Losing Our Souls

Read Mark 8:31-38

Jesus caused quite a stir during His 3-year ministry.

Herod thought that maybe Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead.  (Luke 9:9)

Some thought that the Old Testament Elijah had appeared.

Mark 8 gives an account of Jesus feeding a crowd of 4,000 people.  This was a second occurrence of Jesus feeding a large crowd with a small amount of food.

Large crowds gathered wherever Jesus went.  He would leave on a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee and people would run around the lake to meet Him on the other side.  (John 6)  These “feedings” occurred because people followed Him into the wilderness without preparing food and such.

The crowds and attention Jesus gathered got the attention of religious and national leaders and even of the King.

In the midst of constant teaching, travel, crowds and activity, Jesus asks His closest followers a question.  “Who do people say I am?”  (Mark 8:27)[i]

In response they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”  (Mark 8:28)

Then Jesus made it personal.  “He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”  (Mark 8:29)

At this point in Mark’s account Jesus warns them not to tell others who He was.

As these events are unfolding, the disciples are competing amongst themselves for position.  At different times they argued about who would be greatest in Messiah’s kingdom when He set it up.  James and John had their mother ask Jesus for a favor.  (Matthew 20:20)  She asked, "In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left."  (Matthew 20:21)

The other disciples were then indignant, and Jesus called a family meeting.  The quarrelling was a reflection of what James teaches in chapter 4 verses 1 and 2.  “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you?  Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?  You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it.  You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.”

The attention of the crowds, the leaders and the knowledge of who their teacher was, was heady stuff.  At times, they showed over-confidence (Peter).  At other times, they showed pride (James and John). 

Jesus wanted to teach His followers a better way.  He did this by using His own example and by teaching them what was truly important.

Before we look at Jesus’s example and His teaching, let’s consider how much like these followers of Jesus we are.

In Mark 8:36, Jesus asks a question that is at the center of what we are talking about.  He asks, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”

This is what is at stake.  The attraction of attention, power, success, fame and all the world has to offer was pulling at the followers of Jesus.

Do they pull at us?

Remember, it was these very things that Satan used to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.

Another question is, “What do we value?”

What price do we put on our integrity?  It is easiest for me to think in terms of money.  However, we value other things as well.  Someone might hate to be alone, and rather than be alone they might compromise their sexual purity.  Some give up their integrity in order to be liked or accepted. 

As Jesus talked with His disciples, telling them plainly that it was necessary for Him to die, Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him.  In Jesus’s reply to Peter, we see the danger.  He said, “Get away from me, Satan!  You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”  (Mark 8:33)  Here we see the danger is looking at things from a merely human point of view.

From a merely human point of view, following Jesus is foolishness. 

In Mark 8:31 Jesus told His disciples that the religious leaders would reject Him.  John 6:60-69 tells of those who were followers of Jesus, but when they could not stomach His teaching, they turned away and deserted Him.  “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!  But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”  (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Not everyone wants to be a follower of Jesus, but for the one who does, Jesus lays out the way to a richer, fuller, more abundant life. It is contrary to the human way of looking at things.  It runs counter to logic. 

Jesus teaches this way of life by example and he states it in His teaching. 

Mark 8:31 shows His example.  “Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law.  He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.”

Jesus also said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.”  (John 15:13-14)

Jesus taught by example that the way to live life is with unselfish love for others and complete devotion to the will of the Father. 

With His words, Jesus stressed the same thing.  Luke 9:24 says, “Whoever loses his life for me will save it.”  (NIV)[ii]  In connection to this, the 2002 edition of the NIV Study Bible says this in the notes:  This is “A saying of Jesus found in all four Gospels and in two Gospels more than once.  No other saying of Jesus is given such emphasis.”  (pg. 1589)

Mark 8:35 is one occurrence of this saying. 

Mark 8:34-38 contains Jesus’s statement of this teaching:

³⁴Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.  ³⁵If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  ³⁶And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?  ³⁷Is anything worth more than your soul?  ³⁸If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Notice that He says, “You must turn from your selfish ways.”  Other translations of this passage say, “Deny himself.”  This is a more literal translation.  The same word for “deny” is used when the Gospel writers describe Peter’s denial of Jesus, where he swore he knew nothing of the man.

