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April 28th, 2024

4/28/2024

This Sunday’s title is ‘The Fifth Sunday of Easter’ [with the Gospel reading of John 15:1-8], and as we are continuing our walk through the Easter season, in these writings we are continuing our walk through the Gospel according to Mark, in the way that it was laid out for us long ago—that means without an emphasis on the chapter and verse divisions.

There is a noticeable progression within this account. Jesus gets his enemies pretty mad at him quite soon within this account. He then travels north and stays away from Jerusalem for a short while. He teaches his disciples about what is certainly to come with his cross and resurrection. And at the start of so-called ‘chapter ten’ of this account, he comes back to the area near Jerusalem. And you may able to see quite easily the tension building within the situation. In the first case, there is tension with his enemies. In the second case, there is tension with his friends. Jesus gets angry with his disciples. At first the enemies were questioning him; later it was the disciples who were doing the questioning. And the questions continue today.

The word ‘again’ has not been seen for a while. (It was last used in the eighth chapter at verses 1, 13, and 25.) It will be used somewhat frequently again. It is a good reminder that Jesus sometimes did the same things again and again. New things can sometimes be too distracting, and what is important can be easily forgotten.

What follows could be called a somewhat-literal translation of Mark 10:1-17; and the words in bold print are the historical presents within the text (where some type of past-tense verb is expected, but a present tense is given; and you may wish to look at other translations or a study bible to examine the text more carefully):

And from there, having risen, he comes into the regions of the Judea, and beyond the Jordan, and they go with, again, crowds, toward him, and as he was accustomed, again he was teaching them. And having come toward, Pharisees, they were questioning him, if it is permitted for a man, a wife to release, tempting him. Now the one, having answered, he said to them, “What you, he did command, Moses?”

Now the ones said, “He allowed, Moses, a bible of apostasy to write and to release.”

Now the Jesus said to them, “Toward the hardheartedness of you he wrote to you, the commandment, this. Now from beginning of creation, male and female, he made them. For the sake of this he will leave, a man, the father of him, and the mother, and he will be glued toward the wife of him, and they will be, the two, into flesh, one; so as no longer they are two, but on the contrary, one flesh. Therefore, what the God yoked together, man, not let separate.

And in the house, again, the disciples, about this, they were questioning him. And he says to them, “Whoever releases the wife of him, and he marries another, he commits adultery against her; and if she, having released the husband of her, she marries another, she commits adultery.”

And they were carrying to him children, that them he might touch; now the disciples rebuked them. Now, having seen, the Jesus, he was angry, and he said to them, “Allow the children to come toward me, do not prevent them; for the ones of such, is the kingdom of the God. Amen, I am saying to you, whoever not receives the kingdom of the God as a child, certainly not he will enter into it.” And embracing them, he was blessing, putting the hands upon them.

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April 20th, 2024

4/20/2024

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This Sunday’s title is ‘The Fourth Sunday of Easter’, and in the three-year series it is also known as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’. And as we are continuing our walk (like sheep) through the post-Easter appearances of Jesus and the pre-Easter big-picture references of the Easter season (the Gospel reading being John 10:11-18), in the writings of this website we are currently walking through the Gospel according to Mark, as it has carefully been laid out for us (like sheep following the shepherd).

What is below is the last part of the last time that Jesus is far away from Jerusalem. He had already predicted that he would suffer. He already predicted many awful things. But, simply put, those are just words. But, also simply put, any words from God are extremely important. God’s words can create and destroy. Jesus is going to be giving a lot of words in the following section. And some of those words are meant to handle problems when he is no longer visibly among them. And it could be said that a similar situation continues to this day.

What follows is somewhat-literal translation of the next section of this gospel account (Mark 9:30-50; you may wish to look at other translations or a study bible to examine the text more closely; and the only phrase below that is in bold print is called an ‘historical present’—they are given more frequently in other parts of the account when Jesus is not doing so much teaching; these historical presents occur when a past-tense verb is expected, but a present-tense verb is given; and this time the historical present is given as a result of his followers being difficult, and Jesus, like a lion, knows how to deal with that):

And from there, having come out, they were going along through the Galilee, and not he was wanting that anyone would know; for he was teaching the disciples of him, and he was saying to them, “The Son of the Man is given over into hands of men, and they will kill him, and, having been killed, after three days, he will arise.” Now the ones were ignorant of the word, and they were fearing him, to question.

