David

If there is one incident in Jesus’ life that leads us to question his judgment, the story of him taking a whip and angrily driving people out of the temple must rank as a strong contender. We have heard in recent weeks that Jesus can be forthright in challenging people – even calling pharisees ‘hypocrites’ to their faces!

Abraham is a problematic figure in the biblical story. He lies to Pharoah about his wife, hanging her out to dry to protect his own skin. He does the same thing a few chapters later to another king, Abimelech. But when push comes to shove, at the moment of the test, he … ’passed with flying colors’ as we used to say in school.

Mark wrote his gospel for persecuted Christians living in Rome. These early believers lived in fear of being thrown to the wild beasts in the public square; their cruel and agonising deaths a source of grotesque ‘entertainment’ for Rome’s citizens!

The Old Testament Law existed to protect God’s people from physical and moral hazards that could harm the whole community. The Law’s emphasis on spiritual and bodily purity established how God’s people could live together in a healthy relationship with God and each other.