Nahum 1:1-13

1:1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

            X         2 A jealous and avenging God (lx2, ’ēl) is the Lord,

the Lord is avenging and wrathful;

            n ?       the Lord takes vengeance (Mq2n*, nōqēm) on his adversaries

and rages against his enemies.

3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power,

and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

            b         His way is in whirlwind (hp!UsB4, b^esûfāh) and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

            g          4 He rebukes (rf2OG, gō‘ēr) the sea and makes it dry,

and he dries up all the rivers;

            d ?      Bashan and Carmel wither (ll1m4xu, ’umlal; sugg. bx1D! or UxK4Du or UL>D1,, BH),

and the bloom of Lebanon fades.

            h         5 The mountains (Myr9h! [Myr9h!h@, BH, hehārîm]) quake before him,

and the hills melt;

            v          [and] (v-, w-) the earth heaves before him,

the world and all who live in it.

            z          6 Who can stand before his indignation (Omf4z1, za‘mô)? [with transposition of Heb. words, cf. BH]

Who can endure the heat of his anger?

            H         His wrath (Otm!H3, ch^amāthô) is poured out like fire,

and by him the rocks are broken in pieces.

            F         7 The Lord is good (bOF, tôv),

a stronghold in a day of trouble;

            y          he [the LORD] protects (hvhy f1d2Oy for f1d2yov4, BH) those who take refuge in him,

8 even in a rushing flood.

            k         He will make a full end (hl!K!, kālāh) of his adversaries,

and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

            m         9 Why (hm!, māh) do you plot against the Lord? (line a after line b? BH)

He will make an end;

            l                     no (xlo, lō’) adversary will rise up twice.

10 Like thorns they are entangled,

            s ?                  like drunkards they are drunk (Myx9Ubs4, s^ebû’îm; text questioned, William L. Holladay, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, corrected, 1988, s.v. * xb!s!, sābā’)

they are consumed like dry straw.

11 From you one has gone out

who plots evil against the Lord,

one who counsels wickedness.

12 Thus says the Lord,

“Though they are at full strength and many,

they will be cut off and pass away.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no more.

13 And now I will break off his yoke from you

and snap the bonds that bind you.” (Nahum 1:1-13, NRSV)

On November 27, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from November 22, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23); the revised comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

Kent Harold Richards calls the Book of Nahum, “the only prophetic account to name itself a ‘book’ [rp,se, sēfer, Nah. 1:1]” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, in the Introduction to Nahum). This book is introduced with two titles–perhaps a title and a subtitle. “An oracle (xW0Ama, maśśā’ ) concerning Nineveh. The book (rp,se, sēfer) of the vision (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) of Nahum of Elkosh (yw9%qol4x,hA, hā’elqōšî, lit. ‘the Elkoshite)” (Nah. 1:1 NRSV). The recent Jewish translation says, “A pronouncement (xW0Ama, maśśā’ ) on Nineveh: The Book (rp,se, sēfer) of the Prophecy (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) of Nahum the Elkoshite” (NJPS 1985, 1999). Ehud Ben Zvi says, “The double title of the book of Nahum (1:1) points to its main characteristics. It is a written prophetic book associated with Nahum. It is also, in the main, a pronouncement against Nineveh” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, in the Introduction to Nahum). Kent Harold Richards says, “Nahum, not mentioned anyplace else in the Bible, means ‘comfort’ and is related to the name Nehemiah. Elkosh, also not mentioned anyplace else in the Bible, is not known precisely but most likely is in the southwestern part of Judah” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Nah. 1:1). Of “Elkoshite” Ben Zvi says, “There is no known location that may correspond to this town. Some scholars doubt that the reference is to a town at all and others (cf. Targum) have suggested that the writer may have invented it as a wordplay (Heb. ‘God is harsh’; cf. Isa. 19:4)” (op. cit., on 1:1).

