Daily Scripture Readings

Tuesday (August 3, 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 78:1-39

PM Psalm 78:40-72

Judges 7:1-18

Acts 3:1-11

John 1:19-28

[George Bragg, Jr.]:

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

Psalm 143:5-10

Wisdom of Solomon 10:9-17; 2 Corinthians 10:3-7; Luke 17:20-31

[W. E. B. DuBois]:

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

Psalm 113:1-7

Jeremiah 34:8-18; Galatians 2:15-20; Mark 3:23-29

Eucharistic Readings:

Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-22; Psalm 102:16-22;

Matt. 14:22-36

Tuesday

Morning: Psalms 12; 146

Judges 7:1-18

Acts 3:1-11

John 1:19-28

Evening: Psalms 36; 7

Tuesday

Morning Pss.: 54, 146

Joshua 8:1-22

Rom. 14:1-12

Matt. 26:47-56

Evening Pss.: 28, 99

 

Year C Daily Readings

Psalm 127

Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:8

Colossians 4:2-6

* Tuesday in the week of the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year Two

 

For the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 20, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

 

Episcopal and Presbyterian Readings:

 

Judges 7:1-18

 

Gideon Surprises and Routs the Midianites

 

            7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops that were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

            2 The LORD said to Gideon, “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim this in the hearing of the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.’ “Thus Gideon sifted them out; twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand remained.

            4 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The troops are still too many; take them down to the water and I will sift them out for you there. When I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; and when I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the troops down to the water; and the LORD said to Gideon, “All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths, you shall put to the other side.” 6 The number of those that lapped was three hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water. 7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes.” 8 So he took the jars of the troops from their hands, and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of Israel back to their own tents, but retained the three hundred. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

            9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Get up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; 11 and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.” Then he went down with his servant Purah to the outposts of the armed men that were in the camp. 12 The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, “I had a dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside down, and the tent collapsed.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army.”

            15 When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up; for the LORD has given the army of Midian into your hand.” 16 After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, 17 he said to them, “Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’ ” (Judges 7:1-18, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from August 5, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year Two), when they were repeated from August 8, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year Two).

 

Today’s reading begins by first referring to “Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon)” (Judg. 7:1a). But the remainder of the story of Gideon refers to him as Gideon until, near the end of the story, the name Jerubbaal appears again, alternating with Gideon (8:29, cf. v. 30, and 8:35, “Jerubbaal, [that is, Gideon]).” In preparation for the battle, the LORD instructs Gideon to undertake two procedures which effectively reduce the number of his troops from thirty-two thousand (22,000 + 10,000, v. 3) to three hundred in two stages. “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand,” says the LORD. “Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me’” (v. 2). According to Yairah Amit, “The concern was that Israel would be haughty and attribute the victory to themselves and not to God (see Deut. 8:217-18). So, the LORD commands: “Now therefore proclaim this in the hearing of the troops, ‘whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home’ ” (v. 3a). “Thus,” says the narrator, “Gideon sifted them out,” with the result that “twenty-two thousand returned and ten thousand remained”—a reduction of nearly 70% (v 3b).

 

But for the LORD, that reduction was still not enough. “Then the LORD said to Gideon, ‘The troops are still too many; take them down to the water and I will sift them out for you there” (v. 4a). The LORD’s instructions continue. “When I say, ‘This one shall go with you, he shall go with you; and when I say, ‘This one shall not go with you ‘he shall not go” (v. 4b). We only learn the nature of this test when Gideon and the troops have come to the water. “So he brought the troops down to the water; and the LORD said to Gideon, ‘All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths, you shall put to the other side’ ” (v. 5). The words “you shall put to the other side” (end of v. 5) are not present in the Hebrew text, but are included in the Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate versions. Modern versions which don’t follow the longer text nevertheless reword the translation to refer to two groups of people, for example, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink” (Judg. 7:5 TNIV = NIV). Daniel I Block prefers the shorter (Heb. text) reading, saying

 

if the conjunction at the beginning of the second condition is treated as an epexegetical [additionally explaining] waw, that is, if clause B is intended to clarify clause A, then the picture becomes perfectly clear. When these men go down to the spring and try to lap water like a dog, they must get down on their knees. It is impossible to drink otherwise. Whereas the first phase of the troop reduction had eliminated those who were afraid (v. 3); in the second phase those who tried to drink this way were to be considered slag or dross and sent back to their tents. Some have speculated that if the first phase (v. 3) represented a test of courage, the second was a test of alertness. (Judges, Ruth, The New American Commentary, vol. 6, 1999, pp. 276-277 on Judg. 7:5-6)

 

