Marginal Christianity

Exposition A faithful priestly family, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were living faithfully - “righteous before God” (v.6), that is, within the story line that governs Luke’s account. He carefully situates them in this story within the history of the world going around them. God’s work is this world, in this world, and for this world – “in the days of King Herod of Judea” (v.5). “Righteous” means living in right relation to God and for right relations in the world God created. Far from a stuffy, priggish, rule-keeping fetish, righteousness is the freedom to live for God and from his good order and intentions for his world. Just one problem: Elizabeth was barren! A curse from the world’s point of view, though from the story line of divine promise from which Luke worked, just where she needed to be. A barren “mother” of Israel, Elizabeth takes her place alongside Sarah (Gen.11:30), Rebekah (Gen.25:21), Rachel (Gen.29:31), and Hannah (1 Sam.2:5), as those who received from God new l...

     (I depend here on Myers’ Say to this Mountain , 72-73) We are in the middle of another Markan “sandwich” here. 6:7-13 narrates the sending out of the disciples. 6:14-30 tells the gruesome story of John the Baptist’s death. 6:31-44 returns to the conclusion of the disciples’ mission.   Josephus, the 1 st century Jewish historian, tells us that Herod had John killed because he was fomenting an insurrection. And he was. Gathering the people in the wilderness under the aegis of a New Exodus against both established Roman and Jewish authorities could hardly be otherwise construed. Mark has already clued us into to that aspect of the story. Here he unveils another related aspect of it. Herod Antipas (ruled Galilee from 4 b.c. to 39 a.d.). After he had John killed, the ruler had dreams that John was coming back from the dead to haunt him in the person of Jesus (6:14-16). Guilty conscience no doubt. But true as well. The movement he started was conti...