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Daily
Scripture |
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Tuesday
(November 9, 2010)* |
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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 |
Daily
Lectionary, Book of Worship Inter-Lutheran Commission on
Worship, c. 1978 (2002 printing) ‡ |
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http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm http://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi YOU MAY NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THESE URLs
IN YOUR BROWSER |
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‡
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, Year C (now current). “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). |
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Unless
otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised
Standard Version ( |
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Tuesday AM Psalm 78:1-39 PM Psalm 78:40-72 Joel 1:15-2:2 (3-11) Rev. 19:1-10 Luke 14:25-35 Eucharistic Titus 2:1-14; Psalm 37:1-6, 28-29 Luke 17:7-10 |
Tuesday Morning: Psalms 123; 146 Joel 1:15-2:2 (3-11) or Joel 2:3-11 Rev. 19:1-10 Luke 14:25-35 Evening: Psalms 30; 86 |
Tuesday Morning Pss.: 42, 146 Ecclus. 24:1-12 or Jonah 3:1-4:11 Rev. 11:14-19 Luke 11:27-36 Evening Pss.: 102, 133 |
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Year C Daily Psalm 123 Job 21:1, 17-34 2 John 1-13 |
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* Tuesday in
the week of the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week
of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two |
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For the Lutheran
Episcopal and Presbyterian
Joel 1:15-2:2 (3-11) (Note that with the inclusion of Joel 2:3-11 in parentheses, the readings from the Book of Common Prayer catch up with and rejoin the readings from the Presbyterian and Lutheran Books of Worship.)
15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the LORD is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 The seed shrivels under the clods,
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are ruined
because the grain has failed.
18 How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle wander about
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep are dazed.
19 To you, O LORD, I cry.
For fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flames have burned
all the trees of the field.
20 Even the wild animals cry to you
because the watercourses are dried up,
and fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness.
2: Blow the trumpet
in
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near-
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come. (Joel 1:15-2:2, NRSV)
Joel 2:3-11 (Book of Common Prayer, parenthetical references; Presbyterian and Lutheran references for today)
3 Fire devours in front of them,
and behind them a flame burns.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
but after them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses,
and like war-horses they charge.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish,
all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge,
like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course,
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another,
each keeps to its own track;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them,
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 The LORD utters his voice
at the head of his army;
how vast is his host!
Numberless are those who obey his command.
Truly the day of the LORD is great;
terrible indeed-who can endure it? (Joel 2:3-11, NRSV)
Comments on Joel 1:15-2:2, repeated from yesterday
As noted yesterday, the following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from November 10, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), when comments were repeated from November 13, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), when comments were repeated with revision and supplement from November 9, 2004, (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two).
In the earlier reading, the people have been called upon to lament the effects of the devastating famine. “Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth / for the husband of her youth” (Zeph. 1:8). The farmers and winedressers were told to “be dismayed,” and to “wail” over their ruined crops (v. 11). The drying up of fruit trees and crops has been described (v. 12). The reading closed with a call to the priests to “put on sackcloth and lament . . . [and] pass the night in sackcloth . . . [because]Grain offering and drink offering / are withheld from the house of your God” (v. 13). While the lectionary references pass over verse 14, we note the call to “Sanctify a fast, / call a solemn assembly. / Gather the elders / and all the inhabitants of the land / to the house of the LORD your God, / and cry out to the LORD” (v. 14).
In the present reading, Joel gives the devastation a label. “Alas for the day!” he says, “For the day of the LORD is near, / and as destruction from the Almighty it comes” (v. 15). R. Lansing Hicks and Walter Brueggemann say, “This calamitous day portends the final day of the LORD which comes as destruction from the Almighty (Zeph. 1:14-18)” (NOAB, 2nd ed., 2001, on Joel 1:15). According to Richard A. Henshaw, revised by Marvin A Sweeney, “The day of the LORD is a major theme in Joel and an often used prophetic motif, very close to themes in, e.g., Am 5:18-20; Isa. 2:11-22; 13:6:19; Zeph. 1:2-2:13” (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Joel 1:15). Hicks and Brueggemann call the continued description of the disastrous effects of the locust invasion a “lament” (on 1:15-20 over what seems to be the result of the locust invasion. “Is not the food cut off before our eyes / joy and gladness from the house of our God?” (Joel 1:16). “The seed shrivels under the clods, / the storehouses are desolate; / the granaries are ruined / because the grain has failed" (v. 17). The animals suffer. “How the animals groan! / The herds of cattle wander about / because there is no pasture for them; / even the flocks of sheep are dazed” (v. 18).
