2 Samuel 7:1-17

Nathan’s Prophecy of David’s Everlasting Dynasty

7:1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." 3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever. 17 In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. (2 Samuel 7:1-17, NRSV)

On August 6, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from December 21, 2005 (Wednesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two); they are repeated again here:

After “all the elders of Israel” make David king over all Israel (2 Sam. 5:3, cf. vv. 1-5), he conquers Jerusalem (vv. 6-11), decisively defeats the Philistines (vv. 17-25), and he brings the ark to Jerusalem (chap. 6)–thus effectively making Jerusalem both his political capital and his religious capital. He is given the promise of an everlasting kingdom (7:13, 16). The more immediate concerns are resolved, at least for the moment, and there is opportunity for the long-range view. “Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,” says the narrator (2 Sam. 7:1), “the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent’ ” (v. 2). The statement about the LORD giving David “rest from all his enemies around” (v. 1) “really only makes sense after chapter 8 or chapter 12,” says Hans Wilhelm Hertzberg; “Chronicles therefore carefully omits it (1 Chron. 17:1)” (trans. J. S. Bowden, I & II Samuel, The Old Testament Library, 1964, p. 184, on 2 Sam. 7:1; cf. Steven L. McKenzie, NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 2 Sam. 7:1). Hertzberg adds that the presence of this statement “here is meant to show that the king’s plan to build the temple, and above all the promise evoked as a result, is the conclusion and crown of the whole” (loc. cit.).

At first, Nathan immediately approves the plan that David has not yet stated. “Go, do all that you have in mind,” he says; “for the LORD is with you” (v. 3). But he is soon brought up short, for “that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?” (vv. 4-5). The prophet speaks for the LORD: “I have not lived (yT9b4wayA, yāšavtî) in a house (ty9baB4, b^evayith) since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent (lh,xoB4, be’ōhel) and a tabernacle (NKAw4m9b4U, ûv^emiškān)” (v. 6). And the LORD continues, “Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar (Myz9rAx3 tyBe, bêth ’ ^arāzîn)?’ ” (v. 7). According to McKenzie, “The house (‘bayit’) David proposes to build is a temple. The LORD says instead (v. 11) that he will build David a house (‘bayit’), that is, a dynasty. The claim in vv. 6-7 that the LORD has never had a house (i.e., temple) seems to overlook the temple in Shiloh (1 Sam. 1-3)” (on vv. 5-7). But, according to Hertzberg, the “compiler” knows what he is about.

It seems remarkable here that the Lord claims that not since the Exodus from Egypt, i.e. never, has he dwelt in a house, when there were well-built houses at least in Shiloh, and even later, to hold the ark. As the compiler, of course, realized this, the only real way of interpreting the sentence is to make a distinction here between yāšab [bwayA], dwell permanently, abide, and šākan [NkawA], make a temporary stay. The tent-dwelling in the wilderness is here (and often) called miškān [NkAw4m9, noun related to the verb šākan, NkawA], dwelling in the latter sense, and even the stay at Shiloh appears to be regarded merely as an episode in a series of temporary stopping-places. (Hertzberg, p. 285, on 2 Sam. 7:4-7)

Shimon Bar-Efrat says, “In Shiloh, however, there was a House of the LORD (1 Sam. 1:7, 9). But there was also a Tent (Josh. 18:1; 1 Sam. 2:22), which symbolized the idea that the LORD is not restricted to one fixed place” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 631, on 2 Sam. 7:6). Hertzberg sees the passage here as

an expression of the original and theologically legitimate view that the Lord is not bound to one place, but can make his dwelling anywhere. This, in the basic monotheistic conception, is what befits him. We could find in this passage the background to much of the prophetic polemic against the temple liturgy, just as in the New Testament also the worship of God in temples is regarded as a stage to be superseded (John 4:21; Acts 7:48f.; 17:24). The preservation of this trend of thought, despite the later construction of the temple, speaks for its age. In particular, in true prophetic fashion, the adornment of the future temple by cedar-wood is rejected. (loc. cit.)

