newvintagecity

The Way of a Disciple

2010-12-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

Mark 8:34-38

And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Jesus openly rebukes peter, to Peter’s embarrassment. Not to demean Peter, rather to reprove for the sake of improvement. Peter confesses Christ, and then Peter must also profess the gospel as well. Confession without profession is pointless; however confession without possession is even more so. What do I mean by that? We can never just get by with a personal conviction that Jesus is who He say’s He is, and never profess the gospel Jesus professed, or even worse deny the gospel Jesus professed. Peter tried and wanted to spare Jesus of His suffering and ultimately his own as well. This is where the text takes a very interesting turn….since you’re so mindful of the things of man…here goes… This in a sense Jesus is saying, and if you seem to be so concerned about my suffering, then you are in for a big surprise, for my suffering includes yours as well.

Calling

And he called to him the crowd with his disciples (also) and said to them… It all starts with a call, the effectual calling of the gospel message. Peter tried to privatize his concerns, Jesus publicized them. Jesus seems to never allow any privacy and personalization when it comes to the gospel, it is all or nothing, it must be made public, or it is nothing. His calling is our calling as well. His demands become our responsibilities, His commands become our charge. What Jesus had to say was for all, then and now! He had asked the disciples what the people thought about Him, then what they thought about Him, when confession was made and safety preserved, He dismantled the notion of self preservation. With a calling and assembling of the crowds, everyone would hear this and every one would be responsible for the way he hears and the way he walks for now on. When the calling comes, and it will come for every Christ follower, we must respond. No one can ever pretend he did not hear this calling to the cross, this need for embracing the things of God, and letting go of the things of this world. This calling is different than our initial call to walk behind Jesus and learn from Him, the call to follow and be led by the savior. That call consists of a surrendering and an accepting, as well as our acceptance into the beloved. To the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6) That call comes with a voice louder than the worlds so we are sure to hear and respond. This new call to radical obedience comes suddenly and unexpectedly, as well as a nagging tension in the core of our bellies, screaming at times there must be more too this gospel. As Jesus gathered the crowds the disciples knew they were in for something different than what they had encountered before hand, they knew this just by the very nature of Jesus’ gospel proclamation and His stern rebuking of satan. This would be something most profound.

The way of the Cross

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me… These words must have taken the very breath out of the people. It would be one thing for Jesus to suffer the cross, but all of us? They were all too familiar with the roman crucifixions of the day and the scattering of them along road sides. At the entry way of gospel proclamation, there is a cross assigned at the door for each of us with our names stamped at the top. The road to salvation is a bloody road, paved by the prophets before hand and fulfilled in Christ; however, Jesus paved the way that we must now walk. There are no empty handed disciples in the kingdom, all must carry his cross. Jesus preached the gospel in a clear and concise way, indicating to them all, that He must suffer. What Jesus now does is include them in on this suffering. If He was going to the cross, and we are followers, then we will be going where He is.

Let’s look at this statement in more detail.

1. Come after
If anyone would come after me… Jesus begins this statement with a preposition, “if.” This is key in understanding where He is going. Not everyone will, and surely not everyone will want to follow after this statement. He is setting a standard and a condition to following Him now. Jesus had initially invited many to follow, now He is upping the ante, that is, He is demanding more in an extraordinary way. If we are followers, then we must go where He goes, and do what He does. Most “Christians” do not have that understanding or mind set. “If” there is a desire for Him, a longing for Him, an inclination to come after and follow hard…then we must… We are not given the luxury of believing in Jesus and not following Him.

2. Deny
Let him deny himself… The way of the cross is a road of self denial. It is a disciplined road, a hard road. Peter had tried to preserve Jesus from such hardship and Jesus called him out on it. The kingdom way is “not my will, but your will be done.” (Matthew 26:39) The only way we can ever enter into resurrection life is by death. There must be a death of our wills in order for the mind of God to become our mind. To be mindful of the things of men is to love our comfort and security more than we love God. Where Jesus went, we have to go, if we are ever to rise in newness of life and be seated with Him in heavenly places. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4) He raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6) The cross is the only way. Jesus died for the sins of the world; we die in order to live in that reality. Titus 1:16 shows us people who profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. When we refuse to deny ourselves we ultimately deny Him.

3. Take up and follow
Take up his cross and follow me. There must be proof of such denial. The cross is that proof. This is not just allegorical and just a romanciful idealism, it has rubber to the road. This is our part, not in atonement or propitiation, rather in appropriation. This is a faith walk, a lifestyle. A real disciple has scares and splinters in his hands. We are not allowed to ever call ourselves disciples if there is no indication of a cross on our shoulders. The first step in following this new command is in the act of taking up. It starts with identifying our personal cross and through grace finding the strength to carry it. There is no prim-rose path to living as a disciple who follows Christ. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. (Philippians 1:29) This cross is a gift, a key to the kingdom. …Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)

Our ministries are that of the cross. We all have a different one to carry, and just as Jesus had help in carrying His, we too must have help in carrying ours. There is a purpose in the cross; it is a purpose of divine order and divine results. We carry it to life, not death. Death is just the door way. What lay at the other side is abundance, power, and glory…the outstretched hands of a savior, the firstborn of many brethren. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:18) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29) We are not just randomly suffering for the sake of suffering; we are hard pressed on either side for an intended purpose, God’s Glory! Where we are following Christ is too a land of promise, our destination is the New Jerusalem.

The paradox of the cross

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. I have reiterated throughout this book that self preservation is an enemy to the cross. Not for some self imposed religious pietism, nor for some sadistically demented love for suffering, but for the Glory of God and His ultimate plan of redemption through human history. When we try and cling to our safety, we will surely find greater harm. We are not told to die for death’s sake, rather for life’s sake. Death is conquered through the believers embracing of a raised savior. To try and “save” our lives is to actually destroy our lives. Losing our lives for His sake is the only way to ever really have life because of His sake. The truth is, if really wanted to preserve our lives we would whole heartily embrace the cross of Christ and cling to His life and resurrecting power. Notice we must not only lose our lives for His sake, but for that of the gospels also. In losing our will, we embrace His, and that is to spread the gospel to the nations. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19) The gospel will require of our lives the entirety of our lives. Like Peter, we are not allowed to just profess, but are commanded to proclaim what we really possess. The cross on our shoulders will be a sign to the world that we believe what we preach, that we have what we preach, and that we really know the one whom we preach. The cross is an identifier of our allegiance to the one who hung on it, and triumphed over it. We must always remember the cross is a means to an end, not the end in and of itself. Christ is not returning on a cross nor are we, but in Glory.

The cost of Glory

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." We could deny the cross and gain a rich pleasure filled life here, refusing the one to come. Like the rich young ruler who with his lips wanted to eternal life yet could not come to grips with the reality of letting go of his riches in this life. This is a tragedy. The worse thing to ever happen to us is to become successful in something God never intended us to become successful in. This young leader was a good moral man from his youth and this was not enough, nor will it ever be enough for any of us. Looking at what Jesus said to him should be a stern warning to us all. Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said to him, one thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven. And come, take up the cross and follow Me. (Mark 10:21) In this companion text to the one we are examining, this is startling, and illuminating. Notice Jesus looks at him, as to observe his heart and then it tells us that He loved him. Jesus was not unsympathetic to his emotions or even his willingness to live uprightly. The problem was he did not love God more than he loved his comfort and possessions. He had an opportunity to follow Jesus in a great company of cross carrying disciples yet refused to count the cost. The treasures of heaven did not appeal to his fleshly appetite, or his love of earthly riches. Look at his response to Jesus’ words. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:22) What did this man exchange for his own soul? The shame of the cross will separate you either from the Father or from the world. To be ashamed of Jesus is to deny the cross, and to forfeit your eternal treasures for earthly pleasures. The greater reward of the Fathers Glory in the presence of holy angels will far surpass any temporary fleeting rewards this world could ever offer.

Suffering and the Mind of God

2010-12-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

Mark 8:31-33

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) Great words from not so great a man, great truths revealed to such a sinful heart. This is all who believe and utter such divine words of ageless splendor. Words of such magnitude must only come by way of the Spirit. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3) This verse will prove paramount as we move further into the text. So it is as Peter spoke at first, so it will be as peter speaks again, one or the other, but never at the same time.

A revelation of suffering

Since Peter and now the rest of the disciples publicly confessed Jesus to be the Christ. (Israel’s Messiah) Jesus begins to teach them openly about an aspect of the Messiah that Israel failed to comprehend, that of a suffering servant, rather than a triumphant King. Although Christ is both, He first must suffer in order to make the other aspect possible. He would have to conquer the sin of mankind, in order to be a triumphant reigning King. This is a concept foreign to the Jews at this point in time. Jesus preaches the gospel to His disciples. This side of the cross it all makes perfect sense. The gospel really is good news. For the disciples they could not see past death for it had not yet been conquered. How could this possibly be good new? Jesus has to this point alluded to on several occasions to His death, burial and resurrection, but not yet in this detail.

The Suffering Servant

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes…Jesus uses the Son of man title to display this unfathomable truth. Indicating that the title reveals Gods intentions, for His Son was given, given to serve man, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) It is hard to image, the Son of the living God, suffering as the Son of man. This truth had to be if mankind was to ever rise again in newness of life. Romans 6:4 makes this clear to us. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. This teaching was hard for them to comprehend, yet necessary for them to understand. Jesus declares to them that He would suffer many great hardships and be rejected. Isaiah the prophet seen this and prophesied these tragic events.

• Jesus lived in eternal glory with the father, in perfect peace and all beauty. Yet, He willingly surrendered that Glory, for the Glory of redemption. A hidden glory, without any man desiring him.
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2)

• Jesus left perfect peace and subjected Himself to human turmoil. Lived among us while we rejected Him and subjected Him to our sorrows. We hid our faces from the face of God, despising that very face, the face of love.
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)

• Jesus bore our grief, and carried our sorrows, yet we cast Him away, and refused His divine intervention. He did what we could not do, yet we continued to try anyway. God imputes our punishment to His own Son.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)

• Jesus took what we could not ever handle, His suffering was for an intended purpose and we often fail to recognize the implications of the gospel. Transgressions removed, iniquities abolished, chastisement replaced with peace, healing instead of death.
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

If the rejection was hard enough to hear, the teaching continues to get harder. For they had already witnessed the elders, chief priest, and the scribes reject Christ on a regular basis, but would we inflict the same suffering and rejection? Jesus goes on and says and be killed…This was unspeakable! Jesus, the one who raises the dead could die! The one who calms storms with one word, the one who walks on water and commands evil spirits to obey, never! Isaiah also prophesied this. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:8-9) Jesus truly is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. (1Peter 2:8)

The Resurrected Servant

This is the gospel, in it is the worst news ever, God suffers and dies for mankind. However the full gospel continues because He rises again! As Jesus continued to say…and after three days rise again. The disciples could not get their minds around this, for they were still stuck on Him dying. The suffering would be pointless if this would be the whole story, however it is not. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1Timothy 3:16) The vindication of the Spirit is the resurrection. Romans 8:11 sheds some light. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Jesus preached all of this openly and very plainly. The resurrection vindicates His purposeful death, for it was not a meaningless death, not at all.

Peters Private Rebuke

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Out of concern and out of ignorance to be sure, satan manipulates peters emotions to curtail the power of the suffering servant. On Peters side genuine concern, even humanly. On satans side, diabolic and divisive. Coming from a human perspective he would want Jesus to be kept from harm, even would try and protect Him at all cost. The sinister side, the enemy of mans souls would try and persuade an easy passage of kingship, one without suffering. This is antichrist. By the Spirit and revelation from the Father, Peter say’s He is the Christ, now in the flesh he denies the Christ by refusing to believe His word. No one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" To deny Jesus His suffering would be to curse His very purpose and appearing. To deny His suffering is to ultimate deny His coming in the flesh. This is antichrist.
• 1John 2:22, who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
• 1John 4:3, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
• 2John 1:7, for many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
Peter moments earlier spoke by the Spirit and affirmed Jesus as the Christ, now by satanic influence speaks against such claims. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:10) What is this satanic influence and how do we avoid such speaking. Jesus rebukes and discloses the answer for us all.

Jesus rebukes openly

But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Peter wanted this little occasion to be a private matter; however Jesus refuses to let such a moment to remain private. He looks to all the disciples and openly calls Peter satan. What a crushing blow to the disciple’s ego. Earlier, he spoke and received accolades, now speaking again, receives shame. The Lord has His ways of humbling us, and will hurt us to heal us often times. No big headed disciples permitted. This statement is very reminiscent to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The temptation for Jesus would be to conquer without suffering, to reign without triumph.

Easy believism teaches such apostasy, Christianity without suffering. There is no such thing. Satan tried this tactic one time before only to be called out on it again. For, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" (Matthew 4:8-10) Christ would ultimately face this temptation once more in the garden. "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." (Luke 22:42) Jesus was familiar with this temptation and called it out on Peter…"Get behind me, Satan! I’m sure peter did not perceive himself to be satan or even satans mouthpiece, however when we are not mindful of the things of God, we remain earthly and sensual. John 3:31 say’s, He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. We are also told to set out mind on things above.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:2)

Peter was only concerned with the flesh, the preservation of it, and the protection of it. This is natural, however not spiritual. How many of us want and long for God to do great and mighty exploits among us and even through us, yet refuse and even deny the suffering required of it. Before there can ever be a resurrection there has to be a crucifixion. This is the great truth of the Gospel Jesus was preaching to his disciples. There is no easy way to the kingdom. Philippians 1:29 shows us this, For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. Jesus suffered once for our sakes. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. (1Peter 3:18) His suffering is a guarantee of ours. Not that by suffering we make atonement for our sins, or even that through suffering some sort of restitution is made. No, only the mediatory work of the Cross has provided sufficient payment for our sin debt. However, we now suffer with Christ in the sense of appropriating the kingdom of God and making manifest His righteousness on the earth. So then we must ask ourselves the question… are we setting our minds on the things of God, or on the things of man?"

Who do you say I am?

2010-11-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

Mark 8:27-30

And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus restores sight to a blind man, and is simultaneously restoring sight to a blind world. He now takes His disciples away to another village as the preaching circuit continues. So along the way He begins to ask a series of questions. These are not just any questions, rather the most important questions one could ever be asked. All who would ever come to the faith would also be asked such a question, including you and me. What we do with such a demanding and exacting question as this one will determine how we live and function, as well as our eternal futures. I am not sure the disciples took the question as serious as we do or at least should on this side of Calvary. However, they were forced to reconcile to themselves just who this Jesus was they had been following for quite some time now.

Who do men say I am?

He asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Jesus inquired of them what the popular opinions were that was going around. Not that it mattered, Jesus was not moved by the opinions of others as we are moved and many times brought to overwhelming trouble over. Christ knew who He was and what His mission was, therefore living in confidence as the Son of God, sent as the Son of man. Matthews account adds this in the question. …He asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13) The Son of man is a Messianic term used by David. But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! (Psalms 80:17) Today there are plenty of ideas about who Jesus is, and what Jesus was all about. The answer they gave can be very similar to the answers given today.

And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." Herod had a sneaking suspicion that Jesus was John the Baptist, and had risen from the dead. King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." (Mark 6:14) Also, when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." (Mark 6:16) The evident power at work by Christ’ hand had many wondering just who He was. Verse 15 gives us the other answer that the disciples had given. But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." (Mark 6:15)

Were the disciples just parroting the chatter of the streets, or was there more to this answer for some of them still. Perhaps some were feeling out the response Jesus would give, or His body language might give a certain reaction to one of the titles used, thereby giving them some indication on how to respond. Before we get to Peter’s answer, lets look at this for a moment. The masses were forced to deal with Jesus, whether they liked it or not. As a matter of fact, the whole world is forced to deal with Jesus, whether they like it or not. It is easy to define Jesus to people we already know, or who have come before, thus giving us a reference point. Jesus cannot be defined by any reference point in time. There has never been a man born before or since from a Virgin. We like to be able to define what we do not understand. Jesus defies definemeant. This was the problem the Pharisees and Sadducees encountered. The world and the world’s ways are simply stupefied and perplexed by Jesus. This Galilean peasant just won’t seem to go away. In fact, the more you try and eradicate His name and His followers, they seem to multiply. World religions will even acknowledge Jesus as a prophet or a good man, but can’t seem to get a handle on the fact that He is God. The fact that man could not get to God, or ever become God, so God came to man, as a man. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1Timothy 3:16) Call Jesus what they may, one day, they will call Him Lord. "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." (Romans 14:11) No matter what every one else may call Jesus, we now must answer ourselves.

Who do you say I am?

He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Jesus takes the question from the peripheral to the personal. This happens to us all. We all are forced up against the wall of eternity with this question. How we answer will change our lives forever. You can almost feel the intensity in the air, with breath held and all movement ceased, stillness permeating the atmosphere. All eye’s are on Peter, since he seems to be the first to always speak, let him answer first, and we will follow. One can imagine all of heaven was even silenced, listing in and waiting for their responses. The moment the Father had been waiting for. The response to John 3:16, the giving of the Son not in vain, the believing and receiving of eternal life.

Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) Peter had answered correctly and an intense sigh of relief can almost be felt when reading that text. Yes, Jesus is the Christ! He is the Son of the living God! Jesus demands an answer; we must all answer the question. In his famous book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes this statement, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg--or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”

Who did Jesus say He was?

Let’s look at who Jesus said He was with His own words.

• Jesus said He was without sin
So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." (John 8:28-29)
Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." (John 8:46-47)
• He said He was the only way to God
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)
• He said that He shared Glory with the Father in heaven
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:5)
• Jesus said He could forgive sins
And when he saw their faith, he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." (Luke 5:20)
And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:48)
• Jesus said He was a king
But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God." (Luke 22:69)
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." (John 18:36)
• Jesus said He could give eternal life
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, (John 11:25)
• Jesus said He would die and rise again
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. (John 10:17)
"A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me." (John 16:16)
• Jesus said He was returning
And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:62)

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:27-30)

These are just a sampling of the radical claims Jesus made about Himself and who He was.

Why we answer…you are the Christ

Marks account does not give us the details so we turn to Mathews and see the “how come” of this passage. Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17) Flesh and blood cannot perceive righteousness, and cannot discern truth apart from the source supplying us with the truth. Since the Father breathed into us His very breath at creation, it is also the Father that has to breathe into us this very special revelation at re-creation. To Peter He simply spoke out of His own observation, yet Jesus refuses to let Him think that away. On our side it may be a choice, on Heavens side, God has revealed Himself to us through His Son. The right of determination is His, always! Peter did not belong to himself. He may have though he did, however, all along, he in reality belonged to the Father. This is all of us who believe. This is nowhere more clearly than in Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, where Jesus prays for His disciples. "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (John 17:6) Peter as well as the rest of the disciples were given to Jesus by the Father, you and I are given to Jesus by the Father, all those whom God elects for Salvation. We cannot decide to believe on Jesus at will, rather only by His will. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

The revelation

When we come to the revelation that Christ is the Son of the living God, our lives change, they must change. We cannot ever go on with our lives as if this could have no effect on our daily living. Peters name was Simon, and is a Hebrew word that means, “one who hears” and we no for certain that Peter heard the voice of God that day, as his spirit received the revelation of the Father concerning His Son. Jesus tells Simon that He is changing His name to Peter, meaning “Rock” and that upon this revelation, which is the understanding or the hearing, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, He is going to establish His Church. Hell will never topple such revelation, cannot ever overcome the ones whom the Father has revealed such understanding. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) Christ’ church is built upon the revelatory knowledge that He is God, nothing short of this will do.

The Keys

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19) This is what the revelation of Christ brings to the world. Open doors and shut doors. Heavens kingdom advancing and overturning entire civilizations all because the Gospel of Jesus and the Truth of Christ is being made known by the will of the Father. All who posses Christ, posses these keys, what doors are you opening, what doors are you closing? What are you binding, what are you losing? The truth you now have and hold is a divine truth that has the power of transforming lives, cities, and the world. What are you doing with it?

“Blinding sight and the gift of faith”

2010-11-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

(Mark 8:22-27)
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi…

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? (Mark 8:18) This is the question Jesus asks His disciples, for they had no real sense of spiritual sight. Their eyes were spiritually dim and their ears were spiritually dull. Jesus continually had to remove scales from their eyes so they could see the real significance of the moment. Many times we get so caught up in what we see that we fall to really see! He also asks us if we remember. Why? So often we tend to forget what magnificent things He has wrought in our lives. So with this we come, not by accident rather with intentionality, to the healing of a blind man. The eighth chapter by in large deals with spiritual sight and foresight, and that of blindness, first spiritual, then the physical.

Throughout the New Testament we have individual faith reaching out to Jesus to receive, and we have the faith of others reaching out to Jesus on behalf of others. This seems to be how it works, a supernatural touch or the supernatural touch on someone else wanting others to experience a supernatural touch. When we encounter Jesus we invariably will want to share with other what Jesus has done for us, and what Jesus can do for you! So throughout this passage of scripture we will look at this taking place, and its spiritual significance and meaning for us right now.

And they came to Bethsaida. The city of Andrew, Peter, and Philip, a fishing town, which was situated by the sea of Galilee. John 1:44 tells us this, Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. They left the predominantly gentile region of Dalmanutha, and now are on more familiar shores. Christ had frequented this area and brought the kingdom to them on more than one occasion.

Introducing need to the Solution

Some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. If you can see Jesus, it is because He has opened your eyes. Without Christ we live in perpetual darkness and are eternally hopeless. Colossians 1:13 shows us this great miracle, He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…So it is that perhaps these people who brought this desperate man to Jesus had experienced a similar encounter, or had witnessed His healing power at work. Either way, they believed that Jesus could heal this man, so they brought him to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. The Greek word for begged or besought is Parakaleo and means, summoned, called to one’s side, especially called to one’s aid and is closely related to the word that Jesus used for the Holy Spirit, which is Parakletos and means, one who pleads another’s cause with one, an intercessor or comforter. Notice the similarity between the two. The Holy Spirit pleads our cause and intercedes for us and was summoned to come to our aid at the ascension of Christ. (John 15 and Acts 1, 2)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26) These friends of the blind man stood in for him and used their faith and expectations for him. By bringing him to Jesus, they understood that it was Jesus who alone could heal this mans blindness. Their begging shows us the heart behind the request. This wasn’t to prove something or to see some miraculous display of power. Rather this was a real genuine heartfelt desire for the afflicted. This is what faith does. The real power is in the intercession, where the need is introduced to the solution. When we intercede for others we are bringing our request before Christ, the great intercessor. Our intercession is never selfish and one dimensional, but selfless and multidimensional. Take a close look at the great biblical truth that is before us. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25) What we have seen here is the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us, (Romans 8:26) and Christ who lives to make intercession for us as well. This mans physical blindness is a type and shadow of the spiritual blindness of men everywhere. If our eyes have been opened to see, we then must bring others to the light as well. You may know some who seem to have no faith, it then “may be” your job to pray and step in between their unbelief with your faith. For it could be the very way they will be introduced to Jesus.

Taken by the hand

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Jesus accepted their offer and stepped in to comfort and aid this mans desperate need. Taking him by the hand was such a gentle gesture of leading and consolation. He could not see Jesus, but he felt His hand in his. It is amazing how God designed the gospel. He gave us the command of introducing people to Jesus, until Jesus takes them out of your hand into His and begins leading them away, out of the village. This is the process of discipleship. We bring them to Jesus, beg and plead for them until they have a personal hand in hand relationship, until ultimately they see clearly! I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. (Job 29:15)

Do you see anything?

When he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" Perhaps the spit was an impartation of faith, for there was no indication he had any on his own. It is not clear, and has had scholars perplexed for centuries as to why. One thing is clear and that is why Jesus came, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18) Mankind is poor, held captive, blind and oppressed. Jesus is the answer for every malady, (a condition or situation that is problematic and requires a remedy) He brings good news to the poor, the proclamation of liberty to the captive, the recovery of sight to the blind, and liberty for the oppressed. We know faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) When Jesus asks what we see, He invariably is asking about what we see in faith. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) When Jesus speaks, faith will respond.

Men walking as trees

And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." Something strange happens here. His eyes are not instantly healed. Jesus has rebuked storms in there tracks, opened blind eyes more than once, walked on water, and has raised men from the dead, yet his eyes were not opened completely. This is you and I at times as well. Jesus opens our eyes of faith to see, and we squint just to peak at the things of the kingdom, things we see dimly. We must never stop short of the vision Christ gives, He was sent to restore sight to the blind. How many times do we look at men and see trees? We judge the fruit, or lack thereof. We also see how they are rooted and grounded. Are they planted by the water? Are they of knowledge or are they of life. Which do they belong? The restoration of sight may not be immediate or complete all at once. We grow in understanding and our spiritual eyes see more clearly with age rather than more dimly, as in the natural. When we first encounter Jesus and He lovingly applies eye salve to us we are opened to a whole new world, just not a clear world at first. The book of Job brings comfort to some and trouble to others; however Jobs conclusion is really the whole purpose and intention of God. This is what He say’s, I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. (Job 42:5) Job had heard of God and maintained a relationship with Him on that basis alone, now He sees God and knows fully the God he worships.

