Luke 2:1-20

This passage occurs as the Gospel for Christmas Eve in all three lectionary cycles.

Summary:  I have no desire to summarize the meaning of the incarnation in Luke's Gospel.  This passage has layers and layers of meaning for us to draw on this year and every year.  I offer this as a way to hopefully point toward something in the passage that can help launch your reflection and preaching.

Words I found interesting:

οικουμενη(ν) ("world", 2.1)  The word for "all the world" here really means civilized world, coming from the Greek work οικος.  It is a reminder that for those in the Roman empire, this meant the ENTIRE world.

δογμα (literally dogma, meaning "decree", 2.1)  No important theological consideration.  Just that Rome has always been interested in promulgating dogma ;-)

απογραφη ("registration" 2.2)  A few directions one can go with this word. 
First, power of Rome:  Liddell Scott refers to this as "a register of persons liable to taxation."  Rome wanted a census because they wanted to tax and conscript people.  The first two sentences of Luke 2 are dripping with imperial power.

Second, challenge of history:  Luke's chronological placement of Quirinius doesn't add up in terms of a chronology.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius. (Other scholars are more generous.) 

A note on Luke's 'historicity.'  Luke 1 (vs 4), Luke 2 and Luke 3 all start with details about the time period, a reminder that Luke is not trying to write a myth here, but trying to put Jesus' birth and life within the actual historical context.

Third, sin of a census:  In 2 Samuel 24:10, David confesses to sinning as he has engaged in a census.  Why is this a sin?  Because the idea was not to count your troops but to trust the Lord in battle.  In fact, it may be that the zealots (mentioned in the New Testament) arose out of anger of this census being taken. 

Can we put this altogether:  Even if you cannot accept as historical fact the coincidence of Jesus birth with the census, Jesus would have been a young child during a census, a brutal reminder of the power of Rome, a foreign and pagan power.  Quirinius' biography is a great story of the "Roman dream" where someone rose through military victory and shifting political allegiances.  In short, Luke's setting the stage is correct:  The Jews existed under an imperial power, hostile to their faith.  Jesus was born in an empire that cared not for him.  This imperial power was and remains the envy of all other empires in its military and administrative might.

To drive this point home, the angel proclaims, "who is Christ, the Lord."  In Greek, this is spelled Χριστος κυριος, which is the basic confession of faith (Christ is Lord) that ran contrary to the Roman confession of faith (Caesar Kurios).  The angel here offers a subversive confession of faith! 

To put it more softly, the power of the state is to count, tax and wage war.  The power of the mother, really the power of the church, is to embrace and shepherd.

καταλυματι  ("inn", 2:7)  There was no room for them in the inn.  Later Jesus will make room for himself in another inn -- the upper room (22:11; same word).  One take is that Mary and Joseph were with distance family and because it was so crowded, they put the baby and pregnant woman in with the animals.  Even if you want to imagine Jesus as a middle class person with distant relatives surrounding him...Luke's poetry still maintains its force:  The world didn't have room for him and the prince of all creation was sleeping in a bed of hay.  (And more crassly, a woman was giving birth among the animals!)

μεγαλην (literally "great", 2:9 and 2:10).  Two things are great in this passage -- there is a great fear and then a great joy.  This sets up, in many ways, the background for the whole of Luke's Gospel:  Jesus will cause great fear, but also great joy.  It is a backdrop for any good Christmas sermon too -- there is great fear in our world, but because of Jesus, we have reason for great joy.

ημεραις  (days, 2:1; 2:6 and throughout Luke 1 and Luke 2) vs σημερον (today, 2:11)  Throughout the Gospel of Luke, but especially the early part, there are lots of things that are happening 'in those days'.  But Jesus birth happens today.  I wonder if there a sermon connection there, thinking about the pacing of life.  Women move slowly with a donkey; the shepherds are hurrying to see.  We have lots of days, but Christmas day is different.  For me, Christmas Eve is one of the few times a year when I feel like I am not just living days, rushing from one activity to the next, but simply in the moment, dwelling in the proclamation.

To put it another way:  Christmas in America does everything is can to focus our attention on the past or the future.  The angels tell us to focus on the here and now, where God is! 

αγραυλουντες (participle form of αγραυλεω, meaning "living outdoors", 2:8)  This is a word we don't have in English.  It clearly does not refer to high class people!  Luke 2 begins in a powerful roman 'war room' in which the decision is make to count troops and tax citizens, but ends up in a field, in which the riches of heaven and the ranks of the heavenly host is unveiled.  Luke is moving us down the ladder of importance (Emperor, Governor, king of the Jews, middle class inn owners and finally to shepherds).  Yet, this precisely where the world's power is not is where God chooses to reveal God's self.

ευδοκιας ("pleasure", 2:14)  I often wondered about this word -- did God intend peace for all people or just those whom he liked?  First, the Greek has a textual problem.  The manuscripts seem divided (and even in manuscripts there are edits) whether this should be read as a nominative or genitive.

If we read it as a nominative:
N) glory to God; peace on earth; good will among humans (i.e. three items distributed in three realms)
If we read it as a genitive
G)  glory to God; peace on earth among humans of (his) pleasure.
If we go with option N) it seems that good will is toward all people, unambiguously.  Unfortunately, the evidence textually, even though divided, favors option G).
So, if we go with option G) we encounter a bit more ambiguity.  If this is the case (okay, bad pun there), Luke writes "upon the earth peace among people of pleasure/desire."  The Greek leaves out the phrase, "of him."  It simply states, "among people of desire."  I am not sure if we can, on the basis of grammar, solve this case (again, bad pun).  What is unambiguous is that God intends for peace on earth!  What is ambiguous grammatically and historically is how we humans live into this peace.

ρημα (literally "herema" meaning "word", 2:15)  This word is like logos, and it can mean thing or matter or word.  Thus...the shepherds literally say, "Let us behold the word."  John's Gospel is famous for articulating this concept, that the word became flesh, (John 1:14), but Luke here subtly allows the shepherds to articulate this most divine mystery!

Thayer offers that ρημα means "properly, that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word; i.e. a. any sound produced by the voice and having a definite meaning."  When the shepherds report to Mary what was spoken (ρημα) and when Mary ponders the words/matter (ρημα) in her heart, translating this word as simply "word" makes sense.  But when the shepherds say, "Let us behold the word", referring to the birth of the baby, this is clearly saying that a word has become flesh!

Ιωσηφ (literally "Joseph", 2:16) Just a reminder that Joseph isn't left out of the picture!

συμβαλλουσα (literally "symballoo", meaning "ponder", 2:19)  Mary "pondered these things in her heart."  The word for ponder is symbol -- to draw meaning, to pull together or literally to throw together.  This is fascinating that Mary is gathering together the images and thoughts of the angels in her mind.

Grammar Review:  Cognate Accusative
It is considered poor English to write a sentence in which the verb and object share the same word root.  For example:  I climbed a climb or I rode a ride.  We are trained to make the object and verb different words:  "I climbed a mountain" or "I rode a bike." 
Because of Hebrew's limited vocabulary as well as the importance of simplifying stories for oral transmission, cognate accusatives are very common.  Not so much in Greek, however.  Which is strange then that Luke uses two of them in this passage:
φυλασσοντεσ φυλακας (literally "guarded their guard," or "tended their flocks," 2.8)
εφοβηθησαν φοβου (literally "feared a great fear," 2.9)
Not sure why Luke does this other than to speculate he was reading a lot of the Old Testament as he wrote the Christmas narrative!

