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Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Monday Jun 28, 2021
Monday Jun 28, 2021
Sermon for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Last week we heard Jesus being challenged several times by the religious leaders. Now He raised His own question for them, while continuing to teach in the temple in Jerusalem (Mark 12:35-37). Among Jews, it was widely accepted that the Messiah, the promised Savior, would be from the line of King David, a “son of David,” in that sense. He would be a great man and a great leader, like David, and bring freedom from the Romans and all those who oppressed the Jews.
Jesus quoted from Psalm 110:1, a Psalm of David: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’” Jesus also pointed out that David spoke and wrote by the power and leading of the Holy Spirit, as did all of the Biblical writers. In this verse, David called the coming one his Lord. How could this coming one be a “son of David," a descendant of David, and yet also David’s Lord? The only way this could happen would be if the promised Savior would be God the Son, Who sat at the right hand of God the Father, and yet became a real human man, while still being God. He would do His saving work (defeating the power of sin and Satan and death, not political powers) and then return to heaven and be seated again in glory as Lord at the right hand of God the Father.
This teaching, that Jesus was true God and true man, was very important in the New Testament. Portions of Psalm 110:1 are quoted at least 15 times. See Acts 2:31-36 and Philippians 2:5-11 as descriptions of all this. When Jesus spoke these words in Mark 12, the people were glad to hear Him, but they likely did not understand what He was really claiming for Himself. (Listen to this week’s sermon, too, on Mark 4:35-41, to see how Jesus’ disciples often did not really understand and get what Jesus was teaching them, at least at first.)
Because Jesus had often been questioned and challenged by scribes, He then went on to give people a warning about the scribes (Mark 12:38-40). Scribes tended to want to have the best places, wherever they were, so that they could be seen and honored and be given glory by others. (See Matthew 6:1-2 and 23:27-28.)
Scribes also made money for themselves by charging fees for prayers they said and other things they did for people. They apparently often took advantage of widows and the poor, by manipulating them into paying such fees, even when the people had very little money. Jesus warned of condemnation for charging for the free gifts of God for personal glory and gain, and focusing self-interest, instead of caring for others, especially the poor and needy.
Jesus also spent some time in the court of the women in the temple, where people put offerings in 13 offering boxes there (Mark 12:41-44). Rich people sometimes put in large offerings. They had lots of money, though, and hardly sacrificed anything of the wealth they had. Jesus also noticed a poor widow who had only two tiny coins, worth less than a penny. She put in both of these coins, all that she had, and must have just trusted that God would still take care of her, somehow. She thus gave more, in God’s eyes, than the rich with their bigger gifts but little sacrifice. (This is the pattern for giving in other places in the New Testament. See 2 Corinthians 8:12 and 9:7-8 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, for example. God loves a cheerful giver, who gives freely as he chooses, as the widow did.)
As Mark 13 begins, Jesus had left the temple, and one of His disciples called attention to the magnificence and massive stones of the temple. The Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote that some of the stones were 37 feet long, 12 fee high and 18 feet long. It was a marvelous building; but Jesus predicted that it was all going to be destroyed, with not one stone left upon another (Mark 13:1-2).
Some of the disciples asked when this would be and what sign would show that this would soon happen (Mark 13:3-4). Jesus then went into a prophecy of what was to come, with the destruction of the temple, but also troubles for the disciples as they later went out to tell people of Him as Savior, and even some words about the end of all things and the return of Jesus on the last day. This prophecy went on through the end of Chapter 13.
A key theme of this prophecy was to ”be on guard” and watch out for false teachers who will seek to lead people astray (Mark 13:5-6). Jesus also gave examples of “signs of the times” which would happen before the end. These are events that we see again and again throughout the years after the time of Christ: wars and rumors of wars, nations against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms, and earthquakes and famines. We still see all these things today, too. These are reminders that we may be near the end and need to be watchful and prepared all the time, by continual trust in our Lord. These are only the beginning, with more to come (Mark 13:7-8).
Again, Jesus told His disciples to be on guard. This time, He began to talk about the trials and troubles the disciples themselves would have in the future: beatings in synagogues, being delivered over to councils, and standing before governors and kings.