Seeing clearly

Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. The Spirit of the Lord in Christ Jesus brought restoration to completion and he looked and saw…clearly. Jesus longs to open the blind spots we have and bring clearer perspective to our faith. Jesus will touch us as many times as it takes, till we see. When He takes our hand into His, leads us away from familiarity, He intends to do a thorough work of restoration. The Father specializes is restoration. All creation even longs for such restoration. The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:21-22) The freer we become the freer the Earth becomes. This is an amazing reality. If we seek clarity, we must be honest with ourselves and with Jesus. How many settle for a little relief when Jesus wants us to be totally free. If this man settled for an improved ability to see, (for surely it’s better than before) yet never spoke plainly and honestly about his condition, he wouldn’t have been completely restored. How many of us stop short of total restoration because of an obvious improved life. Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, not just a better life. I do not mean this in the monetary sense, rather in the spiritual sense, which in any case will become positively impacted by the quality of restored sight. When Jesus leads us it is with an intended purpose. It never will be just random and without direction, thus the need for sight, complete vision.

Don’t tell everything you can see

And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi… Jesus led him out of the village, restores his sight and tells him not to go back. Why? Sometimes we should not return from where Christ has taken us. The old nature or village can represent our past and keep us from going forward with a new set of eyes. His destination was home, not the village. Family not familiarity was need, for this new way of seeing. He wanted him to see his family, not feel his way through the village. How many of us get a new vision and tend to feel our way through it with familiar surroundings? "Do not even enter the village." The masses cannot relate the way those who know you can. Jesus leaves the man after sending him home, only to go Himself to the villages. Undoubtedly this miracle would have brought undue attention on Jesus making it difficult for Him to navigate His way though out this region. The demanding crowds could easily become hostile, and it was not yet His time. So this formerly blind man now has blinding sight, vision with limits, yet clarity without obstruction. Christ opens our eyes to a world of possibilities, and then gives us precise directions and orders to be carried out. He has a plan for every individual He restores sight to. Listen carefully to His directions and follow closely His Word, for in it you will discover why you see what you see.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (Revelation 3:18)

Blind Eyes & Bad Doctrine

2010-10-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

Mark 8:11-21

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."

Religious people love to argue. It seems to be their favorite pass time. These Pharisees came arguing and sign seeking all at once, which tells us they really were not interested in Jesus proving to them His identity, rather they wanted to prove theirs. Jesus just finished displaying to the gentile crowd He truly is the bread of life and the ones who claimed to want it the most missed it. Seven large baskets remained of miracle loaves and fish, could this prove, or be a sufficient sign? Jesus thinks so!

These religious self reliant Jews did not approach Jesus as if He could teach or help them in any way; rather they wanted to contend with Him over who He claimed to be. Jesus sighed deeply in His Spirit, for this was very grievous to Him, these generational sign seekers had already killed the prophets sent by God all throughout history, and He would be no different. Jesus witness extraordinary faith of alien gentile people, foreign to the common wealth of the house of Israel, trust wholeheartedly when His own people reject Him, what a travesty. Jesus asks a question, and follows it up with a very disparaging answer.

"Why does this generation seek a sign?

Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."

Jesus meant what He said, and while hanging between earth and sky on a wooden cross, He refused to give them a sign!

• Matthew 27:39-40, And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

• Matthew 27:41-42, So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

• Matthew 27:43, He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

• Matthew 27:44, And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Through all of this He refused to show them a sign. The reality was the cross was the sign, and His suffering the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? (Isaiah 53:7-8) Jesus Himself could have refused such a love offering of Himself, yet knew the will of the Father must take place for the Glory of the Lord. He said these powerful words and if He wanted to give a sign this one would do it, I’m sure. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53)

In Matthews account we have this statement from Jesus when they petition Him for a sign. He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed. (Matthew 16:2-4) What did He mean by signs of the times, and what is the sign of Jonah?

The coming of the Kingdom

In answering the first question posed lets look at what was proclaimed by John the immerser.

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."… This is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." (John 1:29-34)

John was seen as a prophet to Israel and the people gathered together unto him in the wilderness as the Spirit and curiosity led them. He paved the way, and was himself a sign and a testimony to them, for all those who had ears to hear and eye’s to see. Israel’s time and season had come and the kingdom was before them, and they knew it not. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. (Jude 1:5) Faith believes and signs follow, doubt ignores and seeks, and will see no sign given. This is the way of the Kingdom.

The sign of Jonah

Luke 11:30 say’s, for as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Jesus had already performed a sufficient amount of miracles to more than prove He was the “One to come.” Here we have just one remaining. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

In this He was referring to His death, burial, and resurrection. Just has He told Pilate concerning His life, No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:18) The only sign that would be given would prove once and for all that He is God! Sodoms generation as well as Jonah’s generation, will stand in better judgment than this evil adulteress generation, for a greater than Jonah was there and had appeared to them, and they repented not.

So he left them and departed. (Matthew 16:4) Sign seekers often ignore the greatest sign available to them, because perhaps it is just too plain to see. Jesus turns and walks away, this is what He does to unbelieving men and woman who refuse to trust and believe and will only believe if you can prove something to them. "The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17) This is the Christians mantra for life. The walk of faith is truly just trusting Jesus at His word.

Forgetful disciples

And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." (Mark 8:13-15)

Did the disciples who just had seven large baskets of leftovers leave them on the shore? How did they forget? Whatever the case may be, they only had one loaf with them to eat and that shouldn’t be a problem since Jesus has repeatedly showed them He is a multiplier of bread. Jesus exhorts them and admonishes them to beware of leaven; by doing this He is exposing the Pharisees as well as the unbelief of His very disciples. Hard headed disciples have been given Jesus trouble since the apostles, so don’t feel so bad about your self. I say that only to reveal they were just like you and I, and Jesus used them in extraordinary ways.

And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. (Mark 8:16) They were tying the two together in their minds; they somehow left a lot of bread behind and Jesus is warning them about leaven, must be for a reason. Jesus perceives their thoughts and counter acts this argument among them. Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? (Mark 8:17) He was looking through them, piercing their souls and still finding stone. Are your hearts still hardened? Had the gospel of the kingdom not taken away your stony hearts? Since the “just shall live by faith." What then are they living by? Like Lazarus lying dead in a tomb, the stone must be removed, in order for the living to emerge in response to the cry and command of Jesus’ beckoning.

Faithless hearts

One theme that repeats throughout the gospels is the response of faith to a faithful Savior, it gets His divine attention every time, but then again, so does unfaithfulness. "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? (Matthew 16:8) Little faith will leave a heart hard and unmoved by the Words of Jesus. What is amazing for us is Jesus is not talking to the Pharisees, but His disciples. This leads us to why He here is warning them of the leaven they somehow infect and infiltrate people with. Hardness of heart is a wall of self reliance and identity. Repentance to faith is a surrendering of the two into the arms of our great rescuer. Jesus deconstructs our hard impenetrable hearts and re-builds them with a heart of flesh by the Spirit through faith. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

Bad doctrine

Bad teaching leaves its students energized with the wrong information. This is a danger for us all. We invariably cling to error with clinched fist, fighting for what we wrongly perceive to be right. We must admit there is error in all our schools of thought and doctrine. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1Corinthians 13:12)

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" (Mark 8:18-21) Jesus wants them to understand He does not perform miracles haphazardly; they are always for a lesson displaying who He is and what He is up to. The feeding of the multitudes was more for the disciples than for the people, the crowds were feed, but the disciples had to learn.

How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:11) The Pharisees in essence were asking for the sign of a prophet, like Moses, Joshua, and the list goes on and on. That bad teaching was like cancer to the good of the miraculous instruction they just witnessed in that wilderness classroom. It must be disregarded.

So it is with this they conclude after a softening blow to their hard hearts by the words of Jesus, that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:12)

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1John 5:21)

The bread of Compassion

2010-10-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Mark 8:1-10

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away." And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" And he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Still in the region of Decapolis, Jesus now has amassed a crowd of four thousand men, not counting woman and children. So we see a very large crowd and a three day crusade that would forever change the lives of all who believe on this Jesus; this Jewish Messiah. We have before us a similar, yet different miracle. The feeding of the five thousand and now the feeding of four thousand are both lessons that the Holy Spirit through the pen of John Mark wanted to convey to the Church. The feeding of the five thousand was for Israel, while this great display of multiplying power is demonstrated primarily in Pagan territory. What is Mark trying to tell us? It has been said that repetition is the mother of all teachers; could this be for us a pattern to Kingdom expansion, the glory of God in all nations?

Let’s look first at the stark differences to these two similar yet very different occurrences.

• The first time is a primarily Jewish audience, here it is primarily Gentile.
• The five thousand were with Jesus only one day; here they have been with Him three days.
• The disciples had no bread and very little money, here they have seven loaves.
• The first miracle had five loaves and two fish which fed more; here we have more bread and a few fish, which feeds less.
• Jesus ordered the crowd to sit in groups the first time, this time no ordering is mentioned.
• Jesus prays one prayer over the first miracle, here He offers two prayers.
• Twelve small baskets are taken up the first time, this time seven very large baskets are taken up.

There is a plethora of revelation that can be extracted from this if we were to take the time and pray our way through this text. So much can be gleamed from scripture if we simply really read it and allow it to really read us. Jesus later on in chapter eight uses both examples for the disciples and questions them about the various details looking to see what they learned from these miraculous events. I have stated before that every miracle has a lesson attached. Let’s examine this one.

The heart of Jesus

"I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away." Jesus looks to these desperate people who would rather suffer hunger and thirst to be with Him where He is, then where they could be comfortable. A multitude had gathered and spent three days witnessing Jesus usher in the kingdom before their eyes, healing and delivering a lost hurting people created in Gods image and marred beyond recognition. Jesus was washing the dirt and stain of depravity away, by pouring love into their wounded souls. Jesus’ compassion goes deeper than just growling bellies, but rather groaning souls. Jesus was not going to send them away empty, but full. He knows they can not make a long journey on an empty stomach, for their strength would fail them along the way.

This is you and I. We cannot tarry with Jesus any length of time and leave empty, if we would, it is not because He did not feed us, but we refused to eat. Many come to Christ from afar, and must be fed with the living bread of life. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (Acts 2:39) Jesus explicitly refers to the children of Israel in the wilderness and to His self being the manna come down from heaven in John’s gospel; I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (John 6:48-51) Notice He said, “For the life of the world” indicating more than just Israel. Christ looks and longs for the redemption of the world. He has great patience in watching and waiting for the Fathers command to go and gather those whom you have rescued. Jesus looks with great compassion, knowing if we are not feed the bread of life, we will ultimately perish in our sins, starving spiritually forever.

The Task of compassion

His disciples answered him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" The disciples knew that the last time, Jesus had ask them to provide dinner for the masses, For Jesus had asked Philip to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. (John 6:6) This time He say’s how He longs to feed them. How can one feed? They ask in essence, how can you Jesus being only one, feed four thousand? How soon we forget we serve and undeniably powerful God! They still were not getting it, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6:52)

Ever ask yourself that question? What can I do all by myself? Many followers of Christ wrestle with this and wrangle over the implications of stepping out on Faith. The reality is, we are the hands and feet of the Savior in the world, if we don’t go, who will? Jesus longs to feed the multitudes and will, all the while using what little we have to offer. One being many! The key to this whole event is in the fact that Jesus does not look to the crowds to feed themselves, rather He looks to His disciples to do it. …Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. (Luke 12:48)

Jesus moves with what we have

He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Jesus wasn’t looking for much more than that, He understood that His band of disciples could not possibly have in and of themselves what was needed to feed the multitude. He doesn’t look to us for the answers, He is the answer. He is however interested in what we have though, for this is the place He starts, with our offering. The lesson should impact our reaction. The fist time it was a little boy’s lunch, this time it was what the disciples had remaining. Jesus wasn’t this time looking to the disciples to go and make provision, He just wanted them to tell Him what they had to offer, and He was going to do the rest. What is interesting to note here is that the Jewish feeding was ordered and grouped; where as this gentile feeding was not, they just are directed to sit down on the ground. Glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. (Romans 2:10) It always starts in Israel, then to the nations. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

A disciple’s task

He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. Jesus takes from our hands the insignificant under resourced offering of what we have and gives the Father in Heaven thanks, breaks it and sets it back in front of us, for the purpose of distribution. Jesus Himself does not do the distribution, the disciples do. Jesus does the multiplying, we do the distributing. I set it before you; you now take the exponentially multiplied bread and set it before them. The task of all disciples is to carry Jesus, the bread of life to a soul starving world, starting wherever we find ourselves first, and move out from there. Starting with Jerusalem then in all Judea and Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth."

A few

They had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. Jesus had told Peter when first invited to follow Him, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17) This was peters school of how to do that. Jesus is the bread of life, we are the fish, He goes before us, and then we being few, become many. What great satisfaction comes from feasting with the Savior, what awe inspiring “soul food.” "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:35) Do you believe that? Does that affect the way you live and react to the Word? It should! We should never be able to find soul satisfaction in anything other than Christ, yet too often we do. Jesus just wants our few, He will do the rest. Some may ask “just what does Jesus want from me?” He wants all of you, and will stop at nothing until He gets it. We eat the bread of life and are completely satisfied.

Seven Large Baskets

They took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. One day Christ will return and gather from the four corners of the earth His elect. Then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. (Mark 13:27) Looking at the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples gathered twelve smaller baskets, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel and is very governmental in its establishment. This time they take up seven large baskets, which look to the nations or seven continents. The book of Acts shows us this pattern in we start with Twelve Apostles who represent Israel and Abraham's promise, then we see them going throughout the world, saving and establishing Christ’ church in the earth, and advancing the kingdom of God.

This day, many were fed with the Words and healing touches of Jesus, and also had their fill of supernaturally increased bread and fish. Today, we also can experience Jesus’ touch and word, while knowing He will provide food for His children in the wilderness. The church one day will be completely taken care of supernaturally while tarring with Jesus in a desolate place. We are living in the third day and Christ is looking to His church with compassion, because we have been with Him these last three days and are hungry, therefore He must feed us and is going to use His disciples to do so, as long as they rely solely on His multiplying power. We will eat here in the wilderness and be satisfied completely as well as receive the strength necessary to make the journey home.

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:1-6)

Be Opened!

2010-10-12T12:29:00.001-07:00

Mark 7:31-37

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Jesus left this Gentile land for yet another Greek metropolis, the ten cities of Decapolis. His fame had spread, as should the fame of God’s name be known everywhere. Oh’ that Jesus’ name would be known throughout every tongue and tribe on Earth! May it happen in our lifetime.

The last time Jesus was in this area, it was in one of the ten cities comprising Decapolis, the city of Gadara. It was here Jesus liberated a man from a legion of demons, and turned him into one of the very first evangelist for the kingdom message. Jesus told him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And He listened to Jesus and did what He had told him, if only all would respond like this newly freed man, for he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. (Mark 5:19-20) The proclamation of the gospel does work and should be shouted from upon the house tops for all to hear. It was so here, in this strange land that many would believe on the name of our Lord. The testimony of one would soon become the testimony of many.

Brought to Christ

And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. (Mark 7:32) Jesus was sought out, and found, they brought to Him a man…how many do we know that need Jesus, are we bringing them to Christ? There is no situation too hard or too deplorable for our Lord to cure and remedy. He is the answer to every question, He is the sum total of every equation, He is the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) If He could deliver a man living in the tombs among the dead, a man who could not be chained down, and turn him into a flaming evangelist, certainly He could unstop deaf ears and a tongue that could not speak.

The shame of deafness is a debilitating blow to the human soul. Many say even worse than being blind, at least from a societal stand point. Without ability to communicate thoroughly, his life would be extremely difficult to cope with. The scorn he would have had to endure would be far worse in his day than ours, albeit it is not that much better today, society still imposes a stigma on the disabled. Yet, here he stood, standing in the presence of the Christ, the hope of the world.

Taken aside

And taking him aside from the crowd privately, Jesus empathized in his humiliation. This is Jesus, this is what He does. He feels our pain, for He has felt our pain. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus knows what it feels like to be humiliated, scorned and mocked, for He had to endure such ridicule from His accusers. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3) Jesus took him aside, like he does us, for the very purpose of personally dealing with our need. Jesus is very personal, He is not just someone we can relate to on Sunday, but everyday! He sympathizes with our struggles daily, even minute by minute, second, by second. We should let Jesus take us aside to minister to us, for He has such joy in doing it. Let us look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus looked to a shameful cross, because He seen us and our need there and found Joy in serving humanity with His divine suffering.

Jesus touched him

He put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. Jesus was never some distant superstar, looking for people to touch Him;just the opposite Jesus came to a dying sin sick people, and touched our infirmities. Luke 5:15 say’s, but now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. Jesus never has empathy without touch. Compassion should have accompanying it contact. Sometimes a gentile touch can do more than a million words could ever do. We can give our advice, but better yet, lend a hand. There are many accounts in the scriptures of Jesus touching the untouchable. Some examples:

•Matthew 8:3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
•Matthew 17:7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear."
•Matthew 20:34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
•Luke 22:51 But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him.

Jesus was not afraid to get His hands dirty with the pain and suffering of people. He came for a purpose, and part of that purpose was to restore hope to a hopeless world. This could not have been accomplished from afar.

When Jesus put His fingers in this poor deaf mans ear, He was using sign language to identify with his need and by spitting and touching his tongue, He was showing him what was going to happen. His ears were going to be opened, and his tongue was going to become loosed. This man could not hear Jesus’ words, however, he felt Jesus’ touch fingers in his ears and spit on his tongue.

Looking up

And looking up to heaven, Jesus was showing this man His reliance upon the Father above. Jesus had private communication with the Father, however here was a public need and His Father must become aware and employed, so Jesus looked up! This is a lesson for us all. There is no situation too big or too small that does not require our looking up to the Father for assistance in. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6) This one act or gesture says a mouthful. We must as Jesus did, rely solely upon God in Heaven, creator of the heavens and the earth. He is over all things and by His sovereignty controls all things. Looking to Him shows our dependence on Him, and our absolute need and inability apart from Him. Jesus when instructing His disciples on how to pray, said, Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (Matthew 6:9) Why should this be our first act of petition? The answer is simple, because you need daddy’s permission to do anything.

The word tells us to set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:2) When we do this, as Jesus did, we look away from ourselves and our self-reliance to an outside source for help. Many will argue and say, “You have all you need on the inside” and this lie could not be more damaging to the human need. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17) All we do must be by and through the precious name of Jesus, even to the giving of thanks to our Father in heaven.

He sighed

He sighed, showing by a visible gesture of His sympathy and utter disgust with the condition sin has left creation in. This voluntary deep emotional exhale was to this deaf man, His way of communicating His love and sadness over His situation. Jesus does this over us as well. He weeps over our calamities and maladies. Like when at Lazarus tomb, Jesus wept. (John 11:35) This is the shortest verse in scripture and the most compelling, in that it conveys the Heart of God in the simplest terms. The Greek word for Sigh is sten-ad'-zo, and it means to be in straits, that is, (by implication) to sigh, with grief, or groaning. One example of this words use can be found in 2 Corinthians 5:2, For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. Again it is used two more verses down from this one, For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:4)
Notice the context in which this word is being used, our groaning over our condition while here on earth. Another texts also contains this word and the same implication, And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23) In this life we have trouble, and there will always be trouble, we must long for and wait patiently for our ultimate healing and redemption.

He spoke

He said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." With one word worlds were created, and with one word, this mans entire life would be forever changed. When Jesus speaks, something is going to happen. The text tells us what this ancient Chaldeean word means, and when coming out of Jesus’ mouth that is exactly what happened. It also means to be unbarred or unconstrained. The hindrance to his hearing and speech whether natural or demonic as in some cases, was no match either way to Jesus’ liberating command. He is the Word that is from the beginning. (John 1:1) This desperate soul had no idea to whom he had been brought to, He was no mere magician, or shaman, or village healer, for He was God! Colossians 1:15-16 makes this abundantly clear; He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. Hebrews 1:3 tells us this, He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. If this is true, and it is, then this man was in good hands, for he was in God’s hands, and his condition would have to bow down to the word spoken over it. So the first words this man may have ever heard was "Be opened!" And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Wonder, astonishment, proclamation

Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." A man who may have never spoke, cannot keep quiet, a people, who have just witnessed such a display of God’s divine power, cannot keep quiet. He charged them to tell know one, as He often did, and they responded as all the others have as well, they refuse to remain silent. And you and I should not be able to remain silent either for all He has done in and through our lives. The residual effects of miracles should always be wonder, astonishment, and proclamation. We wonder at Who He is, we are astonished at what He can do, and we proclaim what He has done! For He has done all things well!

A prayer for wonder, astonishment, and proclamation, Now, Lord, look upon their threats (all the enemy is trying to do) and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:29-31)

"Lord, help me!"

2010-10-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

Mark 7:24-30

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus was tired and wanted to get away for some time of rest and recuperation. This had not happened in some time and the times He has tried as we have seen, have all backfired for Gods Glory. Having become exhausted from continual debate and questioning from the Pharisees over unwashed hands at the dinner table, Jesus exposes their preoccupation with outside appearances and counter attacks with the truth of total depravity, revealing the true evil motives of the heart.

Jesus cannot be hidden

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.

So we have Jesus going twenty miles or so away to a foreign pagan gentile land, to hide away in a house and get some sleep. Surely they would not know Jesus here; however hope travels to all places. He could not be hidden! No matter how hard you try and hide Christ from others, faith will always find Him. Desperate people do desperate things in order to find help. Many try and cover up their hope in life out of embarrassment or not wanting to ruffle feathers. Either way, if Christ is in you, regardless of your personal private disposition, Jesus cannot be hidden; a city on a hill cannot remain hidden. (Matthew 5:14) And should never remain hidden; Christ belongs to the world, for to the world He was given. (John 3:16)

A desperate pagan

But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth.

The text tells us she had heard of Him. The fame of Christ had spread all over the regions surrounding Jerusalem. You cannot keep hope a secret nor can you ever keep a desperate mother down when it comes to her child. Her daughter was demonized and in need of deliverance, a deliverance that can only come from a true deliverer. The truth is her daughter’s possession was probably caused by her own idol worship and pagan practices. We must remember this was a purely gentile pagan woman, who also was a Canaanite, (notorious enemies of God’s covenant people) an evil practicing woman, ignorant to the one true God. Yet, she hears of Jesus, the Savior of the world. Some how she makes her way inside and begins to make her request of the Living God known, and I do not think no was in her vocabulary.

Matthews account gives us a little more detail to the happenings that day in a foreign living room.

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her not a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:21-28)

"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; this was a plea for Messianic help, a help she was not entitled to. Some how in her travels she hears of this Rabbi from Israel who has power over unclean spirits, good news travels fast, and she was not going to miss her only opportunity to see her daughter healed. She cries for the Son of David and must have had some idea to what that entailed. Descendants of Abraham were commonly referred to as Sons of David, Israel’s greatest king, one example would be found in Matthew 1:20 in reference to Joseph, But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Also about Jesus in Matthew 1:1, The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Son of David meant He was entitled to the throne that was promised forever and a kingdom without end. How then could she expect benefits from such a throne being a Canaanite woman? Jesus asks the same question.

Silence from God

Have you ever prayed and the heavens seemed closed for business? We all have at some point in time or another, sometimes more than we care to admit. But he did not answer her not a word. This was his response to a desperate pagan woman with a daughter severely oppressed by a demon, Nothing! Did Jesus not care; was He indifferent to her plight? If so, what about the plight of all none Jews? Even the disciples get in on the action, for they came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." Have this happen one time in church, and you will have some seriously offended people. Jesus goes on to say, what appears to be a very non inclusive statement, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Sent only to…Jesus was primarily Israel’s atoning sacrifice and propitiation, the fulfillment of all the law and prophets. She sure didn’t fit into that category. Nevertheless, look at what she does next, she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

Lord, help me!

Three words that will get God’s attention every time, for the word tells us, it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (Acts 2:21)

First, we must recognize our inability apart from Him;

secondly, we must recognize our need for such salvation.

She cried out with the understanding that He was the deliverer promised to Israel, and that she needed Him to help her, regardless of her pedigree. One could imagine her calling upon pagan deities and getting no response. She probably had given her Greek Mythology plenty of chances as well, all without an answer. Distant deities and carved engraved images where of no use to her demonized daughter, they only added fuel to the already out of control fire. She needed help, and she needed it now! We can see why Jesus would hold out on her for a moment, just watching to see if she would become impatient with Him as well, and lose heart. What we see is just the opposite happens.

He answers

And he answered, this is what we all desire, answer to prayer, even if it isn’t what we wanted to here, He still spoke. She at least now is getting a response, not a cold shoulder from a warm loving savior. What He says’s surprises us all…"It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." What exactly is He saying? Israel is the recipients of God’s covenant promises, not gentile dogs. Can you receive from Abraham, when you are not one of his? How can one receive an inheritance when not apart of the family, not an heir or offspring? It would be ludicrous to presume such a request. Imagine barging into a reading of a will, and demanding your cut of the inheritance just because you have desperate need, assuming you could just ask. It would be unthinkable. This is the point Jesus is essentially making to her. What she say’s is where we all stand, and the point where we must all humbly come.

