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Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
This lesson began with prayer, as always, and then some concluding thoughts on Mark 10:46-52, the healing of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. He was one of those we heard about last week who was “last” in the eyes of the world, and yet “first” in the eyes of Jesus, as Jesus healed him physically and gave him the eyes of faith and made him a follower of Him. The man twice called Jesus the “Son of David," one of those terms for the promised Savior, coming from the line of King David. See Matthew 12:22-23, where another blind and mute demon-oppressed man was healed, and people wondered if Jesus could be the “Son of David," but are not sure.
Bartimaeus was sure who Jesus was. This was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy about Jesus. See Isaiah 35:4-5, where God “comes and saves” in the Person of Jesus, and “the eyes of the blind shall be opened.” See also John 9, where another man, blind from birth, was healed by Jesus and came to faith in Him. Jesus then taught that this man had the eyes of true faith, while many others, including some of Pharisees, were spiritually blind, even though they said, “We see” (John 9, but especially v. 35-41).
Mark Chapter 11 starts with the story of what we now call Palm Sunday, the beginning of the last week of Jesus’ life. Mark spends a third of his Gospel telling of this week, because of what Jesus taught and then did, with the centrality of His death and resurrection for the salvation of the world, including us. Jesus drew near to Jerusalem and then sent two of His disciples to find a colt, a young mule never before ridden, and bring it to Him. If people questioned them, they were to say, “The Lord has need of it" and they would be allowed to take it. All happened just as Jesus had said. “What Jesus has said” was enough (Mark 11:1-6).
This was in fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. Jesus would ride into Jerusalem in a humble and lowly way, on a donkey, though He was the “King of kings.” (See Matthew 11:29 and Revelation 1:5 and 17:14 and 19:16.) There was Old Testament precedence for this, too, as both the great King David and his son, King Solomon, rode on mules, rather than mighty horses (1 Kings 1:33).
Jesus rode into Jerusalem, then, on a donkey, and the people made a royal carpet for him with their own cloaks and leafy branches, including palm branches. We see examples of this in the Old Testament. See 2 Kings 9:13 and the royal carpet made for King Jehu. Notice that branches of palm trees and other leafy trees were to be carried by people during festival events (Leviticus 23:40); and some carried palm branches as they entered Jerusalem for the Passover festival, too. Many churches still use palm branches on Palm Sunday because of all this. See Revelation 7:9, as well, where John sees a vision of an innumerable group of believers in heaven, holding palm branches and singing praises to the Lord and the Lamb, Jesus.
People also sang psalms, the hymnbook of Jews, as they went up to Jerusalem for Passover. Especially they sang Hallel (praise) psalms 113-118. They were quoting from Psalm 118:25-26 as they shouted, “Hosannah! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosannah” means in Hebrew, “Lord, save us!” The unique thing about this Palm Sunday was that the praises were directed toward Jesus, as He came into Jerusalem. The people were correct. Jesus was the Savior King; but they did not really understand what kind of King He would be - the Servant, suffering and dying for them (Mark 11:7-10).
When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, He went to the temple and “looked around at everything” and certainly saw the chaotic situation in part of the temple, as we will hear (Mark 11:11). This visit and what happened the next day were in fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi 3: 1-4, that the Lord Himself would suddenly come to the temple and do “purifying."
Jesus then went back out of Jerusalem to Bethany for the evening (Mark 11:11). This was likely a trip to the home of Lazarus and Mary and Martha. See John 12:1-3. Most likely, Jesus returned to Bethany each evening of this last week until Thursday, when he was arrested.
On Monday of what we now call Holy Week, Jesus returned to Jerusalem and saw on the way a fig tree with many leaves. It was not the season for ripe figs, but but there could have been unpicked figs from earlier or at least the evidence of new figs forming; but there was nothing on the tree but leaves. Jesus then said that this tree would never again bear fruit, because it was already unfruitful (Mark 11:12-14).
Skip ahead to Mark 11:20-22 for a moment. As the disciples passed the tree the next morning, they found it to be totally withered away down to its roots. “Peter remembered” that, as he said, Jesus had “cursed” that tree and it died in a day. Jesus simply responded, “Have faith in God." Jesus rarely used His power for destructive things; but this was a dramatic warning that without faith in God and His plan for rescuing the world through Jesus, people and Jerusalem and even the temple would be “unfruitful” and would end up just like the unfruitful fig tree, in judgment and destruction.
In between the two episodes of the fig tree is the story of Jesus visiting the temple in Jerusalem again, and this, time reacting to the chaos in the “Court of the Gentiles” where people were buying and selling animals and birds, and being “money changers” and even just passing through this part of the temple as a shortcut to get into Jerusalem. He chased people out and upset their tables and chairs and sought to stop people from cutting through the temple, when they had no intention of actually worshipping there (Mark 11:15-16).
