Ash Wednesday, Cycle A

THEME OF THE DAY
Sorrow for sin and the way out. The occasion for the day and its assigned lessons serve to stimulate our awareness of sin as well as the need for repentance (its urgency, which relates to Sanctification and Realized Eschatology) and God’s forgiveness (Justification by Grace).

Psalm 51:1-17
A lament Psalm for healing and moral renewal traditionally ascribed to David after being condemned by Nathan for sexual transgressions with Bathsheba. Of course as we have previously noted, it is unlikely that David is the author of the Psalms attributed to him (Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, p. 512). In fact some scholars conclude that references to David in the Psalms may be a way of using him to represent the inner life of all his subjects, and so of all the faithful (Ibid., p. 521). In that sense this lament and plea for healing and renewal is our song.

The psalmist urges God to have mercy and cleanse our sin (vv. 1-4, 7, 9). Reference to being purged with hyssop in verse 7 suggests a ceremony of sprinkling such as those reported in Exodus 12:22 and Leviticus 14:51. God has no interest in sacrifice, as the psalmist notes (vv. 16-17). He adds that sin is only sin if committed against God (v. 4). Presumably ordinary guilt is not sin. A reference is made to being born in sin (suggesting the Christian doctrine of Original Sin) (v. 5) and also to being rejected by the Holy Spirit (v. 11). The psalmist proceeds to note that God desires inward truth and wisdom (v. 6). After reiterating the plea for deliverance and mercy (even from physical distress), the psalmist pleads for joy and gladness (vv. 7-9; cf. v. 12). This leads to hope for transformation that the forgiven sinner be given a new and right heart and a willing spirit. Reference to the Holy Spirit [ruach qodesh] given to the believer seems to be a reference even in this Old Testament context to God’s sustaining presence (vv. 10-11). Such a transformation will lead to evangelism (v. 13) and praise of God (vv. 15, 17).

Application: The lament invites at least two possible directions. One could focus on David’s life as a model for our own — despite the appearance of respectability he is a sinner, just like the flock (exploring our sinful sexual proclivities), and yet God used him to do great things for the kingdom and so we have the hope of doing great things (though perhaps not as great as David) for God (Sin and Sanctification). Other possibilities include helping the flock to recognize that mere guilt is not a consciousness of sin until we realize that what we have done to produce the guilt is an insult to God, and also focusing on the Holy Spirit (God’s presence), without whom forgiveness and the desire to do good, including evangelism (vv. 10-13), are worthless and will not happen (Pneumatology, Justification by Grace, and Sanctification).

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
The book reports on the ministry of a cultic prophet who did his work in the Jerusalem Temple, probably during the period of Persian domination after the return of the Babylonian exiles (539 BC–331 BC). (Some speculate that the concluding sections of the book [2:28ff] may be the work of an editor of the period of the Maccabees in the second century BC.) The book’s historical theme is the plague of locusts that had destructively descended on Israel (1:4). It is also characterized by apocalyptic/eschatological elements — references to the Day of the Lord (2:1-11, 28-32; 3:1-3, 9ff). There is an evolution in this concept from being a day of judgment, not one of salvation, to the suggestion that it is a theme of hope and salvation (3:1ff).

The text is a cry of alarm since the cataclysmic day of the Lord is coming. Reference to a great and powerful army and to the clouds of thick darkness is probably a way of talking about the plague of locusts ravaging the land (though they might just symbolize the eschatological cataclysm) (vv. 1-2). Yahweh even seems at the head of this plague in verse 11, but then the prophet abruptly changes to a more gentle tone. He proceeds to make a call to repentance by which the calamity might be averted (vv. 12-17). Fasting, weeping, mourning, and offerings in the temple are commended, but above all a repentance of the heart is exhorted (vv. 12-13, 15). Yahweh is said to be gracious and merciful (a phrase often attributed to the Lord as it is rooted in Israel’s ancient formulations of faith [Exodus 34:6; cf. Nehemiah 9:17, 31; Psalm 86:5]). An assembly to sanctify the people is called (vv. 15-16). These verses and the one continuing to the end of the lesson take the form of a traditional liturgy. Priests (also called “ministers [sharath] of the Lord”) are called on to weep for the people in the temple (especially in the inner court reserved for priests — between the vestibule and the altar) and urge God to spare the people, so that the truth of their commitment to Yahweh will no longer be questioned by Gentiles (v. 17).

Application: The text affords a good opportunity to call the congregation to repentance and to explain why confession of sins is part of worship, and why they both are driven by grace (the gracious and merciful God Joel describes) (Sin and Justification by Grace). There is an urgency in such repentance (Realized Eschatology).

2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10
This epistle was written by Paul to address relations with the Corinthian church that had further deteriorated during the period after 1 Corinthians had been written. Chapters 10-13 of the book are so different in style and tone from the first chapters as to lead scholars to conclude that they are the “severe letter” mentioned in 2:4. In this text Paul is either responding to critics or writing part of a letter of reconciliation.

Paul begins the lesson by urging the Corinthians for Christ’s sake to be reconciled [katallasso, to be changed thoroughly] to God (5:20b); Christ, it is noted, became sin (assumed our sinful nature [Romans 8:3]) so that we might become the righteousness of God (5:21; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30). Justification and righteousness [dikaiosune] are here woven together. They have a similar Greek root, for justification [dikaioma] resembles the Greek equivalent for the term “righteousness.” You cannot be declared right without “rightness” or “justice.” There is much controversy in New Testament scholarship about what Paul means by “righteousness of God,” a tendency to critique the idea it entails that God declares us righteous. This argument is made on grounds that there are no Old Testament precedents for such an idea. But the concept of righteousness as not having to do with distributive justice but with relationships (with God’s relationship with the faithful and so salvation) is an Old Testament concept (Nehemiah 9:8; Isaiah 57:1; Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, p. 371). And New Testament scholarship tends to understand the concept this way — in terms of a restored relationship (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 271). And so it seems appropriate in this text (and elsewhere in Paul’s writings) to interpret God’s righteousness in terms of his faithfulness to his relationship with his people, and it is his righteousness which restores the relationship (Psalm 71:2; von Rad, p. 373). The concept of “reconciliation” in verse 20b as entailing, being thoroughly changed supports this idea. God’s righteousness, restoring our relationship with him, thoroughly changes the faithful. And even the Pauline idea of the righteousness of a righteous one being given to those who have fallen (a vicarious death) is itself a Hebrew concept; see 2 Maccabees 7:37-38; 4 Maccabees 6:28; 17:22.

