Navigating Tough Texts, Volume 2 E-Book

Murray J. Harris

• Herausgeber: Lexham Press
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 262

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

A guide for reading and understanding difficult New Testament verses - Does Matthew 5:34 say that oath-taking is wrong? - What does 1 Corinthians 10:23 mean by "everything is permissible"? - Who were the angels that "abandoned their role" in Jude 6? - What are the thousand years of Revelation 20:4? While the core message of the New Testament is clear, we often encounter puzzling, alarming, or confusing sections when we get into the details. In this second volume of Navigating Tough Texts, Murray J. Harris concisely considers more than eighty tricky passages in the New Testament. He shows how these texts offer insights with implications for theology, apologetics, mission, and the Christian life. Navigating Tough Texts, Volume 2 is a sure guide for pastors, students, and curious Christians who want to be better readers of the tough passages in the Bible.

Leseprobe

MURRAY J. HARRIS

NAVIGATING

TOUGH TEXTS

A Guide to Problem Passages in the New Testament

VOLUME 2

Navigating Tough Texts, Volume Two: A Guide to Problem Passages in the New Testament

Copyright 2024 Murray James Harris

Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

LexhamPress.com

All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [email protected].

Print ISBN 9781683597667

Digital ISBN 9781683597674

The citation on page 30 is taken from Harris, From Grave to Glory: Resurrection in the New Testament. 1990. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com

The chart on page 39 and observations on page 59 and 71 are taken from Harris, Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament. 2012. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com.

The chart on page 77 is taken from Harris, Paul: His Life, Letters, and Teaching. 2022. Used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers. www.wipfandstock.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are the author’s translation. See page 177 for copyright information regarding the sources of Scripture quotations.

Lexham Editorial: Derek Brown, Elliot Ritzema, James Spinti, Paul Robinson

Cover Design: Joshua Hunt, Fanny Palacios

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

PART 1: GOSPELS AND ACTS

MATTHEW

1.What Was the Star of Bethlehem? (Matt 2:2)

2.Is Oathtaking Wrong? (Matt 5:34)

3.Call for Perfection (Matt 5:48)

4.Burying the Dead (Matt 8:22)

5.The Coming of the Kingdom of God (Matt 16:28)

6.Choosing Celibacy (Matt 19:12)

7.Son Yet Lord (Matt 22:45)

8.Pacifism (Matt 26:52)

9.An Early Resurrection? (Matt 27:52–53)

10.The Triune God and Baptism (Matt 28:19)

MARK

11.Jesus Baptized for Repentance? (Mark 1:9)

12.Belief and Doubt (Mark 9:24)

13.Do “Discrepancies” Prove Falsehood? (Mark 16:5)

LUKE

14.Is Poverty a Blessing? (Luke 6:20)

15.Becoming Like Angels (Luke 20:36)

JOHN

16.The Meaning of Monogenēs (John 1:14)

17.“I and the Father Are One” (John 10:30)

18.Who Are the “Gods”? (John 10:34)

19.“Who Is the Son of Man?” (John 12:34)

20.The Cross Inscription (John 19:20)

ACTS

21.Death of Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:18)

22.Baptism for Forgiveness? (Acts 2:38)

23.An Experiment in Community Sharing (Acts 2:44–45)

24.Sitting or Standing? (Acts 7:55–56)

25.Prayer Requests to Jesus? (Acts 7:59–60)

26.Paul’s Dilemma (Acts 16:3)

27.Is Rebaptism Legitimate? (Acts 19:5)

28.Danger Ahead: Long Sermon! (Acts 20:7)

29.The First? Really? (Acts 26:23)

PART 2: EPISTLES AND REVELATION

ROMANS

1.Homosexuality (Rom 1:27)

2.Two Ways to Salvation? (Rom 3:30)

3.No Impeachment! (Rom 8:33)

4.“All Israel Will Be Saved” (Rom 11:26)

1 CORINTHIANS

5.Not Sent to Baptize (1 Cor 1:17)

6.“Verbal Inspiration” (1 Cor 2:13)

7.Only Just Saved (1 Cor 3:15)

8.Handed Over to Satan (1 Cor 5:5)

9.“In the Lord” (1 Cor 7:39)