There was a need for animals for sacrifices that people made in the temple. Many people came a long distance for Passover and could not bring animals with them and would need to purchase animals. There were also temple taxes to pay and offerings to be made. The Jewish authorities also required a special kind of temple money to be used for these purposes - money with no images on it, following rules about no “graven images." Roman money and other money had to be exchanged into temple money then, and the money changers, too, served a purpose.
The problem was in the Jewish authorities allowing all this activity to be happening right inside the temple itself, in the only area where non-Jews (Gentiles) were allowed to come and pray and worship. Imagine if you had to try to worship in such a noisy chaotic situation. Such activities should have been allowed only in areas entirely outside the temple.
Jesus cleaned out the temple merchandisers and then began to teach, using Old Testament Scriptures about this situation. He quoted from Isaiah 56:7, that the temple was to be “a house of prayer for all the nations.” Non-Jews should also be welcome and able to concentrate on worship.
The second quotation of Jesus indicated that dishonest practices were going on, too, in the sales and money changing. People were being cheated and taken advantage of by “a den of robbers”; and too many of the Jews were just going through motions in their worship, without sincere faith in the Lord. Read what God accused His own people of in Jeremiah 7:8-11, including much evil and worship of false gods and then showing up at the temple in Jerusalem and claiming they were “delivered” by the God of Israel (Mark 11:17).
When the Jewish authorities heard of what Jesus did, there was no repentance on their part. They just wanted all the more to destroy Jesus. They feared Him and the way He contradicted them and what they said and did. Jesus again left the temple and Jerusalem that evening (Mark 11:18-19).
Jesus also taught His disciples on Tuesday, after they had seen the withered fig tree, about the importance of having “faith in God” and His Word, over any human authorities (Mark 11:22). He also taught the disciples to trust that prayer is important and to pray confidently, knowing that God does hear and answer prayers (Mark 11:23-24). He said this very strongly, as James does in James 5:15-18, when he speaks of “the prayer of faith” and the “great power at work” in prayer. This has to be understood, of course, in the context of other Scriptures which also remind us, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” And as Jesus prayed, we pray, “Let not what I will, but what You will, be done”(Mark 14:36). God always knows what is best for us and others, as He answers prayer.
Jesus also taught His disciples to pray with a forgiving heart. As we wish God to forgive us our sins, by His grace, how can we withhold that forgiveness from others? Sometimes it is very hard to forgive, but we pray for God’s help to do so with others, too. Jesus taught the same in the Lord’s Prayer and in other places. Though His suffering and death were drawing close and closer, Jesus still cared about others and their needs and kept teaching them and us what we need to hear. May the Lord help us to be good listeners!
Our study for this week stopped here; but you can read ahead if you have time, and note that the priests and scribes and elders were ready to challenge Jesus and His authority again the next day, as Chapter 11 of Mark ends, because of what He had been doing, especially in the temple the day before. Who does he think he is, acting that way, they thought.
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered June 10, 2012
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
As this lesson begins, with Mark 10:32-34, Jesus was headed for Jerusalem and the suffering and death that He has predicted clearly twice before, and indirectly, even more times. Yet He was walking ahead of the disciples, leading the way. The disciples were both amazed and afraid - amazed at His courage and afraid of what might really happen, though they still did not understand it all. Jesus then took them aside again and for the third time clearly told them what would happen to Him very soon. This time, He added that the religious leaders would both condemn Him to die and “deliver Him over to the Gentiles,” who would also treat him terribly and kill Him. The Gentiles (non-Jews) who were ruling in the land were the Romans. The Romans were not allowed to put a Roman citizen to death by crucifixion, but they often executed others by crucifixion, as a very public way of warning people not to oppose Roman authority. Though He did not use the word, Jesus was warning His disciples that death, even by crucifixion, was coming for Him. And He also added, as before, the prediction of His resurrection.
The disciples still did not get what Jesus was telling them, though. They were not thinking about Jesus and the terrible trouble coming, but about themselves and their own wishes and desires, as the verses which follow indicate. They should have been praying for Jesus and for strength for Him, but they were not. James and John approached Jesus with a question (and other Gospels indicate that their mother was involved in this, too, in speaking with Him). They said, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” They wanted what they wanted, even before telling Jesus their request. They wanted the best spots, right next to Jesus, in His coming glory. These would be the spots of highest honor for themselves. Jesus was talking about suffering and the cross, and they were wanting personal glory for themselves (Mark 10:35-37).
This is almost the same situation that Jesus had already dealt with in Mark 9:33-37, when the disciples were arguing about which of them was “the greatest.” Read those verses again and the words of Jesus that those “first” in God’s kingdom are to be “last of all and servants of all,” even willing to serve little children. Jesus almost repeated these same words in Mark 10:42-44, as He taught again the contrast between greatness in this world (“lording it over” others and “exercising authority over” them) and greatness in God’s kingdom (“serving” others and being “first” by being a “slave of all”).
