The Last Supper

Mark 14: 17-27 (April 5, 2009)

1) The Text

17When it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?” 20He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. 21For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”

22While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 24He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

26When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27And Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

2) The Context

It is “two days” before the combined festivals of Passover (commemorating the time in Egypt when the plague which killed firstborn boys passed over, skipped, Jewish homes) and that of Unleavened Bread (remembering the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt.) Many pilgrims have come to Jerusalem for the celebrations. Earlier in Chapter 14, it is clear that some of the religious authorities (“the chief priests and the scribes”) have been plotting for some time to kill Jesus. Their intention was probably to wait until the pilgrims had left the city.

Jesus is visiting Simon “the leper” (14:3). While there, an unknown woman brings an “alabaster jar of ... nard”, a perfume flask containing an ointment made from a rare Indian plant. In pouring it over Jesus’ head, she (in effect) anoints him as kings were anointed. She perceives that he is the Messiah (meaning anointed one).

14:22-25 describe the institution of the Lord’s Supper. (The name comes from 1 Corinthians 11:20.) The meal has begun with a preliminary course (“while they were eating”, 14:22). The “loaf of bread” was likely a flat cake of leavened bread. Jews to this day bless the bread and break it, but Jesus says something special: “this is my body.”

“All of them” (14:23, including Judas) drink from the cup. As they walk to the “Mount of Olives” (14:26), outside the east wall of the city, Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7: a prediction of his death and the temporary desertion of his disciples.

3) Interpretation

In this passage, Mark clearly presents Jesus as in control. Jesus is not surprised by anything that happens. The chief priests are trying to move secretly, on the sly, but Jesus knows their plans and arranges matters so that His arrest does not take place until He has finished His other work. Judas thinks he is fooling the other -- and he succeeds in fooling his fellow disciples. But Jesus knows of the betrayal, and lets Judas know that He knows. Jesus is well-prepared for this momentous last meal, making arrangements ahead of time.

But most importantly, Jesus presents Himself as precious through the institution of the Lord's Supper. There are two aspects of his preciousness to unpack here. First:

(1) The Lord's Supper signifies that Jesus pays the penalty for our sins

When offering the cup, Jesus says "this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many." In Mark, this is the clearest statement yet of Jesus' role in atoning for our sins. Jesus identifies himself with the Passover lamb, whose blood, we are told in the Old Testament, would have been poured out on the altar "to make atonement for your souls." Paul also emphasizes this parallel between Jesus and the Passover lamb, stating "Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

What does this mean? As the author of the book of Hebrews writes, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." God is a just God; He is the moral authority in the universe. He makes sure that every wrong is paid for, exactly as it deserves. And each of us sins in many ways. Most fundamentally, each of us fails to praise God as we should; instead, we dishonor Him by our actions, our inaction, our thoughts, and our words. But Jesus, the perfect, unblemished lamb, offers His life to pay the penalty for all our sins, enabling us to enter God's presence spotless and pure. This is what we act out and celebrate when we partake of the Lord's Supper. This is how precious Jesus is.

(2) The Lord's Supper signifies that Jesus lives within you

Given that Jesus pays the penalty for all our sins, we should respond by living out lives that honor and glorify him. But how can we do that, since we are so prone to selfishness, self-centeredness, and other forms of evil?

Jesus says we are to eat His flesh, and drink His blood; we are to have His life within us, always. This is the lesson for us: Feed on Him, get all our sustenance from Him, value Him above all else, desire Him more than anything, glorify Him with our money, our time, all that we are. Jesus is the most precious of all.

4) Thought Exercise

This passage suggests that we ask ourselves what the disciples must have asked themselves:

How true is my commitment to the Lord?

Do I profess to love and follow Christ, yet deny him with my actions?

