Seventh Sunday after Epiphany – Year C

Sermon Notes from the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People

RCL Readings – Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; I Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38

ACNA Readings – Genesis 45:3-11, 21-28; Psalm 37:1-17; I Corinthians 15:35-49; Luke 6:27-38

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.  Man was created in the image of God. But, through sin, we have become the enemies of God—each and every one of us. If God does not extend mercy, grace, and love towards us, His enemies, then we are surely condemned. But God is merciful. God does love His enemies. And God tells us that we should love our enemies. We may be persecuted and reviled, broken and martyred but we are still called to be merciful to those around us as God is merciful to both them and us.

Hebraic Context.  The Biblical narrative often presents Jesus as an Adamic figure—particularly as Jesus restores humanity from the suffering incurred by Adam’s sin. Paul contrasts Adam and Jesus in Romans 5 and I Corinthians 15. Adam brought death through disobedience while Jesus brings life through perfect obedience. Of course, Adam was simply dust before the breath of life was breathed into his nostrils. Jesus was the one who provided that life-giving breath. Adam, though a man, grasped for equality with God—to “be like God, knowing good and evil.” Jesus, although God, being found in the likeness of man, humbled Himself and became obedient.

One of Jesus’ favorite references in regards to Himself was “son of man”. Son of man has several different meanings in Hebraic understanding. First, it was the everyday man—someone in the likeness of Adam. Adam, in Hebrew אדם, simply means man and that is what God later named the dust He created and breathed life into to create man. Psalm 8 speaks of men being quite humble beings, and yet crowned with glory and honor and given dominion over creation.

But a second meaning to “son of man” came about in the writings of Daniel. Another son of man would be given dominion over creation—all creation. He would come with the clouds of heaven and He would rule and reign forever. This figure that Daniel saw in a vision was incredibly important in Jewish writings (particularly in the years leading to the time of Jesus) as a Messianic figure and, possibly, someone even greater—for only God sits on a throne and reigns forever. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the Revelator all speak of Jesus as this Son of Man.

But there is a third way to interpret “son of man”. Literally, the son of Adam—Abel. During the 2nd Temple period, there was a theological movement away from God serving as the sole judge, instead using intermediary figures who would participate in the exercise of justice. As scholars read Genesis 4:10, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” there was an understanding that Abel was crying out for justice. The Testament of Abraham describes Abel, the first son of man (Adam), as sitting on a throne where “he sits thus to judge all creation, and examines righteous men and sinners.”

But the story of Cain and Abel is interesting. God does not speak to Abel or warn him. Instead, God confronted Cain both before the murder and after the murder of his brother, warning Cain to refrain from sin. God offered Cain mercy even though through Cain death would and did become the reality of men. Unbelievably, Cain is even protected after murdering his brother.

This may seem at odds with “the meek shall inherit the earth”. In Genesis 4, Abel is righteous and yet cut down by the wicked. Jesus is not only compared to and contrasted with Adam but also Abel. He is the Righteous One who is cut down by the wicked. But rather than crying out for justice, Jesus' blood speaks a better word, calling out for mercy rather than vengeance. God is merciful to even His enemies. Jesus lived as a man and provided a way that we, who are perishable, may become imperishable through His great sacrifice and mercy. He is also the one who sits on the throne and judges. While His mercy may extend even to His enemies, not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Genesis 45:3-11, 15.  Joseph offers a practical example of loving one’s enemies. Joseph’s brothers had originally planned to kill Joseph—little says that you are someone’s enemy quite like them trying to kill you. But Joseph was preserved through the actions of one brother, Reuben. Meanwhile, Judah and the other brothers sold Joseph into slavery. While reading through Genesis 37-44 might only take 30 minutes for us, Joseph is in slavery and prison for 13 years. After an additional nine years of almost total power in Egypt, Joseph has a choice of whether he will show love to his brothers or condemn them.

Joseph clearly recognized that God had worked through even the actions of those who are wicked. However, that doesn’t mean that the wicked can act as they will. Joseph told his brothers not to feel shame because of their sin, but only after they had turned from their wicked ways. Judah, the brother who had sold Joseph into slavery, had offered to be enslaved to secure the freedom of Benjamin.

Knowing that God can bring life even through the deeds of the wicked, does not always make it any easier to forgive them. Joseph is not only willing to forgive his enemies but also love them—even if they can give nothing in return to the 2nd in command in Egypt. He does so both personally and practically. Personally as Megillah 16b.3, in the Talmud, notes that Joseph specifically states that it is “my mouth that speaks to you” and connects the mouth to the heart, as Luke 6:45 says, “from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Practically, Joseph shows love to his enemies by providing them with a way to survive the next five years of famine.

While God can turn what is meant for evil for good, He doesn’t always alleviate the natural consequences. Bava Batra 8b.2-4 questions what is worse: Death, death by the sword, famine, or captivity. Each is worse than the previous, for instance, “Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.” (Lamentation 4:9) Captivity is noted to be the worst, as it usually involves all three of the previously mentioned judgments. While Jacob and his sons were preserved from a famine, Israel would continue to dwell in a foreign land and eventually find themselves in slavery and under threat of death once again.

Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40. Jesus told His disciples to “love your enemies”. Does that mean that we simply capitulate to evil? King David, who had plenty of enemies, turns the question around: Are we trusting in the LORD? Our primary focus should be trusting in God, delighting in God, waiting for God, committing our way to God by doing good and being faithful. If we are fretting —inwardly burning up in worry and anger—and envious of wrongdoers then there is every chance that we will turn to evil in anger and wrath ourselves. 

Life on this earth is short. This is true of those who are persecuted and martyred but it is also true for the wicked, “they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” The world knows this. Around the time of Jesus, the Book of Wisdom states that the ungodly philosophize amongst themselves, “Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known to return from Hades. For we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been, for the breath in our nostrils is smoke.” Without the eternal life of God, there is hopelessness. But the wicked do not turn to God, instead, the Book of Wisdom states the way of the world, “Let our might be our law of right, for what is weak proves itself to be useless.”

In counterpoint, God declares, “the meek shall inherit the land.” An inheritance is given after those who currently rule pass away. The future peace and inheritance King David speaks of in Psalm 37:9, 11, 22, 29, 34, and 37 all coincide with the wicked being cut off from this world, “I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found… transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off” There are things that are temporary and things that are eternal and we really should focus on the things of God, which are eternal.

We do not capitulate to evil, but more importantly we humble ourselves before God and commit our way to God. That means that we act in faithfulness, righteousness, and justice. Instead of spending all our effort inwardly burning up over all the injustice evildoers do [to me!] we must focus on the God who judges justly. And we don’t need to loudly proclaim to the world that we are faithful, righteous, and just. God says that, assuming we are trusting in Him and acting in accordance with that trust, “He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday”. The wicked see, and “plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him.” Not trusting in God will lead to evil. But we have every reason to trust in our God.

I Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50. Paul has already given an argument that Jesus was physically raised from the dead through the eyewitness of hundreds of people, including himself—an ardent persecutor of Jesus prior to seeing Jesus raised from the dead. He has also given an argument that there must be a resurrection, for without a physical resurrection of Jesus and those who have died then there is no hope in life—that or our faith is a lie and in vain. Jaroslav Pelikan said it best (after Paul) “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters; and if Christ is not risen, nothing else matters.”

To answer the question of “how are the dead raised” Paul's argument before Agrippa still stands as our retort, “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” But there are still people in the church who deny the resurrection and use a red-herring argument to advance their belief, “With what kind of body do [those raised] come?”

There are several examples of the dead who were raised from the dead and they were all raised in a physical body (including Jesus who still stands at the right hand of the Father with real scars from His life on earth). Both Matthew and Luke emphasize the physical nature of Jesus’ resurrection. However, Paul does elaborate that we won’t be raised from the dead with the same problems we have in this current life. While we will be physically raised from the dead, our bodies will be different—immortal and imperishable. 

Using terminology from Genesis 1:11-12, where a seed is sown and produces life according to its kind, Paul argues that our new body will be born not of an earthly body but a heavenly body. While we may think of the heavenly as strictly spiritual, Paul plainly states that the heavenly includes a physical body. While there is a difference between the mortal (related to death) and the godly (related to life), the separation of the spiritual from the physical infiltrated Judaism and Christianity from Greek philosophy and Persian religion and, sadly, continues to influence the church to this day. 

Paul expands the concept of the earthly body and the heavenly body by comparing Adam and Jesus. Adam was made from the dust of the ground and life was breathed into him, but Jesus, as the Word became flesh, was the one that breathed that life. Adam was a living being but Jesus, the last Adam, is a life-giving spirit. Our mortal bodies will perish, just as God promised to Adam, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” but we will be raised imperishable and physical—immortal beings. Jesus has defeated sin and the death that we brought upon ourselves.

Luke 6:27-38. “Love your enemies” is not a vague term that we can interpret however we wish (and, thus, ignore if it doesn’t fit the definition we give it). There are two major parts to it, first is to “love”. This isn’t simply an emotion but is actionable and able to be witnessed. Jesus mimicked the Torah to give very practical examples of showing love. In Exodus 23:4-5, Moses quotes God saying, “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.” Likewise, Proverbs 25:21 states, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” Jesus also gives practical advice to those under persecution from an enemy.

The enemies that Jesus speaks of were also quite real. Israel has been persecuted throughout history: Egypt, Amalak, Philistia, Assyria, Babylon, Seleucia, and Rome all tried to enslave the Jewish people and several times the enemies of Israel have tried to destroy the people of God. As Jesus was speaking, the memory of the persecution and war with the Seleucid empire was still very culturally relevant and they were currently under the Roman Empire (who had a particular dislike for the Jewish people and their odd god and religion). Within a generation or two of Jesus speaking, the persecution of Jews, both traditional and Messianic followers of Jesus, would greatly escalate and, following the Jewish-Roman wars, the markets would be flooded with Jewish slaves.