This “serving” could also mean suffering and sacrifice for the disciples, if they were to stay close to Jesus and follow in His steps. James and John did not understand this at this point. Jesus spoke of this in Mark 10:38-39. He described “the cup “He was soon going to “have to drink." This is an Old Testament picture image of the cup of God’s wrath that people deserved to and would have to drink because of their continual sin and rebellion against God. (See passages like Psalm 75:7-8 and Isaiah 51:17. Note that God could also take away the cup of wrath, in His mercy, in Isaiah 51:22). Jesus would soon have to drink that “cup” of suffering for His disciples and for us and the whole world, in what he would suffer on the cross in our place, as the punishment we deserved for our sins (Matthew 26:38-39).
Jesus used another picture image of that suffering. too, “as a baptism with which He would be baptized” (Mark 10:38). This is not the baptism with water and the Spirit, with which we are baptized to bring us forgiveness and new life as Christians (John 3:3-6 and Acts 2:38-39). This was a baptism of suffering in payment for our sins, as described in Luke 12:50. Jesus predicted that James and John would also eventually go through some suffering in this life, as disciples who followed Jesus (Mark 10:39). (See what happened to James in Acts 12:1-2 and to John in exile for his faith in Jesus in Revelation 1:9.)
When the other disciples heard what James and John had asked for, they were angry and jealous, too, as if they all thought they deserved the best spots, close to Jesus, instead of James and John (Mark 10:41). Jesus had to teach them all again about being “first” in service, as we have already heard (Mark 10:42-44). (Remember that Jesus had already been preparing all the disciples for times of suffering and trouble, as His followers. Look again at Mark 8:34-35 and Mark 10:29-30, where there will be many blessings, but also “persecutions” for Christians. See also John 12:23-26 and Romans 8:16-17.)
All of this also takes us back to the statement of Jesus in Mark 10:31, which has not yet been discussed: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Jesus used words like this in other contexts, too. See Matthew 20:16 and Luke 13:30, for example.
The basic point is that in the Kingdom of God what is most important is trust in God and His Word and promises, centered in Jesus our Savior, and seeking to follow Him in faith. What won’t matter, on the last day, is how much wealth and power and honor we have had in the eyes of this world and culture or our nationality or so many other things that seem so important, right now. Many who seem so “high and mighty and first” in this world may not turn out to be so in God’s eyes.
Last week we heard of the dangers of wealth, for example, because it is so easy to put our trust in ourselves and what we have and do, instead of in our Lord. On the other hand, the Scriptures do say that people who are wealthy can keep the right perspective, as they are led by the Lord and His will. See, for example, 1 Timothy 6:17-19.
In the Mark 10 context, Jesus also seemed to be warning Peter and the other disciples (and us) not to focus on our own Christian piety and what we have done for the Lord, looking for rewards for that. Remember Peter’s comment about what he and others had given up for Jesus (Mark 10:28), with the implication that that ought to have earned special favor with God - and all their arguments about who was the “greatest” in God’s kingdom. Jesus had also just said that it is impossible for any of us to be saved by our own efforts and that it is only through God and His mercy and grace that we can be saved (Mark 10:26-27). Jesus taught, on another occasion, “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have only done what was our duty’” (Luke 17:10). We can never do enough to earn our way with God. We all fall short and are still unworthy sinners, if trusting in ourselves (Romans 3:19-24).
This all brings us to the final words of Jesus in Mark 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.” When Jesus died on the cross, He looked, in the eyes of most around Him, to be “last” - a common criminal being executed by the legal authority of the powerful Roman and Jewish authorities of that day. He died with little or nothing that counted as important in the world. Yet He was serving us all and paying the “ransom” price for us and our sins. We were captive to sin and evil, left on our own, never worthy enough; but Jesus paid the price to set us free and give us new life.
The day He died, Jesus looked like a “loser." Yet He was actually the Savior of the world in His death and as He rose in victory from the dead on the third day. We are counted “worthy” through Jesus only. That is what we will be seeing, in the final chapters of the Gospel of Mark.
The final verses of Mark 10 tell the story of a blind beggar whom Jesus healed, as He drew closer to Jerusalem (Mark 10:46-52). We have heard of the spiritual blindness of so many, including the disciples of Jesus themselves, on some issues. It is a reminder of our own spiritual “blindness” at times, and how much there is still to learn from our Lord and His Word. In contrast, the blind beggar called Jesus “the Son of David," the promised Savior, as He actually was, and kept asking just for His mercy. When he was healed by Jesus and could see, he showed his trust in Jesus by “following Him” right away “on the way.” He was one of the “least important” people among the crowds, who just tried to shut him up. But he was important to Jesus and received His mercy and new life and the gift of faith.