And they came into Capernaum. And in the house having been, he was questioning them. “What, in the way, were you dialoguing?” Now the ones were being silent; for toward one another they debated, in the way, who is greater. And having sat, he called the twelve, and he says to them, “If anyone wants first, to be; he will be, of all, last, and of all, a servant.” And having taken a child, he stood him in middle of them, and embracing him, he said to them, “Whoever, one of the such children, he receives upon the name of me, me he receives; and whoever me, he receives, not me, he receives, but on the contrary, the one having sent me.”

He spoke to him, the John: “Teacher, we saw someone in the name of you throwing out demons, and we were hindering him, because not he was following us.”

Now the Jesus said, “Do not hinder him; for no one, there is, who will make a mighty thing upon the name of me, and he will be able, quickly, to speak evil of me. For who, not, he is against us; for us, he is. For whoever gives drink, you, a cup of water in name, because of Christ you are, amen, I am saying to you that certainly not he will lose the reward of him. And whoever scandalizes one of the little ones of these, the ones believing, good it is for him, more, if it was laid around, a millstone (donkey-sized) around the neck of him, and he is thrown into the sea. And if it scandalizes you, the hand of you, cut off it; good it is for you, deformed, to enter into the life, than the two hands having, to go away into the Gehenna, into the fire, the asbestos. And if the foot of you scandalizes you, cut off it; good it is for you, to enter into the life lame, than the two feet having, to be thrown into the Gehenna. And if the eye of you scandalizes you, throw out it; good for you it is one-eyed, to enter into the kingdom of the God, than two eyes having, to be thrown into the Gehenna, where the worm of them, not it dies, and the fire, not is extinguished. For all with fire, he will be salted. Good, the salt; now if the salt, unsalty it becomes, in what, it, will you season? Have in yourselves, salt, and be at peace in one another.”

Perhaps you noticed that near the beginning of the text, Jesus said that the Son of the Man IS given over. Although that is not an historical present, you may call that a futuristic present. It certainly gets one’s attention. And Jesus certainly gets attention when he, with the power of God, lets himself be given over and killed as a sacrificial lamb. You might say that it totally redefines what it means to be a ‘good’ shepherd.

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April 13th, 2024

4/13/2024

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With the title of this Sunday being ‘The Third Sunday of Easter’, both the importance and the distinctiveness of Easter continue to be obvious. And with the writings of this website, we continue to make our way through the Gospel according to Mark, and we are currently at somewhat of a midway point in this gospel account. We just started what is usually termed chapter nine of the account, and that is usually called the ‘transfiguration’ of Jesus. From that ‘high point’, the text then travels on to the next high point, that of Golgotha, Calvary, the cross.

What follows could be called a somewhat-literal translation of the next section of the book (Mark 9:14-29; you may wish to look at other translations; there are certainly many from which to choose; or you may wish to look at a study bible to examine the text more closely; if you are new to these writings, it should be noted that the words in bold print are sometimes called ‘historical presents’, and they occur when a past-tense verb is expected, but a present-tense verb is given):

And having come toward the disciples, they saw a crowd, great, around them, and scribes debating toward them. And immediately, all the crowd, having seen him, they were out-marveled, and running up, they were greeting him. And he questioned them: “What are you debating toward them?”

And he answered him, one out of the crowd: “Teacher, I brought the son of me toward you, having a spirit, non-speaking; and whenever him, it seizes, it tears him, and he foams, and he grinds the teeth, and he withers; and I said to the disciples of you, that it, they would throw out, and not, they were able.”

Now the one, having answered them, he says, “O generation, unbelieving, until when, toward you, I will be? Until when will I endure you? Bring him toward me.” And they brought him toward him. And having seen him, the spirit, immediately completely convulsed him, and having fallen upon the ground, he was rolling, foaming. And he questioned the father of him: “How much time is it as this has happened to him?”
Now the one said, “From childhood; and often, both into fire, him, it threw, also into waters, that it may destroy him; but on the contrary, if anything you are able, help us, having had compassion upon us.”

Now the Jesus said to him, “The, ‘if you are able’? All things, possible, to the one believing.”

Immediately, having cried out, the father of the child, he was saying, “I believe; help of me, the unbelief.”

Now having seen, the Jesus, that it is running together, a crowd, he rebuked the spirit, the unclean, saying to it, “The non-speaking and deaf spirit, I, myself, am commanding you, come out from him, and no more you may enter into him.” And having cried out, and much having convulsed, it came out; and he became as dead, so as the many, to say that he died. Now the Jesus, having grabbed the hand of him, he raised him, and he stood up.

And having entered, he, into a house, the disciples of him, according to their own, they were questioning him, “We, ourselves, not were able to throw out it?”

