On Line Bible Study - For the week May 4-10, 2009

Lesson 386

Mark 7:1-23 - This is a lengthy passage, too long to quote in full here. Here is a summary:

1-5 - Pharisees and Scribes see some of Jesus' disciples eating without having done the ritual washing first. They ask: Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?

6-8 - Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13, with the assessment that You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.

9-13 - Jesus points out a contradictory practice - that vows made to parents are superseded by vows made to the temple. In so doing, Jesus says they nullify the word of God by their traditions.

14-23 - Jesus explains first to the crowds and then to his disciples in private that what goes in to us does not make us unclean; rather, what comes out of us is what is potentially evil.

If you have the chance to read the passage in full, you will notice that what began the dispute is not what ends it. The Pharisees and Scribes were concerned about washing, not about eating. Jesus quotes from Isaiah and introduces the problem of 'human rules'. How important are the "traditions of the elders"? Does Jesus intend to throw out all the traditions associated with Jewish religious practice? Why is the switch made from "washing" to "what goes into a person"? And finally, what difference does Jesus' teaching make in the early church?

One at a time . . .

1. Traditions of the Elders ... First Century Christianity is faced with the daunting task of identifying itself. One way to do that is to say what you are not. As Jewish temple worship was compromised with the destruction of the temp, and it became less and less expedient to be a Jew in later First Century Roman occupied territories, Christians began to separate themselves from their Jewish roots. It may not be too much of an exaggeration to say that before they were sure of who they were, Christians were becoming certain of who they were not - more and more, they were not Jews. This saying of Jesus (and there is real debate as to what exactly can be attributed specifically and verbatim to Jesus, and what is being remembered by this young Christian Community in the throes of transition) is an "exit ramp" for Christians moving away from Judaism. Whatever they were, they were not bound by the "traditions of the elders".
2. Does Jesus throw out all the traditions? The text itself would say "No". What does Jesus do to counter the "traditions"? He quotes from the Scriptures! And he calls the Pharisees and Scribes (and presumably anyone listening who was guilty of the practice) on the temptation to displace Sacred Texts with human habits. Scripture is, or seems to be, of paramount importance for Jesus.
   
3. Why the switch from "washing" to "eating"? What could be eaten was a major issue for First Century Christians, as evidenced by texts in Acts (10:9-16; 15:1-21), Galatians (2:11-14), and passages in I Corinthians and Romans. There was "distress" in the Christian Community over what people were eating - The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking . . . says Paul (Romans 14:17); apparently, there were some who thought it was! The passage in Mark 7 takes aim at an on-going problem in the early church.
4. What difference did Jesus' teaching make? Perhaps it is fair to say that initially, Jesus' saying did not make much difference at all. But could we also say that it did pave the way for not only a more liberal understanding of food "in theory", but in practice as well? Peter had to learn the lesson several times over before he could finally allow himself to eat what had been previously thought to be "unclean". It may be that Peter struggled with this his whole life long. But finally, the church came to the place where faith and faithfulness was not tied to diet.
   

If you were to consult a commentary with regard to this text, you would be introduced to all sorts of complexity! Also, remember that bread figures in throughout Mark 6:30 - 8:21. Is this text something of a "tipping point", or at least a "turning point" for the church? It is so easy to fall into the trap of imposing what is meaningful (and comfortable?) for us on everyone else! Jesus did not let people do that to each other. And he seemed intent upon doing all he could to insure his followers would not do that to each other.

Given his efforts in this regard, how are we doing?

More on Mark 7 next time.

On Line Bible Study - For the week April 27-May 3, 2009

Lesson 385

Jesus on the Water . . .

After the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 in Mark 6:30-44, we read this:

Mark 6: ⁴⁵Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. ⁴⁷When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." ⁵¹Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵²for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

Once again we are faced with several challenges in the text. There is some confusion over both the time of events - "evening" is thought to be dusk, and the "fourth watch of the night" would be between 3 and 6 AM - it seems unlikely Jesus would have watched the disciples for 9 hours before going to them; and the direction of the boat - the disciples have been on the west side of the lake, and when they end up, they are in Gennesaret, which is also on the west side. Scholars suspect the reason for this confusion is that we have different versions of the story merging together. These textual challenges do not alter the main themes.

