Proper 25 – Year B

Sermon Notes from the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People

RCL Readings[1] – Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52.

ACNA Readings – Isaiah 59:9-20; Psalm 13; Hebrews 5:11-6:12; Mark 10:46-52.


Seasonal Introduction. The Christian calendar revolves around two principal feasts: Christmas (involving Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany) and Easter (involving Lent, Easter, and Pentecost). Then there is a large section in the middle called ordinary time. This season often focuses on the growth of the Church, ending in a season known as Kingdomtide which concludes with the feast of Christ the king. During this time we read and hear the bulk of the teachings of Jesus in relation to the kingdom of heaven and how we are called to live as disciples of the Messiah. 


Common Theme. The texts for this week focus on restoration. Restoration can be both physical and spiritual. Restoration can come after repentance or persistence. But God desires to restore His relationship with His people–as our God, our Creator, our King, and our Father.


Hebraic Context. Restoration is a profound theme running throughout the Scriptures. It refers to the act of renewing or bringing back something to its original state or position. Restoration occurs at multiple levels, including national, individual, and interpersonal restoration. Genesis began by describing the fall of creation in which something so beautiful and perfect went horribly wrong. And so, in the opening pages of the Scriptures we also can find the hope of restoration taking shape, the return to Eden if you will. 


In the Hebrew language, restoration is usually represented by several words, שׁוּב (shuv),[2] שִׁקוּם (shikoom),[3] and חֲזָרָה (hazara). These words carry the sense of returning or turning back, often in connection with repentance, and occurs at both the national and individual levels.


Stories of national restoration include the events following the flood of Noah where humanity is restored to a devastated earth,[4] the return of the exiles from captivity in Babylon and the calling of Israel (as a light to the nations) to restore the knowledge of God to the world culminating in the hoped for messianic age. But it’s not always these grand, sweeping events. Solomon, in his prayer of dedication of the Temple, spoke of the repentance of both the servant of God and of God’s people Israel. God would hear them, forgive, and restore them by returning them to the land God gave to their fathers.


On an individual level, the tragic figure of Job was materially restored to family and fortune (Job 42:10)[5] while David spoke of being spiritually restored in his soul and in the joy of his salvation in the psalms (Psalm 51:12, Psalm 23:3). Restoration is more than simply fixing something that is broken, it conveys the sense of renewal.


In our readings this week, Jeremiah announced the hope of national restoration (which will coincide together as a physical return to the land of Israel and a spiritual return to God). The Psalmist also reminded the worshippers of the mercy and faithfulness of the Lord in restoring Israel to the land where they can go to Jerusalem in pilgrimage and be with the living God. And the gospel reading will demonstrate how longed for restoration can be individual and deeply personal as well as physical and spiritual. 


Jeremiah 31:7-9.[6] God called for His people to sing with gladness, to shout aloud and praise Him. They were to ask God to save the remnant of His people. In turn, God declared through Jeremiah that He would answer and would bring them back. Exile would not be the final fate of the people of God–there would be restoration. But it hadn’t happened yet even as they were to “sing aloud with gladness”. This seems backwards. Unless, of course, the remnant of Israel were able to see God’s previous faithfulness and understand that His promises would be kept.


No matter how far the people had wandered from the Land, physically separated through the exile because they had wandered spiritually from God, they would one day return. They might come with weeping, with a spirit of contrition and repentance, but God would even bring the weakest back to the land.[7]


While God was the author of exile through judgment on Israel, He would also be the shepherd who would lead and guide His people so they will “not stumble” again. He will do this because of the intimate relationship that He has with Israel. God is Israel’s King, majestic and powerful, but He is also their Father.[8] 


Psalm 126.[9] The first verse seems to reflect back on the time when the Lord brought His people back from Babylon under Ezra and Nehemiah.[10] The expression “the LORD restored the fortunes” as seen in the opening verse, can refer to national fortunes, as it does in the context of the psalm, “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion”, or Psalm 14:7, “When the LORD restored the fortunes of His people”. But the term can also be applied individually. For example, the same expression is used in the case of Job, where the Lord restored the fortunes of Job (Job 42:10). 


