·
18 Elizabeth of Hungary,
Princess of Thuringia,
Philanthropist, 1231
·
20 Edmund, King of the East Angles, Martyr, 870
·
20 Priscilla Lydia
Sellon, a Restorer of the Religious Life in the Church of England,
1876
·
23 Clement, Bishop of Rome, Martyr, c.100
·
25 Catherine of
Alexandria, Martyr, 4th century
·
25 Isaac Watts, Hymn Writer,
1748
OLD TESTAMENT 1 Samuel 1: 4 - 20 (RCL)
1Sam 1:4 (NRSV) On
the day when Elka'nah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Penin'nah
and to all her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion,
because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb. 6 Her rival used to
provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7
So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the LORD,
she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband
Elka'nah said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is
your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?"
9 After they had
eaten and drunk at Shi'loh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the LORD.
Now E'li the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple
of the LORD. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD, and wept
bitterly. 11 She made this vow "O LORD of hosts, if only you will look on
the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but
will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a
nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor
intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head."
12 As she
continued praying before the LORD, E'li observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was
praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore
E'li thought she was drunk. 14 So E'li said to her, "How long will you
make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine." 15 But Hannah
answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither
wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16
Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out
of my great anxiety and vexation all this time." 17 Then E'li answered,
"Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to
him." 18 And she said, "Let your servant find favor in your
sight." Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her
husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.
19 They rose early
in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their
house at Ra'mah. Elka'nah knew his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 20
In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she
said, "I have asked him of the LORD."
Daniel 12: 1 - 3 (Roman Catholic, C of E, alt. for RCL)
Dani 12:1 (NRSV)
"At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people,
shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since
nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be
delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to
shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the
brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars
forever and ever.
PSALM (or CANTICLE in
this case) 1 Samuel 2: 1 - 10 (RCL)
1Sam 2:1 (NRSV)
Hannah prayed and said,
"My heart
exults in the LORD;
my strength is
exalted in my God.
My mouth derides
my enemies,
because I rejoice
in my victory.
2 "There is
no Holy One like the LORD,
no one besides
you;
there is no Rock
like our God.
3 Talk no more so
very proudly,
let not arrogance
come from your mouth;
for the LORD is a
God of knowledge,
and by him actions
are weighed.
4 The bows of the
mighty are broken,
but the feeble
gird on strength.
5 Those who were
full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were
hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has
borne seven,
but she who has
many children is forlorn.
6 The LORD kills
and brings to life;
he brings down to
She'ol and raises up.
7 The LORD makes
poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he
also exalts.
8 He raises up the
poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy
from the ash heap,
to make them sit
with princes
and inherit a seat
of honor.
For the pillars of
the earth are the LORD's,
and on them he has
set the world.
9 "He will
guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked
shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might
does one prevail.
10 The LORD! His
adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most High will
thunder in heaven.
The LORD will
judge the ends of the earth;
he will give
strength to his king,
and exalt the
power of his anointed."
Psalm 16 (C of E, alt. for RCL)
Psalm 16: 5, 8 -
11 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 16:1 (NRSV)
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the
LORD, "You are my Lord;
I have no good
apart from you."
3 As for the holy
ones in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my
delight.
4 Those who choose
another god multiply their sorrows;
their drink
offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their
names upon my lips.
5 The LORD is my
chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The boundary
lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly
heritage.
7 I bless the LORD
who gives me counsel;
in the night also
my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the LORD
always before me;
because he is at
my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my
heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests
secure.
10 For you do not
give me up to She'ol,
or let your
faithful one see the Pit.
11 You show me the
path of life.
In your presence
there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand
are pleasures forevermore.
16 Conserva me,
Domine (ECUSA BCP)
1 Protect
me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *
I have said to the Lord, "You are my
Lord,
my good above all other."
2 All my
delight is upon the godly that are in the land, *
upon those who are noble among the people.
3 But
those who run after other gods *
shall have their troubles multiplied.
4 Their
libations of blood I will not offer, *
nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.
