Jeremiah 37:3-21

Unwarranted Optimism

3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah saying, "Please pray for us to the LORD our God." 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: This is what the two of you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me; Pharaoh's army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt. 8 And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go away. 10 Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire. (Jeremiah 37:3-10, NRSV)

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property among the people there. 13 When he reached the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans." 14 And Jeremiah said, "That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans." But Irijah would not listen to him, and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 The officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of the secretary Jonathan, for it had been made a prison. 16 Thus Jeremiah was put in the cistern house, in the cells, and remained there many days. (Jeremiah 37:11-16, NRSV)

Zedekiah’s Secret Interview with Jeremiah

17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him, and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the LORD?" Jeremiah said, "There is!" Then he said, "You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon." 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, "What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land'? 20 Now please hear me, my lord king: be good enough to listen to my plea, and do not send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan to die there." 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard; and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. (Jeremiah 37:17-21, NRSV)

On Zedekiah’s Unwarranted Optimism

On October 17, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to October 12, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from October 12, 2005 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 12, Year One); the comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

Perhaps you have noticed that in the last few days the Old Testament readings have presented a rather smooth transition from the narratives of 2 Kings into prophetic work of Jeremiah within that period. On Friday of last week (Oct. 9, 2009), the reading was 2 Kings 23:36-24:17, with accounts of the reigns of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, and Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim. On Saturday (Oct. 10, 2009), the reading was Jeremiah 35:1-19, on the Rechabites, whose faithfulness to their religious convictions is praised by Jeremiah. Lessons then continued in Jeremiah, as Jeremiah sent Baruch to read a scroll of prophecy in the temple (Jer. 36:1-10, Sun., Oct. 11), Jehoiakim’s obstinate burning of the scroll (Jer. 36:11-26, Mon., Oct. 12), and so forth. At the close of yesterday’s reading, we learned that, after the three-month reign of Jehoiachin (Coniah), the king of Babylon made Zedekiah king in his place (Jer. 37:1). And Zedekiah continued Jehoiakim’s refusal to heed Jeremiah’s warnings, as we are told, “But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah” (v. 2).

Nevertheless, as today’s reading begins, it appears that the new king, Zedekiah, has had a change of heart, at least for the moment, about Jeremiah and his predictions of doom (cf. 32:1-5; 37:2). King Zedekiah now sends “Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah saying, ‘Please pray for us to the LORD our God’ ” (Jer. 37:3). We are reminded that Jeremiah is still able to go “in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison” (v. 4, cf. v. 15). The setting for today’s reading seems to have changed for the better. The Chaldean (Babylonian) army that has been besieging Jerusalem withdraws to face the challenge posed by “the army of Pharaoh [which has] come out of Egypt” (v. 5). But it is still not wise to trust in Egypt (cf. Isa. 31:1-3; Jer. 2:18; 26:21-23). Through the prophet Jeremiah, the LORD says (v. 6), “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: This is what the two of you shall say (Urm4xto hKo, kōh tō’m ^erû, 2^nd person plural verb; ejrei:V, ereis LXX 44:7, 2^nd person singular verb) to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me” (37:7a NRSV). The translation, “the two of you” (NRSV), based on the second person plural verb, assumes the presence of Baruch (cf. 36:32) with Jeremiah. The recent Jewish translation, perhaps following the Septuagint, says “Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: Thus shall you [singular or plural] to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me” (Jer. 37:7 NJPS 1985, 1999). Either way, the message is not what Zedekiah wants. “Pharaoh's army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt” (v. 7b). According to Marvin A. Sweeney, “Although the Egyptians lost control of Judah when they were defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemesh in 605 BCE, Jehoiakim had been their ally. Under Pharaoh Hophra (also known as Apries; 589-570 BCE; cf. Jer. 44:30), they apparently sent a force to Judah in an attempt to lift the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. The Egyptians were defeated and forced to withdraw” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Jer. 37:3-5). Mark E. Biddle says, “Shortly after his accession (spring, 587 BCE), an army of Pharaoh Hophra (Apries) CAME UP FROM Egypt to relieve besieged Jerusalem (34:21). The inhabitants concluded that a deliverance as in the days of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:32-37) had occurred, but Jeremiah warned them that such optimism was wholly unwarranted” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Jer. 37 3-10). With the withdrawal of the Egyptian “help,” Nebuchadrezzar’s army will return to Jerusalem. And so, the LORD’s message for Zedekiah to be delivered by Jeremiah continues. “And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire” (v. 8). The people of Jerusalem should not deceive themselves. “Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,’ for they will not go away” (v. 9). The inevitability of judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah, as God’s punishment, is stressed. The Babylonian army is merely the LORD’s instrument. “Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you,” says the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, “and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire” (v. 10).

