Once Passover and the crucifixion are firmly tied together liturgically in our minds, we can roll the earliest gospel, Mark, backward over the rest of the liturgical year of the Jews. As we do so, two things quickly become obvious. First, there is an appropriate Jesus story (the transfiguration) in exactly the place where the observance of Dedication-Hanukkah comes in the Jewish liturgical year. Second, there is an appropriate Jesus story first for the harvest season of Sukkoth (Mark 4), then for Yom Kippur (Mark 1:40–2:12) and, finally, for Rosh Hashanah (Mark 1:1–13). John the Baptist
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