N.T. Wright

Super Bowl Gospel

Church Leadership, Cross, Gospel of Mark, Jesus, Justice, Kingdom of God, Salvation

The Louisiana Superdome. Exactly twenty years ago. Biggest game of the year. The New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams are tied at 17 points with only a few seconds remaining on the clock in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Tom Brady spikes the ball to stop the clock at the St. Louis 33-yard line. On the final play of the game, New England kicker Adam Vinatieri boots the ball through the uprights, giving New England its very first Super Bowl championship in franchise history. Here’s the following day’s headline in the Boston Globe:

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A New Era Emerges

Gospel of Mark, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Salvation

(Note: A few months ago I began an in-depth study of the Gospel of Mark. For the next several blog posts, I plan to share some of my ongoing reflections on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Nothing fancy. But I hope you can gain something in each entry. For space reasons, I will only include a small portion of my actual notes & reflections. Unless otherwise noted, I will be using the New Revised Standard Version. For theo-nerds like me, my primary commentary sources are Ben Witherington and N.T. Wright).

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