Mark 12:35-44. It’s interesting that yesterday’s reading ended with the statement that no one asked Jesus questions any more but today’s reading starts out with Jesus “answering”.  It may be that he was continuing his discussion with the particular scribe that had asked him the question about the greatest commandment.  Verse 35 says that his “answer” consisted of a question about something that the scribes had been teaching.  You might have picked up that the Jewish people of Jesus time were expecting “The One”; the Christ or Messiah.  But they were looking for him to be a political leader who would force the Roman occupiers out of their lives and resore Israel as an independent nation.  Of course that is “part” of what the  Old Testament says about the Messiah.  But it is not all.  Also they expected the Messiah to be a physical descendant of David, the second king (or third if you count God as their original king) of Israel.

By his question Jesus does not dispute the idea of the Messiah being a descendant of David but he is trying to get them to see the total picture.  Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1.  That Psalm  is about a coming day in the future of Israel when the Messiah will indeed vanquish kings who are oppressing the people of Israel.  In Psalm 110:1 we see “the LORD” talking to David’s Lord.  Notice that the first word “LORD’ is in all capitals.  In the book of Exodus Moses met God who asked him to lead the people out of Egypt.  Moses knew that the people would not want to follow him so he asked God what name to tell them when they asked who sent him.  God’s answer was, “Tell them I AM sent you”.  Again notice the all capital letters.  In ancient times Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) was written with just consonants; no vowels, God’s response to Moses was four consonants YHWH.  They were a form of the verb “to be” and translate as “I AM”.  But God used the verb as his personal name.  In the Bible names often have meaning related to the person they name (See “What’s in a Name “).  In this case it probably points out God’s self existence.  Anyway the Jewish people were very respectful of this name and when ever they came to it in a writing they would not speak it but rather would say the word for lord or master.  Translators of the Bible into English have often followed that same pattern and use the English word “LORD” in all capitals so we can know that it is actually the word “YHWH”.  Since the Jewish people do not speak this word we aren’t really sure what vowels to put in and how to say it.  Early scholars translated it as Jehovah but more modern experts think it would be pronounced Yahweh.  Some translations of the Bible use these two translations.  In the Psalm David says that Yahweh said to his [David’s] Lord (the actual Hebrew word for lord or master, “adoni”) that he [Yahweh] would make that persons enemies a footstool for his feet.  This same Psalm is quoted more fully in the Letter to the Hebrews and that author identifies the “Lord” as Jesus (Hebrews 1:13, 2:9, 5:6).

In today’s reading Jesus doesn’t go down that path because he is trying to get the scribe, he people, and the other leaders to take the first step and see that the Messiah is more than just some descendant of David who is a political leader, an idea which was certainly contained in the Old Testament but which they were missing (Isaiah 52-53 for instance make it clear that the coming one would suffer and die for the people).  So his question is, “Why did David refer to one of his descendants as his lord?”  It would be almost unheard of for an man in ancient Israel to identify a descendant that way and probably never one who was a distant descendant; many generations down the road.  Of course the answer is in the person of Jesus.  He is a physical descendant of David (Matthew 1:1-17) but he is also the Son of God; not a son of God but the son of God.  In John 10:30 Jesus told the religious leaders that he and God were “one”.  The leaders immediately took up stones because they understood that he was claiming equality with God (John 10:31).

Jesus response was to ask them for which of his “good works” they were going to kill him and they affirmed that they were going to kill him for claiming to be God.  Certain scholars who do not personally believe that Jeus was God in human flesh point out that Jesus didn’t push the issue in his response but really he did.  By bringing up the works that he was doing he was pointing to the evidence.  The things that Jesus had been doing clearly were from God; they were beyond any human capability.  Jesus was clearly saying, “If God is behind my actions you can believe he is behind my words too.”  In the book of John the actions of Jesus, his miracles, are usually called “signs” because that is John’s goal, to point to who Jesus is and to get people to move toward him.  So here in Mark Jesus is pointing out that the Messiah was in some way superior to David.

In John 8:58 Jesus used the Greek verb for “to be” in a form similar to the form of the Hebrew verb “to be” that God used with Moses.  Jesus told the leaders that before Abraham was born “I AM”.  It was in a discussion in which Jesus told the leaders that Abraham was looking forward to the time when Jesus would fulfill his destiny.  They challenged that he knew anything about Abraham’s feelings and Jesus informed them that he actually had met Abraham (who lived about 1800 years before Jesus).  When the Jesus leaders pointed out that Jesus was too young for that he made the statement that “before Abraham was born “I AM””.  Not I was but “I AM”.

