Zechariah 3:1-10

Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan

3:1 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And to him he said, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with the apparel; and the angel of the LORD was standing by.

6 Then the angel of the LORD assured Joshua, saying 7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. 9 For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. 10 On that day, says the LORD of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.” (Zechariah 3:1-10, NRSV)

On December 19, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from December 14, 2005 (Wednesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were adapted from an E-mail sent December 16, 2003, for December 17, 2003. Those comments are repeated here with further editing and supplement:

Have you ever felt like “a brand plucked from the burning”? In Zechariah’s fourth vision (Zech. 3:1-10), Joshua, the high priest among the Jews who have returned from Babylonian captivity, may be feeling that way. As if the uncertainties of trying to help rebuild and lead a nation in the shadow of a dominating empire (Persia) were not enough, the prophet pictures him as accused in the heavenly court. “Then he [i.e. the angel? 1:12, 14, 18; the man with the measuring line? 2:1] showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan [NFAW0Aha, haśśātān, lit., ‘the Satan,’ ] standing at his right hand to accuse him [OnF4W9l4, l ^eś itnô]” (Zech. 3:1). The word “Satan” (lit. “the Satan”) means “the Accuser; Heb. the adversary (NRSV text note a; cf. Job 1:6, 7a, 7b, 8, 9, 12a, 12b; 2:1, 2a, 2b, 3, 4, 6, 7). In this vision, the LORD comes to Joshua’s defense. “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan (NFAW0Aha, haśśātān, lit., ‘the Satan,’)! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?” (v. 2).

With that, the Satan disappears from the vision report–in fact, from the rest of the Book of Zechariah (and even from “the Twelve,” as the Jews call the collection of twelve “minor” prophets). Gregory Mobley describes “The Satan, ‘the Adversary,’ here [as] a member of the divine entourage who assays the virtue of mortals, a heavenly prosecutor (Job 1-2); only later [as] the arch-opponent of God and author of evil designs (1 Chr. 21:1; 2 Cor. 2:11)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Zech. 3:1). Ehud Ben Zvi says, “NJPS correctly translates the Heb. ‘ha-satan,’ as the Accuser instead of the common, but erroneous,’ ‘Satan’ ” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Zech. 3:1). “Now Joshua,” we are told, “was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel” (v. 3). But the angel has a remedy, giving orders to replace the “guilt” represented by the “filthy clothes” with “festal apparel”: “The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And to him he said, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel’ ” (v. 4). And the prophet continues, “And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban (rOhFA Jyn9c0A tsānîf tāhôr) on his head.’ So they put a [lit. ‘the’] clean turban (rOhF0Aha Jyn9c0Aha, hatstsānîf hattāhôr) on his head and clothed him with the apparel; and the angel of the LORD was standing by” (v. 5 NRSV). According to Gregory Mobley, this was “traditional priestly garb (Ex. 28:4; Lev. 8:1-9)” (op. cit., on v. 5). But the New Jewish Publication Society translation (NJPS) has a different translation. “Then he [NJPS text note c ‘Heb. I’] gave the order. ‘Let a pure diadem (rOhFA Jyn9c0A tsānîf tāhôr) be placed on his head.’ And they placed the pure diadem (rOhF0Aha Jyn9c0Aha, hatstsānîf hattāhôr) on his head and clothed him in [priestly] garments, as the angel of the LORD stood by” (v. 5 NJPS, with the square brackets around ‘priestly’). William L. Holladay translates Jyn9cA (tsānîf) as “turban,” and the related term tp@n@c4m9 (mitsnefeth, Exod. 28:4) as “headband like a turban” (Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, corrected ed., 1988, s.v Jyn9c!, tsānîf , and tp@n@c4m9, mitsnefeth). The interpretation of Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers perhaps unites the two concepts.

