The Father's Family: Matthew 11-12 (C and C')

As noted in a previous post, Matthew 11:25-30 and 12:46-50 parallel each other (sections C and C'). Those parallel sections can be seen together below:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one really1 knows the Son except the Father, and no one really2 knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

* * * * * * * 

While he was still talking to the multitudes, behold!, his mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to Him. Then one said to Him: “Behold! Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to you.”3 And he answered and told the one who said that to Him: “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand over his disciples, he said: “Behold! My mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Keep in mind that in section C (Matt. 11:25-30), Matthew is writing the narrative as though all these things were occurring en route. Jesus is first confronted by messengers from John the Baptist. Then Jesus turns to the crowds, informing them about the prophetic relationship between his ministry and John's (seen here and here). Then he began to pronounce judgment upon the cities in which his mighty works had been done, but did not repent (as seen here). Now Matthew says, "At that time" Jesus began to "declare" the marvelous wonder of the Father's relationship with his "little children." 

It might seem strange that Jesus thanks his Father in heaven for hiding the revelation of soon-coming judgment upon the land from "the wise" and "the understanding." But this really isn't strange if you stop and think about the 1st century historical context for a few moments. The Father's plan is to "hand over all things" to His Son, Jesus (11:27). The language of "handing over" refers to an inheritance, and Jesus is promised an inheritance of "all things." Nothing is excluded from Jesus' inheritance. The world is his and the fullness thereof; and his Father in heaven has already handed it over to him. But by handing all things over to Jesus, the "wise" and "understanding" rulers of Israel can't claim an inheritance without him. And without him, there is no inheritance with the Father's family. That's a problem for them, not him. The scribes and Pharisees already have their own traditions concerning inheritance. They have man-made laws about who does and does not inherit the kingdom of God, and one of the many problems they have is that their traditions exclude all who are unclean, even those who fellowship with tax collectors and "sinners," as seen earlier in Matthew's Gospel. Jesus is one of those men who does so (11:19). He also refuses to dance to their tunes, and fast according to their arbitrary rules. Sadly, the people of Israel were taught to stake their claim on the Father's promised inheritance by trusting in the "wise" traditions of their earthly fathers. What they should have trusted in was Jesus himself, Wisdom incarnate. Instead of seeking first the kingdom of the scribes and Pharisees and their understanding, they should have been seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. 

Here we see the Son of God visiting the people of Israel, telling them to stake their claim of inheritance in him, but as we see from Jesus' proclamation, not every Israelite does. Some Israelites can't see because the Father has hidden true wisdom from their eyes and ears. But wisdom is there before their very eyes, telling them of soon-coming judgment. Wisdom tells them to stake their claim of inheritance in him and not in the land of Israel, because he's the one in whom the Father's promised inheritance rests; he's the true Israel. The people can claim that they know the Father through their traditions, but no one in Israel really knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. That's a big problem for those who see Jesus' mighty deeds and will not repent of their blasphemy against His Holy Spirit (12:31-32). Nevertheless the Father, according to His gracious will, has revealed the gospel of his Son's kingship and kingdom to little children. It's not as though God has hidden this from everyone. Instead, what we see here is God doing what He has always done. 

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. (I Cor. 1:27) 

At this time, Israel has Wisdom-personified before their very eyes, but they don't want Wisdom. They want to be seen as the "wise" and "understanding" ones of Israel. They are wise in their own eyes. At no other time in Israel's history did Wisdom cry out to them so loud and clear:  

Wisdom calls aloud outside; 
She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses.
 At the openings of the gates in the city
 She speaks her words: “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
 For scorners delight in their scorning, 
and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my rebuke;
 Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
 I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused,
 I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded; because you disdained all my counsel and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; 
I will mock when your terror comes. When your terror comes like a storm,
 and your destruction comes like a whirlwind;
 when distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call on me, but I will not answer.
 They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge
 and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel
 and despised my every rebuke, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way
 and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
 and the complacency of fools will destroy them; But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
 and will be secure, without fear of evil.4

This promise of terror and destruction upon those who reject Wisdom is exactly what Jesus described prior to this (here and here). But nonetheless, Wisdom still continues to cry out, "Come to me!" Again, to all those who "labor and are burdened" by the yoke which the scribes and Pharisees placed upon them, Wisdom stretches out his hand of succor, saying "I will give you rest," if only you come to me. 