 In the recent Jewish translation, the Lord’s instruction is as follows: “Set apart all those who blap up the water with their tongues like dogsb from all those who get down on their knees to drink” (v. 5b NJPS 1985, 1999). In that version, text note b-b says, “Actually using their hands as a dog uses its tongue; see v. 6.” As a result, “The number of those that lapped was three hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water” (v. 6 NRSV). Compare the Jewish translation, “Now those who ‘lapped’ the water into their mouths by hand numbered three hundred; all the rest of the troops got down on their knees to drink” (v. 6 NJPS). Commenting on the NJPS version, Amit says, “The v. seems to be corrupt, the phrase ‘in their mouth by hand’ belongs at the end, as a dog does not lap water by bringing its hand to its mouth” (op. cit., on v. 6). In any event, for this test the reduction was nearly 99% (from 10,000 to 9,700). “Then,” says the narrator, “the LORD said to Gideon, ‘With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes’ ” (v. 7 NRSV). According to Robert G. Boling, revised by Richard D. Nelson,

 

The Hebrew text of the test is perplexing, and the reason for preferring those who lap, over those who kneel (v. 5) is unclear. Is the Lord choosing the more alert or the less cautious? The latter would serve to make it plain that victory is due to divine action, not to human initiative or prowess. The important thing is that lapping is the minority choice, so that only a small portion of the original ten thousand remains. (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Judg. 7:5-7)

 

Amit says,

 

According to rabbinic tradition the lappers were chosen because, unlike those who bent on their knees, they did not bow down to an idol (Tanchuma, ed. Buber, Toledot 19; Yalqut Shim‘oni, Judges 62; I Kings 29). According to Josephus the lappers were the cowards. Following this view, which is more likely, Gideon highlights the miracle of the victory by choosing cowards (Josephus, Ant., V.vi.3 [216-17]). (op. cit., on Judg. 7:1-8)

 

“So he [Gideon] took the jars (yDeKa, kaddê. instead of tdace, ts‘dat, cf. vv. 16, 19 of the troops from their hands,d  and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of Israel back to their own tents, but retained the three hundred” (v. 8a, b NRSV). The NRSV text note d indicates a correction: “Heb. So the people took provisions in their hands.” This is based on an emendation in BHS (Biblical Hebraica Stuttgartensia). On any reading of these various interpretations, according to Younger, “it is impossible to ascribe the victory over Midian to human prowess(7:2)” (op. cit., on 7:8).

 

The LORD gives Gideon further encouragement. “Get up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your hand. But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp” (vv. 9-11). “Gideon, who remains fearful of the battle,” says Amit, “is given another encouraging sign. God commands him to go close to the Midianite camp; there he hears a Midianite telling his friend a dream, whose solution signifies their defeat. Gideon thanks God” (op. cit., p. 526 on 7:9-15a). With the Midianite troops and their allies filling “the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore” (v. 12), one would think that Gideon had reason to fear. But he is finally encouraged to proceed by overhearing a Midianite man telling another about his dream.

 

When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, ‘I had a dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside down, and the tent collapsed.’ And his comrade answered, ‘This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army.’ (vv. 13-14).

 

According to Boling and Nelson, “The dream’s symbolism fits: barley bread for Israelite farmers and a tent (presumably the leader’s command center) for Midianite nomads” (op. cit., on v. 13). According to Amit, “The falling of the tent [cf its ‘collapse’ NRSV] is interpreted as the defeat of Midian, while the barley bread symbolizes Gideon’s sword” (op. cit., on v. 14). Gideon understood the dream as encouragement, for when he “heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said ‘Get up; for the LORD has given the army of Midian into your hand’ ” (v. 15). The narrator says, “After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, he said to them, ‘Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, “For the LORD and for Gideon!” ’ ” (vv. 16-18). According to Amit, “The army is divided into three parts in order to surround the camp” (ibid., on v. [16]). Boling and Nelson observe, “With trumpets, empty jars, and torches, the Israelites are prepared to create a spectacular commotion, but there is no mention of weapons. Torches remain inside the jars to maintain the element of surprise” (op. cit., on v. 1y)

 

Acts 3:1-11

 

Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar

 

            3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. 4 Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

            11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished. (Acts 3:1-11, NRSV)

 

The following comments are based on comments on Acts 3:1-10 of April 15, 2009 (Wednesday of Easter Week, Year One), when comments were repeated from August 5, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year Two), when comments on Acts 3:1-11 were repeated with some editing from April 11, 2007 (Wednesday of Easter Week, Year One), when comments were repeated with some revision and supplement from August 8, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year Two), when comments were repeated from March 30, 2005 (Wednesday of Easter Week, Year One).