Turban here is tsānîf rather than mitsnefeth, the normal word for turban, to which a metal plate (tsits) and/or crown (nēzer) is added according to Exod. 29:6 and Lev. 8:9. Perhaps tsānîf for turban designates a composite headpiece, including the part of it, whether stone or metal, which shines, and which is the symbolic component that relates to the priest’s function, described in verse 9 below, in ridding the land of iniquity. Zechariah’s departure from the terminology of the priestly texts, however, may be intentional and significant. (Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, a new translation with introduction and commentary, Anchor Bible, 25B, 1987, p. 191 on Zech. 3:5)

In this context the word rOhFA (tāhôr), translated “clean turban,” or “pure diadem,” refers to ritual purity for the priest.

In the continuation Joshua is addressed as ruler: “Then the angel of the LORD assured Joshua, saying ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule (Nyd9TA, tādîn) my house and have charge of my courts’ ” (v. 7a). According to Holladay, the verb translated “rule” here (NRSV, NJPS) commonly means to “judge,” that is, “bring justice,” or “pass sentence, execute justice” (op. cit., s.v. NyD, dîn). However Joshua’s function clearly has a priestly dimension, for the angel adds, “and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here” (v. 7b). In this way, says Mobley, Joshua will have “access, to the heavenly realm to intercede on the people’s behalf” (op. cit., on v. 7). He will “present Jerusalem’s prayers to heaven” ( R. Lansing Hicks and Walter Brueggemann, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on v. 7).

But the message to Joshua continues with royal, as well as, priestly overtones. “Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch (Hmac,%, tsemach)” (v. 8). To this we may compare Isaiah 11:1, “A shoot (rF,Ho, chōter) shall come out from the stump of Jesse, / and a branch (rc,n2, nētser) shall grow out of his roots,” and Jeremiah 23:5, “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I wall raise up for David a righteous Branch (qyD9ca Hmac4, tsemach tsaddîq), and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” These terms are roughly synonymous, with definitions including “shoot” (cf. Holladay, op. cit., s.v. rF@Ho chōter, rc@n2 nētser, and Hm1c@ tsemach). But the point of all is that a “branch” or “shoot” from the “stump of Jesse” (Isa. 11:1) would appear as the true Davidic king, or, as we commonly understand it, the Messianic king. Ehud Ben Zvi understands this interpretation.

According to 6:12-13 [not included in the Daily Office Lectionary], the Sprout will build the Temple and assume majesty. Many medieval Jewish commentators (e.g. Rashi, Ibn Ezra) and many modern scholars maintain that the reference to the Branch was meant to be understood as pointing to Zerubbabel (see 4:8, and the reference to his partner in the leadership, the high priest Joshua in 6:11), whose name [i.e., Zerubbabel’s] means ‘the seed of Babylon. (op. cit., on Zech. 3:8)

But Ben Zvi adds,

Even if there is a lionization of Zerubbabel (see 4:6-7 [in tomorrow’s reading], the book of Zechariah does not explicitly state that he is the expected Sprout. Moreover, it is unlikely that the readership of the book as a whole–as opposed to that of readers of any possible source embedded somehow in the book–would have understood references to a messianic king (cf. Jer.2 23:5-6; 13:15-16) as being actually fulfilled in the person of Zerubbabel or by the time he built the Temple. (ibid.)

It would appear that the reference to “my servant the Branch” (v. 8) refers here to Zerubbabel, but later (6:11-12), it is Joshua who is crowned and named “Branch” (Hm1c@, tsemach). Cyrus the Persian (559-530 B.C.) was followed by a weak ruler, (Cambyses, 530-522 B.C.) but Darius I (521–486) asserted his power and quelled revolts across the empire, and in the process, likely crushed any hopes for an immediate restoration of the Davidic dynasty and national sovereignty for Judah. Judah remained subject to Persia in the political realm, but largely autonomous in religious matters. Their leadership would come from priests like Joshua and, later, from scribes like Ezra.

