A Good Plan
When will you read? Where will you read? What things will you need? You might like: a Bible, a journal/notebook/post-its, pen/pencil/highlighter, good lighting, comfortable seating, glasses?
Maybe you'll read early in the morning with a cup of coffee- set out your supplies the night before.
Maybe you'll read with others after dinner- would it be helpful to keep your supplies in a basket you can grab as you're setting the table? Does everyone have their own Bible? their own journal?
Maybe you're listening as you walk the dog or fold the laundry. Make a folder in your notes app on your phone to record questions or insights as they come up. If you're listening on a commute, keep a small notebook in the car to write down notes when you arrive at your destination.

A good plan will take you far in being able to complete your reading goal.
Make a plan for this time with God. Remember- the Bible is the place we go to reliably encounter God.

A Good Rhythm: Pray, Read, Pray
When it's time to read, pray first. Ask God to speak to you, to send the Holy Spirit down on you, to open your heart and mind to pay attention to what God would have you hear today.
Next read the section of scripture.
How you read the chapters for the week is up to you. You can do one a day, all of them every day, or maybe this week is so full you pick one day to read them all.
As you read, write down questions, comments, insights.
Maybe you're noticing a word repeated over and over again. Maybe there's a familiar story you're hearing in a new way. Maybe you notice Jesus is angrier than you thought he'd be or you relate to the disciples. No note is too silly. Write them down! Writing helps you remember.  Writing gets things into your brain.
Read the notes and questions. You can take time to write down your answers or think about them throughout the day.
When you've finished the scripture, take a few deep breaths. Close your eyes and hold the silence for a minute or two.
Close with a prayer. Talk over what you read with God.  Did you like it? Was it challenging? Hard to understand? Tell God. 

The Gospel of Mark is the earliest of the four gospels.
The Wesley Study Bible describes Mark as "a relentless story about Jesus' announcement of God's righteous kingdom and the acts that accompany this proclamation. Throughout his ministry, Jesus encounters resistance. Evil is manifested in the demonic and in the actions of human beings. Human characters in Mark are often fearful and stubborn, and at times extremely violent. Self-seeking and the desire for honor work at cross-purposes with God's will. Evil, however, is being defeated: Jesus banishes demons, teaches about God's kingdom, and challenges religious and political structures that are harmful to human well-being. At times, people respond in faith, trusting in Jesus' compassion and divine authority. Though Jesus dies on the cross, once again evil is overcome as God raises him from the dead."

Chapter 1 is the beginning of Jesus' ministry.
N. T. Wright describes this chapter in this way - you're asleep and dreaming when you're woken up suddenly. Someone shouts "Wake up! Get up! You'll be late!" as they throw a cup of cold water in your face. "Mark begins with John the Baptist's ministry, which was like throwing cold water on the surprised Jewish world. Many had been looking for a sign from God, but they hadn't expected it to look like this. Many had wanted a Messiah to lead them against the Romans, but they weren't anticipating a prophet telling them to repent." - N. T. Wright.

We're introduced to John and his function - to prepare the way of the Lord.
Then we hear that Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized by John.
Immediately the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness where he is tempted for forty days.
The first thing Jesus does after his baptism and tempting is to go to Galilee to say, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

So much happens in this one chapter! Jesus calls his disciples, heals at Simon's house, preaches around Galilee, and cleanses a leper.
Jesus says something confusing to the leper in verse 43: "after sternly warning him he sent him away at once." What's up with that? Don't we want to spread the message of Jesus? Shouldn't Jesus be encouraging him to spread the news?
Pheme Perkins writes, "The reader soon learns that the crowds at Capernaum create a problem for Jesus' ministry as well. He did not come to settle in the town as a local healer and holy man, but to preach throughout the region."  This is why, when Simon finds Jesus after seeking solitude to pray, Jesus says, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."

Interesting Notes
The expression 'Son of God' had its origins in the Israelite royal cult, where it referred to the relationship between God and the Davidic King (2 Sam 7:14; Psalm 2:7)
By the time Mark's gospel was written both 'messiah' ('Christ') and 'Son of God' were established designations for Jesus.
 
Questions to consider
How does not having any stories about Jesus' birth affect your experience of this gospel?
What do you think about the voice from heaven at Jesus' baptism? How do those words make you feel?
Do you see any parallels between Jesus' experience in chapter 1 and the Israelite's experience in Exodus (if you're familiar with that book/story)?
After time in prayer Jesus is able to understand his calling a bit better.  He is much more clear on what he is meant to do with his time.  How do you refocus yourself on God's call on your life? 

Chapter 2 introduces a "controversy story."

"Wise men and rabbis were often the subjects of such tales...  a brief episode that enshrined some facet of the hero's character or illustrated a point of his teaching. The controversy stories that figure so prominently in Mark open with a challenge that Jesus will be forced to meet."

Jesus heals a paralytic at the opening of chapter 2 - this is a controversy story. The scribes question in their hearts and Jesus is able to perceive their concerns. They believe what Jesus is saying is blasphemy. If you were present in this room, how do you think you'd react, not knowing any background about this man?

Next Jesus calls Levi (a tax collector!!) to be a disciple. Once again there are questions raised about Jesus and his actions.
Then there are questions when Jesus' disciples don't fast, and when they pluck grain on the Sabbath.

What's the deal with the Sabbath?
Keeping the Sabbath holy is one of the Ten Commandments and it's the commandment that takes up the most words.
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it."

