ADVENT 4
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
Many of us will recall use of this psalm in opening worship services for Sunday School or call to worship for church services from our childhood. The psalm was used to impress on us the importance of having "clean hands and a pure heart."
The ancient Israelites probably sang this psalm as they and "God with them" approached the temple. The question, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?" and its answer within the psalm were reminders for them, as they are for Jews and for Christians today, of the importance of honesty and justice in all relationships. Since we have relatively little interest in the portrayal of Yahweh as a military commander in a holy war in the latter portions of the psalm, it would be appropriate for us to confine our usage in corporate worship to verses 1-5.
Common:
Isaiah 7:10-16
Lutheran: Isaiah 7:10-14 (15-17)
Roman Catholic: Isaiah 7:10-14
The "God is with us" theme is explicit in this text as a bearer of the message of Isaiah in a specific historical situation in which the Judean king Ahaz was afraid of the combined power of Syria and of Ephraim. Instead of a prosaic statement that within fifteen years Judah will no longer have to fear the military threat of Syria and of Ephraim - Judah will have a much more serious problem, Assyria, which utterly destroys everything in its path - Isaiah uses the illustration of a young woman conceiving, bearing, and rearing a child. The name of the child, as is typical in the Isaiah traditions, carries a message. Even in the terrible impending situation "God will be with us." Be strong. Be of good courage. Do not be afraid. Hang in there. God will be with us through it all.
The historical situation of this Isaiah 7 text is unrepeatable, but the message is timeless. It is important that we understand the historical situation of the text so that we do not narrow the application of the text to a single specific time, whether that be the time of the Isaiah of history or of the Jesus of history. The text is to be applied to every time, that in every crisis God will be with us, certainly where we are in Advent 4 of Series A.
Romans 1:1-7
Although it is implicit rather than explicit in this text, here also God is present with us, which is gospel for those who welcome God's presence. In this text God is said to be present in Jesus Christ our Lord raised from the dead, the bearer of God's grace for people of all nations who will accept God's grace, both for Jewish people and for non-Jewish people.
Common, Lutheran: Matthew 1:18-25
Roman Catholic: Matthew 1:18-24
The beginning, origin, conception, and birth of Jesus were not matters of special attention in the letters of Paul within the New Testament. For Paul, Jesus had obviously been born to a woman, within Judaism (Galatians 4:4), born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7), a human descendant of David (Romans 1:3), who for Paul became also the Lord and Christ, God's designated Son when God raised Jesus from the dead to be the Christian Messiah, the Christ. Only in the great reaction to the speculations of the gnosticizing Christians in the Pauline Colossians 1:15-20 hymn is there attention given to Jesus' unique origin in the Pauline literature. The Gospel According to Mark has nothing about Jesus' conception and birth. At the time that the Gospels According to Matthew and According to Luke were written, however, the beginning, origin, conception, and birth of Jesus were matters of theological reflection. In Matthew 1:18-25 and in Luke 2:1-20 we have somewhat different ways in which the Matthean and the Lukan traditions expressed Jesus' unique background. The Matthean way of depicting the divine origin of Jesus used a story about Joseph. The Lukan writer used a story about Mary, a more fully developed literary drama, a story more attractive than that of Matthew. Who can imagine Advent and Christmas cards and pageants based on the Matthew 1:18-25 account, except perhaps for the etymologies of the names "Jesus" and "Emmanuel" in 1:21 and 23?
In order that we may have a better grasp of this text, let us employ a simple exegetical methodology with structure, genre, life situation, and meaning components.
