Sunday Sermonette: I personally find it hard to work with editors, but they're necessary

And Mark and the rest of the crew apparently didn't have any. Mark 10 is full of the usual contradictions and weirdness. It's getting tiresome to point these out, but I'll just focus on a couple that are of some importance theologically or culturally. Jesus has at one time or another insisted that people must follow the Torah law, and at others that it should be dispensed with. Here, his complete rejection of divorce under any circumstances became Catholic doctrine, but of course the church hasn't been able to live with that in the modern world so it grants "annulments" under the fig leaf (hah!) that the marriage was never real. 

 

Jesus says that it is as difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, which would mean impossible, but the church couldn't live with that either so the next claim, that with God all things are possible, is simply taken to annul the whole bit about the camel and the needle's eye. So why say it in the first place if you don't really mean it?

 

When Jesus recites the commandments, he only lists five of them, and he inserts a 6th -- thou shalt not defraud -- which is not in the originals. I could go on but you get the idea. The Bible was written by many fallible people, who had differing beliefs and knew different stories. If you want to believe any of it, you have to pick and choose which parts to pay attention to, and which parts to ignore.

 

10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

² Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’^{[a] 7} ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,^{[b] 8} and the two will become one flesh.’^[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹² And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

The Little Children and Jesus

¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]”

²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is^[e] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

²⁸ Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰ will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

³² They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ³³ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

The Request of James and John

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

³⁸ “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

⁵² “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Footnotes

1. Mark 10:6 Gen. 1:27
2. Mark 10:7 Some early manuscripts do not have and be united to his wife.
3. Mark 10:8 Gen. 2:24
4. Mark 10:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20
5. Mark 10:24 Some manuscripts is for those who trust in riches

 

The stochastic universe

So, as it turns out hurricane Melissa did a lot of damage, but it wasn't as catastrophic as I feared it might be because the storm center passed far enough west of the capital that the airport and seaport remained functional, and the storm surge in the harbor was less than feared. Of course the disaster in the southwest of the island was maximal, but at least they'll get some help.

 

This should be a reminder that world history, and individual lives, are very much about luck. Many people try to develop grand theories of history that explain why important events had to happen, and many people think that people's station in life are a function of their effort and good judgment. Of course if you don't try hard and you make stupid choices your chances aren't as good, but on the other hand look at Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Of course there are discernible patterns in history, and the accumulation of capital and the evolution of technology have shaped it in particular directions. But . . . 

 

Even great historical events can hinge on very trivial happenstance. If Anthony Wiener hadn't sent a dick pick to an underage girl, Donald Trump never would have become president. (I'm pretty much 100% sure of that.) If a single mid-ranking Soviet officer hadn't doubted what he was seeing on his radar screen, civilization would have ended and you sure wouldn't be reading this. If Hitler hadn't survived his injuries i WWI . . . You get the idea.

 

In other words, nobody knows anything, and there isn't always deep meaning in momentous occurrences. Or, to put it in technical terms, shit happens.

Wednesday Bible Study: 2,000 years too late

At the beginning of Mark 9, Jesus predicts, yet again, that the last days will come during the lifetime of those present. This is such a gross embarrassment to Christians that they just ignore it. But there it is. The so-called "transfiguration" that comes next is also described in Matthew and Luke, but Luke puts it 8 days after Jesus foretold the coming Kingdom of God, whereas it's 6 days after in Mark and Matthew. 

 

The lengthy and ridiculous story about healing a boy who appears to have epilepsy suffers from the obvious problem that epileptic seizures are temporary phenomena. The boy has a seizure, it ends as it always will, and Jesus takes credit. Finally, after telling people to amputate any body parts that might lead them astray, he spouts more gibberish. If you can translate "⁴⁹ Everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other,” into a meaningful statement, let's hear it.

