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Daily
Scripture |
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Wednesday
(December 1, 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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Wednesday AM Psalm
119:1-24 PM Psalm 12,
13, 14 Isa. 2:1-11 1 Thess.
2:13-20 Luke 20:19-26 Nicholas
Ferrar: Psalm 15 Exodus 35:1-5a,
24-29; Galatians 6:7-10; Luke 10:38-42 [Charles
de Foucauld]: Psalm 73:24-28 Wisdom 3:1-5;
James 1:2-4, 12; John 16:25-33 Eucharistic Psalm 23 Isaiah 25:6-9;
Matthew 15:29-39 |
Wednesday Morning: Psalm 50; 147:1-11 Isaiah 2:1-4 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 Luke 20:19-26 Evening Pss.: 53, 17 |
Wednesday Morning Psalm:
50, 147:1-12 Isaiah 2:1-4 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 Luke 20:19-26 Evening Psalm:
53, 17 |
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Year A Daily Psalm 124 Isaiah 54:1-10 Matthew
24:23-35 |
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*Wednesday in the
week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One |
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Isaiah 2:1-11
The Future House of God (Mic 4.1-5)
2:1 The word that Isaiah son of
Amoz saw concerning
2 In days to come
the mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
3 Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of
and the word of
the LORD from
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:1-4, NRSV)
Judgment Pronounced on Arrogance
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the LORD!
6 For you have forsaken the ways of your people,
O house of Jacob.
Indeed they are full of diviners from the east
and of soothsayers like the Philistines,
and they clasp hands with foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 And so people are humbled,
and everyone is brought low-
do not forgive them!
10 Enter into the rock,
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the LORD,
and from the glory of his majesty.
11 The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low,
and the pride of everyone shall be humbled;
and the LORD alone will be exalted on that day. (Isaiah 2:5-11, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from December 3, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 6, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated with some revision and supplement from December 1, 2004, two years ago (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One).
A Vision of Universal Peace
Isaiah’s second chapter begins with a new superscription:
“The word (rbADAha, haddāvār) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw (hzAHA, chāzāh) concerning
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Isaiah 2:2-4 NRSV |
Micah 4:1-4 NRSV |
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2In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it 3Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of and the word
of the LORD from 4He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. |
1In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, 2and many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of and the word
of the LORD from 3He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; 4but they shall all sit under their own
vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. |
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The word order placement of “be established” (NOknA, nākôn) is different in Hebrew (Isa. 2:2c, Mic. 4:1c). The
words translated “peoples” (MyiOG, gôyim)
and “nations” (Mym0ifa, ‘ammîm) are in reverse
order in the Hebrew of Isaiah 2:2e, 3a, and Micah 4:1e, 2a; and also in
Isaiah 4:4a and b, and Micah 3a and b. Otherwise,
Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-3 are nearly identical in Hebrew as well as in
English translation. The one
major difference is the addition in Micah of verse 4. |
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Isaiah presents a vision of the new age with peace among the
nations, who will come to
This prophecy of Isaiah envisions a time of peace when there
will be no more warring between nations. It promises peace for
In this future time, God will settle disputes among nations (“judge”, v. 4) and between people (“arbitrate”). It will be an age of peace and plenty: warfare being a thing of the past, agriculture (“plowshares”, “pruning hooks”) will prosper. (Conquering armies lived off the land and farmers were needed for military service.) In v. 5, Isaiah exhorts the people to adopt God’s ways now.
After an opening chapter in which the prophet Isaiah, speaking for the LORD, severely criticizes the people of Israel for continuing in sin despite the LORD’s punishments, we come immediately to a very different passage that looks forward to a time of universal peace and faithfulness to the LORD. Isaiah, chapter 1, apparently serves as a kind of introduction to the book, but it specifically denounces hypocritical worship and social injustice, and calls, perhaps ironically, for true repentance. “Cease to do evil, / learn to do good; / seek justice, / rescue the oppressed, / defend the orphan, / plead for the widow” (Isa. 1:16d, 17). There is a call for repentance: “Come now, let us argue it out,/ says the LORD: / though your sins are like scarlet, / they shall be like snow; / though they are red like crimson, / they shall become like wool” (Isa. 1:18). This call for repentance is certainly genuine, but if there is not a touch of irony, it certainly comes with a warning. “If you are willing and obedient, / you shall eat the good of the land; / but if you refuse and rebel, / you shall be devoured by the sword; / for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isa. 1:19-20).
