Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 16:19-20

The alternative, longer, ending to Mark mentions the Ascension of Jesus and then states that the disciples went out and proclaimed the good news. Their words were accompanied by confirmatory signs sent by God. I wonder in what ways we go out and proclaim the good news. I wonder what we have to say about God. I wonder to what, if anything, we point as indicative of God at work.

The critical point is that the story goes on. I wonder how we see it continuing in our day. I wonder what we do to tell it. This is the sheer wonder of gospel, that God participates with us. Whoever wrote this was not trying to eliminate the questions that we might see as being left at the end of verse 8, but is expressing confidence in the continuing presence of Jesus and of the story moving forward as his followers do his work and tell his good news, As Bonnie Bowman Thurston (Preaching Mark) says – “The reality of the risen Jesus and his continued involvement with his disciples provides both continuity with the resurrection account in v. 1-8 and a word of hope for today’s disciples, The Gospel continues to spread and the Lord continues to work with us (v. 20), and that is very good news indeed.”

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 16:14-18

The story is brought towards its next stage as the alternative, longer, ending continues. Jesus now appears to the whole disciple group, perhaps significantly as they are “at table”. It is certainly true that sharing meals is an important element in Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. Possibly the surprising thing is that there continues to be a substantial degree of doubt to the extent that Jesus challenges them on the matter. I wonder if our faith is as strong as it ought to be.

However, despite their lack of belief, they are commissioned to go and be the church, spreading the good news and doing little bits of kingdom work. They will be able to do all sorts of incredible things and that will demonstrate that God is with them. As Nelson Rivera (in Feasting on the Gospels – Mark) points out – “Unbelief is responded to here with a list of signs and wonders that would follow the disciples as they engage the proclamation in continuity with the mission of Jesus.” They may not really need to do some of what is mentioned here. I am not sure why they would pick up snakes or drink poison just to prove they could. I rather think that Mark, or, more probably, whoever wrote this additional ending to Mark’s Gospel, is adopting the technique sometimes used by Jesus of over-stating things in order to make a point with greater force, and ensure that the comment, and the concept, gets noted. Essentially, as Rivera adds, it is that – “a ministry of healing will be part of their mission.” I wonder how we bring healing to those whom we encounter. I wonder what we are doing, and what more we might do, to proclaim the good news of the risen Christ.

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 16:9-13

 

The risen Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene. This encounter is reported at much greater length in John’s gospel – 20:11-18. Mary is one of those who has greatly benefited from Jesus’ ministry. No wonder she wants to pay her last respects and is there at the tomb. Her loyalty is repaid by her meeting Jesus in these amazing circumstances. She goes to share the news, but the rest of them will not believe her. I wonder if there are times when we are unwilling to believe reports of the great things that God has done. 

This is followed by a reference to two disciples wearily walking home, presumably a brief reporting of Luke’s much longer account of the two disciples who met Jesus while they were walking to Emmaus – Luke 24:13-35.

The important thing here, despite the elements of disbelief, is the sharing of news. Mary and the two travellers had experiences that they were surely desperate to share. How frustrating that they were not believed. Perhaps the message of these added stories is something about the importance of building the community of faith. As Mary Luti (in Feasting on the Gospels – Mark) points out – “believing is not a private accomplishment, but a shared project of trust and mutual traditioning in the fellowship of believers of all times and places who, by the power of the Spirit, edify one another in strength and supply one another in lack.” I wonder how we contribute to the community of faith. I wonder about the impact of our encounters with the risen Christ.

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 16:8b

Mark 16:8b

Mark has two possible endings. Almost certainly, what is now commonly called the shorter ending, and which I have here termed verse 8b, is the original. It leaves things up in the air, and maybe rightly so. However, it would seem that the relatively early church felt that a bit more needed to be said, and so verses 9 to 20 were assembled and added, giving a little more detail to the Easter event.

However, perhaps it should have been enough to leave things with the message just beginning to get out.

The women were told to tell the disciples, with Peter given a special mention, what they had experienced. They do so and, through this embryonic Christian community, Jesus sends out the wonderful message of salvation. I wonder whether Jesus is able to work through us as readily as ought to be the case. I wonder how we would have responded on the first Easter Day.

So, as Leith Fisher (Will you follow me?) points out – “the gospel ends with this final clash between the announcement of the Jesus who goes before into Galilee, which fills us with hope, and the portrayal of the women’s consternation and fear. To the end there is an unresolved ambiguity. …. Mark typically leaves us with a question, a question which will send us back to the gospel to read more carefully between the lines. More significantly, he leaves us with a question requiring an answer in our lives now.”