How can we love our enemies? In the midst of one of Israel’s greatest moments of pain, under persecution from one of their greatest enemies, Jeremiah wrote of the man who waited quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:30 states “Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.” The first century listener of Jesus would have heard “To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also” and immediately thought of Lamentations 3 and possibly even Isaiah 50. What is the context that Jesus is referring to? Jesus reminds the disciples that God is present—God is the one who will give salvation. God is also the one that does not approve of denying justice and crushing those who are bound and will repay iniquity.

In the midst of this passage of practical love towards enemies, there is an understanding that God will judge our enemies with justice, as just after Proverbs 25:21 (regarding feeding your enemy if he is hungry) is “for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” God does judge but this is juxtaposed with God’s abundant mercy. 

Who are our enemies and how do we love them? I know who the enemy of God was and I know how God has shown love beyond measure to me. I know that the enemies of God, when shown mercy, cannot possibly repay the love that God shows. And Jesus states that we too are supposed to love our enemies and be merciful without expectation of recompense—even in the midst of persecution and corruption. 

Hebraic Perspective. Jesus taught with authority. The Sermon on the Plain is certainly powerful, but the authority doesn’t come from saying something new. Rather it comes from stating the things of God as they have continuously been stated by God. Everyone was familiar with the command “You shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.” But in the first centuries a question arose, “who is my neighbour?”

Some Jewish scholars argued that a neighbour was everyone that was Jewish, others argued that it was everyone that worshiped God (as Gentiles regularly joined the devout in the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the diaspora), while still others argued that it was all people. When Jesus was asked that question in order to know which camp He taught in, He showed that it was the Samaritan who was a neighbour. 

The Samaritans worshiped God, or god, in a way that was contrary to the Jewish way of worship and, even though they were at least partly descended from Israelites and called themselves Israelite, were not accepted by the wider Jewish world. Following the destruction of the Samaritan temple by John Hyrcanus the Samaritans and the Jews were at odds and would definitely be considered enemies of one another.

“Love your enemies.” While people debated “who is my neighbour” they already understood that God called them to love their enemies and have mercy on them. Exodus 23:4-5 plainly states that “if you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.” Bava Metzia 32b.16, in the Babylonian Talmud, gives a practical commentary on Exodus 23:4-5, if you see your friend’s donkey and your enemy’s donkey struggling under their burden, you should assist your enemy even before you assist your friend. Philo, in On the Virtues 117, also comments on Exodus 23:4 as the most excellent thing in helping your enemy is “dissolution of your enmity” and preparing the mind of your enemy “for a complete reconciliation.”

2nd and 1st Century writings continuously speak of overcoming evil with good. The Testament of Benjamin 4 goes back to the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers, “the holy man showeth pity on his reviler, and holdeth his peace”. Sirach 28:1-7 sounds very similar to the Sermon on the Mount.



The vengeful will face the Lord’s vengeance, for He keeps a strict account of their sins. Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. Does anyone harbor anger against another and expect healing from the Lord? If people have no mercy toward those like themselves, can they then seek pardon for their own sins? If mere mortals harbor wrath, who will make an atoning sacrifice for their sins? Remember the end of your life and set enmity aside; remember corruption and death and be true to the commandments. Remember the commandments and do not be angry with your neighbour; remember the covenant of the Most High and overlook faults.

That isn’t to say that everyone wanted to love their enemy. 1QS, The Community Rule, from Qumran states, “...that they may love all the sons of light, each according to his lot in God’s design, and hate all the sons of darkness, each according to his guilt in God’s vengeance.” And so Jesus had to remind people that they were called to (practical) love of their enemies. The Scriptures are clear that God is merciful to those who have no right to receive mercy. If we want to be called the sons and daughters of the Most High (who “is kind to the ungrateful and the evil”) then we too must “be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

Endnotes

1. ACNA alternative readings for World Mission Sunday: Isaiah 61:1-4; Psalm 96; Romans 10:9-17; John 20:19-31
2. Genesis 5:2
3. Revelation 20:4 also declared that the martyrs will reign and judge with God after the judgment of Satan. Additionally, the disciples will judge in the world-to-come on 12 thrones. 
4. Testament of Abraham 1.13
5. ACNA includes 21-28
6. Genesis 37:2, 41:46
7. ACNA includes 12-17
8. Psalm 37 is an abecedary poem (although it does skip the ע) with a very sophisticated chiastic structure: אבג, ד, הוזחטי, כ, למנספצ, ק, רשת. The emphasis of the poem structurally seems to highlight the inheritance that those who adhere themselves to God will receive.
9. Book of Wisdom 2:1-2
10. The Book of Wisdom 2:12-20, regarding the wicked, expands on this concept, “Let us [the ungodly] lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law and accuses us of sins against our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and calls himself a child of the Lord. He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others…he calls the last end of the righteous happy and boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life, for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with insult and torture, so that we may find out how reasonable he is and make trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”
11. ACNA includes 39-41
12. Tacitus, a Roman historian and politician, was particularly anti-semitic in his writings about the Jewish religion and their non-conformity to Roman religion and culture.