The Book of Nahum focuses in its three chapters on the downfall of the Assyrian Empire in the late seventh century B. C. Her downfall is judgment and punishment from the LORD. Ben Zvi summarizes:

From the readers’ viewpoint Nineveh was both a historical city, the capital of the Assyrian empire, and a symbol of a sinful, overbearing, exceedingly oppressive political structure which was totally destroyed and never rebuilt. From the perspective of a readership well aware of the fall of Nineveh, such a fall from the pinnacle of glory and might becomes a paradigmatic example of the fate of worldly, powerful oppressors and, above all, of the even greater power of the LORD who brings them down. As such, the book served as a message of hope and trust in the LORD to those who saw themselves as oppressed by their own ‘Nineveh’.” (op. cit., in the Introduction to Nahum)

For several verses we are presented with poetic lines in the form of an alphabetic acrostic. According to Gregory Mobley, “This paean to divine ferocity and retribution is presented in the form of a partial acrostic (most lines from vv. 2-8 begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Nah. 1:2-9). In the text printed above, Hebrew letters and words are added to mark the acrostic pattern, which is discussed in some detail below. In this poetry, the LORD is described as “a jealous and avenging God,” who “takes vengeance on his adversaries / and rages against his enemies” (Nah. 1:2). Although he “is slow to anger,” he is “great in power, / and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty” (v. 3a, b). According to Mobley, “this variation on the classic formulation of the divine personality (Ex. 34:6-7) emphasizes judgment;, in contrast to Jon. 4:2 (also concerning Nineveh), which emphasizes mercy” (ibid., on vv. 2-3). A second stanza (vv. 3c, d, 4, 5, NRSV arrangement) emphasizes God’s power and control of natural forces. “His way is in whirlwind and storm” (v. 3c; cf. Job 38:1), “and the clouds are the dust of his feet” (v. 3d, cf. 2 Sam. 22:10-11, refs. by Mobley). The LORD “rebukes the sea and makes it dry, / and he dries up all the rivers” (v. 4a, b). He controls the beauty of Bashan and Carmel, and “the bloom of Lebanon”; these wither and fade (v. 4c, d). “The mountains quake before him [i.e., the LORD], / and the hills melt; / the earth heaves before him, / the world and all who live in it” (v. 5).

Another stanza (vv. 6-11), longer than the two preceding stanzas (vv. 2-5), while briefly noting God’s care for “those who take refuge in him” (v. 7), mainly describes the effects of his indignation and anger against “his adversaries” and “his enemies” (v. 8). “Who can stand before his indignation?” asks the prophet. “Who can endure the heat of his anger? / His wrath is poured out like fire, / and by him the rocks are broken in pieces” (v. 6). “Why,” asks the prophet, “do you plot against the LORD? / He will make an end [of his adversaries]; / no adversary will rise up twice” (v. 9). The LORD’s adversaries, “like thorns . . . are entangled, / like drunkards they are drunk; / they are consumed like dry straw” (v. 10). The final verse of this stanza singles out one who “has gone out / who plots evil against the LORD, / one who counsels wickedness” (v. 11). According to Mobley, an alternate translation for “counsels wickedness” is “ ‘wicked counselor,’ which may refer to a specific person (the same word, ‘wicked,’ is used in v. 15), such as Sennacherib” (ibid., on v. 11).

What is bad news for Assyria is good news for Judah, whom the LORD addresses in the new stanza. “Though they are at full strength and many, / they will be cut off and pass away. / Though I have afflicted you, / I will afflict you no more” (v. 12). As today’s reading comes to a close, the LORD’s promise to his people is specific. “And now I will break off his yoke from you / and snap the bonds that bind you” (v. 13). But for the most part it is Nineveh, not Jerusalem, that is addressed. And, whereas the Book of Jonah holds out hope to Nineveh, according to Mobley, Nahum “asserts boldly that the LORD is the avenger of cruelty and immorality” (ibid., in the Introduction to Nahum).

As in many of the other prophetic books, much of the text of Nahum is in poetic lines. (More than 80% of Isaiah, for example, is printed as poetic lines in modern versions of the Bible. I once counted the verses in prose and poetry in the RSV text of Isaiah.) In Nahum, 1:1, is introductory (cf. above) and in prose, as is 2:13; all the rest is in poetic lines. Poetic parallelism is evident in verse 6, for example (quoted above), and in verse 5, “The mountains quake before him, / and the hills melt; / the earth heaves before him, / the world and all who live in it.” But a more striking example of poetic style, found in today’s reading, is the alphabetic acrostic pattern—somewhat broken and a little out of order, to be sure, but evident all the same–in 1:2-10.

