Daily Scripture Readings     

Thursday (July15, 2010)*

Daily Office Lectionary, The Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A., 1979; cf. The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Abingdon Press, 1992

Daily Lectionary, Book of Common Worship, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1993

Daily Lectionary, Book of Worship Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship, c. 1978 (2002 printing) ‡

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm

http://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi

YOU MAY NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THESE URLs IN YOUR BROWSER

 

‡ Daily Lectionary, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, ELCA, 2006. In the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book of 2006, the Daily Lectionary (pp. 1121-1153) is revised to correlate with the Sunday Lectionary (the Revised Common Lectionary) on the three year cycle: Year A, Year B (now current), Year C. “The readings are chosen so that the days leading up to Sunday (Thursday through Saturday) prepare for the Sunday readings. The days flowing out from Sunday (Monday through Wednesday) reflect upon the Sunday readings” (p. 1121).

Unless otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers), 1989.

 

Thursday

AM Psalm 37:1‑18

PM Psalm 37:19‑42

Joshua 3:14‑4:7

Rom. 12:1‑8

Matt. 26:1‑16

Eucharistic Readings:

Isaiah 26:7‑9, 12, 16‑19; Psalm 102:12‑22;

Matthew 11:28‑30

 

Thursday

Morning: Psalms 97; 147:12-20

Joshua 3:14‑4:7

Rom. 12:1‑8

Matt. 26:1‑16

Evening: Psalms 16; 62

 

Thursday

Morning Pss.: 116, 147:13-21

Num. 23:11‑26

Rom. 8:1‑11

Matt. 22:1‑14

Evening Pss.: 26, 130

 

 

 

Year C Daily Readings

Psalm 15

Genesis 12:10-20

Hebrews 5:1-6

* Thursday in the week of the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two

 

For the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 1, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

 

Episcopal and Presbyterian Readings:

 

Joshua 3:14‑4:7

 

14 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest, So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16 the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off, Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho, 17 While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

 

Twelve Stones Set Up at Gilgal

 

4:1 When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua: 2 ASelect twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, 3 and command them, >Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests= feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.= A 4 Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe, 5 Joshua said to them, APass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 so that this may be a sign among you, When your children ask in time to come, >What do those stones mean to you?= 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off, so these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever.@ (Joshua 3:14-4:7)

 

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from January 4, 2010 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday after Christmas, ref. for Jan. 4, Year Two), when comments were based on those of January 4, 2008 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday after Christmas, References for January 4, Year Two), of July 17, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), and earlier comments as indicated on those dates.

 

As today=s reading begins, preparations have been made and the Israelites are ready to cross the River Jordan and enter the promised land under Joshua=s leadership. AWhen the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people@ (Josh. 3:14). Due to high water at harvest time, the crossing would be more difficult in merely human terms. According to the narrator, “Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest” (v. 15a). “Harvest season,@ says Carol Meyers (citing the NJPS 1985, 1999 translation), Arefers to early summer when the waters are still high, making the halt in the Jordan=s flow all the more wondrous. In antiquity, as in modern times, the depth of the Jordan varied greatly, reaching a low point after the hot, rainless summer@ (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Josh. 3:15). One might expect the narrative to continue with something like Ain spite of,@ or Anevertheless@ (cf. MlAUxv4, w e’ûlām, e.g. Gen. 48:19; Num. 14:21), but the story continues as a matter of course, ASo (-v4, we-) when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water@ (v. 15b), and the waters in effect parted. The priests are following the directions given by Joshua. AWhen you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan@ (v. 8b). According to Robert G. Boling, revised by Richard D. Nelson, AThe detail that the Jordan overflows all its banks makes it possible for the priests= feet to touch the edge of the water. It also makes the miracle more impressive@ (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Josh. 3:15).