For Joshua in the present context, his role continues to be described as that of a priest. The angel says, “For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day” (v. 9). “The stone,” says Mobley, is “perhaps an element in the priestly garb (whether that in Ex. 28:9-12 or 28:36-38)” (op. cit., on v. 9). W. Sibley Towner says,

A single stone with seven facets may refer to the engraved ‘rosette of pure gold’ (Ex 28:36-38), which was fastened to the front of the turban of the high priest. The mysterious engraving on the seven sides of the stone might be the Hebrew words for ‘Holy to the LORD’ (Ex 28:36), which could be written in seven letters. In this verse, the ornament is not fabricated by any human hand but is given to Joshua by the Lord. For Zechariah, divine intervention alone could solve the problems of contamination and deconsecration that confounded efforts at worship in the temple in the early postexilic Judean community. When the priestly mediator is purified, the system of atonement can function and the entire community can be cleansed in a single day. (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Zech. 3:9)

With the guilt removed, and presumably, its judgmental effects, the angel promises a time of blessed peace. “On that day, says the LORD of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree” (v. 10), to which Mobley (ibid., on v. 10) invites comparison with Micah 4:4, which, after the promise that nations will “beat their swords into plowshares” (Mic. 4:3c), says “they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, / and no one shall make them afraid; / for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken” (v. 4).

Revelation 4:1-8

Worship in God’s Throne Room in Heaven (Isa 6.1-3)

4:1 After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! 3 And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. 4 Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; 6 and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,

“Holy, holy, holy,

the Lord God the Almighty,

who was and is and is to come.” (Revelation 4:1-8, NRSV)

The following comments are based on relevant comments for Revelation 4:1-8 from those of Revelation 4:1-11 from October 27, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year One), and earlier as noted there. The remaining comments will apply to tomorrow’s reading.

The point at which Revelation, chapter four, begins, and at which today’s reading begins, is a significant transition in the Book of Revelation. The initial vision of Christ (chap. 1), followed by his specific messages for “to the seven churches that are in Asia” (chaps. 2-3, cf. 1:4), are followed by a transitional statement. “After this,” says John, “I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’ ” (Rev. 4:1). In the first of a series of visions that will continue through most of the Book, John is shown what Bruce M. Metzger calls a “vision of the glory of God and of the Lamb” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Rev. 4:1-5:14). Jean Pierre Ruiz calls it a “vision of God enthroned and of the Lamb” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Rev. 4:1-5:14). David E. Aune says, “Several visions of the heavenly throne-room occur in Revelation, usually preceding punitive actions on earthy implying divine sovereignty over all earthly events, for events in heaven determine events in the world (7:9-17; 8:1-5; 11:15-19; 14:2-3; 15:2-8; 19:1-10; 21:3-8; see also 1 Kings 22:19-23; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6)” (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Rev. 4:1-11).

“At once,” says John, “I was in the spirit [cf. ‘Spirit,’ NRSV text note b; also TNIV text], and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne!” (v. 2). The throne, of course, is God’s throne (cf. Ezek. 1:26; Dan. 7:9). Metzger says, “in the spirit [means] in a state of prophetic illumination” (op. cit., on Rev. 1:10). Ruiz calls it “a state of prophetic ecstasy, a state of altered consciousness” (op. cit., on Rev. 1:10, with ref. to 4:2; Ezek. 2:2). Aune says “in the spirit [means] in a vision trance (see 1:10); here the vision trance is a prelude to a heavenly ascent” (op. cit., on v. 2). He adds that “one seated on the throne [is] a circumlocution for the name of God frequently used in Revelation” (ibid.). “And the one seated there,” says John, “looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald” (Rev. 4:3). In Ezekiel’s throne chariot vision, he sees “something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all around; and downward from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendor all around” (Ezek. 1:27). And Ezekiel compares this to a rainbow. “Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around” (v. 28a), before defining it as “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (v. 28b). Bruce M. Metzger makes a similar observation about John’s vision of God’s throne. “The glory of the divine presence,” says Bruce M. Metzger, “is described in terms of precious gems” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Rev. 4:3; so Ruiz, op. cit., on Rev. 4:3).

John’s description continues. “Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads” (v. 4). The “twenty-four elders,” says Metzger, are probably angelic beings of the heavenly court, symbolizing the twelve patriarchs of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New Testament” (op. cit., on v. 4; cf. Ruiz, op. cit., with “heavenly attendants” for “angelic beings”). “Coming from the throne,” says John, “are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal” (vv. 5-6). Metzger says the “flashes of lightning [are] expressive of the majesty of the Most High (Ex. 19:16; Ezek 1:13; Rev. 11:19),” (op. cit., on v. 5; cf Ruiz, op. cit. on v. 5). In reference to the “seven flaming torches” Ruiz refers to Zech. 4:2-3; and for the “seven spirits,” he refers to [Rev.] 1:4 (ibid.; cf. Metzger, loc. cit.).

