Lent 4, Cycle B (2015)

THEME OF THE DAY
Rejoice: God saves us by his grace! The texts for this Sunday, in accord with the historic emphasis on rejoicing [Laetare Sunday], testify to God’s love and grace (Justification by Grace).

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
This lesson is part of a group thanksgiving for pilgrims who have come to Jerusalem for a festival. The Psalm begins with a call for everyone to give thanks. God is praised for his goodness [tob] and love/
mercy [chesed], gathering together his people (vv. 1-3). These verses may have in mind the exiles who have been freed from Babylonian captivity and returned home. Some of the pilgrims were sick due to sin but were saved [yasha, or given safety] or healed by the Lord; God’s love is extolled (vv. 17-21, 1). The correct response is to offer a sacrifice [zebach, a sacrifice of animals] and to tell of God’s deeds with songs of joy (v. 22).

Application: Sermons on this lesson quite obviously lead us to focus on God’s goodness and love in the tough times of life (Justification by Grace). Understanding salvation in terms of safety, as the Hebrews did could entail developing a Social Ethical viewpoint on salvation, how safety from social evil is God’s will. The proper response to God’s love (Sanctification) is another homiletical alternative. If the reference to sacrifice is read prophetically we might speak of the response to God’s love as a life of joyful praise and self-denial.

Numbers 21:4-9
The title of this book is related to the census of people reported in chapters 1-4, 26. We have previously noted that like all five books of the Pentateuch, this Book of Origins is probably the product of several distinct literary traditions. This one is just comprised of three strands: 1) J, a ninth/tenth-century BC source, so named for its use of the Jahweh or Yahweh (translated “Lord”); 2) E, an eighth-century BC source named for its use of the divine name Elohim; and 3) P or Priestly source, dated from the sixth century BC. This lesson is the story of Israel’s faithlessness immediately after defeating the Canaanites at the Battle of Hormah (vv. 1-3). Reference to the Red Sea which the Hebrews pass is “Reed Sea” in Hebrews. The people complain of their situation, speaking against God and Moses (vv. 4-5). God punishes them with a plague of poisonous serpents (v. 6). The people repent, and God has Moses build a bronze serpent which when the people look at it can save them (vv. 7-9). (The phrase “serpent of bronze/copper” [nachash nechosheth] is a pun in Hebrew, both words deriving from the same root.) Also from this root is Nehustan, the bronze serpent King Hezekiah destroys because it had become an object of worship (2 Kings 18:4], a reminder how widespread serpent worship was in the Ancient Near East.)The Hebrew word for “repentance” [nacham] also means “comforted” or “eased.” Thus repentance in this Old Testament context does not so much connote sorrow as joyfully finding oneself at ease in the comforting assurance that comes in a relationship with God.

Application: The text opens the way for sermons to help people appreciate God’s ingenuity in saving and caring for us (Justification by Grace and Providence), often in hidden, surprising ways. Sermons in repentance (understood as comfort or ease) could also be proclaimed (Sanctification).

Ephesians 2:1-10
The lesson is drawn from a circular letter either written by Paul from prison late in his career or by a follower of Paul who had had a hand in assembling the collection of his epistles. These conclusions follow from the fact that the letter includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristic different from the authentic Pauline corpus. It was likely addressed to a younger, later generation of Christians (1:15). The lesson is a discussion of Christ’s benefits. The author notes that we were dead through sins, following the course of the world and Satan (the ruler of the power of the air) (vv. 1-2). He relates the death of sin to passions/lusts [epithumia]of the flesh [sarx] (v. 3). God who is rich in mercy [eleos] is said to out of love have made us alive and by grace [charis] saved [sozo] us and raised up with him (vv. 4-5, 7-8). We are created [ktizo] in Jesus Christ for good works which God prepared beforehand (v. 10).

Application: Several alternatives for sermons emerge from this lesson. The text invites sermons on our bondage to sin, on Christ’s conquest of evil (Classic View of the Atonement), Justification by Grace, or the Spontaneity of Good Works (Sanctification).

John 3:14-21
Again we read from the last of the four gospels to be written, probably not composed until the last two decades of the first century. It is very different in style in comparison to the other three (so-called Synoptic) gospels. In fact it is probably based on these earlier gospels. The book has been identified with John the Son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and this claim was made as long ago as late in the first century by the famed theologian of the early church Irenaeus (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 414). It is likely that it was written by a disciple of John.

