Monthly Archives: July 2020

THE GOSPEL OF MARK -EVERY PERSON UNIQUE

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EVERY PERSON UNIQUE

22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.” Mark 8:22-26

Why did Jesus have to touch this man twice to be healed? Why did He spit on the man’s eyes? Why did He deal with him alone, outside the village? Why did He send him straight home? Was His popularity becoming a hindrance to His real mission? Were the crowds getting to Him?

These are all questions which can probably only be answered by speculating but, as we look across His entire ministry, there are trends and patterns which help us to find answers. Jesus did not operate according to formulae. Every person was a unique individual and, in union with the Father through the Holy Spirit, Jesus ministered to each one according to his personality, understanding and need. Likewise, He touched their hearts individually. He was never responsible for formulae like “accept Jesus as your personal Saviour” or “be born again” or even “say the sinner’s prayer” as though any one of these is a guaranteed entrance into the kingdom of God. Jesus’ ministry was more about changing people’s awareness than about “making a decision” for Him.

Secondly, He sometimes spoke to a need and sometimes used a physical aid or a sign to arouse faith in the individual. There was always a combination of confidence in Jesus and the operation of divine power – triggered by the faith that produced the miracle. Sometimes the miracle was instantaneous and at other times, like on this occasion, it happened in stages or in response to obedience, on the way (the ten lepers).

Thirdly, it seems that Jesus avoided the limelight more and more because His presence and actions were producing sensation and popularity for the wrong reasons. He did not advertise His presence or send His disciples out to gather the crowds. He wanted people to be convinced of who He was so that they would love and trust Him as the Son of God. Only this would produce loyalty and obedience strong enough to take them through fire and water with Him.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THE FATHER KNOWS OUR NEED

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THE FATHER KNOWS OUR NEED

14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

6 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

Twelve,” they replied.

20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”

21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” Mark 8:14-21

There is something significant hidden in this incident that the Holy Spirit wants us to understand. In Matthew 6:8, Jesus taught His disciples that prayer is not about needs. So, what do we do when a need arises? Jesus said, “Seek God’s kingdom first and all these things will be added.” What is the essence of God’s kingdom? Generosity – taking care of the needs of others; the oppressed, the poor, the widow, the orphan and the alien. Create a current and God will always reciprocate by taking care of our needs. He knows without our having to ask.

In this situation (Mark 8:16-21), it was obvious to Jesus that His disciples had not understood the significance of His generosity to the hungry crowds. The Father knew their natural, physical need. He was simply the channel through which God supernaturally satisfied their hunger. He used what was available and God made it enough for everyone.

Now Jesus and the disciples were in a situation where the Father was aware of their need. The lesson they had failed to grasp was that the Father would not withhold from them because of their carelessness. He was a Father, a caring parent who would look after them no matter what their circumstances.

This does not give us licence to be careless and irresponsible, but it does take into account our frail and imperfect humanity. When God says He knows our need before we ask Him, he really means it. Knowing means more than merely being aware of our need. It also implies that He is willing and able to meet that need because He is our Father.

What security that provides to know that we need never be preoccupied with all the things that pagans run after. We are freed to focus on the things our Father is concerned about – doing whatever we can to make “up there” come “down here”; being gracious and compassionate to the ones around us who don’t know Him.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – READ DEEPER…

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READ DEEPER…

14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” Mark 8:14-21

Jesus’ mind was obviously preoccupied with His recent encounter with the Pharisees. What was the influence of their constant criticism for not adhering to the minutiae of their religious system? In a culture where all of life revolved around the Torah and its protective laws, the disciples were probably soaked in this way of thinking. Perhaps, because most of them came from Galilee, which had close ties with the Gentile world, they were not as heavily influenced by Pharisaic thinking and behaviour as those who came from Judea.

Jesus issued a stern warning to them all to be careful of the Pharisees’ influence. It was as subtle and all-pervading as yeast in a lump of dough. Although the disciples had neglected to bring enough bread for the day, He was not concerned about their lunch, or lack of it. He had a far greater concern for their hearts and for the danger of judging people by their own artificial standards of righteousness.