We will talk about this story a bit more next week and then move on to the last week of Jesus life, beginning in Mark 11. Notice how almost a third of the Gospel of Mark focuses just on these last days of Jesus, in and around Jerusalem. It is His work of “ransoming” us and the world.
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Sermon for Trinity Sunday, based on:
Sermon originally delivered June 3, 2012
Monday May 24, 2021
Monday May 24, 2021
This week’s lesson contains some of the most important teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. We began with more comments on Mark 10:13-16. People were bringing children to Jesus for a blessing, and the disciples were trying to keep them away. Maybe they thought Jesus was too busy to be bothered with children or that children were not that important to Him. Jesus was very upset and said, “Let the children come to Me... for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Mark 10:13-14).
Some churches and groups believe that children are sweet and innocent and sinless, or at least are not responsible for any sins until they are older. They are therefore automatically eligible for and belong in heaven. There was a book series some years ago, Left Behind, where all the children on earth were suddenly raptured directly into heaven.
This idea is not at all what Jesus means in this passage. The Scriptures teach that ever since the fall of the first people into sin, everyone is conceived and born in sin and has a sinful nature. See passages like Genesis 6:5 and Psalm 51:5 and Ephesians 2:1-3.
That is why Jesus said that everyone needs to be born again, born from above, in order to enter the Kingdom of God. That new spiritual birth is a gift from God and comes by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and by the Word connected with water in baptism. See John 3:3-6 and 1 Peter 1:23, for example. Baptism is the means by which little children, as well as older children and adults, can receive that new birth - and they need it, too. See the promise of Acts 2:38-39, for example.
What Jesus is really emphasizing in this passage is in Mark 10:15. We receive the Kingdom of God as a gift, by simple childlike faith. There are many things little children cannot do for themselves. They are dependent and trusting and simply receive most things. The Kingdom of God is also received by God’s grace and not earned by our work and efforts. Jesus showed His care and concern for the children, too, by picking them up and personally blessing them (Mark 10:16). We are thus reminded that children are important to our Lord and need to be baptized and taught and spiritually cared for.
We see what Jesus is saying even more clearly in the verses that follow. Jesus was journeying closer to Jerusalem, with the last week of His life coming in Mark 11. A man then ran up to Him and knelt before Him, with a question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He was a typical Jewish man of his time and was thinking about himself and his own efforts to make himself acceptable to God (Mark 10:17).
Jesus replied with His own question, as He often did. “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” Jesus was actually good, perfectly good, as the sinless Son of God and a true man, the only person without sin (Mark 10:18). (See also Hebrews 4:14-15, for example.) The man did not realize this, though, and was focused only on his own goodness and what he needed to do. Jesus then listed many of the 10 Commandments, focusing upon those having to do with life with other human beings.
The man knew these commandments and quickly responded, “Teacher, all these I have kept since my youth" (Mark10:20). Like many Jews, he focused on the literal letter of the laws. If one had not literally killed someone or committed actual adultery with someone, then he was acceptable to God and had kept those commandments. Jesus had taught, as the Son of God, that these commandments meant much more. One could break these commandments by thoughts and words, too, that harmed others. And everyone does in some ways. (See Matthew 5:21-28, for example, and Matthew 5:48. See also Galatians 3:10 and James 2:10 and the blunt words of James in James 3:2.)
Jesus loved this man and wanted him to know the truth about himself and his real spiritual weaknesses and sins. He focused then on commandments having to do with coveting and having another “god,” something more important than the one true God. Jesus told him, “You lack one thing; go sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Jesus knew that this was a rich man and that his actual “god” was his great possessions. He would not come and follow Jesus or his Heavenly Father, unless He was willing to put God above all his wealth and possessions. The man was shocked and dismayed by what Jesus said, and he went away sorrowful (Mark 10:21-22). Maybe at some point he woke up and realized what Jesus was telling him; but at this point, he was not about to give up his possessions, no matter what. His wealth was the barrier to the really important thing - following Jesus in faith. He was a sinner, much more than he realized.
Jesus went on, then, to tell His disciples how difficult it was for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Other Scriptures say the same thing about the danger of riches. Jesus had given the same warning earlier in Mark 4:18-19, in the parable of the sower and seeds that fell among thorns. See also James 2:5-6 and James 5:1-6.) The disciples were shocked and amazed. The general Jewish attitude was that if you were rich, you must be good and are being blessed by God.
Jesus went on to say that it was easier for a camel (the largest animal around those parts at the time) to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. That was clearly an impossible situation. Jesus went even farther in adding, “Children, how difficult it is (period!) to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23-25). For anyone!
The disciples were “exceedingly astonished” and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible.” It is impossible to save ourselves by our own works and efforts, no matter what we do. If wealth is not a problem, then some other weaknesses in us would be and are. “All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). (Read also Romans 3:9-20.) It is a hopeless situation for us all, left on our own. There is nothing we can do for ourselves to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:26-27).
