Micah 3:9-4:5

9 Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob

and chiefs of the house of Israel,

who abhor justice

and pervert all equity,

10 who build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with wrong!

11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,

its priests teach for a price,

its prophets give oracles for money;

yet they lean upon the LORD and say,

“Surely the LORD is with us!

No harm shall come upon us.”

12 Therefore because of you

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Peace and Security through Obedience (Cp Isa 2.2-4)

4:1 In days to come

the mountain of the LORD’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be raised up above the hills.

Peoples shall stream to it,

2 and many nations shall come and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

3 He shall judge between many peoples,

and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more;

4 but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,

and no one shall make them afraid;

for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.

5 For all the peoples walk,

each in the name of its god,

but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God

forever and ever. (Micah 3:9-4:5, NRSV)

On October 13, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two), comments were repeated with some revision and supplement from October 8, 2004 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two); they are repeated again here with some editing:

Micah continues to denounce rulers. “Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob / and chiefs of the house of Israel, / who abhor justice / and pervert all equity, / who build Zion with blood / and Jerusalem with wrong!” (Mic. 3:9-10). Although the references is to “Jacob” and “Israel,” the references to “Zion” and “Jerusalem” show that the indictments are addressed to the southern kingdom of Judah, or at least that it is included. Justice in the courts is perverted. In summary, Micah says,“It’s rulers give judgment for a bribe” (v. 11a; cf. vv. 1-3), “its priests teach for a price, / its prophets give oracles for money” (v. 11b, c; cf. v. 5). But these leaders want to have their cake and eat it too, as we say. They want to pursue their corrupt ways without suffering the consequences, for “they lean upon the LORD and say, / ‘Surely the LORD is with us! / No harm shall come upon us’ ” (v. 11d, e, f).

To the contrary, says Micah, as he announces the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. “Therefore because of you / Zion shall be plowed as a field; / Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, / and the mountain of the house a wooded height” (v. 12). This passage is cited two centuries later in Jeremiah’s defense when the latter is put on trial for treason when he also predicts the destruction of the temple. “I will make this house like Shiloh [where, in the days of Samuel, the Ark of the Covenant was kept before the Philistines captured it in war], and I will make this city a curse” (Jer. 26:6; cf. 7:12-15). In Jeremiah’s case, the priests and the prophets charge, “This man deserves the sentence of death because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears” (Jer. 26:11b). But after Jeremiah speaks in his own defense (vv. 12-15), the “officials and all the people” defend him. “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God” (v. 16). Some of the elders step forward (v. 17) and cite the Micah text (Jer. 16:17-18, citing Mic. 3:12). Their rhetorical questions and warning (v. 19) win the day for Jeremiah. “But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over into the hands of the people to be put to death” (v. 24).

At this point we come to a transition, a dramatic turn-around, as it were. The first collection of Micah’s threats of judgment comes to a close, and we come to the glorious promise of a peaceable kingdom, Micah 4:1-5 (vv. 1-3 = Isa. 2:2-4; cf. v. 5 & Is. 2:5; cf. v. 4 & Zech. 3:10). “In days to come,” says the prophet, “the mountain of the LORD’s house / shall be established as the highest of the mountains, / and shall be raised up above the hills” (Mic. 4:1a, b, c, d = Isa. 2:2a, b, c, d). In other words, the Jerusalem temple will become the major worship center of the world, “the highest of the mountains.” “Many nations,” says the prophet, will say “Come, Let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, / to the house of the God of Jacob; / that he may teach us his ways / and that we may walk in his paths” (Mic. 4:2b, c, d, e = Isa. 2:3b, c, d, e). Zion will be a source of instruction, “the word of the LORD” (Mic. 4:2f, g = Isa. 2:3f, g). The LORD “shall judge between many peoples, / and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away,” says the prophet (Mic. 4:3a, b; cf. Isa. 2:4a, b), as he leads into a vision of universal peace:

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more; (Mic. 4:3c, d, e, f = Isa. 2:4c, d, e, f , NRSV)

In Micah the text continues:

but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,

and no one shall make them afraid;

for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. (Mic. 4:4, NRSV)

