Touching Him

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

TOUCHING HIM

Mark 6:53-56

53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.   56 And wherever he went — into villages, towns or countryside — they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

NIV

This is certainly reminding us of that woman who thought if she could just touch the hem of His garment she would be healed from the bleeding problem she had been suffering from for many years. She had even spent all she had on doctor bills and still had no cure for her illness until she touched the hem of Jesus’s garment. Here we see the same situation. People recognizing that Jesus was in their area, their neighborhood, they ran, not walked, not sauntered, but flat out ran, rushing to carry any of the sick on mats to wherever they heard Jesus was at any moment. As he walked throughout the little towns or even the countryside these people brought those people on their mats in the marketplace. This was the most public of places, and if Jesus was coming through that village or town, the marketplace would be the best place to be, for it would very difficult to avoid this place if you were walking through town. Plus we know that Jesus was not trying to avoid the people, he was there seeking the lost, looking for opportunities to teach, to heal, to bring them hope about the kingdom of God. The people begged, or beseeched him, or called to him to their side, as the Greek can be used for all of those, but it does mean they cried out to him that they could just touch the edge of his cloak. The fact is that everyone who touched just the hem of his garment was healed, not some of them, not just a few of them, not just the ones, who were worthy, but all of them, every last one of them who touched him was healed. Mark does not record that Jesus ever said a word like, “Your faith has made you whole” or “Sure touch me and you will be healed” or anything even close to that. What this also implies by the way it is recorded is that this was continually going on, as in every town, as long as Jesus was there. Here is where the rubber meets the road. Jesus is in our neighborhood right now and is always with us. He has promised that he would never leave us nor forsake us. We have the Spirit dwelling within us and we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior. How in the world would we not take hold of the hem of his garment and he healed? What is wrong with us, that we are content to have some illness, or infirmity when Jesus is right here with us, and all we have to do is reach out and touch him? Do we enjoy complaining? Do we like to tell others of our aches and pains? Do we wear our infirmity as some badge, some reason to be on some pray chain or list, so people will feel sorry for us and make some effort to pray for us? If they are praying, why then are we not healed? Are their prayers ineffective, and why? This just seems to get more and more complicated than we think it should be. Maybe we haven’t spent enough on doctor bills yet, and so we are still thinking that some man or woman doctor has the answer for us, instead of just seeking to touch the hem of His garment. Maybe the problem is we really do not believe Jesus will actually heal us, that he will say no, and we use that overused excuse of Paul being told, “My grace is sufficient”, so we continue to suffer. But that grace is the divine influence on our heart, and so then if Jesus is influencing our hearts, we would then know that he desires to heal all who come to him, that everyone who touches him is healed. That is the influence he has, that is the authority he has, over every sickness, every infirmity, every disease, that he heals them all, just by touching him. So how do we touch him? Surely those people were able to physically reach out and touch him. We cannot do that, but that does not mean we cannot spiritually reach out, believing that if we simply touch him, we would be healed. It doesn’t take a bunch of fancy words in a long drawn out prayer. It only takes reaching out and touching him.   

We Do Not Need to Row Alone

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

WE DO NOT NEED TO ROW ALONE

Mark 6:45-52

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

NIV

We could spend some time with the fact that Jesus needed to get away to a solitary place to pray as he sent his disciples ahead of him in the boat and dismissed the people. Even Jesus needed some alone time, the pressures of ministry had to be tiring for him as although he was fully God, he was also fully man. Being fully man, he had to experience being tired, or even exhausted after spending so much time with so many people who were all looking to him for whatever their need. Sometimes we forget that he was fully man ourselves, and only see him as the Son of God, a Divine being, full of the Spirit, able to do anything. Of course, he is, and he demonstrates that over and over again, healing so many people, raising some from the dead, and now feeding five thousand with just a few fish and a couple of loaves. His disciples have been with him, even from the beginning at the wedding at Cana when he first turned water into the best wine ever. They have even gone out town to town and healed people, drove out demons, and taught about the kingdom of God. How could they have had all that experience and then Mark tells us their hearts were hardened as they did not understand about the loaves? But before we get to that situation, there is something else that is interesting about Jesus, while everything about Jesus is interesting, but here there is something we may have missed before. Having been on the Sea of Galilee, we understand the size and that a small boat out in the middle might be a little difficult, first to see, especially in the night, and with a windy sea with waves, and secondly, see who is in that boat. This might be even more difficult if we were up in the mountains far from the shoreline. The disciples were straining at the oars, straining to make their way across the lake and they were all the way in the middle of it. Yet, Jesus saw them. They may have thought they were all alone in their struggles, but they were not, for Jesus had his eye upon them and was on the way to them. Of course, Mark makes mention that Jesus was about to pass them by, but they saw him and were afraid. Now, who would not be a little scared if someone was walking on the water in the middle of a windy night? Come on, no one sees that very often, and it must have been completely unsettling to them. We are not sure what they cried out, except it must have been cries of fear, for they did not recognize that it was Jesus, but rather a ghost. Still, Jesus was there, and he speaks words of calming to them, “Take courage, it is I, don’t be afraid”. What we learn here, is that although we may go through a few storms of life, although we might be struggling against the winds of life, to make our way, we are never alone, for Jesus has his eye on us, and when it may seem hopeless and our struggle is getting us nowhere, Jesus will come to us and talk with us, telling us to be of good courage, for it is Him, and we should not be afraid, for he will get in the boat with us and immediately the storm will cease. We do not need to row alone. As far as their hardened hearts, or hearts that did not understand, it is not difficult to garner the truth here. Even after we have experienced so much from the hand of Jesus, there can be times when our struggles seem overwhelming and we are not looking to Jesus, but to our own solutions and failing to achieve any headway. That can be seen like we just don’t get it. We just don’t understand that Jesus has his eye on us and is coming to calm that storm, if we just would take courage, see it is Him and not be afraid because we do not have to row alone, Jesus will be with us and calm that storm.