Water is the place of chaos. Mark has once before presented us with a stormy sea that threatened the lives of the disciples. In three words, Jesus calmed the storm (Mark 4:35-41). Once again the disciples find themselves in a dangerous situation on the water. Note that this time, Jesus says nothing to the wind or waves. Rather, he reveals himself to his disciples who are unable at first to recognize him.

Donahue and Harrington suggest that this story is less about a miracle and more about an "epiphany", with the subsequent fact that the disciples are not only "amazed", but their hearts were hardened. The three phrases Jesus speaks look like this: Command - Revelation - Command. Jesus tries to reassure the frightened disciples - Take courage! ___ Don't be afraid! But the real meat of the matter is this: It is I. Here the translation fails us - it might be better to translate that phrase: I am. That should conjure up another Biblical scene - from the book of Exodus 3:14. This is the "name" of God - I AM. In the midst of the chaos of life, God is ... Jesus is.

Note that the disciples are both "amazed" and "hardened" - in other words, faith and doubt are living side by side. They "know", and yet they don't. It is almost reminiscent of the centurion - I believe. Help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24).

One final thought - note the paradox between the crowd ("people" in this translation) who recognize Jesus, and the disciples who don't. This begs the question: How does one come to know Jesus? How can it be that those who lived in close proximity to him still don't get it, while those who experience him only as he passes by have such strong faith in him and his power to heal, forgive and save?

We head into Mark 7 next time.

On Line Bible Study - For the week April 20-26, 2009

Lesson 387

Last week we looked at the story of the execution of John the Baptist as recorded in Mark 6:14-29. We should note in that story the dramatic difference between John, who was willing to die for what he believed to be true, and Herod, whose scruples were so compromised that he would make foolish promises and then keep them just to save face.

In the verses that follow, Jesus' disciples return from their mission trip (Mark 6:8-13). They gather with him to tell him all about it, trying to speak to him, but so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat. So Jesus invites them to come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. The crowds follow (those fickle crowds! Loving Jesus one minute, and ready to crucify him the next!). Then we read this:

Mark 6:³³But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. ³⁵By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. ³⁶Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."

³⁷But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"

³⁸"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish."

³⁹Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

So much going on in this story! Here are some things to be especially attentive to:

• Note the difference between Jesus' "compassion" and the disciples disregard - "Send the people away . . ." The Greek text here is an imperative. In other words, the disciples were giving Jesus a command what to do with the crowd.
• Note the theme of being "hungry". First, the disciples don't have a place to sit and eat because of the crowds. Then Jesus acknowledges the hunger of the people - both spiritually and physically.
• The term "bread" is used seventeen times between Mark 6:8 and 8:19.
• What is the reason the disciples give for not being able to tend to the needs of the crowd? Money - or the lack thereof. We continue to neglect human need with the excuse that we can't afford to address it.
• Sit in groups on the green grass ... Note the similarities with Psalm 23 - He makes me lie down in green pastures ... The shepherd feeds the flock. I have underlined the word groups because the Greek text implies that the people were seated as if for a banquet. The Greek word is symposia - its use implies a more formal setting in which there would be food and teaching, and in the Roman context, the people would recline. Donahue and Harrington translate Mark 6:39 - He instructed every one to recline as if for a banquet on the green grass.
• One last observation - the word compassion implies not only the deepest of emotions, but emotion that leads to action. Look at the contrast between the desires of the disciples and the actions of the Christ! Mark is painting a picture not lacking in graphic contrasts between the light of Jesus and our tendency to live in the dark!
• The story ends with the people being satisfied. One is reminded of Isaiah 55:2 - Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Why indeed!

How authentic is our "compassion"? How often are we telling God what to do? How often do we miss the banquet Christ is laying out for us? How accustomed have we become to what does not satisfy?

The point is this: The banquet is prepared. The bread is before us in abundance. Now - all we have to do is sit with each other ..... and enjoy!

More on Mark 6 next week . . .

On Line Bible Study - For the week of April 13-19, 2009

Lesson 383

First - sorry this is so late in coming! It took me a bit to recover from Holy Week and Easter!

This week we consider one of the more murky texts in Mark - the story of the execution of John the Baptist. We have already been down this road in Matthew's Gospel - in Lesson 334. A major difference between the story as told by Mark is that it is significantly longer than what Matthew writes. The assumption is that Matthew intentionally abbreviated the story. I have put in RED the passages that are omitted in Matthew . . .

