Matthew’s Use of the Old Testament - Part 4As It Is Written in the ProphetsMatthew 19:1-12; Genesis 1:26-27, 2:20-24, Questions on divorce (01/03/19) Apparently the scribes and Pharisees allowed a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all, even one that we would consider trifling. It's interesting that in vs. 7, the Pharisees asked why Moses commanded that the man should give his wife a bill of divorcement, but in vs. 7, Jesus answers that Moses permitted divorce because people are so unteachable. Jesus doesn't seem to me to forbid divorce, he just thinks it's a really bad idea; I could be wrong. It also seems to me that there's a little more variation among Mark, Matthew, and Luke about exactly what Jesus said about divorce than there normally is. Usually (not always) I expect at least two of the three to agree fairly closely about something that two or three of them report. Compare Mark 10:2-12 with today's reading, and compare Matthew 5:31 with Luke 16:18, and see what you think. There are a couple of possible explanations: Jesus talked about divorce on several occasions, or the disciples were just as unteachable as the rest of us. Tomorrow we'll look at what Moses and other prophets said about divorce. Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Isaiah 50:1; Jeremiah 3:1, 11-13; Malachi 2:13-16, Questions on divorce (01/04/19) Years ago, I had a pastor who led a study at our church called "Divorce Recovery Workshop." Now, this pastor, like Jesus, felt that on the whole divorce is a bad idea. Even so, after a couple of workshops he said, "I've come to realize that some divorces are better than some marriages." I believe this is the position of the Bible: divorce is generally a bad idea, but some divorces are better than some marriages. God hates divorce, and remarriage between divorced persons who have meantime married someone else is forbidden. Nevertheless, the OT explicitly allows divorce, as does Paul under certain circumstances (1 Corinthians 7:10-17, 27). There is a process, however. The wife must be given divorce papers so that she is free to marry again. God demands of his unfaithful people, "Where are your divorce papers?" God's people are his bride, never divorced, and not free to worship other gods. Matthew 19:13-15; Isaiah 55:1-3, "Come to me." (01/07/19) "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," says the LORD, and nowhere is this more obvious than in thinking about people. We favor the powerful; God favors the weak. We favor the successful; God favors the suffering. One of the primary reasons for studying scripture is to align our thoughts with God's thoughts, and our ways with his ways. Matthew 19:16-29; Deuteronomy 8:6-18, On wealth (01/08/19) Standard Deuteronomic theology says that if you obey God's commandments (Deuteronomy 8:6, 11), he will bless you (Deuteronomy 8:16) and make you wealthy (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Almost everybody believed this until the time of the Exile, and many people continued to believe it during and after the Exile. (Many people still do; it's called "prosperity gospel.") This is why Jesus' disciples are astonished when he says that "it will be very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:30 – 20:16; Deuteronomy 24:14-15, Parable of the laborers in the vineyard (01/09/19) Knowing that the Law required workers to be paid daily probably doesn't make much difference to the point of the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. It's interesting, though, and it shows how Jesus normally used material that everybody already knew as a foundation for teaching them something new. Matthew 20:17-28, Right and left: The Request (01/10/19) There was certainly enough blame to go around. James and John wanted to be seated at Jesus' right and left; that is, they wanted the places of chief honor in Jesus' kingdom. The other disciples were angry at James and John, and I've always suspected they were mad because they didn't think of it first. Jesus scolds all of them equally (vs. 25). What's so great about the right and left places that 12 grown men were arguing about them? Tune in tomorrow. 