• 18 Martin Luther, 1546 was a German monk, priest, professor of theology and seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation • 19 • 20 Frederick Douglass, Prophetic Witness, 1895 was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement • 21 John Henry Newman, priest and theologian, 1890 • 22 Eric Liddell, Missionary to China, 1945 • 23 Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr of Smyrna, 156 was a 2nd century Christian bishop of Smyrna.[1] According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him • 24 Saint Matthias the Apostle according to the Acts of the Apostles, was the apostle chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas' betrayal of Jesus and suicide • 25 John Roberts, Priest, 1949 OLD TESTAMENT: Deuteronomy 26: 1 - 11 (RCL) Deuteronomy 26: 4 - 10 (Roman Catholic) Deut 26:1 (NRSV) When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us." 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, 5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Arame'an was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. 11 Then you, together with the Le'vites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house. PSALM 91: 1 - 2, 9 - 16 (RCL) Psalm 91: 1 - 2, 10 - 15 (Roman Catholic) Psal 91:1 (NRSV) You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, 2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." 9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, 10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. 15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. 16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. Note: Can. BAS omits vs. 1 & 2 91 Qui habitat (ECUSA BCP) 1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, * abides under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 He shall say to the Lord, "You are my refuge and my stronghold, * my God in whom I put my trust." 9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, * and the Most High your habitation, 10 There shall no evil happen to you, * neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over you, * to keep you in all your ways. 12 They shall bear you in their hands, * lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the adder; * you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet. 14 Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; * I will protect him, because he knows my Name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; * I am with him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, * and show him my salvation. NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 10: 8b - 13 (RCL) Romans 10: 8 - 13 (Roman Catholic) Romans 10:8 (NRSV) "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." h/t Montreal Anglican Paul has written that the Israelites did strive for law-based righteousness (9:31), a right relationship with God, but failed to achieve it because they sought it through “works” (9:32) rather than faith. By massaging Isaiah 28:16 and 8:14, Paul says that God is the impediment that lay in their way. He desires that they be part of God’s plan of salvation because of their “zeal for God” (10:2); however, they lack the right relationship with God that now comes from God: that revealed in Christ. They missed the real meaning of what God has done through Christ, thus failing to embrace Christ as the model for living. Moses said that union with God comes through obedience to the Law (v. 5), but this is close to impossible: it is like a Christian being expected to bring about his own resurrection (v. 6) and ascension (v. 7) – this we are not asked to do! Rather (v. 8) God’s “word”, his freely-given gift of love and right living, is readily available (“near you”) through faith. We need only acknowledge that “Jesus is Lord” (v. 9) and believe in Christ’s resurrection by the Father. One who believes this and recognizes Jesus as sovereign is godly (“justified”, v. 10) and will have new life when Christ comes again (“saved”). In v. 11, Paul again massages Isaiah: “no one” who believes, whatever his or her ethnic background, will be condemned (“put to shame”) at the Last Day. There is one Jesus – for all people. Everyone who sincerely believes will be saved (v. 13). 