Sunday, August 27, 2023

Peter's Fall; Everyone's Call

Dear Friends, as the season of Advent and Christmas approaches, I invite you to read this essay that I have written on the meaning and purpose of Advent. You can find it here and, as usual, your comments are welcomed. 

Below is a rough translation of Matthew 16:21-28 and WAY TOO MANY preliminary comments. Seriously, I’m getting on my own nerves with all of these comments, so please feel free to dismiss them or argue with me about them. At the heart of it all is that this is a key text for discipleship, yet I find many ponderable points along the way that escape easy interpretation. Your comments are truly welcomed.

21 Ἀπὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς δεικνύειν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἀπελθεῖν καὶ πολλὰ παθεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ ἀρχιερέων καὶ γραμματέων καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθῆναι
From then Jesus began to show his disciples that it is binding for him to go into Jerusalem and to suffer much from the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be killed and on the third day to be raised.
ἤρξατο: AMI 3s, ἄρχω, 1) to be chief, to lead, to rule 
δεικνύειν: PAInf, δεικνύω, to show, exhibit; expose to the eyes
δεῖ PAI 3s, δέω ,1) to bind tie, fasten 1a) to bind, fasten with chains
ἀπελθεῖν: AAInf, ἀπέρχομαι, 1) to go away, depart
παθεῖν: AAInf, πάσχω, 1) to be affected or have been affected, to feel …  1b) in a bad sense, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight 
ἀποκτανθῆναι: APInf, ἀποκτείνω, 1) to kill in any way whatever
ἐγερθῆναι: APInf, ἐγείρω, 1) to arouse, cause to rise  1a) to arouse from sleep, to awake  1b) to arouse from the sleep of death, to recall the dead to life 
1. I want to beat my drum again for the verb δέω. It can be shorthanded into “must” as most translations do (KJV, NIV, ESV, NRSV), but I feel like we miss the richness of the term when doing so. It is the same verb as the “binding” of “binding and loosing” in v.19. It signifies a binding necessity and, in this chapter especially, has a sense that Jesus’ road to Jerusalem is one of those things that are “bound in heaven” and should, correspondingly, be bound on earth. Even Young’s Literal Translation’s use of “it is necessary” may be too subtle. I suggest “it is binding” to make the connection between this verse and v.19 more obvious.
2. The verb, “it is binding” is followed by four infinitives. These are the things to which the son of man is bound: to go, to suffer, to be killed, and to be raised.

22 καὶ προσλαβόμενος αὐτὸν ὁ Πέτρος ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾶν αὐτῷ λέγων, Ιλεώς σοι, κύριε: οὐ μὴ ἔσται σοι τοῦτο
And having taken him aside Peter began to rebuke him saying, “Mercy to you, Lord: This will not be to you.”
προσλαβόμενος: AMPart nsm, προσλαμβάνω, λαμβάνω (take) with προς (towards) prefixed; to take thereto, that is in addition, take besides.
ἤρξατο: AMI 3s, ἄρχω, 1) to be chief, to lead, to rule 
ἐπιτιμᾶν: PAInf, ἐπιτιμάω, 1) to show honor to, to honor  … 4) to tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely  4a) to admonish or charge sharply 
λέγων: PAPart nsm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 
ἔσται: FMI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present
1. The word ιλεώς in its adjectival form is found here and in Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities.” As awkward as it may sound, I am trying to keep the meaning of that term clear. I do not know why most translations do not make the connection between this word and the nominal form ἔλεος, which is almost universally translated “mercy” (Mt. 9:13; 12:7; 23:33) or the verbal form ἐλεέω (5:7; 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 18:33; 20:30; 20:31), which is usually translated “have mercy.” In NONE of these instances does it translate as “God forbid it” (NRSV) or “Never” (NIV). 
2. The question arises: Why would Peter respond to Jesus’ disclosure of this forthcoming death with the word ιλεώς? My reading is that Peter is offering Jesus an alternative to the road of suffering, death, and resurrection: Mercy.
3. Peter’s words have a parallel structure between “mercy to you” and “this will not be to you.” In my reading, this is Peter using his voice as the rock upon which the church is built (v.18, from last week’s reading), to loose Jesus from suffering, death, and resurrection and to bind him to mercy.
4. This is, after all, a rebuke. See the various possible definitions for ἐπιτιμάω above. Peter is strongly offering, perhaps demanding, an alternative for Jesus.
5. I suggested last week that whenever we read v.19 to say that whatever the church binds/looses will then be bound/loosed in heaven, then we are making the same mistake as Peter. The point is not that the church binds/looses and heaven complies. It is that the church binds/looses that which has been bound/loosed in heaven (see the syntax of those verbs). This is the church’s first opportunity to exercise its way of discipleship and Peter fails. Jesus is bound to go, suffer, be killed, and be raised; Peter opposes it in a very strenuous way.

