January 22, 28, 2014
The Way of the Cross
Mark 8:34-9:29
I. Take Up Your Cross 8:34-38
II. Glory at the Top of the Mountain 9:1-13
III. Glory at the Foot of the Mountain 9:14-29
IV. Jesus the Teacher 9:30-50
I’ve told this story before and if you’ve heard it, forgive me, but its such a good example for what we’re studying this week, that I just had to tell it one more time…
When Mary Kathryn and Griff were little, I think they were 4 and 5….we were coming home from church, one spring Wednesday evening------ they had been to Mission Friends, so we were talking about what they had discussed in their classes. It was just before Easter, so their lessons had been on Jesus’ crucifixion and His resurrection….I remember, that we talked all about Jesus being beaten with a whip; and then having to carry His own cross; and then the soldiers nailing Him to it; and then, about His dying, and the world going dark; and about the sadness of the disciples, as He was buried, and they had to go off without Him; and then, about that glorious morning, when Mary and the others went to the tomb, and they found that it was empty, behind the rolled- away stone-----we even talked about His coming back again someday…… and as the conversation came to an end, the closer we got to home,,,,I will never forget the wonder, and the depth of feeling, in Griff’s little boy voice, when he said, “I would have loved to see Jesus hanging on that cross…”
It is still amazing to me, that a child that young, could catch such a real glimpse, of how important and necessary, the cross is, for all of us----and Griff wasn’t speaking from an intellectual or a curiosity level, he spoke from the overflow of His heart------ we should view the cross that way too----- with that same awe and sweetness and wonder---- I’ve always felt like the Holy Spirit used that little snippet of time, to give me a chance to see Him, drawing Griff to Himself, but I also believe, that He was using the innocence, and the faith of that young child, to reveal Himself to me, in a deeper way.
….. that is a part of the promise of the Cross----that the Lord Himself, will dwell in our hearts and lead us and guide us and teach us and train us and comfort us, in the person of the Holy Spirit----no matter who we are, how old we are, or what we’ve done or haven’t done…
But, the Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell there without a price---- scripture teaches us, that to share in His blessings, means that we will also share in His sufferings, which means, that in order to follow Him, we ourselves have to pick up a cross, of our own, and carry it every single day…
I. Take Up Your Cross 8:34-38
Remember when we were little children and we would be struggling with a sibling or a cousin or even a friend, over something we wanted to play with, and the tussle, would only come to an end when we yelled—the ‘not so nice’ little phrase----“finder’s keepers, losers weepers.”
Well, in a way, that is exactly what Jesus is saying, when He tells us that if we try to hang onto our lives, we will lose them, and if we give up our lives, for His sake, and for the sake of the Good News, then we will save them; this lesson is teaching us to understand, what it means to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.
The Romans, the original audience that Mark was writing the Gospel for would have understood what taking up your cross, meant. It would have been a puzzling, offensive statement to them. Death on a cross was a form of execution, which the Romans used for their most dangerous criminals. A prisoner had to carry his own cross to the place of execution, which signified, that he was under the authority and submission of Rome. Jesus used the image, of carrying the cross, to illustrate the ultimate submission, to Him, that’s required by His followers. By denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following in Jesus’ footsteps, we are acknowledging that we are submitting to His authority.
Jesus isn’t against our enjoying the blessings of this world, or the people, places and things, that so delight us….and He isn’t saying that we should seek out pain and the things that can hurt us…No, what Jesus was talking about, was the heroic effort that is needed, to follow Him , moment by moment, to do His will, even when the walk and the work is difficult and the future can’t be seen….
He wants us to understand, that we should be willing to lose our lives for the sake of the Gospel, not because our lives aren’t worth anything, but because nothing----not even life itself----can compare to what we have in Christ Jesus.
Jesus’ greatest desire, is for us to choose Him, over a life of sin, and self-satisfaction and gratification. He wants us to stop trying to control our own lives, and let Him do it. (We trust Him with our salvation and our eternal lives, why in the world, do we have such a hard time trusting Him, with our day-to-day existence. )
He doesn’t want us to hate ourselves and to not enjoy the good things He’s given us, in this world, He just wants us to put Him, before all those things, and when we do, then following Him, is put into perspective, and becomes our primary focus…
Living for worldly things, like possessions, position, power, or even people we love, will ultimately be worthless, in the end------------ without Jesus, they will be hollow and empty. No matter what we have on this earth, it is only temporary---it can’t be exchanged for our souls, which will live forever, somewhere----either heaven or hell---there are only two choices---Jesus came to die, so that our souls, and the souls of anyone who would believe, could spend eternity in heaven with God, the Father….