The prophet himself voices lament. “To you, O LORD, I cry. /
For fire has devoured / the pastures of the wilderness, / and flames have
burned / all the trees of the field” (v. 19). This devastation affects even the
wild animals, who “cry to you / because the watercourses are dried up, and the
fire has devoured / the pastures of the wilderness” (v. 20). So the prophet
renews the call to sound the alarm for lamenting and repenting as the
catastrophe approaches. “Blow the trumpet in
Comments on Joel 2:3-11
The following comments are repeated with editing and supplement here from November 11, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from November 14, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two).
The prophet continues to decry the devastation of the coming day of the LORD, using the picture of the locusts plague. According to Richard A. Henshaw, revised by Marvin A. Sweeney, this is “the prophet’s call for the nation to lament concerning the threat of invasion by an enemy army” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Joel 2:1-14). This makes the imminent threat the enemy army, not locusts as such. But Ehud Ben Zvi reverses the image. “Military imagery is pervasive in this section; in this context, the army is a personification of the locusts (see Prov. 6:6-7); this is made explicit in 2:25” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Joel 2:1-11; cf. Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3rd ed., 2001, on Joel 2:10).
But the picture continues in terms of locusts. “Fire devours in front of them, / and behind them a flame burns” (Joel 2:3a, b). According to Mobley, “the image of the dense locust cloud (i.e., Ex. 10:22) merges with that of the ominous qualities of God’s approach (Deut. 5:22-23; Am. 5:18-20; Zeph 1:15” (ibid., on v. 2). “Before them,” says the prophet, “the land is like the garden of Eden, / but after them a desolate wilderness, / and nothing escapes them” (v. 3c, d, e). Mobley says the locusts “have the appearance of horses, / and like war-horses they charge” (2:4; cf. Rev. 9:7, cited by Mobley, ibid., on v. 4). The attacking army, “as with the rumbling of chariots,” leaps “on the tops of the mountains, / like the crackling of a flame of fire / devouring the stubble, / like a powerful army / drawn up for battle” (v. 5). Henshaw and Sweeney comment on “Rumbling . . . cracking”: “Those who have experienced locust plagues remark on the accompanying noise, which is like a roar or an onrushing fore” (ibid., on v. 5).
At the approach of the locusts “peoples are in anguish, all
faces grow pale” (v. 6). R. Lansing Hicks and Walter Brueggemann refer to Nahum
2:10 “Devastation, desolation, and destruction! / Hearts faint and knees
tremble, / all loins quake, / all faces grow pale!” (ref. in The New
“The earth quakes before them,” says the prophet, “the heavens tremble. / The sun and the moon are darkened, / and the stars withdraw their shining” (v. 10). “At the time of the divine visitation,” say Hicks and Brueggemann, “the sun, moon, and stars refuse to shine (Am. 8:9)” (op. cit., on v. 10). “Again,” says Mobley, “traditional language about the awesome and terrifying aspects of the divine visitation is invoked to describe the approach of the locusts (Judg. 4:5; Am. 8:9; Hab. 3:5-6)” (op. cit., on v. 10). “The LORD utters his voice,” says the prophet, “at the head of his army; / how vast is his host! / Numberless are those who obey his command. / Truly the day of the LORD is great; / terrible indeed—who can endure it?” Henshaw and Sweeney point out that “the day of the LORD [is] described in more detail in 2:30-31” (op. cit., on vv. 10-11). Hicks and Brueggemann refer here to Revelation 6:17 (op. cit., on Joel 2:11; cf. Mobley, op. cit., on v. 11, and Henshaw and Sweeney, op. cit., on v. 11). In other circumstances the prophet might have described the relentless approach of the locusts or army as the approach of a major hurricane or tsunami. Insofar as the approaching “day of the LORD’ portends divine judgment, I am reminded of a statement by a seminary professor from Holland, J. Christiann Beker, “I felt compelled–in spite of my understanding of New Testament pacifism–to resist the Gestapo [during the Nazi period]; but we all felt that we were under the judgment of God.”
Revelation 19:1-10
19:1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great whore
who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 Once more they said,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,
“Amen. Hallelujah!”
5 And from the throne came a voice saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
and all who fear him,
small and great.”
