Matthew 21:33-46

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A; Most recently October 4, 2026.

Summary
The meaning of the parable is clear:  Ancient Israel rejected prophets of old; they will reject and kill Jesus.  Somehow God will rebuild on the rejected Jesus.  How do we find a Gospel message relevant for people's lives?  While there is some interesting stuff in verse 34 about sending and bearing fruit, I sense myself drawn to verse 42 and the proclamation that God will rebuild on the rejected stone.  This verse points toward the faithfulness of God, who rebuilds on Christ.  I think we can apply this to people's lives: even through we again and again reject God's commands and even love in our lives, God rebuilds us on Christ.

For 2023, I have added a tangent on institutional vs servant church leadership.

Key Words in verse 34 -- which sets up the whole thing
ηγγισεν (from εγγιζω, meaning "approach", 21:34)  This word, meaning "approach" or "come near", appears at turning points in the Gospel:
3:2  John Baptizes Jesus (John the Baptist say the Kingdom of Heaven is approaching/near)
4:17 Jesus begins ministry (Jesus says the KoH is approaching/near)
10:7 Jesus sends disciples (He instructs them to proclaim KoH is approaching/near)
21:1 Jesus is approaching/near Jerusalem
26:45/46  Jesus is betrayed (The hour is near/approaching)

Broad point:  Each time the Kingdom of Heaven is approaching, there is movement of Jesus and arguably a movement of the Spirit.  

Specific point:  The Lord of the Vineyard is doing something new when he sent his prophets and now when he is sending Jesus.

καιρος (kairos, meaning "season", 21:34; 41)  This word means 'season' or 'ideal time.'  In this case, it describes the harvest season.  A reminder that in Jesus there is the fullness of time!

απεστειλεν (from αποστελλω, meaning "send", 21:34)  I am amazed at how many times in Jesus' parables in Matthew we see (the character in the parables representing) God sending out people.  I think we often think of this as a concept in John's Gospels, but it is really crucial to Jesus' ministry.  We are sent out, certainly if and when the Kingdom of Heaven is approaching!  This word is important because it reminds us that the Kingdom of Heaven, while principally about the movement of Jesus into this world and toward the cross (see discussion on ηγγισεν), involves our movement too.

καρπος ("fruit", 21:34)  Again, we find a word that appears throughout scripture to describe the impact of the Spirit and the Kingdom of Heaven in our life:  We bear fruit.  In this case, workers are sent to gather the fruit.  What a beautiful image of ministry -- gathering the fruit that God has already created.  As the word αυτου ("of him") remind us, the fruit belongs to God.

Other interesting words

οικοδεσποτης  (literally, oikos - despot, meaning "owner of the land", 21:33)  This is a fun word in Greek.  It is built on two smaller words that we can recognize: oikos and despot!  It is interesting that Jesus would refer to God as an οικοδεσποτης, which was unlikely a favorable comparison for working-class listeners.  It is a reminder that first, these are parables and not allegories; second, it all belongs to God.

αμπελωνα ("vineyard", 21:33)  Jesus tells three vineyard parables, almost right in a row.  This seems clearly the one built the most on Isaiah 5, in which the vineyard owner builds a tower, as this vineyard owner does here as well.  It is a sermon series by Jesus :-)  It shows us how good stories and metaphors work, they continue to unfold in new ways.  It reminds us of Jesus' creative genius to somehow use old wine skins!

ἀποκτείνω ("kill", 21:35) Just a reminder that life and death are at stake in the ministry of Jesus.  Sometimes in Matthew's Gospel the language seems too harsh for me, but Jesus reminds us here that the stuff that is most important is at stake.  The Kingdom of God is not a second tier matter.

υστερον (meaning "last," 21:37)  The word here for "last" is used 4 times in Matthew 21 and 22; and also in Matt 25 and 26, but rarely ever appears elsewhere in the NT...Matthew is starting to emphasize the final nature of things and of his Gospel.

εντραπησονται  (future passive of εντρεπω, "respect", 21:37)  The word for "respect" means more like embarrass...in short, they will be embarrassed enough to show respect.  In the rest of the New Testament, it is always used within a context of shame rather than respect.  Perhaps this is a reminder that within an honor/shame culture, 'respect' has a different meaning; perhaps it is a reminder that Jesus ends up shaming the pharisees and religious leaders.  Ironically their attempts at shaming Jesus (killing him outside of Jerusalem) only lead to his glory!

οικοδομεω (meaning "build" "erect" or even "rebuild", 21:33 and 21:42)  The word here for builder is the same as in vs. 33. God built something.  People messed it up.  God will rebuild.  God is always at work revising the mistakes of our bad construction, relaying the foundation of our lives on Christ that we may bear fruit!

εθνει (ethnos, meaning "gentiles", 21:43)  The word for "people" here is "Gentiles."  Interestingly, Paul will talk about how he has a harvest of Gentiles in Romans 1:13, a case where Scripture is fulfilling itself!

Institution vs Servant Church

In verse 45, the religious leaders recognize this parable is directed at them.  As tenants of the vineyard, they have killed the servants sent by God.  I see this parable as a reminder of the way in which the institution of the church has again and again chewed up prophets and the servants of God.  In this way the parable serves as a judgment on institutional Christianity as well and the ways in which we devour prophets among us.  Those who come with a servants heart, beware!  However, in the end of the parable, Jesus says that there will be new tenants.  There will always be an institutional church...that always abused the pure in heart and always needs reformation. 

Church history reveals this too -- where the small and forgotten folks on the margins get forgotten, if not excluded.  They form a movement.  Which becomes a church.  Which gets too institutional.  Which then needs reform...or more likely kicks out the people that will grow the next generation of the church.

Philippians 3:3b-14

This passage occurs as a New Testament Lesson in the RCL "Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently October 2026.

Summary:  In certain theological circles I often find that justification is the aim; yet for Paul in this passage justification has a purpose.  As the Greek indicates, it has a purpose, namely that we would know Christ, his resurrection and his suffering.  Rather than claim this is something other than good Lutheran doctrine, Luther and countless other Lutherans have seen justification has the key to the kingdom, but not the kingdom itself, which is Christ.

Key Words
σαρξ ("flesh" 3:4 and elsewhere)  Normally we think that Paul sees the flesh as an entirely evil entity.  In this case Paul talks about his righteousness in the law (and therefore the flesh).  He never says that his Jewish upbringing was evil.  In fact, Paul's whole take on flesh and law provides more a productive evangelical tact than the normal torpedo attack on human sinfulness.  Simply acknowledge that people have seen and accomplished great things, yet they still often sense a worthlessness about themselves and are haunted by a sense that something greater exists.  To reiterate, Paul is not claiming the flesh is evil, but he is clearly affirming its limits.

ζημια ("loss" or "damage"; found as noun and verb 3:7 and 3:8)  Interestingly, Paul calls his accomplishments a loss.  The Greek here is a bit stronger in that it can also mean "damage" or "penalty."  Paul here lays the groundwork for a later group of Lutheran orthodox thinkers who argued that good works are damaging to salvation.  While I don't like admitting this, I can see both Paul's and the orthodox thinker's point here that human achievement can cloud our vision from seeing Christ's blessings.
side note:  Paul here echoes back to 2:5 and 2:6 in the Christ hymn; Christ did not regard (ηγεομαι) equality with God as something to be exploited. Here Paul is saying he regards all of his benefits as loss through Christ.

συμμορφιζομενος ("together-shaped", 3:10; noun form in 3:21).  I believe this is a crucial word to understanding Paul's letter to the Philippians.  Paul writes that Jesus was in the shape (μορφη) as God, but chooses a different shape, one of a slave, for our sake.  However, for Paul this does not mean the Christian can avoid death  No, Paul believes that we to will be transformed by Christ, in that we will receive the same shape as him -- a crucified slave, so that ultimately, we might receive a resurrected body like his.  This is also found in Romans 3:17 - co-inheritors, co-sufferers, co-will be glorified-ers.  I would argue that chapter 3 of Paul's letter to the Philippians is applying the Christ him of suffering and glory to the Christian.  

διωκω ("pursue"; 3.6, 3.12 and 3.14):   Paul's bragging here has a double rhetorical effect -- he will return to the words "pursue" (διωκω) and "righteousness" (δικαιοσυνη) later in this section (3.9, 12 and 14).

σκυβαλα ("crap"; 3:8)  Rubbish is about as nice as you can translate this.  Paul wants a rhetorical effect here. 

καταλαμβανω ("receive, obtain, overcome"; 3:12,13)  This verb presents a problem in most cases for the translator because it has a broad array of meanings.  In this case, the challenge is in the tenses.  In verse 12 Paul claims that he has been obtained (aorist passive) by Christ; yet he also says in the aorist subjunctive that might obtain it; finally, in the perfect active he says he has not obtained it.  Here is Paul at his grammatical worst and perhaps theological best: The event of Christ's death and resurrection obtained Paul for Christ, but this process is not finished!

επιλανθανομαι ("forget"; in participle form in 3:13).  Most important is not the participle form, but the present tense.  Both verbs in the second half (forgetting and looking ahead) in the present tense, suggesting this is an on-going process of doing this. We cannot simply forget once, but must continually forget.

