The way of imagination

  “ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna!     Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!     Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Then [Jesus] entered Jerusalem and went into the temple…” (Mark 11.7-11)      Within the logic of Mark’s Gospel, it is fitting that the last person Jesus sees before his arrival in Jerusalem is both blind and – though blind – recognizes that he is the Messiah, the king of Israel (10.47-48).   Granted, James and John – who had approached Jesus right before the account of the healing of Bar-Timaeus with their request for seats of “glory” either side of Jesus (10.35-40) – also believe tha...

  “ As [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be…?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.” (Mark 13.1-5)      We have already seen that Jesus quoted the words of Jeremiah as he “cleansed” the Temple (Mk. 11.17=Jer. 7.11).   Now, Jesus imitates Jeremiah yet again; as he walks out of the Temple courts, he predicts the destruction of the national shrine within “one generation” (Mk. 13.1-2, 30; cf. Jer. 7.1-4, 13-15, 29).   Somewhat unlike Jeremiah, Jesus did not “live” to see the fulfillment of his prophecies against Jerusalem [1] ; indeed, Jesus died as...

  “ Then they sent to [Jesus] some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said… Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test ? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” (Mark 12.13-15)      Following Jesus’ thinly-veiled attack, the chief priests and the scribes withdraw (12.12) and send in some “auxiliary troops” in order “to trap Jesus in what he said” (12.13; cf. 3.6).   As we have seen, the determining factor in these scenes is the constant presence of the crowd of pilgrims, milling about the Temple courts and hanging on Jesus’ every word (cf. 11.18; 12.12).   At this point, the only hope his enemies have of gaining a victory over Jesus is to discredit him publicly and thus deprive him of the crowd’s protection.   Jesus had already stymied their first challenge regarding the source of his authority (c...

  “ Then [Jesus] began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave… to collect from them his share of the produce… But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed...” (Mark 12.1-3)      The prophet Jeremiah described Yahweh’s history with his people in these terms: “Thus says…the God of Israel…in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt…this command I gave them, “ Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people ; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.”   Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but, in the stubbornness of their evil will, they walked in their own counsels, and looked backward rather than forward.  From the day that your ancestors came out of…Egy...

  “ While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,     until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.” (Mark 12.35-37; quoting Ps. 110.1)      In the 31 st chapter of his book, the prophet Jeremiah describes a new covenant that Yahweh will establish with his people Israel.   Jeremiah had spent his life warning his contemporaries of impending disaster – the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, followed by exile in Babylonia – all this a consequence of Yahweh’s people having flouted the covenant that had been established with Moses following the Exodus from Egypt.   For centuries, Israel had proved herself to be an unworthy covenant-partner, a...