Isaiah 2:12-22

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12 For the LORD of hosts has a day

against all that is proud and lofty,

against all that is lifted up and high;

13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,

lofty and lifted up;

and against all the oaks of Bashan;

14 against all the high mountains,

and against all the lofty hills;

15 against every high tower,

and against every fortified wall;

16 against all the ships of Tarshish,

and against all the beautiful craft.

17 The haughtiness of people shall be humbled,

and the pride of everyone shall be brought low;

and the LORD alone will be exalted on that day.

18 The idols shall utterly pass away.

19 Enter the caves of the rocks

and the holes of the ground,

from the terror of the LORD,

and from the glory of his majesty,

when he rises to terrify the earth.

20 On that day people will throw away

to the moles and to the bats

their idols of silver and their idols of gold,

which they made for themselves to worship,

21 to enter the caverns of the rocks

and the clefts in the crags,

from the terror of the LORD,

and from the glory of his majesty,

when he rises to terrify the earth.

22 Turn away from mortals,

who have only breath in their nostrils,

for of what account are they? (Isaiah 2:12-22, NRSV)

On December 7, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated from December 2, 2004 (Thursday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One); they are repeated again here:

For Presbyterians and Lutherans, the reading today includes Isaiah 2:5-11, which was included in the Episcopal reading for yesterday. Some comments on these verses may be found in yesterday’s comments.

If Isaiah 2:5-22 is addressed to the northern Israelite kingdom (“house of Jacob,” vv. 5, 6; cf. 9:8-9 and 8:17?), then the connection with the promise of peace for Jerusalem is remarkable. “Many peoples [including the ‘house of Jacob,’ the northern neighbor] shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, / to the house of the God of Jacob [sic], / that he may teach us his ways / and that we may walk in his paths” (Isa. 2:3). According to J. J. M. Roberts, “Since the nations are going to come to God in Jerusalem, Jacob, who has forsaken his people. is also invited to return and once more walk with God” (HarperCollins Study Bible, 1^st ed., 1993, on Isa. 2:5-6a). But in what follows, for Jacob in the remainder of chapter 2, and Judah in chapter 3, severe judgments are pronounced for sins, including the use of diviners and soothsayers (2:6), idols (v. 8) and pride (v. 11), but resources for war, horses and chariots, stand in sharp contrast to the earlier vision of peace (as noted yesterday). The chapter continues rebuking the sin of pride: “For the LORD of hosts has a day / against all that is proud and lofty, / against all that is lifted up and high” (v. 12). This pride will be opposed by the LORD on his “day.” For all of this sin, says Joseph A. Blenkinsopp, “the verdict is couched in terms of the traditional theme of ‘the Day of the LORD’ (cf. Am. 5:18-20; Ob. 15; Joel 1:15)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 2:12). The pride, “all that is proud and lofty, is pictured by reference to “all the cedars of Lebanon, / lofty and lifted up; / and . . . “all the oaks of Bashan” (v. 13). It appears that the prophet condemns alliances with Syria and Phoenicia to the north. The picture of pride that the LORD is against continues with “all the high mountains” and “all the lofty hills” (v. 14). But the resources, the bases for pride, are included in the indictment. The Lord is “against every high tower, / and against every fortified wall; / against all the ships of Tarshish, / and against all the beautiful craft” (vv. 15, 16). According to Blenkinsopp, “Tarshish is a location somewhere in the western Mediterranean region or in Turkey (later Tarsus) (Jer. 10:9; Ezek. 27:12; 38:13; Jon. 1:3; 4:2), but it also stands for a type of vessel designed to carry ore (1 Kings 10:22)” (op. cit., on v. 16). Walter Brueggemann says the prophet continues his meditation “on the theme of humbling” (Isaiah 1–30, Westminster Bible Companion, p. 29, on Isa. 2:11-18). “The haughtiness of people shall be humbled, / and the pride of everyone shall be brought low; / and the LORD alone will be exalted on that day” (v. 17). Brueggemann calls verses 12-17 “the rhetorical center of the poem,” by which he means verses 6 to 22. Verse 17 “reiterates verse 11, which now serves as something of a poetic refrain” (ibid.). According to Benjamin D. Sommer, verse 17 is “A summary of this section [2:5-22] and, arguably, of the message of Isaiah as a whole” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Isa. 22:17).