As the pilgrims neared Jerusalem they could rejoice that “the LORD has done great things for us.” In context, the nations declaring that “The LORD has done great things for them” is precisely opposite of what the nations would say when Israel was taken into captivity.[11] So too would the restoration of Zion’s fortune be precisely the opposite of their exile. There are times for weeping, even as there are times for repentance.[12] But God’s mercy and restoration should bring great joy, for God is with His people. The parallel switch from “them” to “us” also allowed the worshipper, at any point in history, to participate as one of those redeemed by God.[13] The worshiper chanting the psalm could proclaim himself as part of the sacred history in which God has been working in, for, and through His people. The past becomes, in some way, part of the present. 


Hebrew 7:23-28. The Epistle of Hebrews continuously stressed the greatness and superiority of the priesthood of Jesus over that of the Levitical priesthood.[14] But, while Jesus interceded for His disciples and the people of Israel during His time on earth, He did not act as a priest beyond that of any other Israelite while on earth.[15] Rather, it seems that it was after His resurrection and ascension that Jesus took the role of High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.


Hebrews 7 is, essentially, a midrash on Psalm 110:4, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”[16] This was juxtaposed with the Levites who, like everyone else, all died–for that is the end of man.[17] The Levitical priesthood endured constant changes, with inconsistency as some priests were better or worse than those who came before and after them.


By the time of Jesus, the Temple system had become quite corrupt. The office of the high priest was no longer a position held until death, as it should have been according to the Torah, but was bought and sold as a political role and in political games. In contrast, Jesus has an unchangeable priesthood as He endures forever. His permanent status and role as high priest makes Jesus our permanent intercessor, and He is able to save “to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him.” The redemption and salvation offered by Jesus the Messiah is as unchanging as He is.


Mark 10:46-52. In His final pilgrimage to Jerusalem before His death, Jesus travelled down the Jordan valley, stopping at Jericho.[18] It was in this very diverse[19] and important city that Jesus met with some very interesting people such as Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus. Jesus, with His disciples and a large crowd, passed by a blind man who called out loudly for mercy. While everyone else told the man to be quiet, even to the point of scolding the man, Jesus stopped and engaged with him.[20]


This short account in Mark offers several powerful teachings as to the nature of faith, especially as it was understood in the 1st Century. Firstly, we can note the persistence of blind Bartimaeus who was determined to be healed by Jesus. Secondly, he addressed Jesus with the royal title “son of David” in loud cries, not discouraged into silence when the crowd pressured him to be quiet. To Bartimaeus Jesus was more than simply a teacher from Nazareth, He was the son of David. 


While Jesus never directly referred to Himself with this title, preferring the term “the son of man”, many (including the Gospel writers) recognized Jesus’ relation to the prophecies regarding the throne of David. There was also a tradition in the late 2nd Temple period that suggested that Solomon, the son of David, had great powers of healing as well as dominion over demons. Like everyone in the land, the blind man had heard of the miracles that Jesus and His disciples had been doing. And so Bartimaeus directly asked Jesus for mercy.


The mercy, which is actually a request for healing, was not owed to the man in any way. He was simply crying out for a kindness and a show of grace he believed Jesus could provide. Jesus responded to the man's persistence by asking, “What do you want me to do for you?” After giving the man his sight, Jesus stated, “Your faith has made you well.”


What did the man want? The mercy of receiving his eyesight. Bartimaeus called Jesus the “Son of David” and “Rabbi” but almost certainly did not yet see Jesus as the divine incarnation–Immanuel, God with us. He also did not repent. What kind of faith was this that made him well?


Faith isn’t simply a spiritual term, it has meaning beyond a belief in something very specific such as God or Jesus. Faith, particularly in the Hebraic understanding, was putting what you believed into practice.[21] And you were to practice this faith steadfastly and persistently. Bartimaeus believed that Jesus could heal. Even when he was told to be quiet he refused and continued to persistently pester Jesus until he would receive mercy. Of course, having received Jesus’ mercy, Bartimaeus did not stop his persistence. He had faith enough to also follow Jesus to Jerusalem for the festival–as God had commanded. This was the last miracle Jesus performed before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.


Hebraic Perspective. Faith in Hebrew is the word emunah אֱמוּנָה. Interestingly, the word faith is not found in the book of Genesis. The word first appears in the book of Exodus 17:12 during the battle of Amalek.[22] God had rescued Israel from Egypt and they were journeying towards Mount Sinai. But almost immediately, the Amalekites attacked Israel. Specifically they attacked those who were weary and faint–the weak and old who may have had trouble keeping up with the others. The Amalekites did not fear God.


