Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 14-16.

I was going to write about Judas, or about Peter, or perhaps Judas and Peter.  Then I read through the ending of Mark, which appears to be chapter 18, verse 8.  I was going to ignore verse 9 through the end, because that appears to be a later addition.  However, after some thought about how I understand the Bible, and God’s power, I decided to write what I thought about Mark ending with verse 8, then a bit about the rest.  When the women were heading to the tomb early Sunday morning, they were worrying about how they would roll aside the stone in order to get to Jesus’ body to finish the burial preparations.  In a way, they were praying to be able to give their last respects to someone they dearly loved.  God answered that prayer, but not in a way which bore any resemblance to  what they had hoped for.  In fact, God’s answer to their prayer was so much better than what they were thinking that they did not make the connection.  As a result, they were frightened and fled.  They were coming to Jesus’ tomb to say good bye to Him, because they believed He was dead and that they would not see Him again.  Instead, they found Jesus’ body gone and someone who told them that He was risen.  Mark tells us that the women fled and told no one.

Which brings me to the “add-on” of verse nine to the end.  It appears that later scribes who copied the Gospel of Mark felt that this ending left us hanging with no explanation of what came next.  So, they added this bit which contains summations of information from other Gospels.  Now, I had decided, after some thought, that we should consider this addition as the canon, as authoritative, because it has been copied as part of the Gospel of Mark for so long.  I believe in God’s power to maintain the accuracy of the Bible.  Therefore, if this addition did not contain material which God considered important for guide us in following His will, He would have arranged for it to be removed.  Today, as I was putting my thoughts together, I discovered that this addition to the Gospel of Mark goes back to at least the Second Century A.D..  Which means it was likely included by people who knew witnesses to Jesus’ life.  And that brings me to what we need to learn from this addition.  Jesus told His Disciples, and through them us, that signs would accompany those who believed in Him.  I am going to look at one of those signs which Jesus mentions here: they will pick up snakes with their hands.  Some people make a ritual out of following this, but I think it refers more to what happened to Paul after he was shipwrecked.  Paul did not purposefully pick up a venomous snake, but when he did so and was bitten, it did not harm him.  In the same way, we should follow God’s direction without spending time fearing a dangerous place, or even a dangerous action.  That does not mean we do not take danger into account.  It just means that we do not let danger stop us from doing what the Spirit has directed us to do.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 12-13.

I am going to try linking the accounts of the three questions asked of Jesus in today’s passage.  These stories come in the context of the Jewish teachers of the law and other leaders seeking a way to arrest Jesus without inflaming the crowds.  So, the first question was intended to either get Jesus to say something which would allow them to get the Romans to arrest Him, or alienate the crowds.  If He declared that Jewish Law, the Law of Moses, forbade paying tax to Caesar, they could accuse Him of insurrection to the Romans.  On the other hand, if He said that the tax to Caesar was legitimate under Jewish Law, they would have been able to present Him to the crowds as a stooge for the Romans.  Jesus avoided both of these while pointing out to the crowd that the hypocrisy of those who had tried to trap Him.  Then the Sadducees tried a different trap.  They thought they had found a contradiction between the Law of Moses and belief in the resurrection of the dead.  Jesus pointed out the “easy out” on this and that they did not believe in resurrection because they did not believe that even God could bring the dead back to life.  The final questioner was honestly interested in Jesus’ answer.  And because the questioner was honest in seeking to understand what Jesus taught, Jesus gave him a sincere, honest answer.  Not that Jesus’ other answers were not honest and sincere, it’s just that this last answer did not include any condemnation of the questioner.  Each of the answers teach us important lessons about our God and our faith.  However, taken together these three answers from Jesus teach us how to answer those who question our beliefs.  If they are looking to understand then we should answer them honestly and with respect.  On the other hand, if they are asking in order to trap or  trick us we should answer with shrewdness and wit.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 10-11.

It is interesting the things which we almost never notice.  In today’s passage I have never before noticed that the rich man in today’s passage fell to his knees before he asked Jesus his question.  For that matter, I don’t think I have ever heard anyone comment upon that fact.  It adds a bit of nuance to several elements of the story.  My first thought was that it makes his walking away from Jesus even more stark.  But, it also puts a new look on Jesus’ response about being called “good”.  There are two possible explanations for the man falling to his knees before Jesus.  First, it could have been an expression of sincere supplication.  Second, it could have been an effort to put on a show of sincere supplication.  In the first case, it makes it much sadder that the man was unwilling to give up his wealth and follow Jesus.  In the second case, it suggests that the man came to Jesus to ask the question in order to appear righteous.  The more I think about this incident the more I am convinced that the man was posturing more than he was truly seeking guidance.  In which case, it makes more clear the point which Jesus was making when He asked why the man called Him good.  The man approached Jesus with an appearance of worshipful supplication.  Jesus points out that only God deserves such a worshipful approach.  I want to highlight one other thing about this because Muslims often use this exchange as evidence that Jesus denied that He was God.  In fact, I think this passage does the exact opposite.  By asking why the man called Him good, Jesus is highlighting that when people called Him good they were acknowledging His divinity.  This same reasoning applies to those today who want to say that Jesus was a good teacher but not divine.  Jesus said that only God is good.  Therefore if you call Him a good teacher you cannot also say that He is not God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 8-9.