Other aspects of the vision, including “the sea of glass, like crystal” and the four living creatures” (v. 6), remind us of the throne-chariot vision described by Ezekiel. Over the heads of Ezekiel’s “four living creatures (Ezek. 1:5, cf. vv. 5-14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, etc.) “there was something like a dome, shining like crystal, spread out above their heads” (v. 22). In Ezekiel’s vision the throne was above this dome (v. 26); in Revelation the “sea of glass, like crystal” is “in front of the throne” (Rev. 4:6), which, according to Metzger, “suggests the distance between God and his creatures, even in heaven” (ibid., on v. 6). Ezekiel’s four living creatures each have four faces (Ezek. 1:6): “As for the appearance of their faces; the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle” (Ezek. 1:10). The four living creatures in Revelation are”full of eyes in front and behind” (Rev. 4:6), and “full of eyes all around and inside” (v. 8), which would suggest more than one face for each, but they are described as “the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle” (v. 7). Later Christian symbolism would identify the human being with Matthew’s Gospel, the lion with Mark’s, the ox with Luke’s and the eagle with John’s. Richard A. Burridge develops his book, Four Gospels, One Jesus? A Symbolic Reading (2^nd ed., 2005) around these symbols. In Revelation the song is of the four living creatures is, “Holy, holy, holy, / the Lord God the Almighty, / who was and is and is to come” (v. 8). Aune says, “Holy, holy, holy, The Trisagion, or ‘thrice-holy,’ occurs first in Isa. 6:3 and frequently in Jewish and Christian liturgies” (op. cit., on v. 8).

Matthew 24:45-51

The Faithful and Unfaithful Slaves (Lk 12.41-48)

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked slave says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. 51 He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:45-51, NRSV)

The following comments are based on relevant earlier comments from July 12, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), when comments were repeated from December 18 and 19, 2007 (Tuesday and Wednesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were repeated from earlier, as noted there. This reading from Matthew is presented with the parallel passage in Luke in the separate file, Faithful or Unfaithful Slave; compare the overlapping table in the separate file Eschatological Speech Parts 3 & 4. For recent comments on Luke’s version of this parable, Luke 12:41-48, see the Archive for June 15, 2008 (the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two); for recent comments on the longer passage, Luke 12:32-48, see the Archive for November 1, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two).

Jesus concludes the speech on the end of the age with an interpreted parable. The parallel in Luke comes much earlier in the narrative (chap. 12), but apart from Luke’s introduction with a question from Peter (Lk. 12:41), the two versions are often nearly verbatim. Matthew has been addresses his disciples throughout chapter 24 (cf. 14:1, 3). In the earlier Lukan context, Jesus has also been addressing his disciples (Lk. 12:22), when Peter asked about the parable on watchful slaves (Lk. 12:35-40), “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” (Lk. 12:41). David L. Tiede, revised by Christopher R. Matthews, says “Peter’s role as spokesman will be central in Acts” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Lk. 12:41). Jesus then introduces the next parable with a question: “Who then is the faithful and wise (frovnimoV, phronimos) slave (dou:loV, doulos), whom his master has put in charge of his household (oijketeiva, oiketeia), to give the other slaves [aujtoi:V, autois, lit. ‘to them’] their allowance of food (trofhv, trophē) at the proper time?” (Mt. 24:45); cf. “Who then is the faithful and prudent (frovnimoV, phronimos) manager (oijkonovmoV, oikonomos) whom his master will put in charge of his slaves (hJ qerapeiva, he therapeia = oiJ qeravponteV, hoi therapontes, ‘household staff, servants,’ cf. Frederick William Danker, The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. qerapeiva, therapeia), to give them their allowance of food (sitomevtrion, sitometrion) at the proper time?” (Lk. 12:42). The phrase “allowance of food” (Mt. 24:45; Lk. 12:42) represents different Greek words (trofhv, trophē in Mt. and sitomevtrion, sitometrion in Lk.; also the infinitive “to give” is aorist, dou:nai dounai, in Mt., but present tense, didovnai, didonai, in Lk.).“Blessed is that slave,” says Jesus, “whom his master will find at work when he arrives” (Mt. 24:46 = Lk. 12:43 except the reversed word order of the last two Greek words, lit. ‘so doing” Mt., versus ‘doing so’ Lk.). According to Tiede and Matthews, “The household manager [oijkonovmoV, oikonomos] was usually a well-trained slave who was given significant responsibilities (see [Lk.] 16:1-8)” (op. cit., on Lk. 12:42-43). In the parable, the faithful slave/manager is rewarded. “Truly I tell you,” says Jesus, “he will put that one in charge of all his possessions” (Mt. 24:47 = Lk. 12:44). In this statement “truly” represent ajmhvn (amēn, cf. Hebrew NmexA, ’āmēn) in Matthew, but ajlhqw:V (alēthōs) in Luke. “On the increased responsibility of those who have received,” say Tiede and Matthews, “see also [Lk. 12:] 48; 19:11-27” (ibid., on Lk. 12:44).

