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november 30th, 2024

11/30/2024

Does it feel like it is a new year? Probably not. It definitely is a new year, but that is only according to the church’s calendar. The church has a different perspective, and in this case, that can be a good thing.

The church takes a significant amount of time throughout the year to focus on Jesus Christ, the One who was both fully God and fully man. We may try to do some god-like things like Jesus, but we usually fail miserably. We may try to focus on God the Father or God the Holy Spirit, but that might be distracting with some other not-as-good news. A focus on those things would not get you as quickly to the very heart of the matter. Things all around in this world are sinful. And Jesus came to this world to save us from that sin.

The first season of the year, the season of Advent, starts to focus the person on the comings of Jesus, that most-significant factor in the history of the world. If Jesus were just a normal person, it would be normal to start at his beginning, his birth, and then go to his end. But since, as both God and man, his main purpose was to be the sacrifice for our sin, his entry into that important city of Jerusalem was a critical beginning of the end.

So the Gospel reading for this Sunday, the First Sunday in Advent, in series C, the year that focuses on the Gospel according to Luke, is Luke 19:28-40 (and there is also an alternate reading of Luke 21:25-36.) Over the three years of Jesus’ ministry, he collected a large crowd of disciples (the text describes it as a ‘multitude of disciples’; see Luke 19:37). Jesus had all the power. But those in Jerusalem who thought that THEY had some power did not like Jesus and his ‘mighty works’ (see again Luke 19:37). So this was the beginning of the end.

This is a story that you would not expect the middle or the end. That is one reason why you can look at not just one or two accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, but there are four accounts of that amazing action, and three of them are quite similar.
The three accounts of the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke may be connected to the three living creatures of the LORD’s throne that are normally on the earth, that of a man, a lion, and an ox (see Ezekiel 1). And the Gospel according to Luke is most frequently connected to that of an ox, a strong, obedient creature (unlike the wild lion). Connections between this Gospel account and the living creature have been made because of way this Gospel account starts, near the temple, a place where sacrifices are happening.

The ox is sometimes an animal that is sacrificed, but connections will be made between the ox and the use of the historical presents in this account (where a present-tense verb appears where a past-tense verb was expected). These will come significantly later in the account.

For now, with these writings, we will be looking at a small section of the Gospel according to Luke, in the way that it was originally laid out by the writer. A section at a time will be given, and it will be given in what could be termed a very literal translation.
Such a translation may be difficult to understand at times, and so another translation or a study bible nearby may be helpful. What this literal translation does is to keep the order of the words the same as when they were given by the writer. And with this language, the important words were usually earlier in the sentence. So the order may be confusing, but the importance given may be helpful.

What follows is a very literal translation of what is typically called the introduction to the Gospel according to Luke. The similarity of this introduction to what may be termed the ‘Apostolic Decree’ in Acts 15 is shown very briefly below as well. Luke was closely connected to Paul, and since Paul was present at this Apostolic Council, it would not be surprising that a similar structure appears both times. What was at stake at that Council was the precious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (It is interesting that this chapter is the first time the word ‘Gospel’ appears in a noun form; before this, in the writings of Luke, it was only in the verb form.) Some people heavily influenced by the Old Testament believed that the good work of getting circumcised was a part of salvation (see Acts 15:1). Peter says in verse 11, “But on the contrary, through the grace of the Lord Jesus, we believe that we are saved….”

Here, then, is Luke 1:1-4 (the hyphens indicate that the multiple words in English come from the same word in the Greek):

Since(!)  many  they-took-in-hand  to-draw-up  narrative  about  the  having-been-fulfilled  in  us  matters,  just-as  they-handed-down  to-us,  the-ones  from  beginning  eyewitnesses  and  attendants,  having-become  of-the  word…
…it-seemed-good  also-to-me,  having-followed-closely  from-the-source  all-things  carefully,  in-order  for-you  to-write,  most-excellent  Theophilus,  in-order-that  you-may-learn  concerning  which  you-were-catechized  things,  the  certainty.
And here is Acts 15:24-26.

