Micah 7:11-20

11 A day for the building of your walls!

In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

12 In that day they will come to you

from Assyria to Egypt,

and from Egypt to the River,

from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

13 But the earth will be desolate

because of its inhabitants,

for the fruit of their doings.

14 Shepherd your people with your staff,

the flock that belongs to you,

which lives alone in a forest

in the midst of a garden land;

let them feed in Bashan and Gilead

as in the days of old.

15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,

show us marvelous things.

16 The nations shall see and be ashamed

of all their might;

they shall lay their hands on their mouths;

their ears shall be deaf;

17 they shall lick dust like a snake,

like the crawling things of the earth;

they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;

they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,

and they shall stand in fear of you.

18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity

and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession?

He does not retain his anger forever,

because he delights in showing clemency.

19 He will again have compassion upon us;

he will tread our iniquities under foot.

You will cast all our sins

into the depths of the sea.

20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob

and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,

as you have sworn to our ancestors

from the days of old. (Micah 7:11-20, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of April 15, 2009 (Wednesday of Easter Week, Year One), on Micah 7:7-15, and those of December 1, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), when comments were combined with editing and supplement from November 26, 2005 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One) and from comments on Micah 7:7-15 from April 11, 2007 (Wednesday of Easter Week, Year One). In Year Two of the lectionary readings, a series of readings, Micah 1:1-7:7 from Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5 to the Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 12. Some introductory comments here are repeated from Tuesday, October 7, 2008.

Micah prophesied in the eighth century B.C., as did Amos, Hosea and Isaiah. We are told that he prophesied “in the days of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah” (Mic. 1:1), which would be from 759 to 698 or 687 B.C. (cf the Chronological Table of Rulers in Michael D. Coogan, ed., The New Oxford Annotated Bible [NOAB], 3^rd ed, augmented, 2007, p. 531 ESSAYS). Isaiah is said to have prophesied “in the days of Uzziah [= Azariah, 785-733 B.C.], Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah” (Isa. 1:1). A note in the table says, “The data are inconsistent for the dates of the reigns of Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh” (ibid.). And these dates differ somewhat from the dates in the earlier edition of NOAB (2^nd ed., 2004, p. 339 OT). But other criteria tend to put Micah, at least, in the later part of this general period. According to Gregory Mobley, “Possible allusions to the fall of Samaria (1:6 [722 B.C.]) and the campaign of Sennacherib (1:10-16 [701 B.C.] ) place the prophet in the final quarter of the eighth century” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, in the Introduction to Micah). The campaign of Sennacherib against Judah is reported in 2 Kings 18:13-19:37 (cf. 2 Chron. 32:1-23) and in Isaiah 36:1-37:37. The date 701 B.C. is based on the Assyrian records according to Joseph Blenkinsopp, who comments on: “The fourteenth year”: “Since according to Assyrian annals Sennacherib’s campaign against Judah took place in 701, Hezekiah may have come to the throne in 715, not 729 as inferred from 2 Kings 18:1, 9” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Isa. 36:1).

Much of the Book of Micah has a very negative tone, describing Israel’s sin and its consequences, with a few bright spots–mainly focused on God’s future redemption (e.g. 4:6-8; 5:7-9 [Hebrew text 5:6-8]). Today’s reading from Micah follows the prophet’s lament over Israel’s desperate state. “The faithful have disappeared,” and “there is no one left who is upright” (Micah 7:2). He speaks of bribes and perversion of justice (v. 3). Even friends and family cannot be trusted (v. 5); “your enemies are members of your own household” (v. 6). Against that background the prophet affirms his trust in God. “But as for me, I will look to the LORD, / I will wait for the God of my salvation; / my God will hear me” (v. 7).

