Isaiah 11:1-9

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 December 22, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated with some editing from May 27, 2007 (Pentecost Sunday, Year One), when 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). The combined comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

This reading for Pentecost Sunday speaks first of a future king, asserting that “a shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, / and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isa. 11:1). 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. The “new David” is characterized. “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” (v. 2). So this Davidic king would exercise gifts of “the spirit of the LORD” which “shall rest on him.” To the six “gifts of the Spirit” listed here, the Septuagint adds another. “And the spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom (hmAk4HA, chokmāh/sofiva , sophia) and understanding (hn!yBi, bînāh/suvnesiV, synesis), the spirit of counsel (hcAfe, ‘ētsāh/boulhv, boulē) and strength/might (hrAUbG4, g^evûrāh/ijscuvV, ischys), the spirit of knowledge (tfaDa, da‘ath/gnw:siV, gnōsis) and reverence/piety (eujsevbeia, eusebeia): the spirit of the fear of God (hv!hy4 txar4y9, yir’ath YHWH/[pneu:ma] fovbou qeou:) shall fill ( ejmplhvsei, emplēsei, future of ejmpivplhmi, empiplēmi] LXX/ he shall enjoy [-B4 OHyr9h3va, wah^a rîchô b-] Heb., “His delight shall be in . . . NRSV). Victor R. Gold and William L. Holladay say, “To these six ‘Gifts of the Spirit’ [in the Hebrew text] the Septuagint adds ‘piety’ [eujsevbeia, eusebeia]” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Isa. 11:2). In the next edition, Joseph Blenkinsopp echoes this with an added comment. “The spirit of the LORD, the charismatic endowment of the future ruler is expressed in three pairs of attributes; LXX adds ‘the spirit of piety,’ providing the basis for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 11:2). These observations are true, of course, as is evident from the translation above. It is likely that the “seventh gift” entered the list as an alternate translation, or gloss, for eujsevbeia (eusebeia), “piety” can imply “fear of God” (cf. Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. eujsevbeia, eusebeia). 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)

According to the Hebrew text (and the NRSV), the sixth gift, “the fear of the LORD” (v. 2d), is repeated. “His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (v. 3a). And the future “Davidic king” is further described. “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, / or decide by what his ears hear; / 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” (vv. 3b, c, 4). Of the “ideal ruler,” Rabbi J. H. Hertz says, “His government will be one of impartial justice, marked by righteousness and fear of God” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2^nd ed., 24^th printing, 1981, p. 1024, on Isa. 11:3-5). According to Benjamin D. Sommer, “The messianic age will not be perfect; some people will still be poor, others ruthless or wicked. The difference from the current age will lie, rather, in the king’s response to these problems. He will always render accurate and fair judgments. Cf. 2:2-4, where conflicts among nations continue but are settled nonviolently” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Isa. 11:4). It is apparent that both Jewish authors recognize the passage as “messianic.” In the verse that concludes the stanza, it is said of the future ruler, “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” (v. 5). J. J. M. Roberts says, “The traditional ideal of royal justice involved extraordinary judicial insight (1 Kings 3:4-28) and harsh justice on oppressors (Pss. 72; 101)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Isa. 11:3-5).

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: 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 11:5 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”: “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). In the present world one would not expect these associations of the week with strong carnivorous animals. But for the ideal future, further unexpected associations are indicated. “The cow and the bear shall graze, / their young shall lie down together; / and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. / The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, / and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den” vv. 7-8). Sommer says of this stanza that it is “the ideal age as manifested in nature” (op. cit., on vv. 6-9). Earlier, he said of verses 1-5 that it is “the ideal age as manifested in jurisprudence” (ibid., on vv. 1-5). The present stanza (and today’s reading) are concluded with a summary explanation. “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” (v. 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. Other links to similar pictures include http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/American/1934.65.html (Worcester Art Museum) and http://www.albrightknox.org/ArtStart/Hicks_t.html (Albright-Knox Art Gallery). These were accessed again May 29, 2009.

1 Corinthians 2:1-13

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2:1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

The True Wisdom of God

6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7 But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the human heart conceived,

what God has prepared for those who love him”-

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:1-13, NRSV)

The following comments are based on comments on 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 from October 5, 2008 (the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two), comments from February 13, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday of Lent, Year Two), and earlier comments as noted there:

Early in First Corinthians, Paul has defined his gospel in contrast with “eloquent wisdom”: “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom (sofiva/ lovgou, sophia logou), so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power” (1 Cor. 1:17). “When I came to you, brothers and sisters,” says Paul, “I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom (kaq j uJperoch;n lovgou h] sofivaV, kath’ hyperochēn ē sophias, lit. ‘in/with superiority of word or wisdom’)” (2:1). His focus was rather on Christ: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (v. 2). He adds that his presence for ministry was “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (2:3), and says “my speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom,” but rather, “with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (vv. 4, 5).

