5-6-34 (Week 5, Day 6, Year 34)
PSALM 105 PRAISE OF THE LORD WHO HAS ACTED WONDERFULLY TOWARD ISRAEL
THIS IS AN HISTORICAL PSALM WITH REFERENCES TO THE GREAT THINGS GOD HAS DONE. THE PROMISED LAND IS A SIGN OF GOD’S COVENANT WITH ISRAEL-We are created to please the LORD and to obey the LORD’s teachings. The Psalm follows four distinct historical periods: 1) Abraham in Canaan, 2) Joseph in the land of Egypt, 3) Israel in Egypt and 4) Israel in the wilderness. This Psalm would remind the people to repent and return to God so that they might return to the land and to remind God of the covenant promises.
MARK 6
MARK 6: 1-6 REJECTION IN HIS HOMETOWN
JUST A CARPENTER-A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOR. Two concepts in this passage intrigue me. First the people are offended by Jesus because he is local and a carpenter. Second, Jesus’ ability to heal depends on the faith of the sick.
How do we as “modern people” receive Jesus? This section of Mark gives the rejection of Jesus by his own people. Because they knew him the “took offence” at Jesus. The people rejected him because his authority was too much for them. The danger to “modern people” can take the form of two responses which are completely different. Jesus can be rejected as people only place faith in their own abilities or Jesus can be rejected because he cannot perform miracles due to the unbelief of the people. The passage makes a correlation between lack of faith in Jesus and the lack of miracles. Faith comes to people because they see in Jesus – God at work. Jesus creates life in us so that we may serve humans.
MARK 6: 7-13 COMMISSIONING THE TWELVE
THE TWELVE-TWELVE DISCIPLES The message of the disciples is repentance.
As Jesus sends flawed human beings to deliver the Gospel, so too is the Church flawed as a messenger of the Gospel. As a modern follower of Jesus we must seek to repent and simplify our lifestyle in service.
MARK 6: 14-29 HEROD’S EXECUTION OF JOHN
THE DEATH OF JOHN-JOHN THE BAPTIST’S HEAD IS CUT OFF.
Mark chooses the death of John the Baptist to foreshadow the death of Jesus. Both are victims of a tyrant ruler. Herod condemns John to appease the court. Pilate condemns Jesus to appease the Jewish Religious Leaders. The prophets will be killed because they expose the hypocrisy of the rulers.
MARK 6: 30-44 WILDERNESS FEEDING OF FIVE THOUSAND
SUPPER FOR FIVE THOUSAND-JESUS FEEDS THE FIVE THOUSAND. Jesus has the power to feed the world but chooses rather to save it.
The feeding of the 5000 is contained in all four Gospels while the feeding of the 4000 is in Matthew and Mark. The miracle in Mark can have three meanings. First, Mark is the only Gospel to add “they were life sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34).” This emphasizes the leadership style of Jesus and the teaching of Jesus the prophet. Second, taking the two feeding miracles together (Mark 6 and Mark 8) the blindness and misunderstanding of the disciples is exposed. Finally, the miracles are viewed as a sacramental parable of the feast in Kingdom and the Last Supper.
MARK 6: 45-52 SECOND SEA CROSSING. This passage begins a new section of the Gospel as Jesus seeks to renew Israel in spite of opposition of the Jewish Religious and Political Leaders and the disciples misunderstanding.
WALKING ON THE SEA-JESUS WALKS ON THE WATER
This passage is meant to show the calmness Jesus brings to the fear of the disciples. It is an epiphany of Jesus being the Son of God. The misunderstanding of the disciples remains even after this miracle.
MARK 6:53-56 A SUMMARY PASSAGE. This shows the ministry of Jesus as he moves about Galilee. There is a contrast between the misunderstanding of the disciples and the recognition of the people of Jesus as a healer. “The superficial but ready acceptance of Jesus by the crowd (Mark 6:53-56) is contrasted with the misunderstanding of the disciples (Mark 6:45-52) and with the hostility of Pharisees and scribes (Mark 7:1-23) [MARK, Lamar Williamson, p. 132].”
EXODUS 17-18
EXODUS 17: 1-7 THIRD CRISIS: LACK OF WATER
MASSAH AND MERIBAH-THE LORD GIVES ISRAEL WATER OUT OF THE ROCK
EXODUS 17: 8-16 FOURTH CRISIS, MILITARY THREAT
THE BATTLE WITH AMALEK-JOSHUA WINS THE BATTLE OVER THE AMALEKITES The miracle of winning the battle is accomplished with the LORD’S help. The posture of Moses indicates prayer.
EXODUS 18: 1-27 MEETING WITH JETHRO
JETHRO GIVES MOSES ADVICE-JETHRO VISITS MOSES
ROMANS 6: 1-23 LIFE IN CHRIST REQUIRES OBEDIENCE
WHEN DEATH BECOMES LIFE-LIVING A NEW LIFE.
WHAT IS TRUE FREEDOM?-SLAVES TO RIGHT LIVING.
Romans chapter 6 and 7 deal with three concepts of a person’s life which are very important: sin, law, and grace. Paul contrasts these three in three pairs to show he law leads to sin, and sin leads to death, and then grace brings humanity to eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus. Romans 6:23: “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” is a key to unlock the paradox of death. All humans will die and the result of death is a paradoxical question. What happens when we die? Paul’s answer to this paradox is resurrection of humans to a Spiritual Body because this is what happen to Jesus and will occur to humans after death. Baptism must be understood as a sign of human willingness to enter death. My (our) death brings me (us) to eternal life because I (we) have accepted death in my (our) baptism. This is difficult theology for “modern” Christians because our culture is not Jewish and our culture avoids death because of the fear of death. The mystery or paradox of Romans chapters 6 and 7 is that sin produces death but God uses death to bring humanity to life. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism unto death so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).”