Daily Scripture Readings

Monday (August 9, 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.

Monday

AM Psalm 89:1-18

PM Psalm 89:19-52

Judges 12:1-7

Acts 5:12-26

John 3:1-21

[Herman of Alaska]:

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

Psalm 148:7-14

Sirach 1:1-10; 2 Timothy 1:3-7; Luke 9:46-48

Eucharistic Readings:

Ezekiel 1:1-5, 24-28; Psalm 148:1-4, 13-14;

Matt. 17:22-27

Monday

Morning: Psalms 5; 145

Judges 12:1-7

Acts 5:12-26

John 3:1-21

Evening: Psalms 82; 29

Monday

Morning Pss.: 62, 145

Joshua 24:16-33

Rom. 16:1-16

Matt. 27:24-31

Evening Pss.: 73, 9

 

Year C Daily Readings

Psalm 89:1-18

2 Chronicles 33:1-17

Hebrews 11:1-7

* Monday in the week of the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two

 

For the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 26, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

 

Episcopal and Presbyterian Readings:

 

Judges 12:1-7

 

Intertribal Dissension

 

            12:1 The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!" 2 Jephthah said to them, "My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand. 3 When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?" 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites–in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh." 5 Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No," 6 they said to him, "Then say Shibboleth," and he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.

            7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead. (Judges 12:1-7, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from August 11, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from August 14, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two):

 

As the story of Jephthah continues, a connection is made with his victory over the Ammonites, as reported in yesterday’s reading. “The men of Ephraim,” says the narrator, “were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon” (Judg. 12:1a). Zaphon is “a city east of the Jordan River which was included in the land given to the tribe of Gad (Josh. 13:27). Formerly it belonged to the kingdom of Sihon. . . . mentioned in the Amarna letters . . . the site has been identified with Tell es Sa‘idiyeh or Tell el Qos in modern Jordan” (The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1996, s.v. Zaphon). Yairah Amit says this reference to Zaphon “may refer to the settlement Zaphon, located in the territory of Gad near the city of Succoth (Josh. 13:27)” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Judg. 12:1). Oxford University Press maps put “Zaphon?” (including the question mark) about eight miles north of Succoth (cf. maps in NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, and NJPS 1985, 1999).

 

The men of Ephraim complain to Jephthah. “Why,” they ask, “did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!” (Judg. 12:1; compare the Ephraimites’ earlier protest to Gideon at not being called to fight the Midianites, 8:1). It is not reported that Jephthah called the Ephraimites to battle against the Ammonites earlier, nor that he called any Israelites to battle in so many words. But when “the spirit of the LORD came upon [him],” we are told, “he passed through Gilead and Manasseh” (11:29), and may have mustered troops there, but the narrator’s focus then was upon his foolish vow. In any event, Jephthah responds to the Ephraimites’ protest by accusing them of failing to respond to his earlier call to arms. “Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand” (12:2). Daniel I. Block refers here to the “odd construction of the first sentence” which “the NIV and most modern translations smooth out . . . by pitting Jephthah and his people against the Ammorites” (Judges, Ruth, The New American Commentary, vol. 6, 1999, p. 381 on Judg. 12:2-3). A rather crude literal word-for-word translation of the Hebrew would be: “And said Jephthah unto them, ‘A man of contention (byr9 wyx99, ’îš rîv or rîb) am I and my people and the sons [or ‘people’] of Ammon exceedingly (dxom4, m e’ Çd)” (my translation). Block comments on the smoothing out of the odd construction here by most modern translations here. “But in so doing, an important nuance is lost. In the first part of the sentence Jephthah described himself (lit.): ‘I was a man of contention [byr9 wyx99, ’îš rîv or rîb]’ that is, ‘a contentious man.’ The narrator’s choice of rib, ‘contention,’ plus the addition of [dxom4] mŤ’ Çd, ‘very much,’ intentionally places Jephthah in the same class as the Ephraimites (cf. 8:1b)” (ibid.).

