Author: David Petts

Talk 34 Mark 11:11-33 The ‘cleansing’ of the Temple

Welcome to Talk 34 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. In this talk and the next we’ll be looking at Mark 11:11-33. This passage contains two stories – the cursing of the fig tree and what is often referred to as the ‘cleansing’ of the Temple (although I shall suggest that this is not the best description of what Jesus was doing). The fact that these stories are interwoven in the text and that they both happened within the same 24-hour period strongly suggests that they have a common theme.

As we shall see, it’s possible to see both these events as two enacted parables announcing the termination of the temple as a place of worship and God’s rejection of Israel because of his anger that they have rejected his Son, something which is backed up by the parable of the tenants which immediately follows in 12:1-12. Today we’ll concentrate on the temple. Next time we’ll consider why Jesus cursed the fig tree. But first, let’s outline the story.

Verses 11-14. Jesus curses a fig tree because of its lack of fruit.

Jesus and the apostles are staying in Bethany, possibly with Martha and Mary. On the way into Jerusalem Jesus is hungry and seeing a fig tree in leaf he goes to find out if there is any fruit on it. Finding nothing but leaves he says, May no one ever eat fruit from you again. And, jumping to verse 20, we see that the fig tree has withered from the roots. But first, we have verses 15-19.

Verses 15-19. Jesus cleanses the Temple.

When he reaches Jerusalem, Jesus goes into the temple and drives out the people who are buying and selling there. He overturns the tables of the money changers and won’t allow anyone to carry merchandise though the temple courts. He reminds them of what God has said in Isaiah 56:7 – My house will be a house of prayer for all nations – and, quoting Jeremiah 7:11, adds, But you have made it a den of robbers. This angers the Jewish religious leaders and they start to look for a way to kill him. In the evening Jesus returns to Bethany.

Verses 20-25. Jesus teaches a lesson on faith from the fig tree which has withered.

The next day, as they’re going back into Jerusalem Peter points out that the fig tree Jesus cursed is withered. Jesus replies:

Have faith in God, I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

We’ll be looking at this in more detail next time, so now verses 27-33.

Verses 27-33. Jesus is challenged by the Jewish leaders.

They arrive back in Jerusalem and Jesus is confronted by the Jewish religious leaders who challenge him over what he has just done in the temple. By what authority had he done it? Jesus avoids answering their question but counters with another one. Was John’s baptism of divine or of human origin? Realising that whatever answer they gave could lead them into criticism, they say, We don’t know. So Jesus replies, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

So, having now outlined the passage, let’s begin by considering the significance of Jesus’ actions in the temple.

The significance of Jesus’ actions in the temple

To understand this fully we need to look back into the Old Testament. If you know your Bible well, you will know that there were in fact three temples built in Jerusalem:

·      Solomon’s Temple, which was Israel’s first temple

·      Zerubbabel’s Temple, built to replace Solomon’s Temple after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar

·      Herod’s Temple, the temple at the time of Jesus.

However, the purpose for which the original temple was built remained the same, and we can learn much about this from Solomon’s prayer of dedication in 1 Kings 8:12-61.

A place for God to dwell for ever (v13)

Although Solomon’s purpose was for the temple to be a place for God to dwell in, he knew that God couldn’t be contained in a building, however magnificent it might be. Note what he says in verse 27:

The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

And in verse 30 he recognises that heaven is God’s dwelling place:

Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive (cf. vv. 39,43, 45).

But what perhaps Solomon didn’t understand was that God’s ultimate plans were not for a physical temple made by men (Acts 7:48), but for a spiritual temple comprised of God’s people themselves (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:21-22, 1 Peter 2:4-10). More on this later.

A place for the Name of the Lord (vv. 17,18, 19, 20, 29,43,48)

What does Solomon mean when he talks about building a temple for the Name of the Lord? In Bible times a name was not just a label, but something intended to represent the true nature of the person holding that name. The Name of the Lord has been defined as God himself, actively present, in the fulness of his revealed character.

And in the Psalms his name is linked with his righteousness, faithfulness, salvation, holiness, goodness, mercy, love, truth, and glory. If the temple was to be a place for God to dwell in, a place for the Name of the Lord, it must be a place that stood for and demonstrated all these divine qualities.

A place of prayer for all the peoples of the earth (vv. 28, 29, 30, 33, 38, 41-44, 48, 49)

From the number of references to prayer in 1 Kings 8 it’s clear that prayer was to be its primary purpose. Indeed, God himself was to say later through the prophet Isaiah:

My house will be a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7).

Note that it was not only to be a house of prayer, but a house of prayer for all nations. This aspect of Solomon’s purpose in building the original temple is expressed in his prayer that God would even answer the prayers of foreigners and do whatever they ask of him so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel… (vv41-43) and may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other (v. 60).

So Solomon’s purposes in building the temple were that it should be:

A place for God to dwell in for ever

A place for the Name of the Lord

A place of prayer for all nations – a place where people might come to know the Lord.

But it’s clear from Jesus’ actions that these purposes were being frustrated by the Jewish people. Foreigners were treated with contempt and fleeced by the money changers. The qualities associated with the Name of the Lord were entirely absent. It was certainly not a fit dwelling place for God. And Jesus was right to be angry. Anger is not sin. It’s right to be angry about sin.

But were these the only reasons for his actions? Was he really cleansing the temple? Or was he perhaps declaring by his actions that the time for the temple was about to come to an end? In Mark 13:2 he certainly predicted its destruction, something which was literally fulfilled in AD 70. Could this have been the significance of his cursing the fig tree? We’ll come to that next time, but today let’s consider how God’s plans for the temple relate to Jesus himself, and then to his church.

Jesus as God’s temple

As we bear in mind God’s original purposes for his temple, we see that these are wonderfully fulfilled in Jesus himself. If the characteristics of the divine nature were not being displayed in the temple as they should, they most certainly were in Jesus, in whom dwelt all the fulness of deity in bodily form (Colossians 2:10). Jesus embodied all that the Name of Yahweh stood for. He was God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16 KJV). Jesus himself was the true temple. If that sounds strange, bear in mind that in Matthew 12:6, referring to himself, Jesus said, In this place is one greater than the temple. He also referred to his own body as the temple (John 2:19-21).

All the purposes of the temple were fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. With his death, about to take place in less than a week, the temple was to become redundant, its veil torn in two from the top to the bottom. The middle wall, the barrier that separated the Gentiles from the Jews was destroyed (Ephesians 2:14). We need no longer look to the temple for the answer to our prayers. It’s not in the temple, but in Jesus that we have the answer. Because of his sacrificial death on the cross, all who believe, both Jew and Gentile, have access to God through Jesus.

The church as God’s temple

Despite Solomon’s prayer that the temple he had built would be God’s dwelling place for ever, God himself never intended the temple in the Old Testament to be permanent. It was a prophetic symbol of Christ himself and of his church. Listen to what Paul says to the Corinthians. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16).

And he tells the Ephesians that all who believe in him, whether Jew or Gentile, are:

Members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).

And 1 Peter 2:4-10 describes Jesus as the living stone, rejected by men, but precious to him, and tells us that we too, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. We are his chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation… we are now the people of God.

And 2 Corinthians 6:16

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

What a privilege. We are the temple. But privilege always carries with it responsibility. We need to learn lessons from the mistakes God’s people made of old. But let me first remind you of what we have said so far. I have suggested that, rather than cleansing the temple (i.e. making it fit for purpose), Jesus was actually expressing his anger at the way the temple had been defiled by the people of his day and that by his action in driving them out he was declaring an end to the temple which was shortly to be destroyed. It was no longer fit for purpose. It was no longer the dwelling place of God, no longer a place that represented all that his Father stood for, no longer a house of prayer for all nations where all the people of the world might come to know the Lord.

I have suggested that during his time here on earth the Lord Jesus himself was the true temple, the dwelling place of God, one who did represent and manifest all that the Father stood for, and that since his departure to heaven it is his purpose that the church, which is his body should fulfil the same role. The question is, are we? Or is it possible that we too are defiling God’s temple?

Are we defiling God’s temple, the church?

Let’s be clear. We’re not talking about a church building. We’re talking about the company of God’s people, the church. Each of us needs to examine our heart on this matter, but it might help to call to mind some of the areas where some of the early Christians sometimes failed:

·      Thinking of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), are there times when we are not always strictly honest with each other?

·      Thinking of the Corinthians, are we defiling the temple by our divisions, especially over church leaders?

·      Are we sometimes guilty of failing to put the needs of others before our own as the Corinthians were at the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11)?

·      Is there sexual immorality among us as there was with them (1 Corinthians 6)?

·      Are there idols in our lives (2 Corinthians 6:16)?

If we really want our gatherings to be times where

·      we experience God’s holy presence

·      where the Name of the Lord and all that he stands for is honoured and exemplified

·      where we can expect our prayers to be answered

·      and where people of all nations may come to know the Lord

let’s examine our hearts and put right anything that might hinder the church from being the temple God intends it to be. In both Old and New Testaments there were serious consequences for defiling the Lord’s temple. But, thank God, if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we really want it, our church can be just what God wants it to be. May it be so, for the sake of his Name.

Talk 33 Mark 11:1-10 The Triumphal Entry

Welcome to Talk 33 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re looking at what is often referred to as Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This is found not only in Mark 11:1-10, but also in Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19. We will be concentrating on Mark’s account, but we’ll also refer to the other accounts where they enrich our understanding of this wonderful event in the life of Jesus. But first, let’s read Mark 11:1-10.

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'” 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

Today we’re going to look at six things this passage teaches us about Jesus, but first let’s set the scene in the overall context of Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus had spent three and a half years teaching his disciples, meeting the needs of the people, forgiving sinners, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, driving out demons, giving sight to the blind, cleansing the lepers, and raising the dead. He is now on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples and where within less than a week he will be crucified.

The Passover was the annual festival celebrated by the Jews in memory of their ancestors’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt. It was called the Passover because the angel of death sent by God as the final judgment on the Egyptians passed over the Israelites when he saw the blood of a lamb sprinkled on the doorposts of their houses. What Jesus was to do later that week was to become the final Passover Lamb whose blood was to be shed on the cross to save not only the Israelites but those of all nations who would trust in him as the atoning sacrifice for their sins.