The High Priest

Hebrews 5: 1-10 (March 29, 2009)

1) The Text

5Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; 6as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” 7In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

2) The Context

Apart from the concluding verses (which may have been added later), this book is a treatise (or sermon) rather than a letter. Its name comes from its approach to Christianity: it is couched in Judaic terms. The identity of the author is unknown; Origen, c. 200 said that "only God knows" who wrote Hebrews. The book presents an elaborate analysis, arguing for the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Christ as revealer and mediator of God's grace. Basing his argument on the Old Testament, the author argues for the superiority of Christ to the prophets, angels and Moses. Christ offers a superior priesthood, and his sacrifice is much more significant than that of Levite priests. Jesus is the "heavenly" High Priest, making the true sacrifice for the sins of the people, but he is also of the same flesh and blood as those he makes holy.

In this passage our writer introduces the central theme of his sermon, namely, Christ the faithful and merciful high priest after the order of Melchizedek. First, he defines the qualities of a high priest: function, v1; sympathy, v2-3; and authorization, v4. These qualities are then applied to Christ, v5-10. In v5-6, Christ's call to the priesthood is supported from scripture. v1-4. The writer wants to show that Jesus is genuinely a high priest, although far superior to any of the descendents of Aaron, and is therefore, someone we can rely on to speak for us before the throne of God's grace.

3) Interpretation

The writer of this letter, or better, sermon or homily has discovered a fascinating piece of theology about Christ. Not only has the Father authorized Jesus as the divine Son of God, the Davidic messiah, but he has also authorized him as the divine high priest. Of course, the priests were not of the house of David, but our writer has discovered that Melchizedek was both a priest and also the king of Jerusalem. When David captured Jerusalem he inherited both the crown and priestly role of Melchizedek. So the Davidic Christ, in his atoning sacrifice upon the cross, now serves as the eternal faithful and merciful high priest who represents lost humanity before the throne of the living God.

Three things must be said about the high priest theme. First, it is God who appoints Jesus as high priest, makes him perfect, enthrones Him as son (the two terms are nearly synonymous for the author of Hebrews). This move comes from the throne of grace.

Second, the priesthood is not something Jesus claims by right. “One does not take the honor on himself” (5:4). Jesus is Son but the enthronement at the right hand of power is the result of Jesus’ obedience; his godly fear. This obedience is simply moral rectitude. The point is that Jesus was not deflected from God’s purpose, even though it meant becoming human, suffering, and dying. He did not wander but was faithful to God and was thus made high priest, the enthroned Son. The meaning is very similar to that of the Christ hymn Paul quotes in Philippians 2:6-11; for this obedience, Jesus is exalted.

However, and this is the third point, the exaltation of Jesus is not merely a reward with no intrinsic relation to Jesus’ obedience. It is also an opportunity provided by Jesus’ fidelity. This obedience in becoming one with humanity, tempted as we, suffering and dying as we, made it possible for Jesus to become the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (5:9). The incarnation and death are essential to Hebrews’ understanding of Christ the high priest. They represent Christ’s total obedience to God’s will and are also the means by which God works.

Jesus is the source of salvation to all who obey him. In his oneness with humanity, he was never deflected from God’s purpose. This is his obedience. Out obedience is to place our trust in him as the only one who can be priest for us. He is both the sacrificer and the sacrificed. He not only calls but draws. He is both the goal and the means; both the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith. Jesus is the hope of the wandering people of God. He is the way to God’s rest. By him, we are made saints.

As we struggle through life, we are constantly being tempted to abandon our loyalty to Christ. If we do this we are lost. Our only hope is to throw ourselves on Christ's mercy, seeking aid in our strife. The question is, can Christ meet our need? The answer is yes. He is a high priest who is willing to represent us in the presence of the living God, he is a high priest who is well able to empathize with our weakness, and he is a high priest appointed by God the Father himself. Jesus is completely able to help us in our daily life and eternally save us, and this is because he has gone before us as the perfect Son of God.

4) Thought Exercise

What deflects us from God’s purpose?

How can we counter those deflections?

For God so Loved the World

John 3: 14-21 (March 22, 2009)

1) The Text

14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

2) The Context

These oft-quoted verses are part of Jesus’ monologue that flows directly from a dialogue with Nicodemus, a Jewish leader who comes to Jesus by night. The Fourth Gospel sends a mixed message about Nicodemus, a figure many readers identify with through his struggle to understand Jesus’ words.