But the closing verses sound a more hopeful note. Micah ends with an oracle of salvation (Micah 7:8-20). “A day for the building of your walls!” (v. 11, cf. Neh. 2:7), says the prophet, perhaps, according to Gregory Mobley, indicating a date “in the early post-exilic period” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Mic. 7:11-13); but Micah is a contemporary of the eighth century prophet Isaiah. Perhaps Mobley implies a late addition to the book. Ehud Ben Zvi calls this section “a concluding note of hope.” He says it is a confirmation that the relationship between the LORD and Judah and Jerusalem is maintained, that the LORD forgives and Israel will be restored” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Mic. 7:8-20). Mobley says, “This final unit contains shifts in content, if not speakers, and may have been designed for worship. It begins with lament (vv. 8-10), followed by an oracle of encouragement (vv. 11-13) and prayer (vv. 14-17), before closing with hopeful affirmation of God’s great mercy” (op. cit., on vv. 8-20).

Leslie C. Allen sees 7:8-20 as “a psalm in which more than one voice is heard” (The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, NICOT, 1976, pp. 392-393), “so technically it is a liturgy.”

The piece is held together by a number of themes that run through its constituent parts. All four sections are concerned with the past sin of the community or its consequences in their present distress. The first three parts depict the coming triumph of Israel in terms of the discomfiture of enemy nations, while the second and third join in representing their triumph as an opportunity for territorial enlargement. All four relate the fortunes of the community to the will of Yahweh, their covenant God. (ibid., p. 303)

We hear a feminine voice in Micah 7:8-10, “evidently Zion, which stands for the community of God’s people at worship” (Allen, 394). Allen notes that the Hebrew pronoun in phrase “the LORD your God” is feminine (j`y9hAlox$ hvhy, YHWH ’^elōheyik). He cites parallels in Lamentations 1:10-16, 18-22.

Indeed a similar air of catastrophe looms in the backgrounds of both those poems and this section. But whereas there the disaster has demoralized the community, here they have nearly traversed their dark tunnel of despair and can glimpse light at its other end, the future reversal of their fortunes by Yahweh. As in the later chapters of Lamentations, they can, if not smile through their tears, at least look upward and ahead through their tear-filled eyes instead of being morbidly engrossed in their past affliction. (ibid., p. 304).

Allen believes “the community has regained its morale. . . . Prisoners in their dark dungeon of desolation and disfavor, they had to serve their just sentence; but they could depend on God for their eventual release” (ibid., pp. 304, 305). He dates this passage in “the early postexilic period” (ibid., p. 393). They realize that they are sinners, but also feel sinned against. “The issue mentioned at the outset,” says Allen, is still much in mind” (ibid., p. 395), “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; / when I fall, I shall rise” (Micah 7:8a), “the malicious laughter at Zion’s disaster was like kicking a man when he was down.” She admits her past sin. “I must bear the indignation of the LORD, / because I have sinned against him, / until he takes my side / and executes judgment for me” (v. 9a, b, c, d). But she notes the bright side. “He will bring me out to the light; / I shall see his vindication” (v. 9e, f). Jerusalem will see the downfall of her enemy, for “now she will be trodden down / like the mire of the streets” (v. 10e, f; note the feminine pronoun for the enemy as well, translating the feminine verb, hy@h4T9, tihyeh). However, the hearts of the community savor the prospect of light and liberation at God’s hand, a theme Charles Wesley applied so finely to the Christian experience of conversion:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

fast bound in sin and nature’s night.

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light.

My chains fell off, my heart was free.

I rose, went forth and followed thee. (ibid., p. 396, citing Charles Wesley’s hymn)

The voice changes again, as Jerusalem is addressed in the second person. “A day for the building of your walls (j`y9rAdeG4, g^edērāyik; note the feminine pronominal suffix)! / In that day the boundary shall be far extended” (v. 11). The feminine “you” becomes masculine in the next verse, probably a scribal anticipation of verse 14. “In that day they will come to you (j~yd@fA, ‘ādêkā), with a masculine pronoun for “you,” but R. Kittel corrects it to feminine (‘ādayik, Biblia Hebraica, 3^rd ed., 1937, apparatus for v. 12). They will come “from Assyria to Egypt, / and from Egypt to the River, / from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain” (v. 12b, c, d). “But the earth will be desolate,” says the prophet, “because of its inhabitants, / for the fruit of their doings” (v. 13).