5 O Lord,
you are my portion and my cup; *
it is you who uphold my lot.
6 My
boundaries enclose a pleasant land; *
indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will
bless the LORD who gives me counsel; *
my heart teaches me, night after night.
8 I have
set the Lord always before me; *
because he is at my right hand I shall not
fall.
9 My
heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; *
my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave, *
nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11 You will show me the path of life; *
in your presence there is fullness of joy,
and in your right hand are pleasures for
evermore.
NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 10: 11 - 14 (15 - 18) 19 - 25 (RCL, C of E)
Hebrews
10: 11 - 14, 18 (Roman Catholic)
Hebr 10:11 (NRSV)
And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again
the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had
offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the
right hand of God," 13 and since then has been waiting "until his
enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." 14 For by a single
offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the
Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
16 "This is
the covenant that I will make with them
after those days,
says the Lord
I will put my laws
in their hearts,
and I will write
them on their minds,"
17 he also adds,
"I will
remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is
forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore, my
friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that
is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of
God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our
hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure
water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for
he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one
another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the
habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day
approaching.
The author has told us
how much greater is Christ’s sacrifice of himself than the annual sacrifices of
the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Now he says that what any priest
offered daily in sacrificial ritual for the forgiveness of sins was worthless, unlike
Christ’s “single sacrifice” (v. 12):
after Jesus died and rose, he became king. (Kings “sat down”, but priests
stood.) Since that time, he has been awaiting the final defeat of his “enemies”
(v. 13).
(The author does not say who they are.) For by offering himself on the cross he
has “perfected” (v. 14),
completed, the removal of sin from those whom God has “sanctified”, made holy,
set apart for his service. (Elsewhere salvation will be completed when Christ
comes again.)
The writings of the Old
Testament, divinely inspired through the “Holy Spirit” (v. 15),
foretold this: Jeremiah wrote that there will be a new covenant, one in which
God’s ways will be written in peoples’ very being (v. 16),
and where God will, in effect, clean off the sin slate (v. 17).
We have a new covenant (v. 18),
a new deal with God. Vv. 19ff tell
of the consequences of the new covenant: since Christ’s sacrifice allows us to
enter into God’s presence (“sanctuary”, v. 19)
boldly, now that there is no longer a barrier (“curtain”, v. 20)
between the faithful and God, and since Christ is “a great [high] priest”
(v. 21)
who has sacrificed for the Church (“house of God” ), we have three
privileges/duties: we can and must
·
approach God in faith with clear consciences (v. 22);
·
“hold fast” (v. 23)
to our statement of faith (made at baptism), reciprocating God’s fidelity to
us, and
·
stimulate the expression of “love and good deeds” (v. 24)
in others.
These duties must be
performed in the context of the liturgical community, especially since “the
Day” (v. 25,
Christ’s second coming), is approaching.
Verse 2:
The author’s argument is weak: even though past sins were taken away, there
were still the sins committed since a year ago. But it is merely an
overstatement of what the author’s faith assures him to be true. [ NJBC]
Verses 3-4: The Day of Atonement rituals reminded worshippers of their sins,
but did not erase them. This statement of the inefficacy of the annual
sacrifices contradicts the belief expressed in Jubilees 5:17-18. But is
not clear whether it is God or the worshipper who remembers the
sins. That it is God who remembers is suggested by 8:12;
there God says “‘I will remember their sins no more’”; however, the author
would then be saying that the sacrifices served only to remind God of sin (and
thus call forth punishment on the offerer). [ NJBC]
Verses 5-7: The quotation is Psalm 40:6-7.
The text roughly follows the Septuagint translation.
In Psalms, “me” is the psalmist (or possibly Israel in exile); here “me” is
Christ at his incarnation. The psalm speaks of ritual being inferior to
obedience, rather than repudiation of sacrifice (as here). The majority of
manuscripts of the Septuagint have for v. 6b: a
body you prepared for merather than “you have given me an open ear” (which
is from the Masoretic text).
