Reading and Reflection for Mark 14:1--15:47, Palm Sunday

Mark 14:1-15:47 (NRSV)

1It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; 2for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

 

3While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. 4But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? 5For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. 7For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. 8She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. 9Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

 

10Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

 

12On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 13So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” 16So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

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.  ’

28But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29Peter said to him, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.” 30Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31But he said vehemently, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of them said the same.

 

32They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” 35And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” 37He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. 41He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

 

43Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. 47But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? 49Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” 50All of them deserted him and fled.

51A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

 

Before we continue the reading, I cannot help but pause here because this is the first time that Jesus is utterly alone.  All of his disciples fled and deserted him.  “Deserted” is such a soul wrenching word.  It brings up images of barren, sandy wastelands with no life.  Deserted is not just being alone, it is worse.  It is being actively forgotten.  It is friends turning out to not be friends.  It is abandonment by those who you thought loved you and would stick with you to the end.  It is night after night with a dark, stifling stillness as your only companion.  

 

Have you been there?  How many live in loneliness, deserted by those who they hoped would care?

 

In world of loneliness and in a story of abandonment, there is at least one bit of good news: just as you start to think that you have been abandoned, alone in the dark, you find out that Jesus is right with you in the abandonment.  He was abandoned too.  So he is right there, waiting when you find yourself there too.  There really is nowhere that Jesus cannot be found.

 

The story continues:

 

53They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. 54Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. 55Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. 56For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. 57Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” 59But even on this point their testimony did not agree. 60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” 61But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62Jesus said, “I am; and

‘you will see the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of the Power,’

and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’ ”

63Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death. 65Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.

 

66While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. 67When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” 68But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. 69And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.” 71But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” 72At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

 

 

15:1As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” 3Then the chief priests accused him of many things. 4Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

 

Before we continue reading, Pilate’s question struck me in a way it never had before.  “Have you no answer?” has always struck me as some sort of taunt; some sort of phrase of power looming over a resigned Jesus.  That is, until this past year as this question has become a continual refrain in our lives of uncertainty.  When will our lives return to normal God?  Have you no answer?  When will the violence and disagreement of the nation be turned to peace God?  Have you no answer?  When will I know what my future looks like God?  Have you no answer?  When will we hear the words of your mouth God?  Have you no answer?

God’s silence is dark.  God’s silence is abandonment.  God’s silence is death.  Unless, unless death can be overcome.  Unless, God is up to something.  

The question, “Have you no answer?” speaks more to my pain and impatience and less of what God is up to.  After-all, we know the end of this story.  We know that God is up to something with the cross.  If that is the case, maybe we know the end to our story also.  Not that we have even the slightest hint of the details, but we do understand that God is up to something in our story.  God does have an answer.  So, like Jesus, we try to remain silent and listen for God.

 

The story continues:

 

6Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. 7Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. 9Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” 15So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

 

16Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. 17And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. 18And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. 20After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

 

21They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). 23And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

25It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 29Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

 

33When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” 36And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

40There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

 

42When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

 

The Bible says that “there were also women looking on from a distance…”  There were women who were there to see the horror….from a distance.  There were women who were there to share the truth of what happened...from a distance.  There were devoted women who stuck with Jesus until the end.  “There were also women looking on from a distance.”

 

It would seem that part of a devoted disciple’s life is looking on, not running away, and telling the truth of the story.  There are devoted disciples, even today, who look on as authorities abuse their power and take lives.  They look on from a distance and tell the truth of the story.  There are devoted disciples, even today, who look at the poor and refuse to dismiss them as trash...who refuse to simply walk by.  They look on from a distance and tell the truth of the story.  There are devoted disciples, even today, who refuse to regard troubled people as lost causes...who refuse to forget the forgettable and try to make all of us see the truth: even this person was worth dying for.  Even this person is worthy of redemption on the cross.  Even this person is welcomed into the holy sanctuary of God as Jesus’ death rips the curtain open from top to bottom. We look on their lives, at first from a distance.  But, Jesus knows us even closer.  None of us are forgotten by the one who was raised up on the cross and never takes his eye off of us; Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Reflection on Numbers 21:4-9

Today, we continue our exploration of the roots of our faith.  Over the past couple of weeks we have been reminded that when we dig down into the soil of our faith, we will find that our roots tap into the promises of God, and also the commandments that offer the gift of peace.  So far, we have retold big stories in the Bible like Noah and the flood, and the story of God promise to Abraham and Sarah to have a child, and today I will retell the ever popular “Put a Snake on a Pole to Keep Everyone from Dying” story.  I know, I know, it is your favorite.

“From where did you dig up this story, Pastor Jira?”

Indeed, it may not be on everyone’s top ten thousand list for favorite Bible stories.  However, I drug it up from the depths of obscurity because there is a lot of truth in this thing.  And, not only is there a lot of truth, but it is also the launching point for one of the most memorized and beloved verses of the entire Bible.  But, there will be more on that later.  First, we are going to dig into Numbers 21:4-9 and plumb it for the truths that it holds.

