Week Eighteen

FPCBR

Week Eighteen

February 16, 2023 • Jaime Carnaggio • Mark 12:18–34

We continue to see Jesus challenged in the temple. The Sadducees bring to Jesus a question regarding the resurrection, hidden inside an absurd scenario based on a marriage commandment found in Deuteronomy 25. Jesus accuses them of not understanding both the Scriptures and God’s power. We need the same lessons Jesus taught the Sadducees. We need to be reminded how easy it is to misinterpret Scripture and how dangerous it is to do so, because it leads to a distorted view of God. We, too, have a watered-down view of God’s transcendent power. We, too, try to compare our earthly relationships to our heavenly ones.

“Think of the best, greatest possible moment that you’ve ever experienced . . . then multiply that joy by a million, and then you may, just may, begin to appreciate the joy that God is preparing for you in heaven.” R.C. Sproul.

Jesus responds to the scribe’s question with a two-part answer. The first calls for a total, entire-being, response of love and devotion toward God. The second calls for love of neighbor, which includes our enemies, those that we find difficult, those that we disagree with. Both commands create tension, because we can’t possibly achieve them, in our own strength at least. We rest knowing that Jesus fulfilled them perfectly on our behalf. But there’s still action required or expected. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. How does this add to our understanding?

“Loving our neighbor as ourselves” implies that we are to love ourselves, which may seem contradictory. The same God who tells us to love ourselves tells us to deny ourselves?! But the more we deny ourselves, the more we become who HE created us to be, and the more we rightly love ourselves and recognize that we are the object of the redeeming love of God. AND the more we “turn out” that love toward others.

The scribe’s posture toward Jesus is interesting. He seems to genuinely want to know the answer to his question, and he responds positively, saying “You’re right, teacher,” and acknowledging that “loving God and neighbor” is much more sacrificial than the burnt offerings and sacrifices they’d been traditionally giving for so many years. But there’s still something missing. It’s not enough to call Jesus “right,” we must call him “Lord.”

Week Twenty-Five

May 4, 2023 • Jaime Carnaggio • Mark 16

The evidence is undeniable. Mark’s Gospel leaves no room for doubt. The angel clearly and plainly states, “Jesus was crucified. See the place where his body was laid. He is not here. He has risen.” Fear is a powerful emotion, one that can deeply affect us, impact us, and transform us. The women at the tomb experienced an appropriate fear in the face of the Lord’s resurrection. It should stir up the same in us because it’s both historically certain and eternally significant. Even though we may be scared and uncomfortable, even though we doubt, we are called to be disciples. We are to go out and share the good news of the gospel, trusting that he goes before us and with us, with the assurance that Jesus has risen from death to life. And we will too!

Week Twenty-Four

April 27, 2023 • Jaime Carnaggio • Mark 15:21–47

Take notice of the “circles of rejection” in verses 29-37. Reflect on where you are in this story. In what ways does the world reject and mock Jesus today? Read Psalm 22 and feel the ways that it illuminates Jesus’ time on the cross . . . how it moves from the suffering to the glory! “The cry from the cross represents the deepest possible pain. The Father and the Son have enjoyed perfect, unbroken harmony and fellowship in the Trinity for all of eternity . . . until now. THIS is the moment that the Father places the sin of the world upon his Son as the Lamb of God, as Jesus carries the full measure of the pollution of our wickedness, an obscenity God is too pure and holy to behold, so he must turn his face away for the first and only time. Jesus endures a moment of separation from God, which is far worse than the mocking, scourging, and crucifixion . . . it’s the searing pain of forsakenness . . .” R.C. Sproul.

Week Twenty-Three

April 20, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Mark 15:1–21

Gerrit points out how much Jesus’ composure changes from the Garden of Gethsemane to his time before Pilate. In the garden, he was greatly distressed, crying out to his Father, in agony. Before Pilate, he’s resolved, accepting, humble, even peaceful. What changed? He submitted to his Father’s will. “Not my will, but yours be done,” he prayed. The same freedom is available to us when we submit to God’s will for our lives. It's difficult to read these passages because we shudder to think our Lord (holy and innocent) had to endure such harsh things. But it’s also sobering because WE are in this story. “Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers.” as the hymn says. In what ways are you like Pilate? Like the “stirred up” crowds? Like Barabbas? Like the soldiers mocking Jesus?