The apostle proceeds to urge that we not accept God’s grace in vain (6:1). Citing Isaiah 49:8 about God listening at an acceptable time, helping the faithful on the day of salvation, Paul notes that now is the moment to act (the end is near) (6:2). No obstacle will be put in the way of any believer, and so no one can rightly criticize his ministry (6:3). He accounts the suffering and persecution he has experienced in ministry (6:4-7). In antiquity, hardship and virtue were closely linked. The apostle concludes with seven antithetic clauses illustrating the hiddenness of the gospel — under dishonor, death, suffering, sorrow, and poverty (vv. 8-10).

Application: The text exhorts the faithful to appreciate the urgency of repenting, interpreted as God’s work in Christ (Realized Eschatology and Justification by Grace). Other possibilities include a sermon on the Atonement (on how Christ’s work on the Cross taking on our sin restores our relationship with God [thoroughly changes us]) or on how the Christian life is hidden (not a smooth life of prosperity, but one prone to ups and downs, to persecutions and hardships [Sanctification and Theological Method]).

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
This lesson reports another segment of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, teaching practical piety. Most of the text is peculiar to Matthew and his efforts to address Jewish Christians in Antioch who were no longer in communion with the synagogue. Jesus begins with a warning against a hypocritical piety (especially doing merciful deeds; Matthew usually has the Pharisees in mind when referring to “hypocrisy”) that aims for others to notice one’s faith (v. 1). Likewise it is said to be better to give alms (gifts of charity in synagogues, the foremost act of piety in the eyes of first-century Jews) without fanfare, so that “the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing” (vv. 2-4). In a similar manner, it is said to be better to pray privately than ostentatiously in public (vv. 5-6).

After a critique of long public prayers (vv. 7-8), teaching the Lord’s Prayer (vv. 9-13), and exhorting forgiveness (vv. 14-15), Jesus urges that fasting not be done ostentatiously so that only the Father knows (vv. 16-18). (In this era, pious Jews fasted twice a week.) Here we observe Matthew’s anti-Pharisaism coupled with a moral strategy. Jesus critiques trust in worldly goods, which are prone to destruction (vv. 19-20). In ancient times a large part of wealth consisted of costly garments liable to destruction by moths. Then Matthew has Jesus add that one’s treasure is indicative of one’s heart [kardia] (v. 21), i.e. one’s moral priorities (see 9:4; 12:34; Psalm 24:3-4).

Application: This lesson affords an opportunity to condemn the sin of hypocrisy and works righteousness that often infects the faithful. Opportunity is also given to critique the mad quest for wealth that characterizes American life (Sin and Social Ethics). By helping parishioners recognize their sin, they will be prepared for the call to repentance of the First Lesson and the word of forgiveness in the Second Lesson (Justification by Grace and Sanctification).

THEME OF THE DAY
The focus on Original Sin again makes us sense our own unworthiness and need for God’s forgiving grace (Justification by Grace). In some of the texts the consequences of this grace for daily life are also considered (Sanctification). These emphases emerge from the tradition of commemorating the First Sunday in Lent in relation to its roots as the beginning of a period of religious instruction preparing those who would be baptized on Easter to confess their faith.

Psalm 32
A Psalm of thanksgiving for healing attributed to David. It is a Maskil Psalm, which is an artful or didactic song composed with artistic skills, though with didactic elements. Since it is unlikely that David wrote the Psalm or had a role in collecting Psalms attributed to him (Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, p. 512), it is difficult to determine the date of the lesson.

The psalmist begins by singing that those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered [kasha], are happy [ashar, which also connotes being blessed, for one cannot be happy apart from the things of God, see Psalm 1] (vv. 1-2). This concept of having sins covered is language most consistent with Pauline thinking, and also is present elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (Psalm 85:2; Jeremiah 23:6, 33:16) teaching that God’s righteousness covers our sin or at least makes salvation happen (Romans 3:21-26, 4:6-8, 5:18-19; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21). Healing seems to be involved in this happiness, as reference is made by the psalmist to his body wasting away and that the Lord’s hand was heavy upon him (vv. 3-4). Disease was commonly regarded as punishment for sin in Old Testament times. The Hebrew word Selah appearing in the text after verse 4 and other verses refers to the introduction of musical interludes at these points.

Following the acknowledgment of sin and forgiveness, it is noted that healing came (v. 5). The Psalm proceeds to observe that all who are faithful offer prayers at a time of distress and will be preserved, for the Lord is a hiding place (vv. 6-7). (The reference to “the rush of mighty waters” in v. 6 is a common Old Testament image for terrible distress that threatens to overwhelm the one suffering.) The Lord’s word is introduced and he assures us that he will teach us the way to go, always with his eye on us (v. 8). We are warned against being like a horse or mule without understanding, for steady love surrounds those who trust in the Lord (vv. 9-10). Consequently we (the righteous [tsaddiq], not just those who are good but those who are in right relation with the Lord [Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, p. 371]) are exhorted to be glad in Yahweh and rejoice (v. 11).

Application: The song affords an occasion to reflect on how sin seems to overwhelm us at times, putting us in the deepest distress. After exploring this kind of empathy with the congregation, the Psalm also encourages opportunities to proclaim the good news that God has forgiven us (Justification by Grace). But we also learn from the song of the happiness that follows from this awareness, for we are surrounded by God’s love (Sanctification). A sermon on the text could also be an occasion to explore how happiness is related to living with and among the things of God (a crucial theme of the book of Psalms) (Sanctification).

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Like all of the first five books of the Bible, Genesis is the product of several distinct oral traditions, all originating between the tenth and sixth centuries BC. This lesson is the account of the story of the fall into sin. This version is probably the work of a tenth/ninth-century BC strand called J because it refers to the Lord as Yahweh.