The prophet says “the idols shall utterly pass away” (v. 18, cf. v. 8). People are directed to protect themselves from “the terror of the LORD” by entering “the caves of the rocks / and the holes of the ground” (vv. 19, 21). On the day of the LORD’s judgment, “people will throw away / to the moles and to the bats / their idols of silver and their idols of gold, / which they made for themselves to worship” (v. 20). Brueggemann notes that

Verse 19 reiterates the warning and plea of verse 10. And that is followed in verses 20-21 with the image of Judah in profound panic with its hopeless futile idols. In verses 11 and 19 Israel is urged to flee to the caves for safety, because Yahweh is going to hit the urban enterprise. The imagery is of frantic urban elites–the ones who trade, engage in commerce, manage the defense industry, and enjoy surplus wealth–heading for the hills, perhaps the caves of the Dead Sea. This is civil-defense evacuation. (op. cit., on vv. 12-21).

Brueggemann adds,

The picture–not a pretty one–is one of profound incongruity. The fugitives arrive at the caves with their signs of wealth and well-being. But of course the caves are inhospitable. Judah is now in deep dung! And there, their idols have no value but are only a burden. In fear and desperation, they scuttle their gods, giving them over to the other cave dwellers in order to travel light, perhaps to save their skins but nothing else. (ibid., p. 31)

Brueggemann adds that “all of this utterance is only a poetic act of imagination,” and “a rhetorical assault on a numbed community of elites” which “sends ‘a wake-up call’ ” (ibid.). The final verse leaves off imagery and comes to the point. Don’t put your trust in people. “Turn away from mortals, / who have only breath in their nostrils, / for of what account are they?” (v. 22). They, and we, are to trust in God. According to Brueggemann, verse 22 echoes the invitation of verse 5 (ibid.): “O house of Jacob, / come, let us walk / in the light of the LORD?” (v. 5).

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

3:1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we decided to be left alone in Athens; 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions. Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith; I was afraid that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor had been in vain.

Timothy’s Encouraging Report

6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see us-just as we long to see you. 7 For this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you through your faith. 8 For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-13, NRSV)

On April 18, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), comments were repeated from December 7, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when they were combined with revision and supplement from December 2, 2004 (Thursday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from May 12, 2006 (Friday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

As noted in comments for yesterday’s reading, Paul expresses regret at having to be separated from the Thessalonian believers. He expresses his longing "to see you face to face" (1 Thess. 2:17), for they are his "hope or joy or crown of boasting" (v. 18), his "glory and joy" (v. 20). Today’s reading continues the same thought. “Therefore when we could bear it no longer,” he says, “we decided to be left alone in Athens; and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith” (3:1-2). Paul had to leave Thessalonica soon after his first arrival there because of opposition (Acts 17:5-10), and when they followed him to Beroea (v. 13), he was taken to Athens, where he was left alone (v. 15). The instruction "to have Silas and Timothy joint him as soon as possible" seems to have been fulfilled in part. Paul himself takes up the story: "Therefore when we could bear it no longer we decided to be left alone in Athens; and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions" (1 Thess. 3:1-3). Paul blames his continued separation from them on activity of the tempter (i.e. Satan, 3:5; cf. 2:18).

Paul is concerned about the persecutions the Thessalonian believers were facing, as noted in connection with yesterday’s reading (2:14-16), not so much that the persecutions would cease, but rather “that no one would be shaken by these persecutions” (3:3a) which Paul considers inevitable: “Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for” (v. 3b). “In fact,” says Paul, “when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know” (v. 4). Paul had feared that they might yield to temptation (v. 5), but he now rejoices in Timothy’s report about “the good news of your faith and love” (v. 6a) and about their remembering Paul and longing to see him (v. 6b), which brings encouragement to Paul. He finds the purpose of his ministry fulfilled in the faith and faithfulness of his converts. "For this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you through your faith. For we now live, if you continue to stand firm (sthvkete, stēkete) in the Lord” (vv. 7-8). “Stand,” says Abraham Smith, “is one of the letter’s military terms” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on 1 Thess. 3:8). But the standard Lexicon does not make a military connection. The verb sthvkw (stēkō ) is “a late formation from e”sthka (hestēka), the perfect of  i{sthmi (histēmi), and used beside it. The word means (2) “to be firml committed in conviction or belief, [a] figurative extension of [meaning no.] 1: stand firm, be steadfast e[n tini (en tini) in something.” Meaning no. (1) is “to be in a standing position, stand ” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. sthvkw, stēkō).

