Daily Scripture Readings     

Tuesday (July20, 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/lectionary

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.

Tuesday

AM Psalm 45

PM Psalm 47, 48

Joshua 8:1-22

Rom. 14:1-12

Matt. 26:47-56

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia bloomer, Sojourner Truth & Harriet Ross Tubman

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

Psalm 146

Wisdom 7:24-28; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Luke 11:5-10 Eucharistic Readings:

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Psalm 85:1-7;

Matt. 12:46-50

Tuesday

Morning: Psalms 123; 146

Joshua 8:1-22

Rom. 14:1-12

Matt. 26:47-56

Evening: Psalms 30; 86

Tuesday

Morning Pss.: 42, 146

Numbers 35:1-3, 9-15, 30-34

Romans 8:31-39

Matthew 23:27-39

Evening Pss.: 102, 133

 

Year C Daily Readings

Psalm 119:97-104

Proverbs 9:1-18

1 John 2:1-6

* Tuesday in the week of the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year Two

 

For the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 6, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

 

Episcopal and Presbyterian Readings:

 

Joshua 8:1 -22

 

Ai Captured by a Stratagem and Destroyed

 

            8:1 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed; take all the fighting men with you, and go up now to Ai. See, I have handed over to you the king of Ai with his people, his city, and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king; only its spoil and its livestock you may take as booty for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city, behind it."

            3 So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to go up against Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand warriors and sent them out by night 4 with the command, "You shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it; do not go very far from the city, but all of you stay alert. 5 I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us, as before, we shall flee from them. 6 They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, 'They are fleeing from us, as before.' While we flee from them, 7 you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city; for the LORD your God will give it into your hand. 8 And when you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire, doing as the LORD has ordered; see, I have commanded you." 9 So Joshua sent them out; and they went to the place of ambush, and lay between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai; but Joshua spent that night in the camp.

            10 In the morning Joshua rose early and mustered the people, and went up, with the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11 All the fighting men who were with him went up, and drew near before the city, and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. 12 Taking about five thousand men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the inhabitants of the city, hurried out early in the morning to the meeting place facing the Arabah to meet Israel in battle; but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them, and fled in the direction of the wilderness. 16 So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. 17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel; they left the city open, and pursued Israel.

            18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Stretch out the sword that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand." And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand toward the city. 19 As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush rose quickly out of their place and rushed forward. They entered the city, took it, and at once set the city on fire. 20 So when the men of Ai looked back, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky. They had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was rising, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 And the others came out from the city against them; so they were surrounded by Israelites, some on one side, and some on the other; and Israel struck them down until no one was left who survived or escaped. (Joshua 8:1-22, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from July 22, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from July 25, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year Two), when comments were included from July 20, 2004, in an email sent July 19, 2004, for July 19-25. The combined comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

 

Having dealt with Achan (Josh. 7:16 -26), Joshua is victorious in his second expedition against Ai. He is reassured by the LORD: “Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed; take all the fighting men with you, and go up now to Ai. See, I have handed over to you the king of Ai with his people, his city, and his land’ ” (Josh. 8:1). This time the conditions of the cherem (devotion to destruction) are altered. As K. Lawson Younger notes, “they may have the plunder” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Josh. 8:1-2; cf. Carol Meyers, The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 476, on Josh. 8:1-2), for the LORD continues: “You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king; only its spoil and its livestock you may take as booty for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city, behind it” (Josh. 8:1-2).

 

This time, there is careful planning. “So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to go up against Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand warriors and sent them out by night with the command, ‘You shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it; do not go very far from the city, but all of you stay alert’ ” (vv. 3-4). Joshua proposes a ruse: He and the people will serve as bait to draw out the fighting force of Ai. “I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us, as before, we shall flee from them” (v. 5). But this deceptive maneuver, an apparent flight, will set the men of Ai up for attack by the Israelite army. “They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, 'They are fleeing from us, as before.' While we flee from them, you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city; for the LORD your God will give it into your hand’ ” (vv. 6-7). And Joshua finishes giving orders with his instruction to burn the city. “And when you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire, doing as the LORD has ordered; see, I have commanded you” (v. 8). According to Meyers, “Joshua relays God’s instructions, but in much greater detail, thus contributing to the drama of the impending event” (op. cit., on vv. 3-8). “So Joshua sent them out,” we are told; “and they went to the place of ambush, and lay between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai, but Joshua spent that night in the camp” (v. 9).