23 ὁ δὲ στραφεὶς εἶπεν τῷ Πέτρῳ, Υπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ: σκάνδαλον εἶ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι οὐ φρονεῖς τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων
But having turned, he said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not opining the things of God but the things of humans.”
στραφεὶς: APPart nsm, στρέφω, 1) to turn, turn around  2) to turn one's self 
εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 
Υπαγε: PAImpv 2s, ὑπάγω, 1) to lead under, bring under  2) to withdraw one's self, to go away, depart
εἶ: PAI 2s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present
φρονεῖς: PAI 2s, φρονέω, 1) to have understanding, be wise   2) to feel, to think   2a) to have an opinion of one's self, think of one's self, to be  
1. If Peter were simply trying to dissuade Jesus out of his filial love for him, Jesus’ response would seem like overkill. This is not just a response to natural concern, it is a test of wills.
2. There are three parts to Jesus’ devastating critique of Peter. The first puts me in mind of the temptation story of Matthew 4 and the second seems to be the undoing of last week’s reading about Peter and his role in the church.  
a. Jesus uses the phrase Υπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ (“Get behind me, Satan!”) which is very similar to his words to the devil in Mt. 4:10, Υπαγε, Σατανᾶ (“Be gone, Satan!”) What that usage suggests is that Peter’s rebuke functions as a temptation to Jesus, much as the devil’s words did. It suggests that when Jesus discloses his forthcoming suffering and death, he is quite aware of the tempting alternate path of remaining in Galilee, where it seems evident that he had the wherewithal to feed the hungry, heal the sick, gather thousands of followers, including non-Jews, and possibly raise a rebellion to carve out independence and establish a new God-fearing community there.
b. Jesus calls Peter “Satan” but also a “stumbling block” (σκάνδαλον which transliterates as “scandal”). A “stumbling block” would be a destructive use of a “petra” as opposed to the foundation on which a church can be built (v.18).
c. Peter’s wisdom (φρονέω) is a familiar term in philosophy, often signifying practical reason. His wisdom here is based on earthly and not heavenly things, the exact opposite of his charge in v.19.  

24 Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, Εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to come behind me, one must deny oneself, take up one’s cross, and follow me.”
εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 
θέλει: PAI 3s, θέλω, 1) to will, have in mind, intend 
ἐλθεῖν: AAInf, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons
ἀπαρνησάσθω: AMImpv 3s, ἀπαρνέομαι, 1) to deny  1a) to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone 
ἀράτω: AAImov 3s, αἴρω, 1) to raise up, elevate, lift up  1a) to raise from the ground,
ἀκολουθείτω: PAImpv 3s, 1) to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant,  accompany him  2) to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple  2a) side with his party 
This is, of course, one of the most powerful statements in all of the Christian Scriptures. With that in mind, there are some features of it that are worth exploring, even if I run the risk of sounding as if I am messing with a sacred cow. 1. The phrase “behind me” (ὀπίσω μου) is the exact phrase Jesus used when ordering Peter to get “behind me” in v.23. The verb “come” (ἔρχομαι) is different from the verb “get” (ὑπάγω) in v.23. We read “get behind me” as a disputative command in v.23, echoing the verb “get away” to Satan in Matthew 4:10. Then, we read the verb “come” in v.24 as an invitation, however costly, and so completely differently than we read Jesus’ words to Peter. Both verbs, ὑπάγω and ἔρχομαι, can have a ‘coming’ and ‘going’ movement to them. Both can mean “go” as in “go away” or “come” as in “come hither.” What determines the translation is context, and in this case our interpretation of Jesus words to Peter as a rebuke (the fact that Jesus calls Peter “Satan” is pretty hard to ignore) and the call to discipleship as an invitation.
2. That said, the repetition of ὀπίσω μου, however, is worth a life of meditation. Both the rebuke and the invitation end up “behind me.” I wonder if we ought to interpret this action of following behind Jesus as an act of ‘binding’.
3. The language of this invitation has some echoes of Matthew 4:19-20, when Jesus first called the disciples: καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. (NRSV: And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.)
4. One last comment about Peter. While disciples are called to deny themselves, Peter is the only one for whom the verb “deny” (ἀπαρνέομαι) is used in subsequent chapters of Matthew. However, the verb is used when Peter is predicted to, and then actually does, deny Jesus three times.
5. Is it worth noting that when Jesus discloses his journey to Jerusalem, suffering, death, and resurrection in v.21 that he does not mention his cross? It is only in his call to discipleship and in the crucifixion story itself that “cross” is mentioned in Matthew.
6. Jesus has already mentioned the cross once in Matthew 10:38, in an earlier similar call to discipleship: “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