To the latter (v. 4), Gregory Mobley compares Zechariah 3:10; 1 Kings 4:25; 2 Kings 18:31 = Isaiah 36:16 (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Mic. 4:4). At the United Nations garden in New York City, there is a sculpture entitled “Swords into Plowshares.” I’ve asked for permission to link to it here; in the meantime, search the United Nations web site (http://www.un.org) for “Plowshares.” Go to the site, click on “Welcome,” then click on “Search” at the bottom of the screen. Enter “Plowshares,” and click on the first entry. (This was accessed again October 9, 2008.) Micah continues with the LORD’s promises, but today’s reading concludes with a vow of loyalty that the prophet puts–or would like to put–on the mouths of the people. “For all the peoples walk, / each in the name of its god, / but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God / forever and ever” (Mic. 4:5). Mobley compares this concluding verse to Isaiah 2:5, “O house of Jacob, / come, let us walk / in the light of the LORD!,” saying, “Like its similarly worded parallel in Isa. 2:5, this verse [Mic. 4:5] may have been read antiphonally, as an ‘Amen’ to the visionary speech of 4:1-4 (= Isa. 2:2-4)” (on Mic. 4:5).

Hosea 9:10-17 (Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions; this passage is not included in the current Book of Common Prayer Daily Office Lectionary series)

10 Like grapes in the wilderness,

I found Israel.

Like the first fruit on the fig tree,

in its first season,

I saw your ancestors.

But they came to Baal-peor,

and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame,

and became detestable like the thing they loved.

11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird–

no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!

12 Even if they bring up children,

I will bereave them until no one is left.

Woe to them indeed

when I depart from them!

13 Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow,

but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter.

14 Give them, O LORD–

what will you give?

Give them a miscarrying womb

and dry breasts.

15 Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal;

there I came to hate them.

Because of the wickedness of their deeds

I will drive them out of my house.

I will love them no more;

all their officials are rebels.

16 Ephraim is stricken,

their root is dried up,

they shall bear no fruit.

Even though they give birth,

I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.

17 Because they have not listened to him,

my God will reject them;

they shall become wanderers among the nations. (Hosea 9:10-17, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from October 13, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two):

We come in Hosea to “a series of four metaphors (Israel as grapes in the wilderness [Hos. 9:10-17], a luxuriant vine [10:1-7], a heifer trained [10:11-15], [and] a beloved child [11:1-11] used to characterize the people’s former fidelity and health, and contrasted with their present corrupt state brought about by religious, social, and political misdeeds” (Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Hos. 9:10:11-11). “As the first three metaphors unfold,” he adds, “the cumulative message appears to be that the covenant is irrevocably broken and Israel is to be abandoned (9:17; 10:10; 10:15). The fourth part, the culmination of the series and, for many, the culmination of the prophecies of Hosea, initially continues in this vein (11:1-7), but then dramatically shifts from an angry to a compassionate tone (11:8-11)” (Ibid.). The sections on the luxuriant vine and the heifer form tomorrow’s reading in the Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions, but have been discussed on October 3, 2008 (last Friday), and the section on the beloved child is the Presbyterian and Lutheran reading for this coming Sunday (Oct. 12, 2008), but has been discussed on October 4, 2008 (last Saturday). Today’s reading begins with the focus on the grapes, “Like grapes in the wilderness, / I found Israel. / Like the first fruit on the fig tree, / in its first season, / I saw your ancestors” (Hos. 9:10a, b, c, d, e), but soon makes application to specific infidelities, for example, what happened at Baal-peor: “But they came to Baal-peor, / and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame, / and became detestable like the thing they loved” (v. 10e, f, g). The reference is to the incident recorded in Numb. 25:1-18, that Mobley calls “an incident of grave disloyalty during the wilderness period” (ibid., on Hos. 9:10). The metaphors change swiftly: “Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird” (v. 11a), “no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!” (v. 11b). “Even if they bring up children,” says the LORD through the prophet, “I will bereave them until no one is left” (v. 12a, b). Without their God, Israel will be in desperate straits. “Woe to them indeed / when I depart from them!” (v. 12c, d).

The LORD looks back briefly to better times in Israel’s relation to him. “Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm / planted in a lovely meadow” (v. 13a). But the references to children, specifically the loss of children, carry through (vv. 11b, 12a, b, 13c, d), perhaps anticipating chapter eleven. “But now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter (v. 13b; cf vv. 11b, 12a, b). A certain sterility is Ephraim’s lot. “Give them, O LORD–what will you give?” asks the prophet (v. 14a, b). And the answer is futility, nothing. “Give them a miscarrying womb / and dry breasts” (v. 14c, d). This sterility is Ephraim’s punishment.