Masters table

She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." What a remarkable statement from such a woman who realizes she doesn’t deserve any part of the inheritance, but also understands that crumbs inevitably will fall to the floor. She just wants some crumbs, just give me the leftovers! The beautiful thing about faith in Christ is we never just get leftovers, but the whole meal from the master’s table; we are invited to the banquet hall.

Jesus Grants her request

"O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. Look what has happened, she being a pagan, hears of Jesus and believes, for faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) Faith is initiated in her heart and she then seeks Jesus out and clings to Abrahams covenant promises (Son of David) as a Canaanite and receives her miracle. This is astonishing! It all begins with hearing so faith can be activated. Jesus must be proclaimed as a deliverer and a Savior. But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:14) Faith sets the captives free, and faith receives the blessings of Abraham. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17) Paul speaking about His fellow countrymen say’s they are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (Romans 9:4-8)

Faith is the apprehender of Abrahamic promise, not flesh and blood. The beautiful thing about this text is it is a promise to you and me. This Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth is included in the covenant through faith. Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
(Ephesians 2:11-13)

Sinner to the Core

2010-09-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Mark 7:1-23
Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?"

From crowds reaching and touching to receive from the Word of life, we now see the religious opposition come from Jerusalem together against Jesus. I am sure they would never make such a statement, but they did not have too, their actions made it for them. This is evident in they immediately observe the wrong, while overlooking all God had been doing. We may look at this and wonder just what kind of an accusation could this be, but for the Jew this was major, a breech in protocol and a contempt for tradition. For, they held to teachings that embellished the Law of Moses as to make them secure from breaking, only to diminish entirely the original inspired command. Some examples are these:

•"he that despiseth washing of hands, shall be rooted out of the world; for in it is the secret of the decalogue:''
•"Who is one of the people of the earth, or a plebeian? He that does not eat his common food with purity.'' (Zoharin Numb fol. 100. 3.)

These are just a couple examples that they held to vehemently, so the first thing they begin to do is question Jesus about this apparent atrocity. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?"

Jesus answers in His usual candid remarks that cut to the heart and soul of a matter, rather than placate to their unsanctified senses. For Jesus is concerned about truth, not feelings. Truth liberates, where as tradition can incarcerate. Marks gospel sees fit to let Matthew pick up this statement first in order of events by Jesus in response to the Pharisees that we should include here. He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. (Matthew 15:3-6)

Jesus goes for the juggler of indifference and hypocrisy, not letting it come up for air… You break the commandments of God for your tradition! How many today can relate to this, just hang around any church for a time and you will see traditions held too with gripping force, even if it hinders the growth or move of God no matter what. ‘This is how we always have done it, or our founders did it this way,’ they will say. Tradition in and of itself may not be wrong, however tradition that gives no freedom for advancement or change must not be held onto just because it feels right or safe. The commandments of God never change; the traditions around them must change giving room for contextualization.

Vain Worship

And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." (Mark 7:6-8)
How many worship in spirit and in truth? Clinging to truth, while staying in the right spirit of worship can seem difficult at times, for often we know what the right thing to do is, and we do it for righteousness sake without having done in the right spirit, and there is nothing wrong with that per say. Or we seem to have the right spirit of the matter and can’t find the truth of it, or better yet, make sense of the truth of it. This happens to all of us. For them though, they had all together laid aside God’s commands, for the traditions of men. So they could pretend to honor God by keeping their dishes washed, while living comfortable in the filth of hypocrisy.

And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! (Mark 7:9) Justifiable homicide of the word of God is what Jesus is pointing out to them. We justify our actions if they produce a more superior or religious person or result. Dirty souls covered in clean linen and washed hands, hands that want blood…that is what they where. What Jesus was saying to them regarding the Command to honor father or mother was simply you have made your way out of the law, by saying if you have given relief of support, which is a gift, (Corban) then you can be free from honoring them. ‘I do not have to give honor, since I paid their bills, or gave those gifts.’ This is what Jesus said about that, thus your making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do." (Mark 7:13) This is much like Catholicism today in the Pope can dictate decree’s that can contradict or even negate scripture, for his position is that of Christ on the earth and his words can become scripture themselves, thus making void the word of God. Luther responded much like Jesus and the reformation took a stand to claim, Sola Scriptura, meaning Scripture alone!

Jesus calls the crowd

And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: (Mark 7:14) Jesus now is going to take this absurdity and make it an object lesson at the expense of some religious high minded folk.

Sinner to the core

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." (Mark 7:15)

What is Jesus conveying? For He wants everyone to pay special attention, If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. (Mark 7:16) What is interesting is Jesus does not go any further with His statement, He concludes here for a reason. If you have ears to hear it, you will get it.

You are desperately wicked through and through…all of us!

Matthew Henry say’s it this way,

“Our wicked thoughts and affections, words and actions, defile us, and these only. As a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so does a corrupt heart send forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all the wicked words and actions that come from them. A spiritual understanding of the law of God, and a sense of the evil of sin, will cause a man to seek for the grace of the Holy Spirit, to keep down the evil thoughts and affections that work within.”

We can deny it if we want to, but our true self will always emerge some way or another, you can not keep such corruptness undetected for long. As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12) It goes on to say, Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. (Romans 3:19) We are held accountable to God for our sin, even though it came not by us; but was indeed inherited by us and is now our corrupt nature, we own it. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)

Undiscerning disciples

And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. (Mark 7:17) Maybe to them it seemed a parable, yet Jesus was not speaking in a parable, but plainly, as we see in His remarks to them.

And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. (Mark 7:18-20) What Jesus is saying to them and to us is, external filth and things unclean do not enter our hearts for it is what is in our hearts that is really dirty. We are sinners to the core of our being; sins are the fruit of this depravity not the cause of it. The Greek word for heart is Kardia and it means the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, and endeavors. (According to Thayer’s Greek lexicon.) Jesus confirms this thought in His next statement.

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (Mark 7:21-22)

From within, not from without, these are not outside influences, rather natural compulsions of unrighteousness. They plague the human race, and have produced an epidemic that has spread to every living soul since Adam to you and me. This is why the first step in turning to Christ is repentance, which means you recognize your need for a savior. There is no other way of coming to faith in Christ than this. Jesus is letting His disciples know they are sinners just like the Pharisee’s and the scribes…no better or no worse…the same! Salvation results in the transformation of our hearts and minds, the renewal of life at the center of our beings. It is not about perfection, rather process, our perfection is in declaration, and our process is a result of proclamation. We are declared perfect because of one perfect act that is Jesus’ death and resurrection. The process of becoming what God declares us to be in Christ is because we by the Holy Spirit proclaim His word, which produces faith for living in His righteousness. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) We must become new in order to live. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2Corinthians 5:17) Paul piggybacks on Jesus’ teaching and say’s this, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3) Paul also say’s, But that is not the way you learned Christ!-- assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:20-24)

The Apostle also give us a similar list as Jesus when he say’s, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) In other words….you have been “born again!”

All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (Mark 7:23) Our need for Jesus is apparent in light of Scripture and in the face of our reflections in the mirror. We need deliverance from our corrupt nature, a saving to the core of our being and a healing of our hearts that have been overtaken by darkness and now brought into the light of the Gospel. This is what Jesus does and will do, when we confess our sins and believe upon His name. 1John 1:9 says’, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Marketplace Healer

2010-09-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:53-56 ESV

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

In concluding a glorious sea walk in which Jesus invites peter to join Him and a now worshiping boat of disciples, something strange happens, then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. John 6:21 gives us a mystery… a miracle or just hyperbole? Was this a deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for effect or did they move instantaneously from the middle of the lake which was about three to four miles to the other side another three to four miles? We know with Jesus as we have seen, all things are possible. So, from a walk at sea to the landing on shore, ministry was ever on the horizon for this servant of man, for in our present text we see lived out before us this truth, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. Having supernaturally arrived, they still need to paddle onto the shore of Gennesaret, and could not do so incognito, for when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him…Jesus was the carrier of life and the light that came into the world, yes many loved darkness rather than light, (John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.) However, the warmth was attractive to the cold and despondent, the sick and afflicted, and the tormented and depressed, for Jesus brought hope into a hopeless world, and love to the loveless.

Gather the sick

The people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. (Mark 6:54,55) Notice it is the people who gather the sick. Everyone knows someone who needs a miracle. They see that it is Jesus and begin to quickly gather from all over, the desperate, for they understood Jesus was the great physician. But, what about themselves, did they need Jesus, was perhaps their condition worse, being soul sick and unable to find a cure? We often times see the answer only to assume it will benefit others rather than ourselves. Should we gather the sick and afflicted? Absolutely, as long as we recognize we too are in need of Jesus! Remember, the picture of this boat of disciples with Jesus as the center, is a picture for us the Church, we sail because we are on mission, the storms we encounter are because God has to prepare us for the great ministry that lay wait for us on the other side, we fail on the sea and we fail the multitudes who so desperately need a Savior healer. When the church lands on some solid ground after encountering a storm used by God to enlarge our understanding of Jesus for the purpose of intensifying our worship, we need to understand it is Jesus that people need, not us, or our particular boat, the boat serves the kingdom and is a means of bringing Jesus to a lost world.

Jesus the epicenter of the world

And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside…We have in this statement a very powerful picture for us. There is no place that does not need Jesus, nor where Jesus would not go. The church should serve wherever she finds herself located, if in a village, she does well to bring Jesus into that context and become what the small community needs for healing and salvation. If she serves a city, then the church must use that great clustering of diversity and expand herself to meet the need of an urban environment. If the church has been brought by Jesus into the countryside, then she needs to cultivate herself within that farming community and bring healing to those who live with a rural mindset.
Jesus went to:
• Villages
• Cities
• Countryside
Everywhere you go, people need healing inside and out, by the great servant of the souls of mankind. Jesus, not a village, city, or countryside is the epicenter of the world. Meaning, He is the focal point and centerpiece of all humanity.

Marketplace healer

They laid the sick in the marketplaces…many try and avoid Jesus in the marketplaces, and cringe when He is brought up in conversation. We tend to separate what we believe from what we do for a living, as if Jesus does not belong in that area of our lives. These masses brought the sick to the marketplaces, so Jesus would have a greater advantage of reaching them, this work was public not a private matter. Jesus should never be hidden as something we believe but does not affect our public life; the gospel alters forever our public life. For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:38) Jesus must be proclaimed from the housetops so a deaf world might hear. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. (Matthew 10:27) The disciples of Jesus where to learn from this and all throughout the book of Acts we see the Church affecting the marketplace communities of every sort, even dismantling certain economies. (Acts 19)

Perfectly Healed

They laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. With the sick gathered into the marketplace and a large mob of people beseeching Jesus for His healing virtue, He responds out of His being and dispenses life to a dying people. This desperate crowd looked to Jesus with the same faith that the woman with the issue of blood did. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." (Mark 5:28) They cried unto him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment…What was this all about? He could have laid hands on them all, as He had done many times before, yet they seem to know exactly what to do, or rather what to look for. John 1:14 say’s, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

On the four corners of Jesus’ garment hung six hundred and thirteen commands of the perfect law of God, carrying with them precious promises that had eluded the people for centuries. Why? In order to meet the requirements of the law and receive its rich blessing, perfection would need to be obtained. The law serves us with Gods standard and towers over us exposing our unrighteousness and inability to ever live up to perfect righteousness. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (Romans 7:7-12) These people lived under the weight of sin, in which the law exposed. Their sin crippled them and brought death about killing them slowly through sickness and disease. Upon seeing Jesus who said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them, (Matthew 5:17) they look to this with anxious anticipation and hopeful expectation in receiving life from the law instead of death. They had tried and strived to appease God by keeping the law, and imperfectly doing so, always came up short, for The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. (Numbers 15:37-40)

They also knew what the word said concerning keeping His commandments. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer." (Exodus 15:25-26) Jesus was Jehovah -Rapha and fulfilled perfectly all commands of the Lord ensuring us of God’s complete satisfaction concerning the keeping of His law. They looked to Jesus and wanted to take a hold of the healing word of life. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—(1John 1:1)

Matthews account say’s, And they begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His robe. And as many as touched were made perfectly whole. (Matthew 14:36) Nothing can stand between Christ’s righteousness and our need, when receiving by faith all of its propitiating power and deliverance. The Greek word for made perfectly whole is, diasōzō And means to save thoroughly. This is what Jesus does; he thoroughly saves us, inside and out, healing sickness and diseases, as well as saving us from utter destruction due to our sin. Touching the fulfillment of Christ with faith will surly bring healing to any desperate soul in need of deliverance. We must trust and live forever in the finished work of the cross.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

Walk of faith

2010-09-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:45-52

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

After a miraculous feeding of the multitudes, Jesus perceives a misguided messianic fervor beginning to develop within the people. Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. (John 6:15) This followed after the people proclaimed, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" (John 6:14) Before the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes occurred, Jesus was teaching them about the kingdom of God and healing those who had need of healing. (Luke 9:11) Forcing Christ to become king was not in the power of their hands, nor the will of the Father. Jesus then suddenly commands His disciples to depart and literally forces them off the shore, for He did not want their zeal without knowledge (Rom. 10:2) to fan the flame of fanaticism. So Jesus left the zealous crowds and went up on the mountain to pray. This was His only solitude and comfort sojourning in this world as divine living among humanity, a humanity desperate for a king.

Alone at sea

And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. (Mark 6:47) The boat often times represents the church as a vessel carrying disciples across oceans that can become fierce and unpredictable. The last time they were on the sea in a boat, Jesus was asleep at the stern, when a tumultuous storm arose and they greatly feared for their lives until Jesus rebuked the wind and calmed the seas. This time Jesus is on land, and they seem to be alone. They were there as a direct result of obeying Jesus’ commands, for He had forced them out. The church typically needs pushed before she moves. She tends to become caught up into emotionalism which leads to hasty decisions that feel good, but fails the mission and purpose of Christ. For Jesus usually leads us into uncomfortable situations rather than feel good ones. This is the way in following Jesus. Had they not obeyed maybe they could be sleeping right now with full bellies instead of heading into a storm, seemingly this time without Jesus there to help.

Never alone at sea

And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. (Mark 6:48) Jesus in prayer to the father on a mountain sees them three or four miles out (John 6:19) straining at the ores and fighting the contrary winds. The wind was against them, this seems to be the way the church lives constantly. The church struggles as disciples strain to row and navigate the headwinds painfully. Nothing ever comes to her easy, if it means something it must come with a fight, it is going to cost to follow and obey Jesus. One can imagine the faces of the disciples as I’m sure Peter was taking charge and barking orders to row harder, soaked from head to toe and barley able to look ahead due to the fierce rain and winds. The lesson Christ wants us to learn from this is, we are never alone, either He is asleep in the stern, or He will come to us on the waves, but rest assured He will come and He sees us at all times, even when at a distance away, for it is there He makes intercession for us. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

The safest place we can ever be is in the prayers of our Lord, it is there we are saved to the uttermost, meaning to our full end and completion. Jesus told Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32) At the time of adversity we may not sense the kingly prayers, nevertheless, because of those prayers we will prevail, and our faith will remain.

Three a.m. walks

And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. (Mark 6:48) The fourth watch is around three a.m. in the morning. By this time the disciples must truly be exhausted for the day had been long and arduous. Large crowds, long hours and hard work, this is the work of ministry. They find themselves now unable to rest, and having to fight gusts of wind and large waves. Wet, uncomfortable, tired and a little disgruntled to be sure…if only Jesus hadn’t sent us on…We get this way on a regular basis, asking God why and looking at that the situations and wondering where God is at in all of this. He comes when we least expect it in ways we least expect. He came to them, walking on the sea. Defying the laws of physics He comes to them on the sea, walking past them as in parallel with their boat. Jesus walking with the rhythm of the waves comes to His despondent disciples. Jesus seems to fulfill Jobs description of God, who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the high waves of the sea. (Job 9:8 Darby)

When they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, (Mark 6:49) Tired and delirious they supposed Jesus to be a ghost, perhaps ancient mariner stories of strange experiences at sea come to mind, and the eerie seen of Christ walking along side their boat caused a chilling fear which led to a crying out. At any rate Jesus is present. For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." (Mark 6:50) Comforting words in the midst of trouble, terror turns into a sigh of relief. The supernatural events taking place here begin to reveal to us Jesus is more than a prophet, and more than a Rabbi, He is the Son of God, from His ability to see their circumstance at such a distance , to coming to them three or four miles out walking on the sea. The disciples are being trained in the supernatural nature of faith, and there is one among them willing to step out and walk where Jesus walks.

An impetuous walk of faith

Peter can be seen as presumptuous due to his audacious overestimation of himself. Yet, this daring disciple did what no other man other than Christ has done before, he walked on water! His radical impulses compel him to ask what most of us would never ask. Marks gospel account does not give this part, probably due to it being largely narrated by peter to mark; nevertheless Matthews account gives us this leap of faith. And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." (Matthew 14:28) It is in these moments of great faith that we hear Jesus say "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. (Matthew 14:29) Peter does not hesitate to step out onto the water and begin to walk on what he had always sailed on. The impossibility of this moment must have seemed surreal; peter is actually walking on water. We as the church must consider what can happen when we ask Jesus to come to Him, for where He is at will not be in the comfortable but the impossible. The word tells us, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) The Greek used for substance is hupostasis.

Thayer Definition:
1) a setting or placing under
1a) thing put under, substructure, foundation
2) that which has foundation, is firm
2a) that which has actual existence is

Our faith should have a foundation, like peters when he stepped onto the water, for it changed the molecular structure into something that would sustain his weight. Faith had placed under his feet a concrete foundation, for he was stepping onto faith in Christ who is our firm foundation, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 3:11) Since faith is a foundation and a setting under, it is also evidence a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested. Faith proved that what could not be, can become.

Don’t look away

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." (Matthew 14:30) How many of us when we begin to look at where following Jesus has taken us, begin to shrink back? Peter turned his eyes from Jesus and saw the wind, and instead of faith, he was afraid, this is always a recipe for disaster for any believer or church. There are several lessons to be learned from this:

1. We cannot on our own come to Christ, He must invite us.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. (John 6:37)
2. We cannot on our own walk where he walks without faith.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2Corinthians 5:7)
3. We cannot on our own keep ourselves on the water.
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. (Jude 1:24)
4. We cannot on our own save ourselves, without Jesus we will drown.
There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:12)

We cannot come, walk, keep, or save ourselves; it must Jesus who works in you, both to will and to do for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13) Peter was learning that it wasn’t any thing to do with his boldness, persistence or tenacity to follow Jesus; it was only because of Jesus that He could do anything. This would be something peter would learn over the years, as he comes more intimately acquainted with the Master.

Jesus walked and they worshiped

And He went up into the boat to them. And the wind was cut off. And they were very much amazed within themselves beyond measure, and marveled. (Mark 6:51 MKJV) The disciples to this point have witness Jesus heal the lame, cast out demons, open blind eyes, rebuke winds and seas, but multiplying loaves and fishes, and now walking on water! This was too much for them to comprehend. This Jesus has to be God, no man can do what they witnessed Him do. This unique perspective would eventually give them apostolic authority. The truths Jesus was depositing into His disciples would be forever life altering. He wanted them to worship in truth and the spirit, not just in the letter. Jesus manifested God to these ordinary men and made the scriptures come alive. Beyond measure tells us that what they were experiencing could not be quantified or verbalized, this is true worship, when our words fail us in our exaltation's of His majesty…they marveled! This is where Jesus wanted them all along. This was the end result of what He was looking for in them. We know this by the last verse mark gives us on this.

For they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6:52 ESV) Jesus walked on the water to them, because they did not understand the implications of the great miracle of multiplication. Jesus was more than feeding a crowd, He was indicating His Messiahship, as the bread come down from heaven.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (John 6:51)

The five loaves and two fish way

2010-09-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:30-44

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

The disciples are now apostles for they have been sent. This exciting adventure ended in a somber tone having heard about John the Baptist and taking his body to a tomb, they come to give Jesus the news. Jesus also hears about all they had done and taught throughout their journey. Emotions of joy and sadness to be sure and a get away would be good for some introspection. For Jesus told them to, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." These times are a necessary component of ministry and Jesus drew away by Himself on a regular basis. Time spent in secret place contemplation is never wasted time, rather gain time. The demands of ministry go into extremes and they could not even eat a meal, this was a time of great revival for Israel.

Desperate Multitudes

But the multitudes saw them leaving, and many knew Him. And they ran together on foot there, out of the cities. And they went before them and came together to Him. (Mark 6:33) They knew Him, went before Him, and came to Him! They were desperate for Jesus for He had all they needed and longed for. People long for acceptance, significance, and purpose, and Jesus gives all of these things and more. The draw to Jesus leads them on foot from the cities to the desert place where they would arrive before the boat and they could wait for Him. There would be no resting this day, nor the days to come. Desperation calls for drastic measures and expectancy becomes a breading ground for the miraculous. The multitudes would see more than ever before from this heaven sent servant of man.

Compassion requires action

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34) Jesus looked at this desperate wandering multitude and felt compassion, the Love of the Father overflowing into action. Sheep without a shepherd, are lost and roaming, with no ability to feed themselves or protect themselves. So Jesus begins to teach them, for knowledge of God is the beginning of knowing God. Matthews account tells us when he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:14) Teaching and healing are two arms of ministry and should be employed by every disciple of Jesus, for they must learn and be loved. The love of God sent Jesus to us, and the love of Jesus for us, keeps us. God did not just have compassion for a lost sin sick world and do nothing about it; He deployed His Son on a rescue mission and delivered a world out of hopeless despair by dying on a dreadful cross and rising from a borrowed tomb to ascending to the right hand of the Father in victory, where He forever makes intersession for us and pleads our case before a Holy God. And because of this Jesus was on a selfless mission giving Himself for the lost sheep of Israel, and ultimately the world. He began to teach them many things. We do not know the content of His teaching but do know they where being let in on the kingdom of God and His ways, followed by a demonstration of that kingdom.

A lesson to the Disciples

And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." (Mark 6:35-36) Late into the evening Jesus poured out compassion and loved deeply this now gathered sheep. There would be a lesson to the disciples in all of this, they had gone two by two and done the work of the kingdom, but still have not arrived. What is interesting is the disciples seem to be trying to teach Jesus something. In telling Jesus to “Send them away” we can see their lack of compassion, cloaked in concern for their missing dinner. Let them “buy themselves something to eat." Shows us they did not see anyway nor was it conceivable to take care of this need on their own. But Jesus makes a startling demand, He answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?" (Mark 6:37) Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." (John 6:7) Philip knows with what they have, would barely feed them anything, no doubt this was all they had in the money bag. What Jesus is asking is impossible and even unfair, yet He asked. The disciples now have been put on the spot and must give an account for what they do next, they seem to be stuck. For Jesus had asked Philip to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. (John 6:6) Every miracle would be a lesson; we see that over and over, Jesus did not perform miracles without attaching a kingdom principle to them. The book of James gives us some insight into the heart of Jesus on this matter, what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:14-17) Jesus is the bread come down from heaven and He must fill them inside and out. Jesus’ brother James goes on to say, But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18) It could also be said, you have compassion without action, and I’ll show you my compassion by my action. Jesus wants the disciples to feel and think like Him, for they are going to lead His church into the nations, they must represent Him well.

Feed the multitudes with what you have

And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." (Mark 6:38) Jesus wants what we have and wanted them to take an inventory, knowing whatever they come up with would not be enough. This is a great lesson for every kingdom disciple, there will never be enough to do the work necessary to get the job done, and nevertheless we must have faith and move out of our compassion anyway, for God will respond and provide. They go on a losing mission in there eye’s, to gather some food and discover, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?" (John 6:9) Jesus knows what He is going to do, and so it is with every ministry that lacks, He knows what He intends and is testing to see if you will give Him what we have and let Him be God and use it. He asks for the impossible, and we must respond in faith. One little boy’s lunch can feed a multitude by faith.

Jesus commands

Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. (Mark 6:39-40) Jesus brings order to the chaos and organizes them to receive. Jesus was a master in dealing with crowds finding the best use and ways to minister effectively and we can learn a great deal from His strategies. This posture of the crowd would work best in mass distribution. Jesus knows exactly what He is doing, and if we would learn to trust, we could do so much more.

Jesus Takes

And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven… (Mark 6:41) The first thing He does is take what we have, no matter the quantity or the vastness of the need. He looks to heaven, where He knows His Father sits on a sovereign throne and rules all things and has power over all things. Looking upward gets our attention off our selves and on to God who alone is wise. Jesus takes… this is the process of all we do or will ever do, and we must place ourselves and our needs in His hand as He takes what we offer.

Jesus Blesses

And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing… (Mark 6:41) He takes and He blesses what we give Him in faith. When Jesus speaks over a thing it will happen, and when He blesses God hears and acts for His Son in glory. Jesus speaks and worlds are formed, so no matter the size of a need, there is no situation that the blessing of Christ cannot cure.

Jesus Breaks

And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves... (Mark 6:41) He takes, blesses, and He will break. When we give ourselves and our ministries to Him, there will be a breaking, for a greater purpose. He breaks intentionally with an end in mind. It has been said, “God cannot use a man, until He first breaks a man.” Who we are and what we have if taken and blessed, will be broken. This is painful yet necessary for kingdom expansion.