“Lifted up” (v. 14) In Greek, the verb encompasses two meanings – “to lift up” and “to exalt” – and John uses both meanings simultaneously. The evangelist refers to Moses “lifting up” the bronze serpent in the wilderness, an act that had healing, life-giving power (see Numbers 21.8-9), then uses the same verb in relation to Jesus. In the Fourth Gospel, glory and exaltation come not only with Jesus’ resurrection, but also with the crucifixion itself – another act filled with healing, life-giving power.

“Eternal life” (v. 15-16) For John, eternal life is a present-tense reality. It is not something we wait for or hope for our future, but something we experience now as a result of faith in Jesus. As Gail O’Day writes, “To have eternal life is to live life no longer defined by blood or by the will of the flesh or by human will, but by God. Eternal does not mean mere endless duration of human existence, but is a way of describing life as lived in the unending presence of God. To have eternal life is to be given life as a child of God.”

3) Interpretation

It's easy to use the analogies of "light" and "darkness" when academic notions are discussed. "Light" is mastery of the subject. "Darkness" is ignorance. However, when we apply these analogies to faith and morality, we can no longer speak of "light" as mastery, but as commitment. "Light" becomes faithfulness. "Darkness" becomes rejection. In Jesus' discourse to Nicodemus, he spoke of "light" and "darkness." But, the light was not the believer's commitment to God. The "Light" was Christ, the Father's commitment to his creation.

This Sunday's gospel presents Jesus' final comments to Nicodemus, who visited the Master at night. John used this opportunity to contrast light from dark, salvation from condemnation. He saw the "world" as those who hid from the light (dishonorable) and those who act in the light (the honorable). Of course, the honorable look to Jesus.

The gospel opened with a parallel image about the Kingdom. Those who would live in the Kingdom ("have eternal life") would gaze upon the Son of Man lifted up (just as the dying Israelites were saved when they gazed at the bronzed snake). For John the evangelist, Jesus was lifted up on the cross and he was lifted up in the resurrection. Both were the same movement. Hence, to see Jesus lifted up, the Christian must see the crucified Jesus as the Risen Christ. When the world condemned Jesus, the Father raised him up to new life. A sign of failure and rejection became a sign of hope.

Notice the believer looked at the Son of Man lifted up. Since one can only see in the "light," the thematic scene is set for the contrast between light and darkness.

Like any good Hebrew, John did not believe in fate. All evil had its roots in the freely chosen acts of people. But, John saw there was only one way to reject evil: a trust relationship with God's Son. The Father had given the world his Son, a much greater gift than creation itself. Through the Son, God was present to his people.

John implicitly equated the "sin" of rejecting the Son to the "original sin" of Adam. Those who did not "trust in the name of God's only begotten Son" did not trust in his power to make God present. They insisted on finding their own way, like Adam. Those who chose their way condemn themselves, simply because they did not walk with their Creator.

So, the "light" came into the world and existed with God's people throughout history. He revealed himself completely as Jesus of Nazareth. But throughout history, people rejected the "light" because of the evil they did. In fact, these people feared the "light," because it would reveal what they have really done. The truth would be known. But, those who are faithful perform acts of faith and charity (deeds In "God") because of their orientation. They have nothing to hide. They stand as if the final judgment had already occurred.

As a final note, Nicodemus came to see Jesus in the dark, fearing his fellow Pharisees. In his peers' eyes, such a meeting was dishonorable. Yet, Jesus spoke to him (and us) about true honor: faith. In the end, Nicodemus would step into the daylight to bury Jesus. He would perform not only an honorable act of charity (burying the dead), he would implicitly gaze upon the cross and see his true Master (see John 19:38-42).

Throughout this study, we have seen analogies. Light vs. dark. Acquitted vs. judged. Saved vs. condemned. Analogies make understanding easier, especially in the moving themes of John. Unfortunately, analogies sometimes break down when we are faced with real life.

