Back in October, we had the great joy of seeing my niece get married. We are now looking forward to my nephew’s wedding in about two weeks’ time. We’re looking forward to smiles, applause, laughter, music and dancing. There’ll also be plenty to eat. A Wedding is a celebration, a feast. Jesus draws on the… Continue reading A wedding or a funeral? (Mark 2:18-22)
Category: Bible Study
Who needs a doctor? (Mark 2:13-17)
We now begin to see why sharp divisions were growing between Jesus and the Pharisees. There was a clear line drawn between “us and them”. That line was between those who were considered to be faithful or at least trying to be faithful to YHWH by keeping Torah, by seeking to be pure, clean, hol… Continue reading Who needs a doctor? (Mark 2:13-17)
Revelation through the lens of the Ukraine invasion
I’ve argued before that when we read Revelation it is applicable to our present situation, not because we attempt to read a detailed chronology of the last days with timings but because we best understand Revelation as offering God’s explanation of the whole of history from the perspective of the end. This means that we… Continue reading Revelation through the lens of the Ukraine invasion
Does God allow lies sometimes?
I remember an ethics lecturer arguing that it could be okay to lie in particular circumstances. The obvious ethical dilemma is the situation that people hiding Jews in the Second World War might have faced. Do they tell the truth when questioned and risk the lives of those in their care? Or do they tell… Continue reading Does God allow lies sometimes?
Authority to forgive (Mark 2:1-12)
Jesus is drawing a lot of attention. We saw in Mark 1 that he had urged the healed leper not to go out and about telling people about him but he does, as presumably do others that are healed. This starts to cause challenges for Jesus, restricting his movement. An example is seen here when… Continue reading Authority to forgive (Mark 2:1-12)
The transforming kingdom (Mark 1:16-2:13-17)
We now begin to see what it means for Jesus to preach about the Kingdom and call people to repentance with a series of examples. It means calling people to follow him and leave behind other priorities (1:16-20 and 2:13-17) It means calling evil spirits out of people. Captives are set free (1:21-28) It means… Continue reading The transforming kingdom (Mark 1:16-2:13-17)
Hostile to God
Our story of humanity so far has been about rebellion and rescue. We’ve seen Adam and Eve sin and face both judgement and grace, we’ve observed this pattern repeated through Cain and Abel. We’ve then watched as evil has filled the earth leading to judgement through cataclysm. There was salvation in the midst of The… Continue reading Hostile to God
Unexpected enemies
Through Mark we are going to keep running into the Scribes and the Pharisees, in fact, they show up quite a bit from the end of chapter 1 and through chapters 2 and 3. These are frequently mentioned as being in opposition to Jesus, seeking to catch him out, grumbling against him, accusing him of… Continue reading Unexpected enemies
Clean (Mark 1:21-45)
One of the big themes in the Gospels is that Jesus comes to make us “clean.” The idea of cleanness arises out of the Old Testament Law. The Law distinguishes between Blessing and curse Life and death Sin and righteousness Law keepers and law breakers Holy and profane Clean and Unclean There is a relationship… Continue reading Clean (Mark 1:21-45)
The call of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-20)
We now begin to see what it means for Jesus to preach about the Kingdom and call people to repentance with a series of examples. – It means calling people to follow him and leave behind other priorities (1:16-20 and 2:13-17) – It means calling evil spirits out of people. Captives are set free (1:21-28)… Continue reading The call of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-20)
Faithroots 