 

When the feet of the priests bearing the Ark touched the water, we are told that Athe waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap (dHAx,-dn2, n‘d-=ech~d), far off at Adam (MdAxA ’~d~m), the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead sea, were wholly cut off@ (v. 16a, b). Meyers says AStand, in reference to the miraculous piling up of water, is also used for the miraculous halt of the sun=s course in 10:13@ (op. cit., on Josh. 3:13; cf. v. 16). And she adds, AHeap is an unusual term, used elsewhere in the Bible only in reference to the parting of the Sea of Reeds (Ex. 15:8;cf. Ps. 78:13). The crossing of the Jordan is thus made parallel to the crossing of the Sea of Reeds; cf. Ps. 114:3)” (ibid.). AAdam” (MdAxA, ’~d~m) ere is the name of a city, its only occurrence as a place name in the Hebrew Bible, except for Hosea 6:7, where a minor correction (conjecture), instead of reading MdAxAK4 (k e’~d~m), Alike men@ (AV/KJV, mg. n. 3 or like Adam), one reads MdAxAB4 (b e’~d~m), Aat Adam [i.e., the city Adam]” (NRSV, TNIV). At the city Adam, some twenty-five miles north of the Dead Sea just east of the River Jordan, about sixteen miles north of the crossing near Gilgal (cf. 4:20, and the scale of Map 9, NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007), the waters “stood still, rising up in a single heap@ (v. 16a, above) so that water would not flow toward the Dead sea (v. 16b). This separation of the waters made it possible, so “the people crossed (Urb4fA, >~v erû) over opposite Jericho@ (v. 16c). The dry river bed is emphasized as we are told that A While all Israel were crossing over (Myr9b4fo, >Çv erîm) on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over (rbof3la, la> avÇr) the Jordan@ (v. 17). ACrossed,@ says Meyer, Ais used several times in close succession: in vv. 16-17 and in 4:1, 9, 11, 13, 22, 23. This repetition, like the frequent mention of the Jordan, signals the importance of the movement of all Israel across the boundary of their territory@ (op. cit., on v. 16).

 

We move on to another unit, the second of five by the analysis of Meyers:

 

The story of crossing into the land west of the Jordan is told in several overlapping units (3:1-17; 4:1-9; 4:10-14; 4:15-18; 4:19-5:1), with some of the constituent events anticipated and recounted more than once. The resulting complex narrative may be the result of a redactor using different sources and being unwilling to eliminate repetitive components. (ibid., on 3:1-5:1)

 

AThe placing of the twelve stones as memorials is the focus of this unit,@ says Meyers, Awhich contains language similar to that of the preceding and following units. AWhen the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua: >Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe@ (4:1-2). In this way, we are introduced to the episode in which Joshua erects a twelve-stone memorial. According to Boling and Nelson, Aa comparison of [4:1] with 3:17; 4:11 shows that readers are to understand that the actions of vv. 2-10 took place while the crossing was still under way@ (op. cit., on 4:1). Joshua is directed to command the twelve men as follows: ATake twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests= feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight@ (v. 3). AThe twelve stones,@ says Meyers, Aare reminiscent of the twelve pillars representing the tribes of Israel in Exod. 24:4. The placing of large stones was a commemorative act (see also 24:27)@ (op. cit., on 4:3). Boling and Nelson say, AThe stones will be temporarily placed in the camp, then set up permanently at Gilgal (v. 20)@ (op. cit., on v. 3).

 

So Joshua follows the LORD=s directions by first selecting and instructing the twelve men. AThen Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe@ (v. 4). He tells them, APass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, so that this may be a sign among you@ (vv. 5, 6a). Joshua=s directions anticipate times when the meaning of the stones will be explained to the children. AWhen your children ask in time to come, >What do those stones mean to you?= then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off, So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever@ (v. 6b, 7). The anticipated question and answer remind us of the question about the Passover and its answer (Exod. 12:26-27; cf. 13:8-9, 14-16). According to Boling and Nelson, “The stones will teach future generations about the crossing (cf. Deut. 6:20-25)” (ibid., on vv. 6-7).

 

There is a Christian Gospel Song that includes the lines AI won=t have to cross Jordan alone; Jesus died all my sins to atone.” One version, that of Johnny Cash=s band, has been on the Internet, though the site is now more complicated at http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/I‑Won't‑Have‑To‑Cross‑Jordan‑Alone‑lyrics‑Johnny‑Cash/1578FBC052DF7F4F48256DEA000A6812 (accessed again January 2, 2010; copying  and pasting the URL may work,) Some of the words suggest the Lord=s help in the troubles of this life: “Though the billows of trouble and sorrow may sweep / Christ the Saviour will care for his own / Till the end of my journey my soul he will keep and I won't have to cross Jordan alone.” Other perhaps take the words as assurance at the time of death: crossing the Jordan is entering heaven. But for Joshua and company it marks a decisive turning point, the end of the forty years in the wilderness, and the entry into the promised land. Conquest of the land lay in the future, but this was a decisive first step. Remarkably, it is not described in terms of a military invasion so much as of a religious procession. The Apriests bearing the ark@ were the first to step into the water (Josh. 3:14), or rather, dip their feet Ain the edge of the water@ (v. 15) so that the waters Astood still, rising up in a single heap@ so that Aall Israel were crossing over on dry ground@ while the priests Astood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan@ (v. 17). But Meyers does note that “participation of the Transjordanian tribes in the anticipated military events echoes 1:12-13 and again emphasizes Moses= role@ (op. cit., on 4:12-13).