Since  we-heard  that  some  out-from  us  having-gone-out,  they-disturbed  you  with-words,  unsettling  the  minds  your,  whom  not  we-ordered…

…it-seemed-good  to-us  having-become  of-one-mind  having-chosen  men  to-send  toward  you  with  the  loved-ones  our  Barnabas  and  Paul,  men  having-handed-over  the  lives  their  on-behalf-of  the  name  of  Lord  our  Jesus  Christ.

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November 23rd, 2024

11/23/2024

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This Sunday’s title is certainly appropriate: “Last Sunday of the Church Year”. The Gospel Reading is Mark 13:24-37, and Jesus in the text is talking about The End. And it could be noted at this point that there are alternate readings for this Sunday, which could also be called “Christ the King Sunday”, and that alternate (and also appropriate) Gospel reading is John 18:33-37.

The earliest manuscripts of the Bible are in the form of a codex, what could be called an old book. With this format of a book, the four Gospel accounts take up much less space than four rolls or scrolls, and they are also much easier to compare with one another.

The writings of this website for the past twelve months have been looking at the Gospel according to Mark, and this account in many ways is very similar to both the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Luke. A comparison of these three accounts may be helpful, not in the sense of “what really happened” (that is only a relatively recent definition of “history”), but to see some different perspectives of something that is truly extremely significant, especially when it comes to God. One could say that this is “His-story”.

The last of these website writings for the Gospel according to Mark will feature a large number of the “historical presents” that are unique to this Gospel account. (That is when a past-tense verb is expected, but a present-tense verb appears in the text.) The unique historical presents are all those, up to the point when Jesus enters into Jerusalem.

After that significant event, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day becomes much more obvious and open. And as was mentioned before in previous writings, some of these historical presents may point you to the living creature of the Lord’s throne being the lion, the living creature that reminds us of power in both what he says (in roars) and in his actions.

So, here in one place are the unique historical presents [given below in capital letters] for the majority of the Gospel according to Mark, from its beginning to Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, on what is commonly known as Palm Sunday. The words in brackets are meant to help give some explanation to the text, since what follows are excerpts. And to help keep things somewhat short, and they have been grouped together when dealing with the same situation. And the translation is, as always, designed to be somewhat literal (and it is slightly different from the previous translations). Hopefully that is all helpful.

Hopefully what is below is not too overwhelming! There are an awful lot of texts below. The hope is that you would enjoy them in some way. (And you may be comforted in knowing that there are significantly fewer historical presents in the Gospel according to Luke. Next week’s writing will start looking at that account.)

