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June 29th, 2024

6/29/2024

This Sunday continues the predictable progression with the title, ‘Sixth Sunday after Pentecost’ [with the Gospel text being Mark 5:21-43]. And in these writings we are continuing our progression within the Gospel according to Mark, in the way that it was laid out by the writer. With this writing we are continuing our progression with what is typically called chapter thirteen.

It may not always be helpful, but the translation given below may be termed ‘somewhat literal’. There are some Greek words that have made their way into English, and that is not always a bad thing to know. To help understand what the text is saying, please go to other translations and/or a study bible.

Here is a translation of Mark 13:9-23:

“Now see, you yourselves; they will deliver you into sanhedrins, and into synagogues you will be beaten, and before rulers and kings you will stand for the sake of me, into a testimony to them. And into all the nations, first it is necessary to be proclaimed the gospel.

And when they lead you, delivering, do not be pre-anxious what you speak, but on the contrary, whatever is given to you in that, the hour, this speak; for not are you, yourselves the ones speaking, but on the contrary, the Spirit, the Holy. And he will deliver, a brother, a brother into death, and a father, a child, and they will rise against, children upon parents, and they will put to death them. And you will be, being hated by all on account of the name of me; now the one having endured into end, this one will be saved.

Now when you look on the abomination of the desolation standing where not it is necessary—the one reading, let him understand—then the ones in the Judea, let them flee into the mountains; the one upon the roof, do not let him come down, nor let him enter to take anything out of the house of him; and the one into the field, do not let him turn around into the things behind, to take the garment of him. Now woe to the ones in womb, to ones having, and to the ones nursing in those the days.

Now pray that it may not happen of winter. For they will be, the days, those, pressure, of such a kind not has happened, such, from beginning of creation, which he created, the God, until the now, and certainly not it will happen. And unless he had shortened, Lord, the days, not it would have been saved, all flesh; but on the contrary, on account of the eclectic whom he chose, he shortened the days.

And then, if anyone to you says, ‘Behold, here, the Christ; behold, there,’ do not believe. For they will rise, pseudo-Christs and pseudo-prophets, and they will give signs and wonders toward the, to lead astray, if possible, the eclectic. Now you, yourselves, see; I have pre-spoken, you, all things.”

One interesting thing within the text above is that this happens to be one of the last times that the word ‘gospel’ is given. The last time will be a little while later, when Jesus speaks of the woman who is washing his feet. The gospel is what happens first. And this seems to fit with the start of the entire account when the text says that this is the beginning of the gospel.

These words are not a history lesson. And they are also not a myth. At the heart of it all, these words are good news. And good news from THE KING is great news.

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June 23rd, 2024

6/23/2024

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This Sunday continues the progression of the Pentecost season with the title, ‘Fifth Sunday after Pentecost’ [with the Gospel text being Mark 4:35-41]. And within these writings we are continuing our progression within the Gospel according to Mark, in the way that it was laid out by the writer. And with this writing, we are starting what is typically called chapter thirteen.

In the writing below, as well as in the previous writing, there is the use of the word ‘opposite’. That seems to be an important word. It puts two things together that have a connection and that are important.

The first time that word was used was in Mark 11:2, where Jesus is pointing to a village where his disciples will find a colt—basically a donkey—upon which Jesus will sit as he enters into Jerusalem. (And it is interesting that Jesus describes the colt as never having a rider.) In this case the village is opposite to the disciples. Both are important as Jesus progresses toward Jerusalem.

The next time the word ‘opposite’ is used, Jesus is connected to the treasury, an important place for the Jews (Mark 12:41). The word for ‘treasury’ in Greek, the language of the New Testament, is a long one, and it has the word ‘guard’ within it, to show how truly precious it was. And Jesus is sitting opposite that important thing.

The final time that word appears within this gospel account is below, where Jesus is connected to the temple. A LOT could be said about that temple. It COULD have been considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. I will leave it at that, and you may wish to investigate the matter further. And it is interesting that, once again, the position of sitting is brought up. It is certainly an important position; it is the position of kings. And Jesus is certainly a king.

The words which start this description of the temple come from one of Jesus’ disciples, and the words in bold are called an ‘historical present’. It is when a verb is usually in one of the past tenses, but it is given in the present. The ‘presence’ of this historical present may point to a type of competition that Jesus is having with various things as he makes his way to the cross. And it is also interesting that, at that point, at that hill called Golgotha, after others are crucified with him, we will see the historical presents stopping for a while. It seems that, at this point, the writer is letting the actions speak for themselves.

It may not be helpful, but the translation given below may be termed ‘somewhat literal’. Further help may be given by looking at other translations and/or a study bible. Here is a translation of Mark 13:1-8:

And going out, he, out of the temple, he says to him, one of the disciples of him, “Teacher, behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

And the Jesus said to him, “You see these, the great buildings? Certainly not, it will be left here, a stone upon a stone, which certainly not, it will be destroyed.”

And sitting, he, into the Mount of the Olives, opposite the temple, he questioned him, according to his own, Peter and Jacob and John and Andrew: “Say to us, when these things will be, and what the sign, when, they are about, these things, to be completed, all.”

