Mark 1:21-28
When we think of divine authority, what kinds of images pop into our minds? If you are anything like me, you think of healings, exorcisms and other amazing things. And to be sure, the divine authority Jesus displayed included plenty of those, but Mark introduces us to the concept of divine authority in this story about Jesus worshiping in the synagogue.
These next few verses present us with a literal “day in the life” of Jesus and the disciples. Mark tells us that the first thing he does on this day (“immediately”) is go to synagogue. Over and over we will find Jesus sitting with the collection of common people worshiping their God with them in their house of worship. Though he has come as their Messiah and the completion of their hopes and desires, he never disparages their worship. In reality, he is an active part of it. I love this little fact—Jesus went to church.
When Jesus begins to teach, the people quickly learn that his teaching is different in kind from the teaching they are accustomed to. And they are used to teaching. Every week their Rabbis and scribes would open the Scriptures and teach the people. This week, Jesus does the same and the people know something different is happening. Before we get to any of the spectacular stuff, Jesus teaches the people and they recognize the divine authority contained in what he is saying.
Mark’s first example of divine authority is the accurate and faithful exposition of Scripture. And for a book that contains the smallest amount of actual teaching, the act of teaching carries enormous weight. In 2:2, before the paralytic is healed, Jesus is teaching the people. In 2:13, before he calls Levi, he is found teaching. In 6:2, Jesus is rejected by his hometown because of his teaching. Then, when they run him out, he goes through the surrounding villages teaching. And so the story goes in Mark. Almost every time, the act of miracle working is set up by the teaching. Divine authority begins with the divine Word of God.
The next event in the story is what we may typically consider an expression of divine authority. Jesus frees a man of his demonic possession. The coming of the Kingdom of God comes with radical freedom and the power of God to do things these people had never seen done before. In fact, when they see the man freed of the demonic spirit, they exclaim:
“What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” (vs. 27)
Jesus received exactly the reaction he intended. The people heard the teaching of the Kingdom of God and beheld a miracle and their response was shock at the power in the teaching. Instead of creating a group of people who see only the wild and follow only a miracle worker, Jesus properly prepared their hearts and minds by teaching them first.
Where does divine authority—the power of God—begin in my life? It begins with the Scriptures and the life transforming truths of the Kingdom of God. Then, when God reaches down and the miraculous happens, we know exactly where to give the glory.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Christ Calls, Equips, and Provides: Mark 6:7-13
Mark 6:7-13
This section in Mark’s Gospel signifies a turning point for Jesus and his disciples. Up to this point, Jesus has been doing and teaching, and they have been following and watching. From this point on, however, Jesus begins to give more responsibility and authority to his disciples. As Jesus commissions them, there are several lessons we can learn about what it means to be his disciples.
First of all, Jesus sent them with his authority to do the work he had already been doing. Jesus gave them “authority over unclean spirits” and they “proclaimed that people should repent” (vs. 7, 13). When we live as disciples of Christ, we do not do it in our own power or ability; we do it as people given the power, wisdom, and work of Christ. We do not end our days by bringing to Jesus our work’s accomplishments for praise and reward. Instead, we begin each day sent out by him to do the work he would be doing if he were living our lives with his power and wisdom.
This implies something else. I cannot imagine I am an effective follower of Jesus Christ if I am not close enough to him to see what he does. I cannot pretend to follow a man I do not know. How I am doing with my time in God’s Word, my time in prayer, the development of spiritual disciplines in my life, will tell me how well I am doing the deeds and speaking the words of Christ.
Secondly, this commissioning gives us insight into what Jesus wants to do with me before I am perfect. If we were to go back through Mark’s Gospel and list the accomplishments of the disciples so far, the list would look something like: they tried to coerce Jesus, they showed a lack of faith in Jesus, they rebuked Jesus, they misunderstood Jesus. I don’t want to paint too grim a picture, but their achievements to date are not all that impressive.