A brief stanza traces “every evil of theirs,” that is of Israel, to Gilgal, “a venerable Israelite shrine near Jericho (e.g., Josh. 4:20; 10:43; 1 Sam. 7:16); condemned here as the site of illicit worship ([Hos.] 4:15; 12:11; Am. 4:4; 5:5),” according to Mobley (ibid., on v. 15). He adds that Gilgal is also the place where “the LORD reluctantly acceded to the people’s request for a king (1 Sam. 10:14-11:25)” (ibid.).

Of this section as a whole, one might rather say that it has to do with Ephraim losing or lacking children, a more prominent theme than the initial reference to “grapes” (see above). But the concluding verses combine the metaphors of bearing fruit, “Ephraim is stricken, / their root is dried up, / they shall bear no fruit” (v. 16a, b, c), and–in a horrifying picture–bearing children only to lose them. “Even though they give birth, / I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb” (v. 16d, e). The poetic assonance in English here, bearing no fruit and bearing children, does not reflect the Hebrew: (NUdl2y2 / NUWf3y1 , ya‘ ^aśûn / yēlēdûn), but there is assonance in “I will kill the cherished offspring” (Mn!F4b9 yD2m1H3m1 yT9m1h2v4, w^echēmattāy machmaddēy bitnām). The chapter closes with a plainly stated rejection of Israel by God. “Because they have not listened to him, / my God will reject them; / they shall become wanderers among the nations” (v. 17).

Acts 24:24-25:12

Paul Held in Custody

24 Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you. ‘26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him.

27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul Appeals to the Emperor

25:1 Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem 2 where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him 3 and requested, as a favor to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” he said, “let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.”

6 After he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor. ‘9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?” 10 Paul said, “I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. 11 Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor. ‘12 Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, “You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.” (Acts 24:24-25:12, NRSV)

On August 24, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year One) comments were repeated from October 13, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two), when they were combined and revised from October 8, 2004 (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two) and from August 19, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year One); the combined comments are repeated here:

When called in by Felix for a second hearing, Paul discusses “faith in Christ Jesus” with him (Acts 24:24). Paul frightened Felix with his discussion of “justice, self-control and the coming judgment” (v. 25a), But Felix puts Paul off. “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you” (v. 25b). Luke attributes Felix’ delaying to wanting a bribe from Paul (v. 26), which was apparently not forthcoming, but Felix lives up to his reputation (cf. comments two days ago from Allan J. McNicol in the Harper’s Bible Dictionary, s.v. Felix, Antonius). Felix delays for some two years (v. 27) and is replaced by Porcius Festus, who “according to the historian Josephus  . . . was a competent public official. He died in office several years after his appointment” (McNicol, in the Harper’s Bible Dictionary, s.v. Festus, Porcius). He apparently didn’t repeat the delaying tactics of Felix, nor fall for the scheming of the Jewish leaders who requested Paul’s return to Jerusalem, “planning an ambush to kill him along the way” (Acts 25:3). They could come to him; he would not bring Paul to them (vv. 4-5). “So, let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him” (v. 5).

Upon Festus’ return to Caesarea, he was “surrounded” by Paul’s accusers, “bringing many serious charges against him, which [says Luke] they could not prove” (v. 7). Paul denies committing “an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor” (v. 8). He thus “maintains that he is both a good Jew and a good Roman citizen” (Christopher R. Matthews, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on v. 8). When given a choice (v. 9), Paul clearly prefers a Roman trial to a Jewish trial, and so he appeals “to the emperor’s tribunal” (v. 10). Given his prior treatment in Jerusalem, that was the obvious choice–what we today might call a “no-brainer.” Providentially, events were fulfilling his desire to go to Rome (Rom. 1:10-15; 15:22-33), albeit in chains. In the meantime, he will fulfill the words of the Lord to Ananias, “he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings” (Acts 9:15). In the end, of course, he will die under Nero’s persecution. So far, of course, the world had not yet seen the worst side of the one who would become the prototype of the antichrist. In any event, had he known, Paul would have prayed, “Thy will be done.” To the Philippians, he will later write, in reflection on whether he would be released from prison or executed, “I am hard pressed between the two; my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you” (Phil 1:23-24)

Luke 8:1-15

Some Women Accompany Jesus

8:1 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

The Parable of the Sower (Mt 13.1-9; Mk 4.1-9)

4 When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold. ‘As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

The Purpose of the Parables (Mt 13.10-17; Mk 4.10-12)

9 Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that

‘looking they may not perceive,

and listening they may not understand.’

