April 25 / Mark 12:1-27

Mark 12:1-27

Dear RTB’ers,

An STS note tells us that the Lord was using Isaiah 5:1-7 as backdrop for this parable. You might want to go to Isaiah and read that short section. {Copying John: “Go ahead, I’ll wait.”) So as Jesus began this parable, especially the first two verses, he clearly has his audience listening – the Jewish leaders in particular, in that they knew that Isaiah was referring to the nation of Israel in his prophecy (Isaiah 5:7). But then in today’s third verse Jesus completely changes Isaiah’s story. Isaiah has the vineyard producing bad grapes instead of good grapes, with the owner of the vineyard asking what to do with the vineyard that is not producing well. But Jesus has the vineyard producing good grapes as it should and the owner sending slaves – and then his son – to collect rent from the tenants. So Jesus’ twist in His parable is about the tenants, not about the vineyard fruit. Jesus has His listeners’ attention, with them expecting His reflection on Isaiah’s words, but He then turns the story upside down. Jesus’ twist to Isaiah’s story angered the Jewish leaders, but there was nothing they could do: And they were seeking to arrest Him but feared the people, for they perceived that He had told the parable against them. So they left Him and went away. (v. 12)

Then in the very next verse, they return! And they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap Him in His talk. (v. 13) Again, Jesus’ response to their trap leaves them speechless. Finally the Sadducees decide to give it a try, with their own twisted take on Moses’ teaching and He dismisses them forcefully: “You are quite wrong.” Tomorrow we will see a Scribe questioning Jesus. (Mark 12:28)

Scholars suggest that today’s incidents took place on the Tuesday or Wednesday of Holy Week. (Recall that Mark’s previous chapter was Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.) The Jewish leaders’ frustrations with Jesus are reaching a very high level, such that simple discourse with Him or trickery against Him gains them nothing. So, what comes next? We have reached the beginning of the end for Jesus.

Blessings!

See also:

April 24 / Mark 11:20-33

Mark 11:20-33

Dear RTB’ers,

Yesterday I asked questions about Jesus cleansing the Temple and cursing the fig tree. And I probably showed a bit of sympathy with the Jewish leaders as I reflected their thinking: “They wonder, who is this guy??!! What right does He have to do these things?” And today, at least for one time in the gospels the Jewish leaders ask the right question, … and they said to Him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do them?” (v. 28) Yes, they ask the right question, but Jesus befuddles them with His answer and again they are quieted. Yes, quieted, but no less angry with Him!

I’m wondering if I’ve ever “demanded” an answer from Jesus. I’ve certainly wondered why He doesn’t act as I think He should, in my life or in world affairs. Always I come to the same conclusion, that He is God and I am not. And He has answers for all my questions. When will I hear His responses? Or, will I ever hear His responses? Or, does it matter…??!!

Are the rest of you asking questions of Jesus? Or just me…?

Blessings!

See also:

April 23 / Mark 11:1-19

Mark 11:1-19

Dear RTB’ers,

It’s easy for me to say, “God is God and I am not.” I can even fully believe it. I can easily say, “Your will be done.” No problem. I might wonder, but I move on. And when it comes to Jesus, if He said it, I believe it. And if He did it, no problem – He is God and I am not. But when it comes to today’s reading – Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple and His cursing of the fig tree… Here we have Jesus acting strangely – in my Western frame of mind. [Spoiler alert: the fig tree is dead; see Mark 11:20, tomorrow’s reading.]

So, here’s today’s reading, in a nutshell. On Palm Sunday Jesus is lauded as One Who “…comes in the name of the Lord.” Then He comes to Jerusalem in the late afternoon, early evening, looks around at the Temple, and goes back to Bethany. Then on Monday he curses the fig tree on His way to Jerusalem, again arrives at the Temple and proceeds to wreak havoc among the merchants and moneychangers. The Jewish leaders are upset: And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy Him, for they feared Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching. (v. 18) They wonder, who is this guy??!! What right does He have to do these things? And then He leaves.

So how would we feel if someone were to come into Nathan Hall during Coffee Hour – crashes the coffee pots and trashes the food onto the floor and tells us all that we should be out in the streets proclaiming the Good News that we’ve just heard instead of lounging and laughing and relaxing. Truly, I find some sympathy with the Jewish leaders – the merchants and moneychangers are performing a service for those thousands of pilgrims who have traveled miles and miles to get here to offer their sacrifices at the Temple. What right does this guy have to disrupt these activities?