Discipleship is not primarily about my strengths and gifts, but about Christ calling and equipping his followers. The disciples were far from perfect, but the one thing they really did well was follow Jesus. As a result, they were given the responsibility to extend Christ’s ministry through his empowerment long before they became saints.
And third, there are times in life when God ordains it such that the minimum of worldly goods results in the maximum amount of faith. Jesus sent the disciples off with the shirts on their back, their shoes, and staff—no food, no money for food, and no lodging preparations. This means that every step of their journey required absolute trust in Christ. Every meal they ate was a gift from God. Every night with a roof over their head was a gift from God.
When we find ourselves in these seasons of life they may be difficult, but they can be profound. One of the day-to-day roadblocks to trust in God is our trust in everything else we have. We tend to not put faith in Christ because we haven’t yet run out of our other options.
Christ not only called and equipped you, he has already provided for you as well.
This section in Mark’s Gospel signifies a turning point for Jesus and his disciples. Up to this point, Jesus has been doing and teaching, and they have been following and watching. From this point on, however, Jesus begins to give more responsibility and authority to his disciples. As Jesus commissions them, there are several lessons we can learn about what it means to be his disciples.
First of all, Jesus sent them with his authority to do the work he had already been doing. Jesus gave them “authority over unclean spirits” and they “proclaimed that people should repent” (vs. 7, 13). When we live as disciples of Christ, we do not do it in our own power or ability; we do it as people given the power, wisdom, and work of Christ. We do not end our days by bringing to Jesus our work’s accomplishments for praise and reward. Instead, we begin each day sent out by him to do the work he would be doing if he were living our lives with his power and wisdom.
This implies something else. I cannot imagine I am an effective follower of Jesus Christ if I am not close enough to him to see what he does. I cannot pretend to follow a man I do not know. How I am doing with my time in God’s Word, my time in prayer, the development of spiritual disciplines in my life, will tell me how well I am doing the deeds and speaking the words of Christ.
Secondly, this commissioning gives us insight into what Jesus wants to do with me before I am perfect. If we were to go back through Mark’s Gospel and list the accomplishments of the disciples so far, the list would look something like: they tried to coerce Jesus, they showed a lack of faith in Jesus, they rebuked Jesus, they misunderstood Jesus. I don’t want to paint too grim a picture, but their achievements to date are not all that impressive.
Discipleship is not primarily about my strengths and gifts, but about Christ calling and equipping his followers. The disciples were far from perfect, but the one thing they really did well was follow Jesus. As a result, they were given the responsibility to extend Christ’s ministry through his empowerment long before they became saints.
And third, there are times in life when God ordains it such that the minimum of worldly goods results in the maximum amount of faith. Jesus sent the disciples off with the shirts on their back, their shoes, and staff—no food, no money for food, and no lodging preparations. This means that every step of their journey required absolute trust in Christ. Every meal they ate was a gift from God. Every night with a roof over their head was a gift from God.
When we find ourselves in these seasons of life they may be difficult, but they can be profound. One of the day-to-day roadblocks to trust in God is our trust in everything else we have. We tend to not put faith in Christ because we haven’t yet run out of our other options.
Christ not only called and equipped you, he has already provided for you as well.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Now, Go And Do Likewise: Mark 6:6b
Mark 6:6b
From time to time, the Gospel writers give us insight into Christ’s priorities that come and go so quickly, we are likely not to notice them at all. After Christ is forced out of his hometown of Nazareth, Mark simply tells us that he “went about among the villages teaching.” (See also Matt. 9:35, Mark 6:56, Luke 8:1, Luke 9:6, Luke 13:22.)
Nazareth, we have discovered, was a very small town. The fact that Jesus was born there is the only reason its name was not lost in the dust of history. The reputations of the surrounding tiny country villages were not so lucky--we don’t know their names or locations. What we do know is that Jesus spent time traveling to several of them and teaching the Kingdom of God.
With his disciples in tow, Jesus did in these social nooks and crannies what he did on the seashore of Galilee when thousands of people were watching. When Jesus was crushed by the crowd in Capernum, he taught in their synagogue and performed miracles. When he was with a small group of people in Nazareth and the surrounding countryside, he taught and performed miracles.
