NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 8: 1 - 11 (RCL)

Roma 8:1 (NRSV) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law--indeed it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.



h/t montreal anglican


notes

Paul has written of the inner conflict which arises within the believer. Whether an adherent to the Law or a Christian, one wills to follow God’s ways, but somehow one does otherwise. Something within one causes one not to follow through from “mind” (v. 6) to action. One’s body, one’s “flesh”, seems naturally inclined to do evil. Paul has thanked God for rescuing us from this state: for we who are incorporated “in Christ Jesus” (v. 1) there are no dire consequences (“condemnation”) of our mistakes. Why? Because God’s “Spirit” (v. 2), in the new way of being, has freed us from the finality of physical death. God has overcome our inclination to sin by lovingly “sending his own Son” (v. 3): he who suffered the effects of human sin in order to do away with it through rising again, thus enabling us to attain oneness with God (v. 4).
There are two mindsets (vv. 5-6): one self-oriented and the other Spirit-oriented, one leading to the finality of “death”, and one to spiritual “life”. Self-orientation is inherently in opposition to God (v. 7). But Christians are motivated by the Spirit (dwells”, v. 9), belong to God. “Spirit” and “Christ” come together. Vv. 10-11 say: if Christ (or the Spirit) is in you, though you may be a corpse because of all the wrong you have done, you are actually very much alive – because of the Spirit. If God's Spirit is in you, God will resuscitate your bodies (from being corpses) through the Spirit, in raising you to new life at the end of time.


Verse 1: “condemnation”: In Galatians 3:10, Paul calls this the “curse” as Deuteronomy 27:26 does. See also 2 Corinthians 3:7, 9. This verse concludes 7:14-25. [NJBC]
Verse 2: “you”: The Greek word is singular. Some important manuscripts have me rather than you. While this fits better with the foregoing (especially 7:24), scholars believe that me is a copyist’s correction. The principle here is lectio difficilior potior, Latin for the more difficult reading is the stronger (i.e. more likely to be original). The logic is quite simple: it is more likely that a copyist will correct a difficult or improbable phrase to make it more straightforward or more accurate, than that the copyist would intentionally make a text more difficult. So the more difficult is likely to be original, while the less difficult is most likely a copyist's correction.
Verse 3: “sending his own Son”: See also 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 and Romans 3:24 (“they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”). [NJBC]
Verse 3: “the likeness of sinful flesh”: Paul is careful in his wording. Jesus suffered the effects of sin and suffered death, but he did not sin.
Verse 3: “to deal with sin”: A footnote in the NRSV notes that sin offering is another translation. The reasoning of the translators is probably that the Greek word, hamartia, meaning sin, occurs in the Septuagint translation in the sense of sin offering in Leviticus 4:24; 5:11; 6:18. “Deal with” sin means take it away, expiate it. [NJBC]
Verse 3: “he condemned sin in the flesh”: The Father passed definitive judgement on the force that Adam’s transgression unleashed in the world (see 5:12), and thereby broke its dominion over humans – in making Christ a human, and in his resurrection. [NJBC]
Verse 4: In this way, through the principle of new life, the uprightness that the Law demanded is finally obtained. [NJBC]
Verse 6: “death”: i.e. total death, including spiritual death. Definitive separation from God. [NJBC]
Verse 9: “since”: The Greek words, ei per, can be translated if, in reality. [NJBC]
Verse 10: In Galatians 2:20, Paul writes: “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. See also Ephesians 3:17. [NOAB] [NJBC]
Verse 10: “if Christ is in you”: In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”. For the Spirit being in you, see v. 9. [NJBC]
Verse 10: “the Spirit is life”: One scholar translates this as your spirit is alive: in contrast to the “body”. [NJBC]
Verse 11: “him”: i.e. the Father. This verses stresses the essential oneness of God. John 5:21 says “... just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes”. [NJBC]
Verse 11: “will give life to your mortal bodies”: i.e. the resurrection of Christians. In 1 Thessalonians 4:14, Paul writes “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died”. See also Philippians 3:10, 21; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 4:14. [NJBC]
Verse 11: “his Spirit”: i.e. Christ’s Spirit. It is the spirit as related to the risen Christ that is the life-giving principle.
Verses 12-17: The Holy Spirit does not make slaves of us, but rather “children of God” (v. 14). [NOAB]
Verse 13: It is still possible for a baptised Christian to be tempted to live immorally, “according to the flesh”. We should make use of the Spirit: this is the debt (in an accounting sense) that we owe Christ. [NJBC]



GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 1 - 9, 18 - 23 (RCL)
Matthew 13: 1 - 9 (10 - 23) (Roman Catholic)

Matt 13:1 (NRSV) That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!"
10 Then the disciples came and asked him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 11 He answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that "seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.' 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isai'ah that says:
"You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn--
and I would heal them.'
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.
18 "Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."



