Conservative Friends Bible Study of Mark #17 Mark Chapter 09: Verse 42 - 49

 Henry begins the session by going back to Mark 9:35, to help the class understand a Jewish custom that would not be easily understood today: the act of Jesus sitting down to talk to His disciples. When a teacher in Jewish culture sat down to say something, those of the Jewish culture would have understood that their teacher had something very important to say, and that they should listen even more closely.            Next is a further examination of Mark 9:37 (when Jesus takes a child in His arms) and the use and meanings in the Scriptures of Truth of the Greek New Testament word “dechetai” which is often translated in English, “welcome”. In this discussion, Henry also mentions that children were largely invisible in Jewish culture, and Jesus’ act of taking the child in His arms would have been most unusual for a teacher to extend that kind of recognition of,  and fondness to, a child.              The discussion then moves on to considering Mark 9:42-49. In that discussion are discussed whether Jesus’ had a literal or hyperbolic view of our responsibility when we struggle with sin, and our responsibility of how we should deal with sin in each of our lives when we discover it. The session finishes with an examination of the Biblical concept of Hell, and how the Holy Scriptures both in Mark 9:47-49 (and a few other related verses in other parts of the Scriptures of Truth) help give us more understanding about the Biblical teaching of Hell.  Host's notes:Dechetai: receive, take, welcome, accept, bear withEis: child, slavePisteuō v. – trust, put one’s trust in, have confidence in, have trust in; believe, have faithPistis – trust, confidence; belief, faithScandalon: an obstacle; that which causes stumbling, trouble or sinScandalezo: cause someone to sin, to anger or to shock  Gehenna: “The Valley of Gehennom”. Originally where babies had been sacrificed. Later, in and around New Testament times, it was a dump with a smoldering fire.Hades: the abode of the dead.  Zoe: lifeZoe ionias: eternal lifeBasileia tou theo: kingdom of GodKingdom of Heaven literally: Kingdom of the Heavens (Greek: “Basileia tou Uranus”Mikros adj. – littlePur – fire a.) a destructive fireb.) a purifying fire separating the pure from the drossThe words to our music are from George Fox’s 19th Epistle in 1652  (page 14 in  The Epistles of George Fox ) .  The music was composed and sung by Paulette Meier.  A complete list of our podcasts,  organized into topics, is available on our website.We will be publishing video interviews with Conservative Friends on YouTube.  See our YouTube channel.  The first interview is with Susan Smith. To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit  ohioyearlymeeting.org. Those interested in exploring the distinctives of Conservative Friends waiting worship should consider checking out our many Zoom Online Worship opportunities during the week here. All are welcome! We also have several Zoom study groups.  Check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website.   Advices read in these podcasts can be found on page 29 in our Book Of Discipline.We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes.   Contact us through our website.