10.Only One Prize (1 Cor 9:24)

11.“Everything Is Permissible” (1 Cor 10:23)

12.Baptism in the Spirit (1 Cor 12:13)

13.Speaking in Tongues (1 Cor 13:8)

14.“Be Eager to Prophesy” (1 Cor 14:39)

15.Paul as an Untimely Fetus (1 Cor 15:8)

2 CORINTHIANS

16.Paul Hits Rock Bottom (2 Cor 1:8–11)

17.Paul an Irresponsible Worldling? (2 Cor 1:17)

18.“The Lord Is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:17)

19.Carrying Death Around (2 Cor 4:10)

20.“God Was in Christ, Reconciling the World unto Himself” (2 Cor 5:19)

21.Is Jealousy Ever Legitimate? (2 Cor 11:2)

22.Paul Speaking as a Fool (2 Cor 11:21)

23.Unusual 2-1-3 Order (2 Cor 13:14)

GALATIANS

24.Peter vs. Paul? (Gal 2:14)

25.Adoption—of Sons Only? (Gal 4:5)

EPHESIANS

26.Demolishing the Barrier (Eph 2:14)

27.Maintaining Unity (Eph 4:3)

28.Submission (Eph 5:22–23)

PHILIPPIANS

29.“Work Out Your Own Salvation” (Phil 2:12–13)

30.Is Gentleness Weakness? (Phil 4:5)

COLOSSIANS

31.Severe Treatment of the Body (Col 2:23)

1 THESSALONIANS

32.Satan’s Stratagems (1 Thess 2:18)

33.One Crucial Aspect of God’s Will (1 Thess 4:3)

34.Are Humans Tripartite? (1 Thess 5:23)

35.The Holy Kiss (1 Thess 5:26)

2 THESSALONIANS

36.“Eternal Destruction” (2 Thess 1:9)

1 TIMOTHY

37.God’s Partially Fulfilled Longing (1 Tim 2:4)

38.Saved “through” Childbearing (1 Tim 2:15)

39.The Mystery Promoting Godliness (1 Tim 3:16)

2 TIMOTHY

40.Paul’s False Friend (2 Tim 4:10)

TITUS

41.Titus—Paul’s Son and Brother (Titus 1:4)

42.Paul on Female Roles (Titus 2:4–5)

PHILEMON

43.House Churches (Phlm 2)

HEBREWS

44.Is Apostasy Possible for a Believer? (Heb 6:4–6)

45.Melchizedek, the King-Priest (Heb 7:1)

46.Is Tithing a Christian Obligation? (Heb 7:5)

47.God’s Holiness (Heb 12:29)

JAMES

48.Temptation and Testing (Jas 1:13)

49.Can God Change? (Jas 1:17)

50.Faith Healing (Jas 5:15)

1 PETER

51.Christ as Sin-Bearer (1 Pet 2:24)

52.Christ in Hell? (1 Pet 3:19; 4:6)

2 PETER

53.New Heavens and New Earth (2 Pet 3:12–13)

1 JOHN

54.Three That Testify (1 John 5:7)

55.Who Is the True God? (1 John 5:20)

JUDE

56.Angels Abandoning Their Role (Jude 6)

REVELATION

57.The Lord’s Day (Rev 1:10)

58.The Thousand Years (Rev 20:4)

59.Two Separate Tribunals? (Rev 20:11)

60.Christ as Alpha and Omega (Rev 22:13)

PREFACE

I have been most encouraged by the positive reaction of readers to my Navigating Tough Texts (2020). Knowing this and being aware of how many other “tough texts” there are in the NT, I ventured to inquire from the editorial staff at Lexham Press whether there might be a market for a second volume with a similar approach. So, with a positive response from Lexham, I unexpectedly embarked on what has become volume 2.

As mentioned in the preface to the first volume, it has been my special privilege to read and teach the Greek New Testament for over fifty years and to be involved in the translation team of the New International Version (NIV) for its first twenty-five years. Again I am delighted to be able to pass on to others some of the treasures buried in the inspired and inspiring text of the NT. Not a few of the studies involve grammatical issues not apparent to readers who do not have access to the original Greek. Some of the studies relate to word meaning and usage, while others stem from the necessary consideration of the immediate context or relevant background data.