Does anyone else wonder with me at Jesus’ activities in today’s reading?

Closing note: God is God; I am not. If Jesus said it or did it, I’m OK with all that He says or does. But I do wonder…

Blessings!

See also:

April 22 / Mark 10:32-52

Mark 10:32-52

Dear RTB’ers,

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them … and those who followed were afraid. (v. 32a) Two days ago I highlighted the first verse from this chapter as the turning point in Jesus’ life. Today we see that played out – Jesus is headed to Jerusalem and, somewhat surprisingly, those who followed Him were afraid. Why were His followers afraid? Were they afraid for Him? Or were they afraid for themselves, that something might happen to them as a result of their following Him? Whatever their reaction, Jesus’ own mind is resolute; He knows His future (see vv. 33-34).

And then we get one of the strangest incidents in all of the gospels – James and John asking for prominence in the Kingdom: Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. (v. 37b) What a strange request! How were James and John any more important than others among the Twelve? We have a tendency in our Western society toward humility, to play down our own importance. And I now wonder if it was Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper where we began this pattern. Certainly it was not the policy of the first century Jewish leaders to demean themselves; rather, they tended to highlight their own importance. (See Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14.) Jesus understood the Ten being indignant at James and John (v. 41), and He spoke words to them that we recognize as our own Christian perspective: You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. (vv. 42b-44)

So, the next time you are asked to consider serving on the Vestry, give it a second thought. Key word: serving.

Blessings!

See also:

April 21 / Mark 10:17-31

Mark 10:17-31

Dear RTB’ers,

Mark calls him “the rich, young man”. Luke adds that he was a “ruler” (Luke 18:18) and Matthew agrees that he was young (Matthew 19:20, 22), but all three of these gospels agree that he was wealthy. While none of us is a ruler and most of us are not young, we are mostly “wealthy” – at least, we are wealthy compared to many of the poor in our own country and certainly compared to many in the “third-world”. Certainly, yes, we have much. So I put myself into the story. (You might want to join me…) If I am the “rich young man” – or even the “relatively wealthy retired older guy” – and I come to Jesus asking about eternal life (v. 17), I certainly cannot answer as did our young man, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” (v. 20b) So I fail there. But then Jesus goes deeper and says “… go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and … come, follow Me.” (v. 21b) And where does that leave me? Still sitting at my chair, typing away…

Basically I find that there are two extremes. On the one hand, I reason that God has never asked me to sell all that I have and come follow Him. I “argue” that He has called me to other tasks, given me other gifts to use to His glory.  But on the other hand, I wonder if God has not really asked of me every day – to sell it all and come follow Him! Our pastors and preachers often let us off the hook, explaining that Jesus often spoke in hyperbole and that we should not take Him so literally. But this story troubles me every time that I read it. I hope it troubles the rest of you, too.  

Blessings!

See also: April 22 (2021) / Mark 10:17-31

April 20 / Mark 10:1-16

Mark 10:1-16

Dear RTB’ers,

HAPPY EASTER! “Hallelujah! The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!” Jesus’ Resurrection is the turning point in our lives! As St. Paul writes:

… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied. But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead…

I Corinthians 15:14-20 (NASB)

Or, my own paraphrase, “If Jesus has not been raised from the dead, we are, of all people, the most to be pitied!” The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!

I’m back! I’ve taken the time off since my surgery on March 24 (when John took over – thank you, John!). I’ve had my arm in a sling this whole time, and typing while in a sling is difficult. Plus, it was good to just let my shoulder rest. Again, thank you, John, for standing in the gap!

So now we have finished with Deuteronomy, finished with the Pentateuch, and are back for another two weeks finishing the gospel of Mark. Our first verse today tells us that we are at a turning point in Jesus’ life: And He left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan… (v. 1a) We last saw Jesus in Galilee (Mark 9:30) and Capernaum (Mark 9:33). In fact, His entire ministry in Mark’s gospel has been in Samaria and Galilee and places north and east; He has not been to Jerusalem or Judea in Mark’s gospel. Another well-known verse in Luke’s gospel has an even more pointed comment on Jesus embarking on this trip: When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51) So that’s where we find Him today.