In Abundance

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

IN ABUNDANCE

Mark 6:35-44

35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." 37 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" 38 "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five — and two fish." 39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

NIV

We just were thinking about how Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began teaching them. Now that compassion which was regarding their spiritual condition has also now included their physical need for food. This appears to be the case, at least on the surface. Matthew gives us a little more details including some healing of some of these people, however, the number of loaves and fish differ so this may be another time or the same but from another point of view. Nevertheless, Jesus is demonstrating his power, not just to the five thousand, and that would be men, for they were the ones who were counted in those days. The actual number would have been far greater taking into account the woman and children that were in that crowd. What we also see here is that Jesus was taking care both of the spiritual and the physical needs of the common people, something the Pharisees or teachers of the law, or high priests, would never consider, as the common people were nothing to them. There was a great chasm in the classes of that day, much like there still exists today. Rather than the leaders serving the people, it is the people who serve the needs of the leaders, or at the very least, the leaders are nothing more than self-serving. So Jesus wants to feed them and his disciples are slow on the uptake. If this is the same event that Matthew records, then it follows Jesus calming the storm. If not perhaps it simply follows all the miracles Jesus had already done, including the raising of that little girl from the dead. However, his disciples still have not gotten the message of his divinity because they are only thinking about how much money it is going to take to feed that many people. Living with Jesus we need to get rid of the idea that money can supply all our needs, and that we do not have enough to supply all of our needs, or that it will take all we have and then some. Jesus proved them wrong or showed them another way. Just take a little bit, those few loaves and fish, and lift them up to God with thanksgiving and he will make them meet all our needs. How the power of God can work in our lives, if only we can see with spiritual eyes rather than with the eyes we only see how little we have available to us in the material sense. Just to think that thousands of people were fed and still with leftovers. It is also interesting that Jesus had them pick up the leftovers, although we are not told why. Could not the people have used them, or taken them home for later? That was not the point, Jesus was showing his disciples when he provides a need, that he does so in abundance. Again, we need to see this as a lesson for life. We can live in comfort from our own efforts or live in abundance from the hand of Jesus. True, this would certainly apply to abundance meaning life-everlasting, but it may well, as in this narrative, mean abundance in the physical sense. We, personally, are evidence of that in so far as we have lived far above our abilities, and have far more than we have received from our own labor. We should not be as slow to remember the power of God as He works in our lives, by always thinking about how we are going to do this, as His disciples were thinking at that time. If they and we just trust that Jesus will get it done, it would make life so much easier. He has told us to come to him if we are burdened and heavy laden, he would give us rest, and to take his yoke upon us. That is being yoked to him, let him take the burden, he will get us through. So we rest in the Lord and allow Him to do that which He does best, feed us both spiritually and physically.

Having Compassion

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

HAVING COMPASSION

Mark 6:30-34

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."  32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

NIV

We are back to the narrative directly from before this side note about Herod and John the Baptist, when Jesus had sent the twelve out to all the towns with authority to cast out demons, heal people, and teach the good news. They have returned although Mark does not tell us what Jesus was doing in the meantime, they report all they had done and taught. If only all the people would be so anxious today to gather around to hear the words of Jesus as they were then. It would truly be something to behold. The crowd was so demanding or in need to be either healed or taught the truth about the kingdom of God, Jesus and his twelve did not even have time to eat. There is something about ministry that seems to take precedence over all else. Should we not have that same passion for meeting the needs of people, at least their spiritual needs? Although there were several times that Jesus also met their physical needs. This was not just the need to be healed, but to eat, as when he fed the five thousand. Nevertheless. Jesus also knows the need for those who minister to find some rest, so as to be refreshed. This is not in that sense of finding rest for their souls, although that too may occur when they rest to eat, to repose, and reflect in the past days of ministry. However, this was not to happen just yet as the people saw them leave in the boat. We suppose it would not be hard to recognize thirteen guys in a boat, although maybe they took several boats, as we are not told exactly. However, in the Greek, it says they departed by ship, so that could mean a single ship, boat, or several. Nevertheless, thirteen guys headed across the lake would be understood as Jesus and his disciples, so the crowd ran along the shoreline, actually arriving ahead of the boat. No rest, today, as when Jesus saw them and knew they had needs, he had compassion on them, for they were as sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach. It is interesting how the writers of Star Teck got it right with the words of Spock when he said “The needs of the many outweigh the need of the one”. Here Jesus shows us that very same concept. Although he wanted for himself and his disciples to have some alone time, it was not to be, for the needs of the many were at hand. Let us be aware there are times when we need to find rest, for both our souls and body. But there are times when the needs of others must come first. Let us hear that voice of the Spirit so we can discern when which is to be done. It’s one thing to just be busy about doing things, but it is entirely a different thing, being sensitive to the needs of the many through having compassion.

That Promise

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

THAT PROMISE

Mark 6:21-29

21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23 And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." 24 She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

NIV

There is no need to regurgitate this story, for it is well explained and we get the point. Because of his pleasure with a young woman’s dance, which we could only imagine was extremely seductive in nature, he made a promise, an oath, however, he was not prepared for her response. Here is the problem, the lesson we should learn from this narrative. Never make a promise that we cannot or are not willing to fulfill. In fact, it is far better to never make a promise, especially to God. Although Moses was given the Law and it included the making of oaths, and that a man was bound by his word. Jesus recalled that law when he instructed the people not to take an oath, not to swear by anything, and he listed many things which they would have used to swear by, even their own head. But Jesus said that we cannot even make one hair on our head white of black, so how can we swear by our head. No, Jesus told us to just let our yes mean yes, and our no mean no. What this also teaches us is to never ask anyone to promise us anything, for we are just setting them up to be disobedient to the Lord, when he said that we should not make an oath or promise. The only one who does promise and is always faithful to His promise is the Lord. As far as us mere mortals, we cannot be faithful to our promises, as hard as we want to, we will certainly fail. Maybe not always. But sooner or later we will fail to uphold some promise. Even when it comes to our vows to each other on our wedding days, we have seen believers end up in divorce, thus not keeping those vows, although some of us have sustained our marriage until death do us part, there are promises made throughout those years that we have failed to fulfill. So let us simply keep our yes as yes, and our no as no, and we will be far better off as far as following the words of our Lord, instead of that promise.