25 ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν: ὃς δ' ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν.
For whoever may wish to save one’s soul will destroy/lose it, and whoever may lose/destroy one’s soul for my sake will find it.
θέλῃ: PASubj 3s, θέλω, 1) to will, have in mind, intend  1a) to be resolved or determined, to purpose  1b) to desire, to wish
σῶσαι: AAInf, σῴζω, 1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction 
ἀπολέσει: FAI 3s, ἀπόλλυμι, 1) to destroy  1a) to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin
ἀπολέσῃ: AASubj, ἀπόλλυμι, 1) to destroy  1a) to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin
εὑρήσει: FAI 3s, εὑρίσκω, 1) to come upon, hit upon, to meet with  1a) after searching, to find a thing sought 
1. This statement feels like it is a chiastic parallel, with A1 saving / A2 losing equivalent to B1 losing / B2 saving as the four beams of the X-chiasm.
                                    May Save A1                                      May Lose B1
                                                                        X
                                    Will Save B2                                      Will Lose A2

A friend of mine once said, “Some people have been known to fake chiasms,” and that seems to be the case here. In fact, A1 is not “may save” but “may wish to save” with “may wish” as the parallel syntax to B1 “may lose.” The phrase “to save” is the infinitive voice with no parallel. Likewise, A2 “will lose” is not the same syntax as B2 “will save” but “will find,” which has no chiastic parallel. Another friend once pointed out to me that after all the work of diagraming a chiasm is done, there still remains the question “So what?” which very few commentators go on to answer.
2. I’ll fashion an answer. The apparent but disrupted chiastic parallel may not a result of bad writing, but a way of showing that what one wills is the key here. To fit this matter within the framework of vv.21-28 as well as last week’s reading of vv.13-20, I suggest that what one wills is indicative of being in accord with whatever is bound/loosed in heaven or whatever is bound/loose on earth. It is likewise indicative of having one’s thinking on human things or heavenly things.
2. Even more importantly, this statement stands in complete contrast to the abjectly Pelagian manner in which people customarily read the next verse. It is often assumed that “to save one’s soul” is the only absolute value in the reign of God. One might lose one’s mortal coil, one’s reputation, one’s family, all that one has, etc., for the sake of the one true thing – to save one’s soul. And yet, here is the paradoxical statement that the wish to save one’s soul will in fact lead to its destruction. What can this verse mean, when juxtaposed with the next? Likewise, what can the next verse mean when juxtaposed to this one?

26 τί γὰρ ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ;
For what will it profit a person if one should gain the whole world but one’s soul be damaged? Or what will one give in return for one’s soul?
ὠφεληθήσεται: FPI 3s, ὠφελέω, 1) to assist, to be useful or advantageous, to profit 
κερδήσῃ: AASubj 3s, κερδαίνω, 1) to gain, acquire, to get gain  2) metaph. 
ζημιωθῇ: APSubj 3s, ζημιόω, 1) to affect with damage, do damage to  2) to sustain damage, to receive injury, suffer loss 
δώσει: FAI 3s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone
1. It just seems to me that there is an inherent tension between v.25 and v.26. One seems to indicate that the attempt to save one’s soul is a sure way to lose it; the other seems to indicate that saving one’s soul is the only true value there is.

