aBeLOG
Welcome to the aBeLOG, a series of (hopefully!) fortnightly posts on all matters homiletical. I intend to touch on whatever grabs my attention regarding preaching—issues contemporary and ancient, ideas hermeneutical and rhetorical, personalities conservative and liberal, publications antiquarian and avant-garde. Essentially, I’m going to follow my own homiletical olfactory instincts up rabbit trails and after red herrings. Comments are always invited and appreciated.
Mark 14:12−52
Faithfulness in discipleship, emulating Jesus, involves submission to God’s sovereignty, in prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
“Be alert and pray that you may not come into temptation;
the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 14:37–38
In Mark 13:35, Jesus declared, “Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming—whether in the evening or midnight or at cockcrow or early in the morning.” These time stamps—“evening,”
Who Was The Young Man?
Ever wondered who the mysterious guy was, who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested—a cameo found only in Mark, in 14:51−52? Well, today is your lucky day!
Check out this article that ran in the current issue of Dallas Theological Seminary’s award-winning quarterly, Kindred Spirit: “Who Was The Young Man?”
As a bonus, it not only discusses the “Naked Runaway” of Mark 14, but also the “Enrobed Reporter” of Mark 16.
Let me know what you think.
Mark 14:1−11
Accepting the suffering mission of Jesus, disciples make sacrifices that are profuse, pure, precious, and praiseworthy.
“A good deed she has done to Me.”
Mark 14:6
This is another of Mark’s sandwiches, with an outer story (the betrayal of Jesus; 14:1–2, 10–11) and an inner story (the anointing of Jesus; 14:3–9).
Jesus, unlike the religious leaders in Jerusalem, is in Bethany; Indeed, he seems to have deliberately made his way to the house of one banned from the
Mark 13:1−37
Dependence on God’s providence, the Spirit’s power, and the promise of the Son’s return enables the disciple to be faithful to Jesus until his return.
And what I say to you, to all I say, ‘Be alert!’”
Mark 13:37
The theme of this chapter continues Jesus’ anti-Temple stance in Mark 11 and 12. Israel, and particularly its leadership, has failed in its mission to produce fruit (11:12–26; 12:38–40); judgment would be inevitable. All the Temple’s stones were
Mark 12:13−44
God’s absolute ownership demands the entirety of the disciple in utmost love for God and for neighbor.
“The things of Caesar, give back to Caesar, and the things of God, to God.”
Mark 12:2–3
Mark 12:1–44 focuses on the theme of loyalty to God and is carefully structured. Two illustrations bookend this central motif: a negative illustration (the tenants in the vineyard parable, 12:1–12), and a positive one (the widow in the Temple, 12:38–44). In both these
Mark 11:27−12:12
Fruit-bearing by disciples is their responsibility of stewardship towards God.
And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the right time [of harvest]
in order to receive of the fruits of the vineyard from the tenant farmers.
And taking him, they beat and sent [him back] empty-handed.
Mark 12:2–3
Mark 11:28 is the first instance of the appearance together of all three factions of the Sanhedrin—chief priests, scribes, and elders—denoting a critical juncture in the
Mark 11:1−25
The community of disciples is characterized by prayer founded on faith and forgiveness.
“Have faith in God. …
All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you receive,
and it will be [so] for you.
And when you stand praying,
if you have anything against anyone, forgive.”
Mark 11:22, 24–25
In this final Act of Mark’s Gospel (11:1—16:8), Jesus enters Jerusalem to die. What is striking in 11:1–11 are the similarities with the elements of a triumphal
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.