 

As today’s reading begins we are told, “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon (ejpi; th;n w{ran th:V proseuch:V th;n ejnavthn, epi tēn hōran tēs proseuchēs tēn enatēn, literally ‘at the ninth hour, [the hour] of prayer’) (Acts 3:1). The reference in Greek to the “ninth hour” is based on a twelve hour day. “Three o’clock in the afternoon,” says Beverly Roberts Gaventa, was “a regular time of prayer and the hour of the afternoon sacrifice (Dan. 9:21; Jdt. 9:1; Josephus, Antiquities 14:65; 3:237)” (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 3:1). “It was customary,” she says, “to speak of going up when going to the temple (2 Kings 19:14; 20:5; Lk. 18:10)” (ibid.). Modern visitors to Jerusalem report that one goes up quite literally when ascending to the temple mount.

 

When Peter and John went to the temple, “a man lame from birth was being carried in” (v. 2a). “People,” says Luke, “would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple” (v. 2b). Beverly Roberts Gaventa finds the term “Beautiful Gate” somewhat “puzzling, since ancient descriptions of the temple use no such title,” but she adds, “it is generally identified with the Nicanor Gate, a gate made of bronze (Josephus, War, 5.201; Mishnah Middot 1.45; 2.3)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 3:2). As Jesus healed the lame man at the pool called Beth-zatha in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate (Jn. chap. 5), so here Peter and John heal “a man lame from birth” at “the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate.” According to Sherman E. Johnson and Bruce M. Metzger, “Two of the chief disciples manifest ‘the signs of a true apostle’ (2 Cor. 12:12; Mt. 10:8)” (NOAB, 2nd ed., 1994, on Acts 3:1-10). Peter and John were Christian disciples and believers, but they continued to be observant Jews. According to Christopher R. Matthews, “The apostles center their activity in the temple (see 2:46) and so imitate Jesus’ practice in Jerusalem (note the distinctive portrayal in Lk. 20-21)” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Acts 3:1).

 

When the lame man “saw Peter and John about to go into the temple,” says Luke, “he asked them for alms” (v. 3). “Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us’ ” (v. 4). As on other occasions, the man “fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them” (v. 5); but he was surely surprised by Peter’s response. Contrary to the man’s expectation, Peter offers no money, but something better. When confronted, Peter and John were quick to respond to human need. “I have no silver or gold,” says Peter, “but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk” (v. 6). The cure was instantaneous. When Peter “took him by the right hand and raised him up . . . immediately his feet and ankles were made strong” (v. 7). When healed, the man demonstrated joyfully. “Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God” (v. 8). This demonstration attracted the attention of the crowd. “All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him” (vv. 9-10). “While he clung to Peter and John,” says Luke, “all the people (pa:V oJ laovV, pas ho laos) ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished” (v. 11). According to Gaventa, “the people [was] Luke’s characteristic way of referring to Israel (see v. 9; 5:34; 10:41; Lk. 2:20, 32; 7:29)” and Solomon’s Portico was “a colonnade on the east side of the temple enclosure” (op. cit., on v. 11). And so the crowd is brought together that would hear Peter’s next sermon, but that is tomorrow’s reading.

 

John 1:19-28

 

The Testimony of John the Baptist (Mt 3.1-12; Mk 1.1-8; Lk 3.1-20)

 

            19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

 

23 He said,

 

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ “

 

as the prophet Isaiah said.

 

            24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. (John 1:19-28, NRSV)

 

The following comments are based on those of January 12, 2010 (Tuesday in the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), when comments were based on those of February 24, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), and earlier comments as noted there.

 

After the opening Prologue (Jn. 1:1-18), the Gospel of John reports the testimony of John the Baptist–mentioned already (Jn. 1:6-8). A key point in the testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus comes later. “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29, cf. v. 36). In leading up to that, John presents a series of denials. “This,” says John the Evangelist, “is the testimony (hJ martuvria, hē martyria) given by John [the Baptist] when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ ” (Jn. 1:19). According to Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., the term “Jews” refers to “the Temple religious authorities,” but is “also used for those who supported them” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Jn. 1:19). In response, John “confessed (wJmolovghsen, hōmologēsen) and did not deny it, but confessed (wJmolovghsen, hōmologēsen), ‘I am not the Messiah (oJ CristovV, ho Christos)’ ” (v. 20). Those sent from Jerusalem insist with repeated questions. “And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet (oJ profhvthV, ho prophētēs)?’ He answered, ‘No’ ” (v. 21). For their ostensible expectation that he might be Elijah, compare the following from Malachi:

 

Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse. (Mal. 4:5-6 NRSV [= Heb. 3:23-24])