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready;
8 to her it has been granted to be clothed
with fine linen, bright and pure”–
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:1-10, NRSV)
The
following comments are based on those of November 11, 2008 (Tuesday in the week
of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), on those of November 12, 2009
(Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year One, and on
relevant comments from those on Revelation 19:4-16 of May 30, 2010 (Trinity
Sunday, Year Two), and earlier comments as noted there.
Previous chapters have focused on the anticipation of the
destruction of “
‘Hallelujah ( +Allhloui&av, Hall‘louïa)!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great whore
who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants’.” (Rev. 19:1-2, NRSV)
“Hallelujah,” says Aune, “a Hebrew term meaning
‘praise Yah(weh)’ (Ps. 135:3), occurs in the NT only in these verses, though it
has become a familiar term in Jewish and Christian liturgy” (ibid., on vv.
1-6). Compare, “The gates of
John tells us that, “Once more they [i.e., the ‘great multitude,’ v. 1] said,
‘Hallelujah ( +Allhloui&av, Hall‘louïa)!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever’.” (Rev. 19:3, NRSV)
Compare the “fire” (18:8) and “the smoke of her burning” (18:18). John refers to “the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures,” whom he saw in the first vision of the heavenly throne room (4:4-11); they “fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,
‘Amen ( =Amhvn, Am‘n). Hallelujah ( +Allhloui&av, Hall‘louïa)!” (‘Rev. 19:4, NRSV)
The “Amen,” and the “Hallelujah” of “the twenty-four elders
and the four living creatures” (cf. 4:4-11) acknowledge God’s judgment on “
‘Praise our God,
all you his servants,
and all who fear him,
small and great’.” (Rev. 19:5, NRSV)
For this verse, Bruce M. Metzger refers to Psalm 115:13, “He [i.e., the LORD, v. 12] will bless those who fear the LORD, / both small and great” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible [NOAB], 2nd. ed., 1994, on Rev. 19:5).
Then the focus shifts to “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (vv. 8, 10). “Then,” says John, “I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,
‘Hallelujah ( +Allhloui&av, Hall‘louïa)!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns. (Rev. 19:6, NRSV)
At this point Aune refers (op. cit., on v. 6) to his earlier
note on 7:9: “A great multitude [is] a heavenly assembly that may
include but is not identical to the 144,000 Israelites mentioned in [7:] 4-8;
it represents the spiritualized fulfillment of the promise to Abraham (Gen.
22:17; 32:23; cf. Rom. 9:27). Its members are identified in [7:] 14 as the
martyrs who have gone through the great tribulation” (ibid., on 7:9). The
“great multitude” of chapter 19, however, is more inclusive than Aune suggests,
in anticipation of “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (vv. 8, 10). “ ‘Let
us rejoice and exult,’ they say, ‘and give him the glory, / for the marriage of
the Lamb has come, / and his bride has made herself ready; to her it has been
granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure’–for the fine linen is
the righteous deeds of the saints” (vv. 7-8). The Lamb is Christ and the bride
is the church, to be united henceforth and forever. As Metzger says, “His
bride [is] the church (Eph. 5:23-32)” (op. cit., on v. 7). And Metzger
adds, “the church is holy as her members are holy (7:14;
The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication.” (Rev. 17:4, NRSV)
What are they celebrating? “The marriage supper of the Lamb” (19: 9, cf. v. 7b)! Then the angel tells John to write. “And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God’ ” (v. 9). At that, John is apparently overcome. “Then I fell down at his feet to worship him,” says John, “but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ ” (v. 10).
One of my seminary professors, Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, began a sermon on Christian marriage something like this: “The Bible begins with a wedding [Adam and Eve], and ends with a wedding [the marriage supper of the Lamb]. Throughout the Bible there is frequent use of human marriage as a picture of God’s relationship with his people.” “On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, ‘My husband,’ and no longer will you call me, ‘My Baal.’. . . And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD” (Hosea 2:16, 19-20).
Luke 14:25-35
The Cost of Discipleship (Mt 10.34-39)
25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
About Salt (Mt 5.13; Mk 9.50)
34 “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” (Luke 14:25-35, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from November 11, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, 2008), when they were repeated from May 28, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to May 25, Year One), when comments were repeated from November 14, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), when comments were combined with revision and supplement from November 9, 2004 (Tuesday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), and from May 23, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to May 25, Year One).