On Jeremiah’s Imprisonment

During this interlude, Jeremiah tries to attend to some personal business. “Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property among the people there” (vv. 11-12). It would appear that he wants to inspect the property he has recently purchased (Jer., chap. 32). But according to Leo G. Perdue revised by Robert R. Wilson, “this [attempt] is probably not connected with the redeeming of the field in Anathoth (ch. 32), which occurred when he was in prison” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jer. 37:11-15). On the other hand, Biddle says that 32:6-15 “may suggest the occasion” (op. cit., on Jer. 37:12). In any case, he does not get to Anathoth, but meets with an unexpected problem. “When he reached the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah saying, ‘You are deserting to the Chaldeans’ ” (v. 13). Anathoth was about four miles northeast of Jerusalem (cf. the scale of Map 6, NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007). According to Sweeney, “the Benjamin Gate would have been on the north side of the city where the territory of Benjamin was located” (op. cit., on v. 13). Although Jeremiah denies the charge of treason, saying, “That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans” (v. 14a), Irijah is determined. “But,” we are told, “Irijah would not listen to him, and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials” (v. 14b). Sweeney says, “Irijah son of Shelemaiah son of Hananiah [was] apparently the grandson of the prophet Hananiah (ch. 28)” (ibid.). “The officials were enraged at Jeremiah,” says the narrator, “and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of the secretary (rpes0oha, hassōfēr; ‘scribe’ NJPS) Jonathan, for it had been made a prison” (v. 15). This Jonathan is apparently mentioned only in this context (Jer. 37:15, 20; 38:26), and little is known about him, but he may have been among the royal officials informed of Jeremiah’s first scroll as was Elishama the secretary (rpes0oha, hassōfēr, 36:12). How his house came to be the prison, we are not told, but “thus Jeremiah was put in the cistern house, in the cells, and remained there many days” (37:16). “Although Jeremiah denied the charge,” says Sweeney, “he was harshly imprisoned in the house of the scribe Jonathan in a pit, a cistern or tank in which water would collect during the rainy season” (ibid., on vv. 14-16).

Jeremiah’s purchase of a field (chap. 32) at Anathoth, his home town (1:1), whether it comes later (cf. Perdue and Wilson, above) or sooner (cf. Biddle, above), was a prophetic action, a sign that “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (32:15). In other words, it was an act of faith in the long-term future of Israel, on the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon, in “the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar” (Jer. 32:1), that is, 588 B.C.

On Zedekiah’s Secret Interview with Jeremiah

According to Perdue and Wilson, “The prose narratives in these two chapters [i.e., chaps. 37-38] are sequential accounts of Jeremiah’s dealings with Zedekiah during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem” (op. cit., on Jer. 37:1-38:20). According to the narrators of Kings, in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign [588 B.C.], he “rebelled against the king of Babylon” (2 Kgs. 24:20b), and Nebuchadnezzar’s response was to come “with all his army against Jerusalem, and [lay] siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around” (2 Kgs. 25:1). Although there was an interim, when the Babylonians left to defeat the challenge of Pharaoh Hophra (see above), they soon returned. At the present point in the narrative, whether during the temporary lifting of the siege or when it was, or was about to be, resumed, we are told, “Then King Zedekiah sent for him [i.e., Jeremiah], and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house, and said, ‘Is there any word from the LORD?’ Jeremiah said, ‘There is!’ Then he said, “You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon’ ” (Jer. 37:17). “Despite his [i.e., Jeremiah’s] imprisonment,” says Sweeney, “Zedekiah continues to ask him for prophetic oracles. In contrast to his brother Jehoiakim, Zedekiah was apparently a supporter of alliance with Babylonia, but his weak position as a regent appointed by the Babylonians in place of the legitimate king Jehoiachin prevented him from stopping the revolt” (op. cit., on v. 17). Biddle apparently attributes the revolt to Zedekiah himself, and says, “In a secret interview, Zedekiah sought reassurance for his ill-advised revolt, but in vain (21:2)” (op. cit., on vv. 16-21).

