Twist family Bible study: the Gospel of Mark

[Wayne]

   Yeah the juxtaposition of sins and physical disability is unpleasant!

I wonder - might he be saying - Don't even worry about this stuff they have called sin, like feeding yourself on the Sabbath.

Oh and you can walk too!   

I doubt many theologians would spring for that, but I wonder...   

[Shakesthecoffecan]

There is the style they wrote this down in, and what has been lost in translation over time.

Like in 2:13 he goes to Levi and says to follow him. Well you could make of that he had powerful pursuasion powers. Or you might wonder what all went on in that conversation. These verses are like zip files, each with a story inside we can only surmise.

[Shakesthecoffecan]

Now beigining in 2:18 it describes the followers of John (I am assuming the Baptist) and the Pharisees were fasting. So there was an organization of the followers of John. I wonder how that organizaton played into the followers of Jesus and the early church?

I like the example he gave of David taking the preiests bread to feed the hungry. It is a very good analogy.

[injest]

may I go back to something we mentioned in Chapter 1??

[Wayne]

So there was an organization of the followers of John. I wonder how that organizaton played into the followers of Jesus and the early church?

  ooh I saw a really spooky bit about this once - lemme see if I can find it ...   

[Shakesthecoffecan]

may I go back to something we mentioned in Chapter 1??

Please do.

[Wayne]

may I go back to something we mentioned in Chapter 1??

Please, you bet! Nothing formal here - we'll make it cumulative!   

[injest]

we were talking about Jesus saying the Kingdom was at hand....

in Matthew 5:17 he says "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, til the heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished."

what do you think this means?

I hear so many people talking about rituals...that we have to continue to obey the laws of the old testament but not the 'cultural' ones...like eating shellfish...which to me seems like they are just cherry picking what they want to oppress people..

[Shakesthecoffecan]

The "all is accomplished" part is what I wonder about. Wonder what that means?

[Wayne]

So there was an organization of the followers of John. I wonder how that organizaton played into the followers of Jesus and the early church?

Here ya go - Mandaeism ...   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandaeism

"Mandaeans consider John the Baptist to be God's most honorable messenger.They describe Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as false Prophets."

Until the Iraq war there were about 70,000 Mandaeans in Iraq. Now there are about five thousand ...