Zechariah 14:12-21

12 This shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they are still on their feet; their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths. 13 On that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other; 14 even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected-gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever animals may be in those camps.

16 Then all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the festival of booths. 17 If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain upon them. 18 And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, then on them shall come the plague that the LORD inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths. 19 Such shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths.

20 On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "Holy to the LORD.” And the cooking pots in the house of the LORD shall be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar; 21 and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. And there shall no longer be traders in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. (Zechariah 14:12-21, NRSV)

On December 2, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from November 27, 2004, (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

Today’s reading is the second of two parts of what, as noted yesterday, Gregory Mobley calls “the final battle, an eschatological description in which Jerusalem is attacked by all the nations (v. 2) before the LORD intervenes” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Zech. 14:1-21). We saw the promise of a decisive turning point, when “the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him” (v. 5). This will lead to the absence of “cold” and “frost” (v. 6), “continuous day” (v. 7), and “living waters” (v. 8), blessings that remind us of the New Jerusalem promised by John (Rev. 22:1-6). Yesterday’s reading said that “the LORD will become king over all the earth” (Zech. 14:9), and Jerusalem will “never again . . . doomed to destruction” but will “abide in security” (v. 11).

This description of a final victory for Jerusalem continues in today’s reading. Her enemies will be defeated. “This shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they are still on their feet; their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths” (v. 12). Jerusalem’s enemies will be seized by fear. “On that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other” (v. 13). At first glance, it appears that their may be conflict between Jerusalem and Judah (cf. 12:2, 5), for “even Judah will fight at Jerusalem (M9l!w!UryB9, bîrûšālā im)” (v. 14a NRSV). William L. Holladay defines the idiom nilcham b^e (-B4 MH1l4n9) as “fight against” (A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. B4, b- and Mhl, l-ch-m). But K. Elliger and others say this line is probably an addition (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 2^nd emended ed., 1983, apparatus to Zech. 14:14). Of this line, R. P. Ackroyd says, “(if it is not a gloss referring to some particular situation, cf. 12:2) [it] should be rendered ‘fight in Jerusalem’, i.e., against the nations” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 572 f, p. 655, on Zech 14:14a). The recent Jewish translation says, “Judah shall join the fighting in Jerusalem” (v. 14a NJPS 1985, 1999).

But the emphasis remains on Jerusalem’s victory; for “the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected–gold, silver, and garments in great abundance” (v. 14b). The forces attacking Jerusalem will lose the advantage of their animals, for “a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever animals may be in those camps” (v. 15). W. Sibley Towner apparently sees the humans among the attacking forces as included here: “Those who fight against Jerusalem will experience disease and death like those who oppose the covenant of God (Deut. 28:20-22)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Zech. 14:15). And in the continuation, it appears that human foes are in view. “Then all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the festival of booths” (v. 16). This festival, as Ehud Ben Zvi reminds us, called “the Feast of Booths, Sukkot, stands at the beginning of the rainy season and is the time for petitioning rain from the LORD (see Rashi). As in other biblical calendars, Sukkot rather than Rosh Ha-Shanah (the New Year) or Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is the central festival” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Zech. 14:16-17). Due to Jerusalem’s victory, “all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the festival of booths” (v. 16). “If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain upon them” (v. 17). Those who refuse will suffer “the plague that the LORD inflicts” “And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, then on them shall come the plague that the LORD inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths” (v. 18). But the plague that punishes Egypt will also punish other nations that do not comply. “Such shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths” (v. 19). Towner says, “In the new age that lies beyond the ‘day of the LORD’ the now Judaized remnants of the other nations are obliged to observe the annual pilgrimage festival of booths (v. 16; see Lev. 23:39-43) on pain of drought or the plague (v. 18)” (op. cit., on vv. 16-19).

