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December 30th, 2023

12/30/2023

The name for this Sunday is the First Sunday after Christmas, and the Gospel text is again from the Gospel according to Luke [2:22-40]. One could say that there was a big watershed between this Sunday and the last one, and that watershed is called Christmas Day.

One could also say that there is a bit of a watershed within the text from the Gospel according to Mark from last week’s writing and this one. We are making our way through the Gospel according to Mark at our own pace in these writings. And things are becoming noticeably different.

The first chapter of this gospel account is forty-five verses, and within the first half of the account, there were only two historical presents (where the verb is expected to be in the past tense, but it appears in the present tense). Jesus is being ‘thrown out’ into the wilderness, and the second one was attributed to the group of Jesus and his disciples after he calls them to follow him, and as a group, together they ‘enter’ into the synagogue of the disciples, and Jesus starts to teach there.

There were only two historical presents within the first half of the first chapter, but now the historical presents are starting to come much more frequently. There are six of them in the rest of that same chapter, the text we are looking at this time.

In the previous writings of this website, the word ‘to throw out’ was connected to that of a seed, and a seed grows after it is thrown out onto the ground. And there is definitely some growth to be seen in the following verses. It is not just Jesus doing things in the past, and it is also not just Jesus doing things in the present. Others are doing things in the present as well.

What follows is my attempt at a somewhat-literal translation of where we left off with last week’s writing—except that the last verse of the text is also given here as the first verse, to help provide some context (and the historical presents are in bold print; Mark 1:29-45):

And straightway out of the synagogue, having come out, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with Jacob and John.

Now the mother-in-law of Simon was lying down, having a fever, and straightway they say to him about her. And approaching, he raised her, holding the hand, and it left her, the fever, and she was serving them.

Now evening happening, when it set, the sun, they were bringing toward him all the ones, bad having, and the ones being demon possessed. And it was, whole, the city, having been gathered up, toward the door. And he healed many, bad having, with various diseases, and demons, many, he threw out, and not he was allowing to speak, the demons, because they knew him.

And early in the night, very, having risen up, he came out, and he went away into a wilderness place, and there he was praying.

And they hunted down him, 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 into the nearby towns, that also there I may proclaim; for into this, I came out.” And he came, proclaiming into the synagogues of them, into whole, the Galilee, and the demons throwing out.

And he comes toward him, a leper, exhorting him and falling on his knees, and saying to him, “If you are willing, you are able, me, to cleanse.”

And moved with compassion, having stretched out the hand of him, he touched, and he says to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And straightway it went away from him, the leprosy, and he was cleansed.

And having scolded him, straightway, he threw him out, and he says to him, “See, no one no thing you tell, but on the contrary, go, yourself, show to the priest, and offer concerning the cleansing of you, which he commanded, Moses, into a testimony to them.” Now he, having come out, he began to proclaim much and to spread about the word, so that no longer, he, to be able, openly, into a town to come into, but on the contrary, outside, on wilderness places he was, and they were coming toward him from everywhere.

One thing you may not have noticed is that the name of Jesus does not appear at all within this section. It is certainly in some manuscripts and translations. But it is not in the most reliable texts. And you could say that, in a way, the focus is not simply on Jesus. It is much the same thing that Jesus does not do all the historical presents. And even when someone today follows Christ, it is about something much bigger.

There is definitely a growth that is happening here. Jesus was thrown out earlier. The demons were more than once described as being thrown out; that should not be surprising. But did you notice that the leper was also thrown out? There is some growth that is happening, and it does not always happen in the way that is expected.

The great popularity of Jesus is understandable, and it is also understandable that the writer explains that Jesus stays in the wilderness places. It is interesting that he was being ‘hunted down’. The compound word is made of the two words ‘search’ and ‘down’. Its use may make one think of a lion. Yes, there is some significant growth going on.

The word translated ‘straightway’ is frequent within this entire gospel account, and that is not surprising, especially when one’s thoughts are about a lion. It is also interesting that the word ‘straightway’ does not appear when describing the speed of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (although it appears in some manuscripts, and it is also in the Gospel according to Luke when he writes of this event; see Luke 4:39). Did you notice that it does show up when the speed of telling Jesus about her is described? And when that word finally appears in that someone is ‘straightway’ healed (as in the case of the leper), Jesus also ‘straightway’ tells him not to tell anyone.

