1 Samuel 13:5-18

5 The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. 9 So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being." And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. 11 Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, 12 I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the LORD'; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." 13 Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, 14 but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart; and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you." 15 And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin.

Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. 16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash. 17 And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. (1 Samuel 13:5-18, NRSV)

On July 5, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to June 29, Year One) comments were repeated with editing and supplement from June 30, 2005 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 29, Year One); the comments are repeated again with editing and supplement:

There has been previous war between Israel and the Philistines but the most recent was the defeat of the Ammonites by the Israelites, led by Saul (1 Sam. 10:27b-11:15). Steven L. McKenzie labels 13:1-7a, “Saul begins the war with the Philistines” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on 1 Sam. 13:1-7a). We might say, the war between Israel and the Philistines continues, now with Saul’s leadership. The fighting is reported in the frame of this reading (1 Sam. 13:5-7, 15b-18).

But there are other matters to consider, first a textual issue. “Saul was . . .^a years old when he began to reign; and he reigned . . . and two^b years over Israel” (1 Sam. 13:1 NRSV). Text note a says, “The number is lacking in the Heb. text (the verse is lacking in the Septuagint).” Text note b says, “Two is not the entire number; something has dropped out.” The Hebrew text literally says, “The son of year(s) (hn!wA NB,, ben-šānāh) [was] Saul in his [beginning to] reign (Okl4mAB4, b^emolkô), and two years (Myn9wA yTew4U, ûš ^etê šānîm) he reigned over Israel.” This text has been understood in various ways. Apparently taking the typical idiom for giving one’s age, Myn9wA yTew (ben-šānāh) as the beginning year of Saul’s reign, the Authorized Version subordinates verse 1 to verse 2: “Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men . . .” (AV/KJV 1 Sam. 13:1, 2a). The recent Jewish translation appears to compromise, but comes close to that of the NRSV. “Saul was . . .^a years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel two years” (NJPS 1985, 1999). The text note a is similar to those of the NRSV. “The number is lacking in the Heb. text; also, the precise context of the ‘two years’ is uncertain. The verse is lacking in the Septuagint.” The Today’s New International Version says, “Saul was thirty^d years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-^e two years” (TNIV 1 Sam. 13:1). Text note d says, “A few late manuscripts of the Septuagint; Hebrew does not have thirty.” Text note e says, “Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Acts 13:21); Masoretic Text does not have forty-.” The uncertainty represented by the NRSV text and textual notes is probably the best solution. Shimon Bar-Efrat, commenting on the NJPS translation (see above), says, “This formula–here incomplete–often introduces the reign of kings, e.g. 2 Sam. 2:10; 1 Kings 14:21; 22:42” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on 1 Sam. 13:1).

Following this now partially lost formula about Saul’s life and reign, the narrator continues. “Saul chose three thousand out of Israel; two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the rest of the people he sent home to their tents” (1 Sam. 13:2). “Saul sets up a standing army,” says Bar-Efrat (ibid., on v. 2). According to Nancy L. Lapp, Michmash was “a village located in the rugged hills of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, about seven miles north of Jerusalem. It was on the north bank of the Wadi Suweinet opposite Geba, and together they guard the pass to the Jordan Valley. Michmash stood almost 2,000 feet above sea level, and two rocky outcrops called Bozez and Seneh stood nearby on either side of the valley (1 Sam. 14:4, 5)” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary [HBD], rev. ed., 1996, s.v. Michmash). According to George W. Coats Jr., Gibeah, “as a name . . . is attached in OT tradition to a site in Benjamin, the home of Saul and center for his career as king (1 Sam. 10:26). Under the modern name Tell l Ful the site, located about five miles north of Jerusalem, reveals a succession of occupations that, at least in part, corresponds with the OT’s account of Saul’s residence” (HBD, rev. ed., s.v Gibeah). Coats adds that “in the biblical tradition, Gibeah was the location for Saul’s association with a band of prophets (1 Sam. 10:1-10), an event related to selection of Saul as king” (ibid.). “Jonathan,” says our narrator, “defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba; and the Philistines heard of it” (1 Sam. 13:3a). According to McKenzie, “Jonathan, Saul’s son, appears here for the first time, and as a grown man, indicating that this story is much later than 9:1-10, 16, in which Saul is a young man” (op. cit., on v. 3). When the Philistines heard that Jonathan had defeated their garrison at Geba (v. 3a), Saul blew the the trumpet throughout all the land saying, ‘Let the Hebrews hear!’ ” (v. 3b). “By blowing the trumpet,” says P. Kyle McCarter Jr., “Saul is trying to rally support from other Hebrews, who, though kin to the Israelites, have not yet allied themselves politically (see note on 14:21)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Sam. 13:3). The latter verse says, “Now the Hebrews who previously had been with the Philistines and had gone up with them into the camp turned and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan” (1 Sam. 14:21). “When all Israel heard that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines,” says the narrator, “and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines, the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal” (13:4). “McKenzie says, “Saul, as king, is apparently given credit for his son’s victory” (op. cit., on v. 4; cf. Bar-Efrat, op. cit., on v. 4). “Saul,” says McCarter, “is now in Gilgal, where Samuel told him to wait for him (10:8).