In the present text the lines for mēm (m) and nun (n) are out of order, and there is some question about two or three other lines. But the alphabetical order is enough to indicate a partial alphabetic acrostic poem (cf. Pss. 9-10; 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119; 145; Lam. 1-4; Prov. 31:10-31). Verse 2a begins with the first letter, aleph; verse 3b with beth; and successive lines continue the alphabet to verse 8b, which begins with the letter kaph. Lamed (v. 9b) and mem (v. 9a) are transposed, and followed by samek (v. 10b), which should be preceded by nun, which appears in verse 2b, apparently out of place. Moving the nun (“N”) line down would make verses 2 and 3 read as follows (NRSV):

² A jealous and avenging God is the Lord,

the Lord is avenging and wrathful;

the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries

and rages against his enemies.

³ The Lord is slow to anger but great in power,

and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

The line printed here in “strike-out” type would follow verse 9, “Why do you plot against the LORD? / He will make an end;/no adversary will rise up twice.”

The acrostic pattern breaks off in verse 10, and does not resume. As noted above, the attentions shifts briefly at this point from Assyria to Judah with the comforting thought that her enemy (Assyria) “will be cut off and pass away” (v. 12b). We might think that Nahum gets a little too much pleasure from the expected downfall of Israel's terrible enemy, Assyria. But Richards, in response to the suggestion of others that “Nahum would be complemented by reading it with Jonah to highlight God’s compassion,” adds, “One must, however, place Nahum among his contemporaries, such as Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and Zephaniah, to hear the interplay between God’s judgment and salvation and the strong word of assurance in Nahum that the Lord will prevail against evil” (op. cit., in the Introduction to Nahum). He suggests that this prophecy was given “shortly before the fall of Nineveh (612 BCE),” and adds, “Since there is no mention of the sins of Judah, as is so frequently found in earlier and later prophetic accounts, Nahum’s activity is best located at the height of Josiah’s reformation (622-609 BCE), when attention was directed to reform and not the past ills of God’s people” (ibid.). An oblique warning to Judah, which would fall to the Babylonians within a few decades, reminds them that “The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, / and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty (v. 3).

1 Peter 1:13-25

A Call to Holy Living

13 Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21 Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

22 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. 23 You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For

“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

That word is the good news that was announced to you. (1 Peter 1:13-25, NRSV)

On April 1, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two), comments were repeated from November 27, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), when comments were repeated with some editing and supplement from April 6, 2007 (Good Friday of Year One), when comments were combined with revision and adaptation from an email of November 24, 2003, for November 25, 2003, from April 20, 2004 (Tuesday of the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two), in an email sent April 18, 2004, for that week, from March 25, 2005 (Good Friday, Year One), from November 22, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), from April 14, 2006 (Good Friday, Year Two), and from April 25, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two). The edited comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

The reading from Peter’s Epistle presents “A call to Holy Living” (NRSV heading). Details of how to live a holy life will come later, for example, “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander” (1 Pet. 2:1), but chapter 1 continues to discuss the basis for holy living in the salvation about which the prophets “made careful search and inquiry” (1:10). Peter’s readers are to “not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance” (v. 14) because they “were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors” (v. 18) “with the precious blood of Christ” (v. 19) and “have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love” (v. 22) and “have been born anew . . . of imperishable seed through the living and enduring word of God” (v. 23).

The “Thanksgiving” in First Peter (1:3-12, cf. comments yesterday) concisely summarizes salvation, “a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (v. 3), which provides “an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled” (v. 4), and provides protection “by the power of God through faith” for the end-time salvation (v. 5). Already the readers “are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (v. 9). This salvation was announced by “the prophets who prophesied of the grace” they were to receive (v. 10), and though they inquired about it (v. 11), they learned “that they were serving not themselves but you.” (v. 12). In other words the salvation to which the Old Testament prophets looked forward was the gospel that was preached to these readers in the northern provinces of Asia Minor (1:1). This was an experience which was seen from afar not only by the prophets (v. 10) but even by the angels, “things into which angels long to look!” (v. 12).. Along with these descriptions of Christian new birth and what it provides, the thanksgiving introduces the theme of suffering (v. 6) as a trial, a test “by fire,” of “the genuineness of your faith” (v. 7). The suffering of Christ, about which the prophets, moved “by the Spirit of Christ within them” “testified in advance” would lead to “subsequent glory (v. 11). And so, Christ’s victory over suffering, through resurrection (v. 3), can complete the model. These Christians, now undergoing significant suffering (4:12) can be encouraged by looking to Christ, who suffered but was vindicated by resurrection.