 

In carrying out the assault, Joshua and his people follow the plan. “In the morning, [he] rose early and mustered the people and went up, with the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai” (v. 10). All of Israel’s fighting men prepared for the ambush by camping “on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai” (v. 11). Also, “about five thousand men [were set] in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city” (v. 12). The narrator recapitulates the positions of the Israelites. “So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley” (v. 13). “When the king of Ai saw this,” says the narrator, referring not to the forces set to ambush from north of the city (v. 13) but to the group who provide the ruse (vv. 3-5, 10), “he and all his people, the inhabitants of the city, hurried out early in the morning to the meeting place facing the Arabah to meet Israel in battle; but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city” (v. 14). “And,” according to the plan, “Joshua and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them, and fled in the direction of the wilderness” (v. 15). Meyers explains the movement of the people of Ai as, “toward the Jordan Valley” (op. cit., on v. 14). So the ruse works, as “all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city” (v. 16). The ruse was so effective that “there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel; they left the city open, and pursued Israel” (v. 17).

 

At the turning point of the battle, “Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Stretch out the sword (NOdyK9, kîdôn, ‘javelin’ NJPS 1985, 1999) that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand.’ And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand toward the city” (v. 18 NRSV). The term for Joshua’s “sword” (NRSV) is used of Goliath’s “javelin of bronze” (tw,Hon4 NOdyK9, kîdôn nechÇšeth) (1 Sam. 17:6; cf. v. 45). William L. Holladay says, it “traditionally [means] javelin; but Qumran material suggests short sword for cutting & thrusting, and for hunting, or curved (crescent-shaped) sword” (A Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 4th impression, 1978). In 1 Sam. 17:45, it is listed as one of Goliath’s weapons, along with the sword (br@H@, cherev) and spear (tyn9H3a, chanîth). Younger points out that “Joshua’s stretching out his sword is similar to Moses’ actions in Ex. 14:15-21, 26-27; 17:9-12)” (op. cit., on Josh. 8:18-29). This served as a signal to the troops waiting in ambush, for “as soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush rose quickly out of their place and rushed forward. They entered the city, took it, and at once set the city on fire” (v. 19). Younger refers to the burning of the city as “the third implementation of the ‘cherem’ . . . depicted as a sacrificial burnt offering” (op. cit., on vv. 18-29). The first two, by his count, would be the destruction of Jericho (6:6-27, cf. his note on this passage), and the second would be “Achan’s execution” (on 7:6-26). According to Meyers, “the javelin [following NJPS 1985, 1999] is indicated by a rare word for a weapon that symbolized sovereignty. Joshua holds it out (vv. 18, 26) in a magical gesture reminiscent of Moses actions [as noted above]. Later commentators such as Rashi,” she adds, “disturbed at the magical background of this action, instead viewed it as a sign for those ambushing to attack” (op. cit., on v. 18). She thus differs from Younger.

 

As planned, the men of Ai are taken by complete surprise. “So when the men of Ai looked back, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky. They had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers” (v. 20). And, of course, the Israelites took full advantage of this reversal. “When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was rising, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai” (v. 21). In a sort of “mopping up” operation, the remaining people, who “came out from the city against them . . . were surrounded by Israelites, some on one side, and some on the other” (v. 22a). So they too were trapped, and “Israel struck them down until no one was left who survived or escaped” (v. 22b).

