2 Chronicles 29:1-3; 30:1 (2-9) 10-27

29:1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, just as his ancestor David had done.

The Temple Cleansed

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. (2 Chronicles 29:1-3, NRSV)

30:1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover to the LORD the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the passover in the second month 3 (for they could not keep it at its proper time because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem). 4 The plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the passover to the LORD the God of Israel, at Jerusalem; for they had not kept it in great numbers as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, as the king had commanded, saying, "O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your ancestors and your kindred, who were faithless to the LORD God of their ancestors, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your ancestors were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For as you return to the LORD, your kindred and your children will find compassion with their captors, and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him." (1 Chronicles 30:1-9, NRSV)

10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. 11 Only a few from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the officials commanded by the word of the LORD.

13 Many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the festival of unleavened bread in the second month, a very large assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for offering incense they took away and threw into the Wadi Kidron. 15 They slaughtered the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed, and they sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the law of Moses the man of God; the priests dashed the blood that they received from the hands of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites had to slaughter the passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to make it holy to the LORD. 18 For a multitude of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the passover otherwise than as prescribed. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "The good LORD pardon all 19 who set their hearts to seek God, the LORD the God of their ancestors, even though not in accordance with the sanctuary's rules of cleanness." 20 The LORD heard Hezekiah, and healed the people. 21 The people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the festival of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, accompanied by loud instruments for the LORD. 22 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the LORD. So the people ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing offerings of well-being and giving thanks to the LORD the God of their ancestors.

23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the festival for another seven days; so they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For King Hezekiah of Judah gave the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for offerings, and the officials gave the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. The priests sanctified themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the resident aliens who came out of the land of Israel, and the resident aliens who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon son of King David of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites stood up and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; their prayer came to his holy dwelling in heaven. (2 Chronicles 30:10-27, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from October 2, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One):

The focus of recent Old Testament readings has been on the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the times of Elijah and Elisha down to the fall of the Northern Kingdom due to the attack of the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C. The readings now turn to the Southern Kingdom, which survived the Assyrian attack, and persisted for another century and a half, only to be conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire that had replaced Assyria as the Mesopotamian superpower. A few words about the sources of our information, the Books of Kings and Chronicles are in order. The Books of Samuel and Kings continue the history of Israel from Joshua and Judges, as a sequence of historical books. For the Jews, these books are known as the Former Prophets; the Latter Prophets being Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Twelve, that is Hosea through Malachi counted as one book. Samuel-Kings covers the time from Eli and Samuel through the kingdom period to its end with the Babylonian captivity in the early sixth century B.C. The Books of Chronicles are included by the Jews in the third (i.e., last) section of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Writings. They review and repeat some of the history of the Samuel-Kings sequence, mainly that of the Southern Kingdom (Judah), often using the Samuel-Kings series as a source, with some revision and additions of material from other sources. The story of Chronicles essentially concludes with the Babylonian Captivity, as does that of Samuel-Kings, but whereas 2 Kings concludes with the hopeful note of the release of King Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon, about 562 B.C. (2 Kgs. 25:27, at the beginning of the reign of the Babylonian king, Evil-merodach), 2 Chronicles ends by reporting the edict of Cyrus the Great of Persia which permitted the Jews to return to their homeland from Babylonian captivity (2 Chron. 36:22-23), an edict which is repeated with some elaboration in Ezra 1:2-4).

A major concern of the compilers and editors of Samuel-Kings, especially, perhaps 1 and 2 Kings, is the attempt to explain the disasters in which the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria and later the Southern Kingdom fell to Babylon. Recent readings from 2 Kings, chapter 17, have made that abundantly clear. The Books of Chronicles, which come later–with reference to the beginning of the return from exile, and genealogies down to the time of the return (1 Chron., chap. 1-9)–is more concerned with the task of rebuilding the nation. In the genealogies at the beginning of 2 Chronicles, major space is devoted to the family of David and the tribe of Judah (1 Chron. 3:1-4:23) and to the tribe of Levi (6:1-91) in part, at least, because restoration of the nation would require knowing who would be the legitimate king(s) and priests. Also, since it was mainly the tribe of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) that was left to be defeated by the Babylonians, it is mainly Judeans that return from exile. The Chronicler, as the narrator(s)-compiler(s)-editor(s) of Chronicles is/are called, completely omits much of the dark side of David’s reign. According to Gary Knoppers,