This brings us to the beginning of today’s reading, where the opposing side is described as a formidable force. “The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen (Myw9rAPA, pārāšîm), and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven” (v. 5). Bar-Efrat observes, “The Philistine army exceeds the Israelite force by far. Unlike the Israelites, it has chariots, though the numbers mentioned seem greatly exaggerated. The Heb. word translated horsemen can also mean ‘horses’ [cf. William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. wrAPA, pārāš]; these were used for pulling the chariots, not for riding” (op. cit., on v. 5). McCarter says, “In his oracles against Bethel (Hebrew, ‘House of God’) Hosea uses the name Beth-aven (‘House of Wickedness’) as a pejorative substitute (Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5), and Bethel is probably also intended here” (op. cit., on v. 5; cf McKenzie, op. cit., on v. 5). Clearly, the Israelites were in fear of the Philistines. “When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns” (v. 6). Some took refuge across (east of) the Jordan River (v. 7a), but “Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling” (v. 7b).

But the narrator’s primary concern at this point is to tell the story of Saul’s disobedience. Earlier, Samuel told Saul, “And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do” (10:8). And Saul “waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel” (13:8). McCarter (on 13:8) refers to 1 Sam. 11:1, where the Septuagint and a Qumran manuscript dates the defeat of the Ammonites “about a month later” (NRSV; cf. NRSV note b, “Q Ms Gk: MT [i.e. the Hebrew text] lacks About a month later”). McCarter suggests that the phrase “may have been removed from the Massoretic Text because it is inconsistent with the chronology of the larger narrative, which permits only seven days to elapse between Saul’s departure from Samuel in 10:8 and Samuel’s arrival at Gilgal in [13]:8-10” (on 11:1, referring erroneously to 14:8-10).

Be that as it may, Saul proceeds with doing what Samuel regarded as his own priestly duty. “Bring the burnt offering (hlAfohA, hā‘ōlā), cf. Lev. 1:3-9) here to me,” says Saul, “and the offerings of well-being (Mym9lAw04hav4, w^ehašš^elāmîm, cf. Lev. 3:1-11),” and the narrator reports that “he offered the burnt offering” (1 Sam. 13:9). Had Saul waited a little longer, he might have been spared the consequences of his hasty action in offering the sacrifice, for “As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him” (v. 10). But Samuel is not pleased. “What have you done?” he asks, and Saul replies, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the LORD’; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering” (vv. 11-12).