Very few of us will ever have a national or international reputation. Very few of us will ever speak to or influence thousands of people on a regular basis. Every one of us, however, does live life as a disciple of Christ among the small circles of our family, our coworkers and our friends. If we add up the number of people we will genuinely influence, that number will be relatively small.
But, according to what Jesus taught his disciples as he lead them from one backwater town to another, he considers that genuine ministry. Jesus spent real time with small groups of people, and he did it with the same program and sincerity he used when surrounded by the crowds. Everyone deserves to hear the truth of the Kingdom of God, and if the news is spread a couple of dozen people at a time, then so be it.
Part of what strikes me as so important in this passage is that it is here, far away from the crowd that Jesus decided to first commission his disciples. Just a few days earlier, they were speaking to and ministering to vast crowds of people who would have followed Jesus wherever they could find him. Jesus could have, at the end of one of those days, turned to his motivated and thrilled disciples and said, “Now, go and do likewise.” Who would not want to answer that call!
Instead of that scene, imagine the disciples frustrated and confused after Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth and a little road-weary from the country village tour. Without the fanfare of the multitude or the exhilaration of mass healings, Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Now, go and do likewise.”
What is important to me as a disciple? Am I looking for influence on a mass scale or recognition from as many people as possible? Or am I convinced that every soul needs to see and hear the good news of Jesus Christ, and that that usually takes place without much publicity? It was important to Jesus. It needs to be important to his disciples.
From time to time, the Gospel writers give us insight into Christ’s priorities that come and go so quickly, we are likely not to notice them at all. After Christ is forced out of his hometown of Nazareth, Mark simply tells us that he “went about among the villages teaching.” (See also Matt. 9:35, Mark 6:56, Luke 8:1, Luke 9:6, Luke 13:22.)
Nazareth, we have discovered, was a very small town. The fact that Jesus was born there is the only reason its name was not lost in the dust of history. The reputations of the surrounding tiny country villages were not so lucky--we don’t know their names or locations. What we do know is that Jesus spent time traveling to several of them and teaching the Kingdom of God.
With his disciples in tow, Jesus did in these social nooks and crannies what he did on the seashore of Galilee when thousands of people were watching. When Jesus was crushed by the crowd in Capernum, he taught in their synagogue and performed miracles. When he was with a small group of people in Nazareth and the surrounding countryside, he taught and performed miracles.
Very few of us will ever have a national or international reputation. Very few of us will ever speak to or influence thousands of people on a regular basis. Every one of us, however, does live life as a disciple of Christ among the small circles of our family, our coworkers and our friends. If we add up the number of people we will genuinely influence, that number will be relatively small.
But, according to what Jesus taught his disciples as he lead them from one backwater town to another, he considers that genuine ministry. Jesus spent real time with small groups of people, and he did it with the same program and sincerity he used when surrounded by the crowds. Everyone deserves to hear the truth of the Kingdom of God, and if the news is spread a couple of dozen people at a time, then so be it.
Part of what strikes me as so important in this passage is that it is here, far away from the crowd that Jesus decided to first commission his disciples. Just a few days earlier, they were speaking to and ministering to vast crowds of people who would have followed Jesus wherever they could find him. Jesus could have, at the end of one of those days, turned to his motivated and thrilled disciples and said, “Now, go and do likewise.” Who would not want to answer that call!
Instead of that scene, imagine the disciples frustrated and confused after Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth and a little road-weary from the country village tour. Without the fanfare of the multitude or the exhilaration of mass healings, Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Now, go and do likewise.”
What is important to me as a disciple? Am I looking for influence on a mass scale or recognition from as many people as possible? Or am I convinced that every soul needs to see and hear the good news of Jesus Christ, and that that usually takes place without much publicity? It was important to Jesus. It needs to be important to his disciples.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
To Be Called By Christ: Mark 1:16-20
Mark 1:16-20
If you lived along the north shore of the Sea of Galilee in the first century chances are you were a devout follower of the God of the Old Testament. Nearly every town, from the important commercial locals like Capernaum to the small hamlets like Bethsaida, had a Synagogue and was accustomed to Rabbis who regularly and faithfully read and taught the Word of God. In fact, you were probably literate. So important was the reading and understanding of the Torah that the Synagogues taught every child how to read, and, up to a point, interpret and understand the books of Moses.