But though Jeremiah is unable to give a hopeful prophetic word to Zedekiah, he has some limited success with a request for bettering his own situation. “Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, ‘What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison?’ ” (v. 18). He points out the failure of prophets who have opposed his message. “Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against the land’?” (v. 19; compare Hananiah in chap. 28). And Jeremiah makes an eloquent plea. “Now please hear me, my lord king: be good enough to listen to my plea, and do not send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan to die there” (v. 20). And Zedekiah grants this request. “So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard; and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard” (v. 21). “Jeremiah does succeed,” say Perdue and Wilson, “in being transferred to more comfortable quarters” (op. cit., on vv. 16-21), though still as a prisoner, we must add. Sweeney puts it this way: “Zedekiah grants Jeremiah’s request for mercy by placing him in the prison compound and giving him a daily loaf of bread. In a situation of siege, food supplies would eventually be exhausted” (op. cit., on v. 21).

1 Corinthians 14:13-25

The Need for Interpretation of Tongues

13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. 15 What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19 nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

The Effects of Prophecy versus the Effects of Tongues

20 Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. 21 In the law it is written,

"By people of strange tongues

and by the lips of foreigners

I will speak to this people;

yet even then they will not listen to me,"

says the Lord.22 Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all.25 After the secrets of the unbeliever's heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, "God is really among you." (1 Corinthians 14:13-25, NRSV)

On October 17, 2007 (Tuesday and Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 12, Year One), and on March 10, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year Two), comments were based on earlier comments as noted there. Today’s comments are based on the earlier comments:

In yesterday’s comments we were reminded that Paul lists gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, and presents love (ajgavph, agapē) as the indispensable, essential condition of their use, “a still more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31). Neither speaking in tongues nor prophetic powers have any value apart from love (13:1-2). But given that condition, both have some value. Paul compares the gifts of prophecy and tongues, and shows a preference for the former. “For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Cor. 14:2-3).

In today’s reading, Paul gives instructions about speaking in tongues. “Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret ( i{na perisseuvhte, hina perisseuēte, lit. ‘that he may interpret’)” (1 Cor. 14:13). “The power to interpret,” says Victor Paul Furnish, is “a paraphrase of the Greek; perhaps better ‘the gift to interpret’ (see 12:10, 30)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Cor. 14:13). What Furnish suggests is also a paraphrase, of course, since no term for “power” or “gift” is used here; but the context would favor “gift.” Paul continues to characterize speaking in tongues. “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive (a[karpoV, akarpos)” (v. 14). The term translated “unproductive” is literally “fruitless, unfruitful,” in a metaphorical sense. It has been defined here as “pertaining to being useless, useless, unproductive,” and as used “of speaking in tongues nou:V a[karpovV ejstin [nous akarpos estin] (my mind is unproductive, because it is not active 1 Cor. 14:14” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, s.v. a[karpoV, akarpos). Paul emphasizes the importance of a productive mind with a rhetorical question, and his own answers. “What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also” (v. 15). “With the spirit . . . with the mind,” says Furnish, “contrasts ordinary, intelligible speech with ecstatic utterances; see also Eph. 5:18-19” (ibid., on v. 15). “Otherwise,” says Paul, “if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position (tovpoV, topos, which can mean ‘room,’ cf. Lk. 2:7) of an outsider ( ijdiwvthV, idiōtēs) say the ‘Amen’ ( =Amhvn, Amēn) to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying?” (v. 16). The term ijdiwvthV (idiōtēs), “outsider,” has been defined in relation to “unbeliever” (a[pistoV, apistos), as “one who is not knowledgeable about some particular group’s experience, one not in the know, outsider” (BDAG, s.v. ijdiwvthV, idiōtēs). The lexicon adds,

In 1 Cor. 14:23f. ijdiw:tai (idiōtai) and a[pistoi (apistoi) together form a contrast to the Christian congregation. The ijdiw:tai (idiōtai) are neither similar to the a[pistoi (apistoi) . . . , nor are they full-fledged Christians, but stand between the two groups, probably as prospects for membership and are therefore relatively outsiders . . . The closer relation which they, in contrast to the a[pistoi (apistoi), held with the Christian group . . . is clearly shown by the fact that they had a special place in the room [tovpoV, topos? cf. above] where the Christians assembled 1 Cor. 14:16. (ibid.)