There is, however, one constant, unchanging factor in our faith life: God's faithfulness to us. God invites us to respond in kind. His invitation is his Son, the One he gave to the world.

4) Thought Exercise

How can we return God’s faithfulness?

How has God’s faithfulness opened your eyes and guided you?

A Universal Messiah

John 2: 13-25 (March 15, 2009)

1) The Text

13The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

23When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. 24But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.

2) The Context

John is the fourth gospel and it makes no attempt to give a chronological account of the life of Jesus (which the other gospels do, to a degree), but rather "...these things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." John includes signs and stories of miracles to help in this process.
According to the first three gospels the incident described in the passage played a major role in the events leading up to Jesus’ execution. In this gospel it is portrayed as taking place three years earlier. Yet it is also seen as being a cause for Jesus’ death. We see this in the citation of Psalm 69:10, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’ The choice of the future tense rather than the past tense underlines this. Elsewhere John seems to have transferred traditions which pertained to Jesus’ last days back into his ministry. So the place of the temple clearing near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is probably a deliberate rearrangement.

Whichever gospel we follow, we find that Jesus’ action is highly controversial. In the fourth gospel there are two parts to the account: the event itself (2:14-17) and the controversy about it (2:18-22). The latter section includes Jesus’ prediction that the temple will be destroyed and be rebuilt in three days. It also begins with the Jews questioning Jesus’ right to act the way he did. Both elements echo Mark’s story. In Mark the chief priests question Jesus’ right to do such things and Jesus replies by linking his authority to John the Baptist’s (11:27-33) and by telling the parable of the wicked tenants (12:1-12). In Mark, the words about destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days appear in the trial before the high priest (14:58). Only John links this saying with the temple episode.

3) Interpretation

Each time and each culture has its reasons to believe. In the past, philosophers asserted God's existence and reasonable nature of faith. Today, psychologists propose faith as a means to mental health and personal fulfillment. We Christians want faith to fit into life, answer our questions, and give us comfort, assurance, strength. But what happens when faith causes scandal? How do people react when people of faith commit unreasonable acts? On a typical day during business hours, Jesus overturned a marketplace in a very unreasonable manner. And through his rage, he revealed himself as the Messiah.

After centuries of infighting, corruption, and palace intrigue, the Temple priests had lost the respect of average believers. In fact, many Jewish groups boycotted Temple worship. The person in the street awaited the coming of the Messiah who would sweep these men from power and restore a worship that pleased God. Why, then, did Jesus object to commerce in the Temple courtyard? This courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles, represented the universal message God revealed through the Jews. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the God of all people. By providing non-Jews a place of worship on the Temple grounds, Judaism asserted it was a religion for everyone. But the Temple leadership gave merchants an area for trade that should have been off-limits. While Jesus drove out animals and overturned tables, his real message was to the leadership. Give all nations a place in the Kingdom. More important, he revealed to his followers that he was not a Messiah for Jews alone. He was a Messiah that would lead everyone to God!

Notice John begins with the term "Temple", changed to the term "house", and returned to "Temple" in the latest passages with a reference to "body." If we include Paul's notion of the "Body of Christ" we'll see that "body" had two meanings: a physical body and a body of people.
"Temple" to "the house of my Father" to "body." These were all titles for the dwelling place of God on earth. These were titles for Christ's body. These were all titles for the Christian community. The common thread throughout this changing set of terms was the Christian community in relation to its Master. Through the Risen Christ, God dwelt in the community.

John used the cleansing at the Temple to introduce a universal Messiah. The Messiah would bring justice to the nations through his death and his vindication (i.e., his resurrection). John ended this passage with a comment on the strength of faith. Indeed Jesus gathered many followers based upon what they saw. But faith runs deeper. The ultimate tenet of faith was a sign no one saw happen: the Resurrection. If a Christian based his faith simply upon what he saw or heard or felt, he would miss the greater point, for faith extended beyond the senses.

