Character in Context

There is far more to the account of Yeshua’s/Jesus’s death than meets the eye. We’re going to be talking about the Tamid offerings and their timing, the cosmic event language in Matthew and Mark concerning the darkness and the torn veil, and the importance of the Centurion’s declaration that, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Transcript https://theancientbridge.com/2022/07/episode-144-mark-72-t...

This week we will continue with Yeshua/Jesus in the background as the world takes center stage against Him. This week is very context heavy, from the proposed location of Golgotha, the properties of myrrh, the rights of Roman soldiers, the hours of prayer, the controversy of cross vs tree vs stake, to the importance of the titles King of the Jews and King of Israel.

Something that generally goes unnoticed in chapter fifteen is that Yeshua/Jesus has ceased to be the main character, replaced by a multitude of “they” references. He is no longer the actor but the acted upon. What does this have to do with the forces of chaos, evil, sin, and death? And where exactly did the crucifixion take place?

So, at long last we are beginning the most harrowing chapter of the Gospel of Mark—chapter fifteen. Chapter fourteen ended with a condemnation of death, but one without any teeth because the power over life and death in Judea belonged entirely to Pontius Pilate, who was so cruel that he managed to achieve modern war criminal status during peacetime and even the Romans couldn't deal with him anymor...

When I wrote The Bridge: Crossing Over into the Fulness of Covenant Life, it was for the purpose of bringing people together who didn't understand one another. On one hand, we had the burgeoning "Torah movement" of Christians who were discovering the delights of the Sabbath and Festivals, and the benefits of eating cleaner and on the other hand we had their families who were taught that this was l...

HE IS RISEN! Although we take it for granted, it was very controversial among both Jews and Gentiles--but why? We will look at this obscure day on the Biblical Calendar, what it meant in the first century, and why Yeshua's fulfillment of it is the most important event in the history of the world. We'll also talk about why it is the foundation of our faith and what it means to live in belief and wh...

This is our last encounter with Peter in this Gospel and what a horrible end it is. Of course, we know the other side of the story, but in the Gospel traditionally credited as being Peter’s recollections he makes no effort to paint himself as a great hero of the faith or to restore his reputation--instead, it paves the way to tell the greater story of the One who did not fail and led the Greater E...

Now that the controversy over the status of the hearing itself has been covered, let’s look at another big scholarly debate—what exactly triggered the blasphemy charge? It isn’t as obvious as it may appear once we take extra-biblical accounts from that same time period into account.

Before we go forward with the trial, we need to talk about the difference between the sort of Sanhedrin Josephus chronicled during the first century, and the more Biblical Beth Din described in Mishnah Tractate Sanhedrin. The difference is extremely important for understanding exactly what was going on and whether it was a Kangaroo Court or not.

As the prophecies begin to come true, the disciples are shocked and scattered—and probably more than just a bit crushed to discover that Yeshua won’t be leading a Messianic uprising after all.

This week we are going to make good use of my last year spent studying laments in Hebrew scripture and culture. We’ll talk about the word Abba and what it does and does not mean, and whether or not Gethsemane was actually a garden or if the word points to something other than the traditional understanding.

This is both a beautiful and dreadful section of scripture. Beautiful because Yeshua/Jesus is revealing how the Passover is redefined through His ministry, and dreadful because of Peter’s proud assurances that he will never deny His Master—and calling Him a false prophet in the process.

Before we get into the actual breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine, we need to talk about the Passover in the first century and what we can know (and can’t know) about it through contemporary writings. Not contemporary to us but contemporary to Yeshua/Jesus and His followers.

Was the Last Supper a Passover seder or not? John and the Synoptics seem to disagree. But this week what we are really going to ask is: "Is that even the right question or are we missing the bigger theological picture of what the author of Mark (as well as Matthew, Luke, and John) was trying to communicate to us?" Lots to discuss this week about ancient Hospitality laws and social etiquette.

This week we are going to talk about the Greek word paradidomi, translated as handed over, betrayed, delivered over, etc. in both the Gospels and in the Greek OT, the Septuagint. What does the way paradidomi was used in translating the prophets teach us about Yeshua’s/Jesus’s betrayal?

I am back and I am going to talk very briefly about why the episodes stopped and what has been going on over the last five months. As for this episode, I was writing out Mark part  61 concerning the Passover, and about two pages in, I realized that not everyone would be familiar with the Biblical calendar so we’ll be covering that today. We’ll be covering all four Biblical new years mentioned in S...

We knew how to celebrate and love Christmas, but a lot of people really struggle when coming into the Biblical festivals and especially Sukkot. We’re going to take a look at some really common challenges based on a great conversation on my social media wall and come up with some solutions and we’re also going to talk about that elusive spiritual fruit of joy—which doesn’t mean being happy all the...

The Prosperity Gospel comes in many forms—all of them smacking of paganism and an extreme misreading of the purpose of blessings and curses in the Bible and oftentimes a lopsided cherry-picking of wisdom literature. As this aberration curses those who we are commanded to bless, we’re going to talk about how believers should respond to the reality that not everyone who seems blessed has their bless...

Traditionally, the barren women of Scripture are studied and celebrated on Rosh HaShanah—so why are they historically considered cursed and sometimes even experience persecution by other women? And what does Proverbs 31 woman have to say about the perfect wife/woman?

Yeah, you guys get the picture. I have my snark on for this one. Yeshua/Jesus is pretty specific here but we don't like it so we try to find workarounds. Let's look at these final verses of the Olivet Discourse in Mark 13 to find out exactly what He is and is not saying.

What is the huge deal here about the Son of Man coming on the clouds and what does it tell us about the identity of Yeshua/Jesus? And fig trees again? Did the fig tree growers association have an endorsement deal with the writers or is there a deeper meaning to be found here?

Such a controversial subject and we are going to look at some of the leading theories as to when this was as well as some more off the beaten path proposals. And just what is it that the reader is directed to understand?

Here, at the beginning of the Olivet Discourse, the longest speech in Mark and perhaps the oldest written document about Yeshua/Jesus, Yeshua responds to the disciples question of “When the heck is the Temple going to be destroyed??!!” with a bunch of false signs which won’t tell them much of anything because, as He says, “These are all just part of normal life.” And so why, when so many non-schol...

The destruction of the Temple Herod rebuilt marked the end of Jewish life as they had known it. The Temple marked the center of Jewish culture, Jewish religion, Jewish worship, Jewish hopes, Jewish nationalism, and Jewish identity. To call it the end of the world as they knew it is to severely misrepresent what it was like for them. This week, we will look at the writings of Josephus, Tacitus, and...

Mark 13 is filled with apocalyptic symbolism and prophecy—but is it pointing to what we presume it us? We’re going to do a quick and dirty crash course in the genre of Jewish apocalypse. We’re going to clarify and clean up the reality and wrong assumptions about prophecy in Scripture. And we will find out what eschatology means and how it relates to Mark 13, if at all.