The crowd that has come to hear Jesus is so large that he teaches from a boat on the Sea of Galilee. He tells several parables; he explains the first one (vv. 18-23), but only partially. People were familiar with Palestinian farming; sometimes seeding preceded ploughing. The “sower” (v. 3) and the seed are constant; where it lands varies: in three unfruitful places (“on the path”, v. 4, among rocks, v. 5, “among thorns”, v. 7) and in one fruitful place (v. 8). V. 9 tells us (and the crowd) that this is a story with a deeper meaning.
People naturally thought of the sower as God and the various soils as the people of the world; knowing the prophecy of the fate of Jeroboam’s household in 1 Kings, they probably linked “birds” (v. 4) with evil. Perhaps here the sower is anyone who tells the good news. Growth represents receptivity. While Jesus has invited listening (v. 9), understanding (vv. 19, 23) is required in order to be fruitful: reflect on Jesus’ message. Those who brush off the message are seduced by evil (v. 19). Vv. 20-21 also speak of lack of understanding: of superficiality, of reflecting insufficiently to withstand “persecution”. Discipleship is demanding. Then v. 22: following Christ requires undivided loyalty, single-mindedness. Finally v. 23: only those who adequately reflect (thus coming to understanding), who meet the demands of the faith, and who are truly dedicated are fruitful and bring others to Christ.


The parallels are Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15. [NOAB]
Verse 1: “the house”: Perhaps his home in Capernaum.
Verse 3: “parables”: Parables are stories drawn from everyday life which convey a spiritual meaning. Jesus used this technique because:
• Vivid (and sometimes humourous) images made his teaching easy to remember.
• The stories caused people to think about what he said, to reflect on it.
• The stories prompted those present to declare for or against his message.
• By teaching by analogy (or metaphor), he probably reduced hostility to him. [NOAB]
Verse 4: “birds”: In 1 Kings 14:7-11, God tells Jeroboam, through the prophet Ahijah, the fate that he and his household will suffer for his evil ways (including deserting Yahweh to worship other gods). This fate includes “anyone [of Jeroboam’s household] who dies in the open country, the birds of the air shall eat”. The fate of King Baasha in 1 Kings 16:1-4 is the same. The link is also found in contemporary Jewish literature: see Jubilees 11:5-24 and Apocalypse of Abraham 13.
Verse 6: “scorched”: The sun in Palestine is indeed hot. [NJBC]
Verse 9: This is a refrain also found in 11:15 and 13:43. [NJBC]
Verses 11-16: Jesus contrasts those (e.g. his disciples) who trust in him and so have the opportunity for deeper understanding of God’s purpose and plan for humankind (“the secrets of the kingdom of heaven”) versus those who do not trust and so are destined for condemnation. Perhaps the people will understand if he tells the good news in parables; perhaps stories will penetrate their thick-headedness. Understanding is a gift from God. Some are chosen, and some are not. In the Marcan and Lucan parallels, Jesus speaks to the disciples privately, so we should not assume that the crowd heard what he said in these verses (as is sometimes the case). Matthew appears to have collected together parables from various times in these chapters. [NJBC]
Verse 12: “have”: i.e spiritually. 25:29 is identical. In Mark 4:24-25, Jesus says “‘... the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away’”. Luke 8:18 and 19:26 are similar. [NOAB]
Verse 13: Jesus sees this situation as a fulfilment of Isaiah 6:9-10. He quotes these verses, from Isaiah’s commissioning as God’s messenger, in vv. 14-15. (His words are from the Septuagint translation.) Isaiah is told by God that however stubborn the people are, he must tell them God’s word. In the early centuries of the Church, Christians used these verses from Isaiah to explain Israel’s rejection of the gospel. See also Romans 9-11 (the relationship of Judaism to oneness with God obtained through faith in Christ). The verses from Isaiah are also quoted in John 12:40 and Acts 28:26-27 (Paul in Rome). [NOAB] [CAB] [NJBC]
Verses 16-17: For spiritual perception guided by faith, see also Mark 4:9 and Luke 8:10. In the parallel in Luke 10:23-24, “righteous people” is “kings”. The insights which have been given to the disciples were not available before Jesus came. In John 8:56, Jesus says: “Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.”. Hebrews 11:13 says that the Patriarchs “died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them”. See also 1 Peter 1:10-12. [NOAB] [CAB] [NJBC]
See 2 Esdras 8:41-44 for a parallel which is probably Jewish. (Parts of 2 Esdras are Christian.)