Isaiah 10:5-19 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

Arrogant Assyria Also Judged

5 Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger–

the club in their hands is my fury!

6 Against a godless nation I send him,

and against the people of my wrath I command him,

to take spoil and seize plunder,

and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

7 But this is not what he intends,

nor does he have this in mind;

but it is in his heart to destroy,

and to cut off nations not a few.

8 For he says:

“Are not my commanders all kings?

9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad?

Is not Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols

whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols

what I have done to Samaria and her images?”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride. 13 For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,

and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;

I have removed the boundaries of peoples,

and have plundered their treasures;

like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.

14 My hand has found, like a nest,

the wealth of the peoples;

and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,

so I have gathered all the earth;

and there was none that moved a wing,

or opened its mouth, or chirped.”

15 Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it,

or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it?

As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up,

or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood!

16 Therefore the Sovereign, the LORD of hosts,

will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,

and under his glory a burning will be kindled,

like the burning of fire.

17 The light of Israel will become a fire,

and his Holy One a flame;

and it will burn and devour

his thorns and briers in one day.

18 The glory of his forest and his fruitful land

the LORD will destroy, both soul and body,

and it will be as when an invalid wastes away.

19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few

that a child can write them down. (Isaiah 10:5-19, NRSV)

On December 22, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated from December 17, 2004 (Friday of the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

Isaiah has predicted God’s judgment on Israel and Judah through the use of Assyria, “the bee that is in the land of Assyria” (Isa. 7:18), when “the Lord will shave with a razor hired beyond the River–with the king of Assyria–the head and the hair of the feet, and it will take off the beard as well” (v. 20). Now Isaiah, speaking for the LORD, points out that it is God, not Assyria, that is in control. “Ah (yOh, Hôy), Assyria, the rod of my anger–the club in their hands is my fury!” (Isa. 10:5) . “Against a godless nation I send him,” says the LORD, “and against the people of my wrath I command him, / to take spoil and seize plunder, / and to tread them down like the mire of the streets” (v. 6). Joseph Blenkinsopp sees here “an echo of Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 8:1-4” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 10:6b); the name, defined as “the spoil speeds, the prey hastens” (NRSV text note a on Isa. 8:1), “for . . . the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria” (8.4b). But according to the LORD, the Assyrian king’s intentions are not in accord with his own. “But this [i.e., to serve as the instrument of God’s wrath, vv. 5, 6] is not what he intends, / nor doe he have this in mind; / but it is in his heart to destroy, / and to cut off nations not a few” (v. 7).

On the contrary, Assyria’s accomplishments have made them proud. The prophet launches here into what Blenkinsopp calls “a boasting monologue attributed to an Assyrian ruler, composed mostly of rhetorical questions,” to which Blenkinsopp compares “the Rabshakeh’s monologue, 36:4-20; 37:24-25, and Am. 6:2” (ibid., on vv. 8-11, 13-14). “For he says: ‘Are not my commanders all kings? / Is not Calno like Carchemish? / Is not Hamath like Arpad? / Is not Samaria like Damascus? / As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols / whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, / shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols / what I have done to Samaria and her images?’ ” (vv. 8-11 NRSV). The recent Jewish translation brings the a fortiori (all the more) argument into focus. “Since I was able to seize / The insignificant kingdoms, / Whose images exceeded / Jerusalem/s and Samaria’s, / Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images / What I did to Samaria and her idols?” (Isa. 10-11 NJPS 1985, 1999).

“The six cities mentioned,” says Blenkinsopp, “all except Samaria [located] in Syria, have fallen to the Assyrians; therefore the reference is to a time after the fall of the Northern Kingdom: Calno (Calneh, Am. 6:2) in 738, Carchemish 717, Hamath 738 and 720, Arpad 740, Damascus 732” (ibid.). Benjamin D. Sommer comments on this version.

The [Assyrian] king arrogantly and ignorantly attributes his success to his own might. His boasting here recalls inscriptions of the Assyrian kings, with which Isaiah was familiar. Assyrian kings claimed to achieve their conquests with the aid of Ashur, the Assyrian high god, and other gods, but to Isaiah these were human creations and thus the inscriptions glorified human inventions rather than the God whose bidding Assyrians unknowingly performed. (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Isa. 10:7-15).