Now the Jesus began to say to them, “See, not anyone, you, lead astray. Many will come upon the name of me, saying, ‘I, myself, am;’ and many they will lead astray. Now when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; it is necessary to happen, but on the contrary, not yet the end. For it will be raised, nation upon nation and kingdom upon kingdom. There will be earthquakes, according to places; there will be famines. Beginning of birth pains, these.”

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June 15th, 2024

6/15/2024

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It may be no surprise that this Sunday is called the ‘Fourth Sunday after Pentecost’. And since we are in the ‘B Series’, the Gospel readings this year focus on the Gospel according to Mark.

This Sunday, being termed ‘Proper 6’, has the Gospel reading of Mark 4:26-34. Within the writings of this website, we are trying to go through that same account in the way that it was laid out by the writer.

To help in understanding the larger structure of the work, we are avoiding the use of chapter and verse divisions where it is possible, and in the writing for this week we are giving what may be termed a somewhat-literal translation of Mark 12:35-44. It is, admittedly, a short text, but many things could be said about it.

This text immediately follows the statement that no one dared to ask him any more questions. The word ‘dared’ is strongly connected to the idea of boldness. And it is certainly interesting that Jesus, at the start of the text, has an answer to their ‘silence’. He, himself, asks a question. He has the boldness that his enemies are lacking. And certainly this is causing another rise in the level of tension between Jesus and his enemies.

As promised, here is the text in a somewhat-literal translation [Mark 12:35-44]:

And having answered, the Jesus, he was saying, teaching in the temple, “How do they say, the scribes, that the Christ, Son of David, he is? Himself, David, he said in the Spirit, the Holy: ‘He said, Lord, to the Lord of me: “Sit at right of me, until I put the enemies of you under the feet of you.”’ Himself, David, he says him ‘Lord’, and from where, of him, is he son?” And the much crowd was hearing him gladly.

And in the teaching of him, he was saying, “Look from the scribes, the ones wanting in robes to walk around and greetings in the agoras, and first-seats in the synagogues and first-recliners in the dinners; the ones devouring the houses of the widows and for appearance, macro-praying; these will receive greater judgment.”

And having sat opposite the treasury, he was watching how the crowd throws copper into the treasury; and many rich men were throwing much; and having come, one widow, poor, she threw lepta, two, which is a quadrans. And having called to him, the disciples of him, he said to them, “Amen, I am saying to you that the widow, this, the poor, more than all, she threw, the ones throwing into the treasury; for all, out of the abounding to them, they threw, now this one, out of the lack of her, all things, how many she had, she threw, all the living of her.”

It should be stated that some of the sentence constructions may be a bit difficult to understand. That is certainly a drawback to having a somewhat-literal translation. Another translation or a study bible may help. But an advantage of such a translation is the making of connections to other sections of the work by the use of similar vocabulary. In such a translation, the importance may be seen in the use of one word over another, and the order of the words is quite an important factor. The earlier the word is in the sentence, generally speaking, the more important the word is.
An interesting use of similar vocabulary may be seen in the description of the crowd above. It was described as a ‘much crowd’, and that phrase appeared a few times before this. (If you would like to see the places, you may wish to check out Mark 5:21, 5:24, 6:34, 8:1, and 9:14.) This is the last time that phrase will appear within this gospel account. We are getting closer to the end.

Even more interesting than the description of a significantly large crowd is the description that this particular crowd ‘was hearing him gladly’. I do not think it is a coincidence that this was the description that was given to Herod regarding John the Baptist. (And, again, you may wish to look up the verse of Mark 6:20.)

It should not be too much of a surprise that both John the Baptist and Jesus are headed to their deaths, even though the people who were involved in their deaths were hearing them gladly. And it could be said that, as John pointed ahead to Jesus, Jesus’ death is the most significant one. It may also be said that, in a sense, the death of Jesus points ahead to us, since all our sins were included with his sacrifice on the cross. Christianity is sometimes a difficult path.

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June 8th, 2024

6/8/2024

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This Sunday is the ‘Third Sunday after Pentecost’. And since it is the ‘B Series’, the Gospel readings this year focus on the Gospel according to Mark [and this Sunday, being termed ‘Proper 5’, the text is Mark 3:20-35; and this will be the only reading from the third chapter; the next week’s reading will skip several verses and be from the fourth chapter], and within the writings of this website we are going through that account in the way that it was laid out by the writer.

The following may be termed a somewhat-literal translation of Mark 12:18-34 [And this text may be termed ‘the end of the question era’ for Jesus. This era started when three groups of his enemies asked him by what authority he was doing these things, and Jesus said he would answer their question if they would answer his, and they did not, so he did not. And since that particular question of Jesus’ enemies was never answered, the tension continued to grow. Now you may wish to look up the text in other translations or a study bible to help your understanding of this section of scripture; and if you are new to these writings, it should also be mentioned that the first noun and verb in bold print in the text below is what is called an ‘historical present’; this is where a past tense verb was expected, but a present tense is given; within this account these verbs have been pointing out the increasing tension regarding Jesus and the job he came to do.]:

And they come, Sadducees, toward him, who say, resurrection, not to be; and they were questioning him saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if anyone, a brother, he dies, and he leaves behind a wife, and not he leaves a child, that he take, the brother of him, the wife, and he raise up seed for the brother of him. Seven brothers there were; and the first took a wife, and dying, not he left a seed; and the second took her, and he died, not having left behind a seed; and the third, likewise; and the seven, not they left a seed. Last of all, also the wife died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose of them will she be wife? For the seven had her, a wife.”