Once again, this incident reveals the contrast between the thinking of Jesus and the thinking of His disciples. The disciples were preoccupied with their immediate need while Jesus was concerned about their hearts and where they were in their understanding and attitude to the kingdom of God. They thought Jesus’ comment was a rebuke because of their thoughtlessness. They focussed on the physical – on bread.

Jesus was annoyed with them. His rebuke was not about their neglect but about their inability to understand the lessons they were supposed to learn from His dealings with people. The fact that the Father was capable of taking care of their needs went unnoticed. Not once but twice Jesus had provided food for thousands from a tiny supply because God cared that they were hungry. He could do it again for them if they needed help, in spite of their forgetfulness. Jesus was teaching them to read deeper into their experiences for the real meaning of life.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – LIKE A PLAGUE OF RATS!

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LIKE A PLAGUE OF RATS!

11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees were everywhere, it seems. Like a plague of rats, they appeared wherever Jesus went, badgering Him over every issue they could think of. This time it was about signs. They were demanding a miraculous sign to confirm His claims.

Jesus was angry with them. If they chose to believe, He had given them more than enough proof of His identity. If only they had eyes to see and ears to hear, they would have seen a perfect replica of the Messianic fingerprint all over the Old Testament. They were not convinced and they would never be convinced because it all boiled down to what they wanted. Their attention was on the politics of their nation rather than on the real kingdom of God, the one inside them to which Jesus called them to give their allegiance.

Since the Jews believed that their hearts were intrinsically good and that TESHUVAH and TEPHILAH meant coming back to what He originally created them to be, then it is understandable that Jesus would remind them that the kingdom of God was within them…

Jesus also knew that no matter how many miraculous signs He did, nothing would convince them of His true identity because they had no desire to change and submit themselves to His lordship. They enjoyed their position of authority and admiration in the nation and they were not prepared to forfeit that for a position of humble servant-hood. They were far too fond of the praise of men to forfeit it to follow Jesus.

Every message, every miracle was a sign, if only they had a heart to see and hear. As we read the gospels, we can see more and more that Jesus’ miracles were not stunts but signs of His identity and His intention. Whatever He said and did reflected on the Father. He was the perfect replica of the Father and His purpose was to reconcile His people to the Father so that they, in turn, would reflect the Father to the world.

With their hearts so full of rot, is it any wonder that they would rather kill Jesus than hear the truth. Jesus” diagnosis of the human heart was spot one. “People love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.” How tragic that the solution is so simple, and yet people run from Him instead of to Him. He has mercy for everyone who repents, but only judgment for those who reject His offer of mercy.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – HE DID IT AGAIN!

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CHAPTER 8

HE DID IT AGAIN!

​1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

4 His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9 About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10 he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. Mark 8:1-10

This account of the feeding of another large crowd cannot be a mistaken repetition of what had happened previously because Jesus alludes to both events further on in the chapter. Why, then, were the disciples so forgetful that they couldn’t remember what had happened only a few days before? Jesus refused to dismiss a hungry crowd to find food for themselves on their way home. After three days they had exhausted their own supplies and would have run out of energy before they reached home. This was a set-up for another miracle to meet a legitimate need. The bread and fish on hand must have been the last of the disciples’ supply to feed themselves.

Two opposite responses: from Jesus and His disciples. He saw the need; they saw the obstacles. He had compassion on the crowd; they felt nothing for them. He intended to do something about it; they had no answer for the problem. They had forgotten how Jesus has solved the problem once before.

What is the content of Jesus’ thanksgiving prayer? Did He give thanks for the loaves and fishes or did He thank the Father that He had in His hands the potential to feed a multitude?  Because His heart was one with the Father, He had no doubt that His compassion expressed the Father’s compassion and that the need of the crowd would be met by a few loaves of bread and a few fish that would not get used up.

This miracle had nothing to do with “Look what I can do.” It was all about “My children are hungry and I must feed them.” There was no need to beg Jesus for food. The Father knew their need before they asked Him. What a lovely illustration of what Jesus taught His disciples about prayer – Matthew 6:8! Although it is perfectly legitimate to ask God to meet our needs, in a sense it is redundant because He actually knows better than we do what we need. It is more about dependence and trust than about moving God to do what we want.