EASY YOKE AND BURDEN LIGHT - 14th Sunday In Ordinary Time-Cycle A

Homily for the 14^th Sunday In Ordinary Time-Cycle A

Based on Mt 11:25-30(Gospel), Zec 9:9-10(First Reading) and Rm 8:9, 11-13 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

EASY YOKE AND BURDEN LIGHT

‘My yoke is easy and my burden light.’ (Mt 11:30)

The Gospel for this  14^th Sunday In Ordinary Time(Cycle A) is taken from Mt 11:25-30.

Verse 25 says: At that time Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these thingsⁱ from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Footnote  ^I says “Vv. 25-27 are bot closely connected with the context in which Matthew has placed the passage (cf. its different position in Lk). Hence, ‘these things’ refers not to what precedes but to the ‘mysteries of the kingdom’, 13:11, which are revealed to the little ones’ ‘- i.e. to the disciples, cf. 10:42 - but hidden from the ‘wise men’ - i.e. from members and teachers of the Pharisee group.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Jn 10:15…just as the Father know me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.

2.       Mt 13:11 -‘Because’ he replied ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them.

3.       Jn 7:48-49 - Have any authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees (v. 48)? This rabble knows nothing about the Law-they are damned(v. 49)’

Verse 26 says:  Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.

Parallel text of verse 26 is 1 Co. 1:26 that says:Take yourselves for instance, brothers. At the time when you were called: how many of you were wise in the ordinary sense of the world^j, how many were influential people, or came from noble families? Footnote ^j says “Lit. ‘according to the flesh’. Apostle Paul is explaining God’s purpose, bit at the same time he sardonically reminds the Corinthians that they have no reason to be proud.”

Verse 27 says: Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.^j Footnote  ^j says “V. 27 has a Johannine flavor: awareness of Christ’s divine sonship exists in the deepest stratum of the synoptic tradition as well as in Jn.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 4:3…and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,^ctell these stones to turn into loaves’. Footnote^c says“The biblical title ‘Son of God’ does not necessarily mean natural sonship but may imply a sonship which is merely adoptive, i.e., which as a result of God’s deliberate choice sets up a very intimate relationship between God and his creature. In this sense the title is given to angels (Jb. 1:6), to the Chosen People (Ex. 4:22, Ws. 18:13), to individual Israelites (Dt. 14:1, Ho. 2:1, cf. Mt. 5:9,48, etc.), to their leaders (Ps. 82:6). Were therefore it is attributed to the royal Messiah (1 Ch. 17:13, Ps. 2:7, 89:26) it does not necessarily imply that he is more than man; nor need we suppose that it has any deeper significance when used by Satan (Mt. 4:3,6) or by the possessed (Mk. 3:11, 5:7, Lk. 4:41), still less when used by the centurion (Mk. 15:39, cf. Lk. 23:47). By itself the sentence at baptism (Mt. 3:17) and at the transfiguration (17:5) suggests no more than the divine predilection for the Messiah-servant, and all probability the High priest’s question (26:63) concerns messiahship only. Nevertheless the title ‘Son of God’ can bear a further, more profound meaning of sonship in the full sense of the word. Jesus clearly insinuated this meaning when he spoke of himself as ‘the Son’ (2:37), ranked above the angels (24:36), having God for his ‘Father’ in a way others had not (Jn. 20:17 and cf. ‘my Father’ in Mt. 7:21, etc.), enjoying with the Father an altogether singular relationship of knowledge and love (Mt. 11:27). These assertions, coupled with others that speak of the Messiah’s divine rank (22:42-46), of the heavenly origin of the ‘son of  man’ (8:20+), assertions finally confirmed by the triumph of the resurrection, have endowed the expression ‘son of God’ with the strictly divine significance which will later be found, e.g. in Paul (Rm. 9:5+). During the lifetime of Christ, it is true his disciples had no clear conception of his divinity – the texts of Mt. 14:33 and 16:16 which add the title ‘Son of God’ to the more primitive text of Mk reflect, in all probability, a later stage in the faith’s development. But it is equally true that Jesus expressed with his own lips and with as much clarity as his audience could support, his own consciousness of being Son of the Father in the fullest sense. On these historical utterances the faith of the disciples rested, a faith that reached its perfection after the resurrection with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

2.       Mt 16:17 - Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood^ethat revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.Footnote^e–says“The expression indicates man, emphasizing his material, limited nature as opposed to that of the spirit world, Si 14:18; Rm 7:5+; 1 Co 15:50; Ga 1:16; Ep 6:12;  Heb 2:14; cf. Jn 1:13.”

