Day 14: Mark 13-16. Crucifixion and Resurrection
After noticing the widow and her coin, Jesus begins to warn about the coming times of destruction, persecution. Families will be torn apart, everyone ratting out everyone else. Believers will be put on trial, but they should rely on the Hoy Spirit to put the words in their mouths.
It won't be long before is put on trial, both before Herod and before the religious court. Everything is set in motion, beginning with the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus for burial. She is the beginning of the story of Jesus' death.
I do find it ironic that Jesus tells the disciples that everyone will remember this woman and her actions, because actually, when we usually tell the passion story, we don't start here: we start with the last supper. Then there is the prayer in the garden, where the disciples can't stay awake. There is the betray and arrest, the trials and Peter's denial.
But the real beginning, which we never remember, is the anointing by the unnamed woman.
Now we are nearing the end of this gospel. At sixteen chapters, it is the shortest. Mark tells Jesus' story simply, but with vivid details.
The story of Jesus' crucifixion is no different. However, it does seem like we finally slow down. The Jesus who has been on the go, "immediately" from place to place, now walks slowly, dragging a cross.
So Jesus is handed over to Pilate, who tries to hand hi back. the shouts of "crucify him!" ring in the air.
It's the small things I notice. There's Simon of Cyrene, forced to carry Jesus' cross. It is only in Mark's gospel that Simon is named as the "father of Rufus and Alexander": a small detail not carried over to the later gospels of Matthew and Luke. Even though we don't know anything about Rufus and Alexander, it's interesting that Mark includes their names, as if he is saying to his readers, "You know, Simon. rufus and Alexander's dad!" Probably these two men were well-known in Mark's community.
As in Matthew, Jesus' only words from the cross are of abandonment: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" And who is at the right and left hand of Jesus now?
And a Roman Centurian sees Jesus hanging dead from a cross and says, "Surely this was God's Son." He tells the truth. Some scholars think this is a genuine cry of faith; others think he is speaking in derision. What do you think? If the Centurian is convinced, what do you think convinced him?
In Mark, chapter 16, we have the shorter ending (mostly certainly the genuine one) and the longer ending. Both present problems. If we end with verse 8, we have no appearance of Jesus after the resurrection and the women run away, afraid, saying nothing to anyone. (Although this does beg the question, if they really didn't say anything, how do we know about it now?)
In the longer ending, Jesus does appear, but one of the things he does is scold the disciples for their lack of belief. (In the longer ending Mary Magdalene does spread the news, but the other disciples don't believe her.) In the longer ending you have all these weird signs associates with the disciples: drinking poison, snake handling, as well as speaking in new languages and healing people. (the last two are not as weird.)
And oh, in the last two verses of the longer ending, there are these lovely words, "But they went out and proclaimed the message everywhere. The Lord worked with them."
I don't know how your translation puts it, but I love these words, "the Lord worked with them."
I hope it is still true today. "The Lord works with us."
It won't be long before is put on trial, both before Herod and before the religious court. Everything is set in motion, beginning with the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus for burial. She is the beginning of the story of Jesus' death.
I do find it ironic that Jesus tells the disciples that everyone will remember this woman and her actions, because actually, when we usually tell the passion story, we don't start here: we start with the last supper. Then there is the prayer in the garden, where the disciples can't stay awake. There is the betray and arrest, the trials and Peter's denial.
But the real beginning, which we never remember, is the anointing by the unnamed woman.
Now we are nearing the end of this gospel. At sixteen chapters, it is the shortest. Mark tells Jesus' story simply, but with vivid details.
The story of Jesus' crucifixion is no different. However, it does seem like we finally slow down. The Jesus who has been on the go, "immediately" from place to place, now walks slowly, dragging a cross.
So Jesus is handed over to Pilate, who tries to hand hi back. the shouts of "crucify him!" ring in the air.
It's the small things I notice. There's Simon of Cyrene, forced to carry Jesus' cross. It is only in Mark's gospel that Simon is named as the "father of Rufus and Alexander": a small detail not carried over to the later gospels of Matthew and Luke. Even though we don't know anything about Rufus and Alexander, it's interesting that Mark includes their names, as if he is saying to his readers, "You know, Simon. rufus and Alexander's dad!" Probably these two men were well-known in Mark's community.
As in Matthew, Jesus' only words from the cross are of abandonment: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" And who is at the right and left hand of Jesus now?
And a Roman Centurian sees Jesus hanging dead from a cross and says, "Surely this was God's Son." He tells the truth. Some scholars think this is a genuine cry of faith; others think he is speaking in derision. What do you think? If the Centurian is convinced, what do you think convinced him?
In Mark, chapter 16, we have the shorter ending (mostly certainly the genuine one) and the longer ending. Both present problems. If we end with verse 8, we have no appearance of Jesus after the resurrection and the women run away, afraid, saying nothing to anyone. (Although this does beg the question, if they really didn't say anything, how do we know about it now?)
In the longer ending, Jesus does appear, but one of the things he does is scold the disciples for their lack of belief. (In the longer ending Mary Magdalene does spread the news, but the other disciples don't believe her.) In the longer ending you have all these weird signs associates with the disciples: drinking poison, snake handling, as well as speaking in new languages and healing people. (the last two are not as weird.)
And oh, in the last two verses of the longer ending, there are these lovely words, "But they went out and proclaimed the message everywhere. The Lord worked with them."
I don't know how your translation puts it, but I love these words, "the Lord worked with them."
I hope it is still true today. "The Lord works with us."
Comments
Post a Comment