Few, if any, in the crowd who were praising Jesus as the coming king would have understood this. It’s more likely that they were expecting him to use his miracle working power to overthrow the Romans, but God’s plan and purpose was far bigger than that. Jesus had not come to save Israel from the power of Rome, but the entire world from the power and consequences of sin. So Jesus comes, not as a military conqueror riding on a horse or in a chariot, but as the humble king of peace, riding on a young donkey as prophesied in Zechariah 9:9:

Rejoice greatly O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

So, having set the scene, let’s now see what the passage teaches us about Jesus. As we saw right at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, Mark’s intention is to proclaim Jesus as the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of God. This has been clear throughout all he has taught us about Jesus so far, but nowhere is it clearer than in today’s passage. First, we see that

Jesus was a man with authority

He tells his disciples what to do, and they do it. Note the words of instruction in verses 1-3.

Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you… you will find a colt tied there … Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'”

Jesus expects unquestioning obedience from his disciples, and this includes the owner of the donkey – Tell him, The Lord needs it. In fact, with the exception of the Pharisees (Luke 19:39-40), everyone in the story accepts the authority of Jesus. Even the crowd of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover festival acknowledge that Jesus is the one who comes in the name of (with the authority of) the Lord (v9). They even proclaim him as the King of Israel (John 12:13).

And finally, it seems that even the young donkey seems to have accepted his authority. No one had ever ridden him (v2). He was an unbroken animal. But the lowly beast submits to the authority of his Maker and carries Jesus on his final journey into Jerusalem.

Jesus was a prophet

He was a man who received supernatural revelation and this gave him detailed foreknowledge of future events. Notice what he says in verse 2

:

Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

Now Jesus was on his way up from Jericho where he had healed blind Bartimaeus and the village where the donkey was was ahead of him. He had certainly not been there recently. He had travelled over 100 miles from Capernaum at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. There is no suggestion that he had made a private arrangement with the owners. Yet he knew exactly where the donkey was – just at the entrance of the village. He knew it was tied there. He knew that no one had ever ridden it. He knew it would be available.

Of course, if you have a mind to, you can possibly think of a natural explanation of how Jesus knew all these things, but please bear in mind that Jesus frequently knew things by supernatural revelation. He knew that Peter would catch a fish and find a coin in its mouth, enough to pay the temple tax (Matthew 17:24-27). He knew that the woman of Samaria had had five husbands and that the man she was living with was not her husband (John 4:17-18). And in Mark 14:12-16 he knew that when he sent two of his disciples to go and prepare for the Passover meal, when they went into the city they would find a man carrying a waterpot.

And in Luke 19:41-44 when he finally reaches Jerusalem he weeps over it and predicts in detail the tragic events which were to take place there some forty years later in AD 70.

So the Gospels are very clear that Jesus often knew things supernaturally. But was this because he was God, or was it because as a man he received supernatural revelation through the Holy Spirit? In answering this question it’s important to stress that Jesus is and always was God, and God is omniscient. He knows everything. And Jesus did not cease to be God while he was here on earth. However, although he was God, it seems that as man he did not know everything. Returning to our passage, we see in verse 3 that, although he knows about the donkey, he says, If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ rather than Someone will ask you. And, as we’ll see in our next talk, there’s another illustration of this in verse 13 where we’re told that:

Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he (Jesus) went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs (v13).

So in my view, the flashes of supernatural revelation Jesus received while he was here on earth are best understood to result not from his deity, but from the revelation of the Spirit. If they do not in themselves prove his deity, they certainly show how close was his relationship with his Father in Heaven. They were supernatural gifts from the Holy Spirit, and if we keep filled with the Spirit, similar gifts may be ours too as, of course, the Holy Spirit determines (1 Corinthians 12:11). Remember how Peter knew that Ananias and Sapphira were lying (Acts 5)? Peter was not God, but he received revelation from God, the Holy Spirit. Jesus, even though he was God, was also man, and he received revelation in the same way. But that brings us to the next lesson about Jesus.

Jesus was the Messiah

Now if, as we have just been saying, Jesus received prophetic revelation through the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, the same is true of the miracles he performed. The miracles were the reason for the people’s joy on Palm Sunday:

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen (Luke 19:37).

They were longing for the coming of their long-awaited Messiah, which in Hebrew means anointed one. You will remember, of course, that when he was preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus had read these words from Isaiah 61:1-2:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (Luke 4:18-19),

and had gone on to say, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing (v21).

In saying this he was claiming to be none other than the anointed one (the Messiah), and he had gone on to prove it by preaching good news to the poor, proclaiming freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, and releasing the oppressed. So the people on Palm Sunday were praising God not only for all the miracles they had seen, but because those miracles might well indicate that at last the Messiah had come. So they acknowledge Jesus as the Son of David, (Matthew 21:9), the king who comes in the name of the Lord (Luke 19:38).

So Jesus was a man of authority. But he was more than that. He was a prophet. But he was more than that. He was the Messiah. So what does our passage teach about what should be our attitude towards him?

Jesus is worthy of our worship

Among the crowd around Jesus on that first Palm Sunday, there must have been surely a variety of opinions and attitudes. There were the twelve disciples who had already come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. There were undoubtedly other followers who had either already formed the same opinion or who were at least on the point of doing so. There may also have been those who, caught up in the excitement and emotion of the moment joined in the celebration without really understanding what was happening. And there were of course those like the Pharisees who understood what Jesus was claiming to be and who wanted to kill him because of it.

So can we really say that they were all worshipping Jesus? Three things suggest to me that many certainly were. First, their actions indicate it. Some threw their cloaks and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road in front of Jesus (v8). Secondly, their words, taken from all four Gospels, imply it:

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest!

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!

Blessed is the King of Israel!

And thirdly, the Pharisees seem to have interpreted it as worship. They said to Jesus:

Teacher, rebuke your disciples!

But Jesus replied,

I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out (Luke 19:39-40).

So if this wasn’t worship, it certainly looked like it! And their worship was centred around three main things:

o   What Jesus had done for them (working miracles)

o   Who he was (the Son of David, the King who comes with the authority of the Lord)

o   The coming Kingdom of God.

And these are just the reasons we should worship him too.

Jesus is worthy of our trust

But Jesus is not only worthy of our worship. He is worthy of our trust too. The two disciples he sent ahead to get the donkey had come to trust Jesus, even when what he asked them to do might have been questionable. But they had not always. Remember, for example, the feeding of the 5,000? Jesus says, You give them something to eat. But, they reason, that would take eight months of a man’s wages. Again and again, they had questioned his instructions, but by now they were learning to trust him. They obey his instructions and, of course, find things just as Jesus has said. They had learned to trust him, because they had discovered that Jesus knows best. And we can trust him too. He sees what we cannot see. He knows what we do not know. He has detailed knowledge of future events.

And, of course, we can trust him, not only because of his knowledge, but also because of his power. He is not only omniscient. He is omnipotent. He is no longer here on earth as man, exercising power as he was led by the Spirit. He is seated at God’s right hand. All authority has been given to him in Heaven and on earth. We can trust him because he has the power and authority to accomplish whatever he knows is best for us.

And we can trust him because he is good. An all-powerful God who was not good would not be someone to trust, but rather to fear. But our God is not a king who comes to terrorise his people. Like Jerusalem of old, we can rejoice greatly because our king comes to us gentle and riding on a donkey. The gentleness, the humility, the goodness and love of Jesus assure us that we can trust him. And finally…

Jesus is worthy of our obedience and sacrifice

We have already seen the trust and obedience of the two disciples Jesus sent to get the colt. But we also see the sacrifice of those who spread their cloaks on the road (v8).  No thought of how dirty or how damaged they might get, not only from the hooves of the donkey but also from the feet of the crowd who were following Jesus. Their worship was expressed in an extravagant disregard for their worldly possessions. And they did not understand that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem to suffer and die for the forgiveness of their sins. But we do. How much more extravagant should be our commitment to the Lord Jesus?

But now, one final thought. We have seen in this passage that Jesus was a man of authority, a man who received supernatural revelation of future events. We have seen that he was the Messiah, the Son of David, the king of Israel. And yet the story reveals that he needed something. He needed a donkey! Note those words in verse 3 – The Lord… needs it. The Lord, the Creator of the universe needed a donkey! It was to play a part in the fulfilment of God’s purposes. And, believe it or not, he needs you too. Of course, he could fulfil his purposes without us, but he has chosen not to. He has chosen to use donkeys like Peter and Andrew and James and John, like you and like me. Do you know who he is? How extravagantly will you worship him? How much will you trust him? To what extent will you obey him? Jesus is worthy of your sacrificial obedience. He won’t enforce it. But doesn’t his love demand it. Isaac Watts certainly thought so:

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were an off’ring far too small.

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Talk 32   Mark 10:46-52   Blind Bartimaeus receives his sight

Welcome to Talk 32 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we are looking at Mark 10:46-52. It’s the story of how a blind beggar called Bartimaeus receives his sight. It’s a short passage so let’s begin by reading it.

46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

We’ll begin by looking at what this passage has to tell us about Jesus. Then we’ll consider what we can learn about Bartimaeus, and finally we’ll see how this story may well have an application in our own lives. Firstly, then, what does the passage teach us about Jesus?

Jesus

The first thing we notice is that Jesus is accompanied not only by his disciples but by a large crowd. This clearly indicates his popularity. We know from what we have already seen in Mark’s gospel, Jesus was opposed by the Pharisees and other religious leaders, but it’s also clear that the common people heard him gladly. This was almost certainly because of the miracles of healing he was performing as well as the wonderful things he was teaching.

Secondly, we see indications that people were beginning to realise that Jesus was the Messiah. Notice that in verse 46 the passage makes a distinction between the disciples and the crowd. The disciples had left all to follow Jesus. Many in the crowd would have been following just because they hoped he might heal them, or that at least they might see some amazing miracle. The disciples on the other hand had begun to understand who Jesus was. For most of the crowd he was at best a prophet, known to them simply as Jesus of Nazareth. Some, however, like Bartimaeus we’re beginning to wonder if he might be the promised Messiah. Notice that Bartimaeus refers to him by the messianic title, Son of David.