Samuel’s response is immediate and severe. “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart; and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you” (vv. 13-14). McKenzie is apparently unsure about the nature of Saul’s sin. “The nature of Saul’s sin is not clear; perhaps he tried to usurp Samuel’s role of religious leadership” (op. cit., on 1 Sam. 13:13-14). But Gwilym H. Jones sees his sin as disobedience:

Saul’s action could be justified: Samuel had not kept his appointment, and Saul did not infringe upon priestly prerogatives, since kings did offer sacrifices (2 Sam 6:17-18; 24:25; 1 Kings 3:3-4). But the issue is obedience, upon which the future of Saul’s kingship depended (v. 13, cf. 12:14). Because he failed a Saulide dynasty was not established, and God chose another king to follow him. This represents a prophetic viewpoint: kings must obey prophets and kings are charismatic persons chosen by YHWH. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 206, on 1 Sam. 13:1-23).

So, “Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal” (v. 15a).

But the prediction that Saul is to be replaced does not take effect immediately. “The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin” (v. 15b). And, in preparation for battle with the Philistines, “Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men” (v. 15c). The Hebrew text is again defective at this point (cf. NRSV text notes b and c; also NJPS 1985, 1999 text note d). “Unlike the Septuagint,” says Bar-Efrat, “the Massoretic version fails to record that Saul goes from Gilgal to Gibeah (see. v. 16). The omission is probably due to haplography (the copyist’s eye skipping from the first Gilgal to the second). Samuel refrains from accompanying Saul” (op. cit., on v. 15).

So the armies are faced off as noted earlier (vv. 4, 5). “Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash” (v. 16). Bar-Efrat notes that “Geba and Michmas [NJPS spelling of ‘Michmash’ NRSV] were across from each other, separated by a ravine with precipitous sides” (ibid., on v. 16; cf. McKenzie, op. cit., on v. 16). According to McCarter, the “steep ravine [is] part of a strategically important wadi system that drains the Ephraimite hills into the Jordan” (op. cit., on v. 16). The ravine will be an important factor as Jonathan and his armor-bearer cross to attack the Philistine camp (14:1-15), but that is part of tomorrow’s reading. At this point, we are told of Philistine movements in preparation for battle. “The raiders disperse in different directions,” says Bar-Efrat, “in order to devastate the area (cf. 2 Sam. 11:1)” (op. cit., on vv. 17-18). “And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness” (vv. 17-18). According to McCarter, “Ophrah (Josh. 18:23) was north of Michmash” (op. cit., on v. 23). For the “land of Shaul,” he refers to an earlier comment: “Land of Shaalim [is] probably the same as the land of Shaul (see 13:17)” (ibid.). And he adds, “There were two towns named Beth-horon, Upper and Lower. Upper Beth-horon was about ten miles west of Michmash. The valley of Zeboim (Hebrew, ‘Valley of Hyenas’) was southeast of Michmash” (ibid.). So the scene is set for war with the Philistines, which will be protracted, as succeeding lessons will show.

Acts 8:26-40

26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

"Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,

and like a lamb silent before its shearer,

so he does not open his mouth.

33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth."

34 The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" 35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:26-40)

On August 21, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year Two), comments were repeated from July 5, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 29, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from August 24, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year Two), when comments were repeated from June 30, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Year One). The revised comments are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

After Samaria, Philip’s next assignment–delivered by “an angel of the Lord”–lay to the south, toward Gaza. “Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza’” (Acts 8:26a). The phrase translated “to the south” (kata; meshmbrivan, kata mesēmbrian) means literally, “at midday,” or “at noon” (cf. NRSV text note e and Beverly Roberts Gaventa, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 8:26). But due to the position of the sun at midday, the expression often means “to the south” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. meshmbriva, mesēmbria [= mevsoV, mesos + hJmevra, hēmera], where this meaning is cited from Herodotus, Philo, Josephus and others). Luke explains parenthetically that “this is a wilderness road” (v. 26b).