It is contrary to a mere human way of thinking to say one must give up his or her life in order to save it, or that we must so entirely repudiate self.

Jesus switches to talking about the soul, thus equating life and the soul.

The soul is you.  The body without the soul is a corpse.  Your soul without your body is still you.  According to Jesus, to value anything up to and including our own life more than Jesus is to give your own life or soul in exchange for that thing.

The companion statement to denying one’s self is taking up one’s cross.

The cross was the Roman instrument of execution.  The condemned person was required to carry the cross beam on which he would be hung to the place of execution.  Taking up one’s cross is a clear reference to dying to self.

The New Testament has much to say on this subject. 

Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”  (ESV)[iii]

Galatians 2:20 says, “My old self has been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

Colossians 3:1-3 says:

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

Jesus created quite a stir during His three-year ministry, but only a relatively small number actually accepted what He said. 

Since that day, many millions have chosen to follow Jesus.  Those who profess to follow Jesus are both the largest religious group and the most persecuted religious group in the world.

Taking up one’s cross does not mean that everyone needs to be a missionary, pastor or minister or even a martyr.  It does not mean that following Jesus needs to be a hardship.  We are promised that in this world, we will face hardship, and we all do.

If I can use myself as an example, I love what I do.  It is not a hardship.  It is a privilege.

A person gifted in a certain area will find joy in doing that thing.  Taking up one’s cross does not mean that one will not find joy in his or her work.  Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” 

Can we rejoice in the Lord having taken up our cross?

I certainly hope so, because the Bible commands both.  Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  (Matthew 11:30)

It runs contrary to mere human thinking but the way to life is to give it up for the Lord.  Another Scripture puts it this way, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”  (Philippians 2:3, NIV)

True freedom and joy comes in doing all things for the Lord and not for ourselves.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

[iii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Son of David

Modern Israel is roughly 1/19^th the size of California.[i]

Jesus spent 3 years preaching in this small area.  Without traveling the world, He did more to change the world than any other person in history did.

Jesus made His home base in a town called Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.  To the south of Galilee, was Samaria, and then south of Samaria was Judea.  Jerusalem, the center of Jewish culture and life, was in Judea.  The temple and the political and religious centers of national life were in Jerusalem.

He ministered in the towns and villages of the region of Galilee, and in Jerusalem and Judea. 

The annual festivals like Sukkot and Passover took Jesus and His disciples to Jerusalem, and at these times, Jesus would preach in the temple and on the streets of Jerusalem.  During these times, He would often stay in the home of Lazarus and his sisters in Bethany, which was near Jerusalem.

The Jews would not normally travel through Samaria when going between Judea and Galilee.  They chose rather to take the long route around than pass through the land of the Samaritans.

John chapter 4 tells the well-known story of the “Woman at the Well.”  She was a Samaritan and Jesus met her on the road between Galilee and Judea.

Mark 10 tells the story of Jesus’s final trip to Jerusalem.  This time He has chosen to go around Samaria by traveling south through the lands east of the Jordan River.  Because of this, in verse 46 we find Him in Jericho.  It was near Jericho where He would have crossed the Jordan into Judea and headed uphill toward Jerusalem.

He had left Jerusalem to avoid being killed by the national leaders, and now He was on His way back.  (At the healing of Lazarus this same issue came up, cf. John 11:8)

The people accompanying Him were amazed and terrified.  (Mark 10:32)  They were pointing out to each other and to Jesus the fact that the leaders of the nation were recently trying to kill Him, and now He was heading back to where they waited.  However, Jesus was resolute and moving toward Jerusalem with determination and vigor.

Not only this, He was taking time to explain to His disciples everything that was about to happen.  He was telling them that the leaders of the nation were going to kill Him.  Mark 10:33&34 says, “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law.  They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans.  They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”  (NLT)[ii]

The disciples were so heartbroken by this that they refused to go – NOT!  They were asking him for a favor.  They were asking to sit in places of honor when He got to His throne.

Jesus tries to bring them back to reality by asking if they were able to drink from the bitter cup He was about to drink.  However, they just did not understand.

As they left the city of Jericho on the way to Jerusalem, a large crowd of people was accompanying Jesus.  (Mark 10:46)  While they were amazed and terrified, they were expecting big things.  Jesus’s determination and anticipation of the fulfillment of His mission must have been catching.  This same excitement would result in the Hosannas of the triumphal entry.

