Sometimes the proof in front of our face isn’t enough. Sometimes we ask for more when we have more than enough to make an informed decision. I am, sadly, often guilty of this. My wife calls me the worst decision maker in the world. We laugh about seeing examples in the world of people who are slower at making decisions than me, saying that particularly bad situations make me look decisive by comparison. Unfortunately, it is common that we look for one more sign from God before proceeding. It is often not enough that we have to make decisions on our own. We need a parting of the clouds and a voice from heaven before moving forward. The unfortunate thing is that this very rarely happens. God is certainly capable of it, but He asks us to act on faith.
11The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it." 13Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. – Mark 8:11-13
In the context of this message, what the Pharisees were asking was absurd. To this point, Jesus had already performed dozens of miracles. If we take these chapters as being chronological, He had already fed several thousand people with just a few loaves of bread and some fish. He had miraculously healed dozens of people and driven out demons. It is no wonder that Jesus, the One with infinite patience, gets frustrated here. If I were in his shoes, I would certainly wonder what more these people wanted. Jesus wanted these people to act on faith, but time and again they fell short.
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." – Mark 8:34-38
This is what we are asked to commit when we choose to follow Christ. In a way, it is much more than what the original law laid down in the Old Testament asked for. Under that law, only part was needed. Since Christ came to establish a New Covenant, we are asked to give everything we have. He gave everything He had for us, so anything less than the same from us is still far from enough. This is the only reasonable action we can take when presented with Christ’s sacrifice. It is the only way we can gain that which is not ours, and that is eternal life. We also cannot accept this sacrifice with shame. We must accept it with the honor it deserves. As we see, if we view our faith with shame, Christ will view us with shame. This goes back to the great commandment, somewhat, in that we must go forth and make disciples. The only way to do that is to accept this mantle without shame. If you wear shame with it, why would anyone else want it?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Mark Chapter 7
Our perception often defines our reality. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. In the case of the Pharisees, it was a bad thing. Our own short-sightedness can be our downfall. We see that here with the Pharisees as they simply refused to open their eyes and see the big picture as far as Christ is concerned. They were so caught up in tradition and the laws of man that they feared any deviation. To them, change meant a potential loss of power, even if it meant surrendering to the power that they supposedly followed.
9And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 11But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "
17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")
20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "
This is a large section, but it makes a very good point. The point here is that the word of God trumps anything that man can come up with. The Pharisees were trying to say that man can become unclean by things he consumes or touches. Quite frankly, this is ridiculous. Jesus points out how ridiculous this is because food cannot possibly tarnish the heart or the spirit. This is what matters in the eyes of the Lord. That which taints is already inside of us because man’s heart is already tarnished.
This is why we have a need for Christ. Jesus made His point here so we would see that need. It is not what we physically do that is important. It is where our hearts are that decides our fate. The Pharisees clearly did not have their hearts in line with God because they were more concerned with maintaining the status quo. Instead of listening to Jesus, they viewed Him as a threat. Jesus came to earth to set about change, but like many people in power, they viewed that change as wrong.
The beautiful lesson in this is that there is still hope for us. Though we are corrupted, we can be cleansed. Just as we cannot be physically made unclean, it is not a physical cleansing that guarantees our salvation. It is, instead, a spiritual one. That spiritual cleansing can only come from the blood of Christ. It is a gift freely given, but it must be accepted.
9And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 11But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "
17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")
20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "
This is a large section, but it makes a very good point. The point here is that the word of God trumps anything that man can come up with. The Pharisees were trying to say that man can become unclean by things he consumes or touches. Quite frankly, this is ridiculous. Jesus points out how ridiculous this is because food cannot possibly tarnish the heart or the spirit. This is what matters in the eyes of the Lord. That which taints is already inside of us because man’s heart is already tarnished.
This is why we have a need for Christ. Jesus made His point here so we would see that need. It is not what we physically do that is important. It is where our hearts are that decides our fate. The Pharisees clearly did not have their hearts in line with God because they were more concerned with maintaining the status quo. Instead of listening to Jesus, they viewed Him as a threat. Jesus came to earth to set about change, but like many people in power, they viewed that change as wrong.
The beautiful lesson in this is that there is still hope for us. Though we are corrupted, we can be cleansed. Just as we cannot be physically made unclean, it is not a physical cleansing that guarantees our salvation. It is, instead, a spiritual one. That spiritual cleansing can only come from the blood of Christ. It is a gift freely given, but it must be accepted.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Mark Chapter 6, Part 2
We begin the second half of Mark 6 today with the story of John the Baptist’s death. John the Baptist is a fascinating character because of how humble he is. In a way, he shares many similar qualities to Jesus, but obviously is not on the same level because of his humanity. He knew this as well, and accepted it as part of his calling. In this section of Scripture, we see this humility come through as John continues to spread the good news even though he is in prison facing death. This even had an effect on Herod, as he believed that Jesus was the resurrection of John the Baptist.