Even if it Costs

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

EVEN IF IT COSTS

 

Mark 6:16-20

16 But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!" 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

NIV

Oh, the power of a woman scorned is at work here. But more importantly is the power of evil, the power of one who is completely self-serving, self-absorbed in the worldly affairs is completely opposed to that which is right, just, and holy. John had been preaching the message of repentance to make way for the Lord, or the Messiah, within the framework of repentance, John spoke again the situation that Herod had taken his brother’s wife as his own. From the historians we have learned that Philip who was actually named Herod Phillip was supposed to be the heir to the thorn of Herod the Great, however, he fell out of favor and his brother Herod Antipas became the heir and became the King of Judea. It certainly appears that this divorce and remarriage was instituted by Herodias as her ex-husband did not inherit his father’s throne and therefore lack both the position and wealth that Herod Antipas had. Of course, Antipas would have had to play a role in this, putting aside or divorcing his wife in favor of Herodias. This would make some headlines today if this situation happened within a royal or high standing political family. However, it was not right in the eyes of John the Baptist and he makes it clear what he thought. What we have, at this point is a recalling of an event that happened prior to this very public ministry of Jesus. Mark is recalling this because Herod had heard about Jesus because His name had become well-known. Therefore, Mark goes back and gives this account of how John the Baptist ended up dead, so that Herod thought that John had come back from the dead. Because of the statements against the marriage of Herod and Herodias, Herod gave orders to bind him and put him in prison. This goes against everything we believe in free speech in our culture. There are still countries in the world today that imprison those who speak against the rulers, the government. But John’s free speech was going to get his head removed because of the scorn of a woman. What do we learn here? It would seem we would have to go to the word and find that verse that says that a husband must love his wife as Christ loves the church, ready and willing to lay his life down for his wife. That is treat her with the utmost respect, and adore her, love her so much so that her scorn will never be aimed in our direction. But more importantly, she would never ever, invoke scorn on anyone, but live the life as a believer in Jesus, being much like the woman of the 31^st proverb. There is no doubt, Herodias played her hand well moving from her failed husband to his brother, the king. But it was still up to Herod for all that happened and still, he did not stand up for what is right concerning John the Baptist. This should teach us, that we should always stand up for what is right, even if it cost us something. John the Baptist did stand up and spoke up for righteousness and it cost him his life. In our country we may never lose our life for speaking up, standing up for righteousness, but nevertheless, we can do no less than speak up and stand up for that which is right, and against that which is wrong, even if it costs.

Well Known

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

WELL KNOWN

Mark 6:14-16

14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying," John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him." 15 Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago." 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

NIV

It is amazing in what we would consider a backward society, lacking any means of communication other than handwritten letters and the word of mouth, that the name of Jesus became well known. Surely today, the news of Jesus would be all over social media, maybe even roving major media camera trucks following every event Jesus appears in. Certainly, all the newspapers and major magazines would have story after story of each miracle and quotes from his teachings. But, alas, that is not the case today, yet in the time of Jesus without all the available forms of media we have today, His name had become well known, so well-known that His name had reached the court of the king. We would have to think that King Herod had a court of wealthy men and well-dressed women of noble birth all hovering about the palace, as we are so used to seeing movies with this type of setting. We also have this clue from the following narrative regarding his party and the daughter of Herodias dancing for everyone, especially the king. But, we will get to that, for now, we simply should consider how well-known his name became. Of course, some thought that he was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Here is where rumors and gossip play such a notorious role. Did not the people remember that Jesus came to John the Baptist in the Jordon to be baptized? Did they not remember, or hear about the fact that Jesus came out of the water, while John the Baptized was still there, and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, and God the Father spoke from the heavens saying that Jesus was His Son in whom He is well pleased? Did not those things make their way to the court of Herod? Evidently, the truth was not the most important, but rather the speculation of men seems to carry more weight. Rather than thinking Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, they would rather believe he was John the baptized raised from the dead. Who would have raised him? Did he raise himself? Some were thinking he was Elijah who has come back from his firer ride in the chariot up into the heavens. However, Herod, having the guilt of what he did to John and the fact he had been tricked by a woman, was sure that he was either vindicated or even more afraid because he thought Jesus had to be John raised from the dead. This Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great who lived in the time of the birth of Jesus and had all Jewish boys under the age of two killed. But the fact remains, they were not thinking of Jesus as being the Son of God, but as some man who came back from the dead, and that is why he had such power. Men will make up anything in order to refute the truth. However, the truth still remains, the Name of Jesus was well-known. The question is as to how well known is his name today, and who do people say He is. We continue to say the truth, Jesus is the Son of God. He is well known in our hearts.

With Authority

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

WITH AUTHORITY

Mark 6:6-13

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."  12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

NIV

Mark does not give us any details as to how many days or weeks, or maybe even months that Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Both Matthew and Luke neither give this detail, but do include some other interesting points. It appears from the other accounts there is some sense it was just the twelve that he sent out and from the other accounts, it seems to be they were to go ahead of him to the places he designed to go and wanted them to go ahead. Yet the whole of all these accounts, and as we are seeing Mark’s now, is that Jesus gave them special instructions. First, however, we should note that when Jesus sent them out He gave them the authority over unclean or evil spirits or demons. If we include the instructions from the other accounts, he also gave them authority to heal the sick and raise the dead. Mark leaves that out as he is usually short and to the point about many things, however, he does include that the twelve did preach the good news and they did drive out demons and healed the sick.  Here is the lesson of life for those who have been called to go forth with the authority of God to preach the gospel to the lost. In the other accounts, Jesus is said to have told them not to go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but to the lost sheep of Israel. Here again, we might take this lesson that as we all have been called to go out into the world and preach the good news, that we have been sent with the authority of Jesus. As far as these twelve not taking any provision with them, it might lead us to consider that they were going to have to rely on divine provision. In our present culture, we are always concerned about making provision for our journey, especially our folks called into the mission field. Most denominations require them to spend time raising support before they can even leave the county. Everything is strictly regulated with regard to everything they need before they go. Jesus made it clear the opposite is what was to happen. They were to go and simply rely on being welcomed and provided for until they left. If they were not welcomed and thus not provided for they were to simply leave, shaking the dust off their feet, symbolic of people refusing the message and therefore condemned. Perhaps, even in the church, we spend too much concern over our making our own provisions for the building, the pastors and staff, as well even for our own personal wellbeing. Perhaps we should pay a little more attention to divine provisions for that which we have been called to do. Maybe the difference is in whether we decide to do something, or we have been called to do something. When we decide, we make a way or store up provisions to provide that way, but when God calls us to do something, He provides the way and the provision for that way. It would appear the key is whether we have been given the authority or not. If so, then, get going, and if not then what? Do we live with authority?

