Continuing on the Worst Week of Jesus' Life

Notes on Readings for Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Mark 12:13-17:  It is an attempt at a double entrapment.  Either Jesus will anger the people because he supports Rome, or he will speak sedition to Rome over the question of taxes.  These are the Pharisees-teachers of the Law of Moses-and the Herodians-royal supporters-who are coming after Jesus now.

Mark 12:18-27: The Sadducees are a sect of aristocratic leaders of the Jews.  They have a theology which does not include resurrection and are taking their shot at Jesus.  His response is to tell them they are flatly wrong.  Again, not the way to win friends and influence people.

Mark 12: 28-34: Here come the scribes, experts in the law, going after Jesus.  Could not get him on taxes, could not get him on resurrection, can they get him on the finer points of the Law?

Mark 12: 25-40: The scribes, Round Two.  This time it is the question of his being the Son of David, as was cried by the people during Palm Sunday.  They have a special place in Jesus’ hell, described in vss. 38-40.

Mark 12: 41-44: Against all the attacks by the leaders, here comes the balance of the true believer.

Mark 13:1-8: Jesus prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in forty years.

Mark 13:9-13: A dark view of the End of Times.

Mark 13:14-23: A passage that sounds like the worst the book of Revelations has to offer.

Mark 13:24-37:  But Jesus does not leave his disciples without hope.  The promise of his coming again is made, as is the demand to be watchful.

From Entering in Triumph to Alienating the Leadership

Notes for the Readings for Monday, March 21, 2016

Mark 11:12-14: Very strange story about Jesus cursing a fig tree.   As you continue to read, note the other references to the fig tree, further in this chapter and in chapter 13 during tomorrow’s readings.

Mark 11: 15-19: Passover saw a massive influx of pilgrims coming to Jerusalem from all over the empire.  Two things they did not often have were the right money or a proper sacrifice.  Money of the Roman Empire had the image of the Emperor.  That was no good in the temple, according to applications of the law of Moses.  So, for the convenience of visitors, money-changers would provide them with the proper funds.

The Temple still required animal sacrifice.  Carrying a couple of doves from the far reaches of the Empire was impractical.  Better to get them locally. 

The implication is that the Temple had become a place of religious commerce, with huge fees for money changing and very expensive sacrificial doves.  The Temple leadership most assuredly received a cut.  Jesus is reacting against this.

Note: verse 18-they want to kill him!

Mark 11:20-25: Round two with the Fig Tree.  Is it simply a demonstration of the power of faith?  Note what can be asked of God in faith.  It is pretty amazing.   

Mark 11: 27-33: Making an authority figure look like a fool is a sure way to make an enemy.  The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders are the senior religious leadership of the Jews.  How do you think they feel after this exchange?

Mark 12: 1-12: Consider the parable as a history of the Jewish faith.  God is the man who planted the vineyard, the tenants are these religious leaders, his prophets were sent, finally his Son was sent.  And they figure it out.

Mark 12:12: The chief priests, scribes and elders want to arrest him.

Reflection on Mark 11:1-11; Psalm 118:22-29

Palm Sunday: March 20, 2016

Mark 11: 1-11                    Jesus’ Triumphant Entry

Psalm 118: 22-29              The passage around the cries of the people

Mark 11:1-11

Jerusalem was a walled city, set up on a ridge, with a normal population of maybe five thousand.  One end of the city is dominated by the Temple, the House of the Lord, the center of the Jewish religion.  It is Passover, the Festival celebrating the Angel of Death passing over the Jewish houses in Egypt, the houses protected by the blood of the Lamb.  For this Festival, the population of Jerusalem has swollen in size.  Estimates put the population anywhere between fifty and two hundred and fifty thousand people. 

When approaching Jerusalem, coming over the Mount of Olives, between Bethpage and Bethany, the vista of the City suddenly stretches out before you.  Imagine the walled city now stretching several times its usual width under the roofs of tents and temporary shelters.  Similarly, from the City, if a crowd were coming over the Mount, it would look like they appear from nowhere as they come into view.  This is the direction that Jesus chose to approach from for the Triumphal Entry.

This was a Royal Entry, fulfilling the expectations of the Son of David.  He rode upon a colt, but not upon the ground.  The people spread their cloaks and palm branches as a veritable red carpet for Jesus to ride in on.