If you showed special aptitude, you were able to continue you schooling with the Rabbis. And at a certain point, if you had the ability and the drive, you were able to leave your family’s trade and study to become a disciple of a Rabbi and finally, a Rabbi yourself. It was an honorable and respected calling, but very few had the ability to follow the schooling that far.
When we are introduced to Christ’s first disciples, we do not meet them in the local graduate program at the feet of the Rabbis. We discover them tending to their nets in the family business. The system of Rabbinical education had turned these guys back to their nets. There was nothing necessarily wrong with any of them, they just were not up to the task of being disciples.
Unless the teacher was Jesus. What does it mean to be called by Jesus to be his disciple?
First of all, it means Jesus initiates the call. The standard path involved young would-be disciples striving and memorizing massive amounts of Scripture to show themselves approved and able to be disciples of the best Rabbis. The only qualification Jesus’ disciples seem to have is his desire for them to be disciples. Any achievement tied to following Christ is subsequent to the call—it is not their achievement that draws Christ to them, it is Christ’s call that draws them into the depths and wonders of the Kingdom of God.
Secondly (and what naturally follows from the first point), anyone can respond to the call. In fact, at one point, Jesus calls a piece of societal scum to follow him (Mark 2:14). Jesus approaches us as people who do not know how much we really need him. In fact, it is only after we have spent some time with him that we really grasp the depth of our need. Being called by Christ does not mean clear and complete comprehension first in order to receive the approval of our Master. It means we press forward in the Kingdom of God in joyous response and discovery because of the unmerited favor Christ showed us by calling us.
Third, we are called to a journey. We all learn step by step what it means to follow Christ, and we learn it together. Jesus did not call a group of isolationist ascetics who would live alone in silent contemplation. These fishermen, tax collectors and merchants would spend the next several years with Christ day and night, and then years more with each other and another generation of disciples.
Jesus did not call a group of followers who already knew what it meant to accurately follow him. Jesus called people to be disciples and discover what it means to reflect him moment by moment, failure by failure, victory by victory.
If you lived along the north shore of the Sea of Galilee in the first century chances are you were a devout follower of the God of the Old Testament. Nearly every town, from the important commercial locals like Capernaum to the small hamlets like Bethsaida, had a Synagogue and was accustomed to Rabbis who regularly and faithfully read and taught the Word of God. In fact, you were probably literate. So important was the reading and understanding of the Torah that the Synagogues taught every child how to read, and, up to a point, interpret and understand the books of Moses.
If you showed special aptitude, you were able to continue you schooling with the Rabbis. And at a certain point, if you had the ability and the drive, you were able to leave your family’s trade and study to become a disciple of a Rabbi and finally, a Rabbi yourself. It was an honorable and respected calling, but very few had the ability to follow the schooling that far.
When we are introduced to Christ’s first disciples, we do not meet them in the local graduate program at the feet of the Rabbis. We discover them tending to their nets in the family business. The system of Rabbinical education had turned these guys back to their nets. There was nothing necessarily wrong with any of them, they just were not up to the task of being disciples.
Unless the teacher was Jesus. What does it mean to be called by Jesus to be his disciple?
First of all, it means Jesus initiates the call. The standard path involved young would-be disciples striving and memorizing massive amounts of Scripture to show themselves approved and able to be disciples of the best Rabbis. The only qualification Jesus’ disciples seem to have is his desire for them to be disciples. Any achievement tied to following Christ is subsequent to the call—it is not their achievement that draws Christ to them, it is Christ’s call that draws them into the depths and wonders of the Kingdom of God.
