No Need for Spices

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (probably among others) headed out to the tomb on the first day of the week. They carried spices with which to anoint Christ's body. The great stone about which they were worried as to who might move it? It was rolled away. Christ had risen. They had no need for spices (Mark 16.1-3).

Have You Not Read This Scripture?

Reading in Mark 12.10 this morning where Christ asks those who are disputing with him, "Have you not read this Scripture?" He then quotes from Ps. 118:22,23.

What strikes me here as I've been preparing a sermon on devotional reading of the Bible is that Christ asks this question multiple times. Certainly the Jewish leaders had read the Scriptures and both Christ and his audience knew this. However, they had not read with proper understanding. In essence Christ is saying, "You should know the answer to your own question, haven't you read the Scriptures where this is answered?" He expected them to read and understand, but they had only read and did not understand.

It is something that we shouldn't miss. To just read the Scriptures, but not to spend the time to understand them is doing us the exact same amount of good that it did the Jewish scribes and leaders: None at all. We ought to read and strive to understand what the Scriptures say.

Notice that Christ assumed that accurate understanding was entirely possible.

The Danger of Power Over Truth

Reading in Mark 11.31-32 this morning where the chief priests and scribes—those who know the Scriptures the best among the people—are trying to wiggle out of the trap into which Christ puts them when they ask him by what authority he does what he does. He responds with another question: "Is John's baptism from men or from God?"

The obvious answer, and one that every person who was familiar with John's ministry would give is, "from God of course." Those who opposed Christ were not interested in truth, they were interested in power. So they say, "if we admit the truth, we are exposed; if we say that John's baptism was not from God, the people themselves will rise against us, because everyone (including ourselves) believes that it was from God."

For the sake of power, they do not face the truth.

One can replace power with anything else people hold that keeps the from the truth. For the sake of possessions, or money, or a person, or anything else, people do not face the truth of Christ.

What barrier keeps you from seeing the truth?

Sometimes Love Appears Harsh

I'm struck by Christ's demonstration of love to the rich young ruler in Mark 10.21. In answer to the man's question: "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Mark begins the verse with something unexpected. He writes, "Then Jesus, beholding the man loved him." Love in this instance was demonstrated by telling the young man to sell everything he had and give it to the poor, because it was those things that were keeping him from following Christ. While Christ looks harsh, telling the man to give up what he has, he is actually acting very kindly and lovingly because there is a barrier for the man to inherit eternal life and the man needs to rid himself of that barrier.

Perhaps one of the saddest verses in the Scriptures is the very next verse: "And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved: for he had very great possessions." Interestingly, the young man does not argue with Christ; he seems to fully understand and even agree with Christ's analysis. The problem is that he cannot give up the wealth.

What is it that stands between you and following Christ?

Marked with the Brand of God

For everyone who loves tattoos, they will be excited to see that we will be tattooed in heaven...sort of. Rev 22.4 says: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads (KJV). "In" is probably better translated "on." The point is that somehow we will be marked with the brand of God. We will be marked as owned by God, as devoted to him. On the earth we often like to wear stuff that marks us as fans of Michigan football, or the Detroit Tigers for instance. In heaven we will receive something permanent which marks us as God's own people. This will last for eternity. I don't think anyone will be sorry to receive a mark of God.

What is Servant Leadership?

I wish I understood. I'm wondering especially what it means to be a servant leader in one of these influential mega-churches. The difficulty being that large organizations need strong leaders so the question arises, "How can one be both a strong leader and a servant leader?" I suppose the best way to answer the question is to find a model of someone like that. Of course the difficulty is that, in general, those who rise to leadership at large organizations are generally people with great gifting and it is almost a certainty that people with great gifting also have great weaknesses (which I think God brings with the territory for purposes of humility).

No answer yet...

Matthew Henry: Those that shall be put under your charge, must be as sheep under the charge of the shepherd, who is to tend them and feed them, and be a servant to them, not as horses under the command of the driver, that works them and beats them, and gets his pennyworths out of them.

On the Poverty of Seeking a Sign (from Christ)

The miracles, like the teaching, of Jesus were not offered as signs to convince spectators; they were done as acts of love to people in need. They only became signs for those with the humility and openness to perceive and receive the meaning. This the Pharisees clearly did not possess, as their attitude towards him shows. (BST)

Thus points out the BST commentary on Mark 8.12. The Pharisees seek a sign from Christ and his response is to sigh deeply in spirit (the Greek word is used only here in the Scriptures). He is not here to be a magician and they are completely missing the point of Christ's miracles. They will receive no sign and he emphatically tells them so.

Astonished at His Majesty

Luke uses a curious choice of words at the end of the section in which Christ casts a demon out of an epileptic boy (Luke 9.43). Luke says that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. Then he follows with his comment about the reaction of the crowd. All were astonished at the majesty of God. Matthew and Mark who record this same incident do not include this comment. I'm wondering why the crowd was astonished at the majesty of God when the boy was healed? It seems like a more natural comment would be to say that the crowd was astonished at the power of God to heal, or maybe the crowd was astonished that God did heal. Why majesty?

Luke must be trying to tell us something here. BDAG defines μεγαλειότης as quality or state of experiencing high esteem because of awesome performance, impressiveness. Louw-Nida further defines it as: : a manifestation of great power—‘mighty power, mighty act.’ which Luke seems to want to communicate that those who witnessed Christ's actions and words understood that they were not witnessing the ordinary here. They were witnessing the extraordinary. Christ could not be a man with a penchant to heal. He was something beyond that, and his commanding an evil spirit out of the boy demonstrated the fact.

