Deuteronomy 13 – Moses warns the
people not to add to or take from the command he gives them. If “a prophet or
dreamer” performs signs, don’t let that lead you to worship strange gods. Yahweh tests us to see if we love him.
“. . .his voice you shall obey, him shall you serve, to him shall you cling. .
.” (13:5). And if someone tries to
turn you to away from the Lord, that person should be “put to death” (13:5). We
tend to forget that God’s chosen in our long tradition once held to this very
harsh standard.
Even
if someone closest to you – mother, father, son, wife, etc. tries to turn you
aside, you must “be the first” to raise you hand to stone that person (13:9). God will be served singly and without exception. No other loyalty can be put first.
Jesus says this too –he does say he comes to separate father from
son, wife from husband, etc. Even the closest human bonds should not separate
us from the Lord our God. But Jesus
turns his back on the violence.
The
penalties here are very severe, very violent The dangers are people from within
who pretend to be prophets and dreamers, people close to you by blood whose
influence may be strong, and the danger that comes from internal corruption,
which, when brought to light, induce whole groups (towns) of people to break
unity, then vengeance is to be brought onto the whole place, not only the
instigators (13:2, 7 and 14).
One
interesting thing to note about the prophets and dreamers part is that here
even if the fruits of their prophecy (the signs they are able to perform) are
powerful, it is the message itself that condemns them. They are preaching disloyalty to God.
Deuteronomy 14 – Warnings against
pagan rites, the eating of unclean things—animals with only cloven hooves (but
who do not chew the cud) or who chew the cud (and do not have cloven
hooves—both must be present); water animals that have only one
(fins/scales—both must be present); birds of prey are unclean; and winged
insects; animals that are found dead.
Milk and meat (life and death) are not to be eaten together. Foreigners and aliens among you may eat
these things (14:21).
When
the Lord finally chooses his “place” you shall bring tithes. Every third years’ tithes shall go to
the Levites and widows, aliens and orphans.
Matthew
27:27-54 - Jesus is taken to the Praetorium, residence
of the Roman governor, clad in a scarlet cloak and crowned with thorns to mock
his claim of kingship. Simon, the
Cyrenian [Northern Africa], carries Jesus’ cross. The guards cast lots for his clothes. “If
you are God’s Son, come down from the cross” (27:40) – these words echo the
temptation Christ had early on in the desert. Also here both of the men Jesus is crucified with, real revolutionaries
or “bandits”, “abuse him” along with the Roman soldiers.
Around noon, the sky goes dark—see Amos 8:9--and remains
dark for 3 hours. Around 3 o’clock
in the afternoon, Jesus cries out his last words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(27:46 from Psalm 22). Jesus
dies and immediately “the veil of the
sanctuary is torn in two from top to bottom (27:51). The earth shakes. The
bodies of saints are raised and appear to “many” (27:53). The three women said to be in
attendance are Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and the
mother of the Zebedee brothers.
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