Exodus 25 and 26
Matthew 27
This section in Exodus recounts the directions for building the Ark of the Covenant and the "Mercy Seat". Mercy Seat is not a translation of the Hebrew word in this passage, which means "cover". You'll see the word again, both in Old and New Testament passages. In the OT, it is connected to the celebration of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Paul will use the word in Romans to make reference to Jesus as the atoning sacrifice.What do you think about the specificity of the directions in this passage? How might they have been helpful? How might they have been limiting? Does our religious practice have similar instances of such specific directions?
Matthew:
This passage recounts Pilate's questioning of Jesus. He seems very weak here and unable to make his own decisions, doesn't he?
Remember that the person the crowd wants released is named, "Barabbas", which literally means, "son of the father".
When the crowd calls for Jesus' crucifixion, it is "all of the people" who call for it. This is no longer a nameless crowd, but is the voice of the people. And notice what they say, especially in light of the connection to the Exodus passage about Jesus as the atoning sacrifice--"His blood be on us and on our children!"
Some observant readers asked me why there were references to 'porpoises' in Exodus 25:5.
ReplyDeleteIn the NRSV, however, it is translated as "fine leather". But apparently, the Hebrew word is "porpoise". King James and a few other translations keep the more direct translation.
Who knew? "Techashim" means porpoise.
I guess we will need to come up with our "porpoise driven life" jokes now.