MATTHEW 13:24 PARABLE OF THE MIXED FIELD Brothers+ When approaching Gospel studies I have found it helpful to ask this question as I begin reading a saying or an action of Jesus: “Why did the Gospel writer save this and include it in his narrative?” To me it is important not only to understand the use of words as Jesus and his hearers understood them, but also the know use the first Christians made of those words. I think that discipline helps discern what is a legitimate application of the words of Jesus in our time. Recently I have made use of Jesus’ parables of the Kingdom. Jesus explains the meaning of the Mixed Field parable, but it is the application of it to our times that remains a question to me: “What should our relationship be with avowed Christians with whom we disagree?” Asking myself the question “Why was this parable saved?” My answer comes out “It was saved by the Hebrew Christians fleeing Jerusalem (Matthew written in Syria? After the fall of Jerusalem?) because they had to answer the question of whether they should include in their synagogues the converts from Samaria and the Gentiles. This was a particularly hard lesson for the Jewish Christians to learn, as witness the confrontation of Paul and Peter at the Jerusalem council. Why was it a hard lesson for the Jews to learn? The teaching in the Torah regarding the mixing of crops in a field may provide a clue. The early Hebrew Christians were observant Jews. I came across the following a few months ago and have been musing about it in relation to the Mixed Field parable since then. The article below is from Torah.org a Jewish website. Paul's teaching that the Gentiles are “grafted in” to Israel is interesting also in regard to the following notes. Comments? Cheers! Charles+ Halacha Overview - Crops Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 23:51:13 -0400 Note: It should be stressed that the statements in a summary must not be interpreted as halachic rulings no matter how definitively they are worded. When such rulings are needed a qualified rabbi must be consulted. G. Crops - Zeraim "In the seventh book I will include commandments that apply to crops, such as the sabbatical year and Jubilee, tithes and priestly offerings, and other commandments that are included with them involving similar matters. And I have called this book the Book of Crops." 34. Mixtures - Kilayim a) Mixtures of Plants It is forbidden to plant two types of crops (that are used for human food) together or to graft one type of plant on another, as it says "You shall not plant your field with a mixture". 1. The prohibition of planting applies only in the land of Israel. Different types of crops must be separated far enough that they either appear separate or do not draw nourishment from one another. a) It is forbidden to plant any crop (other than a tree) near a vine, and there is a special prohibition against planting a mixture of two crops near a vine, as it says "You shall not plant your vineyard with a mixture" 2. this latter prohibition applies rabbinically even outside the land of Israel. If one does so it is forbidden to derive benefit from them, as it says "Lest the increase of the seed that you have planted and the crop of the vineyard become holy". b) Mixtures of Animals It is forbidden to cross-breed two types of animals, as it says "You shall not breed your animal as a mixture". 1 It is forbidden to do work with two types of animals together, as it says "You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together" 3; but unless they are land animals, one of them permissible to eat and the other forbidden, this prohibition is only rabbinical. Breeding or working with a sacred animal that has become unfit is also forbidden since it is like a mixture of sacred and profane. c) Mixtures in Clothing It is forbidden to wear a mixture of wool and linen, as it says "You shall not wear a mixture of wool and linen together", 4. and it says "And a garment made of a mixture shall not go upon you". Sources: 1. Lev. 19:19 a. 1:1,4-5; 4:16 2. Deut. 22:9 b. 5:1,3-6,7; 8:13-14 3. Deut. 22:10 c. 9:1,7-8,10-11 4. Deut. 22:11 d. 10:1 ------------------------------------------------------Halacha-Overview, Copyright © 2003 by Rabbi Dr. Azriel Rosenfeld and Torah.org. The author is Director of the Center for Automation Research at the University of Maryland in College Park. Join the Jewish Learning Revolution! Torah.org: The Judaism Site brings this and a host of other classes to you every week. Visit http://torah.org or email learn@... to get your own free copy of this mailing. Project Genesis - Torah. <SNIP> Permission is granted to redistribute, but please give proper attribution and copyright to the author and Torah.org. Both the author and Torah.org ____________________________________________________________ Get advanced SPAM filtering on Webmail or POP Mail ... Get Lycos Mail! http://login.mail.lycos.com/r/referral?aid=27005