In Samuel the reference to David’s staying in Jerusalem [2 Sam. 11:1] provides the background to the troubling story of David’s affair with Bathsheba. But in Chronicles, the same notice is incidental, providing the reader an explanation as to David’s whereabouts. The Chronicler omits completely the story of David’s liaison with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:2-12:25), which casts David in a negative light. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Chron. 20:11-3)

Knoppers further notes that “The stories in 2 Samuel about the rape of Tamar, Absalom’s rebellion, the execution of Saul’s descendants, and the disaffection of the northern tribes, which cast David in a negative light, do not appear in Chronicles” (ibid., on 1 Chron. 20:4-8). On the other hand, there is in 1 Chronicles elaborate detail about the furniture, music, worship, and Levitical leaders of worship in the tent/tabernacle, and by implication, of the temple to be built by Solomon (cf. chaps. 16, 22-29). David Rothstein discusses other differences of emphasis between Kings and Chronicles.

Hezekiah is, after David and Solomon, the outstanding Judean monarch in Chronicles, equivalent in stature to Josiah in Kings. In addition to the bulk of material devoted to his reign, several features and lexical links suggest that Chronicles sought to portray him as a second Solomon or, possibly a combination of David and Solomon. Most fundamentally, Hezekiah symbolizes the reunification of all Israel around the Jerusalem Temple, as in the days of David and Solomon. . . . The high esteem in which Hezekiah was held is reflected in the rabbinic statement that, despite some failings, he had been worthy to be Israel’s messiah (b. Sanh. 94a). The key difference between Kings’ treatment of Hezekiah and that of Chronicles is that while the former concentrates on Hezekiah’s military and geopolitical engagements, especially with Assyria, the latter minimizes thes in favor of Hezekiah’s religious achievements. (This is reminiscent of Chronicles’ treatment of David.). (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on 2 Chron. 29:1-32:33)

So the present reading–pardon the elaborate introduction–turns to the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah (715-687/6 B.C.), the first king of Judah whose reign does not overlap with the period of the Northern Kingdom (cf. the table of the Chronology of the Kings of the Divided Monarchy, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, p. 500). According to Knoppers, the dates for the reign of Hezekiah are given as “727/715–698/687 BCE” because “the data are inconsistent” (op. cit., on 2 Chron. 29:1-36). Knoppers’s dates would show Hezekiah’s reign as overlapping the last years of Hoshea’s, the last king of Northern Israel. The Chronicler, following 2 Kings 18:1-3, but omitting the reference to “King Hoshea son of Elah of Israel” v. 1), says, “Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, just as his ancestor David had done” (2 Chron. 29:1-2; cf. 2 Kgs. 18:1-3). “The Chronicler,” says Knoppers, “ devotes more attention to Hezekiah . . . than to any other king except David and Solomon (29:1-32:33); the Chronicler views Hezekiah as an ‘ideal’ king of the post Davidic-Solomonic era” (ibid.).