Consider what their cries are.  They are right and wrong.  Yes, he comes in the name of the Lord.  No, this is not the militarily established kingdom of the King and Warlord David.  It is God’ kingdom.  As Jesus enters on a ‘royal tour’, it says he toured the temple, the house of His Father. 

Psalm 118:22-29

In verse 26 is the line sung out by those greeting Jesus, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”  But the remainder of the passage does not celebrate the kingship of David.  This psalm is not even one that is attributed to being written by David. 

Rather, consider verse 22, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”  In the next chapter of Mark, chapter 12:10, Jesus will speak these words, in reference to himself.  As you read these verses, do you see a different intent then what the people cheering Jesus intended?

An Offering Of Readings for the Holy Week

This year, we are going to follow the Gospel of Mark for Holy Week Services, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.  However, there are days we do not meet to worship during Holy Week and there is Scripture between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday that we do not read.  So, here is a weeklong set of readings for your own devotional times to read the entire Holy Week Story as hold in Mark, with some fill ins from the Old Testament to round out the story

Holy Week Scripture Readings

Palm Sunday: March 20, 2016

Mark 11: 1-11                 Jesus’ Triumphant Entry

Psalm 118: 22-29           The passage around the cries of the people

Monday, March 21, 2016

Mark 11:12-12:12          Teachings and interactions raising tensions around Jesus

                                          Consider how each event is ratcheting up the pressure.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Mark 12:13-13:37          Jesus’ Final Teachings

                                          See how these readings either

                                     1.       Continue to make Jesus a target

                                     2.       Look to what will happen afterward

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Mark 14: 1-11                 The Ceremonial Preparation of Jesus for his Death

Exodus 13: 3-16              The Old Testament commands regarding Passover

                                          Compare Jesus’ death as Firstborn to the Passover discourse

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Mark 14: 12-25               The Lord’s Supper is instituted

                                          These verses shall mark our Maundy Thursday Service

Friday, March 25, 2016

Mark 14: 26-15:47         The Death of Jesus

                                          These verses shall mark our Good Friday Service

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Isaiah 53:1-12                 Mark is silent about the Sabbath when Jesus was dead. 

                                          Who is Jesus for us in his death and resurrection?

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Mark 16: 1-20                 Mark’s story of the Resurrection of Jesus

                                                                                               

So How Do We Explain When God Picks One Out Of Ninety?

My daughter leant me "Humans of New York", a book form of a popular blog (which I have yet to check out, but I think I will).  They are pictures of New Yorkers and their stories, maybe a line, maybe a few paragraphs.  One of them stabbed my heart.

There was a former pastor, been in the faith for years, now challenged out of his faith with questions of God's favoritism.  Why would God save one person out of ninety in a plane crash? (I am paraphrasing)  The one is championed, the others are forgotten, how do we process a God who acts that way? 

How do we indeed?

I am not preparing to leave the ministry over this question.  But I am challenged by it.  Am I comfortable in my own skin with how I answer that question?  Should I be comfortable in my own skin with how I answer that question?  Is there even an answer to that question?

One of the first stories that I read that touched on the theme of life and death outside of a 'churchie' environment was "The Most Dangerous Game".  Man hunting man.  It speaks to how central and how trivial questions of life and death can appear.  Because the story was thrilling, who would live?  Who would die?

But that is a story.  And yet, I am seeking the story to answer the question of "why God chooses certain people..." 

The easy escape is to immediately confess ignorance.  Put it all back on God.  God does what God wants.  God's purpose is greater than our understanding.  Tie that in to a basic presupposition that the Christian God is good and does things for a reason, and we can just blame our own ignorance for not 'understanding why'.

Consider some more reasoned responses:

Lining up human understanding of death and disaster with a presupposition that God is Good even in moments of disaster can erode our faith in that God. 

Assuming that life is random, a "crap shoot", that 's--t' happens, that divorces God from the bad things that happen.  God either cannot intervene (lack of power) or will not intervene (lack of will) in this definition.  If God isn't in the game, why bother with God?

Here is where I have gotten, thus far.
Bad things happen.  It's life, bad things and good things happen.  I focus on the human response.  What can we do after to respond, reply, and recover?  9/11 is the basis of this thinking.  Such a horrible occurrence generated such a powerful, good response.  I do not see God in the moments when the planes struck the Twin Towers, but in the hearts and lives of those who stepped up to respond. 

