And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other

 

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  

 

"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.  

 

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

 

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 

 

- Matthew 24:15-31 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His final public sermon (a grand critique of the scribes and Pharisees, see chapter 23), Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes."  My study Bible tells us that Daniel's prophecy of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11) was fulfilled in AD 70, when the Roman general Titus entered the Most Holy Place and had a statue of himself erected in the temple before having the temple destroyed.  The Lord's phrase when you see is understood as an indication that many of the disciples would still be alive at that time.  The words whoever reads, let him understand are commonly assumed to be inserted by St. Matthew into Christ's address as an encouragement to his early Christian flock, who may have witnessed this event.  

 

 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."  My study Bible directs us to Luke 23:29, in which Jesus blesses the barren women, as an acknowledgement of the overwhelming pain a mother endures seeing her children suffer as Jesus prophesies here.  Moreover, it notes that the severity of winter weather or respect for the Sabbath would prevent many faithful from fleeing quickly in a time of desperation.  A spiritual interpretation given in patristic commentary sees the Sabbath as symbolizing idleness with regard to virtue, and winter as indicating fruitlessness with regard to charity.  Therefore, the person who departs this life in such a spiritual state will suffer judgment.  

 

 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."  Once again, Jesus places emphasis on watchfulness, and the possibilities of deception.  (See yesterday's reading, above, and Christ's beginning by warning of deception:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.")  Moreover, here Jesus describes the manner in which He will return; He makes it clear that this event will be unmistakable to the whole world.  If there is any question or doubt, my study Bible points out, that alone is evidence that He has not returned.  As Christ's return will shine from the east, so Orthodox Christians whenever possible worship facing eastward in symbolic hope and anticipation of His second and glorious coming.  According to my study Bible, the carcass (or body; see Luke 17:37) refers to Christ, wile the eagles refer to the angels and the saints.  

 

 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."  According to patristic commentary, the sun will not be destroyed, but rather darkened in relation to the glory of Christ.  In other words, my study Bible explains, the sun will appear to be dark by comparison when Christ returns in the fullness of His splendor. 

 

"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."  My study Bible tells us that the sign of the Son of Man is the Cross, which will be revealed as the standard for Christ's impending judgment.  While at His first coming, He came in humility and mortality, at His second coming, He is to be revealed in power and great glory.  

 

"And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."  My study Bible cites 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which it calls one of the clearest New Testament passages on the Second Coming of Christ.  It cites the first century document, The Didache, which lists three signs that will mark the return of Christ.  First there's the "sign spread out in the heavens" which is Christ and His hosts; second, "the sign of the trumpet"; and finally "the resurrection of the dead."  It states that, for the righteous, the return of Christ is a comfort, not a threat (verse 18).

 

 In today's reading, Jesus speaks several times of the elect.  It's important that we notice that the times of which He speaks are mixed:  there are references here to the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as the end of the world as we know it, and His return.  Somehow synonymous with the terrifying destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem at that time (a catastrophic symbol, in some sense, of the end of the Old Covenant) is also the finish of time as we know it, the present era.  In yesterday's reading and commentary, we noted the sense of entropy, a breakdown of good natural order according to God's creation, that continues until His return, the resulting chaos described on various levels, including even in physical nature, and interactions between nations and individuals, with great persecution of the Church.  But in today's reading, there is even more pressing news of dire hardship:   "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."  And we have to wonder, in all of this chaos and destruction, as if the earth is returning to its original state of chaos ("without form and void" - Genesis 1:1-2) before God's creation came upon it, who are the elect, this kind of remnant that belongs to Christ, and how do they survive through it all?  For running through all of Christ's prophecies of the end times is this distinction about those who survive all this destructive force of evil in this lawless and loveless time.  In the ancient tradition of the Church, "elect" was understood on two levels.  This is connected with faith, a faith that responds to grace, an acceptance of Christ's salvation made possible through the Cross.   At the same time, there is the grace that makes such salvation possible, but there is also the faith that asks of us participation.  And this is made very clear in Jesus' prophesy of the end times, and His picture for us of the entire arc of the Christian era in this discourse.  For His emphasis is on an active faith, active participation in the reality of that faith:  doing what we are supposed to do, being alert and on guard against deception, and most especially, He uses the word "endure."  In yesterday's reading, He taught us, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  This election is not a kind of simple predestination but rather refers to the knowledge of God, who is not bound by space or time; it is this acceptance of grace as an ongoing, living practice active in our hearts that is what Christ means for us to endure, living our faith, retaining the love of God and the righteousness in which God asks us to remain and endure.  The grace that has been brought into the world through our Lord, and through the coming of the Holy Spirit, then, is what we need to rely upon in the times He describes.  For it is that grace upon which we depend for joy and peace in which we may endure despite the times, regardless of how dire or difficult they may become, even through tribulation.  These, and the ability to endure, are a part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  So let us heed His words, and endure to the end, through grace He gives us and the faith in which we receive it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He who endures to the end shall be saved

