Jesus the Plunderer

06/09/24 • 15 min

Intertwined - faith • community • ecology

Why was Jesus accused of conspiring with the ruler of the demons? What was his response to those accusations? What "strong man" did he plunder? Who are the strong men in our midst? Who was part of Jesus' family?
"Jesus the Plunderer" is based on Mark 3:20-35.
Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Then his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Works Referenced
Carter, Warren. Mark (Wisdom Commentary Series Book 42). Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2019. Kindle Edition.
Gorman, Amanda and Christian Robinson. Something, Someday. New York City: Viking, 2023.
Lettsome, Raquel S. "Mark." In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.
Pennsylvania Policy Center. “People’s Budget 101 Presentation.” Accessed June 6, 2024. https://pennpolicy.org/budget-101/
Placher, William C. Mark (BELIEF: A Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.

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Previous Episode

“A word that no one wants to hear”

What is prophecy? When did Isaiah prophecy? What happened when Jesus talked to Nicodemus? What does prophecy look like today? When should we prophesy?
“A word that no one wants to hear” is based on Isaiah 6:1-8 & John 3:1-17
Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Works Referenced

Ben Zvi, Ehud. “Amos.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: Third Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018, Kindle edition.

Henderlite, Rachel. “Charge by Rachel Henderlite to Louise H. Farrior on her Ordination.” July 30, 1967.

Holmes, Laura Sweat and George Lyons. John 1-12: A Commentary in the Western Tradition (New Beacon Bible Commentary). Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 2020, Kindle edition.

Kim, Hyun Chul Paul. Reading Isaiah: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys, 2010. Kindle edition.

Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “The Second Helvetic Confession.” The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Part I: Book of Confessions. Louisville, Kentucky: Office of the General Assembly, 2016.

“Rachel Henderlite.” Wikipedia, accessed May 21, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Henderlite

Reinhartz, Adele. “John.” In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.

Sweeney, Marvin A. “Isaiah 1-39.” In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.

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Next Episode

Words fall short

Why does God permit pain and suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people? What happened to Job? Does the book of Job tell us why evil exists?
"Words fall short" is a reflection based on Job 38:1-11.
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?
Works Referenced

Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York City: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2019, Kindle edition.

Greenstein, Edward L. “Job.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Newsom, Carol A. “Job.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume III. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

O’Brien, Julia. “Wisdom/Poetic literature.” OT100: Introduction to the Old Testament (class lecture, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA, April 13, 2019).

Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, June 13, 2024, https://openai.com/chatgpt/

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