Luke 3:7-18

This passage is found in the RCL, Advent 3, Year C (Most recently Dec 15, 2024).  Luke 3:16-17 and 21-22 also occur in the RCL, Baptism of our Lord, Year C.

Summary:  It almost seems ironic to the Lutheran preacher that Luke refers to John "evangelizing"; here for it seems all law.  However, this is a great Lutheran sermon.  It fully offers the listener God's law, both instrumentally (vocation) but also theologically (terror that leads us to Christ).  Furthermore, it defines the role of the church:  God's gathering of baptized sinners, where God justifies them (cleanses) and sanctifies them (puts them to use).  Basically, Martin Luther must have written this chapter.  Haha!!

Okay, a more subtle commentary -- sanctification requires sifting.  Does the church sift us or has life already sifted us?!

Key words:
προσδοκαω ("wait" or "expect"; 3:15)  A great Advent words!  Interestingly, Luke uses this word a whole bunch (6x in Luke; 4x in Acts), far more often than anyone else. In this case though, the people are not waiting for Jesus, per se, but rather the Messiah, and wondering whether John would be it. Perhaps a reminder and a challenge -- what are we waiting for?

καρδιας ("heart"; 3:15)  The people wondered "in their hearts."  In Luke's Gospel, the hearts is the place where thought occurs, much like Hebrew!

ειη ("to be"; 3:15) The word here for "is" is in the optative mood, a rare usage indeed. Gotta give it to Luke -- using Hebrew thought with advanced Greek!

αλων ("threshing floor") and συναγω ("gather"; 3:17)  God gathers in the wheat to do something good with it.  It was beaten, yes, but this had a purpose -- make the grain productive for wheat.  This is sanctification.  God taking away our crap so that we can be useful for our neighbor.

διακαθαιρω ("cleanse"; 3:17).  This word's cousin καθαιρω is more familiar -- Catherize!  The job of the church is to cleanse us.

Grammar Review:  Super easy participle:
μελλοθσηας:   The "coming" wrath.  This is a verb function as an adjective.  Easy as pie.  Remember, not all participles are hard!  Many have direct and easy ways to translate them into English.  In this case, you just have to identify it as an adjectival participle (how?  It has the word "the" in front of it and it describes the word immediately following it).

Luke 1:39-56 (Magnificat)

This passage occurs in the RCL Advent Season.  Some years it is simply an optional psalm passage.
 
Luke's Magnificat:
Summary:  Luke is such a gifted writer that the preacher need not do much more than slow down and help people hear what he writes. I have focused on joy.  In Luke's Gospel, joy is associated with the Jesus and communal worship. The Bible pushes this further and connects joy with suffering; if that seems an unfair stretch for this passage, Mary is certainly joyful amid great uncertainty, political oppression if not also family instability.

2023 Note:  In light of the constant memes I am reading about how anti-establishment (and pro-poverty) Mary's words are, I hope I have not missed the mark with this post.  Mary's prophetic words do pronounce a fundamental change in the world order, including the downfall of the rich and powerful.  Perhaps I struggle with how to preach such a passage given my own relative comfort in life!  Regardless, I find it interesting that when one studies the verbs, one notes that God is the one doing the tearing down, not us.

Key Words: All about joy

εσκριτησεν ("stir with joy", from σκριταω 1:41,44). In the New Testament, this word appears only in Luke. The Hebrew word that LXX translators translated as σκριταω has fascinating imagery, including the movement of cattle released from a stall. There is something uncontrollable about this type of movement. In Ancient Greek it would refer to the movement of wind gusts.   (Alas, I couldn't come up with something concrete to tie together Spirit and joy here based on this word!)  John has an uncontrollable joy in encountering Jesus.

(2014 note) When I think of this word now, I think of my own daughter skipping home from school in her excitement about the day.

αγαλλιασει ("extreme joy", 1:44; as a verb in 1:47) This word means a great joy that often results in body movement. It appears in other key places in the Bible both as a noun and verb.
Psalm 51: Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
Psalm 100:2 Worship the Lord with gladness, come into his presence with singing
Luke 1:47 My spirit rejoices in God my savior
Acts 2:46 The original worshiping community
Matthew 5:12 (Beatitudes) Rejoice when they mistreat you...they did the same to the prophets.
(1 Peter also associates this word with faith in the midst of suffering and trials.)

χαρα ("joy"; not in this section!) Okay, okay, the word joy is not in this section. But joy shows up a lot in Luke
1:14: Joy at birth of John
2:10 Joy in the news of angels to the shepherds
10:17  This disciples returning from their 'mission trip' realizing that demons will submit to the name of Jesus.
15:10 and 7: Joy at a repentant sinner.
24:41 Joy of the disciples at the resurrection
24:52 The disciples end Luke's Gospel by worshiping in joy

Verb Analysis: All about God

Look at the verbs in the Magnificat associated with God's action:

• look (48)
• bless (48)
• done (49)
• [extend mercy] (50)
• done (51)
• *scatter (51)
• *tear down (52)
• uplift (52)
• fill (53)
• *send away (empty) (53)
• help (54)
• remember mercy (54)
• speak (55)

Observations

• First, God is the main agent in the Magnificat.  This is not a social agenda for humans.  One could argue that humans should do all this following God's example.  However, Mary does none of this, at least not the destructive stuff.  Furthermore, most people that go about tearing down are rarely ever viewed, in their life, or even later, as agents of God.
• Second, most of these verbs are positive, but a handful are "negative" or "destructive."  I marked those with an asterisk.  In short, God's primary work is giving life; the act of judging and punishing is secondary, or as Luther calls it, alien.
• Third, all of the verbs are in the aorist tense, suggesting that they refer to one time events (typically in the past).  This means that Mary somehow sees Jesus birth as accomplishing (or having already accomplished) all of this.  Ponder that!!

Grammar:  All about Resurrection (Luke 1:37-38)

In many cases, it is impossible to translate word for word, not only because of meaning but also syntax. English translators are (almost) forced to hide a resurrection that happens in Mary.
Mary has just heard the Word of the Lord and responded in faithful obedience (1:37-38). The translators make it look like there is a new paragraph: "In those days..." where the Greek connects Mary's faith to the next move. It reads literally, "Raised up, Mary, in those days went." In fact the word for rise/rose is actually αναστατις, which means even "resurrection."
So, a nice Lutheran translation would be:
"May it be according to your word." Raised up to new life, Mary went to Elizabeth...

To put it simply, Luke subtly reinforces the notion that the Word of the Lord produces resurrection.

Luke 1:26-38 (Annunication)

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary during Advent.

Summary:

Many commentaries reading this passage display a hermeneutic of suspicion.  For example, the anchor Bible commentary was lamenting that Luke put everything in an OT style.  Strangely enough, this was proof that he was making this stuff up.  (Imagine, God works in a consistent manner over time).  The virgin birth becomes highly problematic within this hermeneutic of suspicion! 