People took the Sabbath seriously because God asked them to.
Throughout the ages rabbis have tried to figure out how exactly to observe the Sabbath in order to keep it holy - just how much work is too much work? How far can you walk on a Sabbath? What if your ox falls into a ditch?

Here and in other parts of Mark (and the other gospels) we see Jesus focus on the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law.
Jesus is not concerned with technicalities. Jesus is concerned with hungry people getting food, with healing and wholeness.  Like it says in Mark 2:27, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath."

Jesus heals on the Sabbath -again!
The folks in the synagogue are confronted with controversy. I wonder if they are torn, if they just want to do what is best, what God desires. He heals a man with a withered hand on the sabbath, but before he does he asks them "is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?" When no one says anything Jesus gets MAD. When you think about Jesus, what emotions do you see him experiencing? What emotions do you expect him to experience? Does angry Jesus melt your brain at all? What else does Jesus get mad about? Maybe start marking where Jesus shows anger.

When Mark gives us the list of disciples he lists Judas last, saying "... and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." This detail reminds us of the end of the gospel.

Questions to Consider
This is not the first encounter we've seen Jesus have with a demon.  What do you make of demons and Jesus' relationship with them?
What do you make of the section when Jesus' family sends for him?  

This chapter is parable heavy.
We start with the Parable of the Sower.  Jesus tells this one from a boat pushed out into the sea because the crowds were so big. N. T. Wright writes about this parable, saying, "People were expecting a great moment of renewal. They believed that Israel would be rescued lock, stock, and barrel; God's kingdom would explode onto the world stage in a blaze of glory. How does Jesus' parable offer a different vision of Israel and its future?"

Mark 4:10-12 is a confusing bit of scripture. You may have noticed as you read that there is a rhythm of teaching the crowds and then going to a private place to talk to the disciples. We see that here.  Jesus, the twelve, and other disciples are alone together and they ask Jesus about parables. He says, "to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that..." and then we have a quote from Isaiah, "they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven."

Pheme Perkins writes that '... the larger group of disciples from whom the Twelve were selected are included in this instruction. They have been identified as Jesus' new family (Mark 3:31-35). Consequently, they have already shown themselves to be responsive to the preaching of Jesus."

Basically, from what I've read, scholars are conflicted about what these three verses really mean.  Perkins continues, "the term translated 'secret' -mysterion-serves as the Greek rendering of the Aramaic term raz... Verse 11 appears to promise that the reader is about to be told the 'mystery' of the kingdom of God. Yet no such revelation occurs."

Other scholars think this relates to the "messianic secret" or Jesus' tendency to not want a lot of folks knowing about what he's doing. N. T. Wright asks us to consider, "why might Jesus not want some listeners to understand what he is saying?"

At the end of the chapter Jesus stills the sea. In the ancient world the sea represented chaos.  The only one who was able to control chaos was God.
Everyday life can feel very chaotic. We might not be in a literal boat in a windstorm, but sometimes it can feel like that in our minds, our bodies, our spirits.
What comfort does it give you to know that God is able to control chaos? Does that knowledge mean you live your life differently than you would without that insight? 

This chapter can be broken into two parts – verses 1-20 The Gerasene Demoniac and verses 21-46 Two Healing Stories

Gerasene Demoniac
Jesus crosses the sea into Gentile Territory. Pheme Perkins writes, “Jesus is breaking down barriers that separate Jews from Gentiles, clean from unclean.” 
You get a sense of chaos when you read about the experience of the man with the unclean spirit. He lives alone, among tombs. He is literally living in the land of the dead. This is the opposite of a connected and abundant life. He is unable to engage in community.

The disciples just endured the chaos of the windstorm on the sea.  The theme of chaos continues with this man who lives in constant chaos.
Perkins writes, “Jewish ritual practices separate the world into categories of clean and unclean. When heard within that context, the elements of impurity in this story are piled one upon another: unclean spirit, dwelling among tombs, and a large herd of swine.”

What’s a legion?
When Jesus asks for the name of the demon they respond, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” Many spirits possess this one man – no wonder he was totally cut off from everyone else.

So, what exactly is a legion anyway? Perkins tells us – “At full strength, a legion consisted of 6,000 infantry, 120 cavalry, and associated auxiliaries.”
Legion asks not to be sent from that country, but they end up in the sea. Perkins – “Although the demons try to avoid being driven out of the country, they wind up in the sea (the waters of chaos), where they belong.”

Questions to consider
Why do you think the people beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood?
Why did Jesus refuse to let the healed man follow him, and instead directed him to go tell his friends what the Lord had done?

Two Healing Stories
Jesus gets into the boat again and goes back into Jewish territory. On his way to heal the daughter of a leader of the synagogue Jesus heals a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.

Both Jairus (the leader of the synagogue) and the woman with the hemorrhage fall at Jesus’ feet. Jairus to ask Jesus for healing, the woman after she had been healed. People from Jairus’ house come to tell him it’s no use, that his daughter is dead, but Jesus goes to her anyway. He takes her by the hand and tells her to get up. This reminds us of what he says to the paralytic in chapter 2. We see at the end of this scene more of the “messianic secret”- Jesus not wanting too much information to spread about him.
 
Healing does not just restore a person to health, but it stretches further. Their bodies are healed AND they are restored to community. The Gerasene Demoniac is no longer a demoniac, but a free person now able to live a connected and abundant life.