Grammar review & theological commentary on verses 3:9-10
Infinitive purpose clauses  In Greek, the infinitive can be used to express purpose, especially when it is an "articular infinitive."  (ie, article + infinitive)  In verse 9 Paul discusses justification by faith.  He begins verse 10 (which the Greek scribes connect with a comma to the previous verse, not a period) with the "articular infinitive":  του γνωναι (the knowing).  Paul's use of an infinitive here suggests that justification's purpose is to know God, the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of suffering. In other words, 9 and 10 are linguistically linked by Paul and a strong possible reading is purpose...vs 9 (justification) is for the purpose of vs 10 (resurrection).  To build on last's weeks passage about μορφη (shape), justification leads to transformation as our "morph" becomes like Christ.

Philippians 2:1-13

This passage occurs as a New Testament Lesson in the RCL "Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently September 2026.  It also occurs at other points in the Lectionary, including Palm Sunday.

A separate post looking at Philippians 2:5-11 is here. 

Summary:
This is a very rich passage. By itself it stands as one the most powerful description of Christ and his work.  Worth pointing out though is that Paul continues to build off the imagery the rest of his letter to discuss not simply Christ's work on the cross, but also Christ's work on us.  He changed his shape (μορφη) into humility but will co-shape (συμμορφος) ours into glory, not simply through his suffering, but even our own.

Key words:

μορφη ("shape" or "form"; 7, 8)  If you look up this word, you will find it appears twice in Philippians, once in verse 7 and once in verse 8.  Jesus had the form/shape of God; took the form/shape of a human.  Sounds good.  However, later on in Philippians, Paul comes back to this word, but using it with the prefix συν (the -n becomes a -m...see note below) .  First, in verse 3:10 where he says that he is being συμμορφιζομαι-ed into Christ's death and later when he is  being συμμορφος with Christ's resurrected body (3:28).  Paul moves from talking about the form of Christ to the co-formation of the believer, both into suffering, death and then resurrection.  I think the word μορφη can be used to guide one's reflections on the whole letter:  The transformation of Jesus creates the transformation of the believer.  To put it another way, I see Philippians as Paul's personal exposition on his line in Romans 8:17:  If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

εκενωσεν and κενοδοξια ("emptied" from κενω, 7; conceit, 3)  Much is made from κενω, which means to empty.  I find it interesting that Paul gives warning just a bit earlier about conceit, literally false glory.  The only way to true glory, for Christ and for us, is through suffering and death.

κατεργαζομαι ("work out", 2:12; from kata (intensifier) and erg-oo (to work))  One possible meaning for this verb is simply "achieve" but another one is "to work up," i.e., to make use of; for example, fields are worked on to make them ready for harvest.  Perhaps our job is to make ourselves ready for harvest!! 

This verse can be problematic in that it makes it sound like our salvation is our responsibility.  However, Paul's next verse, 2:13, makes it clear that God is the author of our salvation.  Perhaps we can understand it this way:  Paul uses salvation (σωτηρια) to describe our entire relationship with God in Jesus Christ, specifically the process of dying and rising.  What is means for God to be our savior and for us to be a disciple must be assessed and lived each day.  It is worth noting that the verb here (and also for "co-form" (see above)) are in the present tense, suggesting this an on-going process.

A really geeky language point:
Grammar/translation:  The morphing "n"
When someone learns Hebrew, they learn verbs like n-t-n, which means to give.  They then try to read these in the Bible and discover it hardly ever exists in that form and most often the "n"s drop out in conjugation so that words like y-t-l-m mean he gives or something like this.  This is true in Greek; alas, the problem is not Hebrew, but the letter "n", which has a soft sound.  It tends to morph into other sounds.  This actually happens in Latin.  For example, con is the prefix for "with"  But notice how often that "n" disappears or morphs:  communication, cooperation, combat, comfort, command, corroborate.  This happens in Greek, especially when verbs add the prefix συν.  The weakness of the "n" sound is also shown in the fact that its moveable (ie not very necessary).

This is why συμμορφος is spelled as it is, instead of συνμορφος!

Matthew 21:23-32

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, most recently September 27, 2026.

Summary:  (2008) The basic message remains clear in English:  The 'leaders' and 'righteous' aren't saying they love God, but their actions suggest otherwise.  Yet God still loves them and yes, they still have a place in the Kingdom, but they certainly aren't first in line.  

Here are some wrinkles that perhaps can spark a thought or two in you preaching meditations:

εξουσια (meaning "authority" 21:23, 24, 27)  The word authority - εξουσια - is rare in the LXX but incredibly common in the New Testament, including the Gospels.  Jesus speaks with authority (Matthew 7:29), has authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6) and even can confer authority to the disciples against evil spirits (Matthew 10:1).   At the end of the Gospel, Jesus declares that ALL authority has been given to him (28:1).  A few questions on authority:

1)  What makes someone have legitimate authority?  Is there a difference in official and unofficial power?  

2)  Do we give Jesus authority in our lives?  Can we give Jesus authority in our lives?  What would this look like?

3) Do we believe that Jesus has given authority in this world?  In what ways do we see or not see this authority working itself out?

4)  How has the church lost authority in the last two generations in our country?  Is this good or bad?

ιερον (meaning temple, 21:23)  This story taking place in the temple is significant -- Jesus had just ridden on a donkey into Jerusalem and then "cleansed" the temple by driving out the money changers.   Those actions reveal that Jesus believes himself to be the Messiah and the rightful Lord of the temple.  (Which he alluded to in Matthew 12:5).  What is at stake isn't simply some moot point of theology, but the question of Jesus being the Messiah.  

διδασκοντι (participle form of διδασκω, meaning "teach" 21:23)  Just a friendly reminder that Jesus' role as teacher was not in opposition to his role as savior. 

τεκνα (plural of τεκνον, 21:28)  Jesus knows that it is less than week until his death.  He is speaking to people who will either a) be directly involved in his death or b) chant for him to be crucified.  Yet he is still calling them children of God!

αμπελων(ι) (meaning "vineyard", 21:28)  This whole section of Matthew's Gospel should be called the vineyard discourses.

επιστευσατε (form of πιστευω, meaning "believe", 21:25, 32)  Just a reminder that believe isn't simply about stating something is true or not, it is about trusting, if not following.  

μετεμεληθητε (form of μεταμελομαι, meaning "repent" or "regret", 21:29, 32)  The typical word for repent isn't used here.  This word means to over-care.  Like to care-over, for a second or third time.  Again, this word is less common in the New Testament. 

βασιεαιν του θεου (kingdom of God, 21:31)  There are only two times Jesus uses the phrase Kingdom of God instead of Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew's Gospel; the others are 6:33 and 19:24.  I don't know why!

Lastly, a little tid bit:  In Greek, the phrase "in the way of righteousness" (as preached by John) literally reads "εν οδω δικαιοσυνης" which is literally "a way of righteousness."  This may be a reference to Proverbs 8:20 or 12:28.  It also connects with 2 Peter 2:21.  I sense that Jesus is offering there is another path of righteousness that John did not teach, namely, that of God's grace in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 20:1-16

This passage occurs in both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary (most recently September 2026).

Summary:   Tough parable for us.  Most churches preach grace, but when exposed like this, grace just seems, well, unfair!  But grace it is.  And grace abounds.  I find grace in that God goes after the lazy (αργος); furthermore, even the envious (πονηρος, evil in fact) get into heaven.  We do not enter God's Kingdom based on our heart being perfect, but simply by God's grace.  I also find grace to be the hiring, not the pay-day; It is all by God's grace that we are hired in the first place and get to belong to God, to work in his vineyard.  I love that grace is so irresistible that even the grumpy don't get kicked out of God's vineyard!

Key words
απεστειλεν (aorist form of αποστελλω, apostello, meaning "send"; 20.2).  John's Gospel get a lot of publicity for the idea of sending (even within the Trinity), but Matthew uses the word αποστελλω 22 times! (Mark 20; Luke 25; John 27).  Here they are even sent into the...

αμπελων(α) (ampelon, meaning "vineyard"; 20:1,2,4 and 7).  First, it is interesting that Matthew and John have such a strong connection here, with vineyard and sending.  Another comparison worth exploring is between the parables in chapter 20 and 21, both about vineyards.

αργος (argos, meaning idle; 20.6)  I have no unique insights to add to this word.  I just want to point out:  God goes after the lazy, those not fit for work elsewhere, those who simply stand around.

αποδος (from αποδιδημι. meaning "pay/give back"; 20:8)  Matthew uses this word quite frequently in his Gospel:
Matthew 6:4  Give in secret, your father will reward/pay/give back in secret (see also 6:6, 6:18)
Matthew 12:36  On judgement day, we will have to "give back" an account of our life (see also 16.27)
Matthew 18 and the parable of the unforgiving servant -- lots of pay back in this story!
Matthew 22:21  Give/render to Caesar what is Caesar.
Matthew 27:58  Pilate gives the dead body back.
In the case of Matthew 20, the workers are paid/rendered/given back their wages.  The question is:  

However...

καυσων(α) (causon, like caustic in English; 20:12)  It is worth reminding ourselves that doing Christ's work is not always easy.  I wonder if the Gospel for this passage is found way back in Matthew 11:  Come to me, all your who are heavy laden..."

