Mark 12:38-34 Dear Partner in Preaching, I do not know what to do with this widow. I am not even sure why Mark shares this story or what Jesus means when he draws the attention of his disciples to her. Most regularly, interpreters over the years offer us two possibilities. She is either an example of incredible stewardship to inspire and motivate us or an example of uncaring exploitation meant to warn and anger us. If the former, then Jesus invites us to imagine that it is not so much the gross amount we give that matters but what that amount means to us. This widow, unlike the scribes, does not give out of a desire to be noticed but rather...
Luke 20:40-47
posted by DJL
Then he said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” In...
Luke 15:1-2
posted by DJL
Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” What follows in the coming chapter are some of the most familiar images and popular parables of the...
Mark 12:38-40
posted by DJL
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long...
2. Mark 14:1-2
posted by DJL
It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’ Fear. It’s amazing how powerful...