Practically speaking, I don’t want us to think, that carrying our cross, is just dealing with life’s trials and hardships-----it isn’t. It is classic for us to think that an annoying boss or an unfair teacher, or a bossy mother-in-law is our “cross to bear.” Sometime we think that an illness or a handicap is our “cross”, but they aren’t, those are just thorns in our sides….
The cross we are to carry, comes from specifically, choosing to walk behind Jesus, embracing the same way of life that the Lord has walked before us…we carry the cross, every time we experience criticism or dismissal, because we choose to follow what the scripture teaches us, not what the world says will feel good.
We carry the cross every time we extend ourselves in difficult circumstances, to serve someone, for the sake of the Gospel.
We carry the cross every time we live out, the business, sexual, child-rearing, emotional and spiritual ethics of Jesus, in front of our families, friends and neighbors.
The blessing of taking up our cross, is that when we lose our life in Jesus, we are given the keys to God’s kingdom----we may not have much in this world and we may suffer hardship. and grief, and illness, and even, physical death---- but when we submit ourselves to the Lord Jesus, and lose ourselves in Him, then, we can rest in and thrill to, the knowledge that all the riches and wonder and glory and the peace, of God’s kingdom belongs to us.
But, if people don’t take up the cross to follow Jesus, then they will find that everything they believe in and trust in and have strived for, will in the end, be nothing but wood, hay and stubble----and they will lose the kingdom of God, for all eternity.
Our world tells us to look out for ourselves first, to save ourselves first, to pamper ourselves first and to live for ourselves first… Narcissism is rampant in our society-----sadly, there are multitudes of people, who are easing their souls into eternal death, by their self-centered rejection of taking up of the cross. A society of potential keepers, in the end, will become a society of losers…
Jesus gave them a warning at the end of this passage, to all who could hear him---that if they don’t accept and embrace Him now, while they have the chance, then, when He comes back again, He won’t accept them!
In a nutshell-----we must confess that Jesus Christ is the suffering Messiah and that He is our Savior…
We must embrace the life, that He lived before us, and now, calls us to….
We must pick up the cross, because, if we’re going to share in His glory, then we also need to share in His suffering…
We must lose our lives in Him, because losers will turn out to be the keepers in the long run----
and last but not least----if we confess Him as Lord, then Jesus will rejoice in us.
II. Glory at the Top of the Mountain 9:1-13
(More than one time, I’ve tried to find my glasses, have turned the kitchen upside down, looking everywhere for them, only to find that they are resting on top of my head.
That’s the way life often is, we miss things that have been there the whole time. It’s like when I was a freshman in high school, Dale was there the whole year, but I never saw him, because I wasn’t looking for him. Then one day, my attention was drawn to him, and I really saw him. He’d been there the whole time, but it wasn’t until that one day that I actually saw him in my world, and thank the Lord, he’s been in my world ever since…
That’s the story of the Transfiguration. Jesus showed His disciples a part of their world that had been there all along, and they just had never noticed it, cause they weren’t looking for it. They were bewildered, astonished, and trembling with fear, when they saw, and understood, that heaven was already here, in this world, and that Jesus, was the truly king of heaven…)
The Lord was dishonored by the multitudes; while He loved them, they used Him for what He could give them;
He was ridiculed by the scribes and Pharisees, as they schemed and plotted, on just how they could trip Him up enough, to make Him disappear;
He was betrayed and given a mock trial before 3 earthly courts, in one night;
He was insulted, beaten, sneered at, mocked, scourged, crucified and slain---
He was also resurrected----- and right now is seated at the right hand of the Father. And one day, we don’t know when, so we have to be ready, The Lord Jesus will come back to set up and rule the Millenial kingdom----and the raptured church, and the disciples, and the Old Testament Patriarchs and prophets, and all those who have died waiting for His coming, will return with Him to help Him rule.
