Mark 15:42-16:8

Dear RTB’ers,

And when evening had come … Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (vv. 42-43) “…took courage”. The NASB says “…gathered up courage…”. Both Matthew and Luke also report on Joseph of Arimathea asking for Jesus’ body, but Mark is the only one who speaks of the courage that it took for Joseph to approach Pilate. As a prominent member of the Council he had seen what the Jewish leaders and their rabble had already done to Jesus; he must have wondered what might happen to Jesus’ followers. It took courage for him to go forward, especially in view of the fact that he was a secret follower: Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. (John 19:38b)

I have long admired Joseph of Arimathea. It’s worth mentioning Nicodemus here also. An online source has an excellent article covering both of these men, “What We Get Wrong about Nicodemus and Joseph: Often chided by readers of Scripture for hiding their faith, they showed more courage than you realize.” Here is a sampling of the content of the article:

Joseph of Arimathea shows up in every gospel account of Jesus’ death. He is described by Matthew as a “rich man” and a “disciple of Jesus” (Matt. 27:57–60). Mark describes him as a “prominent member” of the Sanhedrin and someone who was “waiting for the kingdom of God” (Mark 15:42–46). Luke calls Joseph “a good and upright man,” a “member of the Council” who didn’t agree with their decision to seek Jesus’ death (Luke 23:50–51). John calls him a “disciple of Jesus” who kept his faith secret due to fear of his fellow religious leaders (John 19:38).

https://dandarling.substack.com/p/what-we-get-wrong-about-nicodemus

It would be a delightful read for you this Sunday morning!

Blessings!

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See also:

• December 11 (2019) / Mark 15:42-47
• December 15 (2019) / Mark 16:1-8

Mark 15:22-41

Dear RTB’ers,

And it was the third hour when they crucified Him. (v. 25)

And those who passed by derided Him, wagging their heads… (v. 29a)

So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked Him to one another… (v. 31a)

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. (v. 33)

And at the ninth hour … Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last. (vv. 34a, 37)

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (v. 38)

“Truly this man was the Son of God!” (v. 39b)

Blessings!

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See also: November 18 (2023) / Matthew 27:32-66; Mark 15:21-47; Luke 23:26-56; John 19:17-42

Mark 15:1-21

Dear RTB’ers,

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. (v. 1) We read yesterday that the Jewish leaders had charged Jesus with blasphemy and agreed that He deserved to die. However, only the Romans could order a prisoner’s death. Unfortunately for the Jewish leaders, a charge of blasphemy was not a reasonable charge to bring to the Roman authorities, so they had to come up with something else. Presumably this meeting of the council resulted in a charge of treason against the Roman authorities.

The scourging, the crown of thorns, the soldiers mocking Jesus… All these trouble me. Yes, theologically, Jesus had to die on our behalf. But did He have to suffer such a horrible death? Did He have to undergo all this punishment prior to His crucifixion? Wouldn’t His death on the cross have sufficed? He could have died at the scourging. He could have collapsed under the weight of the cross. Why this horrible ordeal? Why? Why did His Father let it all happen? Why?

Again, as always, God is God, I am not. It’s my only response.

Blessings!

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See also: June 15 (2021) / Mark 15:1-20

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