The Septuagint translation is particularly applicable to Jesus, whose obedience
was expressed by his willingness to give his body, himself. [ NJBC]
Verse 8:
“ sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings”: These terms
are probably meant to cover the four main types of sacrifice: respectively
peace offerings, cereal offerings, holocausts, and sin offerings (including
guilt offerings). [ NJBC]
Verse 9:
“the second”: i.e. the self-offering of Jesus. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “God’s will”, carried out by Christ, is his offering of his
body, which God “prepared” (v. 5)
for him. [ NJBC]
Verse 11: “every priest stands day after day”: This indicates that the
author has switched from considering the high priest’s sacrifice to that of
every priest in the Old Testament. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “wait ...”: Thus the author explains the period
of time between Christ’s enthronement and his second coming. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “enemies”: The author does not tell us who they are, unlike Paul
in 1 Corinthians 15:24-26:
“ after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power” and
“death”. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “sanctified”: Through the cleansing of the consciences that they
may worship the living God ( 9:14),
Jesus has given his followers access to the Father; they share in his priestly
consecration. [ NJBC] This is
the priesthood of all believers.
Verse 19: “confidence to enter the sanctuary”: In 3:6,
the author writes: “we are his [Christ’s] house if we hold firm the confidence
and the pride that belong to hope”. See also 4:16; 6:19-20.
[NJBC]
Verse 20: “opened”: The Greek word, enkainizo, can also
mean inaugurate or dedicate. It is translated
as inaugurate in 9:18.
Verse 20: As the “curtain” before the Holy of Holies was an obstacle to
entering it, so too was Christ’s “flesh” (Greek: sarx). Perhaps the
author is thinking of the rending of the Temple veil at the death of Jesus: see
Mark 15:38.
[ NJBC]
Verses 22-24: “faith ... hope ... love”: The triad may be intended. [ NJBC]
Verse 22: “sprinkled clean”: A metaphor for the purifying power of Christ
(see 9:13).
Jewish ritual sprinkling only produced external purity, but those washed with
the blood of Christ are cleansed in their consciences. [ NJBC]
Verse 22: “washed with pure water”: Probably a reference to baptism. See
also 1 Corinthians 6:11and
Titus 3:5.
[ NJBC]
Verse 25: While reticence to gather for worship may have been for fear of
persecution, it is more likely that it was due to lack of enthusiasm for the
faith, bordering on apostasy: part of the reason Hebrews was written. [ NJBC]
Verse 25: “the Day”: of Christ’s second coming. See also Acts 1:10-11 (the
Ascension); Philippians 2:16;
Romans 13:12;
1 Corinthians 3:13.
[ NJBC]
Verses 26-31: These verses tell of the fate of the person who willfully sins.
He has a “fearful prospect of judgement”: if you know about Christ and
willfully reject him, you will be punished by God!
Verse 28: Idolatry is probably the violation of the Law. Deuteronomy 17:2-7 prescribes
the death penalty for this sin if confirmed by “two or three witnesses”. [ NJBC]
The parallels are Matthew 24:1-8 and
Luke 21:5-11.
[ NOAB]
Verse 1:
The impression is given that this is the first time that the disciples have
seen the Temple. This fits with Mark’s chronology of Jesus’ earthly life, in
which he visits Jerusalem only once. [NJBC]
Verse 1:
“large stones”: The second Temple was begun after the return from exile (c. 520
BC), and was modest. Herod the Great began construction of the third Temple in
20 BC; it was finished in 63 AD, and destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD at the
end of the Jewish revolt. It was still under construction in Jesus’ day. The
stones were some 11 m (35 feet) long by 5.5 m (18 feet) wide x 3.6 m (12 feet)
high. The destruction of the Temple had already been foretold in Micah 3:12 and
Jeremiah 26:18.
[ NOAB] [ CAB]
Jesus’ prediction of its destruction is also found in 14:57-58; 15:29;
Matthew 26:61;
Luke 19:43-44;
John 2:19;
Acts 6:14.
[ NOAB] Jesus stands in the
tradition of Old Testament prophets who had predicted this event: see
Micah 3:12 and
Jeremiah 26:18.