Recently some scholars have suggested an alternative account of the origins of John’s gospel. Appealing to the writings of a late first and early second-century Bishop Papias, who may have implied that John’s gospel was the result of eyewitness origins, such scholars have argued that the book is in fact an authentic historical testimony to Jesus (Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, especially pp. 423ff; cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, pp. 154-155). Regardless of the circumstances of its composition, there is agreement that the book’s main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31). This lesson is Jesus’ discourse following his dialogue with the Jewish leader Nicodemus (vv. 1-10). This is uniquely Johannine material.

Jesus claims to be discoursing about heavenly things, as only he (the Son of Man — huios to anthropou) has ascended to the Father (vv. 11-13). The use of this title here by John suggests that the title is employed here and in the Synoptic Gospels as a way to describe Jesus’ present ministry on earth. Jesus proceeds to note that as Moses lifted up a serpent in the desert (reported in the First Lesson, Numbers 21:9) in order to provide a remedy to those made ill by the bites of poisonous snakes, which were sent to punish the Hebrews for their sin, so the Son of Man will be lifted up that whoever believe in him will have eternal life (vv. 14-15). The cross is here foretold.

God’s love [agape] for the world [kosmos] in giving his only Son that all who believe may have eternal life is proclaimed (v. 16). This theme echoes elsewhere in the gospel (5:24; 6:40, 47; 11:25-26). God did not send his Son to judge [krpinai] the world, but those not believing are already condemned because they have not believed (vv. 17-18). The judgment is that the light [phos, who is Christ] has come into the world and people loved darkness/evil [skotos] more than light. Those who do evil [poneros] hate the light, rejecting it so their deeds not be exposed (vv. 19-20). Those who do what is truth [aletheia] come to the light, so it is seen that their deeds have been done in God (v. 21).

Application: The text provides occasions to proclaim God’s love and grace for the world (Justification by Grace). But attention may also be given to the implications of this for living the Christian life (Sanctification).

The series of passion-resurrection predictions during these Series B Lenten texts continues here with a third text (John 3:14-21), and it is extended further with a fourth text (John 12:20-33) for the Fifth Sunday in Lent. All three of these Johannine Jesus passion-resurrection predictions (John 2:13-22 on Lent 3, John 3:14-21 on Lent 4, and John 12:20-33 on Lent 5) are expressed in similar Johannine style, obscure and symbolic, in contrast to the straightforward Mark 8:31-32a with which this series of passion-resurrection predictions began in the Gospel account for Lent 2.

John 3:14-21

In typical Fourth Gospel style this passage begins with a setting (in this instance a meeting involving Jesus and Nicodemus) for which is provided an extended dialogue and here eventually changing into a monologue. Nicodemus fades out of the picture somewhere around the place where our 3:14-21 text begins. Within 3:14-21 it is actually the Johannine writers and community who collectively are speaking about Jesus as “the Son of man” being lifted up, as “God’s only-begotten Son,” and as “the Light of the world.” It is virtually impossible to discern where the Johannine Jesus stops speaking here and the Johannine writers and community begin. Red-letter editions of the Newer Testament generally code all of John 3:14-21 as words of Jesus. Actually, throughout the entire Fourth Gospel it is the Johannine writers and community who are speaking. True to the gospel genre, these writers and this community of believers say what they believe about God, about Jesus, and about themselves and others in words of Jesus within a ministry of Jesus vehicle.

What these writers and community have provided for us can become for us to share a three-part message about Jesus as (1) the Son of man being lifted up, (2) God’s only-begotten Son, and (3) the Light of the world. The passion-resurrection prediction about the Son of man being lifted up to provide life for all who believe in him just as Moses was said to have lifted up the serpent in the wilderness to preserve life for all who look at it is largely a vaticinium ex eventu, an interpretation of the significance of the death of Jesus after that death had occurred and an expression of belief that God had raised Jesus from the dead. Is that not what we also do (especially during the Lenten and Easter seasons), i.e., we provide interpretations of the death of Jesus and of the significance of that death for all people, and we proclaim that God raised Jesus from the dead and will raise us also with Jesus into a glorious life? John 3:15-18a (especially John 3:16, which is so important to us) is “gospel” in positive, non-judgmental terminology. John 3:18b-21, however, brings in condemnation of all who do not follow this Johannine “one way.” Which of these shall we emphasize next Sunday? What are we called to proclaim, good news, or condemnation, or both?

Numbers 21:4-9

It is somewhat surprising that this account was incorporated by the Israelites into the Torah, since the serpent was a Canaanite symbol. Perhaps the most satisfactory commentary on this text is provided in Wisdom of Solomon 16:6-12 in the Old Testament Apocrypha, in which the bronze serpent is described as a symbol of salvation, and in which it is said that those who looked at the serpent were saved from the effects of the poisonous snake bites not by the power of the bronze snake but because they were obedient to the word of the Lord given through Moses.