Secondly (and what naturally follows from the first point), anyone can respond to the call. In fact, at one point, Jesus calls a piece of societal scum to follow him (Mark 2:14). Jesus approaches us as people who do not know how much we really need him. In fact, it is only after we have spent some time with him that we really grasp the depth of our need. Being called by Christ does not mean clear and complete comprehension first in order to receive the approval of our Master. It means we press forward in the Kingdom of God in joyous response and discovery because of the unmerited favor Christ showed us by calling us.
Third, we are called to a journey. We all learn step by step what it means to follow Christ, and we learn it together. Jesus did not call a group of isolationist ascetics who would live alone in silent contemplation. These fishermen, tax collectors and merchants would spend the next several years with Christ day and night, and then years more with each other and another generation of disciples.
Jesus did not call a group of followers who already knew what it meant to accurately follow him. Jesus called people to be disciples and discover what it means to reflect him moment by moment, failure by failure, victory by victory.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Jesus is Always Good News
Mark 1:14-15
Very quickly we find ourselves at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Mark’s Gospel. Mark didn’t take long to lay his groundwork and get into the core of the Message itself, and because there are few long teachings in Mark, this moment is crucial.
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee…” (vs. 14)
The word Mark uses for “arrested” here is not technically the word for arrest, but clearly carries that connotation. In fact, Mark and the rest of the New Testament uses this phrasing several times to refer to believers being “handed over” to authorities to be persecuted and put into prison. In Mark 13:9-12, Jesus forewarns his disciples that they will be handed over because of him. In Acts 8:3, the phrase describes the actions of the great early persecutor, and in Acts 12:4 the apostle James is martyred and Peter is handed over to be put into prison. In addition, Jesus uses this concept of himself and his journey to the cross. In Mark 9:31 he says he will be handed over to the rulers to be crucified, and in Mark 15:15, when his final betrayal is described, Mark says Jesus was “handed over.”
John the Baptist does not just prepare the way for Jesus, he foreshadows Jesus’ life and what will become of the disciples as well. In this way, John is the first to show us what it means to be a disciple. Mark’s readers are Christians who are suffering acute persecution, and many have seen their friend and relatives “handed over” to the Roman authorities to be persecuted and killed for their faith. We often wonder why God’s children suffer, and Mark’s readers are surely asking the same difficult and heart-wrenching questions.
Into this very specific moment of injustice, Christ came preaching the good news of the Gospel:
“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (vs. 14-15)
The word “gospel” here literally translates as “good news.” John has been taken to prison, Mark’s readers suffer under acute persecution, and we often feel bits and pieces of their pain and anguish. And yet, at precisely that moment, Mark tells us Jesus is good news.
Jesus Christ transcends my circumstances. Jesus is good news when life is rich and full of joy, and Jesus is good news when peace is a million miles away. My relationship with Jesus is primary to my circumstances. It is not my current situation that gives meaning to my relationship with Jesus; it is the relationship that gives meaning and hope to my circumstances. The richness and depth in my relationship with Christ does not flow from my state of affairs; it is something that provides grounding and stability in all conditions.
Jesus told me to “seek first the kingdom of God,” and then everything will “be added” to me. Paul told me that the peace Jesus provides “passes all understanding.” And Paul showed me what it meant to say, “I have learned in whatever circumstance to be content.”
May Christ enter your life speaking the good news of God.
Very quickly we find ourselves at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Mark’s Gospel. Mark didn’t take long to lay his groundwork and get into the core of the Message itself, and because there are few long teachings in Mark, this moment is crucial.
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee…” (vs. 14)
The word Mark uses for “arrested” here is not technically the word for arrest, but clearly carries that connotation. In fact, Mark and the rest of the New Testament uses this phrasing several times to refer to believers being “handed over” to authorities to be persecuted and put into prison. In Mark 13:9-12, Jesus forewarns his disciples that they will be handed over because of him. In Acts 8:3, the phrase describes the actions of the great early persecutor, and in Acts 12:4 the apostle James is martyred and Peter is handed over to be put into prison. In addition, Jesus uses this concept of himself and his journey to the cross. In Mark 9:31 he says he will be handed over to the rulers to be crucified, and in Mark 15:15, when his final betrayal is described, Mark says Jesus was “handed over.”
