Do you remember where you were when the Berlin Wall came down or when those aircraft flew into the Twin Towers? Perhaps some readers will be a little too young to remember those events but all of us well remember the day when lockdown was announced in response to the global pandemic. In each of… Continue reading How do you respond when your world is ending?
Tag: Mark
Where is your confidence?
Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. At the heart of the festival was the Temple, an impressive building. Whilst the Jews on returning during Ezra and Nehemiah’s day had been disappointed by the 2nd Temple, a poor comparison to the one Solomon had built, Herod the Great had sent lavishly… Continue reading Where is your confidence?
Teaching Resources
One of the resource sets I’m building up on Faithroots is a set of teaching guides on books of the Bible. These have started life as resources for lay preachers in our church. The idea is that they are there to help people who might not be able to access a lot if commentaries. They… Continue reading Teaching Resources
Judgement is coming (Mark 13)
The Temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Initially a fairly simply design had replaced Solomon’s temple and Ezra records the disappointment of the people at this. However, by Jesus’ day, the second temple had been remodelled and extended greatly by Herod the Great who hoped to win favour with the Jews. … Continue reading Judgement is coming (Mark 13)
Who has more to give?
In the days following Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, the different religious and political groupings have attempted to take him on and bring him down. His actions in the temple courts amounted to a direct challenge of their authority and so, they attempted to undermine his. Jesus however has defeated all comers. He has demonstrated… Continue reading Who has more to give?
What do I owe Him?
Jesus is engaging all comers in debate, there have been Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians. One lawyer has been hanging back, observing. Now, he steps in with his question. Mark leaves open the question about whether this is intended as another trap but observes that this man has been impressed by Jesus’ answers so maybe there… Continue reading What do I owe Him?
Whose is she?
Have you been following the articles on Mark 12? Are you starting to spot a theme yet? At the start of the chapter, we had the story of the tenants in the vineyard, they withheld the rent due to their landlord. We then saw a debate over whether or not Caesar was entitled to the… Continue reading Whose is she?
Whose is it?
We’re about to see a whole set of new currency produced including coins and banknotes. The death of Queen Elizabeth II means that new coins and stamps must carry the image of King Charles III. Read Mark 12:13-17 Jesus is approached by a group of people trying to catch him out. The group is an… Continue reading Whose is it?
Provoked
In the Old Testament, the prophet Nathan tells a parable like story to king David about a rich farmer who takes and kills his poor neighbour’s lamb. David doesn’t realise at first but when it is pointed out to him that the story is about him, it provokes repentance. Jesus sometimes told stories that challenged… Continue reading Provoked
Taking on the religious guardians (Mark 12)
Jesus’ opponents were looking for an excuse to have Jesus arrested. Here in his last week, Mark puts the focus on their attempts to trap him. I guess that in a sense 12:1-12 forms a kind of invitation to “bring it on.” Jesus tells a parable which might also be seen as a figurative retelling… Continue reading Taking on the religious guardians (Mark 12)
Faithroots 