Well, here is the biggest rescue scene ever! Mark 13:24-27, “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”
Can you picture it? The utter despair and hopelessness that the world will experience?
Well, thankfully there’s more. “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”
Does that give you chills? Just when everything appears to be doomed and evil is going to win, God steps in and sends Jesus back. For us.
Verses 19-20 say, “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.”
It isn’t going to be fun, in those last days, for believers. Those who follow Jesus Christ will be persecuted; sadly, some to the point of breaking. This is why we need each other – to be encouraged to stand firm. Verses 32-33 say, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.33 Be on guard, keep awake.[a] For you do not know when the time will come.”
But we do know that it WILL come.
Amy Blanchard
Reflection Questions
We must encourage one another to be on guard, to stay awake, and to stand firm. We must see one another to do this, build genuine relationships, and be available to serve one another. Hebrews 10:25 tells us to not neglect meeting together. If you do not have a church you call home, please reach out to someone to help you find one. If you do, are you involved in ways that encourage others, serve others, support others?
Trusting God’s promise of being rescued can be hard. What are some ways He has come through for you already? Keep reminding yourself of the times He has shown Himself faithful to you.
The Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce to test him. Rather than just answer their question, Jesus directs them to God’s original design for marriage…vs 6- 9 “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” There are several days’ worth of material in just that short passage.
Today, however, I want to focus on the phrase “God made them male and female”. This is a quote from Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Psalm 139:13-16 says of God, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb….My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths …”. Malachi 3:6a tells us, “For I the Lord do not change…”
When you put these thoughts together, you can see that God designed each one of us. Individually, specifically, intentionally, purposefully. He chose YOUR personality, eye color, height, if you like spicy foods or not, how you will process good and bad news, what will motivate you, and what sex/gender you are. We can color our hair or learn to like certain foods, but we cannot change what we are at the core of who God made us to be. HE CHOSE your gender. HE CHOSE your gender because HE WANTED YOU.
How we bring glory to God is to be the best version we can of who He made us to be. There are lots of gray areas up for interpretation in the Bible. However, God is very black and white on the issue of gender. He created them male and female. That’s it. No other options.
Since that was so short, I feel like I have space to tackle one more piece from today’s reading. Let’s look at God’s view of marriage and sex (another area where God is very black and white in His design). In Mark 10 we read, ”…and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” God’s plan and desire for marriage is that one man and one woman get married and stay married until death separates them (yes, there are a few specific exceptions to this, and I’m not digging into that here, but please talk to your pastor or an elder or trusted godly person if you have questions on this.). God’s plan for sex is that it is a wonderful gift for pleasure and for procreation, only to be experienced within the boundaries of marriage as stated above.
The world today says that anything goes. The Bible says differently. It matters to God what we do with our bodies. If you have already stepped outside of the boundaries that God has set for His children, know that He will forgive you and that He will remove your sin from you as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). You need only ask Him. I know because I was there. He will not only forgive you, but help you to forgive yourself, too.
I will leave you with 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Amy Blanchard
Reflection Questions
Your body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit when you choose to follow God’s plan for salvation. In short, it is belief, repentance, baptism. If you have not made that commitment, please consider speaking to someone who can help guide you there. Are you treating your body as God’s temple? If not, why not?
Repentance is an acknowledgement that what we did was wrong and a turning away from that action, attitude, inaction, etc. Since we all sin, we all need to repent. Is there anything in your life that you need to repent of today?
It is a struggle to go against what the world is telling you is good. God expects us to stand firm in our knowledge of His design. What else did these passages reveal to you about God’s character?
There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.– Mark 10:14 (ESV)
“Goodness Gracious!” “Jiminy!” “Good Golly!” And, occasionally, “Uffda”. Laugh if you want, but these are actually phrases that come out of my mouth when surprised or startled. I have many issues and sins that I struggle with in my life (just ask my family), but bad language isn’t one of them. Why not? Likely because I don’t put that into my mind. It bothers me to watch movies with a lot of bad language and I don’t surround myself with people who talk that way (at least they don’t in front of me).
In Mark 7:14-15 we read: And he [Jesus] called the people to him again and said to them,“Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And Mark 7:20-23 gets more specific: And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
There are two parts of this that need to be addressed. First, what does it mean to defile yourself? Here are some definitions I found for defile: to spoil; to make dirty; to corrupt; to take away the purity, honor, or goodness of. Second, for something to come out, it must be in, right? So, how does that list of what comes out of the heart get into the heart?