Jesus Gives

And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. (Mark 6:41) Take, bless. Break, and give, this is the process of multiplication. This is the way of the kingdom. As disciples of Jesus we should expect this of all we offer and of ourselves as well. He breaks us to give us; He breaks our works to multiply our work. This was a great miracle for the people, but an invaluable lesson for the disciples, one they would carry forever.

The hungry feed

And they all ate and were satisfied. (Mark 6:42) This is the result of trusting God, and following His commands no matter the task. Satisfied people, feed by the hand of God, this is what we do in our churches when we offer what little we have in the preaching of the word, sheep eat and are filled. The masses are starving for truth and the word of God must be preached in order to feed His Sheep.

Twelve baskets for twelve disciples

And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. (Mark 6:43-44) After all were filled and satisfied, a crowd of five thousand men had been the recipients of Gods miraculous multiplying power and provision. Just as Israel ate in the wilderness and where filled, these Hebrew people, where provided for in a desolate place by bread from heaven, physically as well as spiritually. Jesus said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost." (John 6:12) No fragments should remain much like manna in the wilderness, if not eaten that day, it would be lost. Jesus is teaching His followers that they must respond daily and do what He say’s daily, in order to flow with Gods provision. Twelve baskets are left over, one for each disciple as a faithful reminder that we cannot look to what we do not have, rather to what He has, and that is everything. Psalms 78:24 say’s, and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. God will provide when we look to Him and trust that He will do what He say’s He will do. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" (John 6:14) The response of a satisfied crowd was that a prophet had come, yet Jesus is more than a prophet, He is the word made flesh, Jesus declared, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (John 6:51) It is this Jesus we offer to the world in our proclamations of Him, not just a prophet, but a savior, the great satisfier of souls, not just bellies.

So with this we join in the task given to Peter by Jesus, He said to him…"Simon, son of John, do you love me?" …and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. (John 21:17)

Silencing the witness of truth

2010-08-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:14-16
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

The disciples began preaching repentance, expelling demons, and healing the sick all over the region and this would get some serious attention. They where doing exactly what they where commissioned and empowered to do by Jesus and His authority, they were taking ground and expanding kingdom jurisdiction.

Jesus went teaching and the disciples went doing the works of God, early establishing the premise of Ephesians 4:11-12, And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. They were being equipped by Jesus for the work of the ministry and learning valuable lessons for future Christ followers.

All of this can not go unnoticed for very long, for the news spread of Jesus and His “name had become known.” What stands as a powerful testimony to Christ, is the disciples names were not becoming know, rather His was and that is the way real Christianity should work.

Herod caught wind of this news and became deeply concerned. As he listened to all the reports and the varying speculations he makes a shocking statement, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." This seems to come out of nowhere and we catch a glimpse into the tormented conscience of a cowering king. According to Matthew Henry, “Herod feared John while he lived, and feared him still more when he was dead.” This becomes evident out of his superstitious conclusion as to what was going on outside his palace among the people. While he was ruling an earthly kingdom inside plush walls, Jesus was ushering in a new kingdom in the hearts and minds of the people on the outside. While his kingdom was compromising and debauchee, bringing no answers to sickness and disease, Jesus was the answer lived out, compassionate in restoring lives and healing all manner of sickness and disease. Harrods conscience was catching up with him and the rest of the texts tell us more of what went on.

A Prophet speaks the truth

For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." (Mark 6:17-18) John had been preaching repentance to all who came into contact with him, even the pretentious elitist. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:7-8) What he required from them was to not just go through the motions, rather show signs that they have truly repented. This would stir up a lot of controversy, but that is what the kingdom does when it is preached, for it is counter culture to every thing we are accustomed to and comfortable with. The prophet must speak truth no matter what, even if it cost you your life.

Herod had married his Brother Herod Philip’s wife, for she left her husband and he put away his wife Aretas, the daughter of the king of Petraea. Herodias was the granddaughter of Herod the great, and their marriage was of great controversy.
Albert Barnes in his notes on the Bible say’s,

Herod was guilty of two crimes in this act:

1. Of “adultery,” since she was the wife of another man.

2. Of “incest,” since she was a near relation, and such marriages were expressly forbidden, Leviticus 18:16.

"None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD.

Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not. (Mark 6:19) When preaching repentance you will inevitably offend some. Our sins can become our comfort when we hid them in the dark and refuse to address them and our discomfort when light is shined upon them. She felt exposed by this lowly prophet wearing camels’ hair while they stood in their posh expensive kingly attire. How could this despicable common man speak to us this way! Spineless Herod would have had him killed, and though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. (Matthew 14:5) This no doubt became fuel for Herodias to later get her revenge.

The last time we heard about John in this gospel was in chapter 1:14, Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God. Matthews account gives us some of what John was going through, Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" (Matthew 11:2-3) John wanted to make sure he was going to finish well and that the will of God had been accomplished through him. No doubt, some discouragement had arisen as well. Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. (Matthew 11:4-5) And then Jesus adds a very interesting conclusion to all of these mighty works being done, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me." (Matthew 11:6) John had been imprisoned for some time when we get to this point in Marks gospel, and what we see unfold was the final decreasing of a prophet who had prepared the way of a Savior. We must note that it is the prophet who goes and makes the crooked paths straight and prepares the way, but it is the apostle who then goes and builds the way. John the Baptist said he had come to prepare that way, and Jesus said I am that way!

A king listens gladly

Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. (Mark 6:20) Herod secretly kept John safe in prison and we can only speculate as to what those conversations looked like between the king and this prophet. Herod heard him and was perplexed, and glade to listen if only for a little entertainment. Would he repent and receive the truth of John? No, he only gave himself over to a seared conscience, and a reprobate mind. (Romans 1:32) He compromised his convictions and lost his conscience, while John held true to His convictions and died keeping his conscience.

Similar to Ahab in the Old Testament who cowered and caved to his evil wife Jezebel, Herod would fall into the same seduction by a very familiar spirit who kills prophets.

Jezebel the killer of prophets

But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." (Mark 6:21-23) An intoxicated king and a seducing step daughter would be a deadly concoction for the prophet of God. Kingly pleasures and aroused guest looked to this dancing princess with alluring magnetism and hearts burning lust. Dancing into the night and with evoking power to manipulate, Jezebel was at work behind the scenes. His birthday wish became his deceiving wife’s demand, up to half his kingdom or a prophet’s head. She went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." (Mark 6:24-25) It looks as if she had been waiting for this moment to get her revenge for being publicly rebuked and called out for her sin. She wanted to shut the mouth of the prophet for good and removing his head would do just that. The name Jezebel means, one who can not cohabitate and Herodias could not live with such a prophet living under her palace floors chained up in a dungeon. Rejection of truth leaves you to live the lie of self-righteousness and the hardness of heart. Either you take heed to the voice of one crying in the wilderness and repent, turning from your sins to the living God, or you reject the warning and walk away into eternal punishment into the very hands of the living God. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)

A cowering king and a queen’s gift

And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison. (Mark 6:26-27) The man, who gladly listened to the prophet, cowers under peer pressure. What would the people think, what would my word mean anymore, would I lose my dignity? Truth will and should many times cause all of these to happen. Yet, the calloused heart of an intoxicated king had to give into compulsion and act. We can see how urgent Herodias was in her request, for she knew her only real chance at revenge would be when the king’s defenses are down and his convictions low. I believe this very act sealed his conscious shut to ever hearing any real truth.

…and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. (Mark 6:28) You can sever the head of a prophet, and shut his mouth, but you can never stop his words. Jesus picked up the same message of kingdom repentance and then delivered it into the care of His disciples, who went everywhere preaching that men should repent. (Mark 6:12) Herodias under the sway of a Jezebel spirit, Herod following suit after Ahab, feel into the hands of a prophet and in there minds they had won, while the crushing blow of John’s indictment was still judging them into eternity. John’s head was delivered on a platter, while their souls would be delivered to a just judge.

Herod before the real KING

When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. (Luke 23:8) The next time we see Herod in the word he is standing in front of Jesus, not in awe or in reverence, rather in mockery. He tries to get Jesus to perform for him some kind of magic tricks. Jesus does not budge, which infuriates this entertainment bent king. What we see is total depravity now in total operation. The searing of a conscious and hardening of a heart, for Herod looks the Savior of mankind and the king of kings in the eye and sees no truth, feels no conviction and fails to recognize the very one to whom he must bow. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. (Luke 23:12) This hardening of a heart also solidified a relationship based on a mutual rejection of truth. Herod would be the demise of a prophet and Pilate would be the one to sentence the Son of Man to a crucifix. What they did not know was that they were moved by an overpowering anointing to bring them into the very purpose of a Sovereign God. For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:27-28) Their predestination would not relive them of their culpability and responsibility, they would be held accountable for their actions against God’s anointed.

The disciples last task after victory

When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:29) This is how the disciples of Jesus end their gospel crusade throughout Judea, by hearing that John had fallen by the hands of tyrant. They showed up on the steps of a palace demanding the headless body of a prophet, and their request was granted for they took his body and laid him in a tomb. John joined the ranks of generations of prophets whom Israel killed. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered. (Act 7:52)

We must remember with the conclusion of a prophet’s life the eulogy that Jesus gave him.

Matthew 11:11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

The Apostolic Call

2010-08-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:7

And he called the twelve (to Himself) and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.

And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. (Mark 6:6) Jesus went on a teaching spree, due to the ignorance of the people in this region. He did so because He knew having knowledge of the kingdom was going to be the only way to bring the kingdom to a people with so little faith. Since "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household." (Mark 6:4) Jesus would employ His disciples who have been apprenticing under Him for some time now. Verse six should continue to be read into verse seven for this to be seen. However, His disciples to this point have ministered with Jesus as we have seen in Mark 3:13-19, yet it is here that their time had come to go and do what they have witnessed Jesus go and do through the power of the Holy Spirit. There are seasons of subjection we are all under in order for Christ to be formed in us to the degree we have been called to minister. In these seasons we watch and learn from the Master. This is how discipleship works and if you are wondering what discipleship looks like, there is no better picture for us to develop than the one here.

Called to Himself

And he called the twelve to Himself. Our callings as well as theirs that day, are to Christ Himself. We are not called to a higher self, higher exploits, higher self esteem, nor higher living, no we are simply called to Jesus. It is to Christ Himself we come and stay, we abide in Him and do all through Him, by Him, for Him, because of Him, and for God’s glory. If we have any other agenda when coming to Christ, it will be very difficult to go for Him on mission. Our mission is a direct result of our submission. We have vision because He lets us see, we have power because He infused us with it by His Spirit. All we are or ever will be is because of His life pouring into us and out to others. Before we go for Him, we must go to Him, and we can only come when invited. For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14) It is here we gather for worship and scatter for witness.

Our Sending is Apostolic

And He began to send them out two by two… The Greek word used here for sending is, ap-os-tel'-lo; which means to set apart, that is, (by implication) to send out (properly on a mission) It is where we get the word Apostle, so as to be set apart for the work of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 12:12 say’s, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. When we go for Christ, we go as Christ, by working the same miracles He worked when preaching the gospel of the kingdom, this is how we know we are preaching such a kingdom, a kingdom with power. In sanctification we are all being set apart, for that is what sanctification is, a separating from the old nature and a bringing to God, by the new nature in Christ. The impact of our sending will be based on a direct result of our joining to the will and heart of the Father. Jesus called them to Himself, and sent them for Himself, as delegates and ambassadors of the kingdom. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2Corinthians 5:20) We can only join Paul and say this when we truly believe we have been joined by faith by a powerful union of the Spirit to the will of God. We must be in Him, for Him to make appeals through us. Going is only possible when He sends, for that is when we will have the power for the task at hand. There are many fillings with the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, not just chapter two, sadly though, many want to live in the day of Pentecost instead of living a Pentecostal life. What I mean by that is we need empowering for service, every time a new order is issued to us as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. If He is sending He is empowering. This is a good measuring stick for us when it comes to being on mission for Jesus. If it is our calling, there will be grace to perform it. Many have gone before the time, only to return in defeat. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 15:57) We are victorious, only because Jesus was victorious and gives us the victory.

The witness of the kingdom

two by two… Jesus did this for a specific purpose. From the beginning God has said it is not good for man to be alone. All throughout scripture we have reference to God using a couple to do the work of the Lord, whether husband and wife or companions in ministry. Ecclesiastes 4:9 say’s, Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. It goes on to say one verse latter, for if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! (Ecclesiastes 4:10) Even the great prophet Moses needed a companion in going to Egypt. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. (Exodus 4:15) From Peter and John, to Paul and Silas, to eventually Paul and Barnabas, the Apostle kept this tradition. I will even submit that Jesus had a witness with Him the day He preached to those held in captivity, and that witness was the thief on the cross for He said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43) In the last days this will be seen again, I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." (Revelation 11:3) For every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. (2Corinthians 13:1) For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Matthew 18:20) In light of the context concerning these last two passages we have to state they are in the sense of judging and church discipline, which fits this texts well for where it is going, because of where Jesus was sending, and the pronouncement He commanded.

Kingdom Jurisdiction

He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. The word here in some translations reads power, and rightfully so, as well as authority. It is the Greek word, ex-oo-see'-ah which simply means the exorcising of rights and privileges through delegated authority and jurisdiction. It differs radically from the Greek word for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which is Dunimas, and literally means miraculous power or inherent power, a power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth. This is the power in which we walk as believers, for the scripture tells us in Mark 16:17-18, And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." This is the promise to all believers and the accompaniment of supernatural signs. However, the power we are talking about here refers to that which accompanies the apostolic. It is a kingdom jurisdiction authority that propels the sent and gives credence to the call.

Empty handed disciples and the power of the good news.

He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, and no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. (Mark 6:8-9) The command to take nothing seems to us strange at first, yet when in the light of the context we can see the reasons loud and clear. First, they were going in His delegated authority. They needed to trust in this to fully operate in this power. They could not be self sufficient rather dependent upon Jesus and His commands. Secondly, they needed to learn to receive from those whom would receive from them the good news. Look at what they needed, food, storage, money, and a coat. These things should be welcomed from those who would receive them and the word of their testimony. Matthew 10:10 say’s, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. Does this mean they had to go barefooted and staff less? No, what Jesus was forbidding was an extra set, or a supply of what they already had. With staff in hand, sandals on their feet and the coat on their back, and nothing else, they where ready just as they where, no extra packing required, just the authority given them and a message burning in their hearts and on their lips.

The kingdom comes to the city

"Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." (Mark 6:10-11) When we go for Christ on mission, we carry with us a special delegated authority, a new kingdom jurisdiction that knows no boundaries and has no limits. These disciples came ushering into a city the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of satan was put on notice by conquering sons of this kingdom. Those who reject you reject Jesus, and the judgments of God will rest on all who resist the power of the gospel. What is a very powerful thought is that cities will be judged as well as individuals. God deals with nations and cities all throughout scripture and sends prophets to warn them before He does so. Just as those disciples could not underestimate the power of their words, neither can we. We go proclaiming this very word with these very commands and should we get the same results we also should expect the same condemnation. The prophet is without honor, but never without the power of proclamation. The shaking off of the dust of their feet was an ancient Hebrew tradition when leaving a pagan land to return home. As Matthews Gospel tells us in chapter 10:5 "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans. They were not going to pagan places, rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:6) Notice the message they were instructed to proclaim, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (Matthew 10:7) If they reject this they refuse the kingdom, for the kingdom of heaven was coming and overtaking the kingdoms of this world. Jesus said, therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. (Matthew 21:43) Refuse what should separate you from the world and you will become like the rest of the world. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the Day of Judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. (Matthew 10:14-15)

The kingdom come in repentance and power

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (Mark 6:12-13) Results always manifest when the preaching of repentance occurs. This Greek word repent is met-an-o-eh'-o and means literally to begin to think different. This is not intended to be complicated rather simple. The gospel is such good news, that when we here it and believe it, it changes the way we have thought about God, ourselves, our neighbors and about everything. When we think different, we then will act different. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) Repentance produces the fruit of the kingdom, a new way to think act and live. Jesus told us to pray, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10) So then the renewed mind discerns the will of God in heaven, and is renewed through repentance by the coming and ushering in of that kingdom. "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32) What is good and acceptable and perfect is the kingdom of God coming and being received, if that where not true, we would not be told to pray for it to come, nor would we be told to seek it first in Christ’ righteousness. (Matthew 6:33) When the kingdom comes there is power, there will be changed lives, and this is inevitable, and His kingdom invincible! Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' (Luke 10:9) We are called to Him, empowered by Him, Go for Him, preach like Him, heal like Him, raise the dead like Him, and cast out demons like Him, all because we are born again into the kingdom of God. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)

Faith…the Kingdom Cure for unbelief

2010-08-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:1-6 ESV
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household." And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

Can any good thing come from Nazareth?

Jesus left Capernaum with God being glorified in the lives of a widow woman and a ruling elder and his family, for His hometown of Nazareth. Home is where we should feel welcome and received, missed and loved, like a soldier coming home from war, to the town’s warm reception and jubilation over one of their own, now home safe and sound. This would not be the case for the Son of God. As a young boy Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52) This all took place in Nazareth where He labored as a carpenter with Joseph and with His mother who kept the deep things of God concerning her Son in her heart. (Luke 2:51) Up to this point in the life and ministry of Jesus, He had been rejected by most, received by many, and believed on by a few. One year prior to this moment, Jesus stood and opened a scroll and read it aloud from the prophet Isaiah to His hearers astonishment, for He read it as if it was about Himself…"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19) As if that where not enough, He went on to say, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21) This wasn’t done in arrogance nor was it a fantastical exaggeration of who He was. No, this was spoken with the authority of heaven and the approval of God the Father. Even His hearers sensed the grace of God upon His words for all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" (Luke 4:22) Their problem was they could not see past thirty years under Joseph, to eternity co-existing with the Father in heaven, for Jesus’ words where timeless, for they proceeded from His eternal reservoir of deity.

Jesus had foreseen their rejection of Him when He said to them, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." (Luke 4:24-27) The well respected prophets of old would soon get their attention, and cause them to become extremely angry to the point of wrath, so they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. (Luke 4:29) This was home life for Jesus. His townspeople rejected Him as the Messiah, even His own family would try to get Him to come home with them because they thought He was “out of His mind.” So why would He return this time?

God returns to Nazareth

Nevertheless Jesus was coming home and His disciples followed Him, for that is what true disciples do, they follow Jesus. He did not come to them right away with miracles, rather with teaching. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. This is the same synagogue He previously read from Isaiah 61:1. This, the last time caused them great grief, would things be different now after He had established His ministry in surrounding cities? The tendency to want acceptance from friends and family is natural, for we all long for acceptance. Rejection is an unnatural familiar feeling we all have, stemming from the expulsion of Adam in the garden. The late Leonard Ravenhill has wisely said, “One cannot be fully accepted by God until he has been fully rejected by men.” Not that rejection serves as a way of salvation, rather in the sense our closeness to God comes from our distance from men. Our rejection does not pave the way to salvation; Jesus’ rejection is the way to salvation….the way of the cross.

Would Nazareth hear?

Many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" The hands of a carpenter are for building not healing, how can such a man of this place speak with such wisdom? Astonishment was their reaction, rather than faith! The Greek word used here for astonishment is, ekplēssō which literally means to strike one out of self-possession or to drive out or away. This is not a word used commonly as marveled, in the sense it does not receive what is being said or done, rather rejects what is being said or done through disbelief. They knew His family and familiarity breeds’ contempt, so they took offense at him. Instead of hearing and seeing, they remained deaf and blind. In their arrogance they could not peer through His humanity into His divinity. They looked at His sisters who were there with them, and knew his mother and brothers, so how could this man be who he say’s he is?

His rejection, our acceptance

And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household." Three things are listed here for a reason. As I stated before, “familiarity breeds’ contempt”, and they held deep contempt for Him. We have the broader sense of the hometown, and the towns people who had seen Jesus throughout his lifetime, it then gets narrower to relatives, who would include cousins, like John the Baptist who even needed a sign from God, down to His very own household, for they would be the one’s who knew Him best and should believe the most. Hometown, relatives, and Household, from the broadest sense to the narrowest sense, Jesus was rejected by all! This would be His burden, one He would carry all the way to the cross. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3) It would be easy for us to look at them and say they rejected Him, yet the full truth is, we all have rejected Him and hid our faces from His, as Isaiah 53:6 states, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. We cannot run from this fact, rather embrace His rejection, for in it we are saved, for Jesus carried away from us… our iniquity.

A prophet without honor

His disgrace becomes our means of grace, and to this we should rejoice. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4) It is by Gods design and for Gods glory Jesus was rejected by men, even for a moment He was rejected by God Himself, as He divinely carried our sin and received Gods wrath, becoming for us our atoning victim (propitiation). These next texts serves us well in establishing this fact.

• Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
• Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
• 1John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
• 1John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Disbelief hinders the miraculous

And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. The atmosphere of expectancy is the breeding ground for the miraculous, and where there is faith, there will be miracles. The bible is very clear, without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) The great rewards of such faith far exceed the limitations we set on ourselves through doubt and unbelief. By faith we draw near to God and because we believe He exist we find our existence. Faith is a very powerful gift from God and when appropriated great things can be done by God through our very human hands. Jesus said, "If you can! All things are possible for one who believes." (Mark 9:23) Their comfortableness with Jesus refused His mighty works; for they looked at Him without faith rather with commonness…for He is one of us. Jesus out of compassion laid His heavenly hands on a few sick people and they became the recipients of such divine mercy and healing, while the crowds left empty, yet full of themselves.

Faith the cure for unbelief

And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about in a circuit among the villages teaching. The unusual statement here is Jesus marveled, usually the people marvel. Their disbelief left Jesus perplexed with a people of such hardheartedness, completely closed to such good news for Nazareth. This would cause Jesus later to say to His disciples too “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.” (Matthew 10:14) Jesus knew of only one cure, so He began to teach systematically in a circuit to the surrounding villages. Ignorance of God is a great hindrance to God, for He cannot work where He is not known. Jesus teaches with the authority of heaven as the word of God made flesh dwelling among men. He does not mince words nor placate to the masses, He simply refuses to tickle itching ears, nor squabble with questioning Pharisees. Faith is a matter of hearing and believing the good news of the gospel. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." (Romans 10:16-18) Jesus taught and left them with no excuse. Faith would be theirs or unbelief would leave them men undone.

A Faith that pulls on Virtue

2010-08-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

Mark 5:21-23

And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live."

Having just left this great missionary endeavor, leaving behind a formerly demonized man as the first evangelist of this new way, Jesus crosses back to Capernaum, back to His familiar shores, only to be met by “great crowd.” Again, just as in the Gadarenes, He was immediately approached by a desperate need, a different need, nevertheless a serious one. This is the Jesus we come to, the one who can heal, and the one who shows such great compassion and mercy.

Faith of a father

Two people emerge this day out of the crowd, where many were in desperate need, yet two capture our attention. Jairus is the first, a leading ruler in the synagogue holding some high esteem in this community. He looses his dignity in the midst of tragedy in a frantic run to the savior, falling at His feet begging, Jairus clings to life, pleading for his little girls life. "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live." He had no doubt in his mind that Jesus could do it, for he had seen the great things this Jesus had worked among the people.

And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. (Mark 5:24) You could imagine the temporary relief Jairus felt when Jesus felt his pain and went with him. “It’s going to be alright now!” Hope begins to cast out fear. The press of the crowd was intense and the overwhelming movement of people could be intimidating to anyone. Yet out of this crowd would arise a faith that pulls on Virtue.

Faith of a woman

And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. (Mark 5:25-26) The desperate will do almost anything to gain freedom. Undoubtedly she had suffered under some very cruel remedies for the healing of this issue, from all types and sorts of ancient techniques that cost much and produced little. She had spent all she had and only became worse. She had no choice for the nature of this affliction would leave her an outcast as if she were a leper, for the law states in Leviticus 15:25 “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. She was to remain an outcast from her people and society as long as this issue continued, which for her was twelve years. One could only imagine twelve years of being ceremonially unclean, never being permitted to worship in public and with loved ones, no offerings acceptable, no way of being in community without shame.

Between two faiths

The contrast between these two desperate souls could not be starker. The one, Jairus was a leading elder of the local synagogue which carried with it certain privileges and prestige, wealth, honor and influence. Yet, all of that does not exempt you from tragedy or despair, sickness or disease. The other, a woman of lowliness and downtrodden, poor and desperate, lonely and rejected, an outcast of society and utterly helpless. The two however have on thing in common, they have faith in Jesus, and He comes to everyone who calls on Him. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)

The woman

She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. (Mark 5:27) After going and spending all she had, for no relief, her real hope was this Jesus whom she had heard about. What were the stories she heard? The miracles, the teachings, the authority over unclean spirits? No matter for her for she was unclean and could not be among crowds, much less a rabbi. After twelve years of intense suffering you will do anything, so she disobeys protocol and law for something better, she sees hope and nothing will stop her from getting to Him, not even the press of a multitude. She makes her way through the crowd looking to His garment, believing the promises of the word; she reaches to take hold of the hem of Him! For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." (Mark 5:28) Luke’s gospel say’s it this way, She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. (Luke 8:44) She was grasping for the fringe of His garment which we know was a tallit, for this would be worn by any rabbi or teacher of the law. From the four corners of the tallit hang fringes called tzitzit, in compliance with the laws in the Torah (Book of Numbers 15:38). "Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. Tzitzit (Fringes) are a reminder of the 613 commandments comprising the entire code of law. The fringes themselves were commanded as a reminder not to wander from God's commandments (Numbers 15:39). It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes…

Looking to the promises of the word, she touched Jesus by faith as that promise fulfilled. Her faith reached in and pulled virtue from the Christ of God. Sometimes we need to stand on the word no matter the circumstance and believe concerning the promises of God the Father. It will take us pressing hard between the crowds to get to Him, but faith propels us onward toward the true source of life.