3.       Ws 9:17 - As for your intension, who could have learn it, had you not granted Wisdom.

4.       Jn 1:18 - No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son,^r who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.Footnote^r–says“Var. ‘God, only begotten’.”

5.       Jn 3:35+ - The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to him.^r Footnote ^r says“God has communicated his power over life to the Son, 1:4; 5:21; 10:18+, and now the Son gives life to whom he will, 5:26; his gift of the Spirit, 3:5-6; 1:33+; 15:26; establishes ‘all flesh’ in incorruption, 1:14+; 11:25; 17:2,3. Thus, by the Father’s decree, a;ll things are ‘in the hand’ (or power) of the Son, 3:35; 10:28,29; 13:3; 17:2; cf. 6:37-39; Mt. 11:27; 28:18; on this is based the sovereignty, 12:13-15; 18:36-37; that he will solemnly assume on the day of his ‘lifting up’, 12;32+, 19:19; Ac 2:33; Ep 4:8; and on that day, the ‘Prince of this world’ will forfeit his kingdom, 12:31+.”

6.       Jn 10:15…just as the Father know me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.

7.       Ws 2:13 - He claims to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a son of Lord.

8.       Jn 3:11 -I tell you most solemnly, we speak only about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence. ^eFootnote ^esays“Jesus does not speak on his own initiative, 7:17-18; he declares what he has seen ‘with the Father’, 1:18, 3:11, 8:38, cf. 8:24+; it is the Father’s words and teaching that he hands on to man, 3:34, 8:28, 12:49,50, 14:24, 17:8,14; he is himself the Word, 1:1,14. This Word is not idle: it calls all things from nothing, 1:1+, it calls the dead from the tomb, 11:43,44, 5:28-29; it gives life to the soul, 5:24, 6:63, 8:51; it confers the Spirit, the source of immortality, 1:33+; 20:22, and so makes men children of God, 10:35, 1:12. It is required only than man should have faith in the Word, 1:12, ;dwell’ in it, cf. 8:31, ‘keep’ it, 8:51,55, 12:47, 14:23, 15:20, 17:6, obey its command which is love, 13:34. Nevertheless, the Word is enigmatic, 2:20+, and difficult, cf. 6:60, 7:36; it makes its way only into humble hearts. Those who hear it, therefore, respond differently, 7:43, 10:19; some believe, 4:41, 7:40f,46, 8:30, others go away disappointed, 6:66, in spite of the ‘signs’, 2:11+; this same rejected Word will judge them at the last day, 12:48.”

Verse 28 says: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened,^k and I will give you rest. Footnote ^ksays“The burden of the Law and of the additional Pharisaic observances. The ‘yoke of the Law’ is a current rabbinic metaphor; see also Si 51:26; Zp 3:9 (LXX); Lm 3:27; Jr 2:20; 5:5; cf. Is 14:25.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Si 24:19 - Approach me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits.

2.       Jr 2:20 -‘It is long ago now since you broke your yoke, burst your bonds and said, “I will not serve!” Yet I had yet planted you , a choice vine, a shoot of soundest stock.

3.       Jr 5:5 - But these, too, had broken the yoke, had burst the bonds.

Verse 29 says: Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,  for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Parallel texts of verse 29 are:

1.       Pr 3:17 - Her ways are delightful ways, her paths all lead to contentment.

2.       Jr 6:16 - Yahweh says this: Put yourselves on the ways of long ago enquire about the ancient paths: which was the good way? Take it then, and you shall find rest.