The easier read of this parable is this:  We can view our life of discipleship on earth as a wearying task for which we are rewarded.  Jesus reminds those of us that came to salvation earlier in life not to look down on those who didn't get around to "getting saved" until the end.

This is tough though, because as long as we view salvation as pay, there is likely little joy along the way and much frustration about the salvation state of our piers.  Furthermore this parable down plays the idea of relationship with the master

Is there another read?  What if we viewed it like this.  The master is actually called the master of the house (οἰκοδεσπότης).  What if we understood him as inviting people into his house.  Not as paid laborer but as one entrusted with work in the vineyard.  Only those who saw this as a contact were disappointed.  Everyone else simply trusted the master to provide for them -- they understood they were being invited into a relationship that moved beyond simply the exchange of work for money.  In this way, moving to the vineyard is moving into the family.  And again, only those who wanted it to be a contract were unhappy.

δίκαιος (just, 20:4)  What is telling is that the master of the house tells the people he will give them "just" or a "righteous" reward, never specifying what it is.  Maybe simply the dignity of work was also their pay.

τοις εμοις (dative with "the of me"; 20:15)  The Greek here is challenging to translate into good English, but the English reader can make sense of it.  When you have the word "the" without a noun it means more like "things", in this case, "the 'the' of me" or "the 'things' of me."  On the one hand, God could be referring to his property and money; but since the master of the house is God, one must wonder if the things of God are the people. 

πονηρος ("wicked" or "envious"; 20:15)  Even the wicked still get into the vineyard!!  God is really gracious.

ισους (isous, from isos, meaning the same, as in "iso-metric"; 20:15)  The problem (for some of the workers) is that the master is making people equal to each other.  This should call to mind Philippians, in that Jesus did not regard equality (same word) as something to be exploited, but humbled himself.  In this case, becoming like Christ is being willing to work in the vineyard and to rejoice over a repentant sinner instead of being frustrated they get the same "reward" as us!

Last bonus:  The evil eye in 20:15
The literal translation of 20:15 is "Or is your eye evil because I am good."  God does not describe himself as generous but as good. Ultimately goodness is tied into generosity.  Furthermore, those disgruntled are described as having an evil eye.  A reminder that a reward is given to those with jealousy and evil in their hearts, not just those pure in heart.  God is good.  He gives to humans. Regardless of how long they worked; regardless of how lazy they are; regardless of how good they are.

Matthew 18:21-35

This passage occurs in the RCL "Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently September 2026. 
 
Summary:  A classic tale of forgiveness.  A man owes an absurd amount (Roughly 6 billion by my calculations).  After being forgiven he arrests his friend who owes him a couple thousand dollars.  I would like to put it in terms of relationship.  The man has misunderstood his relationship to God (as being a recipient of mercy) and his relationship to other humans (co-recipients and fellow-sharers of mercy).  This causes him to further sin.  Jesus warns us of dire consequences when we fail to understand the true nature of our relationship with God and with others.

I suggest this is Matthew's version of the prodigal God and prodigal son, except the younger son became the older son.

Show me the money

μυριων ταλεντων ("ten thousand talents", 18.24)  A talent is roughly 5,000 to 6,000 denarii.  This means that 10,000 talents is like 500,000 denarii.  A denarii is a roughly a day's wages.  @120/day this is about 6 billion!  (Or almost 2,000 years of labor).  In comparison the hundred denarii would be about $25,000.  That is quite a difference.

Theologically significant words

σπλαγχνισθεις (form of σπλαγχνιζομαι, meaning "compassion", 18.27)  The master has compassion on the slave.  This is also the word that describes the father's heart toward the son in the prodigal son.  That a father would have this kind of compassion for his son is not the most shocking; however, in this case, the master has compassion on his servant.  This kind of compassion and forgiveness suggests to me that the master is grafting this slave into the family, although the slave doesn't realize it.

αφηκεν (from αφιημι) and απελυσεν (from απολυω)  Both of these verbs, which appear throughout the story, are related.  The first means "forgive" or "let go"; the second means "set free."  It is interesting that even though the slave's debt was freed, the relationship status did not change.  To what extent was he freed?   It is an interesting parable in that the masters work of forgiving and setting free does not change the heart of the person.  Tough to ponder.  When we view (and even experience) the relationship between us and God as a transaction and not an opportunity for transformation we always go awry.  

ελεησαι (from ελεεω, meaning show mercy, 18.33)  God does not simply possess mercy, but actively shows mercy.  Mercy is rarely an adjective (merciful), sometimes a noun (mercy) but most likely a verb with God as the subject: "show mercy."

ὀφειλέτης (debts, 18:25

Likely lost in translation:

ειπεν vs λεγει (18:21)  Both of these are different tenses of the same verb.  ειπεν is aorist; λεγει is present.  The aorist usually connotes a single action whereas the present suggests an on-going action.  Peter asks one time: "How often..." but Jesus repeatedly says, "7*70".  Jesus needed to repeat himself for this to be heard.

"will sin" vs "would sin" (Future vs. Subjunctive:  Sins aren't subjunctive in this case!)  

The Greek language is obsessed with the future.  There are multiple ways to show the future implications of a given action.  Worth noting is that there is no future subjunctive.  Either something will happen in the future or it might happen starting from this moment forward in an unknown time.  But you cannot do "might happen in the future"; that simply means might happen.  Today, when Peter is asking Jesus about forgiving others, he does not put the verb αφησω (forgive) in the subjunctive.  The whole sentence is in the future.  In short, Peter expects sin and forgiveness. The sentence literally reads: "How often will my brother sin against me and will I forgive him? Until seven times?"

ει τι ("whatever" 18.28)  The exact construction of the phrase "Pay what you owe me" is rather interesting. It actually includes an "ει τι" phrase. This phrase is normally translated "if anything," as if to say, the man was not even really sure what the debt was, if in fact, it was anything.

συνδουλος ("fellow-slave" 18:28, 29, 31, and 33)  The Greek can put "fellow" and "slave" together in one word.  Powerful word.  Fellow slave.  Do we view each other as fellow slaves to sin!  Do we view each other as fellow servants of the Gospel?  Paul will call others this term in Colossians.

βασανισταις (-στης, meaning "jailer" or "torturer", 18.34)  This is a hard word.  I don't like the idea of one being tortured.  On the one hand, the word means "jailer" so perhaps Jesus is simply referring to the act of the imprisonment.  The other way to think about this is that the word torture in Greek comes from the word test.  Perhaps this slave is put up to another time of testing, this time hopefully to succeed.  The word comes from a rag that was used to test whether gold was real.  The person needs to go and discover what he really is - a sinner yet a child of God!

δανειον  ("debt"; 18.27) The use of this word for "debt" here is unique in the NT.  The word normally carries with it a suggestion of interest, even usury with this debt.  Most simply it means a loan.  God is calling the loan and then forgives it.  What has God loaned you!?  It is interesting that in this parable, like the other classic parable of talents, the talents are loaned. never earned.  

παρακαλεω ("encourage"/"plead"; 18.29, 32)  The word for Holy Spirit is derived from this word:  "paraclete".  I want to connect Holy Spirit, pleading and forgiveness, but I can't quite sew this thread together.  Anyway, putting it here for someone else to run with it!

Matthew 18:15-20

This passage occurs as a New Testament Lesson in the RCL "Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently September 2023 . 
 
Summary:  Jesus seems to let us off the hook today, telling us we can treat sinning Christians like gentiles and tax collectors, as long as we've gone through the appeal court system.  However, this is the worst news of all, because Jesus spends most of his time eating with tax collectors and even getting harassed for his association with them.  In other words, Jesus doesn't give us permission to drop them, but rather instructs us to bear them, teach them and even get persecuted because we continue to care for them over and against their difficulties toward us.  Yes, he does let us remove our heart strings a bit from them, but not our moral obligation.  Hence why Jesus has to promise us his presence in the midst of conflict!

Note:  I wrote a post in which I specifically look at "binding" of sins and what this might mean.

Key Words:
αδελφος (brother/sister; found throughout section)  Earlier in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus refers to his followers as his brothers and sisters (12:49).  He is telling his disciples that in the church they are also brothers and sisters to one another.  

εκερδησας (from κερδαινω, "to gain", 18:15)  Jesus puts it beautifully:  If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.  It is not about winning people to your side, but restoring the relationship!  

Additional 2023 note:  That this passage occurs after the story of the (Good) shepherd finding the lost sheep might be lost on the normal preacher, because the lectionary leaves that story for the year of Luke.  Dr Rolf Jacobson offers a nice connection between the two stories.  He argues, correctly I believe, that the latter story reveals this story is about Jesus working to reconnect the lost to the flock.  

Additional 2026 note:  It is also interesting that the previous week's Gospel reading had Jesus reflect on "what profit" is it for a man to "gain" (κερδαινω) the world, but lose his soul.  Here Jesus reflects on gaining a friend back.

ακουω & παρακουω ("listen" and "listen aside", 18:15, 16 and 17)  Jesus does not say "if he apologizes" or "if he agrees"; he simply says, "if he listens."  If we can listen to each other, we make room for reconciliation.  In fact, in order to get the point of agreement (vs 19), we must first reestablish the relationship (vs. 15).  