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

 Yesterday, we read Jesus' last words in His final public sermon, which was a great critique of the scribes and Pharisees.  This takes up the whole of chapter 23 of St. Matthew's Gospel (for the first two readings in this chapter, see the readings from Monday and Tuesday.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  My study Bible explains that Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  

 

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars."  Thus begins Jesus' discourse on what are often called "end times," which in tradition began with Christ's Incarnation and continue through the present age as we await His return and judgment.  My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21: 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  Our Lord's emphasis through this discourse is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue, rather than on constructing timetables of things which have not yet happened.  Here in St. Matthew's account, the end is described in several stages, which encompass the initial sorrows (described in today's reading), the great tribulation (verses 15-28), and the coming of the Son of Man (verses 29-31).   The period of the great tribulation, my study Bible teaches, includes the entire Christian era and is not limited to the final years before Christ's return.  Here in these beginning teachings on the end times, Jesus has given the most emphasis to warnings against deception.  Of particular emphasis, my study Bible says, is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus will stress again (verses 11, 23-27).   

 

 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  According to my study Bible, the wars here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but they also include subsequent wars.  It notes that wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but rather the opposite.  As Jesus indicates, it tells us that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  

 

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, and indeed, persecutions against the Church often increase the number of souls being converted.  It cites St. John Chrysostom, who marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed except the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 

Jesus gives us a kind of arc of history in speaking about end times; that is, the time of the whole Christian era.  Certainly we understand wars and rumors of wars, and we know about persecutions.   Jesus says, "And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold."  Jesus describes a world in which increasing conflict takes place at all levels, from the international ("nation will rise against nation") to the individual and within communities.  Betrayals, offenses, hatreds will take place.  And the deceit of false prophets continues a kind of violence against the kingdom of heaven and to natural order that would be the way of God.  And in that vein, a key phrase is when Jesus tells us that "lawlessness will abound" and "the love of many will grow cold."  These things are antithetical to the order established by God, the aims of our faith, the intentions of God we understand from the whole of the Holy Bible.  Lies and deceptions form yet another kind of violence in the midst of the other violence we understand, and famines and pestilences and earthquakes show that even the natural physical world is disrupted from its proper order, a kind of interior violence even affecting the world which was created to sustain and support human life in which God established a garden for the first human beings.  Without love and righteousness there can be no peace.  We may not have experienced in our lives such levels of total breakdown of norms which are necessary for human flourishing, nor experienced a universal kind of war of all against all such as is depicted here.  Fr. Stephen Freeman refers to this process of "breakdown" as a kind of entropy in this article, and one must conclude that this seems correct.   But many people at this time are certainly wondering where the world is headed, and we can observe what often seems to be a breakdown of natural order, even rational behavior.  Jesus speaks with a prophetic understanding of the effects of such chaos when He tells us that "he who endures to the end will be saved."  For in the midst of the evil of chaos and this breakdown of the true natural order of things (that is, the desired order established by God in creation), we are taught that it is faith that makes the difference, and it is in our faith we must nevertheless endure.  For Jesus says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  In the midst of whatever difficulties we find in the world, whatever chaos or violence, or deceptions and lies, we have something important to do.  We have been given a mission from Christ to witness His gospel.  If things sometimes feel overwhelming and we cannot understand where they are headed, we need to recollect who and what we are, and find this place in prayer where we're given the grace of God to know what we are to be about.  God gives us the grace not to despair, but to continue in faith and in the mission of the Church.  For He has told us all ahead of time, and He teaches us to endure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"

 

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

 

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

- Matthew 23:27–39 

 

