by Brad Blocksom | Mar 30, 2020 | Biblical Studies, New Testament
Mark 15:21-32 Jesus is Crucified Last time Jesus was mocked by the soldiers of Pilate’s battalion. And now they conscript Simon of Cyrene to carry the crossbeam for the severely weakened and exhausted Jesus (v. 21). His sons, Alexander and Rufus, are mentioned...
by Brad Blocksom | Jan 22, 2020 | Biblical Studies, New Testament
Mark 15:16-20 Jesus is mocked Last time, in the Roman trial of Jesus, Pilate unjustly ordered Jesus to be scourged and crucified. Now Jesus has been handed over to the Pilate’s soldiers. It is interesting to note that the scourging is not described save 4 words...
by Brad Blocksom | Dec 27, 2019 | Biblical Studies, New Testament
Mark 15:1-15 Jesus Before Pilate Mark now shifts the action from Peter’s trial out in the courtyard back inside to the Sanhedrin and Jesus. It is now morning. They bind Jesus and send Him off to Pilate (v. 1), which seems like so much overkill given Jesus’...
by Brad Blocksom | Sep 18, 2019 | Biblical Studies, New Testament
Mark 14:66-72 Peter Denies Jesus Last time we saw Jesus maintain absolute faithfulness throughout His trial before the Sanhedrin inside Caiaphas’ house. Now the action shifts to Peter’s “trial” outside in the courtyard. The two events actually...
by Brad Blocksom | Aug 7, 2019 | Biblical Studies, New Testament
Mark 14:53-65 Jesus’ Trial before the Sanhedrin The crowd that arrested Jesus now delivers Him to the Sanhedrin (v. 53) from which they were sent on their mission of seizure (v. 43). The fact that the council were called together in the middle of the night for a...
by Brad Blocksom | Apr 23, 2019 | Biblical Studies, New Testament
Mark 14:51-52 A Young Man Flees Naked! Most English translations seem to treat these verses as part of the previous passage on the arrest of Jesus. I have chosen to follow the pericope/paragraph divisions of the ESV and treat it separately. For what it’s worth,...
by Brad Blocksom | Mar 30, 2019 | Biblical Studies, New Testament
Mark 14:43-50 Jesus is arrested! Last time we saw the disciples fail Jesus during His time of sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane. That episode ended with Jesus saying, ‘my betrayer is at hand!’ And we pick up here with “immediately, while he was...
by Brad Blocksom | Feb 27, 2019 | Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, General, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 14:32-42 Failure in the Garden Last time Jesus predicted of the disciples “You will all fall away.” This time we see, at least the beginning, of that failure realized! They have now arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane. And Jesus instructs the...
by Kenny Burchard | Jan 21, 2019 | Hermeneutics
Being a Roman Catholic is, shall we say, a “package deal.” It is hard sometimes (even for life-long Catholics) to know what is optional and what’s mandatory in terms of both beliefs and practices. So, some Catholics, not knowing how to sort it all out, or simply not...
by Brad Blocksom | Dec 30, 2018 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 14:27-31 Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial (and Reassures the 11) Last time Jesus introduced the disciples to the new covenant through the institution of the Lord’s Supper – communion! Verse 26 can be treated as a fitting conclusion to the...
by Luke Geraty | Nov 2, 2018 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Scripture
On Sunday, I shared a message addressing the question, “Is Christianity oppressive to women?” Take a listen by clicking “play” above or go here and download it. My conclusion is that, yes, sometimes Christianity has been oppressive to women...
by Brad Blocksom | Aug 22, 2018 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 14:22-26 Jesus imparts new significance into an old custom Last time, Jesus called the 12 together to celebrate the Passover. But other than the mention that “as they were… eating” (Mark 14:18), there are no details of either the actual...
by Brad Blocksom | Jul 31, 2018 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 14:12-21 Passover with the Disciples Last time we looked at Judas’ deal with the Chief Priests to betray Jesus, and were left with a strong cause for self-examination. Now we return to the twelve disciples (including Judas) anxious to prepare for the...
by Kenny Burchard | Jun 18, 2018 | Biblical Studies, Humor, New Testament, Old Testament, Politics, Satire, Scripture
Below, you will find every text in the entire Bible (Old Testament and New), that definitively and substantively directs the United States of America in how it, as a sovereign nation, is to construct its immigration laws. I would be interested to hear in the comments...
by Brad Blocksom | May 22, 2018 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 14:10-11 The Plan to Betray Jesus We can’t examine this short passage without looking at the immediate context. The language and theme should cause us to recall to v. 1-2 where the religious leaders in Jerusalem “were seeking how to arrest...
by Brad Blocksom | May 1, 2018 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 14:3-9 Jesus is Anointed for His Death Last time we began the Passion narrative with the revelation that there was an explicit plot to kill Jesus. This time we see the surety of His impending death become clearer (though few present seem to see this truth). This...
by Kenny Burchard | Mar 17, 2018 | Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics
When I was about 19 years old and a very new Christian, one of my friends who was an older Christian was encouraging me to love Jesus with my whole heart, and to hold nothing back. That is the best kind of encouragement a person can give a young Christian. In order...
by Brad Blocksom | Jan 25, 2018 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 14:1-2 The Plot to Kill Jesus So we’ve finally finished our look at the Olivet Discourse, where Jesus predicts God’s judgment on Israel with the destruction of the Temple. Just prior to that we saw Jesus take on essentially every religious group in...
by Brad Blocksom | Nov 28, 2017 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 13:32-37 No One Knows When This is the final installment (Part 6) of our sub-series (the Olivet Discourse) within a series (Discipleship in Mark – Follow Me). So let’s launch right into it! “But about that day or hour” (the coming of the...
by Brad Blocksom | Nov 15, 2017 | Biblical Studies, New Testament, Scripture
Mark 13:28-31 The Lesson of the Fig Tree And now a Parable about a fig tree. It would seem that this fig tree is being symbolically used by Jesus in a significantly different way from the withered fig tree of Mark 11:12-14 & 20-25. There the fig tree serves as a...