 

For their question about “the prophet” (oJ profhvthV, ho prophētēs)? note that they said “the prophet,” not “a prophet.” Compare the following from Deuteronomy:

 

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet [‘Or prophets’ text note c] like me [i.e., like Moses] from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet [‘Or such prophets’ text note d]. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.’ Then the LORD replied to me: ‘They are right in what they have said. I will raise for them a prophet [‘Or prophets’ text note c] like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet [‘Or mouths of the prophets’ text note e], who shall speak to them everything that I command. (Deut. 18:15-18 NRSV)

 

In these verses, the plural alternative, “prophets” for “prophet,” suggested by NRSV text notes (on vv. 15, 18, noted above), is not based on different manuscripts or ancient versions (e.g. LXX), but rather is a matter of interpretation. Years later there were many prophets raised up by God for Israel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, to name a few. Of the words “a prophet,” Rabbi J. H. Hertz says, “In each generation.” And of the words “like unto me” (JPS 1917, for NRSV “like me”), he says, “Not of the same rank as Moses (xxxiv, 10), but of the line of Prophets of which Moses is the ‘father’ (The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, second ed., 1981, on Deut. 18:15). And on the words, “command him” (JPS for NRSV “command”), the Rabbi says, “The office of the Prophet is thus conceived not so much as a foreteller, but in spiritual succession to Moses as the teacher and religious guide of his age, though the gift of predicting the future, where this serves a moral purpose, cannot be denied him” (ibid., on v. 18). Bernard M. Levinson, in essential agreement with the Rabbi, says, “A prophet, while grammatically singular, is distributive in its meaning: ‘I will repeatedly raise up for you a prophet.’ More than one prophet is clearly intended” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Deut. 18:15). Levinson adds, “A much later Jewish reinterpretation that was accepted by the Christian church (John 1:21, 45; 6:14; 7:40; Acts 3:22; 7:37) understands the verse to promise a single, messianic prophet at the end of time” (ibid.).

 

According to Raymond E. Brown,

 

At Qumran the Essenes are told to cling to the Torah and the ancient laws of the community until a prophet comes—presumably the Prophet-like-Moses.(L. H. Silberman, VT 5 [1955], 79-81; R. E. Brown, CBQ 19 [1957], 59-61). The biblical reference to this Prophet is given a prominent place in a Qumran collection of passages dealing with eschatological triumph over enemies (4Q Testimonia, ca. 100 B.C.—wrongly called a  messianic anthology; see P. Skehan, CBQ 25 [1963], 121-22). (The Gospel according to John I-XII, Anchor Bible 29, 1966, p. 49, on Jn. 1:19-21)

 

Those sent from Jerusalem to question John the Baptist are clearly aware of the view that a “prophet like Moses” would appear in the last days. In apparent exasperation, “they said to him, ‘Who are you: Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ ”(Jn. 1:22). When thus pressed for a response, John evokes the image of Isaiah’s messenger of good tidings. He says,

 

“ ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

“Make straight the way of the Lord”,’

 

As the prophet Isaiah said.” (Jn. 1:23, citing Isa. 40:3)

 

Those from Jerusalem press John with further questions. “Now they had been sent from the Pharisees,” says John the Evangelist, [so] they asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah (oJ CristovV, ho Christos) nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ ” (Jn. 1:24-25). John the Baptist explains his baptizing. “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal” (vv. 26-27). According to Hendricks, “John was challenged because he lacked a status recognized by the religious authorities and engaged in a ritual not sanctioned by them” (op. cit., on v. 25). In response, John refers to his task as the forerunner as the task of a slave. “Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal” (vv. 26b, 27). For his reference to “the one who is coming after me,” compare verses 15 and 30. Later John says the one who comes after him will baptize “with the Holy Spirit” (v. 33). He rates the coming one higher than himself (v. 27, cf. vv. 15, 30). It is not certain that John’s baptism was the kind of “proselyte immersion” mentioned by later Rabbis, but some kind of symbolic purification is surely involved. The stone water jars used at the wedding in Cana (Jn. 2:6) also represent a Jewish concern with purification. Jesus later said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mt. 5:8). ). “John’s baptism,” says Hendricks, “is preparation for the appearance of the hidden messiah who is already in their midst” (ibid., on v. 27). “This took place,” says John the Evangelist, “in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing” (v. 28). According to Mary K. Milne, this was “Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John the Baptist Baptized (Jn. 1:28); it is Bethabara in some manuscripts. Its location is unknown” (The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1996, s.v. Bethany 2). It was not the village near Jerusalem where the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus was located.

 

As noted above, for the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 20, 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