 

Jephthah claims to have won the victory without the help of the Ephraimites. “When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?” (v. 3). According to Daniel Block, “the closing reference to ‘Jephthah the Gileadite’ in the previous episode (11:40) is ominous. His military feats may have confirmed him as ‘ruler’ (q~Őîn) and ‘head’ (rÇ’š) over the transjordanian highlands, but not all Israel accepted his leadership” (op. cit., p. 380, on Judg. 12:1-6). The Ephramite threat is to “burn your house down over you [Jephthah]!” (Judg. 12:1). Block adds:

 

True to form, Jepthah tried to talk his way out of another crisis. His carefully crafted disputation speech consists of five parts. First, he introduced himself. He had been involved in an intense controversy with his own people and with Ammon. . . . The loci of this Gileadite’s stress are highlighted by the parenthetical addition ‘I, and my people, and the sons of Ammon.’ He hereby reminded the Ephraimites that his entire public life has been characterized by contention, first with his own people (an allusion to 11:1-11, and then with the Ammonites (an allusion to 11:12-29, 32-33). The Ephraimites may not have realized it, but in Jephthah they had finally met their match.

 

Jephthah next action is to muster “all the men of Gilead” for war against Ephraim (v. 4a). This was done “because they said, ‘You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites–in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh’ ” (v. 4b). According to K. Lawson Younger, the words “fugitives from Ephraim [are] an insult to the Gileadites’ legitimacy as Israelites (cf. Josh. 22), a taunt particularly personal to Jephthah (11:1-2).” And Younger adds, “the LORD’s noninvolvement shows that this is an intertribal feud that God has not sanctioned. The episode anticipates chs. 19-21” NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Judg. 12:4), apparently referring to the chaos and anarchy apparent in those chapters.

 

And so the intertribal war begins. “Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites.” (v. 5a). The report of the battle turns not to the clash of forces as such, but rather to a strategem for identifying fighters from the opposing side. “Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, ‘Let me go over,’ the men of Gilead would say to him, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ When he said, ‘No,’ they said to him, ‘Then say Shibboleth (tl,Bow9, šibbÇleth)’ and he said, ‘Sibboleth (tl,Bos9, sibbÇleth)’ for he could not pronounce it right” (vv. 5b, 6a). The difference in pronunciation could be a difference over the Hebrew letters w, shin (‘š’ i.e. ‘sh’) or W sin (‘Ń’ i.e. ‘s’), but the text makes it the difference between w, shin (‘š’ i.e. ‘sh’) and s, samek (‘s’). The word tl,Bow9 (šibÇlet).appears twice in William L. Holladay’s Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (s.v. tl,Bow, šibbÇleth). The first is defined as “ear of grain” in Gen. 41:5ff. and Judg. 12:6; and as “bunch of twigs in Zech. 4:12. The second (same spelling) is defined as “torrent, undulation (of water)” in Isa. 27;12; Ps. 69:3, 16; and Judg. 12:6 with a cross reference to the first and to tl,Bos9 (sibÇlet), which is defined as the “Ephraimitic pronunciation of” the first tl@Bow9 in Judg. 12:6. It seems a trifling matter–two slightly different ways to refer to an “ear of grain,” with a pun on the “torrent” (same sounds). Amit says, “it is uncertain whether the word ‘shibboleth’ refers to the current of the river (Ps. 69:3) or to sheaves of grain (Gen. 41:5-7)” (op. cit., on v. 6). But other wars have perhaps been fought over less. The reading ends with a brief reference to Jephthah’s reign and death. “Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead” (v. 7).

