Month: April 2020

In the years after Jesus’s resurrection many people were able to share their experiences with him, including his healings and other miracles and his teachings. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and the Apostles and others who knew Jesus personally became fewer and less accessible, some believers began compiling written collections of the stories about Jesus. 

Many scholars believe that Mark’s is the first written Gospel, although a significant group supports the tradition that Matthew wrote first. Scholars also believe that a collection of Jesus’s sayings, called “Q” (“source”) circulated at the same time and that both Matthew and Luke used it along with Mark in preparing their Gospels.

The commonality between Mark and Matthew and Mark and Luke is the basis for the idea that Mark’s is the first written Gospel. More than ninety percent of the information in Mark appears in similar form, although not necessarily in the same order, in Matthew; and more than half the material in Mark is also in Luke. Another indicator of Mark as the source is that whenever Matthew and Luke disagree about the sequence of events in Jesus’s life one of them agrees with the narrative in Mark.

All three Gospels were written before the destruction of the temple in 70, probably between 50 and 65 CE.

4Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. ² He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ³ “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸ Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundred-
fold.” ⁹ And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” 

¹⁰ When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹ And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; ¹² in order that
‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’” 

¹³ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. ¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. ¹⁸ And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²⁰ And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” 

²¹ He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? ²² For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. ²³ Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” ²⁴ And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. ²⁵ For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” 

²⁶ He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,
²⁷ and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸ The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” 

³⁰ He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” 

³³ With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴ he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Where is Jesus in this passage? Who is with him? Why do you suppose he is in a boat? What is he doing? What kind of teaching is he doing?

2. What is the first parable about? Who is involved? What is the person doing? What happens as a result of the person’s actions? How many different types of result can occur? How does Jesus end this parable?

3. How do you think the audience responded to Jesus’s teaching? How did the disciples respond? How might you have reacted?

4. What do the disciples ask Jesus? How does Jesus respond to their request? What does he say about parables? What do you suppose is the “secret of the kingdom”?

5. How does Jesus explain the parable? What is the seed? What are the different types of soil? What are the different results of the planting? Who is the real farmer?

6. What does Jesus talk about next? What image does he use? Who is he referring to in this parable? What is the result of paying attention? What is the result of ignoring the parable? What other images does Jesus use for the kingdom of God?

Get Personal

How do you picture the kingdom of God? How does God help you understand the parables and the spiritual nature of God’s “kingdom”?

4:2. Parables — literally “things put beside each other” (the same Greek root as “parallel”). As Jesus used them, parables are stories in which something in the story stands for something in the real world. A parable forces the listener to think (and a listener who refuses to think will miss the truth).
4:3. Sower — farmers planted by walking through the field, scattering handfuls of the seed, inevitably some seed would end up on the path or in an area of rocks or weeds – and some would end up on the good soil. Note: Matthew and Luke also include the parable of the sower.
4:8. Hundredfold — Palestinian land yielded between ten and a hundred times what was sown; thirty times would have been a very good yield, a hundred a great crop.
4:9. Listen! — Jesus alerts his audience that they need to pay close attention.
4:12. Look, but not perceive — Jesus is paraphrasing Isaiah 6:9-10, which describes the Jews’ inability to see the truth of the prophets’ message. Things had not changed in Jesus’s time.

4:13. Do you not understand — this parable actually is the foundation of all the others: it is about “sowing” the Gospel and telling people about the kingdom of God. The other parables present different aspects of the kingdom. Jesus then explains the four types of attitude people could have toward his message to the disciples.
4:20. Bear fruit — become “sowers” themselves and tell more people about the Gospel.
4:21. Lamp — parables, like lamps, allow some people to see and understand Jesus’s teaching [Matthew has the same image at 5:14-16].
4:25. Measure — those who want to understand will gain more understanding, but those who refuse to understand will get nothing more.
4:27. He does not know how — the disciples will be like the farmer, they may “sow” the Gospel but God produces the “growth.”
4:30. Mustard seed — a very small seed that does produce a large plant – the 12 disciples would produce a world-wide group of believers. 

5When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kngdom of heaven. 

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵ No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³ So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.  . . .

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. NRSV

Get into the Word:

1. Where is Jesus in this passage? What is he doing? Who is he talking to? What is he talking about? Who is he talking about? What kind of people is he describing? What is different about Jesus’s message in this passage?

2. What images does Jesus use to describe the disciples? Why do you suppose he chose these images? What message does he want to convey to the disciples? What does he expect them to do?

3. What subject does Jesus shift to next? How does he relate himself to this topic? What will happen to this issue in the future? What exceptions does he describe? Who will benefit? Who will lose? What is the objective in this situation?

4. What does Jesus teach about the law? How is his teaching different than the Jewish understanding of the law? What does he say is most important in understanding the law. What specific aspects of the law does he deal with? How do you think his listeners reacted to his teaching?

Get Personal:

How do your attitudes align with what Jesus says about the law. How does God help you understand and “complete” the spirit of the law as well as the letters of the law?

