“Holy Women at the Tomb,” Syriac Gospel Lectionary, Northern Iraq, 1216–20.

Mark is an urgent, fast-moving narrative driving us toward a place we do not want to go: the passion of Jesus, his crucifixion and death. What is Mark’s haste to get there, such that when we reach the end of the story our momentum hurls us past any resolution or denouement, and we are left with only silence and fear?

How can this be good news?

A four-part study of the Gospel of Mark, first offered at Landrum Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church-Woodruff. The core of each week’s more extended study is presented in a brief recorded synopsis. 

Part 1. “They Said Nothing To Anyone”

“So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16:8)

To study the Gospel of Mark, we begin at the end. Startled by news of Jesus’ resurrection, three faithful women who have come to anoint his body flee in terror. And there the story abruptly ends.

Part 2. “I Believe; Help My Unbelief!”

“Immediately the father of the child cried out, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!'” (Mark 9:24)

Two stories of healing, each in longer narrative sequences that develop the question of who Jesus is and from where his authority as a healer and teacher comes, challenge us to become “mathetes”: disciples, learners along the Way.

The two passages examined are:
–Mark 1:21-28, within the series of stories of Mark 1
–Mark 9:14-29, within the series of stories from Mark 8:27-9:37

Part 3. The Beloved

“Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him Jesus went away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone…'” (Mark 1:42-44)

Three stories of revelation move the good news of God’s love out, from the voice of God to the voice of the unlikeliest person, so that we stand with the Beloved Son as the children of God:

–Mark 1:9-11, the Baptism
–Mark 8:31-9:8, the Transfiguration
–Mark 15:33-41, the Crucifixion

Part 4. You Will Be Afraid

“This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” (Mark 13:8)

Three stories move us toward the core meaning of the Gospel of Mark, through suffering and fear to disbelief, and the courage to act:

–Mark 13, the Apocalypse
–Mark 14:1-9, the Anointing at Bethany
–Mark 16:1-8, the Women at the Tomb

“Jesus Walks on Water,” by Bazzi Rahib, Ilyas Basim Khuri. From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the life to which Jesus calls his disciples is very demanding. Jesus builds on and reinterprets the Hebrew scriptural traditions of Torah, the promise of a king in the line of David, and prophetic standards of how we treat one another, especially the most vulnerable in our society. Yet he teaches that the path of discipleship is a relief:

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

What is this way, so challenging and yet peace-giving?

Follow the path of discipleship in this four-part study of the Gospel of Matthew, first offered at Landrum Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church-Woodruff. The core of each week’s more extended study is presented in a brief recorded synopsis. Three sermons on Matthew follow at the conclusion.

Part 1. The Law & the Prophets

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)

God’s promise to be with the people, the core and ever-evolving message of God’s steadfast love throughout the Hebrew scriptures, both continues into and profoundly transforms in the Gospel of Matthew. The story of Jesus calming the storm, found in Matthew 8: 23-27, indicates how the New Testament calls back to and interprets in a new way the Old Testament. 

Part 2. The Messiah & the Marginalized

“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'” (Matthew 25:40)

Matthew portrays Jesus as both the bearer of messianic and divine power, and as not only in service to those who are outcast and oppressed, but in affiliation and identification with those deemed powerless and undesirable in society. This lesson follows this theme through the Gospel, focusing on:
— Matthew 2 (The Slaughter of the Innocents)
–Matthew 5:1-11 (The Beatitudes)
–Matthew 15:21-28 (The Canaanite Woman)
–Matthew 25:31-46 (The Judgment of the Nations)

Part 3. The Path of Discipleship

“Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)

Jesus calls the disciples out, into a courage irresponsible of social norms, into what cannot be, to connect with God, and more: for God to connect through these disciples with the whole world in a new way. An interpretation of three successive stories:
–Matthew 4:18-25 (The Call of the Disciples)
–Matthew 14:13-36 (Peter and Jesus Walk on Water)
–Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20 (The Two Mary’s Go To the Tomb)

Part 4. The Kingdom of Heaven 

“Are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15)

Throughout Matthew, Jesus’s teaching in words and actions centers on the Kingdom of Heaven. His parables offer multiple perspectives on what this kingdom is, each new story expanding on what we thought we knew from the ones before it. In a sequence of three brief parables in Matthew 13:44-50, Jesus provokes us with the immeasurable and life-upsetting value of the Kingdom of Heaven, a realm beyond our imagination but right here now, interrupting our lives and dragging us into itself.

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Three Sermons on Matthew

1. The Perfection of the Father (Matthew 5:43-48)

2. The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:13-15)

3. “Are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:1-16)