1 Kings 22:19; Ps. 9:7-8, 11:4, 103:19; Isa. 6:1, 66:1; Jer. 3:17; 1 Kings 8:25, 9:5; Psalms 132:11; Isaiah 16:5; Jer. 17:25, 33:17; Daniel 7:9-14, Right and left: The Possibilities (01/11/19) When James and John asked to sit at Jesus' right and left hands when he came into his kingdom, were they asking because they thought he was God, or because they thought he was the descendant of David? I don't know; you'll have to read for yourself. Matthew 20:29-34; Isaiah 9:6-7, 16:3-5, 55:3-5; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 30:8-9, Son of David (01/14/19) By the first century, there were a lot of people who could be called "a descendant of David," but the title "Son of David" was one of great power and majesty. In addressing Jesus as the "Son of David," the beggars were expressing confidence that he had the power and right to heal them. Jeremiah 33:14-18; Ezekiel 34:20-24, 37:24-28; Hosea 3:4-5; Amos 9:11-12; Zechariah 12:7-8, Son of David (01/15/19) Remember that with only a few exceptions (e.g., Moses, Nathan, Samuel), the prophets lived after the time of King David, when the nation was in decline. When they say "my servant David shall be prince among them" or "the children of Israel shall return and seek ... David their king," they are talking about the Son of David, that is, a descendant of David who would be like David in devotion to God. Some of the other prophets make this clearer when they say, for example, "I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David" or speak of "the glory of the house of David." The fullness of the power and majesty of this Son of David is revealed in the words of Zechariah, "the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD." Matthew 21:1-6; Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9-10, Palm Sunday, entry to Jerusalem (01/16/19) In the first century, most people walked wherever they had to go. Kings and upper-echelon military officers rode horses. In between, there was the donkey, a humble beast of burden. The prophet Zechariah foretold that God would raise up a righteous and saving king, mounted humbly on a donkey. When Jesus chose the donkey, he was telling people what kind of Messiah he was – not a military king, but a saving and righteous king. Some commentaries say that Matthew has combined part of Isaiah 62:11 with part of Zechariah 9:9 in his reference to "the prophet," and they could be right. Matthew 21:7-11; 1 Kings 1:32-35; 2 Kings 9:11-13; Psalms 118:24-29, Palm Sunday, entry to Jerusalem (01/17/19) Do you ever wonder how you get there from here? There is considerable agreement that Matthew 21:9 quotes Psalms 118:25-26. There seems to be no doubt that in the first century, Greek hosanna was used in the liturgy in place of Hebrew yasha na, which ought to mean "Save, I pray," or as we would say, "Please save." (Hosanna does not appear in the Greek Old Testament.) Unfortunately, the translations of the Greek word hosanna in Matthew 21:9 and the Hebrew yasha na in Psalms 118:25 are all over the map, which of course makes me wonder if I'm right about what they ought to mean. I looked at more than two dozen translations of the New Testament. Many of them just have "hosanna" in Matthew, but others have hooray for, praise to, welcome, God bless, and glory to (where did those come from?). Only two, The Twentieth Century New Testament and the Weymouth New Testament, have God save. In Psalms – and remember that most scholars think the crowd in Matthew is quoting Psalms – we get save now, save us, saved us, and deliver us. So, I urge you to read more than one translation, but I warn you that sometimes enlightenment is hard to come by. But that's not what I want to talk about. Pay close attention to the coats on the donkey, the road, and the steps, and to the title "Son of David."
Answer: There was no horse. Matthew has onon, which is unquestionably a donkey, and polon, which is a colt, specifically a donkey colt or filly. Polon is used in the New Testament only in this story, but it’s used in the story in all four Gospels (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12). Matthew and Luke quote Zechariah 9:9, where the Hebrew definitely has a (male) donkey and a “colt, the offspring of a (female) donkey.” Now, Zechariah has both, because a Hebrew prophet was hardly able to open his mouth without saying everything in parallel couplets; normally that means one thing, described twice. Matthew has both the donkey and the colt, but Matthew also likes to do things in twos, and besides, he’s quoting Zechariah. Mark, Luke, and John mention only the colt, but none of them say the donkey was not there. John also quotes Zechariah, but he changes it to omit the donkey. Now, as to sitting on “them.” That’s exactly what the Greek says, let me see .... It looks like the coats went on both the colt and the donkey (“they put their coats on them,” per Greek). In “he sat on them” (per Greek), the “them” I suppose could apply to either the donkeys