We are currently in the middle of chapter 23 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  In this chapter we are given Christ's final public sermon.  In it we find a grand critique by Christ of the ways of the Pharisees and scribes.  Yesterday we read that Jesus said, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, is it nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

 

  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets."  Jesus continues His condemnation of the murderous hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.  Their outward piety, while nominally good in upholding the teachings of the Law, masks an inward faithlessness and even murderous greed.  Thus, inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  As Jesus says, they outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Moreover, just as Jesus told in the parable of the Vineyard, the many servants sent by God (the prophets and righteous) were persecuted in the days of their fathers.  So while they may outwardly honor the martyrs of the past, they witness against themselves that they are "sons of those who murdered the prophets," meaning that despite their words, they follow in the same footsteps as those murderers, and are therefore their "sons."

 

"Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Jesus speaks here as the Son who was sent after all the servants (the prophets and righteous) who previously came calling the people back to God.  He prophesies of the persecutions to come from these men, and the resulting effect:  "that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Regarding Zechariah, son of Berechiah, some patristic commentary teaches that this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22).  But others teach that Jesus is referring to the father of St. John the Baptist, who, according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple.  Indeed, according to commentary by Fr. Stephen De Young, the latter understanding is correct, that Jesus speaks here of the father of St. John the Baptist, for there is nothing in the Old Testament indicating that the prophet at the time of Joash was murdered, but on the contrary lived a long life.  

 

 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study Bible comments that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of God's people, but most do not want God.  The desolate house refers both to the temple and to the nation itself, for this Greek word broadly meaning house can also be used to mean "family" or "tribe" (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19).  Both the temple and the nation, my study Bible says, will be without God's presence once Christ has departed.

 

 It's very easy to minimize the effects of hypocrisy in our lives.  It's such a commonplace thing, on a varying scale, that it's easy to excuse or pass off as simply the difficulty of living our lives authentically within our faith.  But the Church has its own ways of coming to terms with the ways in which we fall short of living the life of faith which Christ teaches us.  Repentance is a way of healing what is wrong in our lives, where we've made wrong turns, and forgiveness is held out by a loving God.  But when we are frozen in that repentance, for whatever reason, we unfortunately can become hardened in that place, even opposed to Christ, even despising and hating what is good.  The practices of the scribes and Pharisees described by Christ are such things as are the outcome of a refusal of repentance, of heeding the call back to God.  For God has called from the beginning for a righteousness not merely of outward practice, but of faith.  Outward practice is important, for we as human beings are physical beings; what we do with our bodies makes a great deal of difference, and our bodies are not separated from soul and spirit but we are of one creation by God.  It is the split itself, in these cases, that is the problem, and leads to evil.  And this is what Jesus condemns and is talking about.  When the outward practices of these religious leaders shield practices that defy the purposes of God, the corruption only results in a deepening problem.  Jesus describes greed and envy, murderous intention when authority or public position is threatened, and a whole history of such repeated through time, and culminating in the present moment in which He speaks these words in the temple during Holy Week.  He speaks as the Son, sent by the Father to call people back, the age of the prophets of the Old Testament period having culminated in St. John the Baptist.  But the refusal to repentance has consequences.  Jesus will hold out the possibility of forgiveness through repentance, and through all the practices of the Church, starting with Holy Baptism.  But a refusal will only leave things where they are, a constant refusal of God's grace and mercy.  Effectively, this refusal is itself a kind of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and without repentance will not result in spiritual healing and salvation.  So, we find ourselves today asking what this has to do with us.  But, as my study Bible says, it has everything to do with us.  Hypocrisy hasn't left us, and neither has corruption.  In our Holy Bibles we read of Abraham whose faithfulness was counted to him as righteousness; St. Paul explains that this remained essential even after the Law came, for we find it in David (see Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3-8), and so it remains as well for us.  Without hearts drawn toward God, we miss the point of our faith, we miss the righteousness of Abraham, we run the risk of a hypocrisy that refuses God's call to change and repentance, healing and, effectively, salvation itself.  Let us take Jesus' words to heart, for He leaves His scathing testimony to us as the faithful Witness (Revelation 1:5).  

 

 

 

 

 

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 

 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, is it nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.  

 

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

 

- Matthew 23:13-26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying:  "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.  For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do to be seen by men.  They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.  They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."   