Israel was a nation of slaves, shepherds and builders. They did not know how to fight and were probably terrified. But a simple battle plan was drawn up and Moses would stand on a hill, holding up his hands, while Joshua fought the Amalekites. The battle plan was reliant on an old man steadfastly holding up his hands with a staff in hand. That is faith. 


But this faith wasn’t only believing that God would be victorious, no, faith was Moses steadfastly holding up his hands–in its first appearance in the Bible, the word emunah was translated as steadfast as Aaron and Hur kept Moses’ hands “faithing” until sunset.


Why “faithing”? Emunah is a gerund. In linguistics, a gerund is a non finite form of a verb–it describes a verb that you are doing. In English it is shown through the addition of ‘-ing’ to a word. So the verb to walk becomes walking when you are putting it into practice. The verb to read becomes reading and faith becomes “faithing”. Since faithing is, unfortunately, not a common word in English, a better translation of Emunah might be faithfully or, in Greek, faithfulness.[23] Being faithful implies action. Moses simply didn’t believe that if he held his hands up it would mean victory for Israel, he actually had to hold them up. 


Faith at the time of Jesus was more than simple belief. Faith is steadfast. It is persistence and determination not to give up but to endure. At Jericho, Bartimaeus believed Jesus could heal and he refused to be quieted by the crowd. He lived in a world of darkness and he had the earnest desire to see. The more they told Bartimaeus to shut up, the louder he became. Jesus could see his faith, or faithfulness, in action. He saw his steadfastness and persistence and commended him for it. Even as Jesus was being faithful in walking towards the cross, Jesus had mercy–bringing light to a dark world.


ACNA Readings


Isaiah 59:9-20. People are quite capable of complaining, or even blaming others, for something we brought on ourselves. God gave us His ethics and morality to live by. Israel heard the voice of God, as have the nations since, and yet they did not live by God’s ethics and morality–they did not do justice or righteousness. Instead, “the way of peace they did not know, and there is no justice in their paths”[24]


There is a natural result of not living by the ethics and morality of God.[25] Isaiah told Israel that they would seek light but find only darkness. They would hope for justice and salvation but would not find it–for there was no one living in obedience to God. They denied God and turned their back from following God. Having given themselves over to darkness, darkness would envelop them–and it was of their own making. 


“The LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.” But, as seen throughout the prophets, that didn’t mean that God was done with Israel. Even if men don’t obey God, He does not change His own nature. It is the Lord’s character to bring light and to defeat darkness in all its forms. While Isaiah noted that no one came forward to intercede for the people, God Himself became the redeemer, enshrining Himself in metaphorical armour, similar to the armour of God seen in Ephesians.[26]


In context, putting on the armour of God isn’t simply some mystical idea of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God along with prayer at all times. The armour of God is supposed to be the practical actions we take to intercede. Rather than suing people unjustly and without honesty, or spreading falsehoods in wickedness, we are to be truthful. Rather than having feet that run to evil and are swift to shed innocent blood, we should be quick to peace.


The good news from the prophet is that God will not leave his people to grope around in despair and darkness, even if that darkness is the result of poor choices and behaviour because we do not intercede. First, He will intercede to bring justice, righteousness, and salvation (although sometimes that will include His wrath). Second, God made a promise that a redeemer would come to Zion. God’s light and salvation will overcome the darkness. And finally, God truly wanted someone to intercede. He was displeased when no one did! Which means that yes, He wants us to put on His armour and practically fear God by obeying His commandments–bringing justice, peace, and righteousness to the world.


Psalm 13. ‘‘How long, O Lord?” That is the question asked by David after he endured heartache, abandonment, fear, and faced many enemies. It will also be asked by the martyrs of God (Revelations 6:10). And yet Levitical priests, whose job was to stand at the Temple and sing praises, would also ask this question (Psalm 89:46). Whether it’s because we are waiting for just judgment to come upon those who prey on the righteous or because we are under God’s judgment and longing for His mercy, it is probably a question we will all ask God at one time or another. 