He responded to them, the Jesus, “It is, is it not because of this, you are misled, not knowing the scriptures, and not the power of the God? For when, from dead ones, they rise again, not they marry, nor are they given in marriage, but on the contrary, they are as angels in the heavens. Now concerning the dead ones, that they are raised, you did read, did you not, in the book of Moses, at the bush, how he said to him, the God, saying, ‘I, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? Not he is, God of dead ones, but on the contrary, of living ones; much you err.”

And having approached, one of the scribes, having heard them debating, having seen that well he answered them, he questioned him. “Which is, commandment, first of all?”

He answered, the Jesus, “First is: Hear, Israel, Lord, the God of us, Lord, one, he is. And you will love Lord, the God of you, from all the heart of you, and from all the soul of you, and from all the mind of you, and from all the strength of you. Second, this: You will love the neighbor of you as yourself. Greater than these, another commandment, not there is.”

And he said to him, the scribe: “Right, teacher, upon truth you said that one, he is, and not there is another besides him; and the—to love him from all the heart and from all the understanding and from all the strength, and the—to love the neighbor as himself, more it is than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And the Jesus, having seen him that wisely he answered, he said to him, “Not far you are, from the kingdom of the God.” And no one, no more, was daring him, to question.

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June 1st, 2024

6/1/2024

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This Sunday is termed the ‘Second Sunday after Pentecost’, and that is what it is. And this pattern will continue for some time.

The Gospel Reading for this Sunday points back to a significant time in Jesus’ ministry as recorded in the Gospel according to Mark, that of Jesus making his enemies so mad at him that they begin their plan to destroy him. What a start to the Pentecost season! [The text is Mark 2:23-28, and there is the option of also including Mark 3:1-6, and this option contains the wish for destruction].

On this website, we started to study the same gospel account at the beginning of the church year, near the end of the last calendar year. And we are going through that account as it has been laid out by the writer. And at this point in time, we are in what is usually called the twelfth chapter of the Gospel according to Mark. And there is some significant tension in these words as well.

In chapter three the Pharisees and Herodians were starting their attempt to destroy Jesus (3:6). And in chapter eleven it is no coincidence that the chief priests and scribes were doing the very same thing (11:18). And in the text for last week, the group normally called the ‘elders’, along with the last two groups, were trying to start the destruction process by wanting to ‘seize’ Jesus (11:27; 12:12). These three groups are the ‘they’ who are behind the start of this text below, and they are sending the first two groups that, by a type of ‘miracle’, were working together to get rid of Jesus. (Pharisees and Herodians do not usually work together.) And this text, although small, is a very significant one. A total of five Jewish groups are behind the actions below.

The following is a somewhat-literal translation of the text [Mark 12:13-17; and you may find it helpful to look at other translations or a study bible to aid in your understanding of the text; it is a short text because the outcome at the end of this text is significantly different from the wishes to destroy and/or seize. Those were responses that were given before this text; the response given here in this ‘somewhat-literal translation’ has to do with the verb ‘to marvel out’, and this word is extremely rare; it is only found elsewhere in the Greek translation of the Old Testament; the base of the word, being simply ‘to marvel’, is much more frequent; if you would like to look at all of the other references to the word in only this gospel account, they are quite interesting: Mark 5:20, 6:6, 15:5, and 15:44]:

And they send away toward him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, that him they might catch in a word. And having come, they say to him, “Teacher, we know that true, you are, and not it matters to you about no one, for not, you see into face of men, but on the contrary, upon truth, the way of the God, you are teaching; is it lawful to give tax to Caesar or not? May we give or not give?”

Now the one, knowing of them, the hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why me, you are tempting? Bring to me a denarius, that I may see.” Now the ones brought. And he says to them, “Of whom, the icon, this, and the epigraph?”

Now the ones said to him, “Of Caesar.”

Now the Jesus said to them, “The things of Caesar, give back to Caesar, and the things of the God, to the God.” And they were marveling out at him.

It has been noted in the previous writings that the words in bold print are called ‘historical presents’, that of a verb in a present tense that is usually given in some type of past tense. It is interesting that the writer uses the same verb, with the same ‘historical presence’, when Jesus sends away two of his disciples. And although this verb is close to the word ‘apostle’, this writer is using this literary style, not when the disciples are sent out to tell others about Jesus, but when Jesus sends his disciples to get the animal for him to ride upon so that he can come into Jerusalem to die (11:1). It is again used when he sends two of his disciples to get a safe place ready where our Lord will inaugurate the Lord’s Supper (14:13). This is definitely the use of the historical present with some very serious historical actions in mind.

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