“The context,” says Richard A. Horsley, “suggests that the word translated an outsider . . . is someone not adept at speaking tongues,” and he adds that “Amen [is] a Hebrew word meaning ‘certainly’ or let it be so,’ used in response to someone’s statement and in liturgical settings; see Deut. 27:14-16; 1 Chr. 16:36; Neh. 5:13; 8:6; 2 Cor. 1:20” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Cor. 14:16). Still in reference to one’s praying “in a tongue” (v. 14), Paul says, “For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up” (v. 17). We note that Paul does admit to speaking in tongues himself. “ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (v. 18). But he expresses a decided preference for clear and intelligible speaking, particularly in public worship, adding, “nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (v. 19).

The value placed on speaking in tongues here suggests to me the value of various forms of private and personal religious experience, including meditation and the like. The special emphasis on prophecy, “those who prophesy build up the church” (v. 4, cf. vv. 5, 12 and 19), relates to sound preaching of the gospel, which builds up the church in our time.

Paul continues with an admonition to think like adults in considering this matter. “Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults” (v. 20). Paul cites a saying from scripture to support his point, introduced by saying, “In the law (nomos) it is written” (v. 21a). Richard A. Horsley says the quotation is “Not actually in the law [i.e. the Torah, known to us as the Pentateuch], but in Isa. 28:11-12” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on 1 Cor. 14:21), though influence from Deut. 28:49 has also been suggested (Kurt Aland, et al., The Greek New Testament, 4^th rev. ed., 1993, on 1 Cor. 14:21). Consider the following:

By people of strange tongues / and by the lips of foreigners

I will speak to this people; / yet even then they will not listen to me. (1 Cor14:21, NRSV)

Truly, with stammering lip / and with alien tongue

he will speak to this people, / to whom he has said,

‘This is rest; / give rest to the weary;

and this is repose’; / yet they would not hear (Isa. 28:11, 12, NRSV)

The LORD will bring a nation from far away, from the end of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, (Deut. 28:49, NRSV)

Both passages refer to the language of a foreign nation used in judgment of the Lord’s people. For Paul’s quotation, the Isaiah passage is clearly the primary source, but even that has been adapted to Paul’s purpose. He infers that “Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers” (1 Cor. 14:22). And he comes to the point by contrasting the relative values of speaking in tongues with those of prophecy. Outsiders will only be confused by speaking in tongues. “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders ( ijdiwvtai, idiōtai) or unbelievers (a[pistoi, apistoi) enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?” (v. 23). But prophecy will have the benefit of reproving the unbelievers and calling them to faith. “But if all prophesy, an unbeliever (a[pistoV, apistos) or outsider ( ijdiwvthV, idiōtēs) who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever's heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, ‘God is really among you’ ” (vv. 24-25). Horsley comments as follows:

Not until vv. 23-25 is [Paul’s] argument clear, that while tongues are a counterproductive sign for outsiders, prophecy, because intelligible, will be productive on outsiders, by disclosing the secrets of their hearts. (op. cit, on vv. 20-25)

Matthew 10:24-33

As the Teacher, So the Disciple

24 "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! (Matthew 10:24-25; cf. Luke 6:40; Jn. 13:16; 15:20)

Whom to Fear

26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:26-31, NRSV; cf. Luke 12:2-7)

Acknowledge Christ before Others

32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33, NRSV, cf. Luke 12:8-9)

On May 24, 2009 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments were repeated from May 16 and 17, 2008 (Friday and Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to May 11, Year Two), when comments on Matthew 10:24-33 and 34-42 were repeated from October 17 and 18, 2007 (Wednesday and Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 12, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from May 20, 2007 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year One), when comments used from earlier as noted there. The comments from May 24, 2009 are used again here:

It is commonly observed that the overall structure of the Gospel of Matthew includes five major speeches of Jesus alternating with groups of narrative episodes. The action episodes demonstrate Jesus power and authority, and the growing conflict with his opposition. The speeches, in which Matthew uses topical arrangement of material found in various parts of Mark and Luke, also play a part in advancing the action with more focus on the disciples and the developing Christian community.