Thirdly, the recognition that Jesus was the Messiah sprang from the authority Jesus clearly possessed. We see this in verse 49 in the way Jesus gives clear instructions and is immediately obeyed – Call him. So they called him… They have just told Bartimaeus to be quiet, but at one word from Jesus they immediately change their tune. And, of course, Jesus’ authority is even more evident in his power to grant Bartimaeus his request – Go, your faith has healed you. And immediately Bartimaeus receives his sight.

And finally, our passage reveals the compassion of Jesus, not just in healing the blind man, but in the fact that he stopped (v49) to do so. Remember verses 33-35. He was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified – probably in only a few days’ time. The very next thing Mark records is the triumphal entry into Jerusalem which happened less than a week before Jesus was crucified. But despite the knowledge of his imminent suffering and death, Jesus takes time to stop and to meet the need of a beggar. But what does the passage teach us about Bartimaeus?

Bartimaeus

The first thing we notice is his desperate need. He was blind and he was a beggar. In those days there was little else that the blind could do, other than beg. His needs were physical – he was blind. His needs were financial – he had to beg. But less obvious perhaps was his need for acceptance in the society in which he lived. It was commonly believed that blindness was caused by sin – either the sin of the blind man or of his parents. This is very clear in John 9:2 where, in connection with another blind man, the disciples asked Jesus:

Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

Jesus was quick to correct this wrong assumption, but the fact that even his disciples made it is evidence of the view prevalent at the time. So, although it’s not mentioned here in Mark 10, it’s not unreasonable to assume that many of the people regarded Bartimaeus’ condition as the result of sin. However, as we shall see, it’s spiritual blindness that results from sin, not physical blindness.

So the first thing we learn about Bartimaeus is his desperation. Closely connected with this is his determination. Imagine the scene. He’s sitting at the roadside begging. He can see nothing, but he can hear. And he hears a commotion. There’s a crowd of people coming down the road. He wonders what the noise is all about. And then he hears that it is Jesus. Now he must have heard about Jesus and the miracles he had been performing. He had possibly heard about the blind man Jesus had healed in Mark 8, or the many blind people who had been healed in Luke 7:22. And now Jesus of Nazareth is passing his way. Faith is quickened in his heart and he’s determined to be healed. He cries out:

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

The people rebuke him and tell him to be quiet. But this only makes him shout louder. And when Jesus calls him, he responds immediately. He jumps to his feet. He wants nothing to hinder him coming to Jesus, so he throws his cloak, possibly his most valued possession, aside, and he comes to Jesus. Why? Because he wants to see (v.51).

But why did he so earnestly want to see? Was it only to meet his physical and financial needs, or could it also be that he wanted to find the acceptance in society that we were talking about earlier? I find it interesting that many people today who were born with a disability have no real desire to be healed. They want to be accepted for who they are, just as they are. And rightly so. But while I understand and respect their position, and certainly have no intention to criticise, I sometimes wonder if one reason we see so few outstanding miracles of healing in such cases is that there is no real desire to be healed – but of course the reason could easily be a lack of faith on the part of those who pray for them. Thank God that in the case of Bartimaeus there was no lack of faith on the part of Jesus or of desire on the part of Bartimaeus.

But that brings us to the third thing the passage reveals about Bartimaeus – his faith in Jesus.

We know that Bartimaeus had faith because Jesus said in verse 52 that it was his faith that healed him. Yet we know that it was Jesus who healed him because he asked Bartimaeus, What do you want me to do for you? There is no contradiction here. Jesus healed Bartimaeus because Bartimaeus had faith in him. Faith alone is not enough. What matters is who you have faith in. The evidence of Bartimaeus’ faith in Jesus is that he called out to him, he came to him immediately Jesus called him, he took Jesus at his word when he said, What do you want me to do for you?, and he believed that Jesus could heal him – Rabbi, I want to see.

But where did that faith come from? The key is undoubtedly in that little word heard in verse 47. Romans 10:17 tells us that

Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Of course, we’re not told how Bartimaeus came to hear about Christ, but as we’ve already suggested, he must surely have already heard what Jesus had been doing for others. And had he heard what Jesus had said in the synagogue at Nazareth when he read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah quoting the words he has anointed me to… proclaim recovery of sight to the blind? (Luke 4:18). We don’t know, but somehow Bartimaeus had come to understand that Jesus was indeed the Son of David, the Messiah. His faith sprang from a recognition of who Jesus is and an acknowledgment that what Jesus had done for others, he could also do for him.

And as a result he immediately received his sight and became a follower of Jesus. The NIV translation of verse 52 doesn’t quite do justice to the text. Translated literally it says he followed Jesus in the way. Admittedly this could mean just what the NIV says, along the road. But by the time Mark wrote his Gospel, Christians were becoming known as followers of the Way (cf. Acts 9:2; 18:25; 19:9) and he may well have intended us to understand that Bartimaeus became a Christian.  At all events, he became a follower of Jesus. His faith had not only healed him. It had also saved him. But that brings me to the significance of what Jesus says in verse 52 – Your faith has healed you.

The Greek word used for healed here can also be translated saved.  Sozo is used in a variety of ways in the New Testament. It can refer to the salvation of the soul, or to the healing of the body, or to deliverance from danger, for example. Exactly the same Greek wording is used when:

·      Jesus heals a woman with bleeding (Matt. 9:22, Mark 5:34, Luke 8:48)

·      He cleanses the grateful leper (Luke 17:19)

·      He saves a sinful woman (Luke 7:50).

Of course, only the context can tell you whether sozo should be translated heal or save etc. But sometimes it can mean both, and here in our passage the context suggests that Bartimaeus’ faith had not only healed him, but saved him too. He followed Jesus in the way. He didn’t just go away and do his own thing, as so many seem to after receiving a touch of healing from the Lord. The only right response when God has wonderfully met our needs is to do what Bartimaeus did, to follow him in the pathway of his will for our lives.

How does all this apply to us?

The lessons we learn from the story of Bartimaeus apply to all of us, whatever our needs may be. So let’s summarise what those lessons are:

1.     Bartimaeus had a desperate need for which there was no human solution.

2.     He recognised his need and wanted to find a solution.

3.     When he heard about Jesus he did not delay in asking him to have mercy on him.

4.     He would not let anything or anyone deter him from coming to Jesus.

5.     He took Jesus at his word believing that he could do whatever he asked him.

6.     So he was specific in his request.

7.     When it was granted, he became a follower of Jesus.

If you’re already a follower of Jesus, you have already recognised who Jesus is. If you have a desperate need you need to recognise that. Don’t pretend you haven’t got it. It may be that you need to honestly ask yourself if you really want to be free from it. You need to let nothing hinder you from coming to Jesus and asking him to meet it. Don’t let other people put you off. Be determined. Let no one and nothing deter you. Don’t put off the decision. Come to Jesus immediately and be specific in your request. Tell him what you want him to do for you.

Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. If he could meet Bartimaeus’s need, he can meet yours too. You have already trusted him for your salvation. Trust him for this too. He may well surprise you with an immediate answer. And if the answer is not immediate, remember that Jesus loves you and he will do what is best for you. If he says to you, as he said to Paul, My grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), you need to trust him that he knows what is ultimately best for you. Sometimes our prayers are answered immediately. Sometimes they’re answered gradually. And sometimes they’re answered later. The important thing is to keep on believing and to keep on following Jesus in the way.

However, there is one prayer that God will always answer immediately. Bartimaeus prayed, Jesus… have mercy on me. Mercy is more than pity. Pity is feeling sorry for someone. Mercy means much more than that. When we ask God to have mercy on us we are asking him to grant us something that we don’t deserve. This applies first and foremost to the forgiveness of our sins. You may not be physically blind, like Bartimaeus, but if you have not yet come to Jesus and asked him to forgive your sins, you have a more desperate need than physical blindness. But Jesus can open your eyes to the truth. Do you want to see? The lessons we learnt from Bartimaeus apply to you too. If you recognise your need and realise that only Jesus can meet it, all you need to do is ask him to save you. Resist the temptation to delay. Reject the attempts of others to dissuade you. Rely completely on Jesus – take him at his word, and you will receive your sight. And when you do, become a real follower of Jesus.

Talk 31    Mark 10:32-45     Jesus teaches the way of sacrificial service

Welcome to Talk 31 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today our passage is Mark 10:32-45 where Jesus again predicts his death and resurrection, deals with a request from James and John that they might sit next to him in the coming kingdom, and teaches us that the way to true greatness is sacrificial service. The passage is also a healthy reminder about how we should pray, and has much to say that’s relevant to church leadership today. We’ll begin by reading verses 32-34:

32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

The NIV translation of verse 32 seems to suggest a distinction between the disciples and those who followed. However, although there may well have been people following who were not among the disciples, the word disciples is not in the Greek text and Mark almost certainly intends us to understand that all those who were following Jesus were both astonished and afraid. They may well have been astonished by what Jesus had said in verse 31 – Many who are first will be last, and the last, first. And his mention of persecutions in verse 30 could easily account for them being afraid.

And what Jesus says next could hardly have made them feel any better! He tells them what is going to happen to him, and this time in more detail. In Mark 8:31 we read that

he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again (Compare Mark 9:31).

But now he tells them he will be betrayed… condemned him to death… handed over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. This information was both astonishing and terrifying, and it seems unlikely that they had any clear idea about what he meant by saying that three days later he would rise. Of course, it’s easy for us, with the benefit of hindsight, to know what he meant, and of course so did the disciples after he had showed himself to be alive by many convincing proofs over a period of six weeks (Acts 1:3). But they clearly did not understand it in advance. Even as late as resurrection morning, John 20:9 tells us that they still did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

But Jesus himself knew what he was saying. He knew that he would be betrayed. He knew they would condemn him to death. He knew they would mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. But he went up to Jerusalem anyway because he knew that he must give his life as a ransom for us (v45). For you, for me, and for people like James and John whose self-seeking attitude we read about next:

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

The main purpose of these verses, and those that follow, seems to be to teach us the importance of having a servant heart and not to seek great things for ourselves, but they also teach us some important principles about our attitude when we come to God in prayer. James and John want Jesus to do for them whatever they ask him. This certainly revealed some faith. They believed that Jesus could do whatever they asked. And according to Matthew 20:20-28, along with their mother, they also believed in his coming kingdom. And didn’t Jesus say elsewhere that If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22, Mark 11:24)? So what was wrong with James’ and John’s request to sit beside Jesus in his coming kingdom?