And this is a start.  My theology of disaster isn't finished, not by any means.

Jesus and Some Film Noir

Do you think Jesus was above using his Godly knowledge and power to inject a little dark humor into the gospel?

John 8: 12 and following is the basis for my sermon this Sunday.   Jesus says “I am the light of the world”, a reprieve of John 1, turning back the darkness as the light of life.  And the Pharisees are on him like grit on sandpaper.  You can almost hear them whining, “You can’t testify about yourself…your testimony is no good…”  They cannot stand up to the arguments that Jesus is making, so they try and undercut the person.

Jesus, being Jesus, turns their argument against them.  How about this? He suggests, how about the fact that in the law of Moses, there cannot be the testimony of one, but there must be at least the testimony of two?  Now, me, sent by the Father, is one.  And…the Father…the one who sent me, Creator of the World, Speaker through the Prophets, Bringer of Plagues to Egypt, Giver of the Land of Israel, the Big Kahuna, well, he is the other one who testifies for me. 

So, Jesus cannot be believed because he is testifying about himself.  On top of that, there need to be at least two witnesses to make the testimony rise to the litmus test of the Law of Moses.

Now flip back a dozen pages or so to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 14 to be exact.  It is time for Jesus to be executed.  We are on the cusp of Good Friday.  He is in front of the High Priest and an assemblage of leaders that want to see him dead.  And they have witnesses, lots of witnesses.  But the litmus test is that two of them have to agree on their stories.  And none of them do.  Lots of false witnesses, but they can’t get their stories straight. 

They do find a little something, something that sounds seditious about Jesus destroying the temple and rebuilding it.  Yes, that was a Jesus-ism, but the testimony of two witnesses cannot even be put together for that.

Then the high priest puts the screws directly to Jesus.  ‘Have you no answer?’ the high priest demands, ‘What is it that they testify against you?’   But Jesus was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah,^* the Son of the Blessed One?’ ⁶²Jesus said, ‘I am’.  And it all hits the fan.

Jesus is condemned because of the testimony he gave about himself, exactly what the Pharisees state does NOT count in John 8.  They could not find witnesses to testify as per the law of Moses, they said they could not use the self-testimony of Jesus, until they had to, because it was all they had, in Mark 14.  In John 8, Jesus’ testimony was the basis for a conspiracy to kill him.  In Mark 14, it would be the means of killing him.  Is that not in the tradition of the Film Noir?  A little dark humor?

And the rest of the story is history, and theology, and the basis of Holy Week.  And I leave you to consider whether Jesus pushed the Pharisees in John 8 precisely because he knew what was going to happen when they did try to line up the witnesses.

Love, a Word Unspoken, but an Action that Saturates the Magnificat

⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

She doesn’t say love.  Nowhere in the piece does she say love.  He has ‘looked with favor’ on the lowliness of his servant.  Is that love?  Perhaps love is not found in what Mary says about God, but rather, it is found in what Mary says about what God does.  Would God favor His lowly servant if He did not love her?  Is it not love that is being expressed when she says all generations will call her blessed?  God has indeed done great things for her.

Love is also evident in the way that Mary ends her Magnificat, in vss. 54 and 55, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’  What God has done for Mary is in fulfillment of the promise He made to her ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants for ever.  It is the promise of Jesus, who will be Emmanuel, God With Us…Them…

As peace rests upon love, we must know it is not simply a word.  Love rather is an attitude, it is an activity, it is ongoing.  It does great things.  It is assumed by Mary as she sings.  When God “scattered the proud”, bringing his justice into the world, that is an expression of his love.  When his faith is raised within, “my soul magnifies the Lord”, that is an expression of his love.  Indeed, God’s whole plan, his whole purpose, from the promise he made to Abraham to making Mary blessed, all is for the expression of His love. 

The argument could be made that ‘all you need is love’.  Love as an activity, peace as an activity, they could be considered synonymous.  But Jesus has developed his thinking about love in his recap of the Law.  First, love the Lord.  What is that but faith?  Second, love your neighbor.  How can that be better expressed but in the provision of justice?  After all, everyone is my neighbor. 

Upon these three, we build ‘peace’.