I do not think Luke wants us to read with such cynical eyes.  First, Luke goes to great lengths here to give us names and dates, indicating he intends to write history, not fiction.  He even has the angel offer Mary a sign (the pregnancy of Elizabeth), reminding us of Mary's human need for proof.  While his characters may follow patterns of other Biblical characters, they seem to me to be real people with hopes and fears.  (Because the Bible characters, as it turns out, are real people with hopes and fears)

I think Luke offers us another hermeneutic:  belief in God's word to do miracles.  I use the word hermeneutic because Luke plays on the word herma in this passage; the word for "thing" in verse in 37 is "rema", but because of the heavy breathing on the "r", this comes into English "herma"; the word for "word" in verse 38 is also "rema" (herma).  We should read the Bible, not ready to doubt, but ready to be amazed at what God has done.  This hermeneutic, I believe, is what Luke intends that we might echo the angel and Mary in declaring that “All things (hermas) are possible through God”  and “Let it be done according to your word (herma).”

Key Words:
οηομα ("name"; appears throughout the section)  It is curious that the word name appears four times in this section.  In addition, every character has a name; even people not part of the immediate story, David and Elizabeth, are named.

καλεω ("call"/"invite"; appears throughout the section)  It is also curious that the word "call" appear four times in this section.  Clearly calling things a name is a vital part of this pericope.

παρθενου ("virgin" or "young woman"; 1:27)  Let's settle this debate.  Linguistically it is possible to imagine that Mary is simply referred to hear as a young woman and not a "virgin."  However, the word for virgin is parthenos (like the Parthenon building, to the virgin Athena).  Furthermore, Mary's very objection to the pregnancy is the fact that she has never known a man.

χαρις ("grace"; 1:28; 1:30)  In 1:28 this appears as a verb in the perfect passive form:  "Having been graced." It is interesting that the grace is in the perfect, in that the graceful event occurred previous to the angel's announcement.  What was the event that already gave her this grace? Perhaps her own immaculate conception?!  

Another tough thing about this idea of Mary's grace is found in the NET's translation notes.  They lament the Vulgate translation, "full of grace" because it presents the idea that Mary has grace to bestow on others.  While it is true that Mary's grace comes from God, it is hard to make the argument that Mary does not bestow grace on the rest of us through her role in the birth.  Catholics (and Orthodox) go too far, but we protestants have never quite done Mary justice!

συγγενις ("female relative"; 1:36)  This word has a cool etymology:  συν (syn) + γινομαι (ginomai).  These words mean "together" and "become/born."  The word γινομαι is where we get the word "gene" and "genesis" from.  συγγενις is a word that has a variety of meanings, ranging from family member to  a kinsman.  In short, it ranges from one who shares the same "genes" to one who shares the same "story" that is, the broader sense of relationship between people.

I find this interesting because in 2023, I observe that more and more, people align themselves less with the people of co-birth but co-becoming -- the people whom we develop as humans over time with.  This is especially true in the middle upper class, where people often move far away for education, career and child raising.  These become our friends in many ways!  Elizabeth and Mary have their stories brought together by an angel, not by true blood lineage.

Grammar Review:  Missing words
The phrase the "The Lord be with you" is not really what the Greek says. It simply reads "The Lord with you." (ο κυριος μετα σου)  This can be read as an imperative, as in it expresses a wish, "The Lord be or will be with you." Or as an indicative: "The Lord is with you." Interestingly, most translators translate a similar construction at the end of the Gospel of John (Peace to you) with an imperative/wish "Peace be with you." Using the same translation method they use here, that phrase in John's Gospel should read there "Peace is with you."  In this case, I would probably argue for the translation, "The Lord is with you" because a) the angel is standing right there and b) the angel says she is graced.

Luke 3:1-6

This passage is found in the RCL, Advent 2, Year C (Most recently Dec 8, 2024).

Summary:  A familiar text with many preaching paths. Once again we need to head to the wilderness, the familiar cry of John the Baptist, to restore our sights.  To put it another way, Advent remains a reason of repentance (whatever color we now use), but one where repentance isn't simply about personal sins, but a reorientation of our whole mind away from the crap out there about Christmas and toward the salvation of God unfolding in Jesus Christ.

Key words:
τετρααρχουντες ("rule as tetra-arch"; 3:1)  The word tetra-arch means rule as a piddly regional governor.  Luke includes a number of historical details in his Gospel, especially early on; Luke clearly wants to show that Jesus birth and life are actual events.

ρημα ("word"; 3:2)  This word means "word."  It will come into English the word "hermeneutic," i.e., the lens through which one looks at the data.  This is really interesting to read John's work like this:  "The hermeneutic of God came to John", which was forgiveness, baptism and repentance.  What if our repentance means viewing life through this hermeneutic!

βαπτισμα ("baptism"; 3:3). Originally, this word did not have religious meaning. It simply meant to dip. For your enjoyment, here are the Liddell-Scott Hellenistic meanings of the word. Wow!

I. trans. to dip in water
2. to dip in poison
3. to dip in dye, to dye
4. to draw water
II. intransitive the ship dipped, ie, sank

Try preaching that: Baptism as a dip in poison; as a dip in dye; as a drawing of water from God; as finally, a sinking ship!

μετανοεω ("repent"; 3:3) The Greek meaning of the word is "new mind."  In Liddell-Scott's ancient (and secular) Greek lexicon, "repent" means to change one's mind or purpose. We often put repentance together with sin, a fine thing, but perhaps we need to consider that repentance means often more than simply a struggle against temptation, but a paradigm shift, a transformation of our whole outlook, if not way of life and even being. In this case, there is a shift into the forgiveness of sins. Perhaps that is what Jesus ministry is really about, not simply our own forgiveness, but inculcating a world view that finally includes forgiveness.  Perhaps this is σωτηριον (salvation): when the world finally embraces forgiveness as the path.  Overarching point:  μετανοεω in Greek and in the New Testament means far more than forgiveness of sins.  (Or forgiveness of sins means far more than we think it does).

πληρωθησται (πληροω, fill or fulfill, 3:5) and ταπεινωθησται (ταπεινω, fulfill, 3:5):  The English renders these words as "raised up" and "made low."  Yet Luke (and Isaiah) use the words here for fill and humble.  These then echo other parts of Luke's Gospel (the Magnificat; Jesus words on the road to Emmaus).  These represent key features of Jesus mission:  To fulfill and to humble.

Grammar note:  Lack of punctuation in ancient languages
Original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts lack punctuation; it was added later by monks.  So we really don't know if Isaiah meant, "A voice cries out, 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord'" or "A voice cries out in the Wilderness, 'prepare the way of the Lord'."  The monks thought the former...probably good to go with their instinct, especially given the need, in the Exile, to walk through the wilderness from Babylon to Israel.  If this is the case, it seems that the Gospel writers change the punctuation to fit their own program of matching John's work with the description in Isaiah. 
A few options:  The scholarly one: Preach or teach, in a despising fashion, about how the NT abuses the OT
The Christological one:  Preach and teach about how the NT rightfully abuses (reinterprets) the OT to make it fit with Christ!
Or the pastoral one:  In this case both punctuation possibilities are valid.  John the Baptist cries out in the wilderness.  Yet he speaks to each of us to get into the wilderness, away from all the chaos of the world, to focus on God and God alone.