The prophet Nathan, speaking for the LORD, redirects the focus from David’s desire to build a temple to Israel’s future and the LORD’s intention to build David’s “house,” that is, dynasty. To David’s implied question, stated by Nathan, “why have you not built me a house of cedar?” (2 Sam. 7:7 at the end), the Lord’s response first rehearses David’s history with him. “Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you” (vv. 8, 9a). On the phrase, “following the sheep,” McKenzie refers to 1 Sam. 17:15, 34, and adds, “Kings in the ancient Near East were often described as shepherds; see 24:17; 1 Chr. 11:2; Ps. 78:70; Isa. 44:28,” and on the term “prince” (dyg9n!, nāgîd), he gives the sense “king designate” and notes that it was translated “ruler” in 5:2” (on v. 8). Then the word from the LORD turns to the future: “I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies” (vv. 9b-11a). By “place,” according to P. Kyle McCarter, is meant “not the promised land, in which Israel is already living, but the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped (see Deut. 12:5, 11, 14, 18, 21, 26), i.e., the temple in Jerusalem” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 2 Sam. 7:10).

At this point we come to the main point. In this chapter, the word ty9Ba (bayith, “house”) is used in four meanings. David now lives in his “house” (palace) (7:1, 2) and wants to build the LORD’s “house” (temple) (vv. 5, 6, 7, 13). But the LORD will establish David’s “house” (dynasty) (vv. 11, 16, 19, 25, 26, 27, 29), which honor’s David’s “house” (family status) (v. 18) (cf. William F. Stinespring, NOAB, 2nd ed., on chap. 7; cf. also Bar-Efrat, op. cit., on 7:1-29). David’s son will continue David’s dynasty. “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom” (v. 12). God will “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (v. 13). Even “when he commits iniquity,” though God “will punish him” (v. 14), God says, “I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you” (v. 15).

The covenant with Israel under Moses was conditional. “If you will diligently observe this entire commandment that I am commanding you, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and mightier than yourselves” (Deut. 11:22-23). “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn from the way that I am commanding you today, to follow other gods that you have not known” (Deut. 11:26-28).

If we look ahead to the summary of Solomon’s life (1 Kings, chap. 12), it would seem that he fits the pattern of rejecting God anticipated by Deuteronomy. To David the LORD says, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever” (1 Sam. 7:16). The significance of this promise is underscored by the reminder that it was revealed to Nathan by the LORD in a vision: “In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David” (v. 17).

David’s house includes Solomon, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Josiah, and the other kings of Judah. And though his dynasty appears to come to an end in the sixth century B.C. with the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its inhabitants, hope lives on in the fate of King Jehoiachin (2 Kgs. 25:27-30), in Zerubbabel (Hag. 1:12, 14; Zech. 4:6-7). For Jews this hope remained alive in the Messianic expectations, and Christians see David’s dynasty as extending to the kingdom of Christ, who “will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

Acts 18:1-11

Paul at Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla; the Arrival of Silas and Timothy

18:1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together–by trade they were tentmakers. 4 Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. 6 When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." 7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. 9 One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people. 11 He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. (Acts 18:1-11, NRSV)

On September 22, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year One), comments were repeated from August 6, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One), when some comments were repeated with editing and supplement from September 25, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21). The revised comments are repeated here:

After limited success in Athens (cf. the reading and comments for last Saturday, August 1, 2009), Paul moves on to Corinth (Acts 18:1), where he finds “a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome” (v. 2a). Claudius was emperor of Rome from AD 41-54. In his biography of Claudius, ca. AD 120, the Roman historian Suetonius includes the following: “Since the Jews were constantly causing disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome” (Lives of the Caesars Claudius 5.25.4, trans., Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D., “Paul’s Relationship with the Corinthian Christians,” on his web site: http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Paul-Corinth.htm#Claudius, accessed again July 31, 2009). Since this comes “near the middle” of the biography, Just dates the “incident involving the Jews of Rome [as] probably around the year 49 AD” (on the web site cited). He offers a few observations on this statement of Suetonius, including the following:

It is debated how many "Jews" would have been expelled from the city of Rome as a result of this edict: (a) all Jews and Christians; (b) all Jews, including Jewish Christians but not Gentile Christians; (c) only those Jewish-Christian preachers and/or other Jewish leaders involved in the public disturbance.