It is certainly an unfinished story. 

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 16:1-8

Once again the women are centre stage, and deservedly so. They have bothered to go to the tomb, taking spices so that they might anoint the body. They have ignored the fact that they might be seen and so linked to this trouble-maker. They have ignored that they might fall because of a massive stone across the tomb’s entrance. Three are named, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. The Sabbath is now over and so they are free to go about this business.

In a sense there is nothing that they can do, but they are desperate to complete these last offices of love. Thus, it is very early on Sunday morning that they set out. The conversation as they walk down the road is about the stone. They realised that their journey might be futile, but still they went, not knowing how they would deal with the stone issue. I wonder if we are ever willing to disregard seemingly impossible barriers because there is something we simply must do.

On arrival they were astounded to discover that the stone had already been moved. This was not what they had expected, and they certainly did not work out its implications. However, rather than a body to anoint, they discover a young man dressed in white who has amazing news. They do not need to be frightened, but they are not going to find Jesus there. Jesus is risen! They are instructed to go and tell the disciples, especially Peter, that they will meet Jesus back in Galilee. It is not surprising that the women left the tomb with a mixture of terror and amazement. This was too much to understand. What was going on? They kept it to themselves because they were scared.

We are inevitably looking round the corner and recognising the immensity of the moment. As José Cárdenas Pallares (A Poor Man Called Jesus: Reflections on the Gospel of Mark) comments – “To posit the factual reality of Jesus’ Resurrection is not to take refuge in daydreams. It is simply to wonder about a force that will generate an irreversible and unlimited liberation process.”

I wonder whether we would have got it. I wonder whether the Easter message excites us as much as it should.

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 15:42-47

Everything ought to be right and in good order for the Sabbath. There were all sorts of rules and regulations, customs and traditions. Joseph of Arimathea appears on the scene wanting to make that possible. He asks Pilate if he might remove Jesus’ body in order to take it for burial.

Joseph is described as a respected member of the council and as waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. Was he a secret disciple or admirer of Jesus? Possibly, but there is no evidence for that. John Donahue and Daniel Harrington (The Gospel of Mark) do not see that connection. They rather suggest – “from Mark we get the picture of Joseph as a man who takes the risk of seeing to the burial of someone who had been crucified as the “King of the Jews.” What inspires Joseph is his devotion not so much to Jesus whom he barely seems to know but to the commandment to bury a fellow Jew on the day of his death.”

Joseph then, it would seem, simply wants to do the right thing for an unfortunate person, no matter what he is supposed to have done, Pilate checks that Jesus is definitely dead. Crucifixion was normally a slow and lingering death and it may well be, on the time that has passed, that Jesus has not yet breathed his last. However, the centurion, experienced in such matters, assures Pilate that Jesus is dead, and so the body is released to Joseph. Joseph takes the body, lays it in a tomb, hewn out of the rock, and covers the entrance with a large rock. I wonder if there are times when, like Joseph, we need to be bold and ask for things that enable us to do what God wants us to do. Do we dare to speak up in difficult situations?

None of the disciples are to be seen. At least, if they are, it is not reported, and we can reasonably expect that it would have been. However, at least a couple of the women remain within a reasonable range. The two that are mentioned are Mary Magdalene and another Mary. They don’t do anything – except for the hugely important matter of noting where it is that Jesus is buried. They want to be able to come back to this spot.

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 15:33-41

The trauma is complete. The end has been reached. Symbolically, the land is covered in darkness. Jesus cries out using words from the psalmist – my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The scene is one of abandonment, isolation and despair. This is a horrific picture of anguish. Bonnie Bowman Thurston (Preaching Mark) describes the agony – “I view Jesus’ scream here as one of real suffering. He experiences not only horrific physical (crucifixion) and emotional (abandonment and mocking) suffering, but the most terrible thing any deeply religious person can face: the sense that God has abandoned him, that he is completely alone in a hostile universe. In this moment, Jesus enters into the darkest experience that humanity can face.”

The little details, and the four gospels give us slightly different windows into these, demonstrate how awful was this experience. Those who are near enough to hear, or so they think, what he might be saying suggest that he is calling for Elijah. We can imagine the words being somewhat incoherent. Some liquid, a sponge soaked in sour wine, is brought. The people, or some of them, wonder if Elijah will respond, but what rather happens is the moment of death. Jesus utters a loud cry and breathes his last. As Thurston says – “what that cry meant only God knows.”