When Philip followed this instruction, he came upon an Ethiopian returning home from Jerusalem, described as “an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury” (v. 27a), and “Although he had come to Jerusalem to worship,” says Christopher R. Matthews, “a eunuch could not have become a proselyte (Deut. 23:10),” but, he adds, “the passage may envision fulfillment of Isa. 56:3-5” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Acts 8:27). According to Gaventa, “Candace [is] the title traditionally given to the queen of Meroe (a Nubian realm along the Upper Nile), making the eunuch’s position one of considerable power” (op. cit., on Acts 8:27). Gaventa also notes that the term

Ethiopian [Aijqivoy, Aithiops], in Luke’s world [refers to] anyone with dark skin, particularly persons from territories south of Egypt. Various ancient writers depict Ethiopia as the equivalent of the end of the world and its inhabitants as handsome people (e.g. Esth. 1:1 [wUK, kûš]; 8:9; Ezek. 29:10; Zeph. 3:10; Homer, Odyssey 1.22-23; Herodotus, History 3.17-20; Strabo, Geography17.2.1-3. (ibid.)

The Ethiopian “was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah” (v. 28). “He was reading aloud to himself (as was customary in antiquity),” says Matthews; “hence Philip heard him (v. 30)” (op. cit., on v. 28). The Spirit directs Philip to join the Ethiopian, saying “Go over to this chariot and joint it” (v. 29). “The prompting of the Spirit,” says Gaventa, “suggests that God stands behind this overture (see 8:26)” (op. cit., on v. 29). And Philip responded as he “ran up to it [i.e., the chariot] and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah” (v. 30a).

Philip asks about the reading: “Do you understand what you are reading?” (v. 30b) and the Ethiopian asks for Philip’s guidance. “How can I [understand], unless someone guides me?” So Philip is invited into the chariot (v. 31). The passage read was the following:

Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter

and like a lamb silent before its shearer,

So he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him (hJ krivsiV aujtou: h[rqh, hē krisis autou ērthē LXX)

Who can describe his generation?

For his life (hJ zwh; aujtou:, hē zōē autou LXX) is taken away (airetai) from the earth (ajpo; th:V gh:V, apo tēs gēs LXX). (Acts 8:32-33, citing Isa. 53:7-8 LXX)

The Hebrew text, Hq0!lu FP!w4m09m9U rc@fom2 (mē‘ōtser ûmimmišpāt luqqāch, “By a perversion of justice he was taken away” NRSV, more literally, “From oppression and from justice he was taken”) is paraphrased a bit in the Septuagint. For the line, “his life is taken away from the earth” (Acts 58:33c), Isaiah has “For he was cut off (rz1gn9, nigzar) from the land of the living (Myy09H1 Cr@x@m2, mē’erets chayyîm)” (Isa. 53:8c NRSV).

The Ethiopian asks directly about the meaning of the passage. “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” (v. 34). It’s a question many would ask later, but Philip is clear: it refers to Jesus. “Then,” says Luke, “Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus” (v. 35). Gaventa notes a similar instance “where Jesus explains ‘things about himself’ from scripture” (op. cit., on Acts 8:35, citing Lk. 24:27). The eunuch requests baptism: “As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ ” (v. 36). We may wonder what, if anything, Philip said about baptism while explaining Isaiah 53. Perhaps he went into more detail about Christian conversion and faith than is recorded here (cf. Acts 2:38). In any event, the Ethiopian’s request implies a response of faith and acceptance of the gospel message (made explicit in two or three ways by the addition of verse 37 in several later manuscripts and some second and third century church fathers: “And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (v. 37; cf. NRSV text note a).

So the Ethiopian “commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him” (v. 38). “As in the case of the Samaritans,” says Matthews, “the baptism of an Ethiopian eunuch breaks social and ritual barriers”; and he refers to his note on v. 12, “Philip breaks religious barriers and fulfills the expectations about Samaritans generated by Luke’s Gospel (Lk. 10:30-37 [the Parable of the Good Samaritan]; 17:11-19 [10 lepers cleansed, but only the Samaritan returns with gratitude])” (op. cit., on vv. 38 and 12). Matthews adds, “Since in the ancient Mediterranean world Ethiopia was often considered to be located at the ‘ends of the earth’ (e.g. Odyssey 1.22-23; Herodotus 3:25), this conversion proleptically fulfills the prediction of 1:8” (ibid.); cf. the citation from Gaventa, above).

