Mark 1, Blog Through the Bible Project
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a] the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
What does it take for you to make straight paths for the Lord?
These are some things which help me clear a pathway for God
1 Silence
2 Brutal honesty about where I really am, what I am really preoccupied about.
3 Prayer, a beseeching for aerial support in my hour of conflict and trouble.
4 Limiting busyness. Being intense and highly strung, I try and limit social things to two a week, maybe three. More than that, I don’t enjoy them, and it does effect my inner dialogue with Christ.
5 Scripture, which introduces fresh ideas, insight and conviction into the petri dish of my thoughts.
6 Most of all, repentance helps me create a straight path for God to enter my soul.
A Voice Calling in the Wilderness
Mark 1: 1-3–Blog Through the Bible Project
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
A voice calling in the wilderness.
For me, there is hope in that phrase.
Would the wilderness–solitude, no human companionship, none of the works of art, civilization, learning, the absence of iron sharpening iron, an absence of everything but you and God–be considered a suitable training ground for the development of a unique voice, which has something real, and of urgency to say to the world?
Apparently so.
The voice which comes out of the wilderness is uniquely your own.
But if it is to have something of lasting value to say to the world, then it must also be a voice which has clearly heard God’s voice in the wilderness, and is tempered, modulated and profoundly influenced by that other voice heard in the wilderness.
The voice which has heard God’s voice in the wilderness can cry with an unforgettable power, poignancy and urgency which will echo through the centuries.
All Power on Heaven and Earth is Given Unto Me.
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
The scope of Christ’s authority is the entire universe.
And so the boundaries of what is possible and what is impossible are very thin indeed. Because Jesus has the authority to shift these seemingly intractable boundaries.
And therein lies the point and power of prayer: That Christ has the power to shift anything.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
His last commission, to teach people to obey his commands.
ESV The name, not names of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is an early indication of the Trinitarian Godhead, and an overt proclamation of Jesus’ divinity.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
And so Matthew ends with the reassuring and empowering words of him who came to earth to be “God with us” and the Gospel of Matthew ends with the wonderful affirmation of the constant presence of Jesus with us until the end of the age.
Lonely? Afraid? Full of foreboding?
Christ walks beside you. He is with you always.
ESV Jesus concludes the commission, and Matthew his Gospel with the crucial element of discipleship: the presence of the Master who is “God with us.”
The Resurrection
%20-%201917-19.jpg) |
| The hands of the Risen Christ, Jacob Epstein |
Matthew 27: 57-66
The Burial of Jesus
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
ESV–Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin who did not consent to the actions against Jesus (Luke 23 50-51). His high standing within the Jewish community gave him access to Pilate.
Isaiah 53:9 “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Matthew 28
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
The discourse between angels and humans always begins with the same injunction, “Do not be afraid.”
6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
Galilee: The central location of Jesus’s earthly ministry continues in importance during his post-resurrection ministry.
The discourse between angels and humans always begins with the same injunction, “Do not be afraid.”
6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
Galilee: The central location of Jesus’s earthly ministry continues in importance during his post-resurrection ministry.
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
ESV The women take hold of his feet showing that this is no mere vision or hallucination, but a physical resurrection. By allowing this act of worship, Jesus accepts the acknowledgement of his deity, since only God is to be worshiped.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
ESV The women take hold of his feet showing that this is no mere vision or hallucination, but a physical resurrection. By allowing this act of worship, Jesus accepts the acknowledgement of his deity, since only God is to be worshiped.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
And he returns, full of kindness. Do not be afraid, he tells the women, and in total forgiveness of the brothers who deserted him arranges a rendez-vouz in Galilee.
The Guards’ Report
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
ESV–Faced with the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, the religious leaders are forced once again to conspire together in order to preserve their religious and political influence.
The Christians said. The Jews said. So someone is lying–the guards or the disciples.
Whom do you think is more likely to be lying–people who would lose everything if they told the truth, or people who would lose everything if they lied? The soldiers faced possible execution for dereliction of guard duty, one of the most severe offenses while occupying foreign territory.
The disciples would be in danger of being whipped, cast out of the synagogue, and losing their very lives by lying about the resurrection. Would a bunch of liars write such beautiful books as letters as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter and James have written? Would they be so utterly transformed?
The Death of Jesus
 |
| Tintoretto, Crufifixion |
Matthew 27 32-55
The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
And that is how he died–amid a cacophany of insults; his head, hands, feet and back aching from their multiple wounds; delirious from hunger, thirst, sleeplessness and blood loss; almost suffocating. It had to be an excruciating death, to be an expiation in full for the sins of the world.
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. Psalm 22:18
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.
ESV A supernatural act of God declaring his displeasure with humanity for crucifying his son.
46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Jesus maintains an exhausted and noble silence, speaking 7 brief sentences in 3 hours or so. In this sentence, his sense of utter abandonment by his father bursts forth from him.
ESV In some sense, Jesus had to be cut off from the favor of and fellowship with the Father that had been his eternally, because he was bearing the suns of the people and therefore enduring God’s wrath.
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The curtain which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The tearing of the curtain signified Christ’s making it possible for believers to go directly into God’s presence.
The curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place was an elaborately woven fabric of 72 twisted plaits of 24 threads each. It was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. No one was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place behind the curtain except the High Priest, and he only once a year, on the Day of Atonement.
The curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place was an elaborately woven fabric of 72 twisted plaits of 24 threads each. It was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. No one was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place behind the curtain except the High Priest, and he only once a year, on the Day of Atonement.
The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
ESV–Palestine sits on a major seismic rift, so earthquakes were not uncommon, but the splitting of rocks, and the opening of tombs make this a major testimony to the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection.