The Psalm gives no context regardings its history and we cannot know why David wrote these words, asking “how long” four times. Nonetheless, we can acutely understand that David felt like the LORD had abandoned him.[27] The feeling that we have been neglected by God is probably a feeling we have all felt. But it is important to know the difference between our feelings and reality.[28] David, even as he asked the question, had the faith and trust in God to know that God gave salvation.


He asked that God would “light up my eyes” or, as David wrote in Psalm 31:16, “Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me in Your steadfast love!” This is an excellent prayer for us when we are going through dark times, and we feel that God is not answering our prayers or has turned his face from us. We can ask for the Lord to bring His light and salvation into our situation. 


Light is often paired with salvation in the Hebrew Scriptures. Ever since the fall, the light of God has been chasing away the darkness and bringing his salvation with him. David ends the psalm in a state of confidence, with his feelings of neglect softening in the light of God. The darkness has passed, and in the last verses we find David declaring his trust in the unfailing love of God and rejoicing again in his salvation. Lord, restore to us again the joy of our salvation.


Hebrews 5:11-6:12. Hebrews can be a very difficult book for many of us to understand. The author continuously quoted a single sentence (or even half a sentence) assuming that the listeners would understand the context and why that verse was important to the argument the author was making. But Hebrews 5:11-6:3 states that the author was having trouble communicating all that they wanted to for those listening were “dull of hearing” and immature. Being dull in hearing is not a problem of the ears but a problem of the heart. The hearts of the listeners were slow to respond in learning and were, perhaps, simply uninterested in hearing about the things of God. 


The addressees of Hebrews apparently had been followers of Messiah for some time. The author chastises them for their immaturity, saying that they should have been teaching others by now and not still learning the basics. The basics are described as ‘milk’, and Hebrews 6 lays out some of the basics as elementary principles: repentance and faith, baptism and laying of hands, resurrection and judgment.[29] The writer of Hebrews wants his readers to go beyond the basics. 


It is not that the basics are bad. In fact, they are very, very good. However, there is nothing to be gained by immaturity. Following Jesus is not a static concept but implies motion and movement. Following Jesus means learning and growing in the walk of faith in which we learn to become better disciples. Every day I should taste the goodness of the word of God and draw closer to God–go on to maturity.


The writer of Hebrews gives a warning to his dull of hearing and immature readers. The writer is speaking of people who have had amazing spiritual experiences including a sharing in the Holy Spirit, but who have fallen away, declaring the impossibility to be renewed again through repentance. Falling away is different from falling into sin. It is an important warning that we should not brush aside.[30] We should also not become so entrenched in trying to figure out if we have personally fallen away beyond redemption, so as to be completely useless for service in the kingdom. The author of Hebrews encourages the believers to have “the full assurance of hope until the end”. The basics of the faith already give us the hope and light of the Good News. But continuing to serve the saints in work and love, continuing to learn the word of righteousness, while difficult at times, will give us even more hope and light of the Good News.