They would be bearing witness to Jesus, with the goal that the Gospel would eventually be proclaimed to all nations. (This is the plan of God still be carried out today and until the return of Jesus. It includes us and anything we can do to get the Good News of Jesus out to others of every nation, too) (Mark 13:9-10).
Jesus also predicted that some of the disciples would be delivered over and brought to trial, just because they were Christians. But they were not to be anxious about what to say, because the Holy Spirit would be with them and guide them (Mark 13:11). Other Scriptures tell us to do what we can to be prepared to make a defense of the hope we have in Jesus. We can study God’s Word and learn Bible passages and practice talking about our faith. See 1 Peter 3:15. But the Holy Spirit will also be with us to help us find the right things to say at the right time.
Next week, we will hear more about the destruction of Jerusalem, and how this prophecy helped the early Christians to escape these troubles. And we are called to be awake and on guard for the very end times and the return of Jesus on the last day.
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Sermon for the 4th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered June 24, 2012
Monday Jun 14, 2021
Monday Jun 14, 2021
It was Tuesday of Holy Week, and Jesus was back in the temple in Jerusalem. He was quickly confronted by a group of the highest religious leaders, “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders." They asked, “By what authority are you doing these things?” - probably referring especially to His “cleansing” of the temple that we heard about last week.(Mark 11:27-28). Jesus knew that they had already decided to “destroy” Him, and they had no interest in really listening to Him (Mark 11:18). Jesus had already answered this question, and they did not believe Him. See, for example, John 8:42-43 and 47.
Jesus instead asked them a question, wanting their reply before He would answer them. “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer Me.” Jesus was asking about the ministry of John the Baptist and knew that the Jewish authorities had rejected him and his baptisms and did not help him when he was arrested and executed.
If they said that John was sent from heaven, then “why did they not believe in him?” On the other hand, if they openly said they rejected John, they would be in trouble with many Jewish people who thought that John “really was a prophet.” They had to refuse to answer Jesus and said, “We do not know.” Jesus then chose not to answer them, either, as they had no real interest in His answer anyway (Mark 11:29-33).
What Jesus did do was to tell the religious leaders a parable, similar to the Old Testament parable found in Isaiah 5:1-7, about a very well-planned and constructed vineyard that produced no fruit. The vineyard was the Jewish people of Israel and Judah. God had richly blessed His people, yet they were rejecting Him and not doing what he wanted and producing only “bloodshed” and “outcry” and were facing ruin.
In the same way, Jesus described an excellent vineyard, leased out to tenants who would not give the owner the fruit that was His, but treated his servants terribly, even though he patiently sent several to the tenants to collect his fruit. Some of his servants were even killed. The owner, of course, was the Lord, and many in the Jewish nation were still rejecting Him and servants of His, like John the Baptist. John died, trying to call people to repentance and return to the Lord (Mark 12:1-5). (See Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:31-35 and the examples of 2 Chronicles 24:20-21 and Hebrews 11:36-38, about people who had suffered and died serving the Lord in the past.)
Finally, in Jesus’ parable, the owner, the Lord, sent His own beloved Son to the tenants, and they killed Him, too, trying to claim the vineyard as their own, to do with as they pleased. Eventually, the Lord destroyed these evil tenants and gave the vineyard to others (Mark 12:6-9). In this way, Jesus was predicting His own death and the eventual destruction of the Jewish nation, still in rebellion against God’s will. Jesus would only receive an “outcry” (Crucify Him!) and “bloodshed” from them.
Jesus used a quotation from Psalm 118:22-23, the same psalm quoted on Palm Sunday. “The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Jesus was to be the Cornerstone of the New Covenant and the Christian faith; yet He would be rejected by many of His own Jewish people. They were, in fact, watching for a chance to arrest Jesus. They realized that this parable was speaking about them and condemning them; but they did not care (Mark 12:10-12).
More religious leaders, Pharisees and Herodians, then came and tried to trap Jesus into saying something else that would get him into trouble. They lied and said that they thought Jesus “truly taught the way of God” and wanted His answer to the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” If Jesus said “Yes” then they could tell people that Jesus supported the hated Roman occupiers. If Jesus said “No” then they could tell the Roman authorities that Jesus was an evil rebel against Rome (Mark 12:13-14).