But immediately, in chapter 2, we find the prophet speaking
in a very different tone, not announcing judgment on
Zechariah pictures a time when
the LORD will go forth and fight
against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his
feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the
east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very
wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the
other half southward. 5 And you shall flee by the valley of the LORD’s
mountain, for the valley between the mountains shall reach to Azal; and you
shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of
For this final battle Zechariah pictures a transformation of
the topography around
At that time, says Isaiah, the LORD will “judge between the nations, / and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; / nation shall not lift up[ sword against nation, / neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:4). What a magnificent vision of the end of warring between nations and universal peace! In the 27 centuries or so since this vision of universal peace was presented, there has scarcely been a decade, let alone a century, when some human beings were not making war on others. Man’s inhumanity to man has brought terrible suffering throughout the world.
According to Gene M. Tucker,
The sequence of future events is
important. First, ‘the mountain of the LORD’s house’—that is,
This text has inspired a bronze sculpture that can now be
seen at the United Nations headquarters in
The bronze sculpture "Let Us
Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares," was created by Soviet artist Evgeny
Vuchetich, and presented to the United Nations on 4 December 1959 by the
Government of the
The last four lines (Isa. 2:4c, d, e, f) are inscribed on
the wall at
Until the latest of our world
conflicts, the
Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society. (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/dwightdeisenhowerfarewell.html, accessed Nov. 27, 2010).
The Hebrew prophets were apparently not always able to maintain this picture of peace and restoration. In a passage that envisions the final end-time battle on “the Day of the LORD,” the prophet Joel reverses the swords into plowshares imagery. He says,
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare war,
stir up the warriors.
Let all the soldiers draw near,
let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weakling say, “I am a warrior.” (Joel 3:9-10)
He envisions something like the so-called Battle of Armageddon. We can surely hope that the prophet’s vision will be realized, that of a time of peace when weapons of war are changed into instruments of peace and production for the good of the nations. In any case, it remains among God’s promises for the future of his people
Judgment Pronounced on Arrogance
Isaiah continues with a list of Jacob’s sins (vv. 5-11),
included in the Daily Office Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer for
today but in Thursday’s reading in the Daily Lectionaries of the Presbyterian Book
of Common Worship and the Lutheran Book of Worship. This list begins
by calling upon
But the climax of the list is the accusation of idolatry: “Their land is filled with idols; / they bow down to the work of their hands, / to what their own fingers have made” (v. 8). The prophet adds that “people are humbled, / and everyone is brought low” (v. 9a, b). We might ask, Is this because of the leaders’ idolatry? Or are the people humbled by their very idolatrous acts? And is it the people? or the leaders, of whom it is said, “do not forgive them! (v. 9c)? Of the words, “Do not forgive them,” Blenkinsopp says, “Together with the final verse 22, this exclamation reflects the apocalyptic mindset and worldview; it is absent from the Qumran Isaiah scroll (1QIsaa) and from the parallel 5:15” (ibid., on v. 9). The people are warned to hide from coming judgment. “Enter into the rock, / and hide in the dust / from the terror of the LORD, / and from the glory of his majesty” (v. 10). Blenkinsopp also sees this warning as “characteristic of apocalyptic writers” (ibid., on v. 10), probably implying the work of late editors. But the prophet says that human pride will be humbled in the face of the LORD’s exaltation. “The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low, / and the pride of everyone shall be humbled; / and the LORD alone will be exalted on that day” (v. 11).
R. Coggins says that “the passage as a whole brings together
two basic Isaianic themes: the vanity of human self-confidence and the folly of
worshipping false gods (2:11). The poem reaches a climax with the assertion of
God’s sole power ‘in that day’. Here the way in which the ‘day’ is spoken of
differs sharply from the picture of the latter “days’ in v. 2. There it was a
time of the vindication of
1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
13 We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last.
Paul’s Desire to Visit the Thessalonians Again
17 As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you-in person, not in heart-we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face. 18 For we wanted to come to you-certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again-but Satan blocked our way. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 Yes, you are our glory and joy! (1 Thessalonians 2:13-20, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here from April 29, 2010 (Thursday in the Fourth Week of Easter, Year Two), when comments were based on those of December 3, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated from April 17, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 6, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were combined with revision and supplement from December 1, 2004, (Wednesday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from May 11, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two).
Paul again expresses thanks for the Thessalonian believers.
He expresses thanks for the Thessalonian believers' eager and sincere
acceptance of his preaching. “We also constantly give thanks to God for this,
that when you received the word (lovgoV, logos) of God that you
heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word (lovgoV, logos) but
as what it really is, God’s word (lovgoV, logos), which is also
at work in you believers” (1 Thess. 2:13). The word “word” (lovgoV,
logos) is defined as “a communication whereby the mind finds
expression, word [used] of utterance, chiefly oral, as expression, word,”
and more particularly in this context, it is used “of the divine revelation
through Christ and his messengers” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature,
3rd ed., 2000, s.v. lovgoV, logos, meanings no. (1) (a) a and b ).