The prophet interrupts this monologue to predict punishment for Assyria. “When the Lord (yn!dox3, ’ ^adōnāy) has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride” (v. 12). According to Sommer, “The Assyrians’ hubris (and not their attack on Israel) lead[s] to their downfall” (ibid., on vv. 12, 16-19). This “hubris” (from u{briV, hybris, “wanton violence, arising from the pride of strength, passion, etc . . . , A Lexicon Abridge from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon, impression of 1977, s.v. u{briV, hybris), continues:

For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,

and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;

I have removed the boundaries of peoples,

and have plundered their treasures;

like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.

My hand has found, like a nest,

the wealth of the peoples;

and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,

so I have gathered all the earth;

and there was none that moved a wing,

or opened its mouth, or chirped.” (Isa. 10:13-14, NRSV)

According to Blenkinsopp, this section is the “conclusion of the [Assyrian king’s] monologue. The speaker boasts of his easy conquests” (op. cit., on vv. 13-14). The prophet, still speaking for the LORD, responds with a rhetorical question of his own, “Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it, / or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it?” (v. 15a, b), and emphasizes the irony, “As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up, / or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood!” (v. 15c, d). And so punishment on Assyria is announced “Therefore the Sovereign, the LORD of hosts, / will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, / and under his glory a burning will be kindled, / like the burning of fire” (v. 17). The first punishment announces is a “wasting sickness” (cf. 37:36; 2 Kgs. 19:35). Blenkinsopp notes that, according to the later report, “Sennacherib ‘s army is decimated by the destroying angel, cf. 2 Sam. 24:15-17, perhaps indicating plague” (op. cit., on Isa. 37:36-38); and he adds that “Sennacherib was assassinated in 681 BCE” (ibid., on v. 38). As the description of Assyria’s punishment continues in chapter 10, the language reminds us of the decimating firestorm announced for Israel earlier (v. 17c, d, cf. 9:18-19). Through this firestorm, “the LORD will destroy” the forest that is Assyria: “The glory of his forest and his fruitful land / the LORD will destroy, both soul and body, / and it will be as when an invalid wastes away” (v. 18). Even a child will be able to count the few trees that are left. “The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few / that a child can write them down” (v. 19). According to Sommer, “the remnant motif is applied here to Assyria rather than to Israel. God treats Assyria like God treats Israel (here, negatively). The implication of this phenomenon is fully spelled out in 19:23-25 [part of tomorrow’s reading]” (op. cit., on v. 19).

Isaiah 11:10-16 (Presbyterian)

Return of the Remnant of Israel and Judah

10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

11 On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

12 He will raise a signal for the nations,

and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,

and gather the dispersed of Judah

from the four corners of the earth.

13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,

the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;

Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,

and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim.

14 But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west,

together they shall plunder the people of the east.

They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites shall obey them.

15 And the LORD will utterly destroy

the tongue of the sea of Egypt;

and will wave his hand over the River

with his scorching wind;

and will split it into seven channels,

and make a way to cross on foot;

16 so there shall be a highway from Assyria

for the remnant that is left of his people,

as there was for Israel

when they came up from the land of Egypt. (Isaiah 11:10-16, NRSV)

On December 19, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One, refs. for Dec. 19, Year One), comments were repeated from December 21, 2004 (Tuesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One); the comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

Yesterday’s Presbyterian reading from the Old Testament, Isaiah 11:1-9 (cf. the Episcopal reading next Monday, Dec. 22, 2008), presented a picture of “the Peaceable Kingdom,” a future in which “the spirit of the LORD” (v. 2) rests upon “a shoot . . . from the stump of Jesse” (v. 1), that is, the ideal Davidic king. In this kingdom, “the wolf shall live with the lamb, / the leopard shall lie down with the kid, / the calf and the lion and the fatling together, / and a little child shall lead them” (v. 6).

Today’s Presbyterian reading continues in verses 10-16 (cf. next Tuesday’s Episcopal reading, Dec. 23, 2008). The prose portion (Isa. 11:10-11) describes the glorious reign of this Davidic king in what Victor R. Gold and William L. Holladay call “the messianic age” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Isa. 11:10-16). “On that day,” says the prophet Isaiah, “the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious” (Isa. 11:10). According to Benjamin D. Sommer, “As in 2:2-4, nations come to Jerusalem to receive instructions. The Davidic king will act as the prophetic conduit through whom responses to the nations’ inquiries will come” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Isa. 11:10). Joseph Blenkinsopp has us compare “55:3,” adding that the picture is of “the Davidic ruler as a witness to the peoples, perhaps implying the unrealistic idea of the reestablishment of a Davidic empire” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 11:10).