Theologically, the account in Numbers 21:4-9 says that the people had sinned by speaking against God and against Moses. God punished them. The people repented and asked Moses to intercede for them. Moses interceded in behalf of the people. God forgave them and provided a tangible way in which they could now be obedient to God and receive healing benefits from God.

The details of the account were undoubtedly based on experiences with poisonous snakes within the Sinai Peninsula and in the southern Negev region and upon the popular belief that the creature that caused pain and death should also be the creature through which deliverance from pain and death could be accomplished. This is a principle that is similar in some ways to what occurs in medical immunizations.

Ephesians 2:1-10

In this summary of Paul’s message elsewhere, the writer here presents those who will read and hear as already figuratively raised up with Christ by God and caused to sit with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places. What shall we say about this? Was this bordering on Gnostic Christian perceptions? What the writer apparently wanted to stress was the certainty of the salvation that God provides through Christ. In our own ways we too should express this conviction.

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

This psalm of thanksgiving to God for the salvation in this life of deliverance from the devastating effects of serious illnesses is an appropriate complement of the other texts selected for this occasion. Together with the Numbers 21:4-9 text, it places its emphasis on salvation within this life here and now, providing for us a balance against the other-worldly emphases in the John 3:14-21 and Ephesians 2:1-10 texts.

THEME OF THE DAY
With God you get more than what you asked for. All the lessons, in anticipation of the surprising character of God’s saving work on the cross, are about God’s surprising ways which exceed our expectations (Justification by Grace and Providence), leading us to spontaneous expressions of gratitude (Sanctification).

Psalm 51:1-12

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 [chanon] and cleanse [taher] 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, 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/steadfastness [emeth] and wisdom (v. 6). After reiterating the plea for deliverance and mercy (even from physical distress), the psalmist pleads for joy and gladness [sason] and salvation/safety or ease [yesha] (vv. 7-9; cf. v. 12). This leads to hope for transformation that the forgiven sinner be given a new and right heart [leb] and a willing spirit [ruach]. 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).

Application: The Psalm drives preachers to a consideration of Original Sin. But another option is to focus more on what God has done for us in his mercy, how he purifies us through the baptismal ceremony of sprinkling (Justification by Grace) or to concentrate on how the Spirit gives us new life in face of suffering and sin, a life which (because we have been made to will it) is full of spontaneous joy (Sanctification).

OR

Psalm 119:9-17

This alternative Psalm is a meditation on the law of God, but in the mode of a lament. The Psalm is in the style of acrostic poem (each line beginning with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet). The verses assigned as a whole speak of the psalmist’s desire to learn and delight in God’s precepts/law [mitzvah; torah](vv. 10, 12, 14-16), that God would deal bountifully with us so that we might live and observe/heed [shamar ] his word [dabar] (v. 17). This is a way for youth to keep pure (v. 9) and Yahweh is petitioned not to let us stray (v. 10). It is good to be reminded of the Hebraic understanding of torah. The law is not a legalistic command but guidance by God (Leo Trepp, Judaism: Development and Life, p. 2).

Application: This Psalm provides another occasion to preach on the Jewish understanding of the law as guidance, that this is how the law functions for Christians when God deals bountifully with us (that Justification by Grace leads to Sanctification). (This theme could be related to the First Lesson.) Delighting in the word (Sanctification) could also be a sermon emerging from the text.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

This lesson is drawn from a book of prophecies of a late seventh-early sixth century BC prophet of Judah, dictated to his aide Baruch, from the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah through the era of the Babylonian Captivity. Some of the prophet’s criticism of the house of David and the temple, giving instead more attention to the Sinai covenant, may relate to his being an ancestor of one of David’s high priests, Abiathar, who lost control of the temple and was finally banished.

The assigned verses are part of the so-called Hopeful Scroll (see 30:1-3). It was probably a promise directed to Israel as a whole. But as prophecies have been loosened in editing from their original historical context, these prophecies of hope become new for every successive generation. The Lord is prophesied as in the future establishing a new [chadish] covenant [berith] with Israel [the old Hebraic phrase “cut a covenant” is used]. It will replace the one at Sinai that had been broken (vv. 31-32). This new covenant will involve putting the law [torah] in the hearts [leb] of people and renewing Israel’s status as God’s people (v. 33). All will know him and the people’s sin will be forgiven [salach, sent away] (v. 34). A hymn follows (vv. 35-37).