More than that, Jesus offers his people something which no scribes and Pharisees ever offered: to carry a yoke with his disciples.5 "Take my yoke upon you," Wisdom says, "...and you will find rest for your souls." Jesus visits his people and offers them the inheritance of their heavenly Father, even offering to carry their burdens along with them, but the scornful scribes and Pharisees delight in their scorning against this offer, and their foolish hearts hate the knowledge of this God. Only the little children of Israel, a new generation of children in the land, receive Wisdom and turn at His rebuke. Only the little children fear the warnings of their Father and put their trust in Him. It is to these little children which the Father has revealed his warnings upon the land and his promises of dwelling safely therein. 

But who are these "little children"? 

Jesus tells us in 12:46-50 (section C'): 

And stretching out his hand over his disciples, he said: “Behold! My mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

1.  The Greek word used here is epiginosko, which combines the standard verb "to know" (ginosko) with the prefix epi, which is a preposition denoting that the Son coincides with the Father and vice versa.

2.  Ibid.

3.  I do not accept the omission of some modern translations (like the ESV) which delete verse 12:47, which says: 'Then one said to Him: “Behold! Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to you."' Not only do the majority of manuscripts include verse 47, but I believe verse 47 is necessary for the structure and sense of the following verses. This omission, which is only contained in a few manuscripts, was likely done by copyists out of an error of sight called parablepsis (a wandering of the eye to the side of a line), accompanied by another error of the eye known as homoeoteleuton (a similar ending of lines). Both lines of verses 46 and 47 end with a similar phrase and identical last word which can easily be omitted by errors of the eye: zetountes auto lalesai (v.46) and zetountes soi lalesai (v. 47).

4.  Proverbs 1:20-33

5.  "Jewish teachers commonly spoke of the yoke of the Torah and the yoke of the commandments. But no Jewish teacher ever told another: Take up my yoke. This, however, is precisely what Jesus does. He is, therefore, playing not only the part of Wisdom but also the part of Torah; or, rather, he is Wisdom, he is Torah. How very significant this is should not be missed." -- Davies and Allison, International Critical Commentary, Volume II: Matthew 8-18 [New York, NY: T&T Clark Ltd, 1991] p. 289

A Sign for a City: Matthew 11-12 (B and B')

As noted in a previous post, Matthew 11:20-24 and 11:38-45 parallel each other, and in many ways complement each other too (look at sections B and B'). After Jesus finishes teaching the crowds about the importance of John the Baptist's ministry, and it's relationship with the kingdom of heaven which had already come (11:12), Jesus begins to proclaim loud and clear his own judgment upon the cities which knew of his works but did not repent of their own sins. Matthew 11:20-24 says:

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Notice Jesus' indignation: First, two "woes" are issued, then two comparisons are presented, then two final verdicts are delivered against the cities. The micro-literary structure for this section is below:

Introduction: "Then [Jesus] began to denounce the cities... because they did not repent."

  A)  "Woe to you... Woe to you!"

    B)  "For if the mighty works done in you had been done in..."

      C)  "But I tell you... it will be more bearable on The Day of Judgment ...than for you."

  A')  "And you!"

    B')  "For if the mighty works done in you had been done in..."

      C')  "But I tell you... it will be more tolerable on The Day of Judgment ...than for you."

It's interesting that Jesus mentions Tyre and Sidon. By doing so, he compares the Jew-saturated cities of Bethsaida and Chorazin with two Gentile-saturated cities. Surely this was no accident. At this point in Matthew's gospel, Jesus had not yet visited Tyre or Sidon (which is northwest of Galilee, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea). Therefore Tyre and Sidon had not yet seen the mighty works which Jesus had done. But they will. As noted in a previous post (see E and E'), Jesus visits the region of Tyre and Sidon once (in 15:21-28) and the faith on display in that region --from a Canaanite nonetheless!-- is exponentially greater than the faith of the Pharisees here in chapters 11 & 12. Jesus is on a mission to conquer the land for his name's sake and claim a people for himself, and if Tyre and Sidon had seen the mighty works which Jesus had done around the sea of Galilee, they would have repented. But woe to the Jews around Galilee who will suffer God's wrath because they would not repent and find rest in him.

The parallel section to this story (section B') can be seen below:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him [Jesus], saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

The micro-literary structure to this section is below:

Introduction: Some Scribes and Pharisees seek for a sign from Jesus

Jesus gives them a “sign” (part one): “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign. And just as Jonah the prophet was in the belly of a “Sea-monster”1 for three days and nights, “so will it be” (outos estai) for Israel’s prophet, the Son of Man, in the heart of the “Land”2 (of Israel) for three days and nights.