Proper worship in Jerusalem will require ritual purity, even in the vessels. “On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "Holy to the LORD.” And the cooking pots in the house of the LORD shall be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar; and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice” (vv. 20, 21a). According to Mobley, “Jerusalem itself becomes a virtual temple” (op. cit., on vv. 20-21). But one stipulation will be the absence of traders. “And there shall no longer be traders (yn9f3n1K4, k^ena‘ ^anî, lit. the ‘Canaanite,’ cf. NRSV text note b) in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day” (v. 21b). This reminds us of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, when he said, “‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; / but you are making it a den of robbers” (Mt. 20:13, citing Isa. 56:7; cf. 60:7; Jer. 7:11). According to Gregory Mobley, “The Hebrew Bible often uses the term ‘Canaanite’ with the meaning of trader” (op. cit., on Zech. 14:21). “Either no traders will be needed because everything will be holy, or nothing will be permitted that defiles pure worship (Jn. 2:16)” ( R. Lansing Hicks and Walter Brueggemann, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Zech. 14:21b). In a kind of summary, Towner says,

Bells, cooking pots, and bowls will all achieve ritual purity through the direct activity of God rather than through priestly consecration (cf. Lev. 27:30-33). Holiness spreads everywhere! In contrast to Joel 3:17, this vision anticipates the gathering of all nations to Jerusalem with the exception that there shall no longer be traders . . . in the house of the LORD (see Mk. 11:15-17 and parallels; Jn 2:13-17). Thus did the visionaries who gave us Second Zechariah imagine that the temple, the restoration of which was a major concern of Zechariah son of Berechiah, will in the new age finally become fit to serve as the worship center for the whole world. (op. cit., on vv. 20-21)

Philippians 2:1-11

Imitating Christ's Humility

2:1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

7 but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

8 he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death-

even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:1-11, NRSV)

On February 4, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), when the reading was Philippians 2:1-13, comments were repeated with revision from September 12, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year One), when comments were based on earlier comments from December 2, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), when comments were combined with revision and supplement from November 27, 2004 (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), and from comments of September 7, 2005 (Wednesday of the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year One), that were repeated on February 27, 2006 (Monday of the week of the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two). The following repeats the comments of February 4, 2008:

The concluding paragraph of the first chapter in Philippians exhorts the readers to “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents” (Phil. 1:27-28a). At this point, Paul contrasts their hope with the destruction that lies ahead for their opponents (v. 28b), and compares their struggle for the gospel with his own. “For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well–since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have” (vv. 29-30).

As we come to our reading from chapter 2, we note that Paul appeals for unity and humble regard for one another within the Christian community of Philippi. “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind (2:1-2; cf. 1:27). “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,” he says, “but in humility regard others as better than yourselves” (2:3). He introduces Christ as the example of humility. “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (vv. 4-5). To illustrate the mind of Christ that he is presenting as an example for the Philippian believers, Paul presents poetic lines that many regard as an early Christian (pre-Pauline) hymn. Whether Paul wrote it himself, or endorsed it by quoting it, he endorses its Christology, that is, his view of the exalted nature, the divinity, of Christ. But he use it to advise his readers to imitate Christ’s humility, as he himself does. “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ” (3:7). As a part of living “your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27), and as a part of their “sharing in the gospel” (1:5), that is, sharing in Paul’s mission, he urges the Philippian believers to humbly “regard each other as better than yourselves” (2:3) and “look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (2:4).

