NOTE: The Jewish Holiday known as Purim begins at sundown today. Purim celebrates the triumph of the Jews over their enemies as recounted in the Book of Esther (see Est. 9:1-10:3). There is an Internet web site on Purim, http://www.holidays.net/purim/index.htm

Jeremiah 1:11-19

11 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree. 12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” 13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, tilted away from the north.”

14 Then the LORD said to me: Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them. 18 And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole land-against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you. (Jeremiah 1:11-19, NRSV)

On March 5, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One), comments were repeated with some revision from February 21, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One); they are repeated again here with some editing and supplement:

After Jeremiah briefly reports his call and commission (Jer. 1:4-10, in yesterday’s reading), he quickly gets to the business at hand. The word of the LORD (hvhy-rb1D4, d ^evar-YHWH) came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree (dq2w!, shāqēd)” (Jer. 1:11, cf. NRSV text note a). “Then,” says Jeremiah, “the LORD said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching (dq2wo, shōqēd) over my word to perform it’ ” (v. 12, cf. NRSV text note b). Jeremiah’s report of the vision of the almond tree includes a play on words–as noted by the parenthetical additions to the text here–but it’s not a frivolous pun. According to John Paterson, “To Jeremiah the sight of the almond tree waking from its winter sleep suggests that the living God is about to strike into the national life with decisive action. Men shall soon know that God is not dead but fearfully alive and is moving to fulfil his purpose. Nature is a parable of God’s working” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 469c, pp. 541-542, on Jer. 1:11-19). The LORD commends Jeremiah’s insight.

And a second vision is introduced immediately; or so it seems. “The word of the LORD (hvhy-rb1D4, d ^evar-YHWH) came to me a second time, saying, ‘What do you see?’ ” (v. 13a). The next line has been given various translations. “And I said, ‘I see a boiling pot, tilted away from the north’ ” (v. 13a NRSV); “I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north” (Jer. 1:13 KJV), but “Heb., from the face of the north” (KJV margin); “facing away from the north” (RSV); “tilted away from the north” (NRSV = NEB “‘A cauldron’, I said, ‘on a fire, fanned by the wind; it is tilted away from the north’”; cf. NIV “tilting away from the north and TNIV “tilting toward us from the north”). The later translations assume a minor emendation of one word. Patterson says, “The RSV, following a suggestion of G. R. Driver (JQR, 28, 77) reads ûphānûy [yUnp!U], “turned away from,” for ûphānāw [vyn!p!U], (its face), and the thought seems to be of a caldron in the north tilted towards the south and about to spill its boiling contents in that direction” (ibid.). Patterson adds that Jeremiah expects an enemy to approach from the north, “as the instrument of God’s purpose,” to inflict judgment for “Israel’s infidelity and apostasy,” but “the prophet is encouraged to speak boldly and to stand firm, for God is with him” (ibid.).

The prophet continues with the LORD’s explanation of the vision. “Then the LORD said to me: Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land.” (v. 14). The LORD explains further: “For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah” (v. 15). For the phrase, “set their thrones,” Mark E. Biddle compares “43:10; 49:38” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jer. 1:15-19). He has just made the point that verses 15-19 are “an expansion, perhaps secondary, of the thought in vv. 4-8. The phraseology is characteristic of other prose sections of the book” (ibid., on vv. 15-19). In any event, the LORD continues with indictment of Israel for “offerings to other gods”: “And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands” (v. 16, cf. refs. by Biddle to 7:9; 11:12, 13, 17; 19:4, 13; 32:29; 44:3, 5, 8, etc.).

But Jeremiah himself is warned that he must fulfill his mission: “But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them” (v. 17). The LORD assures Jeremiah that he will provide the necessary “backbone” and fortitude, as we might say, to carry out a most difficult mission. “And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole land-against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land” (v. 18). Jeremiah will face strenuous opposition, but with the LORD’s help, he will prevail. “They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you” (v. 19).

Romans 1:1-15

1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, 10 asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you– 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish 15 -hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (Romans 1:1-15, NRSV)

On June 16, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), comments were repeated from March 5, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 19, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), when they were combined and revised from June 14, 2004 (Monday of the week of the Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year Two) in an email sent June 14, 2004, for June 14-20, and from February 21, 2005 (Monday of the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One). The combined comments are repeated again here:

On Romans 1:1-7

Paul’s “Salutation” (i.e. identification of himself as writer, of the recipients, and the greeting) is very long–seven verses–as compared to his other Epistles (e.g. 1 Cor., 3 vv.; 2 Cor., 2 vv.; Gal., 3 vv.; Eph., Phil., Col., 2 vv. each, etc.). He introduces himself to a church he has neither founded nor visited, but hopes to visit (Rom. 1:11), and from whom he hopes to gain some assistance for his further ministry (15:24). After identifying himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1), the next five verses define that gospel and his apostleship. This will serve to introduce himself to the Roman Christians, whom he wishes to visit (vv. 11-15), and from whom he wishes to receive support for his planned ministry in Spain (15:24). He defines the gospel for which he is set apart as “promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures” (v. 2), which is about “his [God’s] Son . . . descended from David” (v. 3), “declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 4). He further defines his calling, “through whom [Jesus Christ] we have receive grace and apostleship,” and adds that it is designed “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles . . .” (v. 5). The Roman Epistle comes at the end of a decade of accomplishment recorded as the first three Missionary Journeys in the Book of Acts and before the later work associated with his Prison and Pastoral Epistles. His experience of opposition to his apostolic calling and ministry, which we note in his relations with the Galatian and Corinthian believers–apparently, challenges from outsiders who claim a more legitimate apostolic authority and ministry–has led him to introduce himself in this careful manner to the church at Rome. So he begins with this brief résumé, though he knows many whom he greets by name who are already in Rome (chap. 16)

On Romans 1:8-15

Many have noticed the “Pauline thanksgiving” or “blessing” that follows the “salutation” in most of Paul’s letters (notably omitted in Galatians). Ben Witherington III notes that this “was traditionally just a health wish in Hellenistic letters” (i.e. non-Christian letters of the time, Conflict and Community in Corinth, 1995, p. 89, on 1 Cor. 1:4-9), but since for Paul, the letters were in effect written speeches, Witherington studies them from the perspective of rhetoric. The thanksgiving is the exordium, “the beginning part . . . aimed at making the audience open and indeed well-disposed toward what follows” (ibid., p. 44, from the Introduction). Paul is thankful “because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world” (Rom. 1:8), but he always prays for them: “For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers” (v. 9). He prays that he may be permitted “by God’s will” to come to Rome and see them (v. 10). “For I am longing to see you,” he says, “so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you–or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (vv. 11-12). Paul expresses some regret for not yet having come to Rome, though his calling is as an apostle to the Gentiles. “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles” (v. 13). He has been eager to–but prevented so far from–“proclaim[ing] the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (v. 15), for he is “a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish (v. 14). So he thus he begins to disclose his plans both for visiting them and further ministry beyond (cf. 15:22-29).

John 4:27-42

27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30 They left the city and were on their way to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.” (John 4:27-42, NRSV)

On January 18, 2009 (the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), comments were repeated with some adaptation from August 14, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two), when comments were repeated from January 26, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), when comments were repeated from March 25, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One), when they were combined with revision and supplement from earlier comments, as noted there. The complete story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman was covered in the readings for August 13 and 14, 2008, but on January 18, 2009, verses 27-42 were presented as a selection, so the comments were set in context by reference to earlier parts of John’s Gospel. (For the context, refer to the Archive for January 18, 2009; for the first half of this episode (vv. 1-26), see the comments for last Saturday, March 7, 2009.)

As today’s reading begins, Jesus’ “disciples came,” returning from the city. “They were astonished (ejqauvmazon, ethaumazon) that he was speaking to a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking to her?’ ” (v. 27). Raymond E. Brown translates “they were astonished,” as “they were shocked” (The Gospel according to John, I-XII, Anchor Bible, vol. 29, 1966, p. 167). The verb has been defined as “to be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something . . . (a) intransitive wonder, marvel, be astonished (the context determines whether in a good or bad sense).” John 4:27 is listed under subsection (g) “with o{ti [that] following . . . wonder, be surprised that” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. qaumavzw, thaumazō). Brown says, “It is curious, as Bultmann points out, that they [i.e., the disciples] were more shocked because he was talking with a woman than because he was talking with a Samaritan” (op. cit., p. 173, on v. 27). “Then,” says John, “the woman left her water jar and went back to the city” (v. 28a), not because of embarrassment but to spread the news about her encounter with the Messiah (cf. v. 29). On other occasions I have quoted a sermon by Dr. Barbara Worden on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. On her departure for the city, Dr. Worden says,

Our Samaritan woman leaves her water jar behind. Why? She’s not forgotten it; she’ll probably come back for it later. The point is she now has some new water, a lot more important than the old. If she carried that old water jar with her, it would be a symbol of going back to her old life and old water, forgetting the living water. Living in the world of when will I wash the clothes, what do I need to make for dinner, her old self and old life. She’s now drunk of the living water. How many of us have an encounter with Jesus and still haul that same old water jar, saying subconsciously, all this is very nice Jesus, but I’ll worry about you later. Right now I have things to do, the same old routine. (unpublished sermon)

When the woman arrives in the city, she addresses the people–those she apparently avoided earlier by going to the well for water in the heat of the midday sun–“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” (vv. 28b, 29). Grammatically, introduced by mhvti (mēti), the question ordinarily “invites a negative response to the question,” but “in questions in which the questioner is in doubt concerning the answer [mhvti (mēti) means] perhaps” (BDAG, s.v. mhvti, mēti). Compare the translation, “Could this be the Messiah?” (v. 29b TNIV), or “Could this possibly be the Messiah?” (v. 29b, trans., Brown, op. cit.., p 168). Brown says that the form of the question “implies an unlikelihood . . . ; therefore the woman’s faith does not seem to be complete. However, she does express a shade of hope. Bultmann . . . suggests that the viewpoint of the question is that of the townspeople” (op. cit., p. 173, on v. 29). Her actions certainly demonstrate faith, even if she hesitated to express it in more positive terms, perhaps due to her reputation in the city, the reason for avoiding the crowds at the well in the evening. It was enough to impress the townspeople, who “left the city and were on their way to him” (v. 30).