But then Jesus added, “With man, it is impossible to be saved - but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). What we cannot do, God has done for us, in Jesus and His saving work for us. And the Holy Spirit then comes to us and gives us the gift of faith in Him by His grace, through the Word of God and Baptism. (For more on this, listen to the latest sermon posted on the podcast site, based on John 15:26-27 and 16:4-15 for Pentecost. You can also read Ephesians 2:1-10.)
And we receive this good news with childlike faith in God’s work and His promises. (Other Scriptures that speak of the fact that with God nothing is impossible are: Genesis 18:14, Job 42:2, Jeremiah 32:17,27 and Luke 1:37. Jesus also prayed in Mark 14:36, knowing that all things are possible with God, but that His Heavenly Father’s will must happen, not our will and desires.)
Peter heard all this and began to say, “See, we have left everything and followed You.” He seems to have been ready to add, “We did what you asked the rich man to do. What reward do we get?” (Mark 10:28). He was still thinking in terms of what he and the others would do and what they would earn from God. He was missing the point Jesus was making - salvation by grace as an undeserved gift of God.
Jesus went on to say that blessings would come, by God’s mercy, for those who trusted in Him and in the Gospel. They would come through the church, the family of Christian believers. Persecutions would also come to them; but by God’s grace they would also receive eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).
We will see more of how this all works out in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, we trust, not ourselves and our efforts, but God and His work in Jesus. It is not, ”What must I do?” but “What has Jesus done for me?” With Him, our future is secure, now and into eternity.
Sunday May 23, 2021
Sunday May 23, 2021
Monday May 17, 2021
Monday May 17, 2021
Last week’s study ended with Jesus telling his disciples once again that He had to be killed and three days later He would rise. And the reaction of the disciples was: “They did not understand the saying and were afraid to ask Him” about it (Mark 9:30-32).
This lack of understanding is very clear in the verses which follow. Jesus and the disciples went back to Capernaum, and Jesus asked them what they had been discussing along the way. They kept silent, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. Maybe this argument came because some of the disciples were jealous that Jesus had taken only Peter, James, and John to the Transfiguration event, and as Jesus had directed (Mark 9:9), no one was saying what had happened. Or maybe there was trouble because the disciples had just failed to cast out the evil spirit from the boy in Mark 9:16-18. Whose fault was it? Could some have done better than others? Who was better and greater than others (Mark 9:33-34)?
We read that Jesus sat down and called the disciples to Him for a serious talk. In the Kingdom of God, Jesus said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). The goal is not personal greatness, but service to others. Jesus Himself was the best example of that. He was willing to sacrifice everything, even His life, for the sake of others. He was willing to be “last,” dying like a criminal for the sins and failings of everyone else in the world, in order to bring forgiveness for them, though they and we did not deserve it.
Jesus then took a small child and set him in the midst of them and picked him up in His arms. Receiving and serving and helping even a little child in Jesus’ name is a “great” service, Jesus was saying - and then it was as if one were serving and receiving Jesus Himself and God the Father, Who sent Him to be our Servant Savior (Mark 9:36-37). (This is why Martin Luther emphasized that we can have different vocations or “callings” in this life, and all can be important service to God and others. Being a good parent and helping a child is a great thing, even when getting a child a drink of water, as we shall soon see. The same is true for being a teacher or doing our work well, whatever it is, in a way that serves and helps others. Greatness is not in trying to make ourselves look better than others or be above others, for the sake of personal gain.)
Again, the disciples did not seem to get what Jesus was teaching. John soon brought up the issue of someone else casting out demons in the name of Jesus. This person was not even one of the close disciples following Jesus. How dare he do that! And they tried to stop him, as if he were stealing from their power and authority and honor. Jesus replied with the opposite view. “Do not stop him.”
This must have been a person who had seen and heard Jesus and His disciples and trusted the power of Jesus and wanted to help battle Satan and evil in Jesus name. Such a person would not quickly turn to oppose Jesus. He was doing some good, and even the smallest good was a blessing, even it was just giving a a cup of cold water to someone, because of a relationship to Christ, as Jesus went on to explain (Mark 9:39-41).
This is somewhat like what Paul talked about in Philippians 1:12-19. He rejoiced that the good news of Jesus was spread, even if not always with the best of motivations or even as a result of persecution. Jesus is not talking about people who try to use the power of God for personal gain or try to earn or buy God’s power in some way. (See the bad examples of Simon the Magician in Acts 8:9-24 or the sons of Sceva in Acts 19:13-16.)
