August 30, 2009 -3th Sunday after Pentecost

The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 30, 2009
Proper 17, Year B, RCL

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The Collect

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.


OLD TESTAMENT

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

Moses said: So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.

You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children.


The Psalm
Psalm 15 Page 599, BCP
Domine, quis habitabit?

1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?

2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.

3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.

4 In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the LORD.

5 He has sworn to do no wrong
and does not take back his word.

6 He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

7 Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.


THE EPISTLE

James 1:17-27

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.


THE GOSPEL

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."


EXEGESIS:

VERSES 1-23: CONTEXT:

This story is bracketed by stories of Jesus' power to do miraculous works and people's response to his display of power.

It is preceded by the feeding of the five thousand (6:30-44), Jesus walking on water (6:45-52) and the healing of the sick in Gennesaret (6:53-56). The concluding verse of chapter 6 reads, "And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed" (6:56).

It is followed by several stories of ministry with Gentiles:

• The healing of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter (7:24-30).

• Travel through Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis (literally, "Ten Cities") (7:31). Tyre and Sidon are Phoenician cities. The Decapolis has a large Greek and Roman population. To speak of Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis is to speak of Gentiles.

• The healing of a deaf man in the Decapolis (7:31-37).

• The Feeding of the Four Thousand which, in the absence of any additional geographical marker, appears to have taken place in or near the Decapolis.

"The Markan church, predominantly Gentile, struggles with not only the issues that separate them from the Jewish community but the problem of table fellowship among Jewish and Gentile Christians in its own midst" (Boring, 196).

The Pharisees in today's lesson ignore compelling evidence of Jesus' power to do good, and focus instead on the failure of his disciples to observe their traditions. They ignore the inbreaking of God's power, and focus on trivial concerns. The church today is similarly tempted to ignore its core ministry –– word and sacrament –– and focus instead on new fads in ministry –– or even the color of the carpet.

We should be careful not to portray the Pharisees as completely bad. The Pharisees are dedicated to obeying and pleasing God. They observe distinctive practices, such as kosher food and circumcision, that help them to maintain their identity as God's people in a world that tempts them to worship their neighbors' gods. Their traditions, which come into question in this text, grow out of a need to maintain that identity.

The Jewish law, while quite detailed, leaves room for interpretation in many situations. The Pharisees, out of a desire to obey God, established rules to clarify the law in those situations. Their findings became known as tradition of the elders. As time passed, these traditions hardened into a surrogate law that Jewish leaders regarded as equal to scripture. They lost sight of the line between God's law and their opinion, and that was their sin.

The church always struggles with knowing God's will. What is God's will concerning abortion? Homosexuality? AIDS? A host of other issues? Men and women of faith find themselves in opposition to other men and women of faith over such issues. How do we determine God's will in such matters? As we consider that question, perhaps we can appreciate the Pharisees and the problems that they were trying to solve.

"The tendency that Jesus criticizes in the Pharisees and scribes appears in most religious groups. People come to hold on to merely human traditions as if they were divinely revealed" (Williamson, 133). And so we find ourselves asking, What did Wesley have to say about this issue? Or Luther? Or Calvin? Or our denominational convention? It is not wrong to ask such questions, but we must be careful not to equate the answers with scripture. Scripture reveals truth –– the rest is opinion.

Denominational loyalties often assume far too much importance. Over the years, I have too often heard sermons entitled, "Why I am a (Methodist, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, etc.)." Seeing the title, I knew that I was going to hear, not an exposition of scripture, but a collection of not-very-helpful opinion. Where, by the way, do you find a text for such a sermon? We have no right to criticize the Pharisees for love of their traditions when we hew so firmly to our own.

Furthermore, if we paint the Pharisees as bad-to-the-core, we gut the story. The story has life only insofar as Jesus faces worthy opponents. The Pharisees are, indeed, worthy opponents. However misguided, they are deeply religious men trying to do God's will.


VERSES 1-5: EATING WITH DEFILED HANDS

1Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live (Greek: peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (Greek: ten paradosin ton presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?"


"Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him" (v. 1). Mark seems to be distinguishing local Pharisees from Jerusalem scribes. It is possible that the Jerusalem scribes are also Pharisees, given the nature of their challenge to Jesus. "The local Pharisees are already established in the narrative as the focus of opposition to Jesus in Galilee (2:16, 24; 3:6)" (France, 280).

The word "Jerusalem" carries an ominous quality, because Jerusalem is the seat of opposition to Jesus, and they will kill him in Jerusalem. Mark has already told us that the scribes have determined that Jesus is demonic (3:22), and the Pharisees have begun a conspiracy to kill him (3:6). It seems odd that these Jerusalemites are in Galilee. Jerusalem draws pilgrims from afar, and not the other way around. It seems likely that these men have come to Galilee for the purpose of destroying Jesus (3:6, 22).

