The Bringer of the Law

In the discipline of Jiu Jitsu, when an opponent strikes you, his aggression is understood as an opportunity to use his power against him. A similar principle is found in the Bible, with a slight twist: throughout the Old Testament, the Lord uses the aggression of Israel’s enemies as an opportunity to use the enemies’ power against Israel for the sake of Israel’s instruction, so that through the application of this instruction, both Israel and the enemy can be saved. This template is applied forcefully in Mark 15. Even as Jesus is besieged by violence and corruption from all sides, Mark demonstrates how Israel, represented by Simon of Cyrene (the one who “hears” the Torah) is only able to walk according to its instruction when forced to do so by the Romans. Put another way, in Mark, Israel needs the Nations in order to fulfill the commandment of the Law. Sound familiar? If not, please take note, and reread all of St. Paul’s letters...several times. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 15:16-21. Episode 206 Mark 15:16-21; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “I Can Feel it Coming” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★