The story begins with the testimony that Yahweh Elohim gave man the Garden of Eden to keep and till, allowing man to eat of every tree in Eden except the tree of knowledge [ets daath] (2:15-17). It may be useful to consider the narrative parallel in 1:29, written by the priestly oral tradition composed in the sixth century BC. The serpent (nachash, a creature craftier than any wild animal God made) tempts the woman. The role of a serpent here is reminiscent of the snake in the ancient Mesopotamian story The Epic of Gilgamesh (11.287-289), who steals from Gilgamesh a plant conferring immortality. Returning to the Genesis account, the serpent then asks her if God forbade eating of any tree in the Garden, and she responds that only the tree in the middle of the Garden may not be touched (3:1-3). The serpent responds that she would not die, for God knew that eating of the tree’s fruit would open her eyes, and like God (or the gods, for the Hebrew term used in the account, elohim, is plural) she would know good and evil (3:4-5). So the woman seeing the tree a delight to the eyes and that the tree made one wise, ate of its fruit and gave some to her husband (3:6). The idea that eating from the tree would give wisdom links with the Hebraic Wisdom [chokmah] of the book of Proverbs (which seems to make that link in 3:18). Consequently it seems that the disobedience involved in eating of this tree not only involved trying to be like God but also that now behavior is no longer spontaneous obedience, but because of our exercise of freedom and self-reflection we must now be taught through wisdom, and we must be instructed by others (often by existing law and custom) in order to know what is good. Doing good no longer comes naturally.

The narrative continues. Eating from the tree, the eyes of both the woman and the man were opened, and they knew they were naked; then they covered themselves with loincloths — losing innocence (3:7). Sin also seems to make us ashamed of the body (see 2:25).

Application: Although the Jewish community does not read the text as Christians do, this is an excellent text for proclaiming and explaining Original Sin. Focus may be placed on sin as idolatry (trying to become like God or exercise the divine privileges) and how in our state of sin we are now no longer able to do good spontaneously (as the first human beings did), but now with our ability to choose and discern right from wrong, with all the behavioral options presented to us, doing good is hard work, a burden against which we rebel. Embarrassment about the body, resulting from self-awareness, which is really burdensome and the cause of much anxiety, might also be noted as a consequence of sin. Awareness of our unhappy state makes us more eager to hear the word that we are forgiven (as proclaimed in the Second Lesson below and the Psalm above), the gospel’s proclamation that Christ overcomes all temptations, fear, and death.

Romans 5:12-19
Continuing to write his letter of introduction to a church, which to date he had never visited, Paul offers in this text a contrast between Adam and Christ. Sin came into the world through one man, Paul contends, and death through sin spread to all because all sinned and were reckoned sinful by the law (vv. 12-13). Death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam. Adam is said to be a type [tupos, that pattern or model] of Christ who is to come (v. 14). By contrast, Paul notes, the free gift is not like the trespass, for if the many died through one man’s trespass, much more will the grace of God in the gift of grace of the one man Jesus Christ abound for many (v. 15). The free gift is not like the effect of one man’s sin. The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification (v. 16). If because of one man’s trespass [Adam] death exercises dominion [basileuo, reigns] through that one [Adam], so much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness [dikaiosune] exercise dominion in life through the one man Jesus (v. 17). As one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification [dikaiosin] and life for all (v. 18). Just as by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience many were made righteous (v. 19).

Application: This is another text for helping people see how they are mired in Original Sin. Use insights from the application for the First Lesson. Also note the idea of how, because of Adam’s sin, death and so sin now reign in us, dominate in us. The law (commandments of God) now condemns us, for we need these commands to direct our behavior amidst all the choices, and it functions as a mirror now again and again to show us how far short we fall.

In articulating the free gift of forgiveness, it is important to sort out the role of Christ’s righteousness in saving us or justifying us. Both terms have a similar Greek root, for justification resembles the Greek equivalent of righteousness (see above). You cannot be declared right without “rightness” or “justice.”

We have previously noted the controversy in New Testament scholarship that exists about what Paul means by the righteousness of God and the righteousness of Christ, a tendency to critique the idea it entails that God declares us righteous. This argument is made on grounds that there are no Old Testament precedents for such an idea. But the concept of righteousness as having to do not with distributive justice but with relationships (with God’s relationship with the faithful and so salvation) is an Old Testament concept (Nehemiah 9:8; Isaiah 57:1; Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, p. 371). And New Testament scholarship tends to understand the concept this way — in terms of a restored relationship (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 271). Therefore it seems appropriate in this text (and elsewhere in Paul’s writings) to interpret God’s righteousness in terms of his faithfulness to his relationship with his people, that it is his righteousness which restores the relationship (Psalm 71:2; von Rad, p. 373).

God’s righteousness, restoring our relationship with him, thoroughly changes the faithful. And even the Pauline idea of the righteousness of a righteous one being given to those who have fallen (a vicarious death) is itself a Hebrew concept; see 2 Maccabees 7:37-38; 4 Maccabees 6:28; 17:22. The righteous one, Christ, restores the relationship of the faithful with God by sharing with us the wholeness and healthiness (righteousness) of his relationship with us (Justification by Grace). The text also provides occasion to proclaim and teach Christ’s atonement. He breaks the dominion of death and of the consequences of Adam’s fall over us. But this in turn entails that the faithful are now under the dominion of Christ. We cannot but do his thing (live righteously in right relation with God) (Sanctification).

Matthew 4:1-11
In a manner most consistent with Jewish expectations in the first century about the Messiah, the text reports Jesus’ temptations by the devil. (All the Synoptic Gospels include an account like this [Mark 1: 12-13; Luke 4:1-13].) The Jewish orientation of this gospel focuses again in the author’s efforts to root the events in Old Testament prophecies. It is reported that after Jesus’ baptism he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil [diabolos, tempter or accuser] (v. 1). He fasts forty days and was famished (v. 2). The forty days in the wilderness are another example of linking Jesus’ life to Old Testament precedents. Both Moses and the prophet Elijah spent forty days in a wilderness experience (Exodus 24:18; 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8). The tempter came and said to Jesus that if he is Son of God, he should command the stones to become loaves of bread (vv. 2-3). This temptation was a function of Jewish expectations in Jesus’ day, as they had come to expect the Messiah to repeat the miracles of the Jews’ time in the wilderness with Moses (Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew, pp. 58-60, 65-66). In accord with Matthean concerns to relate Jesus to Hebrew scripture, he is recorded as responding with Deuteronomy 8:3 and its teachings that one does not live by bread alone, but by the words of the Lord (v. 4; this citation also appears in Luke 4:4, but not in Mark).

