Wishing to be great: ransom

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Friar Musings

Servant and Slave. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; ⁴⁴whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

In these short verses, which in many ways parallels 9:35 (“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”), there is one difference that Stoffregen notes. In v.44 he/she will be a servant [diakonos] of you (plural, indicating the Twelve), while v.45 is he/she will be a slave [doulos] of all. This is not a distinction that Matthew makes in his parallel (Mt 20:26-27). Continue reading →

Wishing to be great: Lord

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Friar Musings

An Eager Response. They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; ⁴⁰but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

In response to their eager “We can” of v.39, Jesus divides the issue: You shall share in my cup, in my baptism, in my death. But it is up to someone else, my Father, to give out the seats of glory! (v. 40). The disciples have just been described as a fearful band following Jesus to Jerusalem, the confident assertion that they can share Jesus’ suffering must strike the reader as naive. However, Jesus predicts that they will share his suffering (v. 39), and, indeed, Acts 12:2 informs us that James was martyred in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa (44 ce; Gal 2:9 suggests that John survived his brother). Jesus’ prophetic word was fulfilled. Continue reading →

Wishing to be great: questioning

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Friar Musings

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶He replied, “What do you wish (me) to do for you?” ³⁷They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”

Asking Boldly. Even before the request is revealed, the very sound of the question seems brash: “whatever we ask.” It is as though they want a “blank check” from Jesus. Is it enthusiasm? Is it brazenness? Is it coming from a sense of “I deserve a reward for having followed you these many, many months?” Is it arising from a sense of “I have looked at the other 10 and we are the ones you should pick?” Hard to know, but in any event, Jesus simply asks them what they desire. Continue reading →

Accepting the Kingdom: gift

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Friar Musings

In Private. ¹⁰In the house the disciples again questioned him about this. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

In the privacy of a house, the disciples question Jesus about “this” – presumably, “what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” Jesus has taken the question back to the divine intent. One way to understand the unstated question is that the disciples are not asking about divorce per se, but the broader question of all the things that cause the separation of what God has joined. Jesus declared without qualification that a man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. The use of the word “adultery” directs the disciples back to the absolute command of God (Ex. 20:14) and clarifies the seriousness of the issue. But to be clear, Jesus is not saying that divorce and remarriage is the only circumstance that lead to adultery, but it is of the same gravitas. Continue reading →

Accepting the Kingdom: intentions

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Friar Musings

God’s Creative Intent. Thus, Jesus moves the dialogue to deeper question and asks about what God intended in the creation: ^“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. ⁷For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

Jesus has posed a question to the Pharisees that puts before them a choice between preserving the Law as they understood it or discerning and doing God’s will. The former is a legislation that is based upon fallen human history. But is there something that precedes that history that will reveal God’s intent? Jesus is also appealing to the Torah in his reference to the creation account in Genesis. Many scholars have offered that the Law given to Moses was part of a covenant with the people of Israel for a specific time in history. That covenant was broken and “subsumed” into the larger Davidic covenant. But the covenant in Genesis is timeless and is revealed in Creation. Paul seems to make the similar argument that the Mosaic law was but an ‘inset’ into God’s earlier purpose and covenant of grace, which is eternal (Gal. 3:17). Continue reading →

Accepting the Kingdom: answers

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Friar Musings

Commentary. ²The Pharisees approached and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. ³He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They replied, “Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.”

The Question. As noted in the preceding section, the question is none too genuine. Both Jesus and the Pharisees – and anyone listening in on the dialogue – know that Dt 24:1, part of the Torah (Law), is the basis for the practice of divorce: “When a man, after marrying a woman and having relations with her, is later displeased with her because he finds in her something indecent, and therefore he writes out a bill of divorce and hands it to her, thus dismissing her from his house.” As ever, the Pharisees’ question has little to do with marriage or divorce, but concerns teaching authority (and their desire to trap Jesus so that they will be able to bring charges against him). We have already seen this pattern in 2:1-3:6 and 7:1-23. Then, Jesus responded with Scripture and challenge traditional understanding of the Pharisees’ teaching. Later we will see a question from the Sadducees about the resurrection (12:23) and the Herodian question about the tribute (12:15); they are also questions designed to make Jesus incriminate himself. Continue reading →

Accepting the Kingdom: context

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Friar Musings

²The Pharisees approached and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. ³He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They replied, “Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” ⁵But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. ⁷For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” ¹⁰In the house the disciples again questioned him about this. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” ¹³And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” ¹⁶Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. (Mark 10:2–16) Continue reading →

What causes: it would be better

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Friar Musings

Causes of Sin. ⁴²“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. ⁴³If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. ⁴⁴…. ⁴⁵And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna… ⁴⁶…⁴⁷And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, ⁴⁸where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ (Mark 9:42–48)

In seminary exegesis courses one is taught to look for details that indicate a change of scene, location, or other markers to indicate the boundaries of a particular pericope (a technical word used in exegesis meaning “narrative” – and a word that auto-correction keeps wanting to change to “periscope,” which, given my history serving on nuclear submarines is kinda’ interesting.). There are no such markers in the text. It is a safe bet to assume Jesus in still in Capernaum, surrounded by the Twelve, with a child in their midst (9:33-37). The expression “little ones” may well also include those given a cup of water because their bear the name of Jesus (v.41). Continue reading →

What causes: the outsiders

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Friar Musings

³⁸John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” ³⁹Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. ⁴⁰For whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

One should not miss the irony in this passage. The disciples were attempting to prevent another from doing what they had just failed to do (9:18). Continue reading →

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the musings of a Franciscan friar…

Category Archives: Scripture