Application: A sermon on this text read prophetically as pointing to the work of Christ might be used to help interpret the favorable assessments of the law in the assigned Psalm. A related approach might be proclaim that the New Covenant established through Christ “sends away” all our sins, replaces the Ten Commandments in favor of a spontaneous, joyful commitment to doing good (Justification by Grace and Sanctification).

Hebrews 5:5-10

This is an anonymous treatise which, given its argument for the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice to those of the Levitical priests, was likely written prior to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD. Remarks in 2:3-4 suggest it was written by a member of a generation of Christians after the Apostles.

In ancient times Eusebius of Caesarea opened this discussion, contending that the epistle was a work of Paul but that Luke translated it for the Greeks (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1, p. 261). He cited Origen’s opinion that the book was written by a follower of Paul based on the apostle’s teachings (Ibid., p. 273). The book is not in the format of a traditional Hellenistic epistle. Modern scholars are more inclined to regard it as a sermon, possibly modified after it was delivered to include travel plans, greetings, and a closing (13:20-25). Christians addressed are thought to have been in danger of falling away from their confession (3:1; 4:14; 10:23); they had endured persecution (10:32-36).

The assigned verses are a continuing exposition of Jesus as high priest. The office of high priest is not a self-glorification of Jesus, but he was appointed by God who calls him his Son [huios], having begotten [gegenneka] him. Psalm 2:7 is quoted (v. 5). Psalm 110:4 is then cited, designating Jesus as high priest [hierus] after the order of the priest-king Melchizedek of Canaan (described in Genesis 14:17-20) (v. 6). Jesus, like Melchizedek, is both a king and high priest. While in the flesh, it is noted, Jesus offered prayers with loud cries to God who could save him. Though he was a Son, he learned obedience/submissiveness [hupakoe] through suffering [pascho] (vv. 7-8). The prayer Jesus offered in Gethsemane is suggested (Mark 14:32-42). Learning through what one has suffered was an ancient Greek proverb.

Having been made perfect/complete [teleiotheis ], Jesus became the source of eternal salvation [soteria, also translated safety or soundness] for all who obey/hearken submissively to [hupakoe] him (v. 9; cf. 2:17-18). Again his designation by God as high priest after the order of Melchizedek is noted (v. 10).

Application: The lesson provides opportunity to reflect with parishioners on the implications of Christology (especially the suffering of Jesus) for their faith in order better to appreciate the preciousness of God’s love (Justification by Grace). Christ’s role as high priest could also be explored (Atonement).

John 12:20-33

We have previously noted that this book is the last of the four gospels to be written, probably not composed until the last two decades of the first century. It is very different in style in comparison to the other three (so-called Synoptic) gospels. In fact it is probably based on these earlier gospels. The book has been identified with John the Son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and this claim was made as long ago as late in the first century by the famed theologian of the early church Irenaeus (Ante-

(Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 414). It is likely that it was written by a disciple of John. Hints of that possibility are offered by the first post-biblical church historian Eusebius of Caesarea who claimed that the book was written on the basis of the external facts made plain in the gospel and so John is a “spiritual gospel” (presumably one not based on eyewitness accounts of the author) (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1, p. 261). Its main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31).

As we have noted, however, recently some scholars have suggested an alternative account of the origins of John’s gospel. Appealing to the writings of a late first-early second century Bishop Papias, who may have implied that John’s gospel was the result of eyewitness origins, such scholars have argued that the book is in fact an authentic historical testimony to Jesus (Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, especially pp. 423ff; cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, pp. 154-155).

This lesson recounts part of the final stages of Jesus’ public ministry between Psalm Sunday and the Last Supper. This is the last of his pubic dialogues reported in this gospel. John has Jesus offer a prophecy of his suffering and death which is unique to this gospel. Some Greeks who wish to see Jesus approach Philip (who with a Greek name was probably best able to communicate with them) about the possibility (vv. 20-21). With Andrew (also likely of Greek background), Philip approaches Jesus about the possibility of the Greeks seeing him (v. 22). Jesus answers with a reference to the hour [hora] of the Son of Man’s glorification [doxazo] to have come (his full manifestation) (v. 23). He proceeds to note the need for death and sacrifice (to hate one’s life) to gain life, for the grain to die if there is to be a wheat harvest (vv. 24-25). Those who would serve Jesus must follow him (v. 26).

Our Lord then refers to his troubled soul. But he resolves not to beg to be saved from the Passion, since he has come from that hour (v. 27). While Jesus calls on God the Father to glorify the Father’s name, a voice [phone] from heaven speaks of it being glorified (v. 28). The crowd confuses this voice with thunder of the angels [aggelos, literally “messenger”]. Jesus says that the voice has come for them (vv. 29-30). Jesus notes his death will judge [krino] the world [kosmos], driving away the prince of this world [Satan]. He will be lifted [hupsotho] from earth, drawing [helkuo] all people (vv. 31-32). John notes that this is a prophecy, signifying the kind of death Jesus would die (v. 33).