The Transfiguration was a foreshadowing of what the future will be. Only Peter, James and John got to see it., Luke tells us that they went up to the mountain to pray. We don’t know why, those 3 were the disciples selected, except that they were part of Jesus’ inner circle----the disciples who seemed to be the closest to him.
But whatever the reason, those 3 were given the privilege of seeing the kingdom of God come with power on Mt. Hermon.
The Lord wanted them to see and understand that He was the Son of God, and that He could command anything He wanted to----He wanted them to understand that, the powers of darkness, were going to be able to arrest, try and crucify Him, but that it was only because, it was part of God’s plan, for Him, and us, to let them do it.
They must have prayed for a long time, because Peter, James and John fell asleep----Scripture doesn’t tell us who woke up first or what woke them up-----it just tells us that when they woke up they were astounded by what they say. Jesus, transfigured, in robes so white, that no one in the world, could have bleached them that white----Luke says that His clothes were dazzling--- as bright as a flash of lightening… and Matthew says that His face shone like the sun…
(When our children were little and we would light sparklers for them on the 4th of July there were 2 things that delighted me----the sparklers themselves, pouring forth a fountain of sparks, of course; but what I liked even better, was the faces of my children, their eyes wide with wonder and excitement and their laughter, uncontainable and irrepressible, as they danced around waving the sparkler in the air to get the maximum thrill, out of it.)
That’s what Jesus would have seen----His glory pouring out of Him, illuminating, the faces of the awe-struck threesome. Jesus was transfigured----for one brief moment, His humanity was lifted and His true self shone through----the glory that was always in the depth of His being, rose to the surface, for that one time while He walked on the earth, as a man. It was a look back into a time, before time had begun; and a look forward into a future, that will never end…It must have delighted His soul, to be able to reveal Himself to them.
And then, before they could wrap their minds around what they were seeing—Moses and Elijah appeared on either side of Him…Moses was the great lawgiver, and Elijah was the great prophet of Israel. Together they represented the Old Covenant ,that Jesus had come to fulfill. Luke tells us, in his account, that they were talking with Jesus, about the cross and His death and resurrection, and His departure. What a theological discussion that must have been! What a confirmation to Peter, James and John that Jesus was who they believed Him to be---their Messiah! I can not imagine seeing that. I don’t know if I would have fallen on my face in awe, or acted like Peter did.
Impulsive Peter was overcome with emotion, when he offered to build 3 shelters for Jesus and Moses and Elijah----Jesus didn’t say a word, to answer HIm-----but God did---As His voice boomed out from the cloud of Shekinah Glory, that in the OT, was always an indication of His presence----
He made it clear with His words, “this is my beloved son, listen to Him”, that Jesus, was on a level, far superior, to Moses and Elijah---and that the disciples needed to listen to Him, and trust Him, and embrace the necessity of His death, on the cross.
Matthew, says, that when they heard God’s voice, the 3 disciples fell face down on the ground until Jesus came to them, touched them on the shoulders, and told them to get up, and not to be afraid…
And in that instant---the got up and looked around---the Shekinah Glory was gone, and Moses and Elijah were gone. Jesus’ clothing and his skin had stopped glowing-----and all they saw was the Jesus, that they had come to know and love.
That’s what we all should see----just Jesus-----when everything else falls away---to just see Jesus, is all we need. When this happens, our heart can honor Him in worship----we can love people the way we’re supposed to---we can delight in serving and obeying Him-----and, we can be truly grateful for the cross.
We need to put ourselves on that mountain, with the 3 disciples and wrap our arms around the transfigured Lord Jesus, humbled by the absolute truth, that He is the glorious Savior, that we love now and will love for all eternity.
III. Glory at the Bottom of the Mountain 9:14-29
(Hanging in the Vatican, is Raphael’s last painting, which most art historians believe is the greatest one that he ever painted…He titled it “The Transfiguration” and when you see it, you are held spellbound by the clarity of it….in the top part of the painting you can see the transfigured form of Jesus, with Moses standing on His left side, and Elijah standing on His right side-----then just under them, Raphael painted the 3 chosen disciples, Peter, James and John, like they had been suddenly awakened, all 3, shielding their eyes from Jesus’ blinding brilliance…then, at the bottom of the painting is the poor, deaf and mute, demon-possessed boy----with his mouth open and his eyes rolled back in his head----and at his side, is his desperate father------and they are surrounded by the rest of the disciples, some of whom, are pointing up toward the glowing Jesus, indicating that He, alone, is the boy’s only hope.