The first stanza of the hymn asserts the pre-existence and divinity of Christ, “who, though he was in the form of God, / did not regard equality with God / as something to be exploited” (v. 6). Carolyn Osiek says, “In the form of God, equality with God, may refer to divine status, or simply preexistence as a heavenly being (Dan. 7:14), or Adam’s original immortality (Wis. 2:23-24), which Christ renounced by becoming subject to death” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Phil. 2:6). But putting it that way seems to risk selling Paul’s Christology short. G. R. Beasley-Murray, who recognizes the view of some that Paul is here quoting an earlier Christian hymn, points out that “it should not go unnoticed how far Christological thinking had gone at so early a date, and that independently of Paul” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 861 d, p. 986, on Phil. 2:5-11). And he adds:

Christ existed in the ‘form’ of God: whether this represents an inner quality (‘specific character’, Lightfoot) or external (‘divine glory’ Behm) or even ‘status’ (E. Schweizer), it is hard to determine; the English term ‘stamp’ is not far from the idea. Existence on equality with God was not for him a ‘treasure to be grasped’. It is not said whether this represents a treasure to be gained (res rapienda) or one to be retained (res rapta). On the former assumption a contrast could be in mind with one who did so view ‘life on equality with God’, whether it be the devil (as in Lutheran tradition) or Adam (it is possible to read every line in the light of Gen. 3, see F. C. Synge). Since however, ‘life on equality with God’ seems to be the correlate of ‘existence in the form of God’, but neither is equated with the messianic sovereignty bestowed upon humble obedience, it is better to interpret the language as relating to the pre-existent Christ in the glory of God, possessing equality with God but not viewing it as a privilege that could not be forsaken (in Paul’s mind the contrast could well be with the doubtful attitude of some of the Philippians, vv. 3-4, so Barth). (ibid., pp. 986-987)

Christ left, or better, “emptied himself,” of this status of equality with God. According to the hymn, he “emptied ( ejkevnwsen, ekenōsen) himself, / taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness” (v. 7a, b, c). According to Frederick William Danker and others, the verb used here means “to make empty, to empty [in the sense] of divestiture of position or prestige: of Christ, who gave up the appearance of his divinity and took on the form of a slave . . . Phil. 2:7)” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. kenovw, kenoō, meaning no. (1) (b) ). On a downward trajectory, so to speak, from “equality with God” (v. 6), through “the form of a slave,” and “human likeness” (v. 7b, c) to “being found in human form, / he humbled himself / and became obedient to the point of death” (vv. 7d, 8a, b). The nadir, the low point of this trajectory, was, of course, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, to which, as the central line of the hymn, the next line calls dramatic attention, “even death on a cross” (v. 8c). An early analysis of this hymn by Ernst Lohmeyer pointed to three three-line stanzas on the downward trajectory, followed by three three-line stanzas on the upward side: (1) v. 6a, b, c; (2) v. 7a, b, c; (3) vv. 7d, 8a, b; [v. 8c, “even death on a cross”]; (4) v. 9a, b, c; (5) v. 10a, b, c; (6) v. 11a, b, c (cf. the lines as printed in the NRSV). But Lohmeyer maintained that Paul himself added the line, “even death on a cross” (v. 8c) to the pre-Pauline hymn that lacked it (cf. Kyrios Jesus. Eine Untersuchung zu Phil. 2, 5-11 [Lord Jesus. An Investigation of Phil. 2:5-11], 1928). But one can rather see the structure of inverted symmetry, A-B-C-C’-B’-A’ as an example of what scholars like to call chaism, a symmetrical pattern symbolized by the shape of the Greek letter chi (C). This puts the emphasis on the central point, the very line that Lohmeyer called Paul’s addition to the original hymn. If he is right, it still certainly illustrates Paul’s understanding of the one who died for us (cf. 2 Cor. 5:4). But one can see it as the central focus of the original hymn, whether written by Paul or earlier.

And from this nadir, the hymn rises, as it were, with the exalting of Christ, when God “also highly exalted him / and gave him the name / that is above every name” (v. 9). The result, or the intended result, that is, purpose, follows: “so that ( i”na, hina) at the name of Jesus / every knee should bend, / in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (v. 10). The first meaning of the conjunction i”na (hina) is as a “marker to denote purpose, aim, or goal, in order that, that,” but another meaning is as a “marker serving as substitute for the infinitive of result, so that” (BDAG, s.v. i{na, hina, meanings no. (1) and (3); note the inclusion of Phil. 2:10f with meaning no. (1) (b) ). The hymn ends with another statement of the purpose, “and every tongue should confess / that Jesus Christ is Lord, / to the glory of God the Father” (v. 11).

