ResponsiveReiding

From Mark 11:27-33 / Authority – The issue of Jesus’ authority comes up over and over in the Gospels. In Mark 1, the people noted that He taught with authority, not like the scribes. Again in 1, His authority was seen in commanding evil spirits to leave. In 2, He said He had authority to forgive sins. Then in 3 and 6 His authority is again mentioned in reference to demonic powers – and delegated that same authority to the 12. In 10, he warned the disciples against seeking authority over others – and now, there is a disingenuous inquiry as to what gives Him the right or authority to teach or perform the works He does. And in all this, we come face to face with this base reality: Christians are those who recognize Jesus’ right over all they are, have and do. Christians, submit to the authority of Jesus as their true Lord and master, not just their Savior. And those who will not recognize and submit to His authority – His absolute right to rule over them as Lord – align themselves with the unbelieving regardless of their profession. It is a sobering consideration. But what a privilege is ours to have a Lord and Master who exercises His rights over us, so as to love, protect, preserve and perfect us in His own image. And to promise us with all authority to deliver – the fullness of everlasting life in His Kingdom. All Hail King Jesus!

From Mark 11:12-25 / Cursing the Fig Tree – If Bishop Lightfoot is correct, this particular type of fig tree bears its leaves every season, but its fruit takes 3 years to ripen. It is easy to see then that Jesus’ pronouncement has more to do with the wicked generation which stripped this tree bare of its fruit. They could not and would not wait for it to serve its design, and robbed it bare. It is not a pronouncement against the tree, as much as it is against Israel’s leadership who in their greed and lust, took Israel’s glory to themselves, and left nothing for the Messiah. Perhaps it can be seen as a precursor to the Temple cleansing. After His cursing the Temple, within 40 years, no one will partake of its ritual “fruits” again. It has been cursed, and cast into the sea. We can never, no one can ever – even Jews – go back to the old way. It is cursed now. Once it has served its purpose, and the real has come of which the old system was but a type and shadow, going back is actually an abomination. Our friends caught up in Messianic Judaism need to take note. Back to Mark 7:9 – “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.”

From Mark 11:1-10 / Hosanna – Hosanna is not a word most of us are familiar with outside the Gospels. The expression itself is a cry for God to grant help or save, and to grant success to His people. It grows out of the prayer of Ps. 118:25 “Save us we pray, Oh Lord! O Lord we pray, give us success.” In Judaism, it was used regularly in celebrations of all kinds. And most think it was originally used when a King of David’s line would lead God’s people in thanksgiving at various feasts. Just what the crowds meant by using it here as Jesus enters Jerusalem is not easy to tell. Did they hope He would free them from Roman oppression? Restore the Kingdom of Israel to a completely independent state? Regardless, we see that sometimes, we can speak better than we actually know. And as lacking in true knowledge of what they were saying as they were – nevertheless, their praise is acceptable. We worship in such darkness still. We still know Him oh so slightly. But the longer we walk with Christ, the more we come to realize how glorious and wonderful He truly is. Our worship grows in depth, joy and a holy solemnity. But how gracious is our God that He receives it at our hands, however imperfect it is, and delights in the fruit of our lips. Amazing love!

From Mark 10:46-52 / Never Too… – Several things make this account remarkable: 1 – Jesus was on His way out of town, He was set to leave. 2 – His disciples were with Him, commanding His attention. 3 – Jesus was surrounded by a a great crowd. 4 – Bartimaeus was just sitting by the roadside, he had no capacity to follow as a blind man. 5 – He simply cried out. 6 – He continued to cry out even when rebuked by the crowd. 7 – And Jesus heard and responded. What a great impetus to prayer this is. No matter your situation, or the supposed clamour around our Savior – when we cry, He hears. He is never too busy. Never too distracted. Never put off by our brokenness. Never needing us to be able to get to Him. And never too powerless to meet our deepest need – to have our eyes opened to the wonder and glory of His majesty, and His saving grace. If you know your need today – cry out. No other qualification is necessary. Our God hears.

From Mark 10:35-45 / To Serve or Be Served – On one hand, James and John showed great faith in still anticipating Christ to rule the Kingdom, after He had just told them He was going to die. On the other, they needed to understand the nature of what it means to reign as He would. To receive the glory that was His, would require hearts and minds as submissive to the will of the Father as His. Were they ready to simply say – “it is up up the Father who sits at your right and your left, and it is not up to us, nor a thing to grasped at”? This is what it means to be Him. Complete and utter trust in the Father. The absolute giving over of His will to Him. This is where He calls us to go. This is to walk by faith. To serve, not to be served. On a second note, this discussion helps us put proper context to passages where it seems that if we ask anything in Jesus’ name (as though that is totally unqualified) He’ll always do it. We must always take into account God’s plans, purposes and will in such petitions. Our requests are always subject to His sovereign, wise and loving discretion. The Father really does know best.