1:12   And immediately the Spirit, him [Jesus], HE THROWS OUT into the wilderness.
1:21   And THEY [Jesus and some disciples] ENTER into Capernaum….
1:30   Now the mother-in-law of Simon was lying down, feverish, and immediately THEY [some disciples] SAY to him [Jesus] about her….
1:36-38   And they hunted him [Jesus], Simon and the ones with him, and they found him, and THEY SAY to him, “All are seeking you.” And HE SAYS to them, “Let us go elsewhere….”
1:40-41   And HE COMES toward him [Jesus], a leper…. And having compassion, stretching the hand of him, he touched, and HE SAYS to him, “I am willing, be cleansed.”
2:3, 5-6, 8   And THEY COME, carrying toward him a paralytic…. And having seen, the Jesus, the faith of him, HE SAYS to the paralytic, “Child, they are forgiven, of you, the sins.” Now there were some of the writers there…. And immediately, having known, the Jesus, in the spirit of him, that thus they were dialoguing in themselves, HE SAYS to them, “Why these things are you dialoguing in the hearts of you?”
2:17   And having heard [the writers of the Pharisees], the Jesus, HE SAYS to them, “No need, they have, the ones being strong, of a doctor, but on the contrary, the ones bad having.”
2:18   And they were, the disciples of John and the Pharisees, fasting. And THEY COME and THEY SAY to him [Jesus], “On account of what, the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, now the ones of you, disciples, do not fast?”
2:24-25   And the Pharisees were saying to him [Jesus], “See, why are they doing what is not permitted?” HE SAYS to them, “Never did you read what he did, David, when a need he had…?”
3:3-4   And HE [Jesus] SAYS to the man, to the one, dry hand having, “Rise, into the middle.” And HE SAYS to them [those standing around in the synagogue], “Permitted on the Sabbath, good to do…?”
3:13   And HE [Jesus] GOES UP into the mountain, and HE CALLS TO the ones he, himself, was wanting, and they came away toward him.
3:20   AND HE [Jesus] COMES into a house, and IT COMES TOGETHER, again, the crowd, so that not to be able, they, not even bread to eat.
3:31-34   And SHE COMES, the mother of him [Jesus] and the brothers of him…. And it was sitting around him, a crowd, and THEY SAY to him, “Look, the mother of you and the brothers of you and the sisters of you, outside they are seeking you.” And answering them, HE SAYS, “Who is the mother of me and the brothers of me?” And looking around at the ones around him, in a circle, sitting, HE SAYS, “See, the mother of me and the brothers of me….”
4:13   And HE [Jesus] SAYS to them [those around him with the twelve], “You do not know, do you, the parable, this, and how all the parables will you know?”
4:35-38   And HE [Jesus] SAYS to them [the disciples], in that, the day, evening having happened, “Let us come over, into the other side.” And leaving the crowd, THEY TAKE ALONG him, as he was in the boat…. And IT HAPPENS, a rain storm, mega…. And THEY RAISE him, and THEY SAY to him, “Teacher, you do care, do you not, that we are perishing?”
5:7, 9, 15, 19   And crying in a voice, mega, HE [the demon] SAYS, “What to me and to you, Jesus, Son of the God, of the highest?” … And he [Jesus] was questioning him, “What name to you?” And HE SAYS to him, “Legion, name to me, because many we are.” And THEY [the city and countryside] COME toward the Jesus, and THEY BEHOLD the demonized, sitting … and they feared. And not he [Jesus] allowed him [the demonized], but on the contrary, HE SAYS to him, “Go into the house of you….”
5:22ff.   [The following text has an abundance of historical presents, and for this reason, and since this text was connected to a resurrection (and Jesus’ resurrection was in this Gospel account, in a sense, quite minimal), this text was covered with these writings quite recently. Because of the recent coverage, a much shorter summary of the text is given here.] And HE COMES, one of the arch-synagogue, by name Jairus, and having seen him, HE FALLS toward the feet of him, and HE EXHORTS him much…. Now the Jesus, having overheard the word being spoken, HE SAYS to the arch-synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And THEY COME into the house of the arch-synagogue, and HE BEHOLDS a commotion. HE SAYS to them…. HE TAKES ALONG…. HE GOES INTO…. HE SAYS to her….
6:1   And he [Jesus] came out from there, and HE COMES into the father-town of him, and THEY FOLLOW him, the disciples of him.
6:7   And HE [Jesus] CALLS TOWARD the twelve, and he began, them, to send out, two by two, and he was giving to them authority of the spirits, the unclean.
6:30-31, 37-38   And THEY SYNAGOGUE, the apostles, toward the Jesus, and they reported to him all which they did and which they taught. And HE SAYS to them, “Come….” Now the one having answered, he said to them, “Give to them, you, to eat.” And THEY SAY to him, “Having gone away, we may buy, of denarii, two hundred breads, and will we give to them to eat?” Now the one, HE SAYS to them, “How many breads do you have? Go, see.”
6:48   And having seen them [the disciples] being tormented in the rowing, for it was, the wind, against them, about fourth watch of the night, HE [Jesus] COMES toward them, walking upon the lake, and he was wanting to come by them.
