At first glance you might not notice, but the account of Jesus and the
scribe we heard from the Gospel of Mark this morning bears a striking
resemblance to a political ad.
Really? Oh, come on, you might
say: it's about religious faith and practice, not politics.
We need to remember that
the Roman Empire held all the real power, but within Judaism there were
factions or “political parties” among the religious authorities. They
challenged Jesus, and he answered them with cleverness and solid scriptural
references, challenging them right back.
He taught with parables that put the religious authorities in an unfavorable light. And the gospel writers, including Mark,
frequently gave the religious authorities very bad press.
But the authorities who
challenged Jesus were not of one mind about religious matters. For example, the Pharisees and the Sadducees
had agendas they pushed and sought to influence others to support them.
Mark, as a gospel writer,
had an agenda as well. Mark began his
gospel this way: “The beginning of the
good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
A few verses later he wrote about John the Baptizer ‘s point of view
about who Jesus is: “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me, I
am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.”
To recognize Jesus as the
long awaited Messiah—despite the excitement his ministry generated—was a step
too far for most of the Jewish religious authorities. And here are some reasons why: Prior to the reading we heard today from the
12th chapter of Mark, the gospel writer relayed an account of Jesus
telling the parable of the wicked tenants to “the chief priest, scribes and
elders.” In this parable Jesus suggested
that his listeners were like the vineyard tenants who first killed messengers
from the landowner and finally killed his son.
Jesus told them the landowner would come back, destroy the tenants and
give the vineyard to others. Mark reported that the religious authorities knew
he was talking about them.
Then in the next two
stories of the 12th chapter Mark recounted how Jesus bested first
the Pharisees and then the Sadducees in a verbal sparring matches. He cleverly answered the Pharisees when they
asked him whether one should pay taxes to the Romans. Then he put down the Sadducees for not
understanding scripture or the power of God when they asked him about whose
wife a seven-time widow would be at the time of the general resurrection.
So you see Mark has
engaged in some very negative advertising, showing the religious authorities as
just not “getting” Jesus. In their
prideful self-assurance the traps they set for Jesus did not spring shut, and
Jesus easily put them in their place. But in the midst of this negativity and the
negative accounts that followed, Mark depicted another sort of response to
Jesus.
I believe Mark did this
to show that people's hearts and opinions can be changed. People who did not acknowledge Jesus as the
Messiah could come to believe in Jesus.
Mark does this by showing that a member of the very group whose
authority Jesus challenged could come to recognize Jesus' possessed God's
wisdom and God’s truth. For a moment Mark's negative campaign against the
religious authorities stopped and a positive vignette pushed his agenda
of showing Jesus as the Son of God.
What caused this scribe
to open his mind and embrace different point of view? Mark pointed out that the scribe had heard
the disputes between Jesus and the religious authorities and thought Jesus
answered them well. So he decided to
check out Jesus more closely. Mark's
report of their conversation showed a level of respect between the Jesus and
the scribe developing. One commentary on
the passage states that their exchange “transcend[ed] party strife and
cross[ed] the dividing line of hostility to confess a common faith. Because they join[ed] together in the
conviction that there is no commandment greater than love of God and love of
neighbor, they [were] able to treat each other as neighbors. Both the scribe
and Jesus . . . stepped away from the “us” versus “them” categories. Their mutual affirmation is an island of
reconciliation in a sea of hostility.”
On this coming Tuesday,
if we do our duty as Christian citizens of our country, we will vote for the
candidates we believe will make our best leaders. Perhaps the candidates we vote for will win;
perhaps not. Nevertheless on Wednesday,
we should consider well Mark's “ad” showing positive behavior across a chasm of
political difference (in the case of Mark's gospel, religious politics). Here the postive behavior Mark shows us: Listen thoughtfully. Step away from using “us” versus “them”
categories. And finally affirm what you
and your opponent hold in common—in our case this week—thankfulness for the
blessings we enjoy as citizens of this country.
Like most of stories
about Jesus in the gospels we do not know the final outcome; we do not know
what happened to this scribe. He may have continued serving in his scribal
duties; he may have become an Christian after Christ's resurrection. But whatever happened later, in this one
moment he and Jesus taught us positive, righteous behavior across a chasm of
difference: First, listen thoughtfully;
then, step away from seeing the difference as an “us” versus “them” situation;
and finally, affirm what you and your opponent hold in common. Then—and only then can you—together—began to
work out the details of the path forward.
May God's mercy and grace
surround us as we vote and in the following days as we work on solving the
problems all of us face together.
The quote was taken from the Interpreter's Bible commentary on the 12th chapter of Mark (p. 679).
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