Think of the song O Be Careful Little Eyes.
O be careful little eyes what you see O be careful little eyes what you see For the Father up above Is looking down in love So, be careful little eyes what you see
The other verses are O be careful little ears what you hear, little tongue what you say, hands what you do, feet where you go, heart whom you trust, and mind what you think. All of these put ideas/thoughts into our minds. Once there, we use our minds to decide what to do with the thought. Are we going to take it captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:50)? Are we going to let it conform us to the world or transform us to be renewed to know God’s will (Romans 12:2)?
Other verses can give us more clarity and direction.
1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Or, “corrupts good character” (NIV)
Psalm 119:11: I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
What you put in (read, watch, listen to, etc.) and who you surround yourself with (face-to-face, groups online, etc.) WILL come out. God goes so far as to warn us not to be deceived about such things. Luke 6:45 says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” And it’s not just the words from our mouths. It’s our actions, inactions, attitudes, etc. Be aware that what comes out reveals our hearts – as clean or unclean. The choice is up to us.
Amy Blanchard
Reflection Questions
What are you putting into your mind?
What comes out of you – your actions, words, and attitudes? What do they reflect is in your heart?
God reveals himself through His Son, Jesus. Jesus gives us a list of evil things that defile us. What does this list reveal about God’s character to you?
In Mark chapter 6, Jesus summons his disciples to go on a boat to Bethsaida, while he stays behind on land to pray. Their boat got to the middle of the lake, and Jesus, seeing them, started walking towards them. Little did they know, he was walking on water towards the boat. After seeing him, they immediately thought he was a ghost and were terrified. Seeing them frightened, he immediately said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Jesus, with the power of His Father God, walked on water, which is not normal in any way, but Jesus told them to not be afraid. Do you sometimes find it hard to trust in God? It might be during a hard test, you might be in a difficult situation with your family or friends, or maybe you’re a new brother or sister of Christ who is struggling to find their purpose in the world. Trusting in God can lift a heavy weight off your shoulders. Faith is a lot like a muscle. The more we exercise our faith, the stronger our trust in God becomes. When we practice and train ourselves to have more faith, it becomes easier to have trust, and to rely on God. So ask yourself, are you willing to practice trusting in him?
-Hannah Bormes
Reflection Questions
When was the last time you exercised your faith muscle? How did it work out for you?
In what current situation would Jesus tell you to not be afraid? Why? How can exercising your faith muscles help you lessen your fear?
What might God be asking you to do with His power?
The man was pacing. Spewing forth profanities in a low but steady stream. I was working at my part-time job at the public library and in charge of the building during my shift. The agitated man was on the open upper level—I was at the checkout counter on the lower level, busy with patrons.
The troubled man would quiet down and sit, and I would breathe a sigh of relief. Then he would pop up again, pacing round and round with a new surge of profanity flowing from his mouth. Slowly, I climbed the steps to the upper level.
I walked over to straighten some magazines, so I could observe him closeup. He was thin, wiry build, gray hair and beard, with eyes focused straight ahead, seeing things no one else could see. He was completely unaware of me or any of the other people there. I could see the uneasy expressions on their faces as he continued his verbal tirade, circling the floor.
I knew I needed to take action, but felt confronting him might be dangerous, to me and the other patrons, most of whom were now exiting the upper level.
I walked down the wide, open stairway and called the non-emergency police phone number. Waiting for the officers to arrive, I kept my eyes focused upstairs. Minutes passed at a snail’s pace. Finally, the officers walked in, talked to me, and went upstairs to speak to this distressed individual.
The final outcome—the man left the library, accompanied out by the officers, because he could not agree to quiet his profanity. I was relieved and saddened at the same time. It was obvious this man’s mind was troubled, whether it was because of PTSD, substance abuse, or something else. But it was February, it was cold, and perhaps he was homeless like some of our other library visitors. Yet, his “demons” had their way, and he lost a safe, warm space to spend a Saturday afternoon.
In Mark 5, Jesus encounters a man in much dire circumstances compared to the man in the library. Jesus and his disciples had just reached dry land after traveling in a boat together. While out on the Sea of Galilee, a raging storm arose, and Jesus calmed it to utter peace, much to the astonishment and trepidation of the disciples.
Now, a new, alarming situation awaited the group. Talk about a night of sheer drama!