In any case, the edict would have gone out of effect at the death of Claudius in 54 AD; since the following emperor (Nero) did not renew the edict, those expelled could have returned to Rome after 54 AD. (ibid)

Luke informs us that the Jews brought Paul before the tribunal of Gallio in Corinth, “who was proconsul of Achaia” (Acts 18:12-17). According to Christopher R. Matthews, “L. Junius Gallio, older brother of the philosopher Seneca, [was] proconsul of Achaia about 52 CE. The dating of Gallio’s proconsulship is crucial for the chronological reconstruction of Paul’s career” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Acts 18:12). Beverly Roberts Gaventa reports that “An inscription at Delphi referring to Gallio allows his proconsulate in Corinth to be dated ca. 51-52 CE and thus may indicate that Paul began the church in Corinth during that period” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 18:12). If Paul was present in Corinth in AD 51 o 52, Aquila and Priscilla, expelled in Rome in or soon after AD 49, would have been there when Paul arrived. Gaventa cautions, “Luke may have consolidated several of Paul’s journeys to Corinth, however, making the connection between the reference to Gallio and Paul’s activities uncertain” (ibid.). But the indication of more occasions when Paul was in Corinth comes later, based on references in his Epistles to the Corinthians, and would not affect the conclusion that his initial arrival in Corinth was in AD 50 or 51. Visits to Corinth subsequent to his initial visit would include the “painful visit” (2 Cor. 2:1); and we note that he had planned to visit them on one occasion, but changed his plan (2 Cor. 1:15-17).

So Paul, now in Corinth, pays a visit to Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2b), and joins them in their common trade, for “because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together–by trade they were tentmakers” (v. 3). Paul would work at his trade during the week, but, as Luke informs us, “Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks” (v. 4). This would present the Gospel to Jews, which, as Luke continually reminds us, was a priority and first matter of business in each city. But the “Greeks” in the synagogue would be Gentiles interested in Judaism and of varying degrees of commitment to Judaism. Lydia of Philippi, for example, is described as “a worshiper of God” (Acts 16:14). Paul’s ministry continued in this fashion until “Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia(18:5a). Because Paul thanks the Philippian church, located in Macedonia, for financial help for his ministry on more than one occasion (Phil. 4:15-18; cf. v. 10 and 1:5), it is likely that when “Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia” (as noted above), they brought financial assistance to Paul that released him from the need to practice his tent-making trade, and allowed him to engage in ministry on a full-time basis. So then, “Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus” (Acts 18:5b).

But the Jews of Corinth, though not forming a mob as did those of Thessalonica (Acts 17:5), “opposed and reviled him,” so he turned to the Gentiles. “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles” (18:6). Even so, by moving in next door to the synagogue, with Titius Justus (v. 7), he was able to win over “Crispus, the official of the synagogue [who] became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household” (v. 8). “Unlike earlier departures from the synagogue,” says Gaventa, “Paul does not leave the area but remains very close by. Presumably Titius Justus, a Gentile who nevertheless worships God . . . has become a Christian” (op. cit., on Acts 18:7-8). The conversion of Crispus . . . indicates that Paul continues to preach among Jews, despite v.6, and that his proclamation meets with success even among synagogue leaders” (ibid.). The baptism of Crispus, as we know, “is mentioned as an exceptional case in 1 Cor. 1:14” (Matthews, op. cit., on v. 8). Paul is reassured by the Lord in a night vision: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people” (vv. 9-10; cf. 23:11; 27:23-26). So he stayed in Corinth for “a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (v. 11). We have evidence of his success there in the two Epistles to Corinth.

Mark 8:11-21

The Demand for a Sign

11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation." 13 And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

The “Yeast” of the Pharisees

14 Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out-beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod." 16 They said to one another, "It is because we have no bread." 17 And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" They said to him, "Twelve." 20 "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" And they said to him, "Seven." 21 Then he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" (Mark 8:11-21, NRSV)

On February 4, 2009 (Wednesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), comments on Mark 8:11-26 were repeated from March 5, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year Two), when comments were based, with some repetition, editing, combining and supplement, on those of August 6, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One), those of January 31, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), those of January 29, 2006 (the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), those of March 29, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year Two), those of March 6, 2005 (the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year One), and those of February 2, 2005 (Wednesday of the week of the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One). There is considerable repetition in this series. The resulting comments are used today and tomorrow.

Parallel or related passages from other Gospels for this reading are in two separate files: Demand for a Sign and Yeast of the Pharisees.

It appears from this encounter with Pharisees and the healing of the blind man in Bethsaida (Mk. 8:22-26) that Jesus is back in Jewish territory. He will depart again for Caesarea Philippi, but his discussion with the disciples about “the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod” (Mk. 8:15) relates to the two Feedings, of the Five Thousand and of the Four Thousand. If they truly had eyes to see and ears to hear (v. 18), perhaps they would have recognized Jesus himself as “the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35), “the bread that came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:41).