After this thanksgiving which, like those of Paul, anticipates the central themes of the body of the letter, Peter begins to give instructions about how Christian believers ought to live. “Therefore prepare your minds for action,” says Peter; “discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed” (v. 13). According to M. Eugene Boring, “The first imperative (in Greek) in the letter is the command to live in the hope of Christ’s triumphal appearance” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Pet. 1:13). He refers to the fact that “prepare your minds” and “discipline yourselves” represent participial phrases in Greek, subordinate in a sense to the imperative verb form, “hope ( ejlpivsate, elpisate). We are to hope in Christ by preparing our minds and disciplining ourselves. Peter exhorts his readers: “Like obedient children, do not be conformed (mh; suschmatizovmenoi, mē syschēmatizomenoi, lit. ‘not being conformed’) to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance” (v. 14). The participial phrase, “not being conformed,” is thus also subordinate to–supportive of–our hope in Christ. The readers are to separate themselves from their former desires “in ignorance.” Then Peter presents a new imperative, echoing several texts from Leviticus. “Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy ( a{gioi . . . genhvqhte, hagioi . . . genēthēte) yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy ( a{gioi, hagioi), for I am holy ( a{gioV, hagios, singular)’ ” (vv. 15, 16; cf. Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7). The holy one who called them is God, who “by his great mercy . . . has given us a new birth . . . through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1:3).

Peter continues: “If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live (ajnastravfhte, anastraphēte) in reverent fear (fovboV, phobos) during the time of your exile” (1 Pet. 1:17). Since Boring calls this “the third imperative,” he clearly implies that the call to be holy is the second. “The third imperative,” he says, “is to live in reverent fear of God rather than the oppressive culture (cf. 2:17; 3:14)” (ibid., on v. 17). The verb translated “live” here is defined as “to conduct oneself in terms of certain principles, act, behave, conduct oneself, live” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. ajnastrevfw, anastrephō, meaning no. (3) (b) ). According to David L. Balch, revised by Paul J. Achtemeier, “The author differentiates the fear (reverent awe) due to God (see 1:17) from the honor due everyone, including the emperor” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Pet. 2:17, with ref. to 1:17). In the later verse, Peter says, “Honor (timhvsate, timēsate) everyone. Love (ajgapa:te, agapate) the family of believers. Fear (fobei:sqe, phobeisthe) God. Honor (tima:te, timate) the emperor” (2:17).

The readers are to live in the knowledge that they (we) “were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your (our) ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb (ajmnovV, amnos) without defect or blemish” (vv. 18-19). “Lamb,” say Balch and Achtemeier, “may recall Isa. 53:7 or Ex. 12:5 but the Greek word used suggests the OT sacrificial system in which only perfect animals were acceptable to God. Cf. Jn. 1:29; Rev. 5:6)” (ibid., on v. 19). “He [i.e., Christ, the Lamb] was destined before the foundation of the world,” says Peter, “but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake” (1 Pet. 1:20). Warren A. Quanbeck and Pheme Perkins say, “Redemption through Christ was not a sudden whim of God, but was planned before the foundation of the world (Col. 1:26)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on 1 Pet. 1:20). “Through him [i.e., through Christ],” says Peter, you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God” (v. 21). Boring says, “Christian faith is theocentric, in God who has acted definitively in Christ” (op. cit., on v. 21).