Many of the purity laws kept folks with conditions and diseases out of the community, living on the fringes. Here we see the power of Jesus not only to heal physically, but to bring wholeness, connection, and abundant life.
Once again Jesus tells the folks he’s healed not to spread that information around.

Healing is something we see Jesus do often in Mark and the other gospels, but that is not his only purpose. I wonder if asking folks to keep this secret was a way for Jesus to encourage the crowds to focus on other aspects of Jesus’ purpose and calling and not reduce him to just a person who heals?

How do you feel when you read a healing story? Does it bring up negative emotion? Positive? A mix of both?
 
Have you ever been in Jairus’ position? Or the woman with the hemorrhage’s position? If so, how do you find these stories? 

Chapter 6
Mark 6 begins with a visit to Jesus’ hometown.

This scene is in stark contrast to everything that happened in chapter 5. Jesus is able to restore the man possessed by Legion, able to heal a woman of chronic illness, able to give life again to a girl who had died. We see the faith and trust of Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage. We get the opposite of faith and trust in Nazareth.
The folks in Nazareth are astounded, which sounds like the other stories we’ve read about Jesus teaching in synagogues. We expect the whole town to crowd around the door like in other places, but instead Jesus leaves amazed at their unbelief.  

Because the people let their preconceived notions about who Jesus is block the way, Jesus is unable to do any deeds of power in his hometown. Can you think of anything blocking you from Jesus? Do assumptions or expectations, like we see in Nazareth, block the way? Or something else?

Next Jesus sends the twelve out to teach. He gives specific instructions, so that the disciples must depend on God and trust the process, rather than rely on their own skill, power, and resources.
 
The disciples are able to cast out demons and cure the sick because they share Jesus’ authority and mission. They are extensions of Jesus’ ministry. How is what we do as a church an extension of Jesus’ ministry and mission?

Then we get the story of how John the Baptist was killed. It comes up because Mark tells us that Herod heard about Jesus and the different stories about the identity of Jesus. Some said that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Others said Jesus was Elijah or a prophet.
 
This story clues us into the potential danger Jesus faces.

After the story about John our focus shifts back to Jesus. The disciples are back from their mission, and they tell him everything that happened. Jesus understands the cost of such ministry and so the plan is to rest awhile in a deserted place.

But the crowds see where they are going and get there first. When Jesus sees all the people, he has compassion for them and teaches them. Jesus does this until late and the disciples start to wonder about the plan for dinner.
 
Jesus tells the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” But the disciples believe that request is as impossible as it is overwhelming. And yet, thousands of people are fed.

The number twelve keeps coming up – twelve disciples, the woman suffered with hemorrhages for twelve years, Jairus’ daughter is twelve, and now there are twelve baskets of leftovers. What do you make of that?
 
When you have an overwhelming and impossible problem, how do you solve it? Next time you come to such a problem start with prayer. Tell God about it and ask for guidance. Maybe there is a way through you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.

Immediately after they collect the twelve baskets of leftovers, they’re in a boat again. But Jesus stays on shore, choosing to pray on the mountain. The disciples are rowing against a strong wind and Jesus walks by on the water. They are terrified but are comforted when they hear Jesus’ voice.
 
Here again, knowing that in the ancient world the sea was a symbol of chaos is helpful for us as we read this story. The only one who can control chaos is God. Jesus walking on water is Jesus having power over the sea, having power over chaos. 
Mark tells us that the disciples, “were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”

N.T. Wright invites us to consider, “What have the disciples not understood about the loaves that they should have?”

This line about hardened hearts brings us back to the top of the chapter- to Jesus’ hometown crowd and their response to his teaching. 
What causes our hearts to be hardened?

We open Chapter 7 with another controversy story. The controversy this time is over questions about customs of purification. This helps develop our view of Jesus as teacher. As we explore this story, think about what the Pharisees would say is the problem, and then think about what Jesus would say is the problem.

This section develops a theme we’ve seen before in Mark – concerns about what is clean and unclean. Pheme Perkins writes, “Instead of concern with external categories, Jesus insist that impurity comes from within.”

N.T. Wright asks, “In 7:1-23 how does Jesus say both that sometimes people don’t take Scripture seriously enough and that sometimes they take it too far?” What examples of this do we see in modern life?
 
The scene with the Syrophoenician Woman is a fascinating one. Perkins writes, “The boundaries that have been set aside in Jesus’ treatment of the purity rules are crossed in this episode. Jesus ventures into Gentile territory. While there, he heals a Gentile child after losing a verbal sparring match to her mother.”

Jesus comes off as hostile. A little background might help us understand why- Perkins tells us a theory brought forth by Biblical scholar Gerd Theissen dealing with socioeconomic causes for hostility between the Jewish populace in the outlying regions around Tyre and Sidon and the Gentiles dwelling in those cities-
 
“Upper Galilee exported produce through the costal cities. The cities, in turn, depended on these regions for food. In periods of crisis or food shortage, the populace of the hinterlands may have resented producing goods for the wealthy cities. Jesus’ saying, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs’ can be read in the light of that situation. Those who produced the food, Jewish peasant farmers, see their work consumed by others.”

