Exodus 20:1 – 17
Last Sunday, we heard of God’s test for Abraham after he had made a covenant with him. This follows the reading from the First Sunday of Lent, in which we heard about the covenant that God made with Noah and his descendents. This week, we hear the commandments that God gives to his people at Mt. Sinai as part of that covenant. The text of the Decalogue has evolved in two forms: Ex 20 and Dt 5:6 – 21.
1 Then God delivered all these commandments:
As you see in your footnotes, the precise division of these precepts into “ten commandments” is somewhat uncertain. Traditionally among Catholics and Lutherans, Exodus 20:1-6 is considered as only one commandment, and Exodus 20:17 as two (cf. Deut 5:6-21). In fact, as you will see in your footnotes, the traditional designation of “ten” commandments comes from 34:28, as well as in Dt. 4:13 and 10:4. The attestation of their being written on two tablets is found in Ex. 32:15-16; 34:29 and Dt. 4:13; 10:1-4. And of course, we need to determine who wrote the commandments on the tablets. We just read in Dt. 10:2+4 that God wrote them; we read the same in 5:22 as well as in Ex. 31:18 and 32:16. But, in Ex. 24:4 and 34:27-28, we read that it was Moses.
2 “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
I, the LORD, am your God: the recognition of one God was intended to distinguish Israel from her neighbors, who all boasted a host of heavenly deities. In this precept, we note the clear, practical monotheism which would later culminate into the speculative monotheism of the prophets. Verse 3 below and verses such as Ex. 15:11 clearly indicate that the Israelites at this time did not yet understand the concept of one God.
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery: this is probably a later addition to the original command: “I, the Lord, am your God; you shall not have other gods besides me.” This addition mimics the language of the Hittite covenant which proclaims what the king has done for his people. As we saw earlier, this is one of a number of the scriptural versions of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. One of the striking things about this version is that it begins with God’s self-description as the Lord “who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” That situates the commandments in a context of liberation from bondage. In other words, rather than being restrictions on the people, the commandments are descriptions of how to create a holy, coherent life in a community that God has called into freedom. Thus, the commandments are not so much a set of objective rules as guidelines for relationships.
3 You shall not have other gods besides me.
4 You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
You shall not carve idols: archeology confirms that the ancient Israelites proved faithful at least to this aspect of the First Commandment. Although there are vast quantities of representations of pagan deities that date to this time, there are no images of Yahweh. This prohibition of creating images of God had as much to do with a rejection of the religions that surrounded Israel as with preventing Israel from establishing one single concept of the God who is beyond all imagining. The God we worship is a God who cannot be confined to a single image or a sanctuary. God is beyond our imagining and we can only humbly recognize that reality.
5 you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation;
Jealous: demanding exclusive allegiance, such as a wife must have for her husband.
6 but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Punishment…down to the third and fourth generation… mercy down to the thousandth generation: the emphasis here is really on God’s mercy, not his punishment.
7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
in vain: this seems to mean: you shall not make evil use of the name of the Lord. This forbids the perjured use of God’s name or the use of God’s name to support curses or magical formulas. This was common in other cultures at the time. Today, so many people use God’s name rather lightly; that’s a contemporary example of breaking this commandment.
8 “Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
keep holy the sabbath day: the word “holy” means “to be set aside or apart.” In this passage, we are reminded of our need to imitate God, whose creative activity left the Sabbath free from work (Gn 2:2-3). In Dt 5:12-15, a distinctively humanitarian motive is ascribed to this precept – allowing for rest for their slaves – as well as the opportunity to acknowledge God for his great work at the Exodus.
9 Six days you may labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you.
11 In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
Honor your father and your mother: with this fourth commandment, the Decalogue takes up man’s relations with his fellow man. First is stressed the obligation to one’s parents. For the penalty to its violation, see Ex 21:17; Lv 20:9; Dt 21:18-21.
13 “You shall not kill.
You shall not kill: this commandment protects the very sacredness of life by forbidding murder. Killing in battle or by capital punishment is not an issue here. In fact, the Pentateuch fully approves both (cf. Ex 21:12-17; Dt 20:1-14).
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not commit adultery: This command safeguards the sanctity of marriage. The penalty for adultery is death (cf. Dt. 22:22).
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.”
neighbor’s house…neighbor’s wife: both of these precepts prohibit illicit desires, desires that could easily lead to actions already forbidden by the sixth and seventh commandments.
