Isaiah 11:1-9 (Episcopal [Lutheran yesterday] )

The Peaceful Kingdom (Isa 9.1-7)

11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide by what his ears hear;

4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,

and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

6 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.

7 The cow and the bear shall graze,

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,

and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

9 They will not hurt or destroy

on all my holy mountain;

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD

as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:1-9, NRSV)

On May 27, 2007 (Pentecost Sunday, Year One), comments were combined with revision and supplement from May 15, 2005 (Pentecost Sunday, Year One), and from December 20, 2004 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One); they are repeated here (compare the Lutheran reading yesterday):

The image of the “stump of Jesse” implies that the Davidic dynasty has been cut off, as at the time of the Babylonian exile, so a new “branch” from those “roots” would imply the restoration of the Davidic line (Isa. 11:1). The new “David” would exercise gifts of “the spirit of the LORD” which “shall rest on him”: “wisdom and understanding,” “counsel and might,” “knowledge and the fear of the LORD” (v. 2). To these six “gifts of the Spirit,” the Septuagint adds another: “the spirit of knowledge and piety: the spirit of the fear of God shall fill ( ejmplhvsei, emplēsei, future of ejmpivplhmi, empiplēmi) him” (Isa. 11:2d, 3a LXX, my translation; cf. Victor R. Gold and William L. Holladay, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Isa. 11:2). The qualities represented by these “gifts of the spirit will characterize the new “David” and provide for the just reign described, when “with righteousness he shall judge the poor, / and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; / he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, / and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked” (v. 4). R Coggins sees six “gifts of the Spirit” here, with no reference to the Septuagint text, but says:

The Christian tradition has spoken of ‘sevenfold gifts of the Spirit’ and used vv. 2-3a as a basis, but only six gifts are in fact mentioned here. They are the characteristic charismatic qualities of the king, and of all those pictured as being especially close to YHWH (e.g. Moses and the elders, Num. 11:25-30; Elijah and Elisha, 2 Kings 22:15).There are also close links with the wisdom tradition, shown not only by the use of the word ‘wisdom’ itself but also by ‘understanding’, ‘counsel’, and ‘fear of the LORD’–all terms particularly associated with, for example, Proverbs. But here they are God’s direct gift, not dependent on the skills of human counsellors. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 448, on Isa. 11:1-9)

Paul’s first two pieces of armor, “fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14), remind us of Isaiah’s words in verse five: “Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, / and faithfulness (hn!Umx$, ’ ^emûnāh, cf. ajlhqeiva/, alētheia(i) ‘with truth,’ LXX) the belt around his loins. (Isa. 11:5). The word hn!Umx$ (’ ^emûnāh) sometimes means “steadiness” (Ex. 17:12), “reliability” (Dt. 32:4) or “honesty” (Jer. 5:1, 3), and is related to the adjective NUmx2 (ʼēmûn), “true, reliable” (William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. NUmx2, ʼēmûn, and hn!Umx$, ’ ^emûnāh). So Paul may well have had Isaiah 11:7 in mind when he spoke of “the belt of truth around your waist” (Eph. 6:14).

When all of these qualities are present, not only in the Messianic King but in his people, when the LORD “will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer. 31:33; cf. Heb. 8:10), we will see the "peaceable kingdom" in which "the wolf shall live with the lamb" (v. 6). Isaiah puts it this way: “They will not hurt or destroy / on all my holy mountain; / for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD / as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9). And so beyond the reestablishment of the Davidic kingdom, follows a glorious future in which “paradise lost” becomes “paradise regained” (to borrow phrases from John Milton), or, as Edward Hicks, the early Quaker painter called it, “the Peaceable Kingdom.” See the picture and the article, “Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom,” by John Braostoski, in the Friends Journal (February 2000), http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/Hicks_Peaceable_Kingdom.htm. Another link to a similar picture includes http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/American/1934.65.html (Worcester Art Museum). These were accessed again December 17, 2008. For another, see now the picture at http://www.albrightknox.org/ArtStart/Hicks_t.html (Albright-Knox Art Gallery), accessed December 17, 2008.