Raphael brilliantly captured something of the overwhelming contrast, between the glory of the Transfiguration and the troubled world that we live in…”)
What a conversation Peter, James, John and Jesus must have had the next morning, as the came down the side of that mountain----They must have been so excited and so charged with high emotion; I can imagine that their feet barely touched the ground, as they descended. High up on the slopes of Mt. Hermon, under the great expanse of the starry sky, they had seen the Son of God, in all His glory…they had seen Moses, the preeminent law giver and Elijah, the foremost prophet, in Israel’s history, speaking with Jesus----- they had experienced the Shekinah Glory, appearing in the form of a cloud, as it had in the OT;
and to top it off, they had heard the voice of Almighty God, speaking to them from the cloud, instructing them to listen to His beloved son….
They must have had so many questions----and Jesus wouldn’t have disappointed them---I’m sure that He answered every single one.
When they got to the bottom of the mountain they saw a huge crowd of people surrounding the disciples and they could hear the teachers of the law arguing with them over something…I don’t know how long Jesus and James and John and Peter had been gone, but scripture says that when the people saw Jesus, that they were overwhelmed with wonder, that He had come, and they ran to greet Him. (I don’t think they would have seen the glory on His face, as some theologians have suggested, because He wasn’t ready to call attention to it yet---the time wasn’t right, He had told the disciples not to tell, so why would He have left the glory on His face.) I think they were just so engrossed in what they were doing, that when they realized Jesus was coming toward them, it startled them, so they greeted Him with surprise.
Apparently, the disciples had attempted an exorcism and failed….so the scribes must have been and trying to force them to use the Pharisee-approved method of exorcism, while taunting them for their powerlessness-----and the crowds could either have been standing around enjoying the spectacle, or arguing right along with the disciples and scribes……
When Jesus asked them what they were arguing about----everybody was silent, except the heartsick father, of the deaf and mute boy, being controlled by an evil spirit…
When we read Matthew and Luke’s account of this distraught father’s desperate plea for Jesus’ help, and add it to what Mark described----we are able to see how truly pitiful the child’s life was-----the demon would seize the boy; the boy would cry; the spirit would throw him to the ground; and the child would foam at the mouth; he would grind his teeth and become as stiff as a board; many times the evil spirit would cast him into a fire or into water, so he must have been covered with burn marks----but the worse thing was that the demon made him deaf and mute-----it was like he was living, by himself, in a sound-proof bubble----able to see everything that was going on around his pitiful body, but not able to hear or speak….This is a classic picture of Satan’s desire to destroy the image of God, in mankind, He is in an all-out war against God----so anything he can do, in his battle for sovereignty, to destroy God’s image, in us, in his twisted thinking, is a victory over God.
The attacks on this little boy, show us how truly evil satan is, and it shows us just how real, the struggle for sovereignty, that satan, the ultimate life-destroyer, is waging against Jesus, the only life-giver, really is….(I never thought about satan using a child in his evil methods to trip us up, until my friend died of cancer one Wednesday morning----I was in Bible Study Fellowship wrap-up, and the children’s director interrupted the message, and announced from the pulpit that I needed to go to the nursery to get my sick child. I went to get Mary Kathryn, who was 4, at the time, and she seemed perfectly fine, but they said she had been crying, almost since she got their, complaining that her ears were hurting….we had carpooled with my friend Marybeth, so we couldn’t leave yet----so we went out to the playground and sat on the swings, until we could go. Later on that afternoon, I took her to the pediatrician, and she was perfectly well…I called Marybeth to let her know what the doctor said, and happened to ask her about the wrap-up----it turned out, that the message, that morning, was all about the comfort and peace that the Lord provides for us when we go through a trial-----I was flabbergasted!!!!! And, my eyes were opened, to just how evil satan is--- And I understood what a real of enemy the Lord Jesus he is… I fully believe, to this day, that satan made that child’s ears hurt, to prevent my hearing that message, and gaining comfort and peace, to help me deal with the loss of my friend.)
