Posted on 03/02/2010 1:33:02 PM PST by NYer
While a student at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, I had the privilege of having Dr. Scott Hahn as one of my Scripture professors. One thing he taught us is to look out “rumble strips” in the Bible. Imagine yourself cruising along, when suddenly you feel seismic vibrations in your car and hear that annoying muffled sound—you’re fast approaching a toll booth and the rumble strips are telling you to slow down and pay attention. So it is with passages in scripture which seem to disrupt the otherwise smooth narrative of salvation history. They seem to be randomly inserted in the text and can be downright perplexing in terms of their purpose and point, yet if we stick to our belief that Scripture is inspired, then we cannot neglect even those passages that seem to be, well, rather uninspiring. Like the rumble strips, these passages beg to be noticed and insist that we slow-down our reading pace and take a careful look at where we are in the story and what lies ahead of us.
One such passage is the episode of Peter’s mother-in-law, found in the three Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Peter’s mother-in-law appears suddenly and, having been healed and cooked up a meal, vanishes from our view. At first blush, it may seem that the episode simply recounts a typical stop on Jesus’ healing campaign. But I find myself asking: What is the significance of Peter’s mother-in-law? Why do the Evangelists pull her from anonymity when countless others are healed by Jesus yet go unmentioned? Why do the Evangelists neglect to give us her name and only describe her in terms of her relation to Peter? Could the episode of Peter’s mother-in-law facilitate some further understanding of the development of Peter’s relationship with Jesus?
I feel it is significant that, at the beginning of the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is associated with possessions of Peter and only later in these Gospels is he portrayed in a fuller relationship with Peter himself. We need not begin our story about the primacy of Peter in typical fashion with those familiar verses of Matthew 16 and John 1:42 instead, we may be able to begin the story of Peter’s primacy with Jesus’ use of Peter’s property.
All three of the Synoptic Gospels include the account. The healing occurs toward the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, right around the time he calls his first disciples. In Mark (Mk 1:29-31), the healing occurs after Jesus exorcises the unclean spirit, who is the first to declare of Jesus, “I know who you are, The Holy One of God” (Mk 1:24). According to Mark, immediately after Jesus’ identity as the Messiah is proclaimed by the spirit, he moves into Peter’s house where he performs his first recorded healing. After healing Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus begins his main healing ministry in Galilee and begins teaching in the synagogues.
In Matthew (Mt 8:14-15), the healing occurs AFTER Jesus begins his healing ministry and after the Sermon on the Mount. In Mark, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law BEFORE beginning his healing ministry.
In Matthew’s account, only Peter is mentioned as the owner of the house, whereas in Mark the house is said to belong to both Peter and Andrew. Also different in Matthew’s account is that, among the apostles, only by Peter is Jesus’ Messianic identity proclaimed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Earlier in Matthew, some had called Jesus the “Son of David” (Mt 9:27), and two demons asked what the “Son of God” (Mt 8:29) wanted from them. However, according to Matthew, the first explicitly clear declaration of Jesus’ Messianic identity comes from Peter, and we can infer from Jesus’ subsequent reaction to Peter that this declaration was of an altogether different sort than the previous two.
In Luke (Lk 4:38-39), the healing occurs right after the proclamation of the Kingdom and the exorcising of the unclean spirit, who declares (just as it did in Mark), “I know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Lk 4:34). Curiously, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law occurs BEFORE the calling of the first disciples, whereas it occurs AFTER the calling in Mark and Matthew. And finally, just as Mark does, Luke has Jesus proceed to teach in the synagogues.
Okay, so what? I want to suggest that Mark and Luke are interpretive keys to one another. In both Mark and Luke, we find Jesus associating with possessions of Peter: his house and, in Luke 5:3, his boat. In Mark, Christ’s healing ministry begins in Peter’s house and only afterwards does the healing ministry extend to the greater public. In Luke, Christ enters Peter’s house prior to calling the first disciples, which signals an association with Peter before an association with the others. In both accounts, immediately before and after associating with Peter’s home and performing a healing inside of it, Jesus is teaching in the synagogues.
