Mark 12:35-37
Find a way to separate yourself from whatever’s going on around you so you can fully enter into today’s passage. if you haven’t read the introduction to Mark’s Gospel, read it here.
Read Mark 12:35-37 focusing in on the words from Psalm 110 that Jesus quotes.
The teachers of religious law were counting on a conquering Messiah who would, like King David, crush the enemy. But the kingdom Jesus points to does not pit people against people. Instead, the prevailing values of this kingdom are love for God and love for others no matter who they are.
One has to wonder if the religious leaders thought that a conquering Messiah would validate their oppressive authority and automatically assign even more power and privilege to them. Once again, Jesus turns these notions on their head with a simple message: The Messiah is not cut from the same cloth as King David and subject to David’s ways, rather the Messiah is the ultimate authority.
Do you see in yourself or in society as a whole a desire to defeat, and possibly even the destroy people who are considered “enemies?”
Read Mark 12:35-37 again noticing how Jesus’ teaching affects the listening crowd.
The religious leaders are obviously not delighted with Jesus’ teaching. Why do you think the crowd is?
How do you feel or think about the ways Jesus describes the kingdom of God in Mark’s Gospel as a whole? Are you intrigued? Disturbed? Delighted?
Jesus’ radical message of love for the “other” and even the “enemy” came in the midst of a politically charged atmosphere in First Century Palestine. How does Jesus’ message square with the realities of our current times?
Take a few moments to talk this over with Jesus and be sure to take time to “listen.” If you sense that Jesus is prompting you to make an adjustment in your thoughts, attitudes or actions, make a plan for following through on that.
Are you finding these meditations to be helpful? If so, please forward them to a couple of friends. Interested in going deeper? Check out The Everyday Jesus Follower’s Guide and blog.