 

The reading for today breaks off at this point, and tomorrow’s reading moves on to the covenant renewal reported at the end of the chapter (8:30-35). In the interval, the story of the victory at Ai is completed, noting that “the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua (v. 23), that the people of Ai, both those in the field who had pursued the Israelites, and those remaining in the town were all slaughtered (vv. 24-25), “for Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the sword (NOdyK9, kîdôn), until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai” (v. 26). But the people were permitted to take “the livestock and the spoil of that city . . . as their booty” (v. 27) as promised (v. 2). According to Younger, “Ironically, God allowed the Israelites to take some of the plunder from Ai that was under the ‘cherem’ (v. 27), perhaps to avoid a repeat of the action of Achan” (op. cit., on vv, 18-29). According to Meyers, “The modification of the ‘cherem,’ perhaps to prevent another Achan incident, is less liberal than that of Deut. 20:14, where even women and children can be taken as booty, provided the captured town is not in Israelite territory” (op. cit., on v. 27). “So,” we are told, “Joshua burned Ai, and made it forever a heap of ruins (MlAOf -lT2, t‘l-‘ôl~m), as it is to this day” (v. 28). According to Meyers, “Ruins for all time [NJPS 1985, 1999 trans., for ‘heap of ruins as it is to this day’ NRSV] echoes the language of Deut. 13:16, contributes to the etymology of Ai, and provides an instructive etiology” (op. cit., on v. 28). Although everyone from Ai is put to death, from the king on down through the families, special treatment is reserved for the king. “And he [Joshua] hanged (hlATA, t~l~h) the king of Ai on a tree (CfehA, h~‘‘ ts) until evening; and at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree (CfehA, h~‘‘ ts), threw it down at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands their to this day” (v. 29 NRSV). The recent Jewish translation apparently paraphrases a bit: “And the king of Ai was impaled (hlATA, t~l~h) on a stake (CfehA, h~‘‘ ts) until the evening. At sunset, Joshua had the corpse taken down from the stake (CfehA, h~‘‘ ts) and it was left lying at the entrance to the city gate” (v. 29a NJPS 1985, 1999). While the word translated “tree” ( CfehA, h~‘‘ ts) can mean “wood (as a material),” “timber, or “pieces of wood” (Holladay, Lexicon, s.v. Cf2, ‘‘ts), and thus “stake” is just possible, the word translated “hanged” (hlATA, t~l~h) has been consistently translated so in many versions of the Bible. In any case, the king of Ai was clearly put to death in a dramatic manner. “The hanging of the king of Ai and his stone memorial in the gate of the city are common actions in ancient Near Eastern warfare,” says Younger. “This also anticipates the execution of the five kings in 10:26-27 and follows the Deuteronomic injunction (Deut. 21:22-23). It also offers a contrast to 1 Sam. 15, where Saul does not put Agag, the Amalekite king, to death, thereby disqualifying himself from leadership” (op. cit., on v. 29).

 

Ai is not far from Bethel (the “house of El = God, ” cf. v. 9), and the place where, later, Jeroboam I set up a golden calf for worship (1 Kgs. 12:28 -29). At Bethel, the southern prophet Amos denounced the sins of the northern kingdom and confronted “Amaziah, the priest of Bethel” (Amos. 7:10 -17).

 

There was an earlier “suggestion of W. F. Albright that a confusion between Bethel and Ai had entered into the tradition.” But Robert G. Boling points out that

 

That approach may no longer be necessary. The recent excavations have established that a very small village existed on the mound of et-Tell, which began in the last quarter of the thirteenth century (c. 1220 B.C. according to Joseph A. Callaway in EAEHL I [1975] 49) and continued through two phases in Iron I, until it was abandoned about 1050 B.C. (Joshua, The Anchor Bible, 1982, p. 243, on Josh. 8:1-29)

 

Boling lists further complications in the thinking of archaeologists, but as a matter of interest, we note the following:

 

The archaeological data encourage a fresh approach to the relationship between the stories of The Ruin [i.e. Ai] and of the civil war with Benjamin (Judges 19-20). Wellhausen’s idea that Joshua 8 was the “model” for Judges 19-20) is now generally turned around by critical scholars. But the similarities and differences cannot all be comprehended as a result of unilinear development or as a polemical challenge and response concerning the same events. (Ibid.)

 

Boling adds that “The similarities and differences can only be explained in terms of continuing reflection and dialogue concerning the role of Joshua, as best formulated in the following couplet:

 

How splendid he was when he raised his arms

to brandish his sword against cities! (Ecclus 46:2-3 JB)” (Ibid., p. 244)

 

Romans 14:1 -12

 

Do Not Judge Another

 

            14:1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

            5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

            7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

            10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

and every tongue shall give praise to God."