However, in that other events mentioned in this passage seem to be meant
symbolically, so may this event. [ NJBC]
Micah 3:12 says:
“... Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height”. Jeremiah 26:18 quotes
Micah with one variant. Early Christians saw the destruction of the Temple as
fulfilling Jesus’ prediction. [ NJBC]
Note that Jerusalem was completely flattened in the 130s AD.
Verse 2:
Jesus indulges in (Jewish) hyperbole. Jesus’ statement is the basis for the
accusations in 14:58 and 15:29.
Early Christians saw Jesus as predicting the physical destruction
of the Temple. [JBC]
Verses 3-37: On the end of the era. These verses are known as the little
apocalypse.
Verse 3:
“on the Mount of Olives”: The Mount of Olives is to the east of Jerusalem,
across the Kidron valley. It is spoken of in eschatological terms in
Zechariah 14:4.
Zechariah 14:1-6 says:
“See, a day is coming for the Lord,
when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will
gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken
and the houses looted and the women raped; half the city shall go into exile,
but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight
against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his
feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the
east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very
wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the
other half southward. And you shall flee by the valley of the Lord's mountain, for the valley between
the mountains shall reach to Azal; and you shall flee as you fled from the
earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the
holy ones with him.”
In 11:1,
Mark points out that “Bethphage and Bethany” were “near the Mount of Olives”.
From there Jesus sends two of his disciples to find the colt on which he is to
enter Jerusalem.
Verse 3:
“Peter, James, John, and Andrew”: These were the first disciples Jesus called ( 1:16, 19).
Peter, James and John were the inner circle, and were present at the
Transfiguration ( 9:2)
and in the Garden of Gethsemane ( 14:33).
[ JBC]
Verse 4:
In Luke 17:20,
Jesus says: “‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be
observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in
fact, the kingdom of God is among you’”. [ NOAB]
Verse 6:
In John 8:24,
Jesus tells some Jews “‘I told you that you would die in your sins, for you
will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he’”. 1 John 2:18 warns:
“As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have
come”. [ NOAB]
Verse 6:
“will come in my name”: More than Jewish messianic pretenders (e.g. “Theudas”
and “Judas the Galilean”, in Acts 5:36-37)
seem to be in view here, for they will come in Christ’s name. See also
vv. 21-23.
[ NJBC]
Verse 6:
“I am he!”: This phrase must allude to the Old Testament revelation formula
applied to Yahweh, thus
contributing the implicit christological message
of the text. (In Exodus 3:14,
God tells Moses “‘I AM WHO I AM’”; in Deuteronomy 32:39 he
says “See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god beside me.” and in
Isaiah 41:4,
“I, the Lord, am first, and
will be with the last”). [NJBC]
Verse 7:
“the end is still to come”: For descriptions of the end time, see Daniel 8:17; 9:25; 11:35, 40; 12:4, 9, 13.
[ JBC] See also 2 Esdras.
1QM 1:2 says: “The sons of Levi, the sons of Judah and the sons of
Benjamin, the exiled of the desert, will wage war against them.” [ Martinez]
Verse 8:
“birthpangs”: At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, he said that the new
era “has come near” ( 1:15 and
Matthew 4:17);
however, per v. 10,
it will arrive only after a time of witness to his message. [ NOAB] As pain precedes (and
portends) birth of a child, so suffering will precede the arrival of the new
era. The figure of a woman in labour is often used to describe the prelude to
the Day of Judgement or the messianic era. See also Isaiah 13:8; 26:17;
Jeremiah 6:24;
Hosea 13:13;
Micah 4:9-10;
1QH (*Qumran Hymns) 11:6-10.
1QH 11:6-10 (Vermes: 3:6-10) says:
Now, my soul ... they have
counted me, and have put the soul like a boat in the depths of the sea, like a
besieged city positioned opposite its enemies. I was in distress like a woman
giving birth the first time when her birth-pangs come on her and a pain racks
her womb to begin in the crucible of the pregnant woman. Since sons reach the
frontiers of death she gives birth to a male, and there emerges from the pains
of Sheol, from the crucible of the pregnant woman a splendid counsellor of
strength, and the man is freed from the womb. [ Martinez]
It is recommended that vv. 24-27 be
read with vv. 3-8;
together they give perspective beyond Jerusalem and the contemporary
generation.
