The Surprising God

Exegeting parts of John chapters 18 and 19,  this post provides context for the RCL Gospel reading on 11/24/24 (Pentecost 27, Christ the King Sunday). This post draws on commentary from Warren Wiersbe ("Bible Expository Commentary") with insights from Donald Guthrie ("New Bible Commentary"), Michael Card ("Parable of Joy"), and F.F. Bruce ("The Gospel of John").   "Eco Homo" by Ciseri (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Introduction Well before having Jesus arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jewish leaders plotted Jesus’ execution (John 11:47–54). This would be difficult to accomplish, because Roman law prohibited the Jews from exercising capital punishment. Thus it was necessary for them to get Roman participation. And this meant visiting Pilate, Roman Governor of Judea, who was visiting Jerusalem during Passover season. Though Pilate disliked the Jews, he knew how to manipulate their power structures to his advantage. He was a we

This post exegetes parts of Mark chapters 12 and 13, providing context for the RCL Gospel readings on 11/3 through 11/17 (Pentecost 24 through 26). This post draws on commentary from Alan Cole ("New Bible Commentary"), and John Grassmick ("Bible Knowledge Commentary").   "The Exhortation to the Apostles" by Tissot (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Introduction In chapter 11, Mark begins a section that presents various warnings of the Kingdom of God—ones that precipitate crises as Jesus is seen for who he truly is. Beginning at Mark 12:28, we come to the conclusion of the section with warnings directly relevant to Jesus' first disciples and to us. The greatest commandment  Mark 12:28-34 In this passage, a teacher of the Law approaches Jesus with what seems a sincere question. In a sense, Jesus’ answer contains nothing new; it is drawn from the the Old Testament, which is quite familiar to this teacher. In his reply, Jesus places love for God and nei