 

 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, is it nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it."  My study Bible comments here that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding Him as well.  So, therefore, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).  

 

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."   These warnings begin the last part of this final public sermon of Jesus.  Nearly the whole of chapter 23 is taken with it.  My study Bible comments that the warnings which begin in this section (and will continue in tomorrow's reading) are especially important to Orthodox Christians.  It notes that the Church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing ("These you ought to have done"), sacred vessels "you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish", and holy rites following the tradition handed down from the ancient Church through today.  These practices can be expressions of deep faith, it notes, lead a person to deeper commitment to God, and safeguard our life in Christ -- or they can be observed without ever taking them to heart and lead to condemnation ("hypocrites!").  My study Bible explains that to "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel" is a reference to a practice in which the Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters in order to avoid accidentally consuming any ritually unclean substance.  

 

 There are a few things we might want to pay attention to in today's reading, for they reveal patterns which Jesus condemns on the part of these religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees.  First of all we should place this section of chapter 23 of St. Matthew' Gospel in context.  This full chapter is an exposition of Jesus' final public sermon, and so it is noteworthy to begin with 6:simply on that basis.  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees, and in particular their hypocrisy.  It's notable for us that between the different parties that made up the ruling Council of the Jews (all of them religious leaders, and centered in the Jerusalem temple), the ones whom Jesus criticizes were perhaps the ones closest to Him in spiritual outlook and opinions.  The Sadducees are left out of this particular critique; they are the ones of whom He said they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God (in this reading from Saturday).  It was a lawyer, in the second half of Saturday's reading, who approached Jesus with a question regarding the greatest commandments in the Law.  This lawyer was a Pharisee, and so we should keep this in mind.  For that Pharisee clearly understood Jesus' response to His question, and approved.  But the hypocritical practices Jesus condemns in today's reading show a clear violation of what Jesus called the first and greatest commandment ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," which comes from Deuteronomy 6:5).  For these men in their hypocrisy pay lip service to piety, to devotion to God, but they don't practice it in what they do.  By their hypocrisy they take on pupils whom they mislead with their practices, and so "you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."  As we reviewed in yesterday's reading and commentary, it's their job as stewards of the people and their spiritual tradition to lead them to God, but in their practices they do the opposite.  As teachers they fail to uphold their supposed purpose as religious leaders, rabbis.   Even worse, they prey on the weak and powerless, thus violating the second great commandment Jesus had given ("You shall love your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus 19:18).  Jesus tells them, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation."   Such terrible teachers are they that they "travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."  They not only fail to lead toward God, but lead toward the adversaries of God.  So blind are they to the things of God, they fail to understand that it is God who gives value to all things; therefore they can't see the sanctification of God, God's the power of holiness, and instead value the material that is useless without it.  Finally they miss God altogether in their pursuit of pious-appearing practices:  they tithe, but they have "neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith."  Without the love of God in their hearts, they have form but not substance.  They pay attention to the tiniest detail in appearing holy before others, but they swallow whole what is unclean in their faithlessness.  They take care to appear perfect to others in their external legalism, but "inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence."   In St. Matthew's 15th chapter, Jesus speaks of them by quoting from Isaiah:  "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13).  What we see in the outcome of their hypocrisy is the cruelty of their practices, the opposite of the intentions of the Law, antithetical to the purposes of God.  They become allied with evil, teaching their proselytes to become "twice as much a son of hell" as themselves.  Again, we turn back to Christ's teachings to the disciples about authority, power, and greatness, and the need for the consideration and protection of the "little ones" among them.  The widows whose houses are devoured are among such "little ones," the powerless and dependent, and so are the proselytes who seek instruction of matters of God.  As always, we consider what these examples mean for us, for, as my study Bible points out, there is no one who needs to take consideration of these warnings and criticism more than we who value and cherish the traditions we inherit, the faith we follow -- for we might find ourselves also at the receiving end of this criticisms should we engage in such hypocrisy ourselves.  A pure focus on externals might find us, rather than fully practicing our faith, in the same place of condemnation as these men whom Jesus faces.  When confronted with the truth -- and He is the person who is the Truth standing in front of them (John 14:6) -- they respond only by seeking to destroy Him.  The weightier matters of the law, "justice and mercy and faith," fall by the wayside to the blindness of their ways.  Jesus teaches, effectively, that there are two ways.  One is toward God, and the other is away.  We cannot do both, and neither are we capable of standing still or being neutral.  Indeed, this would be the teaching of the early Church, such as is found in the Didache, and was already well-known in Judaism.  So let us place first things first, lest we also become blind to where we are leading, and take others astray with us as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ

 

 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying:  "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.  For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do to be seen by men.  They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.  They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

- Matthew 23:1–12 

 

On Saturday we read that the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.  But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

 

Today the lectionary takes us to chapter 23 of St. Matthew's Gospel, which gives us Jesus' final public sermon.  This is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees.  My study Bible names several themes in the entirely of the chapter.  These include, first:  The Jewish leaders have God-given authority and they teach God's Law, but personally they are ungodly and cold-hearted.  In these first verses, Jesus teaches says that their teaching is to be honored, but they are not to be imitated.  In the themes that follow, Jesus established as well that God is our true Father and Teacher.  My study Bible explains that a true teacher or father on earth is therefore one who leads people to God.  But the scribes and the Pharisees do the opposite.  They place themselves in God's position.  The rest of the chapter includes an eightfold indictment of the scribes and Pharisees.  He charges them with inverting the values of God by being mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and blindly self-righteous.  My study Bible adds that, while these charges were directed against the Jewish leaders of the day, every word applies equally to those in the Church who behave this way.  

 

 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying:  "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do."   My study Bible notes that to sit in Moses' seat means to hold the succession of office down from Moses himself.  In the synagogue, it says, the teacher spoke while seated as a sign of this authority.  St. John Chrysostom, according to my study Bible, comments that the scribes were depraved in thought and in heart, but Jesus still upholds the dignity of their office.  This is because the words they speak are not their own words, but God's.  So likewise in the Church, the clergy are to be shown respect because they hold the apostolic office, even though they also are sinners.  Moreover, the sins of the clergy do not relieve the people from their responsibilities before God.  

 

"For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do to be seen by men.  They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments."  My study Bible explains that phylacteries are small leather pouches which contain passages of Scripture.  They are worn on the arm or forehead.  This concept was to keep God's Law always in mind (see Exodus 13:9).  But the Pharisees had used them as a show of false piety, making the increasingly larger and more noticeable.  

 

"They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  My study Bible comments that Christ's warning against calling hypocrites father and teacher is not an absolute prohibition against using these terms, as some teach.  These terms are in fact applied to men many times in the New Testament, all of which usages are inspired by God.  "Teacher" is used in John 3:10; Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; and 2 Timothy 1:11.  "Father" is used in Luke 16:24; 1 Corinthians 4:15; and Colossians 3:21.  My study Bible adds that, since the very early days of the Church, bishops and presbyters have been called "father" not because they take God's place, but because in their fatherly care for their flocks, they lead people to God, and they exercise fatherly authority within the community. 

 

