Mark 13 - Disruption

Mark 13 - Disruption

Here are some elements that are prominent in Jesus’ sermon on the end times. There will be no predictions here about when these things will come about. But, these are strange days, and some of these themes feel eerily familiar.

Mark 13:1,2 talks about the disruption of destruction. They are referring specifically to the temple, which wasn’t, by old world standards, all that old. It was Herod’s temple, which had been in a building process for the last 40+ years. But it was impressive, and it seemed solid. And yet, impressive things that seem solid, in the end times, will be overturned. In fact, we aren’t sure what things in and of this world won’t be overturned.

Mark 13:3-8 talks about false teachers. The world will be characterized by lies. People will not know who or what they can believe. Rumors will run rampant. And, that sounds familiar.

Mark 13:9-13 says that there will be persecution. Yes, there will be strife in general, but there will be deep animus against faith and against the faithful. It does not appear in Jesus’ setting that the persecution was going to affect the Roman worship of pagan gods. You can have your gods, so long as they are not exclusive; so long as they come in multiples. But exclusive religions are going to suffer. That is, if you don’t profess that there are many ways to heaven, but instead insist, as does the Bible, that there is only One Way, then you are exclusive, and you will be resented and hated.

Mark 13:14-23 describes an incident that seems already to have happened in history, during the first century of the early church. And when it happened, it must have seemed like “the end.” And this has happened several times through history. The Church experiences these “stress points” at different times, in different places, and it easy to conclude that this is the end of all things. But it comes in waves. When the end comes, I believe we will know it (cf vv. 24-26).

Mark 13:28-32 contains the phrase, “He is near, right at the door.” And that is part of the picture. I have used the illustration of time, that we don’t stand in a long line, waiting for the years to drop off ahead of us one by one, until we finally come to the end. Rather, we each live our lives on the precipice, on the edge of His coming, and are to live our lives from that perspective. 

Mark 13:33-37 repeats the phrase, “Be on the alert.” And yet, it almost seems at times that we are sleep-walking through life, as though we can assume that tomorrow will be just like today because today seems so much like yesterday. Jesus has promised - and this is the most certain thing that we know about the end times - that He is coming again. This passage says it: ²⁶ “Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.” And so our job is to be awake; to be ready; and to be occupied in this mean time with things that are in keeping with Jesus’ coming.

Mark 12:38-44 A Large Heart

Mark 12:38   In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, ³⁹ and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”Mark 12:41   And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. ⁴² A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. ⁴³ Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Here at the end of Mark 12, Jesus warns (Beware!) of religious leaders who are all about themselves, so much so that “they devour widows’ houses.” He then moves on to observe and commend a poor widow who comes to the temple. As part of her worship, she contributes to the treasury.

The description of the religious leaders focuses not on what they give, but on what they receive. It is their own focus. They want to receive “respectful greetings;” they want to be recognized with seats of honor; they want to accumulate; they want to be noticed. This can happen in the lives of many who are not so-called “religious leaders.” Many of us want to be respected, and we react negatively when we perceive being slighted. Many of us desire to be honored, and are often quick to judge those who are honored before us, or, to judge those doing the honoring. Many of us want more, and just a little bit more.

It would be easiest, in seeking to apply this passage, to purpose to curtail the receiving in our lives, and to expand the giving. If that’s the lesson, we can all do a little bit better. But that’s not how the passage works out, because Jesus does not here commend incremental improvement; He commends a stark contrast: “a poor widow.”

She “put in(to the treasury) two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.” That’s not going to add up very fast. It will not pay the utility bills on the building. But Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury.” Obviously, Jesus is using a different standard of measure than monetary. He is measuring hearts. And her heart is larger.

Jesus explains, “for they (the ‘receivers’) all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

One more point - a bit of conjecture. She didn’t lug her house into the temple and throw it into the treasury. She put coins in. She didn’t put in the price that she received when she sold her house. Did she really put in all that she owned? Well, perhaps this is one of those widows whose house has been “devoured” by the religious leaders, you know, for the good of the ministry. Maybe she had lost her house to these old goats, and she had only two coins left.