Then, there is more detail. The curtain of the temple is torn in two. There is an affirmation of faith, surprisingly coming from the centurion, a Roman soldier doing his job, who is overseeing this process. He recognise that this was someone very special. It is also mentioned that some of the women who had followed Jesus were there. Mark names three, Mary Magdalene, another Mary and Salome. Perhaps these women disciples stayed around because they were not as greatly at risk as the men would have been. Perhaps it is because they were more committed, and more determined not to see Jesus complexly abandoned. What a devastating moment!

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 15:21-32

Normal practice was for the condemned person to carry his own cross to the place of crucifixion, but Jesus was too weak, because of the beatings he has suffered, and so the soldiers grab hold of a passer-by and force him to do this carrying. It is interesting that not only is he named himself, but the names of his sons are mentioned. Mark’s inclusion of this detail suggests that this family was known to the community for whom Mark originally wrote.

Jesus is offered some wine mixed with myrrh, but declines it. He is then put on the cross and left to die. He is mocked and ridiculed, even by the two bandits who are crucified alongside him. Jesus is completely alone in what is happening. I wonder where we would have fitted in to that scene.

Megan McKenna  (On Your Mark: Reading Mark in the Shadow of the Cross) reminds us of the abandonment and asks how we react – “Mark’s Jesus is revealed in his isolation, pain, and suffering and finally in his death. Only those who believe, those who follow Jesus in picking up their crosses can see him for who he is, the crucified one revealed in love. With the crowd, we are left standing before the cross to ask ourselves what we are doing. Do we join in the mockery or do we listen to those in pain? Even if we cannot alleviate their pain, do we hear them and take their words to heart?”

There is a sense in which we cannot believe what is happening as the story unfolds, and so perhaps understand that the disciples were at a complete loss, and it is not surprising that they disappeared – only we are left somewhat puzzled because the other aspect of all this is the question about how anyone could spend three years with Jesus and not get it.

I wonder what are the things that we don’t get that we should. I wonder how the time we spend with Jesus changes us. I wonder how we feel in this dreadful moment when we see Jesus on the cross.

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 15:16-20

It’s the onlooker mentality moved up a notch. If something unusual is going on, we want to see what it is, and will stop or slow down to take a look, regardless of whether that is inappropriate or even dangerous. Having a laugh at someone else’s expense, especially when and because they are in a vulnerable position, accelerates our adopting that mindset.

In a sense, the soldiers are only doing their job and, given the macabre nature of this part of it, we could even say that it is not unreasonable for them to try and lighten their mood. Why not have a laugh at the expense of this poor victim, and especially as he is anyway a condemned criminal?

I wonder if we ever join in with mocking somebody who has been placed in a vulnerable position, whether, or not, the person concerned has played any intentional part in getting to the place in which they find themselves.

The allegation is that Jesus has claimed to be king, and so a purple cape and an ironic crown, formed of thorns, do the trick in terms of creating the picture of a king to be mocked.

It is, however, a timely reminder that, in the person of Jesus, God knows what it feels like to suffer because of being there and having the experience of which this incident is just a part.

As Lamar Williamson, Jr. (Mark) notes, it is the case that a – “probable reason for the prominence of mockings in Mark is that this Gospel was written for Christians who were themselves undergoing ridicule and abuse for their faith. They could identify with Jesus, because Jesus had identified with them.”

I wonder how we would stand up to persecution. I wonder how we stand up to being laughed at or having our thinking and beliefs dismissed because we are people of faith. I wonder even how appropriately (and graciously) we respond to criticism.

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 15:1-15

The sorry saga continues as the trumped-up charge allows the religious leaders to dispatch Jesus to the Roman governor in order that he might attract a punishment that was far greater than they were able to inflict. They want him dealt with once and for all, and that meant death. Pilate, according to Mark, does not take this matter terribly seriously. He asks Jesus about being the king of the Jews and about all the charges that the religious leaders are now bringing. Jesus remains silent, and a somewhat disinterested Pilate is described as amazed.