John 18:28-40 (John 18:33-37)

This passage occurs in the Narrative Lectionary Year 4 Lenten Cycle.  A portion of this passage, John 18:33-37, appears in the Revised Common Lectionary for Christ the King Sunday.
 
Summary:  Pilate's character in the Gospel of John is complex.  It seems that John wants to drive home the point that not even Pilate is in control of the situation, but only Jesus.  In John's Gospel, Jesus is never the one on trial; humanity is.  Pilate's interview haunts us with the question:  What is truth?  The answer is obviously Jesus, but what does that mean?  And yes, our answer should be slightly offensive.  It got Jesus killed; it should at least get us in a little trouble.

Note for Christ the King Sunday:  This is definitely a passage in which I would include vs 38 - "What is truth?"

μαρτυρεω ("testify", literally martyr, vs 18:37)  This word means to give a witness, like in court.  Jesus takes his place as the first Christian martyr, one who will be killed for the truth.  So many Christians died giving their witness that the word's meaning changed.

βασιλευς ("king", vs. 18:33,37)  BDAG define this as "One who rules as possessor of the highest office in a political realm."  Already this shows Pilate considers the whole trial as a sham.  Could Pilate really execute the king of the Jews?   Obviously not.

ἠγωνίζοντο ("struggle" or "fight", from ἀγωνίζομαι, vs 36)  Jesus says that his followers would be constantly fighting (ἠγωνίζοντο) if his kingdom were of this world.

• This brings into focus "Christ the King" Sunday.  What does it mean for Jesus to be king?!  Always a question.  Many shy away from "Christ the King" Sunday because of its patriarchal overtones.  Added to the church calendar in the 1920s, the Pope who installed it observed the many divisions and wanna-be kings.  The Pope chose to lean into this framework and then undermine it be claiming Christ to be the true King.  To that point, Jesus does not reject his kingship, he rejects Pilate's expectations that this brings with it violence.  As Americans, we continue to hear and perhaps fear that our 2020s mirrors the 1920s in Germany, in which a (pseudo-)Christian nationalism arose.  These verses open up a natural preaching door to reflecting on how (again and again) Christians reject the path of suffering and embrace the path of violence to achieve their ends.  So - do you walk away from the image of Christ the King or live into it?
• The word literally means "agony."  "If my kingdom were of this world, my followers would be agonizing."  Are we as followers of Jesus not expected to have any agony?  It seems that our life will have agony as we embrace the way of the cross...

κοσμος ("world", literally cosmos, vs 18:37)  Just a reminder:  God loves the world, but the world doesn't love back:

• It doesn't understand God (1:10)
• It doesn't give like God (14:27)
• In fact, it hates God (7:7). 

Yet God loves it still.

αληθεια ("truth", vs 18:37,38)  BDAG writes, "truth is a favorite word of the Johannine literature."  Certainly is a core concept:

• John 1:17  The law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus
• John 17:17 God's word is truth
• John 14:6 Jesus is the truth
• John 16:13 Spirit leads to truth
• John 8:32 Truth sets on free

Βαραββας ("Barabbas", vs. 40)  This word literally means "Son of the Father."  Quite an irony that "Son of the father" is chosen and its not Jesus!  This also picks up on the irony that the Jewish leaders are concerned about ritual purity as they hand Jesus over to death (18:28)

ληστης ("thief", vs. 40)  The word means robber or "brigand" (a lovely word, right!).  But Josephus, a Jewish historian writing during this time, always uses this word to mean social bandit/revolutionary.  It clearly can mean this too.  If you totally cannot focus on your sermon, you can read about what Josephus says about Jesus here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus

Mark 13:1-8

This passage occurs in the Narrative Lectionary, along with Mark 13:24-37.
This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, year B (Most recently: Nov 2024)

Summary:  If I had to preach this text, I would prefer to preach on vs. 13:9-11, which talks about the Spirit's work in and through the church between the first and second coming of Jesus.  But hey, if 1-8 is what you have got, the Greek can still open up some fruitful preaching doors: First, what is the foundation of your life?  And second, what is the destiny of life?

Two key insights:

λιθος ("stone", 13:1,2)
The NRSV translates the second half of verse 13:2 like almost every other translation:
"Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."   However, the text literally reads:
"A stone here will never be permitted upon a stone, which will never be destroyed."

The NRSV translators take this to mean that every stone of this building will be destroyed.  I think it means this, but I also think we can take Jesus a bit more literally at his words:  These stones cannot be laid on the eternal rock, who is him. 

You might say I am digging here, but consider Mark 12:10 -- Jesus refers to himself as the rejected stone which has become the cornerstone.  Jesus builds on this earlier statement and says these stones no longer mean anything in light of him, who is the true and eternal temple.

The basic point, regardless of translation, is that in light of Jesus, the true temple and rock, this temple and rocks are unimportant, finally heretical.  I just think we can safely add that Mark allows Jesus to refer to himself, subtly, as an eternal rock.  Regardless, it brings us to the real helpful preaching point:  What is the foundation in your life?  For 1st century Jews, the temple would have been a foundation piece of their life, a center of mystery and meaning.  Jesus says, this doesn't really matter, he does.  Rather than critique first century Jews, we should ask ourselves:  What idols -- even of our building spaces -- have we built for ourselves?

In fact, the disciples do not use an adjectives to describe the stones, although almost all of the translators use the words "large" or even "magnificent."  The disciples use the word ποταπαι (13.1), which is a question word meaning:  What kind of?  or "Where are they from?"  In short, they ask Jesus a deeper question -- what kind of temple is this in front of us?  It is one made of human hands!

τελος ("end", 13:7)
The NIV translates the second half of verse 7 like almost every other translation
"Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."

The question is, how do we interpret τελος, here translated "end."  It can mean "fulfillment", "destiny", "aim", or even "perfection."  In fact, the translators use "fulfill" when translating συντελεω in verse 4 (the prefix συν- does not significantly change the meaning of the word here).

All too often when we think about the end times we think about...the end...instead of the fulfillment of all God intended for us.  It is too bad this week we do not have the Micah 5 lesson.  How much might our collective imaginations be stirred if we instead thought of them as "fulfillment days."  What must happen for God to fulfill all of God's promises?  What does the fulfillment look like?  In fact, the word Jesus uses to summarize all of this is "ωδιν(ων)" meaning birth pangs.  It is the birth of something new!

A few other notes:
13:2 Jesus twice uses the emphatic "no" construction in Greek "ou mh" ου μη (ie never ain't gonna happen).  This strong negative reinforces my previous argument that the old temple will not rest on the new temple, Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus says anyway, but the actual Greek reveals this in a subtle way.

13:1 The word for "building" here is "oikodomeh" οικοδομαι which can mean structure, but also edification or up-buidling. For example, Romans 14:19, "Let us pursue what leads to peace and the UPBUILDING of one another."

13:3 The phrase here in Greek to describe the disciples is "kata idian," translated "privately" (lit: according to their own).  κατά ιδιαν  This is used throughout the Gospel of Mark; this is the last time anything will be said privately though.  