A lot of things are happening quickly, but they are not always those things that are expected. And that certainly continues today. There is One who is in control of literally everything, but He certainly does not make that obvious. And He certainly does not always do what is expected.

Jesus on the cross as the sacrifice for all sin is a great example of that. Who would have thought of God on a cross? There are historical presents in the text above that are connected not only to Jesus as he heads toward that cross, but there is some attention given to the others who are around him. They will have to deal with the cross as well. And since most of the historical presents have to do with talking, it is important to talk about that cross, as well as the cross that others have to bear.

God’s power is not always obvious when it comes to Jesus. The talking of Jesus and his followers continue. Jesus continues to say some important things. And the special words he gave continue to be used. And his people continue to grow.

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December 23rd, 2023

12/23/2023

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The name for this Sunday is the Fourth Sunday in Advent. And this year the latter part of that day also happens to have the name of Christmas Eve, and that does not happen too often. The Gospel Reading for this Sunday is from the Gospel according to Luke (1:26-38), and that also does not happen too often in the ‘B-Series’. The Gospel readings for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are familiar ones, from both the Gospel according to Luke, chapter two, and the Gospel according to John, chapter one.

Last week’s writings of this website looked at a somewhat abrupt start to Jesus’ ministry in the first few verses of the Gospel according to Mark. That is not a familiar start when it comes to the gospel accounts. In both the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus’ birth is the focus for a little while. And in the Gospel according to John, the writer goes back to the very beginning of time and focuses on Jesus’ connection to that.

In the writings of this past week, the first historical account (where one expects the verb to be in the past tense, but it appears in the present) was given in the text when Jesus is ‘thrown out’ into the wilderness at the start of his ministry. That action of being thrown out was connected to growth, and one could say that things grew because of Jesus’ wilderness experience. And one could also say that in these next few verses we will see some growth as well.

The idea of these historical presents is not always to focus the attention of the reader or listener on Jesus. The attempt will continue to connect these historical presents to a particular living creature of the LORD’s throne, and that creature for this gospel account is the lion. And the LORD’s presence has ramifications like a lion in some parts of the Old Testament, much in the same way that the LORD does some things in the New Testament in Jesus AND in Jesus’ followers.

The following words of scripture are a somewhat-literal translation of Mark 1:14-29, and the words of the historical present are in bold print (and it may be helpful to look also at a study bible or another translation to see the meaning of this section more clearly):
Now after the, to be given over, the John, he came, the Jesus, into the Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of the God and saying “It has been fulfilled, the time, and it has come near, the kingdom of the God; change your mind, and believe in the Gospel.”

And leading near, along the Sea of the Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, throwing around in the sea, for they were fishers. And he said to them, the Jesus, “Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” And straightway, having left the nets, they followed him.

And having gone on a little, he saw Jacob, the one of the Zebedee, and John, the brother of him, also them in the boat, mending the nets. And straightway he called them, and having left the father of them, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, they went away after him.

And they enter into Capernaum, and straightway on the Sabbaths, having entered into the synagogue, he began to teach. And they were struck out upon the teaching of him, for he was teaching them as authority having, and not as the scribes.

And straightway, he was in the synagogue of them, a man in a spirit, unclean, and he cried out, saying, “What to us and to you, Jesus, Nazarene? You came to destroy us? I know you, who you are, the Holy One of the God.”

And he rebuked him, the Jesus, saying, “Be muzzled, and come out from him.” And having shaken him, the spirit, the unclean, and having cried out, with a voice, great, it came out from him.

And they were amazed, all, so as to debate with themselves, saying, “What is this? Teaching, new, according to authority; and the spirits, the unclean, he commands, and they obey him.” And it went out, the hearing of him, straightway, everywhere, into all the surrounding region of the Galilee.

And straightway out of the synagogue, having come out, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with Jacob and John.

As always, there is much that could be said about what is above. The growth that happens above may be seen in the historical present that appears within the above text.