John the Baptist does not just prepare the way for Jesus, he foreshadows Jesus’ life and what will become of the disciples as well. In this way, John is the first to show us what it means to be a disciple. Mark’s readers are Christians who are suffering acute persecution, and many have seen their friend and relatives “handed over” to the Roman authorities to be persecuted and killed for their faith. We often wonder why God’s children suffer, and Mark’s readers are surely asking the same difficult and heart-wrenching questions.
Into this very specific moment of injustice, Christ came preaching the good news of the Gospel:
“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (vs. 14-15)
The word “gospel” here literally translates as “good news.” John has been taken to prison, Mark’s readers suffer under acute persecution, and we often feel bits and pieces of their pain and anguish. And yet, at precisely that moment, Mark tells us Jesus is good news.
Jesus Christ transcends my circumstances. Jesus is good news when life is rich and full of joy, and Jesus is good news when peace is a million miles away. My relationship with Jesus is primary to my circumstances. It is not my current situation that gives meaning to my relationship with Jesus; it is the relationship that gives meaning and hope to my circumstances. The richness and depth in my relationship with Christ does not flow from my state of affairs; it is something that provides grounding and stability in all conditions.
Jesus told me to “seek first the kingdom of God,” and then everything will “be added” to me. Paul told me that the peace Jesus provides “passes all understanding.” And Paul showed me what it meant to say, “I have learned in whatever circumstance to be content.”
May Christ enter your life speaking the good news of God.
Monday, July 16, 2007
John, Jesus, and the Wilderness: Mark 1
Mark 1:4-13
The wilderness breaks people. Over and over in the Old Testament, the wilderness is symbolic of those times when God’s people were at their lowest or where their relationship with God suffered its greatest blow. When Elijah reached the depths of his own depression and anxiety about his future, he put himself out to pasture – he goes to the wilderness to die. Over and over the prophets and psalmists warn God’s people against doing what their forefathers did when they rebelled in the wilderness. And the ultimate example of this theme: after their consistent rebellion during the exodus, God turned his people back into the wilderness until an entire generation was dead and gone. God’s people struggle in the wilderness, they rebel in the wilderness, they die in the wilderness.
But then there came a voice. This one came crying from the wilderness saying the Messiah was on his way. This voice – the voice of John the Baptist - set up his ministry in the middle of the wilderness. What this voice did was baptize people for the cleansing of their sins. And what is more, “All the country of Judah and Jerusalem” went out to the wilderness to be baptized (Mark 1:5).
John’s baptism was unique in its day. Instead of a baptism of initiation into a religion, it was a baptism of repentance for those who already belonged. John’s baptism is a baptism of discipleship. It is powerfully symbolic that John the Baptist drew God’s people out to the wilderness – the location of their greatest failure and rebellion – to be forgiven of their sins and have their hearts and minds turned back to God. The repentance is not just symbolic, it is obvious. John’s sermon was clear, “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).
During this brief story of Mark’s, the scene turns from the masses lined up east of the Jordan to a single man. Jesus traveled to the wilderness to be baptized by John. Why was Jesus baptized? Even John knew who needed to baptize whom, but Jesus persisted (Matt. 3:14-15). Jesus obviously did not need to repent and turn back to God like the masses did, but he was baptized just like they were.
I think the bottom line is that Jesus was baptized because I need to be. He was baptized not for his sin but mine, not for his impending judgment, but mine. Even when I turn my heart and mind back to God, I will, soon enough, fail and need to be “baptized” again. Jesus has no such weaknesses and was baptized once and for all for my sins.
At his baptism, the Spirit of God descends and rests “in” Jesus and God’s voice completes the circle of Trinitarian activity. Those witnessing this event know God is fully and completely present in this Jesus. And then an interesting move. Instead of sending Jesus into Judah with the masses in tow, the Spirit has a different task for the Messiah.