7:5   And THEY QUESTION him [Jesus], the Pharisees and the writers, “On account of what, not they walk, the disciples of you, according to the tradition of the presbyters, but on the contrary, with common hands, they eat the bread?”
7:17-18   And when he [Jesus] entered into a house from the crowd, they were questioning him, the disciples of him, the parable. And HE SAYS to them, “Thus also, yourselves, unwise are you?”
7:27-28   And he [Jesus] was saying to her [the Syrophoenician woman], “Let first, to be satisfied, the children, for not it is good to take the bread of the children and to the dogs, to throw. Now the one answering, and SHE SAYS to him, “Lord, and the dogs under the table, they eat from the crumbs of the children.”
7:32-34   And THEY [the crowd] CARRY to him a deaf and mute man, and THEY EXHORT him that he lay upon him, the hand. And having taken away him from the crowd, according to own, he threw the fingers of him into the ears of him, and having spit, he touched the tongue of him, and having looked up into the heaven, he groaned and HE SAYS to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, be opened.
8:1-2, 6   In those, the days, again, a great crowd, being and not having anything they may eat, calling toward the disciples, HE [Jesus] SAYS to them, “I have compassion upon the crowd….” And HE [Jesus] COMMANDS to the crowd to recline upon the ground….
8:12   And having groaned in the spirit of him [Jesus], HE SAYS, “Why the generation, this, is seeking a sign?”
8:16-17, 18-20   And they were dialoguing toward one another that breads, not they have. And knowing, HE [Jesus] SAYS to them [the disciples], “Why do you dialogue that breads, not you have? And you do remember, do you not, when the five breads I broke into the five thousand, how many baskets of fragments, full, you took?” THEY SAY to him, “Twelve.” When the seven into the four thousand, how many “baskets”, fillings of fragments you took?” And THEY SAY to him, “Seven.”
8:22   And THEY [Jesus and the followers] COME into Bethsaida. And THEY [the people] BRING to him a blind man, and THEY EXHORT him that him, he would touch.
8:29   And he himself [Jesus] was questioning them, “Now you, what me, you say to be?” Answering, the Peter, HE SAYS to him, “You, yourself, are the Christ.”
8:33   Now the one [Jesus], having turned around and having seen the disciples of him, he rebuked Peter, and HE SAYS, “Go behind me, Satan, because not you know the things of the God, but on the contrary, the things of the men.”
9:5   And answering, the Peter, HE SAYS to the Jesus, “Rabbi, good it is for us here, to be [on the Mount of Transfiguration]….”
9:19   Now the one [Jesus] answering them [the crowd], HE SAYS, “O generation, unbelieving, until when toward you, will I be?”
9:35   And having sat, he [Jesus] called the twelve and HE SAYS to them, “If anyone wishes, first to be, he will be of all, last and of all, a servant.”
10:1   And from there, rising up, HE COMES into the regions of the Judea and beyond the Jordan, and THEY GO WITH, again, crowds, toward him, and as custom, again, he was teaching them.
10:11   And HE [Jesus] SAYS to them [the disciples], “If anyone dismisses the wife of him and marries another, he commits adultery against her.”
10:23-24, 26-27   And looking around, the Jesus, HE SAYS to the disciples of him, “How difficult the ones, the riches having, into the kingdom of the God, they will enter into. Now the disciples marveled upon the words of him. Now the Jesus again, answering, HE SAYS to them, “Children, how difficult it is, into the kingdom of the God to enter….” Now the ones, exceedingly they were astonished, saying toward themselves, “And who is able to be saved?” Looking at them, the Jesus, HE SAYS, “With men, impossible, but on the contrary, not with God; for all things, possible with the God.”
10:35, 42   And THEY GO TOWARD him [Jesus], Jacob and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying to him, “Teacher, we want that the whatever we ask you, you do for us.” And calling toward them [the disciples], the Jesus, HE SAYS to them….
10:46, 49   And THEY [Jesus and the disciples] COME into Jericho. And going out, he, from Jericho, and the disciples of him and a crowd, worthy, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the way. And standing, the Jesus said, “Call him.” And THEY [the crowds] CALL the blind one, saying to him, “Be of good courage, rise, he is calling you.”
11:1-2, 7, 15   And when THEY [Jesus and the disciples] DRAW NEAR into Jerusalem, into Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of the Olives, HE SENDS OUT two of the disciples of him, and HE SAYS to them, “Go out into the village, the opposite of you, and immediately, entering into it, you will find a colt….” And THEY BRING the colt toward the Jesus, and THEY THROW UPON it the garments of them, and he sat upon it…. And THEY COME into Jerusalem. And having entered into the temple, he began to throw out the ones selling and the ones buying in the temple….