The devil next took Jesus to the holy city [Jerusalem] and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, daring him if he is the Son of God to throw himself down. Jesus cited Psalm 91:11-12, which speaks of God commanding his angels (vv. 5-6). Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:16, which speaks against putting the Lord to the test (v. 7). Finally the devil took Jesus to a high mountain, promising to give him all the nations that could be seen if he would worship him (vv. 8-9). Jesus responds that Satan should go away, citing Deuteronomy 6:13 that only the Lord God is to worshiped and served (v. 10; cf. Luke 4:8). Then the devil is reported to have left Jesus, and angels came to serve him (v. 11). Elijah was also served by angels at the end of his wilderness experience (1 Kings 19:5-8).

Application: The temptations endured by Jesus can be used to help clarify and enlighten the ones we face (Sin). References to the wilderness experiences of Moses and Elijah can aid in making these points.

Jesus overcomes the devil and evil indicates that because the faithful are in him, these realities cannot prevail over them (Justification by Grace).

THEME OF THE DAY
Hanging around the Lord changes you. This theme meshes with the historic purpose of the Second Sunday in Lent, aiming to call candidates for baptism on Easter to practice purity. The themes of Sin, Justification by Grace, Predestination, and Sanctification are crucial to the assigned texts.

Psalm 121
This is a Song of Ascents (a family of Psalms which may be pilgrim songs by those on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, perhaps [at least in the case of Psalm 126] returning from exile in Babylon after 538 BC) functioning as a liturgy of blessing. The psalmist begins by claiming to lift his eyes to the hills (to the high places where local fertility gods were worshiped [cf. 2 Kings 23:5]), but no help comes from there (v. 1). Having begun with a question of where to find such help, the remainder of the Psalm seems to be in the form of an answer given by a priest, who then concludes in verses 7-8 with a blessing. Such help, the priest contends, comes only from Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth (v. 2). He proceeds to sing that the one who keeps Israel and its people will not slumber (vv. 3-4). Yahweh is said to be our keeper [shamar], and so the sun and moon will not strike us (vv. 5-6). He will keep the faithful free from all evil, protecting us in our comings and goings (vv. 7-8).

Application: The Psalm affords occasion to remind the congregation that all we have is of God, and our only source of help when times are tough is God (Providence). The idols and false gods in our lives have no power to help.

Genesis 12:1-4a
Again we consider a text from Genesis, which like all the the first five books of the Bible is the product of several distinct oral traditions, all originating between the tenth and sixth centuries BC. This lesson is J’s version of God’s call of Abraham, and so was probably written in the tenth or ninth centuries BC. And of course God is referred to as Yahweh by this strand of Genesis.

The lesson begins with Yahweh instructing Abram to leave his family and travel from his country (in Haran in northwestern Mesopotamia [11:31]) to the land he will direct (v. 1). Apparently none of the earlier life of Abram (later in 17:5 renamed Abraham) is relevant to God’s plan for him. Separation of parent and child is a familiar theme in Genesis (2:24; 22:2; 27:41-45; 37:12-36). The promise made is that Yahweh would make of Abram a great nation [goi gadol] — making his name so great that in him the families of the earth would be blessed (v. 1-3). The use of this concept “nation” rather than “people” [am] may reflect the national consciousness of the early Hebraic monarchy, suggesting that it was in that era that the final form of this story took shape (early in the tenth century BC). In view of Jesus’ Jewish roots, this promise seems fulfilled. Abram proceeds as directed, and his nephew Lot goes with him. His response is immediate and unquestioning. Abraham is reported to have been 75 at the time (v. 4). It is difficult to know what to make of these references to the age of the patriarchs except to recognize that they could serve to underline the miraculous character of Yahweh’s fulfillment of his promises to them or to highlight that the stories are about Israel, not just the patriarchs (in this case Abraham). The message to the primary audience was that Abraham and Sarah represented Israel, and so the nation had been chosen to play a decisive role in God’s historical purpose (Isaiah 19:24; 51:2-3).

Application: The story affords the opportunity to proclaim God’s unmerited love, since nothing prior to God’s call of Abraham mattered to the Lord (Justification by Grace) with the reminder that this is a theme that reflects throughout the Bible, even in the Old Testament. Other options include a consideration of the doctrine of Election/Predestination or a sermon on faith as a willingness (like Abraham) to give everything up, even one’s own family and identity (note Abram’s changed name).

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Continuing to write his letter of introduction between 54 AD and 58 AD to a church which to date he had never visited, Paul reflects on God’s saving work in Christ. In this text he offers his interpretation of the call of Abraham and his true descendants (Genesis 12:1-4a). Paul identifies Abraham as our ancestor according to the flesh (presumably here addressing Jewish Christians in Rome) (v. 1). He adds that if Abraham is justified by works, then he has something about which to boast (v. 2). But scripture says it was reckoned [logizomai] to him as righteousness [dikaiosune] (v. 3).

Last week we reiterated the importance of sorting out the need for righteousness in saving or justifying us. Both terms have a similar Greek root, for justification [dikaiosin] resembles the Greek equivalent of righteousness (see above). You cannot be declared right without “rightness” or “justice.”

And we have previously noted the controversy in New Testament scholarship that exists about what Paul means by the righteousness of God and the righteousness of Christ, a tendency to critique the idea it entails that God declares us righteous. This argument is made on grounds that there are no Old Testament precedents for such an idea. But the concept of righteousness as not having to do with distributive justice but with relationships (with God’s relationship with the faithful and so salvation) is an Old Testament concept (Nehemiah 9:8; Isaiah 57:1; Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, p. 371). And New Testament scholarship tends to understand the concept this way — in terms of a restored relationship (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 271). Consequently, it seems appropriate in this text (and elsewhere in Paul’s writings) to interpret the righteousness God reckons to the faithful as a restored relationship with God, which God has created through Christ and faith embraces.