Next, we are told that Hezekiah repaired and restored the Temple with its worship. “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them” (2 Chron. 29:3). But most of the details of this restoration (29:1-36) are passed over, as we move on to the “National Passover and further religious reforms” (Knoppers’ subtitle for 30:1-31:1). The Chronicler says, “Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover to the LORD the God of Israel” (30:1). The king, his officials and the people of Jerusalem have agreed “to keep the passover in the second month,” we are told (v. 2), because “they could not keep it at its proper time because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem” (v. 3). “In addition to expressing Chronicles’ pan-Israel view,” says Rothstein, “this passage also conveys the importance of the cultus. The inclusion of all segments of the population in the decision-making process is typical of upright ‘democratic’ kings; see 1 Chron. 13:1” (ibid., on 2 Chron. 30:1-3). This plan, which “seemed right to the king and all the assembly” (v. 4), is proclaimed “throughout all Israel, from Beer-Sheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the passover to the LORD the God of Israel, at Jerusalem; for they had not kept it in great numbers as prescribed” (v. 5). As the couriers go “throughout all Israel and Judah,” they deliver letters that say, “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria” (v. 6). According to Rothstein, “Measure-for-measure reward is expressed: If the people return to the LORD . . . He will return to the remnant. V. 9 continues this motif with a slight twist: The captives will be returned to the land” (ibid., on v. 6). The remaining Israelites in the north are reminded again of the sins of their ancestors and their now departed fellow countrymen. “Do not be like your ancestors and your kindred, who were faithless to the LORD God of their ancestors, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your ancestors were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger may turn away from you” (vv. 7-8). Even now, grace is offered to these people. “For as you return to the LORD, your kindred and your children will find compassion with their captors, and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him” (v. 9). “In spite of the Assyrian exile” says Knoppers, “(v. 6; cf. 2 Kings 18:9-12), the northerners are still Israelites, and their positive response may elicit compassion for their relatives in exile (v. 9)” (ibid., on vv. 5-9).

As these messengers progress throughout “the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun,” people laugh “them to scorn” and mock them (v. 10). A few, “from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun” respond well; they “humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem” (v. 11). There was a better response in Judah, as might be expected, for “The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the officials commanded by the word of the LORD” (v. 12). So, according to Knoppers, the response in Judah is “enthusiastic,” but from the northern tribes it is “mixed” (ibid., on vv. 10-14). But there was great celebration in Jerusalem. “Many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the festival of unleavened bread in the second month, a very large assembly” (v. 13). People pitched in for a “work day” of preparation. “They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for offering incense they took away and threw into the Wadi Kidron” (v. 14). Although a month late, “they slaughtered the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month” (v. 15a). The priests and Levites, ashamed, did their duties. They “sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the LORD” (v. 15b). “the took their accustomed posts,” we are told, “according to the law of Moses the man of God,” and “the priests dashed the blood that they received from the hands of the Levites” (v. 16).

But many people had come to the festival unprepared. “For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites had to slaughter the passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to make it holy to the LORD” (v. 17). The narrator explains: “For a multitude of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the passover otherwise than as prescribed” (v. 18a). “But Hezekiah prayed for them saying, ‘The good LORD pardon all who set their hearts to seek God, the LORD the God of their ancestors, even though not in accordance with the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness’ ” (v. 19). This generous and compassionate move on Hezekiah’s part may be compared to Jesus saying, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath” (Mk. 2:27). The Chronicler tells us that “The LORD heard Hezekiah, and healed the people” (2 Chron. 30:20). “This is a remarkable deviation from Priestly norms,” says Rothstein, “which are punctilious concerning matters of ritual purity. Sincere prayer from a righteous king (v. 20) trumps typical concerns” (op. cit., on vv. 18-20). According to Knoppers, “These verses suggest that the stereotypical view of postexilic Judaism as legalistic and inflexible is incorrect” (on vv. 18-20). He apparently refers to the time of writing as post-exilic, not the actions of Hezekiah. And so, “the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the festival of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, accompanied by loud instruments for the LORD” (v. 21). Hezekiah encouraged the Levites, and, as we say, “a good time was had by all”: “Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the LORD. So the people ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing offerings of well-being and giving thanks to the LORD the God of their ancestors” (v. 22).

In fact, the celebration was prolonged. “Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the festival for another seven days; so they kept it for another seven days with gladness” (v. 23). Could it be that a factor in prolonging the festival was due to over-provision for northerners who failed to show up? In any event, we are told that “King Hezekiah of Judah gave the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for offerings, and the officials gave the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep” (v. 24a). In any event, they were well prepared. “The priests sanctified themselves in great numbers,” we are told (v. 24b), and “the whole assembly of Judah, the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the resident aliens who came out of the land of Israel, and the resident aliens who lived in Judah, rejoiced” (v. 25). In fact, we are told, “there was great joy in Jerusalem, joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon son of King David of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem” (v. 26). The account of the festival concludes with the description of the blessing on the people by the priests and Levites. “Then the priests and the Levites stood up and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; their prayer came to his holy dwelling in heaven” (v. 27).