From Mark 10:32-34 / Amazed and Afraid – The combination of amazement and fear seem to stem from the events just above – vss. 23-27. Jesus had told them it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than to enter the Kingdom. Despite some modern attempts to soften this, Jesus’ words are clearly meant to imply an impossibility. Those who imagine they can bring anything to the salvation table, ANYTHING, are sadly mistaken. And confronted with that reality, they began to fear. This is recorded in their “Then who can be saved?” If this is the case, what hope remains? Jesus lets them stew in it a while. Then He adds more amazing and fearful things – He predicts His own suffering and resurrection. 2 Things they have no category for yet. But in fact, this is the answer to their question: He must suffer, He must die, and He must be raised again – THAT is how one can enter the Kingdom. He alone is the door. He must die for our sin, and be raised for our justification. And so it should amaze us still, and bring a terrorizing fear of depending upon anything but His person and work.

From Mark 10:23-31 / Blessed Bankruptcy – Anyone who thinks they have anything to bring to the salvation question put themselves in an impossible situation. To have anything to contribute – is to be self-justifying in some way. And when confronted with the idea that it would take everything you have – in truth, no one can give all. For we do not even know all we have, let alone have hearts to abandon it all in order to have Him. Why did this amaze the Disciples? Because those who had earthly goods supposedly bore the mark of those having already having God’s favor. So this was entirely counter-intuitive. If those who appear to already have God’s favor cannot enter the Kingdom – than who can? Only those who recognize the bankruptcy of their own souls and the worthlessness of their good works. Only those who trust Christ alone. The Marines may be looking for a “few good men” as the old ads used to say – but Jesus is looking for men and women starving for a righteousness not their own. Mind-boggling!

From Mark 10:17-22 / Doing vs Being – In Jesus’ context, calling someone “good teacher” like this would have been considered effusive, over the top. But both by his question, and Jesus’ response, the heart of the matter emerges. So Jesus asks “why do you call me good? No one IS good, except God alone. Bingo. The man wanted to know what he could DO to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him, you can’t by doing. You must BE good. Like God is good. But how can one possibly be as good as God Himself? Jesus answers that too – by faith alone. So he replies – sell everything and follow me, and I promise you treasure in Heaven. i.e, “you’ll have to believe me, trust me enough to set everything else aside based on my promise alone.” That, is saving faith. And that, is what finds us clothed with the righteousness of Christ, so that God judges US, not our works – good. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” Philip. 3:8-9

From Mark 10:13-16 / Child-LIKE vs Child-ISH – It is not childishness which is being lauded here, but the ease with which children believe those in authority. If we recognize Jesus’ authority and like children accept His Word as true and believe it wholeheartedly – how wonderfully easy an entrance into the Kingdom is. And, we need to remember that children can enter the Kingdom as well as adults. Why would we exclude them from exposure to Christ and to His blessing? Are they not in need too? Can they not believe? Let them come! Methinks there is a good argument here for keeping children in the “adult” portion of Church services. As a former pew-rat myself, I can tell you that exposure to the Word preached and taught, even well above my level at the time, did not return to The Master void. It built in to me the words, concepts, songs, truths and worldview of Zion. Children get sun tans the same as adults when exposed to the sun. So let us expose them regularly to The Son.

From Mark 10:2-12 – God Hates Divorce / In this portion and its companion in Matt. 5, Jesus’ enemies tried to trap Him by asking a question a certain way. They saw the Law as giving a loophole for getting out of an undesirable marriage. Jesus tells them flat out – if your heart is so hard that you would divorce your wife so you can be with someone else – you’re an adulterer and divorce is not an option. Divorce is there to give one whose spouse has broken the marriage covenant – relief, not as a tool to satisfy one’s lust. So in Isa. 50 and Jer. 3, we see that God even divorced His people because of their infidelity. It is the hardness of heart that breaks the marriage covenant which makes divorce a remedy for the aggrieved in some cases that is behind Mal. 2’s “God hates divorce.” Hardness of heart that can lead us to even use God’s Word to justify our sin. How we need to guard against it.