Blog – Page 131 – Read Through the Bible

June 25 / Mark 16:1-20

Mark 16:1-20

Carol and I are out in Maryland for the next many days with our daughter, Nancy, and her family (including two grandkids), so my early-morning posts will probably be set aside for the next week or so.

Two years ago we spread these twenty resurrection verses from Mark’s gospel over five readings; check out all five of those 2019 posts in the links below. If you are reading the notes from a study Bible or you see verses 9-16 bracketed in your Bible, it’s because Mark’s gospel ends abruptly after verse 8 – for whatever reason. Most likely his ending got lost, just like the first and last pages of a paperback novel can go missing. Most scholars believe that other believers added to Mark’s shortened ending, bringing in bits of four events that are covered by the other three gospel writers. Those four events are Jesus (1) appearing to Mary Magdalene, (2) meeting two disciples on the road to Emmaus, (3) meeting the eleven in the Upper Room, and (4) ascending. You see only snippets of those four events mentioned in Mark, but covered in much more detail in other gospel accounts that we’ll be reading over the next five days.

Jesus speaking: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (v. 16) These verses trouble me, even though I fully believe Jesus’ words. I’m troubled because of those people with whom Carol and I have shared the gospel, but who refuse to acknowledge Jesus’ love or His gift of repentance, forgiveness and salvation. What to do? In the previous verse (v. 15b) Jesus told His disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” That’s about all we can do. Ask the Holy Spirit to intervene in their lives. Pray and wait, wait and pray.

June 24 / Matt. 28:1-20

Matthew 28:1-20

Two years ago we had 32 days of Jesus’ Passion and 18 days of His Resurrection. This year we have 18 days of His Passion and 7 days of His Resurrection. I will forever treasure our 2019 walk through the gospels!

Somehow I had always imagined that the guards had already gone to report to the chief priests before the women arrived, but verse 11 has the guards and the women leaving the tomb at the same time: While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. Verse 4 also has the guards and the angel at the tomb together: And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. So the women and the guards and the angel were all at the tomb at the same time. I recall that fear is the immediate reaction whenever an angel appears in Scripture. So that would have been the natural reaction of the women upon seeing the angel: His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. (v. 3) But it seems to me that seeing the guards there at the tomb (even in their “dead men” state) would have helped the women to realize that the angel was real and not a dream and would have helped them to calm their fear.

I will be forever confused on the timeline of Jesus’ Galilee and Jerusalem appearances to the disciples. When and where did Jesus meet the disciples during His post-Resurrection / pre-Ascension forty days? We’ve got the rest of the week to consider that!

June 23 / Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42

Luke 23:50-56 and John 19:38-42

Today we end Jesus’ Passion with His burial. John, alone, tells us of Nicodemus joining Joseph of Arimathea in placing Jesus’ body in the tomb. This is the third account of Nicodemus in John’s gospel. We all know of his long discourse with Jesus back in chapter 3, but he had also later challenged his fellow Pharisees who wanted to arrest Jesus: “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” (John 7:51) So on these three occasions we see Nicodemus’ faith moving forward. We can easily believe that he became a committed follower.

Nicodemus was a favorite topic by famous and lesser artists over the centuries. If you can forgive the “Wikipedia” reference, click: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicodemus#/media/File:Michelangelo_Pieta_Firenze.jpg. Then click on the “Pieta” sculpture image on the right and a photo will come up. Click the “go right” arrow on the right for another eight images of Nicodemus as portrayed by artists through the years.

June 22 / Mark 15:21-47

Mark 15:21-47

With more than a dozen days of postings on Jesus’ crucifixion and burial this year and in 2019 it’s hard for me to find something new to say. Even today I find that yesterday I posted on Joseph of Arimathea some of the same things I covered in 2019. But I am always encouraged when Scripture reinforces itself!

All four gospels mention women at the foot of the cross, at the tomb where Jesus was buried, and at His resurrection site. It’s a chore to nail down exactly who they were and who was present at each occasion. One person in particular, Mary Magdalene is at the crucifixion and at the resurrection site in all four gospels; Matthew and Mark also have her at the tomb. The other person of interest to me is Salome, who is mentioned in today’s reading as being at the foot of the cross (Mark 15:40). We can cross-reference to Matthew 27:56 and learn that Salome is the mother of James and John (sons of Zebedee). She is also at the resurrection site in Mark’s gospel. Identifying the other women who were at any of those three events is a chore for another day.

June 21 / Matt. 27:45-66

Matthew 27:45-66

Two days ago I commented on the Jewish leaders back at the Temple, reflecting on the darkness and the curtain of the Temple being torn in two. Today Matthew adds more to Luke’s account: …the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (v. 51) Again, the darkness, the torn curtain, the earthquake… Those Jewish leaders in the Temple area had to have been stunned by what they were seeing and feeling and to wonder seriously about what they had done. Try to picture it, folks. Back in Exodus the plague of darkness was described as …a darkness that could be felt. (Exodus 10:21b) I am certain that this crucifixion darkness would also have been felt! Especially by those who had made it happen…

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. (v. 57) I’m touched by this man, Joseph of Arimathea. All four gospels speak of him going to Pilate and asking for Jesus’ body. John even adds that he …was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews… (John 19:38b), and Mark reports that he …took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (Mark 15:43b) It took Jesus’ crucifixion and maybe those additional events of that day (the darkness, the earthquake, the curtain) for Joseph to summon the courage to announce himself as a follower of Jesus. I’m wondering what it takes for us to step out in faith and announce ourselves as followers of Jesus. I don’t mean to be that dramatic – essentially I’m wondering what it is that we are holding back, what is to be our next step of faith. Yes, each of us, what’s our next step??

