Daily Scripture Readings     

Thursday (July 8, 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.

Thursday

AM Psalm 18:1-20

PM Psalm 18:21-50

Deut. 3:18-28

Rom. 9:19-33

Matt. 24:1-14

Eucharistic Readings:

Psalm 80:1-7

Hosea 11:1-9; Matthew 10:7-15

Thursday

Morning: Psalms 116; 147:12-20

Deut. 3:18-28

Rom. 9:19-33

Matt. 24:1-14

Evening: Psalms 26; 130

Thursday

Morning Pss.: 143, 147:13-21

Num. 17:1-11

Rom. 5:1-11

Matt. 20:17-28

Evening Pss.: 81, 116

 

Year C Daily Readings

Psalm 25:1-10

Genesis 41:14-36

James 2:14-26

* Thursday in the week of the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two

 

For the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for June 24, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

 

Episcopal and Presbyterian Readings:

 

Deuteronomy 3:18-28

 

18 At that time, I charged you as follows: “Although the LORD your God has given you this land to occupy, all your troops shall cross over armed as the vanguard of your Israelite kin. 19 Only your wives, your children, and your livestock–I know that you have much livestock–shall stay behind in the towns that I have given to you. 20 When the LORD gives rest to your kindred, as to you, and they too have occupied the land that the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan, then each of you may return to the property that I have given to you.” 21 And I charged Joshua as well at that time, saying: “Your own eyes have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so the LORD will do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22 Do not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.”

 

Moses Views Canaan from Pisgah

 

23 At that time, too, I entreated the LORD, saying: 24 “O Lord GOD, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your might; what god in heaven or on earth can perform deeds and mighty acts like yours! 25 Let me cross over to see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and the Lebanon.” 26 But the LORD was angry with me on your account and would not heed me. The LORD said to me, “Enough from you! Never speak to me of this matter again! 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look around you to the west, to the north, to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because it is he who shall cross over at the head of this people and who shall secure their possession of the land that you will see.  (Deuteronomy 3:18-28, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from July 10, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), when they were repeated with editing and supplement from July 13, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 8, 2004 in an email sent July 8, 2004, for July 8-9.

 

Yesterday’s reading, the first of four selected readings from Deuteronomy this week, included three introductory paragraphs (Deut. 1:1-18). As noted yesterday, three long speeches of Moses comprise the bulk of Deuteronomy. The first speech (1:6-4:43) includes a historical review (1:6-3:28) and an exhortation to obey the Torah (cf. Bernard M. Levinson, NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on these sections respectively. Note that Levinson’s comments on Deut. are essentially the same in The Jewish Study Bible, 2004). The historical review concludes as Moses describes his allotment of land to the Transjordanian tribes (Deut.3:12-17), and today’s reading begins.

 

Moses reminds the Transjordanian tribes of this allotment and their corresponding responsibilities. “At that time,” he says, “I charged you as follows: ‘Although the LORD your God has given you this land to occupy, all your troops shall cross over armed as the vanguard of your Israelite kin’ ” (Deut. 3:18). These tribes were permitted to leave their families behind: “Only your wives, your children, and your livestock,” says Moses–“I know that you have much livestock–shall stay behind in the towns that I have given to you” (v.19). They are assured that when the conquest is completed, then they may return: “When the LORD gives rest to your kindred, as to you, and they too have occupied the land that the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan, then each of you may return to the property that I have given to you” (v. 20). Moses also recalls his charge to Joshua, “Your own eyes have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so the LORD will do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. Do not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you” (vv. 21-22). According to Levinson, “the whole story of the Exodus, wilderness journey, and invasion of Canaan is governed by the convictions of holy war, whereby God is a divine warrior who engages in battle on behalf of Israel” (ibid., on Deut. 3:22).

 

Moses reports that he made one final request of the LORD to be permitted to enter Canaan. “At that time, too,” he says, “I entreated the LORD, saying: ‘O Lord GOD, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your might; what god in heaven or on earth can perform deeds and mighty acts like yours!’ ” (vv. 23-24). “Let me cross over to see the good land beyond the Jordan,” he asks, “that good hill country and the Lebanon” (v. 25). “But the LORD was angry with me on your account,” he adds, “and would not heed me” (v. 26a). As Moses quotes it, the LORD’s response was clear–not to say sharp–and final: “Enough from you! Never speak to me of this matter again!” (v. 26b).