Verse 9:
“hand you over”: The Greek verb is paradidomi , a term used
later of Jesus’ betrayal. The mention of the sufferings of Jesus’ disciples
looks forward to Jesus’ own sufferings. [ NJBC]
Verse 9:
“councils”: The Greek word, synedria, refers to local Jewish courts
empowered to punish Jewish offenders. In 2 Corinthians 11:24,
Paul tells of receiving lashes “from the Jews”. [ NJBC]
Verse 9:
“governors and kings”: Pilate and Herod Antipas would be good examples. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: V. 11 naturally
flows from v. 9,
so NJBC’s observation that the
vocabulary is typical of Mark suggests that this verse is an insertion by the
author. Further, if Jesus was so explicit about the mission to Gentiles, why
was there a debate in the early Church over this mission? See Galatians 2 and
Acts 15 (the
Council of Jerusalem).
Verse 11: Jesus forbids anxious care (“worry”), not thought or
preparation. [ NJBC] In
John 14:26,
Jesus says: “‘... the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in
my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to
you”. See also John 16:7-11 and
Luke 12:11-12.
[ NOAB]
Verse 12: “Brother will betray brother”: The idea of the end-times as a
time of societal breakdown is common in contemporary Jewish apocalyptic writings: see,
for example, 2 Esdras 5:9; 6:24; Jubilees 23:19; 2 Baruch 70:3. [ NJBC] 2 Esdras 5:9-10 says:
“Salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall conquer one
another; then shall reason hide itself, and wisdom shall withdraw into its
chamber, and it shall be sought by many but shall not be found, and
unrighteousness and unrestraint shall increase on earth.”
Verse 13: In John 15:18-21,
Jesus says to the disciples: “‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated
me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you
as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out
of the world – therefore the world hates you. ... If they persecuted me, they
will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they
will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know
him who sent me’”. [ NOAB]
Verse 13: “the one who endures to the end will be saved”: In Mark, the
message is one of patient endurance. [ NJBC]
Verses 14-23: By foretelling the events described in these verses, Jesus
prepares his followers for what they will encounter. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “the desolating sacrilege”: This would remind Jesus’ hearers of
the desecration of the Temple: in 168 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes set up a
statue of Olympian Zeus in the Temple; indeed, he tried to wipe out Judaism.
Jesus’ inclusion of reference to a second such sacrilege leads me to think that
the other signs of the end of the era should not be taken literally. Jesus is
probably speaking symbolically of the elevation of the Roman emperor to being a
god and the destruction of the Temple (and with it, the termination of the
Judaic sacrificial system) or of general desertion of God’s ways. Note also
that the Roman governor Caligula gave a similar order in 40 AD for a statue of
himself as Jupiter to be placed in the Temple. [ CAB] See 1 Maccabees 1:59;
Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11.
Verse 14: “(let the reader understand)”: This comment may refer to the
events leading up to the destruction of the Temple or of Caligula’s abortive
plan. Perhaps the phrase is a code intended to avoid Roman hostility. [ JBC]
Verses 14-15: When this happens, the faithful must flee to the countryside
immediately. There will be no time to collect one’s belongings.
Verse 17: In Luke 23:29,
Jesus says: “For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are
the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed’”.
[ NOAB] 2 Esdras 6:21 says:
“Children a year old shall speak with their voices, and pregnant women shall
give birth to premature children at three and four months, and these shall live
and leap about”. [HenMk]
Verse 18: The cold and rainy winters in Palestine would make rural
tracks almost impassable. There would be no crops then from which the refugees
might be fed. [ NJBC]
Verse 19: “suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the
creation”: So Jesus speaks not of warfare, but of something much more serious.