So, in Mark and Luke we find Jesus moving quickly to the synagogues after having healed Peter’s mother-in-law. In Luke there is a sudden transition from the synagogues to the lake of Gennesaret (Lk 5:1-11). Here, having called the disciples, Jesus proceeds to teach…but from where? Given the choice of two empty boats, Jesus opts for Peter’s (Lk 5:3). So in the Lucan narrative we have the following parallel movements in Jesus’ ministry: (1) from the synagogue (4:31-37) to Peter’s house (4:38); (2) teaching in the synagogues (4:44) to teaching in Peter’s boat (5:1-4). I interpret this transition as indicating an authoritative move from traditional places of teaching (synagogues) to a new forum of teaching (spaces owned by Peter). Moreover the dynamic I see in Mark and Luke consists of Peter’s spaces becoming forums of healing (Mark) and teaching (Luke.
In Matthew, there is no affirmative declaration of Jesus’ identity as the Christ, but only adumbrations (Mt 4:3-6; 8:29; 9:27; 12:23; 14:33) until the dramatic moment when, from Peter alone, we have the full confession of Jesus as “The Christ”
If, as many scholars think, Matthew and Luke are based largely on Mark’s narrative, we find that the simple story in Mark about Peter’s house as the origin of Jesus’ healing ministry is developed by both Matthew and Luke into foreshadowing of Peter’s primacy among the apostles. In Luke, it points toward Jesus’ didactic mission, where Peter’s house, boat, and eventually Peter himself host the proclamation of the Kingdom (4:14-21). Matthew wants us to know that the house in which the healing of the mother-in-law occurred is specifically Peter’s. This draws attention to the early relationship between Jesus and Peter, which is further developed in Matthew 16-17 where the declaration of Jesus’ identity comes from Peter’s own mouth.
Bringing it all together, the Synoptic Gospels present Jesus moving his healing and teaching from the synagogues to Peter’s spaces (house and boat), and from Peter’s spaces to his family, before finally transferring these powers to all the apostles and chiefly to Peter whose faith and ministry is to be the foundation of the Church. I suspect that the account of Peter’s mother-in-law is like a rumble strip, strategically placed in our path in order to grab our attention and prompt us to pay attention to what lies ahead. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law as narrated in the Synoptics may give us stronger scriptural ties between the primacy of Peter and the Church’s missions of healing and teaching.
While a student at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, I had the privilege of having Dr. Scott Hahn as one of my Scripture professors. One thing he taught us is to look out “rumble strips” in the Bible. Imagine yourself cruising along, when suddenly you feel seismic vibrations in your car and hear that annoying muffled sound—you’re fast approaching a toll booth and the rumble strips are telling you to slow down and pay attention. So it is with passages in scripture which seem to disrupt the otherwise smooth narrative of salvation history. They seem to be randomly inserted in the text and can be downright perplexing in terms of their purpose and point, yet if we stick to our belief that Scripture is inspired, then we cannot neglect even those passages that seem to be, well, rather uninspiring. Like the rumble strips, these passages beg to be noticed and insist that we slow-down our reading pace and take a careful look at where we are in the story and what lies ahead of us.
One such passage is the episode of Peter’s mother-in-law, found in the three Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Peter’s mother-in-law appears suddenly and, having been healed and cooked up a meal, vanishes from our view. At first blush, it may seem that the episode simply recounts a typical stop on Jesus’ healing campaign. But I find myself asking: What is the significance of Peter’s mother-in-law? Why do the Evangelists pull her from anonymity when countless others are healed by Jesus yet go unmentioned? Why do the Evangelists neglect to give us her name and only describe her in terms of her relation to Peter? Could the episode of Peter’s mother-in-law facilitate some further understanding of the development of Peter’s relationship with Jesus?
I feel it is significant that, at the beginning of the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is associated with possessions of Peter and only later in these Gospels is he portrayed in a fuller relationship with Peter himself. We need not begin our story about the primacy of Peter in typical fashion with those familiar verses of Matthew 16 and John 1:42 instead, we may be able to begin the story of Peter’s primacy with Jesus’ use of Peter’s property.
All three of the Synoptic Gospels include the account. The healing occurs toward the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, right around the time he calls his first disciples. In Mark (Mk 1:29-31), the healing occurs after Jesus exorcises the unclean spirit, who is the first to declare of Jesus, “I know who you are, The Holy One of God” (Mk 1:24). According to Mark, immediately after Jesus’ identity as the Messiah is proclaimed by the spirit, he moves into Peter’s house where he performs his first recorded healing. After healing Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus begins his main healing ministry in Galilee and begins teaching in the synagogues.
In Matthew (Mt 8:14-15), the healing occurs AFTER Jesus begins his healing ministry and after the Sermon on the Mount. In Mark, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law BEFORE beginning his healing ministry.