 

Instead of allowing Moses to enter Canaan, the LORD permits him to see it from afar. “Go up to the top of Pisgah and look around you to the west, to the north, to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross over this Jordan” (v. 27). Rather than leading the people into Canaan himself, Moses is to “charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because it is he who shall cross over at the head of this people and who shall secure their possession of the land that you will see” (v. 28). Perhaps you’ve seen pictures of the view eastward from Jerusalem. One evening picture shows the lights of Amman Jordan, some fifty miles or so to the east with the Jordan valley between. Reverse that view, and you would have a part of Moses’ view from the top of “this mountain of the Abarim range (Num. 27:12), or Mount Pisgah (Deut. 3:27), or “this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo” (Deut. 32:49), or both Pisgah and Nebo (Deut. 34:1). Bernhard W. Anderson sees the two names, Pisgah and Nebo as “two traditions about the place of Moses’ death,” adding that “Mount Nebo is in Transjordan east of Jericho; Mount Pisgah is a peak in the same range, slightly west” (NOAB, 2nd ed. on Deut. 34:1). However, Rabbi J. H. Hertz defines “Pisgah” as “the specific name for a series of mountain-ranges in the high plateau of Moab. In Deut. xxxii, 49, as well as in Num. xxvii, 12, these ranges are designated by the more general name of myrbfh rh [har ‘ avārîm], i.e. ‘The mountain of the regions beyond’. Nebo was the special name of one of these mountain-ranges (cf. Num. xxi, 20)” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2nd ed., 24th printing, 1981, p. 915, on Deut. 34:1). The Rabbi adds:

 

“From the top of Pisgah all Western Palestine is in sight–the undulating forests of Southern Gilead, the snow-clad top of Hermon, mounts Tabor and Gilboa, Ebal and Gerizim, the heights of Benjamin and Judah, the Mount of Olives, and Zion, Bethlehem and Hebron and Beersheba. Sifri states that Moses was given something more than a mere physical glimpse of the Holy Land. He was shown all the land of Israel as it then was in its prosperity, and as it would be in the days of its adversity. He was given a prophetic vision of the main episodes in the future history of Israel; so that he saw Samson and Gideon, Deborah and David, taking up his unfinished task of leadership, and was vouchsafed a vision of all that would happen unto Israel till the Judgment Day. (ibid.)

 

Romans 9:19-33

 

God’s Wrath and Mercy

 

19 You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; 23 and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory- 24 including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’

and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ “

26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’

there they shall be called children of the living God.”

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved; 28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us,

we would have fared like Sodom

and been made like Gomorrah.”

 

Israel’s Unbelief

 

30 What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; 31 but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law.  32 Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works.  They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,

“See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  (Romans 9:19-33, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from March 30, 2009 (Monday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were repeated from July10, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), when comments were repeated from March 26, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were repeated from July 13, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), when comments were  combined and revised from July 8, 2004 in an email sent July 8, 2004, for July 8-9, and from March 14, 2005 (Monday of the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One).

 

The first part of Romans, chapter nine, lists Israel’s advantages (Rom. 9:1-5) and the principle of selection (vv. 6-13). According to Wilbur T. Dayton, “The principle then [in the case of Isaac and Ishmael] was not heredity, children of the flesh, but the children of the promise.”

 

Then exactly what is there about Isaac that is different from Ishmael? Ishmael was not a child of love and promise. He was born by an old Chaldean arrangement of convenience. Heredity and flesh played their part, but there was no higher spiritual union or promise of God. The result was strife, sorrow, and disappointment. Yet he was of the seed of Abraham. With Isaac it was different. His very existence was an answer to prayer–a spiritual victory. God intervened with a promise and a fulfillment. (Romans, The Wesleyan Bible Commentary, vol. V, 1965, reprinted 1971, p. 62, on Rom. 9:6-13)

 

The chapter continues by setting forth God’s liberty to choose (vv. 14-24). Dayton continues:

 

Paul here defends the freedom of God. In the Jewish view, God had committed himself to the Jew and was no longer free. Paul reminds them that God is free to choose [“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy”] (vv. 14-16), free to select and then reject [Pharaoh] (vv. 17, 18), free to use for a purpose [e.g. the “potter’s vessel”] (vv. 19-23), and free to include Gentiles (v. 24). (ibid., p. 62, on vv. 14-20).