Astonishing Wisdom

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

ASTONISHING WISDOM

Mark 6:1-6

6:1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."  5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

NIV

Here we find Jesus in the town that he grew up in, and of course, the obvious insight is the people were only looking from their memories of Jesus as a boy playing in the streets with his brothers, just another one of them, nothing divine about him. Yet on the Sabbath Jesus was in the temple and he was teaching as he usually did. Mark or at least this translation of what Mark recorded says the people were amazed. However, the Greek word carries more of the sense that they were astonished, stunned, surprised that this son of a carpenter who himself worked among them as a carpenter and had brothers and sisters living in town, just a common carpenter would have so much wisdom. Where did he get this wisdom, who gave it to him? Was he gone that long that he had time to study under some Rabbi, go attend a Rabbinical School, or sit at the feet of one of the teachers of the Law? What is this wisdom that has been given to him, for he could not have gotten it on his own? However, Jesus is full of wisdom as he is the author of wisdom being the Son of God, He who was there before the beginning of time, He who nothing that was created was not created without Him. Jesus is full of Grace and Wisdom, but as with everyone, they must see Him as he is. These people could only see him as he was, when they knew him as only a man, like them. Still, His wisdom is given to men as well. James, one of his own disciples write this letter and gives us this truth:

James 3:13-18

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

NIV

 The two types of wisdom, earthly and heavenly are so different and so opposed to one another. Here James tells us that any wisdom we might think we have based on the standards of this world is unspiritual and thus of the devil. He described the attitudes of the heart that dictate how this is earthly wisdom. However, he also tells us the pure wisdom comes down from heaven, from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who, in fact, resides within us. As then as we rely on the Spirit, His wisdom is manifested in and through us. Yes, we can learn knowledge from the world, education comes from the thoughts of men, but wisdom and understanding come from the Lord. We can fill our heads with knowledge, but only God can fill our hearts with wisdom. It is no surprise those people only had the knowledge of Jesus the carpenter, for they had no wisdom to discern his true nature. There is one more truth within this narrative regarding their disbelief that Jesus did not do many miracles and heal all their infirmities. Believing is the key that opens so many blessings from the Lord. Perhaps we should further investigate this, but for now, let us simply rejoice in the fact that Jesus will give us wisdom if we only will receive it if we only but listen to that voice of the Spirit within. Maybe then some people would be astonished.

Just Believe

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

IF I COULD JUST TOUCH 

 

Mark 5:21-43

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"  31 "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'" 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."  35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."  37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep."  40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

NIV

Having considered this narrative from the perspective of Jairus and his daughter, we now turn our attention to the other story in this narrative. While Jesus was on his way to the house of Jairus to heal his daughter. There was a crowd surrounding Jesus, and of course, they were all pressing close, wanting either to just be close to him or be noticed by him. It always seems when there is a personality of some notoriety there will always be crowds of people trying to get near them. Jesus was becoming very well-known because of all the miracles he has already done and so large amounts of people were wanting to follow him wherever he went. You would think that would be the case today, but alas it is not. However, there were also people who did not like Jesus when he walked among his people, in fact, some were even plotting as to how they might kill him. Today, we have people who are attempting or plotting how to kill the idea of him, or of his divinity. Nevertheless, here he is going to heal a child being pressed against by all sorts of people and this poor woman makes every effort, to reach out and touch the hem of his garment.

How could she reach him with all those people, this picture gives us a clue as to just how that might have happened, a wonderful picture that once seen, this image cannot be unseen. So she just barely touches the hem and Jesus feels divine power leaving his body. Just imagine the power that flows through Jesus, he being divine, fully God, yet also fully man. It is not possible for God not to feel the power flowing from him into or onto his people. The other wonderful truth is that Jesus did not heal her, or to say that he did not reach out to heal her, or make any statement about her condition and tell her to just believe and she would be healed. No, she came all on her own, believing if she could just touch the hem of His garment she would be healed. She had gone to every doctor she could. She had visited her prime care physician more than needed, and seen specialists over and over again, but not a one could help even though they had freed her of all her money. It is not much better today, they charge you whether they cure you or not. So this woman had no other way, but we know God will make a way when there is no other way. So her faith in Jesus healed her and he felt her healing happen and asked who it was that touch him. It is amazing how many of those around him did not get what he was saying. They thought everyone was touching him, pushing against him so to speak. But Jesus wanted to talk to this woman and assure her, as well as those around him, that it was by her faith that she was healed. What a life lesson. It only took her truly believing that if she could just touch Jesus she would be healed. If we could just reach out, sure not in the physical, but in the spiritual, we could be healed. Yes, we make all sorts of excuses why we are not healed, but that woman was not making any excuses, she believed she would be healed and she was. So then should we not also just believe, if we could only touch? 