That is how the chosen one is superior to David, because he is Yahweh.  Although Jesus clearly identifies someone that he calls “the Father” as God (The God of the Jews or Yahweh, John 8:54) he is claiming to be Yahweh himself.  This is part of the Christian idea of the trinity (or tri-unity as some bible scholars like to call it) where one God (Yahweh) exists as three distinct persons at the same time.  It is a mysterious concept to many but it is what the Bible teaches about God.  The people loved the teaching, the next part of the reading probably gives a hint as to why.

In verses 38-40 Jesus warns the people to look out for the scribes who like to make a big deal out of their position as religious leaders.  But it is all show because the rest of their actions show that they are just using people for their own advantage.  With his answer to the scribe about the greatest commandment Jesus had linked loving god with how we treat others, now here we learn that the scribes who made a big show of “loving” God were abusing people.  I’m sure the people knew this about the leaders and so it would have been cool to see Jesus baffling them with his teaching; they weren’t so smart after all.

Jesus didn’t just point out bad behavior though he also gave constructive input.   The next thing Mark has Jesus do is sit down and watch people putting money in the pot or plate or whatever at the Temple.  Many rich people were putting in large amounts of money we are told.  Clearly they were not being quiet about it  (See Matthew 6 where others were praying loudly to get attention too).  Jesus then saw a woman put in one penny and he told his students that she had contributed more that all the others combined.  Why?  Because they had pt in extra money that they had and she had put in “all she had to live on” (Luke 20:4).  The contrast here is that if we love God we need to love people.  Rather than taking advantage of other for our own comfort and honor we need to serve other with all that we have, or as Jesus put it we need to love others as we love ourselves.  Now some people think that some people don’t really love themselves very much, they have “low self esteem”.  Years ago there was a radio station, KYMS, and they had little commercials for God, mini-sermons less than a minute.  One was about suicide and the point that they made was that people didn’t commit suicide because they hated themselves but because they actually loved themselves so much that they were above living a  life of trouble and pain. In Ephesians 5:29 Paul tells us that “no one ever hated his own flesh but feeds it.”   We need to give as much attention to taking care of others as we do to taking care of ourselves, that is the second greatest commandment and it shows that we really do love God.  God loves people and we need to do the same (see James 1:27).

Thank you for giving your life for me.  Help me give my life for others.  Let me “visit widows and orphans in their distress”.  Let me use the things you have given me for the benefit of others.  Help me love others as much as I love myself.  Help me feed others as much as I feed myself.  Help me be giving.  Do I love Jesus?  Yes I do, help it show in my life.

Mark 12:18-34. In yesterday’s reading we saw continuing conflict between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders.  The leaders wanted to get rid of him but they were playing politics because they knew that many of the people respected him.  There were several groups of religious leaders during the time of Jesus.  These groups included the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and the scribes, as well as others.  Yesterday the scribes and Pharisees tired to get Jesus in trouble with the Roman authorities but it didn’t work.  I was impressed how Jesus appealed to them to turn their lives back to God in spite of the fact that they were part of a long history of leaders and people who had rejected God.  Jesus even implied that, at least some of them would not turn back (remember that the evil vine-growers eventually killed the owners son), but he still kept offering them a place in God’s kingdom.

In today’s reading another group of the leaders come to Jesus, some of the  Sadducees.  Right away Mark reminds us that the Sadducees don’t believe in the resurrection; that is they do not believe in an afterlife.  Yet they are questioning him about the afterlife.  Pretty insincere.  Their question involves what must have been a completely fabricated situation about seven brothers all eventually marrying the same woman and each dying.  Before you think, “Oh gross!” Think about the story of Ruth.  In that story Ruth had married a guy who then died.  After moving to Israel she met and married a close relative of her former husband and they lived happily ever after.  Now Boaz (the close relative) was impressed by Ruth but he also married her because of a rule in the law of Moses.  If a guy got married and then died without leaving behind any children then an unmarried brother or other close relative needed to marry the widow.  The first child would be considered the descendant of the dead husband.  Any other children would count as descendants of the new husband.  The reason for this law was so no family would become extinct.  This may have been important because God had made specific promises to the various families in Israel and wanted to preserve them so he could fulfill they promises.  At the very least it shows that God is concerned about the lives of individuals; we are each important to him.  I’m glad Boaz stepped up to the plate with Ruth because Jesus was eventually one of the descendants of their child, Obed.  By the way there is no record of Boaz and Ruth having any other children so Boaz may have sacrificed his own family name for all of us.   The Bible is full of amazing people, but that is what happens when you submit to an amazing loving God.