 

Note Dayton’s emphasis on the fact that God is great enough to “take into consideration man’s moral choice and any realm of freedom that is proper to man” because “God is great enough to adjust to human freedom or He would never have made man in His own image” (ibid.). T. W. Manson understands Paul here as saying, “God is in full control of the course of events from beginning to end” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 824 e, p. 948 on Rom. 9:[6]). “There is no doubt,” says Manson, “ about Israel’s place in God’s purpose and it is unthinkable that God’s declared intention should become a dead letter. . . . And now in the time of fulfillment there are those in Israel who hear and accept the Gospel and those who do not. The nucleus of the true Israel is still Jewish, as Jewish as Paul himself, and gentile converts are incorporated into the true Israel” (ibid., sec. 824 c, p. 947 on Rom. 9:6).

 

Paul continues his discussion by fielding questions from a hypothetical opponent or questioner, a hypothetical Jewish questioner, judging from the context. “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” (Rom. 9:19). He answers with questions of his own, rhetorical questions, that is, which amount to statements in another form. “But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use?” (vv. 20-21, with allusion to Jer. 18:6). “God is great enough to adjust to human freedom,” says Dayton, “or He would never have made man in His own image. But God is sovereign. If a lump of clay is not suited for Haviland china, the potter is at liberty to make a heavy plate of it or a dog dish. In the same way it is wrong for man to complain against God’s wisdom and power. God has really done the best He could with the materials available” (op. cit., p. 63, on Rom. 9:14-24). Manson notes that Paul’s view of God’s full control, his sovereignty, in all of this

 

raises the age-old questions of man’s freedom and responsibility. Paul denies that God’s power is used unjustly (9:14), though his description of its exercise makes it seem arbitrary (9:15-18). To the objection that unlimited power in God means no responsibility in man (9:19) he can only reply by indignantly denying the right of the objector to make any objections: there is no argument with God. . . . In his eagerness to silence anything that looks like a criticism of the Almighty he bluntly insists that God is not accountable to anyone. But behind what looks very like bluster lies the deep conviction that in God’s hands–and only there–absolute power cannot corrupt at all; and that only by absolute trust in God can a man discover for himself that this is so. This way of trust is indicated in 10:5-13). (op. cit., sec. 824 f, p. 948, on Rom. 9:14-19)

 

“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction,” asks Paul, “and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory–including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (vv. 22-24). Neil Elliott explains that “objects of wrath [are] sinners toward whom God has shown patience, as in 2:4-5; 3:25-26,” and he adds, “Mortals may not presume God’s judgment on others, to vindicate or to condemn (see 8:1; 11:30-32; 14:3-4, 10-13)” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Rom. 9:22-24). Dayton says,

 

Finally, Paul argues that God is free to include in His gracious calling not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles (v. 24). What is to hinder God if He so chooses? Has Paul not shown that many Jews do not qualify? And has not God the liberty to show mercy on whom He will? Then it is God’s prerogative to choose Gentiles if He so desires. (loc. cit.)

 