 

Ailish Ferguson Eves’ summary is worth noting:

 

As is their habit, the tribe of Ephraim turn up after the battle is won to complain about their nonselection for this successful attack on Ammon. They threaten Jephthah, but he has had enough. In his state of grief and heroic sacrifice, how can he pander to such a self-serving clan? He is not prepared now for diplomacy and negotiation (cf. Gideon, Judg. 8:1-3), so a pitiless internecine slaughter begins. Israelites have now sunk so low that interrelated clans turn against each other, clans recognizably different only by accent and pronunciation (Judg. 12:6) but supposedly all one chosen people of God. (The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary, p. 139 on Judg. 12:1-6)

 

Acts 5:12-26

 

The Apostles Heal Many

 

            12 Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. 16 A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.

 

The Apostles Are Persecuted

 

            17 Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, 18 arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, 20 "Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life." 21 When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.

            When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported, 23 "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on. 25 Then someone arrived and announced, "Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!" 26 Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. (Acts 5:12-26, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here with minor editing from June 22, 2009 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing from August 11, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two), when comments were repeated with some editing from June 25, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from August 14, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two), when they were repeated from June 20, 2005 (Monday of the week of the Third Sunday after Pentecost, Year One).

 

Following the good example of Barnabas, who shared the proceeds of selling a field with the Christian community for the common good (Acts 4:32-37), and the bad example of Ananias and Sapphira who attempted to deceive the church with regard to a similar gift (5:1-11), the ministry of the apostles in Jerusalem continues. “Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico” (Acts 5:12). “Solomon’s Portico,” says Christopher R. Matthews, was “a colonnade located by Josephus (War 5.185; Ant. 20.221) on the east side of the Temple” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Acts 3:11). “None of the rest,” says Luke, “dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem” (5:13). However, Luke tells us that “more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women” (v. 14). It seems contradictory that “none of the rest dared to join them,” but that “more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women.” G. W. H. Lampe calls verse 13 “a difficult sentence. ‘The rest’ are probably their non-Christian opponents who dared not join with them (in questions and disputation), but the expression is very strange, and ‘the rest’ [tw:n de; loipw:n, tÇn de loipÇn] may be an early corruption of the text; ‘rulers’ [tw:n de; ajrcovntwn, tÇn de archontÇn] has been suggested as a possible emendation” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprinted 1972, sec. 779d, p. 892 on Acts. 5:13). In any case, “the rest,” or whatever the term was, cannot include all the people. The apostles’ reputation is growing, enhanced by healings and exorcisms. As a result (cf. w{ste, hÇste, v. 15, “of the actual result, so that,” Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 2000, s.v. w{ste, hÇste) of the growing number of believers added to the Christian community (v. 14), Luke tells us that “they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured” (vv. 15-16). The healing effect of Peter’s shadow is meant quite literally here, of course, but, understanding the shadow as one’s influence on others, so to speak, we may ask, Does our shadow have a healing effect on those around us?

 

The growing reputation of the apostles in Jerusalem leads to “jealousy” on the part of “the high priest . . . and all who were with him,” and so “the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison” (vv. 17-18). “By characterizing this as a public act,” says Beverly Roberts Gaventa, “Luke underscores the authorities’ desire to intimidate and silence” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 5:18). This is the second of three arrests. In Acts, chapters 4 and 5, Luke reports that the apostles were arrested three times, and released three times. Peter and John were arrested (Acts 4:3) and released (4:23); then “the apostles” were arrested again (5:18), One might assume that the reference to “the apostles” in 5:18 is to Peter and John again, but other events have been reported in the meantime. Loveday Alexander says, “This time it is the whole apostolic group that finds itself in jail” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 1035, on Acts 5:17-26). Those who were arrested were granted an “angelic jailbreak”: “But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors [and] brought them out (v. 19; cf. 12:6-11; 16:25-26). “Go, stand in the temple,” says the angel, “and tell the people the whole message about this life” (v. 20). In other words, they were to return to the temple and continue their teaching, which they did. “When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak ajnd went on with their teaching” (v. 21a). Unaware of the overnight developments, “the high priest and those with him . . . called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought” (v. 21b). But this errand proved futile, for “when the temple police went there, they did not find them [the apostles] in the prison” (v. 22). “We found the prison securely locked,” they reported, “and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside” (v. 23). And according to Luke, “Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on” (v. 24). But their wonder likely changed to frustration and anger when “someone arrived and announced, ‘Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!’ ” (v. 25). So “the captain went with the temple police and brought them”–rearrested the apostles–“but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people” (v. 26). Later the apostles would be flogged and released with orders “not to speak in the name of Jesus” (v. 40).