What do you make of this story? How does it feel to encounter a hostile Jesus? How does tone of voice change the meaning of Jesus’ words? We have the words written, but how would our experience of them change if we were able to hear them? Was Jesus speaking in a teasing tone, tongue-in-cheek? Was he taking the assumed prejudice to its logical extreme?

We close out the chapter with another healing, and another time Jesus orders the witnesses of a healing to tell no one. But they don’t follow his orders. Instead they say, “He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” This reminds us of Isaiah 35:5-6 which is all about expectation for the messiah’s arrival. It says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

Chapter 8 begins with hungry people being feed – thousands of them, with seven loaves of bread.

Why do you think the disciples react how they do, asking the question, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?” Shouldn’t they have known what Jesus was able to do after the feeding of the five thousand?
 
What does “bread in the desert” make you think of? It brings to my mind manna in the wilderness – see Exodus 16.

Next Mark uses various meanings of blindness to show that the people are not able to receive Jesus’ message. The Pharisees ask for a sign. The Pharisees have already been antagonistic to Jesus. Do you think if Jesus were to provide a sign they would believe? What could Jesus say or do to get them to see Jesus is from God? Their preconceived notions blind them to who Jesus is; like in Nazareth.

The disciples’ understanding of who Jesus is and what he is trying to communicate begins to decline. Jesus gets frustrated at their inability to comprehend his message. They interpret Jesus’ criticism as being about them forgetting bread, when it’s about their hard heartedness. Like the Pharisees, like the people in Nazareth, hard heartedness blinds the people to who Jesus is.

There are a few times in the gospels when yeast is spoken of negatively. Perkins writes, “as a metaphor, leaven or yeast frequently carries negative overtones, since it was thought to work by creating decay in the dough.”

Then we have a healing story of a man who is blind. Jesus heals him, but not all the way, his sight is not restored completely at first. Jesus lays his hands on him a second time and then he can see clearly. This story is used by Mark as commentary on the next section, when Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, but he is unwilling to accept the fullness of what that means for Jesus. Peter gets it half right.
 
When Jesus asks who people say he is one of the answers is Elijah. This is the second time we hear speculation that Jesus is Elijah. Elijah’s story is in 1 Kings and 2 Kings. Elijah was a prophet and didn’t die but was taken into heaven. You can read that story in 2 Kings 2. Many people at the time believed that the messiah they longed for would be Elijah, back on earth from heaven.

When Peter says that Jesus is the Messiah Jesus gives them more information about what that means exactly. But the suffering and death (and resurrection) were never part of the people’s hopes and dreams for a messiah. The disciples can’t wrap their minds around it. They are blind to who Jesus is and what he will do.

Chapter 8 ends with Jesus drawing the crowds to him. This is the opposite of what’s happened so far in the gospel- Jesus is usually trying to get away from the crowds. Jesus highlights for the crowds the risk of discipleship. When Mark wrote his gospel the followers of Jesus were feeling the danger of following Jesus.
 
We live in a very different context that Mark’s original audience. What risks do you see or feel in following Jesus today? 

Verse 1 of Chapter 9 is a continuation of what Jesus was saying at the end of chapter 8. Peter said that Jesus was the Messiah.  Jesus then gives the disciples more information – how he will suffer, die, and rise again. Peter is uncomfortable with that and begins to rebuke Jesus. But then Jesus rebukes him saying, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Then Jesus calls all the crowds to him and talks about denying ourselves and taking up our cross to follow Jesus. Jesus is asking the crowds and the disciples to set aside their own point of view so that they can see things from God’s point of view.

Then we have verse 1 of Chapter 9.  What does “the kingdom of God has come with power” mean? This has been interpreted in a lot of ways. Most scholars point out that the first thing Jesus says, the thing he preaches all over, is that “the Kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15). This saying in Mark 9:1 reiterates that. Pheme Perkins writes, “the coming of the kingdom upsets normal human views of power.” Mark 9:1 reassures the crowds that the coming of the kingdom of God has not been delayed.

The Transfiguration
This beautiful and overwhelming experience includes a voice from heaven.  We last heard this voice at Jesus’ baptism in Chapter 1 when it says to Jesus, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Now the voice speaks to Jesus and Peter, James, and John – “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

How does the message of the voice from heaven clue in readers to a shift in the narrative?

How can we listen more closely to Jesus’ voice?

Pheme Perkins spells out the illusions to Old Testament scripture in this experience:
•“The dazzling white clothing signals heavenly rather than earthly beings (Daniel 7:9; 12:3).
•The mountain, cloud, and divine voice all remind readers of God’s appearance in Exodus 24:15-18.
•Jewish tradition held that Moses, whose burial place is unknown (Deuteronomy 34:5-8) and Elijah, who was taken up in a chariot (2 Kings 2:1-11), did not die but were living in heaven.”

Verse 10 shows how the disciples are confused about Jesus rising from the dead.  Jesus refers to his coming resurrection, which he told them about in 8:31, but they wonder what he means.

N. T. Wright helps us understand the disconnect the disciples are experiencing. He writes, “In Jewish thought in Jesus’ day, ‘the resurrection’ would happen to all the righteous at the end of time, not to one person ahead of all the others. They couldn’t understand Jesus’ implication that the Son of Man would rise from the dead, while they would still be living the sort of normal life in which people would tell one another what they had seen months and years before.”

Jewish tradition held that Elijah would return before the final victory of God’s people (see Malachi 4:5). Jesus says that Elijah has already come. This is a reference to John the Baptist. Knowing that, how does it feel to read verse 13?