or the coats, although the coats are closer to “them” in the sentence. I think we also have to rely on the principle that I call “the brains God gave a goose,” which says that Jesus couldn’t have been riding both of them, and Matthew knew that, and he knew that we would know that! Matthew 21:12-13; Nehemiah 13:4-9; Isaiah 56:6-7; Jeremiah 7:1- 11, Palm Sunday, cleansing of the Temple (01/18/19) Jesus' cleansing of the Temple is reported in all four Gospels (see Mark 11, Luke 19, John 2). Some commentators take these to be one incident; others, including John Wesley, take them to be two, one reported by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and another earlier incident reported by John. (I also subscribe to two.) Often, we forget that Jesus is not the first prophet to be incensed by misuse of the Temple. Jeremiah was especially scathing in his criticisms, and Nehemiah did some cleansing personally. King Josiah also had to cleanse the Temple (2 Kings 23). It's not particularly surprising that Jesus lost his temper a little bit when he had to do it again! Matthew 21:14-17; Psalms 8:1-9; Wisdom 10:20b-21, Palm Sunday, praise by the children. (01/21/19) In Matthew 21:16, Jesus quotes Psalms 8:2 exactly as it is in the Greek Old Testament. The Greek OT was in more common use by the first century than the Hebrew OT because most Jews didn't read Hebrew, a dead language. The Greek OT included several books, apparently first written in Greek, that were well known then and are now called the Apocrypha. The New Testament often refers to these books as well as to the Hebrew scripture. Some Bibles include them, and some don't. Sometimes they form a separate section between the Testaments, and sometimes the books are scattered wherever the translators think they fit in. Wisdom is my favorite book of the Apocrypha. Wisdom 10:20b-21 is similar to Psalms 8:2. Matthew 21:18-22; Jeremiah 8:8-13, Unfruitful fig vines (01/22/19) Some parables are acted out, as we have learned before, and I think this incident with the fig tree is an acted-out parable. (I could be wrong.) I wish that instead of asking, "How did this fig tree wither at once?" the disciples had asked, "Please explain the parable of the fig tree." Jesus answers their question with a little lecture on prayer. But I wonder if the answer to my question wouldn't have been something like, "As Jeremiah the prophet said, 'When I would gather them, declares the LORD, there are no ... figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.'" Be fruitful; be ready. Matthew 21:23-32, Authority and obedience (01/23/19) Actions speak louder than words. John brought a prophetic message that caused thousands of people to repent, and the scribes and Pharisees didn't believe his message. Jesus did mighty works, and the scribes and Pharisees didn't accept his authority. When he asks them to answer a simple question in return for a discussion of his authority, they refuse to answer. He tells them a parable about their behavior: their actions show that they do not accept the will of God, no matter what their words are. Matthew 21:33-46, Parables of vineyards and stones (01/24/19) Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees two parables back to back. The first, which we read yesterday, illustrates that the scribes and Pharisees were ignoring the will of God. The second illustrates that they were actively attempting to thwart the will of God. They get the point, and they become angry and want to have him arrested. Isaiah 5:1-7, 28:13-17; Psalms 118:22-23, Parables of vineyards and stones (01/25/19) Yesterday and the day before, we read two parables that Jesus told about people working in vineyards. The scribes and Pharisees clearly understood that the parables were directed against them, and there's a good reason for this. The vineyard is a standard Old Testament symbol of Israel, and the scribes and Pharisees were leaders of Israel. They were responsible for the vineyard, and the parables showed that they weren't taking care of it in accordance with God's will. In the Old Testament, no good ever comes for the unproductive vineyard. Jesus also mentioned the cornerstone, and that's an image from the prophets as well. Matthew 22:1-14, Parable of the wedding feast (01/28/19) Did you know that there is no wedding ceremony specified or described anywhere in the Bible? There are brides, bridegrooms, wedding garments, and wedding feasts, but no wedding ceremony. Interesting, huh? Anyway, Jesus is telling a series of parables directed against the religious leadership, which