“On that day,” says Isaiah, “the Lord (yn!dox3, ’ ^adōnāy) will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia [‘Or Nubia; Heb. Cush’], from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea” (v. 11). This verse, says Blenkinsopp, expresses “the hope of repatriation and the reintegration of dispersed Israelites” (ibid., on v. 11). “The list of nations,” says Sommer, “is found in Assyrian texts much earlier than 597. Thus some see no reason to deny Isaiah’s authorship of vv. 11-16” (op. cit., on v. 11). Sommer comments on the NJPS translation (1985, 1999), in which the list includes “Nubia,” for Ethiopia (Heb. wUK, kûš), but otherwise is identical to the NRSV list. For “the remnant that is left of his people” (NRSV), the NJPS has “the other part of His people.” Of the words, “the other part, or ‘remnant,’ ” Sommer says, “Elsewhere in Isaiah this term refers to Judeans who, having survived Assyrian invasion, remain in the land of Israel. Its use here to refer to exiles who return to the land of Israel is unique and may support the suggestion that these vv. are a later addition” (ibid.). According to J. J. M. Roberts “these verses [10-16] need not presuppose the Babylonian exile in 587 B.C.E. During Isaiah's lifetime Israel suffered major deportations in 733-731 and 722-720 B.C.E. According to Sennacherib's Assyrian annals more than two hundred thousand people were deported from Judah in 701, and others undoubtedly sought refuge in Egypt” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Isa. 11:10-16; cf. his comments in the first edition, 1993, on Isa. 11:10-16).

The poetic lines in today's reading (Isa. 11:12-16 NRSV; cf. prose form of vv. 15-16 in NJPS) describe God’s gathering of his people. “He will raise a signal for the nations, / and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, / and gather the dispersed of Judah / from the four corners of the earth” (v. 12). With reference to “a signal,” Blenkinsopp says, “for an assembly point for those preparing to return to Judah; see 49:22” (op. cit., on vv. 12-16). “If this section is postexilic,” he adds, “the allusion would be to the enmity between Judah and Samaria, attested in Ezra-Nehemiah” (ibid.). For Blenkinsopp the postexilic context is a real possibility, but see the quotation from Roberts, above.

Isaiah predicts reconciliation between the two Israelite kingdoms. “The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, / the hostility of Judah shall be cut off; / Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, / and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim” (v. 13). “Ephraim and Judah refer to the Northern and Southern Kingdoms,” says Sommer, “whose relationship reached a low point during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis (see 7:1-8:23 n.)” (op. cit., on v. 13). According to the prophet, these two Israelite kingdoms “shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west, / together they shall plunder the people of the east. / They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, / and the Ammonites shall obey them” (v. 14). According to Sommer,

This is one of the only verses in First Isaiah that anticipates the Israelites and Judeans taking vengeance on their enemies. It contradicts not only the prediction of a nonviolent messianic age earlier in this ch. but the consistent rejection of national revenge in Isaiah’s prophecies. It may shed additional doubt on Isaianic authorship of vv. 11-16.” (ibid., on v. 14)

The prophet moves on to the motif of a “new exodus”: “And the LORD will utterly destroy / the tongue of the sea of Egypt; / and will wave his hand over the River / with his scorching wind; / and will split it into seven channels, / and make a way to cross on foot” (v. 15). “The tongue of the sea of Egypt,” says Blenkinsopp, refers to “the tongue-shaped Red Sea.” And he notes here “echoes of the crossing of the Red Sea at the Exodus from Egypt (Ex. 14)” (op. cit., on v. 15). From the historical antecedent, the exodus from Egypt, the prophet moves to the present context, where he predicts an “exodus” from Assyria (compare the “exodus” from Babylon, Isa. 48:20-21). The LORD will provide a “highway” for the journey home (cf. 35:8-10): “so there shall be a highway from Assyria / for the remnant that is left of his people, / as there was for Israel / when they came up from the land of Egypt” (v. 16).