However, there is just a hint that Pilate might have preferred not to sign his death warrant. He makes use of a custom by which the governor would release a prisoner at festival time, and gives the crowd the choice of Jesus or a murderer named Barabbas. But it is not difficult to stir up a crowd and the chief priests have some expertise in influencing things their way. The shout becomes that Barabbas should be freed. I wonder if there are times when we have gone with the crowd, but really should have taken a different line.

Pilate has one more check as he asks what should happen to Jesus. The response comes back: crucify him! Despite his earlier comment about the charges against him, Pilate asks a question about what Jesus has done wrong. The question is not answered, but the death penalty is demanded. Pilate is not going to take chances with a crowd in this mood. Jesus is not worth it to him. He releases Barabbas and has Jesus flogged, before sending him to crucifixion, and he does not seem to have any qualms about it. I wonder what we would have done in Pilate’s place.

Joseph O’Hanlon (Mark My Words) comments on the different ways in which Pilate is portrayed – “the Pilate of Matthew who washes his hands of complicity in the death of an innocent man, the Pilate of Luke who finds nothing deserving of death, indeed, no crime at all, in this man, the Pilate of John who discusses endlessly with Jesus on the finer points of theological issues, is not the Pilate of history. Rather, he is the Pilate of Christian propaganda, the Pilate Christians would like to present to the Gentile world. But stories of Pilate’s reluctance to condemn an innocent man, stories of a weak-willed man overcome by a hostile and vindictive mob are far distant from the real Pilate. Mark’s Pilate may be nearer the callous truth.”

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 14:66-72

How could this happen? I wonder how often there are things in our relationship with God about which we could say: how could this happen? Peter is challenged by a servant-girl. She noticed him warming himself beside the fire in the courtyard. Recognising him, she challenges Peter: you were with him, that man from Nazareth. But Peter immediately denies any connection. He does not want to risk getting caught up in what is happening to Jesus, though neither does he want to completely disappear as then he won’t know what has happened.

Certain that she recognised him, the girl is unconvinced by Peter’s denial and begins to point him out to some of the other folk standing around as one of the companions of the man who has just been arrested. Peter again denies any connection to Jesus. Then, he is also challenged by one of the bystanders who emphasises his accusation by commenting on Peter’s Galilean accent. I wonder what are the things that give us away, and whether they do so in a good or a bad way.

Peter remains adamant. I do not know him! Then follows one of those extremely poignant moments. The cock crows for the second time, and Peter remembers how Jesus had predicted his triple denial before the cock’s second crowing. No wonder he broke down and wept. I wonder what makes us weep.

Tom Wright (Mark for Everyone) helps us understand just a little of the significance of what is happening. He comments – “the detailed description of Peter’s failure highlights the solitariness of Jesus. Betrayed by one associate, forsaken by ten more, and now publicly and bitterly renounced by his closest friend; he stands alone, defenceless … what Jesus has to do now, he has to do all by himself. No one else can give their life as a ransom for many.”

Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 14:53-65

Having been arrested, Jesus is taken to appear before the council of religious leaders, and they desperately try to find a charge that will validly stick. We might have assumed that they had carefully worked out how they were going to ensure his condemnation, but that is clearly not the case, as they struggle to find suitable testimony against him.

Just one of the disciples is mentioned in this section, Peter. Despite his failings, Peter has not completely disappeared. He is trying to remain incognito, but he does follow, although at a distance and we see him warming his hands at the fire which the guards have to keep them warm. Peter does want to know how the story ends, but he is not going to intervene. I wonder whether there are situations in which we lie low instead of being bold for God.

Back in council, the problem is that they are making it up, and it is therefore difficult to identify two concurring stories. In despair or fury, or both, the high priest finally tears his clothes and declares that the normal rules of testimony do not apply. There is no need for two agreeing witnesses because Jesus is – allegedly – an identified blasphemer. So, Jesus is condemned and maltreated. He is spat at, hit and beaten. They mock him by urging him to prophesy. In fact, that is exactly what is happening, an enacted prophecy.

As Ched Myers (Binding the Strong Man) comments – “they ridicule him, commanding him to “play the prophet”. This is the first instance of mockery that ironically utters the truth, for Jesus’ words are being fulfilled even as his opponents speak; indeed his prediction of Peter’s threefold denial comes to pass in the very next episode. But the real prophetic vocation lies not in predicting events, but in fidelity to the script of biblical radicalism. This, Jesus is “pommelled” by the attendants – an allusion to Isaiah’s Suffering Servant. Truly Jesus is a prophet, for he is being dishonoured by his own people (cf. 6:4).”