The studies are designed for pastors, undergraduate or graduate theological students, and Christians who are eager to reflect deeply about their faith and who are not afraid to be exposed to some of the intricacies of the Greek language.

They are tough texts for several reasons. They may be tough to understand because of a first-century perspective that is foreign to modern readers or because of some linguistic issue related to Greek. They may be tough to apply appropriately in the modern era. Or they may be tough to appreciate, given the long history of divisive and painful controversy that some texts have provoked.

Quite often, discussion of a tough text leads naturally into a wider treatment of major NT themes. As a result, any reader who chooses to work through the whole book, rather than just picking out those particular verses where they want help, can get a concise statement of many important theological topics.

Most of the texts could be classified into one of the following categories:

1.Verses that have been significant in church history (e.g., Matt 28:19; Acts 2:38; 19:5; Rom 3:30; Gal 2:14).

2.Key passages that are illuminating for understanding the person of Christ (Mark 1:9; John 1:14; 10:30; 12:34; Acts 7:55–56; 26:23; 2 Cor 5:19; 1 Pet 3:19; 4:6; Rev 22:13) or his work (Rom 8:33; Eph 2:14; 1 Pet 2:24).

3.Verses that contain apparent contradictions (Matt 16:5; Acts 1:18) or special difficulties (1 Cor 5:5; 9:24; 15:8; 2 Cor 11:21; 13:14; 1 John 5:7).

4.Issues relating to the Christian life (Matt 5:34; 19:12; 26:52; Luke 6:20; Acts 7:59–60; Rom 1:27; 1 Cor 13:8; 14:39; 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 4:3; 5:22–23).

5.Important passages about the future (Luke 20:36; Rom 11:26; 1 Cor 3:15; 2 Pet 3:12–13; Rev 20:4, 11).

It is my hope and prayer that the insights offered here may prompt in the reader a deeper love of the biblical text, and an enhanced devotion to its ultimate author—and perhaps even a desire to learn Greek!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Permission has been kindly given by Zondervan (HarperCollins) to use material that first appeared in my books From Grave to Glory: Resurrection in the New Testament (1990) and Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament (2012); by the editor of Voices, a periodical of the Evangelical Free Church of America, to use material from my article “Raised … Never to Die Again,” 4.2 (1988): 12–13; by Eerdmans to use a diagram from my Second Epistle to the Corinthians (2005); and by Wipf & Stock to use a chart from my Paul: His Life, Letters, and Teaching (2022).

For a second time, warm thanks are due to Dr. Derek Brown and Elliot Ritzema, along with James Spinti, Katy Smith, and Jessi Strong at Lexham Press for their professional expertise and generous patience in preparing the manuscript for publication.

Once again, I am profoundly grateful to my two treasured friends of seventy-five years, David Burt and Dr. Graham Smith, who have patiently read and helpfully commented on all eighty-nine units in this volume. Views expressed in the work and any errors that remain are my own.

ABBREVIATIONS

Barclay

The New Testament: A New Translation. Vol. 1: The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles (1968); Vol. 2: The Letters and the Revelation (1969)

BDAG

F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), based on W. Bauer’s Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed. References are given by page number and by a–d (= the four sections of the page)

Bruce, Paraphrase

F. F. Bruce, An Expanded Paraphrase of the Epistles of Paul (Palm Springs, CA: Haynes, 1981)

c.

circa (Latin), at approximately

Cassirer

H. W. Cassirer, God’s New Covenant: A New Testament Translation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989)

cf.

confer (Latin), compare

ESV

English Standard Version Bible (2001)

EVV

English versions of the New Testament

GNT

Good News Translation (1992)

Harris, 2 Cor

M. J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005)

Harris, Immortality

M. J. Harris, Raised Immortal: Resurrection and Immortality in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985)

Harris, Jesus

M. J. Harris, Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992; repr., Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008)

Harris, Paul

M. J. Harris, Paul: His Life, Letters, and Teaching. Convenient Summaries (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2022)

Harris, Prepositions

M. J. Harris, Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012)

Harris, Questions

M. J. Harris, Three Crucial Questions about Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994; repr., Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008)