June 20 / John 19:17-37

John 19:17-37

Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” (v. 22) Following up on a comment from my Study Bible… Yes, Pilate needed a reason to have Jesus crucified and the inscription that he wrote would have implied treason against the Roman empire – someone pretending or claiming to be king. But I also see this quotation as Pilate throwing it back in the Jewish leaders’ faces. Essentially he had already acceded to their wishes and put Jesus to death, but he was not going to let these leaders push him any further. He was in charge, not them. In my second set of comments below I have boldened and italicized and put in all caps the word LOVE. Going back to the Jesus Storybook Bible that we use for our Avanza devotionals, there is one other line from Jesus’ crucifixion that has always stood out to the kids: “It was not nails that kept Jesus on the cross, it was love.” These kids knew that Jesus had all power available to Him and that He could have come down from that cross, but He stayed there out of love for us and His obedience to the Father. And the kids pick up on that, every year when I ask them a question that yields that answer – it was LOVE, not nails that kept Jesus on the cross.

June 19 / Luke 23:26-49

Luke 23:26-49

My thoughts today are of two groups of people, those who formed the “procession” leading to the crucifixion and those Jewish leaders hanging out at the Temple. As for the procession – it was quite a throng. Naturally there are the Roman soldiers charged with this hideous task. There was also a …great multitude of the people and of women (v. 27b) following along, no doubt a mixed bag – Jesus’ followers and those hangers-on who would deride Him. Finally, what I noticed today – the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus (and more Roman soldiers) were also part of this procession: Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Him. (v. 32) My thoughts go to those two criminals. I see Jesus leading this procession and the criminals following behind. All along the way they are watching and listening to the crowd, those who loved Jesus and those who were taunting Him. I’m wondering if this “second thief” formed his opinion of Jesus’ innocence during this long walk, when he saw the size of the multitude and the devotion of Jesus’ followers. And from that I gather that people watch us – where we hang out, what we do, how we act. Can someone be brought into the Kingdom just based on observation of one person’s behavior? Yes, at least one person – the “second thief”…

As for the Jewish leaders (and others) hanging out at the Temple… They must have already been moved by the three hours of darkness – as I note in the second link below, a really thick darkness that would take them back to the plagues on the Egyptians. I see really dark clouds, like those preceding a storm, but with no storm on the horizon. Then, added to the darkness, the curtain of the Temple is torn in two (Luke 23:45). How shocking would that be!! How did that happen??!! What’s going on here?? Does any of this have to do with that would-be Messiah whose death we have orchestrated? I wonder if lives were changed based on these two events? It certainly must have been an ominous feeling!

June 18 / John 19:1-16

John 19:1-16

Backtracking – a chronological error… Today’s reading should have been scheduled before yesterday’s. These first 16 verses in John 19 follow completely from the last dozen verses in John 18.

A few days ago I commented on how Luke’s account of Jesus’ trial differed from the other Synoptic writers. One item I mentioned was that in Luke Pilate had said three times that he found no guilt in Jesus. Neither Matthew nor Mark had this comment from Pilate. However in John 18 and John 19 we see Pilate also saying three times, “I find no guilt in Him.” (John 18:38, 19:4, 19:6). Interesting…

Pilate spoke two 3-word sentences that remain with us today, “What is truth?” (v. 18:38a) and “Behold the Man.” (v. 19:5b) This second phrase, Ecce Homo in Latin, became famous from an 1871 painting by Antonio Ciseri. It is striking in its depiction of Pilate and Jesus in the Praetorium surrounded by soldiers and onlookers, with the Jewish crowd looking on from the pavement below and the buildings above. I have inserted a copy of that painting below (following the link to my 2019 comments), including a link where you can download the painting yourself. For us today, in light of everything that transpired in the next three days back then, we can truly say, “Behold the Man.” What Pilate said in jest, we can affirm in love.

June 17 / Matt. 27:27-44

Matthew 27:27-44

I am struck by the inhumanity, the brutality that we read about in today’s reading. First it’s the soldiers, following the scourging continuing to taunt Jesus with the purple robe and the reed, the crown of thorns, kneeling before Him, spitting, mocking. Then it’s the crowd, the passers-by with their taunts. Finally, and most horribly it’s the Jewish leaders mocking Him. (I comment on this last group in the second link below.) But then I think, “That was then, this is now.” But it’s no different today. Think of Christian persecution, even tortures and murders, especially in the Communist and Muslim worlds. Think of the taunting of American captives by local citizens, again especially in the Muslim world. Yesterday President Biden was right to charge Putin and the Russians with human rights violations. Will anything change? Not likely… Or closer to home, in our own USA, think of the persecution, torture, and murder of gays, of Asians, of African Americans, of Hispanic immigrants. We’re no different. How can people get so angry as to be so brutal? We might ask, “Where is Jesus in all this?” And the answer is, He’s right there, loving both the tortured and the torturers. It will end when He returns. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus, quickly!

June 16 / John 18:28-40

John 18:28-40

John’s gospel has the most complete account of Jesus before Pilate. In fact, after today’s 13 verses, there are another 16 verses in the next chapter dealing with Jesus and Pilate together. That will be Friday’s reading.

I mentioned a few day ago about Pilate telling the Jewish leaders three times that he could find no fault in Jesus. We hear the same sentence from Pilate again today: I find no guilt in Him. (v. 38b) This long interaction between Jesus and Pilate seems to agree with that difficulty facing Pilate. He kept up his discussion with Jesus so that he could find a reason to either release Jesus or condemn Him to death. In the end he never found a good reason – he just simply pronounced condemnation, just to satisfy the Jewish leaders.