ESV–Palestine sits on a major seismic rift, so earthquakes were not uncommon, but the splitting of rocks, and the opening of tombs make this a major testimony to the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
The centurion and his guards were accustomed to seeing crucifixions, but these cataclysmic events, coupled with the extraordinary self-control, purity and love shown by Jesus in his death made the centurion realize that there was something very special indeed about Jesus.
ESV–A series of testimonies–from the temple, the dead and Gentiles–indicate the historical and theological impact of the death of Jesus.
The centurion and his guards were accustomed to seeing crucifixions, but these cataclysmic events, coupled with the extraordinary self-control, purity and love shown by Jesus in his death made the centurion realize that there was something very special indeed about Jesus.
ESV–A series of testimonies–from the temple, the dead and Gentiles–indicate the historical and theological impact of the death of Jesus.
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Women played a significant role in the ministry of Jesus and his disciples.
These women accompanied Jesus as his disciples, witnessed the crucifixion, and will be the first witnesses to the resurrection.
These women accompanied Jesus as his disciples, witnessed the crucifixion, and will be the first witnesses to the resurrection.
Accidental prophets
Matthew 27-31
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Praetorium–Pilate’s official headquarters, doubled as a fortress. The whole battalion would have 120-200 soldiers.
Brutalization. Jesus had been flogged with a leather whip, interwoven with bits of bone and metal, which ripped skin and tissue, often exposing bone and intestines.
They find the idea of this brutalized man being King amusing. They rip off his clothes, and in unknowing prophetic mockery, stick a scarlet robe–outer cloak of a Roman soldier–also a symbol of kingship on him. Stick a crown of thorns on his head, and hit him on the head over the thorns. Rip the robe off again, which had probably stuck to the bloody flesh.
Of course, unbeknownst to them, the scarlet robe, the crown and the sceptre proved prophetic.
Through all this, Jesus remains silent.
Isaiah 50:6
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
Christ handles Unjust Accusations with Dignity
Matthew 27 11-26 Blog Through the Bible Project
Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
Blasphemy is not sufficient to merit the death penalty under Roman rule. Claiming to be the King of the Jews, however, would present a direct challenge to Caesar. So Pilate swiftly gets to the heart of the matter.
A Greek expression that deflects responsibility back upon the one asking the question.
See his simple understated dignity and quietness.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
Jesus had sufficiently answered Pilate’s first question, and there was nothing more to add which would change Pilate’s mind.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7.
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7.
Was there any point in answering? The chief priests knew that their accusations were trumped up and false. Defending himself against people who bring lying witnesses would have been pointless.
However, this calm, dignity and silence in the face of impending death astonishes Pilate, and wins his surprised respect.
And here’s a lesson–the peace and freedom in silence. We do not need to answer every accusation. We do have an advocate, a counsellor, a defender.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
He knows an injustice is being done. He makes a feeble attempt to protect Jesus. And then, he just shrugs his shoulders and lets the Jews get on with it.
This world would be a hard place to live in peacefully, if we did not believe in the sovereignty of God, that our Father has all things in his hands.
ESV Pilate knows that the high priest and the Sanhedrin are not concerned about threats to Roman rule; rather, they are envious of Jesus’s popularity, and feel threatened by his authoritative ministry.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
It is totally stunning that jealousy and insecurity can get so out of hand that they would have Jesus subjected to an excruciating death just to get him out of the picture.
Jealousy is a startlingly strong force.
A few days ago, the people of Jerusalem had shouted Hosanna. Now they cry, “Crucify him.”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
A public demonstration that he finds no grounds for giving Jesus the death penalty.
Pilate’s weakness and wishy-washiness has a role in the unjust condemnation of Jesus.
Pilate had good will and reluctant admiration of Jesus–up to a point, up to a point. It wasn’t enough for him to intervene, and save Jesus’s life.
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
Is there a link between this chilling and casual pronouncement and twenty centuries of relentless anti-semitic persecution?
The ESV and the NIV suggest that judgement came in the form of the destruction of the temple in AD 70.
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Pilate had feeble good will towards Jesus. But ultimately, he decided that he couldn’t be “bovvered.”
So, what was the difference between the betrayals of Judas and Peter?
Matthew 27 1-10
Judas Hangs Himself
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed.
A legal quorum. The Sanhedrin could not have a legal session at night, so at daybreak they held a special session to make the death sentence official.
2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
Pilate was the governor of Judea, and the Roman prefect under Emperor Tiberius. To maintain ultimate control, the Romans kept the death penalty under their own jurisdiction.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
Both Peter and Judas betrayed Jesus in different ways, Peter three times.
Peter weeps bitterly with sorrow for his sin. Judas in extreme despair feels that his life was no longer worth living. He returns the money, and kills himself. In his deep depression and despair he compounds his sin.
Will there be forgiveness for Judas?
Please, Lord, let there be.
One of the betrayers goes down in history as the rock on whom Christ will build his church. The other’s name becomes a synonym for betrayal.
What is the difference? One difference I see is the Judas focuses on himself, rather than on Christ. “I have sinned, I have betrayed innocent blood,” he says. Peter betrays Christ out of instinctive fear, not self-interested calculation. He is undone by a glance from Christ. He goes and weeps bitterly because he betrayed the one he loved so much. Christ sees the love, forgives the fear, and gently reinstates him.
Perhaps if Judas had really known Christ, he would have known that there is forgiveness even for the one who sold his friend for 30 pieces of silver.
Perhaps if Judas had really known Christ, he would have known that there is forgiveness even for the one who sold his friend for 30 pieces of silver.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next Page »