Day 33: Praying, Suffering, Dying

"For God So Loved the World...." says John 3:16, but in John 17, when Jesus prays, I really get the feeling not of Jesus' love for the world, but the separation between the disciples and the world.  Jesus isn't praying for the world, but only for the disciples; he's not asking on behalf of the world, but only on behalf of his disciples. 
I'll be honest, there's something jarring about this, something that sounds exclusive and protective.  Perhaps these words come out of the true expenience of persecution.  Jesus knows his disciples are going to be persecuted by (ahem) the world, so he's praying for his disciples to endure.

And, I'll be blunt, it sounds a little like Jesus doesn't mind if the rest of the world goes to hell, as long as his disciples are preserved all right.  But what about "God so loved the world?"   

Perhaps the word "world" has more than one meaing for John -- sometimes the world is the world God made, and loves, and sometimes "the world" is the place that is actively fighting against God's will in the world.  And sometimes "the world" might have even more meanings.....

After his prayer is done, Jesus goes to the Kidron Valley with his disciples, where he is arrested by a company of soldiers (did you notice?  600 of them?).  When they ask if he is Jesus the Nazarene, He says, "I AM", and they all fall over.  Wow.  Jesus literally saves the disciples' lives, by saying to the guards to "let the others go" (meaning his disciples).  He will die, but they will be spared.

I really like the way the scene shifts back and forth between Peter in the courtyard and Jesus on trial.  You get the feeling that Peter is very near to the action, hearing what is going on, and that Jesus can also hear Peter when he denies ever knowing his friend.

Pilate asks Jesus, "what is truth?"  Jesus does not answer.

When Jesus is crucified, John records three different words:  "woman, here is your son.  here is your mother."  (to his mother and the beloved disciples).  "I thirst."  and "It is finished."  What do you suppose the meaning of these three words could be?  Why these words andd not "Father, forgive them?" or "Why have you forsaken me?"

One of the mysteries of the gospel of John is:  Who is the beloved disciple?  There have been many attempted answers to this question:  some say it is John himself, some Lazarus, some even Judas.  What do you think?

Who is "the world?"  Who is "the beloved disciple"?  What is "truth"?

Day 26: Necessary to Suffer and to Enter into His Glory

Jesus is sent to Pilate, and then to Herod, and then to the crowds, and then crucified.  We've been through this now twice before.  And yet....
Did you notice that when Herod and Pilate meet, they become friends?  Formerly, Luke says, they were enemies, but as of today, they became friends.  Hmmmm.  What do you suppose that means?

When Simon helps Jesus carry his cross, Jesus has words for the women of Jerusalem, who follow him, weeping.  "Weep for yourselves," he warns them.  On Jesus' Last Day, he flashes forward to another Last Day that is coming:  the destruction of Jerusalem.

In Matthew and Mark, the only words that Jesus says from the cross are these:  "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  (Mark takes the trouble to translate it into Aramaic.)  These words are a verse from Psalm 22, it's true, and if you read the whole lamenting Psalm, you will find comfort and hope there.  But still, this is called The Cry of Dereliction for a reason.

Luke reports three different words from the cross:  "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (to those who are crucifying him), "Today you shall be with me in Paradise" (to the repentant thief), and "Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit."  These words form a much different picture than the one in Matthew and Mark.

As in every single resurrection story, the women come to the tomb.  They are so frightened when they see the angels that they fall on their faces.  And, here's a twist:  when they try to tell the disciples what they saw and heard, the disciples consider their words to be "nonsense."  (in other translations:  an idle tale.)  By the way, did you know that in ancient times, a woman's testimony was not accepted in a court of law? 

Everyone has favorite Bible stories:  I happen to really like Matthew's account of Jesus and Peter walking on the water.  The next story, about the two disciples walking to Emmaus, is close second.  The story is full of surprise, humor and irony.  The disciples are walking with Jesus and learning from him, but they don't know it.  I imagine Jesus trying to keep a straight face when he asks them to tell him the story of the things that have happened during the past week.  "Really?"  he says.  "Is that so?"  And the two disciples begging the stranger to stay with them, and finally recognizing him once he breaks the bread.  Then they run back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples, who have the same news to share, "We have seen the Lord!"

Really, the brief recounting of Jesus' ascension is pretty anti-climactic after this.  But, when we get to Luke's 2nd volume, (his second "orderly account"), we'll get a fuller version.

That would be Acts.  Keep your finger in the page.  We have one more gospel before we return to Luke's story.

Day 16: Death and Resurrection, short and long endings

Didn't we just start reading Mark?  And today we are coming to the end of this shortest of Gospels.  Jesus didn't "hang around" much, if you read Mark's gospel; he was always on the go, healing people, helping people, celebrating.  His teachings were short and pithy (not like in the Gospel of John, but, I'm getting ahead of myself).

The story of Jesus' crucifixion is told simply as well.  Though to me, it seems as if time does finally slow down.   The Jesus who has been on the go, going from place to place "immediately", now walks slowly, dragging a cross.

So Jesus is handed over to Pilate, who tries to hand him back.  The shouts of "crucify him!"  Ring in the air.

It's the small things that I notice:  There's Simon of Cyrene, forced to carry Jesus' cross.  It is only in Mark's gospel that Simon is named as the "father of Rufus and Alexander":  a small detail not carried over to the later gospels of Luke and Matthew.  Even though we don't know anything about Rufus and Alexander, it's interesting that Mark includes their names, as if he is saying to his readers, "You know, Simon:  Rufus and Alexander's dad!"  Possibly these two men were well-known to Mark's community.

As in Matthew, Jesus' only words from the cross are of abandonment:  "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"   

And a roman centurion sees Jesus hanging dead from a cross and says, "Surely this was God's Son."  He tells the truth.  But is he speaking sincerely?  Or derisively? 

In Mark, chapter 16, we have the shorter ending (most certainly the genuine one) and the longer ending.  Both present problems.  If we end with verse 8, we have no appearnce of Jesus after the resurrection, and the women run away, afraid, saying nothing to anyone.  (Although this does beg the question, if they really didn't say anything, how do we know?) 

In the longer ending, Jesus does appear, but one of the things he does is scold the disciples for their lack of belief.  (In the longer ending, Mary Magdalene does spread the news, but  the other disciples don't believe her.)  In the longer ending you have all these weird signs associated with the disciples:  drinking poision, snake handling, as well as speaking in new languages and healing people.

And oh, in the last two verses of the longer ending, there are these lovely words, "But they went out and proclaimed the message everywhere.  The Lord worked with them.."

I don't know how your translation puts it, but I love these words, "the Lord worked with them..."

I hope it still is true today.  "The Lord works with us."

What strikes you most in these last two chapters of Mark?  And what is your overall impression of this gospel?  What do you think of Jesus after reading the Gospel of Mark?