Paul then notes that for one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something that is due. But to one who without works trusts [the Greek word pisteuo, meaning faith, is actually used here] God, who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness (vv. 4-5). Subsequently the apostle observes that the promise made to Abraham or his descendants did not come through the law [nomos] but through the righteousness of faith (v.13). If adherents of the law are heirs, faith is null and void, for the law brings wrath (vv. 14-15). For this reason, Paul adds, it depends on faith, so the promise may rest on grace not only for adherents of the law but also to those who shared Abraham’s faith (v. 16). Famed New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann (Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, pp. 259ff) has pointed out that this understanding of the law is not a Christian diminution of the high Jewish estimate of it (2:20), but simply an awareness that because we are under the power of sin (3:9), the law (or Torah) cannot be fulfilled. The law is then for the purpose of leading us to Christ by showing us our need for his righteousness, and so to claim salvation by works is a denial of faith in Christ.

Application: Not surprisingly, the themes noted in the first sentence of the application for the First Lesson (see above) are appropriate when preaching on this lesson. To this can be added Paul’s insistence that we are not justified by works of the law (by how we live), for the law condemns us. In so doing it makes clear that God is the one who sets the relationship right with us (conferring righteousness on us). In addition, the fact that Gentile Christians are saved in the same manner as Abraham, the father of Judaism and in a sense Islam, reminds us that to believe in salvation by grace entails that who you are or what you do does not matter before God. This word breaks down barriers.

John 3:1-17
John is the last gospel to be written, probably not until late in the first century in a sophisticated literary style (and so not likely the work of the apostle John), probably written for a Jewish Christian community actually expelled from the synagogue and particularly concerned to assert Jesus’ divinity. This story of Jesus’ interactions with official Judaism (especially one of its leaders, a Pharisee named Nicodemus) appears only in this gospel. The focus on Jesus as the object of faith, as well as the polemic with official Judaism in this text, is very Johannine. In fact, Nicodemus may not be intended as an individual but may be a cipher for official Judaism in this account.

The account begins with Nicodemus coming to Jesus in the night, noting that the Lord must be of God for none could do the signs he had done apart from God’s presence (vv. 1-2). Jesus responds, noting that no one can see the kingdom if not born from above (v. 3). The ancient Greek word anothen translated “from above” can also mean “born again.” Nicodemus then asks how one can be born again when he is already old (v. 4). Jesus responds that no one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and of the Spirit, that is, born from above [or born again] (vv. 5-7). He adds that just as the wind blows where it will, so it is with the Spirit (v. 8). Jesus then chides Nicodemus for not understanding such things (vv. 9-10).

Jesus proceeds to contend that he speaks of things he has seen, yet the testimony is not received. If hearers have not believed what he teaches about earthly things, how will they believe his testimony on heavenly matters [epourania] (vv. 11-12)? For only the Son of Man has descended from heaven (v. 13). Jesus proceeds to note that as Moses lifted up a serpent in the desert (reported in Numbers 21:9), in order to provide a remedy to those made ill by the bites of poisonous snakes who were sent to punish the Hebrews for their sin, so the Son of Man will be lifted up that whoever believes in him will have eternal life (vv. 14-15). The Cross is here foretold. John’s use of the title “Son of Man” is not like that of the Synoptic Gospels. The gospel’s author seems to understand the title in a Gnostic way that is as a designation for the pre-existent one who became man and must be exalted again, though combined with the earliest Christian meaning of letting Jesus be understood as Messiah, an apocalyptic figure who at the end of time will come down from heaven and hold judgment (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 2, p. 37; Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 49). These Christological themes fit the dichotomy between heaven and earth articulated in earlier verses.

In closing, God’s love for the world in giving his only Son that all who believe may have eternal life is affirmed (vv. 16-17). This famous statement echoes elsewhere in John’s gospel (5:24; 6:40, 47; 11:25-26).

Application: Obviously the text affords the opportunity to proclaim God’s love (Justification by Grace). But since this love is for the world, the text invites an interpretation of it in terms of Single Predestination (God’s Election of All). Other options include a focus on being born again, on how it happens through baptism (water and the Spirit), or on the Johannine meaning of Jesus as Son of Man as the one who descends to earth and will be glorified, who is of heaven yet comes to intermingle with the things of the earth, even the Cross (Christology and Atonement).

THEME OF THE DAY
Confess your sin and turn around! God will see to it. This theme meshes with the historic purpose of the Third Sunday in Lent, at which time the ancient church candidates for baptism on Easter were given careful scrutiny. Once again Sin, Justification by Grace, and Sanctification receive a lot of attention, with some attention to Atonement.

Psalm 95
This is a liturgy of God’s kingship (perhaps for use in the temple), beginning first with a hymn and then from verse 7b on providing an oracle warning the congregation against disobeying God’s Law. The hymn begins with a summons to worship, calling people to sing and make a joyful noise, coming into Yahweh’s presence with thanksgiving. He is said to be the rock of our salvation (vv. 1-2; cf. 89:26). As such this and the next three verses may have been part of a processional hymn for entering the temple. Yahweh is said to be a great God, a great king above all gods (v. 3). The Hebrew people were still clearly aware of the pantheon of gods that existed in the ancient Near East. Yahweh is said to control all things on the earth (Providence and Creation) (vv. 4-5). We are summoned to bow and worship him, as his people and sheep (vv. 6-7a). The faithful receive a prophetic warning not to harden their hearts as the Hebrews did in the wilderness of Meribah (about 150 miles north of Mount Sinai) and Massah (another name for Meribah) (cf. Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:1-13) (vv. 7b-9). It is noted that as a result of such unfaithfulness the Lord hated that generation for forty years, and they did not enter the Promised Land [the Hebrew word menuchah, literally "rest," is used here] (vv. 10-11).