Isaiah looks to Israel's past–victories of King David, and earlier, deliverance from Egypt under Moses' leadership "through the sea"–for models that shape his vision of the future, the "new thing" (Isa. 43:19):

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

for I give water in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

the people whom I formed for myself

so that they might declare my praise. (Isa. 43:19b, 20b, 21)

2 Peter 2:17-22 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved. 18 For they speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them. 22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb,

“The dog turns back to its own vomit,”

and,

“The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.” (2 Peter 2:17-22, NRSV)

On December 22, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated from December 17, 2004 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement. As noted yesterday, there are several similarities between the central portion of 2 Peter and the Epistle of Jude. For recent discussion of Jude, see the Archives for December 7 and 8, 2007 (Friday and Saturday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One).

Peter’s strong criticism of the false teachers continues. “These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved” (2 Pet. 2:17). Still on the same “wave length,” Jude says, “They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds . . . wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 12-13). But Peter piles on the criticism. “They [the false teachers] speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error” (2 Pet. 2:18). Compare Jude 16, “These are grumblers and malcontents; they indulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage.” Patrick A. Tiller says, “The seemingly excessive piling up of accusations functions as the necessary response to the challenge to God’s honor. By publicly shaming those who have brought shame on God, the writer restores God’s honor” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on 2 Pet. 2:17-18).

According to Peter, these false teachers “promise them [i.e., their students] freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them” (2 Pet. 2:19; cf.); compare Jesus’ word to the Jews who seek to condemn him, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (Jn. 8:34). According to Richard A. Bauckham, “The freedom the opponents promise is liberation from fear of divine judgment and so from moral constraint, but as slaves to sin they cannot give freedom from sin (see Rom. l6:15-23; 8:21; 1 Pet. 2:16)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 2 Pet. 2:19). Peter continues, with an allusion to Jesus’ saying about the return of the unclean spirit (Mt. 12:43-45; Lk. 11:24-26): “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first” (2 Pet. 2:20). They are in a worse condition than when they began. “For it would have been better for them,” says Peter, “never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them” (v. 21). Compare another saying of Jesus, “That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” (Lk. 12:47-48). Peter illustrates with a couple proverbs: “The dog turns back to its own vomit,” and, “The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud” (v. 22). “The first quotation,” says Bauckham, “is Prov. 26:11; the second is an ancient oriental proverb” (ibid., on v. 22). The sharpness of all these criticisms surely points to a dangerous heretical threat!

Revelation 20:1-10 (Presbyterian)

The Thousand Years

20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while.

4 Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.

Satan’s Doom (Cp Ezek 38-39)

7 When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea. 9 They marched up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from heaven and consumed them. 10 And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:1-10, NRSV)

On November 17 and 19, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to Nov. 9, and Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year One), comments on Revelation 20:1-6 and verses 7-15, respectively, were combined with editing and supplement from earlier, from comments of December 20, 2004 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from comments of November 12, 2005 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year One), for November 17, 2007, and comments from November 14, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year One), for November 19, 2007. Relevant comments are repeated here:

In the reading from Revelation, John sees “an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain” (Rev. 20:1). This angel seizes “the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and [binds] him for a thousand years, and [throws] him into the pit, and [locks] and [seals] it over him, so that he [will] deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years [are] ended” (vv. 2-3). According to Bruce M. Metzger,

As other numerals in this book are to be understood symbolically and not literally, so this period of a thousand years represents the perfection and completion of the martyrs’ reign with Christ, untroubled by Satan’s wiles. The first limiting of the power of the evil one occurred during the ministry of the Seventy (Lk. 10:18). One must beware of reading more into this passage than is warranted; e.g. nothing is said here about a reign on earth. (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Rev. 20:2).