Whether Paul composed this passage himself or, as some think (noted above), he is citing an earlier Christian hymn about Christ, it is a significant early expression of what the earliest Christians believed about Jesus. But Paul’s use of it as an example for us, to be humble and look to the interests of others, is also important. In the continuation Paul shows that he follows Christ’s example. He did not regard his Jewish credentials “as something to be exploited” (cf. 3:4-8), and he urges the Philippians to “join in imitating me” (3:17).

Luke 19:41-48

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."

Jesus Cleanses the Temple (Mt 21.12-17; Mk 11.15-19; Jn 2.12-25)

45 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; 46 and he said, "It is written,

'My house shall be a house of prayer';

but you have made it a den of robbers."

47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard. (Luke 19:41-48, NRSV)

On March 16, 2008 (Palm Sunday, Year Two), comments were repeated with editing from June 15, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from December 2, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), when they were combined from November 27, 2004, (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), and from comments which were repeated from June 10, 2005 (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year One) on April 9, 2006 (Palm Sunday, Year Two). The comments of March 16, 2008 are repeated again here with some editing and supplement:

The account of Jesus Weeping over Jerusalem (Lk. 19:41-44) is found only in Luke, but for parallel texts related to the Cleansing of the Temple, see the separate file, Cleansing the Temple Parallels.

In other contexts, Matthew and Luke present Jesus’ Lament over Jerusalem in passages that are almost verbatim (Mt. 23:37-39; Lk. 13:34-35). In the present context, the Gospels have reported Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Mt. 21:1-9; Mk. 11:1-10; Lk. 19:28-40; cf. Jn. 12:12-19). In Mark, Jesus enters Jerusalem and goes into the temple, “and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve” (Mk. 11:11). In Matthew, when Jesus enters Jerusalem, the whole city is “in turmoil asking, ‘Who is this?’ ” (Mt. 21:10). And the crowds answer, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee” (v. 11). Mark’s report of Jesus’ departure to Bethany (Mk. 11:11) is implied by Matthew, when he says, “In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry” (Mt. 21:11; cf. Mk. 11:12). Both report the cursing of the fig tree (Mk. 11:13-14; Mt. 21:19a, b), and Matthew reports that “the fig tree withered at once” (v. 19c). Mark puts their discovery of the fig tree as “withered” on the next day, after the Cleansing of the Temple (Mk. 11:20-24).

Luke follows the Triumphal Entry with Jesus’ weeping over the city (Lk. 19:41-44), and his immediate entering of the temple, with a brief account of the Cleansing (vv. 45-46). “As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (v. 42). “Indeed,” says Jesus, “the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side” (v. 43). Jesus adds that these enemies “will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God” (v. 44). The main point here is to recognize “the things that make for peace” (v. 41), and “the time of your visitation from God” (v. 44). We need to be open to God’s will and the Spirit’s guidance in our lives. The particular focus of the dire prediction for Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44, with its vivid description of a city under siege, is unique in the Gospels, though the prediction of the temple’s destruction occurs elsewhere (Mt. 24:1-3; Mk. 13:1-4; Lk. 21:5-7). But the details of the siege in the war with Rome, lead some critics to suggest that reports of what had happened had influenced Luke’s reporting of Jesus’ prediction, that is, this saying reflects Luke’s knowledge of the Roman siege of Jerusalem prior to Jerusalem’s fall to them in A.D. 70. But Josephus’ eye-witness report is much more graphic and detailed (Jewish War, Book VI, on the Internet at http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/war-6.htm, accessed again Nov. 28, 2008).