The Parable of the Sower Explained (Mt 13.18-23; Mk 4.13-20)

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. 14 As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance. (Luke 8:1-15, NRSV)

On May 8, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments were primarily based on comments on Luke’s version from October 8, 2004 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two) and from October 13, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two). This reading from Luke is presented with parallel passages from Matthew and Mark in the separate file, Ministering Women and the Sower. The collection of parables associated with the Parable of the Sower, especially in Matthew and Mark, is listed in the table in the separate file, Sower Parable Collection. Mark’s version of the Parable of the Sower, the Purpose of Parables, and the Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower are treated as a unit in the comments for February 20, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year Two) that were repeated from earlier. Matthew’s version of these texts is treated in two series of reading comments: October 30, 31 and November 1, 2007 (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One) and April 28, 29, 2008 (Monday and Tuesday of the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two).

While Luke’s first paragraph here (Lk. 8:1-3) begins with reference to a preaching tour, as Jesus “went on through cities and villages, his ministry in the villages of Galilee (Lk. 8:1; cf. Mk. 6:6b; Mt. 9:35), he has temporarily departed from Mark’s sequence of events. He has presented the story of the Woman with the Ointment (Lk. 7:36-50), “a woman in the city, who was a sinner,” he says (Lk. 7:37), which bears some resemblance to, but also some considerable difference from, Mark’s story of the woman who anointed Jesus in the house of Simon the Leper (Mk. 14:3-9; Mt. 26:6-13). Luke’s account of the woman who provided resources for Jesus (Lk. 8:2-3) is unique.

These women (ai{teneV, haitenes, feminine relative pronoun) “were serving” (dihkovnoun, diēkonoun, a verb related to “deacon”) “them” (aujtoi:V, autois, a masculine plural pronoun) (v. 3; cf. ‘who provided for them out of their resources” (NRSV). Marion Lloyd Soards comments on this paragraph:

These verses recall the itinerant character of Jesus’ preaching, teaching, and healing. His entourage included the unusual combination of male and female followers. Given ancient Palestinian attitudes toward women, this association of these Galilean women with Jesus’ ministry is remarkable, as is the mixture of the sexes among the followers. Many of those persons mentioned here later follow Jesus to Jerusalem and witness his arrest, crucifixion, death, burial, empty tomb, and resurrection appearances. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 8:1-3)

According to Catherine Clark Kroeger,

There has been a listing of the male disciples in Luke 6:12-10. In Luke 8:1-3 there is an abbreviated listing of named and identifiable women followers. They are said to be persons healed of various diseases and afflictions. Perhaps because of their previously marginalized status, they had been given permission by their families to leave their homes and follow Jesus. A case in point would be that of Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward. Despite her husband’s prominent political position, she travels with Jesus, supports his mission monetarily and is named as a witness of the resurrection. (The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary, 2002, p. 571, on Lk. 8:1-3)

Sylvia Wilkey Collinson concedes that “the Gospels never refer to any woman as a disciple, and the feminine word mathētria [maqhvtria] is used once only in the New Testament and describes Tabitha, a disciple in Joppa (Acts 9:36)” (The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary, 2002, p. 571, in an excursus on “Women Disciples”). But though she notes that first century women usually had no part in organized education, and “their education was confined to domestic and family matters,” she adds the following:

Thus the considerable evidence that women were followers of Jesus and played a significant part in the disciple band is in contrast to the accepted practices of the day.

The verb akoloutheō [ajkolouqevw] (‘to follow’) can mean ‘to accompany or go along with,’ but it is also a technical term for following someone as a disciple. It appears that the women mentioned in Luke 8:1-3 were Jesus’ disciples who followed with him and his disciple band and provided for Jesus from their resources. (ibid.)

