Third Sunday After Epiphany – Year C

Sermon Notes from the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People

RCL Readings – Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21

ACNA Readings – Nehemiah 8:1-12, Psalm 113, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Luke 4:14-21

Seasonal Introduction. Following the Christmas season, Christians around the world celebrate Epiphany. While the story of a Jewish baby born in his ancestral home may be interesting it would hardly be remarkable, let alone world-changing. But Christmas isn’t only about a human baby boy, it is about God coming to dwell among men as a man. During the season of Epiphany, we look at how God revealed Himself, starting with the pagan magi and ending with Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. 

Common Theme. This week we return to a basic, but no less important for it, topic—the Scriptures. God reveals Himself through His Torah, His instructions and guidance. But there must be teachers who exhort, challenge, encourage, and declare the testimony of God to His people. There also must be a people who are willing to be challenged or encouraged. They must be a people who, upon hearing the voice of God, change how they live according to what they hear. Otherwise, we may miss the pure gifts God has given. We may not be able to stand before Him or His messiah and be acceptable in His sight.

Hebraic Context. During Epiphany, we remember how God revealed Himself. There are two major changes that occurred when the people of Israel were in exile. In Jeremiah, the people look to the Temple for their physical salvation. But, in parallel to the people going into exile, the Temple of Solomon was destroyed. When the people returned, the second temple was still important and this sentiment reappeared at times, as Bava Kamma 82b states (concerning a civil war in the Hasmonean period), “As long as they work in the service [of the Temple] they will not be delivered into your hands.” After all, the Temple (and the Tabernacle before it) was where God’s light shone among His people. 

Additionally, it was during and shortly after the exile that the prophets ceased to be national figures who changed history. The kings of Judah and Israel no longer all had their own prophets who encouraged or confronted them (largely because there were no kings). Prophets in the likeness of Elijah and Elisha cease, while the last of the prophets recorded as part of Scripture, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, coincided with a diminishing or even departure of God’s glory in Israel. There were still known prophets, but they were not national figures of Israel.

However, leaders like Ezra started to become more important—people who read, understood, and taught the Word of God. Hosea 4:6, leading up to Israel's exile, declares, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. Isaiah 5:13 states outright, “Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge.” The Temple and the prophets were always going to be important, but the revelation of God to His people became the central pillar of Judaism. When the Temple leadership became corrupt, those who loved God could still meet together and hear from God. When prophets weren’t speaking to the nation, the people could still know what God desired them to do. Israel became a people of the Book.

The Scriptures, although they weren't collated into a single book for hundreds of years, were known, read, taught, and followed. When Satan sought to destroy Israel (again) in the 2nd century BC, it wasn’t just the people who were persecuted and killed for their beliefs but also the very Scriptures themselves were sought and destroyed by the king, “The books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. Anyone found possessing the book of the covenant or anyone who adhered to the law was condemned to death by decree of the king.” 

And yet the people held onto their books of the law and ardently followed it. By the time of Jesus and the Apostles, Beit Knesset’s (συναγωγη, synagogues) were being built not only in the diaspora but in Israel itself where the Temple stood. People gathered not only on Shabbat to hear the reading of the word but, if work allowed, throughout the week. Where Levites had largely failed to “teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law” (Deuteronomy 33:10), itinerant preachers sought after sound doctrine, argued theology, and taught the people—who gladly listened.

When Jesus, Peter, Paul, or the writer of Hebrew quoted multiple Scripture passages in quick succession from the Prophets or Psalms people either understood or were quick to question what it meant. When they made an allusion to a Scripture, either through the original Hebrew or the Greek translation, the Jewish listeners knew which theological arguments were being questioned, debated, or stated. 

And many people lived according to what they believed, In IV Maccabees, an elderly woman and her seven children were martyred because of their ardent faith in God’s resurrection as they understood it from Scripture, “The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The LORD kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.” From this simple prayer of Hannah in I Samuel 2 the brothers encouraged one another to willingly go to their death in order to live with their LORD forever. IV Maccabees quotes the sixth boy as saying, “For pious knowledge, O tyrant, is invincible. I also, equipped with nobility, will die with my brothers… For it is not the guards of the tyrant but those of the divine law that are set over us; therefore we hold fast to invincible reason.” Since they were “educated by the same law and trained in the same virtues and brought up together in right living” they endured to the end trusting in God.

