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Read Mark 12:38-44 “It’s all I have.” At the church I used to work at, we used to give Starbucks gift cards to guests as part of a welcome gift. I will never forget an anonymous letter I received in the mail, saying how much they appreciated the gift, and that they...
Read Mark 12:35-37 How? In Jesus’ day, the back and forth of questions was a pretty common way to work out issues of faith. So even as we read these back-and-forth conversations with Jesus and the other religious leaders, we should recognize that it was a normal practice in rabbinic...
Read Mark 12:13-34 I have a question. The dialogue between Jesus and the religious leaders ramped up in this chapter. Three times, someone asks Jesus a question. The first two times, it seems clear that the person asking the question was trying to trap Jesus. Trap him into a wrong answer. Trap...
Read Mark 12:1-12 They perceived… The opposition between Jesus and the religious establishment picks up steam in Mark 10-12, with seven different interactions. This parable seems to be the first parable that the religious establishment (called the Sanhedrin) even comes close to...
Read Mark 11:27-33 “On whose authority?” These verses bring up a constant theme in Mark- the conflict over the apparent authority of Jesus. Throughout Mark, we see Jesus’s authority over sickness, demons, the weather, and the teachers of the Torah. So now, in the center of...
Read Mark 11:11-26 Cursed trees. Overturned tables. These verses contain some of the most confusing narratives about Jesus. What are we to make of Jesus cursing a tree, just because it didn’t have any figs on it? And the tables in the temple- people needed sacrifices! Why did Jesus kick...
Read Mark 11:1-10 “Hosanna!” It means “Save, I pray.” This is what the people shouted as Jesus entered into Jerusalem. Mark is more reserved about his description of the people’s reception than Mathew and John who explicitly tie this moment to a messianic...
Read Mark 10:46-52 Follow. After Bartimaeus receives his sight, the story ends with the note that he followed Jesus on the way. On the way to where? The second half of Mark uses that phrase “on the way” several times to describe Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. His journey to the...
Read Mark 10:32-45 “You don’t know what you’re asking.” For the third time in Mark’s gospel, Jesus predicts His death. The disciples again don’t know what to do with this idea. The first time He predicted His death, they argued over who...
Read Mark 10:13-31 “Like a child.” This is how Jesus says we enter into the Kingdom. A lot of ink has been spilled contemplating the meanings of these words. One theologian suggests that “like a child” means helpless. These little children were not valued by...
