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.
Author: Oby Ballinger
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.
Matthew 27-28
Good morning! In today’s passage at the end of Matthew (chapters 27-28), the gospel writer narrates Jesus’ final hours, then his crucifixion and burial, followed by his resurrection and final commission for his disciples. This is no mere historical account though. The details Matthew chooses to highlight serve three main purposes: to exonerate Pilate, condemn the Jewish authority, and unleash the Christian movement to the non-Jewish world.
Matthew 26
Good morning! Today we only have one chapter to consider (Matthew 26), but it packs a great deal of significance into its 75 verses. We read about Jesus’ creation of the Last Supper ritual at what was at that time a Passover seder, followed by hours of prayer in Gethsemane, then his betrayal, desertion, arrest and trial.
Matthew 24-25
Good morning! I don’t listen to much country music, but today’s passage (Matthew 24-25) brings one song to mind: Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying”. It tells the story of a man who finds out he has terminal cancer, and how his life changed after the diagnosis. Part of its chorus goes: “And I loved deeper, And I spoke sweeter, And I gave forgiveness I’ve been denying, …I hope you get the chance, To live like you were dyin’.” This comes to mind today, because Jesus’ final words before his betrayal, arrest, crucifixion and burial call the disciple to vigilance and watchful preparedness.
Matthew 22-23
Good morning! As much as I try to avoid it as a native Minnesotan, I’m afraid that conflict is the main theme in today’s passage, Matthew 22-23. Having entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus now engages in a series of questions and parables with the other religious leaders. These sayings end up in different places according to various gospels, so it may be wise to consult a “parallel” Bible which shows where a given story ends up in each of the four gospels.
Matthew 20-21
Good morning! Today with Matthew 20-21 we finish the general ministry of Jesus and follow along as he makes the dramatic entry into Jerusalem for his final week. The key things I notice in this pair of chapters are Jesus’ emphasis on the inverted expectations of the kingdom of heaven, and the way parables take on a pointed, polemical purpose.
Pastor Oby Ballinger 