Application: The first five verses can be the basis for praising God. The idea of the Lord being the greatest of gods invites a critique of the idolatry we practice in everyday life, putting other things ahead of God. Other warnings against unfaithfulness (with precedents in the stories of the Hebrews during the Exodus [Sin]) flow from the Psalm. But this confession of sin needs to be balanced, just be treated as preparation, by the word of forgiveness in the first two lessons (Justification by Grace) or by the awareness that ultimately God is in control of all there is in nature, working for our good (Providence).

Exodus 17:1-7
Like all of the first five books of the Old Testament, Exodus is the product of several distinct literary strands, all originating between the tenth and sixth centuries BC. The book is so named for the Greek term referring to the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Its Hebrew name (meaning “these are the names”) refers to the first words of the text’s prologue. In this lesson we consider the story of water in the wilderness of sin (which has a parallel version in Numbers 20:2-13). Sin was probably fifty miles west of Mount Sinai in modern-day Saudi Arabia.

Continuing to travel by stages (making various stops in the Exodus) (v. 1), camped in the wilderness the people had no water and quarreled with Moses to receive it (v. 2). They wonder why he had brought them out of Egypt to such suffering (v. 3). Moses is reported to have accused the people of testing [the Hebrew word nasah is more properly translated "try," implying a court hearing for] the Lord (v. 2). He pleads with Yahweh, asking what he is to do with the people (v. 4). (They had complained earlier about the need for water and been delivered with both water and bread from heaven [15:22ff].) The Lord replies that he is to take leaders with him along with the staff with which Moses had stuck the Nile (v. 5; 7:20). Unlike in the version in Numbers, this earlier literary strand tells the story without a reference to a shrine from which to seek divine counsel. The Lord promises to be standing in front of Moses on the rock at Horeb and commands Moses to strike the rock so the people would receive the drink (v. 6). Water lies below the limestone surface in the region of Sinai. The place was called Massah and Meribah (meaning “test” and “find fault” in Hebraic; see the Psalm for more on the location of these wilderness areas), because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord (v. 7).

Application: The text provides an occasion for confessing our sin as we identify ourselves with the Hebrews, never content with the miracles in our lives. But the fact that we and they did not deserve it does not stop God from giving his people what they need (Justification by Grace and Providence).

Romans 5:1-11
In this text Paul continues introducing his theology and himself to the Roman church with a discussion of the consequences of justification for living the Christian life. He begins by noting that justification by faith brings peace [eirene] with God through Christ, through whom the faithful obtain access to the grace in which they stand. Insofar as Paul was Jewish it seems appropriate to understand his comment here to align with the Hebrew equivalent shalom, so that the peace brought about by justification is a state of well-being and thriving, including social justice. Paul continues to claim that the faithful may boast in the hope of sharing God’s glory (vv. 1-2). Thus they may boast in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, character, and a hope that does not disappoint, for God’s love has been poured into their hearts through the Holy Spirit (vv. 4-5). While the faithful were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (v. 6). Paul elaborates on how rarely anyone will die for a righteous person. But God proves his love by dying for us while we were still sinners (vv. 7-9). As a result we have more certainty now that we have been justified by Christ’s blood and will be saved by him from God’s wrath (Atonement) (v. 9). While we were still enemies of God we were reconciled to him through the Son’s death, and so we will be saved by his life (v. 10). Consequently, the faithful can boast in God through Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (v. 11).

Application: Many themes related to Justification by Grace, the Atonement, and Sanctification emerge from this text. Among the myriad possibilities, it affords opportunities to reflect on how we have been enemies of Christ (Sin) with the reminder that he still died for us. We might explore how it is that Christ’s blood saves us (why his death was necessary to placate God’s wrath [Satisfaction Theory of Atonement]). Another possibility pertains to sermons emerging from the text on Sanctification. Preachers could explore how justification launches us onto a life of peace (see the description of Paul’s vision of peace above, including Social Ethics) and the suffering that accompanies Christian living, so that the only boasting Christians do is in Christ, not what they do.

John 4:5-42
The lesson recounts the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman and other teachings. This is an account unique to this highly stylized final gospel, not written until late in the first century, probably not by John the Son of Zebedee but perhaps by a disciple of his. It is a gospel about encouraging readers to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and this is clearly the word emerging from this text. This theme along with an appreciation of the gospel’s universal outreach is evident in this story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman and its consequences.

Jesus comes to the Samaritan city of Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to Joseph, where Jacob’s well was located. (Sychar is about forty miles north of Jerusalem.) He is reported to have been tired by his journey and sitting by the well (vv. 5-6). A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked for a drink. Jesus’ disciples had gone to the city to buy food (vv. 7-8). Both Jesus’ request for water from the woman and the disciples’ venturing into a Samaritan town to buy food were unusual, given hostilities of ritual purity between Judeans and Samaritans. This encounter suggested to pre-modern Jews that a marriage for Jesus might be in the offing, since the Hebrew ethnic heritage was built on meetings at a well between a Jewish lad and a foreign woman. Moses, Jacob, and Abraham all met their foreign-born wives under these circumstances (Exodus 2:15-21; Genesis 29:1ff; 24:1ff). The same ritual barriers emerge in the woman’s response of surprise that Jesus would make such a request of her to provide him with water (v. 9). Jesus in turn states (it was rare for a rabbi to converse with a woman) that if she knew the gift of God who it is that requests the drink she would have asked for the living water [hudor zao] (v. 10). (The phrase “living water” correlates with the Hebrew term for “spring” [mayim] [Jeremiah 2:13].) The woman in turn responds that Jesus has no bucket and the well is deep, so it is unclear where he can get the living water. She asks if he is greater than Jacob, who gave the well before which they stand (vv. 11-12). Jesus answers that the water of the well does not quench thirst, but the water he will give will become a spring gushing up to eternal life (vv. 13-14).