In which case, it amazes us all the more that she still, having been robbed by the men who run the temple, is still willing to come into the temple and worship. It seems that her worship of God is so sincere that the bad behavior of religious leaders does not get in the way; and her trust in God is so pure, that being wronged does not disrupt her faith in Him.

Mark 12:35-37 Both Son and Lord

Mark 12:35-37 Both Son and Lord

Mark 12:35   And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ “David himself said in the Holy Spirit,  ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,  “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,  UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.”’³⁷ “David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

Jesus now teaches in the Temple, and his lesson is not in response to a question. It is material that He Himself decides to present because we need to hear it. It seems to be a twisty little argument that He uses, but it is not all that difficult.

One of the most familiar commandments is #5 from the 10 commandments: “Honor your father and your mother.” Nowhere do we find parents required to honor their children. It is the responsibility of the younger to honor the older. This applies to honoring parents, and grandparents, and forebears up the line. The older is honored by the younger.

And so if Jesus is a descendant of David, and He is, through Mary, then it is His responsibility to honor David. And yet, in Psalm 110 - these verses that Jesus quotes from the Scriptures - David speaks, referring to “My Lord,” and places this “Lord” at the right hand of the LORD, that is God. In the Hebrew text of Psalm 110, two different words are used for these two Lords. The first is clearly the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Yahweh, or Jehovah. He is clearly divine. The second is Adonai, which is a term that refers to one who has authority, and can certainly refer to God, but could also refer to a king. It would be appropriate, then, for a descendant of David to refer to David as “my lord.” But that is not what happens here. Here David refers to a son, a particular son, different from all others, as “Lord.” He alone, and not David, is the One who will sit a Yahweh’s right hand, with all enemies subdued under His feet.

This One who would sit at Yahweh’s right hand is also the One who is about, in the flow of Mark’s Gospel, to be crucified. But again, David has already spoken about this, not in reference to himself, as Peter says, but in reference to Jesus the Christ. 

“For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;  Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”  (Psalm 16:10 NAS95)

Having suffered the pains of death, Jesus was buried, he rose again from the dead, and He has ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father, as both Son and Lord.

Preparing for a Different Future

One of the great prayers recorded in Scripture is Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9. It is a prayer of confession, in which he confesses both the greatness of God, and also the greatness of the people’s sin. He is very clear that the basis for his appeal to God for forgiveness is not “because of our righteousness but because of your great mercy” (v.19). 

Let’s think about this verse:

“As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.” (Daniel 9:13 NAS95)

There are differences, of course, between our current “calamity” and that of the Israelites under the Babylonians. And yet we still understand that the hand of God is involved in our current situation, and while we cannot say that it is due to this and this, and that God wants to accomplish this and this - we still must ask, what should we be learning? What should be forsaking? What should we be embracing? How should life and church be re-shaped in light of what we are learning?

We are to seek the favor of the the Lord our God. We know that His favor follows walking in His ways. No, there is not one-to-one correspondence. Many who walk in God’s ways may suffer unusually, though we can also say that they are also blessed unusually, often right in the midst of their sufferings. As we seek the favor of the Lord, we do not merely ask for the virus to be abated or eradicated, but we ask how it is that we might more consistently walk in His ways. Last week’s Easter message mentioned three areas that are clearly addressed in Scripture, but are often not-so-clearly addressed by our own selves: 1) “no longer living for themselves” (2 Cor 5:15); 2) “see to it that no one takes you captive … according to the elementary principles of the world” - here, seemingly, a kind of legalism that produces self-righteousness (Co. 2:8); and 3) “born again to a living hope” (1 Pet 1:3), thus not living on the strength of dying hopes. 

How is it that I am living selfishly, or self-righteously, or placing my hope in dying things? These things will run directly counter to “the favor of the Lord our God.” And so here, then, we come to the remainder of that line that begins with seeking the favor of the Lord our God: “by turning from our iniquity, and giving attention to Your truth.” By examining ourselves, individually and collectively, and making required changes.