"they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them" (v. 2). Leviticus 11-15 prescribes in detail how Israel is to deal with various issues of ritual cleanliness, to include food (11:1-23; see also Deuteronomy 14:3-21) –– animals (11:24-47) –– purification of women after childbirth (chapter 12) –– leprosy (chapters 13-14), and bodily discharges. This is Torah law, handed down by God, so we cannot criticize the Pharisees and scribes for taking it seriously.

However, by criticizing Jesus' disciples because they eat with defiled hands, the Pharisees and scribes go beyond the requirements of the law by trying to enforce human interpretations of the law that have been handed down by rabbis through the centuries. Exodus 30:18-21 and 40:31 require the cleansing of hands, but only for priests ("Aaron and his sons") –– and only when they go into the tent of meeting or come near the altar –– in other words, when they are attending to sacred duties within sacred space. The Pharisees gradually adopted this practice of ritual handwashing as a way of showing devotion to God –– and as a "boundary marker," a way for Jews to proclaim their identity as distinct from their pagan neighbors (Hooker, 441).

Ritual cleanliness has nothing to do with hygiene –– Pasteur will not discover germs until the 17th century, and will have difficulty even then persuading physicians to wash their hands before performing surgery. People of the first century have no understanding of hygiene. Pharisaic handwashing involves the use of only a small amount of water poured over the hands to wash away ritual defilement, such as defilement caused by touching an unclean object or person (i.e., a bodily discharge such as spittle or semen, a dead body, a leper, a menstruating woman, or a Gentile). While most of us would want to wash our hands for hygienic purposes in many of these circumstances, the manner in which ritual handwashing is done offers no hygienic benefit.

By the time of the writing of this Gospel (probably 65 to 70 A.D.), Christians have begun to free themselves from the observance of Jewish law. Stories such as this one help to provide a rationale for the church to distance itself from Jewish law. They also instruct Christians who might otherwise hold too closely to Jewish law and traditions.

"For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands" (v. 3a). In verses 3-4, Mark explains Pharisaic tradition to Gentile readers who might not otherwise understand it. "All the Jews" is hyperbole. Only some Jews follow these strict rules.

"thus observing the tradition of the elders" (v. 3b). "In distinction from the Sadducees for whom the written law of the Torah alone was authoritative, Pharisees accepted the evolving oral law as equally authoritative…. By Jesus' day, adherence to the unwritten oral tradition was as important for the Pharisees as was adherence to the Torah itself" (Edwards, 208). Prior to his Damascus road experience, Paul (a Pharisee) was especially zealous with regard to observing and enforcing the traditions of the elders (Galatians 1:14). The "tradition of the elders" is oral tradition at this point. By the third century it will be codified as the Mishnah.

"and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles" (v. 4). This is consistent with the emphasis on ritual purity of food. If the food is to be clean (ritually clean in accord with Torah law), the vessels in which it is cooked or served must also be clean. Leviticus 11 prescribes the washing of clothes and other objects that have been touched by unclean animals (Leviticus 11:28-38), saying, "Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such (unclean) vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you" (Leviticus 11:33-35). We see this sort of emphasis on dishes and utensils reflected in kosher kitchens today where people have "meat" dishes and "milk" dishes to avoid mixing meat and milk. They do this to honor the commandment of Exodus 23:19, "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."

We must recognize, then, that Jewish people have cause for concern regarding the ritual cleanliness of food and the containers in which food is prepared or served. Torah law requires them to be concerned about such things. In being observant, they are trying to carry out God's will as prescribed by scripture, a concern which we must respect.

Jesus' dispute with these Pharisees and scribes has to do, not with the observance of Torah law, but with traditions that had grown up around the law. These traditions were an attempt by rabbis to define how the law should be applied in specific situations. That, too, was honorable –– an honest attempt to determine what people must do to please God. The problem arose when people began to equate their traditions with the law itself –– to regard their interpretations as equal in importance to the law.

"Why do your disciples not live (peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?" (v. 5). Jesus has given his opponents plenty of opportunity to criticize him directly. He has healed on the Sabbath (1:21-34; 3:1-6); touched a leper (1:41); claimed to forgive sins (2:5); called a tax collector to be his disciple (2:14); defended his disciples for plucking grain on the sabbath (2:23-28); and blessed an unclean woman who touched him (5:24-34). While his opponents criticize Jesus directly on occasion, here they choose an indirect approach –– drawing attention to the failure of Jesus' disciples' to observe their tradition. If Jesus is an authentic teacher, why can't he control his disciples?


VERSES 6-8: YOU ABANDON THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD

6He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites (Greek: hypokriton), as it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
7in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
8You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (Greek: ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men).


"Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites" (hypokriton) (v. 6a). Instead of defending the disciples (and himself), Jesus goes on the offense, accusing his accusers of hypocrisy. In classical Greek literature, the word translated "hypocrites" (hypokriton) is used for acting on a stage.

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines" (vv. 6b-7). Jesus quotes scripture, adding force to his accusations. The quotation is from Isaiah 29:13, and is in keeping with other prophetic pronouncements (see also Isaiah 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-24; and Micah 6:6-8). As noted above, Exodus 30:19 requires priests to practice ritual handwashing before coming near the altar, but later Pharisaic tradition expanded such observance to ordinary people on ordinary occasions. While the expanded practice is intended to honor God, it has the opposite effect. "The elevation of the oral law (or the tradition of the elders) to a place of parity alongside the Torah ultimately undercuts the Torah" (Brueggemann, 192).

"You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men) (v. 8). Jesus employs two contrasts here:

• The first is the contrast between the tradition of the elders (the phrase used by the Pharisees) and the tradition of men (the phrase used by Jesus). By changing one word (presbyteron to anthropon), Jesus brings the lofty elders down to earth. They are no longer elders, enforcing God's laws. They are only men, enforcing human opinions.

• The second is the contrast between "the commandment of God" and "the tradition of men" (or "human tradition"). This contrast highlights the Pharisaic reliance on the opinions of men rather than the will of God. "In the apocalyptic Markan worldview, to take one's cues from human beings is to oppose the will of the holy God, whose eschatological power is now revealing itself through Jesus' teaching (cf. 8:33; 10:9; 11:27, 30, 32; 12:4, where the antithesis between God and human beings is repeated" (Marcus, 451).

Jesus does not condemn all tradition, but only the improper elevation of human tradition to sacred status. The church has a responsibility to preserve tradition, but must take care to distinguish between scriptural teachings (essential) and other traditions (non-essential). We are always tempted to require that which is not essential. For instance, a generation ago, many Christians emphasized "dressing up" for worship as a mark of respect for God, but that is no longer an issue for most Christians. Today, we are more inclined to make a litmus test of Political Correctness. We, too, find it difficult to keep secondary issues secondary. "The immediate and burning issues of the controversy (between Jesus and the Pharisees) have long since passed away into history; but the principles which Jesus laid down have been immediate and burning issues in every century" (Luccock, 746-747).


VERSES 9-13: CORBAN

While these verses are omitted from the lectionary reading, they illustrate what Jesus meant when he said, "You abandon the commandment of God" (v. 8a). In these verses, Jesus shows how his accusers, apparently devout men, use human tradition to sidestep one of the Ten Commandments –– "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12). This commandment means, among other things, providing financial support to aging parents. In Jesus' day, aging parents often transferred property to their children, who then assumed a responsibility for the parents' welfare in their old age.

Corban is a form of deferred giving, similar to today's tax-avoidance scheme of transferring title to a charity now (and receiving a tax deduction now) with the provision that we can continue to use the property until our death. In like manner, a person in Jesus' day could declare something Corban –– dedicated to God –– and then tell his or her parents that their old-age support had been given to God. In truth, the property has only been promised to God, but that promise gives the child an excuse to dodge his or her obligation to parents. "A man goes through the formality of vowing something to God, not that he may give it to God, but in order to prevent some other person from having it" (T. W. Mansori, quoted in Edwards, 210). It is treachery cloaked in religious garb. The religious establishment encourages the practice, because the deferred gift ultimately ends up in the religious treasury.


VERSES 14-15: THAT WHICH DEFILES

14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."


"Then he called the crowd again" (vs. 14a). The fact that Jesus can summon a crowd means that the Pharisees and scribes have failed to discredit him. The people are anxious to hear Jesus' response.

"Listen to me, all of you, and understand" (v. 14b). It is not just the Pharisees and scribes who do not understand, but "all of you" –– Pharisees, scribes, crowd, and disciples alike.

"there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile" (v. 15a). When Jesus explains this to his disciples, he makes it clear that he is speaking about food (vv. 18-19). He says that it is not the food that we eat or ritual defilement that make us unclean, but the thoughts and feelings of our hearts. This is strong language in the context of a culture that prizes Jewish food laws and other ritual observance. The Torah goes into great detail regarding clean and unclean foods, and Jewish people distinguish themselves from their pagan neighbors by observance of these food laws. To say that a person is not defiled by what he or she eats is a bold statement, although in keeping with Jesus actions in other situations. He touched a leper (1:41), ate with sinners (2:15-17), and was not troubled that an unclean woman touched him (5:30-34).

"but the things that come out are what defile" (v. 15b). In his explanation to the disciples, Jesus will make it clear that he is not talking about excrement (vv. 18b-19a). The things that defile are the things that come out of an evil heart, "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly" (vv. 21b-22).