“Then,” says John, “I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (v. 4). The “thrones,” says Metzger, are “thrones of judgment (Dan. 7:9, 22, 27; Mt. 19:28; Lk. 22:30), and he adds, “Those . . . beheaded for their testimony [are] martyrs (in 6:9-10) the souls of the martyrs, under the altar, cry for vengeance).” Metzger also identifies the mark mentioned here, which these martyrs had refused, as that of 13:16-17 (on v. 4). “The rest of the dead,” says John parenthetically, “did not come to life until the thousand years were ended” (v. 5a). “This,” says John, referring to those who “came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (v. 4), “is the first resurrection” (v. 5b). “Blessed and holy,” he says, “are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years” (v. 6). By the term “blessed” here, Metzger is reminded of “the first of seven beatitudes in Revelation, that is, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near” (1:3). The others are “14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6 [here]; 22:7, 14” (Metzger on 20:6 and 1:3). For the term “priests,” he refers to 1:6 and 5:10, and for “second death,” he refers to 2:11 (on 20:6) and his note there, where he defines “the second death” as “the final condemnation of sinners (20:14; Mt. 10:28)” (on 2:11).

We come now to “the loosing of Satan and the final conflict” (Rev. 20:7-10, so labeled by Metzger), when “Satan will be released” (v. 7) and “will come out to deceive the nations,” including “Gog and Magog” (cf. Ezek. 38, 39). When we see that the devil “was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur,” says Metzger, we see “the final overthrow of Satan” (op. cit., on v. 10).

Matthew 11:2-15 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Jesus Praises John the Baptist (Lk 7.24-35)

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.’

11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 Let anyone with ears listen! (Matthew 11:2-15, NRSV)

On October 19 and 20, 2007 (Friday and Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to Oct. 12, Year One), comments on Matthew 11:1-6, and on verses 7-15, were repeated respectively with some editing and supplement from October 14, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 12, Year One), and from October 15, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 12, 2007) and from December 22, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 17, 2004 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One).

This reading from Matthew follows Jesus’ speech instructing the Twelve Disciples as he sent them out on mission (Mt. 10:5-42), and begins with the concluding formula (11:1). Compare similar formulas which close the Sermon on the Mount (:28-29), the series of parables in chapter 13 (13:53), the discourse on various aspects of Christian life in community in chapter 18 (19:1), and the eschatological discourse in chapters 24-25, including the woes against the Pharisees in chapter 23 (26:1). These formulae are indications of Matthew’s methods in bringing together related parts of the Gospel traditions.

In a different context, Luke has a parallel passage (Lk. 7:18-23) to Matthew’s report of John the Baptist’s question and Jesus’ answer (Mat. 11:2-6). These passages are presented in the separate file, Baptist’s Question, Jesus’ Answer. According to Matthew, “When John heard in prison what the Messiah [‘Or the Christ,’ NRSV text note a] was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ ” (Mt. 11:2-3). In Luke, the question is the same, but the introduction focuses on John’s disciples: “The disciples of John reported all these thing to him. So John summoned two of his disciples, and sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ ” (Lk. 7:18-19). According to Marion Lloyd Soards, “Lord [is] Luke’s own title for Jesus” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 7:19; cf. ‘to him,’ Mt. 11:3). He adds that “The one who is to come” means “the messiah” (ibid., cf. Mt. 11:2). Earlier, Luke has reported the imprisonment of John as an event prior to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Lk. 3:18-20), so, given the passage of time, his question is understandable. In reporting that the men come to Jesus and ask the question as directed, Luke essentially repeats himself (Lk. 7:20). And before reporting Jesus response, Luke sets the scene. “Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind” (v. 21). Jesus’ response is almost identical in both versions: “Go and tell John what you hear and see (Lk., ‘have seen and heard,’ perfect tense verbs): the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and (Lk. lacks ‘and’) the poor have good news brought to them” (Mt. 11:4-5; Lk. 7:22). Matthew’s series of six actions in verse 5 uses the conjunction kai (“and”) four times. There are one or two instances of this conjunction in Luke’s series, with variation in the manuscripts. Jesus’ reply to John closes with a blessing on “anyone who takes no offense at me” (Mt. 11:6; Lk. 7:23), and as the messengers leave, he addresses the crowds about John (Mt. 11:7; Lk. 7:24). Sometimes, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises can be difficult, especially under such circumstances as John was enduring.

