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Maybe it shows an OCD to say this, but I think that the Gospel text for this Sunday [Mark 10:2-16] should include the first verse of the chapter. There is a helpful perspective within that verse.
That first verse goes this way: ‘And he [Jesus] left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.’ The location is so important here. Jesus is getting extremely close to Jerusalem. One of the last major geographical things he will do, before going ‘up’ to Jerusalem, will be to cross the Jordan river. What would you talk about if you knew you were that close to your death? Jesus chooses to talk about some small things. When the subject of divorce is brought up, Jesus brings up a small passage of scripture that basically goes back to the beginning of time. And, a little later, he also talks about little children. And he says that we should be like them. The Jordan river was a big, important river. And Jerusalem is still a big city—in comparison to the other cities in the area of course. But Jesus wants us to focus on the little things. In our lives today, it is the big things that usually get the most attention. We are going to see more and more people wanting to make a big ‘splash’ in society, so that they will be getting their several seconds of fame. And the media does a great job of making sure this happens. The next time a crowd is mentioned, and this time it is a ‘considerable’ or ‘worthy’ crowd, Jesus is near Jericho. And he is heading to Jerusalem for his ‘grand entrance’. Jesus heals a blind man who not only recognizes who Jesus is as the ‘Son of David’, but the man also ends up following him. Again, it is the small things that are important to Jesus. And that helps, the next time you are feeling somewhat ‘small’. Considerable crowds continue to gather at churches literally throughout the world. And, hopefully, they are content to focus on some of the small things that Jesus pointed out while he was walking around this earth … his little ones, his teachings, his words, his sacraments.
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The Gospel text for this Sunday [Mark 9:38-50] has two verses at the end that are unique to this gospel account: ‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltines, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another (ESV).’
What is Jesus talking about? Well … he is talking about salt, fire, and peace. Just previously he was talking about the unquenchable fire of hell (see verses 47-8). But he seems to be transitioning to a different type of fire, since EVERYONE is going to be salted with this fire. Your bible may have a footnote that says, ‘Some manuscripts add and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Is Jesus also talking about sacrifice? The list seems to be getting longer. Metzger’s Textual Commentary (p. 87) provides the following helpful comment: ‘At a very early period a scribe, having found in Lv 2.13 a clue to the meaning of Jesus’ enigmatic statement, wrote the Old Testament passage in the margin of his copy of Mark.’ By the way, Leviticus 2:13 reads this way: ‘You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.’ We usually do not think of salt as being connected to the covenant. So, you may want to add that to the list as well. The last two words which were added to the list, sacrifice and covenant, are huge within the Old Testament and should, therefore, also be huge within the New. And they are—since the focus is on Jesus and what he did. Jesus does not talk about salt a lot; he does not talk about fire a lot; he does not even talk about peace a lot. But in this part of the Gospel according to Mark, he is talking about his sacrifice—although he does not use that term. Each gospel account makes its transition to Jesus’ journey to the cross in different ways. The way Jesus has been described, he has been slowly separating himself from his disciples. They cannot keep the covenant. They cannot make an acceptable sacrifice to God. Jesus can. Jesus will. With all the persecution going on in the early history of the Church, those Christians may have felt as though they were being sacrificed. In times of great stress, there is dissention and difficulty. Sinful people can focus too much on the problems or too much on themselves. These words of Jesus are about God keeping his covenantal promise, that the seed of Eve would have his heel bruised—but would crush Satan’s head (see Genesis 3). God words do what they say. They are not so much a powerful thing; they are more of a loving thing. Jesus took care of all the important stuff. We are at peace with one another when we look to those words. Those words connect us to both God and others. And that is a nice place to be—despite the troubles that will trouble us for just a little while longer. This is the Sunday of the 150th anniversary celebration at St. John Lutheran Church in Drake, Missouri, and there are specific texts to be read on the Sunday of the anniversary of a congregation.