This alludes to Daniel 12:1:
“There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations
first came into existence.” [ NJBC]
Verse 20: “if the Lord had not cut short those days”: Daniel 12:7 suggests
that God has established a time schedule for the coming of the Kingdom. For the
idea of shortening the time, see two contemporary apocalyptic books: 1 Enoch 80:2; 2 Baruch 20:1-2; 83:1,
6. [ NJBC]
Verse 22: In Matthew 7:15,
Jesus warns: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but
inwardly are ravenous wolves”. See also John 4:48.
[ NOAB]
Verse 23: “I have already told you everything”: NJBC offers I have
foretold to you all these things.
Verses 24-27: The images of cosmic signs, the Son of Man, and the gathering of
the chosen are all found in the Old Testament, but here they are brought
together, with the second coming of Jesus, “the Son of Man”, as the key event.
His glorious arrival will be the final proof of God’s victory over the forces
of evil. The Old Testament texts echoed are Isaiah 13:10; 34:4;
Ezekiel 32:7;
Amos 8:9;
Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15;
Haggai 2:6, 21,
but in no instance does such an image precede the coming of the Son of Man. The
list of portents is a way of saying that all creation will signal his coming. [ NJBC]
Verse 24: Darkness day and night was considered a sign of the coming of
divine judgement: Isaiah 13:10 says:
“the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light”. [ JBC]
Verse 26: “they will see 'the Son of Man coming ...”: Daniel 7:13 says
“As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with
the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before
him.” An NRSV footnote says that “human being” is son of man in
the Aramaic original. See also 8:38;
Matthew 10:23;
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
[ NOAB] To Mark, “the Son of
Man” is clearly Jesus, not the human figure in angelic form of
Daniel 7:13.
Whether Jesus spoke of himself as “the Son of Man” is debated, but see 14:61-62.
[ NJBC]
Verse 27: “he will ... gather his elect from the four winds”: In
Zechariah 2:6, Yahweh disperses the chosen.
God’s gathering of the chosen is found in Deuteronomy 30:4;
Isaiah 11:11, 16; 27:12;
Ezekiel 39:27 and
elsewhere in the Old Testament and in contemporary Jewish writings. [ NJBC]
Verse 27: “the four winds”: Winds were thought to originate at the four
corners of the earth.
© 1996-2018
Chris Haslam
GOSPEL Mark 13: 1 - 8 (RCL, C of E)
Mark 13:1 (NRSV)
As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look,
Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" 2 Then Jesus asked
him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here
upon another; all will be thrown down."
3 When he was
sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and
Andrew asked him privately, 4 "Tell us, when will this be, and what will
be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" 5 Then
Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many
will come in my name and say, "I am he!' and they will lead many astray. 7
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take
place, but the end is still to come. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there
will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
Jesus has indicated to
his disciples that the poor widow who gave all that she has is a good example
of discipleship. We are nearing the end of his instructions to them.
In vv. 1-2,
Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple, as the prophets Micah and
Jeremiah had done earlier. (His words were later used against him.) Did he mean
it literally or figuratively? We don’t know. (Both the Temple and the religious
system were destroyed in 70 AD.) Then he and his first four disciples visit the
Mount of Olives – a place mentioned in Zechariah 14:4 as
being connected with events at the end of the era. They ask him: when will the
Temple (“this”, v. 4)
be destroyed? How will we know that the end of the era is near? Jesus gives
them three indicators:
·
false claimants to being God’s agent of renewal will appear, claiming “I
am he!” (v. 6);
·
international political conflicts (v. 8a)
will occur, as will
·
natural disasters.
There will be other
signs too (vv. 14-25).
The figure of a woman in labour (“birthpangs”, v. 8)
is also used in Jeremiah, Hosea and Micah.
Mark 13: 24 - 32 (Roman Catholic)
Mark 13: 24 (NRSV)
"But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be
darkened,
and the moon will
not give its light,
25 and the stars
will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in
the heavens will be shaken.
26 Then they will
see "the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27 Then
he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the
ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28 "From the
fig tree learn its lesson as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth
its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things
taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you,
this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 "But about
that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father.
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