Nehemiah 8:1-12. Last week, Isaiah 62 reminded us that Zion would be restored. Here in Nehemiah 8 we see a glimpse of this restoration—some of the people have returned from exile and the 2nd Temple has been built, although Jerusalem is still under construction. Now, reminiscent of some of the greatest events in Israel’s history, the people gather together as one. They do so at the Water gate under the leadership of Ezra and thirteen Levites.

It was in this place, just below the Temple Mount, that the people finally began to fulfill what Moses had told Israel to do just before they entered the promised land the first time, 

“At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that He will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law…” (Deuteronomy 31:10-12)

Joshua reads the book of the law to the people after first crossing into the promised land and David meditates on the Torah. However, after the time of Moses and Joshua we only hear the public reading of the Scriptures twice—in the time of Jehoshaphat when the king sent out officials with Levites to teach the Book of the Law of the LORD  and in the time of Josiah, after the book of the Law had become so uncommon as to have become lost. But instead of reading the Torah once every 7 years, (or, in the reality of the kings of Judah and Israel, once every few generations) from this point forward the reading of the Scripture would become a weekly and even daily part of Jewish culture.

It was from the time of Ezra, both among those who returned from exile and those who remained in the diaspora, that a transition occurs in how Israel relates to God’s word. Instead of having a reliance on the prophets, the people now gather together as a community to hear the Scripture—which becomes the primary means of hearing God’s voice. The paradigm had shifted, Israel became the “People of the Book”.

Following the reading of the Law, the first day of the seventh month became an important holiday in the Jewish faith. This day, when the community gathered to hear the reading of Scriptures, became known as Rosh HaShanah—the new year. Such an important holiday commemorating the public reading of Scripture and incumbent repentance surely helped establish this shift in worship. By the time Jesus started His ministry, He was able to enter the synagogue, “as was His custom”, and read the Scriptures to the community that had gathered there—as they did every week.

Following Jesus’ reading of Isaiah, the people looked to Him expectantly to not only read the Scriptures, but give interpretation to it and teach. This practice is clearly illustrated, or even instituted, in Nehemiah 8. While Ezra was reading the Book of the Law to the people, the thirteen Levites who were with Him went among the people and gave interpretation. While some of the people may not have understood the slightly archaic Hebrew, particularly for those who had just returned from Persia, it wasn’t just about interpretation but to clarify the meaning of Scripture for those who listened. As Paul told Titus, “Teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

Psalm 19. God has never hidden Himself from us. King David looked to the heavens and knew that they declare the glory of God. Looking at the meticulous formation of all things, great and small, the conclusion is clear—there must be a divine being. Creation calls out with a voice that all can hear every day, every night, in every place on earth.

Paul quotes Psalm 19:4 to remind the Romans that all have heard, “for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’” This is part of Paul’s return to the argument he made at the beginning of his letter to the Romans, “For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world.” However, surely we want to know more about this God than His eternal power and divine nature.

In Psalm 19, David connects the heavenly with the Torah and finally to himself, a man on earth. From the beginning, the heavens weren’t far removed from the earth: God created the heavens and the earth; Jacob’s ladder shows that the angels continuously go to heaven and back while Job 1:6-7 elaborates concerning angelic beings going about both heaven and earth; and at Mount Sinai God descended onto the mountain to meet with Israel and give them His Torah so that they might live and He could dwell among them.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, in Shabbat 88b.7, said, “When Moses ascended on high, the ministering angels before the Holy One, blessed be He, “Oh Master of the Universe, what is one born of a woman doing among us?” He answered them, “to receive Torah he comes.” They said before Him, “It is a hidden treasure concealed for… generations before the creation of the world, and you seek to give it to flesh and blood?” In fact, God did provide a way for us to know more than His eternal power and divine nature.

The voice of creation is good but the best voice, of course, is God’s voice. The words of God are amazing: reviving the soul, enlightening the eyes, and the thing to be desired above all others. It’s interesting that David compares the majesty of creation with Torah, whether we are gazing at stars in the night, great forests, vast oceans, stark deserts, or grand mountains they elicit an innate response of awe in most people. But David wanted to remind all the men, women, and children who would walk up to the Temple and hear the Levites singing Psalm 19 (or the many who would memorize it in the 2nd Temple period, like Paul) that the thing that should create greater awe isn’t nature but rather the Torah. 

