Food for Thought
A Heated Question
This week we begin a three week series on three parables that Jesus offers in response to a single question: “by what authority are you doing these things?” Jesus had just entered Jerusalem, welcomed by a crowd shouting, “Save us! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD!” He had also just run the money changers out of the Temple and accused them of turning his father’s house into a den of thieves. Tensions are mounting. The Chief Priests and Pharisees are feeling pressure from the crowd to tell them whether or not Jesus is the Messiah.
So, they challenge his authority.
Jesus responds to their question with a question of his own. He asks the religious leaders to comment on John the Baptist. Do they stand with him or against him? Was John from God, or not? Remember, King Herod, the puppet King of Rome, had recently executed John by beheading.
The religious leaders were in a pickle. Stand with the people and risk being destroyed by Rome? Stand with Rome and betray the faith of the people?
A Major Theme
A major theme in this section of Matthew—chapters 21-23—seems to be authority and leadership. Who has the power in Israel? The religious leaders would like to think they are in power. They are the spiritual leaders of God’s chosen people. However, they know that the Roman Empire actually holds the power. If the religious leaders upset Rome, then they will lose everything. John the Baptist was a trouble maker in the eyes of Rome, so the religious leaders felt pressure to stand with Herod and condemn him. The people saw John as hope that the Messiah was finally coming to overthrow Rome.
The leaders were not willing to answer Jesus’ question one way or the other. Their fear paralyzed them.
It seems that Jesus questions their ability to lead the lost sheep of Israel.
A Parable to Respond
Jesus offers three parables as a commentary on their failure to reply and the status of religious leadership in Jerusalem. This week we look at the first parable. It is a story of two sons.
One son says the right words, but then never does the right thing. The second son says the wrong thing, but then changes his heart and mind and does the right thing.
A Distorted Theology
This parable addresses a specific theological distortion held by the Pharisees. It was common practice to view an “outcast” of society, like the leper, the lame, the tax collector, the prostitute, etc. and blame their social status on the sins of their parents or grandparents. The parable in Ezekiel 18:2 puts it this way “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” In other words, those sinners are a lost cause, because it is their destiny to be outcasts.
This judgmental exclusivism led many people to think that God was unjust in doling out punishment like this. Ezekiel reminds the people that, yes, the sins of the parents do have impact on the next generation, but each generation also has the opportunity to return to the LORD and make things right for themselves. God’s mercy, steadfast love, and faithfulness always outweighs the natural consequences of generational sin.
The Pharisees were perpetuating the distorted theology that Ezekiel warned against. They were on a mission to expel the sinners—like tax collectors and prostitutes—from Israel. They were not seeking to restore the sinner, but to drive out the sinner. The only hope for Israel was to raise up a pure generation of law followers in order to bring about God’s salvation.
The parable of the two sons exposes the error in this theology. It is one thing to say the right things, but not do them. It is another thing to say the wrong thing, but then return to the right thing and actually do it. One of Jesus’ constant accusations against the religious leaders was their own hypocrisy. They were not able to keep their own high standards. Their lack of grace was putting everyone in jeopardy.
A New Kind of Kingdom
John the Baptist had been calling the nation to repentance, preparing the way for the kingdom. Jesus was calling people to realize that the Kingdom of Heaven that he was revealing to the world was not one of political violence and power, but was one of love for all people, beginning with the lowest and including everyone. Jesus was prepared to go to the cross to show the world a different way of being in the world. He came to show what the mercy, steadfast love and faithfulness of God looked like in action.
The tax collectors and prostitutes recognized this in Jesus, and they followed him. They were like the like the second son in the parable. The religious leaders were too caught up in their power games to notice, and, like the first son, said the right words, but did not extend the grace of God like the father said.
The next two weeks we will explore two more parables that go deeper into Jesus’ exposé of the dereliction of the leaders’ responsibilities to lead God’s people well.
This week, let us give thanks to a gracious God who welcomes the outcast to return home. God’s love is steadfast and God’s faithfulness endures forever. Amen!
Food for Thought
Last week we saw God’s Promise to Abram to bless all nations through his family. This week we jump into the middle of Joseph’s story. The challenge for the Narrative Lectionary preacher is to fill in the gaps of the story while also offering a message from the text for the week.
First, the gap. Previously, in the Narrative Lectionary…
Abram and Sarai’s names are changed to Abraham and Sarah. They don’t believe that Sarah can get pregnant, so they agree to have Sarah’s slave, Hagar, bear a child for them. Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. Abraham loves him, but this was not what God had promised. When Sarah hears that she will be pregnant, she laughs. When she does get pregnant and has a son, she names him Laughter—Isaac in Hebrew.
Hagar and Ishmael get run out, but God promises to take care of them. Thus the long-standing sybling rivalry between the children of Ishmael and the children of Isaac/Jacob to this day.
Isaac marries Rebekah and they have twin boys: Esau and Jacob. Jacob is the trickster and steals the birthright and blessing from Esau. Jacob wrestles with God and his name is changed to Israel.
Israel has twelve sons from four women. Two are wives, two are slaves. He only loves one of these women: his wife Rachel. The oldest son of Rachel is named Joseph. Israel favors Joseph over his older brothers and gives him a fancy robe. The older brothers hate Joseph and sell him into slavery and tell Israel that Joseph was eaten by a wild animal.
Joseph finds himself a slave in Egypt.
This brings us to our story today.
Two things jump out at me from chapter 39 this week. First, God shows steadfast love for Joseph, even in the midst of Joseph’s great suffering and injustice. This is a helpful reminder to those who find themselves in unjust circumstances. When people hurt you and let you down, it is bad. Yet, it does not mean that God’s love is not present. God is with us in the suffering and through the suffering.
Second, God continued to fulfill God’s promise to Abram to bless all nations through Joseph’s life. Joseph was a blessing even though he was a slave. Some people think that we can only be a blessing to the nations when we are in a position of wealth and power. That’s not necessary. Anyone can be a blessing to anyone regardless of socio-economic status. Blessing someone is not the haves handing out charity to the have-nots. Blessing someone is being a genuine conduit of God’s love and grace in someone else’s life. God’s love knows no boundaries and recognizes no human standards of social status. It flows in all directions along the socio-economic strata.
Let us be a blessing to everyone we meet today, because we know that God’s steadfast love is with us, no matter our circumstances.
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