Jesus initial answer to the anguished father was both a diagnosis and an emotional response from His heart, for the disciples. “O, unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you?…”
He was heartbroken, that after all He had done, and after all He had taught them, after all they had seen, and even after the power to minister, that they had just experienced themselves, in their missionary journeys----they still didn’t understand who He was… They believed that healing could and did happen, they’d seen it----they even believed, that they could heal that boy, because they had healed others----but what they didn’t believe, was that the power for healing, came from Jesus alone----they weren’t putting their faith in Him, they were putting it in circumstances----
Jesus was telling them, that they were still no better than the crowds surrounding Him, who trusted the circumstances, instead of trusting Him-----and just fresh from the glory of the Transfiguration, He knew that He didn’t have much more time, to help deepen their understanding, while He was still with them…
(Jesus could say the same thing to us…on this side of the cross, we have so much knowledge and we have so many churches, and so many programs, and so much money, and so many books, and publications, and TV and radio, and the ultimate media tool, the internet ----and most importantly, we have the scripture and the indwelling Holy Spirit----and still, way too often, we put our faith, in ourselves ,or the circumstances, and not in Jesus…)
The next passage is one of my favorite’s in scripture----what Jesus did to elevate the father’s faith, is a lesson for us all to take hope in, and to live by….
First, Jesus asked for the boy to be brought to Him, but as the boy got closer to Jesus, the evil spirit immediately threw the boy into a convulsion that was horrible to watch----he was rolling on the ground and foaming at the mouth and according to the verb tense that was used, it gives us the impression, that he kept doing it.
And second, Jesus drew the father to Himself, by allowing him to unburden his heart, as he explained how long his son had been afflicted, and about how sometimes, the evil spirit would throw him into the water and into the fire ---it was a relief for the man to pour it all out to Jesus. (That’s what Jesus wants us all to do; bring our burdens to Him, pour them out at His feet, and then trust Him to take care of them…)Think how that Father must have felt; seeing his maimed, burnt son, wallowing in the dirt, staring up at him with an inhuman look coming out of his terror-filled eyes.
As parents and grandparents, we can understand the pain of that father, (As our children were growing up, and even now, even though they are adults----Dale and I have discovered that you are only as happy as your unhappiest child-----our emotions rise and fall with their failures and successes----oftentimes we would rather take a beating, than to see them struggle through some of the things that they have to endure. )
That father was hurting so deeply, but he must have seen the compassion in Jesus’ eyes, because it moved him to say, “…if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us…” the father knew that Jesus had healed other people, so he believed that Jesus could heal; it was just a matter of whether He would do it, in his son’s case----because what faith the father did have, had been badly shaken, by the disciples’ inability to make his son well.
And the 3rd thing Jesus did was to let the man understand for himself, that he had more faith than he thought he did……Jesus threw the man’s words right back to him, “if , He could heal the boy”----- of course He could heal the child---the problem wasn’t with Jesus, it was with the father’s lack of faith, because “everything is possible for the person who believes.”
Jesus’ words don’t mean that we can automatically get whatever we want, just because we want it, and because we think we can----what Jesus meant was, that everything is possible if we believe, because nothing is too difficult for God. We can’t just magically, have everything that we pray for, but when we believe by faith, we can have everything we need, so that we can serve Him.
Jesus and that father, stood nose to nose, with Jesus’ challenge to believe, reverberating in the air…
(This is one of the most abused verses in the Bible, people have taken it out of context, and have used it, to justify how their wishes did, or did not, come true, based on how much faith they have. There are even people who think that their faith can control Almighty God----that if you just believe hard enough, then God has to do it.
But this thinking is so wrong---God is sovereign, He alone, decides what will and will not happen---and our faith can’t go beyond what God has promised us in His word----if it does, it isn’t really faith, then, it becomes a man-made, self-centered religion, that has nothing to do with faith in the Lord Jesus. (an example is----a parent who is worried to death over a sick child and he tells himself, “I believe that Jesus can heal him, I will pray for Him to heal him and I won’t let any negative words be uttered, and I know that the Lord will heal him. But this is a lie, it’s wrong theology---it goes beyond God’s word---the Lord never promises, in the scripture, that He will heal everybody---what He promises, is, that He will be with us, no matter what we have to walk through.