It could be said, first of all, that growth appears after the reference to John being handed over. That should be a depressing thought. As this gospel account started so abruptly, it also turned abruptly to be somewhat negative. But it is interesting that, after that negative thought, there are two mentions of the word ‘gospel’, the next time that word appears after the first verse of the account. The title had the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now there is the Gospel of the God. That bigger description is much more comforting.

It is interesting that the historical present does not just focus on Jesus, that only he enters into the synagogue. There was a great amount of detail given with the calling of Jesus’ first disciples. And you could say that they are thrown in together with Jesus for this great work he is about to do. And this may be compared to a group of lions.

Jesus ‘comes’ to a lot of places within the rest of this gospel account. And he also ‘enters’ into another place, with just a few of his disciples as well, the place where the little girl was raised from the dead (see Mark 5:40). It has been said that there is not much in the Gospel according to Mark about the resurrection of the dead, but you could say that here there is something to keep in mind.

There are forces in present-day society that wish to tear people from their connections to others and force us to be ‘individuals’. But that is not how God designed the family. And that is not how the LORD designed his Church.

There is a reason that a group of lions is called a pride. And I think it is an okay one, particularly if Jesus is the leader.

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December 17th, 2023

12/17/2023

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It should be no surprise that this week is called the Third Sunday in Advent. It should also not be surprising that since the Gospel according to Mark is so short, this Sunday we are looking at the Gospel according to John [1:6-8, 19-28] for the gospel reading. We will do that again later in the year.

The first chapter of that gospel account certainly appears on Christmas Day, and it appears there all three years. But some of that chapter is also appropriate during the Advent season, and it is certainly enjoyed by many on this Sunday.

God willing, we will eventually get to the Gospel according to John with these writings. But for now, we are still looking at the first chapter of the Gospel according to Mark.
Last week’s writing started abruptly with Jesus being already grown up and John the Baptist being given a solid Old Testament grounding and described with a great amount of New Testament popularity. Sometimes a commentary might include the point that, if this gospel writer would have known anything about the birth of Jesus, he certainly would have included it in this gospel account. Although this sounds good, it may not necessarily be true.

There is strong manuscript evidence that the four gospel accounts were basically always together; each one of them was given a significant and important perspective that was slightly different from the others. It is much like the four living creatures of the LORD’s throne (see Ezekiel 1) having four different perspectives if each would look up at their LORD.

Traditionally the Gospel according to Mark has been connected to the living creature of the lion. An easy connection could be made with this gospel account to the living creature of a man, and that connection should be obvious; Jesus, after all, is starting this account as a man. In ancient history, it was not unusual to connect a lion with an important person such as a king. And lions have appeared on the thrones of kings in the past.

The type of historical presents that are found within this gospel account should be the important factor that connects to the living creatures. A logical connection could be made between LIVING creatures, creatures that are now alive, with historical PRESENTS, verbs that relate something that is happening now, in the present.

The following text is a somewhat-literal translation of the next section of the Gospel according to Mark (1:9-13), and it contains the first of many historical presents (which will be given in bold print):

And it happened, in those the days, he came, Jesus, from Nazareth of the Galilee, and he was baptized into the Jordan by John. And straightway, going up out of the water, he saw being torn the heavens, and the Spirit, as a dove, coming down into him.

And a voice happened from of the heavens, “You, yourself, are the Son of Me, the loved; in you I was well pleased.” And straightway the Spirit, him, he throws out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by the Satan, and he was with the wild ones, and the angels served him.

These words could be translated in so many different ways. And so much could be said about the above.

More could be said about the Spirit throwing out Jesus into the wilderness. That certainly sounds a bit rough. But Jesus can handle it. And a lion could handle it as well.
One should not forget that Adam was also thrown out of the Garden of Eden (See Genesis 3:24). That also sounds a bit rough. It should also be noted that, in the previous verse, it states that he was ‘sent out’ of the Garden. That sounds a bit nicer. But either way—or both—ultimately it was for Adam’s good that he was out of the Garden. It was an extremely good thing that he did not eat from the tree of life and live forever in such a sinful and selfish condition.

It could also be noted that this word, to be thrown out, in the language of the Old Testament, is very similar to the word for ‘grain’. Sometimes things have to be thrown out so that they can grow. And although Jesus, at this time, is certainly fully God, it could also be said that things connected to Jesus are about to grow.