As the story begins, we see that the Israelites are continuing to wander in the wilderness after having been freed by God from slavery in Egypt.  But, their days of wandering are going to start getting really, really long because they decided not to trespass on the land of the Edomites, the decedents of Esau; their distant and disagreeable cousins.  And, this long detour is where the truth of this text starts spilling all over the place.

“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 

I have heard this conversation before, and so have you.  At a family gathering during the holidays, a member of the family, who will remain unnamed, took a look at the multiple dishes of food spread across the large holiday dining table, took the napkin off of their lap, threw it on the table and declared in a put out tone, “There’s nothing here to eat.”

“Well, I’m sorry that we don’t have any tofu derived meats or organically grown potatoes smashed using lactose free skim milk and grass fed goat cheese!”

I kept the thought to myself. 

“There is literally a table full of food in front of you.  You didn’t have to make any of it!  You didn’t spend hours in the kitchen making preparations for everyone.” 

And, the same goes for you, O Israelite people.  There is literally manna and quail falling from the sky daily for your consumption from the hand of God, and your only response is, “There’s nothing here to eat or drink.  I detest this miserable food.” 

I have to admit, I do not blame God for sending the snakes to bite the ungrateful twerps.  If I had snakes to send across the table and bite my relative during that holiday meal, I would not have hesitated.  I’m not joking.  Come on!

But, some things never change.  Or, more accurately I should say “people never change.”  It seems that we are hardwired to just automatically complain about everything.

Just this other day a certain little boy was asking for a bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast.  This is a hypothetical story, of course, and has nothing to do with the brand new box of Lucky Charms that I bought the other day. 

And after the boy whined continuously, and after finally being able to pour the bowl of Lucky charms, and the milk, and then set it down on the table, a certain little boy, hypothetically screamed, “I don’t want that!” and just about swiped the bowl onto the floor.  Where are those snakes when you need them?

But, to be fare, I should have been bitten by those same snakes many times over throughout my own life.  For instance, how many times have I cried out to the Lord to help me out of a tough spot in life, only to act like those 9 lepers who just walked away from Jesus without giving thanks to Jesus for healing them?  Not only am I thankless, but I have the nerve to cry out for help the very next day, giving no recognition to God for saving me previously. 

How short are our memories!  How focused we become on the problems rather than the salvation God has given!

And, there it is.  That is the problem right there.  We get so focused on the hardships of life that we immediately forget the salvation that God has granted us. 

What if we could look to something and remember the salvation that the Lord has provided? 

What if we could look to something and remember just how good and full of steadfast love is the Lord? 

After-all, as Psalm 30:5 declares, “For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” 

What if we could look to something and remember that the Lord is a Lord of salvation?

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’  So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.”

Do you think that if I put a ham on a pole and put it at the head of the dinner table that a certain relative would remember to just be quiet, give thanks, and eat like everyone else in the room? 

The problem with the ham on the pole is that people might forget that it is a reminder of how good God is and just worship the ham…I mean, the problem with the snake on the pole is that people might forget that it is a reminder of how good God is and start looking to the snake for salvation rather than God.

That happened by the way.  After a thousand years, King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18:4, takes the snake that God instructed Moses to make, and utterly obliterated it.  Somehow, the people of God forgot who it was who brought their salvation.  It was not a pole with a bronze snake; that is certain.  Rather than pointing to God and God’s salvation, the bronze snake had taken the place of God and God’s salvation.

But, it still was not a bad idea to raise up something so that God’s people would not forget God’s love and salvation.  It was not a bad idea to raise something up so that they would not forget this root of faith: that faith is about trusting in God’s salvation and is not about how I save my own skin or how great I am as a spiritual being.

It is so easy to forget, even for pastors.  One of the main concepts that our preaching professors tried to drive into our heads again and again was that preaching is about God and God’s salvation.  It is not about us.  It is not about what we should be doing.  It is not about the 10 things that we can do to save ourselves. 

“You should pray more.”  “You should say something loving first thing in the morning.”  “You should look I the mirror and remember that you are a great gift from God.” 

All of this stuff might be good advice, but it does not save.  Preaching is always about lifting up God’s salvation so that we can all trust in God.  “I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods” the commandment reads.

What if God did not raise us “something,” but raised up “someone”?  Would we trust in God’s salvation then?

This brings us to the Christian Scriptures, the New Testament, and some of the most beloved  and memorized verses in all the Bible.  I will just read it to you.  Its meaning will be self-evident.

John 3:14-17 reads, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  ‘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.’  ‘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.’” 

During the Protestant Reformation, when pastors tore down all the statues and symbols in their churches so that they would not distract from the Lord, there was one symbol that was allowed. 

The cross was allowed, of course.  After-all, the image of Jesus, raised on the cross is a strong symbol of God’s salvation.  The salvation of Jesus Christ on the cross; the revelation of the very heart of God; the reminder that God is a God of steadfast love and salvation, and not condemnation, is that to which we cling.  It is what feeds us.  God’s salvation is the root of our faith.

“So I’ll cling to the old rugged cross.  Till my trophies at last I lay down.  I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.”