Today's reading and the commentary from my study Bible call us to think about what it is that makes a true father or a true teacher.  Is it someone who leads us astray out of use of his (or her, in the case of a female teacher or parent) authority?   Once again, we're called to consider what true authority means, and particularly in the context of the Church, and in serving God.  When we consider what it means to lead people to God, as my study Bible defines a correct father or teacher, we can understand that all authority, if it is to be proper, must point toward that which is good, true, and beautiful.  The ultimate Source of all of these is God, and the spiritual reality of the Kingdom is that reality in which these things originate.  We also know that God's nature is love.  In perfect harmony with Jesus' teaching about the greatest commandments in yesterday's reading (see above), St. John writes, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8).  So, if God is love, if Christ Incarnate is the embodiment of God the Father for us (John 14:9), then a true "father" or "teacher" must also convey love as part of leading us to God.  When the disciples began to dispute regarding who would be greatest in Christ's Kingdom, He began to teach them about the proper use of authority in His Church.  As if to emphasize this very point about being proper teachers and fathers in His Church, His very first act, in teaching on this subject of greatness or authority, was to bring a little child in front of the disciples.  He told them, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me"  (Matthew 18:3-5).  His next teaching was a dire warning against abuses in such positions:  "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!" (Matthew 18:6-7).  What followed these words was a dramatic warning about cutting off impulses that lead to harm or abuse, with the threat of hell fire as consequence of failure to do so, comparing this need to the amputation of a diseased foot, hand, or eye in order to save the whole body (see Matthew 18:8-9).  So, in training these men to be proper "fathers" and "teachers" in His Church, Christ has set down for us what it means to carry such authority and act this part.  He has also defined the most extreme circumstances should one not only fail to do this job, but to do so with abuse of authority in such a position.  So, therefore, in reading Christ's words in today's reading regarding the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the scribes, we are to understand the true power of authority.  In our Church, for example, as my study Bible notes, we are read the Gospel, the words of Christ, the inspired Scripture of the Evangelists.  These words come from God and they are authoritative and true.  So, regardless of the personal failings on the part of the priest or presbyter or any authority in the Church, nonetheless the office holds true in this teaching.  But to fail to uphold this ultimate office of leading people to God in some other way -- say by causing abuse, harm, or offense to those in their charge -- is to become like the greedy Pharisees and scribes, exploiting their positions for personal gain, and harming the flock whom they are to care for and steward to God.  One may daresay that the same applies to parents or other authority figures who do the same, who teach evil of any kind, leading to harm and exploitation, and real damage to the "little ones" in their care and under their stewardship.  So we are all invited to consider the roles we play in the lives of our families or all those with whom we share relationship in community of all kinds, but particularly, of course, in the context of our faith.  Do we seek to teach by living lives seeking God's way as a model for others who learn from us?  Do we seek to know God's love, and live it in communion with others?  How do we find proper authority?  Moreover, how do we discern what is improper, exploitative, and harmful?  Or even greater importance, are there ways in which our own behaviors or even teachings effectively draw people away from God, or separate the impressionable and vulnerable from the path to God and leading them astray to be lost?  So when we consider Christ's criticisms of these religious leaders (especially regarding their hypocrisy) let us take seriously our own roles in the salvation plan of Christ.  In other words, no matter who we are, as Christ's followers, we have our own role to play in being mentors, parents, elders, teachers, and it does truly depend upon taking His words to heart.  Let us remember that He has said repeatedly that He came to save the lost, and He wants to lose none of those who are given to Him (see, for example, John 6:39, "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day").  Let us play our part in the light of what we understand proper authority to be, according to His teachings, and share with Him the goal of saving that which is lost, and losing none.  All of it calls for the humility to serve God in any role we play, and to help to lead others there.  For we all have our own part to play, to help to lead in one direction or another.

 

 

 

On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets

 

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 

 

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

 

- Matthew 22:23-40 

 

In our present readings, the setting is Holy Week.  Jesus has entered the Holy City in His Triumphal Entry, He has cleansed the temple, and He has been challenged by the religious leaders, with whom He continues in debate.  Yesterday we read that, after He told the parable of the Wedding Feast against them, the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.  The Sadducees were a class among the ruling Council composed of those with inherited positions, and formed a type of aristocratic landowning class in and around Jerusalem.  In contrast to the Pharisees, they held only the Pentateuch or Torah as their Scriptures (the first five books of the Holy Bible), and they did not believe in the resurrection or the existence of angels.  So they ask Christ a question which mocks the resurrection with a scenario depicting the continuation of earthly life.  But Jesus here confirms that there will be a resurrection, but these men fail to understand the life of the resurrection.  He tells them, "You are mistaken" for they do not understand, "not knowing the Scriptures and the power of God."  My study Bible explains that the Scriptures reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection, which makes such earthly questions irrelevant.  Moreover, they fail to understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  It is the clear teaching of Christ, my study Bible notes, that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

 

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher. which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  My study Bible teaches us that the Pharisees had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures, and they debated constantly about which one was central.  So this question to Jesus is very pertinent to their practices and ways of thinking.  Jesus declares the first and second commandments here, meaning not simply a kind of order in which commandments were given, but rather a ranking in terms of the centrality and power of the commandments themselves and our lives as those who seek to live a life pleasing to God.  These two commandments constitute the grand summary of the Law, and the Prophets as well, as Jesus comments.  The first is the foundation of all, the second is essential.  Although this lawyer (that is, an expert in the law) came with malice to test the Lord, my study Bible says, we know from St. Mark's account that this man is converted by Christ's answer, responding, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Jesus then replied to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." See Mark 12:28-34.