Corinth was destroyed by Roman armed forces in 146 B.C. and lay in ruins for a century. Shortly before his death in March of 44 B.C., Julius Caesar ordered that the city be rebuilt as a Roman colony (Ben Witherington III, Conflict and Community in Corinth, 1994, pp. 5-6). So a century later, Paul found a city that was more Roman than Greek, by this time “well on the way to becoming not only the largest but also the most prosperous city in all of Greece” (ibid., p. 5). The people of Corinth were proud, industrious, in a major commercial center. They had their own biennial games like the Olympic games, and they had contests in rhetoric with prizes for skill in declamation. Witherington suggests that Paul studiously avoided presenting his gospel as the effect of rhetorical skill–certainly not in the manner of the Sophists, whose “rhetoric was deplored as manipulation without substance” (ibid., p. 42). “I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:1).

Paul’s education, first in Tarsus, later in Jerusalem, would have included rhetoric, or the art of speech-making, as a major component. “Early in the first century A.D. rhetoric became the primary discipline in Roman higher education” (Ben Witherington III, Conflict & Community in Corinth, 1995, p. 40, citing S. F. Bonner). “Rhetors,” says Witherington, “were found in all of the great cities of the Roman Empire, especially in university towns like Tarsus and even in strongly Jewish cities like Jerusalem.”

But we must take Paul’s disclaimer with respect to rhetorical skill for what it is. His education, first in Tarsus, later in Jerusalem, would have included rhetoric, or the art of speech-making, as a major component. “Early in the first century A.D.,” says Witherington, “rhetoric became the primary discipline in Roman higher education” (ibid., p. 40, citing S. F. Bonner). “Rhetors,” says Witherington, “were found in all of the great cities of the Roman Empire, especially in university towns like Tarsus and even in strongly Jewish cities like Jerusalem.”

Ancient rhetoric could have a serious purpose, in courts of law or the Roman Senate, for example, but it came to be a kind of sporting event in some places, including Corinth.

Declamation, which at its best was a school exercise of practice on purely hypothetical topics, including trivial subjects such as the praiseworthiness of a flea or the shameful baldness of a man’s head, became a form of public entertainment. Rhetoric became an end in itself, mere ornamentation, elocution, and execution with an aim to please the crowd. This sort of rhetoric without serious content or intent, other than to play to and sway a crowd’s emotions, was precisely the sort of nonthreatening and apolitical rhetoric that Roman society could encourage and enjoy. (ibid., pp. 41-42)

Paul’s gospel, he says, was nothing of that sort. “Problems arose, however,” says Witherington, “after he left and had been gone for some time, in particular, when Apollos went to Corinth and used an Alexandrian rhetorical style of preaching and teaching that Paul had avoided. This led to a comparison of Paul’s rhetoric with that of Apollos and with Sophistic rhetoric in general” (ibid., p. 214). But Paul is clear. “My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).

But Paul offers a clarification–not to say, caveat–when he claims to speak wisdom in a certain context. “Yet among the mature (tevleioi, teleioi) we do speak wisdom (sophia), though it is not a wisdom (sophia) of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish” (2:6). “But we speak God’s wisdom (sofiva, sophia), secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory” (v. 7). We can trace the beginnings of philosophy (philosophia, “love of wisdom”) to the ancient Greeks. There is also an important “Wisdom” (hm!k4H!, chokmāh) tradition in the Hebrew Bible (e.g. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) and Apocrypha (Sirach, the Wisdom of Solomon) and elsewhere among the ancient Jews. We learn from his writings, in First Corinthians and elsewhere, that Paul was skilled in using and interpreting the Jewish wisdom tradition and skilled in the use of Greco-Roman rhetoric, but here he insists on “the surpassing value” of the “foolishness” of proclaiming “Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:22; cf. Phil. 3:8).

Of God’s wisdom, Paul says, “None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8). He explains with a quotation: “But, as it is written, / ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, / nor the human heart conceived, / what God has prepared for those who love him’ ” (v. 9; cf. Isa. 64:4; 52:15; Sir. 1:10). Richard A. Horsley says that this is “perhaps from a Jewish writing that drew on Isa. 64:4, cited as scripture” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on 1 Cor. 2:9). Paul says he is referring to wisdom that “God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (v. 10). Paul distinguishes human wisdom–even the best of human wisdom–from divine wisdom. He explains that just as the human spirit “knows what is truly human . . . so also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God” (v. 11). But it is just this Spirit of God that Christian believers have received. “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God” (v. 12). And Paul defines his ministry as through the Holy Spirit. “And we speak of these things,” he says, “in words not taught by human wisdom (ajnqrwpivnh sofiva, anthrōpinē sophia) but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things (pneumatikav, pneumatika) to those who are spiritual (pneumatikoiv,, pneumatikoi)” (v. 13).