It would seem that Jesus is guilty of replacing God's commandment with his own teaching –– in effect, doing the same thing that he accuses the Pharisees of doing. In fact, he "is teaching with an authority given to him by God…. (He) –– like Moses –– is entrusted by God to declare his commandments directly" (Hooker, 180). Jesus does not abolish the law and prophets, but expands our understanding of how to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).


VERSES 16, 19b: THUS HE DECLARED ALL FOODS CLEAN

Verse 16 is not included in the best manuscripts, and most modern translations leave it out or mention it in a footnote.

Verse 19b (not included in this lesson) says, "Thus he declared all foods clean." These are not Jesus' words, but Mark's interpretation. "For Mark's early gentile readers the practical effect was to legitimate their ignoring the ritual laws of Judaism" (Hurtado, 111).


VERSES 21-23: EVIL THINGS COME FROM WITHIN

21For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."


"For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come" (v. 21a). "The vices include actions proscribed by the Ten Commandments (theft, murder, adultery, avarice or envy, deceit). Consequently, Jesus continues to uphold the commandment of God, which his opponents undermine" (Perkins, 608).

In an environment that emphasizes piety (honoring God by devout fulfillment of religious duties), Jesus changes the emphasis to ethical behavior (honoring God by right actions in relationship to other people). He teaches us to be especially mindful of thoughts and feelings that give rise to unethical behavior in our relationships with family, friends and neighbors. It is those thoughts and feelings, conceived and nurtured in our hearts that give rise to truly serious sins. "The source of true defilement in man is the human heart, and the tragedy… reaches its demonic fulfillment in man's wanting to sin…. By this interpretation Jesus does not alleviate the demand for purity but sharpens it" (Lane, 257-258).

This is an important word for us to hear today. We live in a culture that honors that which comes from within the human heart –– that gives us permission to act on our feelings instead of bringing them under control. Our culture tells us to "get in touch" with our inner selves, and to "go with the flow." It celebrates freedom and personal choice, and fiercely resists any constraint that Christ or common sense would place on behavior. The result is that we live in a world characterized by "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly" (vv. 21b-22).

"The initial six items are in the plural, denoting repeatable actions, with the final six entries in the singular, pointing more to traits of character" (Boring, 205).

"All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person" (v. 23). Jesus points us in a radically different direction. His "main point is that uncleanness is moral rather than ritual" (Brooks, 119). He tells us that "evil things come from within" –– from the human heart –– and implies that we have a responsibility to nurture holy things rather than evil things in our hearts.

In recent years, we have become increasingly aware that what we take into our bodies can make a great deal of difference to our physical health. We need to learn that what we take into our hearts and minds is even more important, because what we take into our hearts and minds has the potential to injure us spiritually as well as physically –– to kill the soul as well as the body (see Matthew 10:28).

In recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the importance of environmental issues. In some cases, the church has placed far more emphasis on the cleanliness of our world than the cleanliness of our hearts –– ignoring the degree to which Jesus emphasized the latter. That is ironic, because it is easy to teach a person with a holy heart to respect the environment. Psychologist Gordon Allport observed, "We could probably prove that throughout history those Christians who have accomplished the most practical benefit in this world are those who have believed most fervently in the next." Our first concern needs to be the creation of holy hearts and holy lives.

The church needs to emphasize healthy reading, television viewing, and entertainment. We need to highlight the corrosive effects of drugs and alcohol, violent video games, vulgar sitcoms, pornography, gambling, and consumerism. We need to call people away from an "anything goes" business ethic. The sea in which people swim today is filthy with spiritual pollution, but we tend to say little about it. We are embarrassed to make a serious issue of "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly," but Jesus was not. He tells us that "All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (v. 23).

THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

He that accuses all mankind of corruption
ought to remember that he is sure to convict only one.

Edmund Burke

* * * * * * * * * *

No man's really any good
till he knows how bad he is, or might be;
till he's realized exactly how much right he has
to all this snobbery and sneering,
and talking about "criminals"
as if they were apes in a forest ten thousand miles away;
till he's got rid of all the dirty self-deception
of talking about low types and deficient skulls;
till he's squeezed out of his soul
the last drop of the oil of the Pharisees;
till his only hope is somehow or other
to have captured one criminal,
and kept him safe and sane under his own hat.

G.K. Chesterton

* * * * * * * * * *

If you judge people,
you have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa

* * * * * * * * * *

If it be an evil to judge rashly or untruly any single man,
how much greater sin it is to condemn a whole people.

William Penn, A Key Opening the Way

* * * * * * * * * *

Rare is the person who can weigh the faults of others
without putting his thumb on the scales.

Byron J. Langenfield

* * * * * * * * * *

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)

Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)

Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)

Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)

Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)

Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)

France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)

Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)

Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)

Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)

Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)

Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)

Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)

Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)

Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)

Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)

Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)

Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)

Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com