Bible Study Lesson Summary, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH
Jer. 52: This chapter sounds more like it comes from the books of Samuel or Kings. It doesn’t even
sound like it was written by Jeremiah. As Catholics we have a hard time understanding what this all
means to the People of Judah. If all Catholics lived in Rome and St. Peter’s, with all its beauty, was
total destroyed and the whole Vatican and most of Rome was destroyed so no Catholic Churches
remained, we might understand. This is written very dispassionately. It is almost like someone who
is beyond despair. The only good news is when Evilmerodach, king of Babylon, releases Jehoiachin
(think Pope) from prison and treats him will. But this news is at the end and now they just have to
wait to see if God has abandoned them or if He will rebuild David’s line as He promised. Also
remember the gist of vs. 18-19 in which the sacred vessels were taken to Babylon. This will come up
again later.
THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS
This book is set after the destruction of the temple and the exile, after 587 B.C. Chapter 3:17-24 is a
good summary of this book of the Bible.
“My soul is deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; I tell myself my future is lost, all
that I hoped for from the Lord. The thought of my homeless poverty is wormwood and gall;
remembering it over and over leaves my soul downcast within me, but I will call this to mind, as my
reason to have hope; the favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent; they are
renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness. My portion is the Lord, says my soul; therefore
will I hope in him.”
This guy is expressing the true sadness of the people. The situation that the people were in was
extreme.
Lam. 1: Vs. 1 says so much, “How lonely she is now, the once crowded city! Widowed is she who
was mistress over nations; the princess among the provinces has been made a toiling slave.” This
idea of Jerusalem being the bride, who had been treated as a princess is going to be found in more of
the prophets that we have yet to read, but the image of bride and royal family is throughout the NT.
But right now the princess does not feel like royalty. She has failed her king and is paying the price.
Vs. 8, “Through the sin of which she is guilty, Jerusalem is defiled…”
Lam. 2: Vs. 1, “How the Lord in his wrath has detested daughter Zion! He has cast down from
heaven to earth the glory of Israel…” This reminds us that the glory or dignity of this bride or
princess does not come from her own beauty but because God had chosen her. Otherwise she is just
another city that can be destroyed. The Lord had warned the bride what would happen if she turned
away from His protection. She did it anyway and now is paying the price. God didn’t have to do a
thing. He just let the evil happen and did not protect her from it. The way some of this is written you
would think that God is an abusive husband, (vs. 5) “The Lord has become an enemy, he has
consumed Israel: consumed all her castles and destroyed her fortresses…” But the reality is better
described in vs. 7; “The Lord has disowned his altar, rejected his sanctuary; the walls of her towers
he has handed over to the enemy…”
Lam. 3: This chapter makes this feeling of being guilty and facing consequences more personal in
that it is now singular, vs. 1, “I am a man who know affliction from the rod of his anger…” I really
believe that this chapter needs to be seen as the personal words of Jesus as He went through His
passion. Vs. 17-24 are often read at funerals but is so much what Jesus would have prayed as He
suffered and faced death, but hoped for resurrection. I have those verses in my introduction to this
book.
Lam. 4: The city was under siege. The result was things like vs. 10, “The hand of compassionate
women boiled their own children, to serve them as mourners’ food in the downfall of the daughter of
my people.” They had depended on their king, who had turned from the Lord, instead of being loyal
to God: “The anointed one of the Lord, our breath of life, was caught in their snares, He in whose
shadow we thought we could live on among the nations.” (vs. 20)
Lam. 5: But to get them back to God would not be easy, but that was their prayer. Vs. 21-22, “Lead
us back to you, O Lord, that we may be restored: give us anew such days as we had of old. For now
you have indeed rejected us, and in full measure turned your wrath against us.”
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET BARUCH
The introduction in my bible makes it clear that this is a collection of writings from different people.
As usual it might be helpful but it is not important for us to understand all of that. We just need to
hear what is being said, but remember that Baruch was Jeremiah’s secretary.
Bar. 1: In vs. 8 we hear, “This was when he received the vessels of the house of the Lord that had
been removed from the temple, to restore them to the land of Judah…” This came up in Jer. 52 when
they were taken. Now we know they were returned. We still have not read the part on why they
were returned. Stay tuned. But this chapter is an admission of guilt. It may seem strange that they
are praying for Nebucadnezzar and his son Belshazzar in vs. 10-12, but that will be clarified in the
Book of Daniel.
Bar. 2: This chapter continues with the admission of guilt. In vs. 17 an interesting point is brought
up; “It is not the dead in the nether world, whose spirits have been taken from within them, who will
give glory and vindication to the Lord.” They are thinking of an afterlife but one in which the souls
still have no hope. So they pray that God will forgive and keep His promise. Vs. 34-35: “And I will
bring them back to the land which with my oath I promised to their fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob; and they shall rule it. I will make them increase; they shall not then diminish. And I will
establish for them, as an eternal covenant, that I will be their God, and they shall be my people…”
Bar. 3: The first part of this chapter is a prayer for mercy. Vs. 2, “Hear, O Lord, for you are a God of
mercy…” They know their fathers sinned by not believing but these sons do believe. Vs. 5-6,
“Remember at this time not the misdeeds of our fathers, but your own hand and name: for you are the
Lord our God; and you, O Lord, we will praise!” The rest of the chapter looks at the wisdom of
God’s law and the foolishness of going against it.
Bar. 4: The first four verses of this chapter conclude the last chapter by praising the wisdom of God.