A naked, bleeding, shrieking man meets Jesus at the shore. An unclean spirit lives inside of him, which causes him to behave like a madman. Consequently, he wanders about the town cemetery, banished from people. In the past, he had been subdued with shackles and chains, but amazingly they could not hold him for long. Night and day, he roams through the tombs, screaming and cutting himself with stones.
When the tormented man sees Jesus, he approaches and bows before him, but not before Jesus had already addressed the unclean spirit dwelling inside him.
“And shouting with a loud voice, he said, ‘What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!’ For He had already been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ And He was asking him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said to Him, ‘My name is Legion, for we are many.’” (verses 7-9)
The unclean spirit recognizes Jesus fully—“Jesus Son of the Most High God.” It knows his true identity. Jesus asks the spirit its name. The answer received—“My name is Legion, for we are many.” A Roman legion could be up to six thousand soldiers. Whatever the number, the demon possession of this suffering pitiful man is overwhelming in magnitude.
The demons realize their “home” in the man is ending. Jesus, Son of the Most High God, has calmed the wild sea and he will calm this wild man. The demons do not want to leave the area. They implore Jesus to send them into a large herd of pigs nearby.
Jesus agrees. The demons enter the herd of two thousand pigs; the pigs promptly rush down the bank into the sea, and drown. Two thousand pigs destroyed. All the observers of this frightening scene witness the massive destructive power of Satan. Yet, what is their reaction to the miracle performed before them?
The bewildered herdsmen run to share this news in the city and country. Like any modern day curiosity, gawkers return to see for themselves what has happened.
And what do they see? The well-known “mad man” is calmly sitting near Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. At peace. Instead of being happy for him and the city as a whole, verse 15 says the gawkers become frightened. They beg Jesus to leave. They cannot comprehend the scene before them, and they are filled with fear.
But the “mad man,” now the “miracle man,” reacts as we would expect. He begs Jesus to take him along, the complete opposite response of the townspeople.
Jesus answers. ”And He did not let him, but He said to him, ‘Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.’”
Imagine the witness this man will be for the Lord. From torment to peace, from screams to praises, from broken to whole, from darkness to light.
Past, present future, Jesus changes lives. Miraculously! Dramatically! And yes, sometimes slowly and quietly. But when you truly encounter Jesus, Son of the Most High God, your life changes.
I wish there had been a different outcome for the troubled man in the library. I thought about him for days. I know God saw him, I know God loves him. I can only hope and pray his “demons” have left him.
Jesus, Son of the Most High God, sits at our Father’s right hand, constantly interceding for us. “Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Romans 8:34
Give Jesus your personal struggles. Give him your anxious thoughts. He’s ready and waiting to take them all. Just hand them over.
Paula Kirkpatrick
Reflection Questions
The demon-possessed man had great strength, and he broke free from shackles and chains. Why could no one subdue him?
We can’t win in spiritual warfare with our own power. We need to rely on the Lord. How do we accomplish this?
The people who came to see the demon-possessed man healed and the pigs destroyed, begged Jesus to leave. Put yourself in their place. Would you have had the same reaction?
This will be a shorter one and something to reflect on throughout the day. Something that can be applied to everyone’s life in a different way. In this chapter there is a great windstorm. Personally, I hate storms, ask anyone who’s been near me when one happens, I tense up and want to just get away from it, they terrify me. And it terrified the disciples too. They proceed to wake Jesus up who calmed the storm. He asks them after “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”.
If we look at our own lives, we also have storms. Most of them won’t be actual storms that can shake a house or uproot a tree, but things in our own lives that cause worry and doubt. They will differ from person to person and even day to day. I’m also sure some of my storms would look like little spouts of rain compared to the hurricanes others face. But look at what Jesus said, “Why are you so afraid?”. I can’t pretend to know what everyone who reads this is going through. But ask yourself – why are you so afraid? Is what you’re afraid of that important in the grand scheme? Take a step back and look at it.
And the second thing Jesus asks them, “Have you still no faith?”. Have you no faith that you can prevail? Have you no faith that there is one greater than us who cares for each one of us personally, one who loves each of us? Have you no faith there is a Kingdom coming that will put an end to every storm you face? You can prevail. Have faith in that, and have faith there is and always will be one stronger than you that you can always trust to be there.