27 μέλλει γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ, καὶ τότε ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτοῦ.
For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his father with his angels, and then he will give to each for one’s actions.
μέλλει: PAI 3s, μέλλω, 1) to be about  1a) to be on the point of doing or suffering something  1b) to intend, have in mind, think to
ἔρχεσθαι: PMInf, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons
ἀποδώσει: FAI 3s, ἀποδίδωμι, 1) to deliver, to give away for one's own profit what is one's own, to sell
1. It seems like the most appropriate definition for μέλλω at thebible.org is the 8th option: “to delay; with an infinitive following, to be about to do anything (immediate or remote).” What is intriguing about this word is that it can means something that is ‘on the verge’ or ‘delayed.’ When we add the μέλλω to the infinitive ἔρχεσθαι, I am rendering it as “about to come.” The tension between Jesus’ return and its delay just about sums up the NT’s eschatology and a whole lot more, IMHO.
2. The NIV and ESV simply translate μέλλω + ἔρχεσθαι as “is going to come.” The KJV has “shall come.” I agree with Young’s Literal Translation, “about to come.”

28 ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι εἰσίν τινες τῶν ὧδε ἑστώτων οἵτινες οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ.
Truly I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
λέγω: PAI 1s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 
εἰσίν: PAI 3p, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present
ἑστώτων: PerfAPart gpm, ἵστημι, 1) to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set
γεύσωνται: AMS 3p, γεύομαι, 1) to taste, to try the flavor of 
ἴδωσιν: AAS 3p, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know 
ἐρχόμενον: PMPart asm, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come 
1. The plain meaning of this verse is that Jesus (via Matthew) expected his return to occur some time before some of the persons standing there died. That plainly did not happen. In order to square that plain meaning with the obvious fact that all of the persons standing there are dead and buried, Christian interpreters have tried to interpret this verse in other ways. I see three options, each of which is fraught with a different kind of challenge.
a. The plain meaning of the text is what it is and Jesus/Matthew were simply wrong. The obvious downside to this option is the fact that we do not think of Jesus as being wrong without incredible difficulty. And, if Matthew’s gospel was written as late as the mid-80’s as popular scholarship often suggests, then it was quite likely that the company around Jesus had all met their demise already, so why would Matthew interpret this in the plain sense? My argument against this reading of the text is that it would have been just as obvious to Matthew that Jesus would not return before the actual persons standing there had met their demise as it is to us. (I could be wrong and perhaps there were some exceeding long livers among those standing there.
b. Perhaps what it means to “see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” is something other than imminent return of Christ with whatever the Reign of God may look like in its fullness after that. It could certainly mean something like ‘witnessing Jesus after the resurrection’ or ‘those who witnessed the transfiguration’ or something like that. In the literary context, the transfiguration is actually the most likely option, since it is the very next story. However, the challenge of this option is one of consistency. If this phrase does not mean what it seems to mean, but is suggestive of something less grandiose and final as how we popularly conceive of the Second Coming, then are we willing to read every other reference to the Second Coming in a similar fashion?
c. Another option could be that Matthew (following Mark) inherited this phrase from the oral tradition, yet by the time they write their gospels it is evident that many of the disciples have already tasted death and the Second Coming has not occurred. Their literary choice, then, to pair this saying with the story of the Transfiguration may be a way of re-calculating, or reconfiguring the meaning of the story. The plainness of its meaning may be true for what M&M inherited from the oral tradition, but the literary act of connecting this story to the Transfiguration may be M&M’s theological interpretation. If that is true, it may suggest that every time we see a reference to the imminent return of Christ, we need to give close attention to context because are peeking behind the story to the ongoing issue of the delay of the parousia and the church’s need to come to terms with that. Of all the options that I can imagine, this is the one that is most robust to me.
2. We should not lose sight that this mention of the imminent return of Christ is likewise situated in a chapter that is about the construction of the church and its obedient authority of binding/loosing. Such an institution would be unnecessary in a situation when the return of Christ is imminent. Or, perhaps we could imagine that the church itself is a way of understanding the returned presence of Christ. That is, perhaps, another option for interpreting this text, but it goes against both the plain reading of the text as well as a plain reading of the church. As a human institution and as a spiritual reality called into being by God, the church is a very ambiguous entity.



22 comments:

  1. I am intrigued by your reflection... especially this statement: "The point is not that the church binds/looses and heaven complies. It is that the church that Jesus builds binds/looses that which has been bound/loosed in heaven. This is the church’s first opportunity to exercise its privilege of discipleship and Peter fails. Jesus is bound to go, suffer, be killed, and be raised; Peter opposes it in a very strenuous way."

