Good morning! Today’s birth stories of Jesus in Luke complement the stories from Matthew about a virgin birth, flight into Egypt and wise men traveling from afar. In Luke 2-3, we see this writer’s focus on ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and the beginning of Jesus’ adult life with his baptism by John in the Jordan River.
Month: October 2016
Luke 1
Good morning! We’re in one of my all-time sweet spots in the Bible today, having just finished Mark and now starting Luke. These are my two favorite gospels, for differing reasons. We’ve discussed the power and immediacy of ministry with Jesus in Mark, so let’s turn our attention to Luke’s main themes. This is the last of the three “synoptic” gospels (meaning they look at the Jesus story through quite similar eyes). Like other gospels, Luke lifts up recognizable themes throughout this narrative. His favorite emphases include angels, overlooked people (like women and the poor), and the Holy Spirit. We’ll see all these traits even today, just in Luke 1. Finally, Luke writes this gospel as the first of a two-volume set, sometimes called “Luke-Acts”. Today we start the book of Jesus’ life, then Acts will later tell us about the life of the early church started in Jesus’ name.
Mark 15-16
Good morning! Today with Mark 15-16, we finish this gospel by reading about Jesus’ crucifixion, death and burial. The final chapter of Mark is unique in several ways—it’s the only gospel with multiple endings, and the only one in whose (earliest) ending the risen Jesus doesn’t appear.
Mark 14
Good morning! Today we read only one chapter, Mark 14, but it represents the full first half of the passion narrative in this gospel. It seems like we were just reading the Matthew version! As has become my custom, I’ll just comment on those things I notice that differ from Matthew’s gospel and/or stand out here.
Mark 12-13
Good morning! Today Mark’s gospel starts out describing Jesus in heated conversation with “them”. Because the context is carried over from yesterday, looking back to Mark 11 we remember that Jesus is speaking with “chief priests, the scribes, and the elders”. Remember also that Jesus has ridden into Jerusalem, and is currently at the beginning of his final week. This context helps us make sense of the pitched battle of ideas in Mark 12, and the “Little Apocalypse” of Jesus in Mark 13.
Mark 10-11
Good morning! It’s hard to believe, but with today’s reading, (Mark 10-11) we are already two thirds of the way through Mark’s gospel. We cover a fair amount of familiar ground here because Matthew used Mark to shape his gospel.
Mark 8-9
Good morning! As we work through Mark’s gospel, you’ll certainly recognize vignettes from Matthew’s version—some of them word for word the same in both books. Other scenarios, like the feeding of 4,000 at the start of Mark 8, have echoes of the earlier feeding of 5,000. (It also reminds one of God’s bread—manna—provided in the wilderness so long ago.) What struck me anew in this reading—consistent with Mark’s focus—is the cluelessness of the disciples when Jesus tries to convey what being Messiah truly entails.
Mark 6-7
Good morning! Today in Mark 6-7, Jesus and his disciples encounter some of the challenges that come from being well-known and universally sought out. Discipleship calls for discipline beyond what the followers of Jesus thought they had, and they are fed by power beyond themselves in the midst of the ministry.
Mark 4-5
Good morning! Parables and miracles are the themes of today’s passage, Mark 4-5. The parables are instructive by nature, but the miracles of Jesus carry as much significance here as the parables, if we investigate them a bit further.
Mark 1-3
Good morning! Our fast pace in reading through the Bible this year has prepared us some for what comes next, but Mark’s gospel will especially feel fast and furious. Mark is the earliest gospel written—perhaps twenty or thirty years after the resurrection—and it provides a key literary source for Luke and Matthew. The gospel proceeds at breakneck pace through the story of Jesus: Mark’s preferred description for anything that happens is “immediately”. Another key characteristic of Mark is that the disciples of Jesus come across almost as foolish as the Three Stooges—they NEVER understand what he’s talking about. Mark’s Jesus keeps his identity as “Son of God” a secret (essentially telling unclean spirits that “out” him to “zip it!”), and he gives less explicit teaching in order to emphasize miracles. Mark’s multiple endings reveal different perspectives on the resurrection—which we’ll consider more when we get there. As we’ll see in today’s passage (chapters 1-3), Mark is also the only gospel without a birth or origin story.
Pastor Oby Ballinger 