1. Analysis of the external structure of Matthew 1:18-25 indicates that it is preceded by a genealogy rather artfully fashioned into three fourteen-part segments. The genealogy ends somewhat awkwardly with Jesus' human origin traced to Joseph, when Jesus' human origin is then attributed to Mary. Matthew 1:18-25 is followed by other stories similar to 1:18-25 in that, in them also, the stories are said to fulfill that which was spoken by various prophets. In terms of internal structure, 1:18-25 is tied to 1:1-17 by the word "genesis" in 1:1 and 1:18 and by the reference to Joseph, the husband of Mary from whom Jesus who is called Christ was born, in 1:16. We get the impression that the Matthean stories in this series of stories were constructed on the basis of various texts from the Israelite Scriptures. Matthew 1:18a provides the introduction to the story with the words, "The genesis (beginning, birth) of Jesus Christ was like this." Matthew 1:18b opens the story plot with a problem: Mary is pregnant and Joseph, to whom she is committed by a binding betrothal, is not the cause of her pregnancy. The hearer of the story is told, however, that her pregnancy was caused by the Holy Spirit. The cause of her pregnancy is unknown at this point to Joseph. It is said that Joseph was a dikaios man, that is, a tsaddik man who was trying to be faithful and just in all relationships. A dikaios man did not always do what was right. No human being does. The point is that as a dikaios man Joseph did not want Mary to be humiliated or killed. While Joseph ponders what would be the just way to resolve the difficulty, an angel of the Lord provides a special revelation in a dream (1:19-20). The next verse supplies a more full resolution of the problem (1:21) along with an etymology of the name Jesus. Joseph's obedience and the accomplishment of the angel's instructions complete the story in 1:24-25. There remains 1:22-23, a somewhat extraneous intrusion into the story, a use of Isaiah 7:14 from the Septuagint version to provide another, different name for the child, a name not used elsewhere within the New Testament.
2. The text is in a story genre, a narrative with considerable human interest. It is similar to other stories about the origin of the founder of a religion through a human mother and some type of divine action or manifestation. It is most similar to the story about the origin of Zoroaster, whose mother was said to have been impregnated by the Spirit of Ahura Mazda that came over her. This Matthean account is closer to the Zoroastrian story than is the Lukan account in which the Holy Spirit of God is said to have come by means of the angel Gabriel, the chief angel in Daniel 8 and 9. The Matthew 1:18-25 story has much interest in etymologies, both of the name Jesus and of the name Emmanuel. The story explains how a parthenos could become pregnant for a special purpose, to bear the divine-human founder of a great new religion. To put it another way, the question of how Jesus could be both human and divine was answered by using a virgin mother story, and the Isaiah 7:14 text provided the biblical basis for the story.
3. The life situation is which this story was developed and told was the Matthean church, perhaps in Antioch about 80-85 CE. For the members of the Matthean church, the Risen Christ was perceived to be much more than a man. They expressed what they believed about the Risen Christ, his origin and his nature, by using this storytelling method, employing a motif of conception caused by the Divine Spirit known in the Near East during this period. Therefore, the story would be accepted readily in that life situation as typical of the origin of a great religious leader. The Isaiah 7:14 text was utilized to provide the biblical prooftext for authenticity, even though it brought a different name, Emmanuel, into the picture. As elsewhere in Matthew, the Israelite Scriptures were used to suit the purposes of the Matthean church, with little regard for the context from which the portion was lifted or interest in the original setting of the Israelite Scriptures text.
4. The meaning or purpose of the text is to indicate that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is Son of God and Son of Man, God with us. The text provides what was considered in that life situation to be a rational explanation of how this occurred. It provided one explanation. The Lukan account provided a somewhat different story, an explanation in a more fully developed literary drama genre, with many more scenes of Mary and Joseph on the road, at the inn, in the stable, of shepherds in the field, the appearance of angels, and the visit of the shepherds in the stable.
This Matthew 1:18-25 story provides the same meaning and serves the same purpose for us as it did for the Matthean church. It helps us to express what we believe about Jesus and about God. It challenges us to tell stories also by which we express our faith, to prepare and share sermons, messages from God about what we believe about the Risen Christ. Matthew 1:18-25 provides a biblical basis for us, a basis on which we can tell others about Jesus our Risen Savior. It provides a biblical basis on which we can and should tell others about how God in the Risen Christ is with us and will be with us in our future. With these four texts for Advent 4 we can tell about how God in the Risen Christ is with us in our joys and in our sorrows and will be with us in our future joys and sorrows also. God is with us in the Risen Christ and is coming in new and surprising ways. This is the message of Advent 4. It includes an element of suspense, of anticipation. There is more to come.