Jesus introduces a word that is rare in the New Testament: παρακουω.  That ακουω is part of it should be readily clear.  What is added is the preposition/prefix:  παρα.  This means alongside of.  So this verb means "to hear aside", i.e. not hear directly, not focus, not pay attention.  Definitely an indictment of our culture today!

εθνικος (pagan, gentile, literally "ethnic"; 18:17)  Jesus suggests we treat Christians who have greatly sinned against us as gentiles.  Interestingly, Jesus final words in the Gospel of Matthew instruct us to preach to the gentiles (all the nations of the world; same root word) and earlier Jesus reminds us to love our enemies.  Jesus is not giving us permission to be rude and dismissive to our brothers and sisters in Jesus, even those whom we are angry with.

τελωνης ("tax collector"; 18:17)  Jesus eats with tax collectors.  He repeatedly takes heat for being seen with them.  So considering someone a tax collector means something more like this:  "Treat them in such a way that no one knows how much they anger and embarrass you, bearing your cross and thanking God for this opportunity to become a more patient and compassionate person."

δησητε (form of δεω, meaning "bind"; 18:18)  Bind does not mean declare forgiven.  (In another post, I explore the historical meanings of this word within the context of "The Keys").   In short, ways to look at this:

1)  It means to forgive, understood in connection with Matthew 16 and John 20 as the priestly office of the keys

2)  It means to declare something taboo.  Marriage is a binding of two people together, which means that certain actions are permitted, but also that certain actions are no longer permitted.  This is interesting that in order for their to be life together, there has to be an established set of norms.

3)  I offer it means to bind sins to Christ.

συμφωνησωσιν ("agree" or "match", from συμφωνεω; 18:19)  The actually meaning of this word is not that interesting.  What is interesting is the derivation, "symphony" which means "together-sounds."  Jesus says that if we make a symphony, God listens.  Haha!  Also worth noting that this coming together takes place within a story about renewing of relationships and returning of lost sheep to the fold.  This is NOT then, simply two people coming together, but two people who were previously at odds.

επι της γης ("upon the earth", 18:19)  I want to point out something in the Greek overlooked in most translations -- Jesus says that if two or three on the earth agree, God in heaven will act.  This would suggest that people coming together is bridge between heaven and earth.  Reconciliation is a thin space, so speak.  The God in heaven responds to people on earth, when we find unity.  While this sounds like we are the agents of reconciliation, remember the context: the shepherd finding the lost sheep.

This passage also underscores a fundamental theme in the Bible:  Humans are estranged from each other.

συνηγμενοι ("gathered"; passive perfect participle from "συναγω"; 18:20)  This participle covers up a familiar word:  synago, from which we get synagogue.  The voice is significant here.  We do not gather ourselves in the church, but rather are gathered God.  Thus, we are moving  from human action to God's promise. Also worth noting that Jesus promises his presence in the midst of the office of the keys and congregational conflict.  The church is a gift, however human and sinful it can be!

εν μεσω ("in the midst", 18:20)  Matthew begins his Gospel by declaring Jesus to be Immanuel -- God with us.  Matthew ends his Gospel with Jesus declaring he is God with us.  In the middle of the Gospel Jesus affirms this as his mission (and identity) when he declares that, at the crossroads of worship and conflict, he is with us.

Translation Issue:  Hypothetical situations with εαν

Technically, this word is a combination of:  ει αν, both of which are "subjunctive" markers.  Put them together and you have a very hypothetical situation.  If you have the word εαν, the writer/speaker is not specifying if this will actually happen.  It means something like, "if" or perhaps "whenever."  If is used in Greek to set up a simple phrase (so necessary for science), if-then.  So in our text for this week, Jesus is not promising conflict; nor is he promising that people will not listen.  He is simply saying, "If you experience this, well, then do this..."

Also worth noting:  Every other verse in this section has an "if" clause, yet in 18:20 Jesus simply declares -- Where two or three are gathered, I am in the midst of you.

Binding of Sins (Matthew 18:15-20)

Note:  This post comes out of my 2023 sermon on Matthew 18:15-20.  I will focus on the word "bind."  However, you can access my post on Matthew 18:15-20 or John 20:19-31.

I want to reflect a bit more on what Jesus means when he says "Truly I tell you, whatever you BIND on earth will be BOUND in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  I offer that this word "bind" (δεω) might have three meanings.

• Classic medieval: The binding, along with the loosing, refers to the keys of heaven which are given to the church (see Matthew 16:19).  These keys of loosing and binding will open and close the door.  As the church chooses to absolve or not absolve sins, people are moved in or blocked from heaven.
• Rabbinic:  A movement has picked up in recent scholarship to view the "binding" and "loosing" referring to the Rabbinic practice of determining, within a community, what was "bound", that is "sinful" and what was "loose", that is ''permitted." 
• Pastoral:  The binding refers here to the act of restoring a lost sheep by binding sins to Christ.

I want to unpack each of these, describe the Scriptural argument for each, its implications and its shortcomings.

Classic Medieval

In a nutshell:  The classic understanding of the office of the keys is nicely summarized by Martin Luther in his small catechism:

What is the Office of the Keys?  The Office of the Keys is the special authority which Christ has given to His Church on earth: to forgive the sins of the penitent sinners, but to retain the sins of the impenitent as long as they do not repent.

(See footnote for a longer passage of Luther) 

It is worth noting that the medieval Roman Catholic church and Luther were in agreement about what the keys did (see Aquinas on the office of the keys belonging to the church).  Luther disagreed about whether the keys belonged to the "holy Roman Catholic church" or the "holy catholic church, the communion of saints" and how the keys were dealt with through the sacramental system.

Biblical support:  All of this understanding arises from Matthew 16, Matthew 18 and John 20, in which Jesus gives the apostles authority to forgive sins and retain them.  It is worth noting that the wording is different in Matthew and John, with Matthew using the words "bind" and "loosen" and John using the words "forgive" and "hold/retain/grasp."

Implications and Shortcomings:  The mission of the church becomes clear:  act as a gate keeper for who is in and who is out of the Kingdom of God.  This clarifies and perhaps simplifies the task of the church in an age when the objectives often seem political and social.  

However, the church doors, physically and spiritually, become hard boundaries of God's mercy on earth.  As discipleship in Jesus moves from a Jewish renewal movement to an inter-continental institution, this boundary becomes a wall and the institution abuses its power, time and time again.

It also makes the point of life "getting into heaven" rather than experiencing eternal life, which begins here and now, as Jesus comes to us.

Rabbinic

In a nutshell:  This way of thinking might be new to some.  The binding and loosing, in this view, refer to the process by which community leaders, Rabbis, would determine what was morally permissible (or not) for a community.  A good article I found online by the author Kindalee Pfremmer De Long outlines it.  As she writes

In this practice of [rabbinic] binding and loosing, rabbis uphold the law as eternal and universal but recognize that new contexts require new decisions about how to bind or loose particular behaviors. 

Biblical support:  In the article by De Long, she delves more deeply into historical and linguistic support of this interpretation, which she acknowledges is solid but not exhaustively conclusive.  It is not a strictly biblical argument, per se, but one in which extra-Biblical sources allow us to better understand what the original authors (or in this case, the original speaker, Jesus) likely meant.

De Long also does not dismiss the classic way of understanding this passage.  She offers that both people may be bound or loosed (classic) and that laws or ethical standards may be bound or loosed (rabbinic).  I resonated with De Long's article, not simply in substance, but also tone.  She wrote in a generous spirit - rather than a "everyone got it wrong because we/I've discovered this social science data from the 1st century that upends everything you knew", she approached it with a "there is likely another layer to this that has impact for ministry" attitude.

Implications and Shortcomings:  In this way of thinking, Christian communities become loci of ethical and moral discernment.  For a community to exist, there must be agreed upon standards of behavior, processes for determining these standards and then means by which people are restored to the community. 

The Rabbinic perspective returns to the Achilles' heal for Protestants - once you've left the institution AND acknowledged that differences are inevitable, on what basis can you find unity and on what basis will your ethical teachings stand?  And furthermore, why attend a church that doesn't suit your moral proclivities, which increasingly means your political stances?  Like, if you disagree with your church's moral conclusion about some issue, why not leave?  In short, if your church is going to stake its hat on getting it right morally and you don't agree, why stay?

Pastoral

As a western and American, living in the 21st century, I live in just about the most autonomous and individualized culture in the earth's history.  Never before have people been less grounded in their past, including both family of origin and even biological gender.   In short, we tend to trust our feelings and are motivated to create a life, a story, an identity for ourselves, often over and against the entities that brought us to bear.  Our participation in society often amounts to signaling our virtue more than bearing one another's burdens and we move to "cancel" rather than listen.  

This all makes me acutely hungry for Matthew 18 and Jesus words about community.  More and more, in fact, I sense that God's Kingdom is a place where this individualism dissolves in Christ's grace.  I can stop having to create myself and simply let Christ define me.  While I retain a sense of distinction from others -- we do not become a blob -- I am finally able to get over myself in a way that I can be for others.  God's Kingdom allows for real community, truly communion, with God of course, but also with others.  In that light, I very much appreciated Rolf Jacobson's article about the community dynamics within Matthew 18.  Jacobson helps these words of the binding and loosing be heard in their context, namely, that of a good shepherd finding lost sheep.