  

  A)  The men of Ninevah will rise up at The Judgment with this generation and condemn it

     B)  For they repented at the preaching of Jonah

        C)  And behold! Something greater than Jonah is here

  A’)  The queen of the south will rise up at The Judgment with this generation and condemn it

     B’)  For she came from the outer-limits3 of the land to hear the wisdom of Solomon

        C’)  And behold! Something greater than Solomon is here

Jesus gives them a “sign” (part two): When an unclean spirit goes-out of a man and goes-through waterless places to seek "rest," it finds no rest. But when it goes back and finds it’s “house” empty, clean, and in order, it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself back into its "house." The last of that man becomes worse than the first. “So will it be” (outos estai) with this evil generation. 

At first glance, it's not obvious what kind of a "sign" Jesus is giving these scribes and Pharisees. But it is obvious that Jesus is giving them some kind of sign, even though he starts off by telling them that an evil generation, i.e. a generation like them, seeks after "signs." Jesus then proceeds to offer what seems to be a two-part "sign". The first part is about a prophet named Jonah with whom every first century scribe and Pharisee was familiar. They knew Jonah was the only prophet in Israel's history whom Yahweh sent to a Gentile nation --the nation of Ninevah. And here, Jesus compares himself to Jonah, and the "evil generation" before him is compared with the Ninevites. Just as Jonah was swallowed up by a Sea-monster and delivered three days later to teach for forty days a message of repentance and faith to the Ninevites, so Jesus will be swallowed up in the heart of the land of Israel and delivered three days later to teach for forty days about the kingdom of God to the Jews (Acts 1:3). 

Jesus then moves on to his central point: a description of wisdom among the Gentiles. It's as though, when Gentiles accept wisdom they are accepting salvation as well. How much more would this be true for the people of Israel who have Wisdom-personified in their midst?

Jesus says that the people of Ninevah understood wisdom when they saw it. They knew Jonah was a great prophet of Yahweh, and they repented because of Yahweh's messenger. For that reason, Jesus says those Gentiles (i.e. Ninevites) will rise up at The Judgment to pronounce a verdict along with Jesus against Israel's unrepentant Jews --Jews who end up rejecting a greater prophet than Jonah.

The queen of the south (i.e. of Sheba, I Kings 10:1-10) also understood wisdom when she heard it. She too understood that Solomon was a great Prophet-King of Yahweh, and she even traveled from the outer-limits of the land (around Egypt and Ethiopia) to listen to the wisdom of Yahweh's Prophet-King. For that reason, Jesus says that she will rise up at The Judgment to pronounce a verdict along with Jesus against Israel's unrepentant Jews --Jews who end up rejecting a greater Prophet-King than Solomon.

Concluding the second part of this "sign" which the scribes and Pharisees requested, Jesus moves on from talking about himself, to talking about "this evil generation" again. It is "this evil generation," Jesus says, that has a "house" with a "man" in it; and that man/house has an unclean spirit. Then comes a day when that unclean spirit leaves its "house" to find rest somewhere else. The "little children" of Israel have been searching for rest for a long time, and have finally found it in Jesus (11:25-30). But such revelation has been hidden from "the wise and understanding", i.e. the scribes and Pharisees. Their disciples are like those who leave their house for rest somewhere else, passing by the water-filled location of rest that is found in Jesus. They don't want the rest which Jesus offers. And so, after a while the unclean spirit returns and find its house cleaned up and put back in order by the man of the house.  But it doesn't like the way the house has been cleaned up; and so seven more evil spirits are gathered together to return to this man's cleansed house, making it worse than it was at first. 

Little do they know that Jesus owns everything in the world, and is the master of the house in which this man lives; and if seven evil spirits worse than the first return into his house, making it seven times more unclean than it was at first, he won't come back to clean it up and make it look pretty inside again. He'll return to break down the house, its stones and timber, and all the plaster of the house (Lev. 14:43-45), and it will be delivered over to a place outside the city of God, to an ash heap of uncleanness forever. 

1.  The Greek word translated as "great fish" literally means "Sea-monster," and is used throughout ancient Greek literature in reference to sea-monsters, not merely "great fish."

2.  The Greek word translated as "earth" is misleading. Although it can and often does mean "earth," it rarely means the planet earth. In context, Jesus is simply expressing that the queen of Sheba traveled all the way from the outer limits of the land from Israel came. And Sheba is located around Egypt & Ethiopia, which is the stretch of land from which Israel as a nation came.

3.  The Greek word translated as "ends" means "limits" and in context it means the outer-border or outer-limits of the land. It does not mean the other "end" of the physical planet. That would be absurd.

