Matthew refreshes the theme of the Kingdom standing things on their heads from a human point of view. Serving is greatness; doing it joyfully and without complaint is leadership. An ignoble death is victory. Humility and humiliation in this world is honor. The Kingdom Army is built of cripples. Again and again, Jesus points out to His Disciples how they must see through the eyes of God. They consistently fail to adapt. Matthew begins this chapter with Jesus explaining how the world cannot grasp the mind of God.
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner has suffered much from people reading into it things which simply aren't there. The obvious meaning is drawn from the statement which appears before and after: "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first." The central element of the image Jesus paints is the worldly image of fairness and justice in compensation, contrasted with the grace and generosity standards of God. Truth and justice are whatever God says it is at any given moment for the context. While it is obvious we should expect to some day understand something of the essence of that standard, we do so only by our ability to relate to Him. It demands a living connection which grows throughout human life, because we can never really arrive. Flesh cannot get there, and fleshly understanding cannot apprehend it. The Lord decides what each of us receives, and it is always in accordance with His promise. Those who understand find faithfulness itself is its own reward. We should rather rejoice when someone barely slips under the wire of God's grace and still finds redemption. Such is the way Our Lord sees it.
Finally, Jesus tosses in an epigram taken from Roman military enlistment practices. A town or district was assembled by a newly appointed commander. Because they were told beforehand, the people present the men most suitable for military service. Perhaps some testing takes place, but only a small portion are chosen as acceptable. Taking the whole male population willy-nilly would pollute the army with useless men, possessing neither skill, nor physical ability, nor proper instinct, men more of a threat than an asset. Jehovah is altogether selective. By His own standards He decides who shall serve, and the rest go their own way. Jesus hints to Peter the Nation of Israel would find precious few entering in, because they were unfit. Wealth and political power mean nothing, nor do claims of Abrahamic blood, as the Lord sees the heart of man. Peter's question in the last chapter about what they shall have for their sacrifice as the first to follow Christ is answered by a shift in focus to the Heavenly mind, the spiritual measure of things, and away from materialism. To read much more into this parable does violence to this teaching.
The narrative follows their steps toward the Herodian palace town of Old Jericho. It is clear the time has come to approach Jerusalem, as the Passover is near. At some point, Jesus draws them aside privately, away from the crowd following Him, and talks about His coming death. He adds a few more details, that He would be whipped, and die at the hands of Gentiles. From our comfortable place this side of rebirth, we marvel at how their minds keep rejecting the impact of what He says. His Kingdom at its fullest glory will be on the other side of the grave, because it will be eternal; it will not be anchored in this world, merely manifested here. It is obvious they continue thinking in terms of something concrete. The best they can do is assume Jesus will reform the synagogue system of their land, and bring this new teaching into dominance, even if it means remaining under Roman political authority.
John and James resort to an old Hebrew custom. A female kinsman may ask a ruler for a wide range of favors, and he would be loathe to resist. We saw it with David and Solomon. The latter instituted the custom of placing a smaller throne beside the king's for the Queen Mother. In this vein, Salome, sister of Jesus' mother, comes and asks that He offer her sons -- His cousins -- places of honor and importance such as is done in synagogues. She was a part of the larger entourage often following Jesus, but not mentioned much. Jesus makes it clear the request is out of bounds, because it's not His to grant. He warns again He faces unconscionable suffering (the symbol of the cup and baptism), but their minds simply cannot process it. He prophesies they will, indeed, participate in His suffering, whether they understand it or not, as James is the first martyr of the Church, and John suffers as an exile on Patmos when he is ancient. However, it remains their request makes no sense, for it assumes all the wrong notions about Kingdom service.
That the rest of the Disciples become angry at the politicking of James and John shows they, too, don't get it. Had they truly understood the Kingdom was altogether a spiritual matter, not of worldly honors, they would have been amused or simply sad, at most. Jesus puts it in perspective again. With men, greatness is power over each other; in the Kingdom, greatness is power over self. The power to set aside the flesh and all its pretense of importance, to sacrifice it willingly, is power in the Spirit. The Messiah did not come to rule over human institutions, but to offer His life willingly, the ultimate service.
The crowd now with Jesus was huge, intent on escorting Him into Jerusalem. They rightly expected something really important was about the happen at this Passover Feast, though like the Twelve, that something was probably quite far from what actually transpired. Still, it all serves a purpose. The massive entourage had passed through the original Jericho where Herod had built himself a winter palace. A mile or two farther along the road up to Jerusalem was a much larger district of Jewish peasants, whose homes were built more recently around the Roman winter quarters and attendant barracks, the official "Jericho." Between these two, on a very busy route this time of year were two blind men, though the other Gospels only mention the more famous of the two, Bartimaeus. These two men realized Jesus was the cause of this latest surge of traffic, and called out to Him using the Messianic title, Son of David.
Jesus had warned people not to so address Him publicly. Further, these two men were hardly the recipients of honorable treatment. Anyone who begged for a living would be patronized at best, as someone who offered a chance to fulfill the Law of Moses regarding charitable giving. However, most beggars, even with working eyes, would stare into space while calling for donations, because that was proper etiquette. In this way, donors could continue to ignore them even as they dropped a coin or two in whatever the beggar held out to catch them. To call out directly for attention was an unforgivable social breach. Even peasants, if productive, were a class above them. By calling out to Jesus, they were pushing too far. Yet they rejected social custom because the only real hope they had was not in the coin basket, but the healing of their eyes. By their persistence, they showed faith in Jesus' power and authority, and it is to this faith He responded by stopping in front of them. His touch transformed them from beggars into followers, for of such was the Kingdom He planned to announce.
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Ed Hurst
01 December 2007
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