In Matthew’s account, only Peter is mentioned as the owner of the house, whereas in Mark the house is said to belong to both Peter and Andrew. Also different in Matthew’s account is that, among the apostles, only by Peter is Jesus’ Messianic identity proclaimed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Earlier in Matthew, some had called Jesus the “Son of David” (Mt 9:27), and two demons asked what the “Son of God” (Mt 8:29) wanted from them. However, according to Matthew, the first explicitly clear declaration of Jesus’ Messianic identity comes from Peter, and we can infer from Jesus’ subsequent reaction to Peter that this declaration was of an altogether different sort than the previous two.
In Luke (Lk 4:38-39), the healing occurs right after the proclamation of the Kingdom and the exorcising of the unclean spirit, who declares (just as it did in Mark), “I know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Lk 4:34). Curiously, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law occurs BEFORE the calling of the first disciples, whereas it occurs AFTER the calling in Mark and Matthew. And finally, just as Mark does, Luke has Jesus proceed to teach in the synagogues.
Okay, so what? I want to suggest that Mark and Luke are interpretive keys to one. In both Mark and Luke, we find Jesus associating with possessions of Peter: his house and, in Luke 5:3, his boat. In Mark, Christ’s healing ministry begins in Peter’s house and only afterwards does the healing ministry extend to the greater public. In Luke, Christ enters Peter’s house prior to calling the first disciples, which signals an association with Peter before an association with the others. In both accounts, immediately before and after associating with Peter’s home and performing a healing inside of it, Jesus is teaching in the synagogues.
So, in Mark and Luke we find Jesus moving quickly to the synagogues after having healed Peter’s mother-in-law. In Luke there is a sudden transition from the synagogues to the lake of Gennesaret (Lk 5:1-11). Here, having called the disciples, Jesus proceeds to teach…but from where? Given the choice of two empty boats, Jesus opts for Peter’s (Lk 5:3). So in the Lucan narrative we have the following parallel movements in Jesus’ ministry: (1) from the synagogue (4:31-37) to Peter’s house (4:38); (2) teaching in the synagogues (4:44) to teaching in Peter’s boat (5:1-4). I interpret this transition as indicating an authoritative move from traditional places of teaching (synagogues) to a new forum of teaching (spaces owned by Peter). Moreover the dynamic I see in Mark and Luke consists of Peter’s spaces becoming forums of healing (Mark) and teaching (Luke.
In Matthew, there is no affirmative declaration of Jesus’ identity as the Christ, but only adumbrations (Mt 4:3-6; 8:29; 9:27; 12:23; 14:33) until the dramatic moment when, from Peter alone, we have the full confession of Jesus as “The Christ”
If, as many scholars think, Matthew and Luke are based largely on Mark’s narrative, we find that the simple story in Mark about Peter’s house as the origin of Jesus’ healing ministry is developed by both Matthew and Luke into foreshadowing of Peter’s primacy among the apostles. In Luke, it points toward Jesus’ didactic mission, where Peter’s house, boat, and eventually Peter himself host the proclamation of the Kingdom (4:14-21). Matthew wants us to know that the house in which the healing of the mother-in-law occurred is specifically Peter’s. This draws attention to the early relationship between Jesus and Peter, which is further developed in Matthew 16-17 where the declaration of Jesus’ identity comes from Peter’s own mouth.
Bringing it all together, the Synoptic Gospels present Jesus moving his healing and teaching from the synagogues to Peter’s spaces (house and boat), and from Peter’s spaces to his family, before finally transferring these powers to all the apostles and chiefly to Peter whose faith and ministry is to be the foundation of the Church. I suspect that the account of Peter’s mother-in-law is like a rumble strip, strategically placed in our path in order to grab our attention and prompt us to pay attention to what lies ahead. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law as narrated in the Synoptics may give us stronger scriptural ties between the primacy of Peter and the Church’s missions of healing and teaching.
Scripture doesn't say that.
So I call it isogesis and you want to call it eisegesis either way it is terrible and misleading theology built out of whole cloth
Learn some courtesy.
Now ...
I Corinthians 7:
1Now concerning the thing whereof you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2But for fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3Let the husband render the debt to his wife, and the wife also in like manner to the husband. 4The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband. And in like manner the husband also hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 5Defraud not one another, except, perhaps, by consent, for a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer; and return together again, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency. 6But I speak this by indulgence, not by commandment. 7For I would that all men were even as myself: but every one hath his proper gift from God; one after this manner, and another after that. 8But I say to the unmarried, and to the widows: It is good for them if they so continue, even as I. 9But if they do not contain themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to be burnt.