So the Sadducees ask Jesus about the seven brothers.  In turn each one married the girl and each one died.  Sounds like some crazy “reality TV show” or a story from a “48 hours Mystery”, but that was their story and they were sticking to it.  Then they asked whose wife she would be in the resurrection; the after life.  Completely insincere, remember they don’t believe in an after life.  I’m not sure what they were up to.  Certainly they couldn’t get him in trouble with the Romans over a theological question like this.  Maybe they were hoping he would give some kind of lame answer that would discredit him with the people.  On the other hand the Pharisees totally disagreed with the Sadducees about the after life and maybe they were trying to provoke some more hostility between Jesus and that group.

What ever their reason Jesus answered them in a straight up way.  He told them that they didn’t really know as much about the Old Testament as they thought that they did.  Resurrected people are not still married in the eternal kingdom nor do they get married.  Evidently marriage is for here and now.  Then Jesus went on to show them that resurrection is completely true.  When God talked to Moses he called himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all three of whom had been dead for hundreds of years.  But Jesus indicated that God’s language implied that those three still existed and that God had an active relationship with them.  Therefore an after life does exist according to the Old Testament.  His final words to them are very important, “You are greatly mistaken”.  This is so important because if there is no resurrection then all of what Jesus was doing and all of what God had promised to the Israelites and the world in the Old Testament was a waste and lies.  Paul told the church in the city of Corinth that if there is no afterlife then we (believers in Jesus) are the most pathetic beings on earth (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).  It’s really all about an eternal relationship with God.

The next part of our reading today actually picks up on that idea.  Another leader comes to Jesus, a scribe.  Unlike the earlier leaders who were insincere and trying to trick or trap Jesus, this man was impressed with Jesus’ answer.  He asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was in the Old Testament.  Jesus answer was that a person needed to recognize that there is only one God and that they needed to honor God with their whole being.  Then Jesus told him there was a second that was very important also; to care for others like we care about ourselves.  In Matthew there is a similar story and Jesus actually tells the person that the whole Law of Moses is summed up in these two commandments.  Jesus’ answer points out the reality of God and God’s love for people.  Two very important points for the Roman believers and for us as well.  Unlike the others leaders who always seem to back away, this man acknowledges that Jesus answered well.  Jesus encouraged the man that he was getting close to finding his place in eternity.  What a contrast with the Sadducees who didn’t even believe in an afterlife.  The final words of our reading today are kind of sad though, after this episode no one asked Jesus any more questions.

I think that today’s reading really points out that there is spiritual truth; God, the afterlife, Heaven, Hell, are all a reality and there is specific truth about each of these things.  We don’t make up what it’s all about, God determined how it all is going to work.  That’s a good thing though because God is exceeding wise and filled with love for us, so the eternity he as planned is the best that it can be.  We can either accept of reject the truth about what is to come but we don’t get to make up our own truth.  I’m sure that all of this would have been comforting to those Roman believes who live in a very unstable world.  It should be comforting to us too.  It’s like the words to that old hymn, “This world’s not my home I’m just passing through.  My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.  The angles beckon me from Heavens open door and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”  We do live in the here and now but we do have a there and then waiting for us.  And in the mean time we have a God who has power and loves us and will help us live for there and then in the here and now, like Boaz, and Jesus, and the prophets mentioned yester day who suffered so we could be a part of eternity (See Hebrews 11 especially verse 40).

God thank you for not giving up on us.  Thank you for faithfully reaching out to us.  Thank you for giving each of us an opportunity to return to you.  Help my not be blinded by my own version of reality.  Help me listen to you and accept the truth you are teaching.  Let my life grow ever closer to the reality of eternity with you that I am waiting for.  Let me be a light to others so they can believe too.  Thank you for your love and patience.