Throughout the Gospel of Mark, the primacy of sowing the seed of the Bible, the folly of misplaced amazement and the sin of the fear of men are all demonstrated by means of the Lord’s instruction and action. Most importantly, the teaching of Christ’s death and resurrection is plainly stated. Still, somehow, Mark’s message did…
Category: The Bible as Literature
You Foolish Galatians
One of the many ways that Scripture teaches us is by testing us. In the first verse of chapter 15, Mark tells us that “the whole Council” deliberated, bound up Jesus, and delivered him to Pilate. The whole Council. During the Crucifixion, the public portrayal of Christ’s shame is inescapable. Jesus was ridiculed, abused, and…
Into the Darkness
Students of the New Testament can’t help but impose their understanding of triumph on the story of the Crucifixion. Desperate to find hope in human strength, they rush to what they see as the happy ending in Mark, minimizing the lengthy stretch of darkness, cruelty, and ridicule endured by Jesus. Why? Because in the end,…
Trust in the Lord
In popular American stories, defeat is used either to amplify our sense of good vs. evil or to indulge the illusion that we, the supposed underdogs, will be victorious in the end. Consumed uncritically, these stories reinforce a self-percieved victimhood, amplify our self-righteousness, and dull our minds with false consolations about suffering, death, and loss….
Gilgal Golgatha
In Semitic languages, the link between various words is established, not by a term’s imagined or abstract meaning, but by its mechanical structure. Certain words contain specific consonants in a particular order, and words built around those consonants not only sound connected but have a related usage. For example, a book is something that is…
The Bringer of the Law
In the discipline of Jiu Jitsu, when an opponent strikes you, his aggression is understood as an opportunity to use his power against him. A similar principle is found in the Bible, with a slight twist: throughout the Old Testament, the Lord uses the aggression of Israel’s enemies as an opportunity to use the enemies’…
Neither Nor
Too often, the Bible is coopted by people who seek to advance a personal agenda. Whether laying claim to a piece of land, as in the case of Manifest Destiny, or justifying slavery in the Civil War era, we Americans have a long history of mixing apples and oranges. We hear the Lord’s promise of…
Stockholm Syndrome
To the extent that the Old Testament repeatedly hammers the worship of idols, it’s understandable why so many are quick to dismiss its relevance. These days, most people understand that the many statues of the ancient gods are just statues, hunks of stone fashioned and shaped to reflect the human imagination. In Paul’s own words,…
Peter and Judas
When confronted with the failure of the Lord’s disciples in Mark, it’s tempting for hearers of the gospel to weigh and measure betrayal as a matter of degree. Why? Because while we may be willing to admit that we sometimes betray, even the best of us are reluctant to identify with the sin of Judas….
How Do You Catch a Cloud?
When we take any action—especially in rebellion—the emotional satisfaction of doing what we want whenever we want creates the illusion of freedom. But what does it mean to be free? To the extent that Scripture knows exactly how we are going to behave when we disobey its instruction, can we honestly claim that we are…