Next, we have the healing of a boy possessed by a demon.  This story reminds us of the Gerasene Demoniac from chapter 5. We see Jesus get angry and speak poorly about his generation. This reaction has more to do with the general disbelief among the crowd than the behavior of the disciples and parents of the boy. Perkins writes, “The crowd’s argument with the disciples must have suggested that Jesus’ abilities would be just as limited as those of his disciples.”

About the line, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Perkins says, “The father responds by confirming his participation in the ‘unbelieving generation’ and by asking Jesus to heal his unbelief.” What do you make of that concept – healing unbelief?

We get a second “Passion Prediction” when Jesus tells his disciples about the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Once again, they cannot understand what he is talking about.

Our modern ears miss the shocking nature of what Jesus said about the little child. Perkins explains, “the child in antiquity was a non-person.”  They were socially invisible. How does knowing that influence how you read this section?

Jesus uses hyperbole to end chapter 9. The metaphors he uses are extreme to shock the disciples into understanding how serious sin is.

This section uses the word “hell.” N.T. Wright explains, “Gehenna, the word in this passage that some translations render as ‘hell,’ is the valley that runs past the southwest corner of the old city of Jerusalem. In ancient times it was Jerusalem’s rubbish heap, smoldering perpetually; by Jesus’ day it had already become a metaphor for the fate, after death, of those who reject God’s way.”

Take time to think about what Perkins writes about this section, “Is following Christ at the core of our being, something too precious to be surrendered lightly? Or is our Christianity merely a matter of taste and convenience, something we shelve at the slightest difficulty or inconvenience? Belief that is easily set aside cannot be the faith that Jesus calls for among his disciples.”

Mark tells us the Pharisees ask Jesus about marriage to test Jesus. They ask if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus asks them what the Mosaic Law says. They respond that it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife.

It was obviously a test, and not a genuine question, because they answer their own question almost right away. It is clear how much of a test this is when we remember what was going on with Herod and Rome at the time. One of the reasons John the Baptist was beheaded was because he was critical of Herod marrying his brother’s wife.

Mark 3:6 tells us that the Pharisees and Herodians were conspiring against Jesus; together figuring out how to destroy him. Perhaps this testing question was part of their plan?

This confrontation does not culminate in a legal ruling. Jesus avoids taking sides on the hidden question about Herod Antipas’s marriage to his sister-in-law.

Perkins writes, “By treating marriage as grounded in God’s creative love, Jesus removes it from the realm of law. The first-century audience was familiar with marriage as a contract. As with any contract, it could be nullified. Indeed, marriage contracts often anticipate that happening. Sometimes people enter into marriage assuming that it will not last. Jesus was not the only one to challenge the casual attitude of his day, but unlike the Essenes, he did not think new laws would create the spirit in which disciples would live out his calling.”

So far in Mark’s gospel we’ve seen many examples of Jesus trying to get the Pharisees, the crowds, the disciples, to move away from their focus on the letter of the law and move into a Kingdom of God mindset. The Pharisees push Jesus to make a legal decision. Instead, Jesus looks to the Kingdom of God - a realm marked by abundance, love, and grace.  Jesus states God’s desire for there to be no broken relationships – broken by divorce or anything else.

How does knowing the background context of the Pharisee’s questions frame your view of this passage? What does the context add or take away from your understanding of what Jesus says here?

When Jesus receives the little children, we see the disciples enforcing the social customs of the time concerning children - that they were non-persons until they became adults. Perkins writes, “Once again, this behavior shows that the disciples do not understand the point of Jesus’ ministry, which is inclusive, not exclusive.”

How do you think the disciples heard Jesus’ challenge about becoming like a little child to enter the Kingdom of God? Especially considering how they and their culture viewed children.

This challenge also communicates to the disciples that it is God who sets the conditions for entering God’s Kingdom, not the disciples.

The story of the rich man reminds us of one of the first parables Jesus tells in Mark.  The sower sowed the seeds and the ones who fell in among thorns are like “the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing” (Mark 4:19).

The disciples are shocked at Jesus’ teaching about wealthy people and the Kingdom of God.  At this time being wealthy was understood as evidence of God’s preference and blessing. N. T. Wright says, “Many first-century Jews divided the time into the present age and the age to come. The present age, their own time, was full of sin and injustice, lying and oppression. Good people suffered; wicked people got away with it. But in the age to come that would all be different. Why are the disciples shocked that wealth won’t buy a place in the age to come?

Jesus says riches can no more go into the age to come than a camel can go through a needle—a typical and deliberate Middle-Eastern overstatement. It’s like saying, ‘You’ll get your riches into God’s kingdom when you can put the entire ocean into a bottle.’”

How can wealth be a hindrance to us in our call to follow Jesus?

Jesus once again predicts his death and resurrection. Then James and John ask to sit at Jesus’ right and left hands when he comes in glory. This shows, again, how the disciples keep missing the point. Jesus calls them to servant leadership.

What views or ways of thinking is Jesus asking you to change or update in order to follow him?

Jesus heals Bartimaeus from blindness after he calls to him, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” This is the last healing miracle outside Jerusalem.  In the next chapter Jesus enters Jerusalem to suffer, die, and be resurrected. Perkins tells us, “Now that Jesus has entered his passion, the commands to be silent about his identity cease.”