1 Corinthians 7:32-40

32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; 33 but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his fiancée, if his passions are strong, and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. 37 But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée, he will do well. 38 So then, he who marries his fiancée does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better.

39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But in my judgment she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 7:32-40, NRSV)

On February 26, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year Two), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from October 2, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One), when comments were repeated from March 21, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year Two); they are repeated again here with some editing:

Paul gives further instructions about marriage that should not be understood as hard and fast rules for all time, but rather as practical suggestions for the eschatological situation as Paul understands it (cf. comments cited from Ben Witherington III in yesterdays comments, Sept. 28, 2009). He points out some truths that are practical in nature. “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife. and his interests are divided” (1 Cor. 7:32-34a). There is truth in this observation related to how one sets his priorities, but many married Christian ministers have found ways to do the Lord’s work while remaining sensitive to spouse and children, not neglecting their needs, emotional and otherwise. Some have remained single and, presumably, with added time for certain kinds of work, have been prodigious in their output and achievements. But such a life can be very lonely if one is thereby deprived of companionship and Christian fellowship. Notably, Paul’s concerns in these matters are balanced, as elsewhere, with equal attention given to the women. “And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband” (v. 34b). According to Victor Paul Furnish, “Unmarried woman” refers here to “one previously married, as distinguished from a virgin, who has never been married” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Cor. 7:34). Richard A. Horsley says that the words “Holy in body and spirit may reflect the Corinthian ascetics’ concern for bodily purity for the sake of spiritual transcendence, or Paul’s concern that body as well as spirit be kept holy” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Cor. 7:34). Paul explains his reasons for advice here. “I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord” (v. 35). Horsley says, “Because the married person’s attention would thus be divided between the Lord and the spouse, the unmarried condition is the better one, as stated in vv. 26-29 and again in v. 38” (ibid., on 1 Cor. 7:32-35).

Having stated these concerns related to his eschatological perspective (as noted yesterday and above today), Paul makes it clear that he is not forbidding marriage. He addresses the situation of those contemplating marriage (vv. 36-38), including the widows (vv. 30-40). “If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his fiancée (hJ parqevnoV, hē parthenos), if his passions are strong, and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry” (v. 36). “Fiancée,” says Horsley, “appropriately interprets the Greek for ‘virgin’ [hJ parqevnoV, hē parthenos, feminine here], indicating that she is engaged” (ibid., on vv. 36-37). On the other hand, one who is prepared to remain single does well to do so. “But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée [hJ parqevnoV, hē parthenos], he will do well” (v. 37). So the one who marries does well, and the one “who refrains from marriage will do better” (v. 38).

As for wives, Paul concludes the chapter with this advice: “A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord” (v. 39). “Apparently,” says Horsley, Paul is “addressing Corinthian women’s ascetic separation from their husbands as the principal issue at hand, [and] reasserts the traditional Jewish stance on marriage” (ibid., on v. 39). But again, he states his view that one may marry or not, this time addressing the widow. “But in my judgment she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God” (v. 40). According to Horsley, Paul’s “own opinion comes closer to what the Corinthian ascetics probably wanted to hear. And like them he also has the Spirit of God” (ibid., on v. 40). But for him this refers to his apostolic calling and authority. Furnish explains, “My judgment (see also 7:12, 25; 2 Cor. 8:10), the judgment of an apostle and one who has been informed by the Spirit of God (cf. 2:16, we have the mind of Christ)” (op. cit., on v. 40). Furnish notes that Paul “is consistent in applying the twofold principle that it is better not to be married but no sin to be married (see vv. 7, 88, 25-28, 32-35)” (ibid., on v. 38).

