What Does The Word Hallelujah Mean?

 The term hallelujah is an expression of praise.  It means Praise the Lord or Praise Yahweh or more precisely Praise Yah.  Psalms 146-150 are sometimes called the Hallelujah Psalms.  In the New Testament hallelujah is found in Revelation 19.  

(ESV) (Psalm 150:1)"Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!" 

(LSB) (Psalm 150:1)"Praise Yah! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse."  

(CSB) (Psalm 150:1)"Hallelujah! Praise God in his sanctuary.  Praise him in his mighty expanse."  

What Is The Greatest Commandment?

 (Matthew 22:36-40)"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?  And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (ESV) 

A lawyer or scribe asked Jesus what is the great or most important commandment?  Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  This passage is also found in Mark 12:28-33.  

We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.  This means we are to love God with our entire being and be totally devoted to him.  We are also to love our neighbor.  This means we are to care for other people and to want what is best for them.  

Love God, Love people.   

Romans 12:9 (Short Commentary)

 (Romans 12:9)"Let love be genuine.  Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." (ESV) 

This verse can be called the mark of a Christian.  Love is to be authentic, not hypocritical.  Love seeks the good of the other person, it is not self centered.  True love hates what is evil and clings to what is good. 

Good is that which aligns with the character and law of God.  Evil is that which opposes the character and law of God.   

What About The Ending Of Mark's Gospel?

 Bible readers will notice that Mark 16:9-20 in most translations has brackets around it, along with a note saying some early manuscripts do not include 16:9-20.  So is Mark 16:9-20 (the long ending) part of the original Gospel of Mark?  

There are three options with the ending of Mark's Gospel.  The first option is that 16:9-20 is authentic and part of the original.  The second option is that Mark ended his Gospel at 16:8.  The third option is that the original ending of Mark has been lost.  

Mark 16:9-20 is found in most of the Greek manuscripts, all except two.  The two manuscripts that do not contain it are also our earliest copies of Mark 16 (Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus) both of which date to around A.D. 350.  These two manuscripts are considered to be very reliable overall.  Also some manuscripts that do contain 16:9-20 have notes stating that some manuscripts of Mark end at 16:8.  

Eusebius (A.D. 260-339) states that most of the manuscripts that he has of Mark' Gospel end at 16:8.  Jerome (A.D. 347-420) also says that most of the manuscripts do not contain 16:9-20.  But on the other hand Irenaeus (A.D. 130-202) seems to quote from Mark 16:9-20.  

Mark 16:9-20 does not seem to fit with 16:1-8.  But Mark ending his Gospel at 16:8 would seem to be an unusual and abrupt ending, that does not contain resurrection appearances, although the resurrection is mentioned in 16:6.  It seems unlikely that the original ending of Mark has been lost.  

The issue of the ending of Mark's Gospel is complex and perplexing.   

The Old Testament And The Resurrection Of Christ

 Does the Old Testament predict the resurrection of Jesus?  The New Testament writers say yes.  

In Acts 2:25-28 the Apostle Peter quotes from Psalm 16:8-11 which was written by David.  Peter makes the point that David died and was not writing about himself, but was writing about his descendant who was Christ Jesus.  

(Acts 2:27)"For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption." (ESV) 

(Acts 2:31)"he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption." (ESV) 

In Acts 13:32-41 the Apostle Paul quotes from Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, and Psalm 16:10 to prove the resurrection of Christ.  

(Acts 13:33)"this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, You are my Son, today I have begotten you." (ESV) 

(Acts 13:34)"And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David." (ESV) 

(Acts 13:35)"Therefore he says also in another psalm, You will not let your Holy One see corruption." (ESV) 

(Acts 13:36-37)"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption." (ESV) 

(1 Corinthians 15:3-4)"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," (ESV)  

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 the Apostle Paul may have in mind Hosea 6:1-2 and Isaiah 53:10 or he may just mean the entire Old Testament points to Christ.   

The Church And Cultural Christianity

 A cultural Christian is someone who thinks Christianity is beneficial for society but is not necessarily committed to Jesus.  Christianity is indeed beneficial for society, but should the church promote cultural Christianity?  Let us take a deeper look into this matter.  

Is the church called to try to build a Christian nation or to make disciples of all nations?  Is America a battlefield or a mission field?  Cultural Christianity seeks to use Christianity for it's utilitarian value.  In cultural Christianity morality, politics and the culture wars are primary.  Theology and Biblical thinking are often minimized. 

When fighting the culture wars and making  America a "Christian" nation become the primary concern, the church is off track.  The church must proclaim true, Biblical Christianity not a watered down cultural Christianity.  The focus of the church must be sound doctrine, missions, evangelism, discipleship, theology, apologetics, and true worship, all for the glory of God.  

Of course making America a "Christian" nation is usually thought to be achieved through the political process.  This often involves the church tying itself to a politician or political party.  The church should never be tied to any politician or political party!  When this happens the witness of the church is compromised and damaged.  

Politics and the culture are important but they are not ultimate.  The church has to realize the battle is spiritual, not worldly.  It must stop trying to fight a spiritual battle with worldly weapons.  The Bible, prayer, and the gospel are the weapons of the church.  We need Biblical Christianity not cultural Christianity!   

 

Mark 1:1 (A Bible Translation Comparison)

 (ESV)"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." 

(NIV)"The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God," 

(NRSV)"The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ." 

We notice a few differences with these translations at Mark 1:1.  The ESV has gospel while the NIV and NRSV have good news.  The NIV has Messiah while the ESV and NRSV have Christ.  Messiah and Christ both mean Anointed One.  

But the biggest difference is that the ESV and NIV include the phrase, "Son of God" while the NRSV omits it.  There is actually a textual variant in the manuscripts.  A few of the manuscripts do not have "Son of God" but most of the manuscripts do include the phrase.  

The omission of the phrase "Son of God" in a few ancient manuscripts is probably explained by a copyist error.  The words "Son of God" also appear toward the end of the Gospel at Mark 15:39.  So "Son of God" at 1:1 and 15:39 sort of serve as bookends.  It is likely that the words "Son of God" are part of the original text at Mark 1:1.  

(ESV) English Standard Version

(NIV) New International Version

(NRSV) New Revised Standard Version