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Podcast: The Bible as Literature
Episode: They Still Don’t Get It
Description: In a parable seemingly written for our present historical moment, this week’s reading from Matthew dynamites any and all claims made by any and all people on social, moral, economic, civic, legal, or cultural dominance. Pharisees and Herodians—the would-be government of Jerusalem—want to take control away from Caesar's sitting government, itself a religion organized around a self-proclaimed “Son of God.” Each party wants control of the Temple-Palace complex. That last bit is critical. The Temple and the Palace were a single institution in the ancient world. That’s why the Pharisees dragged the Herodians into the debate. In M...