Mark 10:32 tells us that the folks following Jesus to Jerusalem were amazed and afraid. Bartimaeus is quite the contrast following Jesus with enthusiasm and energy.

Bartimaeus’ cry is very similar to the Jesus Prayer which is: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." You can use this prayer in a variety of ways.  Try repeating it during quiet moments throughout the day, just once, or over and over. How does it change how you go about your day?

Chapter 11 begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This is the scripture we read every year on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter.  Hosanna means, “Save us!” Spreading cloaks on the road is something reserved for royalty.  The crowds are declaring their expectations, with their words and actions, that Jesus is the Messiah, the new King from the line of David, who would save them from Roman oppression.

The story of the fig tree surrounds Jesus cleansing the Temple. This framing is done intentionally by Mark. A fig tree was a prophetic symbol for Israel (see Hosea 9:10, Micah 7:1, Jeremiah 24:1-10). Bookending this story around the Temple story shows that here the fig tree relates to the temple. The commentary in the Wesleyan Study Bible says, “It’s not the season for figs and neither is it the ‘season’ for faith centered in the temple… the temple system no longer produces righteousness before God.”

N.T. Wright writes, “In encouraging his followers to pray with confident boldness for the present order to be replaced by God’s new order, Jesus is quite clear that there can be no personal malice or aggression involved in such work. Even at the very moment where Jesus is denouncing the system that had so deeply corrupted God’s intention for Israel, his final word is the stern command to forgive. Perhaps only those who have learned what that means will be in a position to act with Jesus’ authority against the injustice and wickedness of our own day.

Why is it often difficult for us to hold together both a deep desire for God’s will to be done on earth and a spirit of peace and forgiveness?”

Wright continues, “Ask God to show you one way to act in his name in your spheres of influence this week and to give you courage to do so.”

Verses 10-12 are a citation of Psalm 118 (verses 22-23). This is the same psalm the crowds were singing as Jesus entered Jerusalem.

Notice, Jesus doesn’t have to explain this parable.

The Old Testament regularly uses the image of vineyard for Israel.

Heartbreakingly, Perkins writes of this parable that the leaders know Jesus is speaking against them which “only hardens their determination to destroy Jesus, thus carrying out the actions portrayed in the parable.”

Perkins continues, “Just as a human owner has the option of replacing the original tenants, so also God finds a new covenant community—that is, the community of disciples, which Jesus calls into being.”

Next, we see the Herodians and Pharisees working together again to try to trap Jesus. How does he avoid their trap?

Next in line are the Sadducees who want to trap Jesus.  The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection – that at the culmination of time all the righteous would be resurrected together. They base their question on the custom of Levirate Marriage (to read more about this see Deuteronomy 25:5-10 and Genesis 38:8).

Perkins writes, “throughout the debate, Jesus emphasizes the fact that those who do not believe in the resurrection are denying the reality of God’s power to give life. Just as the parable about the vineyard tenants prepares readers to understand the death of Jesus, so also this debate prepares them for the resurrection.”

Following all these controversies and testing we get a refreshing surprise – a scribe agrees with Jesus about the Greatest Commandment.

In 12:35-37 Jesus is telling the crowds that the Messiah is different, is more, is bigger than their expectations.  They expected the Messiah to claim David’s throne and save the people from Roman oppression.

Jesus warns the crowds about the scribes, who seem to only care about what they wear and eat and their own honor.  Hearing that they devour widow’s houses prepares us for the story of the widow which comes next. Of that story Perkins writes, “The contrast between her offering and all the others who are tossing in what they can spare exhibits the false values of a society that does not really offer sacrifice to God.”

This brings us back to the end of Chapter 8 when Jesus tells the crowds, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

N. T. Wright introduces chapter 13 by saying, “In the everyday world of the ancient Middle East, a good deal of intimate family life goes on in a semipublic world where everyone knows everyone else’s business. From childhood people would be well aware of the agonies that take place for a woman giving birth.

The picture of birth pangs had been used for centuries by Jews as they reflected on the way in which, as they believed, their God was intending to bring to birth God’s new world, God’s new creation, the age to come in which justice and peace, mercy and truth, would at last flourish. From the great prophets onwards, they spoke of the world going through the labor pains that would herald the birth of the new day. Many writers from Jesus’ time whose works have come down to us spoke of the Jewish hope in this fashion.

Since, as we have already seen, Jesus believed that his kingdom-mission, his message, was the divinely appointed means of bringing this new world to birth, we shouldn’t be surprised that he sometimes spoke of it in this way as well.”

In Chapters 11 and 12 Jesus has been saying a lot of new things about the temple – he turned over the money changers tables, he’s claimed authority over the temple, he’s had that conversation with the scribe about how loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbors as ourselves is more important than all the sacrifices in the temple.

In the opening verses of chapter 13 it’s clear that the disciples do not understand what he’s trying to do or communicate.

Prophets and Prophecy
In chapter 13 Jesus prophesies the Jewish war with Roman (66-73 CE) and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (this is the second temple, the first was destroyed in the Babylonian Exile).

We might think of prophets as fortune-tellers – explaining future events to the people.
 
Pheme Perkins broadens our understand of the function of a prophet when she writes that prophets, “diagnose the moral or spiritual health of the people. A prophetic word of judgment intends to promote repentance and reform, even though many of the people reject the prophet’s word. Destruction occurs only because the words of warning go unheeded. Thus prophetic speech is a form of instruction, not fortune telling.”