"Do Not be afraid, Just believe"

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

“DO NOT BE AFRAID, JUST BELIEVE”

Mark 5:21-43

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"  31 "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'" 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."  35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."  37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep."  40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

NIV

Mark puts two wonderful experiences with Jesus all mixed in together and so it is difficult to break this narrative up into smaller portions. However, we can consider each one separately. As Mark starts out with the encounter with Jarius, so will we. Although we know this story well, and it is all about the power and authority Jesus has over death, and his bringing this young girl back to life or awakens her from sleep, which is a metaphor for raising her from the dead. When the father pleads with Jesus to come with him, Jesus does not refuse. Here, right off from the start we can glean a great lesson for our lives. Whenever we plead, or ask, or pray to Jesus, he does not refuse us, he hears our voice, and he comes with us to be attentive to our need. The only time we recall Jesus not having to go with someone was the centurion who told Jesus he did not need to come, but just say the words, for he understood authority, and Jesus commended this Roman officer for such great faith. But here, Jesus went with this father to his home, right to the place of need. We should note that as they were on the way, friends of Jarius came to tell him that his daughter is dead,  so why bother the teacher anymore. This is very interesting in that when this father’s daughter was ill and it was looking rather grim, he must have told his family and friends that he was going to get Jesus and everything would be alright because Jesus would heal his daughter. This certainly was the action of one man, the faith of one man, but he expressed his faith to all that was around him. Of course, those who came to tell him not to bother the teacher anymore must also have had a measure of faith. Yet even at this news that his daughter had already died, Jesus makes a beautiful reassuring statement. “Do not be afraid, just believe”.  Once again, a great life lesson we can take to heart.  When we believe, there should be no fear. Faith puts fear away. Why would we fear anything if we believe in Jesus? We would not even fear death, for as he raised this young girl from the dead, he will raise us from the dead. There will be a difference as he did not resurrect her in the sense of his resurrection into a glorious state, which we too will be resurrected. Just like his friend Lazarus, this young girl was brought back to life, but to a life that would face death once more. Nevertheless, it was a great moment in the life of the family, and a demonstration to have faith, to believe and Jesus will take charge of the moment. Let us always hear those words of Jesus in our hearts. “Do not be afraid, just believe”.

Let them be amazed

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

LET THEM BE AMAZED 

Mark 5:18-20

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."  20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

NIV

It is interesting how some of the people were so filled with fear they pleaded with Jesus to leave the region, but then when the man told about his experience with Jesus, those people were amazed. That makes us think that it was those people who thought Jesus might interfere with their financial plans that happened to those owners of the herd of swine, for they must have lost a great deal of money-losing over two thousand of their swine. But that was the last part of this narrative and now with Jesus having healed this man of those demons, he wants to follow Jesus, go with him, be at his side, be a companion, a disciple. However, Jesus did not permit him to become one of the group, but rather thought it best for him to go home, be with his family so they could rejoice they had their husband and father back home and of sound mind, able to love and cherish each other. Certainly, this does give us the idea that we all are not called to be a traveling evangelist, but that as we live out our daily lives in our family setting, we are still called to go tell how much the Lord as done for us and how he has mercy on us. That alone would take us a whole book just to enumerate all the Lord has done for us. Our lives have been filled with his mercy, his compassion, his provision, his healing, and his direction. His word has indeed been a light onto our path, our lives. How could we be silent? Still, it would seem this man told everyone in all ten of the cities that were in that region. He did not simply confine his witness to his family, but he told everyone, he could not keep quiet as to what Jesus did for him. Of course, he was excited to be free from all that torment, all that craziness he was burdened with. Instead of torment, he now had peace in his heart. Is that not our story? Before we knew Jesus, were we not filled with fear and anxiety about our lives? There was no peace, no contentment, and no hope. Life was pretty much all about ourselves, and looking back that was pretty meaningless. But we met Jesus and he had mercy on us, forgave us all our sin, wiped it away, and healed our mind and heart. He gave us his peace, his love, his compassion, and understanding so that we could be of sound mind and spirit. So we tell others about what Jesus did for us. We will not stay silent, we will tell more and more people about what happened in our lives. We are no longer deranged and out of our mind, but we have been healed and so we need to tell them all so they can be amazed.

Sitting at His Feet

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

SITTING AT HIS FEET

Mark 5:14-17

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man — and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

NIV

We still have not reached the ending of this particular narrative, however, there is something in this portion that is both wonderful and bothersome. First, was the man not dressed when he was possessed by the legend of demons? From this reference that he was sitting dressed and in his right mind, we would have to surmise that he has not been dressed, but then where did he get his clothes? What information Mark does not give us but that Luke, who is so often the one to fill in certain details, tells us the man was sitting at Jesus' feet. What no one tells us is that it was most likely the twelve who were with Jesus, who had some extra clothing, were the ones who dressed this man, or at least offered him their clothing. We are not talking a pair of underwear, tee-shirt, Hopsack Jeans, and a nice bottom down stripped shirt. Just a simple tunic would have done nicely. Certainly, the man was filled with gratitude for being healed from the torment of all those demons as well as the kindness shown to him by Jesus and his disciples. Who of us would not be sitting at the feet of Jesus after receiving such miraculous healing? Sure many of us believe the reason we are healed is that we are already sitting at the feet of Jesus. But this man was not sitting at his feet but was a wild uncontrollable demon-possessed man who had no idea about Jesus as he was completely under the influence of evil.   We will see later the man surely desired to remain in their company, but let us leave that till later. The disturbing or bothersome portion of this narrative is the response of the people. Mark only tells us the people begged Jesus to leave the region, while Luke adds they were afraid. However, Luke does not tell us why they were afraid. Why do the Greek words indicate they were seized with great fear? Could it have been the owners of the herd of swine who incited the townspeople with fear that Jesus would hamper their financial security as he did theirs?  That might be doubtful, but we are not told the exact reason for their great fear. Still many today do not want Jesus getting involved in their securing their future financially. On the other hand, it could have been the legend of demons that came upon all the people as the pigs hit the water. The demons, not being mortal would not have drowned with the pigs but could have incited the people with this fear of Jesus so much they begged him to leave the area, thus living the legend of demons to continue on their path of destruction. Although we would think Jesus would have been aware the demons were part of this wanting Jesus to leave. Yet it was the demons who initiated the conversation with Jesus when he arrived, screaming out their knowledge of who he was. So it might be possible legend was hiding their identity, leaving the people to appear normal, but with great fear of Jesus. In reality, even today, those who are seized with extreme fear of Jesus would be under the influence of demonic powers. On the other hand, those like us who have been healed spiritually will be seen sitting, with new clothing, white as the driven show, at the feet of Jesus.