 

The religious aspect is echoed in the expectations of the Afinal@ battle described in the War Scroll from Qumran. Although this war is said to extend over forty years, the writer of the scroll was particularly concerned with the details of the very final day of battle. After six bloody engagements during this last battle, the Sons of Light and Sons of Darkness are deadlocked in a 3-3 tie. In the seventh and final confrontation, "the great hand of God shall overcome [Belial and all] the angels of his dominion, and all the men of [his forces shall be destroyed forever]” (IQM 1:14‑15). Along the way, in true apocalyptic fashion, the scroll goes into elaborate detail concerning the battle trumpets (2:15‑3:11), banners (3:12‑5‑2), and operational matters (5:3‑9:16). Priestly prayers for the various phases of the conflict are recorded next (9:17‑l5:3). Finally, the seven savage engagements of the final day of battle are detailed (15:4‑18:8), culminating in a ceremony of thanksgiving on the day following the victory (18:10‑19:14). (From The Dead Sea Scrolls, a new translation, by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook, Harper San Francisco, 1996, as cited on AFrom Jesus to Christ, a Portrait of Jesus= World,@ www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/scrolltranslation.html, accessed again July 15, 2010; copy and paste the URL).

 

Romans 12:1‑8

 

The New Life in Christ

 

12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship, 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God‑what is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned, 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another, 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. (Romans 12:1-8, NRSV)

 

The following comments are based on relevant comments from those on Romans 12:1-21 of March 21, 2010 (the Fifth Sunday of Easter Year One), when comments were based on those of May 12, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year One), and, for the second part (Rom. 12:9-21), on those as well of July 26, 2009 (the Sunday closest to July 276, Year One). These were based on earlier comments as noted respectively with the comments of those dates. Tomorrow’s comments will refer to those of March 21, 2010 on vv. 9-21.

 

It is generally agreed that chapter 12 of Romans introduces a major turning point in the flow of Paul=s discussion. The conjunction Atherefore@ (ou\n, oun) links all that precedes, which is mainly theoretical, that is, theological, with what follows: practical advice on Christian living. Because Paul has not yet been to Rome when he writes to the Romans (cf. Rom. 1:10), some have assumed that Romans is more general than most of his other Epistles, and not addressed to specific situations within the community of Christian believers in Rome. It is a summary of Paul=s thought, his Asystematic theology,@ so to speak. But important parts of the early church=s “rule of faith,” as some call it, or what the first Christians held in common, are lacking in Romans, for example the Lord=s Supper (which Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29; cf. 10:16-21). And so, some, for example, Ben Witherington III (Paul=s Letter to the Romans; A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, 2004, pp. 11-16), see Romans as addressed to specific conditions within the Roman church during the early (“good,” or at least not the worst) years of Nero=s reign. The Jews (and Jewish Christians) had been expelled from Rome by Claudius in A.D. 49 (cf. Acts 18:2), but allowed to return by Nero when he succeeded Claudius in A.D. 54). So, some three years later when Paul was writing to them, there was some tension, as Witherington believes, between the Gentile Christian majority and the Jewish Christian minority within the community of Christian believers in Rome. That Romans was written for the purpose of addressing divisions between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians within the Roman Christian community is disputed by Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson, because they find the evidence for an expulsion of all the Jews, including Jewish Christians, in A.D. 49, faulty (Introducing the New Testament, 2001, pp. 302-3). But it remains true that later specific advice for these groups to respect each other in the unity of Christian love is anticipated in today=s reading.