Jesus knew again what they were doing and that they were “hypocrites,” acting as if this was a friendly question, when it was not. He asked them to bring Him a common Roman coin, a denarius, which was a day’s pay in wages, and asked them whose likeness and inscription was on the coin. It was, of course, the image of Caesar, the Roman emperor. Jesus then said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And the leaders marveled at the way Jesus was able to avoid their trap (Mark 12:15-17).
This is also an important Biblical concept that Jesus was teaching. Jesus kept on teaching, even when He was under the threat of death, coming soon. We live in two kingdoms, as believers. We live in the kingdom of this world, where we need government and order and authority in order to live and survive. Our government then deserves to have our support and respect and taxes, in order to do its work. We also live in the Kingdom of God and owe respect and worship and trust in our Lord, above all. If there is conflict, we ought to obey God, rather than man. (See Acts 4:18-20 and 5:27-28 and the general principles about church and government in Romans 13:1-7.)
Others had failed to trap Jesus; and now the Sadducees, who accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament and did not believe in life after death, came to show Him how foolish He was. They had a question about a woman who had been married to 7 different brothers, who had all died, without any having any children. To whom would the woman be married, when the resurrection came? (Mark 12:18-23. See also an Old Testament practice mentioned in Deuteronomy 25:5, where in theory, a woman could be in such a situation.)
Jesus directly challenged the Sadducees, because they did not know or ignored and rejected plenty of Scriptures which spoke about life after death. They also did not know the power of the Almighty God, with Whom nothing is impossible, and Who could solve any clever dilemmas they could think of. Jesus went on to teach more important truths. There definitely is life after death and a resurrection of the dead. In heaven, though, there is not marriage as we know it.
We are in perfect peace with our Lord and do not need to worry about any concerns about how things will work out. We will be like the angels, who do not marry, and the Lord will take care of the rest for us. Note: we do not become angels. Angels are separately created beings, from before the fall into sin. We are still humans, but with some qualities in heaven like the good and perfect angels (Mark 12:24-25).
Jesus also gave one Old Testament Scripture that the Sadducees claimed they would accept, from the second book of Moses, Exodus 3:6,15. God called Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All these people had died before God spoke to Moses in this passage. Clearly, He is a God not of the dead, but of the living, and these three early “patriarchs” were still alive with the Lord, even after death. Jesus had always affirmed the resurrection and eternal life. See John 11:23-27 and the predictions of Jesus about His own resurrection, about which we have heard. Jesus simply said to these unbelieving Sadducees, “You are quite wrong” about the resurrection (Mark 12:26-27).
Still one more religious leader, a scribe, came to Jesus that same day, and asked about which commandment was the “most important." This may have been a genuine question, as the Jews often argued about this; or it could have been another “trap” question. If Jesus picked out only a limited command, He could be accused of ignoring other important commandments that the Jews tended to emphasize in those days.
Jesus chose to quote two Scriptures which summarize what all of the 10 Commandments were about.
He first quoted from what Jews call the “Shema” and still speak regularly in worship to this day. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The second is this: ”You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). There are no commandments greater than these (Mark 12:28-31).
Jesus was giving a Biblical summary of all the 10 Commandments. The first three have to do with love for God, above all: loving no other gods but the one true God, properly honoring Him and His Name, and worshipping Him and hearing His Word regularly. The other Commandments have to do with loving other people: honoring parents, not killing or committing adultery or stealing and so on.
The scribe listened and realized that Jesus was speaking the truth. He said the same thing in his own words and added that this love for God and neighbor is better than “burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Jesus responded with the words, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” The scribe was on the right track in emphasizing love for the Lord and others (Mark 12:32-34). (See Romans 13:8-10 and “Love is the fulfilling of the Law" also.)
The problem is, of course, that none of us loves the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength all the time, nor always loves our neighbor. We still sin and fall very far short of God’s expectations. That is why we need to keep hearing the rest of the Gospel of Mark and what Jesus did later that week to forgive and rescue us from our sins and failures to be fully what we should be, in trusting and following our Lord.
Monday Jun 14, 2021
Monday Jun 14, 2021
Sermon for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered June 17, 2012
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