Isaiah 31:1-9 (Presbyterian)

Alliance with Egypt Is Futile

31:1 Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help

and who rely on horses,

who trust in chariots because they are many

and in horsemen because they are very strong,

but do not look to the Holy One of Israel

or consult the LORD!

2 Yet he too is wise and brings disaster;

he does not call back his words,

but will rise against the house of the evildoers,

and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.

3 The Egyptians are human, and not God;

their horses are flesh, and not spirit.

When the LORD stretches out his hand,

the helper will stumble, and the one helped will fall,

and they will all perish together.

4 For thus the LORD said to me,

As a lion or a young lion growls over its prey,

and-when a band of shepherds is called out against it-

is not terrified by their shouting

or daunted at their noise,

so the LORD of hosts will come down

to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.

5 Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of hosts

will protect Jerusalem;

he will protect and deliver it,

he will spare and rescue it.

6 Turn back to him whom you have deeply betrayed, O people of Israel. 7 For on that day all of you shall throw away your idols of silver and idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.

8 “Then the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of mortals;

and a sword, not of humans, shall devour him;

he shall flee from the sword,

and his young men shall be put to forced labor.

9 His rock shall pass away in terror,

and his officers desert the standard in panic,”

says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion,

and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 31:1-9, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from December 22, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One, Presbyterian reading for Dec. 22):

This reading begins with “Alas” (NRSV) for yOh (hôy), “alas! woe!” which is used in (1) a lament as in 1 Kings 13:20 or (2) a prophetic threat, as here. A third use is as an “encouraging, inciting, ho!” as in Isaiah 18:2 (William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. yOh, hôy). John N. Oswalt points out a series of “woes in this subdivision of the book,” of which the one in Isaiah 31:1 is the last, and “brings the sequence to a kind of a climax” (Isaiah, The NIV Application Commentary, 2003, p. 358, on Isa. 31:1-9). He lists the following woes: 28:1; 29:1; 29:15; 30:1; 31:1, all introduced by yOh (hôy), and all translated in the NIV by “woe,” but variously translated by the NRSV: “Ah, the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim” (28:1a), “Ah, Ariel, Ariel, / the city where David encamped!” (29:1a, b), “Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the LORD, / whose deeds are in the dark, / and who say, ‘Who sees us? Who knows us?’” (29:15), “Oh, rebellious children, / who carry out a plan, but not mine; / who make an alliance [with Egypt, v. 2], but against my will / adding sin to sin” (30:1), and “Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help” (31:1a). While the NRSV language varies the translation of hôy, this series clearly represents prophetic threats which identify those upon whom the judgment of the LORD will fall. Oswalt sums up the series briefly:

The woe in 28:1 was against the drunken leaders in Ephraim; in 29:1 it was against those in Jerusalem who depended on cultic righteousness; in 29:14 it was against those who tried to hid their counsel from the Lord; in 30:1 it was against ‘obstinate children’ who would not bring to the Lord their plans to make an alliance with Egypt. The present ‘woe’ is specifically against “those who go down to Egypt for help.’ Thus, the climax (or the nadir) has been reached. Drunken leaders who focus on the wrong things have given ungodly advice that rebellious people have adopted without consulting God. (ibid.)

The going to Egypt for help which the prophet denounces (Isa. 31:1a), includes reliance on the instruments of war.

They “rely on horses,” they “trust in chariots because they are many / and in horsemen because they are very strong,” says the prophet (v. 1b, c), but they fail to look to the LORD for help: they “do not look to the Holy One of Israel / or consult the LORD!” (v. 1d). They really should look to the LORD for help, says the prophet, because “he too is wise and brings disaster; / he does not call back his words, / but will rise against the house of the evildoers, / and against the helpers of those who work iniquity” (v. 2). “The Egyptians,” on the other hand, “are human, and not God,” says the prophet; “their horses are flesh, and not spirit” (v. 3a, b). In contrast, “When the LORD stretches out his hand, / the helper will stumble, and the one helped will fall, / and they will all perish together” (v. 3c, d, e).