This passage is significant as one of the clearest applications of Isaiah chapter 53 as a reference to Jesus in the New Testament. Compare the use of Isaiah 53:1 in John 12:38 and Romans 10:16; Isaiah 53:3 in Acts 13:47; Isaiah 53:4 in Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4-6 in 1 Peter 2:24-25; Isaiah 53:9 in 1 Peter 2:24-25; Isaiah 53:12 in Luke 22:37; cf. Hebrews 9:28 and 1 Peter 2:24-25. Loveday Alexander comments on the significance of this event:

Later tradition identified the eunuch as the first Gentile convert, and the founder of the Ethiopian church (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 2.1.13), but this does not seem quite to fit Luke’s plot, with its elaborate buildup to the conversion of Cornelius in ch. 10. Luke lays more stress on the eunuch’s links with Judaism: this is a man who has been to worship in the Jerusalem temple (v. 27) and is reading the prophet Isaiah (v. 28). Given the existence of a well-documented Jewish community; at Elephantine (Aswan), Jewish influence south of Egypt is not implausible. Ancient readers would certainly imagine this character as an African: Ethiopia, in ancient geography, was the equivalent of Nubia, today’s Sudan, rather than the modern Ethiopia. Readers who knew their Bibles might also pick up prophetic resonances, in which the Ethiopians (Heb. ‘Cushites’) figure among the most distant peoples from who God will gather a remnant to worship in Jerusalem (e. g. Isa. 11:11; Zeph. 3:9-10). (Loveday Alexander, The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 1039, on Acts 8:26-40)

“When they came up out of the water,” says Luke, “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing” (v. 39). Matthews sees an allusion here to Elijah and Elisha, by reference to 1 Kings 18:12 and 2 Kings 2:16 (op. cit., on v. 39). “Later church tradition,” says Gaventa, “holds that the eunuch became the first Christian missionary to Africa, but Luke says nothing about his activity beyond rejoicing (see also 13:48; 15:31)” (op. cit., on v. 39).

In the closing verse of this reading (and of chap. 8), Luke informs us that after “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away” (v. 39), he found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. According to Matthews, “Philip’s evangelizing journey proceeds along the Mediterranean coast from Gaza (v. 26) through Azotus (ancient Ashdod, ca. 37 km [23 mi] north-northeast of Gaza) to Caesarea (ca. 90 km [55 mi] farther north. Caesarea was an important seaport and the headquarters of the Roman governor; see 19:1; 21:8” (op. cit., on v. 40).

Luke 23:13-25

13 Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, 14 and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 I will therefore have him flogged and release him."

18 Then they all shouted out together, "Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!" 19 (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; 21 but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" 22 A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him." 23 But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished. (Luke 23:13-25, NRSV)

On July 5, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to June 29, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from June 30, 2005 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 29), Year One); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

Parallel passages for this reading are presented in the table in the separate file, Pilate Sentences Jesus to Crucifixion. The first paragraph (Lk. 23:13-16) has no parallel in Matthew or Mark. According to Luke, after Jesus is returned from Herod to Pilate (Lk. 23:11), “Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him’ ” (vv. 13-14). So clearly quotes Pilate’s affirmation of Jesus’ innocence (cf. vv. 4, 22). And Pilate adds, “Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death” (v. 15). And so, Pilate proposes a kind of compromise. “I will therefore have him flogged and release him” (v. 16).