Jesus went on, in Mark 9:42 and following, to warn about the seriousness of leading ourselves or others astray, away from trust in Him and His will. Jesus began with the example of a very little child (literally, a “micron”) who believes in Him. How terrible it would be to cause such a little one to sin (literally, to stumble and fall, away from the Lord). It would be better, Jesus said, in a very dramatic way, for a person to die before leading someone astray, away from the faith (Mark 9:42).
These words remind us that even small children can receive the gift of faith and believe. That is one of the reason we practice infant baptism, as well as baptism for older children and adults. God can give that gift of faith to anyone of any age. The promises of baptism are “for you and for your children and for all who are far off” (Acts 2:38). How important it is to teach and strengthen baptized children or adults, then, with the Word of God and encourage them in faith in Jesus.
Likewise, Jesus went on to say how important it is to battle sins and evil in our own lives, before they cause us to stumble in sin and fall away from faith. He used very dramatic language here, too. He is not literally calling us to cut off feet or hands, etc. We heard Jesus already teaching that evil does not come from our hands or feet, but from within, from our sinful nature and hearts (Mark 7:20-23). We can use our hands to do evil, stealing or hurting others or doing other harmful things. We can use our feet to go places that are dangerous or harmful for us. Our eyes can read or look upon things that encourage evil or lustful desires. We need, with God’s power, to battle against such temptations to evil of all kinds, or we could lose our faith and end up not in heaven, in eternal “life," but in hell (Mark 9:43-48).
Jesus is actually the one who speaks more about hell than anyone else in the Bible. He does not want anyone to go there. He is the Savior who rescues us from sin, eternal death, and hell. Yet, He warns that people can resist and reject Him and His gracious gifts of life earned for us. Here, hell is described as unquenchable fire, and the picture image of “gehenna” is used. This is a reference to the Valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where there was a huge garbage dump, which was continually on fire.
In earlier times, some of God’s people went so far astray that they worshipped false gods and even sacrificed their children, burned them for these gods in this valley. (See Jeremiah 7:31-32 and warnings about judgment and unquenchable fire (v.20, 32, etc.) King Josiah also brought reforms, trying to stop what had happened in that valley, in 2 Kings 23: 9-10.) This area eventually became the garbage dump of Gehenna, a symbol of hell. See also the Old Testament passage that Jesus quoted from Isaiah 66:24, describing hell as a place where “their worm shall not die and their fire shall not be quenched” (Mark 9:43-48).
Jesus gave all these warnings, because He wanted no one to end up in hell, by rejecting Him and His saving work for the world. Jesus went on to speak of "salt" that He provides to preserve and protect His believers who trust in Him. “Have salt in yourselves," Jesus said. As every Old Testament grain offering needed to be salted, as a sign of “the salt of the covenant with your God” (Leviticus 2:13) and as a preservative, so also we need the preserving gifts of God to keep us in faith in Christ.
In the New Testament we think of the Word of God and the blessings of our baptism and the Lord’s Supper, by which the Holy Spirit brings us to faith but also keeps us in the faith. We can then be “salt” to the world around us, as witnesses for Jesus. (Mark 9:50. See also Matthew 5:13 and Colossians 4:5-6.)
Jesus added the idea that we can also be “salted with fire” (Mark 9:49). This is a reference not to the fire of hell, but to the fire of trials and troubles we might suffer in our lives as believers. These troubles can also be a means by which our faith can be strengthened and purified, over time, as we live our lives for our Lord. (See what Peter says in 1 Peter 1:3-7, and the words of James 1:2-4 and Romans 5:3-5.) Finally, Jesus ended these words to His disciples by calling them to “be at peace with one another" instead of having arguments and disagreement with one another, in Mark 9:33-34.
As Mark 10 begins, Jesus was traveling toward Judea and His ultimate suffering and death and resurrection, around Jerusalem. Wherever He went, crowds gathered and “He taught them, as was His custom.” He taught God’s Word wherever He could, as long as He could.
Very quickly, Jesus was also confronted again by Pharisees, who “tested” Him by the question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” This was likely a kind of trap for Him, no matter how He answered the question. If He said “Yes," they could accuse Him of approving of divorce and being too liberal in His views, like the Sadducees. If he said “No," they could say He was rejecting Moses and his allowing for divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1.
Jesus knew what they were trying to do, and He asked them a question of His own instead: “What did Moses command you?” They quote the Deuteronomy passage. Jesus then had the chance to explain that it was only because of sin and hardness of heart, that Moses gave the command about divorce, “putting away” one’s spouse, in some circumstances (Mark 10:2-5).
Moses had written the whole first five books of the Old Testament by inspiration of God, and Jesus then quoted God’s original command, given early in Genesis, through Moses, about marriage. God made the first two people, one a male and the other a female, and brought them together in marriage (Genesis 1:27 and 2 :24). There were only two genders, and the male was to marry the female. Jesus quoted these passages from Genesis. As the Son of God, He was there at the creation and involved in all this, and knew what this meant. So Jesus added the word of explanation. “What therefore God has joined together, let man not separate.” This was the original high standard that God had for marriage, and Jesus supported and emphasized that (Mark 10:6-9).