Application: The text provides another opportunity to celebrate God’s hidden ways, working for our good in ways that surprise us (especially through suffering) (Providence and Christology). Another possible sermon direction is to focus on the dynamic of the Atonement , how Christ drives away forces of evil and how his death leads to a harvest. In speaking of Jesus’ death as a judgment of the cosmos, it is good to be reminded of the Hebraic sense of the concept judgment [mishpat]. It can refer to a sense of comfort, not just to punishment [Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, p. 358].

John 12:20-33

In this interesting text that concludes this series of passion-resurrection predictions there are two different symbols used by the Johannine writers and community in describing Jesus’ death and the life that is by faith a result of that death.

The first of these two symbols (in 12:23-25) uses an analogy from life experiences in an agricultural society. Unless a kernel of wheat or of any other grain dies (rots, decays, germinates) after it is placed into the ground, it remains a single kernel. But when it dies (germinates), the sprout that grows from it has the potential to produce many other kernels. The death of the kernel (representing the death of the Jesus of history) is therefore predicted — again ex eventu — as well as declared to be essential if the Jesus of history is going to be used by God to produce life in many other persons. This analogy is particularly interesting, because the “sprout” that resulted in the growth of the early Church did not appear until after the death of the Jesus of history.

The second symbol (in 12:26, 32-33) that was introduced in the John 3:14-21 text that we used last Sunday is more obscure. If Jesus is lifted up from the earth, it is said that he will draw all people to himself. Although this analogy is said in the text to have indicated the nature of Jesus’ death (on a cross “between heaven and earth”), all people are not to be crucified with him. Instead, as the “Lamb of God,” by means of his death he will have the power to take away the sins of all people. The way in which 12:26 is expressed suggests that reference is being made not only to the crucifixion, but also to the return of Jesus to the Father. Anyone who wishes to serve the Johannine Jesus is directed to follow him to the cross and on his return journey to the Father. It is through the passion-resurrection-return of the Johannine Jesus that the Johannine Jesus (here self-designated as the Son of man) is glorified. This text is, therefore, a theological interpretation of the significance of Jesus’ death and physical absence from his followers in the Johannine community.

In comparison to the accounts in Mark and in Matthew, there is relatively little emphasis in the Fourth Gospel on Jesus’ agonizing over his death and of his suffering during his crucifixion. Instances such as John 12:27 and 13:21 are brief and fleeting. The Johannine Jesus is in almost complete control of every situation, even when he is dying on the cross. That is the way, therefore, in which we shall depict the Johannine Jesus if we are going to follow closely the pattern of the Fourth Gospel texts. (This reminds us of a major disadvantage of our current lectionary in which during Series B, the year of Mark, we repeatedly are jumping back and forth between Markan and Johannine texts, making a consistent, coherent pattern of presentation difficult.)

Hebrews 5:5-10

Although this text speaks about Jesus appealing to God and being heard by God just as the Johannine Jesus is depicted as having appealed to God and having been heard by God in John 12:20-33, if we look more closely we see that this Hebrews 5:5-10 text does not fit well with John 12:20-33. Certainly in John 12:20-33 the Johannine Jesus does not bring to God prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears. Such a description hardly fits even the Markan and Matthean accounts of Jesus in Gethsemane and on the cross, much less the Johannine presentations. Our emphasis in our use of this Hebrews text along with John 12:20-33, therefore, should be on Hebrews 5:9 in its proclamation of Jesus as the source of eternal salvation for those who are obedient to him.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

There is little direct connection between this well-known “New Covenant” text and John 12:20-33. We can establish a link, of course, by proclaiming that God forgives the sins of individuals through the death of Jesus as the “Lamb of God” in the Johannine sense. It has been traditional within Christianity to see the Church and the New Testament as the “New Covenant” prophesied in Jeremiah 31. Perhaps if we look at this text in its own context rather than from our Christian perspective, we will be able to see a promise and a hope that is still futuristic, still to be realized fully for us as Christians just as it is still fully to be realized for Jews, for Muslims, for Hindus, and for others.

Psalm 51:1-12

This psalm portion is similar to Jeremiah 31:31-34 in its plea for God “to create a clean heart and a new spirit within me.” In a general sense, that is our prayer during Lent and at all times. Is this not what we are asking in all of these texts, that God would take control of our lives more directly, both now and in the future? This is the emphasis that unites these texts.

