The Gospel of Mark
Scribes and a Widow: Mk 12,35-13,2
Son of David: 12,35-37
Jesus in verse 35 is once again teaching as is his custom (e.g. 10,1). This time there is no specific audience. The presence of the crowd is stated in verse 37.
In verse 35, Jesus poses a question with what seems to be a paradox.
David is traditionally seen as the composer of the psalms and that is the key to understanding Jesus' quotation of psalm 110. The importance of the question is shown when Jesus speaks of David as inspired by the Holy Spirit. There are not many references to the Holy Spirit in this Gospel.
Psalm 110 had an enormous influence on early Christians as they began the process of understanding Jesus and what he did for humanity by his death and resurrection.
Psalm 2 is the other influential psalm in this regard where verse 7 says: you are my Son, today I have begotten you. Thus in the Acts of the Apostles, the keynote speech of Peter in chapter 2 refers to Psalm 110 (Acts 2,34) whilst the keynote speech of Paul in chapter 13 refers to Ps 2 (Acts 13,3).
Reading Mark's use of psalm 110 with that background, the question posed by Jesus is how a king can call his son "Lord" because that would indicate the superiority of the Son. That the Messiah would be a son of David has strong OT support such as the two references I gave, Ps 89,21-28 or 2 Sam 7,14.
Thus the Messiah will be the Son of God rather than the Son of David, especially when Jesus is exalted to the right hand of his Father and (for later Christians) as the pre-existent Son.
No answer is given to the paradox in verse 37. The response of the crowd to this in verse 37 is positive because they recognise the authority of Jesus (1,27).
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The Scribes Mk 12,38-40
Having just praised a scribe (12,34), Jesus now follows a long-standing tradition of the prophets of the Old Testament (e.g. Ezekiel 34) by criticising the leaders of Israel for their double standards.
Christian standards of leadership as service were highlighted by Jesus earlier in the Gospel (10,42-44).
Scribes were learned in the law and so had great authority. With that came great prestige as well as great temptation. They can make the most of their fine robes, obsequious greetings, and having important seating, Jesus' first three criticisms.
The fourth criticism in verse 40 is more serious. Jesus now focuses his criticism with the exploitation of widows under the pretense of their prayers, though the long prayers could be read as a fifth criticism. Protection and care of widows was strongly stessed in the Law, Dt 24,17-21.
Yet all too often widows were oppressed as the vulnerable in society. The references I gave are a few among many. We can note Sir 35,18 and the tears running down her cheek. Luke's story of the judge and persistant widow also comes to mind here (Lk 18,1-8).
Lengthy prayers are then mentioned in verse 40. It is Matthew (Mt 6,5-8) who makes the point here. Prayer time is no excuse for failing to serve.
The Widow Mk 12,41-44
Jesus in verses 41 watches the giving of the rich, often large sums. The in verse 42 Jesus notices the giving of a poor widow, not one but both her small coins. There is no meeting between them.
Jesus then in verse 43 summons his disciples and makes a formal statement "Amen, I say to you..." This indicates that Jesus is seeing a much deeper significance in the woman's actions. Her giving as he says in verse 44 is a sign of comlete self giving, "all she had to live on".
That goes to the heart of Jesus' teaching about being a disciple (10,43-44). Indeed, her example of total self giving is about to be fulfilled by Jesus himself (10,45) as the next stage in the story will be the passion. (We will see that the speech of chapter 13 is an interlude in the story.)
After this, Jesus speaks only to his disciples in private.
Leaving the Temple 13,1-2
13,1 begins "as he was leaving the Temple" so this is the conclusion to Jesus' Temple visit which began in 11,27 with the first entry in 11,11.
Some commentators may see a reference to the glory of the Lord departing from the Temple in Ezekiel (Ezk 10,18-19). It's worth a mention as a nice thought though going too far for this Gospel.
The disciple calls Jesus Teacher. We can note that Jesus has been called Teacher several times and there is an emphasis on his teaching whilst in the Temple.
We can take the disciple's comment as entirely natural, one anyone of us could have made about a magnificent building.
13,2 then is Jesus' final comment on the Temple. The Lord has visited his Temple (Mal 3,1) and found it wanting (Mal 1,6-14). Now it will be destroyed just as the prophets predicted the destruction of the first Temple (Jeremiah 7,1-20 or Amos 9,1) and for the same reason.
Thus this part of the Gospel, 11.11-13,2, stresses the unfruitfulness of the Temple (the fig tree 11,14) which will end in its destruction (13,1-2).
This is a prophetic criticism of the Temple. It would of course be fulfilled by the Romans in 70 AD. Whether or not the Gospel was written after this does not affect the story of the Gospel.
This departure from the Temple is therefore profides a lead into the discourse on the Mount of Olives which now follows from 13,3.
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The Sunday Reading
As we have seen, there are two parts to this Sunday Gospel: Jesus' criticism of the scribes especially concerning widows is then followed by his praise of one particular widow. As a Sunday Gospel, the two parts are in balance: there is a warning to the Church not to be like the scribes while there is also praise for the many generous givers who support the Church from limited means. The shorter version of this Sunday's Gospel removes the balance by simply praising the generosity of the widow.
Only the the widows' care for Elijah is read this Sunday (1 Kings 17,10-16). The lead-in concerning the drought is the necessary background and it is good to be aware of the way Elijah raises her son. This second part (1 Kings 17,17-24) is read on the 10th Sunday in cycle C to accompany the story of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7,11-17).
The difference between the two widows is that the one in the Gospel is just observed by Jesus, there is no meeting. Whereas with Elijah and his widow there is a considerable interaction and she has to put her trust in a stranger.
Yet, the scene of Elijah and the widow has a different theme to our reading of Jesus' statement about the widow.
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