Mark 15

14:61 “But He remained silent and made no answer.”

15:5 “But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.”

It is truly amazing to see someone face accusations and not try to defend him or herself. It goes against our nature, our human, sinful nature. We want to defend ourselves, to push the blame on someone or something else. We want to be seen as innocent in all men’s eyes. But here, Jesus is innocent. He is innocent and yet He makes no answer to their accusations. He knows they are false. He knows the truth will bear out in the end. He knows His testimony is true and righteous. He doesn’t have to stoop to their level.

Even in the beatings and the reviling, Jesus keeps His mouth shut.

God, help us to follow in His steps, especially considering that we face so much less.

Dying to Live

I want to cry, not sure why

My heart hurts for two

Two that are not

But were at one time

One time when hers was mine.

I know not why

Why the two can’t be

Be what they were meant to be.

Meant to be, what an oddly little phrase

Phrase like I love you,

Love,

What do you mean?

A selfish one? A giving one?

One        +         One

Is that two different loves,

Or is love one tree?

A tree with one trunk

Split

In two

Two growing tall and bearing fruit too?

What is this riddle,

This life that I live

Living and dying

Dying to live

Mark 14

This story of the woman with the perfume has always intrigued me. For one, the act is so far removed from our culture that it is hard for me to imagine. The closest I can think is of a woman giving a man a massage / spa experience at a beauty salon. For two, Jesus’ response intrigues me. He says that every time the Gospel is preached, this woman and her act should be mentioned. I can honestly say I have not done this any time I have presented the Gospel. Very few times have I ever heard it mentioned in any sermon. So I guess we need to get with it when it comes to obeying the Lord.

Another noticeable feature of this chapter: this is the second time the Lord tells the disciples to go into town and find someone else’s stuff to borrow. Last time, it was a colt of a donkey. This time it is a room for Passover. They celebrate Passover, and Jesus ends it with a new twist. He adds that bread represents His body, and the wine represents His blood. He is the Passover Lamb. That is what He’s saying.

I’ve been to the place where all this arrest and trial goes down. It gave me goosebumps. Reading about it still does too.

Mark 12-13

Jesus speaks a great deal in these two chapters.

First, He tells the chief priests and scribes a parable about how they will kill Him. Then, He answers questions about taxes, about the resurrection, about the greatest commandment(s). From there, He teaches concerning David, concerning the scribes, concerning giving, concerning when “these things” shall be fulfilled. He has a great deal to say about this last topic, and I would like to understand it in more detail. It seems so vague right now.

Nevertheless, these two chapters are a full section, loaded with good insights. May you be blessed in reading it yourself.

Mark 10-11

Divorce, children, the rich, desires to be great, blindness. Jesus deals with all five of these in this chapter (10), but each time, Jesus is not addressing the circumstance right in front of Him. I mean, He is addressing it, but He is actually going deeper than the circumstance. He is going down to the core of the matter.

In chapter 11, the story shifts to Jerusalem. He rides the colt of a donkey to fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. This is often called the Triumphal Entry, and in some ways, in spiritual ways, yes, it is. But from the outward appearance of the event, it would likely be a humiliating entry, a disgraceful entry. The outcasts, who were Jesus followers, are shouting and making a mess of the street, putting palm tree leaves in the way. Jesus, a full-grown man, is riding on a baby donkey, feet dragging the ground, the donkey likely struggling to continue forward. I’m sure many laughed or were even embarrassed at the sight, including the Pharisees.

In this chapter, we also see a cleansing of the temple. That would have been a triumphant event for sure!

Then, there is a lesson on prayer coming from a withered fig tree. Pray in faith!

Then, it ends with a riddle.

The Exodus as an HR Lesson

As I completed the reading in an HR class, I couldn’t help but think of another HR event from the Bible:

A few thousand years ago, the Hebrews were living in Egypt. Their population grew steadily, until it became a concern of the Pharaoh. Scared of an uprising or revolt, Pharaoh decided that he and his leadership team needed to deal shrewdly with the Hebrews. He decided to put a forced labor policy in place and make the Hebrews build some cities for him. But the more he oppressed them, the more they grew. So Pharaoh developed a strategy. He decided to make the labor even harsher. More bricks, less time off, fewer resources to do the job, lower wages, more production. Of course, his production goals were not met and the workers/slaves were not satisfied. He called them lazy. They called out to God.

In the end, his plan backfired. The Lord became the Hebrews’ union representative (along with Moses) and delivered them from the oppressive management.

A great lesson for three groups: government, management and employees.

  • Government: implementing forced labor and slavery is not a good moral choice.
  • Management: treat your employees with respect and have fair expectations or it will come back to bite you.
  • Employees: keep doing your work faithfully–and if management treats you unfairly, you know where to turn.