Having recently read the history of the congregation—and, also, having quite recently written up a brief history of that congregation—I have come to appreciate very much when people get along well with each other. That happens to be the way that things are going in both congregations I am currently serving, and I am very appreciative of that. But there are times in the past 150 years when that has NOT happened. And there are congregations in that current situation today. So, it is almost encouraging that arguments are described within the first three gospel accounts in similar, yet slightly different ways. If things are important in the life of Jesus, they are mentioned at least three times. The regular Gospel text for this Sunday [Mark 9:30-37] describes an argument that the disciples were having amongst themselves. In fact, the text for the previous Sunday had a description of another argument; that time it was between the disciples and the scribes (9:14). The disciples were arguing as to who was the greatest. I thought it would be interesting to lay out how each of these very similar gospel accounts gives a different perspective to this topic. In the Gospel according to Matthew, there is, to my knowledge, no mention of the disciples arguing as to which of them was the greatest. But it is certainly interesting that, at the beginning of the fourth sermon (or discourse), the question is asked of Jesus by his disciples, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1)?’ That was essentially the issue being argued in the Gospel according to Mark. It is in the fourth book of the Old Testament, the book of Numbers, that the children of Israel must deal with themselves and others, after they leave Mount Sinai, and so, in this fourth sermon, this topic of how to deal with others is laid out as well. God’s children WILL have some disagreements. But instead of focusing on the arguments, one option is to go to Jesus. You can ask him to clarify, to teach regarding the issue. In the Gospel according to Mark, there is basically the opposite reaction. The disciples, unfortunately, were arguing amongst themselves as to who was the greatest. And, when they got into the house with Jesus, they were silent (9:33f). That is often the reality of how things go. You may think that silence is infrequent in our day and age, but when there are no worthy, biblically based solutions presented to a problem, that is essentially silence. Some important arguments are not getting resolved. That is unfortunate. The key, again, is to listen to Jesus; we are to remain silent. He wants the important issues discussed, and his words are a good starting point. In the Gospel according to Luke (9:46ff), the same event is described, but it is described in a slightly different way. The word that is attached to the argument is the same word that one would use for entering a house. The use of the word here is appropriate because Jesus is entering an important part of the gospel account, that of his heading to Jerusalem, to accomplish what he was sent to do. This account helps to remind us that arguments start for a purpose, sometimes for a very important purpose. If Jesus is about to leave, because he would be ‘delivered into the hands of men (9:44),’ then it IS an important issue as to who would be the greatest—the leader—after Jesus leaves. Hopefully this has been a helpful perspective regarding both arguments and Jesus. The Gospel text for this Sunday [Mark 9:14-29] deals with Jesus and another unclean spirit. Last Sunday an optional part of the text was the healing of the Gentile woman’s daughter; she also had an ‘unclean spirit’. There is talk of demons later in this gospel account, but the ‘unclean spirit’ will not be mentioned again.
It is important to note that this is a difficult spirit to cast out, even though the title of ‘unclean spirit’ does not seem too troublesome (and the father is even more positive by only calling it a ‘spirit that makes him mute’). The disciples previously had some success in casting out demons (see Matthew 6:13), but not this one. The disciples even ask Jesus why they could not cast it out. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus says it is because they had little faith (Matthew 17:20). In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus says that these only come out by prayer (Mark 9:29). I think that both are interesting responses; and both are interconnected. There are a lot of interesting responses at the end of many sections in this gospel account; and they are usually interconnected as well. The most famous is probably the very end of the account, where the women leave the tomb and do not say anything to anyone. But we are to connect that ending with the endings of the other accounts; it is in those accounts that this important story cannot help but spread. [And if the Gospel according to Mark is to be the last of the four accounts, then it was to have its longer ending—Mark 16:9-20.] Christians can feel as though they HAVE TO pray. They can also feel as though they GET TO pray. At the heart of that is faith in a gracious God. Those Christians can also feel as though God can ‘move mountains’ (see Matthew 17:20)—but not to ‘show off’ of course. If the mountains of the earth need moving to show God’s love, he will certainly move them (see Matthew 27:51). Are there different levels of unclean spirits? At least there were at the time when Jesus was on earth. They may have all learned their lessons shortly after that, that there is no need to leave unless the Son of God is involved—and invoked. Were the disciples disappointed that they had not thought of praying? The text does not say. Either way, the disciples continue to fade into the background—along with the unclean spirits. And Jesus continues to come to the foreground. And he brings his Spirit (see Mark 13:11). The Gospel text for this Sunday [Mark 7:31-37] has a ‘wonderful’ word that a person could talk (or write) about for a long time. It is wonderful because it supports the point that sometimes a word in one language does not easily translate into another language.
