Outline for Chapters 11-13

It can be very helpful to take a look at the larger context of this section, Chapter 11-13, lest we begin to miss the bigger picture of Mark's narrative.  My own personal outline of this section goes like this:

A.  Jesus, the Son of David

1. The Return of the King
1. Bartimaeus identifies Jesus as the Son of David
1. He has eyes to see, even though he is blind
2. As the king enters Jerusalem he serves the least, last, lost
2. The Temple and the Tree
1. The cursing of the tree, so uncharacteristic of Mark’s presentation of Jesus so far in this Gospel, sets the tone for this section. It is one of judgment. The son of David has indeed returned, but not as expected.
2. The parable of the tenants recalls the parables of chapter 4. For those with eyes to see Jesus message is clear. For the spiritually blind, they lose even what they used to have.
3. The series of questions by the religious leadership emphasizes their spiritual blindness and the fact that they have forfeited all claim to the leadership of Israel. They have utterly misunderstood God’s intentions in blessing the nation of Israel: a light to the nations, and not nationalistic exclusivity.
4. And again recalling the parables of the Kingdom, those with eyes to see – the religious leader focused on God’s greatness in the Shema and the least, last, lost helpless widow – these have the secret of the kingdom: they respond to Jesus, and receive more of him.
3. Watch!
1. This is Jesus’ longest teaching block in Mark’s gospel and may be something of a farewell address like that of Abram, Moses, Joshua, and Samuel. If we take this section out of Mark’s context we will entirely miss Mark’s intent. The context is the Son of David reestablishing God’s intended kingdom of blessing for all nations. What the builders rejected, Jesus will reestablish.
2. This section is the text that relates the great themes of Jesus ministry to the task the disciples will face in the immediate years ahead following Jesus’ death and resurrection. These themes are:
1. Conflict with the power centers of Rome and Jerusalem
2. Proclamation of Jesus’ gospel
3. The mystery and efficacy of the cross and suffering in God’s kingdom
4. Refocus from Second Temple apocalyptic glory to a life of discipleship.
3. If we will allow the author to speak and not impose ideas on this text, we will find transformational teaching about not only the days the first apostles experienced but significant implications for the days in which we live.
4. There is literary structure in these verses built around a recurring theme of ‘take heed’ summed up by yet another parable.
5. Most of the events Jesus references in these sayings occurred in the lifetime of ‘this generation’: the sending of the apostles (translated here as angels, but the same word for apostle) to gather the elect, Jerusalem sacked in 70ad, the power of Rome shaken by the gospel.

OIA Mark 12.18-27

Observations
• Who: Jesus, Sadducees (this is the only time the Sadducees are mentioned in Mark), others in the temple
• When: Wednesday of Jesus’ last week.
• Where: Jerusalem, the Temple courts.
• What: Continuing series of questions and answers in the Temple courts.
• Connections: confusion about the resurrection among the 12; Transfiguration appearance of Moses;
• Contrasts: God’s word/leaders misinterpretation; God’s power/human impotence.
• Responses to Jesus: silly questions.

Interpretation
• Jesus has been teaching about resurrection since 8.31. The transfiguration was also part of teaching about the resurrection: the 3 saw Moses and Elijah, both ‘dead’ for hundreds of years. Here in the question of the Sadducees Mark records Jesus’ final teaching about the resurrection just before Jesus actually demonstrates the resurrection himself!
• The Sadducees are mentioned are mentioned 5 times in Acts. So this inclusion is in some ways a link between the conflicts of Jesus’ life and the conflicts the Peter, John, and Paul experienced in their gospel ministry.
• Why are the Sadducees so confused? Jesus says it is due to scriptural ignorance and spiritual impotence.
o In terms of scripture they have missed the forest for the trees mistaking Moses’ guidelines for protecting marginalized widows as a proof text for their own pet theological mistake.
o In terms of spiritual impotence they have stripped God of his divine power.
• The I AM text Jesus quotes addresses both these mistakes. I AM is God’s affirmation of his unlimited authority and power to be who and what he is when and where he chooses. And Jesus turns his entire argument on the tense of the verb ‘to be’. Jesus has an extremely high view of the faithfulness of scripture!

Application
God’s power is not limited by our theological misperceptions.
Scripture is the basis for all theological understanding. By grasping doggedly to a particular interpretation we may miss the broader design of God.

Mark 12.18-27 Discussion Promts

Introduction
• When was the last time you thought about resurrection from the dead? What brought this thought to your mind?

The Text: Mark 12.18-27 Page 29.14-30.2
• Read the text aloud to each other. Look back over the rest of chapter 11 and 12 to remind ourselves of the context of this story.

Discussion Questions:
• What do you think Moses gave this instruction about a widow marrying back into her deceased husband’s family (Dt. 25.5-6)?
• Discuss Jesus’ diagnosis of why the Sadducees were in error by using this text to support their theological position on resurrection.
• Discuss Jesus’ argument that the I AM story in Ex.3.16 proves that resurrection is true. What is Jesus’ argument? What do you think about Jesus’ basing his understanding of scriptural teaching on resurrection on the tense of the verb ‘to be’?

Application reflections
• How does the fact of the resurrection from the dead impact our daily faith and witness?
• Can you think of any examples where it seems we have constructed theological brick walls on shaky misunderstandings of the Bible?
• How confident are we in the complete trustworthiness of scripture?

Pray

Say Hi!