Matthew 7:1-12

7 "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.

Profaning the Holy

6 "Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

Ask, Search, Knock (Lk 11.9-13)

7 "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10 Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The Golden Rule (Lk 6.31)

12 "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:1-12, NRSV)

On April 25, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), comments were repeated from October 2, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One), when comments were repeated from May 19, 2006 (Friday of the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year two); they are repeated again here:

            On Judging Others

To Matthew’s brief injunction, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged” (Mt. 7:1, Luke’s parallel adds “do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.” and “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Lk. 6:37). Both Gospels have the passive voice in the motive for not judging, “so that you may not be judged” (Mt.), “and you will not be judged” (Lk.). It has been suggested that the passive voice is a Jewish circumlocution, one of various ways to avoid saying God’s name. The meaning would be, “Do not judge, so that God will not judge you!” The point is graphically illustrated by the reference to the log and the speck (below).

The principle of getting back what one gives is expressed in both Gospels, but with a difference. “For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get” (Mt. 7:2);, says Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, but after advising forgiveness (Lk. 6:37) and generous giving, Luke’s version expresses the principle in positive terms: “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Lk. 6:38). And before Luke’s version moves on to the speck in one’s eye, a short parable is presented: “He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher’ ” (Lk. 6:39-40; cf. Mt. 15:14; 10:24-25). But both versions share the advice to remove the log from one’s own eye before attempting to remove the speck from the neighbor’s eye. “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye,” says Jesus, “but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Mt. 7:3 = Lk. 6:41). The two versions are the same in Greek except for a minor difference in word order with repetition of the definite article thvn (tēn), and different words for “own” in the phrase, “in your own eye” (ejn tw:/ sw:/ ojfqalmw:/, en tō(i) sō(i) ophthalmō(i), Mt.; ejn tw:/ ijdivw/ ojfqalmw:/, en tō(i) idiō(i) ophthalmō(i) ) (Mt. 7:3-5; Lk. 6:41-42). The continuation is also almost, but not quite, identical. “Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?” (Mt. 7:4); “Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye?” (Lk. 6:42a). And the concluding statement is identical in both versions. “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye” (Mt. 7:5 = Lk. 6:42b, again with minor differences in word order). The word order difference in Greek suggests Matthew’s emphasis on “your own eye” as the locus of the log, whereas Luke’s word order emphasizes the “log” that is in your own eye. Paul expands on the theme of not judging. “Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say, ‘We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.’ Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God?” (Rom. 2:1-3).

            On Profaning the Holy

“Do not give what is holy to dogs,” says Jesus; “and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you” (Mt. 7:6). This saying has no parallel in the canonical Gospels, but is quoted in some early Christian writings. In the Didache, at the end of a paragraph on the Eucharist, it says, “But let non eat or drink of your Eucharist except those who have been baptized in the Lord’s Name. For concerning this also did the Lord say, ‘Give not that which is holy to the dogs’ ” (Didache ix, 5, trans., Kirsopp Lake, Loeb Classical Library). The saying appears in the Gospel of Thomas, “<Jesus said:> Do not give what is holy to the dogs, lest they cast it upon the dungheap (kopriva [kopria] ). Do not throw your pearls (margarivthV [margaritēs] ) to the swine, lest they make it . . . .” (GT 93, trans., Bruce W. Metzger, his ellipsis). The saying is also attributed to the Gospel according to Basilides, “the earliest of the Alexandrian Gnostics . . . [who] flourished . . . about 120-140” (“Basilides,” Catholic Encyclopedia, on the Internet at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02326a.htm, accessed Sept. 29, 2009). Dennis C. Duling reminds us that “Dogs [is] an insult; see [Mt.] 15:26-27; Deut 23:18; Phil. 3:2; Rev. 22:15,” and Swine [is] considered unclean by Israelites, see [Mt.] 8:31; Lev. 11:7-8; Isa. 65:4; 2 Pet. 2:22 . . .” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 7:6).