It is the word that is translated ‘sighed’ in our text (verse 34). In the New Testament it only appears five other times (2 Corinthians 5:2 and 4, Hebrews 13:17, Romans 8:23, and James 5:9). In the first four places, the word is translated as ‘groan’. In the passage from James, it is translated as ‘grumble’. It is certainly difficult to see Jesus groaning or, especially, grumbling. The definition in the dictionary [BDAG, page 942] is long—and hopefully helpful: ‘to express oneself involuntarily in the face of an undesirable circumstance.’ And the passage in James is connected to the following, significantly shorter definition: ‘to express discontent’. It is also difficult to describe Jesus as ‘expressing discontent’. That is probably why, in some ancient manuscripts, another similar word was substituted, and the word simply means to ‘sigh deeply’. It is used in Mark 8:12. Jesus’ enemies were looking for a sign from Jesus, and, after he sighs deeply, he tells them that no sign will be given them. There could also be a connection to the somewhat well-known other option of Mark 1:41. After the leper comes to Jesus and says, ‘If you will, you can make me clean’, in some manuscripts, Jesus’ response is to get angry! The context of the chapter is very helpful there; in the previous verses, Jesus was very much showing his willingness to heal and to help, and for someone NOT to get that is significant! The dictionary has the following note regarding this passage in Mark 7: ‘In connection with a healing, probably as an expression of power ready to act.’ I think another emphasis is possible. Perhaps it would be best to think of this situation in Mark 7 as a reaction to an ‘undesirable circumstance’. The perspective of the Gospel according to Mark is very similar to a battle. Who, in their right mind, would like a battle? Something extremely important must be at stake. Jesus is in the midst of a big one for all mankind. The four gospel accounts do not simply compare to four reporters who were sent to a big fire, and they came up with three similar accounts (Matthew-Luke) and one significantly different account (John). They were like four reporters who were sent to a fire and were specifically told to focus on four different, important things. And Mark was told to picture the event as a battle. And his ‘living creature’ is the lion. If you are interested, the word was used somewhat recently in Maccabees a couple of times (1 Maccabees 1:26 and 4 Maccabees 9:21). Both have a fighting context. Jesus keeps fighting, all the way to the cross. You might say that the Gospel text for this Sunday [Mark 7:14-23] gets to the heart of the matter.
How is your heart? Current culture is falling into two equally dangerous traps. The more obvious trap is to say that the heart is a good thing. The subtler one is that the answer to that question depends on what that heart has been fed. That is the old nature vs. nurture alternative. It is okay to have that discussion when people understand that human nature is inherently ‘sinful and unclean’. But when there is a positive view of human nature (‘There’s a little bit of good inside of everybody’), then some serious problems can occur—and some serious misunderstandings of both good and evil. Some of this nation’s founding fathers had a more optimistic view of human nature than the Lutherans typically had. And the theology of the Pilgrims may be traced back to John Calvin (1509-1564), who was not as strong as Martin Luther regarding the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper—and therefore would not have needed as strong a Savior. A new edition of Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation just came out, and some people do not like it because it is so long. If we were inherently good, it would not need to be very long at all! There are a HUGE number of evil alternatives. One alternative that does not seem so bad, at least initially, is to look inward. How is your heart? Some people hear that question and think about how they are currently feeling. I would advise against that strategy. I would suggest hearing what God’s word has to say about what is inside us. Jesus, in the text for today, says that ‘…evil things come from within…(Mark 7:23).’ All too often we do not want to admit that. But Jesus says what is true. I would suggest clinging to his words. That is what God’s messenger will advise the women after Jesus’ resurrection (Mark 16:7b). How is your heart? I just visited someone today who quite recently had major bypass surgery. Thankfully, we did not talk too much about the condition of the heart. At the heart of a more important matter is Jesus and his reconciliation. In Mark 7, Jesus is already headed for the cross. And he is about to leave the people around him and us (perhaps just for a little while) in the dust…. The Gospel text for this Sunday starts us back on that short and high-intensity road of Jesus to Jerusalem in the Gospel according to Mark (7:1-13). And the first verse of the text even mentions that famous city: ‘Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem….’