Paul expresses his awareness of the Thessalonians’ suffering. “For you,
brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus
that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots
as they did from the Jews” (v. 14). The suffering of Christians in
Luke. of course, notes a period of “peace,” that is, relief from persecution (Acts 9:31). In the present context Paul refers to the suffering of Thessalonian Christian believers, endured from their own Thessalonian people. And Paul moves on, to describe his desire to visit the Thessalonians again. “As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans (ajporfanisqevnteV, aporphanisthentes) by being separated from you–in person, not in heart–we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face” (1 Thess. 2:17). The verb (participle) translated “were made orphans” occurs only here in the New Testament (cf. F. Wilbur Gingrich, Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 1965, s.v. ajporfanivzw, aporphanizÇ ). According to Frederick William Danker, it means, “ ‘to cause separation from someone , bereave,’ [that is] ‘cause to be without parents,’ make an orphan of, in imagery, passive, be separated” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. ajporfanivzw, aporphanizÇ ). Paul’s familial feelings for the people of his churches are strong, even remarkable. Being separated from the Thessalonians was felt as deprivation. Paul blames Satan for the separation. “For we wanted to come to you–certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again–but Satan blocked our way” (v. 18). By his love and longing to see the Thessalonian believers, Paul demonstrates this saying of Jesus, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35). According to Edgar M. Krentz, “Paul’s frustrated attempts to visit the Thessalonians are part of the apocalyptic struggle between God and Satan; see also Rom. 16:20; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:14; 12:7” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Thess. 2:18).
Paul concludes today’s reading with further affirmation of his love for the Thessalonians. “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Yes, you are our glory and joy!” (vv. 19-20). “A crown,” says Abraham Smith “is the laurel wreath won by an athletic victor” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Thess. 2:19). Krentz calls it “a symbol of victory or praise. See Phil. 2;16; 4:1” (op. cit., on v. 19).
Luke 20:19-26
19 When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.
The Question about Paying Taxes (Mt 22.15-22; Mk 12.13-17)
20 So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent. (Luke 20:19-26, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here from June 16, 2009
(Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One) and some
supplement from July 2, 2010 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to June
29, Year Two). On June 16, 2009, comments were repeated from June 19, 2007
(Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One), when comments
were based on those of December 6, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the First
Sunday of Advent, Year One, when comments were used from December 1, 2004, and
from June 14, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year
One). Parallel passages for this reading are found in the separate file Paying
Tribute to Caesar. For an outline of events during Jesus’ final ministry in
After Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (Mt. 21:12-13; Mk. 11:15-17; Lk. 19:45-46), the conspiracy of the chief priests and scribes against him (Mk. 11:18-19; Lk. 19:47-48; cf. Mt. 26:3-4; Mk. 14:1; Lk. 22:2; Jn. 11:47-53), and the fig tree found withered (Mt. 21:20-22; Mk. 11:20-26; cf. its cursing Mt. 21:18-19; Mk. 11:12-14), Jesus is confronted with the question about his authority (Mt. 21:23-27; Mk. 11:27-33; Lk. 20:1-8). Yesterday’s reading (Nov. 30, 2010) was about the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Mt. 21:33-46; Mk. 12:1-12; Lk. 20:9-19).
The point of the Parable of the Wicked Tenants was not lost on the scribes and chief priests, who “realized that he had told this parable against them” (Lk. 20:19a), but, for fear of the people, rather than seizing Jesus immediately (v. 19b), they attempted to trap him. “So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor” (Lk. 20:20; cf. Mk. 12:13; Mt. 22:15, 16a). According to Luke, their challenging question was as follows: “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. [Note the irony.] Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” (Lk. 20:21-22; cf. Mk. 12:14, 15a; Mt. 22:16b, 17).
They thus present Jesus with a dilemma, which he handles well. “But he perceived their craftiness,” says Luke, “and said to them, ‘Show me a denarius (dhnavrion, d‘narion). Whose head and whose title does it bear?’ They said, ‘The emperor’s’ ” (Lk. 20:23-24). In Mark, Jesus’ questions their motives before requesting the denarius. “Why are you putting me to the test. Bring me a denarius and let me see it” (Mk. 12:15b; cf. Mt. 22:18, 19a). Then Jesus asks, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” and they answer, “The emperor’s” (Mk. 12:16; cf. Mt. 22:19-21a). The denarius (dhnavrion, d‘narion) was “a Roman silver coin originally c. 4.55 g [but] the debasement of coinage under Nero reduced it in value; it was the worker’s average daily wage” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 2000, s.v. dhnavrion, d‘narion).
With reference to his question and their answer about the image on the coin, Jesus says, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Lk. 20:25; cf. Mk. 12:17a; Mt. 22:21b). At this answer, Mark tells us, “they were utterly amazed” (Mk. 12:17b). To this Matthew adds that “they left him and went away” (Mt. 22:22). Luke points out that their attempt at entrapment failed. “And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent” (Lk. 20:26).