As you go through your day reflect on your own storms and ask yourself “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
-Philip Kirkpatrick
Reflection Questions
What do you find yourself afraid of? Why? What causes you to worry or doubt? Why? Is there a better way to look at what causes you fear, worry and doubt?
Do you know “someone” larger than your fears that you can always trust? How has he proven he is trustworthy?
How can we each work at growing our faith so it is stronger in the storms?
Who do you know who has a strong faith you can learn from?
My dad had polio. Polio is an illness caused by a virus. It can sometimes lead to paralysis. Polio reached pandemic levels throughout the world in the first half of the 20th century.
My dad was diagnosed as a teenager in the early 1940’s, and he spent weeks and weeks in St Anthony Hospital in Rockford, IL. I don’t know much more about that challenging time in his life, because he did not talk about it to my brother and me. It didn’t occur to us to ask him about it. We were kids. We simply knew our dad had had polio and he walked with a limp. One of his legs had been severely affected by the disease.
My dad was a carpenter, and he was usually dressed in a gray work shirt and jeans, or occasionally in dress pants and shirt. But NEVER in shorts.
One day when I was a teenager, my dad injured his affected leg. My mom needed to render first aid and dad’s pant leg was rolled up above his knee. For the first time, I saw my dad’s leg that caused him to limp. I was shocked! It looked thin, wrinkled, shriveled. How could the sight before me be a man’s leg? My dad was strong, rugged, tough, a working man who did hard physical labor. I turned away, sensing I had seen something I shouldn’t. At that moment, I began to “see” my dad differently, I began to slowly understand, he had endured pain and sacrifice to provide for his family. His shriveled leg was a testament to that.
In the beginning verses of Mark 3, Jesus enters the synagogue and encounters a man with a withered hand. The hand is useless. One Commentary says the hand muscles were shrunken and the limb shorter than normal—the cause may have been infantile paralysis. In any event, the man was unable to work for his living.
Jesus sees his need. He has compassion for him. He also sees the Pharisees watching, waiting for his next move.
In recent days, Jesus had healed a paralytic man, and dined with tax gatherers and sinners. In both instances, the scribes of the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ words and actions.
Now it is the Sabbath. Jesus and his disciples had just passed through a grainfield and picked and eaten some heads of grain. (Mark 2:23-28) The Pharisees had called him out on it, saying Jesus was doing work on the Sabbath, the day of rest. By the time of Jesus’ ministry, the Mosaic law of Sabbath rest, (Exodus 20:9-11) had been “enhanced” by the religious leaders through the years to include countless petty regulations and rules. Jesus had deflected the Pharisees in the grainfield encounter, citing David’s eating of the shewbread (I Samuel 21:1-6) and declaring, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Perhaps minutes to hours later, the Pharisees are now ready to pounce again with a new Sabbath challenge. Jesus is prepared. He asks the disabled man to step forward, so all the crowd can see him. (verse 3). And then Jesus addresses the Pharisees.
“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” (verse 4)
We can imagine the silence was deafening. Because, indeed, the Pharisees did not respond. And then we come to verse 5, filled with emotions, drama and action.
“After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”
Jesus looks deep into each Pharisee’s eyes, face, inner feelings. He is angry at their lack of compassion, at their challenges to his God-given authority, at their unhearing, unseeing judgement. The anger turns to grief as Jesus witnesses the hardness of their hearts to his ministry. The Pharisees choose their “enhanced” laws over a poor man’s plight, choose their power OVER him, instead of a blessing FOR him.
Then brilliantly, Jesus asks the disabled man to stretch out his hand. The hand is cured without any labor, but simply by Jesus’ voice. Jesus does not break the Sabbath labor laws, and neither does the man. Surely the Pharisees will approve. Their reaction is recorded in verse 6.
“The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death.”
The Pharisees’ reputation with the people has been thwarted. They will not accept this outcome. Immediately their plans for Jesus’ destruction begin.
Only the man with the withered hand was rewarded. Healed, restored, able to work and enjoy his life. Forever blessed by the Savior.
My father awaits that blessing too. At Jesus’ return, he will rise up from the grave, his withered, diseased leg fully restored. No more limping, no more pain. Oh, what a day that will be. I can’t wait to see him. I can’t wait to see my coming King.
Paula Kirkpatrick
Reflection Questions
Think about a person you know who will be healed when Jesus returns. How does that motivate you to share the good news of salvation in Jesus?
Jewish law had “evolved” to extreme regulations about what was considered work on the Sabbath. How do you feel about businesses that stay closed on Sunday, to honor the Lord?