Jesus was creating quite a stir. 

There were a number of beggars lining the street as the crowd left town.  The poor, the crippled and the lame, who could not work, would sit outside the gate and beg from those passing.  A blind person sitting among this group noticed the commotion and asked what was happening.  Someone told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing.  “He began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’”  (Mark 10:47, NLT)

This blind man shows unique perception.  He is blind physically, and perhaps this has sharpened his spiritual eyesight.

They told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing, but He calls out, “Jesus, Son of David.”

In this name, the blind man shows his unique perception.  This title belongs to the Messiah. 

Many years before this, God said to David, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”  (2 Samuel 7:16, NIV)  Based on this promise and further promises made by God, the Jewish people knew the Messiah as the Son of David.

The blind man had never seen Jesus.  As far as we know, he had never met Jesus.  He heard about Jesus like everyone else, through rumors, gossip and the talk of those around him.  From this evidence, he was able to understand that Jesus was the promised Messiah.  Even the disciples on the road with Him were missing the things that Jesus was telling them plainly, and yet this blind man could see the truth.

May I pause here to say, this is the first point I wish to make.  There is enough evidence that the unclouded mind can recognize the truth of who Jesus is.  The history of His resurrection, His miracles and the prophecies He fulfilled are evidence that He is the Messiah, the Son of God.

It is not a big leap of faith to accept these things. 

We do not say, “I have faith that Abraham Lincoln was the 16^th president of the United States.”  We believe it.  However, this is not faith.  We say we know that he was the 16^th president.  We know.  It is history, and there is a record.

In the same way, we know that Jesus rose from the dead, performed miracles and fulfilled prophecy.  There is a historical record of these things.

People showed faith in Jesus’s day by coming to Him for help.  People show faith in the present day by coming to Him for help.  How did the blind man show faith?

Mark gives the blind man’s name.  It is Bartimaeus.[iii]  Apparently, Timaeus and his son were known in Jericho and thus the name is given.

When Bartimaeus began shouting, many of the people around him started yelling at him to be quiet.  This only made him yell louder.

This is evidence of his faith.  He would not be stopped.

This is evidence of his internal grasp of the truth.  First, he realized his need.  Being blind is an obvious ailment, but of all the beggars sitting there that day Bartimaeus called out.  Second, he drew the connection between his need and Jesus’s ability to heal.  This truth served as the motivation.  He would not be hushed because he drew the connection between who Jesus was and his own need.

This kind of faith is what we need today.  It is not enough to know Jesus is the Son of David.  James 2:19 says, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.  Good for you!  Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”  (NLT)  We need to draw the personal connection.  I am a sinner.  I deserve to be judged.  Jesus is the Messiah.  He came to save us from sin.  He is more than a Savior.  He is MY Savior.  I have a need only He can meet.

In August of 2010, the San Jose Mine in Chile collapsed trapping 33 miners 2,000 feet below ground.  While the world watched, massive rescue efforts began.  Meanwhile, deep underground the miners were doing everything they could to survive.

It was not too long before they began to have daily prayer together as a group.  As time passed, a time of confession and making things right became more and more a part of this time of prayer.  Men would confess things like, “I’m sorry I did not do my part yesterday in carrying water.”[iv]

My point is that I believe that all of us when reduced down to the barest necessities recognize that we are not perfect, and have sins for which we cannot pay.  Faith is what recognizes in Jesus the answer to our need.

I see evidence all around me that humanity tries to deny our need.  We say we are wise.  The ideas and standards of the Bible are old.  I hear men and women speak of themselves as sinners as if it were a joke.  Movies, dramas, comedians and newscasters all challenge the idea that we have to face God.

All of us can deny our responsibility for problems.  We might blame others for our failings.  There is a temptation to deny that the problem in my life is me, and that I need help.  Recognizing one’s responsibility is one of the principles behind the success of 12 step programs.

Bartimaeus recognized his need, and saw in Jesus the answer or solution to his need.  Faith moved him to call out.  However, those around him thought it inappropriate.  They told him to be silent. 

We see in these events the attitude that Jesus has toward our condition.

The crowd around Jesus was noisy.  Yet Jesus tuned His ear to the cry for help.