And he said to them, “This, the kind, in nothing, is able to come out, if not in prayer.”

The invention of the book was a significant one. And with a book one is able to compare different parts quite easily. The account of this healing in the Gospel according to Matthew also has only one historical present, but it is a different one. At the very end, when Jesus is teaching the disciples, that verb is in the present tense (Matthew 17:20). In the above text, Jesus may be said to be ‘attacking’ the unbelieving generation that is presently surrounding him.

With these differences, you might want to compare this account to the living creature of the lion. And, when it comes to this text in the Gospel according to Matthew, that living creature is a man, a teacher. Both are important living creatures, and both point out significant tasks. Both continue to show Jesus’ important authority, referencing the throne that appears at the beginning of Ezekiel—but really present for all time.

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April 6th, 2024

4/6/2024

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Both the importance and the distinctiveness of the previous Sunday is apparent when the title of this current Sunday is given, ‘The Second Sunday of Easter’. Note that the title is not ‘The First Sunday after Easter’.

The resurrection of our Lord is much more than just another event. Jesus, true God and true man, was Lord over sin when he came to the cross on so-called Good Friday. He was the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the whole world. And his dominion over that sin was seen in the life of his body on that first Easter Sunday. But Jesus could have appeared to his followers on a different day of the week. But he chose to meet with them on the very first day of the week; he chose to meet them when they were afraid and the doors were locked (John 20:19-31; you may wish to note that this text is also the gospel reading for this Sunday). The first day of the week also happens to be the first day in the account of creation, the day when light was created (Genesis 1:3-5). It should be no surprise, therefore, when Jesus called himself the light of the world (John 8:12).

What follows could be called a somewhat-literal translation of our next section of the book of the bible that we are currently looking at, the Gospel according to Mark (9:1-13; you may wish to look at an easier translation or read a study bible to help your understanding of the text; and the words in bold print below are the historical presents; that is where a type of past-tense verb is expected but a present-tense verb is given). A significant portion of the following text happens to be the text for Transfiguration Sunday; and this event certainly has some similarities to the Easter season:

And he was saying to them, “Amen, I am saying to you that there are some here, of the ones standing, who certainly not will taste of death until they see the kingdom of the God, having come in power.” And after days, six, he takes along, the Jesus, the Peter, and the Jacob, and John, and he leads up them into a mountain, high, according to their own, alone.

And he was metamorphosized before them, and the clothes of him became gleaming white, exceedingly, such as a launderer upon the earth, not is able, so to whiten. And he appeared to them, Elias with Moses, and they were conversing with the Jesus. And having answered, the Peter, he says to the Jesus, “Rabbi, good it is, us here to be, and let us make three tents, for you, one, and for Moses, one, and for Elias, one.” For not he knew what he answered; for feared out, they became.

And it happened, a cloud, overshadowing them, and it happened, a voice out of the cloud, “This one, he is the Son of me, the beloved; hear him.” And unexpectedly, having looked around, no longer, none they saw, but on the contrary, the Jesus alone, with themselves.

And coming down, they, out of the mountain, he ordered them that to no one, what they saw, they should relate, except when the Son of the Man, from dead ones, he should rise. And the word they held toward themselves, debating what is the “from dead ones, to rise.” And they questioned him, saying, “They say, the scribes, that Elias, it is necessary to come first?”

Now he said to them, “Elias, indeed, having come first, he restores all things; and how has it been written on the Son of the Man, that many things he should suffer and be despised? But on the contrary, I am saying to you that, both Elias has come, and they did to him what they were wanting, as it has been written on him.”

The first historical present in the text above, ‘he takes along’, has some interesting connections to other places within this gospel account. The first time the word is used in this gospel account, it also appears in an historical present. The first time it is used, the disciples are doing the taking, and they are taking along Jesus into a boat. There is a storm, the disciples are afraid, and Jesus takes care of the situation (see Mark 4:35-41). The next time it appears, Jesus is the one who does the taking. Jesus takes the father and the mother of the dead child, along with the same three disciples who are mentioned above, and Jesus raises the child from the dead (see Mark 5:40-43). There are three other times in which this word is used (see Mark 7:4, 10:32, 14:33), and the last of those times is when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, and this verb appears again in the historical present, and Jesus again has those three disciples, and Jesus is the one who is greatly astonished and distressed. But, as Easter people, we know the end of that situation.

The taking along that sinners do, that does not do too much. The taking along that Jesus does, now that makes a big difference. It is an important question to ask: Who is doing the verbs?

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