Recap

So far in Mark, we've read the prologue, Jesus' early ministry in Galilee, the calling and training of the disciples, the journey to Jerusalem, and started Jesus' time in Jerusalem. Mark's gospel open with the assertion that Jesus is the son of God and king that the Old Testament had been looking forward to.

Jesus started his new reign with spiritual warfare in the desert and the declare the kingdom of God is near. This kingdom has authority over darkness, sickness, and nature, and makes unclean things clean. It doesn’t control people, but leaves them free to follow or reject Jesus.

The kingdom of God focusing on those in need and valuing people over laws. It includes everyone—men and women, young and old, Jew and Gentile. Notably, Gentiles often showed more faith than Jews.

aBut this led to confusion with people not understanding what Jesus was doing. Jesus is rejected by his hometown. King Herod thinks he is John the Baptist, back from the dead. The Pharisees want a sign and evidence, despite his many miracles. His own disciples think he's a ghost when he walks on his water.

We then got the turning point of the book. A blind man being healed in two stages and Peter declares that Jesus is the king they were waiting for but rejects the idea that Jesus must die. Like the blind man in the middle of his healing, Peter could see in part, but couldn't understand the full truth. 

This started the journey towards the cross. Jesus is transfigured on a mountain and Moses and Elijah appear. Jesus was still inline with the Old Testament and the will of God. We got more miracles and teaching as we approached Jerusalem and then Jesus entered Jerusalem in a similar way to a king entering his royal city. He started clearing out the corruption in the temple, which further angered religious leaders. They tried to trap him with various logic problems, but Jesus easily responded to all their questions and challenges.

The came Jesus' last days before his arrest. A young woman had anointed Jesus’ head with rich perfume. It was common for kings to be anointed before their reign, but Jesus specifically noted that she was preparing him for his burial. This ticked off Judas enough to betray Jesus to the religious leaders. Jesus sat down with his disciples for the Passover meal, repurposing the Passover into what we know as the last supper. Jesus then took his disciples out to a place called Gethsemane, and there he cried out to God for mercy.

Jesus was arrested, his disciples fled, and Peter rejected knowing Jesus three times. The religious leaders tried to find some fault with Jesus but couldn't come up with anything. Eventually they asked him if he was the Christ, the king they’d been waiting for, and the son of God. Jesus said he was, and they decided that was enough to count as blasphemy. The king they’d been waiting for was sat in front of them, but they didn’t want to believe. 

Mark 15-16

The religious leaders didn’t have the authority to sentence anyone to death. That was reserved for the Roman Empire, so they send Jesus to the local Roman governor, Pilate. Like the religious leaders, Pilate questions Jesus, who once again refuses to respond or defend himself.

Sensing that Jesus was innocent and that the religious leaders just wanted rid of him, Pilate appealed to the crowds. Every year he would release one of their prisoners free, so he decides to offer them Jesus this year. But the religious leaders whip up the crowds to call for Barabbas, not Jesus, to be freed. When he asks what they want him to do with Jesus, they cry out, “crucify him!” So Pilate hands Jesus over to his guards to execute him.

If you remember our reading through Jeremiah, you may see some parallels here. In Jeremiah 26, we found the prophet Jeremiah preaching in the temple. The religious leaders heard this and wanted to kill him. Then the king’s officials got involved, heard what had happened and declared Jeremiah innocent. Jeremiah is set free, but another innocent man is killed.

Jesus’ experience mirrors this with some slight difference. He was preaching in the temple. The religious leaders wanted to kill him and Pilate, the governor declares him innocent. But this time, Jesus is still sentenced to death and a guilty man is set free. This is worse than what happened with Jeremiah. What the people are doing now, rejecting Jesus, is worse than how their ancestors behaved, and that caused their ancestors to go into exile.

The guards take Jesus away and begin to beat and mock him. For fun, they put a royal robe around him and place a crown of thorns upon his head. Note the imagery we’ve seen so far. Jesus entered Jerusalem as a triumphant king. He was anointed with perfume by a young woman, and now he’s being given his royal robes and crown.

It seems completely twisted, and the guards have no idea what they’re doing. But they are preparing the king for his coronation. All that’s left is for him to be lifted up so all his people can see their new king. They take Jesus out of the city, forcing a man named Simon to carry the cross they would crucify him with.