Upon the departure of the messengers, Jesus addresses the crowds with words of praise for John the Baptist (Mt. 11:7-11) that are practically identical to the parallel in Luke (Lk. 7:24-28). For parallel passages at this point, see the separate file, Jesus’ Witness about John. The variation between “Why” (Mt. 11:8, 9 RSV) and “What” (Lk. 7:25, 26 RSV), apparently based on an editorial decision about how to punctuate the Greek text and the transposition of two words in some witnesses, is resolved in the NRSV by using “What” in Matthew 11:8 and 9. (The Greek word tiv (ti) can mean either “what” or “why,” depending on the context.) Matthew’s “Truly” and “kingdom of heaven” (v. 11) are characteristic of his style, whereas Luke omits the former and uses “kingdom of God” (Lk. 7:28), the latter being clearer for his mainly Gentile readership. Both use the promise of a messenger to “prepare your way” (Mt. 11:10; Lk. 7:27; cf. Mal. 3:1; Isa. 40:3) as a reference to the ministry of John the Baptist.

Matthew and Luke each present the statement about entering the kingdom “by force” in his own way. In a different context, Luke has Jesus say, “The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force (pa:V eijV aujth;n biavzetai, pas eis autēn biazetai)” (Lk. 16:16; with an alternative reading in NRSV text note c, “everyone is strongly urged to enter it”). In the present context, Matthew has Jesus say, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence (biazetai, biazetai), and the violent ( biastaiv, biastai) take it by force (aJrpavzousin aujthvn, harpazousin autēn)” (Mt. 11:12). Krister Stendahl sees a phrase from Matthew 11:12 as “a veritable crux of interpretation” [problematic phrase, interpreted differently by scholars]. He says that verse 12b “reads either: ‘the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence (passive) and men of violence grab it’ or ‘the Kingdom of Heaven manifests itself violently (or: powerfully; reflexive) and keen and daring men take hold of it.’ The latter meaning fits better into Mt.’s context, but the former–taken as a reference to Zealots and others who entertain military dreams of Israel’s deliverance–is more natural from a linguistic point of view . . . In whatever way the intermediate situation be described, the prophetic ministry of John was the last phase and predicted climax before the coming of the Kingdom” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 684e, p. 784, on Mt. 11:12).

Where Luke’s version introduces the statement about force by the words, “the law and the prophets were in effect until John came” (Lk. 16:16a, cited above), Matthew follows the statement about force “from the days of John the Baptist until now” (Mt. 11:12) by having Jesus interpret John’s coming as the predicted coming of Elijah (Mal. 45; cf. Mt. 17:10-13; Mk. 9:11-13), “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come” (Mt. 11:13-14). And Matthew closes this reading with an emphatic statement. “Let anyone with ears listen!” (Mt. 11:15; cf. 13:9, 43; Mk. 4:9, 23; Lk. 8:8; 14:35; Rev. 2:7; 13:9).

William Barclay calls the saying about the kingdom of heaven suffering “violence,” and that “the violent take it by force” (Mt. 11:12) “a very difficult saying.” He suggests that Matthew and Luke understood the saying in two different ways.

It is likely that we will get the full meaning of this difficult saying by putting together the recollection of Luke and Matthew. What Jesus may well have said is: “Always my Kingdom will suffer violence; always savage men will try to break it up, and snatch it away and destroy it; and therefore only the man who is desperately in earnest, only the man in whom the violence of devotion matches and defeats the violence of persecution will in the end enter into it.” It may well be that this saying of Jesus was originally at one and the same time a warning of violence to come and a challenge to produce a devotion which would be even stronger than the violence. (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, rev. ed., vol. 2, 1975, pp. 7-8).

In that context, Barclay cites James Denney, “The Kingdom of heaven is not for the well meaning but for the desperate. It must be, then, a call for whole-hearted commitment to Jesus and his ways (Ibid.).

John 5:30-47 (Presbyterian)

Witnesses to Jesus

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. 33 You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.

39 “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 I do not accept glory from human beings. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (John 5:30-47, NRSV)

On August 19, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year Two), comments were repeated from January 31, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), when comments were repeated from December 16, 2007 (the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), and from August 19, 2007 (the Sunday closest to August 17, Year One), when they were combined with revision and adaptation from December 20, 2004 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One), from December 11, 2005 (the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), and from August 22, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year Two), when comments were repeated from February 25, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One), and from January 26, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated again here:

This debate with “the Jews” (i.e. Jewish leaders) was occasioned by Jesus’ healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethzatha (Jn. 5:2-9). He is challenged by those who “were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God” (Jn. 5:18). Jesus describes his relation to God (vv. 19-29), including “identity of his will and actions with the Father’s” (Donald G. Miller and Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on vv. 19-20) and the ability of both to give life (vv. 21-22), which includes eternal life (v. 24) and resurrection (vv. 25, 29). So, at first the issue was the healing on the sabbath (vv. 9-10, 16), but Jesus’ assertion, “My Father is still working, and I also am working” (v. 17), introduces the issue of his identity. (The debate will continue on similar terms through chapters 5, 7-10.)