The Angel of the Covenant

As I noted in the previous post, John the Baptist sends messengers to Jesus, asking him if he is "the coming One," and Jesus sends a message back to John listing his credentials as "the coming One." Then Jesus turns to the crowds who are following him now and he appeals to the prophecy of Malachi 3 & 4 to explain why John's ministry was important for them to discern now that they have decided to leave John and follow him. But Jesus' reference of Malachi 3 & 4 is actually alluding to something more what ordinarily meets the eye. Jesus didn't merely want his disciples to know that John is the "Elijah" mentioned in Malachi 4; nor did he merely want them to know who would visit Israel before the Lord does, as mentioned in Malachi 3. Referencing Malachi 3:1, Jesus tells them explicitly: 

[John] is he of whom it is written, "Behold! I send my messenger (angel) before your face, who will prepare your way before you!"

But Malachi 3:1 actually doesn't say that. Malachi 3:1 says this:

Behold! I send my messenger (angel), and he will prepare the way before Me.

But there is more. If we were to look at the Greek text which underlies these passages of Scripture, the words of Jesus are much closer to the words of Yahweh in Exodus 23:20,1 than they are to Malachi 3. In Exodus 23:20, Yahweh says:

Behold, I send an angel (messenger) before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

But what does Exodus 23 have to do with Jesus' words about John the Baptist? Many evangelical commentators don't realize this, but Malachi's prophecy is a clear allusion to the promise of conquest mentioned in Exodus 23. Notice the parallels between the two promises of God. Malachi prophesied to the people of Israel, saying:

And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold!, He is coming, says Yahweh of armies! But who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. ...Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb [Sinai] for all Israel.2

In parallel with this, notice carefully what Yahweh spoke to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, immediately before Israel ratified their covenant with Yahweh:

“Behold, I send an angel (messenger) before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.  Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,  you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.  You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. …You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.  

[Then] Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.3

The message of utter destruction upon Yahweh's enemies in the Promised Land is consistent with both prophecies, only the difference between them is that in Exodus 23-24, Yahweh's "angel" (or messenger) of the covenant is going to come and purge the promised land of God's enemies who inhabit the land: the Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, the evildoers, adulterers, and oppressors  who don't fear the Lord; whereas in Malachi's prophecy, the angel of the covenant is going to come and purge the promised land of Scribes, Pharisees, and other Israelites who are just as evil, idolatrous, and oppressive as the Canaanites, Jebusites, and Hivites. 

According to Jesus, John the Baptist was the angel of God who would prepare Israel's way before them. John was the messenger of God who would prepare a highway for Jesus' own arrival in the midst of Israel. Now that Israel's Lord had arrived in their midst, the people of Israel are left with a choice: Do they follow the rulers of Israel and their traditions, while rejecting Jesus and his credentials as the Messiah, or do they follow Jesus and reject the rulers of Israel along with their traditions? Jesus was the lawful King of Israel and the angel of the covenant sent from Yahweh of armies into the midst of the land to conquer and purge out it's idolatrous worship, thereby giving the people true rest. 

But how would Israel respond? 

Jesus explains to the crowds around him how some had responded, saying, "To what shall I compare this generation?" (Matt. 11:16). For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they accused him of having a devil. Jesus comes eating and drinking and the Pharisees accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of unclean tax collectors and sinners (11:19). The children of that generation piped a happy tune to them, but neither John nor Jesus danced. And so they played a mournful song instead, but neither John nor Jesus mourned (11:17). Why not? Jesus gives them the answer: All the prophets until John prophesied about the Kingdom of heaven and it's coming-King (11:13), yet many Israelites didn't have ears to hear or eyes to see his credentials. At least, many rulers of Israel didn't see it. The Pharisees were certainly not convinced by Jesus' deeds.

John, at least, heard about the "deeds of the Messiah" and sent a message to Jesus, confirming his faith in the coming-One (11:1-2). And we can imagine that the message which Jesus sent back to him about his miraculous deeds was sufficient to strengthen John's faith (11:4-6). From this we learn that Jesus' closing words were more relevant to his audience than ever: Wisdom is indeed justified by her deeds (11:19). 

1.  See the parallels in Greek below:

Matthew 11:10 -- Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Ἰδού, ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου ἔμπροσθέν σου

Exodus 23:20 -- Behold, I send my messenger before your face, that he may keep you in the way, that he may bring you into the land which I have prepared for you. Ἰδοὺ, ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου ἵνα φυλάξῃ σε ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, ὅπως εἰσαγάγῃ σε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ἡτοίμασά σοι

Malachi 3:1 -- Behold, I send my messenger, and he will observe the way before my face. Ἰδοὺ, ἐξαποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου, καὶ ἐπιβλέψεται ὁδὸν πρὸ προσώπου μου

2.  Malachi 3:1-2, 5, 4:1-4
3.  Exodus 23:20-33; 24:3-8