That’s the promise we can believe in…God can do anything----He can save the worst sinner and He can heal the most hopeless disease------but only, if it fits into His master plan.----- we will feel Him prompting us what to pray, that will be in accordance to His will, if we will just pay attention.)
That’s what He was doing to the father in today’s lesson; He was
prompting him to believe ----Jesus told the father, that his faith, was the condition to his son being healed. In this instance, if he had not believed, his son would have stayed like he was.
The father answered Jesus, with one of the greatest responses to Him, in all of scripture----“Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” The honesty of his answer, was as pure and transparent as any, you will ever see. His faith was shaky and it was imperfect, but it was real, and the Lord could make it grow ----a faith that declares itself publically, and recognizes its weaknesses, and begs for the Lord’s help, at the same time, is a real faith.
Trusting that the man did believe, and seeing the crowd surging toward Him, Jesus quickly called the demon out of the boy, once and for all, then He reached down and pulled the boy to his feet. With that simple command it was finished----, He had given the boy back his mind, his hearing, his speech, his boyhood, his hopes and dreams and most of all,
Jesus gave him faith in Himself.
When Jesus and the disciples went inside, they asked him why they hadn’t been able to drive the evil spirit out…His answer was simple--- power comes from prayer----they had forgotten to pray, they had put their trust in the circumstance, of their past experiences, thinking they could do it, because they had done it before-----they thought it was under their own control-----Jesus had to remind them----that it was only through His power, and their dependence on Him, that anything could be done------ prayer is the key that unlocks faith in our lives. Prayer demonstrates our reliance on God, as we bow before Him and ask Him to fill us with faith and power. When we face seemingly impossible circumstances, there is nothing that we can substitute for prayer.
Raphael’s beautiful painting, is a clear picture for us to see, that without the Lord Jesus, there’s no hope----the disciple’s arms reaching up toward Him tells us, that that the power we need to live in this world, can only come from a praying, dependent faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. Jesus the Teacher 9:30-50
When Beverly’s son, David was in the 10th grade, Dale and I were his SS teachers… one Sunday, I was teaching this lesson, and was explaining to them that what we, do for other people, in Jesus’ name, even the tiniest thing, is same thing, as doing it for the Lord. We finished the lesson, and most of us, then dispersed to the sanctuary, and some of the teenagers went home. There hadn’t been many questions that day, so I didn’t think another thing about the lesson----until I got home about 2:00 and walked into the garage, and found sitting on my back steps, a blue solo cup full of cool clear water------I knew immediately that someone had understood, the intent of the lesson that morning-----Somehow, I knew it had been left there by David----and it thrilled my heart----it is one of my most precious memories of teaching high school for over 30 years----it was a cup of clear water to my soul, that David was giving to the Lord, by giving to me----what a sweet blessing----He’s been my darling David, ever since…
After they left Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and the disciples began, what Jesus knew, would be their last tour through Galilee. They must have kept out of sight of the crowds, because scripture says, that Jesus didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, because He wanted to spend more time with the disciples knowing that He had so much to teach them, with time so short…He was going to leave the future of the church in their hands, and He needed to tell them, what He wanted them to know, even if they didn’t completely understand it then. He knew that they would remember it, when the Holy Spirit came to indwell them.
As they walked along, Jesus tried to tell them, again, about the cross and about His death and resurrection, but they just could not understand what He was telling them; and after He had rebuked Peter so publically, for trying to get Him not to talk about it… that they were too scared to ask Him to explain Himself again---- (What they couldn’t fathom, and we can’t either, is, that it wouldn’t have mattered how many times they asked the same question, Jesus would willingly and patiently, have answered and explained, anything the wanted to discuss.
He wants us to know what He knows-----James 1:5 says, “if anyone lacks wisdom, ask God and He will tell you what you want to know.”
