In today's episode of Word for Word: The Bible, we finish Matthew and begin Mark. Matthew closes with Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection—condemned by both Jewish and Roman authorities, yet dying as the fulfillment of God's plan. An angel announces His resurrection to the women at the tomb, and the risen Jesus commissions His disciples to go to all nations. Mark then retells the story from the beginning at a faster pace: John prepares the way, Jesus is baptized and confirmed as God's Son, and after testing in the wilderness He begins proclaiming the kingdom. Join Kevin Mooneyhan for an ending and a beginning.
Episode Overview
Today we finish Matthew and start Mark. Matthew 27 moves through the trial before Pilate, the crowd choosing Barabbas, the mocking, and the crucifixion. Jesus cries out in the words of Psalm 22—my God, my God, why have you forsaken me—and the temple curtain tears from top to bottom, torn from the wrong end for human hands. A centurion who has watched the whole thing says surely he was the Son of God.
Chapter 28 gives the resurrection in Matthew's telling: an earthquake, an angel rolling back the stone and sitting on it, guards frozen with fear. The women are the first witnesses, which is historically striking given that their testimony carried little legal weight at the time—not the detail you invent if you are fabricating a story. Then the commission on a Galilean mountain: all authority has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, and surely I am with you always.
Mark then starts over, and the pace is completely different. No genealogy, no birth narrative. The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God—and immediately John is in the wilderness. Mark's favorite word is immediately, and it shows. Baptism, wilderness testing in two verses, fishermen called, a demon cast out, a fever healed, a leper cleansed. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe.
Key Themes
• A cry from Psalm 22 at the cross
• A curtain torn from top to bottom
• Women as the first resurrection witnesses
• A commission extending to all nations
• Mark's urgent restart of the same story
In This Episode You'll Discover
• What the torn curtain signals
• Why the women being first witnesses is historically notable
• What authority Jesus claims before the commission
• How Mark's opening differs from Matthew's
• The major lesson: the story ends with a sending, not a conclusion
Today's Scripture:
Matthew 27–28; Mark 1
About the Podcast
Word for Word: The Bible is a chronological Bible study podcast hosted by Kevin Mooneyhan that takes listeners through the entire Bible one chapter at a time. Each episode combines Scripture reading, historical context, theological insight, and practical application to help listeners understand God's Word and grow in their faith.