It is interesting that the word ‘gathered’ is basically the same as a synagogue. It is even more interesting that this eventually happens in every account—that some of the religious leaders of the day come from Jerusalem to see this ‘new’ thing that has to do with Jesus. You might think that this would happen at approximately the same time in all the four accounts. If this story were a history lesson, then that might be true. But if this has to do with our salvation, then there could be different ways in which Jesus shows his authority … to those who had some authority while he was on earth. Some of the ‘great crowds’ who followed him came from Jerusalem in Matthew 4:25 (that city being in the center, the third, of five places mentioned). But the first time we have some authorities coming from Jerusalem is Matthew 15:1. It is basically the same text as Mark 7:1, but it is interesting that the account in the Gospel according to Matthew mentions that the disciples came up to Jesus later and asked him if he knew that the Pharisees were offended by what he said! The Gospel according to Mark does not focus on that perspective at all. Jesus is much more difficult with them in the Gospel according to Mark. Mark 1:5 also records people from Jerusalem coming to Jesus, this time saying that ‘all Jerusalem’ was going out to him—along with all the country of Judea! Another ‘great crowd’ follows him, with some from Jerusalem, in Mark 3:8. But the first time authorities from Jerusalem come to Jesus is in Mark 3:22: ‘And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul….”’ This is obviously a harsh statement, ‘fighting words’ you might say. In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus entered into a discussion with some of the religious leaders of Jerusalem when he was a boy of twelve, visiting the city (Luke 2:41ff). But, again, the first time authorities come from Jerusalem to Jesus is a totally different account. When Jesus healed the paralytic, the account starts in this way: ‘On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem (4:17).’ And there is a wonderful result after the miracle: ‘And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things [literally, ‘paradoxes’] today (5:26).”’ This is a much more positive text. Just when you thought there was enough variety, there is also the Gospel according to John. Religious leaders in Jerusalem never come to Jesus in this account; he comes to them. But they do come to the one who was sent before him—John the Baptist. John 1:19 has this perspective: And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”’ How much variety would you expect from someone who is interested in saving ALL people? From the beginning of time, there have been many types of authority—even the sun, moon and stars ‘rule’ in a way (Genesis 1:16). Jesus responds to that manifold authority with a manifold, gospel-based answer. He gives what is needed for salvation. This is the last of the three Sundays that we look at the Gospel according to John. These three weeks had a definite progression toward a significant event: Near the end of the text (John 6:51-69), some people continued to follow Jesus, and some people did not. That difference is reflected in today’s world.
In last week’s text I pointed out that Jesus, within his words, at first pointed people to believing in him, and then he progressed to pointing people to believe in his words. I should have pointed out last week that, in verse 47, typically the text said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life,” but a few manuscripts added a phrase so that the reference points more in the direction of Jesus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes IN ME has eternal life.” In the text for this Sunday, there is another instance of a few copyists wanting to add something more to point to Jesus. In the text for this Sunday, in a few manuscripts, Peter’s response is no longer simply, “…you are the holy one of God (v. 69).” His confessions from the other accounts have influenced this account, and Peter, in a few manuscripts, also calls Jesus the Christ. I believe that both these additions take away from the important emphasis on words. The structure of “Truly, truly, I say to you…” is a clear statement that Jesus’ words are important. And with the additional confession of Jesus as the Christ and not just the holy one of God, more importance is placed on those words than Peter’s first, clear, confessional statement: “You have the words of eternal life (v. 68).” This last gospel account takes into account that, after Jesus ascended into heaven, there were fewer obvious miracles being performed. This makes an emphasis on words to be a critical factor. The purpose of the entire account is given in this way: “…these are WRITTEN so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31).” This important emphasis on words takes the reader or listener back to the beginning of time when God, with his words, brought everything into being. Jesus is called the Word. When words are spoken and then things happen, that is a wonderful thing; and it does not have to look like an obvious miracle. Jesus “tabernacled” or tented for a while among us. But his words continue. And through his words, his blessings continue. (At the end of this gospel account, Jesus blesses those who have not seen and yet believe.) You can tell Jesus was in trouble when the people asked the question “HOW can this man give us his flesh to eat (v. 52)?” (The word ‘his’ is not in a few manuscripts either.) Any ‘how’ question is a significant one. And Jesus could have answered it in a significantly powerful way. He answers it in a significantly ‘worded’ way. He gives them another “Truly, truly, I say to you…” He makes the connection to his Father in heaven (of whom he spoke about earlier, and he will continue to speak about him). Jesus also makes a connection to the fathers or ancestors of the Jews and points out that they died after eating that other bread. Jesus leaves them with a bunch of his words. That is not a bad gift to have, given the importance of words from Genesis to Revelation—and eternally. People start coming to church for essentially two reasons; they either consider that something good happened to them, or they consider that something bad happened to them. Each option has a significantly different perspective. And either event can take people down significantly different paths.