9:30: See also 3:22; 10:6, 20; Galatians 2:16; 3:24; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews 11:7. [NOAB] 9:32-33: Paul’s conflation of Isaiah 28:16 and 8:14 has the effect of making the Old Testament say almost the opposite of what it actually says! [NJBC] Isaiah 8:14-15 says: “He [the Lord of hosts] will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; ... he will become a rock one stumbles over – a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken”. Isaiah 28:16 says: “thus says the Lord GOD, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One who trusts [in it] will not panic’”. In Isaiah 8:14-15, the “rock” is an impediment to Israel, but in Isaiah 28:16, the “stone” is a symbol of salvation; here in Romans “rock” and “stone” are interpreted as Christ. See also Matthew 21:42. Belief (or trust) in Christ brings salvation: in 10:10-11, Paul writes: “... one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’”. [NOAB] Paul really mangles the verses from Isaiah! The same conflation is found in 1 Peter 2:6-8, Mark 12:10 (parallels: Matthew 21:42 and Luke 20:17) and Acts 4:11. 10:1: Paul also prays that Jews may be included in salvation in Romans 1:16. [NJBC] 10:2: “zeal for God”: See also Acts 21:20; 22:3; Galatians 1:14 (Paul’s zealousness as a Jew); Philippians 3:6 (Paul’s credentials as a Jew); John 2:17; 1 Maccabees 2:26-27. [NJBC] 10:3: They try to establish righteousness with respect to the Law – their own righteousness – but not directly God’s, leaving their fate in his hands. 10:4: There are three possible meanings: • The law of Moses, with its demands and consequences, is no longer in effect: Christ is the termination of the law. (See also Galatians 3:23-26.) • In Christ, the Law is brought to its proper conclusion and fulfilment. (See also Matthew 5:17.) • The Law functions to drive people to ask for deliverance; this is available in Christ Paul may intend all three meanings. NJBC sees the third meaning as the most likely: the final and purposive goal of the Law is Christ. He notes that in 9:31-33 there is pursuit of oneness with God; one pursues a goal. 10:5: The quotation is from Leviticus 18:5. Paul also quotes it in Galatians 3:12. Paul emphasizes “does”. One must actually practise the Law completely to find life through it – which Paul has shown is impossible: see 3:9-10. [NOAB] Note that Paul accepts a common understanding of his time: that Moses wrote Leviticus. 10:6: “Do not say in your heart”: From Deuteronomy 8:17 and 9:4 (Septuagint translation). Both passages issue a warning against trust in one’s own achievements. [CAB] Paul takes the speaker as being the righteousness of God [BlkRom]; in Deuteronomy, the speaker is Moses; he tells what God has commanded him to say. 10:6-8: “Who will ascend into heaven?”: This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 30:12. In these verses, Paul generally quotes Deuteronomy 30:11-14; however, “Who will descend into the abyss” is probably based on Psalm 107:26 while Deuteronomy 30:13 asks: “Who will cross to the other side of the sea ...?”. 10:6-7: “(that is, to bring Christ down) ... (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)”: In fact, Christ has gone all the way for you Israelites: he has come “down” (v. 6, been born into the world) and has been raised from “the dead” (v. 7). 10:6: “(that is, to bring Christ down)”: CAB offers another interpretation: to bring into effect God’s salvation. 10:7: “Who will descend into the abyss?”: Based on Psalm 107:26. The “abyss” was the place of the dead, where disobedient spirits awaited judgement. Revelation 9:1 says: “... the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit”. 10:7: “(that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)”: CAB offers another interpretation: to bring about the final stage of God’s salvation. Perhaps 1 Peter 3:19 tells us what Jesus did between his crucifixion and his resurrection: “... he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison”, i.e. to those who had died. 10:8: The quotation is Deuteronomy 30:14. Faith-based grace was (and is) available to the Israelites. In the original context, Moses says that God’s word of love and justification is God’s gift, not something humans can achieve or do. In 2:29, Paul writes: “... real circumcision is a matter of the heart – it is spiritual and not literal ...”. See also 6:17. 10:9: “Jesus is Lord”: Also found in 2 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11; Romans 2:29; 6:17, this is probably a statement of faith. [NJBC] 10:9: In 2 Corinthians 4:5, Paul writes: “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake”. [NJBC] 10:9: “God”: i.e. the Father. 