OBS #2.2 - Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

St. Mark begins with the word “beginning,” showing that his contribution to the Roman Christians is simply a beginning and foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mark uses the first eleven verses of his Gospel to illustrate that Baptism is the bridge between the Old and New Testaments.

The wilderness metaphor in verse 3 pictures hindrances and obstacles which separate Israel from God. Impenitence raises the mountains of obstruction. Repentance opens the way of YHWH.

John brings forth the model of Biblical preaching as the call to announce clearly and distinctly exactly what God orders us to announce in His Word.

“The very appearance of John was thus a stern sermon. It was a call to all those who made food and drink, house and raiment their chief concern in life to turn from such vanity and to provide far more essential things. John was a living illustration of how little man really needs here below—something we are prone to forget” (Lenski 38). St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Catechetical Lectures, likens John’s living sermon of repentance to a snake shedding its skin:

He fed on locusts to make his soul grow wings. Sated with honey, the words he spoke were sweeter than honey and of more profit. Clothed in a garment of camel’s hair, he exemplified in his own person the holy life. … For every snake puts off its signs of age by pushing through some narrow place, and gets rid of its old apparel by squeezing it off. From then on it is young again in body. So “enter in at the straight and narrow gate,” squeeze yourself through by fasting, break yourself away from perishing, “put off the old nature with its deeds.”

John shows himself finally to be so unworthy of his calling that he likens himself to the humblest of slaves—the one who takes the shoes off his master’s feet upon entering the home—and says he is unable to do even that.

OBS #3.1 - Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles

Introduction to Acts of the Apostles

Author/Compiler: St. Luke is a companion of St. Paul on his missionary journeys. This comes explicitly clear in the "we" passages throughout the book of Acts.

Date of Composition: Acts' date of composition is under heavy dispute. Some believe it was written in 78 AD, being several years after St. Luke's Gospel. There is also some who believe that it was written in the late 90s to 100 AD (around the same time as St. John's Gospel). The majority of the opinion and the evidence points towards as being written in the mid-60s AD. This would be after St. Mark's Gospel (St. Peter's death) and before St. Paul's death. Since St. Peter was executed in 64 AD, St. Paul was executed in 67 AD and Acts ends with St. Paul still being imprisoned, Acts must have been written between 64 and 67.

Occasion/Purpose: Luke wrote this as a second volume to his Gospel. The major purpose of the book of Acts is as a continuation of Jesus' words in Luke 24:47: "repentance and forgiveness should be proclaimed in [Jesus'] name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem".

Major Theme: The major theme of the Acts of the Apostles is the progress of the proclamation of the Gospel by the early Church from Christ's Ascension until the end of St. Paul's ministry.

OBS #2.1 - Introduction to St. Mark's Gospel

Introduction to St. Mark's Gospel

Author/Compiler: St. John Mark is the son of Mary (Acts 12:12) and a Greek father. He lived in Jerusalem. It is believed by some that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper in the Upper Room in Mary's house in Jerusalem. John Mark grew up to become a missionary helper of St. Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-13; 15:36-41). He was also St. Peter's helper in Rome (1 Peter 5:13) and continued helping St. Paul during his second Roman imprisonment (2 Timothy 4:11).

Date of Composition: The Gospel was written around the year 64 AD. There is some debate even among the ancient church fathers as to whether it was before or after Peter's death. Some say that Peter accepted and encouraged the Gospel being written down by Mark. Others say that it was written after his crucifixion as a memorial. Mark was either the first or second Gospel written. There is debate (starting in the 19th century) as to whether Matthew or Mark was written first, the second using the first as a primary source. Most of the ancient church fathers believed that Matthew was written first, then Mark, Luke and John (therefore the order we have them in the Bible).

Occasion/Purpose: Mark wrote the Gospel because the Christians at Rome requested a copy of what St. Peter had preached to them in his time in Rome (between St. Paul's first and second imprisonments). Mark then took the written Gospel and founded the Church in Alexandria. Its style is indicative of the fact that Mark wrote Peter's teachings from memory and recorded them as he remembered.

Major Theme: The major theme of the Gospel of St. Mark comes in its very first verse: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" (1:1).

OBS #1.3 - Daniel 2:1-16 : Nebuchadnezzar's First Dream

Daniel 2:1-11
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream." Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation." The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation." They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation." The king answered and said, "I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm--if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation." The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."