14King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying,[c] "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
15Others said, "He is Elijah."
And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."
16But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!" – Mark 6:14-16
This is merely another way that John the Baptist prepared the way. He was, in a way, working in tandem with Jesus. His ministry was much longer than the three years that Jesus had a public ministry. It also began long before Jesus’s public ministry. Through his ministry, people became ready for when Jesus came on the season. This gave Jesus’s message more power in the sense that He amplified some of the teachings John had made.
The rest of this chapter deals with the miracles of feeding the five thousand and walking on water. We touched on these miracles when I wrote about the book of Matthew, so this is really nothing new. It is merely a different account of these stories in more of a digest form, as the book of Mark is written. This does not take away from the significance of the stories. Instead, it provides a different perspective and therefore gives them credence. It is another way that we can know the Bible is true - because of multiple eyewitness accounts. The life of Jesus is one of the few places where we get multiple accounts of the same stories, but considering Jesus’s importance it is certainly merited.
14King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying,[c] "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
15Others said, "He is Elijah."
And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."
16But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!" – Mark 6:14-16
This is merely another way that John the Baptist prepared the way. He was, in a way, working in tandem with Jesus. His ministry was much longer than the three years that Jesus had a public ministry. It also began long before Jesus’s public ministry. Through his ministry, people became ready for when Jesus came on the season. This gave Jesus’s message more power in the sense that He amplified some of the teachings John had made.
The rest of this chapter deals with the miracles of feeding the five thousand and walking on water. We touched on these miracles when I wrote about the book of Matthew, so this is really nothing new. It is merely a different account of these stories in more of a digest form, as the book of Mark is written. This does not take away from the significance of the stories. Instead, it provides a different perspective and therefore gives them credence. It is another way that we can know the Bible is true - because of multiple eyewitness accounts. The life of Jesus is one of the few places where we get multiple accounts of the same stories, but considering Jesus’s importance it is certainly merited.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Mark, Chapter 6, Part 1
It is hard to picture a man like Jesus not having honor. Still, this is what we see when he tried to speak in his hometown of Nazareth. Why would something like this happen? Why would a man that was quite revolutionary wherever He went be virtually ignored in a place where you would expect Him to be loved? A large part of the reason likely comes from the fact that He was already familiar to those people in a way we don't see in the Bible. Jesus' public ministry only lasted about three years. Up until that time, he was a regular carpenter in his hometown of Nazareth. He had learned the trade under His earthly father, Joseph, and had continued it until He began his public ministry at about the age of 30.
Now, I am 28 years old. The equivalent of this would be if I had begun a revolutionary and very public ministry, then went back to my home town of Kokomo, Indiana. I'm sure there would be a number of people that would react in the same way we see here.
2When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.-- Mark 6:2-3
"Isn't this the sportswriter from the Tribune?" is something I would likely here. Obviously, I have no plans to begin a ministry that will come even close to Jesus's, but if I did, I am sure that is the type of reaction I would hear in my hometown. It is when we are close to the situation that we often struggle the most to understand a point. There are lessons in my life that my parents, who are among the closest people to me, tried to teach me, yet those lessons went ignored because they came from a source that was so close to me. In these cases, I would often learn the lesson in question the hard way. It's not ideal, but it happens. We tend to ignore teaching that comes from those close to us, and that is the point that is illustrated here.
The second part of this chapter deals with the sending out of the 12 apostles. I find this fascinating because of their origins. When I was growing up, I always pictured the 12 disciples as these titans of the Christian faith. They were without fear in my mind. What is amazing is that in reality, they were just as normal as you or me. They were not the religious leaders of the day, but ordinary people called by Christ to fulfill an extraordinary mission. They were exceedingly human and fallible, thus making what they accomplished seem even more extraordinary.
8These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." -- Mark 6:8-11
This is an incredible lesson in faith. Remember, these men were incredibly ordinary. Surely they had the same questions you or I would have had we been selected. Jesus essentially told them, "Go, change the world. Take nothing to do so because I will provide everything." This was also in a time when it was much harder to travel. There was no Holiday Inn to stop at, or McDonald's to grab a quick bite to eat. I can't imagine doing this now with the modern amenities available, let alone in the First Century. Therefore, our only reasonable response when we are called to do something that isn't nearly as dramatic is to go. We must have faith that God will provide.