The crowd must have thought Jesus was too important to bother about a blind beggar.  The trip to Jerusalem was too important for Jesus to stop.  In the midst of all the noise and confusion, Jesus stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”  (Mark 10:49, NLT)

Bartimaeus jumped up, threw aside the cloak he was covered with, and rushed to Jesus.  Jesus then said, “What do you want me to do for you?”  (Mark 10:51, NLT) 

In these words of Jesus, we see His attitude toward those who would come to Him for help.

He did not pass by Bartimaeus, but he asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”  He amazed His disciples and terrified the crowd with His determination to get to Jerusalem.  Nevertheless, He stopped and focused His attention on this one beggar.  He dropped everything in response to this one man’s plea for help.

Luke 4:40 gives us a glimpse of something that characterized Jesus’s ministry.  It says, “He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.”  Do not ignore the significance of this.  Everyone who was brought to Jesus was healed, everyone.

John 6:37 Jesus says, “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.”  (NLT)  Notice, “I will never reject them.” 

No one is too insignificant or unimportant.  The New Testament tells us that Jesus did not perform many miracles in His hometown because of unbelief.  The truth is that they did not come to Jesus for help because of their unbelief.

It is the same today.  Jesus will help anyone who will call on His name.  In fact, He says, "Look!  I stand at the door and knock.”  (Revelation 3:20, NLT)  His invitation is always for any who will come, to come.  In Matthew 11:28 he gives this invitation, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  (NLT)

                                                     

Bartimaeus saw and understood his need.  He also saw and understood where to find help. 

Do we? 

Are we seeing, yet blind?

The one who had faith that moved Him to seek help from Jesus received healing that day. 

It is still the same.

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[i] http://www.mefacts.com/cached.asp?x_id=10190

[ii] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation.  Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[iii] The name Bartimaeus means Son Of Timaeus, and it's formed like a pretty straight forward surname, comparable to something like Timson.  And since the name Timaeus means Highly Prized, the name Bartimaeus means Son Of He Who's Highly Prized, or Son Of honor.

However, there are some problems with this interpretation.  First of all: some scholars object to the hybridism of Bartimaeus, consisting of the Aramaic bar and the Greek name Timaeus.  But even though it's unusual, it's not a complete no-no.  Our surname Peterson, to name an example, consists of the Greek name Peter and the Germanic word son.  The surname McGregor comes from the Greek name Gregory and the Celtic word for son.

But then: although Mark writes for a predominantly Greco-Latin audience, his wording seems rather redundant: a man named Son-Of-Timaeus who was the son of Timaeus.  That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Spiros Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary) circumvents this conundrum by deriving the second part of the name Bartimaeus from the Hebrew verb טמא (tame), the regular Hebrew word for to be or become unclean.

That would render the name Bartimaeus the meaning of Son Of The Unclean One, or Son Of Uncleanness, which seems a bit stretched.  But on the other hand, it would neatly solve the puzzle of why Mark insists talking about one Son-Of-Timaeus, who was the son of Timaeus.  This statement may now be explained as: what is high-prized in our society is really a state of uncleanness, which results in blindness, which can only be healed by Christ.  (http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Bartimaeus.html)

[iv] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/07/sixty-nine-days

Who is this man?

    John D. Rockefeller built the great Standard Oil empire.  Not surprisingly, Rockefeller was a man who demanded high performance from his company executives.  One day, one of those executives made a two million dollar mistake.  (In 2015 dollars, this would be a $57,000,000 mistake.[i])

    Word of the man’s enormous error quickly spread throughout the executive offices, and the other men began to make themselves scarce.  Afraid of Rockefeller’s reaction, they did not even want to cross his path.  

    One man did not have any choice, since he had an appointment with the boss.  So, he straightened his shoulders and walked into Rockefeller’s office.

    As he approached the oil monarch’s desk, Rockefeller looked up from the piece of paper on which he was writing.

    “I guess you’ve heard about the two million dollar mistake our friend made,” he said abruptly.

    “Yes,” the executive said, expecting Rockefeller to explode.

    “Well, I’ve been sitting here listing all of our friend’s good qualities on this sheet of paper, and I’ve discovered that in the past he has made us many more times the amount he lost for us today by his one mistake.  His good points far outweigh this one human error.  So I think we ought to forgive him, don’t you?”[ii]

Two million dollars is a lot of money.  The enormity of this man’s mistake is even more obvious when translated into today’s currency.  Fifty seven million is a large number.  