 

 

 

9 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

The Transfiguration

² After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹ And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹² Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? ¹³ But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit

¹⁴ When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

¹⁶ “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹ “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰ So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹ He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.^[a]”

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

³⁰ They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹ because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” ³² But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

³⁶ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us

³⁸ “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

³⁹ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, ⁴⁰ for whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

Causing to Stumble

⁴² “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. ^{[44] [b] 45} And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ^{[46] [c] 47} And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
    and the fire is not quenched.’^[d]

⁴⁹ Everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Footnotes

1. Mark 9:29 Some manuscripts prayer and fasting
2. Mark 9:44 Some manuscripts include here the words of verse 48.
3. Mark 9:46 Some manuscripts include here the words of verse 48.
4. Mark 9:48 Isaiah 66:24

 

Jamaica say you will .. .

come again tomorrow. Unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen. I hope I'm wrong, but it seems to me that people are generally nor recognizing or playing down the catastrophe that is happening right now. The major news networks had reporters on the island yesterday evening, who presumably are still there since there were no flights out. The general prediction is that there will be a lot of damage and a lot of flooding and it will be a major bummer, but I don't think that captures the reality.

 The mountains will wring 30 or 40 inches or more of rain out of the storm, which will blast down the canyons like Niagara Falls. When it gets near the south coast, including the capital Kingston and its airport and harbor, it will encounter a 19 foot storm surge and it will have nowhere to go. All of the crops will be wiped out, all of the boats will be gone and there will be no fishing industry, there will be no electricity or telecommunications anywhere on the island, all of the bridges will be gone and the roads will be impassable. There will be no airport or seaport, which means there will be no way to deliver substantial amounts of aid, assuming anyone even tries which believe me, the U.S. will not do. There will be no public services, no hospitals, no food. Don't think about it too hard.

Jamaica punches way above its weight in world culture, in music, cuisine, sports, cinema and literature. It's devastating to think that all of that will be gone, for how long I can't say but I'm also not sure how it's going to come back. But what is most important is why this is happening. It is not an act of God, it is an act of the human species. Because we have been spewing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for 150 years, the oceans have steadily gotten warmer and now an unprecedented storm can form, on that can destroy an entire nation. There have been multiple storms that underwent extremely rapid intensification this year, we've just had the luck that none of them has directly affected the continental U.S. We likely won't be so lucky next year.

Meanwhile, our government, and in fact one of the two major political parties in the U.S., continues to deny that this is happening. And people keep voting for them.

 

Sunday Sermonette: Time Warp

In Mark 8, the disciples are surprised that Jesus feeds a multitude with seven loaves and a few fishes, apparently forgetting that he had done the same trick two chapters earlier. As we have seen many times previously, in the Tanakh as well as the Gospels, there were evidently two or more oral traditions and both versions got incorporated into the written document. In verses 14 through 20, Jesus says some gibberish that the disciples do not understand. Neither do I. He does this frequently. If we aren't supposed to understand what he's saying, why doesn't he just shut up?

 A different version of the curing of the blind man is found in John. The events are similar but not identical, and they happen in a different place. In John, JC mixes his spit with clay before anointing the man's eyes, and his first attempt is not, as in Mark, only a partial success.  

In verse 34, Jesus says his followers must "take up the cross," apparently foreseeing that the cross will become the symbol of his religion. This verse is important to Christians, obviously.

 

8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ² “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴ His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

⁵ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

⁶ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. ⁷ They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. ⁸ The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ⁹ About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, ¹⁰ he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹ The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. ¹² He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” ¹³ Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ¹⁵ “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

¹⁶ They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸ Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹ He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into^[a] the village.”

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Predicts His Death

³¹ He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. ³² He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³ But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

The Way of the Cross

³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life^[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Footnotes

1. Mark 8:26 Some manuscripts go and tell anyone in
2. Mark 8:35 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verses 36 and 37.

 

 

What exactly is MAGA, anyway?

The great puzzle about the current moment is that the cult leader has no ideology and keeps no promises other than enriching himself and taking revenge on people he believes have slighted him; while his obsessed cultists don't seem to care what he does -- or rather, like cattle ranchers right now, they may object to whatever he does that harms them directly but that doesn't stop them from worshiping him. The so-called conservative movement in the U.S., as embodied in Ronald Reagan, did have a coherent, thought fatuous ideology and governing program, but "conservatism" nowadays has abandoned all of that and doesn't seem to stand for anything except whatever the last person to talk into Dear Leader's ear had to say to him.