Endnotes

  1. Alternate RCL Readings: Job 38:1-7, 34-41; Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b
  2. Jesus, in using the term “Son of Man”, would have brought the disciples' thoughts towards the throne of heaven and a figure who had authority over all the nations–just the opposite of a servant. See Hebraic Perspective for how shortcuts were often used in teaching in the 1st and 2nd centuries.
  3. Samuel was told to respond to God with, “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.” Moses was called the Servant of the Lord. David took the title of servant for himself in the Psalms several times. The prophets were also called the servants of God. And finally James, Jude, Peter, Paul, and John all called themselves servants of God and of Jesus.
  4. Isaiah 56; Jeremiah 23 and 25; and Ezekiel 34 all speak of shepherds who started serving themselves rather than the flock they were called to serve and God’s anger at them because of their self-serving actions.
  5. Because the passage can be read as referring to an individual, a nation, or as differing depending on the particular poem, skeptics and opponents of the Christian faith often argue that Christianity superimposed the person of Jesus over passages and prophecies in the Hebrew Bible. One such argument is that the servant songs were never interpreted prior to Jesus in the way that Christians interpreted it. However, this was not the case.In reading through Second Temple period Jewish literature, particularly the Dead Sea Scrolls, one of the major interpretations of the suffering servant was as a messianic redemptive individual. Following the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QHa) was a poem that, damaged as it was, quoted from Isaiah 53 in a very similar way to identifying an authoritative and powerful figure who was also a suffering servant. This idea of a righteous individual who suffered to bring redemption for many people was also an important theme in II and IV Maccabees. The connection of Jesus to the servant songs, and Isaiah 53 in particular, was well within the interpretive norm of the 1st century both in terms of connecting the themes and words of the prophets with the life of Jesus (see Hebraic Perspective) and other interpretations of the Messiah being an individual who suffered–although there were other interpretations of Isaiah 53 at the time as well.
  6. Whether you read Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Clement, Tertullian or later writers such as Athanasius and Augustine, all the church fathers agreed on Isaiah 52:12-53:12 referring to Jesus. While some of them were vehemently antisemitic (such as Justin Martyr and John Chrysostom) there very arguments about how the church also can participate in the suffering of the suffering servant, namely Jesus, actually provides some evidence that an interpretation of Israel participating in the suffering of the Messiah would have held true in their minds were they not supersessionists.
  7. Justin Martyr, and many before and after him, stated that the Jews killed Jesus. Because of this belief, Justin Martyr stated, “The purpose of this [circumcision] was that you and only you might suffer the afflictions that are now justly yours.” John Chrysostom wrote a long essay entitled Adversus Judaeos, Against the Jews. One of his statements spoke of the synagogue as, “a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ”. Isaiah is very clear that it was the will of the Lord that would cause the suffering of the servant, even as it was the will of the Lord to prosper the servant. The creeds, meanwhile, noted that “Jesus Christ… suffered under Pontius Pilate (a Roman), was crucified, died, and was buried.” In the trial of Jesus, it was a select few leaders in Jerusalem (who were noted by some of their Jewish peers as being corrupt) and a few disreputable people they literally hired who called for the death of Jesus. When given an opportunity, the crowds of Jewish people flocked to Jesus, both in the week leading up to Pesach (Passover) and during Shavuot (Pentecost). The Scriptures do point out the failures of Israel to follow God–both as individuals and as a nation. It then proceeds to speak of the difficulties that come from disobedience to God. But it never rescinds the covenants God made with them–it never states that God abandoned them because of their disobedience. Rather, it speaks of God’s love and continual efforts towards redeeming Israel. As a follower of God and a sinner, this brings me hope (and certainly not hatred of the Jewish people).
  8. The ACNA includes the entirety of Psalm 91
  9. No author or historical setting is given to Psalm 91. The Greek Septuagint does attribute the Psalm to David but the Aramaic Targum does not.
  10. In the opening verse, God is addressed as עֶלְיוֹן elyôn and שַׁדַּי šhaday. שַׁדַּי (Shaddai) is used 48 times in the Bible, but the vast majority of them are found in the book of Job, known for its archaic language. It is also used in the time of the Patriarchs as well as in Numbers and as late as Naomi, in the book of Ruth. This is particularly interesting as the term Shaddai (Shaddayin) was used to speak of the gods in a manuscript dated to the 9th-8th centuries BCE in trans-Jordan, attributed to Balaam, son of Beor (The Deir ‘Alla inscription). Several scholars place the events of Job in trans-Jordan as well.  עֶלְיוֹן (Elyon), is also unusual in that it was largely used in the story of Melchizedek, a priest of El Elyon, and the Psalms. This has led some scholars to assume that both these terms were for Canaanite gods. However, in Genesis, it was God Himself who proclaimed that He was El Shaddai. He wasn’t a god of the canaanites but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is quite possible that the author was familiar with more archaic terms for God (such as from his great-great grandmother if the author were David as the LXX suggests, see Psalm 68:1, 14) and even more likely that the author was using standard Hebraic poetry as he followed the first two, unusual, names of God with two more familiar names of God in Psalm 91:2.
