Throughout the final scenes of Jesus’ public ministry, Mark’s text has documented an ongoing debating match between Jesus and the members of the Sanhedrin. In today’s gospel text chronicling these Temple-located exchanges, Jesus gets in the last word. Although in last week’s text Jesus had praised a Scribe, declaring that he was “not far from the kingdom of God” (v.34), the Scribes who are the focus of this week’s discussion fall at the other end of the ethical spectrum. Instead of the “kingdom of God” these Scribes “will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Scribe in last week’s gospel text engaged Jesus in a serious discussion about the Torah — asking a thoughtful ethical and theological question. In today’s text the Scribes show no heartbeat for their “job description” as lovers and …