And not surprisingly, we find Him teaching – today’s topic, divorce. Society today is much more generous than Jesus with respect to divorce, but I don’t want to get into that at all. Many couples in our church have been happily married for 40, 50 and more years; others are less fortunate. But one verse in Jesus’ teaching does stand out for me today: But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” (v. 6) This week’s news had an item about the UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of “woman” referred strictly to biological sex, excluding transgender women from this classification – consistent with Jesus’ statement. How American society reacts to this decision will be interesting.

Let’s leave on a happier Easter note, Jesus speaking: Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (v. 14b) Let’s happily pray this verse today with Kelly or Daniel as they dismiss our children to Godly Play!

Blessings!

See also: April 20 (2021) / Mark 10:1-16; Luke 18:15-17

April 19 / Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12

Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12

Today Search the Scriptures gives us this little note: “Chapter 33, like Gn. 49, requires for its full understanding much research.” Indeed. I rather doubt that many of us have undertaken such research. I know I haven’t. What might we be missing out on as a result? After all, Deuteronomy 33 is here for a reason. Should we just blithely skim over it, scratching our heads as to why Moses utters these particular blessings and what they might signify? Just asking…

Moses comes to the end of his life, and we are reminded that the LORD would not allow him to enter the Promised Land. Moses gets to see the Promised Land, but he cannot go in because of his actions at the waters of Meribah. (See Numbers 20:10-13.) Though Moses begs to be allowed in, the LORD still refuses. (See Deuteronomy 3:23-29.) Sometimes, from where we sit in our comfy chairs, we look at that situation and we think that surely the LORD is unfair to Moses, that He is overly harsh in His judgment against what appears to us to be a minor issue. But do we comprehend the implications of our thinking that way? Do we really think that we are more just and righteous than God? Do we really think God is in the wrong? God is God, and we are not. We would do well to remember that.

We would also do well to remember that even here at the end of Deuteronomy, the end of the Pentateuch, we don’t have Moses’ full story. Let’s remember that he appears again, together with Elijah, in conversation with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36) I’d say that appearance trumps getting to step foot into the land of Canaan. Wouldn’t you?

See also:

April 18 / Deuteronomy 32:1-47

Deuteronomy 32:1-47

Today we have the Song of Moses. As with the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28, here we can anticipate the entire history of Israel — and the world. I’m guessing we should pay attention.

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Revelation 15:1-4

April 17 / Deuteronomy 31

Deuteronomy 31

It is the LORD Who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8

That is as true for us today as for Joshua and the people of Israel when embarking upon the conquest of the Promised Land. Do we believe it? Do we believe Him?

Think long and hard on this truth today. How does it affect your life? Or does it? If the LORD goes before you and is with you, what practical difference does it make for you? Do you think about this only in terms of going to heaven when you die, only for the sweet by and by? Or does it matter here and now?

As we are in the midst of Holy Week, let’s think about these questions in the light of the events of Jesus’ final days. What’s going on in The Last Supper and the Crucifixion? What relevance does the Resurrection really have for you personally, right here, right now?

See also: March 2 (2023) / Deuteronomy 30-32

April 16 / Deuteronomy 29-30

Deuteronomy 29-30

We should all read Deuteronomy 30 again and again. Come and see God’s heart here. Despite the caricature of God as somehow delighting in punishing the smallest infractions, we see here a God Who longs to bless His people, if only they (we) would turn to Him with their (our) whole hearts. Even though God knows full well that His people are willful and stubborn, He nevertheless offers them life, His life. Even though He sees a future wherein His people must suffer all the curses due to their rebellion, He nevertheless calls them back to Himself and promises restoration.

Taste and see that the LORD is good! Take a good long look at the steadfast love and mercy of God here. Then take a look at your own heart. Are you following the LORD with all your heart, or are you drifting away a little here and a little there (or maybe a lot here and there)? Is drifting away worth it? You know it’s not. So make the right choice. Give yourself to the LORD, Who is your life. (Dt. 30:20; Colossians 3:4)

One more thing…

You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, “I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.” This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.

Deuteronomy 29:16–19

Hebrews 12:15 references this passage, saying that we should not allow a “root of bitterness” to spring up. I often hear folks partially quote Hebrews 12:15, mentioning the “root of bitterness” and they almost always mean that we should not let anger and resentment fester so as to “take root” as bitterness. I do not disagree with that advice, but that is not at all what this “root of bitterness” is talking about, neither in Hebrews 12:15 nor here in Deuteronomy. Read it again and see for yourself what is really being said in these passages. Maybe we need to study the Scriptures more carefully and be more comprehensive in our understanding.