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Mark The People's bible commentary - Golgotha
Mark The People's bible commentary - Golgotha
by BRF - Dick France
GOLGOTHA Crucifixion was a particularly cruel form of execution reserved normally for slaves and for political insurgents. The Roman writer Cicero called it ‘the most cruel and revolting punishment’ and the Jew Josephus called it ‘the most pitiable of deaths’. A crucified person …
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - He Is Not There
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - He Is Not There
by BRF - Dick France
“He is Not Here” All four Gospels tell about the finding of the empty tomb early on Sunday morning. The details do not all agree—how many women? which women? the stone already gone or an angel rolling it back? How many angels and where were they? and just what did they say? But t…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Homage to the King
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Homage to the King
by BRF - Dick France
HOMAGE to the “KING” In the hands of the Romans Even among the Jewish people Jesus has been subjected to cruelty and abuse both from the members of the Sanhedrin and from their (Jewish) guards (14:65). But now he is in the hands of the Romans, and they too will have their turn. F…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
by BRF - Dick France
MARK’S GOSPEL- A DRAMA in THREE ACTS After a prologue which sets the scene, Mark’s story unfolds in three main sections, each of which has a distinct geographical setting: 1:1–13 Prologue (set in ‘the wilderness’) 1:14—8:21 Act 1: Galilee 8:22—10:52 …
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - PBC Mark: Introduction
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - PBC Mark: Introduction
by BRF - Dick France
PBC MARK: INTRODUCTION Many members of the first-century churches could not read, and many more could not afford to possess a scroll of their own. So we should think of our New Testament books as intended to be read aloud, when the members of the church were gathered together. Ma…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Peter Declares his Faith
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Peter Declares his Faith
by BRF - Dick France
PETER DECLARES his FAITH Caesarea Philippi is the most northerly point of Jesus’ journeys, in a remote non-Jewish area in the foothills of the Mount Hermon range. He takes his disciples not to the town itself but into the countryside, and the whole focus of this part of the story…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Setting the Scene
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Setting the Scene
by BRF - Dick France
SETTING the SCENE ‘The wilderness’, mentioned four times in verses 1–13 and never again in Mark’s Gospel, is a pointer to the different focus in these introductory paragraphs. They are set not among human society in Galilee or Judea, but in the uninhabited land around the Jordan.…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Startling Symbolism
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Startling Symbolism
by BRF - Dick France
STARTLING SYMBOLISM The Passover meal consisted of a series of courses interspersed by cups of wine (four in all), and for each course and each cup there were appropriate words of blessing and explanation repeated by the head of the family. Jesus, as head of the ‘family’ of his d…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Arrival of the King
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Arrival of the King
by BRF - Dick France
The ARRIVAL of the KING Passover time It is important to remember that in the week or two leading up to Passover large numbers of pilgrims would be arriving in Jerusalem, which at this time of the year had to accommodate something like six times its normal population. Jesus and h…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The End?
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The End?
by BRF - Dick France
The End? The death of Jesus Most victims of crucifixion lingered on in pain for many hours, and gradually lost consciousness. Jesus’ death is very different. Now that he has borne the ultimate horror of his Father’s withdrawal from him, his work is done, and his death comes sudde…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Fruitless Fig Tree
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Fruitless Fig Tree
by BRF - Dick France
The FRUITLESS FIG TREE A pointless display of power? Interwoven with Jesus’ attack on the traders in the temple is the story of his cursing and destruction of a fig tree because it had no fruit. Jesus’ other miracles save life and restore health, but this one seems quite out of c…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Priests & Judas Iscariot
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Priests & Judas Iscariot
by BRF - Dick France
The PRIESTS & JUDAS ISCARIOT We have had plenty of indications of how the religious authorities are reacting to Jesus. Even as far back as 3:6 they were plotting his death. Now he is in Jerusalem, within their grasp, and the time has come…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Secret is Unveiled
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Secret is Unveiled
by BRF - Dick France
The SECRET is UNVEILED ‘Are you the Messiah?’ The high priest’s question is not so much a change of subject as it may seem. To claim, as Jesus is alleged to have claimed, the right to replace the temple was, in effect, to claim to be the Messiah, since the Messiah was expected to…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Veil Is Drawn Aside
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Veil Is Drawn Aside
by BRF - Dick France
The VEIL is DRAWN ASIDE There is a further possible meaning of Jesus’ puzzling saying in verse 1 about seeing that the kingdom of God has come with power. For ‘some’ (only three) of those who heard it would indeed have a more immediate vision of power and glory, a foretaste of wh…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Trouble Ahead