If Jesus is indeed speaking about bringing people into "Life Together" as Bonhoeffer called it, what might binding look like?  Fascinatingly, Bonhoeffer ends his book with a chapter on Confession and Communion.  He extols the virtues of confession and bases participation in Holy Communion on confession.  Yet he does not mention binding of sins, but rather the proclamation of forgiveness. 

In short, a community needs to bind and loosen laws in terms of structuring life together, but given the reality of sin (see again Jacobson's article), inevitably we fill mess up before God and each other.  The only way forward is forgiveness and reconciliation.  Does this mean, then, that we have left the binding of sins behind or simply see binding as the way to remove people from the community?

μη γενιοτο (heck no!)  The community needs something bound in order for the key of loosing to work.  Sin must be dealt with.  The only binding that can actually hold a community together, then is confession and absolution, which is a binding of the sin to the cross and the freeing of the new creation for life together.

In reality, this binding will likely take weeks and be on-going given the capacity for humans to hurt ourselves and each other.  We will again and again need to bind the old sinner to the cross - our shame, our guilt, our pride, our fears, everything.  While I cannot prove it, I sense that a congregation that truly experiences this kind of forgiveness, not simply from the pulpit, but from each other (as Bonhoeffer envisions) is the kind of church that will cohere even when people disagree.  

***

PS  Longer Luther passage on the keys:

"We possess these two keys through Christ's command.  The key which binds it the power or office to punish the sinner who refuses to repent by means of a public condemnation to eternal death and separation from the rest of Christendom... The key which binds carries forward the work of the law.  It is profitable to the sinner in as much as it reveals to him his sins, admonishes him to fear God, causes him to tremble and moves him to repentance and not to destruction." ("The Keys", pg 372, LW 40)

Matthew 16:13-20

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, most recently Aug 23, 2026.
 
Summary:  This passage presents many powerful preaching angles that I try to amplify with the Greek. 

• Confessing Christ is the work of the individual and the church
• Confessing Christ is on-going
• Confessing Christ must happen on the road of life, even in places of moral rot
• Confessing Christ happens over and against other co-religionists and their confession of who Jesus is (I include here some research by NT Wright on the various 1st century understandings of what "Messiah" meant).

For 2026, I wondered what might be worth preaching on within Matthew's version because this story comes up in both Matthew and Mark's Gospel.  I am pondering how Peter is given his identity after his confession of Christ and the way in which identifying who Christ is allows us finally to hear and be identified as who we are.  In the 21st century, we obsess over identity and an identity that is self-constructed.  But here we discover that our identity cannot be found by our own analysis, but comes from Christ.  I don't have Greek analysis for this, just simply a point I am pondering!

Idea for a children's sermon:  the whole fish, Ι-Χ-Θ-Υ-Σ, i-ch-th-u-s, thing (Jesus Christ God's Son Savior) as the most basic confession.

λέγετε (saying, 16:15) When we hear this translated in English, we hear this a personal question:  "Who do you say that I am?"  Given that Peter individually responds, it is correct in acknowledging this is a question that we must each answer individually.  However, it is worth pointing out that this is a plural question.  The whole community is asked to confess Christ, one might even argue, together!

ἠρώτα (imperfect of ἐρωτάω, asking, 16:13)  This verb here is in the imperfect tense.  Jesus is repeatedly asking them.  This adds movement and emotion to the scene, but also points to the way in which our whole lives again and again, we will need to confess Christ.

καισαρειας φιλιππι (Caesarea Philippi, 16:13):  This town is not a coincidental mention.  It was a trading hub, located along some major land routes.  It had been associated in the past with Baal (OT Canaanite god) and Pan (Greek god).  In Jesus day, it was one of the Roman capitals in the area, with immense building projects undertaken by Herod, including the construction of a temple in honor of Augustus.  In fact, city's temple to Pan was believed to be located at the gates of Hades, a direct connection to the underworld.  Philippi epitomized the Greco-Roman religious milieu of the day: a pantheistic cult that continued to give more space to emperor worship; above all, a worship of beauty, sex, power and money. 

One can go even further though and think about the extent to which these are all not simply dead gods, but gods of death.  At the main temple in Caesarea Philippi, which was a temple believed to be the gates of Hades, people would offer dead animal sacrifices  (http://www.generationword.com/Israel/caesarea_philippi.htm good pictures!).  Hence the importance in Peter's confession that God is a living God! 

If you want to go even further, you can study more about what worship of Pan actually entailed, but now we would have an adult only sermon.

υιος του ανθροπος  (Son of Man 16:13).  As Christians we likely recognize this title as a reference to Jesus.  In fact, we often look at this title as one that uplifts Jesus as the pinnacle of humanity.  But what exactly does this title mean?  

On the one hand, this term is associated with the Messiah and his coming in glory in the book of Daniel:

• “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (7:13-14)

Yet, on the other hand, this particular title for an individual or humanity seems to suggest humanity's weakness:

• What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:4; See also Psalm 144:3)
• If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, how much less man, who is but a maggot-- a son of man, who is only a worm!" (Job 25:5-6)
• God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)

God also calls Ezekiel the Son of Man a number (80?) times; it is a way of reminding Ezekiel he is not divine.  In short, calling Jesus the Son of Man ascribes both majesty but also humility to him.  (I even checked with Wikipedia to see if I was missing something here; in fact, its article emphasizes my point about this title and humility.)

χριστος  (Christos, Messiah, 16:16)  Christos is Greek for anointed.  In Hebrew, the word for anointed is Messiah.  Peter is calling Jesus the Messiah.  The Old Testament strongly associates Messiah with a king, in the line of David, one who leads and protects the people.  

• The idea seems to be that a Messiah is a divine talisman, in that he has special protection (1 Sam 26:23; Psalm 20:6).  
• Interestingly, in Leviticus (4:6 eg) the High Priest is also referred to as the "anointed" or "Messiah."  
• Furthermore, Isaiah in chapter 61, declares himself anointed for his vision, hence prophet could also be understood as the role of the anointed (Psalm 105:15 connects this as well).  

As Messiah then could be understood to capture three offices:  king, priest and prophet, which matches up with Calvin's understanding of Christ and his offices.  

While Calvin and other theologians have tried to clarify what "Messiah" means, it is helpful to remember that various first century Jewish groups had their own understanding of the word.  Different factions within that society had different senses of what a Messiah would be like and what the Messianic age would entail. It can helpful to avoid statements like:  "All of the Jews expected X out of a Messiah."  Consider Christians today -- do we all have a common vision for what the return of Christ will look like?  While I will try to summarize some thoughts on what this term meant, I do so aware that this term had a variety of meanings.

If there is any common theme for first century understandings of Messiah, it would be a theme of conquering.  While Kings, priests and especially prophets may suffer, there seems a much stronger note of victory, even theology of glory, surrounding this term.  As NT Wright puts it:  "Everyone knew that a crucified Messiah was a failed Messiah." (p. 230, The New Testament and Its World.) This would explain why Peter so soon afterwards does not want Jesus to suffer!  (In short, Peter knew his Old Testament!).  It also shows a great contrast with the ideas laid out in Daniel for what to expect from the son of man. 

I would also add that NT Wright does a great job of unpacking the Jewish understanding of "son of man" and "messiah."  In his mind they work together, in that the Son of Man refers to Daniel 7 and comes with hopes of Israel's redemption over the foreign and invading empires.  While even Wright admits the Daniel 7 is bit more ambiguous of a connection, he helpfully demonstrates the Jewish people of the 1st century had very earthly hopes.  They all wanted an end to their situation as a puppet regime of Rome; they may have understood this happening in different ways, but ultimately, it was for the same reason.  In short, no first century Jew would have said:  "I want the Messiah to come, die in a humiliating fashion, be resurrected and then promise us that if we follow him, we will die and then enter into a non-earthly eternity with God that will include lots of non-Jews."  The Messiah was to bring about the new reign of God on earth, which included the vindication of Israel (p. 234, The New Testament and Its World).

πετρος /πετρα Petros Petra:  We've all heard that Peter's name means Rock, because he was the Rock on which the church would be built.  Both words clearly have a the same first few letters (Petr), but I am not sure if we must necessarily infer that Peter the person is what the church will be built on.  Beyond some linguistic oddities (Petra is a feminine noun and ends in an a, nothing like Peter's name's ending), the far more logical thing is that the church will be built on the confession, which comes from heaven.  I think the Bible really underscores this by showing Peter's misunderstanding just a few sentences later. Luther writes a sermon delving into why this passage is about the confession of Christ and not Peter's person.

αδης hades:  See my blog post on words for hell in the Bible.  http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2012/09/mark-938-50.html

Grammar note:  In the infinitive phrase "Who do you say that I am" the word "I" is in the accusative (me).  Why?  Because in the subject of an infinitive clause is in the accusative, not the nominative.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, year A, most recently July 26, 2026

Rather than offer a summary of these parables, I will offer a word or two comment on each parable.  Hopefully this can offer a connection to a parable for you

Parable of the mustard seed
παραθηκεν ("put before", 13:31)  Jesus does not tell them parables, he puts them before his disciples.  A reminder that we are invited to consider their meaning.