The Samaritan woman then requests the water about which Jesus has spoken, so that she might never thirst again (vv. 17-18). He responds that she should call her husband and return (v. 16). Further dialogue between them leads Jesus accurately to report (without being told) that she has had five husbands, and then she reveals that she now lives unmarried with a man (vv. 17-18). The number five corresponds to the five false gods worshiped by the Samaritans (2 Kings 17:30-34). The woman exclaims as a result of Jesus’ discernment of her married state that he must be a prophet (v. 19). She then proceeds to note that the Samaritan ancestors had had a temple on Mount Gerazim, but the Judeans say that worship must be in Jerusalem. (The disagreement had been crucial to the tensions between the Northern Kingdom [Israel] and the Southern Kingdom [Judah].) To this observation Jesus responds that the hour is coming when the Father will be worshiped in neither location, for God is Spirit and those who worship him must do so in spirit and truth (vv. 20-24). The woman responds that she knows the Messiah (also called Christ) is coming, and Jesus says it is he (vv. 25-26). This use of the phrase “I am” [ego eimi] is characteristically employed by John’s Jesus. It is most suggestive of God’s revelation of himself in the name Yahweh (I am who I am [Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 43:10-11, 25]), and so it is in a sense the Johannine Jesus’ claim to divinity. The disciples return and wonder why Jesus was speaking to a woman (v. 27). Jewish religious teachers in this era did not speak with women in public.

The woman leaves the water jar to return to the city and witnesses to what transpired, so that people wondered if Jesus might be the Messiah and go to see him (vv. 28-30). Meanwhile the disciples urge Jesus to eat, and he responds that he has food to eat that the disciples do not know about. After they express puzzlement, Jesus responds to them that his food is the will of the one who has sent him (vv. 31-34). He further elaborates on the field now being ripe for harvesting and that the reaper can already gather fruit for eternal life. (The harvest seems to refer to those who accept Jesus, including the Samaritans.) He claims to have sent them to reap that for which they did not labor [since Jesus has done the labor through his life and impending death] (vv.35-38).

In closing it is reported that many Samaritans from Sychar came to believe in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony reported above. They come to him and ask him to stay, and he stayed for two days (vv. 39-40). As a result many more come to believe (v. 41). (The theme of coming to believe is stressed far more in John than in the other gospels.) The Samaritan believers told the woman it was no longer because of what she said that they believed, but because they had heard for themselves they believed that Jesus is truly Savior of the world (v. 42).

Application: A text this lengthy offers a myriad of sermon possibilities. One could focus on Jesus’ interaction with Samaritans, despite Judean suspicions of the religious convictions and ethnic purity of these targets of the ministry in this lesson. This is a witness to Justification by Grace with Social Ethical implications (the inclusivity of a Christian perspective). That Jesus’ interaction with the foreign woman at the well connoted marriage to the Hebraic mind reminds us that the relationship between Christ and the faithful is like a marriage (cf. Song of Solomon; Galatians 2:19-20). A testimony to the divinity of Jesus (Christology) is given in the lesson (relate his “I am” statement to the name Yahweh, see above) and also a testimony to evangelism and that coming to faith is not a matter of merely believing what has been heard, but faith with conviction (Sanctification).

THEME OF THE DAY
Seeing the light! Historically this Sunday in Lent was called Laetare (Rejoicing Sunday), a time to relieve the austerities of Lent with a mood of celebration. Consequently, although the themes of Sin and Repentance are evident in the texts, the focus is on hope (Realized Eschatology), complimenting Providence as well as Justification and Sanctification by Grace.

Psalm 23
This famed Psalm expresses confidence in God the shepherd’s protection, extolling the comfort of providence. This is a Psalm attributed to David, but as we have noted he is not likely the author or even the collector of the Psalms attributed to him (Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, p. 512). Consequently we cannot be sure when this Psalm was written. This inability to pin-point the place or time of origin of the Psalm indicates that the Psalm is properly read as a living voice for the present, not bound to its historical point of origin (Ibid., p. 523).

The image of Yahweh as shepherd or the faithful as sheep is not unique to this Psalm; see 95:7; 100:3; Ezekiel 34:11-16. The Lord is said to lead us in right paths (v. 3). Thus we need to fear no evil (v. 4). Surrounded by goodness and mercy, the psalmist pledges regular worship in the temple (v. 6). This is a Psalm about gratitude to God. The believer is pursued not by enemies, but by God’s love.

Application: This is a great opportunity to rejoice (Sanctification), for we are pursued by God’s love (Providence and Justification by Grace). The Psalm also invites us to help the faithful see themselves as sheep, as followers, and not as autonomous as we think (Sin and Sanctification).

1 Samuel 16:1-13
This book’s origin as a distinct literary work derives from the original Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures (The Septuagint), which divided the story of Israel’s monarchy into four sections (1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings). This book is probably the result of two or three sources: 1) Early traditions about Samuel and Saul; 2) editor-molded materials into a connected history implying a critique of the events, deeming kingship as problematic, and so maintaining that Israel should be set under the rule of God and his prophet Samuel; and 3) incorporating the previous strand into the more Deuteronomistic history (which is a product of the sweeping religious reforms under Davidic King Josiah in the late seventh century BC).

The lesson is the story of the anointing of David. The account begins with Yahweh asking Samuel how long he will grieve over Saul (as a result of Yahweh’s rejection of Saul as king due to his disobedience [ch. 15]). He sends Samuel to Jesse in Bethlehem, from whose sons he has provided a new king (v. 1). Samuel fears he will be killed by Saul if he undertakes such a mission. The Lord instructs him to take a heifer with him, claiming Samuel has come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord (v. 2). The idea then is to invite Jesse to the sacrifice, at which time Yahweh plans to show Samuel whom to anoint as the new king (v. 3).

Samuel follows the command. In Bethlehem he is met by elders, to whom he assures his peaceful intention. He sanctifies Jesse and his sons and invites them to the planned sacrifice (vv. 4-5). Seeing Jesse’s son Eliab, Samuel first thinks he is the chosen king, as he has impressive size and stature. But Yahweh claims to have rejected this young man (vv. 6-7). Then Jesse calls his sons Abinadab and Shammah to pass by Samuel, and he responds that the Lord has not chosen them (vv. 8-9). Next Jesse makes seven of his sons pass before Samuel with the same judgment (v. 10). Finally Jesse indicates that Samuel has seen all his sons, except for David the youngest who is keeping sheep. Samuel asks that he be summoned (v. 11). David is reported to have been ruddy and handsome. Yahweh directs that he be anointed. Samuel does so and from then on the Spirit of the Lord was on David, and then Samuel departs (vv. 12-13).