12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God. (Romans 14:1-12, NRSV)

 

In the following, relevant comments are repeated from those on Romans 14:1-23 of February 13, 2010 (Saturday in the week of the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), when comments were repeated from May 14 and 15, 2009 (Thursday and Friday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year One), when comments were repeated from July 22 and 23, 2008 (Tuesday and Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year Two), and from earlier, as noted there. The remainder of the February 13, 2010, comments will apply to tomorrow’s reading.

 

Paul instructs us to “Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions” (Rom. 14:1). He describes examples of differences in opinion “Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables” (v. 2). One might suppose that this refers to an asceticism that avoids eating meat as such; more likely, it refers to Jews who would have difficulty in obtaining kosher meat in the city of Rome. Ben Witherington III, with Darlene Hyatt, describes several reasons why Jews living in Rome might not want to eat the meat available there, because (1) “meat sold in public meat markets would not all have been slaughtered according to Jewish rules (for example, it would likely have blood in it),” or (2) “After the debacle among Jews, apparently caused by disputes over Jesus, and the expulsion of the Jews in A.D. 49, ‘the officials who controlled the meat market would have withdrawn the provision of “suitable food.” There may have been some in Rome who were no longer eating meat because kosher meat was not available in the markets’ ” or (3) “after the Jews’ return under Nero, the few Jewish butchers in Rome might have been unwilling to service Jewish Christians, and the Jewish Christians might have avoided synagogues, which might have cut them off from their sources of acceptable meat” or (4) “the poor or marginalized could seldom if ever afford to buy meat, and the opportunities they would have to eat meat would be at public festivals connected with pagan celebrations and temples, or perhaps if a Gentile Christian invited them to dine at his home” (Paul’s Letter to the Romans; a Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, 2004, pp. 334-35 on Rom. 14:1-15:13, citing B. W. Winter in ref. to the second point). “Those who eat,” says Paul, referring to those who eat meat, “must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them” (v. 3). It is not for Christian brothers and sisters to judge one another on such matters, for judgment is God’s prerogative. “Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another?” asks Paul. “It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand” (v. 4). There is a similarity in Paul’s instructions in Romans 14 to that in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, but also a difference. In 1 Corinthians, the issue is whether to eat meat offered to idols, but in Romans it is whether to eat meat at all. But in both cases, Paul’s main concern is that we act in a way that does not harm the faith of a weaker fellow Christian.

 

Another example also favors the view that Paul is addressing Jewish concerns about observing the Torah. “Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds” (v. 5). The Jewish Christians in Rome would be accustomed to observing the weekly sabbath and other special religious days, including the new moon (Rosh Chodesh). “Those who observe the day,” says Paul, “observe it in honor of the Lord” (v. 6a). The Christian observance of “the Lord’s day” (cf. Rev. 1:10; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Jn. 20:19, 26), that is, for many Christians, the first day of the week, Sunday, in a sense continues the Jewish Sabbath tradition. And he adds, again in reference to eating, “Also those who eat,” still with reference to eating meat, “eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God” (v. 6b).

 

As Paul continues to explain his advice, he says, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves” (v. 7). Of this C. K. Barrett says, “Paul does not mean (as is sometimes supposed) that our actions affect our fellow-men, but that we live in relation to God” (The Epistle to the Romans, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries, 1957, p. 260, on Rom. 14:7). “If we live,” says Paul, “we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's” (v. 8). According to Barrett, “Paul is speaking of Christians, and what he says is scarcely more than a definition. The faith and obedience of a Christian means that he belongs not to himself but to God. Further, they are not confined to this life only. Having already ‘risen with Christ’ (Col. iii, 1), the Christian belongs to him even in death” (ibid., on v. 8). Witherington expands on this thought:

 

Christians belong to Christ and are to live as though they are constantly under his watchful eye and have the task of trying to please him. They are to live in a context where they realize that they have been bought with a price; their lives are not their own to do with as they please. All they do should be done in the context of realizing that their lives are a gift from God, and their actions, whether eating, abstaining, worshiping, or whatever, should be suitable for offering up to God in thanks. (op. cit., p. 336, on Rom. 14:6-8).