The prophet reports that the LORD spoke to him comparing his protection of Mount Zion to “a lion or a young lion [who] growls over its prey,” and is not terrified by the shouting of shepherds attempting to protect the flock (v. 4). “Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of hosts / will protect Jerusalem;” says the prophet; “he will protect and deliver it, / he will spare and rescue it” (v. 5). So there is no reason to seek an alliance with Egypt. The prophet continues with a prose appeal: “Turn back to him whom you have deeply betrayed, O people of Israel” (v. 6). The betrayal is described as idolatry, from which the people should turn away. “For on that day all of you shall throw away your idols of silver and idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you” (v. 7). The result of such repentance is described, again in poetic lines, as an oracle, the word of the LORD (v. 9c):

“Then the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of mortals;

and a sword, not of humans, shall devour him;

he shall flee from the sword,

and his young men shall be put to forced labor.

His rock shall pass away in terror,

and his officers desert the standard in panic,”

says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion,

and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 31:8-9)

According to Joseph Blenkinsopp, “The complete and final annihilation of Assyria [is described].” He adds that this is “the last time the name [Assyria] occurs in chs. 1-35” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 31:8-9).

Isaiah 11:10-16 (Lutheran)

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, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments for the Presbyterian reading for December 19, were repeated with editing and supplement from December 19, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One, refs. for Dec. 19, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 21, 2004 (Tuesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One); the comments of December 19, 2008 are repeated here with minor adaptation:

Today’s Episcopal reading from the Old Testament, Isaiah 11:1-9 (above), presents 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. tomorrow’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)

Revelation 20:1-10 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

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. (Revelation 20:1-6, NRSV)

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 20:7-10, NRSV)

On December 19, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments for the Presbyterian reading for December 19, were repeated from 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), when 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. The comments of December 19, 2008, 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).

Revelation 21:22-22:5 (Presbyterian)

22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut by day–and there will be no night there. 26 People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The River of Life

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 21:22-22:5, NRSV)

On November 22, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to Nov. 16, Year One), comments were repeated from December 22, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Ref. for Dec. 22, Year One), when this was the Presbyterian reading and comments were combined with revision and supplement from December 23, 2004 (Thursday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from November 17, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two), comments which were also repeated on January 6, 2006 (Epiphany, Year Two). They are repeated again here:

John continues to describe the New Jerusalem as the return of Paradise. “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Rev. 21:22). "And the city has no need of sun or moon . . . for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23). The city–or should we say, the Lamb?– is a light for the nations, for “the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” (v. 24). The kind of threats for which people in this world lock doors and shut gates will not be a problem in the New Jerusalem, for “its “gates will never be shut by day–and there will be no night there” (v. 25). According to Jean-Pierre Ruiz, “open gates symbolize safety; see Isa. 60:11; Zech. 14:7; 1QM 12:13-14" (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Rev. 21:25).

In John’s vision, “people will bring into it [the New Jerusalem] the glory and the honor of the nations” (v. 26), which reminds us of Isaiah’s promise of “the new heavens and the new earth” (Isa. 66:22), in which “all flesh shall come to worship before me, / says the LORD” (v. 23). In the New Jerusalem described by John “nothing unclean will enter it [i.e. the New Jerusalem], nor anyone who practices abominations or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life" (Rev. 21:27).

Key features of the New Jerusalem will be “the river of the water of life” (Rev. 22:1) that will far surpass the San Antonia Riverwalk–no offense to San Antonio!–and the tree of life (v. 2). For the river of the water of life, Ruiz lists several comparable references (Gen. 2:10; Ps. 46:4; Ezek. 47:1; Zech 14:8, op. cit., on Rev. 22:1). The “tree of life” has “twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (v. 2). Ruiz says, “The tree [is] a collective reference to many trees on either side of the river (Ezek. 47:12; cf. 2:7n)” (ibid., on Rev. 22:2). Paradise regained indeed! “Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (vv. 3-5). “Those who worship God (v. 3) shall reign with him in eternal triumph” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Rev. 22:5).