 

 In yesterday's reading and commentary, we expanded on our understanding of Christ as Sovereign, and the Cross as His sign of victory, a "flag," if you will, planted in this world through His Passion, declaring His Kingship as Messiah or Christ.  If we consider the whole of the Incarnation and what it means that He is Deliverer and Savior, we must come to understand the claims of spiritual victory over that which opposes God and seeks to prevent the salvation of the world.  So, in that light, let us examine a little more closely Jesus' ranking of the commandments in answer to the question, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"   The great central question of debate around Jesus has been the question of His authority.  He teaches and speaks with authority, "and not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:29).  So, from the first, He has distinguished Himself in this sense.  The multitudes, the people, have clearly responded to Christ's ministry and gospel message, as evidenced in the Triumphal Entry.  Moreover, the desire of the religious leaders to seize Him has been thwarted by their fear of the people, who believe Him to be a prophet (Matthew 21:46).  Jesus has no "earthly" position in the temple; He is not a Levitical priest, and yet He acts with authority to cleanse the temple.  And clearly, in His dialogue and disagreements with the religious leaders, He speaks as One with authority to them, even in judgment of them.  This will be truly evident in the following chapter.  So we have to ask ourselves in this context, "What does sovereignty mean?  What is Jesus' authority truly like? How does it show itself?"  This question in today's reading, posed by the lawyer, touches on the authority and weight of commandments.  Jesus' answer sets down that which is not simply an opinion of a good Teacher, but One who speaks with the authority as Author and Giver of the Law, the Word (or Logos; see John 1:1).  In giving us the true weight or value of the commandments, ranking one as the greatest, and the other as essential to the first and greatest, Jesus sets out the rule of His sovereignty, of His authority and claim in our world.  So we are to take His words for ourselves.  As Christians and followers of Christ, we might wonder at just what this sovereignty means.  His words are authoritative, so why does the world not follow them?  Moreover, we may look around ourselves and see His words regarding true righteousness as constantly violated or disobeyed.  How does this happen under Christ if He is sovereign Lord in our world?  This is an important question, because what it asks us to do is to define what sovereignty is and does.  Does Christ's sovereignty indicate the difference between a dictator and a benevolent king?  Does sovereignty mean harsh rule?  Or does it indicate a righteousness that also allows for freedom -- even for God's own creatures?  Certainly we understand that God's creatures are made with wills of their own, including the angels (and those who have rebelled against Christ's sovereignty).  So this is the first thing we need to consider.  We know that there will come a time of fullness of this age, when Christ will judge.  But until that time, we understand God as righteous, full of mercy, giving time and room for repentance, and respecting the free will God has given to God's creatures.  We might not have the full picture of how and why salvation works, and the grand fullness of all of creation and where we are headed, but we can understand the righteousness of God from what we know, and especially from the teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ (John 14:9).  In St. Luke's 18th chapter, Jesus teaches to His disciples the parable of the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8), giving an example of a kind of ruler or sovereign (one with authority) who is not righteous, who cares nothing for righteousness and mercy.  But even the unjust judge will tire of hearing requests for a fair hearing and verdict, and so will respond to such pleas as are in our prayers.  When He completes the parable, Jesus says, "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily."  But He finishes with this wistful-seeming question, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  So we must take from this question an important understanding of our Lord's sovereignty, how it works and what it is, and -- perhaps more pertinently -- how God rules.  God has created us with independent wills and a certain level of freedom.  More relevant to the question, what does this say about our capacity for faith and loyalty to God?  God's purposes are clearly served through endowing God's creation with freedom, so that each of us is free to choose -- or, perhaps more accurately, to find within  ourselves our capacity for faith and understanding, for the apprehension of the things of God.  Jesus -- and the prophets sent before His human life in this world -- repeatedly calls this power to apprehend and have faith "eyes to see and ears to hear."  He clearly articulates this in explaining the parable of the Sower (and His reason for teaching in parables) to the disciples in Matthew 13:10-17.  He refers to this as the capacity for knowing the mysteries of the Kingdom.  So, in our understanding of sovereignty, we must at the same time move from the concept of Christ's authority, such as His declaration of the two greatest commandments to us, to God's righteousness, the freedom with which He rules and creates.  He asks us to follow from love, not dictatorship.  And therein lies the difference in our understanding of authority and sovereignty.  For the flag of victory -- the Cross -- is also the flag of love and mercy ("Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" - John 15:13).   In God's righteousness is our deliverance and salvation.  Christ's authority is the authority of love of us all.  Are we capable of returning that love and loyalty and faith?  It is right and fitting, then, that the two greatest commandments named by our Sovereign are the commandments whose substance is love.