 

Paul advice is “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (logikhv latreiva, logik‘ latreia)” (Rom. 12:1). For “spiritual worship,” the Authorized Version (KJV) has “reasonable service” (so also the NKJV). Other translations include “spiritual act of worship” (NIV), “true worship” (Today=s NIV [TNIV]), and “spiritual service of worship” (NASB). The term latreiva (latreia) means “in cultic [religious] usage service/worship of God” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [= BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 2000, s.v. latreiva, latreia). The term logikhv (logik‘), the feminine form of logikovV (logikos), modifying the feminine noun latreiva (latreia), Apertains to being carefully thought through, thoughtful [and] logikh; latreiva (logik‘ latreia) [means] a thoughtful service (in a dedicated spiritual sense) Rom. 12:1) (BDAG, s.v. logikovV, logikos). The Lexicon says the term has been “a favorite expression of philosophers since Aristotle,” but use of the term in a religious (spiritual) sense is illustrated: “the singing of hymns is the sacred service of a human being, as a logikovV [logikos] = one endowed with reason” (cited from Epictetus 11, 16, 20f), “God places no value on sacrificial animals, but on tou: quvontoV pneu:ma logikovn [tou thyontos pneuma logikon, ‘the logikon spirit of the one offering the sacrifice)’ ” (ibid.). One conclusion suggests itself from this overlap in translation of the word logikovV (logikos) as “spiritual” and/or “rational.” (Our word “logic” is related to logikovV, logikos.) Our worship should be spiritual and rational, with a proper balance between the two. There are, apparently, Christian traditions that emphasize one of these to the neglect of the other. We are asked to live a life that is consecrated to God, a Aliving sacrifice,@ not as an animal slain as a temple sacrifice.

 

Paul describes the transformation enabled by God=s grace, redemption in Christ, and the gift of the Spirit to Christian believers. This means that we “not be conformed to this world,” but rather, “be transformed by the renewing of your minds” so that we may “discern what is the will of GodBwhat is good and acceptable and perfect” (v. 2). One is to think of himself/herself “with sober judgment” (v. 3) and to exercise and appreciate the spiritual gifts (vv. 6‑8). Paul emphasizes the unity of Christian believers who, though many, “are one body in Christ” (v. 5a). AIndividually,@ he says, “we are members one of another” (v. 5b). His list of gifts of grace may be compared with the lists in 1 Corinthians 15 (cf. Eph. 4:11-13d). While the different gifts are valuedBprophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading and compassionBthere is a definite emphasis on the unity and the equality of members of the Christian community that runs against the grain of the status and honor-conscious culture and society of the Greco-Roman world.

 

As consecrated Christians, we are to realize that within the Abody,” the Christian community, we have many members (v. 4) with differing gifts (v. 5), Agifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (v. 6). A list of gifts follows (vv. 6b-8) that can be compared with lists in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. See the Table of Gifts of the Spirit in a separate file Gifts. All of the lists mention Aprophecy” or Aprophets@ (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28, 29; Eph. 4:11). ATeaching” or Ateachers” is mentioned in three of the lists (Rom. 6:7; 1 Cor. 12:28, 29; Eph. 4:11), and can be compared to “utterance of knowledge,” and perhaps also to “utterance of wisdom” in 1 Corinthians 12:8). The list in Romans includes “the leader, in diligence” (Rom. 12:8), to which we may compare “forms of leadership” (1 Cor. 12:28), “ministry (diakoniva, diakonia), in ministering” (Rom. 12:7), to which, in a general way, various gifts and offices may be compared. Both lists in 1 Corinthians 12 include “gifts of healing” (1 Cor. 12:9, 28, 30, which one might compare with “giv[ing aid]” or “acts of mercy” (Rom. 12:8). But there is enough variation in the lists to suggest, not a standardized and uniform list, but representative and somewhat open-ended lists. The references to “exhortation” and “liberality” (Rom. 12:8) have no exact equivalents in the other lists, but there is a relation of “exhortation” to the work of pastors (Eph. 4:11). The list in Ephesians reads like a list of church officers (Eph. 4:11) who are “to equip the saints [i.e. the people] for the work of ministry” (v. 12). The lists in 1 Corinthians 12 are formed to address needs Paul perceived in the Corinthian church. In the opening of his letter, he says, perhaps with more than a little irony, “you are not lacking in any spiritual gift” (1 Cor. 1:7).