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December 9th, 2023

12/9/2023

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Last week’s writing for the First Sunday in Advent was the official start of our journey through the entirety of the Gospel according to Mark (God willing). But we managed to look only at the first verse. This week’s gospel reading for the Second Sunday in Advent happens to be Mark 1:1-8, so it should be no surprise that we will be covering the next seven verses with this week’s writing.

Ultimately though, it is difficult to say everything that could be said even about just one small verse of the bible. That is why the books that are written about these books of the bible are called ‘commentaries’. They may comment about this or that, but certainly there is so much more that could be said.

It is a good starting point, though, to say what the words of the text mean in a very basic way. Within these writings, the starting point I have chosen is an attempt at a literal translation of these very important words. There is a problem with such a literal translation, that one may not easily understand what the words are saying in some places. And God would want his words to be understood. These words, given in this special way, are meant to start a discussion that, as a second step, one may look to various comments from various sources—such as a study bible or a commentary. (Or I may be contacted if there are questions that are not answered in these other sources.) Because I am currently serving two congregations with services on Sunday mornings, these writings are currently taking the place of a Sunday morning bible class.

So, what follows is a somewhat-literal translation of Mark 1:2-8:

Just as it has been written in the Isaiah, the prophet: “Behold, I am sending the angel of me before face of you, who will prepare the way of you, a voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of Lord, straight make the paths of him.’”

He happened, John, the one baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance into forgiveness of sins. And it was going out toward him, all the Judean country and the Jerusalemites, all, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing the sins of them. And he was, the John, having been clothed in hairs of a camel and a belt, leather, around the waist of him, and eating locusts and honey, wild. And he was proclaiming, saying, “He comes, the one stronger of me, after me, of whom not I am worthy, stooping, to untie the strap of the sandals of him. I, myself, baptized you in water, now he, himself, will baptize you in Spirit, Holy.”

The writer of this gospel account, after the short introduction, goes immediately to the Old Testament for some support. A similar thing is done in all the other accounts, but definitely not as quickly.

It is interesting that not only do the three similar (synoptic) gospel accounts have the section of Isaiah that connects John the Baptist with a voice and a straight path, but this phrase is in the Gospel according to John as well (see John 1:23). And all four accounts say what that voice is saying, to prepare the way of the Lord, a straight path (see Matthew 3:3 and Luke 3:4).

It often happens that when there are similarities between the four gospel accounts, the Gospel according to Mark has the shortest text of all the accounts, but that is not the case this time. In fact, it is not entirely clear from where these extra words from the Old Testament are coming. The initial words in the Gospel according to Mark about sending an angel could be from either (or both) Exodus 23:20a and Malachi 3:1a. Here are those verses from the Greek translation, given somewhat literally:

And behold, I, myself, am sending the angel of me before face of you, in order that he may guard you in the way….

Behold, I am sending out the angel of me, and he will look upon a way before face of me….

Note that the words in Mark do not follow what is given in either Old Testament passage. Does not make it wrong? Certainly not.

You may wish to know that these references to another part of scripture may be why, in a few manuscripts of this gospel account, there is the option of reading, instead of ‘it has been written in the Isaiah, the prophet….’, that there is ‘it has been written in the prophets….’ This is an easy resolution to the problem. But that may not be the best one; and the manuscript evidence for this option is not very strong.

Perhaps a stronger answer would be to see the importance of the prophet Isaiah. He is the one, after all, who basically used the term ‘gospel’ with some incredible frequency in the Old Testament, when the text speaks of a herald or messenger of good news. The Old Testament text from Isaiah for this Sunday (40:1-11) has a progression toward this double use of the word ‘gospel’. The word had to do with a messenger that is appointed to deliver important news, often to a king.

By downplaying the presence of a messenger and emphasizing the voice of that messenger, an emphasis could be said to be on words instead of people—and also words instead of actions. The Gospel according to Mark will certainly emphasize the actions of Jesus, but those actions will essentially come to an end after his mission is over. And this gospel account will end quite abruptly.