Whenever I read Mark’s account of Jesus healing the blind man at Bethsaida I wonder why he felt the need to include the part about Jesus having to touch the man’s eyes twice.  Today it occurred to me that while this actually happened it is also a metaphor for how so many of us come to know God.  Sometimes we are blind to God’s will for us until we ask Jesus to touch us, or, more likely, until someone asks for us.  However, sometimes we still only see blurrily, such that people look like trees walking.  In those cases, we need Jesus to touch us again, so that we might clearly see God’s will.  I was reading the passage again to see what else I wanted to write about today when I realized that Peter’s proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah immediately followed this story.  Mark’s account of that sort of reflects the above lesson.  First, Jesus asks His disciples who people say that He is, then He asks them who they say that He is.  The answers they gave to the first question reflected what those who had been touched once saw, but they, who had been touched repeatedly by Jesus, saw more clearly.  Let’s not settle for blurred vision.  Instead, let us walk with Jesus daily so that He may make our vision clear.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 6-7.

I want to start by commenting on an interesting literary trick which Mark uses here.  I have noticed it before, but nevertheless it still works on my every time.  He tells us that Jesus sent the Twelve out two by two to preach, heal the sick, and drive out demons.  Then he writes about how, some time earlier, Herod had beheaded John the Baptist before writing about how Jesus debriefed the Twelve upon their return leading into the account of feeding the five thousand.  By interjecting the account of Herod beheading John, Mark causes us to feel that a significant amount  of time passed between Jesus’ time in Nazareth and the feeding of the five thousand.  Of course the thing we also miss with this is that the Twelve had just returned from performing miracles which amazed them when they were reluctant to feed the five thousand.  They failed to make the connection between the wonders they had just performed over the course of many days by the power of the God who had given the Israelites manna in the wilderness and feeding a crowd of people.  How often do we fail to make the connection between the power God has demonstrated in our lives and His ability to address the need in front of us?

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Mark 4-5.

I want to comment today on something Mark quoted Jesus as saying early in this passage.  He told His disciples that He taught using parables because they had been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but that those on the outside would “be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”  Then a little later He told them that whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed.  Which He followed by telling them to consider what they hear carefully because whoever has will be given more, and whoever does not have even what they have will be taken.  So, we need to listen carefully to what Jesus teaches.  Those who choose to misconstrue what He teaches will find it ever harder to understand later.  Yet, if we strive to understand His teaching, we will be able to learn it ever more clearly.  

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 1-3.

When the man with leprosy came to Jesus he said, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Mark writes that Jesus was indignant when the man said that to Him.  Later, when Jesus saw the man with the withered hand in the synagogue, Mark writes that He looked around angry.  In the first case, why was Jesus indignant?  I believe He was indignant because He knew that the man was unsure if Jesus was willing to heal him because he knew many people who would have been unwilling to heal him if they were able.  In the synagogue Jesus was angry because of those who were present who were more interested in finding cause to accuse Jesus than they were in helping relieve the suffering of their fellow man.  Finally, the passage ends with Jesus telling the crowd around Him that whoever does God’s will is His brother and sister and mother, whoever does God’s will is His family.  So, those who wish to be part of Jesus’ family seek ways in which to alleviate the sufferings of others.  If those who know me do not know that I would risk myself to help others, I have either failed to understand Jesus’ message, or have failed to communicate that message.  If others who know me think I might judge them for helping others, no matter the circumstances, I have either failed to understand Jesus’ message, or failed to communicate that message.  Those things hold true for you as well.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 14-16.

Shortly after telling Jesus that even if all others abandoned Him, he, Peter, would stand with Him, Peter fell asleep while Jesus was praying in deep distress. After admonishing Peter, and the other disciples, for falling asleep, Jesus said something which should resonate with all of us.  “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  I think that this statement by Jesus about His disciples with Him there in the Garden of Gethsemane applies to us as well and shows how well He understands us.  In many ways, my spirit wishes to serve God, but my flesh is weak and I fail.

I want to highlight that the only followers of Jesus whom the writer records as being present at His crucifixion were women.  I find that significant because it paints a negative picture of His male disciples.  In addition, this account indicates that it was women to whom news of Christ’s resurrection was  first reported.  And why is either of those things important?  Because they make the idea that Jesus’ disciples made up the story of His resurrection implausible.  If the early Christians had made up the story, those who led the early Church would have been cast in a more positive light.  They would have been the ones who stood by Jesus as He went to the cross.  They would have been the ones to discover the empty tomb.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 12-13.

Today’s passage contains Jesus’ prophecy regarding the end times and His return.  Today I want to focus on two aspects of Jesus’ prophecy.  First, He warns us not to be deceived by those who falsely come in His name.  Jesus tells that many false prophets and false messiahs will come, performing signs and marvels to deceive.  We need to be on guard and compare the messages of those who claim to speak on behalf of God to that which He has already told us.  In this prophecy Jesus tells us of many signs which will tell us that the day of His return is near.  However, He also tells us that no one knows the day and hour of His return aside from the Father.  Therefore, we must remain on alert and on guard, making sure to be carrying out the tasks which God has given us.  We must not let His return find us sleeping and allowing our tasks to remain undone.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 10-11.

When Jesus was questioned about divorce He quoted from Genesis chapter one and chapter two.  First He states that from the beginning God created them male and female.  I try to avoid controversial topics of discussion going on about us today, but this clearly runs contrary to the idea many today have that there are multiple genders.  He then continues to say that this duality of mankind is why a man leaves his parent and gets married, with the man and woman becoming one.  This contradicts the idea that same sex marriage can be the same sort of union as traditional, heterosexual marriage.  Up until this point, Jesus merely paraphrased what Genesis said.  However, He then reaches a conclusion about what these facts about God’s design mean for us.  Jesus brought up these facts when He was asked His position on divorce.  Jesus tells us that these basic facts of Creation tell us that divorce is wrong.  Which leads me to conclude that if we want to address the issues of today we must first address an issue which the Church in America “passed” on in the 1970s: divorce and heterosexual infidelity.  God calls us to either abstain from sexual acts, or to remain faithful to the one we marry.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.