January 21st, 2024

This Sunday for many churches is the Third Sunday after the Epiphany. But if some people are following the one-year series, this Sunday is The Transfiguration of Our Lord. How time seems to fly by so quickly!

In either situation, we are well into the season of Epiphany. And for the three-year series, the gospel readings for the rest of the season go back to the Gospel according to Mark, the first chapter, and they will progress on from there. (And if the season is long enough—which it is not this time—the texts will eventually be from the second chapter of that gospel account.) For this Sunday, the gospel text is Mark 1:14-20.

With the writings of this website, we started at the beginning of the Gospel according to Mark at the beginning of the church year, so we covered these parts of the beginning of this gospel account before. And since then, we have seen increasing use of the historical presents (when a verb is expected in the past but appears in the present), as well as the use of the word ‘again’ (the latter of which is not surprising).

Both of these characteristics fit with this gospel account being connected to the living creature of a lion on the Lord’s throne. A lion is often connected with kingship, and he has a certain amount of power and authority. Many of the lion’s moves are important, and they are watched by many—especially those who might be stalked by him, or also those who might benefit from his killing another animal. A lion also has a certain amount of territory in which he has authority, and that lion will go over that territory numerous times to do various things, but especially he will do that when he is hungry.

It is not too difficult to connect Jesus to that of the ‘king of the beasts’, the lion. But he definitely did not come to the earth to throw his weight around, to show off his power and authority, and even to kill others. Jesus will allow himself to be killed, and he will show his power and authority over sin when the time comes for him to be on his cross. Until then, his glory will be shown in very small and gentle ways. (Notice that it was not Jesus who received the name, ‘Son of Thunder’.)

The following is this writer’s attempt at a somewhat-literal translation of the rest of the third chapter of the Gospel according to Mark (3:13-35); you may wish to look at another translation or a study bible to help understand what is happening; and the historical presents, which are many, will be in bold print (and it is a crowd that comes together ‘again’):

And he goes up into the mountain, and he calls to the ones whom he, himself, wanted, and they came away toward him. And he made twelve, whom also “apostles” he named, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to proclaim and to have authority to throw out the demons. And he made the twelve, and he added a name to Simon—Peter, and Jacob, the one of Zebedee, and John, the brother of the Jacob, and he added to them a name—Boanerges, which is “Sons of Thunder”; and Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and Jacob, the one of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot, who also gave him over.

And he comes into a house, and it comes together, again, the crowd, so that not to be able, them, not even bread to eat. And having heard, the ones near him, they came out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is standing out.”,

And the scribes, the ones from Jerusalem, having come down, they were saying, “Beelzebul, he has,” and, “In the ruler of the demons, he is throwing out the demons.”
And having called toward himself, them, in parables, he was saying to them, “How is he able, Satan, Satan, to throw out? And if a kingdom against itself, it is divided, not it is able to stand, the kingdom, that. And if a house, against itself, it is divided, not it will be able, the house, that, to stand. And if the Satan stood up against himself and he is divided, not he will be able to stand, but on the contrary, an end he has. But on the contrary, not he is able, no one, into the house of the strong one, having entered, the goods of him to plunder thoroughly, if not first, the strong one he binds, and then the house of him he will plunder thoroughly.”

“Amen, I am saying to you that all will be forgiven to the sons of the men, the sins and the blasphemies, whatever they may blaspheme. Now whoever blasphemes into the Spirit, the Holy, not he has forgiveness into the age, but on the contrary, guilty he is of an eternal sin.” Because they were saying, “A spirit, unclean, he has.”

And she comes, the mother of him and the brothers of him, and outside, standing, they sent toward him, calling him. And it was sitting around him, a crowd, and they say to him, “Behold, the mother of you and the brothers of you and the sisters of you, outside, they are seeking you.”​

And having answered them, he says, “Who is the mother of me and the brothers of me?” And having looked around, the ones around him, in a circle, sitting, he says, “Behold, the mother of me and the brothers of me. For whoever does the will of the God, this one, brother of me and sister and mother, he is.”