Mark 12:28-34 “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

“You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

This sounds like a good thing, especially since some people in Jesus’ day, especially religious leaders, seemed to be so far from the kingdom of God. Much better to be “not far” than “far distant.” But is it really?

A scribe, who is himself a religious leader, comes to Jesus. We assume that he asks the question about the “foremost commandment” sincerely, though if he did, he would be unusual. He sees that Jesus has insight. Perhaps it takes a person with a little insight to recognize that another person has insight. 

Jesus responds directly to his question, which is a little bit unusual as well. He gives a clear answer, uniting the two love commands, the abbreviated form being “Love God; love neighbor.” It may be a helpful abbreviation, yet it doesn’t help us evaluate the statement, “not far from the kingdom.”

It is very easy to assume that most all of us do what the abbreviated commandments require. Do you love God? Most people would say yes. Do you love your neighbor? Most people would again say yes. But if you were to ask them the whole commandment, I think the replies, if honest would be quite different. Do you “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH”? Now some people might still say yes, but I think it is a much more difficult answer, almost impossible. Who really knows if they have loved so completely, with no exceptions, to the depths, with no restriction? And secondly, the other commandment reads, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” “Loving neighbor,” and “loving neighbor as yourself” seem to be two different things; of two different orders. We often love our neighbors with the leftovers, after we have taken care of ourselves. 

And so the problem that arises is this: how do we get that kind of love into our hearts? Because the capability to love so deeply and sacrificially is not natural to us. A certain level of selfishness is much more natural. And the scribe understood something of this. He admitted that it is much easier to fulfill religious observances: “LOVE … is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33), than it is to love deeply and sacrificially. He gets is, but that is not yet the Gospel. He sees the problem, but has he yet found the solution?

Jesus says, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” We all have heard that “close” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. To be “not far” from the kingdom does not mean that one has “entered” the kingdom. 

Jesus enacts and inaugurates a new covenant, which is to operate from the inside out, not like the old covenant, which operated from the outside in. Ezekiel 36, where the new covenant is promised says it like this: ²⁶ “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

That is, by faith in Jesus, who alone is able to introduce us into a right relationship with God, we are equipped to do what we could never do in and of ourselves with our own resources. He does not leave us at the doorstep of the kingdom. He welcomes us into it.

Mark 12:18-27 Like Angels in Heaven

Mark 12:18-27 Like Angels in Heaven

““For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” (Mark 12:25 NAS95)

Some have suggested that the “new heavens and new earth” will re-instate many of the standards of the first creation before sin entered into the world. This may be true, in part. Creation was at peace with itself; Adam and Eve had personal, immediate fellowship with God in the garden. And, I suppose Adam and Eve got along well. The ideal husband-wife relationship.

But Jesus, in Mark 12:18-27, responding to the Sadducees and their test question, casts some serious doubt that the end-of-time order will be like the first. God instituted family in the garden, partly for fellowship (Gen. 2:18   “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”;  and then in verse 20: “but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.” God also instituted the family for procreation: Gen 1:28 “God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply.”

If we think about it (and now we are thinking, not reading Biblical text), there will be no shortage of fellowship in the resurrected world. Every person will have unfettered and pure relationship with others, - with all others. There won’t be categories of people who are “safe” or “unsafe.” There will be no need to keep secrets, as when a man or woman says to their spouse, “I’ll say this to you, but I wouldn’t say it to anyone else.” There will be no rivalries, and no need for a couple to take the common attitude, “we’re ok if we have each other,” or “it’s you and me, babe, against the world.” We can’t really imagine, can we? And maybe I’m reading this wrong, but if I’m right, the fellowship will be sweeter, and the leaving behind of marriage relationship will not be bitter.