Harris, Resurrection

M. J. Harris, From Grave to Glory: Resurrection in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990)

HCSB

Holman Christian Standard Bible (2003)

JB

The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

KJV

King James Version

LSJ

H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, and H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. with revised supplement (Oxford: Clarendon, 1996)

LXX

Septuagint (= Greek version of the OT)

Moffatt

J. Moffatt, The Moffatt Translation of the Bible (1935)

NAB

New American Bible: Revised New Testament (1986)

NASB

New American Standard Bible (1977)

NEB

New English Bible (1970)

NIV

New International Version (2011)

NJB

New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

NKJV

New King James Version

NLT

New Living Translation of the Bible (2013)

NRSV

New Revised Standard Version Bible (1989)

NT

New Testament

OT

Old Testament

passim

in many places (Latin)

Phillips

J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English (London: Bles/Collins, 1958)

REB

Revised English Bible (1990)

RSV

Revised Standard Version of the Bible (1952)

RV

Revised Version (New Testament) (1881)

TCNT

Twentieth Century New Testament (1904)

vs.

versus (Latin), against

PART 1

GOSPELS AND ACTS

MATTHEW

1: WHAT WAS THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM? (MATT 2:2)

It was only after Jesus had been born that the Magi saw an extraordinary star in their sky that prompted their journey of about 550 miles from (probably) Babylon to Jerusalem (Matt 2:1–2). The Magi (magoi) were priests and wise men in Persia and Babylonia who were experts in astrology and the interpretation of dreams. This Greek term could also refer to magicians or sorcerers who practiced magic arts (Acts 8:9; 13:6, 8). For Matthew, these magi were non-Jewish religious astrologers “from the east” (apo anatolōn) who perceived in the star “at its rising” (NRSV, en tē anatolē) a heavenly sign of the recent arrival of an earthly child who was or would become “king of the Jews,” and who accordingly wished to pay him homage (Matt 2:1–2).

The evangelist would have known that the OT repudiates astrology (Isa 47:13–15; Jer 10:1–2). Here he neither condemns it nor approves of it, but recognizes that God, in his providential purposes, can even use the careful calculations of Gentile astrologers to bring about circumstances that fulfill prophecy: “A star will come from Jacob; a scepter will arise from Israel” (Num 24:17). Divine announcements can be made in the sky (Matt 24:30; Acts 2:19–20). In the wider context, Matthew contrasts the straightforward desire of the magi to offer homage to a newborn king with the hypocritical scheming of King Herod and his murderous intent (Matt 2:3–8, 16). Later Christian tradition viewed the magi as kings (cf. Ps 72:10; Isa 49:7; 60:3) and as three in number because of the three types of gifts they offered to the infant Jesus (Matt 2:11).

Not surprisingly, there have been many proposed identifications of the star. Any proposal must imply a date before the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC (Matt 2:1) and must accommodate the movement of the star westward to Jerusalem and then south to Bethlehem (Matt 2:1, 9). The main identifications are as follows:

•A supernova that occurred in 5 BC, a stellar explosion of enormous violence that fades after outshining an entire galaxy—but there is no known supernova remnant from this time.

•A triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces in 7 BC (e.g., the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, 1571–1630)—but none of these three conjunctions would be sufficiently close to each other to appear as a single star.

•A tailed comet that appeared in 5 BC, according to accurate and detailed Chinese astronomical records—a convincing recent proposal advanced by a Cambridge professor, Colin J. Humphreys, in “The Star of Bethlehem,” Science and Christian Belief 5 (1995): 83–101.

2: IS OATHTAKING WRONG? (MATT 5:34)

In the modern era, oathtaking is generally unnecessary, except in certain circumstances such as citizenship ceremonies (if required) or in court or other judicial proceedings. The president of the United States swears on the Bible, the ultimate source of truth, to uphold the United States Constitution during the swearing-in ceremony. Is this passage against the taking of oaths?

In the OT a person could take an oath and reinforce it by calling on God to witness it (Deut 10:20), but this placed the swearer under a curse if it turned out they had sworn deceitfully (Exod 20:7). Two NT passages address this matter of oathtaking.