 

Mark Lilla, reviewing John Ganz's "When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the 1990s, quotes him describing the so-called paleoconservatives, the precursors of MAGA:

 

Their imagination resembles nothing so much as the rainy-day transports of a boy who lines up all his toy soldiers from different periods in a grand alliance -- here's a knight, there's a cowboy, here's Davy Crockett, there's a Special Forces commando.

 

Which brings us to the insane secretary of HHS. I seriously doubt that many people bought the red hats and the faux gold sneakers or went to the interminable rallies because they were worried about chemtrails, but here we are. KFF's Stephanie Armour writes:

 

The concept posits that airplane vapor trails, or contrails, are really “chemtrails” containing toxic substances that poison people and the terrain. Another version alleges planes or devices are being deployed by the federal government, private companies, or researchers to trigger big weather changes, such as hurricanes, or to alter the Earth’s climate, emitting hazardous chemicals in the process. . . . HHS is expected to appoint a special government employee to investigate climate and weather control  ... . The agency has interviewed applicants to lead a “chemtrails” task force . . .

 

Armour actually makes a fairly serious scientific mistake. The white trails you see following airplanes are not vapor trails. They are ice crystals. Airfoils create low pressure areas, which means the temperature drops, and water vapor -- which fortunately is completely invisible or you wouldn't be able to see the back of your hand -- condenses. Steam and fog are also aerosolized droplets of liquid water, not water vapor. But anyway, that's all it is -- water that condensed out of the atmosphere. Kennedy and his fellow nutjobs believe that what they are seeing is a conspiracy by the Deep State -- Kennedy specifically blames DARPA, the DoD research arm -- to control the weather and poison people. Read the KFF article if you must, but believe me, the craziness is beyond the power of words to characterize. It's total Alcoa sombrero stuff, that would normally get people committed.

 

But that's today's "conservative" movement. That's what it means: utter lunacy. There's nothing more to it. 

 

 

 

Wednesday Bible Study: Call the Board of Health

Jesus is critical of the pharisees for washing their hands before they eat, and he defends his own unsanitary practices by asking them why they don't kill their disobedient children. Literally. He then goes on to say that it's impossible for people to be defiled by anything they eat. This guy is setting people up for some serious food poisoning. 

 

He's apparently gotten tired of preaching and performing miracles, so he goes to Tyre and Sidon and tries to hide out, but people track him down, so he's forced to do some healing, accompanied by nonsensical and irrelevant dialogue. Then he wanders over to the Sea of Galilee and gets waylaid into doing another miracle. But don't worry -- it gets even sillier in the next chapter.

 

7 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.^[a])

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
⁷ They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’^[b]

⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe^[c] your own traditions! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’^[d] and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[e] 11} But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” ^[16] [f]

¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.^[g] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

³¹ Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.^{[h] 32} There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

³³ After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). ³⁵ At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

³⁶ Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. ³⁷ People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Footnotes

1. Mark 7:4 Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining couches
2. Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13
3. Mark 7:9 Some manuscripts set up
4. Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
5. Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
6. Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts include here the words of 4:23.
7. Mark 7:24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon
8. Mark 7:31 That is, the Ten Cities

 

Sunday Sermonette: False prophet

Mark 6 is very long and it has a lot of unrelated components. It is notably full of absurdities, but I'll first point out one major embarrassment that runs throughout the Gospels. In the King James version, verse 11 reads: "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city." This made sense because Jesus had repeatedly predicted that the day of judgment would come during the present lifetime. Now, 2,000 years later, it doesn't make any sense because nobody alive has any connection with the people who lived in those cities back then, many of the cities in fact do not even exist, and if they do, the population has been completely replaced. The translators of the NIV were obviously aware of this problem, so they cleaned it up by deleting the lat part of the verse. Really -- check it out.