Is Jesus telling us that there are some people with whom we should not share the gospel (“what is holy”)? The later application to the Eucharist (in the Didache, see above), is surely not the meaning in the context of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. In the Gospel of Thomas, the negative cast of the saying is sharper, perhaps to exclude all but the true “gnostics.” William Barclay, suggesting minor alteration in the transmission of this saying, calls it “a good example of the Hebrew habit of parallelism” (The Gospel of Matthew, rev. ed., 1975, The Daily Study Bible, vol. 1, p. 267). He prints the saying in two lines:

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs;

Neither cast ye your pearls before swine

“With the exception of two words,” says Barclay,

the parallelism is complete. Give is paralleled by cast; dogs by swine; but holy is not really balanced by pearls. There the parallelism breaks down. It so happens that there are two Hebrew words which are very like each other, especially when we remember that Hebrew has no written vowels. The word for holy is kadosh (K D SH); and the Aramaic word for an ear-ring is kadasha (K D SH). The consonants are exactly the same, and in primitive written Hebrew the words would look exactly the same. Still further, in the Talmud, ‘an ear-ring in a swine’s snout’ is a proverbial phrase for something which is entirely incongruous and out of place. It is by no means impossible that the original phrase ran:

Give not an ear-ring unto the dogs;

Neither cast ye your pearls before swine,

in which case the parallelism would be perfect. (ibid., pp. 267-268)

Barclay suggests that “if that is the real meaning of the phrase, it would simply mean that there are certain people who are not fit, not able, to receive the message which the Church is so willing to give. It would not then be a statement of exclusiveness; it would be the statement of a practical difficulty of communication which meets the preacher in every age” (p. 268).

On Asking, Searching, Knocking

In Matthew’s sermon, Jesus continues: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Mt. 7:7-11). The parallel passage, Luke 11:9-13, is almost identical, word-for-word with few exceptions. The examples of requested items and items not given vary a little:

            bread, stone (Mt. 6:9)             fish, snake (Lk. 11:11)

            fish, snake (Mt. 6:10)             egg, scorpion (Lk. 11:12)

Jesus assures us that God is more willing than a human father to give us “good things” (Mt. 6:11; “the Holy Spirit” Lk. 11:13). For many of us, we welcome this encouragement to ask, don’t we? We are reminded, of course, that we are to ask in Jesus’ name (Jn. 14:13-14), which implies that we should ask for what God would have us request. These sayings are also cited in early Christian writings. In the Gospel of Thomas, the proximity to the preceding saying in Matthew would suggest that Matthew’s Gospel is the source. “Jesus said: Seek and you will find. But (ajllav [alla] those things about which you asked me during those days, I did not tell you on that day. Now I am willing to tell them, and you do not inquire about them” (GT 92, trans., Metzger). “Jesus [said]: He who seeks will find, . . . , it will be opened to him” (GT, 94, trans., Metzger). However, the Gospel of Thomas puts its own twist on the saying.

On the Golden Rule

Both versions of the sermon include the Golden Rule. “In everything,” says Jesus, “do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets” (Mt. 7:12). Luke’s version of the Golden Rule is very brief. “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Lk. 6:31). Previous sections of Matthew’s sermon have had their parallels elsewhere, but, for the moment, at least, the two sermons come together. In Matthew’s version of the Golden Rule, Jesus presents it as the epitome of “the law and the prophets.” Parallels to this have been found in other cultures, including that of ancient China, for example, “Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence” (Confucianism, Mencius, VII.A.4, cited by World Scripture, The Golden Rule http://www.unification.net/ws/theme015.htm, accessed again September 28, 2009), Hillel is credited with a version of the Golden Rule. It is said that

A certain heathen came to Shammai and said to him, ‘Make me a proselyte, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.’ Thereupon he repulsed him with the rod which was in his hand. When he went to Hillel, he said to him, ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah; all the rest of it is commentary; go and learn.’ (Talmud, Shabbat 31a, cited by ibid.)

There are many who would tell us how to live. I believe that Christianity provides a form of redemption that brings the power to live in that way.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net