Mark 14:53-72

Dear RTB’ers,

The rooster crowing after Peter’s denial and tomorrow’s first verse, And as soon as it was morning… (v. 15:1a) both inform us of these middle-of-the-night activities by the Council. Sad that they did all this under the cover of darkness.

Again the high priest asked Him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (vv. 61b-62) I don’t know anywhere else in the gospels where Jesus proclaims His Messiahship so publicly and so directly. There are other occasions at Jesus’ trial and in John’s gospel where Jesus identifies Himself as the Messiah (especially the Samaritan woman at the well), but nowhere else does He so boldly proclaim, “I am…”

I grieve for Peter every time I read the actual words of his denial. Later we see him running to the tomb after the women had informed the apostles of their tomb encounter with the “two men”: …but these words seemed to them [the apostles] an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb… (Luke 24:11-12a) I’ve always imagined that it was Peter’s denial and his grief all day Saturday that had him up and running to the tomb. He wanted to see Jesus and ask His forgiveness. I’m wondering if “running to the tomb” might be a good metaphor for my own repentance, the suggestion being deep remorse for wrongs done. But I daresay that I don’t do much “running”, more like taking an idle stroll. Sad.

Blessings!

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See also:

• June 11 (2021) / Mark 14:53-72
• November 16 (2023) / Matthew 26:57-75; Mark 14:53-72; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:12-27

Mark 14:26-52

Dear RTB’ers,

For the past three weeks at Avanza we have focused on Holy Week. On the 15^th we watched videos covering Gethsemane and the betrayal and Jesus’ arrest (today’s RTB reading), then His trial and Crucifixion. On the 22^nd we saw the Resurrection video and Jesus’ appearances to hundreds of His followers. Finally, yesterday, we celebrated Pentecost with these Avanza kids. It is amazing to me the attentiveness that we get from these kids during introductions before the videos, then the videos, then comments after the videos. There’s something about Jesus’ suffering, His Crucifixion, and His Resurrection that “commands” these kids’ attention. It is a gripping story, no matter how many times these students, even the 4^th– and 5^th-graders have heard it.

I felt the same today reading Mark’s account of Jesus’ agony in the Garden, Judas’ betrayal, and Jesus’ arrest. I had vivid images of Peter slicing off a servant’s ear and of another young man fleeing naked into the night. My Catholic background seems (to me) to be much stronger on Jesus’ sufferings and Crucifixion than I see in Protestant churches. That background has stayed with me. Our next few RTB readings will remain powerful for me.

Blessings!

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See also:

• May 31 (2021) / Matt. 26:30-35, Mark 14:26-31, Luke 22:31-38
• June 7 (2021) / Mark 14:32-52

Mark 14:1-25

Dear RTB’ers,

And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him by stealth and kill Him, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” (vv. 1b-2) All three Synoptic gospels report these verses, in almost identical fashion. The more detailed “passover plot” is recorded in John 11:45-57, especially one verse attributed to Caiaphas, the high priest that year in speaking to the Council: You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. (John11:49b-50) With all four gospels reporting this conspiracy, I was wondering how these writers got this information? It seems most likely to me that one or more of the members of the Council became Christians themselves and recounted these conversations. Small point, but it’s what I noticed this morning… Have a great day!

Blessings!

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See also: May 27 (2021) / Mark 14:1-25

Mark 13:24-37

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus will not leave any doubt as to His return: …the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken, And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. (vv. 24b-26) I have often tried to picture this scenario and I can do that for any one fixed point on Earth. However, I presume that our entire Earth will be seeing Jesus’ return, all at the same time – the sun, the moon, the stars all active as Jesus notes above. That I find hard to comprehend. So it is with the great things of God; He is hard to comprehend – all His glory and majesty and power! When I even begin to try to comprehend all that He is, my small mind is quickly overwhelmed. Why then would I not listen to Him, obey Him, praise Him every minute of every day? I think St. Paul said it best: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 7:24-8:1)

Blessings!

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See also:

• May 20 (2021) / Mark 13:1-31
• May 24 (2021) / Matt. 25:31-46, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 21:34-38

Mark 13:1-23

Dear RTB’ers,

The End Times… Believers from Jesus’ Ascension forward have read the signs of the times and predicted that the End Times were here or near. Read Paul’s earliest epistles, especially his Thessalonian letters and you will see Jesus’ Return in his words and in his audience questions. Consider even today: And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. (vv. 7-8) Yes, even today: Nation against nation; earthquakes; famines. Jesus could return later today. Or next week. Or next year. Or thousands of years from now. No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows. (Matthew 24:36)

Blessings!

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See also: November 10 (2023) / Matthew 24:1-35; Mark 13:1-31; Luke 21:5-33

Mark 12:28-44

Dear RTB’ers,

Three story items from our short reading today and I could comment long on any one of them. But for your sakes, I’ll make them short. First, the greatest commandment: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. (vv. 29b-31) Yes, we read this (shortened) version every Sunday, but even so it never fails to hit me personally. If you’ve been with RTB for a while you’ve heard this before – these are the Bible verses that brought about my “born again” experience in May 1975, fifty years ago next month. I’ll share the longer version of this conversion tomorrow at our RTB gathering, but for now suffice to say that I was working toward the second of these greatest commandments, pretty much ignoring the first. The Holy Spirit set me straight and the rest, as they say, is history.

The second story item today is Jesus’ teaching on the Christ being the Son of David. I have posted on this item in the past and will not repeat that, but if Jesus’ teaching on this matter is confusing to you, send me a note and I’ll find that longer post.

Finally, our third story item, the widow’s mite… Again, I’ve commented before, but it’s worth a mention here. There are probably millions of Christians out there who have difficulty with tithing, thinking that it’s a bit of a challenge to pledge ten percent of their income to their church budget every year. But tithing is the least of four Biblical injunctions on giving. Consider: first, the widow’s mite, what we read today; second, “first fruits”, an  Old Testament command, that the Israelites bring the first fruits of their harvest to the Lord – not knowing if there would be more “fruit” down the road; and third, the story of “the rich young ruler”, an item we read recently. Jesus asked him to give away all that he had and follow Him. The biggest of all the Biblical commands on giving… Each of these three items make tithing a much smaller demand.

Good lessons for today. See you tomorrow, I hope!

Blessings!

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See also:

• May 13 (2021) / Mark 12:18-37
• May 17 (2021) / Mark 12:38-44, Luke 20:45-21:4

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!

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See also:

• May 10 (2021) / Mark 12:1-17
• September 16 (2019) / Mark 12:18-27

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!

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See also:

• September 4 (2019) / Mark 11:20-26
• September 6 (2019) / Mark 11:27-33

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!

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See also:

• May 3 (2021) / Matt. 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11
• May 5 (2021) / Matt. 21:12-17, Mark 11:12-19, Luke 19:45-48