{"id":70507,"date":"2019-02-16T16:49:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-16T23:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=70507"},"modified":"2019-02-16T20:11:18","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T03:11:18","slug":"new-testament-notes-44-45","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html","title":{"rendered":"New Testament Notes 44-45"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"William<\/a>
From Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew 9:9-13<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark 2:13-17<\/a><\/p>\n

Luke 5:27-32<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into the character of Jesus. \u00a0And it\u2019s a very impressive one.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Levi or Matthew is himself a tax collector \u2014 not the most highly esteemed profession then or now, perhaps, but infinitely worse then. \u00a0And Jesus is portrayed as dining with a whole group of \u201ctax collectors and sinners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s rebuked for the society he keeps, though, he points out that, as a physician of souls, he necessarily goes to those who are sick, not to those who are well.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But well<\/em>, of course, may be ironic here. \u00a0In fact, it probably is<\/em>. \u00a0For, while the sins of the \u201csinners\u201d are obvious \u2014 and let\u2019s not fall into the error of simply calling them \u201csins\u201d within square quotes; they\u2019re not imaginary, and neither Jesus nor the gospel writers were relativists \u2014 the sins of the \u201crighteous\u201d in this story are no less real. \u00a0They\u2019re just less easily apparent. \u00a0Self-righteousness is plainly among them, as are arrogant self-satisfaction, a distinct lack of charity, and a sense of self-reliance rather than dependence on God.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Maquair's<\/a>
\u201cThe Parable of the Ten Virgins,\u201d a section of a work by Phoebe Traquair, in Mansfield Traquair Church, Edinburgh, Scotland \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mark 2:18-22<\/a><\/p>\n

Luke 5:33-39<\/a><\/p>\n

Compare Matthew 9:14-17 and John 3:29-30<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 identification of himself as the \u201cbridegroom\u201d in these passages is an interesting one.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The relationship between God and his people is often portrayed in the Old Testament as analogous to a marriage in which God is the husband and Israel is the (often unfaithful) wife. \u00a0See, for example, Jeremiah 3:1-14<\/a>, Jeremiah 3:20<\/a>,\u00a0and Jeremiah 31:31-33<\/a>. \u00a0And, of course, the little prophetic book of Hosea is named after a man who, in order to illustrate the damaged relationship between the Lord and Israel, was required to take a flagrantly promiscuous woman, a prostitute named Gomer, as his wife \u2014 surely one of the most unpleasant church callings in history.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Jesus criticizes \u201can evil and adulterous generation\u201d or \u201ca wicked and adulterous generation\u201d that \u201cseeks for a sign\u201d (as in Matthew 12:39 and 16:4), that description should probably be understood in the light of the Old Testament imagery of God as husband and Israel as wife. \u00a0So should the Parable of the Ten Virgins (also known as The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, Matthew 25:1-13), in which the \u201cbridegroom\u201d for whose coming they (and we) are to be alert is clearly Christ.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s noticeable, however, that Jesus calls himself \u201cbridegroom\u201d (\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03c6\u03af\u03bf\u03c2<\/span>) rather than \u201chusband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whereas, in the Old Testament, the marital relationship has already been established between God and his people, presumably via the Abrahamic or Mosaic covenant (or both), in the New Testament, it\u2019s in the future rather than in the historic past. \u00a0This is, in other words, to be a new<\/em> covenant \u2014 perhaps the very \u201cnew covenant\u201d (Hebrew \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea \u05d7\u05b2\u05d3\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d4 [<\/span>b\u0259r\u00ee\u1e6f \u1e25\u0103\u1e0f\u0101\u0161\u00e2<\/i>];\u00a0<\/i>Greek Septuagint <\/span>\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u1f74 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b8\u03ae\u03ba\u03b7 [<\/span>kain\u1e15 diath\u1e17k\u0113<\/i>]) that Jeremiah 31:31, already cited above, had suggested would come.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Greek phrase that\u2019s translated into English as \u201cThe New Testament\u201d is, precisely,\u00a0\u1f29 \u039a\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u1f74 \u0394\u03b9\u03b1\u03b8\u03ae\u03ba\u03b7 (\u201cThe New Covenant\u201d), just as the Septuagint version\u00a0of Jeremiah 31:31 has it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Richmond, Virginia<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 9:9-13 Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32 \u00a0 This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into the character of Jesus. \u00a0And it\u2019s a very impressive one. \u00a0 Levi or Matthew is himself a tax collector \u2014 not the most highly esteemed profession then or now, perhaps, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3292,3289,2977,2625,3007,3298,3295],"class_list":["post-70507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bridegroom","tag-levi","tag-matthew","tag-new-testament","tag-new-testament-commentary","tag-sinners","tag-tax-collectors"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Testament Notes 44-45<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Matthew 9:9-13 Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32   This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Testament Notes 44-45\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Matthew 9:9-13 Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32   This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-16T23:49:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-17T03:11:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/01\/Hole_jesus_calls_levi.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html\",\"name\":\"New Testament Notes 44-45\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-16T23:49:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-17T03:11:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    Matthew 9:9-13 Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32   This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Testament Notes 44-45\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Testament Notes 44-45","description":"    Matthew 9:9-13 Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32   This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Testament Notes 44-45","og_description":"    Matthew 9:9-13 Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32   This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-02-16T23:49:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-02-17T03:11:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/01\/Hole_jesus_calls_levi.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html","name":"New Testament Notes 44-45","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-16T23:49:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-02-17T03:11:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    Matthew 9:9-13 Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32   This account, of the calling of Levi or Matthew, provides one of our clearest glimpses into","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-44-45.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Testament Notes 44-45"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70507\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}