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 13th
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
Posts
2 comments:
Skandalon is the New Testament word for mimetic desire and rivalry (i.e. your-desire-fuels-my-desire-and-makes-you-an-an-obstacle-and-vice-versa). And like mimetic rivalry it is unconscious or preconscious. That means it happens before we know it! It also follows that it cannot be sinful. It's an acute form of temptation (trial) and temptation in itself is not sinful.
How we respond to it can become sinful of course. But that is not the focus of the gospel texts. It is the event of the skandalon itself and those who cause it.
But as we saw last night it is the "scandals" that are burnt up in the end times and the acts of lawlessness, not in fact those who create them, let alone those who are their victims.
That's why I think "causes of sin" as a translation distorts the question. It shifts everything from the mimetic event to a moral and legal category.
It is the message of love, the pleroma of Colossians, that saves everyone on both sides of the question from scandalizing each other and being scandalized.
Tony
Matthew elsewhere has some pretty terrible things to say about those who cause scandal, i.e. those who deliberately and consciously fracture service and fellowship, i.e. the new human reality of Christian community. But the accent of skandalon is on the fracturing of this reality, not on the individual legal category of "sin".
P.S. Jerry, thanks for getting us started in this new approach to posting the studies! Your initial post rocks! Tony
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