None of the executives had the power to forgive their fellow executive.  The reason for this is that it was not their money.  Rockefeller was the boss because it was his money.  

The other executives did not suffer loss.  They had nothing to forgive unless Rockefeller decided to take the loss out of their combined salaries.  Then they would feel the loss, and have something to forgive.

Rockefeller was the offended party.  He paid the price for the man’s mistake.

Forgiveness works this way.  The offended party gives up the offense and the right to collect on it.  The offended party gives up the right to get revenge or to collect payment, and thus chooses to accept the loss or pay the cost.

As Mark is telling the story of Jesus’s ministry, He shows us at the start that Jesus is God without saying it directly.  Mark 2:1-12 shows us that Jesus is God, and it does this through a story of forgiveness.

In order to understand the setting, we must go back a few days before the events recorded in Mark 2.  

In Mark 1, we learn that Jesus “traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.”  (Mark 1:39, NLT)[iii]  Matthew 4:23 says of this early part of Jesus’s ministry, “Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.  And he healed every kind of disease and illness.”  (NLT)

Mark ends chapter one of his account with a story about the healing of a man with leprosy.  Then he ends with this statement, “As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere.  He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.”

His teaching, His authority over demons and His ability to heal drew people to Him.  People were curious about who Jesus was.  The demons knew, but Jesus would not let them speak.  People would see the miracles, hear the teaching and say, “Who is this man?”  Even the disciples were reduced to asking in amazement, “Who is this man?”  (Mark 4:41)

In Mark chapter 2, we find Jesus returning to His base in Capernaum after having spent time traveling throughout the region of Galilee.  Verse 1 says, “He was back home.”  Whether this was Peter and Andrew’s house or some other base of operations is unclear.  Mark calls it “the house where he was staying.”  (Verse 2)  

The word spread quickly that Jesus was home, and there was soon such a great crowd of people that there was not even room outside the door.

Among the crowd were experts in religious law.  These men were teachers.  Their life’s work was to know and teach spiritual truth.  Certainly, one of the questions on their mind that day was, “Who is this man?”

Jesus’s name was on everyone’s lips.  Word was spreading even to foreign countries.  Moreover, Jesus was teaching.  It was the purview of these experts to know what was being taught.  As experts and those versed in the things of God, they were there to pass judgment on the teaching, whether it was orthodox or not, whether it was of God or not.  They wanted to know, “Who is this man?”

Men make a name for themselves in many ways.  Rockefeller made a name for himself by making lots of money and giving some of it away.

If we look at verse 1 of Mark 2, we see that Jesus made a name for Himself in just a few short days.  There had not been enough time for people to get the measure of the man.  He could heal every kind of sickness, cast out any demon and teach, but who was He?

Four men carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus.  The crowd was so thick that they could not get near Jesus, so they climbed up on the roof and proceeded to dig a hole.  “Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.”  (Mark 2:4, NLT)  I love the audacity of these men.  “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”  (Mark 2:5, NLT)

Jesus could see their faith.  We can see their faith.  Their faith made them bold, and inspired their creativity.  They knew that if they could get their friend in front of Jesus, Jesus would heal him; so, they found a way to do get him there.  They worked through (or should we say over) the obstacles.

Jesus does something different.  The friends brought the man to Jesus for healing, but Jesus starts out by forgiving His sins.

This gets an immediate response from the religious teachers.  They know exactly what this means.  Only the offended party can forgive offenses.  They say to themselves, “What is he saying?  This is blasphemy!  Only God can forgive sins!”  (Mark 2:7, NLT)

What is blasphemy?  The dictionary says, “the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.”  “To slander, hence to speak lightly or profanely of sacred things”[iv]

How is it that Jesus is blaspheming?

The teachers say, “Only God can forgive sins!”  Thus, their question, “What is he saying?”

Jesus responds, “Why do you question this in your hearts?  ⁹Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’?  ¹⁰So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.”  (Mark 2:8-10, NLT)

Jesus is answering the question that brought them to Him.  Who is this man?  How is it that He is able to heal and cast out demons?  The answer, “He is God.”   

Jesus will confront this question throughout His ministry.  