Regarding procreation, it seems that all these relationships will be completely free from sexuality. That would certainly remove a whole dynamic, wouldn’t it? We base this on Jesus’ statement: Mark 12:25 “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” Angels do not procreate. To our knowledge, there are no boy angels and girls angels. They do not have gender. There are no baby angels. Nor are they old, but ageless. I do not believe that Jesus says we will be like angels in every respect, but he specifically mentions “marriage,” and I assume then, the sexual relationship.

God’s institution of family in this world is about as basic as it gets. It has been the source of blessings that are beyond counting. Family has been the scene of heart-wrenching heartbreak as well, over and over again throughout history. I am not suggesting (and I am sure that people can interpret this and other passages differently) that God is finished with family when it comes to the new heavens and new earth. I am suggesting that God will re-define family in such a way that there is only one family - one family that will dwell in perfect unity and love, and they will be united in worshipping their one Father, and His Son, our Savior, through the Spirit. 

Mark 12:13-17 Whose Image?

Mark 12:13   Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. ¹⁴ They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ “Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

If you have been following this series, you will see that my last post covered through 11:19. I’ve skipped over 11:20-26, since I have written about faith recently, and have confessed that I don’t understand a lot. “Faith to move mountains” is difficult, and I have more ideas about what it doesn’t mean than what it does. I  also skipped over 11:27-33, because we addressed the  subject of Jesus authority recently. I also skipped over 12:1-11, a parable which dramatically illustrates the rejection of Jesus, a theme that reoccurs often in all the Gospels. By skipping these in my comments, I do not want to imply that they are not worth reading and meditating on.

Our current text, Mark 12:13-17, is very clear about the motivation of the leaders who come to Jesus: “in order to trap Him.” Jesus responded perfectly. We don’t respond perfectly. And the Enemy may gain victories by us when we speak carelessly. We should watch what we say. Proverbs seems to have a few things to say about this.

They begin with flattery - 4 lines in an ABBA pattern. The 1st and 4th lines and mention “truthful/true”; lines 2 and 3 are two negatives: “defer to no one” and “not partial to any.” What they say is true, but they say it for the purpose of flattery and manipulation. Again, we should be careful when this happens to us, and we should make sure that we don’t do it ourselves (sincere compliments only).

“Is it lawful?” seems to cover both what is legal and what is ethical. But if it does, they are not both the same. Is it legal for a Jewish man in covenant with God to pay a poll-tax to a Gentile authority? Is it ethical? We know that the law prohibits things that are, at least at times, ethical. And also, the law allows things that are clearly not ethical. It makes this question difficult to answer.

Jesus addresses neither the legal aspect or the ethical. He addresses the theological. He always has a view of God and what God is doing. These leaders have far more earthly concerns. Jesus asks about the image on a coin, issued by the Roman government. Yes, it has Caesar’s image. The question does not sound theological, except that it uses a highly theological word: image.

Jesus responds, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” He could have stopped the sentence halfway through. But He doesn’t. He goes on to say, “and (render) to God the things that are God’s.” He quickly dispatches the first question to answer the question they should have asked  - what do we owe God? To push the metaphor ever further, it is not what we are to pay to God, as though we were even capable of paying some kind of divine tax. In the illustration, we are not tax-payers, but actually coins minted under the authority of God and thus we bear the image of our Creator/King. 

We are to spend and be spent for Him. We are a currency that may be useful in facilitating the fame and worth of God “on earth, as (He) is in heaven.”

Take a coin from your pocket or purse and rub it between your fingers. Think about that coin, what it represents and how it serves. What can we learn about how to conduct ourselves in this world?

Mark 11:1-19 - The Lord Has Need of It

God means God. There can only be one. Mankind has minimized the word, so that there are many “gods,” but as Paul says: “this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.”

If God means God, then what does “Lord” mean? It means “authority,” though we know that there can be competing authorities. There can only be one God, but what about lords?

