r lovgioV, anēr logios), well-versed in the scriptures [who] had been instructed in the Way of the Lord” (vv. 24-25a). Ben Witherington III says that the phrase ajnh;r lovgioV (anēr logios), “literally ‘a man of words,’ is used by Philo to refer to a man well-trained in rhetoric (Post. 53, 162; De Leg. Alleg. 142, 310; Mut. 220; Cher. 116)” (Conflict & Community in Corinth; A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1994, p. 130, on 1 Cor. 3:1-23). Luke says that, in Ephesus, “he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25b). When Apollos begins “to speak boldly in the synagogue” (v. 26a) Priscilla and Aquila take notice. They apparently valued his ability as a preacher, but felt that he needed doctrinal instruction. So, together, “they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately” (v. 26b). Matthews says, “Although he taught accurately, he had not received Christian baptism” (on v. 25), but some understand this to refer to a deeper life experience (cf. 19:2-3). According to Adam Clarke, “Aquila and Priscilla were acquainted with the whole doctrine of the Gospel: the doctrine of Christ dying for our sins, and rising again for our justification; and in this they instructed Apollos; and this was more accurate information that what he had received, through the medium of John’s ministry” (Clarke’s Commentary, Vol. 5, Matthew to Acts, n.d., p. 839 on Acts 18:25).

Apollos wishes “to cross over to Achaia,” and “the believers encouraged him and wrote the disciples to welcome him” (v. 27a). Luke tells us that, “On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus” (vv. 27a, 28). In his later letter to the Corinthians, Paul refers to Apollos’ ministry there (1 Cor. 3:1-9, 21-23; cf. 1:12). Apparently, some at Corinth thought that Apollos’ preaching was better (i.e. more eloquent?) than that of Paul, who tells the Corinthians, “My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).

Luke 3:15-22

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus (Mt 3.13-17; Mk 1.9-11; Jn 1.29-34)

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:15-22, NRSV)

On April 20, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments that were repeated from April 8, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year One), on September 26, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two), were repeated again. The comments are now repeated here with editing and supplement. Parallel texts for this reading are in the separate file, John’s Preaching and Imprisonment.

John’s preaching turns from instructions for the crowd (in yesterday’s reading) to announcing the Messiah. When asked “whether he might be the Messiah” (Lk. 3:15; cf. Jn. 1:25), he said, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Lk. 3:16; cf. Mk. 1:7-8; Mt. 3:11; Jn. 1:26). Given John’s preaching of repentance (Lk. 3:7-9), in which unfruitful trees are “thrown into the fire” (v. 9), and the frequent use of fire as a symbol of judgment in the Hebrew Bible, there must be some overtones of judgment in the coming Messiah’s baptism with fire (v. 16; cf. Mt. 3:11). “The chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire" (Lk. 3:17; cf. Mt. 3:12). To the promise of the baptism with the Holy Spirit (Mk. 1:8; cf. Jn. 1:33), Matthew and Luke add “and fire” (Mt. 3:11; Lk. 3:16), which implies judgment. This in turn is elaborated with the harvest metaphor of the winnowing fork, the threshing floor, the gathering of the wheat, but the burning of the chaff (Mt. 3:12; Lk. 3:17). The reference to God’s judgment is quite serious, of course. But even on a lesser plain, to say the least, such a process would help us recognize what is truly important as opposed to what has only instrumental value for us if that. Those engaged in the cleanup after Hurricane Ike surely have a revised set of values.

But perhaps the most helpful prophetic passage would be from Malachi, who predicts the coming of Elijah (Mal. 4:5 [Heb. 3:23]), with whom the Gospels identify John the Baptist (cf. Mt. 11:7-15):

3:1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight-indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1-5 NRSV)

Luke, however, surely thinks of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost which he will describe in his Volume 2 (Acts), “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:3-4). This may be related to fire as a symbol of prophetic inspiration.

Luke’s narrative continues here with a brief summary, “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people” (Lk. 3:18), followed by noting that Herod Antipas imprisons John. “But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison” (vv. 19-20). This briefly summarizes what Mark and Matthew report in detail much later in the story of Jesus’ ministry (Mk. 6:17-18; Matthew 14:3-4). These also continue with the account of Herod’s birthday dinner when he, at the request of Herodias’ daughter, called for the head of John on a platter (Mk. 6:21-29; Mt. 14:6-12). For reasons of his own, Luke reports the arrest of John much earlier than does Mark. Hans Conzelmann says that Luke divides sacred history into periods, John being the last prophet, Jesus’ ministry as “the middle of time,” and the church age to follow (cf. his book, The Theology of St. Luke, 1961, a translation of the German original entitled Die Mitte der Zeite [‘The Middle of Time] (1954, reprint 1964). We note that Luke follows Mark’s narrative sequence in reporting the Commissioning of the Twelve (Mk. 6:6b-13; Mt. 9:35; 10:1, 7-11, 14; Lk. 9:1-6), Opinions regarding Jesus (Mk. 6:14-16; Mt. 14:1-2; Lk. 9:7-9), the Return of the Apostles (Mk. 6:30-31; Mt. 14:12b-13a; Lk. 9:10a), and the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mk.; 6:32-44; Mt. 14:13-21; Lk. 9:10b-17; Jn. 6:1-15), but in this context Luke omits reference to Herod’s banquet and the death of John, having already reported his arrest in chapter 3.

As Luke continues his narrative in today’s reading, we are told that “when all the people were baptized ( ejn tw:/ baptisqh:nai a{panta to;n laovn, en tō(i) baptisthēnai hapanta ton laon), and when Jesus also had been baptized (kai;  jIhsou: baptisqevntoV, kai Iēsou baptisthentos, aorist participle) and was praying (proseucomevnou, proseuchomenou, present participle), the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove” (Lk. 3:21-22a). Note that it is reported that John was arrested in verse 20, and the reference to Jesus’ baptism is in the past tense, so to speak. Mark and Matthew time the descent of the Holy Spirit “just as he was coming up out of the water” (Mk. 1:10), “and when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water” (Mt. 3:16), but Luke’s immediate time reference is to when Jesus “was praying” (Lk. 3:21). The Synoptic Gospels all report the voice from heaven: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mk. 1:11; Lk. 3:22b); compare “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17); compare also the Baptist’s own testimony to Jesus. “And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God” (Jn. 1:34).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net