 

Matthew 26:1‑16

 

The Plot to Kill Jesus (Mk 14.1‑2; Lk 22.1‑2; Jn 11.45‑53)

 

26:1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 AYou know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.@

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him, 5 But they said, ANot during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.@

 

The Anointing at Bethany (Mk 14.3‑9; Jn 12.1‑8)

 

6 Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table, 8 But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, AWhy this waste? 9 For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.@ 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, AWhy do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me, 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me, 12 By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial, 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.@

 

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus (Mk 14.10‑11; Lk 22.3‑6)

 

14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, AWhat will you give me if I betray him to you?@ They paid him thirty pieces of silver, 16 And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:1-16, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from July 17, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 20, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two). Parallel passages for each of the three sections of this reading are presented in three separate files: Jesus' Death Premeditated, Anointing at Bethany, and Betrayal by Judas.

 

Recent comments on the parallel passages in Mark are in the Archive for August 26, 2009 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 24, Year One). Recent comments on the parallel passages in Luke are in the Archive for June 23, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year One). Recent comments on John 11:45-47 are included in the comments in the Archive for September 13, 2009 (the Sunday closest to September 14, Year One).

 

Matthew introduces Jesus= first saying in this reading with a familiar formula: “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples” (Mt. 26:1; cf. 7:28-29; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1). These formulas mark the end of each of five major speeches of Jesus as presented by Matthew. In Krister Stendahl=s outline of Matthew, between the birth narrative (chaps. 1-2) and the passion narrative (chaps. 26-28), he identifies five sections, each with a group of narratives and a major discourse (Peake=s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 673 i, p. 770, in the Introduction to Matthew). So he refers here to Athe familiar concluding phrase to the Fifth Section of the Gospel [which] leads over into the Passion Narrative@ (ibid., sec. 693 a, p. 794). With this introduction, we come to Jesus= prediction of his passion, the fourth, according to Matthew. “You know,” says Jesus, “that after two days the Passover is coming” (Mt. 26:2a; cf. M. 14:1a; Lk. 22:1), which Stendahl sees as characteristic of Matthew=s style in the Passion narrative. “One of the striking features of Mt.=s Passion narrative,” says Stendahl, “as compared with Mk.=s (which he follows closely) is the transformation of the reports given in Mk into direct speech by Jesus (26:7, 36, 38-40, 42 . . .).” “We find it,@ he adds, Aalready in [v.] 2 and it is not a merely stylistic feature. Jesus is in command: he gives the orders; here is the Messiah who knows what is going to happen and >speaks it into effect’ ” (ibid., with ref. to N. A. Dahl in NTS 2 [1955-56], 48).

 

The “fourth prediction” itself, “the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified” (Mt. 26:2b), has no parallel in the other Gospels. But it is linked to the report of the decision to take decisive action against Jesus. Matthew tells us, “then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas” (v. 3). At this meeting “they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him” (v. 4; cf. Mk. 14:1b; Lk. 22:2a). In a different context, the aftermath of Jesus= raising of Lazarus from the dead, the Pharisees call “a meeting of the council” for the same purpose (Jn. 11:47, cf. vv. 47-53). The presence of Caiaphas is noted by John (11:49), but neither Mark nor Luke name Caiaphas in this context (Mk. 14:1; Lk. 22:2). Mark does not refer to Caiaphas by name at all; Luke names him as part of the setting for the beginning of Jesus= ministry (Lk. 3:2; cf. Acts 4:6), and so probably assumes that he is among Athe chief priests here (Lk. 22:2).

 

It is reported that these religious leaders hesitate, wanting to proceed with caution. According to Matthew, “they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people’ ” (Mt. 26:5; cf. Mk. 14:2; Lk. 22:2b). William Barclay comments on Caiaphas:

 

We know very little about him, but we do know one most suggestive fact. In the old days the office of High Priest had been hereditary, and had been for life; but when the Romans took over in Palestine, High Priests came and went in rapid series, for the Romans erected and deposed High Priests to suit their own purposes, Between 37 B.C. and A.D. 67, when the last was appointed before the destruction of the Temple, there were no fewer than twenty-eight High Priests. The suggestive thing is that Caiaphas was High Priest from A.D. 18 to A.D. 36. This was an extraordinarily long time for a High Priest to last [in this period], and Caiaphas must have brought the technique of cooperating with the Romans to a fine art. (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, The Daily Study Bible, rev. ed., 1975, vol. 2, p. 327 on Mt. 26:1-5)

 

Barclay describes Caiaphas’ problem: “The one thing the Romans would not stand was civil disorder. Let there be any rioting and certainly Caiaphas would lose his position” (ibid., pp. 327-328). With Jerusalem full of people for the Passover Festival, Caiaphas had no tolerance for the hint of a riot.