βασιλεια των ουρανων ("kingdom of heaven", 13:31)  A reminder that Matthew Gospel does not discuss the Kingdom of God, but rather the Kingdom of Heaven.  This is in contrast to the other writers of the new Testament.  Perhaps Matthew's Jewish roots made him uncomfortable using the word God?

λαχανων (-ον, "shrub/herb", 13:32) The word for tree/plant here signifies an edible plant.  A reminder that the mustard seed is intended for consumption by another, just like our lives.  While I am on the mustard seed...interesting the mustard seed was used to make chemical weapons in world war I.  Also used to make the first chemotherapy drugs.  A reminder that all things can be used for God's purposes.  Or not.

κατασκηνουν (-οω, "live in tent", 13:32)  John's Gospel tells us that Jesus "dwelt"/"tented" among us (same word.)  Is Jesus like one of the birds that dwells in the tree?  I don't think so, but hey, its a parable and always fun to ask the question:  Where is Jesus in this parable?

Parable of the kneading woman

ενεκρυψεν (literally and in meaning "encrypted", 13:33)  The kingdom is somehow hidden -- literally encrypted -- into this world.  I appreciate that this is a feminine protagonist!  I wonder if this is the work of the Spirit, to mash the Word into the world!

ζυμη (yeast, 13:33)  Fascinatingly Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a single-celled micro-organism that is considered fungi.  I am not going to preach on this, but there is some potential here -- it makes things rise; it takes a bit of heat, but not much; it is a fun-guy ;-)

σατα (from σατον, 13:33)  This is a Hebrew measure of flour, a reminder that this parable is (almost certainly) translated from the original that Jesus told!

Parable of the field and treasure
αγοραζει ("agorize" meaning "to buy or sell", 13:44;46)  Interesting economic metaphor.  If Christ is the one who finds us, the pearl, then Christ is the one who sells all that he has to buy us.  This is a pretty way (the only way??) to use the buy/sell metaphor common in Christian soteriology.

μαργαριτας ("margarita" meaning "pearl", 13:45)  Just wanted to everyone to know the word for pearl is margarita.  The Kingdom of God is like a margarita :-)

ευρων (from ευρισκω meaning "find", 13:44; 46)  A reminder that there a many lost and found parables in the Bible!

Parable of the net
γενους (literally genous, meaning "type" or "species"; 13:47)  This word can even mean peoples or races.  The net is intended for all people!!  (Not just fish!)

συναγαγουση (from συναγω meaning "gather", 13:47)  The purpose of the net is to gather all people together.  The word literally means synagogue.  The net is to bring us all into the same synagogue...

συντελεια (meaning "completion", 13:48)  I have no idea why Christians don't call it the fullness of all time instead of the end of time.  The word is completion and fullness, not termination!

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

This passage occurs in year A of the Revised Common Lectionary, most recently July 2026
 
Summary:  This passage lends itself very easily to a divided world in which there are good and bad people; the good get saved and the bad get punished in fire.  God tolerates the bad lest the good be obliterated.

One possible direction is one that Luther took, namely, using this passage as a plea for tolerance.  (Seriously, worth reading the big Luther quote at this site).

Another possibility is that each person is made up of both saint and sinner.  The sinner in each of us must be put to death.  Good religion is not what helps us divide the world into good and bad.  Good religion helps us purify the bad within each of us.

Key Words:
ζιζανια ("wheat resembling weed", 13:25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 36, 38, 40).  This likely refers to a particularly bad weed:

Lolium temulentum is a weed of wheat farmlands. Even a few grains of this plant will adversely affect crop quality. Its seeds are poisonous to people and livestock. It is very difficult to separate the seeds of L. temulentum from those of what and other small grain crops as they are similar in size and weight. L. temulentum can be a host to a variety of crop pests and diseases.  For more, read here.

οικοδεσποτος ("master of the house", 13:27)  I saw on Facebook in 2023 that someone did not like the metaphors of agriculture because God had too much power and ownership.  I am okay with these metaphors.

εχθρος ("enemy", 13:25 and 28)  This word comes from the word hate.  The enemy can mean "the hostile one."  When we have come to hate the other, we have become like the enemy.

There are three "syn" words closely written together
συλλεγοντες (13:29):  Collect

συναυξανεσθαι  (13:30):  Grow together
συναγαγετε (13:30):  Gather
συντελεια (13:39): Complete

I am still pondering what to make of this.  Some things bound must be undone (the sinner and saint).  Some binding still is yet to come (the faithful gathered).

σκανδαλα (σκανδαλον, meaning stumbling block, 13:41)  Finally, in the eschaton there are no more scandals :-)  Actually, I think there is a lot of good news here in that there is a furnace of πυρός (fire, 13:42).  Ultimately, the bad in this world needs to be destroyed.

ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων (13:42)  One wonders if the weeping and gnashing of teeth is from those who suffer or from the one who knew that they must be destroyed!  Given that in the parable the weeds are entirely consumed, one possible interpretation is that people are not being tortured, but that this death produces sadness.

Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23

This passage occurs in the RCL "Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently July 2026.  Since the two sections have similar vocabulary, I will focus my comments on one section, namely 18-23.

Summary:  What is this parable about:  The soil?  The seed?  In the parable, certain individuals endure hardship, survive temptation and finally bear fruit.  How is that going to happen?  How will they, to use the metaphor of the parable, have deep soil?  As Jesus says, the parable is about the sower, the sower who constantly comes to us again and again, sowing the seed that we might finally be at a point in our lives where the soil is deep, that we might repent, turn and be healed (13:15), that we will bear fruit.

New for 2026:  A reflection on that day, Mary and good soil.

Key words: 
παραβολή ("parable"; 3, 18)  Just a reminder:  This is Jesus first parable! (In Matthew's Gospel and therefore, the New Testament!)

σπειραντος ("the one who sows", participle of σπειρω; 18)  There is nothing distinct about this word, but it is worth pointing out that Jesus says the parable is about this, namely, the one who throws his seed, even into wasteful places!

καρπος ("grain"/"fruit"; 8, 23)  The first time through the parable, most translators translate the word as "grain" or a "crop."  Which is too bad because one misses the crucial connection to bearing fruit, one of the few metaphors that is consistent across the entire New Testament.  I love this image, because you can do so much with it:
* Fruit is not for the sake of the tree that produced it (our life is about our neighbor)
* Fruit often takes a season if not years to produce (patience)
* Fruit doesn't last long (our good works are needed every day)
* Fruit needs pollination (need a word outside of ourselves)
* Fruit needs the death of a flower...

καρδια ("heart"; 19)  Interestingly, this word never refers to the actually beating heart inside the body in the NT!  Hebrew and Greek map the whole heart-brain-feelings-thoughts a bit differently, but the basic point is that the heart here is not the Hallmark center, but the core of who we are, including our thoughts.

πονηρος ("evil"; 19)  Jesus here personifies evil.  A couple of thoughts.  First, it could be that Jesus here simply describes evil as "the evil" rather than the "evil one."  He may leave evil more abstract.  Second, it is also interesting and scary that the devil can engage with the human heart.  Third, it is haunting how evil is portrayed as multi-faceted:  a personified agent that works against us, the structural oppression in the world and the selfish desires of the human.  As Luther said, "the devil, the world and the sinful self." 
see also
ερχεται ("coming"; 19)  This word is a word we learn in our first few Greek lessons.  What I want to emphasize in this case is the tense:  present tense.  Furthermore, the tenses of the participles starting the sentence are also in the present tense.  This means all of the actions are on-going and concurrent:  the listening, the not comprehending and the coming of the evil one are all happening at the same time.  I had always imagined the coming of the evil one happened after the fact.  But Jesus' use of present participles (or Matthew's) suggests these are all happening at the same time.  Scary.

Small but interesting words:
σπειρος  ("seed"; multiple times; also see 13:38)  In Greek the word "seed" is actually a participle made into a noun, literally "The thing that is sown."  It is worth point out that in verse 38 the good seed are the sons of the kingdom (as opposed to the seed being the Word).   Jesus switches the metaphor, reminding us, that these are parables and not allegories.  [Note:  I wrote this years ago, and I am now wondering what I meant by the different in parables and allegories.]

ακουω ("hear"; multiple times)   Warning:  Overly pietist comment coming up:  Hearing the word is not sufficient.  In this parable hearing must move to understanding.

σκανδαλιζεται ("stumble"; 21)  This means "scandalize"; how does the word scandalize you?
απατη ("deception"; 22)  An interesting side note on this word.  It closely sounds like "agape" which Christian communion meals were often called.  2 Peter 2:13 plays on this a bit a condemns the "apate" at the communion meals.