 

Alexander recalls that

 

At the end of the trial in ch. 4, the apostles are issued with a blanket prohibition on teaching in the name of Jesus. Their disdainful reply (4:19) leaves the reader in little doubt that the authorities will soon have cause to arrest them again: and so it proves. But this time things are stacked against the forces of officialdom. Arrest is followed immediately by miraculous release (5:17-26); official reprimand meets only defiance (5:27-32). (op. cit., p. 1035, on Acts 5:17-42)

 

But the continuation is tomorrow’s reading. Luke’s account of these early days of the church in Jerusalem seems to echo themes from Jesus’ ministry: signs and wonders that win the approval of the people, but jealousy and opposition from the religious leaders.

 

John 3:1-21

 

Nicodemus Visits Jesus

 

            3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

            11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

            16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

            17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God." (John 3:1-21, NRSV)

 

The following comments are based on those of January 18 and 19, 2010 (Monday and Tuesday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), and on earlier comments as noted there.

 

With this reading, we come to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, who is described as “a Pharisee,” and “a leader of the Jews” (3:1). Nicodemus “came to Jesus by night” (v. 2a), which means sometime during the night. The word “night” is in the genitive case (nuktovV, nyktos), the genitive of “time within which.” We may contrast the accusative case of extent of time, “they remained with him that [whole, i.e., the rest of the] day” (th;n hJmevran ejkeivnhn, t‘ n h‘meran ekein‘n, 1:39), and the dative case of a point in time, “on the first [day] of the week” (Th:/ de; mia:/ [hJmevra/ implied] tw:n sabbavtwn, t‘ de mia(i) [h‘mera(i), implied] tÇn sabbatÇn, 20:1). Raymond E. Brown calls attention to the symbolic meaning of the reference to “night.” “Darkness and night symbolize the realm of evil, untruth, and ignorance (see ix 4, xi 10). In xiii 30 Judas leaves the light to go out into the night of Satan; Nicodemus, on the other hand, comes out of the darkness into the light (vss. 19-21)” (The Gospel according to John I-XII, Anchor Bible 29, 1966, p. 130, on Jn. 3:2). Brown adds other possible meanings. “On a purely natural level, the nighttime visit may have been a stealthy expedient ‘for fear of the Jews’ (xix 38); or it may reflect the rabbinic custom of staying up at night to study the Law (StB, II, p. 420)” (ibid.).

 

Nicodemus opens the conversation with an observation that reflects knowledge of the signs just mentioned. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs (shmei:a, s‘meia) that you do apart from the presence of God: (3:2b). But Jesus does not respond to the reference to signs; rather he gets to the heart of the matter, coming directly to the point, with his reference to being born again/from above. He thus continues the conversation at what we might call the A-B-Cs level. Later, he asks, “Are you a teacher of Israel,” Jesus asks, “and yet you do not understand these things?” (v. 10).