Paul supports his contention that God can and will show mercy as he pleases by quoting from Hosea: “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ / and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” / “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ / there they shall be called children of the living God” (vv. 25-26, citing Hos. 2:23; 1:10). As Elliott observes, “Hosea spoke of the redemption of Israel. Paul applies the passage to those God has called, Jews and Gentiles alike” (op cit., on vv. 25-26). In further proof of his contentions, Paul quotes Isaiah: “Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved; for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively” (vv. 27-28, citing Isa. 11:22-23; cf. Hos:1:10a). Elliott says, “God’s preservation of a remnant in Israel (Isa.l0:22; 1:9) shows God’s faithfulness (see 11:1-6). The word only does not appear in Gk” (ibid., on vv. 27-29). We note that the English word “only,” though it does not correspond to any word in the Hebrew or Septuagint texts of Isaiah 10:22, appears in modern translations (NRSV, TNIV, NJPS. NEB). It apparently reflects the contrast between “your people were like the sand of the sea” and “a remnant of them will return” (Isa. 10:22), a contrast introduced by the word Mx9 (’ im), frequently translated “if” but here “though” (cf. Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, edd. E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley, 2nd ed., 1910, 18th impression, 1985, sec. 160 a). Similar considerations apparently governed the modern translations of the citation in Romans 9:27 (NRSV, TNIV, NEB). Paul does not consistently quote from the Septuagint, and does not do so here. His “though . . . were” (  jEa;n h\/, Ean ē(i) ) differs from [kai;] eja;n gevnhtai (kai ean genētai, “if/though . . . became/were”); neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint has the word “number” (ajriqmoV, arithmos); and for “remnant” (rx!w4, š e’ār), the Septuagint has katavleimma; (kataleimma) but Paul has uJpovleimma (hypoleimma).

 

As Elliott notes (above), Paul continues with another quotation from Isaiah. “If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us, / we would have fared like Sodom / and been made like Gomorrah” (Rom. 9:29, citing Isa. 1:9). This quotation does agree with the Septuagint against the Hebrew text of Isaiah 1:9, with “survivors” (lit. “seed,” cf. NRSV text note b, spevrma, sperma; so the LXX) for “a few survivors” (FfAm4B9 dyr9WA. śārîd bim‘āt). But the variety in Paul’s use of the Hebrew and/or Greek Bible likely reflects his rabbinic training. As is evident above, he does not consistently agree with the Septuagint when it differs from the Hebrew text, as does the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Here, Paul’s point is clear. Merely having Jewish ancestry does not guarantee God’s favor, nor does lacking Jewish ancestry prevent it. Dayton comments on questions of freedom and responsibility. On the one hand,

 

God has shown Himself to be free to use His creatures for a purpose (vv. 19-23). This idea is brought forth in answer to the shallow complaint that if all that has been said is true, man is a mere puppet tossed about by God’s will and so should not be punished (v. 19). Paul answers first that man is impudent and out of place to reply thus to his Maker. Does the dish deny the right of the potter to choose the design and purpose (v. 20)? God does indeed have the power, right, and understanding to shape the human pattern and to make use of His creature. This does not mean that God acts without rhyme or reason. He can still take into consideration man’s moral choice and any realm of freedom that is proper to man. (op. cit., p. 63, on Rom. 9:14-24)

 

But on the other hand,

 

Even God will not violate the principles of a moral order to satisfy Himself or His creatures. Vessels of wrath are not changed into vessels of mercy by acts of force. Rather, God endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath in order that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory. He does indeed have the freedom to use man according to His purpose. But in actual practice it is a gracious purpose. He treats man better, not worse, than man deserves. (ibid.)

 

With a rhetorical question, Paul draws a conclusion. “What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law” (Rom. 9:30-31). God is free to include the Gentiles on the basis of righteousness through faith, and to exclude that part of Israel who “did not succeed in fulfilling that law” (v. 31), “Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but . . . works” (v. 32a). The Jews–some Jews–“have stumbled,” says Paul, “over the stumbling stone” (v. 32b), which he explains by another quotation from the Hebrew (and Greek) Bible. Here again we find a mixture of the Hebrew and Septuagint texts in the quotation. Consider the following, from Robert G. Bratcher, using English wording (English Revised Version of 1881 [ERV], for the Old and New Testaments and imitation of ERV style for the LXX; underlining, or italics calls attention to differences):

 

Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence;

And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame.  (Rom. 9:33 ERV; cf 10:1; 1 Pet. 2:6, 8)

 

Behold, I place in the foundations of Zion a stone . . . and he that believeth in him shall not be put to shame. . . .  But for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence.  (LXX Isa. 28:16 and MT [Heb.] Isa. 8:14 ERV for Hebrew translation, and “ERV style” for LXX translation)

 

Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone . . . he that believeth shall not make haste.  (Isa. 28:16 MT [Heb.], translation, ERV; Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament, 3rd rev. ed., 1987, p. 43).

 

The point is rather simple, of course. Paul, as other Christians, sees the stone as representing Christ, over which some have stumbled.