Jesus instructs his disciples in the first part of our passage to go into town and get a donkey that no one but him knew was there (plus he knew that it had never been ridden) and tell the one who asks, “The Lord has need of it.” And the guy says, “Ok.” Just like what would happen if someone walked into your yard to borrow your brand-new car, right? So Jesus’ Lordship in this passage includes Him knowing things that no one else knows, and guiding the consent of persons whom He has never met. I’m surmising at this point, but it seems that His authority also extends over the donkey, which may not have welcomed being ridden for the very first time, through a thronging parade of people. And yet, it seems that the donkey also bowed to the Lord’s Lordship.

In the next paragraph, Mark seems to be linking the fruitfulness of the current temple administration with the fruitfulness of the fig tree. There could be no fruit, “for it was not the season of figs,” and there could be no fruit from the temple, because the leaders were not in right relationship with God. Jesus makes a proclamation: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And guess what. The tree, yes, a tree responded, by drying up. No more fruit.

This is unusual authority. No, this is unheard-of authority. This is a different kind of Lord - a one-of-a-kind Lord, as though there could only be One.

In the next paragraph, Jesus re-enters the city and the temple on the next day.  ¹⁵ “And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; ¹⁶ and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.” This is very disruptive. This will no doubt attract much attention. This could result in arrest by temple officials. But then Jesus teaches, from God’s Word, and so clearly. He explains in a way that cannot be contradicted, He explains the purpose of the temple, and shows how that purpose has been abandoned. 

Jesus’ authority is unmatched in this arena as well, as He uses God’s Word as though it were His own; where He corrects the temple administration as though they answered to Him; where He exercises authority over creation (notably, donkeys, and trees) as though He created them; as though He actually is the owner of it, of us, all.

So I have to ask myself, do I respond properly to this kind of authority? Do I respond properly to Jesus who is the Lord God.

Mark 10:46-52 An Impertinent Faith

Mark 10:46   Then they *came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

I have to confess that I do not understand faith very well. Perhaps this passage can help us. We have a blind man, an impertinent blind man. He is offensive to the crowd. But in spite of their commands to silence him, he persists, calling out loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” He will not be quiet. He is determined to be heard.

“Impertinent” is generally viewed as a negative term, alongside words like “rude,” and “undiplomatic.” The blind man’s loud call to Jesus is embarrassing and irritating to the people around. 

But Jesus’ response is completely at odds with the response of the crowd. Jesus stops and says, “Call him here.” He asks what the man wants, and the mans says, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” And then we have this response of Jesus, “Go; your faith has made you well.”

It seems like Jesus says this to everyone at the end of a miracle story. But that’s not true. He only says it when someone busts into the scene, requesting/demanding help. The closest parallel in Mark’s Gospel is from the account of the long-afflicted woman who has the audacity to push through the crowd to touch Jesus’ garment (5:25-34). Unlike the blind man, she wants to stay anonymous. But like the blind man, her desperation drives her to Jesus.

In this paragraph, Jesus does not verbally commend their faith, but He sees the faith of the friends who come bearing the paralytic to Jesus, lowering him through the roof (2:1-12). “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’” (verse 5). Jesus responds to their impertinent faith.

So maybe this is a quality of faith that we have missed. We are taught politeness and reserve. And that may be exactly proper among our neighbors. But not so with God. Are we to respect and fear Him? Yes. But are we to “come boldly to the throne of grace”? Are we to be urgent and expressive in our prayers?

I’m afraid that I am more forcible in my preaching than I am in my prayers. Let’s follow Scripture, and call upon the Lord as those who do so out of an active faith.

Resurrection Reflections: Lines from the Four Gospels - John 20;29

Blessing for Present-Day Believers

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The disciples walked by both faith and sight. Their sight may have in fact have hindered their faith. They saw Jesus daily, and he looked like a mere man, though He was and is much more. Our eyes can place limits on our beliefs. But for Thomas, he needed his eyes to see evidence in order to believe. 

I’m not too hard on Thomas. He knew that Jesus had died. He didn’t have a category in his mind for Jesus re-appearing; for rising again from such a horrid death. Though Jesus had tried to help him. Several times Jesus had predicted his resurrection. But somehow, it just didn’t stick with the disciples. Jesus Himself had enacted resurrections: Tabitha; the widow’s son; and Lazarus. 