John 14:21-29

21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. (John 14:21-29, NRSV)

On April 14, 2009 (Tuesday of Easter Week, Year One), comments on John 14:15-31 were based on comments of April 1, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from May 27, 2007 (Pentecost Sunday, Year One), comments that were combined with revision and adaptation from April 20, 2004 (Tuesday of the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two), from March 29, 2005, from May 15, 2005 (Pentecost Sunday, Year One), from April 25, 2006 (Tuesday of the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two), and from April 10, 2007 (Tuesday of Easter Week, Year One). Relevant comments for today’s reading are repeated here with some editing and supplement.

In John, chapter 14, Jesus speaks about what Obery M. Hendricks calls “the believers’ relation to the glorified Christ” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jn. 14:1-31). He has spoken to the disciples about preparing “a place for you” (14:2-3), his being “the way” (vv. 4-6), knowing the Father through knowing him (vv. 7-11) and his doing the Father’s works (v. 11). He says the ones who believe in him”will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (v. 12). To this, Jesus adds promises: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” (vv. 13, 14). We note the emphasis on asking “in my [i.e., Jesus’] name,” repeated twice. “If you love me,” says Jesus, “you will keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15). John Marsh notes that the condition, “If you love me” (v. 15) “underlies the development of the discourse down to the end of v. 24" (Saint John, Westminster Pelican Commentaries, 1968, reprint 1977, p. 551). Jesus promises that he will send the Holy Spirit, “another Advocate” (paravklhtoV, paraklētos, v. 16), “the Spirit of truth” (v. 17). He will not leave the disciples “orphaned” (ojrfanoiv, orphanoi) (v. 18); however, he says, “In a little while the world will not longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.” “On that day,” he adds, “you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (v. 20).

This brings us to today’s reading. Jesus describes unity through love here of the kind for which he later prays (17:21). “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (v. 21). At this point, “Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ ” (v. 22). Raymond E. Brown calls this a “transitional question” (John XIII-XXI, Anchor Bible, 29A, 1979, p. 545, on Jn. 14:22). “As has happened frequently before (iii 5, iv 13),” says Brown, “Jesus does not answer directly the question posed by Judas, although, when properly understood, what he says is an answer. . . . He told Philip in 9, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”; now he points out that his presence after the resurrection will also mean the Father’s presence (ibid., p. 647).

Jesus does respond to Judas. “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me” (vv. 23-24). Brown notes three features related to the Father’s presence: “the necessary conditions of loving Jesus and keeping his word; the statement that the Father (and Jesus) will come to the disciple; and a reference to the indwelling of the Father (and Jesus) within the disciple.” These and two others (implied here) constitute “similarities” which, “shared by the subunits of the triadic pattern are truly impressive” (ibid., p. 648). “Thus seemingly there is a triadic pattern here placing in rough parallelism the Spirit, Jesus, and the Father (with Jesus)” (ibid., p. 642).

Brown calls verses 25-31 “Jesus’ final thoughts before departure” (ibid., p. 546). “I have said these things to you while I am still with you,” says Jesus (v. 25). But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (v. 26). Hendricks says, “The Holy Spirit enables believers to remember and understand Jesus’ words (see 12:16)” (op. cit., on vv. 25-27). Jesus blesses the disciples with peace, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” and repeats the encouragement from verse 1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” adding “and do not let them be afraid” (v. 27). Later he will return to the theme of peace (16:31). Jesus speaks again about his “going away” and his “coming to you”: “You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I’ ” (v. 28). “And now,” he adds, “I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe” (v. 29). Of this verse, Brown says,

The “I have told you this even before it happens” of 29 refers to the whole process of death, resurrection, ascension, and giving of the Spirit. When it does happen, the disciples will be able to recognize it as the fulfillment of what Jesus had said precisely because they will have the Paraclete who reminds them of all that Jesus told them (xiv 26). Until they had the enlightenment of the Paraclete, they would not understand the death of Jesus (Luke xxiv 20-21) nor would they be prompt to believe in his resurrection (John xx 25; Matt xxviii 17). (op. cit., p. 655)

The reading ends here, but we take note of the final two verses of the chapter. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way” (vv. 30-31). Brown sees the concluding words, “Rise, let us be on our way” v. 31) as “the ending of the original Last Discourse” (ibid., p. 656), but also presents the view of C. H. Dodd, which Brown sees as “farfetched and unnecessary”):

“Get up! Let us leave here and be on our way” must be intelligible even in its present position where several chapters follow. He [Dodd] understands it in terms of encouragement to march to meet the Prince of this world in death and resurrection and contends that “a movement of the spirit,” rather than a physical movement, takes place in 31, so that the next stage of the Last Discourse is from a standpoint beyond the cross after death. (ibid., pp. 656-657, citing Dodd, Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, 407-9).

Whether we follow Brown, or Dodd–though of course we really want to follow Jesus–times do come when we must Get up and Go! So, let us receive the Holy Spirit and attend to his voice as we lead our lives, continuing to receive the peace of Christ.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net