Go Away

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

GO AWAY

Mark 5:6-13

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"  9 Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

NIV

Again, we should include the entire narrative to take in the whole of the circumstances regarding this event recorded for us here in Mark as well as what Matthew and Luke have to say about it. However, there are these truths within which draw our attention in and of themselves. First, we have to notice that even the evil spirits give homage to the Son of God. Although they were not created as evil. This brings us to the age-old debate about whether God created evil or that God would not create evil for He is pure Goodness, Holy and upright. Yet, when God created the world and the Garden of Eden, He did put within the garden a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, we are not completely privy to the timeline of Lucifer’s rebellion against God, thus being the first being to demonstrate against pure righteousness, and thus become what God defines as evil, the opposite of righteous. So then having cast Lucifer, and all the angels that Lucifer had influenced to follow his rebellion, to earth, evil existed on the earth so God wanting his creation of man to have the right to choose, gave him the opportunity to resist evil and choose righteousness, choose God. Yet all those angels who are now called demons, or evil spirits, were and are still very aware of their final fate, the lake of burning sulfur and internal damnation. Here, these demons, who called themselves legend, because there was a great number of them possessing this man, or men, as Matthew says. Luke also gives an account of one man.  It does not matter the discrepancy, in fact, it validates all the gospels as being original eyewitness accounts. If everything in the scripture was perfectly identical then it might appear it was fabricated. But this could simply show different men see or want to bring something to the forefront. The fact is Luke makes mention this man had not lived in a house for a long time, which would indicate that he once lived in the city among the people and maybe was even well known, maybe even a prominent member of the city. We just do not know much about him, except now the demons, had control of him. They knew their final fate, which is why they asked him not to torment them now but begged him to not send them out of the area, which again could be seen as sending them to hell. As far as the pigs, or swine, we are not sure as to who the owners of the herd were, for it would have been against the law for Jews to own such an unclean herd. This region did border Israel or was part of Israel at the time, there may have been a mixture of Jews and Gentiles living there, so it could have been either Jews or Gentiles who owned this herd. Nevertheless, because Jesus was a Jew and abided by the law, sending the demons into the swine and having them run down the hill to down in the sea was not against the law, for they were already unclean, not fit for Jewish consumption and if they were owned by Jews in the area, they were operating outside the law, and Jesus was just in his allowing the demons to go into the swine. The point being is that evil will always yield to the divine and we have the divine living within us. Therefore any evil that comes our way must yield to us, as we have been given the authority, we have the authority within us, to demand they go away to their destruction. Get thee behind me! Go away!    

Out of the Tomb

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

OUT OF THE TOMB

Mark 5:1-5

5:1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.   2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

NIV

We should most likely include the entire narrative regarding this man with an evil spirit including Jesus sending the evil spirit, legend, into a herd of pigs. However, there is something that strikes us first that we want to explore. Jesus had just calmed the storm and his disciples were amazed, actually Mark uses the word, terrified. Well, here they are, having reached the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the region of the Gerasenes. Older maps of the Sea and its surrounding shoreline towns and regions show this area was also called Gadarenes somewhere near the town of Kursi. This is important because of the next verses which talk about the owners of the pigs running off to town and the countryside telling what happened. Again, back to the point of this narrative. What we see are the effects of an evil spirit within a person. First, this man, or men, as Matthew records, were living in tombs. Having been to Israel, as well as in Jordon, specifically around Petra, we saw the hillsides scattered with tombs or caves cut out of the rock, this is the place of the dead, a tomb much like the one Jesus’s body was put. If the tombs had not yet been used and sealed they would make a fairly good place to stay out of the weather. However, let us consider another application. Those who are not filled with the Spirit, are either filled with themselves or with an evil spirit or are at least under the influence of evil, rather than of God. Evil always resides in the place of the dead. That we can be sure, for Jesus is the only one who can give us life, and life abundantly. If we are not in Christ then we have no life and therefore are living among the tombs with the dead. This man could not be bound, not even with chains, the evil spirit was that strong in him. This gives us the idea that those who are not living for Christ are, in essence, out of control, they are not bound to Christ. When we accept Jesus we bind ourselves to him in the sense of a bondservant, however, even closer, as brothers are bound to each other. We are reminded of the times of old when men became blood brothers, making a covenant with each other. Here we are in a covenant relationship with Jesus, bound together by his blood spilled for us. Once we too lived in the tombs, the place of the dead, filled with evil, but Jesus called us out from that place, sent the evil away, and filled us with His Spirit. What joy is ours. We no longer live a self-destructive life, cutting ourselves with stones, or how that might look in our modern culture, but we live in the peace of Christ, safe and secure forevermore, bound to Jesus, out of the tomb.

Reaching the Other Side

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

REACHING THE OTHER SIDE

Mark 4: 33-41

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."  36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"  41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