 

Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above (a[nwqen, anÇthen)” (v. 3). When Nicodemus responds by asking, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?” (v. 4), he apparently is thinking of a repeated physical birth. But Jesus is explaining spiritual birth–the beginning of new life in Christ–on the analogy of physical birth. He explains being “born again” to Nicodemus, what we might call “new birth” or “regeneration” (paliggenesiva, palingenesia, Titus 3:5). The adverb a[nwqen (anÇthen)can mean “from above,” especially from heaven (Mk. 15:38, of the tearing of the temple curtain), or “again,” “anew” (Gal. 4:9), but “in Jn. 3:3, 7 aj.[i.e., a[nwqen, anÇthen] is purposely given a double meaning again and from above” (F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker, Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed., 1983, s.v. anÇthen). According to Brown, “the double meaning is used here as part of the technique of misunderstanding. Although in vs. 4 Nicodemus takes Jesus to have meant ‘again,’ Jesus’ primary meaning in vs. 3 was ‘from above.’ This is indicated from the parallel in iii 31, as well as from the two other Johannine uses of anÇthen [a[nwqen] (xix 11, 23)” (op. cit., on 3:3).

 

Jesus further explains, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn. 3:5). Given the clear contrast that is drawn here between spiritual birth and physical birth, the former on the analogy of the latter, it seems evident that the reference to being “born of water” is to physical birth, which, among other things, includes what we call “the water breaking.” The mention of “water” in verse 5 has occasioned considerable discussion. According to C. K. Barrett, “There is no ground for omitting ‘water and’ as a redactional note intended arbitrarily to bring in a reference to the sacrament of baptism; the allusion may be to Christian baptism, or to John’s baptism, or perhaps to ordinary human birth” (Peake’s Commentary, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 740 a, p. 848, on Jn. 3:5). Brown devotes several pages to the relation of “water” and “spirit” in this passage (op. cit., pp. 139-144), but does not mention the possibility of “ordinary human birth” (cf. Barrett). Jesus emphasizes the contrast between physical birth and spiritual birth. “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit” (v. 6); and he drives home the point about the necessity of spiritual birth: “ Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above” (v. 7). Barrett adds,

 

Spirit, at all events, refers to that which is not under man’s control, whether in natural processes or religious rites; begetting from the Spirit implies a new existence whose origin is in God–theocentric, not anthropocentric, existence. (loc. cit.).

 

Jesus continues with another analogy, using another word with a double meaning, pneu:ma (pneuma), which can mean “wind,” or “spirit/Spirit” (as in pneu:ma a{gion, pneuma hagion, Holy Spirit). “The wind (to; pneu:ma, to pneuma) blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (tou: pneuvmatoV, tou pneumatos, gen. case of to; pneu:ma, to pneuma)” (v. 8). When Nicodemus responds with amazement, “How can these things be?” (v. 9), Jesus responds, as noted above, by asking, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?” (v. 10).

 

One may perhaps wonder exactly where the speech to Nicodemus ends and John the Evangelist takes over and addresses his audience. In translations, quotation marks are used to continue Jesus’ speech through verse 15 (RSV, TNIV), or verse 21 (NRSV), but the ancient texts did not use quotation marks. The word “you” (Su;, Su) is singular in verse 10, matching the verb endings (ei\, ei; ginwvskeiV, ginÇskeis), and shows that Jesus is still speaking to Nicodemus. Verse 11 provides a transition. “Very truly, I tell you (soi, soi, ‘you’ singular), we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive (ouj lambavnete, ou lambanete, ‘you’ plural ‘do not receive’) our testimony” (v. 11). This plural “you” continues. “If I have told you (uJmi:n, hymin, ‘you’ plural) about earthly things and you do not believe (ouj pisteuvete, ou pisteuete, ‘you’ plural ‘do not believe’), how can you believe (pisteuvete, pisteuete, ‘you’ plural ‘believe’) if I tell you (uJmi:n, hymin, ‘you’ plural) about heavenly things?” (v. 12). The remainder, through verse 21, is generalized information with no more second person pronouns. This could be understood, as implied above, as a transition by John the Evangelist from quoting Jesus to interpreting his significance. Or perhaps Jesus changes from direct personal address to Nicodemus as an individual to addressing him as a representative Jew. Understanding the “heavenly things” (v. 12), or spiritual birth (vv. 3, 7), or the activity of the Spirit (v. 8), requires revelation through Jesus, because, “No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” (v. 13, cf. v. 31). David K. Rensberger, revised by Harold W. Attridge, says “On Jesus’ testimony, see 8:13-18” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jn. 3:11). The language here anticipates the contrast between “the one who comes from above,” that is, “from heaven,” and “the one who is of the earth . . . and speaks about earthly things” (v. 31, cf. vv. 31-36).