You have heard that it was said to people of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.” But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is the throne of God;or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Simply let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No” be “No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one. (Matt 5:33–37)

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” so that you may not incur condemnation. (Jas 5:12)

What do the passages have in common?

•a prohibition of a habit: “Do not swear” (mē omosai and mē omnuete);

•a directive: speak simply and honestly;

•a motivation: avoid adverse consequences.

Are Jesus and James saying that all oaths are wrong? Not so. After all, (1) God could swear on his own person to validate his promises (Gen 22:15–18; Num 14:21; Isa 14:24; Heb 6:13–18; 7:21); (2) Jesus himself responded positively at his trial when charged “under oath by the living God” (Matt 26:63–64); and (3) in his letters, Paul several times appeals to God as his witness to validate statements he made (Rom 1:9; 2 Cor 1:23; 11:11; 1 Thess 2:5, 10).

Jesus’s ban on oath-taking must be seen against the background of first century AD practice in which unnecessary oaths or vows were taken over trivial matters and a gradation of oaths had been created—from the serious and binding oath that invoked God’s name down to the potentially evasive oath that invoked heaven or earth or Jerusalem or even one’s head as witness (5:34–36). It is better to avoid all swearing than to swear falsely (Eccl 5:5); complete honesty in speech should be the norm (Matt 5:37; Deut 23:23). This is the essence of Jesus’s teaching in this area. Do not use an oath of any sort as a convenient way of avoiding the straightforward telling of the truth.

3: CALL FOR PERFECTION (MATT 5:48)

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This verse concludes a set of six antitheses (Matt 5:21–48), each expressed by the contrast “You have heard that it was said [to the people long ago], … but I tell you …” Each part of this unsettling call for perfection deserves close attention.

•“Be”: Esesthe, a future tense, here not meaning “You will be” or “You are destined to be,” but “You must be,” an imperatival future.

•“Perfect”: teleios, “perfect” in the sense of “having achieved or seeking to achieve an ideal or required goal” (telos).

•“As”: hōs, in the sense “in the same way as” or “just as.”

•“Perfect”: teleios, in the sense “uniquely and completely embodying the appropriate standard.”

•“Therefore” looks back to the last of the six antitheses (5:43–47) and expresses the conclusion that the goal to be sought is the perfect love of neighbor.

Enemies were to be loved not hated, and prayer was to be offered to God for those who persecute (5:43–44). Such action is fitting for God’s children, since his own love is all-embracing—the evil as well as the good receive the blessing of his sunshine and rain (5:45). To love and welcome all comers, to show kindness to them quite apart from what might be expected from them in return, is to follow the perfect model of one’s heavenly Father (5:46–47).

The closest comparable admonition in the Epistles is the injunction to imitate God or Christ. This idea of imitation is clearly implied in the “just as” of Matthew 5:48. So Paul directs his addressees who live in and around Ephesus, “Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love” (Eph 5:1). Similarly, 1 Peter 2:21: “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” But when the apostle Paul was personally known to his readers or hearers, he urged them as their father in Christ to imitate himself (1 Cor 4:15–16)—but that imitation was qualified: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” or “Follow my example, to the degree that I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). Christ was the supreme model to follow. For Paul’s converts, it was a mediated imitation. As those who were infants in the faith and, like Paul, had not met Jesus in his earthly life, it was easier to pattern their lives on a reliable model close at hand than on someone about whom they had merely heard.

This mediated imitation is also reflected in Hebrews. “We do not want you to become sluggish, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12). “Consider the outcome of their [your leaders’] way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7). Here is a fresh application of Matthew 5:48—seeking perfection or maturity in Christ (Col 1:28) by imitating mature fellow believers.

But the quest for spiritual maturity or perfection does not lead to sinlessness in this life (1 John 1:9; 2:1). There are degrees of perfection, with stages in the pursuit of a wholehearted love of God and neighbor (Phil 3:12–14; 1 John 4:16–17): “Let us go on toward perfection [teleiotēs]” (Heb 6:1).

There is undoubtedly a tension between the perfection of a permanent and right standing before God already granted to believers in Christ (e.g., Col 1:22) and the perfection eagerly pursued by imperfect believers. Nowhere is this “already/not yet” tension more evident than in successive verses in Hebrews 10: “We have been made holy [hēgiasmenoi esmen] through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10), and “By a single sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy [tous hagiazomenous]” (10:14).