Are we ever guilty of “following the rules” instead of having compassion for people in a difficult situation? What example can you think of?
In Mark 1 Jesus calls his first disciples. He calls four people. Now these four are all fisherman with jobs and lives. But they leave those lives and jobs to follow Jesus. Take a second to really think about how much they’re giving up there. They’re losing their job, their lifestyle and leaving their own homes. All to follow someone after he says just one thing to them. Now it doesn’t say that they stopped ,thought about it, and followed Jesus, but that “At once they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:18 NIV) and “Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and follow him” (Mark 1:20 NIV). They left immediately to follow Jesus; they were willing to give up their own lives which they had plans for. They gave that all up to follow Jesus. They did it quickly and without hesitation. Now they could have had insight like in Matthew 16:17, “Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven’”. I would think that they did but we can still learn from their example here.
Another thing to notice here is that Jesus is not calling scribes or priests who might know the old testament the best and who are the most well educated. There is plenty of reasons for this. He is calling fishermen as his first. The first time something is done it’s setting a precedent. Everything Jesus did set a precedent for us to follow. But he’s showing us here that you don’t need to be the most educated, or the smartest to follow and serve him. That is the precedent he is setting for us. The precedent that continues even to this day. And he took these fishermen and made them into the vessels he would use to spread the gospel even after he was gone, when they were no longer fishermen, but fishers of men.
Now we can apply this to our own lives as well. We’ve all been called to follow Jesus just as the first disciples were. Yet so many times we hesitate, because we don’t want to give up things, or we’re too scared. Take a page from these disciples, they left their lives and their homes to follow. We should be willing to do what is asked of us as well. Most of the time what we are called to give up isn’t even as much as they gave up. Not only that, but when we are called to do something, we should be doing it right away. They didn’t have the full picture of who he was and were willing to follow, we should be able to as well. Let me qualify all that by saying we should give thought and prayer if we’re going to do something, and if we are called to do something that doesn’t mean you have to give up everything you know like the disciples, they were after all in a different situation than most of us.
And if you’re stuck thinking that “I’m not qualified” or “Someone else better can do it because I’m not good enough” you should forget those thoughts. Because Jesus set the precedent that we all, no matter how skilled or unskilled, can serve. Just like the disciples he equips us for what we are called to do. You don’t need to be the best to serve. Moses who is famous for leading the Israelites out of Egypt was a flawed person. And if you’re saying “I’m not ready yet because I’m too young, not good enough, etc yet” then when do you become ready. Setting a random age where you say that you know enough now? We are called to serve, not called to serve in 20 years.
Don’t be afraid to serve in what way you are called and do it without delay when you are called.
-Philip Kirkpatrick
Reflection Questions
What do you feel the Lord has called you to do? How are you being called to follow Jesus? If you are unsure, pray to hear directions more clearly.
What excuses have you given in the past for not following the calling right away?
Would Jesus think any of these excuses are valid?
What are you willing to give up in order to follow Jesus well?
In Mark 12 Jesus hinted at his identity as God’s son, starting in the parable of the tenants. For a listener to have recognized Jesus in the parable may have depended on recognizing the tenants as his opponents, the current leaders of the nation – but they recognized themselves in the parable. The parable is quite different from how Nehemiah 9 presented the history of the nation. The whole of the land is pictured as a vineyard, carefully prepared by God. The emphasis is on the great lengths God went to in His mercy despite the repeated failings of the tenants. Jesus’ parable focuses on the last stage of the story, the current leadership which betrayed the trust they had been given. No parable conveys the real life situation exactly, and the image in the parable of the tenants seeking to take the inheritance for themselves by killing the heir cannot be precise – the leaders were not going to acknowledge Jesus’ identity. But they did arrange his death out of a mix of reasons that included avoiding having their positions disrupted.
Jesus hinted at his identity again when he discussed Psalm 110:1, the Old Testament verse most often quoted in the New Testament. In the Hebrew the phrase “the Lord said to my Lord” uses God’s name (as revealed to Moses) and sets up a conversation between God and someone David (the psalmist) calls “my Lord”. Jesus asks the reasonable question why, since it was understood that the “Lord” in this text was David’s own descendant, that David would write of his descendant as his own “Lord”. The crowd may only have seen this as an interesting puzzle, but we can recognize he was showing that one of the sons of David was going to be something more significant than that one role could involve.