With the Parable of the Sower, Luke to some extent resumes his following of Mark’s narrative sequence, as he does for much of Luke chapters 8 and 9, though with some exceptions, for example the parables from Mark’s collection in chapter 4 that appear later (cf. the separate file the Sower Parable Collection. and the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Mk. 4:30-32; Lk. 13:18-19; also the Parable of the Leaven, Mt. 13:13; Lk. 13:20-21). Luke abbreviates Mark’s setting of the scene considerably (Lk. 8:4; cf. Mk. 4:1-2), but the details of the parable are essentially the same. The sower’s seed fell, some on the path (Lk. 8:5; Mk. 4:4; Mt. 13:4), some on the rock (Lk. 8:6) or “rocky ground” (Mk. 4:5; Mt. 13:5), some among thorns (Lk. 8:7; Mk. 4:7; Mt. 13:7), and some into good soil (Lk. 8:8; Mk. 4:8) or on good soil (Mt. 13:8). This sequence appears also in the Gospel of Thomas version of this parable (Gosp. Thom. 9, included in the table in the separate file Ministering Women and the Sower). Luke simplifies the parable itself with fewer details. For example, where Mark says “Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away” (Mk. 4:5-6; cf. Mt. 13:5-6), Luke says, “Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture” (Lk. 8:6). But Luke is careful to state the result in each case. The seed that fell on the path “was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up” (Lk. 8:5, actually adding the words “and was trampled on”). As noted, the seed on the rock “withered for lack of moisture” (v. 6). When seed fell among thorns, “the thorns grew with it, and choked it” (v. 7; cf. “And the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain,” Mk. 4:7). For Luke, it is enough to state that the seed which fell into good soil “produced a hundredfold” (v. 8; cf. “And brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold,” Mk. 4:8; cf. Mt. 13:8).

In the section on the reason Jesus speaks in parables, Matthew presents an extensive elaboration of Mark’s version. Mark quotes from Isaiah chapter 6, from the LORD’s words of reassurance to Isaiah that though the people will reject his message, he must deliver it in any case (Mk. 4:12, citing Isa. 6:9-10). Matthew expands the introduction of the quotation. Mark’s statement that the disciples have “been given the secret of the kingdom of God” (Mk. 4:11; cf. Lk. 8:10; Mt. 13:11) is followed in Matthew by another saying of Jesus, “For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away (Mt. 13:12; cf. Mk. 4:25; Lk. 8:18, both of which come later in this parable series).. In Matthew, the explanation of the purpose of parables is rounded off with a blessing on the disciples. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Mt. 13:16-17).

When the disciples ask Jesus about the parable(s), Luke simplifies Jesus’ quotation from Isaiah as compared with Mark’s quotation. Mark says, “for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that (hina) ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, / and may indeed listen, but not understand; / so that they may not turn again and be forgiven’” (Mk. 4:11-12, citing Isa. 6:9-10). Luke says, “I speak in parables, so that (hina) ‘looking they may not perceive, / and listening they may not understand’” (Lk. 8:10b, citing Isa. 6:9-10). Luke omits the line “so that they may not turn again and be forgiven” which Mark cites from Isaiah (cf. Isa. 6:10d, e, f, g), thus lessening the implication–a possible inference from Mark’s version–that it was Jesus’ intention to prevent some from understanding and being saved. That, of course is not what Mark (or Jesus) meant. Richard A. Horsley explains: the words: “The secret of the kingdom of God [as] to them is disclosed the ‘mystery’ or hidden plan of God (cf. Dan. 2:28) for the fulfillment of history in the kingdom of God now being proclaimed and manifested. Since outsiders do not understand this ‘mystery’ or ‘plan,’ the parables are opaque to them, just as Isaiah’s contemporaries did not understand his prophecies (Isa. 6:9-10)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Mk. 4:11-12).

As in the telling of the parable itself, so in the interpretation, Luke omits details. But where Mark says, “These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them” (Mk. 4:15), Luke says, “The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Lk. 8:12). Luke makes it clear that it is the devil’s intention, not the Lord’s, that these people “may not believe and be saved.” Some “receive [the word] with joy,” but “have no root . . . and in a time of testing fall away” (v. 13). Others “are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” (v. 14). Of the last group (v. 15), where Matthew’s version says they “understand,” and Mark’s says they “accept,” Luke’s version--perhaps reflecting his perception of what is needed for godly living in a pagan culture--says they “hold it [the word] fast in an honest and good heart,” adding that they “bear fruit with patient endurance.” According to Soards, the words honest and good, here spoken of the heart (cf. Mk. 7:21-23), echo the classical Greek description of the true gentleman” (op. cit., on v. 15).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net