5:1. Crowds . . . disciples — Jesus spoke first with his disciples, then to the larger crowd. 
5:3. Poor in spirit — Jesus begins contrasting his kingdom with the expectations of the Jews for a “kingdom” based on military power [also in vv. 4, 5, 9 and 10; v. 5 is a paraphrase of Psalm 37:11].
5:11. Persecute you . . . on my account — Jesus explicitly compares the disciples to the prophets, who suffered for the Lord.
5:13. Salt — a common image for wisdom, Jesus expects the disciples to bring about change in the world [also in the next verse].
5:17. The law or the prophets — Jesus is the completion of (i.e. completely fulfills) both the Jewish law and the prophets’ predictions about the Messiah.
5:21. But I say — Jesus begins teaching the way to follow God’s laws completely [v. 48]: the key is our attitude toward God and one another.

Murder . . . anger — Jesus says being angry with someone is the same spiritually as murdering the person.
5:27-42. Jesus also equates lust and divorce and remarriage with adultery, swearing an oath with being untruthful, selfishness with vengeance and retaliation.
5:44. Love your enemies — Jewish teachings implied that it was acceptable to “hate your enemies,” [Psalm 139, 140] even though you should “love your neighbor as yourself,” [Lev 19:18]. Jesus is calling for an entirely different attitude toward people.
5:48. Be perfect — the word also means “complete.” Jesus echoes God’s command to “be holy, for I am holy,” [Lev 11:45].
Note: Luke has a version of Jesus’s sermon [6:20-49], and John mentions Jesus speaking on a mountain [6:2-3].

Notes: Synoptic Gospels . . .

In the years after Jesus’ resurrection many people were able to share their experiences with him, including his healings and other miracles and his teachings. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and the Apostles and others who knew Jesus personally became fewer and less accessible, some believers began compiling written collections of the
stories about Jesus. 

Many scholars believe that Mark’s is the first written Gospel, although a significant group supports the tradition that Matthew wrote first. Scholars also believe that a collection of Jesus’ sayings, called “Q” (“source”) circulated at the same time and that both Matthew and

Luke used it along with Mark in preparing their Gospels.

The commonality between Mark and Matthew and Mark and Luke is the basis for the idea that Mark’s is the first written Gospel. More than ninety percent of the information in Mark appears in similar form, although not necessarily in the same order, in Matthew; and more than half the material in Mark is also in Luke. Another indicator of Mark as the source is that whenever Matthew and Luke disagree about the sequence of events in Jesus’ life one of them agrees with the narrative in Mark.

All three Gospels were written before the destruction of the temple in 70, probably between 50 and 65 CE.

3In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” 

⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 

⁷ But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹ Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The temptation of Jesus 

4Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³ The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,
⁶ saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹ and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. How does Matthew begin this passage? Who is speaking? What is he talking about? Where is he? What prophecy is he filling? How is he dressed? What is he doing?

2. Who else is involved? How does John react when these people appear? What does he call them? What does he warn them about? What does he say about God?

3. How does John describe his work? How is he related to Jesus? How is his work related to Jesus’ ministry? What image does John use?

4. Who joins John? What does he want? How does John respond to this request? Why does he agree to do it? What happens after the baptism? What is Jesus called? How do you suppose the crowd reacted to this? How might you have responded if you had been there?

5. What happens to Jesus next? Who is responsible for this situation? What does Jesus do? Who shows up next? What does this individual say to Jesus? How does Jesus respond to this suggestion?

6. What does the tempter do next? How does Jesus answer this suggestion? What is the next temptation? How does Jesus deal with it? What does the devil do next?

Get Personal

How do you recognize temptation in your life? How do you respond to such situations? How has God helped you seek his strength to resist?

3:1. Those days — Matthew gives no information about Jesus between his return from Egypt (which fulfilled Hosea 11:1) and his baptism.
Kingdom of heaven — the other Gospel writers used “Kingdom of God.”
John — actually a relative (probably a cousin) of Jesus [check Luke 1:5-38 for the details].
3:3. The voice of one . . . — all four Gospels include this reference to Isaiah 40:3: John is clearing the way for people to return to God by repenting [also check Malachi 3:1].
3:4. Clothing — Elijah was a “hairy man with a leather belt around his waist,” [2 Kings 1:8]. Jesus confirms this reference in Matt 11:14.
3:7. Pharisees and Sadducees — the two major groups of influential Jewish leaders: Pharisees began as teachers to help the Jews uphold the law, Sadducees came primarily from the line of Jewish priests and were more closely associated with the Roman rulers.
3:9. Abraham as our ancestor — being Jewish is not enough to avoid God’s judgment.
3:11. Baptize you with the Holy Spirit — 

water provided a symbolic cleansing, but the Holy Spirit provides the change in attitude that leads to a relationship with God.
3:15. It is proper — Matthew underscores Jesus’ intent to fulfill the prophecies about himself.
3:16. Spirit of God . . . voice from heaven — Isaiah said, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,” [11:2], and David said “The decree of the Lord [is] ‘you are my son; today I have begotten you,” [Psalm 2:7] – God confirms Jesus is the Messiah.
4:1. Tempted — Jesus affirms his relationship to God the Father by obeying in the face of extreme temptation: he did not use his divine power to satisfy his human hunger [vv. 3-4]; he did not try to “prove” his status with a stunt [vv. 5-7]; and he refused to worship anyone or anything but God the Father [vv. 8-11].
4:4. It is written — Jesus not only knew the scriptures, he followed them (the devil also knew scripture but he perverted them).
Note: Jesus’ baptism is also in Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:29-34. The temptation is also in Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13.