Matthew 12-13
I love learning new words and find that reading big, thick commentaries offers that opportunity frequently. The two new words for today are "circumlocution" ("kingdom of heaven is used as a circulocution to avoid pronouncing the name of God") and "polyvalent" ("parables are polyvalent").
Matthew wants his readers to understand the kingdom of heaven is a dynamic process, not a static concept.
The proper observance of the Sabbath is called into question. Sabbath rest vs. Sunday worship has always been interesting to me. Human good was God honoring to Jesus. Mercy, not ritual, was important to him. It is difficult for us even today to focus on Sabbath rest. What is God-honoring and what is human good? The lines can become fuzzy if not strictly enforced. That is true with a lot of life.
Matthew 12:18 -21 is another quote from Isaiah - chapter 42:1-4. Matthew specifically uses the word "gentiles". Isaiah uses "nations" and "islands". Literary license!
Will write more later. The Church and Sunagogue Library Association has a tour here at the church in about 5 minutes...
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