NIV

Jesus has authority over the world that he created is without question. What is a little strange, what we have not been told, and are not sure of, is when Jesus became aware that he was not just fully man, but also fully God. Certainly, when he was at the wedding with his mother and brothers, he had told her that his time had not yet come, but nevertheless, he still turned the water into wine, and the best wine of the wedding no less. He had to have known then. What about the time of his Bar-mitzvah at twelve when he did not make the troop headed back home and his parents had to come back and found him in the temple speaking with the teachers of the law? His response was that as to why they were surprised to find him in his Father’s house. Did he know then? If so, then the patience of God is demonstrated once more, waiting for the exact time to reveal himself to the world as the Son.  But here he is in the stern of the boat in the middle of a storm that is tossing the boat to and fro with waves splashing in almost swamping the boat, as well as the other boats that went along. Jesus is wakened because these fishermen, these men who had made their living on this water, were afraid of the storm like they had never been in a storm before. So Jesus simply stands up speaks to the storm, “Quiet! Be Still!” The winds obeyed their maker and master. He then turns his attention to his disciples and questions their fear and asked them if they still did not have faith. In other words, he was telling them they could have told the storm to be quiet, to be still and it would have obeyed them. Or was he telling them that because they were with him, the storm would not have harmed them, which they would have made it through the storm and would have reached the other side safely? Of course, that could be our lesson when we face the storms of life when there are difficult times, hard times, that could cause anxiety or worry that we are going to make it safely to the other side. Right now, we are in the midst of what is being called a pandemic with Covid-19 and there are people who have died from this virus. Do we have faith that we will make it, or are we afraid? There are so many other storms that can just pop up in life, much like those storms did on the Sea of Galilee. But how do we respond to those storms is the point of these words of Jesus. Are we afraid? Do we still not have faith? We have Jesus, the maker and master of the universe and all that is in it, including us, his people. So then if and when a storm comes up, we simply need to believe and tell that storm to be quiet, to be still. Jesus has told us as long as God told many men of the Old Testament, in fact, hundreds of times, be of courage, have a strong heart, and do it. Just have that strong heart of faith and move through those storms for we will reach the other side safely. Now that can mean reaching heaven on the other side of this life, but it can also mean reaching the other side through any particular storm of this life. So we exercise our faith which God has measured out to us and we say, be still! If not to the storm, to our heart! We will always reach the other side.

 

In The Shade

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

IN THE SHADE

Mark 4:30-32

30 Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." 

NIV

Is Jesus really asking them to describe what the kingdom of God is like? Is he asking them to come up with a parable to describe the kingdom, or was he just asking a rhetorical question with the intent of answering it? Well, we do know that he did answer his own question and he used the mustard seed as an example. We are very familiar with this parable and its application is pretty straight forward. It does not matter how small we start out in our walk with the Lord. When we first were saved, we may have simply sat and soaked in the pew for some time. We also may have spent many hours just reading the Bible learning all the stories of the Old Testament. If some were like me, and never opened the Bible prior to accepting Jesus, the words brought forth revelation after revelation about the faith, struggles, and victories of many of the men of Old Testament times. There was more than enough to identify with and to learn from. Then when we read through the New Testament our eyes were opened to a host of truths we have never before even thought were possible. The fact is that although our faith, our trust in the Lord started out in a small way, it grew and grew faster and faster and our faith became so great that we could not help but offer the shade of Christ to those birds flitting around our branches. Yes, that would make us like the kingdom of God, but then we are members, citizens of this kingdom, and living stones being built into the temple of God. So in some sense, we are or we represent the kingdom of God here in this time on the earth. We always sing those songs like, “I want to be like Him, all I want is to be like Jesus” or we profess that we are Christian, taking on the name of Christ, a Christ-ian, one who is a follower of Christ. Yet as the kingdom of God or at least the representative of his kingdom we all are hidden under the shadow of his wing.

Ps 91:1-2

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

NIV

The other application for us in a personal way is that we are resting in the shadow of the Almighty and the heat, the wind, the storms that prevail all around have no effect on us for we are in the shade of the Almighty and His kingdom.

 

The Harvest

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

THE HARVEST

Mark 4:26-29

26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain — first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." 

NIV

Somewhat of a strange parable, but nevertheless, it is what the kingdom of God is like. First, we need to consider, who is the man who is scattering the seed on the ground? In the earlier parable that Jesus taught about the  types of the ground the seed fell on and the results of each, we would think that Jesus is the man scattering the seed, as he is also the one who comes to harvest. But this parable also includes information about this man who does not know how the seed sprouts and grows although he goes about his normal day of sleeping and rising in the morning, living his day to day life while the seed first grows into a stalk and then a head and finally the full kernel in the head. This would appear to be speaking of the way wheat grows. Some full heads of wheat have thirty, forty, or a hundred seeds, as one seed multiples, such as the seed sown in the good soil in the earlier parable. The fact is that as the seed or the word is sown in our hearts, we too do not know exactly how it grows as the Spirit is at work within us as we live our day to day lives. But, again, is this parable about Jesus sowing the seed, or it is about us, the people, who sow seeds among the ground, among other people. After we have sown the seed, we go about our sleeping and raising in the morning and we do not know how that seed we planted in someone grows. The growth of the seed of real wheat, although it has been researched, and they can see the change that occurs, still do not know why or how that change happens.  What causes the seed to grow? The simple solution to both situations, the seed of real wheat and the seed as the word of God, is that God causes the seed to grow. A farmer cannot cause his seeds to grow, nor can we cause our piety, or our spirit, to grow. Sure, we can study the word, we can apply ourselves to the knowledge of the word, we might even be able to have some effect on our understanding of the word, but we do not think we can cause the word to grow in our hearts, to grow our piety, or make us holy and blameless in His sight. Only He can do that, and so as we live our daily lives, doing what we do, God is at work within the soil of our heart, causing it to grow and one day he will come to harvest us and bring us into his barn, the place he has prepared for us, and we will be there forever in his barn, the kingdom of God. Oh, for the harvest!

Carefully Considering

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

CAREFULLY CONSIDERING

Mark 4:24-25

24 "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you — and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." 