The ancient Israelites probably sang this psalm as they and "God with them" approached the temple. The question, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?" and its answer within the psalm were reminders for them, as they are for Jews and for Christians today, of the importance of honesty and justice in all relationships. Since we have relatively little interest in the portrayal of Yahweh as a military commander in a holy war in the latter portions of the psalm, it would be appropriate for us to confine our usage in corporate worship to verses 1-5.
Common:
Isaiah 7:10-16
Lutheran: Isaiah 7:10-14 (15-17)
Roman Catholic: Isaiah 7:10-14
The "God is with us" theme is explicit in this text as a bearer of the message of Isaiah in a specific historical situation in which the Judean king Ahaz was afraid of the combined power of Syria and of Ephraim. Instead of a prosaic statement that within fifteen years Judah will no longer have to fear the military threat of Syria and of Ephraim - Judah will have a much more serious problem, Assyria, which utterly destroys everything in its path - Isaiah uses the illustration of a young woman conceiving, bearing, and rearing a child. The name of the child, as is typical in the Isaiah traditions, carries a message. Even in the terrible impending situation "God will be with us." Be strong. Be of good courage. Do not be afraid. Hang in there. God will be with us through it all.
The historical situation of this Isaiah 7 text is unrepeatable, but the message is timeless. It is important that we understand the historical situation of the text so that we do not narrow the application of the text to a single specific time, whether that be the time of the Isaiah of history or of the Jesus of history. The text is to be applied to every time, that in every crisis God will be with us, certainly where we are in Advent 4 of Series A.
Romans 1:1-7
Although it is implicit rather than explicit in this text, here also God is present with us, which is gospel for those who welcome God's presence. In this text God is said to be present in Jesus Christ our Lord raised from the dead, the bearer of God's grace for people of all nations who will accept God's grace, both for Jewish people and for non-Jewish people.
Common, Lutheran: Matthew 1:18-25
Roman Catholic: Matthew 1:18-24
The beginning, origin, conception, and birth of Jesus were not matters of special attention in the letters of Paul within the New Testament. For Paul, Jesus had obviously been born to a woman, within Judaism (Galatians 4:4), born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7), a human descendant of David (Romans 1:3), who for Paul became also the Lord and Christ, God's designated Son when God raised Jesus from the dead to be the Christian Messiah, the Christ. Only in the great reaction to the speculations of the gnosticizing Christians in the Pauline Colossians 1:15-20 hymn is there attention given to Jesus' unique origin in the Pauline literature. The Gospel According to Mark has nothing about Jesus' conception and birth. At the time that the Gospels According to Matthew and According to Luke were written, however, the beginning, origin, conception, and birth of Jesus were matters of theological reflection. In Matthew 1:18-25 and in Luke 2:1-20 we have somewhat different ways in which the Matthean and the Lukan traditions expressed Jesus' unique background. The Matthean way of depicting the divine origin of Jesus used a story about Joseph. The Lukan writer used a story about Mary, a more fully developed literary drama, a story more attractive than that of Matthew. Who can imagine Advent and Christmas cards and pageants based on the Matthew 1:18-25 account, except perhaps for the etymologies of the names "Jesus" and "Emmanuel" in 1:21 and 23?
In order that we may have a better grasp of this text, let us employ a simple exegetical methodology with structure, genre, life situation, and meaning components.