And just as Moses lifted up ( u{ywsen, hypsÇsen) the serpent in the wilderness,” says John the Evangelist, “so must the Son of Man be lifted up (uJywqh:nai, hypsÇth‘nai) that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (vv. 14-15, citing Num. 21:9). In the Numbers passage, the Israelites have complained; they “spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food [i.e., the manna]” (Num. 21:5). When the LORD punished this complaining by sending “poisonous serpents” that “bit the people, so that many Israelites died” (v. 6), after intercession and the LORD’s direction, “Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it (UhmeW9y4v1, way eŃim‘hű, LXX e[sthsen aujtovn, est‘sen auton) upon a pole (sn02ha, hann‘s, LXX shmei:on, s‘meion); and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live” (v. 9). John’s verb, “lifted up” (uJyovw, hypsoÇ ) is not identical to either the Hebrew verb or the Greek in Num. 21:9, but perhaps represents his reflection on the picture of a bronze serpent on a pole for all to see. It’s also of interest that the “signal pole” of the Hebrew text (cf. William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10th corrected impression 1988, s.v. sn2, n‘s), is represented in the Septuagint by a favorite term in John, shmei:on (s‘meion), “sign.” For John, Jesus’ being lifted up is a signal, a standard, a “sign” of the faith that leads to “eternal life.” It also represents Jesus’ being lifted up on the cross. According to Obery M. Hendricks, “Jesus descended from heaven to bring eternal life through being lifted up on the cross” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Jn. 3:13-15). “Lifted up,” say Rensberger and Attridge, “refers both to Jesus’ glorification and to his crucifixion; see also 8:28; 12:32-34 (cf. Isa. 52:13). Understanding the significance of the crucified Jesus is essential to the spiritual healing that he provides.

The reference to “eternal life,” provided by Jesus’ crucifixion and atonement (John 3:14-15, leads into the favorite biblical verse of many, what has been called “the Gospel in a nutshell”: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16). It is worth taking note here of the emphasized statement of the source of God’s action. The word translated “so” (Ou{twV, Houtōs) in the phrase, “God so loved the world,” comes first in Greek for emphasis: Ou”twV ga;r hjgavphsen oJ qeo;V to;n kovsmon (houtōs gar ēgapēsin ho theos ton kosmon, “For God so loved the world”). The word for “world” (kovsmoV, kosmos) has a variety of meanings, including “that which serves to beautify through decoration, adornment, adorning,” a “condition of orderliness, orderly arrangement, order,” “the sum total of everything here and now, the world, the (orderly) universe, in philosophical usage.” But more particularly, in the present context (Jn. 3:16), while it can mean “humanity in general, the world” (e.g. Mt. 18:7), the term here is used “of all humanity, but especially of all believers, as the object of God’s love” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], 2000, s.v. kovsmoV, kosmos; my emphasis with bold print). The result of such love that God has for all humanity is stated in the next clause: “God so loved (Ou”twV, Houtōs) . . . that (w{ste, hōste) he gave his only son.” The conjunction w{ste (hōste “so that”) introduces “dependent clauses,” as here, “of the actual result” (BDAG, s.v. w{ste, hōste). Brown comments on the word “loved” (hjgavphsen, ēgapēsin). “The aorist [verb tense] implies a supreme act of love. Cf. 1 John iv 9: ‘In this way was God’s love revealed in our midst: God has sent His only Son into the world that we may have life through him.’ Notice that in 1 John the love is oriented toward Christians (‘we’) while in John iii 16 God loves the world” (op. cit., on Jn. 3:16).

