Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

In the Gospel of Mark, there is just something about Jesus’ words. Some people attribute power and authority to His words while others consider them blasphemous and troubling. It is this tension that keeps Mark’s drama interesting. The reader/listener is drawn into the story because they want to see what else Jesus has to say and how certain persons will react to His words. So, while Jesus Himself is the centerpiece of Mark’s account, Jesus’ words, in all reality, probably assume the same, if not, in some ways, a greater role. If Jesus had never spoken, Mark would hardly have a story. Therefore, everything hinges on what Jesus says—His words. This got me thinking about Jesus’ statement in 13.30 that “Heaven and earth will pass by but my words will not pass by”. (If you are interested in why I translate “pareleusontai” as “pass by” instead of “pass away”, see study #62 in this series.) What does Jesus mean when He says this? Are His words frozen in time? Are His words static? How are we...

While Mk. 13 certainly sounds apocalyptic (many have dubbed it the “Little Apocalypse; e.g. Colani, Wiffenbach) and quite eschatological (many have suggested it is about the End Times), and while I will most certainly be seen as something as a nuisance for saying what I am about to, I wish to share a different view. I do not think Jesus is being overtly apocalyptic or eschatological in Mk. 13. Yes, there are some statements Jesus makes that seem apocalyptic in nature but in the end, I am wholly unconvinced that what Jesus is saying is meant to be taken in the sense of apocalyptic. If we go by the SBL definition of apocalyptic, building on the work of T. R. Hatina, I can come up with over 15 reasons as to why Mk. 13 doesn’t fit the bill as apocalyptic (e.g. no revelation given from an otherworldly being, no transcendent/supernatural world mentioned, Jesus says the “end is not yet” – something contrary to apocalyptic lit., etc.). So, I do not believe that Jesus is being overtly apocalypt...

As a male, I would find it incredibly odd if I walked into a room and five of my buddies were talking about how painful giving birth is. For starters, I would wonder what got them talking about it. Then, I would raise the question as to how they know what it is like. Now, if a woman were to walk in on this dialogue, she might have some questions too: 1) Do you guys have a clue what you’re talking about? 2) Do you really think you can understand what it’s like to expel another human from your body? 3) And why do you focus on the pain at the expense of the joy that follows, anyway? Now, roll back the script about 2,000 years to a scene on Mount Olivet in Jerusalem. In Mark’s Gospel, we are told that Jesus, in a conversation with Peter, James, Andrew and John, talks about birth pains (or “pangs” if you like). As I kept reading chapter 13 over and over, verse 8 kept sticking out like a sore thumb to me. Why did Jesus use the imagery of “pregnancy” and “birth pains” here when talking to a g...

For those who have even a simple understanding of how to read and interpret the Scriptures, it should go without saying that Mk. 13 is not about the end of the world. Yet, many act as if—and quite persistently—that it is indeed about the end of all things. The truth of the matter is, what Jesus says in Mk. 13 has nothing to do with what would happen thousands of years later (and maybe thousands of years from now). Jesus is not being terribly futuristic here. What is going on in Mk. 13 is that Jesus is talking about what was getting ready to happen to those He was talking to as well as—and this is often overlooked!—to Himself. To be certain—and it seems rather clear to me—everything Jesus says in Mk. 13 is quite temporal and correlates with the rest of Mark’s account, even if rather loosely at some points. We might insist, as some have done, that Jesus’ predictions were wrong. Many people have argued that Jesus believed the end of the world was immanent (most recentlly Ehrman) but in re...

At present, I have three growing interests in the field of biblical studies and in this post, two of those have come together: the Gospel of Mark and Barrenness/Infertility issues (from a biblical-theological standpoint). I noted in an earlier post that when one facing sterility/infertility struggles reads the Bible, there seems to be little hope and much condemnation (read this post too). However, as I continue to read Mark’s Gospel, I am beginning to find a lot of hope in some of the images and words that Jesus uses, as well as in His actions. For the barren Christian couple, there is hope. Take Mk. 13.17-9 for instance, that passage says: “How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.” We find the parallel to this passage in Luke’s account at verse 23 and following: “D...

One of the most intriguing verses of all of Mark’s Gospel is tucked away in chapter 12. In verse 36, Jesus makes the comment that King David, in Psalm 110.1, spoke “in the Holy Spirit”. Of course, Psalm 110 makes no comment that David is speaking in the Spirit. Just as well, it offers no definition on what is meant by “speaking in the Spirit” here. (Certainly, it is not referring to glossalalia or tongue speaking!) To understand what Jesus means here, we first have to understand Mark’s view of Jesus’ relationship with the Spirit. In chapter one, what some consider to be a prologue, the Spirit enters “into” Jesus when He arises from the waters of baptism. Just before this, John the Baptizer said that the same would happen to Jesus’ followers (e.g. He would baptize them in the Spirit). So, Jesus gets Spirit-filled and this endows Him with the authority of God the Father (1.27) and the power of God the Spirit (1.21-8). In 3.1, the religious and political leaders from Jerusalem accuse Jesu...