 

Paul continues to explain: “For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (v.9). According to Barrett, “The slave-lord relationship between the Christian and Christ rests entirely upon the death and resurrection of Jesus, which led to his exaltation and heavenly reign” (op. cit., on v. 9).

 

Paul returns to the subject of judging fellow Christians. “Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (v. 10; cf. Mt. 7:1-5; Lk. 6:37-39). In support of this reminder, Paul quotes Isaiah: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, / and every tongue shall give praise to God” (v. 11, citing Isa. 49:18; 45:23; cf. Phil. 2:10-11). And Paul concludes, “So then, each of us will be accountable to God” (v. 12). According to Witherington, this statement

 

tells believers not only that there will be a review of their actions and that God already knows all they have done, but also that each one will have to render an account, an explanation, for their behavior. To do so before the all-knowing Lord of all is a daunting prospect, especially when Jesus is the one person a believer would especially not want to disappoint or be shamed before. Thus, there is a powerful eschatological sanction being applied here to enforce the exhortations, which is an effective rhetorical move. (op. cit., p. 338, on v. 12)

 

Matthew 26:47 -56

 

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus (Mk 14.43 -52; Lk 22.47 -53; Jn 18.1 -11)

 

            47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him." 49 At once he came up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you are here to do." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. 51 Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?" 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Matthew 26:47-56, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here with minor editing from July 22, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year Two), when comments were repeated with some editing and supplement here from July 25, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year Two). For recent comments on Mark’s version of the arrest of Jesus, see the Archive for August 29, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 24, Year One). For recent comments on Luke’s version, see the Archive for June 27, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year One). Parallel accounts for this reading are included in the separate file, Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus.

 

As yesterday’s reading, Jesus’ Prays in Gethsemane, closes, he comes to the disciples again and says,“Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” (Mt. 26:45-46). So the beginning words of today’s reading, “While he was still speaking” (v. 47a; cf. Mk. 14:43a; Lk. 22:47a) refer to Jesus’ words at Gethsemane, and set the timing for the arrival of Judas and those with him. “While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people” (Mt. 26:47; cf. Mk. 14:43, including ‘the scribes’). At this point, Luke does not mention the “swords and clubs” brought by the crowd (Lk. 22:47), but they are mentioned later (Lk. 22:52; cf. Mk. 14:48; Mt. 26:55). Nor at this point does Luke mention “the chief priests, the scribes and the elders” (Mk. 14:47b; cf. Lk. 22:47), but later in Luke’s account Jesus addresses “the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders” (Lk. 22:52a).

 

In John’s Gospel, the scene for Jesus’ arrest is set with similar words about the arrival of Judas and those with him (Mk. 14:43; Mt. 26:47; Lk. 22:47), but not in reference to words spoken at Gethsemane, rather to the discourses in the upper room (Jn. 13-17; cf. “large room upstairs,” Mk. 14:15; Lk. 22:12). “After Jesus had spoken these words [i.e., in the upper room], he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered” (Jn. 18:1), John does not mention prayer in the garden but immediately proceeds with Judas’ arrival and the arrest (vv. 2-11). John has anticipated this betrayal as early as chapter 6. “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.’ He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him” (Jn. 6:70-71; cf. 12:4-8 where the narrator calls Judas a “thief”).

 

According to Matthew, “Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him’ ” (Mt. 26:48; cf. Mk. 14:44). In Matthew’s account Judas kisses Jesus. “At once he came up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings (Cai:re, Chaire [cf. Lk. 1:28], Rabbi!’ and kissed him (Mt. 26:49; cf. Mk. 14:45). Luke omits reference to the prearrangement of the kiss and does not report that it was carried out, though he clearly understands its significance as betrayal. Rather, he says, “He [Judas] approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ ” (Lk. 22:47b, 48). Mark’s account moves on immediately from the kiss, saying, “Then they laid hands on him and arrested him” (Mk. 14:46). Matthew’s report is similar but the arrest is preceded by Jesus saying to Judas, “Friend ( +Etai:re, Hetaire], do what you are here to do” (Mt. 26:50a), before adding, “Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him” (v. 50b).