In this passage, Jesus seams to deal with misunderstanding on the part of two groups, the Pharisees and the disciples. We might rather call it opposition, hostility from the Pharisees, since they ask for “a sign (shmei:on, sēmeion) from heaven, to test him” (Mk. 8:11). According to the Gospel of John, the Pharisees could have seen numerous signs. Nicodemus, a “Pharisee” (Jn. 3:1), said to Jesus, “no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God” (Jn. 3:2). This comes soon after the statement that “many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing” (Jn. 2:23). In John 11:47 the chief priests and Pharisees ask, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.” But “sign” (shmei:on, sēmeion) is John’s word for the miracles of Jesus; Mark uses other terminology. And in John the crowd asks about signs: “So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?’” (Jn. 6:30).

When asked for a sign, according to Mark, Jesus “sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign (shmei:on, sēmeion)? Truly I tell you, no sign (shmei:on, sēmeion) will be given to this generation’ ” (Mk. 8:12). With that, according to Mark, Jesus ends the discussion. “And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side” (v. 13). Matthew takes his cue from Mark here, but adds Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees and Sadducees for having ability to interpret the signs of the weather (Mt. 16:2-3a; cf. Lk. 12:54-56a), but lacking the ability to “interpret the signs (ta; shmei:a, ta sēmeia) of the times (Mt. 16:3b; cf. “to interpret the present time,” Lk. 12:56b). Apparently from another source (“Q”), both Matthew and Luke present here Jesus’ reference to “the sign (to; shmei:on, to sēmeion) of Jonah” (Mt. 16:4; Lk. 11:29; cf. “the sign (to; shmei:on, to sēmeion) of the prophet Jonah,” Mt. 12:39).

Matthew continues with Mark to the discussion of the Yeast of the Pharisees. As Jesus and the disciples “went across to the other side” (Mk. 8:13; cf. Mt. 16:5), but “the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread” (Mk. 8:14a; Mt. 16:5), though “they had only one loaf with them in the boat” (Mk. 8:14b). This situation leads Jesus to present a warning, not about real bread, but about an attitude of the Pharisees and of Herod (Mk.) or the Sadducees (Mt.). “Watch out,” says Jesus, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod” (Mk. 8:5), or “. . . of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Mt. 16:6). Luke, who mentions only the Pharisees, interprets their yeast as “their hypocrisy” (Lk. 12:1).

Taylor takes Mark 8:15 to mean, “Take heed and beware of the evil disposition of the Pharisees,” and “the reference to ‘the leaven of Herod’ is timely if the enigmatic Dalmanutha was on the west shore in the neighbourhood of Tiberias” (op. cit., p. 365, on Mk. 8:15). But as the discussion continues, Taylor observes that “after [verse] 16 the saying [v. 15] is ignored, [and] attention is concentrated on the stupidity of the disciples” (ibid., p. 363, on vv. 14-21). Jesus becomes aware of the disciples’ discussion, and asks, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?” (Mk. 8:17-18). Matthew’s parallel to these questions is abbreviated somewhat, omitting reference to “hearts hardened,” but pointing out their “little faith”: “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive?” (Mt. 16:8-9a). In both Gospels, Jesus reminds the disciples of the Feedings of the Five Thousand and the Four Thousand (Mk. 8:19-20; cf. Mt. 16:9-10). Mark closes the discussion with Jesus question, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mk. 8:21). But Matthew quotes Jesus’ more extended explanation. “How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread?” he asks (Mt. 16:11a). Jesus then repeats the warning with emphasis, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” (v. 11b). For Matthew, the meaning of the “yeast” is not hypocrisy (cf. Lk. 12:1, cited above), but rather “the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Mt. 16:12).

For Mark, the misunderstanding of the disciples is not hostile. Richard A. Horsley says they “simply do not understand what is happening, either the scheming of the religious and political authorities seeking to destroy Jesus (cf. 3:6) or the renewal movement underway among the surrounding peoples as well as among Israelite villages” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Mk. 8:13-21). Jesus may seem to be exasperated with their failure to understand, but, as we know, he kept working with them. He probably gets exasperated with us too, at times, but he has promised: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net