Three things. Firstly, their motive was wrong. It was selfish. They were seeking personal greatness. In the letter that James the Lord’s brother wrote to first century Jewish Christians he stresses the importance of having faith when we pray (James 1:6-7), but he also warns of the possibility of not receiving what we ask for if we ask with wrong motives (James 4:3).

Secondly, they didn’t get what they asked for because they didn’t know what they were asking (v38). Promises like the one we have already referred to in Matthew 21:22 must be balanced  with what John was later to write in 1 John 5:14, when he says:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

I wonder if, when he wrote this, John had in mind Jesus’ refusal to grant his request in today’s passage. The truth is that, unless we have received a clear revelation from God in a certain matter, we too do not know what we are asking. We never fully understand the implications of what we ask for in prayer. Our requests should always be made in faith, but also in an attitude of submission to God’s will.

And thirdly, closely connected to the last point, they did not understand that even Jesus could not grant their request without reference to his Father. In verse 40 he says your request is not for me to grant. In John 5:19 he said:

The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees the Father doing…

Everything Jesus said and did was in dependence on what he saw the Father doing. Each of the members of the Trinity works in complete harmony with the others and does not work independently. And while he was here on earth Jesus as a man did not know everything. He did not know the day or the hour of his second coming. Only the Father knew that (Mark 13:32).

So these verses teach us much about how we should bring our requests to God. Our motives should be right. Our requests should be brought in submission to God’s will, recognising that we do not always know the significance of what we are asking, and if there were some requests that even Jesus did not have the authority to grant, they are certainly not for us to claim! God’s perfect will for us may be, as it was for James and John, a pathway of suffering (vv38-39).

But before we leave the subject of prayer, just one more thing. In verse 36 Jesus says, What do you want me to do for you? He actually asks the same question of blind Bartimaeus in verse 51. More of that next time, but just for now please notice that the question does not guarantee the answer we may be looking for. For Bartimaeus his request was granted. For James and John, theirs was not.  Beware of preachers who tell you that Jesus is asking you, What do you want me to do for you? implying that whatever you ask you will get. Of course it’s fine to tell Jesus what we’d like him to do, but we need to understand that, because he knows best, his answer could be No.

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to  give his life as a ransom for many.”

Quite understandably, when the other ten apostles heard about James’ and John’s request, they became indignant. Who do they think they are? I hear them saying. So Jesus calls all twelve of them together. It’s important to notice here that, although Jesus’ teaching in these verses would be of value in society as a whole, in the context what he says it’s addressed to the future leaders of the church. And he stresses that church leadership must be very different from the style of leadership we see in the world. So let’s look at what Jesus says here and then see how his teaching was reinforced by his own example and by the teaching of apostles like Peter and Paul in the New Testament.

Firstly, then, Jesus himself. In these verses he teaches that true greatness is expressed in a willingness to serve, to become a slave for the sake of others (vv. 43-44). Even the Son of Man, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many (v.45). This reminds us immediately of two passages of Scripture, John 13 and Philippians 2. In John 13 Jesus literally fulfils the role of a servant and washes his disciples’ feet, and after he has done so he says:

12 …Do you understand what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger (Greek, an apostle) greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (John 13:12-17).

We hear a lot about apostles in the church today, and I truly believe that this ministry is essential for the church in every generation – see Body Builders, Chapter 2 – but the signs of a true apostle must surely include a willingness to take the role of a lowly servant. That’s what Jesus did, for, as we read in Philippians 2:

…being in very nature God, (he) did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11).

And, as we have seen, Jesus told the apostles that they should follow his example. But it doesn’t just apply to apostles. Listen to what Peter says:

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (1 Peter 1:1-4).

Here in verse 3 Peter is reflecting the words of Jesus in today’s passage when he talks about the rulers of the Gentiles lording it over those who are under their authority, and says Not so among you. Peter is referring to every aspect of leadership in the church. He refers to the elders as shepherds (or pastors), and as overseers (or supervisors or bishops). Now is not the time to discuss the significance of each of these terms – for more, please see Body Builders, Chapter 5, where I deal with the matter in more detail – but what is abundantly clear is that, whatever the role of leadership, what’s required is a servant heart.

This does not mean that church leaders should not be honoured and respected. They certainly should. But it’s not for them to seek that honour or respect. Respect must be earned, not demanded. While I welcome the renewed emphasis on the importance of apostles in recent decades, it’s a sad fact that in some quarters, abuses have occurred to the detriment of all concerned.

There is a desperate need for a biblically balanced understanding of the subject. So let’s finish with a brief look at two words that are frequently used in the New Testament to describe what church leaders should be – diakonos and doulos.

Diakonos is the word used in today’s passage where Jesus says in verse 43, Whoever wants to become great among you must be you servant. See also Matthew 20:26 and Mark 9:35 where it’s used in the same way. Its basic meaning is a waiter or someone who runs errands. It’s used in this way in John 2 to describe the servants at the wedding feast in Cana and in Acts 6 we have the related word diakonia to describe the ministry of those who were to wait on tables and supervise the distribution of food to the poor. It may be that this was the role of those who are described as deacons in Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8-12.

But it’s also used more widely to refer to anyone who serves the church in whatever capacity. There are too many examples in the New Testament to mention them all, but it’s noteworthy that in 1 Corinthians 3:5 Paul refers to himself and Apollos as Only servants through whom you came to believe – as the Lord assigned to each his task.

But in fact he often uses a far stronger word than diakonos to describe his ministry. He uses doulos which means slave – a word also used by Jesus in Mark 10:44. It’s the very first word Paul uses to describe himself in his letter to the Romans – Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle. Yes, he’s an apostle, but first he is a slave. Compare also Galatians 1:10, Philippians 1:1 and Titus 1:1. In these verses he’s a slave of Christ, but in 2 Corinthians 4:5 he goes even further and says:

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves your slaves for Jesus’ sake.

He is not only a slave of Jesus Christ, he’s the Corinthians’ slave too! His apostolic authority came from none other than the Lord Jesus, but his right to exercise that authority was his willingness to serve not only Jesus, but those to whom he was called to preach.

And finally, it’s worth mentioning that it was not only Paul who saw his ministry in this light. That’s how James saw himself too (James 1:1), and Peter (2 Peter 1:1), and Jude (Jude 1:1), and John (Revelation 1:1). It seems that they had all learnt the lesson taught and exemplified by Jesus:

Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all (Mark 10:43-44).

My prayer is that we may learn it too.

Talk 30  Mark 10:13-31  The Kingdom of God

Welcome to Talk 30 in our series on Mark’s gospel. Today we’re looking at chapter 10 verses 13-31 where we read of how Jesus blessed the little children, and about a rich young ruler – Mark calls him a man. Matthew tells us that he was young. Luke tells us that he was a ruler – who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. We’ll work through the passage reading each section as we come to it, so we’ll begin with verses 13-16.

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

v.13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.

Mark has already shown us how powerful the touch of Jesus could be. It could bring healing to the deaf and mute, cleansing to the leper, and sight to the blind. We’re not told why the people wanted Jesus to touch these children. It could be that they too were suffering from some such affliction, or it could simply be that they wanted Jesus’ blessing on their lives. Matthew also tells us that they wanted Jesus to pray for them, but we’re not told what for.

Neither are we told why the disciples rebuked them. Perhaps, like many people in those days, they considered children unimportant. If so, that would account for Jesus’ indignant response in the following verses.

14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

These verses teach us first and foremost about the importance of little children or babies (Luke 18:18). We are to do nothing that would hinder them in coming to Jesus, or to put it more positively, we are to do everything we can to help them come to him. Perhaps we should be asking ourselves if there is anything more we could do to reach children for Jesus.

But we also see in these verses important truths about the kingdom of God. There are no less than five references to the kingdom of God in today’s passage, two in the verses we have just read and three in verses 23-25 where Jesus stresses how hard it is for the rich to enter it. We’ll turn to the story of the rich young ruler in just a moment, but first let’s compare what Jesus says in verse 15 with what he says in verse 25. In verse 15 he says:

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

and in verse 25 he says:

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

There’s nothing wrong with being rich, but the problem can be that people who are rich can easily become self-reliant. Instead of depending on God, they can come to depend upon their wealth.  How different is that from little children, who are totally dependent on their parents. So Jesus is saying that the only way to enter the kingdom of God is with childlike trust and total dependence on God our heavenly Father. But what does he mean by entering the kingdom of God? That will become apparent as we now turn to verses 17-22:

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.'” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

There are quite a few things we can admire about this young man’s attitude. He’s enthusiastic. He’s respectful to Jesus. He asks a very important question. But what he says reveals a deep misunderstanding. This becomes clear as we read Jesus’ answer.

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone.

Jesus is implying two things here. First, since only God is good, to call Jesus good is to acknowledge his deity, something which Jesus does not deny. And secondly, he is saying that no-one is good enough to inherit eternal life. There’s nothing you can do to achieve it. You can only enter the kingdom of God by total dependence on him and childlike trust in his love. But since the young man thinks he can achieve eternal life by doing good, Jesus says:

19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.'”

To which the young man replies:

Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy (20).

We wonder if the young man was hoping that this would be enough, but Jesus makes clear that it is not. He loves this young man, but love does not hide the truth. He says:

21 One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Preaching the gospel involves pointing out that people have a need and then showing them how that need can be met. What was the one thing this young man lacked? Not the selling of everything he had, but the childlike dependence on God that would enable him to do so.

And so we read that

22 He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

The wealth of this world deprived him of the treasure in heaven that Jesus so wanted him to have.

And finally, before we move on to verses 23-27, please notice that throughout this passage entering the kingdom of God refers to having eternal life in heaven. The rich young ruler asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus shows him the way to have treasure in heaven  and comments to his disciples that it hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. But that brings us to verses 23-27:

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

As we’ve already explained, there’s nothing wrong with being in rich – most listeners to this podcast will be richer than 98% of the rest of the world’s population – the problem arises when we put our trust in riches. God does not expect every Christian to sell all they have and give to the poor – though the early Christians in Acts certainly did so (Acts 2:45, 4:32) – but he does expect us to be willing to do so. Following Jesus means total commitment. We cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24).