The voice declaring God’s glory doesn’t stop with Heaven and the Law of God. Torah is guidance and instruction. At the end of Psalm 19 there is an earthly servant. Paul states in the beginning of his argument, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” David wished to know his own unrighteousness, to “discern his errors”. God shows Himself through creation. He reveals Himself through Torah, His guidance and instructions. And David, through God’s guidance, can come to God in his prayers and meditation and be found acceptable in the sight of a perfect, faithful, and true God.

In this season of Epiphany, it’s important to know that His revelation isn’t divided. Yes, there is heaven, and then you have the Torah, and then you have us. But each one of them is useful and they meet together—they match and build on each other. If you have the heavens declaring the glory of God, of course you’ll have the Torah declaring the glory of God. And if you have the Torah declaring the glory of God and you listen to it, you read it, and you look at the heavens and hear the words of creation itself declaring His glory, then you will surely declare the glory of God. As Paul argues just before he quotes Psalm 19:4, we are sent to preach.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a. Paul first makes a statement about the giver of gifts in I Corinthians 12:1-11. He insures that the Corinthians understand that the fullness of the Trinity is involved, the Spirit with the gifts of grace (χαρισματων), the ministry (διακονιων) of the Lord, and all under the power (ενεργηματων) of God. 

It isn’t accidental that when Paul speaks about gifts which, in our pride, can divide, He continuously speaks of the Trinity and unity. Just in case the Corinthians didn’t understand the first time, Paul deliberately teaches them by reviewing what he had just stated in a new way so that the Corinthians could understand.

God is incredibly generous and gives gifts to all His people, be they Jews, Greeks, slaves, or free. But these aren’t individual gifts for individual heroes, they are appointed within the body of the Messiah, by God the Father having all been baptized in the Spirit. The church, εκκλησια, is a public assembly of citizens. We are citizens of heaven and God calls us to meet together and serve in the way that God gave each of us to serve. Today we see so many people trying to make their way as Christians but not as part of the church. 

In context of Paul’s argument in I Corinthians, imagine if God the Father empowered (ενεργηματων) the gifts (χαρισματων) of the Spirit but the Son decided to go His own way. That lack of unity would be devastating. And so, Paul argues, we cannot think that the gift I was given is more (or less) important than the work God called another to do through their own gifts. 

The other texts for this week all speak of hearing the word of God and the teaching that accompanies it. Even though pastors and teachers are like us and sometimes fail, they were given the authority to teach and we must seek out someone who is capable of teaching us and then listen to them. But we will also need administrators. There is a much needed diversity in serving that God designed in order that we work and serve together.

Luke 4:14-21. In each of the Gospels, Jesus starts His ministry in a different way and spot. In John 2, as we read last week, Jesus turned water into wine at the behest of His mother. While, at first, this doesn’t seem very spectacular it truly continued the narrative of John 1 where the creator of the universe became man, dwelt among us, and is God incarnate. Luke starts with Jesus as a teacher in His hometown of Nazareth.

Being Shabbat, Jesus attended synagogue and was one of the teachers. On Shabbat, the final reading can be from the prophets (normally, the final reading was to be from the books of Moses). He came up, read from the scroll of Isaiah and then sat down. When Jesus sat down, having read from the scroll, He did not signify that He was done but that it was the time for teaching—this was a long-standing tradition, as seen in Nehemiah 8:5, to stand for the reading of Scripture and sit while teaching it. And so all eyes turned to Jesus.

His opening portion begins with רוּחַ אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה עָלָי יַעַן מָשַׁח יְהֹוָה אֹתִי, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me”. Luke connects everything to the Spirit. Now, after coming out of the desert having been sent there by the Spirit, Luke presents the ministry of Jesus beginning with the Spirit of God on Jesus occurring in the setting of a synagogue. 

The presence of the Spirit of God can’t be an orphaned statement, Isaiah 61 connects the Spirit of the Lord with what follows with the word יען (ya’an) “because”. There is another, very common, word that can mean “because”, כי (ki) but יען isn’t common at all, it is only used 99 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and it almost always connects an attitude or action towards God or what God desires with God’s reaction—God swore an oath to bless Abraham “because you obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:16); Israel will be sent into exile “because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes” (Leviticus 26:43). What is connected so strongly to the Spirit of the Lord? His anointing.