 

As in Matthew, the people of his hometown, who actually knew him, think he's nuts. 

 

Regarding the story of John the Baptist, the Herod in this story is not the king Herod who appears in the nativity story in Matthew, but rather a successor. The story is confusing and rather unclear. The exact relationship between Herod the first and this person is not certain. He is sometimes called Herod Antipas. In any case, his marriage to a woman named, oddly enough, Herodias, was opposed by some people including John the Baptist because she had previously been married to his half-brother Herod II, the son of Herod I, and evidently this was contrary to law or custom. If you really care about this and want to be as confused as I am you can read about it here. Anyway, this Herod thinks Jesus is the reincarnation of John the Baptist, who he has had beheaded. Obviously, these matters were apparently of great interest to the people of the time, but they don't mean anything to us today.

Then JC does miracles, walks on water, etc.  

 

 

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded

¹⁴ King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,^[b] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.”

And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰ because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled^[c]; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² When the daughter of^[d] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶ The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸ and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

³² So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³ But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵ By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷ Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴ As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵ They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Footnotes

1. Mark 6:3 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph
2. Mark 6:14 Some early manuscripts He was saying
3. Mark 6:20 Some early manuscripts he did many things
4. Mark 6:22 Some early manuscripts When his daughter
5. Mark 6:37 Greek take two hundred denarii

 

Wednesday Bible Study: I shouldn't have to tell you why this is ridiculous

Mark 5 is an amalgam of absurd superstitions and self-contradictory nonsense. I think it speaks for itself, as utterly preposterous and contrary to the basic theological concepts of Christianity. If anyone cares to comment, go ahead, but I'm not going to waste my beautiful mind on this crap.

 

5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.^{[a] 2} When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³ This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷ He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” ⁸ For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

¹⁴ Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis^[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

²¹ When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. ²² Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. ²³ He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” ²⁴ So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. ²⁵ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ²⁹ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

³⁰ At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹ “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

³² But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³ Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

³⁵ While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶ Overhearing^[c] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

³⁷ He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” ⁴⁰ But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). ⁴² Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. ⁴³ He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Footnotes

1. Mark 5:1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes
2. Mark 5:20 That is, the Ten Cities
3. Mark 5:36 Or Ignoring

 

 

Levels of Reality

I submitted an essay to Free Inquiry magazine, rebutting a turgid, pretentious and tendentious pile of crap by Richard Dawkins that they chose to publish as a cover article. Since I'm hoping they will publish it, I can't share it here just yet. However, I can tell you that Dawkins's basic problem, the underlying basis of his crankery, is that his only intellectual tool is biology, and you know what happens when your only tool is a hammer.

 

As humans have come to understand the world more and more, we began to perceive an overall structure of knowledge. It is an edifice, built in stories, each level depending on those below to hold it up, but each existing as a substructure in its own right.

 

At foundation is physics, which has now been found to actually constitute two levels. (Maybe we'll find more some day.) At the very base is the quantum reality which operates at very small scales, the world of sub-atomic particles and their interaction with forces. At the macro-level, so-called classical physics emerges. I say so-called because classical physics doesn't just refer to Galileo and Newton, it includes the 20th Century theories of special and general relativity. This is the world in which our bodies and our senses reside, although they are ultimately built from quantum phenomena. At the macro level, however, quantum effects largely disappear. The world we live in has so-called "emergent" properties, which may in principle be predictable from the underlying quantum world but in practice are best studied at their own, macro level.

 

Hence the perfectly valid assertions that force=mass X acceleration, and the force of gravity =  G X (mass 1 x mass 2)/the distance between them squared. These relations were established by observations in the macro world, without regard to quantum theory. 

 

From physics emerges chemistry. Chemistry might be predictable from quantum theory, and scientists have established that it is to some extent by reverse engineering, but it is best studied and best understood at its own level. From chemistry and physics emerges biology, which must conform to the laws of physics and chemistry but, again, has emergent properties which are best studied at the level of biology, although biologists nowadays put a lot of focus on chemistry. From biology emerges psychology -- the brain creates the mind. Again, there is neurobiology, but it cannot predict all of psychology, which once again is best studied and understood at its own level. Finally, from psychology emerges society, the study of which is called sociology, and I don't think I need to repeat myself.