The Gospel text for this Sunday [John 6:35-51] continues with the results of the feeding of the 5000, the details of which are only found in the Gospel according to John. The results are interesting after this extremely good thing happened to them—that they all were fed with just a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. On the previous Sunday, the gospel text focused on the bread that was given. On the following Sunday, the gospel text will focus on the action of eating that bread. In the middle, quite appropriately, Jesus is focusing on himself. He is bringing in language about what he does, who he is, where he comes from, and who sent him. That is, admittedly, a great topic to preach about. But that is, admittedly, not always what people want to hear about. If they are coming to church because something good happened, maybe they are starting to think that they are relatively good, if they have tried really hard. Maybe they would like to hear about more good things that are coming their way—since they have been so good! It is always good regularly to go over the basics, the essentials of what it means to be a Christian. The nice thing about the Divine Service is that it goes over the basics in the section sometimes titled ‘Preparation’. The Introit is actually the first part of the service (the word ‘Introit’ means ‘entrance’). The Confession and Absolution is part of the action which helps prepare the Christian—no matter what the previous week may have been like—to receive the Lord’s gifts. After Confession and Absolution, everyone starts over in the exact same place. Jesus continues to feed the crowds who cannot stop following him. In verse 40 of this Sunday’s text, Jesus says, ‘…everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life….’ In verse 47, Jesus says, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.’ After you compare the two verses, you might ask, regarding the second one, ‘Believes in what, Jesus?’ It is more specific than that. Jesus starts that second verse with his extremely unique way of talking. Jesus wants people to believe in his WORDS. In our world today, words can be mislabeled, misused, and greatly misunderstood. Words can also be very loving, caring, and upbuilding. With Jesus behind them, they are re-creating. The Gospel text for this Sunday (John 6:22-35) starts a significant change, especially those who have been getting used to the Gospel according to Mark during this Pentecost season. For the next three Sundays, the text will be from the Gospel according to John.
Mark is a very short account. It has no resurrection appearances of Jesus, and Jesus does very little speaking throughout the work. During the church year, the Gospel according to Mark could use some ‘additional material’ along the way. And the Gospel according to John provides some wonderful insights. As a reminder, I would encourage the reader NOT to think of the four accounts as a puzzle that you are trying to fit together, to make sure that all the perspectives come together into one story that you can understand. If you have lots of time (and do not have a problem with sin at all!), then that may be your perspective. I have mentioned this before, but I believe the four accounts work together like the four sides of the throne where God is sitting and where, because of sin, we cannot approach. Only because of God the Father’s gracious action in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, may we approach that throne. The four accounts work together wonderfully to show how Christ was made a king on the cross for us in four slightly different ways. At this point I would like to reference a book that supports this view. It is by the well-known theologian, N.T. Wright, and the title is How God Became King. The author particularly emphasizes that it is proper for the four gospel accounts to focus especially on that time BEFORE Jesus’ death and resurrection (and that this is something that is not emphasized in the Church’s Creeds). Obviously, some Christians would like to emphasize the power that Jesus showed AFTER he rose from the dead. But that power is not shown in the Gospel according to Mark. That power has not always been obvious within the Christian Church. The PROMISE is there and is based on Jesus’ words, and that should be the proper focus. When the word ‘Lord’ is used in the New Testament, it references a Jesus who already went through the suffering and death. As ‘Lord’ he is a king, the Lord over sin, death, and the devil. The way the word ‘Lord’ is used in the gospel accounts BEFORE the resurrection is interesting. For example, its use in the Gospel according to Luke is helpful, especially when the early Christians are trying to decide what to do in Acts. The use of the word ‘Lord’ in the Gospel according to John is comforting, especially within the context of the Christian Church. Here are the uses (when it is used by the writer and not by someone who is being quoted; and I have given a significantly different translation than the ESV): John 4:1 “Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees heard Jesus was making more disciples and baptizing more than John….” John 6:23 “Other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where the crowd ate the bread, when the Lord had ‘the Eucharist’.” [The word ‘Eucharist’ is an ancient word meaning to ‘give thanks’, and it often referred to the Lord’s Supper.] John 11:2 “And it was Mary, the one anointing the Lord with ointment and wiping it off his feet with her hair….” [John 21:7 & 12 These occurrences of ‘Lord’ are within a resurrection appearance.] In John 6:23, note that it does not say that Jesus multiplied the loaves of bread. It says, literally, that he gave thanks. That was certainly a powerful prayer! But the text focuses on the hiddenness of it all. After the miracle, the crowds want to make him king, so he goes away. That was not the kind of king he wanted to be. All these passages deal with responses in some way. Jesus is baptizing, and the Pharisees heard about it and respond, and so Jesus responds in turn. Jesus multiplied the fish and the loaves, and there certainly was a response to that! And Mary anoints Jesus, and she comes onto the scene again after Lazarus dies. It is interesting that these three topics—baptism, the Eucharist, and anointing—also have to do with the actions within the Christian Church. Sometimes people can look at those actions which happen inside a church building and get turned off by them. But it is the Lord who is in charge; he is called the Lord for a reason! This is a good reminder to look to him; it is all about HIS gifts—his words AND his actions. |
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