- Private time with Jesus is necessary for public witness about Jesus

- It is more comfortable to be the church in private than in public!!

Mark 12:38-44

This passage is found in the Revised Common Lectionary Year B (Most recently Nov 10, 2024)

Summary:  This is a case where the Greek does not alter the meaning, but simply forces us to slow down and examine Jesus' familiar words.  Jesus offers a strident critique of an overly consuming, self-aggrandizing and elitist clergy.  Yikes.  More generally, I think Jesus makes a comment on how all of us consume and how we give.

βλεπω (12:38; "see")  The word here for "watch out" is simply the Greek 101 for see; Jesus will tell his followers to "watch out" five times in this section (12:38, 13:5; 9; 23; 33).

γραμματευς (12:38; "scribes") This word has an obvious English cognate:  "Grammar."  The question for us today is, whom do we need to watch out for -- who are the grammarians today?  I struggle with this question a bit more personally -- how do I become a grammarian, who says "no" to the working of the Lord, either in my congregation or in my denomination?  How do I NOT become someone whom Jesus warns against.  The further description of Jesus' critique includes:

they wear στολη (12:38, "stole" or "robe")
and sit in the 
προτοκαθεδρια (12:39, "first seat").  Ouch. 

κατεσθιω (12:40, "devour")  As you guessed, the Bible uses this word in an entirely negative fashion.  It also comes up in the prodigal son, where the son has consumed the father's property (literally, βιος, used also in this passage in vs. 44).  One can read this passage as a narrow critique of 1st century Jewish leadership, more broadly of religious leaders over time, or most broadly, against all over-consumption.  In what ways does our whole culture "devour widows houses while praying long prayers."  A prophetic voice is helpful and perhaps here, but how can this be done so that its not simply an attack on others (or in an election year, people who voted differently), but a call for all of us to repent?

βιος  (12:44, "life"  The woman gives "the whole of her life" The word life here is "bios." So the sermon is not about stewardship of money, but stewardship of everything.  

περισσεύοντος vs ὑστερήσεως ("abundance" and "poverty" 12:44)  Generally the word for "abundance" does not refer to monetary surplus, but all sorts of abundance.  The word poverty (and its lexical sibling), however, generally focuses on a lack of material resources.  The idea of spiritual poverty shows up in lots of other ways in Scripture though, it just doesn't use this particular word.  Nothing too scientific here, just an observation that the Bible is willing to acknowledge both abundance and poverty in material and non-material terms.  This particular passage shows their mis-alignment.  How do you (and your flock) see these in alignment?

Grammar note:  Here we have a substantive participle "the ones who devour" followed by a participle "praying."  There are a couple of ways these two participles (devouring and praying) could be related.  I think the best way to translate the participle "praying" is as a circumstantial participle:  "the ones who devour widows houses while praying long prayers."  Ouch!  They pray while they sin.

Romans 3:19-28

This passage occurs the week of Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday in October.

Summary:  SOOO many books have been written about these words of Paul.  I humbly offer that a previous or a future generation reading what I write here may shake their head at my misunderstanding!  Obviously all of the classic reformation themes are here:  justification, the cross, God's judgement and faith!

That said, I want to caution against using this passage as a proof text for Jesus as the sacrifice to appease an angry God.  Paul's language seems more invested in Jesus as the revelation of God's mercy rather than propitiator of God's wrath.

Key words:

ἱλαστήριον (meaning "mercy seat", 3:25)  This is a big one, so buckle up.  Most translations here translate this word as "sacrifice" or "means of propitiation."  There there is no evidence in Biblical Greek that this word actually means that.  In Biblical Greek, the word refers only to the Mercy Seat on the ark of the covenant, not that actual thing that was sacrificed.  

If so, this is explosive -- this means the cross is where God meets humanity, where God's mercy is accomplished, yes, but moreover revealed.  Jesus isn't the sacrifice, but the demonstration of God's presence. This allows the cross to become a statement of human sin rather than God's judgement.

So why are they translating it as "means of forgiveness" rather than "place of forgiveness"?  Basically, scholarship in the early 19th century got hung up on the fact that Paul did not use the definite article here for ἱλαστήριον as typical for the Old Testament.  Therefore, they argued, Paul cannot mean the place of redemption.  They also looked in other Greek sources and saw evidence that ἱλαστήριον referred to sacrificial offerings.  Also, at this time, the theology of substitutionary atonement was on the ascendant.  In short, theology got stuck around this word and this idea for about 200 years. 

However, by the late 20th century, some authors were seeking to chip away at this issue and offered that "place of forgiveness" - Jesus as the mercy seat - was a better linguistic translation.  They looked at biblical and Hellenistic sources to offer that Jesus as the mercy seat was a better translation.

I include here significant portion of abstract of a dissertation by Peter Bailey:  

Paul's predication of the term ἱλαστήριον of Jesus combined with his mention of Jesus' own blood leads modern interpreters to speculate that ἱλαστήριον was a term that could denote a sacrificial victim-hence: "whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood" (Rom 3:25, NRSV). But this is unsupported by the Greek sources...  Paul's use of ἱλαστήριον is rooted not in the Greek but in the biblical world. Here ἱλαστήριον refers most famously to the "mercy seat," the golden plate with the cherubim above Israel's ark of the covenant. Philo saw the mercy seat as "a symbol of the gracious power of God" (Mos. 2.96; cf. Fug. 100). Paul applies this symbolism to Jesus because it makes him the centre not only of atonement for sin (Leviticus 16) but of the revelation of God (Exod 25:22; Lev 16:2; Num 7:89). The terms δικαιόω and ἀπολυτρώσεως in Rom 3:24 pick up the language of the exodus (esp. Exod 15: 13) and enable Paul to present Jesus as the centre of the ideal sanctuary (cf. Exod 15: 17).  

Bailey, D. Peter. (1999). Jesus as the Mercy Seat : the semantics and theology of Paul’s use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25. [Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.17213

In 2023, I did a podcast on this topic and arrived at a similar conclusion.  I wish I had read Mr. Bailey's research first!  He has much better evidence than I did!

If the cross is the mercy seat, than do we fall trap into an understanding of atonement in which Jesus just become a model?  I would say no, because Paul in Romans 6 makes it clear that we must die as well.

Less than key Words

κόσμος (meaning "world", 3:6 and 19) The word "kosmos" (world here) links back to 3.6, where Paul lays out the rhetorical question, is God unrighteous to judge the whole world.

πεφανέρωται (perfect of φανερόω, meaning "appear", 3:21)  Jesus has appeared (past event) but there is still a present implication (here that we are justified through faith). Also the word "testify" (martyre-oo) is in the present suggesting that the "law and prophets" still speak (L and P is used throughout the NT to describe all of the OT (Luke 24:44 is the only place that mentions the Psalms)).

Mark 10:46-52

This passage occurs in both the Revised Common Lectionary Year B and the Narrative Lectionary Year B.  (Most recently Oct 27, 2024.)

