Sunday Morning Bible Study

All are welcome to this six-week Lenten Study of The Last Week, by Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan. Come not only to meet the historical Jesus, but meet a radical and little-known Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him. Using the gospel of Mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus’s final week of life.

March 14

We didn’t finish our review of Chapter 3-Tuesday. Let’s begin with the readings and discussion about the “little apocalypse” Mark 13:5-37.

3. Consider Mark’s “little apocalypse.” “What has begun in Jesus will triumph, despite the tumult and resistance of this world.” The author of Mark believed the end was coming soon. It did not. But the little apocalypse functions to say to the followers of Jesus your efforts are not in vain. Reflect on our confidence in our convictions in the midst of opposition and violent opposition. What functions today to give us hope for our world? Let us hope it is not the desire for an end!!

Wednesday Chapter Four (Mark 14: 1-11): Discuss this interesting quote, “Even if, physically, they [the disciples] do not pass through death to resurrection alongside Jesus in Jerusalem and thereby end their lives on this earth, metaphorically their through-death-to-resurrection mode of existence will be one of paradoxical leadership in their continuing lives here below.” (pg. 101) How do you understand this for “then” and “now”?

Reflect on atonement: substitution or participation? There has long been an understanding that Jesus’s death was sacrificial and salvific. “It is not just that Jesus offered his life in atonement for sin, but that God demanded it as a condition for our forgiveness.” (pg. 101) Borg & Crossan unpack and counter this default assumption. In this chapter, participation with Jesus and not substitution by Jesus is emphasized. This is an appointment conversation.

Why is this an important distinction? How does it affect your thoughts about the relationship between Jesus and God and us?

For the Zoom information, check your Saturday Zoom email or contact Bill Lamb at william.e.lamb@gmail.com.

Zoom (CUCC):  reserved for Bill Lamb; 9:30-10:30AM