“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” (vs. 12)
The same Spirit that was part of the beauty and glory of the baptism is the driving force behind his forty days in the wilderness.
Mark wants us to know something about what is happening now that Jesus is here. John the Baptist came in the wilderness baptizing people for the cleansing of their sins, but even John knew it was just a washing of the outside. Then the Messiah is himself baptized in the wilderness, and driven even further into the desert to be tempted by the enemy – and ultimately, to defeat him. Jesus exited the wilderness victorious.
That thing that overwhelms me 100% of the time, that nature that is constantly at my side separating me from my God, has been defeated by the Messiah. In Christ, the wilderness no longer needs to break me.
The wilderness breaks people. Over and over in the Old Testament, the wilderness is symbolic of those times when God’s people were at their lowest or where their relationship with God suffered its greatest blow. When Elijah reached the depths of his own depression and anxiety about his future, he put himself out to pasture – he goes to the wilderness to die. Over and over the prophets and psalmists warn God’s people against doing what their forefathers did when they rebelled in the wilderness. And the ultimate example of this theme: after their consistent rebellion during the exodus, God turned his people back into the wilderness until an entire generation was dead and gone. God’s people struggle in the wilderness, they rebel in the wilderness, they die in the wilderness.
But then there came a voice. This one came crying from the wilderness saying the Messiah was on his way. This voice – the voice of John the Baptist - set up his ministry in the middle of the wilderness. What this voice did was baptize people for the cleansing of their sins. And what is more, “All the country of Judah and Jerusalem” went out to the wilderness to be baptized (Mark 1:5).
John’s baptism was unique in its day. Instead of a baptism of initiation into a religion, it was a baptism of repentance for those who already belonged. John’s baptism is a baptism of discipleship. It is powerfully symbolic that John the Baptist drew God’s people out to the wilderness – the location of their greatest failure and rebellion – to be forgiven of their sins and have their hearts and minds turned back to God. The repentance is not just symbolic, it is obvious. John’s sermon was clear, “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).
During this brief story of Mark’s, the scene turns from the masses lined up east of the Jordan to a single man. Jesus traveled to the wilderness to be baptized by John. Why was Jesus baptized? Even John knew who needed to baptize whom, but Jesus persisted (Matt. 3:14-15). Jesus obviously did not need to repent and turn back to God like the masses did, but he was baptized just like they were.
I think the bottom line is that Jesus was baptized because I need to be. He was baptized not for his sin but mine, not for his impending judgment, but mine. Even when I turn my heart and mind back to God, I will, soon enough, fail and need to be “baptized” again. Jesus has no such weaknesses and was baptized once and for all for my sins.
At his baptism, the Spirit of God descends and rests “in” Jesus and God’s voice completes the circle of Trinitarian activity. Those witnessing this event know God is fully and completely present in this Jesus. And then an interesting move. Instead of sending Jesus into Judah with the masses in tow, the Spirit has a different task for the Messiah.
“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” (vs. 12)
The same Spirit that was part of the beauty and glory of the baptism is the driving force behind his forty days in the wilderness.
Mark wants us to know something about what is happening now that Jesus is here. John the Baptist came in the wilderness baptizing people for the cleansing of their sins, but even John knew it was just a washing of the outside. Then the Messiah is himself baptized in the wilderness, and driven even further into the desert to be tempted by the enemy – and ultimately, to defeat him. Jesus exited the wilderness victorious.
That thing that overwhelms me 100% of the time, that nature that is constantly at my side separating me from my God, has been defeated by the Messiah. In Christ, the wilderness no longer needs to break me.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Mark: Jesus - Servant, Savior, Sovereign
Mark
The verse that is almost universally acknowledged to be a kind of thematic capsule of Mark’s Gospel is 10:45:
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
If you read through the first nine chapters and came across this verse, you would not be surprised. Mark is a Gospel of action—the action of the Son of God among God’s people. Mark does not portray Christ through several long teachings, but through his action. There are parables in Mark, but they are all short. By the time the reader is settled into the first chapter, Mark is already into the life and deeds of Jesus. The word “immediately” shows up more than 40 times in this short Gospel. And though it is significantly shorter than every other Gospel, Mark records more miracles.
