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Day 546, Sunday, Feb. 8
Mark 15:1 – 16:20
Some of the most powerful words are those not spoken.
Jesus has been arrested. He is on trial before the governor. The crowd is watching. The Jews are watching. Rome is watching.
This is the time that many would have chosen to make impassioned proclamations of what they believe. This is the time that martyrs literally die for—a time when all eyes are on them and they can shout their manifesto to the watching world.
In Mark’s record, the only reply Jesus makes when Pilate asks if he is king of the Jews is, “You have said so.”
As the accusations pile up, Pilate gives him opportunity to respond to the charges that are being made against him. “But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.”
Even on the cross, Mark records Jesus as being mostly silent, speaking only the opening words of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
To Mark it is mainly the actions of Jesus that communicate his message. Yes, Mark includes some of Jesus’s teachings, but it’s mainly the actions that matter.
Here at the end, Jesus doesn’t talk of duty and sacrifice, or loudly argue how strong his faith in God is. He shows those things, preaching the gospel with his blood rather than his words.

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Sunday meditation

Psalms 76:1-12
God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great. His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.
You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.
Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Prayer focus
May we proclaim you with our very life and, at the end, with our very death.