Bob Cornwall Reviews Commentary on Mark
… at Christian Century. Of all the book reviews available, I think commentary reviews are the most valuable.
Mark – The Mission of John the Baptist
The following audio comes from a radio program I recorded in 2003. The scripture is Mark 1:1-8, especially Mark 1:4. {audio}mark_1.mp3{/audio}
17th Sunday After Pentecost, 2003
September 14, 2003 17th Sunday after Pentecost The following are the suggested passages: Proverbs 1:20-33 and Psalm 19 or Wisdom of Solomon 7:26-8:1 Or Isaiah 50:4-9a and Psalm 116:1-9 James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 Proverbs 1:20-33 This hymn to Wisdom personified is both beautiful and very important to the balance of the church. …
Lectionary Texts for Transfiguration – Cycle A
I want to make just a few remarks on the texts selected for Transfiguration Sunday, February 3. I like to find common themes in the lectionary texts even when they don’t seem all that coherent. In this case, the texts are quite carefully chosen. First is the story of the transfiguration from Matthew 17:1-9. There…
Time Compression in Eschatological Texts
I want to touch on something that I encounter in conversation fairly frequently. Why is it that Christian texts applied to the coming of Jesus and to the end-times come often in the same contexts in Hebrew scripture. A good example of this is Isaiah 60-66, in which we have a mixture of texts related…
Notes on Mark 12:41-44
Translation and Notes These notes relate to and expand on my podcast Seeing Stewardship as God Sees It. 41And he sat down by the treasury, and he was watching how the crowd threw money into the contribution box. And many rich people threw in lots! Treasury . . . is apparently the hall named from…
Notes on Mark 12:34-40
Translation and Notes The notes below relate to and expand my podcast Jesus Strikes Back. 35In response Jesus began to teach in the temple this way: “How is it that the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36David said by the Holy Spirit, The Lord said to my lord Sit at…
Notes on Mark 12:28-34
Translation and Notes Overview There are parallel passages in Matthew 22:34-40 and Luke 10:25-28 On the questioner, the Interpreter’s Bible comments: He is a model for the right approach both to Christ and to the scriptures. The psalmist speaks of “inquiring” in the temple (Ps. 27:4). We do so many other things there. We talk,…
Notes on Mark 12:18-27
Translation and Notes Note: These notes accompany my podcast on this passage, Angels and Marriage. 18Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife, but no child, then his brother must take the wife, and raise…
Notes on Mark 12:13-17
These notes accompany my podcast Caesar’s Stuff. Translation and Notes It’s important in reading any of these challenge stories to consider the challengers, the situation in which Jesus finds himself, and the goals he is trying to accomplish. For example, here he needs to respond to the questioners in such a way as to keep…