24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

The disciples are amazed, but Jesus reemphasises what he is saying by using an extreme illustration. Various suggestions have been made about what he meant by a camel going through the eye of a needle. For example, in koine Greek the word for camel (kamelos) is almost identical to the word for rope (kamilos), so it’s suggested that Jesus was actually referring to a piece of rope, which it is argued makes more sense. But Jesus’ purpose is not to make sense. He is using hyperbole, extreme exaggeration to make his point. Remember how, when talking about not judging others, he uses the word plank to contrast with speck in Matthew 7:3-5. And the same goes for the idea that the ‘eye of a needle’ was a reference to a small gate in the wall of Jerusalem through which camels found it difficult to pass. Both these suggestions water down the extreme emphasis Jesus is placing on what he is saying.

26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

The disciples’ question is quite understandable. If entering the kingdom of God is as hard as Jesus is saying, how can anyone be saved? And now Jesus goes even further. Salvation, entry into the kingdom of God, is not just hard, it’s impossible! At least, it’s impossible with man, but it’s not impossible with God. We saw earlier how, in calling Jesus good, the rich young ruler, without realising it, was actually implying that Jesus was God. Salvation would have been impossible for us, if it were not made possible by Jesus, who, because he was good enough to pay the price of sin, was able to unlock the gate of Heaven and let us in.

So far, we have seen that entering the Kingdom of God means being saved, receiving eternal life, and having treasure in Heaven. Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God belonging to little children (v14), and about it being received (v15). But the thing he mentions most is entering it. Putting all these things together we see that to enter the kingdom of God means to be saved, to receive eternal life, to know that you are going to Heaven, because the kingdom of God belongs to you because you have received it as a little child. And this is something that is only possible because of Jesus.  But in the final few verses of our passage we see the rewards that Jesus gives to those who follow him.

28 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

28 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”

Peter and his fellow fishermen had not given up as much as the rich young ruler was asked to give up. But they had left their means of livelihood and followed Jesus the moment he called them (Mark 1:16-19). It was not the forsaking of these things that earned them their salvation, for, as we have seen, salvation cannot be earned. What saved them was the childlike trust in Jesus that enabled them to do so. Nevertheless, there are abundant rewards for doing so, and this applies to all.

29-30 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

The ultimate reward is eternal life in the age to come, but salvation brings its blessings down here. The blessings of the future kingdom are in some measure available now. Throughout the New Testament there is an eschatological tension between the present and future aspects of the kingdom of God. It’s already, but not yet! But that’s a subject for another time.

There are abundant blessings in this present age, even if at times they come for some with persecution. I am reminded of what the writer to the Hebrews says talking of the heroes of faith:

Others were tortured, and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection (Hebrews 11:37).

In Heaven there are rewards for suffering for Christ and there are rewards for service, but our passage ends with the serious reminder that we may be surprised when we get to Heaven. Jesus says:

31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

The standards of God’s kingdom are not the standards of the world. It’s the meek who will inherit the earth. It’s those who humble themselves as a little child who will be the greatest in the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:4).

I’m so glad Jesus has made it possible for me to go to heaven. And I’m glad for the opportunities to serve him I’ve had down here. What little I have given up for him is nothing compared with the abundant blessings he continues to shower upon me. It’s by his grace that we are saved. It’s by his grace that we are privileged to serve him, and whatever blessings may be stored up for us in the age to come will only be ours because of that amazing grace. Lord, please help us to continue to trust you like a little child and to learn to live in total dependence upon you. Amen.

Talk 29   Mark 10:1-12   Jesus answers questions on divorce

Welcome to Talk 29 in our series on Mark’s gospel. Today we’re looking at Mark 10:1-12 where Jesus answers questions on divorce, and in so doing teaches us key principles about the nature and sanctity of marriage. Of course, in a talk of this length, it won’t be possible to go into the subject in great detail or to refer to the wide variety of opinions that are held on the matter.  But in my view, there are some things that stand out very clearly from what Jesus has to say, and it’s those things that we’ll be concentrating on today. So let’s begin by reading Mark 10:1-12.

Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” 10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

So far Jesus’ ministry has centred largely on the region of Galilee, but now, and for the rest of Mark’s Gospel, it has transferred to the region of Judea where the people were very different from those in Galilee. But whatever the region, some things never change. Jesus continues to teach. Crowds come to listen. And the Pharisees are determined to catch Jesus out by asking him trick questions. And it’s in that context that we need to understand his teaching on divorce in this passage.

We need to bear in mind that the Pharisees had seen on several occasions how Jesus was radically reinterpreting the Law of Moses. They were so annoyed about this that they were already trying the find ways to have Jesus killed. (Mark 3:6 tells us that they had begun to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus, because he had healed a man on the Sabbath day). John the Baptist had already been executed by Herod for speaking out against divorce and adultery (Mark 6:17-28). So it seems likely that the Pharisees’ purpose in testing Jesus in this way was to have him killed.

That’s why we mustn’t see Jesus’ reply to their question as a full-blown theology of marriage and divorce, but rather as a wise answer that avoided the trap the Pharisees had set for him. However, what Jesus does say reveals vitally important truths on the subject, as we shall see as we work through the passage. But before we start, just one more thing. Matthew’s account of the same incident (Matthew 19:1-12) includes a little more of Jesus’ reply than we find in Mark. For example, in verse 2 where the Pharisees ask Jesus, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Matthew’s account includes the words for any and every reason.

And in verse 11 Matthew includes the words except for marital unfaithfulness. This, of course, does not mean that Matthew is contradicting Mark. He is simply including more of what Jesus actually said, and we’ll be taking this into account as we seek to understand what Jesus was saying. And in case you’re wondering why Matthew, Mark and Luke sometimes have slightly different accounts of the same incident, it’s probably worth mentioning that each writer had a different audience in mind. For example, Matthew was writing for a largely Jewish audience while Mark, who was probably based in Rome, would have had a readership that was largely Gentile.

But now, putting Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts together, let’s look at the implications of what Jesus says about marriage and divorce. The Pharisees begin by asking Jesus, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” The question was relevant because at the time of Jesus there were two schools of thought among the Jewish rabbis. The followers of Shammai maintained that only unchastity or adultery were grounds for a man divorcing his wife. On the other hand, the disciples of Hillel allowed divorce for the slightest reason – even something as trivial as bad cooking!

Jesus answers their question in Matthew 19:11 where he says that divorce should be limited to cases of porneia ­– adultery or marital unfaithfulness. But his first response to their question is to ask them, What did Moses command you? To which they say, Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away. But in saying this the Pharisees are not being honest with the text of the very passage they are referring to. All that Moses says in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is that if a divorced woman marries another man, and if he also divorces her, she may not be remarried to her first husband.

Jesus, however, refuses to get embroiled in an argument about the interpretation of the Law of Moses, but tells them the reason why it was given: It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law. (Notice incidentally that Jesus interprets the scripture by looking at the reason for which it was given in the first place. When we’re interpreting scripture it’s always important to ask why it was written). Even the Pharisees had acknowledged that Moses had permitted divorce. He had not commanded it. Now Jesus explains why Moses had permitted it – because your hearts were hard (v5). 

But what does Jesus mean by saying because your hearts were hard? Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately sick (ESV). This is true in all generations because of our fallen nature, and at the time of Moses that was particularly evident in the context of marriage, because men saw themselves as free to put away their wives for any reason, no matter how trivial.

And it’s important to note that there was no provision in the law of Moses for a wife to divorce her husband! Men tended to view their wives as their property – something which may be reflected in the tenth commandment where women are listed as things that should not be coveted, alongside houses, servants, oxen and donkeys, nor anything that belongs to your neighbour (Exodus 20:17).

So man’s heart was hard because of his fallen nature, and this was reflected in the way they viewed the role of women in general and their wives in particular. But Jesus takes the Pharisees back to long before the law was given and reminds them that divorce was not God’s intention from the beginning. In verses 6-9 he says:

6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

He is referring, of course, to Genesis 2:22-24, which says:

22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

So in going back to Genesis Jesus sidesteps the trick question set by the Pharisees and takes the opportunity to reveal the true nature of marriage and God’s purpose in it. From his answer we see very clearly five things.

1. Marriage is between male and female

In verse 6 Jesus says that at the beginning of creation God made them male and female.

Now notice what he says in verse 7:

For this reason (i.e. because God made them male and female) a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife.

Here Jesus is quoting directly from Genesis 2:24. Now in both the Hebrew of Genesis and the Greek of Mark’s Gospel, the word translated as wife in our English Bible is exactly the same as the word used elsewhere for woman. So both the Hebrew and the Greek literally say,

A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his woman.

This shows very clearly that from a Biblical perspective there can be no such thing as a same sex marriage. It’s a contradiction in terms.

2. Marriage is a uniting of male and female

Now let’s add verse 8 to verse 7:

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his woman, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one.

This is an obvious reference to sexual intercourse, where a man and a woman are physically united. They become one flesh. But more than that, they are no longer two but one. The implications are surely more than physical. God’s intention for marriage is that the love husband and wife have for each other should result in unity, not merely of the body, but of purpose, intention, faith, heart, mind and soul. How different from the attitude of the Pharisees is the New Testament teaching that husbands should love their wives as their own bodies, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her (Ephesians 5:25-33).

3. Marriage is intended to be permanent

It’s interesting that Matthew makes something clear that is not obvious in Mark’s account. In 19:5 he records Jesus as saying that God said the words recorded in Genesis 2:24. It was the Creator himself who at the beginning said, They will become one flesh. And on the strength of this, Jesus says in verse 9, What God has joined together, let not man separate. Jesus is not referring here to what happens in the ceremony we call a wedding. He is referring to what God said at creation. God intends marriage to be permanent, and so should we.

Two or three years after Eileen and I were married, a fifteen-year-old girl in an RE lesson I was teaching asked me a question: Sir, how do you know you will still love your wife in 10 years’ time? To which I replied, Oh, that’s easy. Because I’ve promised to. Love is more than a romantic feeling. It involves an act of the will. And for a Christian, knowing that in God’s sight marriage is for life should be the determining factor in the decision to keep on loving and to stay married till death us do part. But where does that leave the matter of divorce?