Now, I am 28 years old. The equivalent of this would be if I had begun a revolutionary and very public ministry, then went back to my home town of Kokomo, Indiana. I'm sure there would be a number of people that would react in the same way we see here.
2When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.-- Mark 6:2-3
"Isn't this the sportswriter from the Tribune?" is something I would likely here. Obviously, I have no plans to begin a ministry that will come even close to Jesus's, but if I did, I am sure that is the type of reaction I would hear in my hometown. It is when we are close to the situation that we often struggle the most to understand a point. There are lessons in my life that my parents, who are among the closest people to me, tried to teach me, yet those lessons went ignored because they came from a source that was so close to me. In these cases, I would often learn the lesson in question the hard way. It's not ideal, but it happens. We tend to ignore teaching that comes from those close to us, and that is the point that is illustrated here.
The second part of this chapter deals with the sending out of the 12 apostles. I find this fascinating because of their origins. When I was growing up, I always pictured the 12 disciples as these titans of the Christian faith. They were without fear in my mind. What is amazing is that in reality, they were just as normal as you or me. They were not the religious leaders of the day, but ordinary people called by Christ to fulfill an extraordinary mission. They were exceedingly human and fallible, thus making what they accomplished seem even more extraordinary.
8These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." -- Mark 6:8-11
This is an incredible lesson in faith. Remember, these men were incredibly ordinary. Surely they had the same questions you or I would have had we been selected. Jesus essentially told them, "Go, change the world. Take nothing to do so because I will provide everything." This was also in a time when it was much harder to travel. There was no Holiday Inn to stop at, or McDonald's to grab a quick bite to eat. I can't imagine doing this now with the modern amenities available, let alone in the First Century. Therefore, our only reasonable response when we are called to do something that isn't nearly as dramatic is to go. We must have faith that God will provide.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Mark, Chapter 5
This has been one of the more interesting weeks of life. It has been a week full of stress, but with the almost overwhelming sense of promise from the Father. In the midst of this storm, which has felt like a Category Five most of the time, I have the presence of the Father reassuring me that something great is on the horizon. I need only to stick it out through the storm. It has been very hard to keep focused on that promise. I have even almost completely lost sight of it, but it is still there. That is why I plan to focus on it for the weekend, instead of the despair.
This is similar to what we with the three prominent stories seen in Mark, Chapter 5. We have a man that is possessed by so many demons that he is forced to live amongst tombs, cutting himself with rocks. He is feared by society because of this, and they cannot control him. We have a woman that is faced with constant bleeding for 12 years who also appeared to be in a hopeless situation. Finally, we have a little girl in the ultimate hopeless situation: she was dead. Jesus was able to intervene in all three situations to prove a point. He is all-powerful, and in these storms we must have faith.
6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" – Mark 5:6-8
I have no idea what it is like to be possessed by thousands of evil spirits, but it is clearly a difficult situation to rectify. With merely His voice, Jesus was able to take full control of everything and release this man from his torment. As we see, the pig farmers weren’t happy, but that is merely another case of human short-sightedness. There were unable to see past earthly things, in this case a herd of pigs jumping off the cliff, and see what was right in front of them in the form of a genuine miracle.
27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." – Mark 5:27-34
This is the type of faith I wish I had. One of my weaknesses is that I cannot prioritize things well in the context of my life. When I am working on a job I am fine, but my life itself can quickly become overwhelmed because I tend to spread myself way too thin without giving any downtime. As a result, I lose faith very quickly and immediately jump to a hopeless conclusion. This occurs with the smallest things. This woman, however, definitely had a hopeless situation. Her illness had cost her everything, but she still sought Jesus. She was then rewarded for her faith.
How can we apply this to our daily lives, however? There don’t seem to be too many Jesus figures walking around that can magically make things go away by having someone merely touching their clothes. Faith, unfortunately, is a lot harder to come by when we continually practice it, yet don’t get the answers we want. In this, we must persevere. We must remember James 1:2 and the lesson that perseverance leaves with us. We may stumble, even fall, but we have to get back up. As the legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano said shortly before his death, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.” In a famous speech at the Espy’s while dealing with terminal bone cancer he said, “Cancer can do many things, but it cannot touch my heart, it cannot touch my mind, and it cannot touch my spirit.” These are the three places that faith resides, and it is also where Christ resides to provide strength.