Peter, James, and John aren’t sure what to make of what Jesus is saying. Jesus gives hopeful news using some bleak imagery.  The hopeful news is that evil times are not the end time. We are to have hope and patience and share the good news (13:10)

What in the world is a desolating sacrilege?
Perkins tells us that it, “refers to either an object or a person that profanes the sanctuary.”

This could be an illusion to the book of Daniel when it describes an altar for pagan sacrifice being set up in the temple (see Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11).
Jesus could also be referring to a statue of Emperor Caligula that the emperor ordered set up in the Temple.

Verses 21-23 remind the reader that we don’t need to listen to false prophets since Jesus has already told us everything we need to know.

Jesus’ saying in verse 30 reminds us of a similar saying in Mark 9:1. It’s unclear what “all these things” refers to. Probably Jesus was talking about a widespread Christian mission which is implied in verses 9-13.

Perkins writes of the final verse in this chapter, “The chapter concludes with a parable concerning a master and servants. The servants know the task that has been entrusted to them, but do not know when the master will return. The only way to be certain of the master’s praise is to be faithful to the tasks assigned. Faithful servants do not need to know when the master will return.”

Can you think of something new or important in your own life that happened after a period of struggle?

What is your response to know that our job isn’t to decipher the times but to spread the good news?

Next month we’ll be reading Exodus together. The Passover festival and the festival of Unleavened Bread started because of events we’ll read about in Exodus. If you want to get a sneak peak, you can read Exodus 12 to learn more about the Passover and Exodus 13:3-10 for more about the festival of Unleavened Bread.

After reading about the woman who anoints Jesus with costly nard N.T. Wright asks, “How do we sometimes react when people seem to worship Jesus without inhibition—pouring out their valuables, their stories, their dancing, their music—in ways we feel aren’t appropriate?”

In verse 10 Judas Iscariot goes to the chief priests and agrees to betray Jesus. Get curious. Spend a minute or two wondering about his reasoning.  Why did Judas decide to do this?

When Jesus shares the Passover with the disciples the whole meal seems to be centered on Jesus’ death.  Jesus predicts his betrayal and denial during the meal.

Jesus alludes to Psalm 41:9 during the supper.
 
Chapter 13 ends with Jesus asking the disciples to keep awake, keep awake, keep awake.
We hear those same words in Gethsemane when Jesus asks Peter, James, and John to keep awake while he prays. They fall asleep.  
He tells Peter again – keep awake. He comes back to find them asleep again.
The same thing happens a third time.
And immediately Judas arrives with a crowd to arrest Jesus. So that they know who to arrest Judas gives a sign – he kisses Jesus.

What do you make of verses 51-52.  What an interesting detail to include! When we have a Tenebrae service during Holy Week and we read the whole passion story these verses are left out.  I assume because people will spend time wondering about this naked man and be distracted from contemplating Jesus’ suffering and death. Why do you think that detail was included?

Exodus comes in helpful again when we read in verse 62 that Jesus says, “I am.”  This reminds us of Exodus 3:14 when God tells Moses what to say when people ask Moses what God’s name is.  God says, “thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I AM has sent me to you.”

Peter only remembers that Jesus predicted he would deny Jesus three times when he hears the cock crow a second time. If you were a follower of Jesus at this time and in that place, where do you think you’d find yourself during Jesus’ arrest?

Chapter 15 begins with Jesus’ trial before Pilate.
Just before, in Chapter 14, we see Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin was a group of 71 Jewish leaders that acted sort of like the Supreme Court. This is what Mark means when he writes, “They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled” in 14:53.

The Sanhedrin did not have the power to execute criminals. Only the Roman prefect had that power. In 6 CE Herod the Great’s son was removed from power and Judea became a Roman province. Pilate is the Roman prefect at this time.  He would have relied on the decisions made by the Sanhedrin so that he didn’t need to take time and effort to re-investigate each case.
Pilate would have had a lot of experience with Caiaphas and others from the Sanhedrin.

During the Sanhedrin trial Jesus refuses to answer the false accusations made against him.  He does the same before Pilate. Jesus at these trials reminds us of a passage in Isaiah that scholars call “the Suffering Servant”- Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (see especially Isaiah 53:7)

The way Mark writes, it seems like Pilate believes Jesus is innocent- he even tries to get the crowd to release Jesus, but the crowds choose Barabbas instead. This is an unusual detail, because customarily Pilate wouldn’t have been so involved- he would have simply given permission for the Sanhedrin’s decision to stand.  
 
It’s interesting that the crime Barabbas committed is the the crime Jesus is accused of- inciting rebellious violence. The guilty one is released while the innocent one is condemned.

Perkins writes, “Golgotha is the Aramaic term for ‘skull.’ The more popular name, ‘Calvary,’ comes from the Latin term calvaria.” A calvaria is the dome-like upper portion of the skull or skullcap.

Wine mixed with myrrh
Perkins tells us – “Wine mixed with myrrh was probably used as a narcotic. Jesus’ refusal to drink the wine (see verse 23) indicates that he is fully conscious throughout the crucifixion. He will not fall asleep at the crucial hour, as his disciples had done in Gethsemane. The detail may also be intended to underline the fact that Jesus dies in full possession of his powers, not as someone semiconscious and drugged.”