4. Divorce was a concession but not God’s perfect plan

As we’ve already seen, even the Pharisees acknowledged that Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife (v4). In the next verse Jesus does not deny this but says that it was only because of their hardness of heart, which we’ve already talked about. God’s perfect plan was that people should stay together. But because of the weakness of our human nature, he allowed divorce in certain circumstances, but NOT for any and every reason as the followers of the school of Hillel were teaching. But that brings us to our final point.

5. Divorce for any and every reason followed by remarriage leads to adultery, except where there has been marital unfaithfulness.

We’ve already mentioned that Matthew includes some words of Jesus that are not recorded in Mark. In Matthew, Jesus says:

I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

In the Greek, the word for marital unfaithfulness is porneia. This word has a fairly wide range of meaning (adultery, unchastity, prostitution etc.) but is invariably connected with some form of sexual activity. That’s presumably why NIV translates it as marital unfaithfulness. This appears to be the only basis on which Jesus allows a man to divorce his wife – or presumably a wife to divorce her husband. I say this because Mark 10:11-12 indicates that what applies to the husband applies to the wife too. But how does all this apply to us today?

First, let me say that I’m well aware that sincere Christians have very different views on this and that we all need to tread carefully as what we teach may have a serious effect on the lives of people who are divorced or who are facing very real problems in their marriage. But, having said that, as Christians we must take the teaching of Jesus seriously and should never attempt to water down what he has said. We also need to bear in mind that there are other NT passages which deal with the subject of marriage and divorce and in this short talk I have not attempted to deal with them.

What we have said with regard to this passage is that in the answers Jesus gave the Pharisees he was not attempting to give a full-blown theology of marriage and divorce. He was answering a trick question based on how Deuteronomy 24:1 should be applied in the context of first century Judaism. Nevertheless, what he says relates beyond the context of the day because he takes us back to God’s intention for marriage from the very start. Marriage is between a man and a woman. It is the uniting of that man and woman in a lifelong relationship. Man must not separate what God has joined together.

Nevertheless, there are, Jesus tells us, certain circumstances in which divorce may be permitted. Those circumstances are cases of marital unfaithfulness, a term which, as we have seen, can cover a variety of forms of sexual activity. But is this really the only legitimate basis for divorce? Could the term be extended to mean unfaithfulness of a nonsexual nature like persistent physical violence, for example? If a man commits adultery, he is breaking the covenant that he made with his wife. Would he not also be breaking that covenant if he beat her black and blue? Would she not have the right to divorce him?

If we insist on the letter of what Jesus said, we would have to say no. But Jesus’ example teaches us (as we have seen in this passage) to look beyond the letter of the law to the reason behind it. To say this is not to legitimate divorce for any and every reason. But such an approach does allow us to consider the spirit rather than the letter of the law and to apply it with sensitivity and compassion to those who find themselves, through no fault of their own, in an impossible marital situation.

I offer this suggestion in a spirit of humility, knowing that there will be those who radically disagree. All I can say is that after more than 60 years in church leadership I know that there is no easy answer. Every case is different and church leaders need to pray for wisdom and the help of the Holy Spirit in seeking to understand the scriptures and to apply the principles that the Lord Jesus has taught us.

Talk 28  Mark 9:30-50   Self-denial and total commitment

Welcome to Talk 28 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re looking at Mark 9:30-50 where Jesus teaches his disciples lessons that are essential for all those who would follow him. The passage begins with the statement that Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples (vv30-31). And, as we look at the passage, we discover that what Jesus is teaching is self-denial and total commitment. But first, let’s read the rest of the passage, beginning in verse 31.

He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” 39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

42 “And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where “‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Jesus begins by reminding his disciples what he has already told them more than once. He is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise (31). The disciples don’t understand this yet, but it will be essential that they do. The reason Jesus came to earth was to die on the cross to save us from our sins. It would involve self-denial and total commitment – saying No to self and Yes to God. And this would be the example he set for his followers (1 Peter 2:21). And now he is teaching his disciples in advance that following him will mean following his example of self-denial and total commitment.

And in today’s passage we see various ways how Jesus challenges us to do the same.

The challenge of self-denial

There is to be no self-seeking among the followers of Jesus (33-37)

In our last talk we saw how the disciples were arguing with the teachers of the Law. Now we discover them arguing among themselves (v33). And they’re arguing about who was the greatest. We’re not told the details, but it may well have been over who they thought would get the best positions in the Messianic kingdom Jesus was about to bring in. Perhaps Peter, James and John felt they had a claim to greatness because of the privilege they had had to be present at the transfiguration. We know that James and John had aspirations like that because of what we’re told in the next chapter where they ask Jesus:

Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory (10:37).

But to such ambition Jesus replies:

If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all (9:35),

and taking a little child in his arms he says:

Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:4) and adds:

Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me (Mark 9:37).

Selfish ambition may bring glory to oneself, but it doesn’t bring glory to Jesus. It only causes division and dissention among the followers. So there is to be no self-seeking among the followers of Jesus, but, closely connected to this, our passage also shows that there is to be no competition among them either.

There is to be no competition among the followers of Jesus (38-41)

In verse 38 John tells Jesus that they have seen a man driving out demons in Jesus’ name but that they stopped him because he was not one of us. But Jesus replies

Do not stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

It’s certainly possible that the disciples’ reason for stopping the man was well intentioned. They knew that as his disciples they had been specially chosen by Jesus and that he had designated them apostles (Mark 3:14). They had been in his close company since he first called them to be fishers of men. What right had other people to think they could speak in Jesus’ name (i.e. with his authority)?

Their motivation could well have been like that of Joshua in Numbers 11:28, when out of loyalty to Moses he asks him to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying because they had not been in the Tent of Meeting when the Spirit had come upon them as the rest of the elders had been. To which Moses replied, I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them.

Moses was secure in his God-given position of leadership and had nothing to fear from what may have appeared to be a challenge to his authority, and how much more secure was Jesus in the knowledge that he was God’s well-beloved Son. He had nothing to fear from a man who was not one of his immediate disciples driving out demons in his name. And a person using his name to do so could not possibly say anything bad about him (v38).

But what does he mean when he says, Whoever is not against us is for us? Did he not say on another occasion, He who is not with me is against me (Matthew 12:30)? Of course there is no contradiction in these two statements. In God’s sight there are only two kinds of people in the world – not Jew or Gentile, not male or female, not black or white, not rich or poor etc. – but those who are for Jesus and those who are against him. Neutrality is not an option. And on that hangs our eternal destiny.

But Jesus’ statement also implies that there are those who are actually for him whom we believe to be against him. The Lord knows those who are his. We’re reminded of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:10 who protested to God that he was the only one left who was following him and to whom God replied that there were 7000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal (v18). I’m sure that when we get to Heaven we’ll be surprised at some of the people we meet there!

So we need to be careful that we don’t assume that Christians who worship differently than we do, or who do things differently from us, are not really Christians at all. Of course we need to contend earnestly for the precious truths of God’s word, but our motivation in doing so should never be for the reputation or position of our own group or denomination. For example, I don’t believe that infant baptism is scriptural, but that does not mean that some of those who practise it are not being powerfully used in healing and evangelism. Jesus said that anyone who gives you a cup of water (i.e. seeks to help you in the simplest way) …because you belong to Christ, will certainly not lose his reward (v41). There must be cooperation, not competition, among the followers of Jesus.

But that brings us to the second major challenge that Jesus presents to his disciples in this passage – the challenge of total commitment.

The challenge of total commitment (vv42-50)

In these verses Jesus warns his disciples about the seriousness of sin. Our sin can, not only keep us out of Heaven, but also keep others out too. He challenges us to a life of total commitment, a life that pleases God.

Verse 42 contains a strong warning about causing anyone else to sin, especially those who are children, but it could also be taken to refer to those who are young in their faith. A spirit of competition among Christians or a personal ambition for greatness can easily do just that. Such attitudes are a poor example to set to new believers. There’s the twofold danger that they either follow the example we are setting, or that they will be completely put off the faith because of it.

Sin is so serious that in verses 43-47 Jesus uses what may seem like an extreme illustration to make his point. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off… if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off… if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. In other words, Get rid of anything that causes you to sin. If your sin is not dealt with, Jesus says, only hell awaits.

If this seems harsh, we need to remember that Jesus has already provided a way for us to get rid of our sin. That’s why he died, taking the punishment our sins deserved. We get rid our sin and its consequences when we receive Jesus as our Saviour. Heaven, not hell, is our destiny. But that does not mean that the moment we become Christians we start to live sinless lives. In fact, if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves (1 John1:8), but,  thank God, If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

But God’s promise of forgiveness does not mean that we should go on sinning. Our sins are forgiven, but sin is still serious. That’s why Jesus tells us to cut off anything that causes it. And cutting something off can be painful. Giving up something we enjoy or someone we love may well be costly, but if we know that it or they may lead us, or others, into temptation, we also know that it will be worth it in order to maintain our right standing with God.

As we’ve already pointed out, our sin can affect the eternal destiny of others if it leads them to follow our example or abandon the faith. That’s why Jesus says in verse 50:

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.

As Christians we can make a real difference in the world we live in, rather like salt changes the flavour of food (Matthew 5:13), and just as salt preserves food from decay, we can counteract the moral decay we see in the world around us. If, like the disciples in today’s passage, we’re arguing and quarrelling among ourselves, how can we expect to influence the society in which we live? If we cannot live at peace with each other, we will lose our saltiness and we’ll be of little use in the Lord’s service. That’s why, as we’ve already seen, there must be no self-seeking or competition among the followers of Jesus. He challenges us to self-denial and total commitment.

And if that seems hard, just remember that that is exactly what Jesus did.

Talk 27    Mark 9:9-29      Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy

Welcome to Talk 27 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. In our last talk we were considering what we can learn about Heaven from the story of Jesus’ transfiguration at the top of a high mountain. Today we’re looking at Mark 9:9-29 where Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy. In verses 9-13 we read how, coming back down the mountain, Peter, James and John ask Jesus about a verse in Malachi which said that before the Messiah came, Elijah must come first. In Matthew’s account Jesus identifies this ‘Elijah’ as John the Baptist who had already been rejected and put to death for what he had preached. And Jesus then reminds his disciples that it would also be necessary for him to suffer too.

But verses 14-15 tell us that at this point they saw the other disciples and …a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. And that …as soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

When Jesus asks them what they’re arguing about (v16), a man in the crowd answers.

Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not (vv17-18).

I expect that most of my listeners will be familiar with this story, but let’s just remind ourselves of the details by reading verses 19-29:

19 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”  

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.  

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered.

22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

This passage teaches us four main things:

·      The desperate condition of the boy

·      The cause of the problem

·      The inability of the teachers and the disciples

·      The secret of Jesus’ authority.

The desperate condition of the boy

He was unable to hear or speak

He was possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech (17)

Jesus says, You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him (25).

He suffered violent convulsions

Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid (18)

When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth (20)

The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out (26).

His life was often in danger

It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him (22)

His condition was longstanding

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered (21).

His condition was incurable

They saw the other disciples and a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them (14)

I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not (18)

The cause of the problem

The passage makes clear that the boy’s condition was caused by a deaf and mute spirit that needed to be cast out of him. However, the symptoms of his condition were very similar to certain forms of what we refer to today as epilepsy. As a result, some have assumed that all those with epileptic symptoms have a demon that needs to be exorcised. However, since epilepsy is usually treatable with the right medication, and since it seems unlikely that demonic forces could be controlled by medical means, this view is clearly mistaken, especially bearing in mind the pastoral difficulties that would almost certainly arise if this theory were put into practice.

Equally mistaken is the view that demons do not exist and that in those days, without the knowledge that we have today, people mistakenly assumed that all sickness was caused by evil spirits. But if that view were correct we would have to conclude that Jesus himself was mistaken when he said:

You deaf and mute spirit …I command you, come out of him and never enter him again (v25).

So what’s the solution? Quite simply, in some cases epileptic symptoms may result from the activity of evil spirits, but that does not mean that they always are. It’s interesting that in Matthew 4:24 those having seizures are distinguished from the demon-possessed making it clear that they’re not the same. But Jesus healed them all. Prayer for healing is always appropriate, but we need always to be led by the Holy Spirit in how we pray. Attempting to cast out something that isn’t there will cause more harm than good.

But this passage reminds us how evil Satan is. We see how he torments and tries to destroy. As Jesus said in John 10:10, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. And as we look around us at the world today we see abundant evidence of his work. Not only the thousands of lives being destroyed in war zones like Ukraine and Gaza, but the young people being led astray by his lies in so many different ways leading them to do things that are contrary to God’s natural created order of things. The Holy Spirit has clearly stated that

…in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons (1 Timothy 4:1)

and this is undoubtedly being fulfilled before our very eyes. Satan not only works through demon possession, but by putting perverse ideas into people’s heads that are even now being taught to the children in our schools, and have led to an unprecedented crisis in mental and emotional health.

The inability of the teachers and the disciples

When Jesus came back down the mountain, he found the disciples and the teachers of the Law arguing. When he asked them what they were arguing about, the boy’s father answered telling Jesus about the desperate condition his son was in and his disciples’ inability to help. So it seems that the argument was about the boy.

We don’t know the details of the argument, but perhaps the teachers of the law were challenging the disciples’ authority to drive out the demon. But if so, why didn’t they drive it out? In Matthew 12:27 Jesus acknowledged that some of the Jews were exorcists. We don’t know the answer to these questions, but what is clear is that while they were arguing, the boy was still being tormented. Could it be that even today people are suffering because we Christians are too busy arguing with the opposition rather than using the authority Jesus has given us to set them free?

But that brings us to why the disciples couldn’t drive it out. Mark 6:31 tells us that they had already cast out demons. However, on this occasion they were unable to do so. The Greek verbs used in verses 18 and 28 imply that they were not strong enough and did not have the power to deal with this demon. The passage gives us two reasons why:

·      Lack of faith (v19) Cf Matthew 17:20 Because you have so little faith.

·      Lack of prayer (v29).

So which was it? The answer must surely be both. There is no contradiction here. Faith comes by hearing from God, and prayer, communing with God, is how we hear from him. It’s through prayer that we know what God wants us to do and receive the faith to do it. But that brings us to:

The secret of Jesus’ authority

Notice:

The authority with which Jesus speaks

in verse 19: Bring the boy to me.

In verse 25: I command you, come out of him

The immediate reaction from the demon

in verse 20: When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion.

In verses 26: The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out.

Matthew 17:18  Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

Why did Jesus have such authority over the demon?

It’s clear from these verses that Jesus had total authority over the demon. But why? Not just because he was God, because it’s clear from verse 19 that he expected his disciples to have been able to do it. The secret of his authority lies in the answers he gave the disciples when they asked why they had been unable to do it. Because of the communion he had with his Father through his prayer life, Jesus had faith. Look at verses 22 and 23 again. The boy’s father says, If you can do anything, take pity on us… to which Jesus replies:

‘If you can’? …Everything is possible for him who believes.

The emphasis here is on the word if, not on the word you. Jesus is not saying that if the father can believe, the boy’s healing will be possible – though that is not to deny the importance of having faith when we come to God with our requests – what Jesus is really saying may be paraphrased as follows:

You are doubting if I can, but I assure you that I can because I believe, and everything is possible to those who believe.

Jesus works the miracle, not because of the father’s imperfect faith, but because he himself had faith. He had faith in his own authority because he lived his life under the authority of God. That’s how he had conquered Satan in the wilderness. He knew what the Father wanted him to do, and he did it. He only did the things he saw the Father do (John 5:19). He was a man of authority because he was a man under authority (Matthew 8:8-10). The secret of his success lay not in his deity but in his submission as a man to the absolute authority of God. With that kind of authority, there is no need to argue as the disciples had. When we know we have heard from God, and only when we know it, we have authority to speak the word of command knowing that in Jesus’ name, with his authority, we too can drive out demons and heal the sick (Mark 16:15ff). But there are no shortcuts, no magic formulae. This kind can come out only by prayer and the faith that results from hearing from God.

Talk 26    Mark 9:1-8    The Transfiguration – a Glimpse of Heaven

Welcome to Talk 26 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re looking at Mark 9:1-8 where we read of a truly awesome event in the life of Jesus and three of his disciples. It’s what is known as the transfiguration. The chapter begins with Jesus saying:

I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.

There has been much discussion about what Jesus meant by this, but in my view the explanation is almost certainly found in the following verses where we read how Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and he was transfigured before them (v2). So let’s begin by reading verses 2-8:

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

Transfiguration is not a word that’s in common use today, but its basic meaning is transformation. The Greek word that’s used in verse 2 is metamorpho’o from which we get our English word metamorphosis which we use to mean a change in the form of a person or thing into a completely different one, as, for example, when a caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and then into a butterfly. In the case of Jesus, Mark tells us that

his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them,

but in 2 Peter 1:16-18 Peter himself describes what he saw:

16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

He refers to the transfiguration as the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Compare this with what Jesus said in verse 1 about the kingdom of God coming with power). He uses words like, majesty, honour, glory, and God’s voice coming from the Majestic Glory. It seems clear to me that what Peter is describing is nothing less than a glimpse or foretaste of Heaven itself.

Of course, the day is coming when Jesus will finally come in power and great glory, a day Jesus refers to in 8:38 when he talks about the Son of Man coming in his Father’s glory with the holy angels. But that was not to happen yet. Jesus must first suffer and die and rise again (v12). The transfiguration was not the second coming, but it was certainly a prophetic foretaste of it, a revelation of Jesus in power and glory, that Peter wanted to assure his readers was not a cleverly invented story. He had seen it for himself. He knew it was true. And, as he was approaching the end of his earthly life, his hope and his faith for eternity were securely founded on the revelation of Heaven he had received on that mountain.

So, with this in mind, let’s look at the passage and see what we can learn about Heaven.

What is Heaven like?

If you know Jesus as your Saviour, you’re already on your way to Heaven, but do you have any real idea what it’s going to be like? My wife, Eileen, went to Heaven recently and I’ve been trying to imagine her there. Actually, I’ve found it quite hard, and I’ve realised how little we know about Heaven. Of course the Book of Revelation paints a certain picture for us, but it contains so much symbolism that it’s hard to know whether some passages are to be taken literally or metaphorically.

Even the great apostle Paul had to admit that now we know only in part (1 Corinthians 13:12) and that we cannot yet imagine the things that God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). So it looks as though we’ll have to wait and see. But that does not mean that we know nothing about what Heaven is like, and today’s passage gives us some clear pointers.

Heaven is a place of dazzling purity and awesome majesty

In verse 3 Mark tells us that Jesus’ clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. In Matthew 17:1 we’re told his face shone like the sun. Paul on the road to Damascus had a glimpse of that brightness. Testifying before King Agrippa he says:

At midday, I saw in the way, O king, out of heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round me a light – and having fallen to the earth…I heard a voice… (Acts26:13-14).

John on the Isle of Patmos saw it too:

His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:14-18).

Heaven is a place of dazzling purity and awesome majesty. But it’s a place  where it’s good to be – a place where you’ll want to stay! Notice what Peter says in verse 5:

Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.

Of course he didn’t realise what he was saying. Jesus, Moses and Elijah would not have needed shelters! All Peter knew was that he wanted the experience to last.

Heaven is a place where the righteous dead are still living

v4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

           The Sadducees, who did not believe in life after death, once asked Jesus about a woman who had had seven different husbands because they all died one after the other. In the next life, whose wife would she be? Jesus replied that they were making a big mistake because they neither knew the power of God nor understood the Scriptures.

Quoting the well-known passage in Exodus 3, he pointed out that God had revealed himself to Moses, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The point here is that God did not say, I was. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had all died centuries before God said this. Yet God still said I am. He was still their God centuries after they had died, so they must be still alive!

Now, in today’s passage, we have another evidence of this. Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with Jesus. They had both died centuries earlier and Moses had died well before Elijah was born. So they were still alive long after they had died. What’s more, they were recognisable. We don’t know how the disciples knew who they were. Perhaps they overheard them referring to each other by name – it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that in Heaven we will be able to recognise and communicate with each other, even with Christians of earlier generations whom we have never met.

Furthermore, they were not only recognisable, they seem to have been still serving God. It must surely have been God who sent them to have this conversation with Jesus. The exact details and the purpose of the conversation we do not know, but Luke tells us that they were speaking about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). More of this later, but I’m glad that in the life to come it seems that God will have something for us to do!