Faith gets the attention of Jesus

And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?" (Mark 5:30) Virtue left His body and poured into this woman of faith drying up her issue of blood immediately leaving her cleansed. The crowd was great yet power went forth through faith, not by happenstance. And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?'" (Mark 5:31) So Jesus looked around to see who had done it. (Mark 5:32) This could mean trouble for this woman, ceremonially unclean never to touch a rabbi, and yet she does it anyway. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. (Mark 5:33) She couldn’t help but to confess, for Jesus does this to us, for the whole truth was coming out, disgrace and all. The compassion of Jesus is to be noted and His love for people cannot be questioned, for His response is one of inclusion and healing, acceptance and wholeness. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." (Mark 5:34) His endearing term “Daughter” carries with it a very powerful connotation. She is to be included back into the family, her uncleanness is healed. It was His power to heal, her faith to pull on that power. This speaks volumes to us about persistence. I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9)
This journey of faith takes some interesting turns along the way. For Jairus this could be disastrous, for he had no time to lose.

A desperate Father

While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" (Mark 5:35) While on our way to certain destination points there will always be opportunities to minister along the way, sometimes they will interrupt the current plan only to add further need where we were originally headed. The people speaking refer to Jesus as “teacher” yet, in all of Capernaum there was no “teacher” who could raise the dead! God will get the glory, and all Jesus did was to that end. Overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." (Mark 5:36) Jesus now could see if this ruling elder had the same faith as this desperate poor woman of little or no influence. He also knew that the others and their reference to Him as “teacher” would hinder the faith for Him to be the “Healer.”

He allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. (Mark 5:37-38) Jesus limited the crowd, even to His own disciples taking just three of them. We underestimate the power of agreement concerning faith. Doubt hinders the work of God, preventing the power to come. Unbelief opposes God and works as a resistance to His virtue. It must be a radical faith of believing and clinging to Him with all of our beings, a trust that does not doubt He is who He say’s He is! We see this in the very next verses. When he had entered, he said to them, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. (Mark 5:39-40) No room for unbelief in this moment they must be put out. When you need from God you cannot surround yourself with those who do not believe. The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:15) …The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16) It is the prayer of faith that saves the sick and raises the dead for that matter. Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. (Mark 5:41-42) The very source of eternal life was giving back life to a little girl for the glory of God and the joy of those who witnessed this great wonder that day in Capernaum. Jesus restores life to the hopeless and health to the weakest. It is in our greatest need He becomes our greatest need. More than healing and more than raises the dead back to life, He is our life and our victory over death hell and the grave.

He strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:43) To the doubters she was really asleep, to those with faith; she was dead and now lives. This is the way it is for all of us. To those without faith we are foolish, to us with faith, we are His righteousness and the recipients of His great love and power! It is of interest that these two very different people from two very different walks of life would intersect with the Savior this day. A man who for twelve years enjoyed his little daughter and was now in fear of losing her, and a woman who for the past twelve years was suffering, and now would find wholeness. Twelve years prior to this moment events would take place that would lead them here together with Jesus, both in need and both with faith!

Mission: Worship and Witness

2010-08-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

Mark 5:1-20

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.

After a terrifying event at sea, they make it to dry ground. This side of the sea, they now possess a grander view of this Jesus whom they follow. Fear had gripped them, now Sovereignty moved them to holy fear. They started this journey across the sea with Jesus “Just as He was,” now they see Him for whom He is! Little did the disciples know, Jesus had them on a mission, a rescue mission.

The Mission

So landing on this mission field they step foot immediately into the unknown and imminent danger. This is what it looks like to follow Jesus; you will never be sure just where you will end up. The fast moving book of Mark gets us right to the action, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. They had encounters before with the unclean spirits demonizing mankind, this one is different, and he’s living among the tombs! Mark and Luke record for us one demonized man; while Matthew’s gospel tells us there were two. This is no contradiction, rather the importance was given to the leading one, or as some say, the most severe case. In this we can see a representation of the demoniac and us, before Christ.

He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. (Mark 5:3) He could not be bound by any man, for he was too bound by unclean spirits tormenting him day and night. He found his life overtaken and his home with the dead. For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. (Mark 5:4) His tormenters in his mind where not the unclean spirits, rather the men trying to subdue him. The delusion of many lost souls is they think their free when in reality they are seriously bound and chained on the inside.

Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. (Mark 5:5) The internal torment was to such an extreme extent, the cutting of himself might possibly bring him some relief. His cries could be heard for miles across the sea, echoing with hopelessness and despair. How many today find themselves here? All over the globe and even right across the street men and woman, boys and girls, cry out night and day for deliverance. They afflict themselves with all kinds of devices and vices searching for some relief. If the boat going across the sea carrying disciples can represent the church, this lost demonized soul represent a humanity devoid of the spirit of God, and waiting for Jesus to be brought to them. This was you and me before Christ our savior encountered us. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3) This man was living under the judgments of sin and there consequences, with the wrath of Holy God breathing down his neck. It is precisely because of this we have missions. The Church was commissioned to go and make disciples, followers of Jesus who worship in spirit and in truth, reconciling lost people of every nation and tribe to their God and savior! 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us the end result of reconciliation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. This is what Jesus was on mission for, and this is why Jesus sends us on mission for Him. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) If we really believe this, it will become the fuel that drives us to that end, a new creation!

The result of mission, Worship!

John Piper say’s it best, “missions exist because worship doesn’t.” I would add to that, because true worship doesn’t. Everybody worships something, just not in truth. So the mission of the church is to create Spirit and truth worshipers, which is what a disciple is. The Westminster catechism starts out with the first statement, the chief end of man is to glorify (Worship) God and enjoy Him forever. This is what we where created for, so with the ministry of reconciliation, this is what happens, a turning back to the true God, whom we worship and enjoy. When he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped Him. (Mark 5:6) His first encounter with glory and instinct takes over…he worships the Christ. His very purpose for living was coming to the surface. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." (Mark 5:7) In their customary ancient practice of control, the demons call Jesus by name, and title. What is interesting is that by God, they try and adjure him. The demons that where tormenting this depraved soul, where now in fear of being tormented themselves. For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" (Mark 5:8) Their time had come, and they where now at the end of themselves. Christ is always willing that we are free from the unclean spirits of bondage. He commands the unclean to flee, and by His blood washes us to regeneration. He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5) He takes our unclean depravity and makes us white as snow.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)

And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." (Mark 5:9) There is much speculation as to how many consists of a legion, with little matter, for we know in Jesus all authority has been given on heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18) And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. (Mark 5:10) There is one speaking here on behalf of the many, when Jesus first addresses him, now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, (Mark 5:11) so all the demons begged Him, saying, Send us into the pigs, that we may enter into them. (Mark 5:12) They all began begging for a dwelling place, so he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea. (Mark 5:13) Many scholars believe they went into the abyss where they would be bound until judgment. Those disembodied sprits longed for a habitation, now they would have the abyss! The demons where now bound, and the man who was bound is now free…free to worship Jesus. Mathew Henry rightly say’s, “Christ has not only all power in heaven and earth and all deep places, but has the keys of hell too.” And with those keys He is liberating mankind.

Missions change things because Jesus changes things

With the end result in worship, missions change cultures and occupations, some times to the degree that others cannot tolerate. If the nations truly begin to worship in spirit and truth and the glory of the Lord begins to fill the earth, than many things we entertain ourselves with or make a living with will vanish! The liberation of some will cause others loss. The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. (Mark 5:14) It would be more tolerable for them to have to deal with a tormented demonized man than to lose livestock. This freedom wasn’t freedom to them. They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (Mark 5:15) I once was blind but now I see, say’s the old great hymn, or in his case, naked and now clothed. The miracle before all their eyes should cause rejoicing. The man once out of his mind with no control, was sitting and in his right mind. That is what Jesus does, He gives us our right mind, the way we where intended to think. The truth is, now he was thinking more clearly than the ones who previously had to try and bind him in chains. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2Timothy 1:7) The believer who is a new creation, now possess power, which he before hand did not possess, a power that now conquers sin, a love which he was incapable of before, a God kind of love, and a soundness of mind and mental clarity, that is sensitive to the revelations of the spirit, and a perception of the glory of God. A man that was once a burden to the region could now benefit the region. Still they wanted them to leave!

Worship that results in Witness

As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. (Mark 5:18) The beautifulness of this text should cause our hearts to leap within us, the man who had been, is now a new creation! The man who could not live with anyone, forced to live in tombs, wanted nothing more than to live with Jesus. That is the heart of a true worshiper…that we might be with Him. If you would rather be anyplace other than at the feet of Jesus, you haven’t encountered Him in the way you could. Our hearts should long for His presence. I pray we would all have such zeal, and then missions would become all the more important to us.

Missions should result in worship and worship should always result in witnessing. The perpetual state of reproduction is the way of the kingdom. Jesus did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." (Mark 5:19) When you have come face to face with mercy, you have to tell others about the good news of the gospel. Would this mean the new man could no longer worship Jesus? On the contrary, he would all the more worship Jesus, in and through the proclamation of the gospel, with a lifestyle of freedom and deliverance. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. (John 4:23) Location doesn’t matter with the spirit, for the Holy Spirit knows no boundaries, and the truth of the gospel is eternal. When the disciples realized Jesus would be departing from them physically they too where concerned, so Jesus encouraged them with the assurance of the Spirit. "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27) Being with Jesus results in witness, for the more we worship in the Spirit, the more we will witness in the power of the Spirit. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. (1Corinthians 4:20) So the man, who could not even find peace with himself, now has eternal peace and a message to proclaim! He wasn’t going to just talk about what Jesus did, but would be a demonstration of the power of what Jesus does!

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. (Mark 5:20) Witnessing that results in worshipping, gives God glory, “everyone marveled.” The people where awestruck with living proof of the power of God, this was his testimony, this is our testimony, we too because of the liberating power of Jesus have received deliverance, and newness of life for He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)

Wind and Waves Obey Sovereignty

2010-07-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"

On that day, when evening had come…what a day it had been. Jesus had His family accuse Him of being out of His mind, the Pharisees said He had a demon, and the crowds were so intense He preached from a boat off the shore. He taught at length in parables concerning the things of the kingdom, until finally He was exhausted. Jesus seems to want to make hast and leave, "Let us go across to the other side." His humanity had enough for one day. [The beauty of Marks gospel, as well as John’s is that they show the full humanity of the Christ.] Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. The boat launched out and Jesus was at last, able to rest. “Just as He was” indicates to us His total exhaustion and great need to get away.

No easy sailing

A great windstorm arose. The Sea of Galilee is around seven hundred feet below sea level, surrounded by mountainous terrain and at the end, a deep wide valley which makes for spectacular storms upon the sea. Four of the twelve disciples were fisherman and used to such storms, which would give them a sense of respect for what the sea could do. This was an eclectic group of men whom Jesus chose, now in a boat together at sea undergoing a horrific windstorm. No-doubt panic was setting in, as the waves were breaking into the boat; they frantically worked to remove the water coming in, as the boat was already filling. The wind was wiping and the waves were beating against this boat carrying Jesus and His disciples. There are two elements working against them, the wind and the waves and they where working for their destruction.

The boat as the church

This boat pictures the church in many ways, a vessel carrying disciples with Christ as the center, going because He gave the command, "Let us go across to the other side." They where on a mission together headed where ministry needs to happen for a desperate soul, traveling with a mixed group of people from various backgrounds and occupations, each with a different story, and each invited by Jesus. We go because He said, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19) And He is with us on the journey, And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20) We dare not begin this type of mission without considering the dangers involved, "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16) Jesus gave us all fare warning that we where going to all be carrying crosses. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24) No disciple without a cross, no disciple without imminent danger and certain death, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses (Martyrs) in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) Our very lives must testify and confirm that Jesus is Lord!

Storms are guaranteed to come, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) Where we stand will determine how we weather such storms when they come, because they are coming. No church can ever set out to become effective without external opposition as well as internal fear and turmoil. Jesus gave us an example of what it is like to not only hear His words, but also to do what He commands. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. (Luke 6:48) Next we see what it looks like to hear and do nothing about what we heard. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:49) No foundation is a recipe for disaster. We must remain grounded upon the Rock. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus is sovereign in and over our lives, and churches. The church will prevail against hell, not the other way around.

Where is Jesus?

How often do we seem to ask God, “where are you?” When life seems to become the toughest, He seems to become the most distant. David often cried out in his Psalms and asked, I say to God, my rock: "Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" (Psalms 42:9) He trusts in Him as his rock, yet seems to feel His absence in the face of his enemy. The Word gives us this promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) These disciples where in a panic and fearing for their lives, we have all been here, yet they find Jesus asleep at the stern of the boat. He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. The humanity of Jesus is evident as He through total exhaustion could sleep through such a storm. His humanity was asleep while His divinity was teaching the disciples a lesson of faith. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" The storm did not wake Him, rather the cries of the disciples. It is not the circumstance that gets the Fathers attention; it is the cry of His children. What is remarkable is that these disciples had watched Jesus heal every kind of disease imaginable and cast out unclean spirits to reveal whole and healed people all over the country side, yet on the sea, fear had the best of them. How often does this happen to us? We see Jesus work powerfully in our lives and seem to forget how He delivered us out of all our afflictions, as soon as persecution arises we cry out… do you not care that we are perishing? Jesus Himself had this very experience while fulfilling the will of the Father. At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) It is usually when you are in the perfect will of God, obeying His commands (Let us go across to the other side) the storms hit and the heavens seem to be asleep.

Jesus Muzzles the Storm

He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" The truth we must never forget is, He will awake to our cries and answer our prayers. The two elements at work against them required two different actions on the part of Christ. In the perfect tense of the original language, it literally means, “be muzzled.” Jesus rebuked the wind, for it was the culprit in the stirring of the waters, therefore had to be addressed first. The wind upon command immediately ceased from blowing. Secondly He addressed the out of control waters when He said to the sea, "Peace! Be still! So the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. What’s interesting to note is, the wind is needed for travel, and the sea is what the vessel rides upon. In and of themselves they are necessary components to making the journey happen. Yet manipulated or stirred they become our enemy. We can try and empty the water from our vessels on our own and still Sercombe to the battering wind, Jesus is our only source of deliverance from such situations. He does care that we are perishing and was sent for that very reason. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Fear, unholy and holy

He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" Jesus is addressing their doubt that He was who He said He was. If I am the Christ, why do you still doubt? At this point in following Jesus, they still where lacking confidence in His ability to sustain and keep them. This is something we all must come to terms with. We can fear the circumstance or fear the one who can deliver us from our circumstances. Unholy fear looks at the situation and doubts Gods willingness to intervene, or just lacks any confidence that He will do it for them. We can stare at the wind and waves, with worry, or we can awaken through persistence the only one who has the power over them. A Holy fear begins with God, and ends with God. The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm. (Proverbs 19:23) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10) When Jesus asks "Why are you so afraid; He wants them to trust Him completely. Not that the situation wasn’t grim, rather that he is sovereign. These disciple where eventually all going to give themselves completely to the work of the Kingdom and lead the church into the future. They had better learn these lessons and learn them quick. Jesus tells us; do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28) That’s Holy fear in light of unholy fear. Our lives are in the hands of the Father, He is the potter and we the clay, therefore He decides our fate, from our first breath to our last. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7) Not one sparrow will fall without the will of the Father, and the very hairs on our heads He keeps track of. Christ is Sovereign!

Wind and wave obey

They were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?" This is the place where Jesus wanted them all along, filled with great fear, instead of natural fear. They started out fearing the external danger they where in, and now greatly fearing the one in the boat with them. Every life submitted to God, and every church on mission for God must learn this lesson; it is not the external that should cause us to fear, rather the Eternal God who is sovereign over all our lives and destinies. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5) He not only controls the elements, but is the very reason they exist. Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1Corinthians 8:6) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17) This is the one in the boat with us, the very one who is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:3) Wind and wave have to obey, for He created them and it is to Him that we owe our very existence. This is Jesus, the Son of God, and our Savior!

The Light of the Kingdom

2010-07-29T17:58:00.001-07:00

Mark 4:21-25 ESV

And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Jesus, in His use of parables is concealing the kingdom from some and revealing the kingdom to others. The light had come! Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest. The great mystery for Israel was when the Messiah would reign? In the minds of the Hebrew people, Israel would regain freedom from Roman occupation and be established as a kingdom of God. After the resurrection this was the first thing they supposed would take place. So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6) Jesus does not give them the answer they where looking for in His response. He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. (Acts 1:7) He finishes with a promise, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) What does this mean, other than power for the Christian to shine throughout the nations and make manifest the light of the kingdom of God!

Matthew 13 in his parallel account gives us more detail into the depth in which Jesus spoke concerning the kingdom. In this rapid fire succession of kingdom examples, Jesus is giving us an overview of the plans and purposes of God. The father’s holy intention for the world is total redemption and the reign of Christ among men. The kingdom is already and not yet, at the same time. We see this all throughout scripture. Christ reigns in the earth through His church, and will one day return for His Church and reign with His physical kingdom visibly. The church is earthly where the kingdom is heavenly. The church serves as the vehicle in which the kingdom of heaven is propagated throughout the nations. So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:10)

A Kingdom lamp stand

"Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? John the Baptist came preaching “repent, for the kingdom is at hand!” He then pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Thus, the lamp brought in. Once this brightly burning lamp was brought in, there would be no way it could be hidden. Jesus then took up where John left off and began proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and affliction. For by this He was demonstrating to them the power of the kingdom, and that it was finally being realized. The kingdom did not come to them is secret, but in power. It was very visible and had a voice. The powerful truth and mystery of this Kingdom is; it would not be established with borders and boundaries, it would not have one central place of worship, nor one city, rather, the world would become filled with its Glory. "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." (Revelation 11:15)

For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. Jesus was bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. Walking the will of the Father out and fulfilling redemptive history. John’s gospel narrative tells us john the baptizer was not that light, rather was sent to bear witness to that light. (John 1:8) Jesus is the light of the kingdom shinning on a dark world. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. (John 1:9) When Jesus is speaking of the kingdom, He in a sense is speaking of Himself, and ultimately His eternal reign. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he speaks concerning this profound mystery. To bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. (Ephesians 3:9) The secret of the kingdom hidden in the heart of the Father from ages past had come, and Jesus was its manifestation. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1Timothy 3:16) He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake. (1Peter 1:20) Here is where Jesus’ teaching takes a unique turn.

Listen to the Kingdom

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." Jesus spoke this often, and wanted to capture the attention of His listeners. So many times we listen to the preaching of the word, or are engaging in reading the word, and our minds seem adrift. We start thinking about everything other than what is being spoken to us through the proclamation of God’s word. This happens to all of us. This is where Jesus refuses to make such powerful life changing statements, and let them remain wondering about in trivialities in their minds. The very creator of the universe is actively conversating with His creation, and expects them to give Him full attention. He also knows the thoughts and the intents of the heart. On many occasions Jesus knew what they where thinking and would counter attack based upon the hidden issues He perceived by the Spirit. We must remember that Jesus is the Word made flesh, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) This hearing must be eternal, not just the external reception of voice waves. Jesus is speaking to their Spirits, not their carnal ears.

Accountable Hearing

He said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear! They would receive great mysteries hidden from even their fathers throughout the ages. The kingdom principles Jesus was outlining for them would radically revolutionize their lives. Not only was Jesus speaking this to them, but to us as well. We must pay attention too. We are all ultimately accountable for what we hear and what we do about it. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." (Matthew 13:23)

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. You cannot out give the gospel of the kingdom. You cannot out serve the gospel of the kingdom. The more you see the kingdom advance in you and around you the more the kingdom will continue to manifest and shine forth. The kingdom is exponential and will one day take over completely.

The Kingdom is like

We are given six examples of what the kingdom of Heaven is like in Matthew 13.

1. "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. (Matthew 13:24)

It is here Jesus shows us wheat and tares. Christ Himself is the Sower and the seeds the sons of the kingdom. The tares are sown by the wicked one. At the harvest, Christ will gather His elect and judge the living and the dead. The tares will be separated and thrown into hell, these are the lawless offenders of Christ’ kingdom.

2. "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. (Matthew 13:31)

This small insignificant seed will one day over take the earth and grow larger than any other tree. Its branches will reach across the Globe and the principalities will gather on its branches, to nest. He is the vine we are those branches. The infiltration of the kingdom of God is unstoppable. Jesus was that mustered seed sown into the earth, and because death could not hold Him, He has become the firstfruits of many sons and daughters of the kingdom.

3. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."(Matthew 13:33)

What is interesting to note is the fact that the kingdom has external implications as well as internal ramifications. The mustard seed grows and infiltrates externally, where as the leaven of the kingdom is internal and once digested by the Spirit, cannot be contained. Hide the word in your hearts so you will not sin against Him. The power of the kingdom is real and will affect anything and everything it comes into contact with! Just as darkness is the absence of light, you turn the light of the kingdom on and darkness has been overtaken.

4. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44)

The kingdom of our Lord and Christ is worth everything. It will cost us everything as well. When really seen, it will cause great joy, for its glory outshines the glory of man and mans ways. The giving of everything will seem to us such a small price to pay for such excellent treasure.

5. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46)

If you are seeking greatness or looking for something worth living for, or even dying for, the kingdom is just that. The merchant is not interested in selling the pearls he finds; rather the obtaining of the pearl is what is to be desired. To hold in your hand the rarest treasure on earth, the kingdom of God.

6. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. (Matthew 13:47)

The kingdom of God does not have one nationality or people group, rather some from every tongue and every tribe of the earth, fish of every kind. Peter was told he would become a fisher of men and he indeed went fishing among the gentiles and pagans. We cannot limit Christ’s kingdom to one people group or even one nation. The nations are His and their inhabitants.

Taken away

Natural Israel assumed upon the grace of God, and missed their day of visitation. We must not do the same. Pay attention, use what you have been given and the kingdom will advance. Ignore What the Spirit says, and risk losing even what you do have. As it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 9:33) Israel tripped over their long awaited promise and missed the kingdom, for it was taken away from them. Jesus said, they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)

The Sower and The Word

2010-06-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mark 4:14-20 ESV

The Sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

Jesus spoke to His disciples privately and said, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables.” (Mark 4:11) It had been granted for the disciples to know the mysteries of the kingdom and the word would be revealed to them. Jesus went on to tell them that if they did not understand this parable, how would they understand any of them? Jesus is using kingdom language with them, and wants them to hear the kingdom, for they were going to be the one’s who would later have to proclaim its glorious message.

Jesus the Word made Flesh

Jesus was the message; He was the personification of the kingdom come. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) The dispensing of the word was the giving of Himself, through selfless sacrifice to the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus was sowed. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. (John 12:24) We know the present reality of this for us, as well as the world, the resurrection and the life. For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers. (Romans 8:29) But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruit, and afterward they who are Christ's at His coming. (1Corinthians 15:23) Jesus was more than the Sower of the word; He was the Word being sown.

The Parable Revealed

The Sower sows the word.

You could imagine the sigh of relief, when Jesus uttered those words in explanation. “So that’s what He is talking about” you could almost hear them say. We must remember this was some time later that day, when they were alone. So for them and their inquiry it was long awaited. Jesus was the living example for them to investigate and they would be eye witnesses to this truth. This is a parable of the kingdom, and stands for all who would ever sow the word. As fishers of men, Peter would learn; you don’t always catch the fish. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1Corinthians 3:7)

Wayside Hearts

And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

Many people refuse to listen, or even give one thought to the gospel. The busyness of life, the kids and the family, or even the ugliness of life, death and war, seems to harden some to disbelief and satan devours what little word that may by happenstance fall their way. Some ears are so dull, that the voice of God has never been heard, and sadly, they prefer it that way. The desensitized nature of wayside hearts is the feeding trough for devils. Intellectualism, and anti-intellectualism, it really does not matter; satan cares little about the degree of education. Intellectuals can dismiss the word as nonsense, and the uneducated can dismiss the word through ignorance. The word never penetrates the heart; there is never even a glimpse of growth towards the kingdom. As fast as the word can come, satan is there to intercept it. Nothing lives in a wayside heart, other than cold indifference even hostility at times towards the mention of Jesus the Christ. The Apostle Paul stood before King Agrippa and preached the gospel. And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" (Acts 26:28) Satan was their devouring every word before any had the chance of penetrating his heart. He admitted Paul was persuasive, yet the word itself could not germinate.