Is the excitement over? Hardly. It will then be even more true that Jesus’ words are extremely important, especially since they come from such an extremely important messenger, with a very special message of good news. This is very different from the world’s definition of good news.

A messenger had flesh and blood. Jesus had flesh and blood. And he willingly separated his flesh and blood to make that very special sacrifice. And with that sacrifice comes the delivery of his good news, his gospel.

That word ‘gospel’ is a very special word. And very special words make some very special people.

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December 2nd, 2023

12/2/2023

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Does it feel like we are already at the beginning of a new year? Probably not. And you probably have a long list of things you would like to accomplish before the end of the calendar year. But if you have been following these writings, or if you have been attending a Lutheran service that follows the three-year series of bible readings, you would know that we are starting something new. We will now be turning our attention toward the Gospel according to Mark.

Perhaps it would be best to start by saying that we will NOT be looking at ‘The Gospel OF Mark’. With such a title, such a thing would belong to Mark. And he was only a secretary. He was only passing along what was given to him by the disciple Peter. And actually, what is written did not ultimately belong to Peter either. In a way, these writings are essentially anonymous. What was written was ultimately given by a gracious Lord who wishes to deal with us with gentle words.

Perhaps the next thing that could be stated is that, even though the Gospel according to Matthew and Mark have some similarities, they are also significantly different. Along with the Gospel according to Luke, these three are named the ‘synoptic’ gospel accounts, that of a similar perspective. I would like to propose that each gospel account has a significantly different perspective in much the same way that the four living creatures –a man, lion, ox, and eagle—surround the throne of Yahweh, and each would have a different perspective when looking up at Yahweh—if they are indeed able to do such a thing (see Ezekiel 1).

A throne is a symbol of the glory and authority of the person sitting upon it. Glory and authority have to deal with ramifications and results. If you remember the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew, it basically started with a genealogy. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the living creature usually connected to the Gospel according to Matthew is that of a man. A genealogy deals with the ramifications of those who are there in the beginning. And if you are familiar with the genealogy of Jesus, it should also be no surprise that this account has been connected to the lion, specifically the lion of the tribe of Judah (see Genesis 49:8-12).

The Gospel according to Mark is significantly different from the Gospel according to Matthew in that it is significantly shorter. And when things are shorter, they may get somewhat unclear. It is interesting that the Gospel according to Mark is the only gospel account that has been connected to all four living creatures by some ancient writer. (More details about these connections may be found on pages 126 and 127 in the Concordia Commentary on Revelation by the Rev. Dr. Louis A. Brighton; St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

It is also interesting that this gospel account is considered by some to be the account that was written first, and then things were added by others, and those writings became the other accounts. And there are also others who consider this account to be written last, as a type of summary of what was important from what the other gospel accounts had to say. Talk about variety! Ultimately, when you are dealing with a gracious God, the chronology is not the important thing.

How does this special gospel account begin? What follows is a somewhat-literal translation of the first few words of the work:

Beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, [Son of God]:

At least you were prepared for something short and vague!

To what does this ‘beginning’ refer? In the excellent Concordia Commentary by the Rev. Dr. James W. Voelz regarding this gospel account, he states that it not only refers to the start of the preaching of John the Baptist, but it also refers to the entire account, since the ending is quite abrupt—spoiler alert (See page 96; St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Concordia Publishing House, 2013).

The words ‘Son of God’ are in brackets above because those words do not appear in some of the manuscripts. Why would you leave out those words? It could be said here that the words appear independently in many places within the gospel account, but they appear together only a few times.

Before stating those instances, it should be noted that the two words ‘Jesus Christ’ appear nowhere else within this account. There are obviously many occurrences of ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ’ by themselves, but having them both here and together is important.

It is also interesting that there are basically three other times in this account that Jesus is given this special title of ‘Son of God’. The first two are essentially quotes from demons (3:11; 5:7). And the last one is right after Jesus’ death, the words of the centurion—of all people (15:39). All of these occurrences would follow the immediate and the long-term notion of a beginning. That would seem to imply that you do NOT want the only ones saying Jesus as the Son of God to be these whom the writer has picked.
And this is only the beginning.

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A Sabbath Day's Journey

December 30th, 2023

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