In various ways Jesus came “at the right time”, fulfilling prophecies and meeting needs, including by arriving when he would be rejected. If he was not rejected, the plan could not go forward as God intended. Yet Jesus was recognizable, in a number of ways. Even in this chapter he showed his insight more than once. He showed it when he declared that holding to the one God above all, and loving your neighbor, are the height of wisdom. Anyone who set out to follow those commands would see in Jesus a fellow servant of God. But those who valued something else were still able to turn against him.
The fact that idolatry was no longer accepted in Jewish society did not make the nation righteous, and it did not mean that the people all gained a clear grasp of God. “Idolater” may once have seemed like a good shorthand for describing a sinful character. Why, after all, would someone who did not wish to serve God choose to worship at His altar, when there were so many options to choose from? But with idolatry uncommon the “sinners” mingled with the “purer” of the flock. And sinners wished to masquerade as righteous. Some perhaps even tried to fool themselves. As Jeremiah once said, “the heart is more deceitful than all else” (17:9, NASB); God can understand all human hearts, but we can have difficulty understanding even our own. The sort of person who in the past might have knelt at a family idol of silver, while mocking his neighbor’s wooden idol, could easily fit in with some niches of Israel’s new religious elite. The scene described at the end of the chapter, with the wealthy dropping off tiny portions of their riches to great acclaim while a poor widow gave all she had, screams that the system needed reform. Yes, the donations might achieve some purpose in terms of charity or service work. But it seems like a system with fewer risks for the givers could be developed.
Lord, thank you for giving your son for me. Allow me to grow in love for you each day, and to grow in my understanding of love so that I can share it with others as well. You are a great God, and greatly to be praised. Your son, who allowed himself to die for me, is a remarkably trusting and loving man and I want to grow in my ability to be like him. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.
-Daniel Smead
Reflection Questions:
What do you think are some things that God wants people to understand about Him?
Having created your list from the first question, based on whatever standards, now try to think about what practical benefits might exist for people to know those things. There may be cases where you trust God wants a thing known, because of scripture for example, but you aren’t actually sure why.
What are characteristics you think are true of both God and His son, and what are some characteristics that are different between them? How about characteristics that are specific to only Jesus, and no one else?
After numerous chapters devoted to preparing for the death and subsequent sacrifice of Christ, we finally reach the glorious reward of the Resurrection! Mark chapter 16, compared to the other gospels, is quite sparse in descriptive details of the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. However, what it does depict breathes a message of hope and love for the future of the church, as well as a final instruction.
When Mary and Mary were given the message to tell the remaining disciples that Christ had risen, the disciples couldn’t believe it. “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.” Mark 16:11. In fact, it seems like one of the things the disciples are best at is not believing something until they see it. They did not have faith that the thing they had been listening to Jesus predict for the past several years would come to fruition. Don’t worry because Jesus rebuked them for not believing when he found them again. Do you struggle to believe what Jesus has promised us? Sometimes it’s difficult to imagine a world where we all get along, where there is no longer pain. But without faith, we will never see this world; not because it won’t exist, but because we lack the faith to see it. Have faith!
The final message Jesus gives the disciples is to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15. That is our grand mission! What are you doing today to increase the Kingdom of God? Some of us are not called to verbally preach the word, and some of us are blessed with such a gift. But not being good at public speaking is no excuse to not spread the word.
Actions can speak significantly louder than words. In fact, that’s often the best way to spread the word; by living it out. To speak the message of Christ with empty words whilst living a life completely contrary is almost worse than to have never spoken a word at all. It is by watching the lives of those who follow Christ that we will be living examples of the love he provides us. In your joy, in your struggles, in your sadness, and in your blessings, praise God that you have been given this life to live. Focus on becoming the people that God has instructed us to become and devote your successes to Him. Live your life with the purpose of praising and worshipping Him, and He will reward you. As Christ commands it, do not simply speak the word; live it. Amen
-Mason Kiel
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2 witnesses are better than one! Today we have TWO writers for you – so below is your second devotion on Mark 16. Thank you Mason AND Jeff for writing for today. Keep sharing the good good news! Jesus is Alive!
