What's in Your Heart?

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?

Mark 11:18

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

NIV

Surely the chief priests were familiar with Isaiah and that Jesus was using the same words, about the temple being a house of prayer, but he did add the part about for all nations. Maybe that was what made them fear him, that other nations would be invited into their holy temple. Maybe it was the fact that the people were starting to listen more to Jesus than to them, as that what this narrative seems to point to. When their leadership, their authority over the people was threatened, those who were supposed to be holy men of God starting to plot how to kill Jesus and somehow that just doesn’t seem right. We think of murderers as criminals, as very bad people, who should be either locked up for a very long time, or in some states put to death. But these were the holy high priests of the temple of God. They are not supposed to be very bad men, who plot murder and execute their plan. The troubling truth here is connected to when Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder , and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” Jesus connected anger in our hearts toward others as the same as murder. If we harbor any anger in our hearts we are just as those chief priests, despising the teaching of Jesus because it goes against our own authority of our selves. The reason we push back against any authority is because we what to do it our way. Often we might think badly about those who are in authority of us at work, thinking we know better how to do what we do then they do. Often we push back against the authority of the state when it demands we stay under a certain speed, because we are in a rush and what to drive our way. Often we push back against the preaching of some pastor because his message speaks to closely to our faults. There might be many other areas we push back on and if we are not careful those moments could turn into harboring some kind of ill feelings, almost becoming a hatred for those with authority. We certainly see and what might be hatred by non-believers for the word of God, because they know it speaks to their bad behavior. We have to be careful not to allow any hatred at all in our hearts for anyone, even for those who push back against us, against our way of life, against the truth we tell them about Jesus. We have to be careful not to allow any hatred toward anyone, even those who oppose what we think is right. We cannot afford to be anything like those chief priests, looking like holy men of God, but harboring murder in their hearts. It is not about how we look, but about what is in our heart. We hear, “What’s in your wallet”, but we need to ask, “What’s in your hearts?”