Today’s readings are the same as yesterdays which is a weird quirk in the lectionary so I’m reposting my commentary with some additions.

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,

“In those days” anchoring this sections timeline to somewhat immediately follow the previous. This would be in the same days of the Annunciation. Mary after speaking to Gabriel goes with “haste into the kill country, to a city of Judah”.

Mary’s haste to visit Elizabeth parallels the Ark of the Covenant’s journey to the house of Obed-edom in 2 Samuel 6:9-15.

40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

Mary enters the home belong to Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth and Elizabeth greets her cousin, Mary. The Ark of the Covenant, carrying God’s presence, was greeted with joy when it entered the house of Obed-edom. Similarly, Mary, carrying Jesus, enters Elizabeth’s house, bringing joy.

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

Upon hearing Mary’s greeting Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and the baby John the Baptist within her womb leaps for joy. The Ark is greeted with joy, and the Spirit fills those who come into its presence. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, reacts with joy when Mary, carrying Jesus, enters her house. 2 Samuel 6:9-15 – “And David danced before the Lord with all his might… and the Ark of the Lord came into the city of David with gladness.”

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Elizabeth’s exclamation is not simply a verbal greeting but a prophetic declaration. Her loud cry reveals the depth of her joy and awe in the presence of the Messiah, foreshadowing the universal praise that Jesus will receive.

The word in Greek for exclaim anephōnēsen is only used once in the entirety of the New Testament, this proves its prophetic pedigree. It’s usage in the Old Testament is limited to the peoples shouting when they see the Ark and how the Levites praise God before the Ark in 1 Chronicles.

Elizabeth is described as a descendant of Aaron so her biological lineage is to the highest of the Old Testament priesthood, the word used by Luke to describe her phrase “blessed are you among women” is the highest prophetic term for priestly declarations. This leads us to the phrase itself. “Blessed are you among women” it is obviously a pretty high commendation of Mary on the face of it and it may sound like an odd way to say something but that’s because despite Luke writing in Greek, he is retaining the idiomatic Hebraic phrasing. When people change this wording to be “more accessible” they remove that element and also its connection to the Old Testament.

Although unique to the New Testament, this phrase is not unique to the Old. There were two women who were described as this and there is a very interesting link. The first, Jael in the Book of Judges, she is called the blessed among women because she drives a tent peg through the head of the enemy of the Israelite people. The second is Judith, from the Book of Judith, she is called blessed among women for severing the head of the enemy of the Israelite people in her day. So how does this connect to Mary?

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Says Paul in Ephesians 6:12.

The Protoevangelium, all the way back in Genesis 3:15 says
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: she will crush your head, and you will lie in wait for her heel.”

The serpent is not just a snake, its the evil one who we commonly call Satan, a fallen angel, the leader of the spiritual forces of evil Paul refers to. Mary is blessed among women because she will crush the head of the true enemy by giving birth to Jesus.

43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Elizabeth’s response mirrors David’s awe when the Ark is brought into the city. Both recognize the holiness of the presence they are encountering.

2 Samuel 6:9 – “And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?’”

44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.

“Babe in my womb leaped for joy”: John the Baptist’s leap indicates that even in utero, he recognizes the presence of Jesus. This moment reflects the joy that the coming of the Messiah brings to all of creation, even in the unborn.

This moment is often interpreted as a sign of the sanctity of human life and the joy that the presence of Christ brings into the world, even before birth. It also foreshadows the role of John the Baptist in heralding the coming of the Savior.

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Elizabeth’s praise of Mary focuses on her faith in God’s word. Mary’s belief in the angel’s message and her willingness to accept God’s will without reservation is central to her blessedness.

This verse highlights Mary’s faith, which is a key element of her assent to God’s will, often depicted as her “fiat” (let it be). Her faith is an example for all believers, and she is considered the model of perfect discipleship in Catholic teaching.

Jesus is in the final stretch of his ministry in Matthew’s Gospel and is teaching in the Temple. Matthew gives us the details of his going back and forth to the City, where the Temple is and also to the surrounding towns like Bethany. Previous to this passage, Jesus curses the fig tree that bore no fruit, causing it to wither, upon seeing this Jesus tells his Apostles that if they have faith not only could they do this but they could also move mountains.

23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Jesus enters the Temple, or more accurately, Jesus enters the Temple Complex. We might get the image of a single building that Jesus enters but the inner part of the actual Temple was off-limits to anyone but the priests ministering to it, the Temple complex however built by Herod the Great was a very large building complex of many courts, covering 36 acres. The Jewish Historian Josephus writes:

“The Temple was encompassed with a large court, to which all sorts of people had access. Into this court anyone might come and walk. Women also might come into it as well as men; but the inner court was only for the men, and not for the women; and the Temple itself was for the priests alone.”
— Antiquities of the Jews 15.11.5

Jesus teaches all types of people so we know that he is teaching in the larger court open to all. It is in this place that the chief priests and elders take issue with him and ask him from what authority does he teach. It is important to understand that unlike what many people would like to believe, although anyone could read the scriptures, not anyone could teach with authority what they meant. This was a reserved status for those who occupied a naturally inherited and bestowed teaching office, like the Pharisees and Scribes who sat in what Jesus calls the “Seat of Moses”.

Although not explicitly mentioned in these terms, the substance of the position existed since Moses himself, the same way the priesthood existed since Aaron. The authority was naturally bestowed by the presiding authority on the next, for example from Moses to Joshua and from Joshua to the Judges, we think of Judges as having special seats today, I wonder why.