as we have seen has already been criticized for not being ready to do the will of God, ignoring the will of God, and actively attempting to thwart the will of God. Here the leadership is equated with the invited guests, who don't even show up! God decides to replace them. Matthew 22:15-33, God is God of the living, not the dead. (01/29/19) Jesus has been telling parables aimed at the religious leadership, and by this time, the scribes and Pharisees are steaming, and the rest of the leadership is annoyed. They decide (logically enough) that since Jesus uses words against them, they can use words against him. There was normally no love lost between the Pharisees, who wanted the Romans to go away, and the Herodians, who supported Herod and thus Rome. They figure out a question that is bound to offend somebody, and they come to him all wide-eyed and innocent to ask it. If Jesus says, yes, pay taxes, it will offend all the Jews who oppose Rome, and if he says no, it will offend all the ones who support Rome (not to mention the Romans!). They are amazed when he turns their question back onto them. The Sadducees make no bones about their own trick question. The Pharisees believed in resurrection, and the Sadducees did not, so they think of another question that's bound to offend somebody. Moses, they say correctly, told us that surviving brothers have to marry the widow. So, then who exactly is she married to in this "resurrection"? Answer that if you can! He does. Genesis 38:8; Deuteronomy 25:5-10; Exodus 3:13-15, God is God of the living, not the dead. (01/30/19) The Sadducees wanted to talk about Law, but Jesus answered with a statement about God. Both question and answer are based on scripture. Now, just because I found this interesting, I'll tell you about the Greek. In Greek, putting in a form of "to be" with a pronoun usually makes the statement emphatic. Both the Greek Old Testament and Jesus' quote from it say, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," not just "I am the God ...." I presume that this emphasis is what gives force to Jesus' argument that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the seven brothers and widow of the question are all alive. He, of course, was in a position to know the facts, but the Sadducees were only in a position to know the scripture. His criticism of them is partially that they didn't even know the scripture (Matthew 22:29). Matthew 22:34-40; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Leviticus 19:11-18, Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. (01/31/19) How big is your neighborhood? I have a cousin living in Europe, church friends who have done mission work in Africa and South America, young student friends from China, and a son who has been to Australia on business a couple of times. I am almost certainly connected to you by no more than six steps between my friends and your friends. No matter who you are, you and I are neighbors. Love God; love your neighbor. Matthew 22:41-46; Psalms 110:1-7, Jesus asks a trick question in return. (02/01/19) The problem with asking a trick question is that you have to be smarter than the person you are asking. The Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, and Herodians have asked Jesus questions that they thought were unanswerable, or at least only answerable in unpopular ways. Every time, he turned the problem around and made them look foolish. Finally, he asks them a question, and they have no answer; they don't dare ask any more. More of As It Is Written in the Prophets Introduction; Matthew Chs. 1-4 First and Second Discourses, Narratives, Matthew Chs. 1-11 Third and Fourth Discourses, Narratives, Matthew Chs. 12-18 Narrative, Matthew Chs. 19-22 Fifth and Final Discourse, Narrative, Matthew Chs. 23-28 Copyright 2018, 2019 and 2021 by Regina L. Hunter. All rights reserved. This page has been prepared for the web site by RPB. Opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the author, Regina Hunter, and may or may not be shared by the sponsors or the Bible-study participants. Thanks to the Holy Spirit for any useful ideas presented here, and thanks to all the readers for their support and enthusiasm. All errors are, of course, the sole responsibility of the author. Our Sponsors: St. John's United Methodist Church, "Transforming Lives Through Christ." 2626 Arizona NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110 St. John's Music Ministries now has a YouTube channel, bringing you free concerts and choral music. 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