At this point Mark reports that “at the festival [i.e., Passover] he [i.e., Pilate] used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked” (Mk. 15:6; cf. Mt. 27:15; Jn. 18:39). Apparently Luke offers no equivalent of this verse, though later scribes supplied the lack. According to the NRSV text note a, “Here, or after verse 19, other ancient authorities add verse 17, Now he was obliged to release someone for them at the festival.” This verse is lacking in P⁷⁵, dated in the early third century, and other early manuscripts. While it is included in Codex Sinaiticus (x) and other early manuscripts, it appears to be a scribal harmonization with Matthew and Mark (cf. the rating of “A, the text is certain” by K. Aland and others, editors (The Greek New Testament, 4^th rev. ed., 1993, apparatus on Lk. 23:16). Mark’s Gospel explains that “a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection” (Mk. 15:7; cf. Mt. 27:16). It appears from Mark’s version of the story that the crowd’s request for release of a prisoner was not, at first connected with the fate of Jesus. “So the crowd came,” says Mark, “and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom” (Mk. 15:8). In John, Pilate declares Jesus innocent (Jn. 18:38b), and then himself brings up the custom. “But you have a custom,” he says, “that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” (Jn. 18:39). In Mark, when the people ask for a release, Pilate offers Jesus. “Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ ” (Mk. 15:9). Matthew basically follows Mark’s report; he characterizes Barabbas as “notorious” (Mt. 27:16), and offers the crowd a choice, “Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” (v. 17). Both Matthew and Mark note that the Jews are acting out of jealousy, clearly that of the chief priests in Mark (Mk. 15:10; cf. Mt. 27:18). Only Matthew reports the warning to Pilate from his wife (Mt. 27:19). Mark reports that “the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him [i.e., Pilate] release Barabbas for them instead [i.e., instead of Jesus]” (Mk. 15:11; cf. Mt. 27:20). Luke, who treats “the chief priests, the leaders, and the people” as a group (23:13), says, “Then they all shouted out together, ‘Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!’ ” (Lk. 23:18). In Luke there has been no explicit reference to the custom of releasing a prisoner–perhaps it is assumed–but he explains, parenthetically, that Barabbas “was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder” (v. 19). Without reference to the custom, in Luke the demand for the release of an insurrectionist and murderer stands out in bold relief. According to Luke, Pilate attempted to reason with the crowd. “Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify him!’ ” (Lk. 23:20-21). and, for the third time, Pilate pronounces Jesus’ innocence. “A third time he said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him’ ” (v. 22; cf. vv. 4, 14-16). The question, “Why, what evil has he done?” appears also in Mark 15:14 and Matthew 27:23. All of the Gospels report the shouting (of the crowd) that Jesus be crucified (Mk. 15:14; Mt. 27:23; Lk. 23:23), or that not Jesus, but Barabbas, be released (Jn. 18:40). As a consequence, Luke tells us, “So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished” (Lk. 23:24-25; cf. Mk. 15:15; Mt. 27:26). Only Mark and Matthew mention the flogging (Mk. 15:15; Mt. 27:26). Only Matthew reports that Pilate publicly washes his hands saying “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves” (Mt. 27:24) and the people’s response, “His blood be on us and on our children!” (v. 25), a point that has been unfairly used to promote antisemitism.

Some see it as a tendency (bias?) of Luke to “shift the blame” for Jesus’ crucifixion from the Romans to the Jewish leaders. They would note Gallio’s dismissal of the case brought against Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:12-17) as another example of this Lukan tendency, that is, to blame the Jews for most of the early Christians’ troubles, and to note the dismissals and/or indifference of the Roman authorities over and again. This point of view ignores the examples of Roman callousness and indifference, for example, Felix kept Paul in prison because “he hoped that money would be given him by Paul” (Acts 24:26) and “he wanted to grant the Jews a favor” (v. 27). The most strident recent example of this attempt to clear the Romans at the Jews’ expense is that of John Dominic Crossan in his book, Who Killed Jesus? (1995) written to attack the moderate position of Raymond E. Brown in his two-volume commentary on the Passion Narratives of the Gospels entitled, The Death of the Messiah (1994). For Christian theology, the truth is that Jesus died for the sins of humanity, all of us, according to the plan of God “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), according to “the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time” (Eph. 1:9-10). We are all responsible for his death, and we are all potentially beneficiaries of his atonement and redemption.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net