Mark 15: Barabbas and Us

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Friday, Oct 26: Mark 15

The release of Barabbas continues to amaze and confound. Intended as an act of grace — the governing authority benevolently commuting one under penalty of death — the crowd’s cry for Barabbas’ release now stands as the height of injustice. The innocent man suffers while the criminal walks.

But isn’t this the story of all creation? Isn’t this the story of grace? Again, we are meant to identify with Barabbas. We are wholly undeserving of such mercy. Our past transgressions cry out to us across the expanse of history, condemning us for our crimes. This is justice, in the strictest sense of our understanding. But God’s justice is linked to His righteousness, His character, His goodness. And in His righteous goodness, He steps forward to absorb the weight of penalty. He bids us sin no more, for these sins have been absolved and we have been set free. I suppose we might call this unjust…but we have far better words for such a transaction.

Grace.
Compassion.
Mercy.
Love.
Gospel.

This is what we hear as our name is called. Now the crowded streets of heaven cry our name alongside Barabbas and all who would receive this incredible gift of unmerited favor. “He has done this…for you.” And we live in light of this reality.

And, as we know, this makes all the difference for us.

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Mark 14

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Thursday, Oct 25: Mark 14

We’ve reached the climax of Mark’s writing: the hours leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. The setting here is no doubt familiar to many of us: Jesus and His disciples observing the Passover; Jesus initiating a new covenant observance for those who would follow Him; His time of prayer; the disciples falling asleep; the betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter.

What is surprising is the power of this narrative to stir something within us no matter how many times we’ve read it or heard it. The temptation is to “switch off” — to think, “Yeah, yeah, yeah…heard this before.” But when we really go there, we find ourselves in this world of sights and sounds that unfolds for us directly in the pages of Scripture. I hear my own voice as Peter denies Jesus; I see my own weakness in his heavy lids in the Garden; Simon’s drawn sword too often encapsulates my own violent posture. Worst of all, I suppose, is the look on Judas’ face — full cognizance of his surroundings, complete awareness of what he is about to do. This look resonates with us because we’ve been there. We ARE there right now. And so this narrative moves in the deep places of our hearts, brimming with life and power, and we are changed because of it.

This is why Mark writes.
And this is why we read.

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Mark 13

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Wednesday, Oct 24: Mark 13

The coming of the Kingdom is of primary significance in Jesus’ ministry and teaching. Understandably, those around Him are constantly pressing Him for an answer as to its coming. “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake.” (v32-33). N.T. Wright has said: “The crucial question is not so much that of the kingdom’s timing as of its content.” Jesus offers us surprisingly little about the timing of the Kingdom’s culmination in history. But He does offer plenty of explanation as to the nature and quality of this Kingdom reign.

This is why He returns again to the fig tree in vv28-31. This fig tree is more important to Mark than any other Gospel writer. In it, Mark sees a parable of Israel: incapable of understanding and interpreting the times as they unfold before them. Israel’s failure is one of perception: they have eyes, yet they do not see; ears, but they do not hear. Though they have been given every indication of the coming of this Messianic “season”, they have failed to accept it when the moment arrives. Undeterred, Jesus offers a grim judgment against this, reminding us all that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away,” (v31).

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Top Ten Ways to Kill Your Blog Readership

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jason
  1. Start a daily Bible study blog

No need to work on #2-10…#1 pretty much did the trick!

Posted in Blogging, Humor | 4 Comments

Mark 12

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Tuesday, Oct 23: Mark 12

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” This injunction is mentioned once in the Old Testament (Lev. 19:18) and seven times in the New Testament (Matt. 19:19, 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8) It is the core Christian ethic for relating to others.

The thing about these New Testament references is that love for others is intrinsically related to love for God. In fact, Jesus can’t seem to separate the two, at least not in the way we sometimes would like. It seems there is no place in the Gospel of Jesus for a love for God that does not manifest itself in love for neighbor.

I read a Dorothy Day quote in Philip Yancey’s What’s So Amazing About Grace? that has always stuck with me. She said, “You really only love God as much as you love the person you love the least.” I hope that isn’t true.

But I think it might be.

Love your neighbor.

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Mark 11

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Monday, Oct 22: Mark 11

“Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
(Micah 7:1 ESV)

In the OT book of Micah, God chastises Israel for their lack of fruit-bearing at His arrival. In Mark 11, Jesus takes on this same role as He curses the fig tree (v12-14). But the text says that it was not the season for figs. Why does Jesus issue this judgment on the fig tree? Isn’t it NATURAL for trees to bear fruit in season?