But the text continues with a prayer: “Shepherd your people [God] with your staff, / the flock that belongs to you, / which lives alone in a forest / in the midst of a garden land” (v. 14a, b, c, d). “Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,” says the prophet, “as in days of old” (v. 14 e, f). “Bashan and Gilead,” says Ben Zvi, are “fertile lands in Transjordan” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on v. 14). “As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,” says the prayer, “show us marvelous things” (v. 15). “As elsewhere in prophetic literature,” says Ben Zvi, “particularly in Deutero-Isaiah (Isa. chs. 40ff), the exodus is paradigmatic for restoration and salvation” (ibid., on Mic.7:15). “The nations shall see and be ashamed / of all their might; / they shall lay their hands on their mouths; / their ears shall be deaf” (v. 16). These would be Israel’s enemies, once used to inflict punishment on Israel, but now embarrassed and ashamed. “They shall lick dust like a snake, / like the crawling things of the earth; / they shall come trembling out of their fortresses; / they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall stand in fear of you” (v. 17).

But blessings for Israel do not come without dealing with the sin and rebellion that brought them down in the first place. “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity / and passing over the transgression / of the remnant of your possession? / He does not retain his anger forever, / because he delights in showing clemency, / He will again have compassion upon us; / he will tread our iniquities under foot. / You [God] will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (vv. 18-19). “You will show faithfulness (tm@x@, ’ ^emeth) to Jacob / and unswerving loyalty (ds@H@, chesed) to Abraham, / as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old” (v. 20; cf Gen. 12:1-3; 17:6-8).

1 Peter 4:7-19

7 The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11 Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. 16 Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?”

19 Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good. (1 Peter 4:7-19, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those on 1 Peter 4:7-11 of April 26, 2009 (Sunday in the week of the Third Sunday of Easter, Year One) and earlier comments on vv. 7-19 from December 1, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), when comments were combined with editing and supplement from November 26, 2005 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), from April 29, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two), and from comments on 1 Peter 4:7-11 from April 22, 2007 (the Third Sunday of Easter, Year One).

One of Peter’s purposes for writing was to encourage Christians to remain faithful in spite of the real possibility of persecution , “the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you” (1 Pet. 4:12). Yesterday’s reading emphasized God’s judgment. “For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does” (1 Pet. 4:6). Peter instructs his readers with the end-times in view. “The end of all things is near,” he says, and for that reason (“therefore”) he calls on them to “be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers” (1 Pet. 4:7). According to Craig S. Keener, “In many Jewish traditions (including Dan 12:1-2), the end of the age would be preceded by a period of great suffering; the impending end, therefore, calls for exhortations to perseverance in seriousness and prayer” (The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament, 1993, p. 719). “Talking about the final judgment and their vindication at it [i.e. the vindication of the Christians whom Peter encourages in the face of pending persecution] is far from wishful thinking for Peter,” says Peter H. Davids, “for ‘the end of all things is near’” (The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT, 1990, p. 155 on 1 Pet. 4:7).

The apostle follows with admonitions. He says, “Above all, maintain constant love (ajgavph, agapē ) for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins” (v. 8). Warren A. Quanbeck and Pheme Perkins refer to Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up strife, / but love covers all offenses,” and Luke 7:47 (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on 1 Pet. 4:8). David L. Balch, revised by Paul J. Achtemeier, says, “Love for one another (see also 1:22; 2:17) is being tested by persecution (see v. 12)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Pet. 4:8). “Be hospitable to one another without complaining,” says Peter (v. 9). According to Quanbeck and Perkins, this means to “provide lodging for Christian travelers” (op. cit., on v. 9, with ref. to Heb. 13:2 and 3 Jn. 5-8). Keener says, “Hospitality was receiving others, especially taking in travelers of the same faith who needed a place to stay. As generally in the ethical ideals of antiquity, lodging and provisions were to be provided generously, not grudgingly” (op. cit., on v. 9). Genuine hospitality is clearly a demonstration of ajgavph (agape) love. Using God’s grace and gifts is another. Peter continues. “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received” (v. 10). We are reminded of Paul’s lists of the gifts of the Spirit (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28-30; cf. Eph. 4:11-13). Peter has advice about the use of gifts. “Whoever speaks must do so,” as he says, “as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ” (v. 11). Davids interprets verse 11a as follows:

Peter gives two general examples of how God’s gifts should be used. First, “if someone speaks” covers the whole range of speaking gifts, that is, glossolalia . . . prophecy, teaching and evangelism (or preaching). It is not referring to casual talk among Christians, nor is it referring only to the actions of elders or other church officials (to whom it will be restricted in the Apostolic Fathers), but to each Christian who may exercise one of these verbal gifts. Such speech is not to be simply his or her own good ideas, nor even good exegesis, but “as . . . the very words of God.” (op. cit., p. 161 on 1 Pet. 4:11)

He sees reference to “the other broad class of gifts” in verse 11b:

The other broad class of gifts referred to is “if someone serves.” While the verb is the same as that in 4:10 [diakonei:n, diakonein], a narrower meaning is taken up here, much like the distinction between “the word of God” and “serving tables” in Acts 6:2 or Paul’s sense in Rom. 12:7. It probably covers all those deeds one Christian does to or for another: administration, care for the poor and sick (including contributing funds, distributing funds, and physical care), healing, and similar acts that express God’s love and mercy in concrete form. (ibid.)

As we have noted,, suffering is a major theme through much of 1 Peter. The subject comes into focus in its own right in chapter 3, but to a climax in 4:12-19. Here Peter returns to the subject of suffering as a Christian. “Beloved,” he says, “do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (v. 12). According to M. Eugene Boring, the suffering the readers of 1 Peter faced, when they

are called to suffer ‘for the name’ (4:15-16) . . . is mostly verbal (2:22-23; 3:9-12, 16). The positive attitude toward the state (2:13-17) indicates there is as yet no overt government persecution, except perhaps for occasional arbitrary acts by subordinate officials. First Peter offers realistic encouragement and instruction to Christians attempting to live faithfully in such a situation. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, Introduction to First Peter)

Davids presents a thematic study of suffering throughout the Bible, with some reference to modern pastoral practice, which helps to define the term as used in 1 Peter:

At the very least . . . we must argue that in the NT suffering is persecution and does not appear to include illness. The English term “suffer” is therefore a misleading, although necessary, translation, for it has a semantic field that tends to include too much as suffering and tempts us to read into the NT ideas that are not there. (op. cit., pp. 40-41)

For Davids, however, the persecutions to which 1 Peter refers “are not official imperial persecutions, such as would later occur under Trajan, but discrimination and abuse on a local level, which occurred with or without imperial sanction” (ibid., p. 10). So what, we may ask, was the “fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you” (1 Pet. 4:12)? Balch and Achtemeier refer to 1:6-7. According to Davids, it was “persecution by the pagan culture”:

Before [the reader’s] conversion they were perfectly at home in their city. And instead of rebelling against God they had accepted the gospel message. But now they were experiencing cultural isolation and personal hostility, not what they might have expected as the blessing of God. (op. cit., p. 164, on 1 Pet. 4:12)

They are instructed to “rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed” (v. 13). “Christ’s glory is revealed,” say Balch and Achtemeier, “at the last judgment” (op. cit., on v. 13). “If you are reviled for the name of Christ,” says Peter, “you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you” (v. 14). Balch and Achtemeier comment. For “Reviled . . . blessed,” they say, “See the beatitude in Mt. 5:11; Lk. 6:22” (op. cit., on v. 14). Based on usage of the language here elsewhere in the New Testament and the Septuagint, Davids says,

The very persecution is a sign o f their blessedness. On the other hand, they are ‘insulted because of the name of Christ.’ To be so insulted is not simply to receive a rebuke . . . it means to be rejected by the society (or even by humanity). And the reason they are rejected is ‘the name of Christ’; that is, because of their association with Christ either because of their life-style or because of their direct confession (cf. Mark 9:37, 39, 41). Thus it is that because of their association with Christ their social group now rejects them; they are outcasts. But that is not their true state, for Peter tells them they are blessed. (op. cit.., p. 167, on 1 Pet. 4:14)