According to David L. Tiede, revised by Christopher R. Matthews, “A Roman denarius of this era bore the engraved image of Tiberius Caesar . . . and the inscription ‘SON OF THE DIVINE AUGUSTUS’ ” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Lk. 20:24; cf. Tiede’s comment on the same verse in the first edition of 1993). This image, together with the image of the head, was a sacrilege for the Jews (cf. Ex. 20:23). A recent interpretation says, “Thus it is very likely that when Jesus said, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,’ he was saying, ‘Give back to Caesar his worthless coins, and give to God your whole-hearted and undivided allegiance” (Ben Witherington, following R. David Kaylor, in The Jesus Quest: the Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth, p. 155). Witherington adds:
It seems Jesus is being deliberately oblique at this point, forcing his audience to ponder his reply rather than jump to conclusions that he was either for or against paying tribute money or taxes to Caesar. . . . Jesus turns the discussion to focus on a more primary question, Who is Lord? Jesus’ view then would amount neither to open cooperation with Caesar or violent revolution against him, but recognizing only God’s lordship and thus relativizing Caesar’s claims.
We are certainly advised to “give . . . to God the things that are God’s” (v. 25).
In comment on Mark’s version of this story (Mk. 12:13-17; Mt. 22:15-22; Lk. 20:20-26), James D. G. Dunn says that this “exchange occasioned by a question put by some Pharisees and Herodians”
was certainly of inescapable political significance. Why would such a question be put to Jesus, unless it was considered that his opinion might be regarded as significant or at least that his answer might provide opportunity to denounce him as a political threat? (Jesus Remembered, 2003, p. 636)
Some recent scholars, including S. G. F. Brandon, in books such as The Fall of Jerusalem and the Christian Church (2nd ed., 1957), Jesus and the Zealots (1967), The Trial of Jesus of Nazareth (1967), have claimed that Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God had political overtones, that in fact he was attempting to start a political revolution. Dunn argues against this position (op. cit., 622-624). One of Jesus’ disciples was Simon “the Zealot,” but Dunn says,
it is highly unlikely that Simon’s nickname of ‘zealot’ (Luke 6:15) had any of the connotations of ‘freedom-fighter’ at the time of Jesus. Mark, writing round about the time of the first revolt, may have chosen to disguise the fact by calling Simon ‘the Cananaean’, from the Aramaic word for ‘zealot’ or ‘enthusiast’ (qan’an); that is, he transliterated rather than translated the Aramaic. Even so, however, the confrontation at the time of Jesus was of a zealous person, not of an advocate of revolutionary violence. (ibid., 623)
Dunn adds:
Second, if Jesus did indeed teach
that love of neighbour included love of enemies, as most agree, then that alone
knocks a large hole in any thesis that Jesus sought a military solution. And in
more general terms we have already noted how quiet
On the question about the tribute money, Dunn says:
Brandon’s argument that it would have been heard as forbidding tribute, since the land and all its produce belongs to God, has an echo in the accusation attested only in Luke 23:2 (‘We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar’). But the clearer inference, given that the saying was uttered with reference to a denarius bearing the head of Tiberius (Mark 12:16 pars.), is that Jesus acknowledged the right of the Emperor to levy tribute from his subject peoples. Here again, the fact that the charge features so little in the trials of Jesus (Luke 23:2 apart) suggests that no case of any weight could be built on it. That the saying contributes anything towards an answer to our question, therefore, is at best uncertain. But it certainly bears witness to Jesus’ own political astuteness. (Dunn, 650-651)
N. T. Wright offers a subtle, but more complex,
understanding of Jesus’ response on this occasion. He proposes “that Jesus’
cryptic saying should be understood as a coded and subversive echo of
Mattathias’ last words,” which he quotes from 1 Maccabees 2:66-8. The final
sentence, in effect a call to arms against the Syrian oppressors, says, “Pay
back the Gentiles in full, and obey the commands of the law,” which Antiochus
Epiphanes had forbidden them to do. According to Wright, Jesus’ response echoes
Mattathias. “Pay Caesar back what he is owed!
Render to Caesar what he deserves!” (Jesus and the Victory of God,
1992, 1996, p. 504). But in context, there is “a second layer of meaning.”
Jesus
was facing a
questioner with a Roman coin in his hand. Suddenly a counterpoint appears
beneath the coded revolutionary meaning; faced with the coin, and with the
implicit question of revolution, Jesus says, in effect, ‘Well then, you’d
better pay Caesar back as he deserves!’ Had he told them to revolt? Had he told
them to pay the tax? He had done neither. He had done both. Nobody could deny
that the saying was revolution, but nor could anyone say that Jesus had
forbidden payment of the tax. (ibid., p. 505)
But Wright adds that “Jesus the Galilean
envisaged a different sort of revolution from that of Judas the Galilean. He
was not advocating compromise with
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.