“Now that you have purified (hJgnikovteV, hēnikotes, lit. ‘having purified’) your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love (filadelfiva ajnupovkritoV, philadelphia anypokritos),” says Peter, “love (ajgaphvsate, agapēsate, aorist imperative)” (v. 22). “The forth imperative,” says Boring, “is the command of love, unselfish caring for others (see Mt. 22:34-40; Rom. 13:8-10; 1 Cor 13)” (ibid., on v. 22). “Genuine mutual love (Greek philadelphia), say Balch and Achtemeier, is “a term more common in Greco-Roman ethics than in the NT (but see 3:8; 1 Thess. 4:9)” (op. cit., on v. 22). “You [we] have been born anew (ajnagegennhmevnoi, anagegennēmenoi, lit. ‘having been born anew’),” says Peter, “not of perishable but of imperishable seed (sporav, spora, feminine noun), through the living and enduring word of God” (v. 23). In Greek, verses 22 and 23 are one sentence in which the main verb, “love” (ajgaphvsate, agapēsate, aorist imperative) is modified, that is, related to the circumstances indicated by the circumstantial, adverbial participles, “having purified (hJgnikovteV, hēnikotes) your souls” and “having been born anew (ajnagegennhmevnoi, anagegennēmenoi).” “For another use of seed as metaphor for the word of God,” say Balch and Achtemeier, “see Mk. 4:14-20” (op. cit., on v. 23). In Mark and Matthew the Parable of the Sower itself uses the verb “to sow” (speivrw, speirō), and the English translation “seed” represents Greek pronouns. But these authors correctly refer to the interpretation, which speaks of “sowing” the “word” (lovgoV, logos, cf. Mk. 4:14, 15, 18, 19, 20 and parallels). Luke does use the term seed (spovroV, sporos, masculine noun), both in the parable (Lk. 8:5) and in the interpretation (8:11). Peter illustrates (supports) with a quotation, “For

                        ‘All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

but the word ( rJh:ma, hrēma) of the Lord endures forever’ ” (1 Pet. 1:24, 25a, citing Isa. 40:6-8; cf. Jas. 1:10-11)

“That word ( rJh:ma, hrēma),” says Peter, “is the good news that was announced to you” (1 Pet. 1:25b). The Septuagint translates Hebrew rbADA (dāvār, “word”) with rJh:ma (hrēma, “spoken word, word”). Balch and Achtemeier say, “The continuity of Israel and the Christian community is again emphasized: Isaiah’s word becomes the Christian gospel” (ibid., on v. 25b). Quanbeck and Perkins say, “The Christian has been born anew by the creative word of God. Humans are frail, but the word that works in them endures forever (Isa. 40:6-9)” (op. cit., on vv. 23-25). We would do well to remember that we were ransomed “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish” (v. 19).

Matthew 19:13-22

13 Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went on his way. (Matthew 19:13-15, NRSV)

The Rich Young Man (Mk 10.17—31; Lk 18.18—30)

16 Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22, NRSV)

On June 23, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year Two), comments were repeated from November 27, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 26, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year Two), when they were combined and revised from February 26, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Second Sunday of Lent Year One), and from November 22, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year One, when the comments were repeated from comments sent by email November 24, 2003 for November 25, 2003. Those comments are repeated here with some editing.

For parallel texts from Mark and Luke for these two paragraphs from Matthew, see the separate file Blessing the Children-Rich Young Man. For recent comments on Mark’s version of these passages, see the Archives for August 11 and 12 (Tuesday and Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year One). For recent comments on Luke’s version, see the Archive for June 6, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 1, Year One).

When children were brought to Jesus for blessing (‘even infants,’ Lk. 18:15a), the disciples objected, “spoke sternly” (Mt. 19:13; Mk. 10; 13; cf. Lk. 18:15b), but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven [‘kingdom of God,’ Mk. & Lk.] belongs” (Mt. 19:14; Mk. 10:14b; Lk. 18:16b). In Matthew, this statement recalls 18:1-4 with the disciples’ question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (Mt. 18:1b; cf. Mk. 9:33b-34; Lk. 9:46), and Jesus’ response, when, as he put a child among them (Mt. 18:2; cf. Mk. 9:36; Lk. 9:47b), and, according to Matthew, he said “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3-4; cf. Jn. 3:3-5). Jesus continues saying, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me (Mt. 18:5; cf. Mk. 9:37; Lk. 9:48; Jn. 13:20), and warning, “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Mt. 18:6; cf. Mk. 9:42; Lk. 17:1-2). In the present context, Matthew says, “And he [i.e., Jesus] laid his hands on them and went on his way” (Mt. 19:15); compare Mark’s statement, “And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them” (Mk. 10:16), and his continuation, “As he was setting out on a journey” (v. 17a).