Jesus asserts that he does “the will of him who sent me” (Jn. 5:30). Jesus does not rely on his own testimony (v. 31), but refers to the testimony of John the Baptist (vv. 32-35). But there is “testimony greater than John’s,” that is “the works that the Father has given me to complete,” including the healing of the lame man, which “testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me” (v. 36). With the testimony of “the Father . . . himself” (v. 37a), that amounts to three witnesses, more than the two required by Deuteronomy 19:15 (cf. Deut. 17:6). Jesus challenges the Jews, “You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent [i.e. Jesus]” (vv. 37b, 38). They “search the scriptures” expecting “eternal life” from them, but the scriptures “testify on my behalf,” that is, on Jesus’ behalf–a fourth witness!–(v. 39). But they refuse to accept Jesus (vv. 40, 43), which means they “do not have the love of God in you [i.e. themselves]” (v. 42). Jesus does not have to accuse them; for Moses, the author of the Torah, accuses them (v. 45). They “do not accept” Jesus, but accept “another [who] comes in his own name” (v. 43); they “accept glory from one another [but] do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God” (v. 44). Jesus’ assertions here anticipate his very powerful statement made to the Jews later: “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am” (Jn. 8:58; cf. Ex. 3:14).

As though challenged in court, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid” (cf. Jn. 8:13), Jesus responds with a series of witnesses (noted by Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel according to John I-XII, Anchor Bible 29, 1966, 227-228): John the Baptist (Jn. 5:33-35), Jesus’ miracles (v. 36), the testimony of the Father himself (vv. 37-38), the Scriptures (v. 39). But though “these are the witnesses who come forward for Jesus . . . the sad outcome of the trial (vs. 40) is that ‘the Jews’ are not ready to believe in Jesus” (ibid., p. 228). Brown adds in reference to verses 41-47:

What “the Jews” are rejecting is not one sent from God–they willingly accept self-proclaimed messiahs (vs. 43). They are actually rejecting the giving or dedicating of one’s life to God (“love of God” in 42; seeking the glory of God in 44) which is the implicit demand of Jesus’ message. The failure to accept Jesus is really the preference of self.

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The last verses of the discourse (45-47) attack “the Jews” on their most sensitive point. They justify their refusal to believe in Jesus in the name of their loyalty to Moses (ix 29), and yet Moses will condemn them for this failure to believe. In Jewish thought . . . Moses was to intercede before God for Jews; now he will become their prosecutor. (p. 229)

Speaking of several similar encounters of Jesus with others in John’s Gospel, a current textbook says:

On the basis of the witnesses called, every person must pass judgment on Jesus. Each one becomes a judge in a court of law, adjudicating the truthfulness of the testimony borne by the witnesses. But the irony is that in assuming the role of judge and in passing judgment on Jesus, people indirectly pass judgment on themselves. If they deny that Jesus comes from God and makes God known, they reveal their alignment with “the world” rather than with God. . . . The responses of belief and unbelief thus reveal whether a person stands in light or darkness, in the realm of life or the realm of death. . . . Those who do not believe pass the sentence of death on themselves. The tragic irony of the Gospel is that those who seek Jesus’ death unwittingly reject the life that he has offered. (Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, Marianne Meye Thompson, Introducing the New Testament, 2001, p. 194)

The Jews refuse to accept the testimony of scripture (v. 40), not even that of Moses (vv. 45-47). They “accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God” (v. 44). This reference to God (v. 44) is apparently to the Father, though Jesus’ identity as the divine Son of God is the theme of much of John’s Gospel. His healing on the sabbath, attested in all the Gospels, demonstrates an overriding concern for needy people which takes precedence over sabbath rules. It further demonstrates his concern for the needs of his followers, such as you and me.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net