ἐκείνῃ ("that"; 13:1) This word is the demonstrative pronoun in Greek (remember back in summer Greek...)  Anyway, here is the significance.  Jesus is teaching on that day.  Why might Matthew want to connect the teachings to the events of chapter 12, where Jesus has essentially disowned his family?  Perhaps it can further the rejection of the family -- Jesus is moving on, continuing to sow the seed for all those who listen.  Or maybe it is an illustration of what Jesus means that he is sower.  His own family will reject him, at least at this point, but in the end, they will become pillars in the early church.  As it turns out, the soil of Mary may have been choked out at this point by cares of the world.  Yet, many would view her soil the richest soil a human has ever had.  This is a powerful reminder that Jesus keeps on sowing the seed, even if we cannot bear fruit in that season of life.

One can also get there by looking at the verb tenses of the infinitive σπείρειν (13:3, sow), imperative ἀκουέτω (13:9, hear) and participles of  ἀκούων καὶ συνιείς (13:23, hear and understand).  They are all in the present tense, suggesting that both God's action of sowing and our action of listening are on-going.

Grammar Review:  Substantive participles
In Greek, you can make "substantive" participles very easily.  They are also easy to translate.
They follow the following pattern:  "The one who does X/Y/Z"  In English, this idea is accomplished with a relative pronoun clause:  I like the woman who married me.  Greek also has relative clauses, but the substantive participle is common.  Here we have a nice one:
ο τον λογον ακουων
Step one:  Identify it as a substantive participle.  How?  Well, you have a "the" (ie a definite article:  ο) and you only have one, otherwise it would be an adjectival.
Step two:  Get the participle:  ακουων
Step three:  Translate the basics under the formula "the one who does X":  The one who hears
Step four:  Correct for voice and tense:  Don't have to hear.
Step five:  translate the other stuff:  "The one who hears the word."  Greek will often sandwich important stuff for the substantive participle clause in between the article and the participle

Give it a try, with the last five words of verse 19...

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Summary:  I had some other ambition in the post, but I ended up focusing on the idea of Woman Wisdom.  This is not a complete post on this topic, but hopefully something that whets your appetite for more reading!

Key Word
σοφια (wisdom):  Most Christians -- myself included -- likely grew up in a church that did not emphasize the personification of Wisdom in the bible.  But in the Old Testament, Wisdom not only personified, but almost deified. This happens most clearly in Proverbs but also in other "wisdom literature".  I have included long form Bible quotes because these are likely less familiar to many of us.

• Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?  On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;  beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:  "To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live..."  Proverbs 8:1-4 
• While I was still young, before I went on my travels, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.   Before the temple I asked for her, and I will search for her until the end.  From the first blossom to the ripening grape my heart delighted in her; my foot walked on the straight path; from my youth I followed her steps.  I inclined my ear a little and received her, and I found for myself much instruction.  I made progress in her; to him who gives wisdom I will give glory.  For I resolved to live according to wisdom, and I was zealous for the good, and I shall never be disappointed.  My soul grappled with wisdom, and in my conduct I was strict; I spread out my hands to the heavens, and lamented my ignorance of her.  I directed my soul to her, and in purity I found her. With her I gained understanding from the first; therefore I will never be forsaken. Sirach 51:13-20 (Sirach is a book in the apocrypha) 

That wisdom is to be desired is not necessarily a surprise.  But the Old Testament wisdom literature makes three crucial shifts.  First, the writers begin talking about wisdom as a woman; there is a big contrast in fact, between woman wisdom and the foolish woman (harlot)!  This is in itself interesting, but might be seen as a literary device to get the focus of young men.  But then the writers go further and begin to speak about Wisdom as one to be worshiped.  This might seem like a misguided step to worship an attribute of God.  But the writers double down and begin speaking about Wisdom's role in creation. 

• The LORD created me (wisdom, identified in 8:2) at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.  When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.  Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth--  when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world's first bits of soil.  When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,  when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race. Proverbs 8:22-31
• It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.  Jeremiah 10:12, 51:15 
• O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  Psalm 104:24 
• Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south?   Job 39:26

For most of us as Christians we would associate the entity through whom God made all things as the "Word."  Yet, it is identified as wisdom here.  It seems as if there two schools of thought over time, one that emphasized the Word as a potentially divine agent within the God-head; another that emphasized Wisdom as a potentially divine agent within the God-head.  Both existed without great conflict, or at least, I cannot find any conflict.

The New Testament seems to break in the direction of the Word tradition.  It is the Word through which all things were made (John 1).  In fact, it is a bit pointless to find quotes explaining the importance of the Word within the New Testament understanding of God.  They are everywhere.

Yet the idea of a personified and feminine Wisdom remains.  There are a number of reflections on God's wisdom (notable 1 Corinthians 1).  Most importantly for this post, there are some strange verses about a seemingly personified Wisdom:

• Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,'  so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,  Luke 11:49-50  
• ...for I will give you words and (the) wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.  Luke 21:15 (note the indefinite article in front of "a wisdom" is not in the Greek, although the lack of a definite article could allow one to translate it with  "a")
• The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!   Matthew 12:42
• And there verse from this week's pericope:  "Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."   Matthew 11:19  

Where does this leave us?  Well, one can go all sorts of ways with this.  One can identify wisdom with the Spirit, allowing for a feminization of the Spirit.  One can identify wisdom with the Word and therefore Jesus, allowing for a feminization of Jesus.  Like all things with wisdom, it takes a bit of work to process!

One last connection to reflect on.  Jesus ends this section of teaching in Matthew's Gospel with an invitation to come to him, all who are weary.  Likewise, Woman Wisdom extends an invitation as well:

• "You that are simple, turn in here!" To those without sense she says,  "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.  Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight."  Proverbs 9:4-6

And Proverbs nearly ends with someone complaining of their weariness:

• Thus says the man: I am weary, O God, I am weary, O God. How can I prevail?  Surely I am too stupid to be human; I do not have human understanding.  I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.  Proverbs 30:1-3

That weary man must return to wisdom, as the weary in Matthew's Gospel must return to Jesus.  So don't discard the association of Woman Wisdom and Jesus too quickly...Like I said, Jesus may be willing to make things abundantly clear, but the Wisdom of God will always take a bit more wrestling to achieve and understand.  

***

πραΰς (meaning "gentle", 11:29)  This word has a fascinating history of modern translation and interpretation.  Some wanted to use this word to emphasize a feminine nature of Christ; others, in response, then found ways to make this word actually refer to "war horses" emphasizing the masculine nature of "gentleness.  "

For an excellent article rebuffing this connection between warhorses and gentleness, see this article:

The Greek Word ‘Praus’ and Meek Warhorses

Two things notable about what this author addresses:  

First, how much the internet possesses a "hive" mentality; people circularly cite that gentle was a macho characteristic of warhorses without digging into the original citations

Second, she offers this great quote by Aristotle:

“Now we praise a man who feels anger on the right grounds and against the right persons, and also in the right manner and at the right moment and for the right length of time. He may then be called gentle-tempered (πρᾶος/ praos), if we take gentleness (πραότης/ praotēs) to be a praiseworthy quality—for ‘gentle’ (πρᾶος/ praos) really denotes a calm temper, not led by emotion but only becoming angry in such a manner, for such causes and for such a length of time as principle may ordain although the quality is thought rather to err on the side of defect, since the ‘gentle-tempered man’ (πρᾶος/ praos) is not prompt to seek redress for injuries, but rather inclined to forgive them.”

It highlights, as she offers, that Christians viewed forgiveness and humility as GOOD things, but the Greco-Roman world did not.  In general, the Greco-Roman world praised NOT being emotional.  Passion was to be avoided.  Perhaps one can get there through warhorses...but not convinced that is what Jesus is talking about.

Note -- I did not look up the Aristotle quote, but trust her citation:

“Nicomachean Ethics 5.4 (1125b.25-1126a.1)” in Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 19, H. Rackham (transl.) (Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, 1934) (Perseus Digital Library here and here.

Matthew 10:24-39

This passage occurs in year A of the Revised Common Lectionary, during "ordinary" or "proper" or weeks after Pentecost" time.  Most recently, June 21, 2026.

Summary thoughts:  I sense that Jesus is challenging his disciples about fear and anxiety.  As disciples we will fear and get anxious about the wrong things: Our physical comfort (even health!) and our reputation.  Jesus is calling us to fear the proper thing: God. I am still working through this passage, but I think it can speak to us today as disciples in a time of great fear and anxiety.

As I read this in 2026, I am drawn to the word sword (μάχαιρα) and reflect on who and why the sword is used. 

Some words that drew me into further study:

βεελζεβουλ ("Beelezboul" or "Beelezbub"10:25)  Literally Lord of the "flies." This is the name of a Philistine god.  In the Old Testament, he is referenced when an Israelite king grows sick:  

• "Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and he became ill; and he sent messengers and said to them, 'Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this illness.'" 2 Kings 1:2  (Elijah promptly condemns this king for inquiring of another god).

So why flies?  Flies are attracted to that which is sick and dying, so flies would come and pester humans who were sick.  Turns out that people would perform rituals for flies to ward them off.  The god who could take away the flies would be the god who would have brought about healing. 

It also may be a play on words that allowed the Israelites to insult another god -- calling him the lord of the Flies.

See:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myiagros and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beelzebub

Later in the Gospel, people claim Jesus is working through Beelzeboul (12:24; 12:27).  Jesus is warning his disciples here of insults they will receive for following him.