Psalm 119:9-16

In this segment of Psalm 119, as in a variety of ways in each segment of this extensive acrostic psalm, the psalmist asks that God take control of the life of the psalmist by guiding the psalmist in the joy of living in accordance with the commandments that God has provided in the Torah. If the psalmist will meditate on God’s commandments, the way that the psalmist will live will be pure and blessed forever.

THEME OF THE DAY
God’s love shines through the cross and changes us. Sermons on our sinful condition and how through the cross God overcomes and changes our condition (Justification by Grace and the Atonement) are what this Sunday’s theme is all about.

Psalm 31:9-16
This is a prayer for deliverance from personal enemies, attributed to David. Since it is not likely that David is the author or even the agent in collecting this and other psalms attributed to him (Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, p. 512), it seems appropriate not to contend that the song is only about David, but rather to read it as a pertaining to the Davidic line, to pertain to Jesus as a prophecy of his sufferings. The psalmist begins by articulating his distress and grief/anger [kaas] while pleading for Yahweh’s graciousness/mercy [chanan](v. 9). The reference to soul [nephesh] in this verse is not an embrace of the notion of soul in Greek philosophy or as most of us understand the term, but a mere reference to the life-source. The psalmist proceeds, claiming to be in sorrow — scorned, a broken vessel, and the object of schemes (vv. 10-13). He prays for vindication that we may be saved [yashad, also translated, “given safety”] by God’s steadfast love or mercy [chesed]. Awareness is expressed that our whole life is in God’s hands [yad] (vv. 14-16).

Application: One possible sermon direction with this text is to read it prophetically as referring to Jesus, to highlight the suffering Christ endured for us to save us (Atonement). Another possibility is to highlight God’s love and mercy for us, illustrated in his giving us Christ but in his kindness to us in the trials we face (Justification by Grace).

Isaiah 50:4-9a
This lesson probably has its origins in the second oldest of the three distinct historical strands of prophecy that comprise the book. It seems quite clearly not to have been the work of the eighth century BC prophet Isaiah who worked in Judah (the Southern Kingdom), but to have emerged soon after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 539 BC and so during the Babylonian Captivity. The text is taken from the Book of Consolation, a series of eschatological prophecies. It is the so-called Third Servant Song. There is much dispute about the identity of the servant in these songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:1-6; 52:13–53:12). Historically the church has claimed the referent of these texts is to an individual (the Messiah, and specifically to Jesus). But many scholars understand them to refer the role the nation of Israel would play in propagating God’s mission.

The servant says that God made him a teacher, to sustain the weary (exiled Israelites) (v. 4). The servant is said to do the Lord’s bidding and accepts the insults received (vv. 5-6). Using a law-court image, the servant expresses unshakable confidence that God will vindicate him. The one who justifies [tsadaq , declare right ] the servant will come near, so none will condemn [rasha] the psalmist (vv. 7-9).

Application: Sermons on this text will proclaim God’s long-standing plan to overcome sin and evil in Jesus (Atonement) and in the lives of the faithful (Justification by Grace).

Philippians 2:5-11
This letter was written by Paul while a prisoner to Christians in a province of Macedonia. There is some debate about whether the epistle in its present form might be a combination of three separate letters (for an early theologian of the church named Polycarp spoke of several of Paul’s letters written to Philippi [Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 33]). Its immediate occasion was to thank the Philippians for their gifts, by way of the return of Paul’s co-worker Epaphroditus to Philippi (2:25-30), the church member who had brought these gifts to Paul. The main purpose of the apostle is to urge persistence in faith in face of opposition.

After urging the faithful to love and be concerned with the interests of others (vv. 2-4), Paul exhorts them to have the mind of Christ Jesus (v. 5). Christ is depicted (in hymn form, probably of pre-Pauline origins) as divine (in the form [morphe] of God), but also as one emptying [ekenose] himself into humanity in the form of a slave [doulos] and to death on the cross (vv. 6-8). In turn, God has exalted [huperupsose] him. The confession that Christ is Lord [kurios] is central to this letter (vv. 9-11; v. 29; 3:8, 20; 4:1, 2, 4). It is possible that the hymn is inspired by the Fourth Servant Song of Isaiah 52:13–53:12).

Application: Sermons on this text might focus on Christology, on Christ’s Atoning Work, or on the implications of Christ’s self-sacrificing ministry for the faithful to live this way (Sanctification).

