the test

October 7, 2019

The test (Jn 8:6-8:6)

“They said this

To test Jesus.

Thus,

They might have

Some charge

To bring

Against him.

Jesus bent down.

He wrote

With his finger

On the ground.”

τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγον πειράζοντες αὐτόν, ἵνα ἔχωσι κατηγορεῖν αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς κάτω κύψας, τῷ δακτύλῳ ἔγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν·

John indicated that the Pharisees and Scribes had said this (τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγον) to test Jesus (πειράζοντες αὐτόν).  Thus, they might have some grounds or a charge (ἵνα ἔχωσι) to bring against or accuse him (κατηγορεῖν αὐτοῦ).  Jesus (ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς) bent or stooped down (κάτω κύψας).  Then he wrote (ἔγραφεν) with his finger (τῷ δακτύλῳ) on the ground (εἰς τὴν γῆν).  These Jewish religious leaders were testing Jesus, since they were not seeking his legal opinion or advice.  If he proposed stoning her, he would be running afoul of the Roman law that forbade stoning.  If he did not stone her, he would be going against the Mosaic law.  What was he going to do?  He started to write on the Jerusalem Temple floor.  Actually, no one really knows what he wrote on the ground, since it is not explicitly mentioned.  What is your opinion about sexual offenses?

May 17, 2018

Jesus asked them about himself (Mt 16:15-16:15)

“He said to them.

‘But who do you say

That I am?’”

 

λέγει αὐτοῖς Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;

 

This same question can be found in Mark, chapter 8:29, and Luke, chapter 9:20.  Jesus then asked his disciples (λέγει αὐτοῖς) who they thought or said that he was (Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι).  Jesus thus put them to the test.  Was he the Son of Man or someone else?

January 30, 2018

Robbing Yahweh (Mal 3:8-3:10)

“Will anyone rob God?

Yet you are robbing me!

But you say.

‘How are we robbing you?’

‘In your tithes!

In your offerings!

You are cursed

With a curse!

You are robbing me!

The whole nation of you!

Bring the full tithes

Into the storehouse!

Then there may be food

In my house.

Thus,

You put me to the test.’

Says Yahweh of hosts.

‘See!

If I will not open

The windows of heaven

For you!

See!

If I will not pour down

For you

An overflowing blessing.’”

Yahweh asked them why they were robbing God.  They responded that they did not know that they were robbing God.  Yahweh answered by telling them that they were robbing him by not bringing their full tithes and offerings.  Thus, the whole nation would be cursed.  To rectify this, they were to bring their full tithes, so that the Temple storehouses would be full of food.  They were going to be put to the test.  Yahweh had the option of opening the windows to heaven for them.  He could pour down his blessings on them, if they stopped robbing him by withholding their tithes and offerings.

April 8, 2016

The test (Wis 11:9-11:14)

“When they were tried,

Even though they were being disciplined in mercy,

They learned how the ungodly were tormented

When judged in wrath.

You tested them

As a parent does

In warning.

But you examined the ungodly

As a stern king does

In condemnation.

Whether absent or present,

They were equally distressed.

A twofold grief possessed them.

There was a groaning

At the memory of what had occurred.

They heard

That through their own punishments,

The righteous had received benefit.

They perceived

It was the Lord’s doing.

Even though they had mockingly rejected him,

Who long before had been cast out and exposed,

At the end of the events

They marveled at him.

They felt thirst in a different way

From the righteous.”

The righteous began to understand that their trials and thirst for water in Deuteronomy, chapter 8, were nothing in comparison to the punishment that the ungodly (ἀσεβεῖς) had received. They were disciplined in mercy, while the ungodly were angrily tormented and judged. They were treated like children getting a paternal (ὡς πατὴρ) warning, while the ungodly were given a royal (βασιλεὺς) condemnation. The Lord (τοῦ Κυρίου) gave benefits to the Israelites because the Egyptians had mocked and rejected him. The thirst that the two of them had was completely different between the righteous (δικαίοις) and the ungodly. Finally, the ungodly marveled at the Lord.

December 1, 2015

Sinners in revolt in the wilderness (Ps 106:13-106:18)

“However they soon forgot his works.

They did not wait for his counsel.

But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness.

They put God to the test in the desert.

He gave them what they asked.

But he sent a wasting disease among them.

They were jealous of Moses in the camp.

They were jealous of Aaron,

The holy one of Yahweh.

The earth opened.

It swallowed up Dathan.

It covered the faction of Abiram.

Fire also broke out in their company.

The flame burned up the wicked.”

This psalmist points out that they soon forgot about Yahweh’s works in Egypt and the Red Sea. They did not wait for his counsel. Instead they had a wanton carving while in the wilderness. They put God to the test. Nevertheless, he gave them what they asked for, food and drink. However, after the revolt against Moses and Aaron, he also sent a disease among them. This story and the one about Dathan and Abiram can be found in Numbers, chapter 16. They were jealous of Moses and Aaron who believed that they were becoming holier than the others. They had a test with censors that favored Moses and Aaron. The punishment for the 250 rebellious men was death. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan. Then a fire burned the people with Abiram. This ended this unhappy tale of the revolt in the desert.