Why Did the Fig Tree Wither?
The story of the fig tree in Mark 11 has always bothered me. Why would Jesus curse a tree for not bearing fruit when it wasn’t the season for bearing fruit? It seems out of character for him. Agnostic socialists like Bertrand Russell have used it as an example of how Jesus is just a fictional […]
Let Go!
There is a passage in the Gospel of Mark where Peter says to Jesus, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” This sentence contains a Greek word which, in my opinion, is the most profound in the New Testament: ὰφίημι (af-ee’-ay-mee). It’s a compound word, combining the preposition “from” and one of the verbs […]
An Additional Commandment
When Mark tells the story of “Rich, Young Ruler” the title character is initially described literally as “one running toward him and kneeling when he (Jesus) was going out in the way.” We don’t find out about his wealth until the very end and he’s never described as young or a ruler. Those details are […]