John 2:13 – 25
This Sunday, we will hear John’s account of Jesus’ first journey to Jerusalem. As you will read in your footnotes, scripture scholars believe that this episode indicates the post-resurrectional replacement of the temple by the person of Jesus. The other gospels place the cleansing of the temple in the last days of Jesus’ life (Matthew 21: 12-13, on the day Jesus entered Jerusalem; Mark 11:15-18, on the next day). The order of events in the gospel narratives is often determined by theological motives rather than by chronological data.
13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Passover: this is the first Passover mentioned in John; a second is mentioned in John 6:4 a third in John 13:1. Taken literally, they point to a ministry of at least two years.
14 He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there.
Oxen, sheep, and doves: intended for sacrifice. The doves were the offerings of the poor (Lev 5:7).
Money-changers: to pay for the sacrificial animals and for a temple tax paid by every male Jew more than nineteen years of age, with a half-shekel coin (Exodus 30:11-16), in Syrian currency. See the note on Matthew 17:24. The Roman coins depicted images of the current Caesar who was depicted as a god; this was considered idol worship in the eyes of the Jews so they had to exchange that coin for a coin without such an image for any exchange within the temple area. The only money accepted at the Temple was the Tyrian currency, so the money-changers were necessary. Whereas Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels indicate that Jesus is driving them out because of their dishonesty, in John’s Gospel, Jesus is seen decrying the commercialization of the worship of God. What probably started off very innocently to address the practical problems that Jewish pilgrims had when they came to Jerusalem to worship – providing worthy animals for sacrifice and coins that could be used to purchase them – turned into an act of desecration of the holiest place on earth.
15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables,
16 and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
17 His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Zeal for your house will consume me: Psalm 69:10, changed to future tense to apply to Jesus.
18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?”
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up: This saying about the destruction of the temple occurs in various forms (Matthew 24:2; 27:40; Mark 13:2; 15:29; Luke 21:6; cf Acts 6:14). Matthew 26:61 has: “I can destroy the temple of God. . .”; see the note there. In Mark 14:58, there is a metaphorical contrast with a new temple: “I will destroy this temple made with hands and within three days I will build another not made with hands.” Here it is symbolic of Jesus’ resurrection and the resulting community (see John 2:21 and Rev 21:2). In three days: an Old Testament expression for a short, indefinite period of time (cf. Hosea 6:2) or, as we saw last week, a common theme in OT (cf. Ex 3:18, 5:3, 15:22, Nm 10:33, Jos 1:11) that speaks of preparing for an important event.
Scripture scholars point out that the word that Jesus uses here in John’s Gospel that is translated as “temple” more accurately means “sanctuary,” that is, the Holy of Holies in the temple where it was believed that God dwelt. So, Jesus is identifying himself with God already here, in John’s Gospel.
20 The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?”
Forty-six years: based on references in Josephus (Jewish Wars 1,21,1 #401; Antiquities 15,11,1 #380), possibly the spring of A.D. 28. Cf. the note on Luke 3:1.
21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
temple of his body: this refers just as much to the Church as to his resurrection.
22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
23 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.
Signs: In John’s Gospel, miracles are called signs because they point to future events such as the Eucharist (Cana) or Jesus’ resurrection (raising of Lazarus).
24 But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
25 and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.
did not need anyone to testify about human nature: Jesus, who is truly man, but endowed with the wisdom of God, labors under no illusions concerning human frailty.
1 Corinthians 1:22 – 25
We hear from Paul’s letter to the community he founded in Corinth. Here, we hear his brilliant presentation on the scandal of the cross.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom: the gospel message shocks both Jews and Greeks. The Jews expected and demanded signs, that is, spectacular miracles that showed divine intervention. They looked for a messiah who would regain their nation’s sovereignty over the Gentiles by a display of miraculous power. (cf Mt 12:38, 16:4; Jn 4:48, 6:30-31). The Greeks looked for “wisdom”, that is, philosophies that purported to give a satisfactory explanation of man and the cosmos.
23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
stumbling block: in Greek, ςκανδαλον – scandal – which caused offense and revulsion.
24 but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
who are called: Paul emphasizes the primacy of God’s action.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Our readings this weekend call us back into a sacred covenant relationship with God. God, who has freed us from slavery to sin – just as real as the slavery to the Egyptians that the ancient Israelites experienced – has taught us how to live in a holy relationship with him and with one another; that’s the essence of the Ten Commandments. And, through Christ, he reminds us that it is so easy to become casual about this and slip from true worship to something much less – just as what happened at the temple.