As someone once said: "Faith is not a convenience. It is a commitment." God gives us signs as anchors of faith. But, at some point, we must trust the Lord enough to cut ourselves from our anchors and allow him to guide us through rough currents.

4) Thought Exercise

What signs from God anchor your faith?

How does your faith extend beyond your senses?

Cross-Bearers

Mark 8: 27-38 (March 8, 2009)

1) The Text

27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

2) The Context

This passage marks a turning point in the Gospel of Mark. Of the sixteen chapters in Mark’s Gospel, eight focus on Jesus’ Galilean ministry, and eight focus on His march toward the Cross. The passage at hand follows immediately after Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Remember to listen to Mark, however, for in Mark’s Gospel the confession of Peter gets much less attention than in Matthew. In Mark, the focus, the turning point in the Gospel is Jesus’ first prediction of His death. This is Jesus’ first of three explicit predictions of His Passion. In each instance He makes it clear that He will suffer, be killed, and rise again after three days. Furthermore, in this passage He clearly states that any who would be His disciples must prepare to be cross-bearers.

From this moment on, things will never be the same. Up to this point, we have primarily been challenged to interpret the remarkable power Jesus has displayed. How does He do what He does? What is the source of His power? To whom is it extended, and why? But from this moment on, with no diminution of His power, we are forced to wrestle with His prediction that suffering and death are on His horizon. This one who has all the power of God evident in His life will suffer and die. How can that be?

3) Interpretation

This passage follows the celebrated confession of Peter, that Jesus is ‘the Christ’. It reveals just how easy it is to confuse adulation and truth. When Jesus proceeds to speak of his suffering, Peter will have none of it. Jesus must then rebuke Peter and call him, ‘Satan’, for espousing typically human values and not God’s. This does not do a lot for Peter. We might expect him to be sacked permanently, but that, too, would be to espouse typically human values! This Peter remains in leadership and will see the risen Christ.

Mark could hardly make the point more strongly that it is possible to have the words and the devotion and yet to miss what Jesus is about. Mark is doing theology, making us think about our faith. Peter had assumed the normal expectations associated with messiahship. He probably had in mind something like the messianic images which appear elsewhere in the gospel tradition. A messiah (which means ‘anointed’) is someone who will establish God’s reign, a royal figure, a ‘king of the Jews’ like David. As a figure of hope he is not a figure of failure but of success and power. When Jesus refers to himself as ‘Son of Man’ here, it is almost as though it is building a contrast between himself and the exalted royal figure. Instead of identifying himself with royalty Jesus identifies himself with the people; he is a human person. Yet this ‘Human one’, ‘Son of Man’, is someone special. He is the human one before whom all human beings must stand and give account. The passage is concerned to portray Jesus as a model for disciples. Each time Jesus speaks of himself as the suffering Son of Man in Mark, we find the disciples preoccupied with the opposite. Mark tells us that disciples are to follow the way of the Son of Man and also be prepared to deny themselves and take up a cross.

Clearly we are being offered an alternative model of being. We are being challenged to want something different. Instead of thinking only of ourselves and believing that it is to our good to gain wealth and avoid any path which leads to suffering, we are being challenged to be generous, giving of ourselves, even when it may mean suffering. The first image of ourselves and our good is to be set aside; instead we are to embrace the way of Jesus, of self giving love. Then we will find ourselves, our true selves. The merging of our will and being with God’s will and being, and therefore with love which cares for others as well as for ourselves, is the way of discipleship. It is also the way to real humanness - and the way of Jesus, and ultimately also of God!

In Mark’s context this is especially about choosing to be faithful followers of Jesus and not to renege on all that he stands for when faced with pressure (and persecution) to deny him. Being true to him, to God and to ourselves (and to others! – because it all coincides) will sometimes mean hardship, unpopularity, even death and still does. Mark, like others of his time, pictures this as happening at the last judgment. It is also a challenge to face up to it now. That, too, is an agenda for Lent.

4) Thought Exercise

How can we choose the way of Jesus in our daily lives?

What is our motivation for trying to be more like Jesus?