12-23-2014, 07:28 PM
Hello everyone-
I had reason to return to Luke 9 and I noticed that there was some ongoing commentary concerning 2 phrases.
As to "...bury my father...":
Luke 9: 51 - 62 (RSV):
[51] When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
[52] And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him;
[53] but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
[54] And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"
[55] But he turned and rebuked them.
[56] And they went on to another village.
[57] As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
[58] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."
[59] To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
[60] But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
[61] Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
[62] Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Matthew 8: 18 - 23 (RSV):
[18] Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
[19] And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
[20] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."
[21] Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
[22] But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
[23] And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
1. I use RSV a lot for online Posts but it's only because I can Cut 'n Paste easily from the RSV from the UMich site. It's harder to use the Moffatt, which I like. I tend to want to be very literal in my use of the Interlinear here. Any help in switching over would be appreciated.
2. I think there is an easy explanation for the use of "...bury my father...", regardless of other meanings, but look for a moment at the differences between Matthew and Luke! Luke's Jesus is marching to Jerusalem and is in the Land of the Samaritans (Upper Galilee?). Matthew's Jesus in ostensibly ordering people to "...go to the other side..." by way of the "boat". Matthew's Story also leads into his version of "The Squall" which has been truncated from Mark's version in a very serious manner! I invite you to compare the 2 readings of "The Squall". I have contended that Matthew wrote to hide meaning and these 2 Stories starting at Matthew 8 illustrate this.
3. Luke has the greater detail so let's see what we can see. There is one unusual phrase almost immediately, "and it ain't "bury my father..." ". It's "...he set his face..." and, the passive, "...his face was set...". Is this evidence of an Aramaic - or *Shudder* - Greek expression? It certainly READS as one implying that he was intent on traveling. Or, perhaps, "His face was set on fixing the car that weekend, even to the point of ignoring the game that had his favorite team playing...". Luke's Intentionality is harder than this and I can't get a feel that this is an elaboration from Luke or whether that is as serious as it can get: "He had his face set and there was nothing on earth that would prevent him traveling to Jerusalem..." I tend to accept this as being as serious as it can get. The Samaritans "would not receive him" because "his face was set" and THAT may imply a Political Meaning above and beyond his wanting to go to Jerusalem. There is something obvious here and also something hidden.
4. "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"
I've always thought that this came from children. They are taught the Miracles of the Prophets and the "Instantaneous Righteous Judgement" and when the Samaritans refuse to supply them with food, the solution is obvious! These children are "Angels" and in Mark, the "Angels" will be sent out to gather the Elect. The children are there for a reason.
Your mileage may vary.
5. Which brings us to the Purpose of Luke's version, especially in opposition to Matthew:
"I will follow you wherever you go."
"To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
My comment may seem trivial but I believe that the Story here is very deep. Luke could have started with this Story, Chapter 1 Verse 1.
Mark 3: 4 (RSV):
[4] And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.
I invite you to read this with a different Intentionality. The Pharisees (or, the subjects of the Wrath in the Markan Story...) have committed a very grave offense and THEY KNOW IT. They know this Jesus and they know what happened. Luke's version is the return ("I was daily in the Temple...") to the Temple. "His face was set" alright. It's life or death and the people near him know it and he knows it.
As I say, this seems trivial but there appears to be a "Smoothing" of the tensions, especially in Matthew. "It's just a lesson...". No, it's life or death.
6. The people profess to support "The Cause", right up until it's time to march on Jerusalem. One or two will "follow you wherever you go." The others know that Death awaits. Better to provide an excuse which brings about the answer:
"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
CW
I had reason to return to Luke 9 and I noticed that there was some ongoing commentary concerning 2 phrases.
As to "...bury my father...":
Luke 9: 51 - 62 (RSV):
[51] When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
[52] And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him;
[53] but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
[54] And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"
[55] But he turned and rebuked them.
[56] And they went on to another village.
[57] As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
[58] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."
[59] To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
[60] But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
[61] Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
[62] Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Matthew 8: 18 - 23 (RSV):
[18] Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
[19] And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
[20] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."
[21] Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
[22] But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
[23] And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
1. I use RSV a lot for online Posts but it's only because I can Cut 'n Paste easily from the RSV from the UMich site. It's harder to use the Moffatt, which I like. I tend to want to be very literal in my use of the Interlinear here. Any help in switching over would be appreciated.
2. I think there is an easy explanation for the use of "...bury my father...", regardless of other meanings, but look for a moment at the differences between Matthew and Luke! Luke's Jesus is marching to Jerusalem and is in the Land of the Samaritans (Upper Galilee?). Matthew's Jesus in ostensibly ordering people to "...go to the other side..." by way of the "boat". Matthew's Story also leads into his version of "The Squall" which has been truncated from Mark's version in a very serious manner! I invite you to compare the 2 readings of "The Squall". I have contended that Matthew wrote to hide meaning and these 2 Stories starting at Matthew 8 illustrate this.
3. Luke has the greater detail so let's see what we can see. There is one unusual phrase almost immediately, "and it ain't "bury my father..." ". It's "...he set his face..." and, the passive, "...his face was set...". Is this evidence of an Aramaic - or *Shudder* - Greek expression? It certainly READS as one implying that he was intent on traveling. Or, perhaps, "His face was set on fixing the car that weekend, even to the point of ignoring the game that had his favorite team playing...". Luke's Intentionality is harder than this and I can't get a feel that this is an elaboration from Luke or whether that is as serious as it can get: "He had his face set and there was nothing on earth that would prevent him traveling to Jerusalem..." I tend to accept this as being as serious as it can get. The Samaritans "would not receive him" because "his face was set" and THAT may imply a Political Meaning above and beyond his wanting to go to Jerusalem. There is something obvious here and also something hidden.
4. "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"
I've always thought that this came from children. They are taught the Miracles of the Prophets and the "Instantaneous Righteous Judgement" and when the Samaritans refuse to supply them with food, the solution is obvious! These children are "Angels" and in Mark, the "Angels" will be sent out to gather the Elect. The children are there for a reason.
Your mileage may vary.
5. Which brings us to the Purpose of Luke's version, especially in opposition to Matthew:
"I will follow you wherever you go."
"To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
My comment may seem trivial but I believe that the Story here is very deep. Luke could have started with this Story, Chapter 1 Verse 1.
Mark 3: 4 (RSV):
[4] And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.
I invite you to read this with a different Intentionality. The Pharisees (or, the subjects of the Wrath in the Markan Story...) have committed a very grave offense and THEY KNOW IT. They know this Jesus and they know what happened. Luke's version is the return ("I was daily in the Temple...") to the Temple. "His face was set" alright. It's life or death and the people near him know it and he knows it.
As I say, this seems trivial but there appears to be a "Smoothing" of the tensions, especially in Matthew. "It's just a lesson...". No, it's life or death.
6. The people profess to support "The Cause", right up until it's time to march on Jerusalem. One or two will "follow you wherever you go." The others know that Death awaits. Better to provide an excuse which brings about the answer:
"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
CW