Mark 9:30-50 Why are you fighting? Immediately after Jesus tells them (a second time) that he knows this mission of his will end in death (more than that, in new life), his disciples begin fighting over who’s the best. It sounds a like a parent talking to his children, the way Jesus handles the situation.…
Month: March 2019
Lent 2019 Day 25: Mark 9:14-29
Mark 9:14-29 If you can Jesus arrives at a big fight going down. His rebuke, then, is not about the father seeking relief for his son. Instead it is about those bickering rather than showing love and compassion to the ones being victimized. Jesus, then, will demonstrate true compassion and asks to see the boy.…
Lent 2019 Day 24: Mark 9:2-13
Mark 9:2-13 Mountain Top Experience Jesus is transfigured. What does that mean? We don’t know exactly how he was changed, but we are told that his clothes become whiter than seems possible, and that Elijah (the one whom Malachi predicted would come) and Moses (the only prophet to speak with God face to face) come…
Lent 2019 Day 23: Mark 8:27-9:1
Mark 8:27-9:1 Ups and Downs Peter, the brash disciple, does it again. When Jesus asks who the disciples think he is, Peter responds that He is the Messiah (the redeemer King). Continuing the theme of the secret, Jesus asks them not to say anything yet. Immediately afterward, Jesus predicts that he will die and it…
2019 Lent Day 22: Mark 8:14-26
Mark 8:14-26 Come on! At the start of today’s passage, Jesus is trying to warn his disciples about the “yeast of the Pharisees;” the idea that a little bit of bad teaching gradually works its way through everything. Instead, the disciples hear “yeast” and immediately think with their stomachs. Jesus can scarcely believe it. Why…
2019 Lent Day 21: Mark 8: 1-13
Mark 8:1-13 I can’t get no… In today’s reading, we see the feeding of the four thousand. Similar to the previous miracle of this sort, Jesus is reluctant to send people away, and this time he gives us a more explicit reason. The people (4000+) are fed and satisfied as a result of Jesus’ miracle.…
2019 Lent Day 20: Mark 7:24-37
Mark 7:24-37 The Secret Spreads The passage today opens with yet another reference to the “secret” of God’s Kingdom as the Gospel of Mark tells it. Yet this time, the secret is spreading to the foreigner. And we have a somewhat troubling passage in the Gospel. The question here is, what is going on with…
2019 Lent Day 19: Mark 7:1-23
Mark 7:1-23 Authentic Living Again Jesus is asked a question about the behavior of him and his disciples, and Jesus cannot contain himself. It’s as though Jesus responds with: -Are you serious? This is what you’re going to after? I’m trying to build a new kingdom. I’m confronting the ills that you have helped bring…
2019 Lent Day 18: Mark 6:45-56
Mark 6:45-56 Take Courage Imagine being a disciple on that boat. In the midst of the storm, unable to make any progress. And here comes Jesus. Just strolling along. It. was. terrifying. The part that was terrifying though, wasn’t the storm. It was Jesus coming in the midst of the storm. Like the Demoniac who…
2019 Lent Day 17: Mark 6:30-44
Mark 6:30-44 Give them something to Eat Again there is a reference to this sort of “Markan Secret,” which we’ve discussed before. It’s a bit indirect, but the idea is that Jesus and the disciples, having come back together following the death of John the Baptist after they had been sent out, attempt to go…