Paul continues to express his love for the Thessalonian believers. “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? “ (v. 9). Continually, “night and day,” he prays “most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith” (v. 10). He prays that he may be able to come to them as “our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you” (v. 11). He prays that their love for one another may abound and increase, on the model of his love for them (v. 12). And he concludes with a prayer that the Lord may “so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless . . . at the coming (parousiva, parousia) of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (v. 13). According to Smith, “A prayer reminds the audience about the parousia (3:13; cf. 2:19 and announces the themes of love (3:12; cf. 4:9-12), holiness (3:13; cf. 4:3, and the parousia (3:13; cf. 4:11; 5:11) to be developed in the next chapters” (op. cit., on 3:11-13). Edgar M. Krentz says, “Timothy’s report (see. v. 2) leads Paul to an exuberant response” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Thess. 3:6-13).

Luke 20:27-40

The Question about the Resurrection (Mt 22.23-33; Mk 12.18-27)

27 Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28 and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30 then the second 31 and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

34 Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” 39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him another question. (Luke 20:27-40, NRSV)

On June 20, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from December 7, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were combined from December 2, 2004 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from June 15, 2005 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One). The combined comments are repeated again here:

Today’s reading from Luke presents one in a series of questions put to Jesus during Holy Week, as indicated in the following table:

Parallel passages for today’s reading, the one listed in bold print in the table above, are presented in the separate file, Question about Resurrection.

It’s the turn of some Sadducees to test Jesus. In each of the Synoptic Gospels this exchange follows the report of the question about Paying Tax to Caesar and Jesus’ response (Luke 20:20-26; Mk. 12:13-17; Mt. 22:15-22), as indicate by the table above. In Matthew and Mark, it is followed by the question about the Great Commandment (Mt. 22:24-40; Mk. 12:28-34), which Luke has used earlier (Lk. 10:25-28), leading into the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:29-37). But then the series of questions during Jesus’ final ministry in Jerusalem continues with the Question about David’s Son (Mt. 22:41-46; Mk. 12:35-37a; Lk. 20:41-44; cf. the table above).

At the outset of the report about Jesus’ encounter with the Sadducees, we are told that “some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him [i.e., to Jesus] and asked him a question” (Lk. 20:27-28a; cf. Mk. 12:18; Mt. 22:23). Marion Lloyd Soards says, the “Sadducees were the elite class of landed Jerusalem gentry who operated the Temple and wielded power from that religious base of operations; cf. Acts 4:1-2; 23:6-10” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 20:27). After describing the Pharisees, Josephus describes the Sadducees in the following paragraph:

The Sadducees hold that the soul perishes along with the body. They own no observance of any sort apart from the laws [novmoi, nomoi]; in fact, they reckon it a virtue to dispute with the teachers of the path of wisdom that they pursue. There but few men to whom this doctrine has been made known, but these are men of the highest standing. They accomplish practically nothing, however. For whenever they assume some office, though they submit unwillingly and perforce, yet submit they do to the formulas of the Pharisees, since otherwise the masses would not tolerate them. (Antiquities XVIII.16 (4), transl. Louis H. Feldman, Loeb Classical Library, 1965, reprinted 1969 = Josephus, vol. IX, pp. 12-14; the translation of W. Whiston is available on the internet at http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-18.htm, accessed Dec. 3, 2008)

Feldman explains the reference to the “laws” (novmoi, nomoi), saying, “The Sadducees accepted the written but not the oral Law, whereas the Pharisees accepted both. The Sadducees, however, it should be remarked, had their own traditions, as we can see from such passages as Mishnah, Makkot i. 6; but these were gezerot (decrees) and not based on the oral Law” (ibid., p. 14, footnote on “laws”). This reference to “laws” is usually understood as referring to the Pentateuch (i.e., the Torah, or the five books of Moses). “Sadducees,” says Dennis C. Duling, “did not believe in the resurrection because it is not attested in the Pentateuch, their textual authority” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 22:23).