Have you ever been a witness who was called on to testify in court? I have. It was an interesting experience. I had seen a crime committed, I reported it to the police, the criminal was arrested, I was asked to give a written statement to the police and I was later called on to testify at their trial. I will say that when you witness something that causes excitement, gets your heart pounding, and puts you in “fight or flight” mode, it affects your thinking and perspective. Everything seemed to be going faster than it really was. Normally it’s more believable when several people give their eyewitness testimony. Of course, no two witnesses agree on every detail. Each person sees different things from different vantage points. Each person remembers different details. Each person recalls the sequence of events in a slightly different order. These variations in detail are actually normal and good. If every witness testified exactly the same details in the same way the lawyers for the other side would be arguing that they were unreliable because they obviously got together and rehearsed their testimony, which is a big no-no.
When people read the Gospel accounts of Jesus they are seeing the story of Jesus unfold through the eyes of a variety of different witnesses. The Spirit of God is the inspiration behind each of the writers, but God works through human beings and through different witnesses. So it should come as no surprise when we read the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and also the writings of Paul, Peter, James, and others, that while they are telling basically the same story, they do so from different perspectives. The Gospel writers are either reporting what they themselves witnessed or what other eyewitnesses reported to them. They tell the same story with different perspectives and often emphasize different parts of the story or place the events of the story in slightly different orders in keeping with the overall theme of their account. Each story has different audiences in mind, different themes, and is not carbon copies of each other.
One very important rule that is repeated throughout the Bible is that there must be a minimum of two or three witnesses. (See Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16, John 8:17, and several other passages). We’ve already noted that there are four Gospel accounts in the New Testament which fulfill that important principle.
It is also interesting to note the background of who is qualified to be a witness. Jewish law has a list of different types of people who are not permitted to be called as witnesses: “women, slaves, minors, lunatics, the deaf, the blind, the wicked, the contemptible, relatives, and the interested parties (Yad, Edut 9:1).” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/witness . The Talmud, which is a Jewish Commentary from ancient times gives more details about who the “wicked” are who cannot testify. At one point in ancient Jewish history, shepherds were included in the list of people disqualified from witnessing. “As a class, shepherds acquired a bad reputation as being lawless, dishonest, and unreliable, above all because of their habit of trespassing on other people’s lands to graze their flocks.” https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/20-february/regulars/out-of-the-question/shepherds-character-reference.
Here’s what I find very interesting: two categories of people who were not permitted to act as witnesses were shepherds and women. I’m not interested in debating the fairness of those exclusions, but simply note that at the time of Jesus’ birth, life, and death, some of the people who were not accepted as reliable witnesses were shepherds and women. Why is this important? Consider, who were the first eyewitnesses who heard the angelic announcement about the birth of Jesus? Luke says it was “Shepherds living out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks at night” (Luke 2:8). It was to these “unreliable witness” shepherds that the angels appeared. And it was these unreliable witness shepherds who went and reported to Mary and Joseph all that they had seen and then went out and “spread the word” about all that they had seen. (Luke 2:17)
Now, maybe that was just a fluke… but maybe not. In today’s reading, Mark 16, we fast forward to just after the death of Jesus. Who is it who first go to the tomb after Jesus died? Once again, it was to “unreliable witnesses” – this time it was women. To whom did the angel appear announcing that Christ had risen? “Unreliable witness” women. Maybe it wasn’t a fluke after all. Maybe it’s a part of God’s deliberate plan to choose people to be witnesses of these important saving acts of God, which the world normally rejects. Does God choose to reveal His great acts of saving to the lowly people the world rejects? It seems He does. In fact, now that you know to look for it, pay attention when you read the Gospels and notice how many times the witnesses God uses come from the ranks of the supposed “unreliable witnesses.” How many times does God use women, or tax collectors (another category of unreliable witness) or slaves, the blind, the deaf, or just plain sinners to be His witnesses? You’ll find that from beginning to end, the Gospel is filled with “unreliable witnesses” who turn out to be very reliable. And in a giant flip-flop of societal expectations, it is the lawyers and religious professionals from the reliable witness class who are the ones who bring false charges against Jesus.
But the real question that each of us needs to ask ourselves today is, am I a reliable witness for Jesus? Am I willing to tell the truth about what I have seen, heard, and known firsthand about Jesus in my own life? Am I willing to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” about Jesus?
-Jeff Fletcher
Questions for Discussion:
Why do you think God chose “unreliable witnesses” to be the witnesses to Jesus’ birth and resurrection and other key events?
When was the last time you told someone else “witnessed” what you have seen, heard, or experienced about Jesus?
Seek Grow Love 