It is not good to suffer as an evildoer. Peter admonishes: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker” (v. 15). But that is not Peter’s main concern, which is to encourage the believer who “suffers as a Christian”: “Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name” (v. 16). According to Balch and Achtemeier, “The name Christian was apparently originally employed by outsiders to designate followers of Christ; see Acts 11:26” (op. cit., on v. 16). “For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God,” says Peter; “if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (v. 17). A “further explanation . . . is necessary,” says Davids, “even if suffering has a good purpose.” “The reason, according to our author, is quite simple, ‘it is the time to begin the judgment’” (op. cit., p. 171 on v. 17). “But this fact should not frighten the Christians or cause them to wonder, ‘Is this what I signed up for?’ For if God is this hard with the church, how much harder will he be with ‘those who do not obey the gospel of God?’ ” (ibid.). Peter illustrates with a quotation.

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved (sw:/zetai, sō(i)zetai),

what will become of the ungodly and the sinners” (1 Pet. 4:18, NRSV, cf. Prov. 11:31 LXX)

Robert G. Bratcher demonstrates that the quotation follows the Septuagint. He uses the wording of the English Revised Version (ERV) of 1881 “because of its literalness in following the Hebrew and Greek originals, its high degree of consistency in employing the same English word in translating a given Hebrew or Greek word, and its differentiation between the singular and plural forms of the second person pronoun by the use of ‘thou,’ thee,’ and ‘you,’ ‘ye’ (Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament, Helps for Translators, 3^rd rev. ed., pp. vii-viii). When the Septuagint is cited, says Bratcher “only in those cases where it differs from the MT [i.e., Massoretic Text, the traditional Hebrew text] and it seems clear that the NT citation follows the LXX and not the MT . . . the LXX has been translated in the language and style of the ERV, approximating, as much as the Greek text of the LXX allows, the very wording of the ERV translation of the Greek text of the NT” (ibid., p. viii). He illustrates the quotation here as follows (p. 77):

And if the righteous is scarcely saved (sw:/zetai, sō(i)zetai),

where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? [1 Pet. 4:18 ERV, my poetic line arrangement, cf. NRSV]

If indeed the righteous is scarcely saved (sw:/zetai, sō(i)zetai),

where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? [LXX Prov. 11:31]

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed [Ml0A5wuy4, y ^ešulām] in the earth:

How much more the wicked and the sinner! [MT Prov. 11:31]

According to Davids, although the Old Testament text “focuses on a deliverance in this world . . . In our context the OT is reinterpreted within NT eschatological parameters (already set in 4:17, which this verse clearly is intended to parallel). . . . The judgment is no longer this-worldly, but apocalyptic; in other words, the final judgment” (op. cit., p. 172 on v. 18). “Therefore,” concludes Peter, “let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good” (v. 19). Quanbeck and Perkins refer to Peter’s earlier statement, “If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval” (2:20, referred by op. cit., on 4:19). According to Balch and Achtemeier, “The author encourages readers by identifying the judge of all (see vv. 5, 7) as the faithful Creator. Entrust(ing) themselves to God is accomplished by doing good, a point that sums up the thrust of this section” (op. cit., on v. 19). “Doing good despite the consequences,” says Davids, “is how one lives out the entrusting of oneself to God” (op. cit., p. 173, on v. 19).

Matthew 20:29-34

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men (cf. Mt. 9:27-31; Mk 10.46-52; Lk 18.35-43)

29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” 32 Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him. (Matthew 20:29-34)

On June 27, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year Two), comments were repeated with editing with editing and supplement from December 1, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 30, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year Two), when they were combined and revised from June 25, 2004, in an email sent June 24, 2004, for June 24 and June 25, and from November 26, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year One). The combined comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