Vs. 1, “She is the book of the precepts of God, the law that endures forever; all who cling to her will
live, but those will die who forsake her.” The rest of this chapter really sounds like someone who
knew Jeremiah. But since the bad has already happened, it is praying with hopefulness. Vs. 5-6,
“Fear not, my people! Remember, Israel, you were sold to the nations not for your destruction; it was
because you angered God that you were handed over to your foes.” Vs. 18, “He who has brought this
evil upon you must himself deliver you from your enemies’ hands.” Vs. 29, “For he who has brought
disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.”
THE BOOK OF SIRACH
Sir. 23: Vs. 1-6 are what we need to read in order to realize that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus
was not starting from scratch. In Mt. 5-8 He made it clear that not killing or not committing adultery
was not good enough. We must not even think those things. Here wisdom is to ask God to discipline
our mind. Vs. 2: “Who will apply the lash to my thoughts, to my mind the rod of discipline, that my
failings may not be spared, nor the sins of my heart overlooked; lest my failings increase… Let not
the lustful cravings of the flesh master me, surrender me not to shameless desires.” Vs. 9 is also a
reminder of what we need to control; “Let not your mouth form the habit of swearing, or becoming
too familiar with the Holy Name.” Now-a-days we even abbreviate it we use it so often, O.M.G. Vs.
15, “A man who has the habit of abusive language will never mature in character as long as he lives.”
I’m pretty sure it will not be accepted in heaven. The rest of the chapter is bad news for those who
have gone further and actually commit sins of the flesh.
Sir. 24: This chapter is written as if Wisdom is speaking (vs. 18): “Come to me, all you that yearn
for me, and be filled with my fruits…” Jesus also said words similar to those in Mt. 11:28.
Sir. 25: We get some interesting lists in this chapter; vs. 1, three things God likes: harmony among
brethren, friendship among neighbors, and the mutual love of husband and wife.” Vs. is the three
things that God loathes. I actually like the shorter translation I found in another bible; a proud
pauper, a rich liar, and a lecherous old fool.” You get the ten blessed things in vs. 7-11. Jesus’
beatitudes are tougher but more helpful. The rest of the chapter slams nasty women. Vs. 21, “The
man is a slave, in disgrace and shame, when a wife supports her husband.” I had to look at other
translations to understand this. It has to do with the wife making more money or all the money and
holding it against her husband.
Sir. 26: Most of this chapter is about the blessing of a good wife and the curse of a bad one. You can
look at this as sexism or simply see it as the realization of the power of a woman and its effects on a
man.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
Jn. 11:28-57: Jesus gives new life and in vs. 45 “began to believe in him.” But some didn’t. This
seems strange until you see their self-interest coming out as the reason. They are afraid of Rome,
because Rome could take away their land and their nation, which was the foundation of their religion.
You really have to have faith in the resurrection to see past that reasoning. Vs. 55-57 sets the stage
for the next chapters by putting them in the context of Passover.
Jn. 12: Vs. 3 clarifies why so many people make connections between Mary Magdalene, Mary the
sister of Martha, and even the sinful woman caught in the act of adultery. “Mary took a liter of costly
perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her
hair…” The movie, Mary of Nazareth, is a new thing that makes this connection. Pope Benedict did
not think they were the same person. In John’s Gospel this scene provokes Judas to show his greed
which explains some of his character. Especially because of the miracle of Lazarus the number of
followers of Jesus was growing. That sets the stage for the entry into Jerusalem that was
foreshadowed by King David in so many ways. This all makes it very clear that there is going to be a
problem and soon, verified by Jesus in vs. 23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified.” Then he lets them know it will happen by His dying, but because He uses the analogy of
wheat they don’t get it. In vs. 35 Jesus brings it all back to the idea that He is the Light of the World;
“Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you… While you have the light,
believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light.” Vs. 42-43 explains why some
were afraid to openly believe; “but because of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it openly in
order not to be expelled from the synagogue. For they preferred human praise to the glory of God.”
In the last part of the chapter Jesus reaffirms that He is from the Father which explains John’s line I
just mentioned about the glory of God not being their focus if they didn’t believe in Jesus.
Jn. 13: This starts the book of glory which is all about the glory of the love of God as shown by His
Son willing to die for love of us. The washing of feet is seen by some as purification before making
the apostles priest besides letting them know of his love by serving them, and also about forgiveness
of sins as explained in vs. 10-11: “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” This explains why confession forgives us not
just the sins we list and why we must be repentant. The betrayal of Judas comes in vs 21-30. The
notes say the morsel was probably a bitter herb dipped saltwater but many believe it was a morsel of
bread which was a sign of attempting reconciliation. The new commandment in vs. 31-35 is to love
but in the same way Jesus loves, sacrificially. The foretelling of Peter’s denial sets up several things
that will be important later in the Gospel.
Jn. 14: Vs. 1-14 is in wedding language. A groom usually stayed at his father’s house to build an
addition to it or add other housing for him and his bride. When it was finished he would come back
to have the wedding and bring his bride to the new home. The rest of the chapter continues the theme
of the bride, the church, being faithful to the groom while he is away. That is why He says in vs. 28,
“If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father…” In vs. 16-17 is the promise of
the “Advocate” or “Spirit of truth” to guide us until then.
Jn. 15: In vs. 1-17 Jesus switches to a vine and branches image to help explain what will happen to
those who aren’t faithful. Vs. 6, “they will be burned.” The rest of the chapter outlines the
persecution that will make being faithful even harder, but in vs. 26-27 He again reminds them that the
Advocate will be there to help.
Jn. 16: This chapter reaffirms previous statements of the need for the Advocate, the love of the
Father, the reason for joy being the preparing for the new home. In other words, do not be afraid
because (vs. 33) “I have told you this so that you might nave peace in me. In the world you will have
trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”