 

Dawkins thinks that by invoking the evolution and biology of sex, he has somehow eliminated any legitimate consideration of the psychology and sociology of gender. He is incapable, it seems, of perceiving that there is such a thing as gender which is not identical to sex. He actually makes a number of false assertions about the universality of the relationship between biological sex and animal behavior, because if he allowed for the reality he would have to concede that there is biological sex -- i.e. does an organism produce large or small gametes -- and overall bodily form and behavior. He might then be forced to observe that gender roles differ enormously among human societies and social groupings, and gender is not close to being congruent with sex.

 

That a well-educated and presumably more than usually intelligent adult, in 2025, can utterly fail to see this is, frankly, rather bizarre. But there you are. Knowing too much about one subject can make you an idiot. 

Worst Holiday Ever

 Most years, I link to Adam Conover ruining Columbus, so here you go. A few years back, I was presenting at a conference in Baltimore, and when I got off the highway I discovered that the entire city was basically shut down for a Columbus Day parade. It took me an hour and a half to get to the hotel and I almost missed my presentation. The parade consisted mostly of high school marching bands, which in Baltimore means that it consisted most of African American kids.

 

Columbus is the last person on earth who African Americans should be marching to celebrate, as I expect I don't have to tell you. The entire story about Columbus that is told to schoolchildren is a lie. He did not have the astonishing insight that the earth is round and therefore you could get to Asia from Europe by sailing west. Everybody -- or at least, all mariners -- already knew that the earth was spherical. The ancient Greeks knew that and Erathtosthenes accurately calculated its circumference in 240 BC. Therefore, mariners presumed that if they sailed west, they would run out of food and water and die before they got to Asia. Columbus, however, was an idiot and due to an arithmetic error he thought the earth was only 2/3 its actual size. Had he not by complete accident run into the Caribbean islands, he would indeed have died of thirst.

 

He thought he had happened on the islands southeast of China until the day he died. He never set foot in North America and he was unaware of its existence. He presumed there was a large land mass to his north and west, and that it was China. He enslaved and exterminated the people of the islands he had blundered onto. Once the indigenous people were mostly gone, the Spanish imported slaves from Africa to grow sugar cane, and that is Columbus's legacy. 

 

The reason we have a major holiday on this date is because Italian Americans campaigned for a holiday in their honor and Columbus is what they came up with. He was not in fact Italian. In his day, Italy did not exist, and he spoke Ligurian. He sailed for Spain. But regardless, he is not someone Italian Americans should be proud of. I also do not see why we should have a federal holiday specifically honoring Italian Americans anyway. Saint Patrick's Day is not a holiday, except in Boston -- actually it's the day after so people can recover from their hangovers. There is no holiday celebrating the English, the Greeks, the Germans, the Polish, the Chinese, the Japanese or anybody else of any specific ethnicity. 

 

So can we please call it something else? 

Sunday Sermonette: Pack it off and send it to Muncie . . .

 .  . . I've got a maiden aunt there in dire need of more confusion. I had a high school classmate who used to say that. Presumably it's a quotation but I don't know the source or the context. Anyway, in Mark 4, multitudes come to hear JC speak, but he intentionally tells them mysterious stories that he does not want them to understand, because, as he explains, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,   and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!^" Okaaaaaay -- he doesn't want the people to understand and be forgiven. But then why is he saying anything to them at all? And why is Mark giving it away? Since the whole idea is that the people won't understand anything he says, it's kind of weird that so many of them want to listen to it. If any of this makes sense to you, please explain it to me. 

 

4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ² He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’^[a]”

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? ¹⁴ The farmer sows the word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

²¹ He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? ²² For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

²⁴ “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. ²⁵ Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³⁰ Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

³³ With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. ³⁴ He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Footnotes

1. Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10