Psalm 22
As death approaches Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These are the opening lines of Psalm 22.  Take a moment now to read this lament psalm. Highlight or note the similarities between this psalm and what is happening to Jesus.

1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night but find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not human,
scorned by others and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they sneer at me; they shake their heads;
8 “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
10 On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls encircle me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they bound my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
21  Save me from the mouth of the lion!

From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me
but heard when I cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.

29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.

Psalms were the hymns of the people.  When the Jewish folks gathered around heard Jesus say these words, they’d probably keep singing the rest of the psalm to themselves.  What an experience- to be singing these words in your head and looking around and seeing it happening.

How does reading chapter 15 with Psalm 22 change your view of the crucifixion?

Temple Curtain
The temple curtain is torn in two.  We see the word translated “torn” at Jesus’ baptism, when the heavens are torn apart and the Spirit descends like a dove.

Scholars are not united on the meaning of the temple curtain being torn. Some think it foreshadows the destruction of the Temple. Some think it symbolized that the temple system has come to an end. Some think it shows that there is now open access to God’s presence (the temple curtain separated the holy of holies from the rest of the sanctuary).

The Centurion's Confession
We don’t know the tone of voice the centurion used when he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”  Was it cynical? Teasing? Sincere?

No matter how they were intended, these words bring us back to two moments in Mark’s gospel when a voice from heaven calls Jesus God’s son. At his baptism the voice says, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” At the transfiguration the voice says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

Jesus’ Burial
When John the Baptist was killed his disciples came to claim John’s body.  This does not happen with Jesus. Instead, Joseph of Arimathea takes Jesus’ body and places it in a tomb. Joseph, being a member of the Sanhedrin, had access to Pilate to ask for permission- access Jesus’ disciples would not have had. Perkins writes, “Joseph of Arimathea, another sympathizer, emerges from the ranks of Jesus’ enemies. Just as earlier a scribe had shown that he was not far from the kingdom of God (Mark 12:34), so also now a member of the group that had condemned Jesus claims the body for burial.”

Our reading of Exodus next month will give us some background on a tradition that happens between Jesus’ burial and resurrection- the sabbath (see Exodus 20:8-11).

Sabbath begins when the sun goes down on Friday night and ends when the sun goes down on Saturday night. In Chapter 15 Joseph of Arimathea is careful to make sure Jesus’ body is in the tomb before the sabbath begins.

Chapter 16 begins after the sabbath is over. The women come very early on Sunday morning, it seems as early as they possibly could, the sun is just rising, giving them light to see.

We gather for worship on Sunday, not on the sabbath, because that is the day the women see the tomb is empty. Every time we stand during worship it is a symbol of Jesus' resurrection.

The last time we heard about any of Jesus’ male disciples is in chapter 14, when Peter denies Jesus.
No disciples are mentioned in most of chapter 15- Jesus seems to be alone at both trials, without disciples. Instead, the people who surround him mock him, beat him, and crucify him.
In chapter 15:40-41 Mark tells us that some of Jesus’ disciples who are women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joses, and Salome) stand at a distance and witness the crucifixion. Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses, also see where Jesus' body is laid in Mark 15:47.

The women return after the sabbath -  Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of Joses, and Salome. They go to the tomb and find the stone rolled back. They go in and see a man dressed in a white robe and they are alarmed.  The first words the man says are, “Do not be alarmed.” And he tells them to get back to the other disciples to tell them what they’ve seen and that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.

N. T. Wright asks, "In the ancient world women were regarded as worthless witnesses. Why does Mark's mention of them here actually affirm the validity of this story rather than call the events into question?"

The gospel originally ended with verse 8 –  “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

Later, a few sentences were added to verse 8 and still later verse 9-20 were added.

What do you make of the original ending? Does the meaning change if we end there? Does your experience of the gospel change if you end at verse 8?

The women experience terror and amazement.  As we move into our reading of Exodus, remember those emotions, especially as we get to Exodus 19.

Perkins writes, “In antiquity, scribes supplemented the Gospel with two endings. Some manuscripts add a brief summary affirming that Jesus sent the disciples out on a mission to the world. A longer ending already known in the early second century, combines elements from the resurrection appearance stories in the other Gospels or their traditions… Elements of the apostolic tradition in Acts are also included in the longer ending: the ability to perform miracles, to speak in tongues, to handle deadly serpents, to heal the sick, and Jesus’ ascension into heaven after instructing his disciples.”

Longer Ending
Verses 9-11 remind us of Jesus’s resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene in John 20.

Verses 12-13 remind us of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-34

The notes in the Wesley Study Bible say of verses 14-15, “The imperfections of the disciples do not prevent God’s working through them.”

What does this ending tell us about how early Christians saw the events of Easter and their significance?

Resurrection
N.T. Wright writes, “What Jesus and his contemporaries meant by resurrection was not resuscitation, coming back into exactly the same sort of physical life as before. Rather resurrection meant and means ‘transformation’ into a new sort of bodily life.
Neither does resurrection mean simply ‘life after death,’ which many imagine takes place in a disembodied state called heaven… Though we may experience such a state for a period of time, that is not the final, eternal condition the Bible teaches. Rather it is a ‘life after life after death’ – a reembodied human existence but with a great change that will take place, the precise nature we can only guess at, though Jesus’ own resurrection body no doubt gives us some clue.”

What is the significance of Jesus' resurrection for you?

What tasks has our risen Lord given you in order to take the gospel into all the world?