    It is a hard discernment...I mean, to be certain that such discernment has actually occurred...It seems to me that you are showing the difference betw. following the church and following heaven's freedom/constriction (what is loosed in heaven or what is bound) And that requires discernment...collective discernment, I believe. Trustful discernment...I need to think more about this...

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    1. Yes, I agree with you. I find myself questioning a lot of our assumptions here.

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  2. Thanks for the note, DDL. I think we all need to give this kind of discernment - the thing for which we pray when we follow the Lord's Prayer - a lot of thought. This comment is banking on last week's exegesis a good bit, in case you missed that.
    Thanks again,
    MD

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  3. yeah, I missed that...I will look at it :)

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  4. I really loved last week's and this week's commentaries, linking the Church's roles as foundation and as stumbling block. I think it makes it clear how we, as the Church, have to be foundations, not stumbling blocks, to people trying to find God. Thank you for these - I really appreciate them.

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  5. Thanks, CW. I've really been riveted by these texts this time around.
    MD

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  6. Jesus is not only fully divine, but fully human. Like Jesus's interaction with the Syrophonecian woman, we are challenged to think about the impact of Jesus' humanity. Jesus clearly had a strong reaction to Peter's tempting rebuke. The path without suffering and pain is not attractive. The desire to circumvent that path must of been intense for Jesus.I think Jesus spoke the words of losing life to save it was just as much for himself as it is for us. The community of faith doesn't get off the hook just because Jesus hung on that hook....but we can be strong knowing that it is because He did that God knows our temptation...know our struggles...know our challenges and says we are not alone.

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  7. Mark, I love what you have done with last week and this week. I have some qualms about "soul" in this context, preferring "very breath", "true breath", "inspired breath" to maintain the Hebrew sensibility of person, especially here in Matthew.

    I would offer a fourth possibility, or is it a fifth?, on the coming kingdom. Both for the time and for our time, there may be some who will not die before they see/witness the Son of Man coming in his kingdom by referring to the disciples meeting Jesus on the mountain in ch. 28, but I also think it says something about the inbreaking of the kingdom witnessed in ch. 4 at the baptism.

    There is the possibility that with the giving of the keys last week and the binding/loosing that accompanies it that it is a demonstration of the kingdom of heaven, aka the Son of Man's kingdom, coming here and now without the disciples understanding it. So that the following story of the Transfiguration is there to help the disciples recognize the kingdom that has already broken into the world and is made manifest in 17:14-20 where the Son of Man is the source of healing and wholeness--he heals, raises, cleanses, casts out.

    This possibility allows for the activity and presence of Christ active in the lives of the disciples then, our lives now, and the fullness of the coming kingdom then, in the future, for we can see, as Luther says, "Christ in our neighbor" and the possibility of his kingdom coming.

    At least this is where your exegesis pushed me this week.

    Thanks for your struggle with this.

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    1. OOOOO...connection to baptism!! YES!!

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    2. I am growing in certainty that the Kingdom of God- here and now is the second coming- we are Christ's body here on earth. The notion of Jesus coming back to sort everything out seems to me to be a bit of a cop out- The Kingdom is our job empowered by the Holy Spirit.

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  8. Wonderful comments, all. You folks are really adding to my study this week. Thanks.
    MD

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  9. First time comment, Mark - I've appreciated your work very much in the past and felt I ought to tell you!
    You said you couldn't understand why Peter's response "Mercy, Lord..." was translated as "God forbid it!" or "never" -- My Greek text reads the verb for emphatic denial (phonetically as "may genoito") for which these translations make sense. I am reading Nestle-Aaland's - I think 26th edition(??) Which Greek text do you use?
    Thank you for this week's commentary - your exegesis is very thought-provoking - which I like!

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    1. Hi Linda,
      In order to cut and paste to the blog, I use two online Greek resources, www.greekbible.com and thebible.org.

      greekbible.com uses Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 26th edition
      © 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

      It's a little tricky to see which Greek text thebible.org uses, but I suspect it is the same. It certainly reads the same in Mt.16:22.

      What neither of these online resources do is allow me to check variants. I suppose that would get really messy and cluttered - a challenge they face anyway.

