Archive for March, 2009
April 5, 2009: Peter Denies Jesus
The text for this lesson is Mark 14:26–72.
Key Points
- Though we, like Peter, deny Jesus and His gifts, Jesus cannot deny us because we are part of Him, baptized members of His own Body. Instead, He forgives us and welcomes us back.
- Law: To deny Jesus is to commit spiritual suicide.
- Gospel: Even when I deny Him, Jesus will never turn His back on me, never refuse me, and never stop loving me.
Context
It is Maundy Thursday. The Lord’s Supper having been instituted, Jesus led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, their familiar hangout. There Peter refuses to believe what Jesus predicts: that he, along with the rest of the apostolic band, will desert and deny their Master. A few hours later, however, after Jesus is arrested and while He’s being tried in the kangaroo court of the Jews, Peter thrice denies his Lord. Luke adds a detail skipped by the other evangelists, that at the third denial, “the Lord turned and looked at Peter” (Luke 22:61), calling to mind the prediction that Peter had fulfilled by his infidelity.
March 29, 2009: Jesus and Zacchaeus
The text for this lesson is Luke 19:1–10.
Key Points
- Like Zacchaeus, we are among the lost whom the Son of Man seeks and forgives. We are called to forgive those who sin against us, no matter how Zacchaeus-like they may be in their sins.
- Law: I sin by ignoring my sinfulness and focusing on the sinfulness of others, casting them aside in shame.
- Gospel: Christ’s blood covers all the sins of every sinner, no strings attached.
Context
Jesus is on the last leg of His journey to Jerusalem as He passes through Jericho. It is a few days before Palm Sunday (Luke 19:28–40). Having already extended mercy to a blind beggar, a resident of Jericho (Luke 18:35–43), Jesus now runs into another resident of Jericho in need of mercy—Zacchaeus. Because tax collectors worked for the Roman government and over-taxed to pad their own wallets, the Jews detested them as thieves and traitors. Since Zacchaeus was rich and a chief among them (Luke 19:2), he was the object of particular spite, shunned as a “sinner.”
March 22, 2009: The Widow’s Mite
The text for this lesson is Mark 12:41–44.
Key Points
- Just as the widow gave all she had to God, trusting Him to provide and care for her, so Jesus gave His all for us, who fail to trust in God for all things.
- Law: God demands that I love Him with all my heart, all my soul, and all my might and that I be willing to hand over to Him all that I am and have.
- Gospel: Christ loves me with all His heart, all His soul, and all His might, and willingly gave up His life and poured out His blood for me to ransom me and make me His own.
Context
Preceding this story are several incidents that involve Jesus’ face-offs with the religious leaders of the day—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes. The Pharisees challenge Him about taxes (Mark 12:13–17), the Sadducees about the resurrection (Mark 12:18–27), and the scribes about the priority of the commandments (Mark 12:28–34). Right before spotting the widow, Jesus dresses down the scribes for strutting peacockishly about in their “long robes” (Mark 12:38), their narcissistic addiction to public praise, and the heartless way they “devour widows’ houses” (Mark 12:40). Presumably, Jesus means the way these teachers swindle widows out of their savings, all supposedly in the service of God.
March 15, 2009: Jesus Clears the Temple
The text for this lesson is John 2:13–22.
Key Points
- Jesus’ cleansing of the temple carries a twofold message for the Jews and for us: first, that the true Lord of the temple was here in the flesh and, second and more important, that Jesus is the true temple, who houses and perfects us, raising our bodies to be like His.
- Law: I sin when I turn God’s house into a place of business, soiling His sanctuary.
- Gospel: Jesus is my holy temple who, by His sacrifice on the altar of the cross, purged my sin and made me a member of His Body.
