Patterns.
Prophecy. Teaching. Everything.
The ancient Hebrew understood full well that history would repeat itself. Not only did the Hebrew understand this, it was an occasion for learning the cause or causes behind reward and punishment. In other words, if something occurred bringing ill effects, what precipitated that result? Was it because they had sinned and it logically brought on a particular punishment? Now I don't mean that God punished them for their action. It's like a child who touches a hot stove after being told not to. Mother or Father doesn't need to punish the child, his actions will naturally lead to a specific punishment, one that could be avoided in the future by learning from the pain that came from the wrong decision.
It's simple enough. The Hebrews were looking for patterns that would provide for a better life. They were seekers of wisdom, far more than knowledge. The Hebrew thought this way, both in matters small and large. Patterns governed their entire life.
Read this passage from Matthew.
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down, and making a request of Him.
21 And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left."
22 But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to Him, "We are able."
23 He said to them, "My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on {My} left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father."
24 And hearing {this,} the ten became indignant with the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and {their} great men exercise authority over them.
26 "It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
A first century Hebrew would have been particularly aroused by one simple statement, one that the Westerner would normally think innocuous. See if you can find it.
The wise Israelite reader would have, by one single verse, been taken back to another time and place. The Hebrew teachers commonly used hero/heroine/national patterns of past behavior and the negative/positive consequences to inform future behavior.
After the incident (20:20-28) occurred, I feel certain that Jesus the Great Rabbi also taught his disciples another lesson, one that's reflected in the way Matthew recorded this vignette. The simple key verse is 24:
And hearing {this,} the ten became indignant with the two brothers.
Now the Westerner hears this as just an accounting of what happened. There was a division. They got mad at each other. Got it.
But the Hebrew was listening with ears that could hear. He heard 10 and 2 and remembered the history of the Southern and Northern Tribes of Israel. A pattern. He heard conflict between brothers, and remembered how the 10 tribes and the 2 tribes fought for power over each other, just like what was going on with the Twelve. Yes, he heard, no doubt, an ominous reference to the history of Israel, and how she was divided and then hauled off into captivity. The insertion of the words ten and two along with indignant and brothers, served, through remembering the comparison, as an awful warning for the Twelve, heard by every Hebrew that read this passage. It's all in the patterns.
God gave us the ability to feel pain. He also gave us a memory. Combined, they will help us see the right way. Just as the child has the memory of the burn to discourage further foolish behavior, so too, did the Twelve have the memory of Israel's pain and slavery to refrain from seeking authority over one another. The comparison suggests to the disciples and the readers of Matthew, that they too, because of the pattern, would find more than a little trouble if they continued on their power-seeking way. It had already happened. The pattern was set.
The author of the First Gospel simply 'whispers' that which will prick the Israelite's memory with the words ten, two, indignant, and brothers. Yet the vast majority of the knowledge seeking Westerners remain oblivious.
The Greek (Western) method of looking for information is a lesser, single-dimension way of seeing this and other passages. The Hebrew way of looking for wisdom is a greater, multi-faceted way of seeing and learning within this passage and others.
For the Westerner, the first step to garnering wisdom is to realize that the Hebrews thought and wrote in this comparitive way.
To the Greek, verse 24 is of little use. To the Hebrew, it's the WHOLE of the lesson.
Ears that hear.