Shallow hearts

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

Surface level “Christianity” is rampant today in our culture. Many claim to be Christian, without any real depth to their faith. The gospel message is real good news, so many who need good news in their life will respond to hope. Receiving the word with joy and retaining the word through perseverance are not the same. Joy without character can be fleeting. Emotional decisions to follow Christ will not sustain you when hell is beating down your door. As Jesus indicates, tribulation and persecutions come on account of the word. The word in you will be tested. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. (1Peter 4:16) Disillusionment with the faith usually can be traced to an incident where the individual was hurt, betrayed or even abused. One must remember it is on account of the word sake. For any plant or tree to live, it must have depth for its root system to grow and expand, securing it firmly into the ground. So it is with us in the faith. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4) Shallow belief will leave you undone and temporary joy is not the Joy of the kingdom, rather a stirring of the heart for a better life now.

Thorny Hearts

And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

A thorny heart is a divided heart. One who tries to live for two agendas simultaneously, this is impossible of course, for the tug a war will become so intense, one side will win, and usually the side with the greatest pull. The thorny place may have been undetectable at first, and the soil of the soul seemed a good place to plant, however the root system of previous thorn bushes was never removed, thus growing up into the new life. A gospel of prosperity can produce such thinking and desire. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1Timothy 6:9) The prick of riches can lead to ruin and barrenness of the faith. Jesus warned many about the desires of this life and there eternal consequences on the human soul. John Piper say’s in his book a hunger for God, "If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great." We cannot have solid devotion to Christ and pledge allegiances to other gods. Many Christians remain unfruitful due in part to mixed agendas and priorities not in proper perspectives. Jesus said to us, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24) Paul encountered this even with fellow laborers in the kingdom. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. (2Timothy 4:10) Many have abandoned the kingdom for the king of this present age.

A Cultivated Heart

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

Hearing the word must accompany accepting the word. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22) Jesus said "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28) Good soil produces fruit, and yields crops. Good soil will multiply over and over again, thirty, sixty and a hundred. It’s always producing. Not in and of itself, rather by God who gives the increase. Jesus said to the disciples, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.” They were good soil, prepared by the Father Himself. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field… (1Corinthians 3:9) When faith takes root in a cultivated heart, it does not take long to see results of new life, green foliage and living fruit begin to manifest. The fruit of the Spirit produces the Character of Christ in us. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) Also there will be evident a harvest for good works. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10) Peter tells us this in his second epistle, For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2Peter 1:5-8)

Good soil does not boast against the others, rather quickly gets to work producing a crop for the Lord of the harvest. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21) Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. (1Peter 1:23)

Purpose in Parable

2010-06-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

Mark 4:1-13 ESV

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven." And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Having just shocked many listeners with a startling statement about family and the will of God, Jesus makes His way to the beach, and a very large crowd begins to gather around Him, some say; His largest yet. The last time we see Him in this situation the pressure was so intense He boarded a boat and fled, this time He turns the boat into a pulpit. Jesus was the Word made flesh, therefore He preaches, and teaches not as someone who hears from God, rather, as God speaking. His words are in stark contrast compared to the scribes who speak with little or no authority. For from the time Jesus was twelve He was confounding the wise with His preaching.

The text tells us that He was teaching them many things in parables. So we must ask, what are parables? Parables are a short simple story intended to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, for the purpose of causing the listener to think about what was said. Up to this point Jesus has been preaching, and teaching plainly before His audiences and many still were not getting it. For centuries the Hebrew people have had a special appointment with the Word of God. The Apostle Paul in his anguish over his countrymen said this in his letter to the Romans about them, they are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. (Rom. 9:4) They have handled the Holy Things of God, and that is a privilege, very few ever receive. What happened then was a hardening of their heart toward God’s word. Familiarity breeds contempt, and we have the book of Malachi to prove it. Jesus began teaching in such a way that a separation started to happen; a dividing line between two kingdoms was now becoming apparent.

Parabolic Speech

Imagine the rhythm of His teaching and the flow of content streaming from His mouth as He began speaking in parabolic succession, story after story, and illustration after illustration. Now imagine the look on the faces of the crowd, bewildered, puzzled, and confused, I’m sure. Many, to be certain were still trying to figure out the first parable, when Jesus was already moving on to the next. In Marks Gospel account we only have the one mentioned, however he say’s that Jesus spoke many things to them in parables. We read in Matthew, All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." (Matt. 13:34-35) When Jesus spoke in parables He was using the language of the kingdom, about the things of the kingdom. The parable then would be a kind of a capsule, securely concealing the truth it contained.

Since the parables speak about the mysteries of the kingdom, only those to whom the kingdom belonged would be granted access of understanding and truth. There were two objectives with Jesus’ use of the parable:

1. To Conceal
2. To Reveal

The Word Concealed

The hidden content was too much a Holy a thing to be mistreated by hearing with flippancy, disregard, and unbelief. The Word made flesh was speaking, therefore every word was Holy. In Matthew 7:6 Jesus say’s "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. The beauty of a pearl is priceless, so to offer those to swine would be ludicrous, for a pig cannot perceive or even comprehend what a pearl is. It is not as if the pig just doesn’t care, no, it is far beyond the pigs ability to even consider the pearl, for the pearl does not exist to the pig. A dog returns to its vomit and a dog will bite the hand that feeds it, so to give what is Holy and sacred and lofty, to such a low creature of the earth would be foolish, and unproductive in nature. "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28)

We come here to a kind of dilemma. Jesus speaks so they cannot understand, yet they will be judged for not understanding. We can say that is unfair, yet in reality none of us deserve anything we receive from God. God’s sovereignty and mans responsibility and even mans culpability are mysteries to be sure, however that does not alleviate us from our responsibility to believe. "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven." What kind of statement is that? Jesus doesn’t want them to hear, turn and be forgiven? What made them “outside” and what makes us “inside?” These are serious questions that need answered. The concealing of the kingdom, to those outside its boundaries has an intended purpose, with us in mind. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day." And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever." (Rom. 11:7-10) God blinded Israel’s heart except for the elect, and opened a door for salvation to all nations, not just one. Romans goes on to say, so I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles (nations), so as to make Israel jealous.

God concealed His Son to many of them, so He could reveal His Son to the world. Their fall has become our rising. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? (Rom. 11:15) We are warned however not to boast about such a grafting in to the Holy things of God. Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. (Rom. 11:18) This concealing then has a broader purpose for a global impact.

So then was Israel relieved from there sin of unbelief, absolutely not. Romans 11:20 say’s, they were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. We truly should bow down in reverential fear and begin to worship our Savior for granting us such grace.

God’s hand was preventing their ears from hearing, and their eye’s from seeing. In Acts chapter two, we see their indictment, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." (Act 2:36) The words to this verse come harsh and hard with a resounding sentence of, guilty! The Jesus You crucified! And ultimately the Jesus we crucified. Many heard this and repented three thousand to be exact. What is interesting is to read later on while in prayer what they say, for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Act 4:27-28) Notice, the people of Israel are included, not just rulers and kings. Jesus concealed the Kingdom in His use of parables, and opened it to His elect for them to discover. Multitudes that day walked away shaking their heads wondering what Jesus was saying, they were on the outside and could not see in.

The Word Revealed

"To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.” The disciples of Jesus through divine grace upon their ears and eye’s got to not only peek into the kingdom, but was granted access by Christ Himself. Matthews account say’s, and he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (Matt. 13:11-12) To the ones who have, more will be given, so when we find ourselves the recipients of Gods grace, there will always be abundance. To the ones who having ears and do not hear, what little they hold, will be taken from them, I believe through the hardness of heart. The more we receive the word by faith the more pliable our hearts become, and the more we reject the word, the harder we become.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matt. 13:16-17) Jesus wants them to understand just how blessed they are to be invited into the kingdom with such a grand blessing. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, after the preacher has preached, yet not all who hear, believes the report of the Lord. So we can say with Jesus just how blessed our eye’s and ears are for they have been breathed on by God’s revealing grace. What we see and know, are only by the Spirit of truth.

Jesus’ use of parabolic speech encapsulated within it the mysteries of the kingdom, which only faith could dissolve in order to receive its penetrating nourishing results. We must hold on to the mystery of faith with a pure conscience. (1Tomothy 3:9) We only see today, because they failed to see then, completely by the sovereign hand of a Holy God. Our ears and eye’s have been kissed from heaven and granted the precious gift of repentance. So then there was purpose in His parables, and that purpose was you and me.

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
Vindicated by the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.
(1Timothy 3:16)

One Obedient Family

2010-06-14T09:06:00.001-07:00

Mark 3:31-35 ESV

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you." And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother."

Family sometimes can misunderstand and misread what God truly is doing in someone’s life. There are those natural concerns to be sure, especially when reckless behavior is apparent. However, when it comes to the will of God, a dividing line must be drawn. Jesus’ own people had already made the statement “He is out of His mind,” which indicates they where not seeing the kingdom with the same set of eye’s. At this point Jesus could have felt alone considering He was sitting in a room filled to capacity with some who questioned His mental stability, others who accused Him of operating in the power of satan, along with a very mixed crowd of despots and disciples, the desperate and the demonized. Instead, Jesus lived in the warmth and comfort of the will of God. This is where He found Himself most at home.

The Father’s Business

In Luke’s Gospel we are given an example of just how singularly focused Jesus was concerning the will of His Father. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. (Luke 2:41-42) Jesus when in Jerusalem could not escape the powerful urge to preach, even at twelve. He stayed behind as His family traveled, when nowhere to be found, they began a search for Him. This must have been a very emotional scare for His family, as they looked for three days in a bustling city, one can only imagine. Luke’s account goes on to gives us the details. And seeing Him, they were amazed. And His mother said to Him, Child, why have you done so to us? Behold, your father and I have looked for you, greatly distressed. And He said to them, Why did you look for Me? Do you not know that I must be about My Father's business? And they did not understand the word which He spoke to them. (Luke 2:48-50)

These seven words “I must be about My Father's business” would become the central theme for the rest of Jesus’ stay on earth. His natural family could not fully see and grasp the potency of His statement. As for Jesus, this would be but a foretaste of things to come. There is however another aspect; that of maturity. And He went with them and came to Nazareth, and He was subject to them. But His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:51-52) In the work of the Father there will be seasons of subjection, this is a lesson often overlooked by zeal.

So strangely we find ourselves here again in this text; Jesus about His fathers business and His family outside calling for Him to come home. This time would be different though, for He was no longer subject to them, rather His Father in heaven.

Leaving and cleaving

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." (Eph. 5:31) For Jesus, this would take on another form; He would not take a physical wife, rather, a spiritual one. For scripture goes on to tell us, this mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:32) Jesus would leave His mother to cleave to His bride, the church, where we have become flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bone. This great and majestic truth has spiritual implications that effect all who calls on the name of the Lord. Christ love for the Church is perfect and unblemished, and stands for all marriages to be cast in its prophetic shadow. In truly honoring our father and mother we must leave and cleave so the family can perpetuate the image of our Lord’s church in the earth.

To this point we have addressed Jesus in relation to His family, but what about ours?

One Body one family

"Who are my mother and my brothers?" A legitimate question, in light of the divine mystery concerning Christ and His church, for that includes us. Since we are bone of His bone, and members of His body, we have become one flesh through the Spirit. The word tell us in 1Corinthians 12:13, For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. We now by the Spirit share all things common, and are brought into fellowship together. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. (Eph. 2:19) The Beauty of the Church is that everyone born of the spirit now has an eternal family. The great implications of this resound with the fact we are the Body of Christ the fullness of Him who fills all in all, (Eph. 1:23) while knowing it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13) We share in fellowship as we share in obedience to the will of God. The driving force of all spirit filled believers is the divine nature that propels us toward the will of heaven.

The radical nature of the will of God

And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." Our very propensity toward the will of God is in that we now possess the divine nature, and have become a part of the household of faith. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Gal. 6:10) This question asked by Jesus was in stark contrast to those of strong Jewish family heritage. The family lineage was of the utmost importance, and it seems to be diminished by what Jesus was saying, not in the sense that God no longer values generational blessings, but that God now looks to bless spiritual lineages as well.

Sole allegiance to Christ and His Fathers kingdom would require radical sacrifice. Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. (Eph. 6:6) When Jesus calls us to Himself, He is calling us to a life style of obedience to the will of God. Jesus say’s some very hard things when confronting the nature of man that is continually bent toward his own lust. For the Jews, you were born into this household of faith, so they thought. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." (Rom 9:6-7) The children of flesh are not always family, rather the children of promise. For the just shall live by faith, and live together in the faith.

Jesus contrast the family to devotional obedience in Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Reading this then makes sense to us when Jesus looks at His disciples who are sitting around Him and points to them saying, “whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." Hate seems to us such a strong word, for it is. The contrast should serve us with just how far between our love for family should be in relation to our love for God. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15) As Disciples of Christ we are taught to obey the commands of Jesus, and when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts we then partake of the divine nature which makes this obedience possible.

Jesus gives us a parable of two sons in Matthew 21:28-31, which serves us well here. "What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.

Two sons, same father, only one of them obedient, all throughout scripture we find this theme reoccurring again and again. Jesus had many say they wanted to follow, but when it came down to it, very few actually did. The cost of following Jesus will be great and the greatest cost will be that of family. Christ brings division, there will be a dividing between our will and the Fathers, to our families will, to that of following the will of God. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. This seems extreme even for Jesus; however the answer is in the next few verses. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt. 10:34-39)

We must count the cost of following Jesus, for it is greater than anything on this earth. A true disciple has done just that and is now apart of a greater family than ever imagined. When we lose our lives we gain eternal fellowship with eternal life. The reality is, we will not lose a family, but gain an even bigger one. For some, who never had a family, they now gain true fellowship, as adopted sons and daughters of God. The disciples brought to the attention of Jesus just how they had left all to follow and this is what Jesus responded with, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30) We receive the Church, and through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. None of us are promised tomorrow, so what we do today, must reach into eternity.

The Unholy Spirit

2010-06-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Mark 3:28-30 MKJV

Truly I say to you, All sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme. But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never shall have forgiveness, but is liable to eternal condemnation. Because they said, He has an unclean spirit.

The hurling of insults at Jesus was not uncommon at this point. It seemed He had become to the religious Pharisee, a sport. They were determined to destroy Him at all cost, even at the cost of their own souls. Their insult would become their own injury, and leave them men undone. They now had just crossed a line, which Jesus had to warn them about. They were either speaking out of ignorance or indignation, but either way, they were speaking themselves to hell.

“Truly I say to you,” Jesus is assuring them of this warning, and they had better pay attention. What was the danger of their position, and why this strict warning? His family said, “He is out of His mind,” and yet, they did not get such a rebuke. It was because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.” They had attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to and evil unclean spirit. “Can satan cast out satan?” This is the question Jesus poses to them.

Holy Spirit vs. Unclean Spirit

Another way to look at this would be to ask, “Can an evil spirit do the work of the Holy Spirit?” Sounds like, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1) What I mean by this is: This is like asking, can we sin more and more so grace can work more and more on my behalf. God forbids such thinking. We do not work the Holy Spirit by working sin. The Holy Spirit works on our behalf because of sin, the Holy washing the unclean, not the unclean working the Holy. Of course this is preposterous; an unclean spirit can never do what the Holy Spirit does. However, this was exactly what theses Pharisees were presuming, when they attributed the miracles of Jesus with the power of Beelzebub. Could they continue in their sin, so that the grace of God could abound toward them more and more? Certainly not! Why is this then the unforgivable sin?

Forgiveness

We must first look at what it means to be forgiven. “All sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme.”

All sins and blasphemies are forgivable when toward the Son of Man. “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matt 12:32 ESV) What we do here certainly affects our eternal destinies. How we believe determines how we will live. Forgiveness must be obtained in this life in order to partake of eternal forgiveness. In order to understand forgiveness we must understand what sin is. Sin is a trespass against the law of God. We sin when we do not live up to the standard God set for man. This standard is the Ten Commandments. You and I break them daily. Since we are born into sin, we cannot fully ever live accordingly to His Holy standard. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Jesus came to take away the sins of the world, and pay the way back to God. Forgiveness is not just pretending sin does not exist, nor is it just ignoring our sin, because of the cross. Forgiveness takes away our sin. “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” (1John 3:5) Our sin was imputed to Christ on the cross, taken from us who believe, and given to Jesus, so in turn Christ’ righteousness could then be imputed back to us. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1John 4:10) Forgiveness is ours with true repentance. It is taken away, and we walk away.

The free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. (Romans 5:15)

Jesus hung on a cross suspended between heaven and the earth, with these same men again speaking blasphemies at Him, and prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) His compassion poured out like oil, as His divine blood propitiated the sins of those who would just believe. This is the heart of Jesus, and the love of God, demonstrated. Was Jesus less than the Holy Spirit? No, on the contrary, the Holy Spirit is the only means to Christ.

The role of the Holy Spirit in the world

And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8-11 ESV)

The Holy Spirit convicts
1. Sin
2. Righteousness
3. Judgment

Satan is the countertype Holy Spirit: he convinces
1. The world to Sin
2. To live in unrighteousness
3. Through accusation

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. The only way to truly receive forgiveness is to repent of sin, this happens once the Holy Spirit has convicted you of your sins, and shown you, your real need of forgiveness. Satan does the opposite, he convinces you to sin, and hides your need of forgiveness under the cloke of self righteousness. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of righteousness. He does this by revealing Christ’ righteousness, through the redemptive work of the cross, because Christ went to His Father. Satan convinces the world that right is wrong and unrighteousness is really righteous. The Holy Spirit convicts the world through judgment. Judgment often times will lead a people back to their God. Since the ruler of this world is judged already, satan leads the counter attack through accusation. His judgment comes through the mouth of others, accusing them, by demeaning Christ in them. This is what the Pharisees were doing. They countered the work of the Holy Spirit by judging it as the work of satan.

The Unforgivable Sin

Convicting or convincing? Convictions speak of truth, and absolutes, where as convincing, many times mean swaying one’s opinion, selling an argument. We can have convictions grounded in error, and we can convince to truth. However, when it comes to the mighty work of the Holy Spirit, He will lead us into all truth.
When we go against the working of the Holy Spirit we kick against to goads like Saul, on the read to Damascus. He thought he was working for God, when in actuality he was working against God. When we attribute the work of God to satan, we then do the work of satan in countering the Holy Spirit, thus rendering ourselves in opposition to the very work that can save our souls.

If we fight convictions from the Holy Spirit, we convince ourselves we are o.k. When the convictions of the Holy Spirit are at work, we need to yield, instead of wielding our tongues. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! (James 3:5) Untold damages have occurred on behalf of mans tongue. Souls have perished to everlasting torment, because of a tongue set on fire with hell, such a small ruder to move such mighty ships. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matt 12:34) We must surrender in humility before God, and resist the temptation to act like these Pharisees, when we see such movement of the Holy Spirit. It is not like they did not believe the signs were real, it was their denial of the source. If we reject God’s power, we deny the Holy Spirits access to our heart, in bringing us conviction. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

We are told to test the Spirit. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1John 4:1) Just because there may seem to be signs and wonders, this does not guarantee it is the Work of the Holy Spirit. We must pray and judge with proper discernment. Ask yourself; does it convict the world of sin, does it convict unto righteousness, does it judge the world through conquering satan, is Jesus magnified and does it give glory to God, or to man. This is the acid test of the spirit, and true devotion. Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1John 4:3) For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2John 1:7)

We must remember the words of Jesus, Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (Matt 12:30 ESV) If we are at peace with sin, we are enemies to God, if we are at peace with God, then we must fight against sin, through the Spirit.

For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; (1Peter 3:10)

The Finger of God

2010-05-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

Mark 3:20-27

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." And he called them to him and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house

If one would stop and think hard about the life and ministry of Jesus, you would begin to see, great exhaustion and tremendous amounts of pressure. In just three and a half short years, He encountered opposition, hostile crowds, temptations, satanic assault, religious hatred, and many disappointments from those who would walk away. There were occasions of joy, and celebration along the way, but undoubtedly, the heat was on, and nothing lay ahead for Jesus, except a cross. This kind of emotional taxing of the human soul would destroy most. There was no lounging around, and sweet summer day’s spent playing. No, the Kingdom of God had come!

Jesus commissioned and had given authority to twelve disciples to help with this mass movement of kingdom advancement. So there was some relief, as far as reach. The crowds were relentless though. In their pursuit of deliverance, Jesus could not even eat a meal, for He had gone home, but was not alone.

Jesus… out of His mind

When his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind." The brothers of Jesus, out of love and concern to be sure, where coming to forcefully remove Jesus. For them, He had gone too far and was deranged at this point. Before we judge them too harshly, who in the natural could keep this frantic pace and remain sane. Was this messianic delusion, could it be some serious messiah complex, that was driving Jesus to these extreme measures? He may have initially intended to do well, but, had He gone too far now? We must remember, for not even his brothers believed in him. (John 7:5) Their discernment was of the Flesh, not by the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5) Their judgment was carnal, and they in no way seen the kingdom, in Jesus.

Jesus…Beelzebub?

Two opinions are given about who Jesus is, and they both could not be further from the truth. His family said, "He is out of his mind." The scribes, who were law exacters sent to investigate these radical claims, said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." Their assumption was, that this was completely the work of satan, and from the highest order, at that! They could not deny the exorcisms were real, that was plain to see, but to admit they were from God would cripple their authority. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Luke 11:20) Indeed, the kingdom of God had come upon them. They loved darkness rather than light. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

Jesus Rebukes

Jesus uses rational logic to refute such arrogant ignorance. "How can Satan cast out Satan?” Nothing surprisingly sophisticated in this statement, just common sense. To fight against ones self would be foolish and unproductive. “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.” The kingdoms of this world that had their hay-day’s come and go, mostly crumpled internally. Fractures from within their own infrastructures, unnoticed at first, until it is too late. Like a house of cards; remove one from the middle and the whole thing comes down. Israel was at such a crossroad, when Jesus spoke these very potent words. Jesus would be their rock of stumbling. "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” (1Peter 2:8) The stumbling was so great, that not one stone would be left unturned. Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." (Mark 13:2) They missed their day of visitation. Jesus was the center piece of Israel; He was the Word, and the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Reject Him, and you have just internally fractured beyond repair.

Satans kingdom dispossessed

“If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.” Satans dominion was indeed coming to and end, just not as they supposed. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1John 3:8) The Gospel was being preached and demons were being dispossessed from the souls of tortured people. No, this was not the work of Beelzebub, this was the Work of the Holy Spirit, sweeping clean the landscape of human depravity.
Jesus goes on to explain what He is talking about. “But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.” Satan’s house was being plundered daily by Jesus. Satan is the strong man, Jesus was stronger, and had bound him, removing human captives from the kingdom of darkness. Jesus was showing them just who has the greater power and dominion. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Col. 1:13) Luke’s Gospel helps us see this, When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. (Luke 11:21-22) Jesus stripped satans armor and has overcome him, rendering him powerless against the kingdom of God. This of course would ultimately be fulfilled at the cross, and through the resurrection. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:15)

Jesus asks them, “If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. (Matthew 12:27) He turns the tables on their assumption, for they would have to profess such assistance from the devil, and therefore are judged with the same condemnation. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (Luke 11:23) He set the standard, you are in or you are out, right now, they were out.

"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first." (Luke 11:24-26)

Israel was being delivered, would she stay that way? Personally souls were being liberated, nationally they were as well. The Son of man had come! "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18) These disembodied spirits would go, leaving one clean and in order, but still open, if Christ had not been fully received. Israel was being liberated from satan, swept clean and put in order, Jesus was their long awaited promise. Satan was vanquished, and sent away; only to return and find them in open rebellion against their only hope…their last state is worse than the beginning. A house divided cannot stand. What is our guard against such a thing happening? Jesus was the Word, and they had rejected the Word made flesh.

Keep the Word!

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:27-28)

When liberated from sin and captivity, we need to fully embrace the grace of Christ, by receiving the Word of Christ by faith. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalms 119:11) Waterless places are Wordless places; it is here you will find the highest concentration of unclean spirits. When swept clean, and put in order, you must fill the house with the word, this will prevent a seven times worse state. We must keep the word as the text say’s. Many will hear and come to some kind of persuasion without any real depth to their faith. Israel as well, had her house swept clean and put in order, only to have no root, and when persecution arose on account of the Word, (Jesus) they fell away.

“These are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:16-17)

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. (Matthew 23:37-38)

Kingdom Advancement

2010-05-23T16:21:00.001-07:00

Mark 3:13-19

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Surmounting the pressures of ministry, Jesus withdraws. Tension rising with the religious opposition, plots of destruction, the sick, the demonized, Jesus had to go up. He needed time away. Sometimes to advance the kingdom, you must retreat. It is in these moments of retreat you gain clarity and regain focus. The greater faith begins to apprehend the kingdom, the greater the kingdom needs to advance. Sometimes you may not seem to be doing much to advance the kingdom, when all the while, the kingdom is advancing in you, as it was with these disciples.

Luke’s parallel account say’s, he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12) The Son of God prayed all night for direction and the will of the Father. You and I as adopted sons and daughters of God must do no less than Jesus, when it comes to kingdom advancement. Jesus did three things to counteract the pressure and demands that where being made of Him.
1. Withdrew
2. Prayed
3. Appointed

Withdraw
Stepping back and taking time to assess the situation, is never a bad idea. To gain a better perspective, sometimes you need a different vantage point. The hustle and bustle of life demands our attention, yet how often do we lose sight of the big picture. For Jesus, withdraw was the only option at this point. He needed time with His Father. This was Sabbath rest for the Son of Man. Having just been confronted over Sabbath ritual and custom, Jesus was now showing His disciples what real Sabbath looks like. The Jews had lost sight of the day of Rest, where strength and energy are restored, perspective is gained, and vitality recovered, for it became lost in the details.

