God Has Spoken

The Bible as Literature

In their extreme hubris, humans believe that Luke’s admonition, “A tree is known by its fruit,” is nothing more than a proverb about being a “better parent.” But as I explained a few episodes ago, it is a warning that humans can’t parent.

It is a judgment, a mashal, a rule, a verse, a biblical sign that there is no such thing as a good human parent because the only tree that bears “good fruit” is the wisdom of God.

With this in mind, what did you go out to see in the wilderness of Luke 7? Twice?

Luke wrote the question twice.

Twice, he asked, “Are you the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

Twice, as if the same person were looking at himself in the mirror.

Is Jesus looking for John the Baptist, or is it the other way around? What’s the difference between the message and the messenger?

Do you study the Bible, or does the Bible study you?

Who is the reed shaken by the wind?

Is it the reed Solomon can’t use to measure John’s Palace, or the reed Isaiah’s “Bringer of Justice” refuses to break?

Who is the “Bringer of Justice?” Can you tell?

What did you go out to see, human?

A prophet? You may be indifferent to the prophet, yes, but then you hate his message, too.

You hypocrite.

I will tell you what the fruit of the Good Parent looks like.

It doesn’t eat bread, and it doesn’t drink wine, and you say it has a demon.

It eats bread and drinks its fill, and you accuse it of gluttony.

Why? Because you are a wicked human parent. You do not love God. You are like a spoiled child: impossible to please, self-serving, fickle, unresponsive, pouty, regardless of the message or the messenger.

But the children of the Good Parent, whether they fast or feast sumptuously with sinners, are deemed righteous by the Most High; the same is shown to be righteous by his children.

As Paul said:

“You are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.”

This week, I discuss Luke 7:25-35.

Show Notes

צ-ד-ק (sade-dalet-qof) / ص-د-ق (ṣād-dāl-qāf) / δικαιόω

The root צ-ד-ק carries the usage “deemed just” or “deemed righteous” in Semitic languages:

• Aramaic: צְדֵק “He was righteous.”
• Syriac: זָדֵק “It is right.” Note the shift of צ to ז. (Klein)
• Ugaritic: (ṣdq) “Reliable, strong.”
• Arabic: صَدَقَ (ṣadaqa) “He spoke the truth.”
• Ethiopic: (ṣadaqa) “He was just, was righteous.”

In the Bible, there are numerous examples of this root as it pertains to God’s judgment:

“And the heavens declare His righteousness (צִדְקָתוֹ, ṣidqātō), for God Himself is judge. Selah.” (Psalms 50:6)“Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together; state your cause, that you may be proved right (תִּצְדָּק, tiṣdāq).” (Isaiah 43:26)“In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be [deemed] righteous (יִצְדְּקוּ, yiṣdāqū) and will glory.” (Isaiah 45:25)

In the Qur’an and Arabic, the root ص-د-ق is associated with honesty, trustworthiness, acts of charity, the fulfillment of promises, and righteousness. Compare parallel usage in the Torah and the Qur’an:

ְהֶאֱמִן בַּיהוָה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ צְדָקָה
(Wa-heʾemin ba-Yahweh wa-yaḥshebaha lahu ṣidāqah)
“Then he believed in the Lord, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
(Genesis 15:6)وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صِدِّيقًا نَبِيًّا
(Wa-udhkur fī al-kitābi Ibrāhīma innahu kāna ṣiddīqan nabiyyā.)
“And mention in the Book Abraham. Indeed, he was a man of righteousness and a prophet.”(Surah Maryam, 19:41)

Examples of ص-د-ق in Arabic:

• صَدِّيقٌ (ṣiddīq) – A person of high righteousness and truthfulness.
• صَدَقَةٌ (ṣadaqah) – Voluntary charity or almsgiving.
• صَادِقٌ (ṣādiq) – Truthful, honest, a righteous person.
• تَصْدِيقٌ (taṣdīq) – Affirmation or confirmation of truth.
• مُصَدِّقٌ (muṣaddiq) – One who believes in and confirms the truth.

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