Christ: Death = Entering Life

Thinking about Mark 9.43-47, this morning. Christ calls dying entering life, or alternatively entering the kingdom of God. A couple of obvious things from this. First, for those who have been declared righteous by God death IS entering life, or entering the kingdom of God. Second, we glean this because the alternative that Christ pronounces here is entering hell. One enters hell at death, and so we conclude that death for the believer is entering life. Christ is more explicit in John 5.24, Truly, truly I say unto you. He who hears my voice and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.

Which leaves the obvious question: When you die are you going to enter life or are you going to enter hell? Those are the two possibilities Christ leaves for us.

When Christ Marveled

Christ marveled at two people in the gospels—at least that is all that the writers of the gospels recorded. He marveled at the faith of a Gentile—the centurion with the sick servant (Matt 8.5-13), and he marveled at the unbelief of some Jews (Mark 6.6). Christ was astonished or astounded or marveled at the unbelief in his hometown. They should have seen enough in order to believe in him. By his words and by his works, he was demonstrating that he was God's son, come in the flesh. However, they refused to believe because he was just the son of a carpenter; they knew him; they had seen him grow up. They missed their opportunity for salvation.

The Syro-Phoenician Woman III

The woman's response to Christ's comment in Mark 7.27 is remarkable. Christ essentially says, "Jews are first. Gentiles are second," yet in a seemingly harsh way. However, he leaves open the possibility that there will be "food" for the Gentiles. In the Greek (where word order often indicates emphasis), Christ says, "Permit first, the children to be fed." The woman immediately picks up on his meaning (Mark 7.28).

Chadwick paraphrases her response: “'I thank Thee, O blessed One, for that word! That’s my whole case. Not of the children? True. A dog? True also: Yet the dogs under the table are allowed to eat of the children’s crumbs — the droppings from their master’s full table: Give me that, and I am content: One crumb of power and grace from Thy table shall cast the devil out of my daughter.' Oh, what lightning quickness, what reach of instinctive ingenuity, do we behold in this heathen woman!"

Second place is good enough for her. As a Gentile who follows this unnamed woman, I gladly embrace second place as well. Jews are first. No problem. There is enough grace left over for me (a Gentile) coming second.

The Syro-Phoenician Woman II

Persistence. Mark's description of the woman's approach to Christ is to say (Mark 7.26) that she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. The verb tense used (imperfect) implies that she kept on begging, that she was persistent; that she would not stop. Matthew's version of the incident (Matt 15.23) makes this explicit. He writes: And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us (NASB).

The woman is persistent as Christ throws up several obstacles to her getting her request. She keeps on begging, because she is not going to be stopped by a few obstacles. We learn from this that faith requires persistence if it is truly faith. A "faith" that gives up at the first obstacle tossed in its way is no faith at all. This woman had a living, active faith that Christ could (and would) do what she asked.

The Syro-Phoenician Woman I

Context. Mark doesn't just set this story (Mark 7.24-30) will-nilly as if it suddenly popped into his mind. The two pericopes that come before this demonstrate how the Pharisees lambast Christ's disciples for eating without ceremonial cleaning. In turn Christ lambasts the Pharisees for being legalists. Next Christ explains that, in contrast to the Pharisees' theology, it is not what comes into a man that defiles him, but what is inside of him. Then comes the story with a Gentile, Canaanite, pagan-therefore-unclean, woman. She tells Christ that second place (behind the Jews) is okay with her, if she can just have the demon cast out of her daughter (incredible faith). Here is the way one writer puts the contrast between this woman and the Pharisees:

Ironically, the unclean Gentile girl is cleansed of the unclean demon (Mark 7:30) by her mother’s decisive and intercessory faith in Jesus, but the clean Pharisees remain unclean because their evils come from unrepentant and unbelieving hearts that reject Jesus (Mark 7:15, 23).

Thus the importance of context.

How Can I Be Right (On Matters of Faith)?

Glad you asked. Christ is pretty clear in Mark 12.24. The Sadducees, to whom he is speaking, are wrong (they do not believe in a resurrection). Christ tells them that they are lacking two things and because of it they are wrong (for emphasis he repeats this in Mark 12.27, "you are quite wrong.")

I take from this verse that in order to be right about matters of faith we need to correctly understand the Scriptures (τὰς γραφὰς, or "the writings" a technical term for Scriptures), and we need to believe in the power of God to raise people from the dead. The Scriptures are doubly important because in them we find the power of God demonstrated and the truth about things like the resurrection. If we want to be "quite right" as opposed to "quite wrong," we will saturate our lives with the Scriptures.

Help My Unbelief!

Mark 9.24 is one of my favorite verses. I love it because it so eloquently communicates the human condition. The father wanted to believe that Christ could cast the spirit out of the child, but knew that his own heart struggled to believe. It is a genuine and heartfelt cry for help. Calvin beautifully captures what is going on here: "He declares that he believes and yet acknowledges himself to have unbelief. These two statements may appear to contradict each other but there is none of us that does not experience both of them in himself."

Just so. Especially when it comes to promises. Do we really have faith to move mountains? If we ask anything in Christ's name, will God really do it? My heart is just like this man's...only more so.