  11. The entirety of Psalm 91 is often prayed over soldiers and loved ones who are in immediate danger during times of war due to the powerful promise of protection, security, and blessing for those who trust in God.
  12. The secret place of the Most High is neither a physical structure, although Psalm 27:4-5 pairs the house of the LORD with the secret place of God’s tabernacle. Nor is the secret place of God something mystical and reserved for only the most spiritual and wise of philosophers, although it is poetically linked to darkness, thunder, and the depths of the earth (or the womb). Poetically, and practically, dwelling in the secret place is to declare to the LORD, “My God, in whom I trust.” God told Israel to build a sanctuary, “that I may dwell in their midst”. God promised that “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” In context, this is Leviticus 26:8-12, which is poetically echoed in Psalm 91:7-10.
  13. See also Hebraic Perspective.
  14. Throughout the Scriptures it is clear that miracles often do not change the hearts of those who witness them. Meanwhile, the testimony of the martyrs is incredibly potent.
  15. The ritual being described here was Yom Kippur and is detailed in Leviticus 16 in which the priest purified and atoned for the sanctuary, altar, himself and only then proceeded to offer the scapegoat as a living atonement of the people (not as a blood atonement).
  16. Gentiles in the New Covenant do not replace or supersede the Levitical priesthood with their own. Just as it says that “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel” it also states, “and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.” (Jeremiah 33:17-18) Of course, people from Simeon or Asher were to be priests “‘you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Just as Peter declared that we are to be built up to be a holy priesthood–just not from the Levitical priesthood.
  17. Melchizedek appeared in the Scriptures without a genealogical backstory, there is no account of his birth, nor of his death. He was a king-priest, two offices which are usually separated in the Torah who reigned in Shalem–which is only poetically linked to Zion in Psalm 72:2 but never stated as being Jerusalem. 
  18. It is commonly argued that Judaism never anticipated a divine redeemer, this is actually incorrect. The theology of the late 2nd Temple period was not homogeneous in any sense, there were a variety of conflicting opinions on nearly all issues. One such opinion of the Dead Sea Community at Qumran concerning the coming redeemer is recorded in 11Q13 or the Melchizedek document. In the fragmentary manuscript the messianic redeemer is named Melchizedek and at the end of the scroll Melchizedek is revealed to be ‘Elohim’ or God. “And your Elohim is [Melchizedek, who will save them from] the hand of Belial.” Melchizedek also appears to be a judge and avenger regarding the judgements of God. The authors of 11Q13 are also happy to reinterpret Zion in its relationship to Melchizedek and Shalem from Psalm 76:2, “As it is written concerning him, [who says to Zion]; your Elohim reigns. Zion is… those who uphold the Covenant, who turn from walking [in] the way of the people.”
  19. Because of the history and theology of the Protestant-Catholic world there is often a natural tendency to divert away from obedience in both sermons and commentaries in any topic related to salvation. There is also a natural tendency in post-reformation thought to believe that if one thing is true, the other must be false. Do we have free will or is God supreme, ordaining all that comes to pass? With faith, the law is no longer necessary or even good. To believe and to obey are polar opposites when it comes to salvation!
  20. The author used a play on words, εμαθεν αφ ων επαθεν, “He learned from the things He suffered.” Εμαθεν, to learn, seems to often have an experiential nature rather than simply book learning. Jesus likely didn’t have to learn what pleased God and become better at obeying God in these things, rather, as the author of Hebrews so often points out, He would have experienced, or learned, obedience in suffering–even as we do. Although we do have to learn what pleases God and become better at obeying Him in these things. Spurgeon once said about obedience; “Obedience is a trade to which a man must be apprenticed until he has learned it, for it is not to be known in any other way.” Our natural inclination is not to obey God. And so, we have to not only be instructed in how to follow the Lord but also develop the habit of following and obeying God.
  21. In Mark, it was James and John who asked Jesus but according to Matthew 20, it was their mother who actually asked the question. The gospels only give a brief glimpse into the life of Jesus and His disciples. Here, Jesus was travelling to Jerusalem with His disciples, but we discover that it was more than just the 12 who followed Him. Just as when Joseph went to the Temple to celebrate the pilgrimage festivals and took his wife and young son with him, so too, when Jesus and the disciples travelled to Jerusalem they would have brought their wives, children, and parents with them.
