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Bible Study for November 3, 2024
Opening Prayer:
Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mark 12:28-34 Have you ever had an impulse to act in a certain way and done differently when you remember these two commandments?
This passage is quite remarkable in many ways. Two extraordinary things come to mind right away. The first is that usually in the Gospels the Scribes or Pharisees come to listen to Jesus in the hope of hearing him say something blasphemous. If they ask questions, it is to try to trick him into saying something that can be held against him. In this case the Scribe is impressed with how Jesus has been answering the questions. Jesus is worth consulting. He assumes that among the long list of laws of what is permitted, what is prohibited, and how to carry out rituals, there is one that is most important.
The second extraordinary thing is how Jesus sums up the whole intent of all the laws, rituals, and traditions. He cuts to the heart of the matter and reveals the big picture at the same time. By sighting these two commandments, God is one and you shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus points us directly to how God wants us to live. The scribe understands that this is the key. Jesus affirms the scribe’s understanding by telling him that he is not far from the kingdom of God.
Hebrews 9:11-14 Do you find the atonement view a difficult one to accept?
In this epistle, the writer lays out the atonement understanding of Christ’s death. It is one that many of us in our modern world find hard to understand or accept. It probably made much more sense for the early followers of Jesus who struggled to understand why he was executed.
The tradition of animal sacrifice was well understood by the Israelites. In fact animal and even human sacrifice have been a part of many religions and cultures. There seems to be a universal mystical view of what we call a creature’s “life’s blood”.
Old Testament texts call for the sacrificial animal to be perfect and of the greatest value, not one that is defective or ill. So for the early Christians it makes sense to see Christ as the perfect unblemished sacrifice. He was innocent and his death was a sacrifice on our behalf. Through it our relationship with God the Creator is restored.
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