 

 

 

Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

 

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 

- Matthew 22:15–22 

 

In our current readings it is Holy Week.  Jesus is in Jerusalem, and has made His Triumphal Entry, and cleansed the temple.  He has also been sparring with the religious leaders, who demand to know His authority.  Yesterday we read that Jesus answered and spoke to the chief priests and Pharisees again by parables and said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

  Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.  My study Bible tells us that this question on taxation ("Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?") is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him, while a "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and shows that a believer can give the state its due while serving God.  My study Bible explains that as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  Additionally, my study Bible notes that this distinction between tings that are Caesar's and things that are God's does not imply the division of a believer's life into the secular and the sacred.  God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  We also fulfill government requirements that don't conflict with our first responsibility to God (Romans 13:1-7; contrast Acts 4:19; 5:29).  To pay taxes and similar civil duties are not detrimental to holiness.  

 

This question about paying taxes to Caesar is an interesting one, because it is framed as a question on what is lawful.   This notion of what is lawful could also extend to what is "moral" or "right" (that is, including the wisdom from the Torah and an understanding of God's desires and purposes), but nonetheless the emphasis is on what is permissible  or not in a legalistic sense.  So, there are two conflicting bodies of Law one might consider here on the basis of the question; there is the Law of the Torah and there is the Roman law.  Under Roman law, as explained by my study Bible, one could be accused of treason by the Romans for not paying taxes.  But in the temple, Roman coins were exchanged for Jewish coins, as the Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (who was worshiped as a god) and therefore were instances of violation of the first commandment, the worship of the God of Israel (see this reading covering the cleansing of the temple, and Christ's overturning the tables of the money changers).  We should remember also that these are Pharisees asking Him this question, together with the Herodians.  The Pharisees were experts in Scripture, who spent their time examining in detail what was written, and searching out and identifying commands therein.  They also upheld what was called the "tradition of the elders," a body of rabbinical judgments, oral laws, and interpretations developed during the Second Temple period.  So this word "lawful" contains all of these meanings, in particular for the Pharisees.  The Herodians were generally opponents of the Pharisees as they are the followers of Herod; that is, the ruling dynasty of Herod which rules for Rome.  So they in turn represent the Roman Law and have made their compromises with it.   Therefore both are present with this question.  But Jesus answers quite simply when He points out that there is no conflict here as to what is lawful.  For the image of Caesar on the coin is a statement of sovereignty.  What bore the emperor's stamp was the emperor's, a part of the empire.  But, as my study Bible points out, by the same way of thinking and understanding, human beings each bear the image of God, as we all are created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).  Therefore what is sacred and what is worldly can overlap, the two existing at once in one place.  For, as my study Bible also points out, everything is under the jurisdiction of God, both in the spiritual realm and the earthly.  And therein we come to a very interesting conclusion, for only the One who stands before them, Jesus the Christ (or Messiah) contains in Himself all that unites these two realms in one Person.  He is fully God and fully human, and only He truly has the authority to answer such a question -- for it is His image whom all bear or choose to reject and spurn, and it is His authority within which all things exist and will find their fullness (see Colossians 1:17; Ephesians 1:10; Romans 8:28; 14:11).  Moreover, as St. Paul writes, Christ "is all and in all" (Colossians 3:11).  Just as Caesar has jurisdiction (and his imprint) over all that is the Roman Empire, and the Law and Prophets prevail in the temple and the practices of the Jewish people, so Christ is at once superseding all things at once in His authority, and it is this for which He has come into the world.  If we keep in mind the clear claim of Messiah or Christ, we are to understand that in the image of the Cross will come the symbol or declaration of such a victory in this world, for the God-man will shed His blood in sacrifice for all, and thus establish His own sovereignty over this world, and "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  The Cross remains the insignia of victory, and claim of sovereignty in our world, and as His followers we seek the way of the Cross (Matthew 16:24-26).  When we struggle with our own questions for discernment, let us remember who is Lord of all.  For there are things which are beneficial and things which are not (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23).  In His way of the Cross, we seek the One who has authority over all.