Day 71 - Matthew 26:57 - Mark 9:13

In today's section, we read about:

The trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus
The resurrection and Jesus appears to some of his followers
In Mark, we see Jesus' ministry, preaching and healing
Miracles and parables, as we also saw in Matthew's gospel
Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah and the transfiguration

Some thoughts that occurred to me:

The callousness and hypocrisy of the religious establishment in 27:6-10 really stood out. They were more than happy to convene a session in the middle of the night, find any old witness who would be willing to lie and cook up evidence against Jesus, and yet they are keen to obey the proprieties of what to do with the money (27:6). Yet in this, we see the amazing nature of God's revelation in this being the fulfilment of the prophecy in Zech 11. (Incidentally, I am not sure why Matthew refers to Jeremiah rather than Zechariah, which seems much more obvious).

The NLT in 27:38 describes those who were crucified either side of Jesus as "revolutionaries". The irony is that the true revolutionary was actually Jesus, whose death marked the culmination of the fulfilment of God's plan and the end of the existing religious establishment (the significance of the tearing of the curtain in the temple (27:51), so the chief priest and religious establishment have achieved through all their scheming in achieving that which they were trying to forestall, not unlike Haman in the book of Esther.

Interestingly, the disciples did not understand or expect that Jesus would rise from the dead. However, the religious authorities knew what Jesus had said what would happen, and were taking no chances (27:63-64). It reminds me of James 2, "you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror." Faith is demonstrated by the fruit of our actions.

In 28:17, we read, "when they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!" Seeing wasn't necessary enough for people to believe. Believing * WAS* enough to for people to see, and worship.

Mark’s style is very direct and can be very matter-of-fact, but there is a real immediacy in the prose as well.

I find what Jesus says to the disciples in Mk 4:11 intriguing – “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders”. How special must this have made them feel? Also 4:34, “In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.”

It is interesting how many times the people are described as being “amazed” at Jesus and his teaching – 1:22; 2:12; 5:20; 5:42 (‘totally amazed’); 6:2.

As with Matt 13:58, the humility of God being willing to limit His omnipotence because of our interaction is staggering in 6:5. Instead, it is Jesus’ turn to be amazed – “and he was amazed at their unbelief” (6:6).

Interesting that the first time Jesus calms the storm in 4:41 the disciples are described as being ‘absolutely terrified’. The second time, in 6:51, they are described as being ‘totally amazed’.

Isn’t it staggering that the change of something so significant as what food you could eat is relegated to a footnote or aside in 7:19? If this is the gospel dictated by Peter, he must have had in mind the vision in Acts 10.

When I read in 8:11 that the Pharisees demanded a sign, I wonder whether anything would have satisfied them, and I think the answer is no. We also read in Luke 16:31, “‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Again we see the step-by-step revelation – Peter confesses, Jesus begins to explain what he must do to fulfil what we was sent to do, and then the transfiguration.

One verse from today - "The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given - and you will receive even more." (Mk 4:24)