We combine the Gospel accounts to name the Rich (“many possessions,” Mt. 19:22; Mk. 10:22; “rich,” Lk. 18:23) Young (Mt. 19:22) Ruler (Lk. 18:18). This fuller description helps us understand, perhaps, but he is initially introduced as “someone” (ei|V, heis, Mt. 19:16, usually “one,” but here equivalent to tiV, tis, indefinite “someone,” compare the English indefinite use of “one”: “One does this, one does not do that”) or “a man” (ei|V, heis, Mk. 10:17, as in Mt.). This man poses a question, in Matthew’s version, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have (scw:, schō) eternal life? (Mt:19:16), but in the other Gospels, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit (klhronomhvsw, klēronomēsō) eternal life?” (Mk. 10:17b = Lk. 18:18b). In Matthew, where the question was about what “good deed” to do, Jesus answers accordingly. “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Mt. 19:17). In Mark and Luke, the answer corresponds to the question, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Mk. 10:18 = Lk. 18:19). It appears that Matthew sought to avoid the implication that Jesus himself was not “good.” Even so the thought of “No one is good but God alone” (Mk., Lk.) is retained in Matthew’s phrase, “There is only one who is good.” The transition to the list of commandments also differs. Where Mark and Luke have “You know the commandments” (Mk. 10:19a; Lk 18:20a), which begins to respond directly to the original question, in Matthew Jesus refers to the original question in his response: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Mt. 19:17b). When (in Matthew) the man asks, “Which ones?” (Mt. 19:18a), Jesus lists commandments from the Decalogue: the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth (Exod. 20:13-16, cited by Mt. 19:18), and for good measure returns to the fifth (Exod. 20:12) and adds “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 19:19, citing Lev. 19:18). Of these Mark lists the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth commandments, and adds “You shall not defraud” before returning to the fifth commandment (Mk. 10:19). Luke’s list mostly follow Mark’s, but puts the seventh before the sixth and omits “You shall not defraud” (Lk. 18:20).

In the main, Jesus quotes the second part of the Ten Commandments, those focused more on intra-human relationships, whereas the earlier Commandments focus on one’s relation to God. According to Krister Stendahl, by including Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 19:19), Jesus does what is often done in “Jewish catechism” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, 10^th printing, 1972, sec. 689 e, p. 789 on Mt. 19:19). If Matthew is following Mark as his source (as Stendahl would likely agree), perhaps it was Matthew who took his cue in part from “Jewish catechism.” In any case, Jesus must have tailored his instructions to fit the man’s situation and attitudes, but the principle applies to “someone,” that is, “everyone.” “I have kept all these,” says the young man; “what do I still lack?” (Mt. 19:20; cf. ‘I have kept all these since my youth,’ Mk. 10:20; Lk. 18:21). If I had been there, my reply might have been, “What about the other commandments? The ones about having no other gods, or honoring the sabbath, for example. But Jesus seems to have put his finger on the young man's crucial issue, “sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor . . . then come, follow me” (Mt. 19:21; cf. Mk. 10:21; Lk. 18:22). It is not necessarily true that he would demand the same from each of us–“sell your possessions”–but he would point us to God as the center of meaning and value. “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness . . .” (Mt. 6:33).

The point is not simply that he was rich, but that he needed “treasure in heaven” (Mt. 19:21), which is not necessarily counted in the same coin. According to Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger,

Jesus consistently turned people’s attention from concern over their own religious standing, calling them to involve themselves in the basic, vital interests of others. Neither wealth, poverty, nor formal piety was so important as sharing in the working out of God’s life-giving design for all people (5:23-24, 43-48; 6:33). Eternal life will be found through utter dependence on God, not through a ritual that wealth makes possible. (Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Mt. 19:21)

They add, “Jesus spoke against abuse, not possession, of property” (ibid., on Lk. 12:33).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net