4: BURYING THE DEAD (MATT 8:22)

Just as Jesus was about to cross to the eastern side of Lake Tiberias (Matt 8:18, 23), he was met by two people, one “a teacher of the law” (= scribe) but both of them a “disciple” (mathētēs; note “another disciple,” Matt 8:21) in the sense of being from the crowd of his interested listeners (“the crowd around him,” Matt 8:18). For this use of the term disciple not referring to the Twelve, see John 6:60–61, 66–67.

Both of these disciples addressed Jesus by terms of respect and deference (“Teacher,” 8:19; “Lord,” 8:21), and both appeared to be eager to follow him (8:19; Luke 9:59). But the scribe’s promise to follow Jesus anywhere he went prompted Jesus’s reminder that safe accommodation could never be guaranteed for his true followers: “Foxes have their burrows and birds of the sky have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (8:20).

By addressing Jesus as “Lord,” the second disciple seemed to be expressing total surrender to Jesus’s will—apart from the ominous proviso that followed: “First, allow me to go off and bury my father” (8:21). This proof of the disciple’s qualified commitment to Jesus triggered Jesus’s startling response: “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matt 8:22). In his parallel, Luke adds, “but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60b).

We cannot be sure what prior permission the man was seeking. His father may have already died and he wished to have adequate time to prepare for a suitable funeral. Or if his father was unwell, he may have wanted to show filial love by caring for him until he died. Alternatively, if his father was dead, he may have desired to follow the common first-century Palestinian custom of a “secondary burial” involving placing bones in an ancestral tomb one year after the initial burial in a cave. “I will follow you, Jesus, in about a year.”

Questions also remain about the meaning of Jesus’s statement. The first part is clear: “As for you, follow me right now!” (Akolouthei moi). And in the second part, “their own dead” clearly refers to the physically dead. But who constitutes “the dead” in the phrase “let the dead bury their own dead”? There are two options.

The first is the spiritually dead, in the present case (see Luke 9:60b) those who resist the call of Jesus and so are not part of the kingdom of God and have no concern for kingdom obligations. The second (preferably) is other members of the young man’s family who were “dead” as those unresponsive to the claims of Jesus but who would be fully capable of caring for the ailing father and any future funeral arrangements, including proper burial.

Through these two episodes (Luke adds a third: Luke 9:61–62), Jesus is teaching that following him affords no guarantee of physical security and freedom from opposition (Matt 8:19–20), and it demands wholehearted and prior allegiance to him as Lord (Matt 8:21–22). Jesus expressed this latter point a little later in typical powerful Semitic fashion, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:37).

5: THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD (MATT 16:28)

There are three accounts in the Gospels of the transfiguration of Jesus, probably on Mount Hermon, whose elevation is 9,232 ft. (2,814 m) above sea level: Matthew 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; and Luke 9:28–36 (cf. the reference to the event in 2 Pet 1:16–18; and perhaps John 1:14). Immediately before the description of the transfiguration, each of these three Gospels records Jesus’s prediction that a select group (“some who are standing here”) would not die before they see “the Son of Man coming in his kingly power” (Matt 16:28), or “that the kingdom of God has come with power” (Mark 9:1), or “the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27).

The question is: When did this “coming” occur? We can safely assume that only one “coming” is involved, whether it be called a coming of the Son of Man or of the kingdom, since the kingdom belongs to the Son of Man (Matt 16:28). Five major proposals have been made regarding the time of the fulfillment of Jesus’s prediction.

First is the transfiguration. Several facts support this view: the significant placement of the prediction (see above); the explicit reference to Peter, James, and John (e.g., Matt 17:1; cf. 2 Pet 1:16, 18) who would actually be, or would be among, the “some standing here” (see above); these three men “saw” the transformed Jesus (Matt 17:2, 9); they saw the kingdom present “with power” (Mark 9:1)—evidence of the royal presence is found in the brightness (Matt 17:2, 5) and the majesty and glory (2 Pet 1:16–17); “the Son of Man” is mentioned by Jesus in his instruction to the three disciples “as they were coming down the mountain” (Matt 17:9). But why would Jesus say that some would not die when the transfiguration was only six days away (Matt 17:1)? Perhaps he was implying that while Peter, James and John would soon witness the kingdom in all its power, others would not have that experience until his second advent.