Today’s reading continues from parts of Jesus’ second major speech in Matthew, in which Jesus summons and names “his twelve disciples” and gives them “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness” (Mt. 10:1). For an outline of the references for parallel passages for this discourse, see the separate file, Jesus’ Second Major Discourse References. This commissioning and instructing of the disciples continues through verse 42, and the end of the speech is marked by Matthew’s formula, “Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities” (11:1; cf. 7:28-29; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). The parallel passages presented in the separate file, Disciple-Teacher, Fearless Confession, focus mainly on passages which Matthew and Luke have drawn from a common source, though there is a hint of parallels with Mark as well.

Earlier parts of Jesus’ Mission Speech in Matthew have warned of persecutions for the disciples as they attempt to carry out their mission. Jesus’ warnings that the disciples will undergo persecution “because of me” (Mt. 10:18), perhaps even martyrdom (cf. v. 21), seem to anticipate later persecution faced by Christians. Matthew undoubtedly includes these instructions and reminders as challenge and encouragement for fellow Christian believers in his own time (later in the first century) to be faithful to their Christian witness in the face of rejection and persecution.

But today’s reading begins with Jesus’ reminder that “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master” (Mt. 10:24; cf. Lk. 6:40a; Jn. 13:16; 15:20a). “It is enough,” says Jesus, “for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like his master” (Mt. 10:25a). In Luke’s brief form of the saying, Jesus mentions qualification of a disciple: “but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher” (Lk. 6:40). “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,” says Jesus, according to Matthew (cf. Mt. 9:34), “how much more will they malign those of his household” (Mt. 10:25b). John, whether he had access to Matthew or, more likely, to traditions also used by Matthew, generalizes, but also anticipates a possible positive response: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also” (Jn. 15:20b).

Encouragement for the disciples follows: “So have no fear of them” says Jesus (Mt. 10:26a), “for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known” (v. 26b; cf. Lk. 12:2; cf. also Mk. 4:22 and Lk. 8:17). Jesus directs the disciples to proclaim his message openly. “What I say to you in the dark,” he says, “tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops” (Mt. 10:27). According to J. Andrew Overman, this is “a denial of any secret or esoteric teaching” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Mt. 10:27). What Matthew’s version commands, Luke’s version anticipates as accomplished. “Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops” (Lk. 12:3).

The disciples are exhorted not to fear martyrdom, but rather punishment in hell. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt. 10:28; cf. the elaborated version in Lk. 12:4-5). If God cares for the sparrows, will he not care for them? “Are not two sparrows sold for a penney?” says Jesus in Matthew. “Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Mt. 10:29). Luke has Jesus ask about “five sparrows sold for two pennies” (Lk. 12:6). “And even the hairs of your head are all counted,” says Jesus in Matthew (Mt. 10:30; cf. Lk. 12:7a). And, concluding this lesson on the value of birds, Jesus says, “So do not be afraind; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Mt. 10:31; cf. Lk. 12:7b). The encouragement is also for those who respond to the message. “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my father in heaven” (Mt. 10:32). Luke’s version varies a little. “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God” (Lk. 12:8). And the obverse is true, “but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny (Lk. ‘will be denied’) before my Father in heaven (Lk. ‘before the angels of God’)” (Mt. 10:33; Lk. 12:9; cf. Mk. 4:22; Lk. 8:17, and Mk. 8:38; Lk. 9:26).

Eventually that includes us. You and I “are of more value than many sparrows” (v. 30), and so may expect God’s gracious care. It was a part of the disciples’ mission to “acknowledge” Christ before others, but this instruction surely anticipates the witness of the church in the years following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The efforts of many Christians over the centuries to take this admonition seriously have led to serious, even life-threatening consequences, time and again.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net