The disciple’s problem, and ours, is that, a lot of times, we think we already know what we need to know about God, and the scripture, and the Lord, and our service, and the Holy Spirit----but the truth is, most of us have only just uncovered the tip of the iceberg, of the spiritual truth and blessing, that the Lord wants to give us----we’re like the disciples----we have a little knowledge and we think that’s enough----we’re satisfied……but thank goodness the Lord isn’t----He keeps pushing us, and pricking us, and stirring us up, and making us uncomfortable, till it forces us to seek Him out, so that He can teach us…
I love that Jesus took time from His work to spend time with them and teach, just them----and that He gave them His undivided attention-----and He hasn’t changed----He’s right there any time we seek Him, and take the time to sit down at His feet, like the disciples did, and He will patiently, teach us His way…
The had gotten back to Capernaum, which was their home base, and had gathered in a house, scholars think that it was probably Peter’s. They had been arguing along the way, among themselves which one of them was going to be the greatest when the kingdom was established….The Lord had heard them, but He had waited to ask them about it, probably so that He would have their undivided attention.
When He did ask them….The disciples fell silent, probably because, they had been caught red-handed in self-centeredness and pride----it seems like they were embarrassed to answer Jesus’ question---(It is always painful when we compare our motives to the Lord’s-----ours are never completely pure, and His always are…)
But Jesus, didn’t let any aggravation or frustration, with them, show… in His kind way, He just gathered them all around Him and sat down to teach them what they needed to know….
His response to their argument, turned their whole value system upside down-----
we all have the desire to dominate----especially in America, we think in order to succeed, we have to be the biggest and the brightest and the best----but Jesus said that there was another way, a better way that every believer is called to----and that is to recognize, that in the family of God, there is no one any better than anyone else-----we are all called, we are all God’s children, we all have jobs to do and no job is better than any other----they all hinge together, and they are all to be used for the benefit of everybody.
And He used a little child to illustrate His point----we are to love and welcome and encourage each other, in the same way that we do little children, with no thought of their accomplishments, or their influence, or their fame or their gifts or what they can do for us----we are to love, and support, and encourage them, just because they are God’s children.
The word for child, that Jesus used, in Aramaic, is also the word for servant----Jesus wanted the disciples to understand, that real leadership comes as we take care of the needs of others, just like we would for a child…Instead of using people, or favoring them, or idolizing them, or even despising them, we are to serve them. Jesus’ mission was to serve others, till there was nothing left of Him-----we need to follow His example-----we all need servant’s hearts---
-a heart that appreciates the worth of other people,
a heart that realizes that it isn’t above any job,
a heart, in the words of Sonny Shelton, that walks into a room and doesn’t say “here I am”, it says, “there you are.” (If we see something that needs to be done, we shouldn’t wait to be asked or ask someone else----we should just take the initiative and get the job done)….we shouldn’t approach life with the attitude of “getting what we can get”------ we need to approach it with the idea of “giving what we can give…”
And the best thing of all----Jesus promised that if we live our lives like this, then not only would we receive Him, but we would also be receiving God the Father….
Then John changed the subject for some reason-----he had a complaint about man, who was driving demons out in Jesus’ name, and wasn’t one of the disciples…Apparently, according to most theologians, the man was a believer----he just wasn’t one of the chosen 12, so He hadn’t been privy to all that they had been privy to….
plain and simply—John was jealous----he was protective of the disciple’s, what he saw as, privileged position----- and it had to be galling, that the man was having success with exorcisms, when the other disciples had failed to draw the evil spirit, out of the little boy.
Jesus told John, to leave the man alone, that they were on the same side, this man was working for Jesus, just like the disciples were, so, he needed to be encouraged, not criticized ------John should have been happy that the man was helping them further the kingdom, they should have worked together----- “anyone who isn’t with Jesus, is opposing Him, and anyone who isn’t working with Him, is actually working against Him”…….we can’t straddle the fence---we can’t be neutral---we’re either for Him, or we’re against Him----there’s no in between.
Believers are all different----we think differently, we worship differently, we behave differently, we feel differently, we are motivated differently, we utilize our individual gifts, for the kingdom differently----
But, we all have the same goal----we want to spread the Gospel and build the kingdom----and we shouldn’t let our differences interfere with our goals.
We need to be on each other’s side, applauding each other, not sitting in judgment and wishing for failure, just because we don’t do things the same way or with the same understanding…
People don’t have to be just like us in order to be following Jesus with us.