αποκαλυφθησεται (from αποκαλυπτω, meaning "reveal", 10:26)  In everyday language, apocalypse means the end.  But it literally just means the "revealing."  When I reflected on this passage in 2020, I offered, perhaps we are living through the apocalypse now in that so much of what is problematic in our culture has been revealed.

των αποκτεννοντων ('the ones who kill', 10.27)  This is a substantive participle (in the genitive).  It literally means the ones who kill.  This is rather fascinating.  Jesus is likely referring to individuals who will persecute his followers.  

The last time I significantly wrestled with this passage was 2020, when the nation was living in intermittent lockdown from COVID and also protesting the George Floyd killing.  This served as a powerful time to reflect on what exactly could and would kill us:  The virus?  Complacency?  Racism?  Still wrestling with this question six years later.

γεεννα (literally Gehenna, 10:28)  Gehenna; not hell as we often think of it.  It was a burning trash dump.  Simply, it does not mean a location, underground, in which people are tortured in the afterlife.  However, Jesus likely uses it symbolically in this and other cases in the Gospel of Matthew to denote some area/place/space of punishment.

• "Literally valley of Hinnom, a ravine south of Jerusalem where fires were kept burning to consume the dead bodies of animals, criminals, and refuse; figuratively in the Gospels and James for hell, a fiery place of eternal punishment for the ungodly dead (MT 5.22)"  Friberg Lexicon, accessed through Bible Works
• It was the location, in all likelihood, of childhood sacrifices to previous gods of the region (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehenna) 

υηεις ('you', 10.31)  When Jesus says that "you" are worth more than sparrows, it is a you plural -- you all are worth more, not just you as an individual!

πατηρ (literally pater, meaning 'father', used throughout this passage)  I find it interesting that Matthew positions these sayings about the heavenly father 's provision (vs 29) against our love of our earthly fathers (vs 37).  As I considered Jesus' teaching (and ministry), I sense that Jesus is trying to create fictive families.  By a fictive family, I mean a group of people who are not (closely) biologically related who function like a family in terms of caring for each other.  Friends!  As humans, we are capable of creating enormous fictive families (tribes, political parties and national states).  Yet repeatedly we show a bad capacity to hurt and exclude those not in our particular fictive family.  This is most distressing.  Jesus intends to create one fictive family of the entire human family, helping us see that we are united in him.

μάχαιρα (meaning 'sword', 10.34)  What I find fascinating is that Jesus says that he has come to "bring" a sword, but he does not ask his followers to take up the sword.  In fact, he tells them to put down the sword for all who take the sword, will perish by the sword (26:52).  When the sword is employed by God, it is the Word of God that pierces the soul (Hebrews 4:12)

Simply:  Jesus uses the sword to put to death the sinner in us.  We are not called to use the sword to put to death the sinner in our neighbor.

This passage does not seem to address the question of whether Christians can bear arms; rather it suggests that Christianity will produce divisions.  In fact, the disciple is called to lose his or her life rather than take someone else's.

Matthew 9:35-10:8

 This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, year A (Proper 6), most recently June 14, 2026.

Summary:  When Jesus has compassion, his next move it to equip and send out his disciples.  Often in our lives, our response to our own compassion is to pullback or fix.  Instead, Jesus sends out others.  This is a humbling lesson for ministry, where Jesus' reaction to the situation is likely not our first response.

Key words

θεραπεύω (literally, therapey-oo, meaning, "to heal", 9:35, 10:1, 10:8)  This verb has a fascinating etymology.  Originally it meant "service to the gods".  (Can you see the word "theos" contained in the verb?!)  The idea was that you went to the temple, particularly of Asclepius, and the "therapists" took your offerings, rendered a sacrifice to the gods for you and then were involved in your healing.  (Interesting, it involved a lot of dream interpretation, aimed at producing a catharsis!)  A couple of things to observe then:

• The therapist was focused upwards -- serving the gods, rather than serving the human (most OT usage of this word involves service to a king or divine being).
• The therapist needed to make sacrifices on your behalf to achieve healing
• The therapist used all sorts of animals, incantations and guided meditations
• The therapist worked at a temple

In this light, you can see how Jesus therapy breaks with the tradition.  He is simply helping other people, on the streets, with his hands and voice, even if they cannot pay for it; most poignantly, he is the sacrifice himself!

ἐσπλαγχνίσθη form of σπλαγχνίζομαι (meaning "compassion", 9:36)  The word for compassion in Greek means "intestines." This is already striking, but more striking is that it is a verb.  Jesus having compassion means his innards are turning over!  In Greek, compassion is not cognitive; it is not emotive.  It is embodied.

ἐξουσία (literally, ex-ousia, meaning "authority"; 10:1)  Some day, when I have more time, I want to consider how the word for "authority" is related to "out of being" which is what the word literally means.

Authority seems important in Matthew's Gospel, as the question of Jesus' authority is continually pondered (7:29, 9:6, 9:8, 21:23) and only at the end will he claim full authority.

My question for us:  Do we have this authority?  Do we still believe we have the authority to cast out demons and raise the dead?

Quick grammar tid bit:

δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε.  (Freely you have received, give freely).  I was curious why the verb "give" here is in the aorist, instead of the present.  I would think Jesus wants us freely to continue giving, rather than give just once.  My hunch is that this what some linguistics call "the Gnomic Aorist" where proverbs uses the aorist instead of the present tense.  (Burton's NT Greek Moods, accessed via Accordance)

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary Year A (Matthew), most recently June 7, 2026.  It also appears as part of a supplemental gospel passage in the narrative lectionary, paired with Romans 1:1-17 and Micah 6:6-8.

Note:  I find this a surprising pericope.  Because of the timing of Easter and how the lessons work, I actually don't know if I have ever preached on this passage.  

Summary:  Mark's version of this story is much more dramatic!  This passage serves as one of the few times where Mark's Gospel account is actually longer than Matthew's!!  Which leaves me asking:  Why did Matthew (who likely wrote with Mark in hand!) edit the story the way he did?  What did he want to make sure we heard?

Perhaps rather than focusing on what is lost in editing, we can focus on what is gained by previewing this pericope with verses 9-13, which focus on how Jesus aims to heal the lost.  This means that Jesus must get to places where the people are:  the streets and their homes.  Following Jesus includes, but is not only about going to church.  It must include finding where people are hurting and sick.

Key Word "clusters" (for this week, I am putting similar words together):

The side characters

However, there are a number of words used to describe the characters in this story.  It is worth reminding ourselves that the people listening to our sermons likely do not immediately understand the social context of the people involved.

• τελώνιον ("tax-collector", 9:9) Hated by their fellow Jews, the tax-collectors lived a life as an exile in their own land.  They were never loved by the Romans and typically this position became an inherited job because no one else wanted to do it.
• Φαρισαῖοι ("Pharisee", 9:11):  This group of Jews who often had a great deal of political, economic and social clout.  However, they did not always align themselves with the powers that be.  They were zealous in their belief that if Israel could avoid foreign cultural influence and hold fast to the laws of Moses, the Messianic age would begin.  In Christianity, we often look down on them as hypocritical, but they actually were the most conversation partners for Jesus, because they actually cared about righteousness.  
• ἄρχων ("leader", 9:18)  In Mark's Gospel, we get information about this leader, including name and occupation.  Here we simply hear that is a leader.  I wonder why Matthew edits out this information!

The woman

• αἱμορροοῦσα (9:20):  One who is bleeding.  A gentle reminder that bleeding of women was not simply a medical condition in the first century, but also a spiritual one, whereby one could NOT enter into proper society and certainly not the temple, under such circumstances.
• θύγατηρ ("daughter", 9:18, 9:22)  Before we get into the weeds, it is worth pointing out that the leader has a daughter and that Jesus has a daughter!  What does this signify?  Why might Matthew want to emphasize this to us?  It goes a step further too...If you look closely, you will see that the word θύγατερ has a slight spelling difference in verse 18 and verse 22, ending in -ερ in verse 22.  This is because in verse 22, the word daughter is in the vocative, which means it could be translated something like "O Daughter" or even "O my daughter!"  The vocation means this direct address here means that Jesus is not just referring to her as a daughter but really as his daughter.  Ponder that, the woman here, who is on the outside, has now become the ultimate insider.  She is no longer a bleeding woman but "O daughter!"

The mission

ἰσχύοντες ("strong", 9:12) and κακῶς ("badly, 9:12) This verse is a bit of a word salad, but basically Jesus contrasts

• "Those who are able"
• "Those who have it bad"

It is interesting to consider how much of our ministry actually caters to those who are able instead of those who have it bad.  How can our congregations actually minister to those who have it bad??

Touch

There are a whole bunch of words related to touch

• ἐπίθες τὴν χεῖρά ("lay hands upon", 9:18)
• ἅπτω ("touch", 9:20,21)
• κατεγέλων ("seize", 9:25)

Worth considering then is how much Jesus has to reach out and touch someone to heal them!  The word has power, but it turns out, that we worship an incarnational God and physical touch matters.

Other words I found interesting and may expand upon if I come back to this

ἠγέρθη (arise, 9:19,25)

ἠκολούθει (follow, 9:9,19)

ἐσώθη (save, 9:22)