Parables IV

 I am so very grateful to Jerry Shave for doing these summaries of our Friday Bible Studies. As you will surely pick up he is no mean biblical scholar himself. Of course as the picky theologian that I am I will occasionally post a point in the comments, but you can certainly disregard them and be well served by Jerry alone! It's the grace of God that counts, and all here is grace! Tony Bartlett

The Sermon on the Mount Mt. 5-7 seems to be all about non-violence and trusting God. In Mt chap 25 there is a separation of sheep and goats in judgment with the goats suffering torture. Is there a way we can understand this in keeping with our understanding of the loving God (Abba) that Jesus reveals?

Matt. 7:21-27 Jesus warns his followers that prophesying, casting out demons and doing many deed of power does not mean that they will enter into the reign of God. Remember, Matthew’s kingdom of heaven is a kingdom or reign of God on earth and not some heavenly place after death. Jesus doesn’t punish them, but he says, “God away from me, you evil doers.” Our proposed interpretation is this. They may be doing these things, but their method is by power and not by the methods of peaceful transformation of Jesus. In other words, their actions may be effective but their methods wrong. Jesus does not want their methods associated with the new Way he is introducing.

Matt. 7:24-27 The house built on a rock stands; the one built on sand falls. The “house” would have been a recognizable metaphor that can stand for all human constructs, i.e. empires, nations, economic systems, institutions, churches and our lives. All will fall or collapse, if built on violence and power rather than love and forgiveness. When we look at the big picture, history seems to bear this out. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Psa, 121:1

The familiar parable of the vine and the branches is in John 15:1-7. If we consider, that vines have tendrils not branches, the union of believers and the Master seems even more intimate. The word for prunes also means cleans. To be thrown into the fire and burned need not be interpreted as thrown into a final “hell”. Hell was not a Hebrew idea and there is no word for hell in the Bible. Maybe, the idea is of a purifying burning. (See I Cor. 3:13ff. The Bible has a lot of references to fire used to cleanse or purify.)

In Matt:25-46 the “goats” “go away” which suggests a choice and as opposed to being sent. As we noted last week, “eternal” is not a timeless eternity, but a long, long time.

Matt 18:23-35 The unforgiving servant in vs. 26 is “handed over to the basanizo in Greek . “Torturer” seems like the accepted and

legitimate translation. But the verb root of basanizo is based on the noun basanos which is “primarily a touchstone, employed in testing metals” (W.E. Vine, Dictionary of N.T. Words.) That is where Tony gets the alternative reading or “the rubber” who tests by rubbing to clean up these goats who have chosen to go away. “God can’t kill anything” Nobody is lost.” (Tony)

This does not take away the seriousness of the call of Jesus and that there is and will be a time of “testing and cleaning” up that is necessary for all in the final Reign of God. Jerry

Parables III

Jesus used parable word pictures which have many layers of interpretation to describe the new reality he was introducing to the world. 

In Mark 3:20-22 we read that Jesus was being opposed by the religious establishment because he wasn’t playing by their rules. Here he is accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul aka Lord of Dung or Lord of the Flies (remember the book by William Golding?) 

In defending himself Jesus used the illustration (parable) that a “house divided cannot stand” (vs.25) and if Satan (the accuser) is casting himself out, then “his end has come”. (vs 26) That is quite logical. Why would Satan do that? This is the common understanding of this short parable. 

Now, from the perspective of Rene Girard, Jesus is, in fact, saying that Satan is finished because Jesus is revealing Satan’s real nature. Satan’s real nature is not a supernatural reality, but a very human construct at work in the world. This is not an easy concept to grasp. Girard believes Jesus is deconstructing the idea of Satan by describing Satan as the principle of imitative (mimetic) rivalry that is everywhere seen in the conflicts that divide nations, politics, churches, homes etc. It is everywhere where conflict divides. “I’m right; your wrong”. “I’m good: your bad”. Without an established hierarchy of social power this rivalry and conflict leads to an “all against all crisis" of increasing violence. This is the crisis that the world is in today, according to Girard. I think he is right. Violence seems to be increasing everywhere. Jesus is the only Way. We better stop imitating one another in the conflict of human desires and start imitating Jesus (God) in love, compassion and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit is the power that makes this possible. We are to be part of the new creation and this is the way to peace. We are all being changed. ( See Bartlett, Virtually Christian)

This a new way! In Mark 2:18-22 Jesus uses two examples of this newness when he is asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like the disciples of John? (vs18) Jesus says, “We don’t fast because it is party time! We are celebrating the new thing I am doing. When I am gone, then the spiritual discipline of fasting will be more appropriate. (my paraphrase of the bridegroom being present at the wedding vs. 19-20) 

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Then Jesus adds the fact that you do not sew new cloth on old cloth or put new wine in old wineskins. It will make matters worse. 

