catholic studies -living texts

8/2/2019 Catholic Studies -Living Texts

1/3

Matthew 5:3-12:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against

you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same

way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Mark 10:17-22

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. Good teacher,

he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life?18 Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is goodexcept God alone. 19 You know

the commandments: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you

shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.[a]

20 Teacher, he declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy.

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. Go, sell everything you have

and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

22 At this the mans face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Luke 10: 25-28

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he asked, what must I do

to inherit eternal life?

26 What is written in the Law? he replied. How do you read it?

27 He answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all

your strength and with all your mind[a]; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.[b]

28 You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2010:%2017-22&version=NIV#fen-NIV-24608ahttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:%2025-28&version=NIV#fen-NIV-25391ahttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:%2025-28&version=NIV#fen-NIV-25391bhttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2010:%2017-22&version=NIV#fen-NIV-24608ahttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:%2025-28&version=NIV#fen-NIV-25391ahttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:%2025-28&version=NIV#fen-NIV-25391b


2/3

Luke 15:4-7

4 Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesnt he leave the ninety-nine in

the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts

it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,

Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep. 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be morerejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not

need to repent.

John 8:1-11but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he

sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in

adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, Teacher, this woman was caught

in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you

say? 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on

questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, Let any one of you who is without sin be the

first to throw a stone at her. 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was

left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, Woman, where are

they? Has no one condemned you?

11 No one, sir, she said.

Then neither do I condemn you, Jesus declared. Go now and leave your life of sin.

messages of not being quick to condemn when one is not blameless and tempering justice with mercy

This is the story of the woman who was found committing adultery. The Mosaic Coderequired that she and her lover be stoned to death. Unlike many other passages in theGospel where Jesus is reported as having either negated or reinterpreted a law in theMosaic Code, he simply asks that the first stone be cast by one who is without sin. Ofcourse, none of the accusers was without sin; none could start the execution process.

Just as this story of the woman taken in adultery is controversial as Scripture because it

does not appear in the earliest manuscripts, it is also, perhaps, controversial in its point.

no evidence given that she committed the sin she is accused of. Jesus sends her forthexclaiming, Sin no more. He knows she is a sinner like everyone else, including heraccusers.

our time, the powers that be routinely bring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)people before Jesus, claiming to have caught them in sin. Jesus response is still thechallenge: Let the one without sin punish them

first place, Jesus was not a judge in that society, especially not of capital cases. That wasleft to the Sanhedrin, the ruling counsel of the Jews. Therefore Jesus had no authority torender judgment on the case. Secondly, the religious leaders were themselves breakingthe Mosaic Law by bringing the woman without the man with whom she committed


3/3

adultery.

reasons, Jesus knew that this was a trap, a setup, and not justice in any sense of theword, and Scripture clearly declares this (v. 6)

Jews had indeed formed a clever trap. The Romans had forbidden them to execute people

(John 18:31), so if Jesus said to stone the woman, the Jews would have had Jesus arrestedfor breaking Roman law. However, if Jesus said not to stone her because the Romansforbade it, then the Jews would have persecuted him for elevating Roman law over MosaicLaw

Jesus got out of the trap by convicting the peoples consciences, which in this case wasmade easier by the fact that the people knew in their hearts that they were willing totake this womans life just to trap Jesus. One by one the crowd left until there were noaccusers left. According to Mosaic Law, there had to be eyewitnesses if someone were tobe executed. In fact, the witnesses have to cast the first stone (Deut. 17:6,7). Christfinished with the woman by saying, Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life

of sin. Since Jesus was not a witness, he, by law, could not condemn the woman. Yet heknew she was in trouble because of her wayward lifestyle, and so he warned her to leaveher sinful life.

catholic studies -living texts

Documents