Jesus went on to tell the disciples that whatever they did, for someone in His name, even just giving the a cup of cool water, it was the same thing as giving it to Him-----and He warned them, that they had to behave in such a way, that they were never responsible for causing someone else to to stumble…
We were created to help people, not to hinder them. And the way we treat people has eternal value. Jesus introduced the subject of rewards in heaven, in this conversation. The deeds we do will be refined by fire----they will be sorted according to their value---they will either endure or they will burn up.
When we are standing before the judgment seat of Christ, we will either lay fine and rare gold and jewels at his feet, or we will lay wood hay and stubble there----the service that we do for others, in the Lord’s name, is represented by the jewels and gold; and the things we do for ourselves or in our own strength, is the wood, hay and stubble (1st Corinthians 3:12)----- and what we do for others, in Jesus name, will determine our reward. No helping hand extended to a fellow believer will go unnoticed or unrewarded.
Jesus went on to say, that just like it’s a serious thing to cause a child to stumble----it is a serious thing to cause someone who is young or unlearned in the faith, to stumble too. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their necks, and be thrown into the river, to be drowned, than to lead an earnest believer or would-be believer, into sin. That’s why we have to be so careful to live and behave in the way that Jesus would. We are being watched by everyone---believers and non-believers alike----and our every action needs to be made with eternity in mind.
Then, Jesus instructed the disciples, in the way that they could walk well and righteously in front of those who were watching them….
In very graphic terms, He explained the absolute necessity for personal holiness in every believer. And He made it clear that there is a heaven to be gained, and a hell to be shunned…..
He doesn’t really want us to literally cut off a foot or a hand or gouge out eyes-----because, it’s possible, to be minus hands feet and eyes, and still be the most reprehensible, sinful person, in town.
What Jesus wants from us is not physical----it is spiritual ---He wants us to cut off the sin from our lives…the hand, eye and foot represent the totality of life----the hand symbolizes what we do, the foot represents where we go and the eye represents what we see…and the severing has to be decisive and complete; and only we can do it for ourselves, no one else can do it for us…
Are there places our feet carry us, that we shouldn’t go;
do we have habits and secret activities, that we would be embarrassed to tell anybody about;
what do we read or watch on TV?
Who do we spend most of our time with?
Painful self-discipline is required of true believers…Giving up a relationship, a job, a habit, a behavior or thought processes, that are against God’s will, may seem like they’re as painful as cutting off a hand or a foot, but being at peace with the Lord Jesus is worth all the loss and discomfort we could ever have to suffer.
It is our responsibility, to make sure that we don’t cause others to stumble, and to make sure we don’t stumble ourselves; and, it’s our responsibility to be the salt of the earth…
The Jewish people have a saying---“the world cannot survive without salt”, which is a vivid reminder to us that in the ancient world the only way they could preserve food to keep it from spoiling, was to salt it. Jesus’ call for His disciples to be salt, is a challenge for us to be a preserving influence in a decaying world…Wherever we go, whatever we do, whomever we’re with, we are called to be salt----our presence needs to make a difference----conversation should be elevated; honesty should be promoted and ethical behavior should be prompted…
Despite all the times we fail, with the Lord’s help and guidance, we can still have a healing, preserving influence on the world around us. We can bring spiritual flavor to life and we can make the world thirsty for Him. If we lose the desire to salt the earth with love and the message of the Gospel, then we become useless to Him.
Jesus concluded His lesson that day, by reminding them that their saltiness needed to start with each other, and that they needed to find a way to be at peace with one another, because they needed to be unified, in order to carry on His ministry, once He was gone…
Our Heavenly Father, thank you so much for loving us so much that you sent Jesus to die for us and resurrect for us, and you gave us Your complete and inerrant Word, so that we could know you through the life of our precious Jesus and You gave us Your Holy Spirit, so that we will never be alone an so that He could teach us what we need to know.
We thank you for the scripture we’ve studied these last 2 weeks----we have been blessed----You make things so clear as to what we are supposed to do and not do. We especially thank you for the example of the father who said, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Because that is a boat that we all find ourselves in from time to time. And Lord, please help us to remember that it costs us nothing to give cups of cool clear water to people, but it can mean everything to them---please help us to do it. Help us to freely and joyfully take up our cross and follow you, because it draws us closer to you so that we catch the same glimpse of our transfigured Lord, that Peter, James and John saw.
And Father, finally, we pray that you keep everybody and their families safe healthy and bring us back together again next week. Amen.