Mark 14:1–15:47
Again we consider a text in the first of the Synoptic Gospels to be written, a book that was perhaps the source of other gospels, perhaps based on oral traditions of the Passion narrative and accounts of Jesus’ sayings (the so-called Q-source). Probably written prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, this anonymous work is traditionally ascribed to John Mark, perhaps referred to as an associate of Paul (Acts 12:12-25, 15:37; Colossians 4:10) or as Peter’s scribe (1 Peter 5:13). Some speculate that the original audience was the church in Rome (especially Gentiles), as it presumes readers unfamiliar with Jewish customs and Palestinian geography (see 7:2-4, 31), but it also could have been written for Palestinian Christians. This text is the oldest account of Jesus’ betrayal, the Last Supper, Gethsemane, his capture, trial, crucifixion, and death.

The lengthy lesson begins with the chief priests and scribes initiating a conspiracy against Jesus before the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (part of the commemoration of the Hebrews’ escape from Egypt). They do so for fear of a popular expression of support for him (14:1-2). Mark reports a long-standing plot against Jesus (3:6; 11:18; 12:12). In an account omitted by Luke and portrayed by John (12:1-8) as prior to Palm Sunday, the story of Jesus’ anointing by a woman at Simon the Leper’s home in the town of Bethany (about two miles southeast of Jerusalem) is reported (14:3-9).

The fact that the woman poured ointment on Jesus’ head connoted a royal anointment (cf. 2 Kings 9:6), implying that Jesus is an authoritative king. Jesus defends her actions from those critiquing her for not using the money spent for the ointment (the value of one year’s wages in that economy) for the poor [ptochos]. Jesus defends her, claiming that the poor will always be with us (cf. Deuteronomy 15:11) and that she had done the right thing preparing his body for burial. The account then is a prophecy of Jesus’ Passion.

Judas Iscariot conspires with the chief priests to betray Jesus (14:10-11). The meaning of Iscariot could relate to the Semitic term for “fraud” or the Latin work for “assassin.” The account of the Last Supper on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (commemorating the escape of the Hebrews from Egypt) follows. We learn of how Jesus came to hold the meal in the house offered for his use (by virtue of Jesus’ prophecy to his disciples). They are to use for a room a house where a man carrying water enters (14:12-16). At the meal (which may have only been a meal on Passover Eve), Jesus prophesies his betrayal by one of the disciples while dipping bread into a bowl with that person. He refers to himself with the Messiah.

The actual meal and Jesus’ Word of Institution, consecrating the elements, are reported (14:22-24). The reference he makes to new covenant ways is necessary, for Jews would never drink blood (Leviticus 17:10ff). Never again, Jesus says, will he drink wine until he drinks in the kingdom of God (14:25). After singing a hymn (probably Psalms 115-118, typical in the Passover meal), Jesus and the disciples leave for the Mount of Olives. Citing Zechariah 13:7, he prophesies that all will desert him, the shepherd [poimain] struck and the sheep scattered (14:26-27). Jesus claims that after being raised up he will meet his followers in Galilee (14:28). Peter protests, insisting that he will not desert, but Jesus predicts that he will betray him before morning dawns (14:29-31). The disciples and Jesus go to Jerusalem, leaving all except Peter, James, and John behind as he prays. He becomes distressed, agitated, and grieved petitioning that the hour might pass from him (14:32-35). He refers to God as Abba in his petitions, a familiar title no Jew would dare attribute to the Lord, resolving finally to do his will (14:36). On three occasions he returns to select disciples finding Peter and the others sleeping. The flesh [sarx] is weak, though the spirit [pneuma -- God’s energizing power] is willing/eager [prosthumon], Jesus claims. The third time he speaks of the hour [hora] coming for the Son of Man’s betrayal (14:37-42). The man Jesus stands in stark contrast to other human beings.

The betrayal by Judas’ infamous kiss of Jesus to an armed crowd follows next (14:43-46). Kissing a rabbi as a greeting was a common sign of respect in this era. One of Jesus’ followers takes armed action against the high priest’s slave, but Jesus submits, noting he was not arrested previously when teaching in the temple (14:47-50). The story of a young man who followed Jesus’ followers is next narrated. The lad is captured, runs away naked from captors holding on to his clothes (a linen cloth) (14:51-52). The story may have been narrated in order to function as a contrast of Jesus’ calmness facing death and the fear of the follower. Others claim that the young man is Mark and that the Last Supper was held in his mother’s home (Acts 12:12).