Note on Reformation Day and this passage

This passage will sometimes occur on the same Sunday as Reformation Day, a day when Lutheran churches and others often use John 8 (here is my commentary on this passage) .  Even when not on Reformation Day, it might make a very good text for a sermon on the Reformation.  You have a man crying out for mercy (Luther's search); a religious crowd opposed to him (sinful self and world); a display of Jesus compassion; Jesus' Word giving life; Proclamation that faith saves; lastly, new life in following Christ.
To review:
Salvation, even new creation, by faith alone
The mercy of Christ
The sinfulness of the world, even in religious matters
The redeeming Word

Or John 8, with landmines of antisemitism.  You make the call...

Words I found interesting

οδος ("road" or "way", from οδος, vs. 46)  This word has layers of meanings.  It is one of those words that can simply mean "path for travel" but more abstractly "way"."  Early Christians were called followers of "The Way."  In Mark 8, 9, and 10, Jesus has been on the way.  This journey in Mark is about spiritual blindness and sight.  It begins with a blind man needing healing; the stories display how the disciples are blind to Jesus power; it ends with blind Bartimeaus receiving sight.  It points toward the reality that any talk about spiritual journey without struggle, sin and setback is nonsense!

Βαρτιμαιος ("Son of honor", 46) We don't know many names of those cured by Jesus, but this one has a name -- Son of honor.  In this case, the son of honor is banished by the crowd, mocked and insulted.  Perhaps this is foreshadowing of Jesus, the true son of Honor, being mocked by the crowd.  Furthermore, it is ironic that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, ask for power and get the cross.  This man calls out for mercy and gets resurrection.  "Afflict the comforted and comfort the afflicted"

εκπορευομενου ("go out", 46)  Jesus is heading out of town, but a call for mercy changes his plans.  When is the last time a call for mercy changed your plans?  Jesus seems always to find time for compassion.

ελεησον ("mercy", from ελεεω, 48)  A key feature of Martin Luther's journey was the search for mercy.  It certainly is what Christ has come to bring.  Is this what people hunger for today?  

κραζον ("cry", 48)  Also worth noting is that the man is crying (κραζον) out.  The verb is transliterated "crazied."  Also, the verb is in the imperfect tense, indicating this is an on-going action.  Mark is painting a vivid picture here of suffering and lament.

στας ("stand", 49)  For the first and only time in Mark's Gospel, Jesus stands still.  He takes a pause from the journey on the road to have compassion on this man.  The story pivots on Jesus' action here (you could even do a need chaistic structure within the story with this as the fulcrum).  It is worth remembering about this story and really the whole Reformation, that Jesus' love and compassion are at the center.

θαρσει ("take courage", 49)  This word can also mean "be audacious."  Christ is calling us to follow him, over and against the cries of the world.

εγειρε ("raise" or "resurrect", 49)  Jesus has been proclaiming his eventual resurrection.  Now the resurrection is happening -- the kingdom of God unfolding in our midst.  What makes it possible?  The voice of Jesus -- the word of God. 

αποβαλων (participle of απο-βαλλω, 50)  The man has to throw something away -- to take something off -- in order to follow Jesus.  What must we give up to follow Jesus?  There is a risk in following our Lord; a willingness to get it wrong!  This is something I am thinking about a lot as a middle aged man.  We get so comfortable and set in our ways, that we lose sight of the fact that Jesus calls us again and again to follow him, even when this means getting it wrong and taking risks.

ιματον ("garment", 50)  The word ιματον will come up again the rest of Mark's Gospel.  The people will again take off their cloaks/coats for Jesus in his triumphal entry/Palm procession (next chapter); then they will put a pretend garment on Jesus to mock him; and they will cast lots for his garment.  You could say that Blind Bartimeaus is the first one to celebrate Palm Sunday :-)

αναπηδησας ("jump up", 50)  The man jumps up.  Mark, again, is creating is a vivid scene full of motion.  What is fascinating to consider is that man who jumps up and is walking is still blind.  Faith may lead to sight, but sometimes we are called simply to move...Ie, part of the journey of faith may not have as much a sight as we would like.  I reflect on Luther's own journey...and the journey of myself and others...where sometimes we sense God calling us but we don't yet see the light!

σεσωκεν ("save", from σωζω 52)  This word refers to both "earthly" salvation as well as heavenly.  Explosive term.  It can meal heal, but also save.  But basic point here:  Salvation is not simply about the afterlife, but life in Christ, which is everlasting.

John 8:31-36

This passage occurs on Reformation Sunday (last Sunday in October).
 
Summary:
This passage lays out the fundamental convictions of the Reformation:  That the normal human condition is bondage to sin; that in Christ, through faith, we are freed and Christ abides in us.  Worth noting in the Greek is the word μενω, which appears throughout the Gospel of John; justification is not here seen as simply forensic (ie, Jesus declares you righteous as if in a courtroom) but as ushering in the new creation:  Jesus abiding in us.  Worth also considering is the household nature of δουλος, or slave; not simply the worker, but also the lower member of the family.

To put it more bluntly, a sermon that talks about how the Jews have laws but we have Jesus misses the point.  Furthermore, it likely rehashes and leans into the worst parts of the Reformation and its legacy.  All humans - not just Jews - are bound to sin.  All humans - not just Jews - are bound to moral frameworks, both legal and cultural, that are infected with corruption and idolatry.  

What is our idolatry today with regard to the law?  In post pandemic society, we likely have gone to the other extreme than 1st century Judaism, in which we have equated freedom with personal liberty.  The people need to hear the hard truths of John's Gospel:  our natural freedom is to serve sin. This true freedom is not about doing our own will, but serving Christ.  A good sermon, I believe, will help people see the false narrative about a) what freedom is (individual autonomy) and b) the power of this freedom (ultimately to isolate ourselves from God and others); but a great sermon, I believe, will show people what real freedom looks like (Christ abiding in us, that gives us the strength, courage and faith to overcome all manner of obstacles).  Note, I realize that an awesome sermon would hand over the promises that create the faith to give such freedom, but I am at a point in my ministry where I do think we need to paint a picture for people of what life in Christ actually looks like.

Key Words
1. μενω : (8:31; 35, meaning “abide.”)  

This word is translated here as “belongs” or “stays” which are probably fine, but the important thing to remember is that this word appears throughout the Gospel of John repeatedly; “abide in me…”  One might argue this concept of "abiding" is the most important in the Gospel.  Furthermore, when Jesus says that the "son abides forever" (vs. 35) this son-ship ultimately will include us, who are invited to also abide in the Father's house forever (basically, all of John 14 and 15).

Some more theological commentary on verse 31 for Reformation:  The Reformation idea of "Justification" is often presented in "forensic" terms, i.e., a courtroom metaphor.  God is judge and in Jesus Christ we are declared innocent, regardless of the content of our deeds, which inevitably fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23).  While this metaphor has Scriptural warrant (see John 8:50) and preaching power, it also has its limits.  Both Paul (in Romans) and Jesus in John's Gospel move beyond simply forensic justification to new creation.  We are not simply declared free of our sins, but we are made new in Christ.  While other passages in John's Gospel delve more into this, in this passage in John's Gospel, we are "disciples" (vs 31) who receive a new status in the family (vs 35; see rest of John's Gospel). 