3.       Ho 10:11 - Ephraim is a well trained heifer that loves to tread the threshing-floor; very well, I myself mean to lay the yoke on that fine neck of hers, I am going to put Ephraim in harness, Israel will have to plough, Jacob must draw the harrow.

Verse 30 says: Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 15:10 - It would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support?

2.       Ga 5:1 - When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free.^a Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.Footnote^a says“Human beings must choose either Christ or the Law as author of salvation. Some witnesses (Vulg.) join these words with the preceding verse ‘with the freedom by which Christ has made us free.’”

The First Reading is taken from  Zec 9:9-10.

Verse 9 says: Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem! See now, your king comes to you; he is victorious, he is triumphant,^j humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.^k Footnote  ^j  says “The first adjective (lit. ‘upright’, ‘just’) does not mean that he  dispenses justice, cf. Is. 11:3-5, but that he is the recipient of God’s ‘justice’, i.e. of God’s powerful protection, cf. Is. 45:21-25. The second (lit. ‘the saved’) has much the same meaning here.”; and Footnote ^k  says “The Messiah is to be ‘humble’ (ani), a characteristic attributed in Zp 2:3+. Renouncing the panoply of the historic kings, Jr. 17:25; 22:4, the messianic king will ride the traditional mount of princes. Gn. 49:11; Jg. 5:10; 10:4; 12:14. Compare also 1 K. 1:38 with 1 K. 1:5. With this prophecy in mind, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Gn 49:10 - The scepter shall not pass from Judah, nor the mace from between his feet, until it comes to whom it belongs,^g to whom the peoples shall render obedience.^h Footnote ^g  says “‘he to whom it belongs’ (following the versions), i.e. ‘to whom the scepter belongs’, a veiled prophecy of a Judah king who is to rule over the nations. The oracle possibly refers to David but to David as a type of the Messiah, as Jewish and Christian tradition understand.”; and Footnote ^h  says  “Lit. ‘to whom the obedience belongs’, with Hebr. ; the versions read ‘ the hope’, thus making the messianic sense of the passage explicit.”

2.       Ps 72 - The promised king^a. God, give your justice to the king, your own righteousness to the royal son (v. 1) so that they may rule your people rightly and your poor with justice (v. 2). Let the mountains and hills bring a message of peace for the people. Uprightly^b (v. 3), he will defend the poorest, he will save the children of those in need, and crush their oppressors (v.4). Like sun and moon he will endure,^c age after age, welcome as rain that falls on the pasture,^d and showers to thirsty soil (v. 6). In his days virtue^e will flourish, a universal peace till the moon is no more;^f (v. 7) his empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.^g(v. 8).The Beast^h will cower before him and his enemies grovel in the dust (v. 9); the kings of Tarshish and of the islands will pay him tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts (v. 10); all the kings will do him homage, all the nations become his servants (v. 11). He will free the poor man who calls to him, and those who need help (v. 12), he will have pity on the poor and feeble, and save the lives of those in need (v. 13). He will redeem their lives from exploitation and outrage, their lives will be precious in his sight (v. 14). (Long may he live, may gold from Sheba be given him!)^I  Prayer will be offered for him constantly, blessings invoked on him all day long.^j (v. 15). Grain everywhere in the country, even in the mountain tops, abundant as Lebanon its harvest, luxuriant as common grass!^k (v. 16). Blessed be his name forever, enduring as long as the sun!^l May every race in the world be blessed by him, and all the nations call him blessed! (v. 17). Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who alone performs these marvels! (v. 18). Blessed forever be his glorious name, may the whole world be filled with his glory! Amen. Amen! (v. 19). End  of the prayers of Dvid, son of Jesse.^m Footnote ^asays “This psalm dedicated to Solomon whose wealth, glory and just and peaceful reign it celebrates (1 K 3:9, 12,28; 4:20; 10:1-29; 1 Ch 22:9), evokes the image of the future ideal king. Jewish and Christian tradition see it as a portrait of the messianic King foretold by Isaiah, 9:5; 11:1-5, and Zechariah, 9:9f.”; Footnote ^b says “Division of verse according to Greek. Text uncertain.”; Footnote ^c says “‘He will endure’ Greek; ‘they will fear you’ Hebr.”; Footnote ^d says “The versions translate ‘fleece’, cf. Jg 6:37f.”; Footnote ^e says “‘virtue’ MSS and versions; ‘the virtuous man’ Text. Rec., cf. Jr 23:5; Zc 9:9.”; Footnote ^f says “The messianic age will last to the enbd of time.”; Footnote  ^g says “The boundaries of an ideal Palestine, cf. Jg 20:1+.”; Footnote  ^h says “The word, meaning the animals and demons of the desert, Is 13:21; 34:14; Jr 50:39; Ezk 34:28, here refers to subjugated heathen states, cf. Is 27:1; Dn 7:3, etc.; Rv 13:1, etc.”; Footnote ^I says “Probably a prayer for the Messiah added later.”; Footnote ^j  says “Another translation ‘He (the Messiah) will pray (intercedes) for him (the poor man) and bless him.’ “; Footnote ^k says “‘abundant.’ Lit. ‘May it abound’, ‘its harvest’, lit. ‘putting forth’ (or ‘making it rise’), misplaced in Hebr. to after ‘luxuriant’ (lit ‘may they [the mountains] be luxuriant’ is translated ‘from the city’ (Zion). Some interpret ,May the inhabitants of Zion flourish’.”; Footnote ^l says “‘blessed’ and ‘every race in the world’; Greek; absent from Hebr. ‘enduring’ one MS and versions; ‘branching forth is his name’ Hebr., alluding to the messianic title ‘Branch’, Is. 4:2; Jr 23:5; 33:15; Zc 3:8; 6:12.”; Footnote ^m  says “The colophon and preceding doxology close the second book of the Psalter.”