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November 16th, 2024

11/16/2024

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This Sunday has been given the title of the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost. That number is huge and will soon come to an end. The next Sunday will be the last Sunday of the church year. And this past year we have been looking at the Gospel according to Mark, in the way that it was originally laid out by the writer.

This Sunday’s Gospel Reading is Mark 13:1-13 and is about the End Times. These past few writings of this website have been about an overview of this very interesting Gospel account; but all four accounts are interesting in some particular way.

This Gospel account has been seen by some as the first one to be written, but it may be better to say that it was written with the early Christians in mind. Some of the early Christians were being persecuted for the faith. There are many wonderful stories that show their dedication and a miraculous perspective when confronted with such evil.

One of the things these writings have recently been looking at is the use of what are called “the historical presents”. Such a thing happens when the past tense verb is commonly used, but a present tense verb appears in the text. In the past writings of this website, those verbs have appeared in bold print or capital letters. They really do stand out in the midst of a text. In a sense, it no longer is just the historical record of what happened; it is something that is happening right now. And it is important enough to stop looking at the television or your smart phone. Two-thousand-year-old events can be incredibly significant for today.

One of the ramifications of the Gospel according to Mark being written at a slightly later date is the opportunity to make the statement that this Gospel account was written with a knowledge of the other three as well. In the midst of our twenty-first century optimistic world view, we often do not see the point in something being repeated. People are so busy that hearing something once is enough. But there is a great deal of repetition in the scripture, and this is done with other ancient writers. And important things are certainly worth repeating. Many years ago, I learned the saying, “Repetitio est mater studiorum.” (Repetition is the mother of learning.)

If the fourfold Gospel was intentional from the beginning of the “writing stage” of the Christ followers, and if the Gospel according to Mark is the second of the four accounts, then an abrupt ending of that account is acceptable. The other accounts that follow make up for the loss within the Gospel according to Mark.

Some manuscripts have a different order of the four accounts that Christians usually know quite well. This different order also happens to be a more Jewish order, since it has the disciples first and the secretaries second, with the longer accounts being first. (This ordering can be seen elsewhere in the bible.) In some manuscripts, the second and fourth account switch places. Here is the order with a more Jewish emphasis: The Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to John, the Gospel according to Luke, the Gospel according to Mark.

With such a work, it would be terrible to have such an abrupt ending as was seen previously, that of the women leaving the tomb quickly and afraid to talk to anyone. What follows is, therefore, a somewhat-literal translation of what is appropriate if the Gospel according to Mark is the last of the four, and what follows is typically called the longer ending of the Gospel according to Mark (16:9-20; you may wish to look at what it says in different bibles or commentaries regarding this text):

Now, having risen, early, first of Sabbath, he appeared first to Mary, the Magdalene, from whom he had thrown out seven demons. That one, having gone, she reported to the ones with him, having been mourning and weeping; and those, having heard that he lives, and he was seen by her, they disbelieved.

Now after these things, to two of them, they were walking, he appeared in another morph, going into country. And those, having come back, they reported to the rest, but not those they believed.

Now later, reclining, they, to the eleven he appeared, and he reproached the disbelief of them and hard-heartedness, because to the beholders of him, having risen, not they believed.

And he said to them: “Having gone into the world, all, proclaim the Gospel to all, the creation. The one having believed and having been baptized, he will be saved, now the one having disbelieved, he will be condemned. Now signs to the ones having believed, these it will follow after: in the name of me, demons they will throw out; in tongues they will speak, new; and in the hands, snakes they will pick up; and if deadly thing, any, they drink, certainly not them, it will harm; upon sick ones, hands they will place upon, and well they will have.”

Therefore, on the one hand, the Lord Jesus, after the, to speak to them, he was taken up into the heaven, and he sat at right side of the God. Now those, having gone out, they proclaimed everywhere the Lord, working together, and the word, confirming through the following on signs.