This seems to be part of the teaching: Jesus is calling His followers to a counter-cultural way of life, similar to the way of life Israel had been called to through the OT Law. Isa. 49 tells us that God always intended for Israel to be a light to the world through their obedience to Torah; in the New Covenant, God’s desires are consistent for His people, the church, to declare His goodness and glory through their lives of faith. Jesus curses this fig tree for participating in the cycle of fruit and barrenness that marks our world. The greater teaching is that Jesus expects fruit born of radical faithfulness, faithfulness that expresses itself beyond the norms of “regular” life and its seasons.

We are right to hear these words as a warning against the temple and the institutionalized worship that occurred there. Torah was always intended to bring real life, not rigid religiosity. But these words are also a reminder for our day as well, a safeguard against mere ritualism. We would do well to heed the words of Jesus in v22:

“Have faith in God.”

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Mark 10

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Friday, Oct 19: Mark 10

This is a chapter full of questions. The Pharisees ask, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” The rich young man asks “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The disciples ask Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” Twice Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” But in response to the selfish requests of James and John, Jesus asks, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” But to blind Bartimaeus, Jesus says, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”

We come to God with our questions: theological questions, practical questions, self-centered questions, altruistic questions. And it seems that God has a few questions in return sometimes. But Mark also holds up Jesus as the answer — the faith response to each of our bewilderments. As we noted in the last chapter, faith and doubt sometimes make strange bedfellows. But this intersection between faith and doubt is where Jesus stands as the ultimate answer to what ails us. “What do you want me to do for you?” This is the question calling to us from heaven. In faith, we respond by asking Him to do that which we cannot do for ourselves. In so doing, we find redemption.

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Mark 9

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Thursday, Oct 18: Mark 9

In the Transfiguration, the future intersects the present. We see a glimpse of Christ in His ultimate glory, illuminated in power and flanked by Moses and Elijah, who represent the Law and the Prophets. The written word culminates in the Living Word; the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises are realized in God’s Yes (2 Cor. 1:20). In Jesus, God’s glorious future has burst forth in our time.

But this glory is laid alongside the narratives we read here: stories of sick children in need of a cure, stories of evil running rampant in the world, doubt ever threatening to have run of the store. But this is where faith wages it’s war: “I do believe, but help me with my doubt!” (v24). Faith is the in-breaking of the future in our minds and hearts; doubt is the reality of our present condition. But, like the disciples, we see the new horizon that comes to us through Christ. What will be frames the present.

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Mark 8

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Wednesday, Oct 17: Mark 8

Given Mark’s context, it seems the feeding of the 4,000 (v1-10) occurs in Gentile territory, which is significant. It demonstrates Jesus’ role as living bread for the Gentiles, an issue that the early church will continue to wrestle with long after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. But Jesus continues to draw the hungry to Himself, feeding them with the bread from heaven.

This sustenance is contrasted with the leaven of the Pharisees, the dissatisfying combination of legalism and hypocrisy. But the remaining verses in this chapter help illuminate the nature of this bread that Jesus represents.

First, we receive this bread through faith. Peter’s confession of Christ’s identity — “You are the Christ,” — becomes our conduit for eternal life. But this life is characterized by the words Jesus speaks in vv34-36: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake eand the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

This is the question we would do well to ask ourselves in a culture of self-interest and material pursuit.

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Mark 7

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Jason

Reading for Tuesday, Oct 16: Mark 7

In this chapter, “defilement” is one of the major themes. The Pharisees and scribes confront Jesus for His practice of failing to wash His hands prior to eating, thereby risking defilement. But Jesus responds with a withering assessment of their approval of Corban (wealth devoted to God) as a loophole for avoiding responsibility to care for aging parents. Jesus goes on to teach that defilement comes from within, not from without. “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person,” (v20-23).

Jesus journeys to Tyre and Sidon and encounters a Syro-Phoenician with a demon-possessed daughter. In popular Jewish thought, Jesus is traveling to a defiled territory to interact with defiled people, particularly this woman’s daughter. And even when He seems to keep her at arms length upon her initial request, this woman indicates the true direction of her heart: she pleads with Jesus to issue a word of healing. Moved by her faith — the condition of her heart — Jesus grants her request.

Jesus moves out to the region of the Decapolis and engages in one more healing, this time a deaf and dumb man. Again, the story’s setting is instructive; we see this as yet another demonstration of God’s gracious reception of “the defiled” in the inclusive ministry of Jesus. Praise God, for we all are received by this gracious God, in spite of our own deep-seated defilement.

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