Torah Portion Summary
The fifth reading from the book of Genesis is named Chayei Sarah. It means "Sarah lived" because the narrative begins with these words: "Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years" (Genesis 23:1). This portion of the Torah is filled with romance and sorrow. It tells the story of how Abraham mourned his wife after her passing and how he procured a wife for his son Isaac. At the end of this portion, Abraham is laid to rest beside his beloved wife.
Haftarah Portion Summary
The Haftarah for Parashat Chayei Sarah contrasts the aging and death of King David with that of Abraham. Both were old men; both had appointed successors; but Abraham's house was full of shalom and grace, whereas David's house was full of strife and intrigues.
As King David grew old and was ready to die, his spoiled son Adoniyahu (Adonijah) attempted to usurp the throne for himself (the Tanakh explains the source of this rebellion as a lack of fatherly discipline, see 1 Kings 1:6). Like Sarah's intervention to remove Ishmael from the chosen line, David's wife Bat Sheva (Bathsheba), the mother of Solomon (along with Nathan the prophet) aroused him to quell the rebellion and to name Solomon as the rightful successor to the throne.
Since King David represented the beginning of the Dynasty of Jewish Kings which would ultimately appear in the person of the Mashiach, it was crucial that the divine election of Solomon would take place, according to prophecy. This would ensure that the Temple would be built and that the Mashiach would eventually come to redeem Israel. Yeshua the Mashiach is a direct descendant of King Solomon (Matt. 1:7; Luke 3:20-31).
B'rit Chadashah Portion Summary
The readings from the Brit Chadashah concern the Greater Seed of Abraham and the Son of David, Yeshua the Mashiach of Israel.
In the reading from Matthew, the genealogy of Jesus is given through the lineage of Joseph (Luke gives another genealogy tracing descent backwards from Mary). Matthew follows the line of Joseph (Jesus' legal father), through David's son Solomon, while Luke follows the line of Mary (Jesus' blood relative), though David's son Nathan. Through either line, then, Jesus is a descendant of King David and therefore eligible to be the Mashiach of Israel.
The passage from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 tells us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can the "perishable inherit the imperishable." Sarah died. Abraham died. King David died. But there is a mystery awaiting us all, since at the sound of the "last shofar," in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will be raised and transformed into immortal bodies (techiyat hametim). When this occurs, death itself will be "swallowed up in victory" since Yeshua our LORD delivered us from the kelalah (curse) of the law's verdict against us. On account of God's love and grace, then, we can rejoice that "love is stronger than death," and the ultimate victory over the ravages of sin will forever be reversed on behalf of Yeshua our LORD and Redeemer.