NIV

This is another parable that is special only in Mark. This is not recorded anyway else, and some of our scholars think it was just added along the way, because it does not appear in a few of the older manuscripts, yet there it is in the canon, included in the text of all the translations we have available to us. Therefore we have to believe we need to deal with it as the word of God. Although scholars are great and learned men, they too are but men, and subject to human thinking rather than the thinking of God. When we consider the awesome power of God, we have to believe he has the power to inspire those who selected that which became what we call the Bible and was not inspired texts or copies which were subject to editorial revisions by men. So then what did Jesus mean here in this jewel of a parable? He was speaking to his disciples, however, this applies to us in the same way. We are to consider carefully what we hear or we should say, what we read when we are reading the scriptures. We pour over them with all diligence seeking out the truth and applying that truth to our lives. We make adjustments, not just in behavior as in a list of do’s and don’ts, but in the way, we think, in our attitudes about life. As we study the scriptures, not just read them and go on, we adopt the way we think aligning our thoughts with the thoughts of God. The more we do this, the more we will understand, and the more we understand, we will understand even more. In other words, it is a continual process of learning and comprehending more and more as we continue to learn. We are never done with our gaining more and more understanding as we pour over the words of God, the Word of God. Now, as far as those who have something taken from him, it seems somewhat strange. But what it appears to be is that Jesus says that to those who just think they have the truth, but it is their thinking, rather than through diligent hearing or reading and, in addition, they are not even applying any truth to their lives, whatever they are thinking about the truth, is only what they are thinking and not doing, therefore they have nothing, they know nothing, they have no understanding, and so their thinking will eventually vanish, and it will be as though they have never thought, never considered the truth of God. If we consider this truth within the context of all scripture, we can see that as long as we are connected to the vine, Jesus, as we are growing, being the good soil, producing a crop, and on and on with all the rest of the truth, we can see that we are to grow in the way Jesus is telling us here. How that happens is to carefully consider what we read, study it, pour over it, hearing it with the power of the Spirit, learning it, and applying it, adapting to it in word, thought and deed, how we think, how we talk, and how we act, and always continually adapting, never coming to the place we think we have learned it all, and have it all down pat. God is always revealing new truths to us as we are carefully considering them.

Let The Light Shine

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

LET THE LIGHT SHINE

Mark 4:21-23

21 He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

NIV

Jesus had just finished explaining to his disciples the parable he just told about the sower and the seeds. Jesus now goes on to tell them that his parables are meant not to hide the truth regarding the kingdom of God, but to shed light on the truth. He is the light of the world and he is not about to hide his light, but to shine it, to put it on its stand and disclose the truth of the grace of God. We could see the stand as the cross and Jesus indeed did expose the truth of the grace of God when he shone his light to the world. But this has more to do with sharing the message about the kingdom. He is telling or teaching his disciples as well as us that because we now have that light within us, that we have the truth about the kingdom of God, that we know the grace of God, Jesus Christ, that we too should not stick our light under a bowl or bed. In our post-modern culture, it would seem this reference could be taken that we should not hide our light in the church building, or hide it within ourselves, being the church. It is really great to get together with all the rest of the body of Christ and worship our Lord. There is certainly something special about being with like-minded people that believe in Jesus and we have that commonality or fellowship. But if that is the one and only place that we shine then what good is it being the light of the world or the salt of the earth? The world, which is the unsaved lost souls that are stumbling around in the dark needs the light to see their way to safety. Who else is going to shine the light of God into their lives, if not us? Sure, we know the Spirit is always about convicting men of their sin, but the convicted still need to be able to see their way to repentance. We can remember our conviction, our searching for a way to overcome the fear of death. I speak of myself alone here. We sought out various other forms of religion, anything but Christianity, for there was no light in me, nor did we find any light in all those who had false gods and/or doctrines. It was not until a follower of Jesus shone his light, the light of Christ into my life, that I began to find hope. Still, it was not until God did this miracle which defied the science that I knew to be true, that I saw the light for myself. But a light was shone on me by a believer to light my path onto to God. Should we not be doing that same thing for other lost souls that will only experience perishing unless we shine the light of Christ into their lives? We cannot hide it, it must be lifted high so all can see the light and find their way. We have the ears to hear, we have the heart to respond and so we will shine the light, as we have that light.

Water Might Help

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

WATER MIGHT HELP

Mark 4:13-20

13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop — thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." 

NIV

Well, there is it, the explanation, which we have read many times, and so we are among those, as we have already considered, who have the keys to the kingdom. Jesus is making sure that his disciples get the fact that every parable has a spiritual value, a secret meaning, as such, and a key that opens the word in all its truth. The sad part about the truth of this parable is seeing those other three types of people. How sad that some allow Satan to steal their joy, or that some accept Jesus, but never get grounded in fellowship, and learn, and stay connected with other believers. However, it would seem to us the saddest of them all are the believers who get all hung up on the things of this world and the word gets choked out. They may well stay connected in the church, being an attendee, looking like a believer, but in reality, they have gone astray being deceived by wealth, seeking security in the world's system of finance, wanting more of everything material, never being content, thus their Christianity is unfruitful. It is possible these are the people that Jesus says “away from me, I never knew you”. We actually do not know that as truth, but it could be. We do wonder if it is possible that good soil could be subjected to weeds, although we used the fact that good soil does not have any weeds before. Yet we do find that in many cases as we pass fields of corn or soybeans, we see in the early stages of the crops some weeds springing up within them. The farmers seem not to care, as the good soil continues to grow the crops to completeness anyway and the weeds are just thrown out with the leftover plant material after the harvest of the grain is completed. They have a machine to separate the grain from the chaff, just as the psalmist makes reference to the wicked in Psalm one. Perhaps the believers who allow the weeds of wealth to choke them out are much like that chaff in the end, which the wind blows away. Still, it is sad. Maybe with the right type of teaching, those believers could see the error of that worldly weed, wealth, and all its deceptive ways and come to fully trust in the Lord. Maybe even those who the seed fell on rocky ground and never established any roots could be helped to seek soil that will allow them to have roots and grow, maybe we could help them, somehow, if we only knew who they were. It is possible that at some time all those people have been in attendance in the church and we have let them slip away into oblivion. Again, if we only would know who is who in the pews, and where they are in their journey. Are they just about to have the word stolen? Are they just about to have any roots at all get burned up because they are really sitting there all alone? Are they the ones being choked out by the cares of this world, hearing but not perceiving? Do we have any obligation to try to keep them from those dangers, or is that just the way it is because of the way it is? Did not God keep after the Children of Israel, even after they continued to turn their back on Him? Did he not pursue the sinner? Did He not send Jesus to save us, yet while we were still sinners? So why would we not think he would desire that we make an effort to help those who first believe, but then have something happen that causes them to fall away? Perhaps after they have gone too far away no one can help them find their way back, but what if they are still in church, and still close at hand, still able to at least hear? Should we not try, at least to water those seeds? Maybe just a little water might help.