3.       Is 9:5 - For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they gave him: Wonder-Counselor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince of Peace.^c Footnote ^c says “A prophetic proper name, cf. 1:26+. The child possesses to a supreme degree all the qualities of all the great figures of his race: the wisdom of Solomon, the valor of David, the virtues of Moses and the patriarchs, Cf. 11:2. Christian tradition and the Christian liturgy apply these titles to Christ, presenting him as the true Immanuel.”

4.       Jr 17:25…then, through the gates of this city, kingsⁿ occupying the throne of David will continue to make their entry, mounted on chariots and horses, they and their ministers, with the men of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited forever. Footnote ⁿ  says “Hebr. Adds ‘and nobles’.”

5.       Mt 11:29 - Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,  for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

6.       Mt 21:5 - Say to the daughter of Zion: Look, your king comes to you; he is humble, he rides on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.^a Footnote ^a says “In thus describing the messianic king’s humble mount the prophet had in mind the unpretentious, unwarlike nature of his rule. Jesus, by performing this action, deliberately took to himself both the words of the prophecy and their deeper meaning.”

7.       Jn 12:15 - Do not be afraid daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming; mounted on the colt of a donkey.

Verse 10 says: He^l will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the bow of war will be banished. Footnote ^l says “‘He will’ Greek; ‘I shall’ Hebr. The northern tribes will be reunited with Judah in the messianic kingdom, cf. Jr 3:18+.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 2:4 - He^d will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many peoples; these will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles. Nations will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war. Footnote ^d says “Yahweh.”

2.       Mi 5:9 - This is how it will be, that day-it is Yahweh who speaks-I will tear away your horses from you, and destroy your chariots…

3.       Is 11:6 - The wolf lives with the lamb,^f the panther lies down with the kid, calf and lion cub feed together with a little boy to lead them. Footnote ^f says “Man’s rebellion against God, Gn 3, had broken the harmony between man and nature, Gn 3:17-19, and between man and man, Gn 4. The prophets foretell war and oppression as the punishment for the sins of Israel. The messianic era, however, with its forgiveness of sin, its reconciliation with God, its reign of justice, will establish the peace that results from these: it will pay to till the land, Am 9:13-14; Ho 2:20,23-24; weapons of war will all be set aside, Is 2:4; 9:4; Mi 4:3-4; 5:9-10; there will be lasting peace, Is 9:6; 32:17; 60:17-18; Zp 3:13; Zc 3:10; Jl 4:17. The new covenant is a covenant of peace, Ezk 34:25; 37:26. The messianic kingdom is a kingdom of peace, Zc 9:8-10; Ps 72:3,7. Here the messianic age is symbolically described as a return to the peace of Eden.”

