Commentary

Jeremiah 31:7-14
Followers of Christ traditionally read the prophecies found here as speaking of
Jesus. These are words of comfort. They are times when the way of the world
is dramatically changed. A new father is coming and unlike what is required by
Roman Law (Table IV) that all the deformed children must die this one saves even
the malformed. Rather than throwing the people to the four corners of the earth,
this one brings the people all together. Instead of hunger there will be plenty.

Jeremiah 31:7 Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob – A new day is coming that is
so surprising that it can only be expressed in song.
Save, O L ORD, your people – Call to the L ORD. Remind Him what He does.

Jeremiah 31:8 gather them from the farthest parts of the earth – the L ORD will
go over the entire world to find His people.
among them the blind and the lame – Unlike the other powers that rule the
world that only see the deformed as a liability, this L ORD saves what others
believe are worthless.
those with child and those in labour – The woman and child, traditionally
on the bottom of society’s latter, will be redeemed by the L ORD.
they shall return here – The people will come home.

Jeremiah 31:9 With weeping they shall come – These are not tears of fear but joy.
I will let them walk by brooks of water – This is not a death march. The
L ORD will provide for everyone.
I have become a father to Israel – This one adopts all of Israel without
question, covering their debts.

Jeremiah 31:10 Hear the word of the L ORD, O nations – This message is for the
rest of the word.
He who scattered Israel will gather him – See that the one who put Israel
into captivity will bring Israel home again.

Jeremiah 31:11 For the L ORD has ransomed Jacob – Even the trickster, the one
who wrestled with God will will saved.

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 Jeremiah 31:12 they shall be radiant over the goodness of the L ORD – You can
see it on their faces. Their lives have changed dramatically for the better.
Jeremiah 31:13 the young women rejoice in the dance – Once again there will be
life in Israel.
I will turn their mourning into joy – Nothing is outside of the L ORD’s power.
Even the deepest pain will be changed into unimaginable happiness.
Jeremiah 31:14 my people shall be satisfied with my bounty – No one in Israel
will go to bed hungry

Psalm 147:12-20
This portion of Psalm 147 describes some of the L ORD’s attributes. He brings
peace. He fills the hungry. He causes the seasons. These blessings belong exclu-
sively to Israel.
Psalm 147:12 Praise the L ORD, O Jerusalem – This section begins and ends with
the command to lift up the name of the L ORD because He does marvelous
things.
Psalm 147:13 he strengthens the bars of your gates – The L ORD defends Israel
from her enemies.
Psalm 147:14 he fills you with the finest of wheat – The people of Israel are
blessed with the best food in the entire world.
Psalm 147:15 He sends out his command to the earth – Every nation follows the
L ORD’s orders.
Psalm 147:16 He gives snow like wool – Even the weather follows the L ORD’s
commands.
Psalm 147:17
Psalm 147:18
Psalm 147:19 He declares his word to Jacob – The entire people of Israel know
what is expected of them.
Psalm 147:20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation – These blessings are
only for Israel.

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Ephesians 1:3-14
The author reminds followers of Christ that they have been given gifts. This in-
cludes being selected by Jesus for adoption and the forgiveness of sin.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places –
The author, currently not considered to the the apostle Paul, is closing out
the introduction and moving into the prologue. This section will deal with
the different blessings that the Christian can expect.
The use of πνευματικός is interesting since the author is not a Greek philoso-
pher but instead a Jew. Perhaps this refers to gifts that cannot be seen but
only experienced.

Ephesians 1:4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to
be holy and blameless before him in love – The first gift was that before our
existence, God the Father, selected those who would be saved. This requires
that we live just like the Father and the Son.

Ephesians 1:5 adoption as his children through Jesus Christ – Even though the
Father selected the followers, the transfer of ownership from humanity to
the family of God happens because of the work of Jesus.

Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace – The lives of believers should
clearly illuminate Jesus.

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood – In the author’s
mind, salvation comes through the death of the Son.

Ephesians 1:8 he lavished on us – No one in the world deserves what Jesus gives.

Ephesians 1:9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will – The revelation
does not explain the mystery.

Ephesians 1:10 as a plan for the fullness of time – History can be used in addition
to the Bible for theology, because history was created for the Gospel and the
Gospel was revealed in history.
to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. – Ev-
erything is the L ORD.

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 Ephesians 1:11 we have also obtained an inheritance – The believers rather than
having nothing have been given what only belongs to the Son.

Ephesians 1:12 might live for the praise of his glory – This is the life of the
believer.

Ephesians 1:13 were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit – This
passage traditionally refers to baptism.

Ephesians 1:14 this is the pledge of our inheritance – The seal (baptism) is the
first gift.

John 1:1-18
The introduction to the Gospel according to St. John starts before creation and it
associates Jesus as God. Specifically, Jesus is the Word of God that brought all of
existence into being. Jesus is also the light of the world. He is the One that shows
everyone the Father.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. – Commentators have found the densely packed prologue
of the Gospel according to St. John full of theological themes and images
that are repeated and further illuminated throughout the rest of the Gospel.
It might be that these verses are an early hymn or it could be a chiastic
passage.1
This sentence makes a positive reference to the first chapter of Genesis.2
The author of John intends that all of the book to be read with this sentence
in mind because if Jesus is not God then what He does in this account is
blasphemy.3
The use of λόγος parallels the Jews use of Sophia.4 Specific references to
wisdom can be found in Proverbs 8 and the Deuterocanonical books of Sir-
ach 24, Baruch 3-4, and Wisdom of Solomon 7.
1
Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B.; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel of John, Volume 4,
Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1998), p. 34.
2
Ibid., p. 41.
3
Ibid., p. 35.
4
Ibid., p. 42.