I say naturally with such emphasis because there were also supernatural appointments to teach authoritatively of which there is some overlaps with the natural, this is where the Prophets come from. All of this is important to understand why they are asking Jesus the question of what authority he has and who gave him it. If he is not bestowed the authority naturally he can only be an impostor or a supernaturally appointed teaching authority.

24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Jesus as he does on many other occasions, answers the question with another question. This is done to provoke the questioners to come to the correct conclusion themselves, leading someone to the right answer is better than telling them. He even says he will answer their question directly if they answer his.

From one angle you could see this as Jesus leading the priests to incriminate themselves but from another Jesus is actually going to give them an easy “out” if they are honest and swallow their pride, unfortunately they do not.

25 The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

Jesus refers to the baptisms of repentance that John gave out in the wilderness at the Jordan. He asks them where it came from. Was it something divinely instituted or was John just making up some new man made tradition. The priests being deeply preoccupied with worldly things do not even attempt to answer honestly and instead argue with each other over what will get the best response from Jesus. If they say it is from Heaven, they incriminate themselves as they rejected John.

26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet.”

They pivot to the other answer, whilst arguing with each other, that if they say John was doing this of his own whim and had nothing to do with God, therefore a man-made tradition, they will anger the crowds. John was a massive influence in his day, so much so that Herod Antipas himself feared him. The priests share this fear, and again, instead of being honest and saying at least what they think is the right answer, they err because of what the crowds who are supporters of John might do to them.

27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The priests settle for the very political answer of “we do not know.” They fear both Jesus and the crowds so they settle for stupid. Jesus takes this as all he needs and thus refuses to tell them by what authority he teaches. All this subtly implies that the authority comes from the same place. Both John’s baptism and Jesus’ teachings.

For the context of today’s readings need to acknowledge what has happened before it as it lets us know where Jesus is, which gives greater context to the miracle that occurs in todays Mass readings. Jesus has withdrawn into district of Tyre & Sidon, gentile territory.

A woman, who was a Caananite, acknowledges Jesus’ messianic identity and asks for him to heal her daughter where he responds by saying that he is only there for the lost tribes of Israel and that helping her would be like feeding children’s bread to dogs, her witty response is that even the dogs get to eat crumbs that fall off the masters table. He applauds her faith and heals her daughter.

29 And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there.

Jesus leaves Tyre and Sidon, ancient Phoenician cities and goes to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Many think of Galilee as being a Jewish area but depending on which side you are on, you can actually end up being in Gentile territory instead of Jewish land. Since Jesus arrives from Tyre and Sidon, we know that he is still in part of the land that is owned by the Gentiles. Jesus then ascends a mountain and sits down.

30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,

Jesus has just previously healed the Caananite woman’s daughter and news was already spreading about his miraculous healings. So even though he retreats in a sense to the mountain by the Sea of Galilee, it becomes a gathering spot. Great crowds of what we can assume as Gentiles, because of region, come to him bringing all their sick of every kind. They place them before his feet and he heals them all.

31 so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

The crowds who sought out Jesus’ healing abilities are amazed at what he has done for their ill friends and relatives. They all “glorified the God of Israel”. This might seem like an odd phrase to pick out but when you pay attention to the wording, they are not “glorifying God” or “glorifying the Father”. Matthew tells us they “glorified the God of Israel”. This further cements the implication made by the geography details that these people are not Jews, they are glorifying, what is to them, a foreign God.

It is this detail as well as the numbering of those fed in this miracle that confirms that Matthew is not “repeating miracles” and making a mistake as some modern scholars have implied. Matthew includes two miraculous dividing of the loaves events. One to Jews and one to Gentiles. They are similar but separate events.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Now Jesus expresses concern for the physical welfare of the crowds that have been following him for three days, he is worried they may pass out from exhaustion without food. This contrasts with the other multiplication of loaves miracle where Jesus laments that he cannot leave them because they would be like a sheep without a shepherd.

Since they have been with him three days and they would faint on the way back, we can also further lean into the implication he is on the Gentile Eastern side of the Sea of Galilee which was incredibly barren and did not have towns of cities close enough to walk to without some distance.

33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?”

The disciples lament their lack of resources and propose the question to Jesus. Where will they get enough bread to feed 4000 people in a desert?

34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

Jesus asks them what is it that they do have, they respond with seven loaves and a few small fish which is definitely not enough for 4000, barely enough for the disciples themselves. The numbering of the loaves and fish is also smaller than that of the bread multiplication miracle, further cementing that this is a completely different event just with similar themes.

35 And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground,

36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

Jesus commands all of the crowd to sit on the ground. He takes the meagre amount of food that the disciples had with them and after “having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” The typical word for blessing when in comes to food is not used, instead Jesus gives thanks. Eucharisteō in Greek, the origin of the term Eucharist.

In the Passover Meal in Matthew 26:26 where Jesus institutes the New Covenant it reads “Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples”. It uses the same word and format. This event is a pre-figurement of the New Passover Meal. This is why there are two multiplication of bread miracles, because the New Covenant that unites Jew and Gentile has not occurred, they have to eat separately.

37 And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

The four thousand are fed and have enough to eat, many naturalise this miracle to imply it was merely a “magic of sharing” but the final verse of todays readings clarifies the miraculous nature of the event. There are seven baskets FULL of leftover food. In the other bread multiplication miracle it is twelve, literal but also symbolic of the twelve tribes which Jesus has come to seek unite as he said to the Caananite woman earlier in the chapter. In this event the number is seven. Seven in Hebrew symbology is the number of completeness and covenant, beginning with the seven days of creation. Since these two miracles are the prefigurement of the New Covenant the seven baskets which again, are literal, are also a sign of the fullness that the covenant will bring.