This is similar to what we with the three prominent stories seen in Mark, Chapter 5. We have a man that is possessed by so many demons that he is forced to live amongst tombs, cutting himself with rocks. He is feared by society because of this, and they cannot control him. We have a woman that is faced with constant bleeding for 12 years who also appeared to be in a hopeless situation. Finally, we have a little girl in the ultimate hopeless situation: she was dead. Jesus was able to intervene in all three situations to prove a point. He is all-powerful, and in these storms we must have faith.
6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" – Mark 5:6-8
I have no idea what it is like to be possessed by thousands of evil spirits, but it is clearly a difficult situation to rectify. With merely His voice, Jesus was able to take full control of everything and release this man from his torment. As we see, the pig farmers weren’t happy, but that is merely another case of human short-sightedness. There were unable to see past earthly things, in this case a herd of pigs jumping off the cliff, and see what was right in front of them in the form of a genuine miracle.
27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." – Mark 5:27-34
This is the type of faith I wish I had. One of my weaknesses is that I cannot prioritize things well in the context of my life. When I am working on a job I am fine, but my life itself can quickly become overwhelmed because I tend to spread myself way too thin without giving any downtime. As a result, I lose faith very quickly and immediately jump to a hopeless conclusion. This occurs with the smallest things. This woman, however, definitely had a hopeless situation. Her illness had cost her everything, but she still sought Jesus. She was then rewarded for her faith.
How can we apply this to our daily lives, however? There don’t seem to be too many Jesus figures walking around that can magically make things go away by having someone merely touching their clothes. Faith, unfortunately, is a lot harder to come by when we continually practice it, yet don’t get the answers we want. In this, we must persevere. We must remember James 1:2 and the lesson that perseverance leaves with us. We may stumble, even fall, but we have to get back up. As the legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano said shortly before his death, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.” In a famous speech at the Espy’s while dealing with terminal bone cancer he said, “Cancer can do many things, but it cannot touch my heart, it cannot touch my mind, and it cannot touch my spirit.” These are the three places that faith resides, and it is also where Christ resides to provide strength.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Mark, Chapter 4
One of Jesus’s most preferred methods of teaching was through parables. More than simply stating His point, by teaching in parables He got people to think about their meaning. Jesus does not want us to simple observe and absorb the knowledge we are given. Instead, He wants us to think about it. He wants us to explore the deeper meaning because, in doing so, we learn even more. This chapter of Mark is laced with much of Jesus’s most famous parable. In each, we see that even His disciples struggled to understand the underlying message.
15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." – Mark 4:15-20
When I see this I ask myself, what kind of seed did I accept? It is my hope that I am producing a crop with the seed that I have received. Many days, however, I feel like the worries of life makes me unfruitful. This has been especially true lately. With the busy world that we live in, I think this may happen more than the other three examples of the Word. Think of the number of things that we have to worry about compared to just 100 years ago. Things are even drastically different within the span of our own lifetimes. Ten years ago, I was in the wonderful summer between high school and college without a care in the world, but things are much different now. Making a fruitful crop takes not only work on our end, but work through Christ as well. We must trust Him to make the word fruitful once we try to spread it, but we must still make the effort to spread it.
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." – Mark 4:30-32
Thinking of the sheer enormity of the kingdom of God makes my brain hurt. Regular readers of this blog know that I like to make huge examples in order to prove a point. Right now, there are about 6.5 billion people on the planet. Of that number, there are estimated to be more than 1 billion Christians, possibly 2 billion. Let’s consider that the earthly kingdom of God. I have attended a football game at the largest American Football stadium in the world, Michigan Stadium. At that game, there were more than 111,000 people in the stands. That 111,000 pales in comparison to 2 billion. It is roughly 1/10th of 1 percent of that earthly kingdom. This doesn’t even begin to describe the heavenly host, which thinking about its number makes my brain hurt even more.
All this grew from a single man, Jesus Christ. While Jesus was a man, he was also fully God, and therefore imbued with the power to make something so large that no man could have. Even if you are completely agnostic you have to agree that the life of that one “ordinary man”, Jesus, has more effect on the course of human history than any other person, ever. He has crossed every boundry, every barrier, and has reached every nation. What other man in history can claim that? Even in North Korea, one of the most repressive nations on earth, there is still a strong underground church. It is no wonder this parable makes so much sense, but only when you think about it.