1. Analysis of the external structure of Matthew 1:18-25 indicates that it is preceded by a genealogy rather artfully fashioned into three fourteen-part segments. The genealogy ends somewhat awkwardly with Jesus' human origin traced to Joseph, when Jesus' human origin is then attributed to Mary. Matthew 1:18-25 is followed by other stories similar to 1:18-25 in that, in them also, the stories are said to fulfill that which was spoken by various prophets. In terms of internal structure, 1:18-25 is tied to 1:1-17 by the word "genesis" in 1:1 and 1:18 and by the reference to Joseph, the husband of Mary from whom Jesus who is called Christ was born, in 1:16. We get the impression that the Matthean stories in this series of stories were constructed on the basis of various texts from the Israelite Scriptures. Matthew 1:18a provides the introduction to the story with the words, "The genesis (beginning, birth) of Jesus Christ was like this." Matthew 1:18b opens the story plot with a problem: Mary is pregnant and Joseph, to whom she is committed by a binding betrothal, is not the cause of her pregnancy. The hearer of the story is told, however, that her pregnancy was caused by the Holy Spirit. The cause of her pregnancy is unknown at this point to Joseph. It is said that Joseph was a dikaios man, that is, a tsaddik man who was trying to be faithful and just in all relationships. A dikaios man did not always do what was right. No human being does. The point is that as a dikaios man Joseph did not want Mary to be humiliated or killed. While Joseph ponders what would be the just way to resolve the difficulty, an angel of the Lord provides a special revelation in a dream (1:19-20). The next verse supplies a more full resolution of the problem (1:21) along with an etymology of the name Jesus. Joseph's obedience and the accomplishment of the angel's instructions complete the story in 1:24-25. There remains 1:22-23, a somewhat extraneous intrusion into the story, a use of Isaiah 7:14 from the Septuagint version to provide another, different name for the child, a name not used elsewhere within the New Testament.
2. The text is in a story genre, a narrative with considerable human interest. It is similar to other stories about the origin of the founder of a religion through a human mother and some type of divine action or manifestation. It is most similar to the story about the origin of Zoroaster, whose mother was said to have been impregnated by the Spirit of Ahura Mazda that came over her. This Matthean account is closer to the Zoroastrian story than is the Lukan account in which the Holy Spirit of God is said to have come by means of the angel Gabriel, the chief angel in Daniel 8 and 9. The Matthew 1:18-25 story has much interest in etymologies, both of the name Jesus and of the name Emmanuel. The story explains how a parthenos could become pregnant for a special purpose, to bear the divine-human founder of a great new religion. To put it another way, the question of how Jesus could be both human and divine was answered by using a virgin mother story, and the Isaiah 7:14 text provided the biblical basis for the story.
3. The life situation is which this story was developed and told was the Matthean church, perhaps in Antioch about 80-85 CE. For the members of the Matthean church, the Risen Christ was perceived to be much more than a man. They expressed what they believed about the Risen Christ, his origin and his nature, by using this storytelling method, employing a motif of conception caused by the Divine Spirit known in the Near East during this period. Therefore, the story would be accepted readily in that life situation as typical of the origin of a great religious leader. The Isaiah 7:14 text was utilized to provide the biblical prooftext for authenticity, even though it brought a different name, Emmanuel, into the picture. As elsewhere in Matthew, the Israelite Scriptures were used to suit the purposes of the Matthean church, with little regard for the context from which the portion was lifted or interest in the original setting of the Israelite Scriptures text.
4. The meaning or purpose of the text is to indicate that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is Son of God and Son of Man, God with us. The text provides what was considered in that life situation to be a rational explanation of how this occurred. It provided one explanation. The Lukan account provided a somewhat different story, an explanation in a more fully developed literary drama genre, with many more scenes of Mary and Joseph on the road, at the inn, in the stable, of shepherds in the field, the appearance of angels, and the visit of the shepherds in the stable.
This Matthew 1:18-25 story provides the same meaning and serves the same purpose for us as it did for the Matthean church. It helps us to express what we believe about Jesus and about God. It challenges us to tell stories also by which we express our faith, to prepare and share sermons, messages from God about what we believe about the Risen Christ. Matthew 1:18-25 provides a biblical basis for us, a basis on which we can tell others about Jesus our Risen Savior. It provides a biblical basis on which we can and should tell others about how God in the Risen Christ is with us and will be with us in our future. With these four texts for Advent 4 we can tell about how God in the Risen Christ is with us in our joys and in our sorrows and will be with us in our future joys and sorrows also. God is with us in the Risen Christ and is coming in new and surprising ways. This is the message of Advent 4. It includes an element of suspense, of anticipation. There is more to come.