Everything Jesus did had a lesson attached to it. With every miracle and every healing, there is always a lesson to be learned. He was a Rabbi, (Teacher) so teaching us is always priority. His frantic pace in ministry was laborious and taxing, so rest was needed. This is Sabbath. This is what living in the rhythm of creation looks likes, so in order for Jesus to advance, he had to retreat. If all we ever do is work and never rest, we are out of order, if all we ever do is rest and never work, we are out of order, and Sabbath brings order. Withdraw is always necessary to advance.

Pray
Rest needs a companion, and prayer is that companion. Deep contemplation brings deep rewards from God’s treasury. God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1Cor. 2:10) Jesus had a monumental task of bringing the Kingdom to Earth, and depositing it in the hearts of man. Prayer was its only answer. We also are told to pray, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matt. 6:10) Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Rom 8:26) It is in our moments of weakness that strength is being gained, true spiritual strength.

Jesus knew the Father had given Him disciples, so He went to the Father in prayer. "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.” (John 17:6) The task of choosing these disciples was of too great of importance to not spend all night in prayer to God. For they were going to be the ones to carry on and advance the Kingdom of Heaven throughout the Earth. This appointment with God was their appointment with destiny. You never know what may result from time spent with God. Just as with Paul and Barnabas, While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:2-3) There can be no commissioning without prayer.

Appoint
Kingdom work is too great a task for any one man, Even Jesus. Yes, He was all God, but all man as well. Limitations of the flesh are obvious. He could not be everywhere all the time. The needs of the people where to overwhelming to meet by Himself, so He called to him those whom he desired. God isn’t looking for Kingdom superheroes, there is only one hero, and that is Jesus. God is looking for ordinary men and women like us, so He can demonstrate His supernatural power to the world. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

Jesus said: "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12) Kingdom distribution is the greater works. The advancement of the kingdom against the kingdom of darkness would be with distributed authority. Jesus gives those whom He appoints His delegated authority. It is useless to appoint without empowering those you appoint. Jesus appointed twelve Apostles. These twelve would lead the way for all the other disciples. Twelve represents governmental perfection and you see it throughout scripture, with twelve sons, who become twelve tribes, to the New Jerusalem. When the demands are too great to accomplish alone, it is time to appoint. Moses had this same dilemma, and his wise father in law, gave him great advice. Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. (Exodus 18:17-18) He goes on to say, Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. (Exodus 18:21)

Later on the Apostles themselves found they had to do the same, when complaints were being made that some where being neglected. The twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:2-4)

Notice the type of men being chosen. Jethro said able men who fear God, the Apostles said men of good reputation full of the Spirit. It is imperative that the right people are put in the right positions. Jesus was not hap-hazard in His selection, they where men whom he desired. He had spent time observing His disciples and watching there interaction and personality. They where carefully selected by God to serve Christ’s Church.

The Called
These twelve were called to be with Jesus, preach, and cast out devils. This was the work of the kingdom, and they now were given authority to advance with Jesus. We can see this in Luke’s gospel following the appointment of the twelve, He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And the entire crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. (Luke 6:17-10) This followed Jesus’ appointment of the twelve; you can imagine Christ standing with His disciples and all flowing together in the authority of the kingdom. What a powerful display of God’s desire to use you and I, in the mission of Jesus.

These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18)

Applied Pressure

2010-05-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Mark 3:7-12

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

After a long series of confrontations with the religious elite, starting with the accusation of blasphemy after forgiving the sins of the paralytic, from there to calling a despised tax collector to be one of His disciples and eating with him, and all various kinds of sinners, on to issues of fasting and ceremonial laws and customs including labor and healing on a Sabbath, Jesus had enough and withdrew to the sea. A good move considering the pious panderers of religion had now begun to plot how they might destroy Him.

Jesus was all God, and yet fully man. The tension had real physical ramifications to His human emotions. The pressure was being applied even when withdrawing with His disciples, for He would not be alone. This pressure would now come from all angles, the religious, and the desperately needy.

A crowd gathers
A great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. It is estimated that tens of thousands were now gathering as far as from over a hundred miles away. A very long journey with very real problems, they were not going to be denied. Jesus had what they wanted, He was the Great Physician. His fame had spread far and wide, the Man who raises men from stretchers and opens blind eyes, and restores withered hands, this Jesus heals! Desperate people do desperate things, like making a hundred mile journey from Jerusalem to see some Rogue Rabbi, who performs miracles and exorcisms. They were not in the least bit concerned about His apparent disregard for religious custom, as long as they received a miracle.

The squeeze of Faith
When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. By using the term “great crowd”, we are given the picture here very clear. This wasn’t your typical Galilean gathering, this was a ground swell. Jostling, screaming, pushing and hurting, the scene must have been horrific. The demonized and paralyzed, both in need of Jesus. The mandate was, “We need you now!” The kingdom had come, and the violent were taking it by force. This was more like a breaching of heavens walls by an army of the afflicted. A crippled downcast people, were now clinging to the wholeness of Jesus the Christ. Faith was applying pressure to Jesus, and Christ the Anointed one was coming out. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. The pressure must have been so great, for Jesus called for a getaway boat. This time the boat wasn’t for preaching, rather retreating. The press on Him was overbearing and to great for the humanity of Christ. Yet, even with the uncomfortable press of the crowd, His compassion poured out like oil, for the tug of faith had apprehended His Divinity.

Faith does that, it gets Gods attention and His heart.

Hebrews 11:6 say’s, And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Faith is…
• Faith is apprehending and clings to Jesus.

Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matt. 15:28)

• Faith is relentless in its pursuit of Christ.

And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." (Luke 7:50)

• Faith is active, not passive.

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:17)

• Faith is the substance of things hoped for. (Heb. 11:1a)

• Faith is the evidence of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1b)

• Faith is what God is looking for.

I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8)

• Faith is proclaimed.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. (Rom 1:8)

Jesus never did blanket miracles, for faith had to be at work. It would be easy for God to just speak and all be healed, but then faith would not be needed. Therefore Jesus could not humanly heal every need present. Virtue was available for all who could pull it out, and press in to touch Him. Like the woman with the issue of blood. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. (Matt. 9:20) That is you and I; we must come to Christ by faith, and believe in Him, for there is no other way to Jesus other than through faith. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8)

The faith you possess is a gift from God, and the means of grace.
The squeeze of faith produced the oil of healing.

Demons speak, without faith
whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." These diabolical disembodied spirits did not speak out in faith rather for control. The ancient belief of speaking someone’s full name and title was one of mastery. They thought it would give them the upper hand by seizing the subject, in which they spoke, thus giving them control of the situation. Jesus refuse to cater to such evil, And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. He ordered them, thus proving who had control. Another reason for the rebuke of such proclamations wasn’t because they were not true, but, must only be revealed to the human heart by the Fathers Spirit, not an evil spirit. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44) Just as Jesus told Peter when he declared Him as the Christ, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 16:17) The Spirit working through faith, must be the only way in which to say; "You are the Son of God."

We see this happen when Paul was preaching in Thyatira, by a girl who was demonized, The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. (Acts 16:17) What she said was true, but spoken through a spirit of divination, not the Holy Spirit. There was no faith propelling forth these words, only confusion. She did this many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. (Acts 16:18)

Speak only by Faith
So when Jesus shuts the mouth of the enemy, it is for this very reason, those who profess Christ as the Son of God, must do so by faith. The Gospel message only works unto salvation when it is receive by faith. The great difference of profession and possession, is Faith. I will submit to you that when profession of faith is made without works, it is a religious spirit who speaks, for it is not from the holy Spirit who works in our hearts, and sanctifies us to Himself.

Faith is the currency of the kingdom, where Christ is our treasure. Apprehend Christ by faith, be persistent through faith, be resilient by faith, your faith should have substance, your faith should have evidence, and lastly, your faith should be proclaimed!

Apply the pressure of faith to the kingdom of God, and you will get the oil of the Spirit.

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. (Heb. 4:2)

Jesus, our Rest and Restoration

2010-05-10T11:21:00.001-07:00

Mark 3:1-6

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2) And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3) And he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come here." 4) And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. 5) And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6) The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Jesus, having just made the bold and true statement; “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” makes His way into their synagogue on a mission. This brave move prompted them to question Him all the more. These confrontations with the Divine had left them speechless and embarrassed, for they seemed to have “all power”, yet were so powerless. They witnessed true power on display flowing through compassion, while their power flowed from positions of authority. This Jesus was jeopardizing their positional influence. They claimed to be looking for the Messiah, yet when staring Him in the eye; they could only see their own reflection, in which they proudly postured themselves. Jesus had come to fulfill the law, in which they were keepers, or so they thought. In fulfilling the law, meant it was dissolving right out from underneath them, leaving them with no place to stand.

They watched Him closely
Jesus had no problem eating on the Sabbath, but would He heal on the Sabbath? They looked on Him with complete and utter disdain; He was a threat to their very existence. Matthews’s gospel say’s in his parallel account, He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10) And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--so that they might accuse him. (Matthew 12:9-10) It is as if, they planted this poor man in their midst to test Jesus, not realizing Jesus is the Sabbath. The religious will always watch you in order to trip you up, and see just where they can accuse you in order to dismiss you altogether. This is usually a sign you are a threat to their comfortable religion they hide behind. They would rather destroy you than have you destroy their cover.

The withered hand
Jesus asks the man to step forward, as putting him on display. Pointing to the man, Jesus say’s; "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? (Matthew 12:11) He knows the religious will always protect what is theirs. He goes on to say, “Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." (Matthew 12:12) He knew they would answer within themselves yes. This would infuriate them. "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.

Jesus, angered and grieved
Jesus wanted nothing more than for these men to fall on their faces in true repentance, yet they refused. “He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." In the tug- a-war between religion and righteousness, righteousness should always win. This is an internal struggle we all battle. Everyday we encounter situations where we either make a religious decision, or a righteous one. To “save a life or to kill” to reach out in compassion, and die to self preservation, or to preserve yourself and kill in the name of religion. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1Peter 2:24) Jesus knew the consequences for such mercy, yet love always prevails.

Jesus heals
Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. (Matthew 12:13) Jesus healed this mans withered hand right in front of those compassionless Pharisees. That mans need and the lessons to be learned were too great to let them and their threats interfere with why Christ came in the first place. …The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1John 3:8) Sin and sickness has plagued mankind from the garden and satan has been the culprit. What the Pharisees did not realize is that they where pawns in the hands of the real enemy, who would not let them rest as well. The torment and restlessness of men and woman, boys and girls, is real and Jesus is the answer.

Jesus our restoration
Christ is our daily bread, and eternal day of rest and out of that rest comes restoration. For it is with our hands we labor and work, providing our living and supporting our families. Our hands represent our labor, we work six days and rest on the seventh. A physical day of rest restores life and vitality to our exhausted bodies. So it is in the Spirit. When we come to Jesus, our works are withered and useless, for we are unable to restore ourselves; Christ asks all of us to "Stretch out your hand" He wants us to recognize our inability and His ability to restore. Anyone who works without rest withers away. We do not have an eternal supply on our own to continually remain active. It is the same for us in the spirit. We cannot work the works of God on our own. A religion of works will wear you down until you just simply give up. …For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2Cor. 3:6) We must trust Jesus with our withered hands and stretch them out in faith, so He can restore us whole again. If you find yourself spiritually exhausted it is because you are not taking a Sabbath. The Sabbath is not just a day to observe, it is a life to live.

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

The fourth commandment "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8) Is of vital importance, for in it we see Christ who is our Sabbath day, we must come to Him and cease from all our works, and find rest. The restorative life we live by faith is Holy and must be guarded against legalism. Religion withers and steals our life where the gospel restores life. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:11) Strive and rest seems to be in contradiction to one another. Yet, what the Hebrew writer is referring to has nothing to do with striving for rest, like working for salvation, rather striving against doubt and unbelief, which keep you from rest. The disobedience he is referring to is refusing to trust God. We must die daily in order to live eternally.

Plans to kill the restorer
The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Legalism is completely incompatible with grace. Legalism cannot bring restoration, only death. So that is what they set out to do, they plotted to destroy Jesus. They in themselves where powerless against the Son of God, so they would employ Herod. In their evil schemes God was working His perfect plan. Acts 4:27-28 say’s, for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. The very one whom they wanted dead, was the one whom through His death would become their propitiation, and justifier of their souls. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (1 Peter 2:7-8)

Just as Christ healed and restored the right hand of the man in the synagogue, He has healed and restored our right hand of fellowship with the Father. He asks all of us to “stretch forth our hand.” The first Adam through sin withered and became helpless; the second Adam came and restored life and relationship with God the Father. We have life because Christ gave His; we have rest because He is “Lord of the Sabbath.”

God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:31)

Jesus, our Bread and Rest

2010-04-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

Mark 2:23-28

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24) And the Pharisees were saying to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" 25) And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26) how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" 27) And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28) So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

Meager meals and long walks were the norm for Jesus and His disciples. They were on a mission, not seeking comfort or worldly prosperity. As they were strolling through the grainfields enjoying God in all of His creation, their liberty was being spied out. (Gal. 2:4) The Pharisees started to deride them for eating corn, because they plucked it on a Sabbath. Their contempt was great for Jesus and His disciples, so much so, that they were continually watching and waiting for any chance they could, to trip them up on the Law. The Pharisees commanded that you make your meals the day before, in order to eat it without the labor involved for preparation. This was a perfect occasion to accuse them of being law breakers.

Jesus, turns and say’s, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him.” Jesus pointed out need and hunger, as qualifying reasons to feed yourself on the Sabbath and David was looked upon as “A man after God’s own heart.” This would get their attention. Jesus also used His illustration carefully to add David’s men, that way His disciples were included in His defense. (Jesus the Son of David, and His disciples.)

David had entered priestly territory and ate priestly food, as well as his men. Not out of disrespect to God, but in need of nourishment. Just as Jesus and His disciples were doing.

And the priest answered David, "I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread…And David answered the priest and said to him …and the vessels of the young men are holy, and in a way the holy bread is common. (1 Samuel 21:4,5) David called the Holy Bread common and his men Holy, Jesus the bread of life became common, so we could become Holy.

David insinuated that man’s need overrides Holy Bread, and so Jesus does the same thing to the Pharisaical questioners, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Man was created in the Image of God, not a day, the day served God, just as it serves us, we need not serve it. Living in the rhythm of creation is healthy and needful, as long as it doesn’t control and cause you to serve it, instead of serving God, by resting. Rest and recuperation are blessing’s and never should become burdens. The Pharisees had put such demanding restrictions on this Holy Day of rest that it no longer served God’s people with rest, rather bondage. That is what religion does, it restricts rather than frees. Jesus came to bring freedom.

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Upon careful examination of this text we can see some very powerful implications regarding our duty and the Lord’s doing. If we work for the Sabbath, instead of letting the Sabbath work for us, we in a sense become lord over the Sabbath ourselves. This should never be. What I mean is this; we then work the rest, instead of letting the rest free us from work. Why this is so important is because we don’t ever work for Salvation, salvation works for us, in that we are saved by grace through faith…not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8,9)

We can see three things happening here. We can live under the Sabbath, over the Sabbath, or in the Sabbath. By living under, we live with the day controlling us, and this is not rest. By living over it, we become lord of it, and this is not our place, we do not decide what the rules and regulations are concerning this day, it is the Lord’s. By living in the Sabbath, we abide in Christ, the Sabbath no longer remains a day of rest, but is a life of rest, ceasing from works, and living in faith. Everyday is a Sabbath in Christ.

So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or the New Moon Festival or the Sabbath. All such things are only a shadow of things in the future; the reality is Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17)

Jesus, the bread of Presence
Jesus referenced David for two reasons; 1) He wanted to show them the day serves us, and 2) To state that David ate the showbread, so as to point out who He was.

The showbread, sat placed in two rows of six, hot and fresh, before the Holy of Holies everyday, as an offering of the people of Israel. The Hebrew word for showbread is: lechem pânîym, which means, bread of the Face, or presence.

David entered the place seeking food for his men, a place only a priest could enter. Jesus (the son of David) entered the secret place for us, as priest, to give us eternal life. In Matthews account we have Jesus saying to the Pharisees, “have you not read in the Law of Moses that every Sabbath the priests in the Temple actually break the Sabbath law, yet they are not guilty? I tell you that there is something here greater than the Temple.” (Matthew 12:5-6)

Jesus goes on to tell them “if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.” (Matthew 12:7)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, the city of bread, is our bread, in which we must partake to receive spiritual nourishment for our souls. Bread in the Word of God is referred to as the staff of life. (Eze. 4:16) Jesus in John chapter 6 repeatedly referred to Himself as the bread from heaven, and demanded that we partake.

David ate the Bread of presence, because he understood he lived in the very presence of God, daily. Give us this day, our daily bread… the bread of presence. This should become our heart cry.

Lord of Rest
Jesus makes a very bold statement, “The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath." Jesus; God made flesh, servant of man, is Lord of the Sabbath. The disciples were walking in rest everyday as they labored and lived with Jesus, for Jesus was their rest, and is our rest as well. The Pharisees were so busy looking to the day, and the laws concerning it, they missed their rest, who stood right before them. Jesus is Lord of it, because the Sabbath pointed to Him. Jesus by saying this was equating Himself as God, since the Sabbath is the Lord’s Day.

Jesus, our Sabbath
Jesus is rest for all suffering and week humanity. We come to Him and find eternal rest and satisfaction for our souls. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10) The children of Israel failed to enter their rest, for unbelief, this was considered disobedience, for they had failed to trust God and take Him at His word. You can parallel John’s Gospel chapter 6 and Hebrews chapter 4 and get a clear picture of the bread of life and the day of rest, faith and unbelief, obedience and disobedience.

These Pharisees were no different than those who murmured and complained in the wilderness and no different than those who refused to believe Christ as being the manna sent from heaven. To reject Christ as the bread of life is to reject Christ as the Sabbath. Therefore your soul will starve and never find rest, forever hungry, and eternally tired, your own work will become your undoing. If we truly long to cease from work we must enter His Rest, for the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (Hebrews 4:3)

For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." (Hebrews 3:14-15) We share in Christ the bread of eternal life and rest from ALL our labors.

The Kingdom: New Garments and New Wine

2010-04-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Mark 2:18-22

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19) And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20) The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21) No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22) And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins--and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins."

Jesus this day was eating and drinking in the joy and comfort of being with friends, celebrating Levi’s radical conversion into the Kingdom. As usual, a collision with the Pharisees was inevitable. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds." (Matt. 11:19) This would be Jesus’ response to John’s disciples, later on. John came neither eating nor drinking, for John’s mission was to introduce the Groom to His bride. Notice John’s disciples were now grouped with the Pharisees. Christ had come, and John had pointed the way, so why did they remain disciples of John?

Jesus was sitting with His disciples, when asked this question. So there is a distinction being made here. I believe it is for this very reason Jesus speaks the way He does in His response. All are invited to the wedding, but not all will attend. The invitation goes out, “Come follow me” and few respond. Luke 14:24 say’s, 'For I say to you, none of those men, the ones having been invited, will taste of my banquet, {for many are called, but few chosen.}'" John had many disciples and when they were witnessing Jesus taking some for Himself, they became frustrated with this new comer. John 3:25-26 tells us this, Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. 26) And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." John tells them, “You can receive nothing unless it has been given from above.”

Jesus’ Best man
John was the one whom would introduce Jesus to His glorious bride and stand beside Him as the betrothal began. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. (John 3:29) The best man often receives such a blessing when witnessing the engagement and joining together of Groom and His bride. His Joy is full. It is at this juncture John’s disciples should have been joining the wedding party, but instead remained with the old system of comfortabilty and familiarity. Sometimes change is met with reluctance, because it usually means things will become different from here on out.

Wedding plans
Jesus uses His analogies with precision, not impulse. When He says’s, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day." He knows the bride belongs to the groom, and the guests are more than friends, they are the bride herself. There are no mourners for this, this is a celebration. If you are fasting like the Pharisees then you have missed the invitation to the banquet. Levi, received it, as well as others, but you have not.

New Garments
If that were not enough, Jesus then explains in further detail. “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.” What Jesus was saying is riveting. It was new, like a marriage, it is a new beginning, a new covenant. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets and Christ is now the one and only, Prophet, Priest, and King, the long awaited Messiah, the Anointed one! What you and I share in today, is that anointing, as the bride and groom are one Spirit. This was the Apostle Paul’s frustration with the Galatians. “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3) When we begin to think and act like this “A worse tear is made,” this is the great danger of legalism. The new garment of the kingdom cannot cohabitate with the old garment of the law. This is an impossibility. The Spirit brings life, but law brings forth death, and enforces it.

New Wine
Every wedding has beautifully new attire, as well as Good wine. Remember it is feast time, not fast time. When Jesus turns water into wine, it happens in water pots, not old wine skins. This is the miracle of New Birth. The host of the wedding at Cana tasted Jesus’ unique blend of miracle wine and exclaimed “Every man at the beginning sets forth good wine, and when men have drunk well, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10) Jesus will not put New Wine into old wineskins, for He refuses to do so.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38) But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39) And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'" (Luke 5:37-39) We must become fresh wine skins in order to carry this New Wine of the Spirit. If we remain drunk with the old wine of the law, we will never want to taste of this new wine. I believe the key to this verse which has perplexed theologians for centuries is in the phrase “But new wine must be put into fresh wine skins.” Like the Pharisee who slipped to Jesus under the cloak of night seeking the answers of eternal life, we must be born again.

The New Birth and the New Wine
John 3:3, Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Old wine skins are inflexible and rigid. New Wine moves and expands thus a new wine skin has to be able to accommodate expansion. The Law is a pointer to Jesus, therefore had to be fixed and unmovable, so as to withstand generations of disobedient people. We are to move beyond in the Spirit, from such a solid structure to an organic new life that is growing and advancing in the eternalness of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7) Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:6-8)

John understood this, and said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” It was time to come out of the shadow of things to come and into the light. John was not this light, but bore testimony of Christ who was the light to the world. The new wine of Jesus would not fit in what John had, therefore he had to step back and let Jesus bring many Sons and Daughter into the Kingdom. It is by the Holy Spirit of God, our hearts are made ready for the new wine of the Spirit. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Christ will not fill an old wine skin with new wine, for He simply will not allow this precious new wine to be spilled. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. There has to be transformation in order to receive the Holy things of the Kingdom. I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) The rigid structure and the stony heart have to be made new in order to receive.

Woman at the well
Jesus encounters a Samaritan adulteress and asks her for a drink, she reluctantly replied and was a bit taken back by such a request from a Jew. Jesus say’s to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." (John 4:10) The gift to her that day was living water….new wine! Jesus wanted her to give to Him, her past, so He in return could give her a future. She accepted and was transformed by a loving savior. Jacobs well and Samaritan worship were to her; old dead structures that could not contain living water, like old wine skins that cannot hold new wine. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24)

Jesus Eating with Sinners

2010-04-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

Mark 2:13-17
He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus had no trouble gathering crowds, what to do, once you have gathered a crowd is different, so Jesus Taught them. Christ understood that ignorance of God was the great hindrance to God. We ultimately do what we truly believe, and our actions definitely speak louder than words. Ask people what they believe in and you’ll get conflicted responses but, look at what they pursue and you will get closer to the answer. For Jesus, teaching was of the utmost importance. Jesus tells us in the great commission, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) Our primary objective as disciples is to go and make disciples, by “teaching.” Instruction in the faith, is our duty, we not only do it with words, but also deeds.

Jesus, was a teacher in all His ways, for He would instruct by miracle, parable, and by circumstance. He used His surroundings as aids to His divine instructions. He used the positive aspects, as well as the negative ones. During this teaching walk, He passed by Levi, a tax collector sitting in his tax booth. Jesus say’s to Levi, “Follow me” and Levi, did what Peter, Andrew, James, and John had done, he left all and followed. Levi wasn’t a good choice for a disciple in the natural; he was an extortionist and fleeced the Jewish people on a daily basis. He made his living off of over taxing everything and everyone he could. He was also hated and despised by everybody, the dreadful tax man who can and will make your life miserable. The Election of God is not based on our own goodness, but, rather out of His Goodness.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

You and I would not have chose Levi, rather, we would have kept walking right past his loathsome tax booth. God chose him, and chooses you and me, when we did not deserve or do anything worth choosing.

Who was Levi?
Jesus said “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ Matthew’s gospel picks up on this line, because Matthew was Levi, and became the great recipient of such wonderful mercy. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6) Jesus wasn’t interested in religious piety, nor external sacrifice, He was into extreme love. It is believed the Jesus changed Levi’s name to Matthew, like He had changed Simon’s to Peter. Matthew means, Gift of God, and he would become just what Christ said he would, for he would give us the gift of his gospel. From tax collector to evangelist, God truly changes hearts for His Glory.