4.       Ho 2:20 - When that day comes I will make a treaty on her behalf with te wild animals, with the birds of heaven and the creeping things of the earth; I will break bow, sword and battle in the country, and make her sleep secure.^p Footnote  ^p  says “Justice and holiness will characterize the messianic age, vv. 21-22, and God will again dwell among his people, lavishing his gifts, cf. Lv 26:3-13; Dt 28:1-14. The sky will give rain, the earth will yield abundant harvest, Am 9:13; Ho 2:23-24; 14:8-9; Jr 31:12,14; Ezk 34:26-27,29; 36:29-30; Is 30:23-26; 49:10; Jl 2:19,22-24; 4:18; Zc 8:12. The crops will be safe from marauders, Am 9:15; Is 65:21-23, cf. Dt 28:30-33, since there will be no more invasion, Mi 5:4; Is 32:17-18; Jl 2:20; Jr 46:27; Is 4:5-6, cf. also 25:4-5. The wild animals will not threaten: God will make a treaty with them, Ho 2:20; Ezk 34:25,28. All the nations, under the rule of the Messiah-King, Is 9:5-6; Zc 9:10, will enjoy peace, Is 2:4=Mi 4:3; cf. Is 11:6-8+; 65:25. Death itself will be no more, Is 25:7-8; sorrow will give place to joy, Jr 31:13; Is 65:18-19; Ba 4:23,29, cf. Rv 21:4.”

The Second Reading is taken from Rm 8:9, 11-13.

Verse 9 says: Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ps 51:11…do not banish me from your presence, do not deprive me of your holy spirit.^g Footnote ^g says “Here considered as the principle (within man but given by God) of moral and religious activity, whether of the individual, 143:10; Ws 1:5; 9:17, or of the nation as a whole, Is. 63:11; Hg 2:5; Ne 9:20.”

2.       Jn 3:5-6 - Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit,^c he cannot enter the kingdom of God (v. 5). What s born of flesh is flesh; what is born of spirit is spirit (v. 6).Footnote ^csays“Allusion to baptism and its necessity, cf. Rm. 6:4+.”

Verses 11 and 12 say: And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you^g. So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. Footnote  ^g says“The resurrection of the Christian is intimately dependent on that of Christ, 1 Th 4:14; 1 Co 6:14; 15:20f; 2 Co 4:14; 13:4; Rm 6:5; Ep 2:6; Col 1:18; 2:12f; 2 Tm 2:11. It is by the same power and the same gift if the Spirit, cf. Rm 1:4+, that the Father will raise them to life their turn.  This operation is already being prepared: a new life is making the Christians into sons (v.14) in the likeness of the Son himself, 8:29+, and they are being incorporated into the risen Christ by faith, 1:16+, and baptism, 6:4+.”

Parallel texts of verse 11are:

1.       Rm 6:4 - In other words, ^a when we were baptized we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, ^b so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.Footnote^asays“Lit. ‘therefore’; var. ‘for’.”; Footnote^bsays“Baptismis not separated from faith but goes with it, Ga. 3:6f, Ep. 4:5, Heb. 10:22, cf. Ac. 12f,37, 16:31-33, 18:8, 19:2-5, and gives it outward expression by the operative symbolism of the baptismal ceremonial. For this reason, Paul ascribes to faith and to baptism the same effects (cf. Ga. 2:16-20 and Rm. 6:3-9). The sinner is immersed in water (the etymological meaning of ‘baptize’ is ‘dip’) and thus ‘buried’ with Christ, Col. 2:12, with whom also he emerges to ‘resurrection’, Rm. 8:11+, as a ‘new creature’, 2 Co. 5:17+, a ‘new man’, Ep. 2:15+, a member of the one Body animated by the one Spirit, 1 Co. 12:13, Ep. 4:4f. This resurrection will not be complete or final until the end of time, 1 Co. 15:12+ (but cf. Ep. 2:6), but is already taking place in the form of a new life lived ‘in the Spirit’, vv. 8:11,13, 8:2f, Ga. 5:16-24. The death-resurrection symbolism of baptism is particularly Pauline, but this initial rite of Christian life, Heb. 6:22, is also spoken of in the NT, as a cleansing bath, Ep.5:26, Heb. 10:22, cf. 1 Co. 6:11, Tt. 3:5, a new birth, Jn. 3:5, Tt. 3:5, cf. 1 P. 1:3, cf. Ep. 5:14. On the baptism of water and the baptism of the Spirit, cf. Ac. 1:5+;  these two aspects of the consecration of the Christian are apparently the ‘anointing’ and the seal’ of 2 Co. 1:21f. According to 1 P. 3:21, the ark of Noah is an antetype of baptism.”

2.       Ezk 37:10 -I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life again and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.^d Footnote^d says “Here, as in Ho 6:2, 13:14 and Is 26:19, God announces, vv. 11-14, the messianic restoration of Israel after the sufferings of the Exile, cf. Rv 20:4+. But also, by the imagery chosen, he is already preparing minds for the idea of an individual resurrection of the body, vaguely perceived in Jb 19:25+ and explicitly stated in Dn 12:2; 2 M 7:9-14,23-36; 12:43-46; cf 2 M7:9+. For the NT, see Mt 22:29-32 and especially 1 Co 15.”

3.       Rm 1:4 - It is about Jesus Christ our Lord who is the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that is in him, was proclaimed^c Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.^d Footnote ^c says “Vulg. ‘predestined’.”; and  Footnote^dsays“For Paul Christ rose only because God raised him, 1 Th. 1:10; 1 Co. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Co. 4:14; Ga. 1:1; Rm. 4:24; 10:9; Ac. 2:24+; cf. 1 P. 1:21, thus displaying his ‘power’, 2 Cor. 13:4; Rm. 6:4; Ph. 3:10; Col. 2:12; Ep. 1:19f; Heb. 7:16;  and because God raised him to life through the Holy Spirit, Rm. 8:11. Christ is established in glory as Kyrios, Ph 2:9-11+; Ac 2:36; Rm 14:9, deserving anew, this time in virtue of his messianic work, the name he had from eternity, ‘son of God’, Ac 13:33, Heb 1:5; %:5. Cf. Rm 8:11+; 9:5+.”

4.       Rm 6:8-11 - But^d we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him (v. 8): Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him anymore (v. 9).When he died, he died, once and for all, to sin,^e so his life now is life with God (v. 10). And in that way, you too must  consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus (v. 11)^f.Footnote ^d says “Var. ‘For’.”; Footnote^esays“Christ was sinless, 2 Cor. 5:21, but having a physical body like our own, Rm. 8:3, he belonged to the order of sin; when he became ‘spiritual’, 1 Co. 15:45-46, he belonged only to the divine order. Similarly, though the Christian remains in the flesh for a time, he already lives in the spirit.”; and Footnote^fsays“Text. Rec and Vulg. ‘Christ Jesus our Lord’”.

Verse 13 says: If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Gn 6:3 - Yahweh said, ‘My spirit must not forever be disgraced in man, for he is but flesh; his life shall last no more than a one hundred and twenty years.

2.       Ga 6:8 - If he sows in the field of self-indulgence he will get a harvest of corruption out of it; if he sows in the field of the Spirit he will get from it a harvest of eternal life.

3.       Ep 4:22-24 - that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires (v. 22). Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution (v. 23),so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truthⁿ (v. 24). Footnote ⁿ  says “Each human being should ‘put on the New Man’, Ep 2:15+, (here, as in v. 22, translates ‘self’), so as to be re-created in him, cf. Ga 3:27; Rm 13:14. In some places Paul talks in the same way about the ‘new creature’, 2 Co 5:17+.”