      One reason I call this a "rough translation" is because in the early stages of translating there are a number of steps in a refined translation that are not yet in the process. Comparing variants - largely because of the resources I use - is one of those steps.
      So, now you've got me intrigued and I'll have to go to the hard copy to study if further.

      Thanks,
      MD

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  10. ὀπίσω - behind - is the same word used to tell the disciples to 'follow.' Possible to translate this as 'get with the program you *%#@(# ?'

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  11. Ummm, hadn't read through your following discussion of the same thing before I jumped in!

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  12. So soul saving. Lukan passage about the rich owner who says to his soul, 'you've got it made.' May have wished to save his soul. But big fail. Finding soul through a different journey may be worth not having all the toys at the end. Maybe?

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  13. Six years later, I've thought of another comment: a lot of the New Testament, especially any statements about time, can be re-examined from the point of view of Eternity (insofar as we can), and a lot of the time that changes the meaning.

    Remembering that God lives in Eternity as we live in time can bring clarity to a number of things. Questions such as, do people go straight to Heaven when they die, or does everyone wait for the Last Judgement? can become almost meaningless in that context. If when each person dies is happening, for all intents and purposes, concurrently with the Last Judgement, then each person is both going straight to Heaven and seeing the Last Judgement. From the point of view of Eternity, none of us will die before Christ ascends to the throne, because that's already happened. It had already happened when Jesus said that to the disciples.

    When I figured out what CS Lewis meant when he, as Aslan, said, "I call all times soon," it made a lot of things clearer. Kind of like when Galileo found that the sun was in the center of the solar system, things became smoother and more elegant, with no "retrograde" movement of the planets. I think Hegel also said something like that, although I don't have it handy: from our point of view, the orbits of other people, and even our own orbits, look random, but from God's point of view, "above" these orbits, there is perfect order.

    I'm still relying on your commentaries for the Bible study I help lead. It's at the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life, at 10:30 Pacific time, every Sunday. If you, or anyone else, would like to come, please do!

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  14. Several years ago Fr Fitzmeyer presented at the National Workshop on Christian Unity saying Matthew 16 here is a post-resurrection appearance. His analysis was overwhelming - and though an opinion he seemed to have held for sometime, only publicly presented after his retirement and 80th birthday. Beyond the moment when his Catholic faculties could be challenged. That context radically changes the reading for me. He was presenting at a workshop on Catholic/Lutheran dialogues.

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  15. The Rev. David Michael ClothierAugust 30, 2023 at 2:10 PM

    Just this morning, the question of what Jesus meant by his comment in the final verse of this passage during a regular Zoom meeting of preachers we call Wednesday morning sermon prep. The consensus was we don't know what was meant. Mark's comments and those of others responding to the blog further intrigued me. There are many references to the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God in the Gospels, some offering a hint as to the time of its appearance. However, one passage seems to be the most specific: Luke 23:42-43. The "good" thief asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus enters his kingdom, to which Jesus replies, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Not the Transfiguration, not the Resurrection, not the Parousia, today.

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  16. Some thoughts. The psyche (yes, I understand words shift around) isn't a thing but a process. If at any given point I retreat into defensiveness, 'sell out,' or act in arrogance to save the me I think I am in this moment, the responsible self (cf. H.R. Niebuhr) is destroyed (or frozen. Hopefully not forever). However, if in following a journey of compassion, forgiveness and responsibility, I'm willing to let go of that which I've believed to be 'me,' to risk and to walk into unknown territory, I find a wider, richer self than I knew before. (For me, it started with a 'pilgrimage' to Jackson MS in the civil rights days.) What good does it do me to get to the top of the heap of a system (kosmos) that is itself messed up, and not be the self (psyche) I am called to be? Think of all the things a lot of folk do to get into positions of power, fame or wealth that limit who they are? (Not everyone - but it happens a lot. I used to listen to the conversations of clergy in the men's room at Methodist annual conference when I was in that system).
    FWIW

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  17. Sorry - one more on the last verse. 'Horao' is the same word used by Matthew in 9:4 - translated as 'knowing their thoughts.' It's the perceiving, which (realized eschatologist that I am) can mean that some folk will actually get it - and know the presence of Jesus coming in his (I like foundation vs. kingdom - relying on the 'bas' in 'basileus') foundation of being in the widest possible context (after all, ouranos - heavens - cover all the earth!).

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