Jesus is patient with Thomas. He helps his faith. He invited Thomas to come to Him and “put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas does as Jesus says, and responds with this glorious statement of faith: “My Lord and my God!” May we all respond likewise.

But Jesus goes on to speak to the rest of us. He speaks to those of us who have not yet had the opportunity to see Jesus face to face; to personally experience His physical presence. He says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That would be all those whose faith is simply taking Jesus at His word; taking God at His Word; taking Scripture as the Word of God. 

In the end, I’m not sure if it was harder for the first disciples, or for us. Their eyes played tricks on them. Our eyes want to see what is yet invisible. Faith is required for both, then and now. But there is a special blessing for present-day believers.

Resurrections Reflections: Lines from the Four Gospels: Matthew 28:4-5

Jesus Who Was Crucified

Matt. 28:4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 

There are experiences that we go through that actually stick so closely to our identity, they actually becomes part of one’s identity. A person who survives cancer becomes a cancer-survivor. Some cases may be more obvious than others. But with Jesus, it could not be more obvious. We believe in Jesus, who was crucified. The crucifixion is critical to the identity of Jesus our Savior.

The angel actually clarifies this for us. He helps the women to understand that he knows they are seeking “Jesus who was crucified.” I’m not sure that this had permeated their understandings yet. They knew Jesus from their experience of His earthly ministry, and probably had not yet integrated the significance of His crucifixion into their  faith and understanding. 

The question for us, even as we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection, is this: have we sufficiently integrated the fact of “Jesus crucified” into our faith? Do we regard it as absolutely necessary in our worship of Jesus? Could we worship Him had He not been crucified? Remember Paul’s statement: "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1Cor. 2:2).

Practically speaking, the fact of Jesus being crucified is necessary for our celebration of the Resurrection. Crucifixion means death. There were no crucifixion-survivors. And death is necessary for resurrection. Living people are not raised from the dead. Jesus, who is the Son of God, really died. 

Secondly, as the crucifixion is integrated into the very identity of Christ and our faith in Him, it actively shapes our lives. Again, Paul said it so well: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Jesus’ identity and “Christ crucified” now attaches itself to you and me - we are those who are crucified with Christ. A little later in Galatians, Paul says: “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). Peter tells us what Jesus did:  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit (1Pet. 3:18). Now we walk with this God to whom we have been brought, “consider(ing) (y)ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:11). 

And one more thing: as we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection, just as much a part of Jesus’ identity as is the Crucifixion, is the Resurrection. We believe in Christ Crucified, Risen from the dead. The angel goes on to say, ^“He is not here, for he has risen” (Matt 28:6). 

Resurrection Reflections: Lines from the Four Gospels - Mark 16:3-4

Mark 16:3-4 Asking for what has already been done

Mark 16:3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.

The women had volunteered for this duty, caring for the body of Jesus; preparing for burial the already-buried body of Jesus. But they couldn’t not do it. They must show this honor and respect. If wouldn’t change Him, but it would reflect what He meant to them, and what they thought about Him. Even though He had been crucified as the lowest of criminals on the cross, He was Jesus, their Lord. Even though they had missed much of what Jesus had spoken, about His death and resurrection, still they believed, and acted in hope. And, we can identify.

We identify because we puzzle about things that have already been settled, already been taken care of. These ladies wanted to to do their duty for Jesus, bringing spices and cloths. But there was a problem. A big problem. A big, heavy problem. The stone, sealed by the authorities, blocked the way to the doing of their duty. “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

“And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back - it was very large.” It had already been taken care of. It was not going to be a problem. It was not going to be their problem. It had never been a problem, though they featured it so.

What is the alternative? There are problems, real problems, aren’t there? There are responsibilities that we must tend to, and those “tendings” require decision-making, even problem-solving. We wonder what is the best method or approach. How will we handle this? 