The next scene finds “the disciples . . . urging him [i.e., Jesus], ‘Rabbi, eat something’ ” (v. 31). Their trip to the city, after all, was for food (v. 8). But the Lord, who earlier surprised the woman with his response, now surprises the disciples, when “he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about’ ” (v. 32). At first, the disciples misunderstand, and say “to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ ” (v. 33). Introduced by mhv (mē ), the question here does imply a negative answer, that Jesus soon quickly dispels, as he says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work” (v. 34). As he continues, Jesus makes it clear that the story/event is about evangelism. “Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting” (v. 35; cf. Mt. 9:37-38; Lk. 10:2). J. Andrew Overman says the saying about the harvest is “apparently a proverbial saying; see also v. 37” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on v. 35). The latter verse also refers to the harvest as a metaphor for evangelism (cf. 1 Cor. 3:5-7). When Jesus says, “The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together (Jn. 4:36), Overman interprets the “wages” as “the harvest of believers” (ibid., on v. 36). The explanation of verse 37, “I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (v. 38), is addressed to the disciples, but would apply by extension to the later mission of the church.

John the evangelist (i.e., Gospel writer) next reports the result of the woman’s evangelism in the city. “Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done’ ” (v. 39). These initial results led to further harvest. “So when the Samaritans came to him,” says John, “they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days” (v. 40), with the result that “many more believed because of his word” (v. 41). Although they appear to discount the woman’s evangelism, saying “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world” (v. 42), they do give her credit, albeit indirectly, for initiating the process. And we cannot deny her the credit. As Dr. Barbara Worden says,

In verses 39-42, the Samaritan woman becomes the first evangelist, an evangelist of the best kind. She brings the other members of the village to Jesus by telling them what she knows better than anyone else, what he did for her. When they believe in Jesus, they do so because of their own experience with Jesus, not just because of what she said. (op. cit.)

Kamila A. Blessing sees a deliberate contrast drawn by the placement of the conversations with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. She compares two of Jesus’ “conversations” in the Gospel of John, one with Nicodemus (Jn. 3:1-21) and one with the Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:1-42). She notes that “among the conversations [as distinct from controversies], Nicodemus is the only one who never expresses belief in Jesus as a result of the conversation” (The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary, 2002, p. 596).

Both misunderstand Jesus at first, Nicodemus (Jn. 3:4) and the Samaritan woman: “throughout, the woman understands and responds to Jesus on the most material level” (ibid., p. 598, cf. pp. 597-599). But,

As the Gospel goes on, Nicodemus’s lack of response to Jesus becomes the more meaningful. He appears only twice more. In John 7:45-52, soldiers sent by the Pharisees to arrest Jesus have returned without him, saying that no one has ever spoken as Jesus has. The Pharisees ask ironically, “Has any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? Nicodemus, “who was one of them,” pointedly does not correct them but poses a question: Should we not hear him out before condemning him? The Pharisees reply with a taunt: “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you?” Nicodemus remains silent. The second passage is John 20:39-40; Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who also has hidden his faith “because of his fear of the Jews” (Jn. 19:38), claim and bury Jesus’ body. Thus Nicodemus’s faith in Jesus does not bring others to Jesus physically or religiously. He will not endanger his life or status by acknowledging Jesus. He thus fails the criterion in John 15:13 of giving one’s life for a friend. Yet Nicodemus is of the most acceptable and honored social group. He is named, male, a Jew, a Pharisee, and a ruler and teacher of Israel. (ibid., pp. 596-597)

On the other hand, the Samaritan woman

is fruitful for Christ, whereas Nicodemus is not. She contrasts with other disciples also because she enters into a theological discussion with Jesus. Characteristically in John, the male disciples are passively present; they fail in persistence; they leave the tomb upon finding it empty; and they fail to speak their mind to Jesus. This woman may be regarded as one of the sowers whose planting the other disciples are to reap. In a powerful way, one that defies social convention, she carries out the function of a true disciple. (ibid., p. 599)

Dr. Worden wonders about some modern evangelism: Does it focus on the good news about Jesus and the living water? Or does it focus on the evangelist, or some modern program?

An evangelist brings people to the place, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually, where they are ready to meet Jesus face to face, not just a word picture of him reflecting the limited experience of the evangelist. A photograph is a nice reminder of our friends and relatives. It’s not the same as hugging them and talking with them. (op. cit.)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net