Later, the disciples asked Jesus about this issue again. Jesus repeated His high view of marriage and His desire that marriage commitment not be broken (Mark 10:10-11). (Jesus obviously also knew of the reality of sin and “hardness of heart” and that not every marriage would work as intended by God. There are some grounds for divorce allowed in Scripture, and Jesus also taught the forgiveness of sins. If you want to pursue this more, there is more discussion of this in an earlier podcast on the Book of Malachi, Chapter 2.)
This study ends with Mark 10:13-16. The disciples again were not listening very closely to Jesus. They tried to keep parents from bringing children to Jesus for a blessing, as if He would not want to be bothered by children. Jesus was “indignant” and insisted that they “let the children come to Me, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” In fact, He said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” We will talk more about what this means next week and how it leads directly into the key passage in next week’s lesson.
For now, we need to ask how much we are like those first disciples. How well have we been listening? Where have we fallen short and need God’s forgiveness? May the Lord forgive and strengthen us all, that we may be better “salt” to the world, in service to Him and to one another.
Monday May 17, 2021
Monday May 17, 2021
Sermon for the 6th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 20, 2012
Monday May 10, 2021
Monday May 10, 2021
Last week we heard of Peter rightly calling Jesus “the Christ,” the promised Savior, but misunderstanding what that meant for Jesus. Peter was thinking of earthly power and glory and “the things of man” and even of Satan. Instead, Jesus would follow His heavenly Father’s will and began even more clearly to speak of His suffering and death, as key to His saving work for the world. Glory and honor would come only later, in His resurrection and the events that followed.
In Mark 9:1, Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God coming with power, but that not all the disciples would see that. This most likely refers to the resurrection of Jesus, which Judas would miss out on, by his suicide. See Romans 1:4, for example, for the “power” of the resurrection.
Jesus would also give three of His disciples a glimpse of His glory in the event described in Mark 9:2-10. He took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. We don’t know just where that was, but likely it was north of Caesarea Philippi, where they had last been, in the far north of Israel. Jesus was “transfigured before them” (Mark9:2). His clothing became radiantly white, beyond what anyone on earth could bleach or clean them (Mark 9:3). (See references to the purifying prophesied when the Lord, the messenger of the new covenant, would come, in Malachi 3:1-2. See how the transfigured Jesus looked like the “Ancient of Days,” the heavenly Father described in Daniel 7:9, also. It is a glimpse of Jesus in His glory, as the true Son of God.)
Two great leaders of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, also appeared with Jesus, talking with Him. Somehow, Peter was enabled to know who these people were, and he began to talk of a plan he had. Tents could be built for these three - Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.
There was an Old Testament festival where people built temporary outdoor enclosures and stayed in them for 7 days, remembering their days in the wilderness with Moses. (See Leviticus 23:42-43.) Maybe Peter was thinking of this and how this amazing time could be prolonged. More likely, though, Peter was just saying whatever came into his head, because he and the others were “terrified” at what they saw, as Mark tells us (Mark 9:5-6.) (Remember that Mark learned much from Peter and likely is recording just what Peter told him, as God inspired him to do. Fear and terror are often reactions when sinful people see an angel or even a glimpse of the glory of God. See Luke 1:11-13, 26-30, Exodus 20:18-19, etc.)
Right after that, “a cloud overshadowed them” (Mark 9:7). Clouds were often a way of showing that God was coming among His people in the Old Testament, even as He dealt with Moses. See Exodus 24:15-16 and 40:34-35, for example. Then the voice of God the Father came from the cloud, clearly identifying Jesus as His Son: “This is My beloved Son.” It was the same message as at the baptism of Jesus. See Mark 1:11. The Father also added, here at the Transfiguration: “Listen to Him” - Listen to Jesus! (Mark 9:7) This was also in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy given long before by Moses, who was standing with Jesus at that moment. (See Deuteronomy 18:15.) Then we hear, “Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only” (Mark 9:8).
The message of the Transfiguration was to listen to Jesus - His Words and the Words of His Holy Scriptures, the Bible - and to believe them, because He was the true Son of God. Even if His Words did not make sense to them and their human way of thinking, the disciples were to believe Him, “Jesus only,” above everything else. This is the message for us, too - to keep listening to the Words of Jesus (as we are doing right now in this study), even if we do not fully grasp what Jesus is telling us.
In fact, as we read Mark 9:9-13, it is clear that Peter, James, and John were still not getting many things that Jesus was teaching them. They did not understand what “rising from the dead” meant (Mark 9:10).
