Mark 12:25-37

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “Why do the legal experts say that the Christ is David’s son?  David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right side until I turn your enemies into your footstool.’^[f]  David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be David’s son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.

^[f] Psalm 110:1

Mark 12:25-37, Common English Bible (c) 2011

This feels like an inside joke to me – and I don’t get it.  But the crowd did and they were delighted.  So I turned to the parallel texts, the same story in other gospels (many Bibles list references to parallel passages either in parentheses at the end of the verse or in footnotes at the bottom or side of the page).   Luke 20:41-44 didn’t suggest anything different.   Both Mark and Luke have Jesus asking a rhetorical question – he wasn’t expecting an answer.  But Matthew 22:41-44 says Jesus began by asking the Pharisees a question; the discourse ended with no clear answer.  Alas, I still don’t know what it means.

-Teressa Clark, 2012

Lenten Reflections 2019:  Following Jesus from the Mount of Olives to the Tomb ~ Day 12