 

Matthew 24:1-14

 

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold (Mk 13.1-2; Lk 21.5-6)

 

24:1  As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

 

Signs of the End of the Age (Mk 13.3-8; Lk 21.7-11)

 

3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.  5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.  6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.  7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

 

Persecutions Foretold (Mk 13.9-13; Lk 21.12-19)

 

9 “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.  10 Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another.  11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.  12 And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.  13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  14 And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.  (Matthew 24:1-14, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from December 12, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were based on those of July 10, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), when comments were repeated with some editing from December 15, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 13, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two), when comments were combined and revised from an E-mail message sent December 12, 2003, for the weekend, from July 8, 2004 in an email sent July 8, 2004, for July 8-9, and from December 10, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year Two).

 

There is an extensive discussion of the parallel passage in Mark 13:1-13 in the Archive for August 22, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year One); for recent comments on Luke’s version (Lk. 21:5-19), see the Archive for November 29, 2009 (the First Sunday of Advent, Year Two):

 

This is the first of three readings from Jesus’ eschatological discourse in Matthew. An outline of the discourse with references to parallel passages is found in the table in the separate file Eschatological Speech Outline. Parallel passages for today’s reading are found in the table in the separate file Eschatological Speech Beginning.

 

As chapter 24 of Matthew begins, Jesus comes “out of the temple and was going away,” when “his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple” (Mt. 24:1). In Mark, one of his disciples speaks, and is quoted directly, “Look, Teacher (Didavskale, Didaskale), what large stones and what large buildings!” (Mk. 13:1). Luke has just reported Jesus’ comment while in the temple, on the gifts of “rich people,” as compared to the widow’s meagre offering (Lk. 21:1-4; cf. Mk. 12:41-44). While he was still in the temple, Luke tells us that “some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God” (Lk. 21:5). Jesus responds with a prediction of the temple’s destruction. According to Matthew, “Then he asked them, ‘You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down’ ” (Mt. 24:2; cf. Mk. 13:2; Lk 21:6).

 

For Matthew and Mark this exchange must have taken place as they crossed the Kidron Valley, for Matthew says, “When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming (parousiva, parousia) and of the end of the age?’ ” (Mt. 24:3). That strikes one as a neat, three-part question, a setup for a three-point sermon--a prediction of the future in three parts. Mark singles out four disciples who ask the question. “When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” (Mk. 13:3-4). This lacks reference to Jesus’ coming (parousiva, parousia), the technical term in the Christian tradition for the expected “second coming” of Christ, which Matthew has apparently added to Mark’s form of the question. In Luke, the questioners are not specified, perhaps including other people in the temple. And the question seems to focus on a single event, likely the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. “They asked him, ‘Teacher (Didavskale, Didaskale, Mk. 13:1, above), when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ ” (Lk. 21:7), but it is soon clear that Jesus is talking about something more, “for these things must take place first, but the end [my emphasis] will not follow immediately” (Lk. 21:9).

 

Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger say Jesus’ instruction here seems “to merge teachings about an immediate destruction of Jerusalem with details associated in Scripture with the end of human history,” teachings that “were set down by the Evangelist in the light of events between AD 30 and 70” (NOAB. 2nd ed., 1994, on Mt. 24:1-3). Jesus responds continuing with what has been called the “Synoptic Apocalypse,” meaning the section of Matthew with parallels in Mark and Luke which presents eschatology, or teaching about the end of the age. He begins his response with a warning. “Jesus answered them,” says Matthew, saying “ ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Messiah (oJ CristovV, ho Christos)!” and they will lead many astray’ ” (Mt. 24:4-5). Dennis C. Duling says, “According to Josephus, several figures in first-century Palestine claimed to be the Messiah (Antiquities 17.271-85; see also Mt:24:23-27; Acts 5:35-39; 21:38)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 24:5). Without specifying “the Messiah” as such the versions of Mark and Luke clearly imply the same as they report the claim of many who say, “I am he (ejgwv eijmi, egō eimi)!” (Mk. 13:6a Lk 21:8a). Luke reports the imposters as saying “The time is near!” and adds Jesus’ warning, “Do not go after them” (Lk. 21:8b), compare “they will lead many astray” (Mt. 24:5b; Mk. 13:6b). Luke adds a time reference to the claims of the false Messiahs, who will say, “the time is near” (Lk. 21:8c). But all accounts move on quickly to supposed signs of the end. “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars,” says Jesus; “see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet” (Mt. 24:6; cf. Mk. 13:7; Lk. 21:9). The list continues: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Mt. 24:7; cf. Mk. 13:8). Luke has similar prediction (Lk. 21:10-11a), but adds a “supernatural” dimension (a clumsy term in this context, perhaps), for “there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven” (Lk. 21:11b). In Matthew’s version, Jesus refers to “the beginning of the birth pangs” (Mt. 24:8; cf Mk. 13:8, at the end).