Another suggestion for study is to look at the resurrection accounts in the other Gospel accounts, to see the possible references within these verses above. This a good summary of the other appearances of the risen Christ that appear elsewhere.
When we are talking about God and man coming together, it should not be surprising that there are four perspectives of the event.

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November 10th, 2024

11/10/2024

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After a slight change of direction with the celebrations of the Reformation and All Saints Day on the previous two Sundays, the focus goes back to the number of Sundays after Pentecost, and that number is currently twenty-five. The Gospel Reading for this Sunday is Mark 12:38-44, and we are getting closer to the end of the church year, and along with that comes the emphasis, and a certainly appropriate one, of the Last Day.

Throughout this past church year, in these website writings we have been going through the Gospel according to Mark, in the order in which the writer laid it out, a relatively significant amount at a time. Most recently we have been going back and looking at some of the more unique things of that account, particularly the historical presents (when a past-tense verb is expected in the text, but a present-tense verb appears). We have also been connecting these historical presents to the living creature of the Lord’s throne that has been frequently connected to the Gospel according to Mark, that of the lion.

Last week’s writing presented the largest and greatest concentration of historical presents with a look at a resurrection of the dead—not the one of Jesus, but that of Jairus’ daughter. And those historical presents were a combination of actions and speaking, much like a lion is known for its quick (one could say immediate) movement and for its voice (more specifically, its roar).

One of the most interesting things about the Gospel according to Mark is its ending, its very abrupt ending. There does not seem to be much of a resurrection of the dead. And, regarding this point, there is much that could be said.

Here again is a somewhat-literal translation of the final verse of the Gospel according to Mark (16:8): And having come out, they fled from the tomb, for it had them trembling and ecstasy, and to no one, nothing they said, for they were afraid. What kind of ending is that?

The last page was not lost. That ending could simply be called a short-sighted ending. There are two more accounts after this one, the Gospel according to Luke and the Gospel according to John, and both of those help give a much broader perspective when it comes to the resurrection.

In the previous verses, the angel promised the women that they would see Jesus in Galilee, just as he promised his followers. And Jesus keeps his promises. They sometimes are not fulfilled immediately. Today’s Christians can also be very short-sighted.

What is interesting is that the last three historical presents of the Gospel according to Mark, the historical presents that are connected to the resurrection, these are the same three that are connected to the resurrection of the little girl. With these connections, there is an answer to the fear, the uproar, the weeping, and the crying aloud. Words are important. There are so many of them these days that they can easily become very unimportant. But words are still important to the One who started talking in the beginning, the VERY beginning. His words bring his gifts in very gentle and loving ways.

Here are the translations of these two sections; again, they are somewhat-literal translations. And the historical presents are in capital letters:

(Mark 5:38-39) And THEY COME into the house of the arch-synagogue, and HE BEHOLDS an uproar, and weeping and crying aloud, much; and having come into, HE SAYS to them, “Why you make an uproar and weep? The child did not die, but on the contrary, sleeps.

(Mark 16:2-7) And very early the first of the Sabbath, THEY COME upon the tomb, having risen the sun, and they were saying toward themselves, “Who will roll away for us the stone out of the door of the tomb?” And having looked up, THEY BEHOLD that it has been rolled back, the stone, for it was mega, exceedingly. And having entered into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, having been clothed, robe, white, and they were marveled out. Now the one, HE SAYS to them, “Do not be marveled out; Jesus you are seeking, the Nazarene, the one having been crucified; he was raised, not he is here; see the place where they put him. But on the contrary, go back, tell the disciples of him and the Peter that he goes before you into the Galilee; there, him you will see, just as he said to you.”

If you would like to know something more about this, it is also interesting to note that the same three historical presents also show up when Jesus cast out the legion of demons a bit earlier in chapter five. Here is that text, given in the same translation style:

(Mark 5:15-19) And THEY COME toward the Jesus, and THEY BEHOLD the demon-possessed one, sitting, having been clothed and being of sound mind, the one having had the legion, and they feared. And they described to them, the ones having seen how it happened to the demon-possessed one and about the pigs. And they began to exhort him to come away from the regions of them.