Jesus discusses the cost of being a disciple at some length in Luke 14:25-35. The tables which follow below (based on Kurt Aland, Synopsis of the Four Gospels, rev. printing, 1985, sections 217, 103, 218) show that Luke uses material here that appears in a variety of contexts in the other Gospels. But the frequency of these related sayings indicates their importance for the early Christians.
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The Conditions of Discipleship |
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Matthew 10:37-38 |
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Luke 14:25-33 |
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37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. |
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25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. |
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Matthew 10:39 |
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Luke 17:33 |
John 12:25 |
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Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. |
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Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. |
Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. |
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Luke has just reported Jesus’ Parable of the Great Dinner (Lk. 14:15-24; cf. Mt. 22:1-10), which he presented as a dinner guest of a Pharisee (Lk. 14:1, 15). But Luke changes the scene. “Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them” (Lk. 14:25). The parallel content in Matthew for this first section is Jesus’ speech to the disciples before sending them out on mission (Mt. 10:37-38, cf. 10:5-11:1). In the present context, Jesus emphasizes the need for his disciples to make a whole-hearted commitment to him and to his kingdom. The statement that the disciple must hate family members is clearly hyperbole. It’s a matter of relative value, highlighting the supreme importance of God’s calling and his kingdom. Where Luke has “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26), Matthew has “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt. 10:37). Marion Lloyd Soards notes that “Hate is vivid language; the parallel passage in Mt. 10:37 reflects Jesus’ plain meaning” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Lk. 14:26). “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt. 10:37, emphasis in italics added). Eric Franklin comments in a similar vein:
Discipleship may be a response to grace, as Luke’s story of Jesus emphasizes, but it makes demands which mean that it should not be entered upon lightly. The requirement to ‘hate’ is Semitic exaggeration and may reflect an idiom which means ‘love less than’ as Mt. 10:37 correctly interprets it. Luke is certainly emphatic, and the references to ‘wife’ and ‘life itself’ may be due to him. (Eric Franklin, The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 946, on Lk. 14:25-35)
“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me,” says Jesus in Luke, “cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:27; cf. Mt. 10:38). According to Luke, Jesus elaborates. He stresses the need to count the cost. “For which of you,” he asks, “intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?” (Lk. 14:28). The building project is a figure of speech, of course. The point is a call for complete commitment, not for shrinking at the cost. But the figure is elaborated. “Otherwise, when he [i.e., the man intending to build a tower] has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’ ” (vv. 29-30). So one should count the cost and realize what he is doing, but he should be prepared to follow Jesus all the way to the cross and beyond.
Luke presents another example. “Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace” (Lk. 14:31-32). Again, the emphasis is upon the seriousness of commitment to Christ. According to Luke, Jesus tells the crowds here what he tells the rich ruler (Lk. 18:22): “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Lk. 14:33). Note also the comparison with Luke 17:33; Matthew 10:39; John 12:25).
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Matthew 16:24-25 |
Mark 8:34-35 |
Luke 9:23-24 |
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24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. |
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. |
23 Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. |
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The saying about carrying the cross (Lk. 14:27) has parallels in Matthew 10:38 and in Mark 8:34 and parallels (Mt. 16:24; Lk. 9:23). According to Krister Stendahl, it “may refer rather to the shame of being an outcast than to the pains of death” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprinted 1972, sec. 683 k, p. 783, on Mt. 10:38). Luke continues with the warning to count the costs, illustrated by reference to calculations needed before building a tower (Lk. 14:28-30). The point is a call to commitment, not an excuse for turning away.
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The Parable of Salt |
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Matthew 5:13 |
Mark 9:49-50 |
Luke 14:34-35 |
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13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. |
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” |
34 “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” |
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Marion Lloyd Soards,
commenting on Luke 14:34-35 (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007),
says, “This saying warns against lackadaisical discipleship. Ancient salt was
not pure sodium chloride, so the other material in the salt could go bad and
cause the salt to be no good.” Salt is valued for its taste (Job 6:6) and for
its value as a preservative (cf. Num. 18:19). Eric Franklin wonders “whether
salt can lose its flavor,” which he says “has been much debated,” but his point
agrees with that of Soards. “The point here of course is the contrast in this
respect between salt and discipleship. What is difficult if not impossible for
one, is relatively easy for the other. Discipleship which loses its commitment
is worse than useless” (op. cit., p. 947, on Lk. 14:25-35).
As noted above, for the Lutheran
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.