As we approach the most important day of the Christian calendar, it’s helpful to take a refreshing scholarly look at Mark 14-16. In addition to spiritual application, these lessons focus on the historical and sociological context of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It’s amazing to see how, even on the cross, Jesus […]
This photo means a lot to me. It marks a moment of completion: I’ve officially finished my research on the Gospel according to Mark (at least for now). Although I’m not done teaching it, the research phase is complete. The teaching will continue until the last question is asked and the Scripture is examined thoroughly […]
Jesus: Dead and Buried. This week we studied what happened at the moment of Jesus’ death when He “cried out with a loud voice and gave up the ghost.” We briefly discussed His descent into Sheol and the various ways of understanding this part of our Christian theology. In addition to this, we observed how […]
This week we examined a couple so-called “discrepancies” between the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion (e.g., time of day and wording of the inscription), as well as what happened on the Cross. Some people mocked Jesus as they passed by, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves (typical), and even those crucified with him mocked […]
This week we carefully examined the sequence events as Jesus was led from the Praetorium to Golgatha. We talked about Simon of Cyrene and his children—possibly one of whom is mentioned in Romans 16. We also spent some time discussing Jesus’ refusal of the sedating myrrh-wine, and why He decided to experience all the pain of […]
This week we took our time working through the first twenty verses of Mark 15. What we discovered is that Pilate, although Governor of Judea, was a very weak leader who could not stand up to the manipulation of the Sanhedrin. With His eyes fixed on the cross, we watched Jesus endure everything from verbal abuse […]