So the faithful slave attends to his duties in the master’s absence, but not so the unfaithful slave. If Jesus seems to anticipate the latter, it is perhaps only to emphasize the warning, which J. Andrew Overman calls, “the final warning [that] addresses leaders in the Christian community” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Mt. 24:45-51). Jesus continues with a conditional sentence. The “if clause” says: “But if ( ejavn, ean) that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards” (Mt. 24:48-49); compare “But if ( ejavn, ean) that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming’ and if ( ejavn, ean) he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk” (Lk. 12:45). This, of course is hypothetical. Conditions introduced by ejavn (ean), in third class conditional sentences, according to William D. Mounce, present “a condition that might be true in the future, or is generally true at all times. It does not necessarily suggest that it is likely to occur; sometimes the protasis [i.e., the ‘if clause’] is hypothetical” (Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, 2^nd ed., 2003, p. 341). Luke, who earlier referred to the “manager” (oijkonovmoV, oikonomos), now uses the term dou:loV (doulos), but he distinguishes the underling servants by gender, oiJ paidevV (hoi paides, masculine plural) and aiJ paidivskai (hai paidiskai, feminine plural). The complex, conditional sentence continues with the consequence, the “then clause.” Note the comma, not a period, between Matthew 24:49 and 50, and between Luke 12:45 and 46. “The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know” (Mt. 24:50 = Lk. 12:46a; the Greek is identical). After a comma (K. Aland et. al., The Greek New Testament, 3^rd ed., 1975; note the period, NRSV), the consequence continues in Matthew. “He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites (uJpokritaiv, hypokritai), where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 24:51). After a comma (Greek text and NRSV), Luke continues, “and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful (a[pistoi)” (Lk. 12:46b). Note Matthew’s addition of, “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Dennis C. Duling calls this “the author’s favorite expression to evoke the horror of the final punishment; see 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Ps. 112:10” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 8:12).

Matthew’s parable is concluded at this point, but in Luke, Jesus continues. “That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” (Lk. 12:47-48). For comparison, Marion Lloyd Soards refers (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Lk. 12:48) to “Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away” (Lk. 8:18), and to “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away” (Lk. 19:26).

The point is that the Christian believers must be faithful, and ready for the Lord’s return at any time, a point to be elaborated by the parables of Matthew, chapter 25. The consequences for the unfaithful slave are graphic. “He [the master] will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 24:51). “The master . . . will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful” (Lk. 12:46). After this reference to cutting the bad slave in pieces, Luke’s further references to beatings, “a severe beating” for the “slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted” (Lk. 12:47), and “a light beating” for “the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating” (v. 48), seems out of place, a result, perhaps, of Luke’s collecting various sayings of Jesus. The lesson for us is to live in the expectation of the Lord’s return.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net