Application: This is a story of God finding a way to help his people out of a difficult situation by providing new leadership. This invites reflection on what is wrong with the nation (Sin and Social Ethics) as well as a confidence that God will not abandon his people and will find a new way (Providence).

Ephesians 5:8-14
It has been noted that this letter portrays itself as having been written by Paul from prison, late in his career. But in view of the fact that the book includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristics different from the rest of the Pauline corpus, some scholars have concluded that it may be the work of a follower of Paul who had a hand in assembling the collection of his epistles. The fact that Paul’s salutation in 1:1 does not appear in many ancient manuscripts suggests the non-Pauline origin of the work.

Ultimately the book’s origin really does not seem to matter, because the purpose of the letter appears to have been addressed to later generations of Christians (1:15). It is a book for each succeeding new generation of the faithful, not tied to its original historical context. (For a similar assessment, see Brevard Childs, The New Testament as Canon: An Introduction, pp. 324-328.)

This text is part of an appeal to the faithful to renounce pagan ways. It is noted that the Ephesians had been in darkness [skotos -- obscurity] but now are in light, and so are light [phos -- radiance]. (The author borrows Gnostic concepts at this point or else images common of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Such a metaphor has no precedence in the Old Testament.) Readers are urged to live as children of light — whose fruit is all that is good, right, and true, taking no part in the unfruitful works of darkness (vv. 9-11). It is shameful to mention what people do secretly, the author notes. But light exposes everything (vv. 12-13). An ancient Christian hymn (based on Isaiah 60:1) is cited, urging sleepers to wake up from the dead, for Christ will shine on them (v. 14).

Application: The text affords opportunities to reflect on how we are mired in darkness/obscurity (Sin), but now are illumined/radiant with grace (Justification by Grace) which transforms us (Sanctification). Calls for waking up (repentance) may also be joyfully issued.

John 9:1-41
We have already noted that this gospel, the last of the four to be written, likely by a disciple of John the son of Zebedee, had as its target audience a Jewish Christian community in conflict with the synagogue from which they had been expelled. This story of Jesus’ healing of a blind man fits nicely with the gospel’s characteristic distinctions between light and darkness (1:5; 3:19-21; 8:12). The account is unique to this gospel.

Encountering a blind man, Jesus is asked by his disciples whose sin (his own or his parents’) had made him blind; Jesus responds it is neither, for the man was born blind in order that God’s works might be revealed in him (vv. 1-3). This was a somewhat startling perspective since the average Hebrew in Jesus’ lifetime regarded suffering as a consequence of sin (cf. Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Psalm 109:13-15). Jesus claims that the works of the one who sent him must be done while it is day, for night is coming when no one can work, and that as long as he is in the world he is the light of the world (vv. 4-5). Jesus then spits on the ground, makes mud with saliva, spreads it on the blind man’s eyes, and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam (a pool in Jerusalem fed by underground waters, whose name means “sent”). The man does see (vv. 6-7)! (It should be noted that in ancient times saliva was thought to have medicinal value.)

The healed man responds to neighbors and others who knew him, and they wonder if the man who could not see is the same blind man who had begged (vv. 8-9). To further questions he recounts the miracle (vv. 10-11). To inquiries regarding where Jesus was, he cannot respond (v. 12). People bring the healed man to the Pharisees, since the healing had transpired on the Sabbath, and again he gives an account of the healing (vv. 13-15). The Pharisees are divided about Jesus, some certain he could not be from God since he had not observed the Sabbath, and others wonder how a man of a sinner could perform such deeds (v. 16). They ask the healed man whether Jesus was a prophet (v. 17).

Jews then challenge the healed man about whether he had in fact been born blind, calling on his parents to authenticate this, but they claim that they do not know how the miracle had transpired (vv. 18-21). The parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews’ plans to put followers of Jesus out of the synagogue (excommunicate them) (vv. 22-23). Jesus’ followers were not put out of the synagogue until well after his lifetime, perhaps not until 80 AD, a fact which says something about the date of this gospel’s composition. The healed man is recalled to testify before the Pharisees and will not conclude that Jesus is a sinner (vv. 24-25). He then asks them if they would become Jesus’ disciples (vv. 26-27). The Pharisees revile the man, calling him a disciple of Jesus. They continue to take the position that they do not know from whom the healer comes (vv. 28-29). The healed man claims to be astonished that the Pharisees cannot see that since God does not listen to sinners the miracle performed on him must be of God (vv. 30-33; cf. Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 15:29). Pharisees respond by claiming the healed man must be born in sin and drive him from their presence (v. 34).

Hearing the story, Jesus finds the man and asks him if he believes the Son of Man. In a previous analysis of the gospel we noted the gospel of John’s unique understanding of this title. The author seems to understand the title in a Gnostic way — that is, as a designation for the pre-existent one who became man and must be exalted again, though combined with the earliest Christian meaning of letting Jesus be understood as Messiah, an apocalyptic figure who at the end of time will come down from heaven and hold judgment (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 2, p. 37; Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 49). The healed man asks who that is. Jesus responds that the man has seen the Son of Man, he is the Son, and the man responds with a confession and worships Jesus (vv. 35-38). Jesus proceeds to teach that he has come into the world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind (v. 39). It is not that Jesus comes to judge us, but his presence leads to judgment with regard to how we respond to him. Pharisees nearby hear this and say to Jesus that they are not blind. He responds that if they were blind they would not have sin, but since they see their sin remains (vv. 40-41).

Application: The story provides an occasion to consider our human blindness (Sin) and how Christ heals us (Justification by Grace). The Christian who is healed by Christ in this way is set free from the old rules to serve God (Sanctification construed as freedom from the law). As Christ’s presence implies judgment (for we must decide for or against him) there is an urgency about Jesus’ presence in our lives (Realized Eschatology).