Heaven is a place where Jesus is recognised for who he is

At the transfiguration God declares Jesus to be his Son (v7). The disciples are to listen to HIM. He is exalted above both Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the prophets). He fulfilled them both and supersedes them both. All authority is given to him.

No wonder Peter could say that Jesus received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Heaven is a place where Jesus is recognised for who he really is, and only those who recognise it will be welcome in Heaven. In the end the disciples are left seeing no-one except Jesus (v8). In the final analysis, Jesus is all that matters. Not the Law. Not the prophets. Just Jesus. It’s our response to him that will determine our final destiny.

Experiencing a foretaste of Heaven

I have already suggested that the disciples’ experience of the transfiguration was a glimpse or foretaste of Heaven itself. But that raises the question whether it’s possible for us today to have such a foretaste – obviously not an identical one, because that was unique, but is there any sense in which Christians can experience a taste of heaven today? And the answer is certainly yes. They are rarely, if ever, as dramatic as that of the disciples at the transfiguration, but Hebrews 6 tells us that as Christians we have tasted the heavenly gift and… shared in the Holy Spirit… and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age (vv4-5).

In my book, Just a Taste of Heaven, I have sought to show that the supernatural healings we receive now through the power of the Spirit are best understood as a foretaste of the age to come, when we will enjoy permanent good health in the new imperishable bodies we will receive when Jesus comes again (1 Corinthians 15:52-54). But of course, healing is not the only foretaste. All the supernatural gifts of the Spirit are available, as he determines, to bring us into a new dimension beyond the natural level of our everyday lives.

This is confirmed by Paul’s use of Greek words like arrabon and aparche to refer to the Holy Spirit. Both these words indicate that through the Spirit now we may receive a foretaste of what Heaven will be like. But these experiences are of course just a taste! There’s much much more when Jesus comes again! But for a detailed explanation you might like to take a look at the final chapter of my book, The Holy Spirit – and Introduction, or listen to podcasts 022-024.

Meanwhile, as we wait for Heaven, there’s a sense in which we ourselves are being transformed. The same verb as is used for Jesus being transfigured, or transformed, is used elsewhere about Christians. In Romans 12:2 Paul encourages us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And in 2 Corinthians 3:18 he tells us that

 …we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

For us the transformation is gradual. The extent to which we reflect the Lord’s glory will depend on how much time we spend in his presence renewing our minds. Remember, the disciples experienced the transfiguration while they were alone with Jesus (v2).

What makes Heaven possible for us

We said earlier that the transfiguration was a metamorphosis – a change in the form of a person into a completely different one – not a different person, but a different form. But actually this was not the first transfiguration. Jesus had changed his form before.

Look for a moment at Philippians 2:5-8, which translated literally reads like this:

Jesus, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself empty, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

The word I have translated as form is morphe from which is derived metamorpho’o, the word used to refer to the transfiguration in Mark 9. So the first ‘transfiguration’ was the incarnation. At the incarnation he remained God but took upon himself the form of a man. At the transfiguration, he remained a man, but took again for a brief moment the form of God which he later resumed after his resurrection and ascension. Our salvation was only possible because Jesus was willing to take the form of a servant, to be made in human likeness, to appear as a man, and to humble himself to death on a cross.

As we have seen, he came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, to live a sinless life in obedience to his Father, to suffer and die in our place. We mentioned earlier that Luke tells us that Elijah and Moses were speaking with Jesus about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment (or accomplish) at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). The word used for departure in this verse is exodos which means a way out. Jesus’ death on the cross was to be his way out.

But it was also to be ours. As God provided a way out of slavery in Egypt for the Israelites in the Book of Exodus, so Jesus has provided a way out for us from the slavery of sin and the death penalty it brings. One day we shall all be transformed into his likeness, for we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). Meanwhile let us seek to be daily transformed by the renewing of our minds and to allow the Holy Spirit to be constantly changing us from one degree of glory to another as we spend time in the glorious presence of Jesus.

Talk 25   Mark 8:27-38   The Challenge of the Cross

Welcome to Talk 25 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. If you listened to my Easter Sunday message recently (which was not part of this series), you will remember that we concentrated our attention on the repeated emphasis on the use of the word must in connection with Jesus’ death and resurrection.  One of the verses we referred to is found in today’s passage:

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

We saw that it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and to die and to rise again because that was the only way we could be saved. But in today’s passage we see that this was clearly something the disciples, especially Peter, didn’t want to hear. Nevertheless, Jesus went on to insist that not only was it necessary for him to suffer and die, but that if anyone wanted to follow him, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow him (v34).

This presented an enormous challenge to his disciples then, and, if we take Jesus’ words seriously, it is equally challenging for us today. In this passage we see three challenges:

·      The challenge of confessing who Jesus really is (27-30)

·      The challenge of acknowledging that his death was necessary (31-33)

·      The challenge of taking up our cross and following him (34-38).  

The challenge of confessing who Jesus really is (27-30)

27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

The important thing here is not what other people – your parents, your brothers and sisters, your friends – say about Jesus. What matters is what you say. And notice that the word is say, not think. Of course, what we say will be affected by what we think, but if we believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be, it’s important that we say so. Paul tells us that

if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Of course, Peter had not yet come to understand these things, but by divine revelation (see Matthew 16:17) he had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and was not afraid to say so. Others might see Jesus as an outspoken preacher like John the Baptist, or as a powerful miracle worker like Elijah, or as just another prophet or religious leader, but salvation depends on the acknowledgement and confession that JESUS IS LORD. But, as the next few verses make clear, Jesus was not the kind of Messiah that Peter and the other disciples were expecting. They were certainly not expecting a Messiah who would suffer and die.

The challenge of acknowledging that his death was necessary (31-33)

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

The disciples would have understood that the Son of Man was a title used for the Messiah in Daniel 7:13-14.

And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is and everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

This was almost certainly the kind of Messiah they would have been expecting, and Jesus’ claims that as the Son of Man he had authority on earth to forgive sins (Mark 2:10) and to be Lord of the Sabbath (2:28) would undoubtedly have backed up their conviction. And later in today’s passage Jesus uses the title in connection with his coming in his Father’s glory with the holy angels (v38), a theme which he repeats in 13:26 and 14:62. So their expectation was not entirely wrong. But it was only half the story.

Jesus now had to teach them that certain things had to happen first. The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed. We should not be surprised at Peter’s reaction. Surely suffering and rejection and death could not possibly be the role of the Messiah? But in fact they were not only possible. They were essential. The Son of Man must suffer… And Jesus not only rebukes Peter strongly for remonstrating with him, but he repeats the message again and again in chapters 9 and 10 (Mark 9:12, 31; 10:33, 45).

But why was his suffering necessary? Why must he die? Because this was the only way that we could be saved. He died for our sins. He died in our place. He took the punishment our sins deserved. He died, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God.

There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of Heaven and let us in.

To be saved we must acknowledge that his death was necessary. Our pride holds us back. Human wisdom rejects the message of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). We hesitate to admit that it was our shortcomings that made it so. But there was, there is, no other way. The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), for me, for you, and if it were not so, would the Messiah have allowed himself to be crucified? The challenge faces every man and woman, every boy and girl. The challenge must be faced, and it must be embraced. To be saved I must accept the fact that Jesus died for me.

The challenge of taking up our cross and following him (34-38).  

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Having begun to teach his disciples that it was necessary for him to suffer and die and rise again, Jesus now includes the crowd. What he is about to say applies to everyone. Notice the use of the words anyone and everyone. There can be no exceptions. Acknowledge Christ and be saved or deny Christ and perish. The way of the cross is inevitable, not only for Christ, but for all who will follow him. If he must suffer, then we must expect to suffer too. We must take up our cross and follow him.

Peter, from whom Mark probably obtained most of the material for writing his Gospel, writing to Christian slaves who were being unjustly punished, reminded them of the suffering of Christ and told them:

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21).

If the opponents of Christ treated him unfairly, we must not be surprised if they treat us unfairly too. But Jesus said that whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. Throughout the world today there are thousands who are losing their lives because of their faith in Christ.

But suffering for the cause of Christ must not be confused with the things we suffer along with the rest of humanity. By no means all that Christians suffer is caused by persecution. Most of our suffering is caused by the fact that we’re living in a fallen universe. In Romans 8 Paul tells us that, ever since the Fall, creation has been in bondage to decay and has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (vv21-22). But our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (v18). Meanwhile we are still eagerly waiting for the redemption of our bodies (v23). So suffering is inevitable. We are not exempt from it. Until Jesus returns we suffer along with the rest of humanity. The difference is that we Christians have hope. If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.

So suffering along with the rest of humanity because we’re all living in a fallen universe is not the same as suffering for the sake of Christ. It is not taking up our cross to follow Jesus. Yet this is required of every Christian. Jesus says, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. This will mean different things for different people, but if I am not denying myself and actively choosing to make sacrifices for the cause of Christ, can I really call myself a Christian?

This choosing to deny ourselves and to live a sacrificial life for Christ is a practical demonstration of what is known as our identification with Christ. When we first came to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, believing that he died in our place, God counted Jesus’ death as our death, and we too were accepting his death as our death. That’s why Paul could say that we died with Christ, we were crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, made alive with Christ and raised with Christ. In short, we are identified with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.

With this in mind, let’s compare verse 31 with verses 34-35. First Jesus teaches them that he, the Son of Man, must suffer many things and be rejected … and that he must be killed and … rise again. Then he says that as his followers his disciples must expect the same:

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  

The pattern is the same. Rejection and suffering, followed by resurrection and reward. But of course, we don’t want to suffer. We don’t want to be rejected. But neither did Jesus. Hear him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane,

My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death… My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:38-39).

Taking up one’s cross means saying this daily. Not what I want, but what you want.  Jesus didn’t want to suffer and die, but he chose the way of the cross, and so must we. But of course, the cross was not the end of the story. He rose again, and so, says Jesus, will we. What a wonderful promise to all who will accept him, but how serious a warning to those who reject him:

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels (v38)

And then he will reward each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27).

And in Matthew 10 he says:

32 Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. …38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

The choice is ours. And the consequences of that choice are eternal. What choice will you make? Will you accept the challenge of confessing who Jesus really is? Will you acknowledge that his death was necessary for you? Will you take up your cross and follow Jesus?