Levi, undoubtedly called for a celebration, and invited many of his choicest sinner friends. Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them. (Luke 5:29) There sat in the midst of despicable sin and sinners, the Son of God, pure and righteous, yet not untouchable, he ate what they ate, drank what they drank, and reclined with them. Revelation 3:20 say’s, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Jesus came to Levi’s house, and ate with Him, and will come to ours as well.

Many Sinners with Jesus
Verse 15 say’s, And as he reclined at the table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. Laid back with sinners, is the great description of Jesus, He wasn’t laid back on sin, for He would call sinners to repentance, but find the ill and afflicted and you will always find the good doctor. His prescription was eternal life, and Matthews’s evangelism efforts would pay off, for many followed Him. Jesus, unclothed from divine glory, and wrapped in human skin, lived and loved, ate and drank with the foolish things of the world, to prove God’s unfailing grace and mercy.

Religious excluders
How can God above, come and serve dying humanity below, yet religious people cannot see past their own self adsorbed righteousness. The snobbery of the Pharisee is easy to judge, but, what about our own pharisaical tendencies, which rob us of mercy, and love. We tend to think of “them”, and never “us”, which is precisely what their problem was. “Those people” can be “God’s people”, just as much as you and I are. Peter was with Jesus, when this encounter came, and many more like it, but even the great Apostle was not exempt from such religious separatism. Look at Galatians 2:11-13,

when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12) For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13) And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Religion is like a magnet and can even get a hold of the most sincere Christian. The Apostle Paul takes Peter to task and reminds him of the Gospel message, many times we also need reminded of the Gospel message. For in our own zeal to be Christ like, we often look Christ less. Do you eat with sinners, or are you only interacting with other just like you?

Not the righteous but the sinner
Romans 3:10 say’s, it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one. Jesus heard their outcry of self absorbed, self ascribed holiness, and responded accurately. He said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13) Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matthew 9:12-13) If Romans is true, and it is, then they were not righteous, but just as guilty as the others, yet their self righteousness would prevent them from seeing their sin and from turning from it in true repentance. Sin is a sickness that is incurable from mans side, highly contagious, and transmitted at birth. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

It is in this state Christ approaches us, and asks us to follow Him. The physician only heals the sick. Their “wholeness” was their undoing and cause of eternal sickness. They could not smell their own putrid sin, while masked in hypocrisy. Satan loves the religious, for they do his diabolical biding of accusing the brethren, while being strangely hypnotized, by their own condemnation. Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18) The pride of life is the great prevention of salvation. "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

The horrors of Hell, and the glories of Heaven Why the Resurrection matters

2010-04-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15) We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16) For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17) And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1Corinthians 15:14-17)

Still in your SINS

The sinner apart from God stands condemned, and under eternal consequence. The man who say’s in his heart there is no God, is a fool. The sinner, who cries against God’s judgments and proclaims his own innocence, knows no justification. The one, who thinks himself righteous on his own, will stand and shrink back in fear from the one who is truly righteous. The righteous anger of a Holy God will one day be poured out on the sins of man, and man will give account of his unholy works. The kingdom of darkness will swell with the souls of many. The path to destruction is broad and wide, with its streets filled to capacity, marching to final judgment.

Two kinds of people exist in the world, the saved, and the perishing. These are no difference of classes, for both are sinners, yet one stands justified, and the other condemned. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18)

Hell will one day receive its harvest, as the tortured souls of the condemned swim to its lake of fire. Jesus tells us, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The religious pretend to have eternity planned and the Lord declares over them, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” (Matthew 23:33) The sinner walks on sinking sand and has no stability in which to rest. Their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand… (Deut. 32:35) The sinner wallows in his sin and takes pleasure in them, he knows no rest and shall never find any. He walks by the shear mercy of God, who prolongs his days, out of mighty sovereignty. The sinner is marred by the weight of a burden to heavy to ever carry. Sin, like a cancer eats his soul away, and day by day, pushes him to the precipice of hell, where he will plunge to its depths. God owes no apology for such a sentence, nor is He obligated to spare any from this horror, apart from the grace and promises of Christ. Your riches cannot buy payment of release, your prestige cannot, nor your popularity, they will only further add to your despair, and works of unrighteousness.

The sinner apart from Christ is headed to unparalleled darkness, with no hope and empty of all promise. Jesus gives us strict warning about trying to live with the causes of sin, and remain whole. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48) ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' (Mark 9:47-48) The dark denseness of Gehenna is riddled with the rot of death, and the putrid smell of burning sulfur, it is to us repulsive, and should be! Borrowing from the last verse in Isaiah, Jesus paints us a picture of an unsanctified conscience, churning over and over again the deplorable deeds of the flesh, while burning in eternal fire, “Where their worm does not die!” The horrors of hell should lead us to fear the Lord, not the place, for the Lord is our only rescue from such a state, and it is the Lord, who will sentence us to such a place.

His Wrath

According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment. (Isaiah 59:18) God is merciful, and because He is, we still have breath in our lungs. The fierceness of His wrath is at bay, for now, His righteous judgment waiting for the opportune time. Where will you stand? In what place will you stand? Justified or condemned? Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them." (Ezekiel 8:18) Some mistakenly presume upon the goodness of a merciful God, but without a raised savior, and a washed regenerated soul, you will see no such mercy. Without our great mediator we will undoubtedly bear the full wrath of a dreadful awesome God! God’s wrath does not spew from unbridled anger, nor does it burst forth without restraint. His divine attributes are love and holiness and they guide and dictate the actions of His judgments.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Times is God’s mercy to you, repent or perish, Jesus proclaimed. If you have ears to hear, hear, if eye’s to see, then see. We must understand, our offenses are offenses toward a Holy divine God, not just our neighbor, or loved one. We have trespassed against sovereignty, and counted His goodness as nothing. The places we have stepped will cost us our lives. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) This is a price you and I cannot afford or could ever pay, for our debt is too great. Our debt increases daily, and payment must be rendered. "For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. (Isaiah 66:15) To stand on your own and offer payment based on merit, is dreadful and foolish. Like Cain, who offered sacrifice from the labor of his own hand, God will refuse such an offering, and demand blood. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4) Satan and his rebellion are yours too! For, you are a partaker with him, and will receive the same punishment as he and all his angels. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalms 9:17) Revelation 20:10 say’s, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The fate of lost souls will be the same as a fallen angel. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18) Sinners walk in hardness of heart, the sinner who refuses to acknowledge his sin will carry his sin into eternity. But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:5)

The resurrection matters

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. The state of a sinner is one condemned to death and hell, the life of a believer is one raised and seated with Christ, who will partake of all heavenly promises. The resurrection matters for Christ was raised for our justification, and secured us the victory. Christ took the full brunt of God’s wrath and it pleased the Father to crush His Son and bruise Him. For in it, the release of Souls from a captured state would be secured. 1 John 4:10 say’s, this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the (wrath-absorbing) propitiation for our sins. Left to our own, we would have no hope, yet, God did not leave us to our sins, for He sent His Son to Die, and Rise, so we to can have eternal life. You and I killed Jesus, and God gave us His Son, who alone has ransomed us from the torments of hell, and given us all things. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. (Romans 8:3) We now can stand and live before our Creator, upright, and blameless, because Christ was raised from the Dead. We can have eternal life, in eternal glory, living before a loving Savior. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9) Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:49) But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20) The resurrection matters, because your life depends on it, your eternal life depends on it!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4) to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:3-4) The glories of heaven await us with precious patience. What God has in store for His people will surpass anything ever imagined or seen on this Earth. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:1-8)

The Lord, present to Heal

2010-03-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Mark 2:1-12

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic--"I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home." And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

The crowd and the Word

The atmosphere was charged with expectancy, the room overflowing with anticipation as the crowds drew greater crowds, because Jesus was in the house! Immediately (a word this gospel uses over and over) many rushed in to hear the word preached by Jesus, the living Word. Jesus never minced words with crowds, nor did He placate to the masses. Time was of the essence and itching ears were not to be scratched. In this electrified room was the “Law Protectors”, as they so thought so highly of themselves. They had come to trip up this young popular Rabbi. Whenever a move of God takes place, the religious elite begin to make their pilgrimages of mockery and judgment. The reality is they are empty and jealous, for nothing of the Spirit is happening with them. One word misused, one word out of sync with their form of Judaism, and this has to be a work of Beelzebub. Blind guides leading the way, stumbling over the letter, and missing the Spirit.

We may never know the sermon that Jesus preached that day, but the fruit of it was manifest immediately. For the power of the Lord was with Him to heal. (Luke 5:17) and the faith of four friends was about to become a tangible reality.

Four friends with faith

Many claim to be our friends, but when we are in need the most, you really find out who truly are your friends. Flat on his back, paralyzed for life and crippled deep in the depths of his tortured depraved soul, this man needed healed inside and out, and the Lord was present to do so. Four friends with faith can carry equally our inabilities and cover us when need be, as well as expose us to the feet of Jesus when desperation is the only answer. The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:15) Pressing through the crowds of jostling anxious people, and seeing no way in, they looked up. Many times the way down is up, and the way up is down, so they humbled themselves and climbed to the roof, and removed tiles, that stood as obstacles between Jesus and their friends need. What he could not do himself, they did for him. The passion of their persistence paid off, as they lowered him down before the Savior of his body and soul. From roaring crowds to healing presence there was transference of kingdom realms, darkness to light, sickness to health, unforgiveness to forgiveness, this is the way of Jesus.

Jesus could have prayed healing, instead of forgiving, but, the greater lesson would have been missed. “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” The greater miracle is not the healing of a dying body, but of a dying soul. This is kingdom business, not just earthly happiness, rather eternal blessedness. The dimensions of the Spirit are eternal; therefore Christ speaks and acts eternally for the glory of God and our joy. Breaking curses, and lifting the weights of despair, Jesus moves us into the Spirit, and prepares us for life there.

The voice of reason, or the voice of the Spirit

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, reasoning in their hearts. (Mark 2:6) The Lord was present to heal, but undetected by doubt. The religious reason, the people of faith believe. They were not there to receive, rather to judge. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Standing in the midst of God, they missed Him. “Jesus perceived in His spirit” what was in their heart, and revealed unto them the nature of His divine visit. That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10) for it is this reason a child was born and a Son was given. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11) They missed their visitation. They were “sitting there” while the four were moving in faith. That is what reason does, keeps you from action, and hinders progress. The contrast between a paralyzed man in the natural to a paralyzed faith in the spiritual, is stark. On the natural side, we see sins forgiven, and a sick bed being taken up, on the paralyzed faith side we see unresponsiveness.

You could almost see this man responding joyously to the proclamation of forgiveness, being washed over at the feet of Jesus, bathing in light, and receiving life. Before strength entered his flesh, his spirit was renewed and bursting with hope, and peace. The grand finally was coming but not before real eternal work was being done. The Word of life was speaking life, and he was receiving. The faithless was not going to steal from the faithful. Christ was on mission and undeterred by religion. Religion sits and reasons, where life in the Spirit is prophetic and sees into the heavenlies. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63) We cannot walk in flesh and reason the things of the spirit. Reason is fleshly where as faith is spiritual. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5) The difference of people here is important for us to observe. You have the crowds, who are curious, you have the disciples sitting at Jesus feet listing intently, you have the religious reasoning and doubting, and then you have the desperate who steal the show. The masses are gathered, but it is only a few who capture the attention of Jesus, and the power of presence to heal.

With new found strength the ex-paralytic leaps to his feet with bed in hand and faith in his heart, for he was not returning home on a stretcher rather walking through the door.

We never saw anything like this! Was the response of many, for all begun to be amazed and glorify God! Every healing and miracle serves one purpose, to give God glory. If reason enters your mind, as it often does, ask your self this, “will it give God glory” and if it does, believe and have faith in Him to bring it about.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)

“If you are willing….I am willing; be cleansed!”

2010-03-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

Mark 1:40-45

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

The plight of exclusion, the pain of loss, the smell of death, and the scorn of rejection, in one moment, this leper went from saying embarrassingly “unclean” to shouting with joy; “I am clean!” The plague of leprosy must bow to the majesty of Jesus. Leprosy steals, kills, and destroys, Jesus came to give us life, restoring all that the locusts have eaten and bringing newness of life. For this reason Jesus came forth.

Leprosy is the destroyer of flesh, and lives; knowing no differences between men, women, nor children. It eats away at the flesh, taking limbs and life. Like a cancer it spreads and devours all that come in contact with it. Jesus casts out unclean spirits, and He heals unclean bodies, removing every obstacle between man and his God. He looks death in the eye, and commands it to submit. This is our Lord.

“If you are willing”

Kneeling and imploring he came to Christ, like you and I must come also. In humility and in desperation, he uttered words that cried for help… “if you are willing; you can make me clean.” He believed Jesus was his only hope, for he had witnessed the miracle working wonders done throughout Galilee, yet, will he heal me to? This is a question we all ask ourselves, believing but doubting that anything good could ever happen to us. It is a humble heart that receives the compassion of Jesus, for the word declares He gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6) Leprosy has a way of humbling humanity, and bringing low haughty hearts. Like Miriam who spoke against Moses and became Leprous, and was shut outside the camp, Moses like Christ pleaded her case and said, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!” (Numbers 12:13) Uzziah’s pride was his destruction, for he became strong in his heart and lifted up, entering the Lords Temple and offering incense, and we can see what happened to him in 2 Chronicles 26:19; Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense.

Uzziah lived in isolation, cut off from the house of the Lord, and died a leper. Pride rejects Christ’s help, and keeps one isolated and outside the camp of God and His people. Humility brings you kneeling before Jesus, and receives His compassion. We have nothing to bring Him, but our tattered, broken lives, to place in His Healing hands.

“I am willing”

“Be cleansed” is always the response to our believing plea for help. Jesus never refuses anyone who comes to Him in faith. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21) What hope, to which we have. Our misery is the object of His mercy. I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1Timothy 1:16) Our humility attracts His compassion, and moves His heart, to plead our case, and cleanse our lives. His willingness was on display when hanging on a cross, and all that was against us, He took upon Himself. We come to Christ riddled with leprosy, crippled with the wages of sin, succumbing to the yoke of slavery, defenseless against our enemy, and under the weighty wrath of a Holy God. It is in this condition, we come, and in no other! We never stand before Christ; erect and tall, gathered and complete, together and whole, until He pronounces us Clean. Arrogance refuses Christ, where as brokenness depends on Him. The outstretched hand and the healing touch offer more than comfort, rather, deliverance from such a scourge and plight. They are comforting, and they are also delivering. Such a power He has!

Leprosy, the Sin of man

Sin, like leprosy, leaves men undone and unclean, alienates us from our creator and our true self. Sin is infectious and insidious, invading us at birth. Our depravity is our delight when loving our condition, but, it always worsens until we become deplorable even in our own eyes. Sin is fun for a season, but all seasons change. We are helpless and unable to comprehend the gravity of our sinfulness until we look to Jesus. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2Corinithians 5:21) From outside the garden to outside the camp, we have no fellowship with light as long as we remain in darkness. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous …You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell." (Numbers 5:1-3) Excommunicated from the ones we love and unable to rescue ourselves, God would be the remedy! Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (Acts 2:23) Our lawlessness killed Jesus, our sin crushed Him, by His fathers own hand. Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. (Hebrews 13:12) We are clean, because Jesus has cleansed us by His own Blood! Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. (Hebrews 13:13) We must look to the Cross the way that leper looked to Jesus for cleansing. Jesus warned him strictly; implying to never return from whence he came. Ephesians 2:13 say’s, But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. We no longer have distance between us and our God, heaven has been brought to us, us to it.

The Law testifies to Christ

Jesus instructed him and said, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Leviticus 14 gives us the ceremony of cleansing for a leper, and Jesus was referring to this when giving him these instructions, for His cleansing could only be pronounced by the priest, and Jesus being our great high priest was testifying to this truth. The Word declares Jesus as the Christ. In Luke 24:44 Jesus say’s, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Had the leper gone and done what Jesus commanded he would have seen this. Every healing has a gospel message, and every gospel message should offer healing. The law and the prophets give validity to the ministry of Jesus, and testifies about Him to us. The overwhelming recovery this former leper felt left him unable to keep quiet, and the crowds drew in great numbers pressing Him outside the city, prophesying in themselves what manner of death He should suffer, and our going out to Him, for it is at the cross we are healed. Amen.

Late Nights and Early Mornings

2010-03-15T04:48:00.000-07:00

Mark 1:35-39

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." 38 And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

The Sabbath evening closed after a hard day’s labor in the Kingdom. Toiling for humanity in the power of God, can become exhaustive, and the outpouring of compassion can drain any soul, even Jesus’. The natural tendency for us is; after great success, we rest, after all, we earned it. Not so with Jesus. This was never His tendency, nor was He so inclined to flesh that it won the precedence over Him. His life was rightly prioritized and ordered by the Spirit.

There is much we can learn from Christ’s humanity, if we would take the time to apply His examples. So often we look at the “big” things He did, and say to ourselves; “I could never do that,” all the while overlooking the finer details of His extraordinary life. In John 14:12 Jesus tells us, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Many look to the wonder of miracle working power at the hands of Jesus, and crave that same anointing. Some will risk anything to get it. While Jesus is a healer, we must realize Christ was and is primarily concerned with eternal things. All the healings Jesus performed ultimately gave way to death, even Lazarus after having been raised from the dead, died. The greater miracle is the reconciling of man back to his God. The greater works are the eternal works, that’s the work that truly remains.

Going to the Father

Greater works you ask, How is that possible? Signs follow those who believe, not because of our believing, rather because of who we are following. He goes to the Father for us, and makes provision for us, and provides power for us, and intercedes for us, and overcomes for us, and is preparing a place for us, now in the Spirit. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail…(Luke 22:31-32) Jesus prayed for Peter’s faith, and we know by history that this prayer was answered.

This should bring encouragement to any weary soul. The persevering of the saints happens because of Christ persevering for us in labor intensive prayer. Hebrews 12:2 say’s, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God. Since He is the eternal author and originator of our faith, He is also the completer of it. His seating, is our security, don’t think for one minute just because satan demanded, Jesus will grant his unholy wish, for Christ is not about to lose, what He has ransomed and paid such a heavy price for. Jesus prepared us “places” though secrete place praying, and those places are secure.

Therefore His Joy becomes our Joy, His endurance becomes our endurance, His conquering shame, becomes our conquering, His seated position is now our seated position. All that we are and all that we do in and through Him is because of grace. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

“Because I am going to the Father,” That was the motto in which Jesus lived His life, to and for the glory of God. Even as a boy this was His aching desire, listen to what He had to say, at twelve. “Why did you look for Me? Do you not know that I must be about My Father's business?” (Luke 2:49)

Jesus had no other interest in this life, other than doing the will of God, and in order to pursue that will, He needed to be with God. This happened only through prayer, heaven saturated moments of divine interaction with the Father. Luke 6:12 shows us this, And it happened in those days that He went out into a mountain to pray, and He was spending the night in prayer to God. Moments with God are never wasted moments, but moments of gain and clarity. Jesus had a mission to fulfill and could not be out of step with His Father, not even in the slightest. Although fully God, He did not live here in the fullness of His deity, rather as a man, therefore He was totally dependent upon His Father. Hebrews 5:7 says, For Jesus, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared, Jesus never acted independent from the Father, only in concert with Him, by the Spirit.

Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. (John 4:34)

He said to them, Let us go into the next towns so that I may proclaim there also. For that reason I came forth. Jesus received His divine orders from God, these downloads from heaven served Him with the next steps to take and kept Him on task. His work was the Fathers work. Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work. (John 5:17) His moments of solitude were moments of inspiration and impartation. Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise. (John 5:19) Jesus had power in public, because He had humility in private. He understood His coming forth wasn’t to be withheld due to the demanding needs, of men, but, rather the will of the one who sent Him. Jesus had eternity in view.

"This is what GOD meant when he said, To the one who comes near me, I will show myself holy; Before all the people, I will show my glory." (Lev. 10:3)

We to must go to the Father

For let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5) All we will ever do for God, is because of God, we must never think we can work to impress God, nor think we can give Him a hand. It is He who gives us a hand. So many of us go to God, to tell Him what we want to do, instead of listing to what He wants us to do. What a tragedy, for the plans of God for our lives are far better than anything we could ever imagine. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1Corinthians 2:9)

Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us that where He was we may be also. Ephesians say’s we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Our future glorification will one day be realized, but right now our seated position is already actualized and activated by the raised and ascended savior. We must live and work and serve with that mindset. Before we can go for God, we must go to God, in believing prayer. Jesus set the standard, and gave us an example of absolute dependency upon the Father; we should emulate His heart, so His heart can emanate from ours. Jesus said, we can do nothing apart from Him, so clinging to Christ in prayer is our only option for sustained life and ministry.

Many would love to have the success seen in Galilee that Sabbath, and settle there in it, so ultimately we could capitalize on it. Yet Jesus, refused to be held captive by mans opinion, or even by mans pressing desires. We to should seek “the will of Him” who is sending us. The only way to discover your reason for “going forth,” is to draw away from distracting voices and demanding responsibilities, for seasons of prayer and solitude, if not, you will never be any real good to no one, for the simple reason that your desires haven’t lined up with His, so you would be working out of your own strengths, which will erode and give way to failure, leaving you completely spent.

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:6) From the secret place to the open place, there is an exchange of heart and soul, God’s priorities then become our priorities, and His agenda, then becomes our agenda. That’s why in John 15:7 Jesus say’s, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Through abiding with Him, His desires will be our desires, so whatever we would ask is the will of the Fathers heart, and not a trace of sinful, lustful desire would be found, so as to not receive an answer. Going to the Father must be our delight and never just our duty. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11)

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Christ, the Healing Servant King!

2010-03-08T03:32:00.000-08:00

Mark 1:29-34

And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

The authority in which Christ spoke was made manifest by conquering the unclean spirit, and silencing the mouth of the enemy and this display of imperial dignity and power was not to go unnoticed. Immediately His fame spread throughout the region. You could imagine the chatter among that tiny fishermen community. As custom was, they would go home and eat a Sabbath meal and share in the goodness of God. Upon entering Peter and Andrews house the smell of a freshly cooked meal was missing. Peter’s mother- in- law was sick with a fever, and unable to serve this very special guest sent from heaven. Upon hearing of this Jesus, stood over her and rebuked the fever, (Luke 4:39) and touched her hand, (Matt. 8:15) now taking her by the hand and lifting her up the fever left and she began to serve them.

Healed to serve:

The healing power of Jesus serves us to serve others. Her incapacitation could not stand in the way of a Servant King! The fleeing fever and the gentleness of Christ’s hand was a sign that messianic hope had come, and she could serve the King, the way He served her. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28

This was to be no ordinary Sabbath meal, for this was a meal of gratitude. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1Corinthians 10:31) Her thanksgiving spilled over into her serving. That’s what happens when Christ takes us by the hand, and we feel the gentleness of His leading, we rise up to serve. When we have no heart to serve, could it be possible we have not yet met the Servant King? This great attribute of Christ was the love of God being poured out upon the world through His beloved Son. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The love of Jesus was in the fact, He was given to us out of love, and would display this God compassion in every word and act He would say or perform. All that Christ is flows in and to us, and should ultimately flow through us as well. His compassion to her was reciprocated through service. Jesus would then receive from her hands a meal prepared that would nourish His humanity and strengthen Him for the next task of serving.

Served to Heal:

The evening sunset brought the close of a Sabbath, and the dawn of the Healer. For outside Peter’s house the whole city would gather to receive life and life more in the abundance. Sickness and oppression are calamities of the fallen nature, Christ came to ransom us back, and this evening of miracles would be the down payment. Galilee was demonized and Jesus was going to do something about it. The world is demonized and Jesus did do something about it! When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30) The cross paid the full penalty of death and relinquished the keys to the door of death into the Hands of a crucified God. The living one said. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hell. (Rev. 1:18)

From the door way of a modest home, the King of majesty reigned supreme over sickness and disease, and healed many. Demons where forbidden to speak and reveal the nature of their defeat. They knew Him, because of their inability to overcome Him. Man was an easy target with sin as his nature, but Jesus had God as His nature, and satans throne will never ascend over His. Fallen angels can only inflict fallen man; But the Risen Christ raises man back to His God, and imputes His righteousness into him, so he stands as if he were never fallen. It will be imputed to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:24-25)

Our healing should result in our serving, just as our serving will result in healing. Christ gives to our empty hands life, so with full hands we can give to others also. Remember we are raised justified, and even when our conscience condemns us, we know that Christ’s perfect righteousness and Holiness has been granted by grace. The people of the city of Galilee were unmerited and undeserving; But God’s divine influence upon their hearts began to reflect throughout their lives. The gentile serving hands of a King had come unto them, and healed them. Galilee would never be the same.

Imagine the change that took place in this little city, how the compassion must have been increased as well as the quality of life. That’s what happens when lives become impacted by the Kingdom of God, people become free to explore and create, just as God had intended man to be. The first Adam may have squandered his inheritance, but the second Adam came to give it back. Romans 5:17 say’s, If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Just a casual glace at the impact Christianity has had on the world should reveal to us its significance. From music to the arts, education, to social justice, the world has never been the same because of the Servant King, and because we reign in life through Him, we serve the world also, because we rise up to serve that King, and will do so forevermore.