Someone asked about Paul; Paul was a Pharisee, ergo Paul was married, and probably a ‘good family man’ before Damascus.
Exegesis is defined as “reading out of the scripture.” Isogesis is defined as “reading into the scripture.” which is what this author didi,,
That's nice. I call it an interesting and insightful discussion of God's Holy Word.
But I'm not an infallible interpreter of Scripture.
Do you think you are an infallible interpreter of Scripture?
He said "healing and teaching" not "authority and infallibility".
You folks invent doctrines all the time; now you're even inventing words.
I would add that Paul also had Roman citizenship which perhaps was purchased and was well educated so evidently not from a poverty stricken family.
There would be little reason not to follow the usual practice of marriage even if he wasn’t married later in life.
IIRC, Peter’s boat appears more than once in the Gospels ...Matt 14, for example.
Interesting “ergo” there.
You counter explicit Scripture (1 Cor. 7) that explicitly states that Paul was not married with a deduction from the fact that Paul was a Pharisee, therefore/ergo he was married.
For someone who, I assume, claims to stick strictly with Scripture and not indulge in papist readings into Scripture
that’s a heckuva instance of reading something into Scripture that’s not there.
Just sayin’
Ah, yes, nice bait and switch and deductive reading into Scripture.
No one has any problem with a man who was married who’s spouse has died being a priest. Would you like to know why not?
Because marriage ends when one spouse dies.
Period.
So whether Paul was once married (which you can claim only by deduction from (1) Roman citizenship ergo (2) not poor (3) ergo, if not poor, probably married
or not.
Really
doesn’t
matter.
And to arrive at a conclusion that really doesn’t matter you sold your sola scriptura soul for a mess of pottage. You made an three-link-chain of inferences to arrive at the claim that Paul was once married.
Sounds like reading a heckuva lot into Scripture.
See, Catholics do not dispute that bishops were married. But what we do say that historical research indicates is that (1) if married and widowed, the Church recommended that a bishop not remarry and preferred widowed and unremarried men for bishops because that showed discipline and maturity [Peter Brown, Oxford and Princeton history professor’s argument in _History of Private Life_], which is what the epistles to Titus and Timothy are saying when they state a bishop should be a husband of one wife, not remarry if widowed
and
(2) if a married bishop’s wife is living, the bishop is expected to abstain from marital relations with her after ordination.
That’s the origin of priestly celibacy. At first it was not celibacy at all (celibacy means “unmarried”) but continence, either (a) continence because one was unmarried and therefore not screwing around or (b) because, if married, one pledged to abstain within marriage. That’s evident in the earliest legislation of the Church that has survived.
But since married priests (after priests received delegated authority from bishops and became central in sacramental ministry) so often failed to live up to their pledge of continence (b), celibacy (just don’t marry) was made mandatory (a) in the 1000s.
There is zero explicit NT evidence of any of the apostles both being married _and_ sexually active. Indeed, there’s zero evidence that any of the known apostles who were married had living spouses after being chosen apostles. Even the Peter’s mother-in-law story could have taken place after Peter’s wife died. He’d still conceivably be taking care of his mother-in-law as a widower. His wife is NEVER mentioned. Did you catch that? Peter’s wife is never actually mentioned in Scripture. We deduce he had a wife because his mother-in-law is explicitly mentioned. And that’s a legitimate deduction. But his wife herself is NEVER mentioned. Was she alive? Maybe. Maybe not. That Paul ever had a wife is a three-link-chain fanciful deduction that runs against very clear and explicit evidence to the contrary.
There’s no evidence that any of the apostles, qua apostles, as they went around after Jesus’s ascension proclaiming the gospel, were “actively” married, that their wives were still alive or, if alive, that they were sexually active (one would hardly expect them to mention the latter—one doesn’t brag about that openly). “Husband of one wife” actually fits better with widowers.
The least you could do is quote the scripture correctly.
For it is better to marry than to be BURN.
The meaning of the particular verb here is to be consumed with a lustful passion.
thank you exactly. Too many Christians no so little about Paul
Eisegesis is how I always thought it was spelled.
I know this might be a case of spelling variation, but have you ever noticed how often the anti-Catholics here can’t spell words they fixate on or properly describe ideas or docrines they fixate on?
Indeed he was ... but Jesus was not.
Ultimately, as Arrogant Bustard noted earlier on - "the vain babbling of mere fallible Men". We call that YOPIOS.
???
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