Mark #48: The Kingdom Kernel (Mark 15:40-47) - a podcast by Rob Woodrum & Others

I remember helping my mom plant gardens when I was a kid. She loved gardening, and every spring in Michigan we’d walk out in a freshly tilled plot of ground and start planting seeds down the rows. I can still remember looking at those seeds and asking her for the umpteenth time what plant it would be, and she, very patiently, showed me the bright picture of a pristine vegetable on the seed packet.

I’d look at those seeds and try to figure out how the first shape would transform into the second shape. Obviously, horticulture was not something I pursued.

But that memory lingers in the text we’ll cover this Sunday. We’ll be reading about Jesus’ burial in our study in Mark, reading Mark 15:40-47. In so many ways, this is not just the account which fills in a few details whilst we wait for the resurrection (***spoiler – Jesus doesn’t stay dead***). Christ’s burial is something he forecast in John 12:24, when he made the statement: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.” 

Once again, I’m a child, looking at the shape of the kernel and wondering about the shape the harvest. As I consider it – I believe we actually do get a glimpse of the shape the harvest of new lives will take as we look at the details of the Kingdom Kernel being planted in the grave.

In v40-41, who are the followers of Jesus that the narrative focuses on? Isn’t it interesting that none of the big names we’ve read about all through this story are mentioned at this juncture? A radical upheaval in the order of this broken world is pictured in this shifted focus – can you imagine what it is?

V42-43 introduce us to another new character: Joseph of Arimathea. A member of the Sanhedrin, he goes to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body so he can have a decent burial. The NLT says he “took a risk” in doing this. Imagine what the risks are for him? How might his fellow Sanhedrin members feel about it? How might Pilate react to another member of the religious leaders bothering him about Jesus? What does this social, political and religious risk tell us about the nature of this new life we find in Christ?

As you finish reading the chapter, what surprises do you come across? What seems unexpected in this text, and what might that say about a new life in Christ?

I think this will be an interesting and encouraging passage to study together. Hope to see you on Sunday!

Click here for a pdf version of the teaching slideshow.

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