I would be very excited to hear from some of you who are checking out this blog! If you would, please make a comment; or please send me a note about what is useful, or what you would like to see more (or less!) of! My personal email is kla377@gmail.com. Thanks!! ka

OIA 11.1-11

Observations
• Who: Jesus, two disciples, those who question about the colt, many who spread their cloaks and branches, those who went before and after, the twelve.
• When: the last week of Jesus life, his final visit to Jerusalem.
• Where: Bethphage, Bethany, Jerusalem, the Temple
• What: Instructions and narrative about commandeering the colt; Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem; Jesus visits the temple and ‘looked around at everything’; Jesus returned to Bethany.
• Connections: ears to hear; Bartimaeus, like the Syrophoenician woman, knows who Jesus is and receives healing from Jesus by his expression of faith; faith, and lack of faith have been a theme for several chapters, most recently with the father of the possessed boy, and including the disciples, Jairus, the woman, the demoniac…; Jesus is ‘on the way’ to Jerusalem.
• Contrasts: Jesus has three times foretold his coming visit to Jerusalem, and now he arrives; the crowd refers to David, as did Bartimaeus.
• Responses to Jesus: the two are obedient to Jesus’ instructions; the questioners align with Jesus’ prediction; some (the two?) place their garments on the colt.

Interpretation
• This story, or perhaps Bartimaeus, begins a new section of Mark’s gospel, chapters 11-13. Morna Hooker describes this as the failure of Israel and its leaders to receive their Messiah. There does seem to be a mutual judgment taking place in this section. On one hand Israel’s religious leadership (with the again unexpected leader in 12.28-34) finally rejects Jesus. Jesus on the other hand seems to pronounce judgment on contemporary religious leadership and practice. He likens them to the fruitless tree and the evil tenants, associates their behavior with robbing God (probably of the worship of the nations rather than some kind of financial judgment), underscores their misunderstanding of scripture itself in the resurrection, and sees through their urban-sophisticate plots to lead him afoul of Rome. At the end of chapter 12, following the true worship of the destitute widow (again the least, last, lost!), Jesus leaves the temple for the final time. And then in 13 we see Jesus’ final discourse to the disciples about what the new kingdom’s birth will be like, with them as the angels/apostles sent out to gather God’s elect from all the nations.
• Lord, kyrios (strong’s 2962) is worth a look; used 18x in Mark (Lord of the Sabbath, tell what the Lord has done; of the Syrophoenician woman; here, and a lot in chapter 12 in reference to God); it certainly denotes authority; in LXX it is used 9000 times, usually in reference to God in place of YHWH; used to refer to Nero w/ connotations of divinity (Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels).
• Jesus displays authority in this section by commandeering the donkey, by foretelling the events around claiming the donkey, and by receiving the crowd’s acclaim and praise.
• It is unclear whether the crowds are specifically praising Jesus, or if this is instead part of the larger ascent into Jerusalem for Passover. Some commentators suggest the later and find that Jesus’ entry may have gone largely unnoticed by the crowds in the more general national celebration.
• The point of this story seems to be Jesus’ reconnoitering the temple: he rode into town in the guise of The King, went directly to the temple, took a good look at everything, and then withdrew back to Bethany. This reconnaissance set the stage for his visit the next day to begin his judgment against those who are robbing God of worship.
• Also worth noting is the crowd’s references to David’s kingdom, a connection back to Bartimaeus who seems to have served a prophetic role for the crowds! Yes, David’s kingdom is coming! But not in the way they think, and only a few days later this crowd that so longs for God’s justice for Israel and the humbling of Rome are braying in front of Rome’s representative demanding the death of their King!

Application
• Are we just as guilty as the crowd of rejecting Jesus’ way of the cross in favor of nationalistic pride and preeminence? Have we, like the crowd, mistaken Jesus’ kingdom for our own vision of temporal power and pride? I’ve heard both President Bush and Obama refer to the USA as the best hope of the world for peace/prosperity; have we aligned ourselves with the modern Imperial Eagle, as did the crowds who praise the Lord one day, and the next want him disappeared? What is in our hearts when we shout Hosanna! His kingdom? Or our own?

11.1-11

Introduction
• Spend some time reflecting on Lou’s sermon last Sunday. What most impacted you from that presentation of Jesus as servant of all, and of Jesus’ interaction with Bartimaeus, and of Bartimaeus’ response to Jesus?

The Text: Mark 11.1-11 Page 26.11-27.1
• Read the text aloud to each other.

Discussion Questions:
• What are all the things we can learn about Jesus from this narrative about the colt? Why does Jesus here refer to himself as ‘the Lord’? Does this connect in some way with Bartimaeus calling Jesus the son of David?
• Some commentators suggest that the crowd was part of the larger annual Passover celebration and not necessarily responding directly to Jesus. What is your understanding of this story? Does the text speak clearly to this question?
• Why do you think Jesus goes directly to the temple and looks around at everything and then leaves to spend the night in Bethany?
• Put yourself in the place of the Twelve who have been listening to Jesus’ predictions about what will happen during Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem? What is going through their minds as Jesus commandeers the colt, rides into town, reconnoiters the temple, and then leaves?

Application reflections
• What is it about Jesus that causes us to stand up and shout his praise?
• Have you ever had an experience like that of the two disciples sent to bring back the colt? That is an experience where you heard clear directions from the Lord that seemed unusual, but then worked our just as he had said?
• How might we participate in the Acts 1.8 ministry fair as a demonstration of following Jesus on the way into Jerusalem?

Pray

The Healing of Blind Bart

Evangelical Free Church of Chico
May 2nd, 2010:
Mark 10:46-52

The Healing of Blind Bart
Pastor Lou Diaz
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