I realize I am stepping into a 500+ long inter-Lutheran argument about justification.  My point is to invite preachers to give at least a second thought to preaching only about forensic justification on Reformation Sunday, as if this is only what Paul, John and Luther taught.  Luther himself talks quite a bit about the new creation and when talking about justification, also describes it in terms of marriage or love between the believer and Christ.  As he writes in the Small Catechism:
"all this...in order that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true." 

Grammar note on verse 31.
Verse 31 is a conditional phrase.  Greek can set up conditional phrases in a variety of ways, often with ει or εαν.  They mean different things.
εαν is really the Greek word for “if."  "ει" may be listed as meaning "if" when we memorize our first Greek words, but actually ει simply sets up a conditional sentence.  In other words ει can mean "if" but also "since" or even "In fact, not in this case."  εαν leaves “the probability of activity expressed in the verb left open.” (BDAG).  In this case, abiding in Jesus' word may or may not happen.

2.   ελευθερος:  (8:32;36, meaning “free”) and δουλος: (8:34;35, meaning “slave”)

My sense of the Greek word for free is that it aligns itself with the idea of being unencumbered, not so much the freedom “for” as the freedom “from.”  But before we get into what this might mean, let's consider "slave."

Slavery provided the gas of the Greco-Roman economic engine. People became slaves through various means: captivity from war, kidnapping by slave hunters or debt. Slaves existed in all parts of the empire.

Slavery could be quite brutal, especially for slaves that engaged in mining. However, slaves often were attached to households and gained a certain amount of responsibility. Such slaves often helped raise the children (even educated them in manners), administer property, earn money and even sign legal contracts. Some slaves even owned other slaves. Even after manumission, the freed person would often pledge themselves to the former master or to a patron.  (Note: the more I read about the whole Roman society, the more I realize the whole thing is about patron-clients.  Everyone owed somebody something in this economy!)

How one puts "freedom" and "slavery" together is crucial.  This preaching of this passage likely tempts us to emphasize either a Jewish vs Christian (law vs Gospel) distinction or to emphasize our freedom over and against society's structures.  However, the New Testament suggests that while 1st century Judaism may have been caught up in its own legalism, all sorts of legalism and other forms of bondage existed then and now; furthermore, while we could say: "We had laws, Jesus comes to break laws, now we are free from these laws" the New Testament paints a more complex picture.

In fact, when the audience with Jesus says they have never been slaves, this is not true historically (see Exodus!); but it may be true theologically in that they never were slaves to God in they way they should have been.  This is perhaps a link to our "audience" today, that will protest that we've never been slaves before either.  Yet we find ourselves addicted all the time to so many things: our phones, our money, our status, our jobs, our kids' soccer teams, etc.  I think we can easily expose that our "liberty" is far less than we thought.

But I think the real preaching challenge is helping people understand the true nature of freedom.  This passage only lightly suggests what the Gospel of John and the New Testament more fully reveal:  freedom is serving -- being a slave to -- Christ.  How is service freedom?  How does the truth about Jesus -- sins are forgiven, the dead are raised, the new creation is dawning -- accomplish this freedom?

***

Sentence breakdown:  John 8:35
The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.
Greek:  ο δε δουλος ου μενει εν τη οικια εις τον αιωνα, ο υιος μενει εις τον αιωνα
First step is to divide up the sentence into smaller parts:  divide at the comma!  
Second, look for the verb in the first part of the sentence.  In this case the verb is μενει.  You have to work a little hard because here you have the negative particle, “ου”.  So you have your verb: ου μενει which means “does not abide.” 
Then you look for your subject.  How to find a subject?  Look for nominative definite articles:  ο, το, η.  In this case, again, you have to take it one step further because you have the word δε in front of δουλος.  But now you have your subject (you can ignore “de” for now):  “ο δουλος” which means “the slave”
So now you have:  “The slave does not abide.”  The rest of the sentence until the comma are two prepositional phrases:  “εν τη οικια” and “εις τον αιωνα” which mean “in the house” and “into forever.”  Test yourself:  Why is the first example in the “dative” and the second example in the “accusative” case?

Do the same with the second half of the verse:  First, find the verb; then the subject (hint:  Look at the articles.)  Once you’ve done this, you can plow right through:  The son abides into forever.
When Greek doesn’t have participles or subjunctive phrases, it’s really a matter of finding the subject and verb; figuring out what the small words mean; conquering the prepositional phrases…and then presto, you’ve got English.

Mark 10:35-45

This passage is found in the Revised Common Lectionary Year B (Most recently Oct 20, 2024)

Summary:  Don't get too lost in the Greek in this week's passage. The point is that two key disciples are asking really silly questions.  It proves Jesus an opportunity to say to them directly what he has been suggesting to them all along:  While they do not need to be crucified, to be a follower of Jesus means following him to the cross, to the suffering of the world, to the surrender of our will and to the death of sinner.  I focus a fair amount on the word "ransom," hopefully opening a different way of thinking about this.

ποτηριον ("poterion" (pottery!), meaning "cup", 10:38)  There are three cups in Mark's Gospel!  Can you name them?  The first is when Jesus says the one giving a glass of cold water will not lose their reward (9:41).  The second is here.  The third is the communion cup.  The cup which Jesus refers to here is following Christ.  This seems to be a good sermon, something like:  The first cup of discipleship is doing small things for others; the second cup is living/giving of our whole life; the third is receiving communion with Christ, as he comes to forgive us.  As Luther says in the small catechism: All this he did that I may be his own.

βαπτίζομαι vs  βαπτισθηαι ("baptize", 10:38)  I want to point out a distinction in verb tenses here.  When Jesus refers to the baptism of the disciples, he uses the aorist tense, suggesting a one-time event.  When Jesus refers to his own baptism, he uses the present tense, suggesting an on-going and present event.  Jesus literally says, "which I am being baptized right now"; he is in the midst of his baptism as he begins his long road to the cross.  Our Baptism may be a one time event, but living out of our baptism is an on-going process.

κατακυριευουσιν ("literally over-lord", 10:42)  Just a little note for preachers personally rather than for a sermon.  This verb shows up rarely in the New Testament, but it does show up in 1 Peter 5:3, as an admonishment to pastors not to Lord over their power!

οι δοκουντες ("the ones who think", 10:42)  Jesus does not say the rulers actually rule.  He says the think or seem.  

[Really geeky thought: For those paying a bit more attention, this is the same word 'seem' (δοκεω) that was used to describe a group of chief early heretics:  the Docetics, who said that Jesus only "seemed" to die.)

δουλος ("servant" or "slave", 10:44) This word appears repeatedly in the New Testament as a model for Christian life and service.  As the Thayer Greek Lexicon reminds us, δουλος του χριστου (servants of Christ) are those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among [others]:  used of apostles, Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:10; Phil. 1:1; 2 Tim. 2:24; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1; of other preachers and teachers of the gospel, Col. 4:12; 2 Tim. 2:24; Jude 1:1; of the true worshipers of Christ.
Do we articulate, model and challenge our people enough to adopt a posture of servant-hood?

λυτρον ("redemption", 10:45).  This word is a loaded term.  It is often suggested that Jesus was the ransom whose death serves as the payment rendered for our sins, thus freeing us from this deserved punishment.  Both Exodus 21:30, 30:12 convey this sense of λυτρον.  I am not going to argue here against substitutionary atonement.   