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 Moloney prefers to translate πρὸς τὸν θεόν (with God in the NRSV) as
toward God since in Classical Greek the preposition πρὸς followed by an
accusative indicates motion toward.5

John 1:2

John 1:3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing
came into being. – Creation started in the past and continues in the future.
This verse and the next are difficult to translate because of the complexity
of the Greek.6

John 1:4

John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
– Despite death, the passage of time, and the hostility of the darkness, Jesus
continues to shine light into the world.7
The NRSV translates John 1:5 (καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει καὶ ἡ σκοτία
αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν ) as: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not overcome it” (NRSV). And the NIV uses: “The light shines in the
darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (NIV) that modernizes the
KJV: “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it
not” (KJV).
At issue is the verb καταλαμβάνω. In this context does this verb mean to
intellectually understand something or does it mean to overthrow? Either of
these forms are possible definitions. We will have to use something else to
make the decision on what to use.
I’m really nervous about even insinuating that faith requires understanding.
From a Lutheran perspective, this definition requires a work. Only if I can
mentally accept what Christianity is about, then I’m saved. From an ethical
point of view, this makes Christianity a tradition that only promises the
salvation to those that can understand it. This leaves out anyone that is born
with any defects that prevent them from logically following arguments. It
also rules out all those people who have degenerate diseases like Alzheimer.
Even more importantly, the rest of the Gospel according to St. John rules
5
Moloney, The Gospel of John, p. 42.
6
Ibid., pp. 35-36, 42.
7
Ibid., p. 36.

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 out the idea that the darkness did not understand the faith.8 Look at John
3:11-21, 3:31-36, and 12:44-50. These verses do not seem to support the
viewpoint that the darkness rejects the light based on some sort of reasoning.
John 1:6 There was a man sent from God – According to the author of John,
John the Baptizer and Jesus are the only ones that are sent by by God.9 The
leaders of the Jews, known in this Gospel as “the Jews”, do not have this
information when they question Jesus about His calling.10
It appears that verses 6 through 8 were added by the author of John so that
the community knows that Jesus is superior to John the Baptizer.11 This
statement is not derogatory attitude toward John the Baptizer, it just ranks
John behind Jesus.12
John 1:7
John 1:8 he came to testify to the light. – John the Baptizer’s only role in this
account is the “witness to Jesus.”13
John 1:9
John 1:10 He was in the world – Moloney sees three different interpretations of
“the world.” First, is the “created reality” found in John 11:9; 17:5; 17:24;
21:25).14 Next is the location where salvation by God occurs (John 1:29;
3:16; 4:42; 6:51; 8:21; 9:5).15 Finally, this phrase could refer to the places
where darkness rules (John 7:7; 12:31; 14:17; 14:22; 14:27; 14:30; 15:18-
19; 16:8; 16:11; 16:20; 16:33; 17:6; 17:9; 17:14-16.)16
the world did not know him. – The world actively rejects the Word.
John 1:11 He came to what was his own – This phrase seems to be drawn from
Gnostic sources but its meaning has dramatically changed.17 This is not
some place that welcomes Jesus. Rather, it is a place that killed Him.
8
Moloney, The Gospel of John, p. 43.
9
Ibid., pp. 37, 43.
10
Ibid., p. 52.
11
Ibid., pp. 37, 43.
12
Ibid., p. 43.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid., p. 44.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid., p. 37.

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John 1:12 But to all who received him – The correct way to receive the Word is to
believe.18 This close relationship between receiving and believing continues
throughout this book and is especially found in John 2:1 - 4:52.19
he gave power to become children of God – One “becomes” a child a God
because God gives His followers a new birth.20 This is a realized fact in the
here and now.21
In the Gospel according to St. John, the phrase “sons of God” is never used
rather the author uses the phrase “children of God.”22

John 1:13 not of blood – The Greek reads (ἐξ αἱμάτων (from bloods). This prob-
ably indicates the idea that conception comes from the mixing of male and
female “bloods.”23
of the will of man – This translation reflects the understanding of the first
century world where the male makes the decision if a child is to be born.24

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us – Moloney argues
that it is difficult to see that this is the high point of the prologue.25 The
announcement that the Word was coming has already been made.
However against Moloney, there is something new and exciting about this
phrase. The Word, which is some combination of speech and idea, now has
skin and bones. And this frame is nothing special, it is just like every other
body. The Word also made a decision where it would live: The the house of
an everyday worker in the middle East some 2000 years ago.

John 1:15

John 1:16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. – “Many
Church Fathers and some modern scholars” think that John the Baptizer is
still talking because of the ὅτι found at the beginning of the verse.26
18
Moloney, The Gospel of John, p. 38.
19
Ibid., p. 44.
20
Ibid., p. 38.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid., p. 44.
23
Ibid., p. 45.
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid., p. 38-39.
26
Ibid., p. 45.

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 The Gnostics were familiar with fullness in the heavenly sphere.27 The au-
thor of John takes this concept and applies it to Christianity. The fullness
happens here in the earth with all of its problems and shortcomings.
grace upon grace – The Greek reads, χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος. This phrase could
be also translated as a gift in the place of a gift.28 For the Jews, this could
be the gift of the law being perfected with the gift of truth.29

John 1:17 grace and truth came through Jesus Christ – The author now gives a
name to this One.

John 1:18 who is close to the Father’s heart – The Greek reads, εἰς τὸν κόλπον
τοῦ πατρὸς (is in the bosom of the Father). Moloney translates this phrase
as “turned toward to the Father.”30 The NIV uses “who is at the Father’s
side.”

References
Moloney, S.D.B., Francis J.; Harrington, S.J., Daniel J., editor, The Gospel of
John, Volume 4, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Litur-
gical Press, 1998).

27
Moloney, The Gospel of John, p. 40.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid., pp. 40, 46.
30
Ibid., p. 41.