 

At this point, Jesus predicts persecutions for his faithful followers. “Then they will hand you over to be tortured,” says Jesus, “and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name” (Mt. 24:9). In Mark and Luke these persecutions are related to the testimony of persecuted Christians “before governors and kings” (Mk. 13:9), or “before kings and governors” (Lk. 21:12). Luke emphasizes the value of these occasions for witness–as he will illustrate with examples in the Acts of the Apostles: “This will give you an opportunity to testify” (Lk. 21:13). According to Mark and Luke, such Christian witnesses will be aided by the Holy Spirit. “When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mk. 13:11; cf. Lk. 21:14-15). In Mark and Luke, Jesus says that Christians will be betrayed, even by family (Mk. 13:12; Lk. 21:16), and adds that “you [Christians] will be hated by all because of my name” (Mk. 13:13a; Lk. 21:17). Luke adds the comforting thought, “not a hair of your head will perish” (Lk. 21:18).

 

Matthew does not include reference to betrayal by families, nor this hatred of Christians by all, but rather focuses on the “false prophets” who “will arise and lead many astray” (Mt. 24:11), who are not mentioned in the parallel accounts. Compare the reference to “false prophets” in Matthew 7:15, characterized as “thorns” and “thistles,” not “grapes” or “figs.” Luke’s version of this metaphor (6:43-45) has no reference to false prophets. Perhaps Matthew calls this saying of Jesus to mind because the question of “false prophets” or heretical Christian teachers had arisen within his community. Matthew’s version does predict “the increase of lawlessness,” because of which “the love of many will grow cold” (Mt. 24:12). And in all the Gospels Jesus calls for endurance to the end (Mt. 24:13; Mk. 13:13b; Lk. 21:19). And where earlier, according to Mark, Jesus says, “And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations” (Mk. 13:10), in the context of the Christians being called before governors and kings (v. 9), Matthew concludes this section with an anticipation of his Great Commission (Mt. 28:16-28): “And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come” (Mt. 24:14).

 

One needs to be cautious, to say the least, in inferring a prophetic time-line from this speech. “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mt. 24:36). We are even warned not to believe those who would set dates (vv. 23-26). But there are some predictions, of false Messiahs, for example, (v. 5), “wars and rumors of wars” (v. 6-7a), and “famines and earthquakes” (v. 7b). Christians will face torture, martyrdom and hatred (v. 9); believers will fall away (become apostate) (v. 10); and false prophets will arise (v. 11). It will be important to “endure to the end” (v. 13) and not let one’s “love grow cold” (v. 12). The “good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world” (v. 14).

 

In recent years we have heard of terrible atrocities, mass murder, genocide, “wars and rumors of war,” the killing fields of Cambodia, Uganda, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Iraq; these and more remind us of Hitler’s “final solution.” Is it only that we are more aware because our news media are more efficient now, or have people always been so brutally inhuman? The world is also full of stories of courage and compassion, some battling the evil plagues with resignation and a stiff upper lip (as illustrated by Dr. Rieux, in the Plague), others more confidently in this assurance: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). But, in any case, while taking the warnings of this chapter seriously, it’s also important to remember what Jesus also said, “But about that day and hour no one knows” (v. 36). An older Quaker minister and College President whom I greatly admire once said, “The time came when I threw away all of my sermons about Mussolini the Antichrist!” In deference to his example, I too, will refrain from date setting or construction of eschatological timetables. The important thing is to be ready when God calls.

 

As noted above, for the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for June 24, 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