However, the Old Testament also puts forward another sense of λυτρον that I think works just as well, if not better, in this case.  In Numbers 3, there is the (for most of us) relatively unknown story of the consecration of the Levites to the priesthood and how they are offered as a redemption (λυτρον).  A surprisingly helpful commentary summarized the logic:

"...when God slew the first born of man and beast among the Egyptians, he consecrated the first-born of Israel to himself as a memorial of the deliverance.  First-born animals were to be sacrificed to the Lord, but first-born sons were to be redeemed by the substitution of a payment of money.  Now the Levites are taken by the Lord as the redemption of all the first-born males in Israel, and their very office becomes a perpetual sign of Israel's deliverance.  The ministry of the Levites proclaimed to Israel the fact that all belong to the Lord, because he has delivered them.  (75, Mays; 1963 Layman's Bible Commentary.")

In short, in the consecration of the Levites, God turns the sacrificial system on its head.  God does not want sacrifices of first-born humans (and never did), rather, God wants the Levites to take the place of the first-born, not for death, but for service to God. 
I am still fleshing this out, but I think you can make the argument that "ransom" can be utilized in a way where Jesus frees us to serve God without needing God to be angry with Jesus.

Perhaps it is something like this:  Jesus is put forward as a ransom, but not simply for death, but for service to God.  What God wants - in the ransom sense - is not the death of Jesus, but the life, the service (which in his case, will include death).  As we are baptized into Jesus' death and drink his cup, we too are put forward, not as a substitute punishment, but as something precious to God, namely, servants of God, becoming the new priesthood, in fact, a very proclamation that the Lord has delivered us.  

Mark 10:17-31

This passage is found in the Narrative Lectionary Year 2
This passage is found in the Revised Common Lectionary Year B after Pentecost (Most recently October 13, 2024)

Summary:  "Clouded up" -- That is literally the words used to describe the rich young man's reaction to Jesus.  Jesus loves the man, but the man's love of his possessions obscure his vision so greatly, he cannot even embrace the love of God!  We may not be able to buy our way into heaven but today's passage suggests we can buy our way out of heaven!

Some words that might open preaching possibilities:

[added 2024] προσδραμὼν ("run" or "exert", form of προστρέχω; 10.17) The man is running to Jesus.  This can be seen in a positive light -- the man is eager to meet Jesus.  It can also be seen as "busy man", the person always moving, always climbing, yet not getting anywhere.

ζωην αιωνουν ("life eternal"; zoo of the eons, literally; 10.17 and 30):  It is interesting that eternal life enters into Mark's Gospel by way of a non-disciple (and practicing Jew).  Obviously this appears in John's Gospel numerous times, but makes a cameo or two in the other Gospels as well.  Perhaps one of the great misnomers of Christian thinking is that eternal life only begins after our physical death.  The love and fellowship of Jesus was available here, on earth, for the man (see note below).

κληρονoησω ("inherit"; 10:17):  The man may not understand that eternal life is a gift, but he does understand one thing: it is going to take a death to bring about life -- you only get the inheritance when someone dies!

αποστερεω ("defraud"; 10:19)  The NET Bible suggests Jesus inserts this because of the OT's injunctions about this, for example, Deut 24:14.  I would maintain that the word defraud is not accidental, but a great insight into the text. Jesus adds this commandment because he knows the rich young man is guilty of it -- the 11th commandment!  As my internship pastor preached on this passage -- what is the commandment that finally trips you or me up??  I don't murder...but what finally brings me to my knees in confession?

αγαπαω ("love"; 10.21)  This word means real, genuine, nearly, if not truly, divine love.  This man is the first one whom Jesus loves in the whole Gospel of Mark!  How sad then that the man cannot love Jesus back nor follow him!

κτημα ("possessions"; 10:22)  Our American context is very different than ancient Greece, where a very small number owned most things.  Yes, yes, the rich grow richer, but the average American still has enough possessions and toys at their disposal to last them for years.  We can make this passage about demonizing the truly wealthy, or realize the nature of our own possessions that cloud our own vision.  Side note:  The NET Bible

στυγναζω ("sad" or "cloud up"; 10.23):  The word for "sad" here is a less common Greek word, but it means gloomy, or clouded over, like the sky.  The man's love of possessions cloud up his vision.

τεκνα ("children", 10.24). Right after Jesus has told them they must accept the kingdom as a child, he calls them children.  Perhaps a sign of love?  Perhaps a call to humility?  I think it is fair to say that, at least within Mark's Gospel, the driving point is that the only way into the Kingdom is to realize we cannot get there out of our own power, as a child!

Jesus can both εμβλεπω (in-look)  (vs. 21, 27) and περιβλεπω (around-look) (vs. 23).  In short, Jesus has insight (literally) and around sight (literally).  Jesus can both look into people but also take a step back and look at the situation.  A rare skill.

καμηλον ("camel", 10.25)  The word "camel" here has been subject to all sorts of translation attempts to soften the meaning.  Some scribes changed the word to "rope"! (similarly spelled in Greek); others have said this sequence refers to a gate in Jerusalem.  No!  Jesus is trying to say that a) our wealth blocks us from God and b) we ain't getting into heaven our own merit.  Jesus is driving us to ask "How is this possible!"

[added in 2024] πλούσιον ("rich", 10.25)  In Greek, the word literally reads "rich."  We can't do in English what can be done here in Greek, namely, make a singular noun out of an adjective.  We can create a word like "the rich" to mean lots of people who are rich, but we cannot simply say "I don't like rich" and mean "I don't like that one individual who is rich."  Why does this matter?  Because Jesus does not say, as the NIV translates it as "someone who is rich."  He says "rich" as a singular noun.  What is at stake?  The truth is that when we are no longer a someone or somebody who is rich, but we are entirely identifiable by our possessions and wealth, then we have a problem with God's Kingdom!  We define ourselves and others by their wealth.  I don't think that Jesus sees us this way.  Still contemplating...

Some grammar tid-bits worth considering:

Subjunctive mood:
The subjunctive mood, which Greek uses to indicate various hypothetical situations, is difficult to translate. In 10.17 we find the filled-with-subjunctive phrase "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  The Greek does not use the word "must" but simply uses the subjunctive mood. Luther's German translation, "What should I do" is probably a better understanding of what is meant here.

Imperfect tense:
The imperfect tense suggests repeated action.  In 10.17 The rich young man does not "ask" but in fact "asks," repeatedly -- the imperfect tense is used.  He really wants to know!

Future as perfect tense?
In 10.30, Jesus talks about the age "that is coming."  It is not "the age that came" or the "age that will come" or even "the age to come" but "the age that is coming."  Greek, like English, can use the present to suggest an indeterminate future.  "Coming" can mean "on the way" or "coming soon."  There is an ambiguity.  So the question is, does the eternal life age arrive after we die or while we live?  It seems that Jesus is referring to a pre-natural death event...but perhaps one that requires our spiritual death and resurrection.

It is also worth noting that Jesus says in that the present age the will receive things.  Again, all of the Gospels indicate that things will be made new/reversed/restored in their fullness in the age to come, but Jesus promises that the Kingdom breaks into this age as well.