For parallel accounts related to this reading from Matthew, see the separate file, Healing the Blind. For recent comments on the other account in Matthew, Matthew 9:27-31, see the comments on Matthew 19:27-34 in the Archive for October 9, 2009 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year One). For recent comments on Mark 10:46-52, see the Archive for August 14, 2009 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year One). For recent comments on Luke 18:35-43, see the comments on Luke 18:31-43 in the Archive for June 8, 2009 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year One):

Jesus heals two blind men in this passage (Mt. 20:29-34), and does the same in an earlier account (Mt. 9:27-31). The account in Matthew 20 has parallel accounts in Mark (Mk. 10:46-52) and Luke (Lk. 18:35-43). These two parallel accounts occur in sequence with Matthew’s account, but differ in mentioning only one blind man who is healed. Perhaps Bartimaeus was the most memorable case. Mark translates his Aramaic name, Bartimaeus, as “son of Timaeus.” It is remarkable that, though Jesus had “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:51; cf. Mt. 20:28, “the Son of Man came . . . to give his life a ransom for many”), he would take time for this healing. We have the right to believe that he is not too busy, or too preoccupied, to deal with our lives, our anxieties and concerns, and our hopes and plans. For Luke, the healing occurred as Jesus and his disciples were entering Jericho (Lk. 18:15), but for Matthew and Mark, it happened as they were leaving Jericho (Mt. 20:29; Mk. 10:46). Eric Franklin says, “In order to accommodate the story of Zacchaeus that Luke uses as a climax, he puts this episode [i.e., the healing of the blind man] at the approach to Jericho rather than at its exit as the other evangelists suggest” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 951, on Lk. 18:35-43).

The cry for help is essentially the same in each account, with allowance for the two in Matthew’s accounts. “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Mt. 20:30; 9:27), or “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk. 10:45; Lk. 18:38). The crowd attempts to silence these cries for help (Mt. 20:31; Mk. 10:48; Lk. 18:39), but fails in that attempt. Jesus responds, “What do you want me to do for you?” (The English translations are identical, but the Greek verb ending for “you” (qevlete, thelete) is plural in Mt. 20:32, but singular in Mk. 10:51 and Lk. 18:41 (qevleiV, theleis), which agrees with the accounts respectively.) They said, "Lord, let our eyes be opened" (Mt. 20:33). And when he touched their eyes, "Immediately they regained their sight and followed him" (v. 34; cf. Mt. 9:29). In all the accounts sight was received immediately, eujqevwV (eutheōs, Mt. 20:34); implied, “And their eyes were opened” (9:30); eujquvV (euthys, Mk 10:52; paracrh:ma (parachrēma, Lk. 18:43).

Dale C. Allison, Jr., comments on the relation between the two accounts of healing two blind men in Matthew:

This passage [Mt. 20:29-34] is remarkably reminiscent of 9:27-30. In both Jesus is being followed, two blind men appear, the blind men cry out and say, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David’, Jesus touches their eyes, and they see again. There are also striking verbal links (cf. e.g. 20:29, 30 with 9:27). These parallels form a sort of inclusio. The first restoration of sight occurs towards the beginning of the ministry, the second near the end. This gives an artistic unity to the whole gospel. Furthermore, the first takes place before corporate Israel has rejected Jesus, the second after that rejection has become manifest. So despite being rejected, Jesus’ charity remains the same throughout. His difficulties do not cancel his compassion. (Dale C. Allison, Jr., The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 871 on Mt. 20:29-34)

Allison also suggest that the sequence of this account and the preceding account has a lesson for us:

In the former [account, Mt. 20:20-28], two privileged insiders, (James and John) make a request through a third party (their mother). The request is prefaced by no title of respect or majesty, it concerns the eschatological future, and it involves personal exaltation (to sit at the right and left of the Messiah). In the latter, two outsiders (the blind men) make a request that a third party (the crowd) tries to stifle. That request is prefaced by titles of respect and majesty, concerns the present, and is for something necessary that is taken for granted by most (sight). One might infer that petitions are more likely to be heard when addressed directly, with respect, and for things truly needful. (ibid.)

This prayer was for physical sight, and Allison makes a good point. It is needful. But we also should remember to pray for spiritual sight, and spiritual insight (cf. Jn. 9:40-41).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net