Mark 6:¹⁴King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him." ¹⁵Others said, "He is Elijah. And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago." ¹⁶But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!" ¹⁷For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. ¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." ¹⁹So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, Matthew says: And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people. ²⁰because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him [John] to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled^d]">; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." ²³And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." ²⁴She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?"

"The head of John the Baptist," she answered.

²⁵At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." ²⁶The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

So - if you read only what is in the black font, with the one addition in blue, you have what Matthew wrote. As noted in Lesson 334, one of the challenges here is reconciling what is in the Gospels with the story as told by the Jewish historian Josephus. Some scholars speculate that Matthew may have attempted to more closely reconcile his telling of the story with Josephus. You may remember that there is quite a bit of confusion with regard to which Herod is which.

I hope the colors are not too confusing. Let's pick up one difference between the two Gospels - in Matthew 14:5 we read that Herod feared the people, and so had spared John's life. In Mark 6:20 we read that Herod feared John. There is no mention of Herod "fearing the people" in Mark. Might this be linked to Jesus, at the beginning of the passage, first thought to be John resurrected, then Elijah, and then a "prophet like one of the prophets of long ago" . . . The speculation goes on. One can only imagine the rumors that must have spread about Jesus! What was Herod afraid of? Well, Mark tells us clearly in Verse 16: Herod said: "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead! This is a most unusual thing to fear - the Jews were looking for a "general resurrection", and were not expecting individuals to be resurrected at this point.

Herod's fear seems irrational. But Mark tells us: Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested . . . And look at the end of Verse 20 - while John's message was "puzzling" to Herod, still he enjoyed listening to him. Herod is schizophrenic with regard to John. In Verse 23, Herod offers what he has no authority to give - up to half my kingdom. In truth, he had no kingdom. He was a "tetrarch", not a "king". He had nothing to give away. From whence come these delusions of grandeur?

Who did Herod fear? His guests? His wife? John? (Or does Matthew have it right - was he afraid of "the people"?) It's a dangerous leader who can be swayed by a dance - and it should be noted that Donahue and Harrington point out there is no specific reference in our text suggesting the woman (girl?) was seductive. The word used in Mark 6:22 & 28 in reference to her is the same one used for the daughter of the synagogue leader (Jairus) in Mark 5:42. We are told she was 12 years old.

As we ponder this story, we might ask ourselves several questions:

• What are our illusions (and delusions) of grandeur?
• What are the promises we are making that we can't keep?
• What are we afraid of?
• What excuses do we have for not listening to Jesus?

Thanks for your patience this week. Hopefully we will be back on track next week!

On Line Bible Study - For the week April 6-12, 2009

Lesson 382

Mark 6:^7-8Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions:

^8-9"Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. ¹⁰"And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. ¹¹"If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way." ^12-13Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.

This paraphrase is from Eugene Peterson's The Message. While it is interesting to compare Mark's account of the sending of the 12 with Matthew and Luke (Mark allows them to wear sandals and carry a staff; Matthew and Luke do not), Peterson adds a line that, while not in the original text, seems to sum up Jesus' intent. You are the equipment.

Peterson presents this as what might be called a "Queen Esther Moment". (See Esther 4:9-14.) If we are waiting for the experts to arrive, we may be waiting in vain. We are the "experts". We are the ones - just as were the twelve - called, equipped, empowered, burdened - with the task of changing the world. There is nothing wrong with using all the technology at our disposal; but facebook, twitter, internets, power points - these things are as "essential" to the work of the church as the pipe organ was a hundred years ago. They might make the work more interesting, the church service more beautiful, the message seem more awesome; but just because the power goes out is no excuse for not doing the work of Christ.

You are the equipment. If not you, then who? "Driving out demons" may be no more complicated than saying a brief prayer with someone. Sometimes "healing them" means nothing more than paying attention to them, visiting them. Perhaps the critical component in this passage has to do with the essential missional nature of the church. Jesus did not encourage his disciples to build a place and invite people to come to it. Jesus sent his disciples into villages and market places - into each other's homes.

The joyful urgency that Peterson mentions has to do with so many peoples' need now to change their attitude - from blaming to accepting; from anger to patience; from hatred to forgiveness; from pessimism to joyful celebration.

It seems the disciples were sent out to do two things: First, people need to turn around (repent) and lean toward God. Second, they gave people cause to do just that! They did not only "preach"; they lived the kind of world they were proclaiming. Yes! That's what they did!

And so must we ....