  22. From Psalm 60:3, 75:8, and Job 21:20 to Jeremiah 25:15, 49:12, 51:8 and Isaiah 51:17 there is a common use of drinking from the cup to signify the wrath of God poured out on man. Even the bowls of God’s wrath in Revelation signify the judgment of God. However, this doesn’t seem to fit the context that Jesus was speaking in. In Luke 22:20, as Jesus prepared for His death He took “the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Paul elaborated on this in I Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?”
  23. This type of atonement language may actually have been familiar to many in late antiquity. In the apocryphal book 4 Maccabees 6:28-29, we read of the account of the martyrdom of Eliezer the priest under the hand of the Greek Seleucids. As Eliezer dies he says, ‘Be merciful to your people, let our punishment suffice for them. Make my blood their purification and take my life in exchange for theirs’.
  24. A fun statement for a young teenager, for instance, is “I have more understanding than all my teachers.” For teachers, on the other hand, “Do all things without grumbling or complaining” might be quite popular. Meanwhile, “I can do all things” and “Where two or three are gathered together” are taken out of their immediate context almost every week at many churches around the world and I’ve never heard “where two or three are gathered together” used in its immediate context except in a straight exegetical teaching of Matthew 18:15-16–which was promptly forgotten within the hour, when it was once more taken out of context.
  25. For example, in 1 Corinthians 9 Paul quoted Deuteronomy 25:4 which says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” to refer to his own right to demand payment for his ministry (while also stating that he wasn’t demanding the payment owed him). Yet the passage in Deuteronomy was clearly talking about animal husbandry and has nothing to do with the salary of pastors. The author of Hebrews consistently quotes single verses of the psalms, ‘out of context’ as it were, as they proclaimed Jesus to be the divine great high priest. Meanwhile, Matthew often quoted a Psalm to prove that Jesus fulfilled a prophecy when the Psalm didn’t appear to even be a prophecy.
  26. Today, we have 100’s of resources to do an exegetical study or a topical, word, character, theological, or any number of other studies that interest us. With the internet, I personally have been able to increase my ability to study something in depth. But I have also lost some of my ability to know where something is as I don’t need to remember it, only that it vaguely exists–at which point I can look at any of my earlier studies and papers or even someone else’s thesis or doctorate on a single Hebrew word written in German 50 years ago. This wasn’t an option before I knew about all the resources that I could use and so my mind retained the information with more verve. For the followers of God in the 1st century these resources never became available and their ability to connect verses through word recognition became incredibly important.
  27. The connection between words (the word of God in particular), a sword, and the Messiah is found not only in the Bible but also in intertestamental literature. The connection in Psalm 149:6 is somewhat loose, “Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands to execute vengeance on the nations…” However, in Isaiah 49 the servant declared, “He made my mouth like a sharp sword.” The connection between the Messiah, the Word of God, and a sword was established and so, in the second Temple period, the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon) 18:15-16 stated, “Your all-powerful word from heaven’s royal throne leapt into the doomed land, a fierce warrior bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable degree…” Revelation 1:16 similarly compared one “like a son of man” (see Daniel 7) from whose mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. This figure was Jesus the Messiah.
  28. The Israelites trembled at the voice of the LORD. Exodus 19-20 and Deuteronomy 5:25 spoke of the fear that the voice of God caused. And it was not just the general populace of the Israelites that trembled, even Moses trembled with fear according to Hebrews 12. This connection between the word of the LORD and awe and dread was clear. But throughout the Scriptures there was also a deep connection between the giving of Torah and joy. Whether at Succot or Shemini Atzeret (the day after Succot) there was to be joy at the reading of Torah, such as seen on the Feast of Trumpets in Nehemiah 8. The day Shemini Atzeret was celebrated came to have another holiday either on the same day or the day after called Simchat Torah which has dancing, singing, revelry, and joy as the Jewish people complete the reading of the Torah and start the cycle of reading again on the same day.
  29. Jesus is only called a High Priest in the Epistle of Hebrews. In fact, outside of Israel being a kingdom of priests, no direct connection between Jesus and the priesthood is made. Levitical priests trace their lineage through the tribe of Levi. Being a descendant of Judah actually disqualifies Jesus from the priesthood on earth. However, the author of Hebrews would later quote Psalm 110:4 in order to make an eschatological and messianic argument. Jesus would not be a Levitical priest, for He could not be, instead He would serve as a High Priest according to a non-Levitical priesthood–the priesthood of Melchizedek.
  30. The Hebrew Bible records only a few righteous people who ascended into heaven, namely Enoch and Elijah. While Paul elaborated on Jesus’ ascent and descent from Heaven, here the book of Hebrews focused more on Jesus’ time on earth where he was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.”