How will I handle the health issues for myself and those for whom I am responsible? How will I properly manage finances? Should I buy or rent? Should I look for a better job? For whom should I vote? 

But ultimately, our health is in God’s hands, as is our money, our future, our opportunities, and our trials. He is the One who places boulders in our path, or removes them, though we know not how. By all means, let’s be prepared to do our duties. But let’s also watch how God re-arranges the stones.

How many problems do we fret over that are not our problems at all? 

Coming up in this series, Lord willing:

Friday, April 10, 2020

Matt. 28:4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Jn. 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Lk. 24:5 “Why do you seek the living among the dead?

Thinking in 3’s: Luke 11:9-10 - Ask, Seek, Knock (3)

Thinking in 3’s: Luke 11:9-10 - Ask, Seek, Knock (3)

Asking, seeking, and knocking go together. They seem to escalate in urgency. We may ask in the quietness of our hearts. We seek with our eyes and our feet. Then we mount the stairs and knock on the door with our knuckles.

What is it that we want? In our asking, we want the desires of heart fulfilled, or the obstacles of life removed. In our seeking, we want answers to life’s questions. We want the discovery of something that is missing. In our knocking, we want the door to be opened, so that we might see face to face; that we might enter into more personal, unmitigated relationship. 

If asking is polite, knocking is a bit of an assault. To knock is a rapping at the door; a beating on the door (cf. Mt 11:12). There is no use to knocking softly. The whole purpose is to raise the attention of the One pursued. 

The story in Acts 12 of Peter knocking at the door is a bit humorous. He was under death sentence in jail, but was released by the angel of the Lord. He was then freed to go and rejoin other believers, but when he knocked on the door and the servant girl opened, she couldn’t believe it was him, so did not bid him enter. As we seek personal communion with Jesus, our desire for face-to-face relationship being the goal, He will not fail to open due to disbelief. Rather, we may wait until the right time, judged not right by us, but by the Father.

Jesus shares a parable just before our verses in Luke 11, verses 5-8, in which a friend seeks to rouse his friend at an inopportune time, at midnight. Friends reach out to friends. Friends respond to their friend’s importunate requests.

Knocking on heaven’s door (Dylan) is not the end. It is the beginning. It’s worth asking for. It’s worth seeking. It’s worth beating on the door. Jesus will open, at just the right time.

Thinking in 3’s: Luke 11:9-10 - Ask, Seek, Knock (2)

In addition to Jesus instructing us to Ask, He also says that we should Seek. Seeking holds the promise of finding. It could be implied that if we fail to seek, the chances of finding will be greatly reduced.

We lose things all the time. Then we must go through the rather painstaking process of re-tracing our steps, trying to find where we misplaced the keys. But in this case, we are seeking for something that we personally or individually have not misplaced. We didn’t have them to start with. And so, this direction from Jesus certainly includes seeking knowledge and wisdom; seeking (eternal) life and seeking the Lord.

One of our problems is that we seek, or look, in all the wrong places (and I’m not sure, based on the lyrics, if singer Johny Lee ever found it). We listen to our own intuitions, which are not reliable. We listen to the notions of the world around us, which are worse - not only unreliable, but also deceptive.

It seems clear that if we are going to seek for these things; if we are going to seek the Lord, then we must seek for Him in His Word, the Word of the Lord. Here we are, many of us stuck at home, and we may find that God is blessing us with extra time to spend seeking Him in His Word. Here are some hints about our attitude as we do so.

We need to seek the Lord like children - without a bag of pre-conceived notions that tend to re-shape the words of Scripture before they ever enter our minds and hearts. We need to consciously remove the stubbornness of our hearts that resists hearing what God wants us to hear. We need to hear what God has to say as though hearing it for the first time. This is real seeking.

We need to think about what we read. We need to meditate. We need to talk to God about what we have read, and specifically ask for insight, and for protection against twisting what we read for our own selfish or psychological purposes. 

Ask, seek, and knock. Three things that we should be doing daily.