What follows in the Isaiah passage is quite important, which is מָשַׁח יְהֹוָה אֹתִי. Literally the verb למשוח l’mashiach means to anoint, that is to make an anointed one (or literally to messiah someone). While there were many messiahs in Israel’s history, each king that was anointed was a messiah (from Saul to David to Jehu and even Cyrus), there was one messiah that was expected that would be different from all those that came before him. Having read the passage, Jesus preached a sermon in one sentence, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 

Jesus openly declared Himself to be the Messiah. How do you announce you’re the Messiah? For Luke, rather than through a miracle, it is through reading the Word of God in the Beit Knesset, the assembly (συναγωγη, synagogue) of the people. While His exposition was quite short, Jesus had already done the majority of His teaching in the reading of Isaiah.

According to additional traditions, the reader of Scripture had to read from the first five books of Scripture in a consecutive manner—the reading for the day would be read and then taught. However, when reading the prophets the teacher could pick what to read and move from one section of the scroll to another.

When comparing Luke 4:18-19 with Isaiah 61:1-2, there are some very clear differences, additions, and omissions. In the time of Jesus, there were neither chapters nor verses (in fact, this was a late medieval addition). Instead, people had become accustomed to hearing the word of God spoken in their midst from a young age, as God had commanded in Deuteronomy 6. Even for those who could not read, they were still a literary people who would often connect Scripture with Scripture through the use of common (and uncommon) words.

Jesus quotes not just Isaiah 61:1-2 but also parts of Isaiah 58:6 and 42:7. He told the assembly of Israel exactly what to expect, what kind of a Messiah He would be. Will He be the conquering king who expels the Romans and inaugurates a millennial Jewish state? Or a more gentle messiah who, as Isaiah expresses, will preach good news to the poor. Why would Jesus miss an important line related to the brokenhearted. Perhaps the answer lies in Matthew 10:34-36 where Jesus says He did not come to bring peace but a sword and that; “I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.” Jesus understands that faith in Him will lead to some families being torn apart. Particularly in the Middle East where, to this day if a muslim son or daughter turns to faith in Jesus, there is the possibility of family violence as a result. And yet, Jesus also did not speak of the day of vengeance mentioned in Isaiah.

Jesus did include the words “to open eyes that are blind”. While not included in the original Isaiah 61:1 these words do occur elsewhere in Isaiah (42:7) in the context of the release of prisoners, so Jesus may have brought the two scriptures together. The phrase “to set the oppressed free” occurs in Isaiah 58:6 where the context is the nature of true fasting. Blending all this together reveals the ministry that Jesus is about to undertake. He is the anointed one with a specific mission. 

Hebraic Perspective. The Scripture became one of the core tenets of Judaism during and after the exile. In today’s reading in Nehemiah 8, we see Ezra (and the Levites with him) reading through the entirety of the Book of the Law of Moses (possibly just Deuteronomy or perhaps all five books of Moses). They immediately had the fear of God fall on them and turned to the LORD. Even before exile, the few times of revival and worship of God often coincided with the teaching of Scripture, as in the time of Jehoshaphat, “In the third year of his reign he sent out his officials, “Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites… and the taught in Judah, having the book of the Law of the LORD with them.” He also worshiped God through the singing of Psalms, led by the Levites, and fervent prayer with all Judah and Jerusalem. Josiah, while repairing the Temple, found the book of the Law and, reading it, had the fear of God fall upon him.

However, it isn’t enough to just have the Scriptures. There must be the reading and teaching of Scripture, there must also be the desire to hear of Scripture, and finally, there needs to be right living in response to the teaching and hearing of Scripture—all three are necessary. 

Regarding teaching, in Deuteronomy 6:7, Moses told Israel that “You shall teach [these words that I command you today] diligently to your children.” Ezra not only read from the Book of the Law of Moses, there were teachers present who could go among the people and explain it to them. Jesus read from the Scriptures, formulating a specific message from putting together various passages and then declared what they meant. Paul told Titus to “teach what accords with sound doctrine.” This is more than simply reading Scripture to a crowd but explaining the doctrines, as taught in Scripture, in a way that helps those present to be “sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness”.

But there also needs to be a people willing to search for teachers in order to listen to them. Deuteronomy 6:20 speaks of those who wish to learn, “when your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son…” God’s people should actively question what God has done and how God wants them to live. Paul tells Timothy in his second epistle, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Today, we can find teachings on every part of the Scriptures. We have more information about God and the Bible than we could possibly study in a lifetime. And yet, despite having our own Bibles, commentaries, sermons, and churches there is so often a real lack of understanding. Many Christians don’t want to listen to the sound doctrine that has been passed down through the church, studied and analyzed and proven to be Scriptural, choosing instead to listen to their own hearts—and the culture that guides it.