Eric Franklin hints at the view that Luke’s report reflects knowledge of the siege. But he says that Luke describes Jerusalem’s inevitable destruction “in terms which are taken from the OT “ and adds

it [i.e. Jesus’ description of the destruction of Jerusalem according to Luke] suggests knowledge of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Jewish rejection of Jesus and his way of peace leads them into confrontation with Rome with its inevitable disastrous results. Though the biblical language catches these up into the purposes of God, the description as a whole does not suggest that the events are understood by Luke as actually determined by him. Israel is the cause of her own ruin. (Eric Franklin, The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 952, on Lk. 19:28-44).

Franklin suggests that “Luke probably wrote his gospel around 80-5 C.E.” (Ibid., p. 925, in the Introduction to Luke), which is a good possibility, since Mark, probably written in the late 60s or early 70s (as is implied by the Papias tradition), was very likely one of Luke’s sources. Franklin doesn’t say, as some critics have, that this “knowledge of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem” led Luke to create a saying for Jesus, a vaticinium ex eventu (“prophecy” after the fact), nor does he quite say that Jesus “knew what was going to happen to the city” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, Daily Study Bible, rev. ed., 1975, p. 241, on Lk. 19:41-48). I. Howard Marshall states that “this section [Lk. 19:41-44] is unlikely to be a Lucan composition” (Commentary on Luke, NIGTC, 1978, p. 717, on Lk. 19:41-44), and adds:

The language shows at least one Aramaic feature (v. 44), and the theme is found elsewhere in Luke’s special material (cf. 13:34f.; 23:28-31, and possibly 21:5f., 20-22). The material may have formed part of an apocalyptic discourse, traces of which can be seen in 21.l The thought is dependent on Je. 6:6-21 (Hastings, 116-120) and Is. 29:1-4, and it is therefore unnecessary to hold (with Bultmann, 130; Wilson, 71) that it was composed after AD 70: ‘To describe these verses as a Christian composition after the event is the kind of extravagance that brings sober criticism into disrepute’ (Manson, Sayings, 320). This comment may itself be exaggerated; but, although the passage may have been edited in the light of AD 70 (J. Weiss, 501), there is no reason to doubt that the Christian interpretation of the fall of Jerusalem as the outcome of failure to accept the message of Jesus goes back to Jesus himself (Ellis, 226). (Ibid.)

Marshall cites authors from both sides of this question. I would agree with him and add that if Luke were creating a saying for Jesus after the fall of Jerusalem, he probably would have been much more precise in his description of the details.

Luke’s version of Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple is very brief (Lk. 19:45-48) as compared with Mark’s version (Mk. 11:11, 15-17) and Matthew’s (Mt. 21:10-17). As compared to Mark, Luke’s description of the activity in the temple omits the details of Mark 11:15, merely saying, “Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there” (Lk. 19:45). Franklin observes that, “There is no reference at the trial to any threat against [the temple]. In the light of the way Luke has reported Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem, it seems that he wishes to dissociate Jesus from the destruction of the temple which he knows has already happened by the time he writes” (op. cit., on Lk. 19:45-48). Matthew, on the other has more material than Mark because he includes Jesus’ encounter with the chief priests and scribes, who question what the crowds are saying about Jesus, and Jesus’ response (Mt. 21:15-16), a brief version of which Luke puts with the Triumphal entry (Lk. 19:39-40). According to Matthew, when questioned in the temple, Jesus quotes scripture (Ps. 8:2, cited in Mt. 21:16) to silence the chief priests and scribes; according to Luke, as the procession enters the city, Jesus silences the Pharisees, who have said, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop,” by answering, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out” (Lk. 19:39-40). Should we let the stones do our praising for us?

In the larger context, the praise and acclaim of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Lk. 19:28-40) is overshadowed by his weeping over Jerusalem (vv. 41-44), the cleansing of the temple (vv. 45-46), and the concluding verses of today’s reading which report the decision of the authorities to kill him. “Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard” (vv. 47-48; cf. Mk. 11:18).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net