[Most weeks, I present as many updates on my reflections and study of the Biblical texts on which our weekend worship celebrations will be built as I can. The purpose is to help the people of the congregation I serve as pastor, Friendship Lutheran Church of Amelia, Ohio, get ready for worship. Hopefully, it's helpful to others as well, since most weekends, our Bible lesson is one from the weekly lectionary, variations of which are used in most of the churches of the world.]
The Bible Lesson: Mark 10:17-31
17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” 20He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
28Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
General Comments:
1. The New Testament contains four books known as gospels. The word gospel is from an Old English compound word, God-spell or good-spell, meaning good news. Good news, in turn, is a direct translation of the New Testament Greek word, euangelion. (From this latter word, we've received the transliterated words of evangelism and evangelist. Evangelism refers to the common call of all Christians to share the Good News of Jesus. An evangelist is the title given to those persons who are especially gifted spiritually to share the Good News. An apt one-word translation of evangelist would be good newser.)
The Christian has good news to share with the world. It's summarized well in John 3:16, the most familiar passage of the Bible.
The four books called gospels--Mattthew, Mark, Luke, and John--tell the true story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2. Mark is the shortest of the four gospels and tells Jesus' story with an almost breathless, journalistic brevity.
3. Like John's Gospel, Mark does not include an account of Jesus' birth.
4. The Greek in which Mark's Gospel is written is more primitive than that used in the other three.
5. Many scholars believe that Mark's was the first of the four accounts to be committed to paper.
6. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have many common narratives among them. This is why they're referred to by scholars as the synoptic gospels, synoptic being a compound word which basically means to see things similarly.
[I hope to share some verse-by-verse comments with you later in the week.]
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