15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." – Mark 4:15-20
When I see this I ask myself, what kind of seed did I accept? It is my hope that I am producing a crop with the seed that I have received. Many days, however, I feel like the worries of life makes me unfruitful. This has been especially true lately. With the busy world that we live in, I think this may happen more than the other three examples of the Word. Think of the number of things that we have to worry about compared to just 100 years ago. Things are even drastically different within the span of our own lifetimes. Ten years ago, I was in the wonderful summer between high school and college without a care in the world, but things are much different now. Making a fruitful crop takes not only work on our end, but work through Christ as well. We must trust Him to make the word fruitful once we try to spread it, but we must still make the effort to spread it.
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." – Mark 4:30-32
Thinking of the sheer enormity of the kingdom of God makes my brain hurt. Regular readers of this blog know that I like to make huge examples in order to prove a point. Right now, there are about 6.5 billion people on the planet. Of that number, there are estimated to be more than 1 billion Christians, possibly 2 billion. Let’s consider that the earthly kingdom of God. I have attended a football game at the largest American Football stadium in the world, Michigan Stadium. At that game, there were more than 111,000 people in the stands. That 111,000 pales in comparison to 2 billion. It is roughly 1/10th of 1 percent of that earthly kingdom. This doesn’t even begin to describe the heavenly host, which thinking about its number makes my brain hurt even more.
All this grew from a single man, Jesus Christ. While Jesus was a man, he was also fully God, and therefore imbued with the power to make something so large that no man could have. Even if you are completely agnostic you have to agree that the life of that one “ordinary man”, Jesus, has more effect on the course of human history than any other person, ever. He has crossed every boundry, every barrier, and has reached every nation. What other man in history can claim that? Even in North Korea, one of the most repressive nations on earth, there is still a strong underground church. It is no wonder this parable makes so much sense, but only when you think about it.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Mark, Chapter 3
I woke up this morning asking myself the question, “How can I view my situation differently?” I recently got myself into a difficult, but not untenable, situation professionally. It is a situation hat has made me feel like lashing out, though I haven’t because I realize that it would accomplish nothing. The situation itself is already making me incredibly tense, causing stress that is far from needed. Jumping to conclusions and going off would only make matters worse in the sense that I may not have a job much longer after that. I was faced with two choices this morning: I could fight it, or I could deal with it.
At the beginning of Mark 3, we see the Pharisees facing a similar choice. Jesus was preaching in the synagogue, and they were far from comfortable with it. In a way, they were spoiling for a fight. They were looking to confront Jesus, making them deaf to the message he was preaching. In doing so, they completely missed the point because they were focused solely on themselves.
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. – Mark 3:4-6
In my situation, as the Pharisees did in this situation, we both missed the point of the demonstration. I am missing the point of being where I am currently at because I am obviously supposed to learn some sort of lesson before moving on. The Pharisees failed to learn the lesson necessary here, that being that Jesus was here to change things, including the Sabbath. As we saw in yesterday’s lesson, they were more caught up in maintaining the status quo than learning. I am guilty of the same thing when I put my own agenda ahead of what is asked of me. Therefore, I must ask this morning, how I can view the situation differently.
13Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. – Mark 3:13-14
I am a fan of this passage because it is so simple, yet so important. The very reason that we have a Christian faith is because of this passage. Jesus selected each of these men for a purpose, and that purpose would echo down throughout the centuries to the present day. Jesus knew at the time of their selection that He would only have a very short time with them. In that time, He had to prepare them for what they would do after His death and resurrection. Not only would they act as his associate pastors during His earthly ministry, they would go on to build the church we have today.
At the beginning of Mark 3, we see the Pharisees facing a similar choice. Jesus was preaching in the synagogue, and they were far from comfortable with it. In a way, they were spoiling for a fight. They were looking to confront Jesus, making them deaf to the message he was preaching. In doing so, they completely missed the point because they were focused solely on themselves.
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. – Mark 3:4-6
In my situation, as the Pharisees did in this situation, we both missed the point of the demonstration. I am missing the point of being where I am currently at because I am obviously supposed to learn some sort of lesson before moving on. The Pharisees failed to learn the lesson necessary here, that being that Jesus was here to change things, including the Sabbath. As we saw in yesterday’s lesson, they were more caught up in maintaining the status quo than learning. I am guilty of the same thing when I put my own agenda ahead of what is asked of me. Therefore, I must ask this morning, how I can view the situation differently.
13Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. – Mark 3:13-14
I am a fan of this passage because it is so simple, yet so important. The very reason that we have a Christian faith is because of this passage. Jesus selected each of these men for a purpose, and that purpose would echo down throughout the centuries to the present day. Jesus knew at the time of their selection that He would only have a very short time with them. In that time, He had to prepare them for what they would do after His death and resurrection. Not only would they act as his associate pastors during His earthly ministry, they would go on to build the church we have today.
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