Date: fifth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign; two years since the end of the three years in 1:5

Dreams were used by God to reveal things which will happen in the future. This dream worried Nebuchadnezzar to the point of his losing sleep for the night. He summoned all those who were supposed to be naturally inclined to deciphering codes and riddles. The magicians were the philosophers of the kingdom (often shortened to magi). The enchanters were astrologers. The sorcerers carried the same connotation as it does now in the realm of wizards and warlocks. The Chaldeans were not necessarily Chaldean by nationality (of which all the previous groups would have been) but they were a particular order of wizard-priests.

Nebuchadnezzar’s orders were designed to test the truthfulness of these men and the powers they call upon for their sorcery. By forcing these men to tell the dream and the interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar was asking something that “no great and powerful king has asked such a thing” (v10). Nebuchadnezzar knew that they were wise enough to come up with an answer and interpretation if it meant saving their lives. Nebuchadnezzar would not accept just any answer.

Daniel 2:12-16

Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, "Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

Unaccustomed to his orders being refused, Nebuchadnezzar (showing that power corrupts) ordered that the entire class of wise men be executed. They came after Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in their quest, but Daniel requested to have an audience with the king. How that turns out comes next time.

NOTE: All Scripture readings taken from English Standard Version. Used by permission.

OBS #1.2 - Daniel 1:8-21

Daniel 1:8-16

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king." Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see." So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

Each of the people taken from the nobility and royal family to be transformed into the image of the Babylonians. However, Daniel and his three friends refuse to allow that. Daniel convinced Nebuchadnezzar's chief eunuch to give them only vegetables and water.

It was a test--the first of many in the book of Daniel--concerning the faithfulness of God. The chief eunuch worried that the lack of meat and wine and the other delicacies given to everyone else would make these four young men look worse than the rest and cost him his job.

The chief eunuch finally succumbed to Daniel's persuasion and allowed an experiment for ten days. After those ten days, these four looked much better and were more fully rounded in flesh than everyone else. From that time on, the chief eunuch gave them only vegetables and water instead of their original provisions commanded by Nebuchadnezzar. God proved to be faithful to His people by providing even better for Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego even better than He did for everyone else.

This points us to the Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." As the Catechism explains, "God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving." The four young men received everything that God gave them with thanksgiving and they were well-provided in body and future.

Daniel 1:17-21

As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

God not only blessed them physically but also in everything that Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to have. God did this so that He had people who were faithful to Him in the hierarchy of the kingdom of Babylon so that His people would be cared for by their oppressors even while God had turned their back on them for the time being.

In fact, God had provided for them so well that Nebuchadnezzar found them ten times wiser, smarter and insightful than anyone else that he had in his court. They became his most trusted advisors. We see from the final verse of the chapter that Daniel served in this capacity until the first year of King Cyrus (539 BC). This places Daniel's influence over the land of Babylon to be close to fifty years. An entire lifetime of God's provisions being shown to him by the power and authority entrusted to him because of his faithfulness to God.

Faithfulness to God and His Word is what causes young people to be able to transform the world, just as these four youths transformed a worldwide empire by their faithfulness to their God.

NOTE: All Scriptures come from the English Standard Version (C) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

OBS #1.1 - Daniel 1:1-7

Timeline: 3rd year of King Jehoiakim (586 BC)

Historical Background: 2 Kings 24:10-17

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold. He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Jerusalem is beseiged by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In the city's surrender, many youths of the royal family and the Israelite nobility are carried away into Babylon. These youths were without blemish; had a good appearance; skillful in wisdom; endowed with knowledge, understanding and learning; and competent to stand in Nebuchadnezzar's court.

That's where we come in as we read Daniel 1:1-7.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

We're introduced to several of the major players in the book of Daniel:

• Nebuchadnezzar - King of Babylon
• Jehoiakim - King of Judah
• Ashpenaz - Nebuchadnezzar's chief eunuch
• Daniel (Belteshazzar) - Israelite royal family or nobility
• Hananiah (Shadrach) - Israelite royal family or nobility
• Mishael (Meshach) - Israelite royal family or nobility
• Azariah (Abednego) - Israelite royal family or nobility

Many of these will play prominently in the next few chapters of the Book of Daniel. The youths were taught Chaldean language and literature for three years to prepare them for their service in Nebuchadnezzar's court. What will happen to the four Israelite youths? Come back next month and find out!

NOTE: All Scriptures come from the English Standard Version (C) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Used with permission.