Nailing Jesus to that cross, they lift him up for all to see, but rather than people cheering their new king, instead Jesus faces jeers and mocking. Even the two criminals on his right and left are mocking him. This is the moment Jesus was talking about with James and John when they asked to be on his left and right when he comes in glory. This is Jesus, as the true king, coming in glory. Naked and nailed to a cross.

In his last moments, Jesus quotes Psalm 22 saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). As a psalm of lament, Psalm 22 is all about the author struggling with all his suffering, but declaring that he will trust God through it all. The psalm ends with a declaration that God’s kingdom will reign.

And at that, Jesus dies. In that moment, one of the Romans guards notes, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39). Even the disciples could never get their heads around the idea that Jesus, their king, would have to suffer and die. And yet here at his death, a Gentile, a Roman soldier, is able to see clearly. This Jesus was the son of God, sent to suffer for his people. Jesus’ body is taken down, wrapped in linen, and then placed in a burial tomb. The tomb is then covered with a large stone. The king is dead.

A couple of days later, some of the women go to prepare Jesus’ body properly. On their way to the tomb, they wonder amongst themselves how they’re going to move the stone. But when they get there, the stone has already been rolled to one side.

Rushing inside, they see a young man dressed in white who tells them that Jesus is alive. They are to gather Jesus’ disciples and meet him in Galilee. The king is alive! But the women don’t understand. Terrified at what this could all mean, they flee and tell no one.

And that’s how the book ends. Some of your Bibles will have an extra part of the story where Jesus meets with his disciples and gives them the Great Commission. This isn’t in the earliest copies of Mark that we have, and so it was likely added by some well meaning Christians later, drawing from Luke’s gospel. Can you blame them? Mark’s original version ending with the women running in fear seems like a strange ending. There’s so many questions still to be answered. 

But that’s kind of the point. All through Mark’s gospel, we see people not fully understanding what Jesus was doing. What separated them was some decided to write off Jesus entirely, while others continued to question and seek more answers.

Now that Mark has finished his story, what are you going to do? Are you going to run away like the women seemed to do? Or are you going to chase after this Jesus, this king that somehow died and came back to life? Are you going to continue asking questions to discover more of the good news of this kingdom of God that he brings?

Psalm 86

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of lament psalm.

A) Psalm 86:1-4 - Prayer for deliverance

B) Psalm 86:5-6 - God’s Abounding steadfast love

C) Psalm 86:7 - My day of trouble

D) Psalm 86:8-10 - The nations glorify your name

E) Psalm 86:11 - Teach me to fear your name

D) Psalm 86:12-13 - I will glorify your name

C) Psalm 86:14 - My enemies surround me

B) Psalm 86:15 - God’s Abounding steadfast love

A) Psalm 86:16-17 - A prayer for strength and victory

The psalmist starts with a blend of request and complaint. They ask that God hear them because they are poor and needy. To be gracious to them, because they cry all day. They need God to lift their soul again.

Then the psalmist declares their trust in God’s steadfast love. They know that God is good and forgiving. He will hear the psalmist call for mercy and so the psalmist will call to God during their difficult times.

There are no other gods like Yahweh. All nations will eventually see this and worship God. They shall glorify God’s name. So the psalmist asks God to teach them his ways so they might fear God’s name.

At this, the psalm begins to reflect itself. Just as the nations will glorify God’s name, the psalmist with glorify God’s name for all that God has done for them. They mentioned before that they would call out to God during their day of trouble. Now they bring their complaint by specifying what that trouble is.

Wicked men are rising up to kill the psalmist. Men who do not trust in God. But while these men seek the psalmist’s life, God is a God of abounding love and faithfulness.

Now, confident in who God is, the psalmist moves from their initial prayer, which was for deliverance, to a prayer for strength. They ask God to be gracious and strengthen them. To show them favour and put their enemies to shame.

Other than the chiastic pattern where the psalm mirrors each section from beginning to end, this lament psalm is less structured than some we’ve looked at recently. They weave in and out of complaint, request, and declarations of trust.

But while the journey is winding, the end result is the same. The psalmist has processed through their struggles and once again comes to a place of confidence in who God is.