Here it is, two weeks later, and we’re still talking about Easter, bright with joy. Christ is alive! The tomb stands empty to the sky. It’s good to talk about…
Oh, the disciples had seen miracles. The anticipation and excitement reach that point when, at the crest of the Mount of Olives, with Jerusalem and the Temple in full view—so…
Those who have spent a long time studying Mark bracket verses 9-20. The scholarly consensus is that Mark’s own original account ends with verse 8. At some later time—not necessarily…
Prestige, status, honor, respect, deference—marks of power and authority. The authority comes by virtue of the office, the position. We tend to show respect and deference to a police officer…
Mark presents what’s happening over these Sundays as a consecutive series of encounters, sharp arguments and stunning responses, all in the Temple, in the course of a single day, just…
The resurrection—one of the essentials of the Christian faith. I’m not really sure that a person can properly call him or herself a Christian without believing in Christ’s resurrection and…
You’d think, after what had happened there just the day before, the Temple officials would be on the lookout to bar Jesus from the Temple: strict orders to the gatekeepers. …
The Sons of Thunder had it coming, not that Jesus owed it to them, of course. But who among them really was going to argue that he had outdone James…
We want—and, indeed, need—time for ourselves. Self-care is important! And Christ shows us a model of sacrificial living that may well feel exhausting: when do I get time for me,…
Scottish pastor and biblical scholar of the previous century W. Graham Scroggie points here to one of the key, constant questions about Jesus: from where is he getting this authority? …