But even if we seek out those who can teach us (or we have become teachers), we also must listen and be challenged to live in accordance with what is taught. We can easily gorge ourselves with knowledge, becoming fat, without actually going out and exercising that knowledge through obedience, service, and worship. After Israel turned to listen to the Scriptures and were persecuted for their obedience to what they learned, many throughout the nations—wherever faithful Jews met and gathered—came and joined themselves to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And after the early church read Paul’s exhortation to stand firm in the faith they had been taught, were persecuted and yet remained faithful, many throughout the nations joined themselves to the Messiah and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

ACNA Readings

Psalm 113. Why do we praise the LORD in Psalms and hymns? Surely it is because He is great. He is above all nations, from the farthest east and the rising of the sun to the farthest west and its setting, for He is enthroned above the heavens themselves. There are, of course, many ideas about the gods and they too are worshipped. Some are unreachable, gods who don’t care about human affairs for humans are so far below them as to not matter. Other gods are just like humans, squabbling and fighting over pride, jealousy, and greed.

But the LORD, for all that He is great beyond measure, still bends down to look at the earth. He doesn’t simply watch what happens to the beings He created, He interacts with us. He brings hope and joy to a people who would otherwise be without it. Of course we praise God because He is great—but His greatness is shown by both His Being and His revealed actions.

Endnotes

1. Tosefta Sotah 13.4
2. I Maccabees 1:56-57
3. IV Maccabees 11:21-22, 27
4. IV Maccabees 13:24
   
5. The grammar in Exodus 19:2 became very important in Hebraic literature as it transitioned from all the people as individuals (ויחנו) to all the people as a single entity (ויחן). The scholars of Torah interpreted this to mean that when the people were in one accord, that is when the LORD came to them to give them His guidance and instructions. Acts 2:1 uses a very similar structure to declare concerning the disciples that “they were all together” and then God came to give them His Spirit.
6.  Joshua 8:34-35
7.  II Chronicles 17:7-9
8.  Deuteronomy 33:10 states that the Levites are to teach Israel the judgments and Torah of God to Israel.
9.  II Kings 22:8-23:3
10.  While some of the changes that took place would have occurred as the people returned to God during their time in exile, much of their Scriptural evidence occurs here in Nehemiah. The Book of the Law is read in public in the hearing of men and women—indeed, all who have understanding. The teachers go amongst the people and expound on Scripture. Even the practice of standing when Scripture is read occurs here in Nehemiah and becomes the precedent for the Jewish people (and many Christians) to this day.
11.  Much of the foundation of Hebrew thought comes from the Psalms as it was the prayerbook of the Jewish people both in the Temple and afterwards. Its quotation by the writers of Scriptures was not an accident but displayed and elaborated on contemporary theological statements and arguments.
12. A Midrash, like this one, aren’t necessarily to state that something truly happened this way. Rather, they are a story to convey a truth that becomes evident through the story.
13.  Romans 1:18
14. What we pray is a reflection of our theology and belief and our true belief shows in what we pray. Are we constantly giving thanks to God? Do we declare His greatness? Do we only pray for God to provide for us? Or worse, tell God what He should be doing? Do we only pray to Jesus? Or the Father? Or in the Holy Spirit? 
15. The idea of a group of individual people making up a single body was not a new idea in Jewish thought to Paul. Scripture, such as Isaiah 1:5-6, speaks of the totality of failure in Israel to listen to their LORD and father, “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it…”. And contemporary authors, such as Philo in Special Laws 3.131, speak of a unified body where he speaks of the High Priest providing justice and praying for all, “brethern, and parents, and children, that every age and every portion of the nation, as if it were one body, may be united into one and the same society and union, devoted to peace and obedience to the law.”
16. Denominations can do the same thing. They can focus on a single aspect of God’s revelation—the word of God, the Spirit of God, or even mysticism and nature—and cut themselves off from the rest of the Church. They can also focus on one or two of the gifts of the Spirit of God. Not every church will do the exact same thing, and that’s not always a bad thing, but if we are missing an eye or a nose, we should work with those who can see and smell to the service of God the Father.
17.  Mishnah Megillah 4.2
18. Luke often uses the term “today” (σημερον, semeron) to connect the very real present time with the messianic era and salvation. What is occurring isn’t some far off event but it is happening right now, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
19. Mishnah Megillah 4.4
20. II Chronicles 17:7-9
21. II Chronicles 20:5-22