10:10: “justified”: The Greek word is translated as “righteousness” in 9:30 and 10:3-6. [NOAB] 10:11: Again the quotation is from Isaiah 28:16. [NOAB] 10:12: “the same Lord is Lord of all”: Jesus is the risen Lord of Jew and Greek: in 9:5, Paul writes: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen”. See also 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Philippians 2:9-11. [NJBC] 10:13: In the Old Testament, those who call “on the name of the Lord” are sincere and pious Israelites: see Joel 2:32. Early Christians often applied Old Testament references to “Lord” to Jesus. In the original context, they refer to God. 10:14-21: Paul says that Israel did not take advantage of the opportunity offered to it by the prophets and the gospel; so the fault lies with Israel. The opportunity to believe in Christ was offered to all, but especially to Israel; it cannot claim that it did not hear the gospel. Paul proposes for himself four difficulties or objections, perhaps echoing comments from missionary sermons among Jews, and to each he proposes a brief answer by quoting the Old Testament: • How can people believe the gospel unless it has been fully preached? (vv. 14-15) • But it has not been fully accepted by everyone! (vv. 16-17) • But perhaps the Jews did not hear it! (v. 18) • Perhaps they did not understand! (vv. 19-21) [NJBC] 10:15: The quotation is Isaiah 52:7, a text originally referring to the good news announced to Jews left in ruined Jerusalem that deliverance from Babylonian captivity was coming and that Jerusalem’s restoration was close at hand. In Paul’s hands, the “good news” has overtones of his good news, the gospel. So to him, the goods news has indeed been preached to Israel. [NJBC] 10:16: The quotation is Isaiah 53:1, in which Isaiah saw a refusal to believe comparable to the one in Paul’s time. In Isaiah’s time, despite the prophet’s preaching, not all Jews accepted his message. [NJBC] 10:18: The quotation is Psalm 19:4, in which the psalmist sings of nature proclaiming the glory of God everywhere. Paul accommodates the words to the preaching of the gospel: properly authorized preachers have done their job, so Israel has had the opportunity to believe in Christ. [NJBC] 10:19: The quotation is Deuteronomy 32:21, in which Yahweh, through Moses, tries to educate Israel and announces that it will be humiliated by unbelievers (the Babylonians). In quoting this verse, Paul implies a comparison of Israel’s situation in his time with what it was at the time of the Exile. How much greater should Israel’s humiliation be now than then. Gentiles understand the good news, but Jews generally do not. [NJBC] 10:20-21: The quotations are Isaiah 65:1 and 65:2. In the original context, the same people are envisaged by both verses, but Paul, influenced by the Septuagint translation (which has ethnos, nation in v. 1 and laos, people, in v. 2) splits the two verses such that they apply to different peoples: in v. 1 he applies “nation” to Gentiles and in v. 2 “people” to Jews. [NJBC] (The NRSV follows the Septuagint in Isaiah 65:1-2.) So, to Paul, authentic preachers did speak in an intelligible way, so Israel had a proper opportunity to understand. [NJBC] 10:20: “who did not seek me”: Recall that in 9:30 the Gentiles “did not strive” for godliness. GOSPEL: Luke 4: 1 - 13 (all) Luke 4:1 (NRSV) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." 4 Jesus answered him, "It is written, "One does not live by bread alone.'" 5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" 9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' 11 and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 12 Jesus answered him, "It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. Luke has told us of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, of “a voice ... from heaven” (3:22) saying “You are my Son ...”. On that occasion “the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form”, but is this what we today, living in an age with supposedly only one reality, would consider bodily? Ancient people conceived of several levels of spirit worlds with occasional contact between them and earth. Perhaps Jesus transcends between earth and a spirit world in the story of his testing by the devil. (Note the imaginative images in vv. 5 and 9.) During his time there (“forty days”, v. 2, meaning a significant period of time), the Holy Spirit sustains him in his travails; human as he is, Jesus is totally dependent on the Spirit being with him, for “he ate nothing”. (Moses ate nothing during the time he was on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments.) In this dependance, Jesus is humanly helpless; he humbles himself before the Father. The devil speaks, but is this like “a voice from heaven” speaking? The devil recognizes him as “Son of God” (vv. 3, 9), the one who fulfils God’s plan in creation and, given Luke’s genealogy in 3:23-28, in Israel’s history. Jesus answers the devil’s questions with quotations from the Law, i.e. Deuteronomy, then considered to be the words of Moses. In v. 4 Jesus, hungry as he is, says: God sustains humans through other means than eating. Whether the devil has the authority to offer Jesus world-wide political power is unlikely (vv. 5-7); however Jesus’ answer is plain: God is the ultimate master; only he is to be worshipped (v. 8). In vv. 9-11, the devil invites Jesus to do something extraordinary – a thing not in accordance with God’s plan of salvation. Again Jesus refuses to be taken in (v. 12). Jesus opposed the forces of evil throughout his ministry, but the greatest chance (“an opportune time”, v. 13) the devil had was on the cross. There he again faces identified temptations. The parallels are Matthew 4:1-11 and Mark 1:12-13. In Matthew, the temptations are in a different order. [NOAB] Jesus habitually refuses to allow his sense of mission to be influenced by concern for his safety or for merely practical interests. For the temptations Jesus faces on the cross, see 23:34b-39. Speculation about the end-time included the mythological element of the overthrow of the devil: see Assumption of Moses 10:1 and 1 Enoch 69:29. Did these events literally happen? Perhaps Jesus himself used the eschatological thought patterns of his day to tell his disciples about the testings of his faith he faced as he preached the good news. [NJBC] Verse 1: “full of the Holy Spirit”: A Christian phrase: see also Acts 2:4 (the Day of Pentecost); 6:3, 5 (the election of the first deacons); 7:55 (Stephen); 11:24 (Barnabas). Jesus is the model for Christians under duress. The work of Jesus and of the Church begins as God acts through individuals. [NOAB] [NJBC] Verse 1: “wilderness”: The Judean wilderness was considered to be the place of demons: see also 8:29 and 11:24. [NJBC] Verse 2: “forty days”: In Exodus 34:38, Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days; In 1 Kings 19:8, Elijah spent forty days on the journey to Mount Horeb. According to the northern tradition (in Deuteronomy 9) , Moses received the Law there, rather than on Mount Sinai, the location in the southern tradition. In Deuteronomy 9:9, Moses says “I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water”. [NOAB] “Forty days” appears many times in the Old Testament meaning a significant period of time. Recall also that Jonah predicted that Nineveh would be destroyed after “forty days” if the citizens did not repent. [NJBC] Verse 2: “devil”: The devil (diabolos in Greek) is God’s prosecuting attorney. He is presented in this role in Zechariah 3:1: “Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him”. “An accuser” is also mentioned in Psalm 109:6. [BlkLk] Luke consistently uses diabolos while Matthew mingles “Satan” and “devil” in his version of the story. Evil was conceived as a personal will actively hostile to God: see Luke 13:16. The devil was in conflict with God’s purpose of salvation; he is the concern of Jesus’ saving activity: see Matthew 8:14-17. [NJBC] Verse 3: “this stone”: Luke is more realistic than Matthew: he does not envisage turning the desert into a bakery! [NJBC] Verse 4: “One”: i.e. a human being. The quotation is Deuteronomy 8:3. [NOAB] Jesus is recalling that God taught the Israelites humility by allowing them to endure hunger. They learnt that “one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Verse 5: “showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world”: Presumably this is meant figuratively rather than literally. Jesus’ transportation to the pinnacle of the Temple also seems to be figurative. Verse 6: “authority”: The Greek word, exousia, is found in the New Testament only in Luke: see 20:20; 23:7 (“jurisdiction”). [NJBC] Verse 6: “for it has been given over to me”: “It” is “all this authority”. 1 John 5:19 says “We know that ... the whole world lies under the power of the evil one”. [NOAB] Verse 8: The quotation is Deuteronomy 6:13: “The LORD your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear”. In 22:24-27, Jesus commands his disciples not to seek political power. [NJBC] Verse 9: It is noteworthy that in Luke the final temptation is in Jerusalem. Later in his gospel, Luke clearly marks the point at which Jesus “set[s] his face to go to Jerusalem”. There, “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot” (22:3); there too the powers of darkness are mightily at work. [NJBC] To interpret this temptation as to self-advertisement is to miss the point. [BlkLk] Verses 10 -11: The devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12. The devil takes up Jesus’ armament. [NJBC] Verse 12: That Jesus considers the devil’s quotations as applying to himself is the way the early Church used them. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16: “Do not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah”. [NOAB] Verse 13: “until an opportune time”: See Mark 8:33 (Jesus rebukes Peter) and Luke 22:28 (during the Last Supper). [NOAB] For the temptation on the cross, see Luke 23:34b-39.