They did not understand that John the Baptist was the “Elijah to come," even though Jesus had already told them that. (See Matthew 11: 10-14, for example.) Jesus repeated again that John was the one prophesied to “restore” God’s people and get them ready for the Savior. People “did to him whatever they pleased” - rejecting him and Herod even putting him to death - even as the original Elijah had been persecuted, “as it is written of him” (Mark 9:11-13). (See also 1 Kings 19:1-3,10.)
Sadly, the scribes and other Jewish authorities had added many things beyond what the Old Testament said about the Elijah prophesied to come. “The expectation was that Elijah would first teach the Jews, settle all their disputed questions, give them again the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod, (which had been in the Ark of the Covenant), etc.” (Lenski’s Commentary). No wonder the disciples were confused, having been taught these wrong ideas by others!
Jesus had to repeat again that He, as the “Son of Man,” would also “suffer many things and be treated with contempt,” just as Elijah and John the Baptist had been treated (Mark 9:12). (See also comments in an earlier study portion, on John 2:10, about Jesus as the “Son of Man.”)
Jesus knew that confusion was still there in the disciples’ minds, so He also told them not tell anyone about the Transfiguration until after His resurrection (Mark 9:9). Later on, they would better understand about all this. Peter wrote about the Transfiguration, for example, in 2 Peter 1:16-21, and explained accurately about Jesus, after the resurrection, in Acts 3:18, 22-26, by the power of the Holy Spirit and quoting Moses.
The weakness of the disciples and the strength of Jesus and the need to rely on Him are emphasized again in the story which follows in Mark 9:14-28. Jesus, Peter, James and John returned to the other disciples, after the Transfiguration, and found another big argument between the Jewish scribes and those disciples. Jesus asked what was going on, and a man explained that he had brought his son to the disciples for healing. The son was possessed by an evil spirit, so that he could not speak or hear and often was thrown into what we might today call an epileptic fit. The disciples could not cast out the evil spirit from the son, though, even though they had been given power from Jesus earlier to do so (Mark 9:14-18). (See also Mark 6:7-13.)
Jesus was frustrated with so much evil around in His “faithless generation” and with the lack of faith in His own disciples, too, and all that He had to bear with (Mark 9:19). He asked for the boy to be brought to Him, and the demon in the boy immediately recognized Jesus and convulsed the boy, seeking to harm him, as he had often done before, ever since the boy was a child. (The goal of Satan and all his evil angels is always to harm and not to help.) The Father pleaded for compassion and help from Jesus, if He could do anything for the boy (Mark 9:20-22).
Jesus wanted to increase the faith in the father, as well as heal the son. So, He said, “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” The man has some faith or he would not have brought his son to the disciples and Jesus; but he answered very honestly and quickly: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (This is a good prayer for all of us, as our faith is imperfect and not always so strong, either.)
Jesus quickly then commanded the “deaf and mute spirit” to come out of the boy and never return. The evil spirit cried out and convulsed the boy again terribly and finally came out of him, leaving the boy looking as if he were dead. Jesus lifted up the boy and he arose and was well (Mark 9:23-27).
The disciples then asked Jesus why they could not cast out the evil spirit. Jesus had already spoken of a “faith” problem and now he talked about the need for prayer, as well (Mark 9:28-29). It might be that the disciples were so proud of casting out other demons that they began to think that they were doing this themselves and forgetting that it was only by the power of Jesus, delegated to them, that any of this healing was happening. They were trying to do the healing by their own power, instead of leaning upon Jesus and asking for heavenly help for what they did, through prayer.
Don’t we sometimes do the same thing? We have a problem, and we try to solve it by ourselves, by our wisdom and using every other human means possible, and only later remembering to pray and ask God’s help. Jesus is teaching us to combine faith with prayer, asking God for His help early on, not at the end, when nothing else has worked. Jesus has taught us, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). God does not answer every prayer as we wish; but James tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:2). Prayer is simply talking with God, and is a sign of our faith in our Lord, as dear children ask their dear Father for what they think they need.
In Mark 9:30-32, Jesus continued to teach His disciples. He knew that they needed to hear and hear again what He was teaching, even as we do. He repeated again about His coming death and resurrection. This time, He added that He would be ”delivered into the hands of men” and be killed. Someone would help this to happen, and Judas was the person who most clearly did that, as he arranged for and then betrayed Jesus with a kiss. We will hear more of this in Mark 14:10-11 and 43-45. It was all clearly predicted, and yet Judas ignored these warnings of Jesus, for him.
In Mark 9:32, we hear again that the disciples were not understanding these direct words of Jesus and were afraid to ask Him, to pray to Him for His help in understanding. (Again, how often do we do the same? Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief and indecision and fear and weakness, as we are so much like those disciples. We can live only by Your grace and mercy and patient help for us.)
Monday May 10, 2021
Monday May 10, 2021
Sermon for the 6th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 13, 2012