There is a radical newness about the Jesus Way. It can’t just be tacked on to the old way of religious practice.

Now, regarding how Jesus cast out demons. He did not destroy them. He bound them by revealing the mimetic conflict and restored the possessed one to inner peace by the power of his loving, accepting presence. (See Mk 5:15 Gerasene Demoniac)

Matthew chapter 25 deserves special attention because it is often interpreted as a final end time Judgment (Son of Man comes) and the king in the parable separates the sheep from the goats with the goats going away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life. (vs. 46) This seems like another case of the writer adapting what may have been a parable of Jesus, but putting a new spin on it to move the division and the judgment to the end time in order to preserve the unity of the fellowship. I think Jesus wants us to give food, drink and clothing. He wants us to care for the sick and those who are in prison. Such caring is like doing those things to Jesus. Don’t we need to look for Jesus in everyone? (Note that neither the sheep or the goats recognized Jesus (See vs 37 & 44) Maybe, “the least of these who are members of my family” ( alternative reading my brothers) vs 40 and also “one of the least of these (vs,45) are both referring to followers of Jesus. See “one of these little ones who believe in me” in Matthew in Matt. 18:6. In that section, Matthew has Jesus talking to his disciples. Considering that Matthew was writing at a time when many Christian believers were suffering in just such conditions as described in Matthew 25, it is possible that Matt. 25 was addressed to situations in the community. However we interpret “least of these”, it is good for us to care for others and to see Jesus in all persons. 

In Matthew 25:46 the goats “go away” they are not sent or cast out. And, we already have talked about eternal (Gk aion) which does not mean an endless, static, timeless condition as in Greek philosophy. It means an age or duration as “ a long, long time”. 

Many of the parables in Matthew end with dire threats of judgment. It is not surprising that some Christian groups prefer Matthew’s gospel because the threats work better to exert control. 

Where both Mark and Luke refer to the kingdom of God, Matthew always substitutes kingdom of heaven. This has led some people, myself included, to think that Jesus was talking about a heavenly, other- worldly realm and minimize the emphasis Jesus placed on the kingdom here on earth. Now, I think, Matthew, because of his Jewish background, was just being a good Jew and used heaven as a euphemism to avoid using the holy name of God. 

“Your Kingdom come.” The Lord’s prayer in Luke 11:5 (NRSV) 

Peace, Jerry

Parables II

The study of the parables continues. Last week’s parable of the growing seed (Mark 4:26-29) was contrasted with the “Wheat and the Tares” (Matthew 13:34-43) Matthew has lumped a number of parables all together in this 13^th chapter and thus separated them from the original narrative context. Now there are weeds (tarno) growing with the wheat and slaves ask the Master, “What shall we do about these weeds?” (Whoever heard of weeds being sown?) The solution is to do nothing. It will be sorted out at the end (eschatology) with some burning (gehenna) of the weeds. 

Matthew seems to be using this modified theme of seeds and growth from Mark to deal with a current problem. There is no established hierarchy to set the boundaries of this free-wheeling early community. Who are the true believers and who are the bad guys (children of the devil). Some of these early Christians want to purify the community by some proper sorting out and casting out. Matthew has this parable (Jesus as adapted) saying, “No, don’t do that.” Does this apply today as denominations try to purify the church? Earl mentioned that the Presbyterian Church in Mexico has recently broken relationships with the Presbyterian Church (USA) over the ordination of gays and lesbians. Matthew is trying to keep the flock together and eliminate the violence of a split in the community. Note that there is still some “burning at the end times, but that is an idea that is hard to eliminate. We will deal with that more when we look at Matthew chapter 25 with the sheep and the goats. 

Then we looked at Matthew 18:6-9. This is one of these “hard sayings” of Jesus about the “stumbling blocks”, scandals, temptations to sin. The Greek word is skandelizo to give offense or cause to stumble. It is translated different ways and can mean cause to sin.. Matthew uses it 14 times is used frequently in the NT and is very important. Jesus seems to take it very seriously. As a concept it was not discussed in theological studies until fairly recently, but is prominent in the work of theologians who are influenced by Rene Girard. The concept introduces a concept of sin as something that happens between people and not something that offends God because of broken rules. It is especially important for those theologians who are developing Biblical understand based on the works of Rene Girard. Undoubtedly, we will be talking more about this because it prompted a lively discussion. 

Jerry