Not believing in resurrection, the Sadducees pose a question meant to lead to absurdity for those who do. They first quote the law of Moses. “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother” (Lk. 20:28b; referring to Deut. 25:5-10; cf. Gen. 38:8; cf. also Mk. 12:19; Mt. 22:24). They pose a rather unlikely hypothetical case of levirate, or brother-in-law, marriage, in which a man dies childless and the widow is married in turn to each of seven brothers, who all die childless, as does she (Lk. 20:29-32; cf Mk. 12:20-22; Mt. 22:25-27). “In the resurrection, therefore (ou\n, oun),” they ask, “whose wife will the woman be? For seven had married her” (Lk. 20:33; cf. Mk. 12:23; Mt. 22:28). Assuming that Mark was his source, Luke apparently added the inferential particle ou\n (oun, “therefore”), as did Matthew (translated as “then” NRSV).

According to Luke, Jesus first draws a contrast between “this age” and “that age”: “Those who belong to this age (aijwvn, aiōn, cf. English “aeon/eon”) marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age (aijwvn, aiōn) and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Lk. 20:34-35). Luke, the “historian,” identifies “periods,” or should we say, “aeons”? But he reflects the point of his source: “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Mk. 12:24-25; cf. Mt. 22:29-30). In Luke, Jesus explains further: “Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection” (Lk. 20:36). This seems to deny that levirate marriage would be needed in heaven, but the Sadducees’ question was simply about whose wife the woman would be in heaven. And their main point, the absurdity of resurrection, is addressed by Jesus as he quotes from the Pentateuch, which the Sadducees would respect. “And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush [Exod. 3:2], where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [Exod. 3:6, 15, 16]” (Lk. 20:38; cf. Mk. 12:26; Mt. 22:31-32a). From this quotation, Jesus draws the conclusion which silences the Sadducees: “Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive” (Lk. 27:38); compare “He is God not of the dead, but of the living” (Mk. 12:27a; Mt. 22:32b). Each evangelist caps this episode, each in his own way. Mark has Jesus conclude by addressing the Sadducees, saying, “you are quite wrong” (Mk. 12:27b). Matthew reports that “when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching” (Mt. 22:33). Luke perhaps anticipates the later warning about scribes (Lk. 20:46-47; cf. Mk. 12:28, 38; Mt. 23:2 and the “lawyer” 22:35). “Then some of the scribes answered,” says Luke, “ ‘Teacher, you have spoken well.’ For they no longer dared to ask him another question” (Lk. 20:39-40).

The Sadducees were the “strict constructionists” of their day. They did not believe nor observe (obey) what was not stated in the Torah (the Pentateuch), though Josephus suggests some expedient flexibility: “For whenever they assume some office, though they submit unwillingly and perforce, yet submit they do to the formulas of the Pharisees, since otherwise the masses would not tolerate them.” According to Eric Franklin, the Sadducees who questioned Jesus’ views on the resurrection were using a “trick question” (Eric Franklin, The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 953, on Lk. 20:27-40):

The Sadducees then put something of a trick question to Jesus ([Lk. 20:] 27-40). Members of the religious and political establishment in Jerusalem, they were conservative in both areas. Using the Mosaic rule of levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5) to make their point, they question the sense in which life after death can be meaningful. Jesus’ reply points to the newness of God’s eschatological, re-creative act. It is not simply the continuation of what now is. vv. 35-6 give to Luke’s reporting of Jesus’ answer a deeper dimension than that found in the other gospels as he struggles to express what he sees as its meaning. This is true also of his handling of the use of Ex. 3:6 (‘the story about the bush’) where he adds v. 38b to what is presented as a typical piece of scribal reasoning which ignores the original meaning of the question. The scribes, however, are impressed by this exegetical tour de force. Jesus has outwitted his opponents. (ibid.)

The Pharisees, who did believe in resurrection, were closer to Jesus’ teaching than the Sadducees. Luke reports Paul’s use of this difference to divide the Council (Sanhedrin). “Brothers,” says Paul, “I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23:6; cf. vv. 7-19).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net