It is true - Mark wants us to know that God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, came to serve.
Jesus Christ also came to give his life so that we might live. As The Message puts it, Jesus came, “to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.” A full half of the Gospel is dedicated to Jesus’ journey to the cross. In the middle of chapter 8, Jesus begins to make his way to Jerusalem in the last physical journey he will take with his disciples. Mark devotes a great deal of time and space revealing to us how Christ walked to the cross, and what it means to follow him there.
When we picture Roman persecution of Christians, the images we conjure up are typically dominated by mass arrests and innocent families in the Coliseum preparing to meet the wild beasts. Those images represent a small fraction of the actual persecutions of the early church, but Mark writes to the Christians who do represent that persecution. Nero burned Rome to the ground, and in an effort to curry favor with the angry masses, turned their hatred on a common enemy, the despised and misunderstood Christians. During this persecution the Christians who were not driven into the catacombs were arrested in droves and tortured to turn in their fellow believers. As the Roman historian Tacitus put it, “their deaths were made farcical.” They were dressed in animal skins and torn to pieces by wild beasts; they were crucified; they were turned into torches to light Nero’s garden by night.
Jesus not only came to serve, he came to be the Suffering Servant. Jesus willingly walked into Jerusalem toward the cross so that in this life and the next we might live.
There is one more element that is crucial to the purpose of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus is not only the Suffering Servant, he is sovereign. Jesus is never out of control of events and their consequences. The Son of Man has power over sickness, disease and death, and the cross does not take him by surprise.
The cross is not a moment of failure for Jesus, but the defining event of his sovereignty. Even that level of hatred and suffering does not diminish the power of a savior who came to serve and give his life so that I might live.
The verse that is almost universally acknowledged to be a kind of thematic capsule of Mark’s Gospel is 10:45:
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
If you read through the first nine chapters and came across this verse, you would not be surprised. Mark is a Gospel of action—the action of the Son of God among God’s people. Mark does not portray Christ through several long teachings, but through his action. There are parables in Mark, but they are all short. By the time the reader is settled into the first chapter, Mark is already into the life and deeds of Jesus. The word “immediately” shows up more than 40 times in this short Gospel. And though it is significantly shorter than every other Gospel, Mark records more miracles.
It is true - Mark wants us to know that God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, came to serve.
Jesus Christ also came to give his life so that we might live. As The Message puts it, Jesus came, “to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.” A full half of the Gospel is dedicated to Jesus’ journey to the cross. In the middle of chapter 8, Jesus begins to make his way to Jerusalem in the last physical journey he will take with his disciples. Mark devotes a great deal of time and space revealing to us how Christ walked to the cross, and what it means to follow him there.
When we picture Roman persecution of Christians, the images we conjure up are typically dominated by mass arrests and innocent families in the Coliseum preparing to meet the wild beasts. Those images represent a small fraction of the actual persecutions of the early church, but Mark writes to the Christians who do represent that persecution. Nero burned Rome to the ground, and in an effort to curry favor with the angry masses, turned their hatred on a common enemy, the despised and misunderstood Christians. During this persecution the Christians who were not driven into the catacombs were arrested in droves and tortured to turn in their fellow believers. As the Roman historian Tacitus put it, “their deaths were made farcical.” They were dressed in animal skins and torn to pieces by wild beasts; they were crucified; they were turned into torches to light Nero’s garden by night.
Jesus not only came to serve, he came to be the Suffering Servant. Jesus willingly walked into Jerusalem toward the cross so that in this life and the next we might live.
There is one more element that is crucial to the purpose of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus is not only the Suffering Servant, he is sovereign. Jesus is never out of control of events and their consequences. The Son of Man has power over sickness, disease and death, and the cross does not take him by surprise.
The cross is not a moment of failure for Jesus, but the defining event of his sovereignty. Even that level of hatred and suffering does not diminish the power of a savior who came to serve and give his life so that I might live.
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