John 5:30-47 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

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), when comments were repeated 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), introduced 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, 38 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.

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

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)

Luke 1:39-48a (48b-56) (Presbyterian)

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

50 His mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. (Luke 1:39-48a (48b-56), NRSV)

On December 21, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two, Presb. ref. for date), comments were repeated from December 22, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One, Presbyterian reference for Dec. 22), when comments that were repeated with minor adaptation from December 23, 2004, (Thursday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One), on December 21, 2005 (Wednesday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two), were used with further adaptation; the comments are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

Yesterday’s Presbyterian reading from Luke, the Annunciation, in which the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her about her conception and forthcoming birth of Jesus, brings us to today’s reading. “In those days,” says Luke, “Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (Lk. 1:39-40). “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,” adds Luke, “the child leaped in her womb” (v. 41a). According to David L. Tiede, revised by Christopher Matthews, “That the child leaped in her womb already signals John’s role as forerunner to Jesus, as does Elizabeth’s filling with the Holy Spirit and prophetic acclamation of Mary in vv. 42-45 (see v. 67)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Lk. 1:41). Luke gives an explanation for Elizabeth’s greeting and reports her response: “And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed (Eujloghmevnh, Eulogēmenē ) are you among women, and blessed (eujloghmevnoV, eulogēmenos) is the fruit of your womb” (vv. 41b, 42). Marion Lloyd Soards says, “Elizabeth’s being filled with the Holy Spirit may also acknowledge the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in relation to the unborn John in her womb) (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 1:41).

We are shown Elizabeth’s respect and humility as she asks, “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” (v. 43). “Prior to his birth,” says Soards, “Jesus is designated Lord” (ibid., on v. 43). But Elizabeth explains her response. “For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting,” she says, “the child in my womb leaped for joy” (v. 44). And Elizabeth concludes by commending Mary’s response to Gabriel. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (v. 45).

Mary responds in poetic lines that have been called the Magnificat, from the first word in the Latin version: “My soul magnifies [magnificat, first in Latin word order] the Lord, / and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, / for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. (Lk. 1:46b-48a NRSV). “Surely,” says Mary, “from now on all generations will call me blessed (makariou:sivn me, makariousin me); / for the Mighty One has done great things for me, / and holy is his name” (vv. 48b-49). The verb translated “call . . . blessed” is related to the adjective used in the Beatitudes (makavrioi, makarioi, 6:20-22; Mt. 5:3-11). But Mary does not merely celebrate the blessings on herself; rather, she celebrates God’s “mercy . . . for those who fear him / from generation to generation” (v. 50). She celebrates God’s protection for his people. “He has shown strength with his arm; / he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. / He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, / and lifted up the lowly” (vv. 51-52). And she celebrates God’s care and provision for his people, for “he has filled the hungry with good things, / and sent the rich away empty” (v. 53). To this contrast between God’s bringing down oppressors, but care for his people, we may compare lines from the Song of Hanna (1 Sam. 2:1-10). Hannah’s prayer (song) celebrates the fact that “The bows of the mighty are broken, / but the feeble gird on strength. / Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, / but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. (1 Sam. 2:4, 5a,b). Hannah also sings, proclaiming that “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; / he brings low, he also exalts. / He raises up the poor from the dust; / he lifts the needy from the ash heap, / to make them sit with princes / and inherit a seat of honor” (1 Sam. 2:7, 8a, b). To these lines from Hannah, compare especially Luke 1:52-53 (cited above). Mary celebrates not only the favor shown to her by the Lord (vv. 48, 49), but also God’s help for “his servant Israel, / in remembrance of his mercy, / according to the promise he made to our ancestors, / to Abraham and to his descendants forever” (vv. 54-55).

As the reading closes, we are told that “Mary remained with her [i.e., with Elizabeth] about three months and then returned to her home” (v. 56).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net