Second is the resurrection. “Jesus Christ our Lord was openly designated as Son of God with power by the Holy Spirit through his rising from the dead” (Rom 1:4).

Third is Pentecost. To those who love him and obey his teaching, Jesus promised “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23), apparently a reference to the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.

Fourth is the advance of Christ’s kingly reign through the spread of the gospel after Pentecost: “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 4:33).

Fifth is the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 (Matt 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 19:43–44). On this view, only a small number (“some who are standing here”) would not “taste” (= experience) death before the Son of Man came in judgment on the city where so many had rejected their Messiah, “not recognizing the time of God’s coming” (Luke 19:44).

Of these proposals, the first is the most likely, with the transfiguration being an anticipation of Jesus’s ultimate coming with vast glory (Matt 16:27; 24:30; 25:31; cf. 2 Pet 1:17). The second, third, and fourth identifications might also have been intended in Jesus’s prediction, but the last proposal seems to be highly unlikely. This saying, then, illustrates the possibility of multiple fulfillments of prophecy.

6: CHOOSING CELIBACY (MATT 19:12)

For humans, being single may result from divorce (or annulment) or from bereavement, or it may describe the state of never having been married. It is this latter singleness that is our focus here.

In Matthew 19:3–12, Jesus is responding to a question posed by some Pharisees about the legitimate grounds for divorce. When Jesus’s disciples, hearing his response, concluded that “it is better not to marry” (19:10), Jesus partially agrees (19:11) but then proceeds to describe the three categories of male singleness (19:12), using the term “eunuch” (eunouchos) in each case (see BDAG409d):

•an impotent male (a man who by nature is incapable of producing children without medical intervention); “there are eunuchs who have been so from birth”;

•a castrated male (often the keeper of a harem [Esth 2:14] or a household chamberlain; cf. Acts 8:27); “there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs” by human agency;

•a celibate male (a man who abstains from marriage, although not being impotent); “and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.”

This third category consists of those who “have made themselves eunuchs,” which means, in effect, they “have renounced marriage” (NAB, NIV) or “have voluntarily made marriage impossible for themselves” (Barclay) or “choose not to marry” (NLT) or “have made eunuchs of themselves” (Cassirer).

So Jesus recognized (1) that celibacy could be a choice; (2) that such a choice should be motivated by a desire to promote the kingdom of God; and (3) that the principle (logos, 19:11) “it is better not to marry” (19:10) is practicable only for those (male or female, hois) whom God has enabled to accept it (19:11, 12d). This allusion to divine enabling agrees with Paul’s teaching that celibacy, like marriage, is one of God’s freely bestowed gifts (1 Cor 7:7).

Whether celibacy is viewed as a human choice supported by God’s enabling grace or as a divine gift to be exercised with God’s power, the celibate person (1) follows in the footsteps of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the apostle Paul (at least when he wrote 1 Cor 7:7–8 in AD 55); (2) can give undivided devotion to “the Lord’s affairs,” being free of marital obligations (1 Cor 7:32–35; cf. Matt 19:12c); (3) reflects the church’s role as a celibate fiancée (2 Cor 11:2); and (4) mirrors the eternal state where there will be no new marriages (Mark 12:25; Matt 22:30).

7: SON YET LORD (MATT 22:45)

This verse falls within the last of three interactions between Jesus and Jewish religious authorities that took place within the temple courts probably on Tuesday of Passion Week and are recorded in Matthew 22. The first regarded paying taxes to Caesar (22:15–22), involving Pharisees and Herodians; the second regarded marriage in the resurrection (22:23–33), involving Sadducees; the third regarded the messiah as David’s son (22:41–46), involving Pharisees. In each case, the theological experts were trying with malicious intent to trap Jesus by their questioning (22:15, 18, 34, 46), but the outcome each time was that the crowds who were listening in were amazed at his skillful responses and authoritative teaching (22:22, 33, 46).