 

Jesus retires to Bethany to the house of Simon the leper, whom Dale C. Allison, Jr.., calls Aanother befriended outcast@ (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 879 on Mt. 26:6-13), where a woman comes “with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment” and pours it on his head (Mt. 26:7; Mk. 14:3). C. H. Dodd says, “the idea of an anointing, as of a king or priest, which is also an embalming of the dead” means that Jesus is “the messianic King whose throne is the cross” (Dodd, 1963, 173, cited by Allison, op. cit.). In a similar incident in John=s Gospel (Jn. 12:1-8), it is Mary, the sister of Lazarus who anoints, not Jesus= head, but his feet (Jn. 12:3). In a similar incident in Luke=s Gospel, Jesus is at the home of Simon the Pharisee (Lk. 7:36-50), and Aa woman in the city, who was a sinner@ anointed Jesus feet (Lk. 7:37-38)Bbut the context is clearly different. In Matthew the disciples protest the Awaste@ (Mt. 26:8), thinking of what good could have been done with the money. “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor” (v. 9). In Mark this protest is by “some who were there” (Mk. 14:4). In John=s account, the protest of Mary=s action is by Judas Iscariot, “the one who was about to betray him” (Jn. 12:4), whom John calls “a thief” (v. 6). In Luke=s similar story, the protest is from the host, Simon the Pharisee, who objects to the woman=s character rather than the waste (Lk. 7:39). In Luke, Jesus rebukes Simon with the story of two debtors, “one [who] owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty” ( vv. 41-42). But in Matthew, Jesus hears and commends the woman. “She has performed a good service for me” (Mt. 26:10b; cf. Mk. 14:6). Jesus “praises the woman=s deed as above almsgiving because it shows her ‘personal commitment of love for the specific person of Jesus at a time of urgent need rather than an impersonal giving to the general group of the poor always in need’ ” (Heil, 1991, 26, cited by Allison, loc. cit., who adds ‘cf. Deut. 15:11’). Jesus rebukes the disciples. “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me” (Mt. 26:11; cf. Mk. 14:7; Jn. 12:8), he says, and explains: “By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial” (Mt. 26:12; cf. Mk. 14:8; Jn. 12:7). And Jesus adds that she will be remembered for this spontaneous generosity. “Truly I tell you,” says Jesus in Matthew, “wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her” (Mt. 26:13; cf. Mk. 14:9).

 

In a striking contrast with the woman=s unselfish act, “Judas . . . acts treacherously”; he “seeks his own gain,@ says Allison (ibid., on Mt. 26:14-16). Matthew continues with a brief report of Judas= betrayal of Jesus (Mt. 26:14-16; cf. Mk. 14:10-11; Lk. 22:3-6). Judas asks the chief priests, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” (Mt. 26:15a). Mark merely summarizes, saying Judas “went to the chief priests in order to betray him [Jesus] to them” (Mk. 14:10; cf. Lk. 22:3). When “they paid him thirty pieces of silver” (Mt. 26:15b), immediately “he began to look for an opportunity to betray him” (Mt. 26:16; cf. Mk. 14:11b; Lk. 22:6; also cf. Jn. 6:71). In Luke, Judas= action is motivated by Satan, who “entered into Judas” (Lk. 22:3). In Mark and Luke the chief priests were “greatly pleased” at Judas= proposal (Mk. 14:11; Lk. 22:5), a detail omitted in Matthew=s brief, matter-of-fact account. The text of Matthew 26:15 seems simple and direct, but Allison sees more there. The verse “stands under the influence of Zech. 11:12:

 

‘So they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver.= This text shows that the betrayal is in accord with what God has foreseen. Indeed, the apparent triumph of evil is mysteriously also the work of GodBas in Gen. 50:29: ‘Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good.= There might also be an allusion to Ex. 21:32: Judas reckons Jesus worth no more than a slave. Whether that is so or not the amount is surely intended to be trifling; and his action likens him to the guards at the tomb, whose cowardice leads them to lie: they also take silver from the authorities (28:11-15). (Allison on Mt. 26:15)

 

As noted above, for the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 1, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

 

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net