The description here of God’s Son, whom he was moved by love to give, calls for comment. The words (to;n uiJo;n to;n monogenh: (ton huion ton monogenē, (Jn. 3:16; cf. monogenh;V qeovV, monogenēs theos, variant reading, monogenh;V uiJovV, monogenēs huios 1:18) have been variously translated: “his only Son” (NRSV), “his one and only Son” (TNIV), “his only begotten Son” (AV/KJV), and so forth. The word monogenhvV (monogenēs) describes the “only son” of the widow at Nain (Lk. 7:12) whom Jesus raised from death (vv. 11-17), as an example of how the word pertains “to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship, one and only, only.” But more particularly, as in John’s usage here, it pertains “to being the only one of its kind or class, unique (in kind) of something that is the only example of its category” (BDAG, s.v. monogenhvV, monogenēs). There is none other like Jesus.

  The next clause is a statement of purpose, the purpose of God’s giving. He “gave his only son so that [or ‘in order that’ ( i{na, hina) everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. The expression, “everyone who believes in him” that combines the verb pisteuvw (pisteuō), “believe,” and the preposition, “in” or “into,” is one expression with this verb that means “to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence, believe (in), trust, with implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted” (BDAG, s.v. pisteuvw, pisteuō). The Lexicon adds that in our literature “God and Christ are objects of this type of faith that relies on their power and nearness to help, in addition to being convinced that their revelations or disclosures are true.” The verb for “perish” (BDAG, s.v. ajpovllumi, apollymi), as used here (middle voice), can be a cry of anguish by sailors in a storm-tossed vessel, but especially, as here in John, of eternal death. But the alternative, for those who believe, is eternal life (a common theme in the Gospel of John, e.g. 3:36; 4:14; 5:24, and so forth).

John 3:16, the “Gospel in a nutshell,” has a paragraph of its own in the New Revised Standard Version. Raymond E. Brown, sees connections backward–“the theme of Jesus’ death” (vv. 14-15)–and forward: “If [v.] 16 assures us that the purpose of the Father’s giving the Son in Incarnation and death was eternal life for the believer, [v.] 17 paraphrases this in terms of salvation for the world” (op. cit., on Jn. 3:16).

The following verses spell out the contrast between the results for those who believe in God’s Son (v. 16), and those who do not. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (vv. 17-18). God’s purpose was to provide for those who believe in his Son, not to condemn the rest. But the consequence for those who do not believe is spelled out; they are “condemned already.” The contrast here is explained in terms of light and darkness. “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (v. 19). Not only do some “love darkness,” but “all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed” (v. 20). On the other hand, “those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God” (v. 21)

Brown notes similarities in this “dualistic vocabulary of vss. 19-21 (light/darkness; practicing wickedness/doing truth)” to the dualism of Qumran texts (i.e. Dead Sea Scrolls): “According as man’s inheritance is in truth and righteousness, so he hates evil; but insofar as his heritage is in the portion of perversity, so he abominates truth” (1QS iv 24, cited by Brown, p. 148, on Jn. 3:19-21).

If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John, we must emphasize that the reaction is very much dependent on man’s own choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, by whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (vss. 20-21). There is a consistency in the two sides of the dualism: evildoers are disbelievers, while good works and faith go together. Thus, there is no determinism in John as there seems to be in some passages of the Qumran scrolls. . . . the idea is that Jesus brings out what a man really is and the real nature of his life. Jesus is a penetrating light that provokes judgment by making it apparent what a man is. The one who turns away is not an occasional sinner but one who “practices wickedness”; it is not that he cannot see the light, but that he hates the light. (ibid., pp. 148-149, on Jn. 3:1-21)

We need not find ourselves in that last group. “But these [signs/this book] are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31).

 

As noted above, for the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for July 26, 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