 

No one wants a betrayer’s kiss! Judas has been roundly denounced for that. But I was struck by the greeting. “Greetings, Rabbi!” (Mt. 26:49, cf. Mark’s “Rabbi!” Mk. 14:45). It’s a common greeting, Cai:re (Chaire), used by Gabriel in Greeting Mary (Lk. 1:28), and similar to what is found in ancient letters (caivrein, chairein, the infinitive of the verb “rejoice,” James 1:1; Acts 15:23; 23:26), and varied somewhat by Paul and others, cavriV (charis, “grace”) and eijrhvnh (eir‘n‘, “peace” = Molow!, shalom). But it’s a terrible irony that Judas’ vigorous “Good evening, Teacher!” should mean what it did. Luke has Jesus say to Judas, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” (Lk. 22:48). In Mark Jesus says nothing to Judas when Judas says, “Rabbi!” and kisses him (Mk. 14:45). In Matthew, as noted above, Matthew relates an exchange in which Jesus responds to Judas’ greeting by saying “Friend, do what you are here to do” (v. 50), indicating more that just submitting to the inevitable. The word translated “friend” ( +Etai:re, Hetaire) appears only in Matthew and only when the landowner confronts the laborer in his vineyard about the amount of the wages (Mt. 20:13), or the king confronts the guest without a wedding robe (Mt. 22:12; cf. Mt. 11:16 v. l.). Jesus says he could have called on “more than twelve legions of angels” (Mt. 26:53), “But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way? (v. 54). As noted below, all the Gospels present the arrest as inevitable, the fulfillment of the divine plan. But Jesus’ reference in Matthew to “more than twelve legions of angels” serves to emphasize Jesus being in control, contrary to all appearances. When one of the disciples draws a sword to resist the arrest and cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave (Mt. 26:51; Mk. 14:47; Lk. 22:49-50), Simon Peter according to John, who also names the slave (Malchus, Jn. 18:10), Jesus puts a stop to this action. In three Gospels, Jesus directs the disciple to “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt. 26:52; cf. “No more of this!” Lk. 22:51; “Put your sword back into its sheath,” Jn. 18:11a). In Mark, Jesus does not restrain the sword-wielding disciple, but taunts the arresting crowd. “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled” (Mk. 14:48-49; cf. Mt. 26:55). Some see a contradiction here with Jesus saying at the Last Supper, “the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one” (Lk. 22:36). This appears in a kind of reversal (Lk. 22:35 -36) of earlier instructions (Lk. 10:4; cf. 9:3), what Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metger call one of Jesus’ “striking metaphors” which “the disciples take . . . literally” (NOAB, 2nd ed. on Lk. 22:36). “The sword apparently meant to Jesus a preparation to live by one’s own resources against hostility. The natural meaning of v. 38 is that the disciples supposed he spoke of an actual sword, only to learn that two swords were sufficient for the whole enterprise, i.e. were not to be used at all” (ibid.).

 

Matthew echoes the point about the fulfillment of scripture: “But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen this way” (Mt. 26:54; cf. Mk. 14:49b). Luke puts it this way: “This is your hour, and the power of darkness! (Lk. 22:53b). For John the fulfilment of scripture relates more to the sparing of the disciples than to his own fate. “This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me’ ” (Jn. 18:9, cf. 6:39; 17:12). If there is a difference between Luke’s presentation of Jesus calm composure at Gethsemane (the shorter version so interpreted by Bart Ehrman) as compared with the distraught Jesus of Matthew’s and Mark’s Gethsemane accounts, the accounts of the actual arrest show Jesus fully composed and in control. “Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (Jn. 18:11b). Matthew emphasizes the fulfillment of scripture. “But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled” (Mt. 26:56a, echoing the motif of the various formula quotations (Mt. 1:22-23; 2:17-18; 4:14-16, etc.). And he concludes by reporting that “all the disciples deserted him and fled” (v. 56b, cf. Mk. 14:50). Only Mark tells us of “a certain young man [who] was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth,” adding that “they caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked” (Mk. 14:51-52). Some believe that this was none other than Mark himself, who wrote the Gospel.

 

As noted above, for the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 6, 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