Next Jesus appears before Caiaphas, the high priest. Peter only follows at a distance, warming himself at the fire (14:53-54). While he is comfortable, Jesus is grilled. The trial proceeds before the high priests and the whole counsel (the Sanhedrin [suhedrion]), all conspiring with false witnesses. Jesus is accused of threatening to destroy the temple and rebuild it without hands (14:55-58). This is a charge of wizardry [yiddeoni] — a capital crime (Leviticus 20:27). It is noted that the witnesses did not agree (14:59). After failing to get a response from Jesus, the high priest asks Jesus if he is the Messiah [Christos]. In contrast to Matthew’s account, Mark has Jesus respond affirmatively and speaks of his glorification as Son of Man, sitting at the right hand of the power [dunamis](God) (14:60-62). The high priest responds in grief (tearing his clothes), accusing Jesus of blasphemy and deserving death. All (presumably the Sanhedrin) condemn Jesus as deserving death. He is tortured (14:63-65; cf. Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 110:1). Peter is then identified as one of Jesus’ followers and denies him three times before dawn. Remembering Jesus’ prophecy, he weeps (14:66-72).

Members of the Sanhedrin elect in the morning to hand Jesus over to the Roman prefect, Pilate. He asks Jesus if he is king of the Jews, and Jesus simply notes that that is Pilate’s confession (15:1-2). Hearing other accusations, Jesus gives no answer, astounding Pilate (15:3-5). There is no report of the death of Judas. That is only found in Matthew (27:3-10). In Luke (23:6-16), Jesus is passed on to Pilate. Though there is no historical evidence of such a practice, it is reported that it was common for Pilate to release a prisoner at Passover. He offers the crowd Jesus, king of the Jews (for he realized that the accusations against him had been trumped up over jealously) or Barabbas, who had committed murder during an insurrection [stasis] (15:6-10). The chief priests stir up the crowd to call for Barabbas’ release (15:11). The crowd, so stirred up, calls for Jesus’ crucifixion and wishing to please the crowd, Pilate complies (15:12-15). Pilate is here clearly portrayed as a mere pawn of manipulative Jewish leaders. According to Jewish law a curse was implicit in crucifixion (Deuteronomy 21:23).

The soldiers lead Jesus to a courtyard and mock him, making him wear purple, a crown of thorns, and calling him king of the Jews (15:16-20). Those outside the faith unknowingly witness to Jesus. On the road to the site of the crucifixion, Golgotha, Simon, from the African district of Cyrene (with a large Jewish population), is made to bear Jesus’ cross (15:21). It was standard practice in this era that condemned prisoners only carried the crossbar, not their crosses as a whole. In any case, Simon is given no credit for undertaking this task, as it is imposed on him. At Golgotha, Jesus refuses wine mingled with myrrh (15:22-23). When crucified, Jesus’ garments are divided by lot (15:24-25). This may be read as fulfillment of Psalm 22:18. An inscription of the charge “King of the Jews” [Ho Basileus ton Ioudaikon] is read. And many who pass by mock him (15:26-32).

Darkness envelops that land from noon until three. This may be a reference to Amos 8:9-10, where mourning for an only son is related to the sun going down in daylight. Jesus cries out, feeling forsaken by the Father (15:33-34). Some mistakenly say this call of anguish in Aramaic was a call to Elijah (15:35). (Later Jewish folklore regarded Elijah as a rescuer of the righteous [see 2 Kings 2:9-12].) Jesus is mockingly given a sponge with sour wine and dies (15:36-37), perhaps an allusion to fulfilling Psalm 69:21. At that time the curtain that closed off the Holy of Holies in the temple is torn (15:38). This symbolizes that in Jesus’ death God’s people have direct access to him (cf. Hebrews 10:19-20).

A centurion seeing Jesus breathe his last confesses Jesus to be God’s Son [huios tou theou] (15:39). The testimony by a Gentile completes the theme of the gospel — that Jesus is Son of God (1:1). The title Son of God was tied to the Messiah since 2 Samuel 7:12-16. The reference was to how this Son would reign on God’s behalf. Reference is made to some women, including Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother James, Joses, and Salome (15:40-41). The virgin Mary is identified elsewhere as the mother of James and Joses (6:3). A respected member of the council Joseph of Arimathea, expecting the immanence of the kingdom of God, asks for Jesus’ body. Pilate receives verification of the death and gives Joseph the body (15:42-45). Joseph takes the body from the cross, wraps it in linen, and lays it in a tomb with a stone at its door (15:46). Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus see where the body is laid (15:47).

Application: A number of sermon possibilities emerge from this text. Focus could be on the suffering of Jesus and his Atoning Work (like the Second Lesson), the hidden character of his ministry (that Jesus’ messiahship is better understood by outsiders than by his followers [Theological Method], or focus could be on what life looks like when we live it in the shadows of the cross of Christ (Sin, Justification by Grace, and Sanctification).