And embarking, he, into the boat, he was exhorting him, the one demon-possessed, that with him he might be. And not he permitted him, but on the contrary, HE SAYS to him, “Go into the house of you, toward the ones, yours, and report to them what things the Lord to you has done, and he had mercy on you.”

Demon possession and dead people are both bad things. But the Lord has something good to say in response to both those things, as well as to the other effects of sin. Jesus was pointing out the cross and the resurrection to his followers along the way to Jerusalem. He took all that sin upon himself on the cross. And he paid the price in full. And the Lord of all continues to do some very wonderful things.

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November 02nd, 2024

11/2/2024

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On the previous Sunday, the Reformation was celebrated. And on this Sunday, All Saints Day is celebrated. At many points in the church year, the focus can turn toward one saint, usually on the day of that person’s death. On this special Sunday, ALL saints are the focus. At various times and for various reasons, one particular saint, whether recent or ancient, may stand out in the mind of a Christian. But I do not consider it out of place to say that the saint, given that the person is in a MUCH better place, that person would much rather have our main focus be on the One who made the ETERNAL difference in his or her life.

I believe that is why the Gospel Reading for this Sunday is Matthew 5:1-12. Within that text, there is the importance of Jesus’ words, and especially his words of blessing. Jesus in this text uses the word ‘blessed’ many times. Jesus makes a difference with both his words and his actions, as is seen by the fact that he is both fully God and fully man, and that, most importantly, he died on the cross for all sin.

Throughout this past church year, we have been going through the Gospel according to Mark, and that has also been the focus of these website writings. We recently went through that entire account, as it was laid out by the writer, and now we are going back to look at some of the more unique things of that account, particularly the historical presents (when a past-tense verb should be expected, but a present-tense verb appears in the text). We have also been connecting the historical presents to the living creature of the Lord’s throne that has been frequently connected to the Gospel according to Mark, the lion.

Certainly within the Gospel according to John, there are a LOT of historical presents. With the connection of that Gospel account to the living creature of the eagle, there are a lot of things that are seen, and the perspective is significant. Within that Gospel account, there is a strong reference to the present time near the end of that account, near the resurrection appearances. These are the words of John 20:31, and these words could not be clearer: “Now these things have been written that YOU may believe that the Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the God, and that, believing, life you have in the name of Him.” (The translation is somewhat literal; and perhaps you noticed that the word “life” is early in that part of the sentence; and that makes it even more emphatic.)

The largest concentration of historical presents within the Gospel according to Mark comes at an interesting time. It comes at the time of a resurrection from the dead. Now it is not Jesus’ resurrection that has the connection. You may remember that there is not much of a resurrection account within this Gospel account. At the very end of the account, the women show up at the empty tomb, and the angel assures them that Jesus rose from the dead as he promised. And the women leave the tomb afraid, not telling anyone. How could such an end occur?

The words make a difference. Words continue to make a significant difference. The angel assures the women that they will see Jesus, JUST AS HE SAID, just as he promised. Jesus said some words, and those words were true.

The largest and most frequent concentration of historical presents in the Gospel according to Mark is when Jesus is about to raise the daughter of the arch-synagogue ruler from the dead. Here they are, all the historical presents from Mark 5:38-41 (with the historical presents themselves in capital letters):

THEY COME into the house of the arch-synagogue….
HE BEHOLDS an uproar….
Having entered, HE SAYS to them, “Why an uproar…?”
Now he, himself, throwing out [notice that the action of being thrown out comes up again] all, HE TAKES ALONG the father of the child….
HE GOES INTO where she was, the child….
HE SAYS to her….

You might have noticed the variety of verbs that occur as well. Jesus comes—with others, and he also goes. He says something to those who were alive. And he says something to the one who was dead. He both speaks and does some actions, much like a lion would do.

God had some things to say to people a long time ago. And those things still make a BIG difference. And, one day in the future, God will have some important things to say again. And those will make an ETERNAL difference.

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