Three years later, toward the end of His ministry we see this exchange recorded in John.  

“Who are you?” they demanded

“Jesus replied, ‘The one I have always claimed to be.’”

“I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!”  ⁵⁹At that point they picked up stones to throw at him.  (John 8:25, 58 & 59)

Jesus showed, demonstrated and explained that He was/is the Son of God.  Mark 2 shows us how early in His ministry He began by gently pointing out this truth, by doing something that only God could do.  He forgave the paralyzed man’s sin.

Sometimes I am like one of the executives that worked for Rockefeller.  I expect God to explode with anger at my foolish mistake.  

Some of the people I read are like the experts in religious law; they are there to pass judgment and it seems that God often does not meet their approval.

Sometimes I lack faith and tremble in fear lest He be unwilling to forgive me.

Faith can make us bold.  1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”  Like the men who carried their friend to Jesus, we should let no obstacle keep us from coming to Jesus for forgiveness, healing and deliverance.

Acts 4:12 tells us, “There is salvation in no one else!  God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

We have a choice.  We can waver in unbelief.  We can pass judgment and decide God should do things different.  Or, we can come to Jesus in faith for the grace we need.

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[i] http://www.davemanuel.com/inflation-calculator

[ii] Swindoll, Charles R., The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Copyright 1998, Word Publishing, Inc., pg. 215

[iii] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation.  Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[iv] www.google.com

What is Faith?

As Mark recounts the ministry of Jesus, He quickly moves from one story to the next in a rapid-fire sequence of events.

The man we know as John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus.  John was sent by God in the spirit of the Old Testament prophet Elijah to tell people that God’s time had come.  John announced the arrival of the promised anointed servant of God who was to save God’s people from their sins, oppression and troubles.

Soon after John baptized Jesus, Herod arrested John for saying things that were not politically acceptable.  Following these events, Jesus began His public ministry.

Immediately, Jesus was extremely popular.  Mark tells us: “One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again.  Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat.  When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away.  “He’s out of his mind,” they said.”  (Mark 3:20-21, NLT)[i]

This kind of busyness characterized the ministry of Jesus.  He attracted so much attention that His family thought He had lost His mind.  He soon moved from ministering in the house to ministering out in the open, in order to accommodate the large crowds.  It was in just such a situation that Mark chapter 3 tells us:  

Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him.  They came from all over Galilee, Judea, ⁸Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon.  The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.

⁹Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him.  ¹⁰He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him.  (Mark 3:7-10, NLT)

This method of sitting in a boat to teach was an effective way to speak to the vast numbers of people that came to hear Him. Therefore, in chapter 4 of Mark, we find Jesus again teaching from a boat.

The parables Jesus uses are well known for their simplicity and depth of meaning.  Mark 4 verses 33 and 34 tell us:

³³Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.  ³⁴In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.  (NLT)

Mark 4:35 finds Jesus and His disciples finishing a day of teaching.  They are sitting in a boat so that the crowd would not crush Jesus in their desire to get close.  There were other boats around them, as those who had boats took advantage of getting as close to Jesus as possible.

Jesus says, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”

“So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).”  (Mark 4:36, NLT)  

Jesus uses the convenience of already being in a boat to get away from the crowd and rest.  There is a cushion in the boat.  The New Living Translation says that He had His head on the cushion.  However, the original says that He was on the cushion and He was sleeping.  There He is as comfortable as possible in a small boat sound asleep.

While they were crossing the lake and Jesus was sleeping, a great storm came up.  Huge waves threatened to swamp the little boat.  In fact, water was quickly filling the boat.  Soon, they would all find themselves under the waves.

They wake Jesus shouting this question, “Teacher, is it of no concern to you that we perish?”  (Mark 4:38)

Let us pause here to ask a question.  How many times have we asked God the same question?

Does the sin and evil in the world ever cause you to ask, “God do You not care?”  

My son and I have been going through a history of World War II.  The number of casualties is so large that it numbs the mind.  As the historians talk of millions upon millions dead, I have no comprehension of how this can be.  Actual films taken during the war bring some reality as we see piles of mutilated bodies covered with flies lying in fields, ditches and along roads.  There are those that seeing such things not only ask, “God do you not care?” but also reject God altogether as either non-existent or uncaring.

When our lives are on the line, this question becomes urgent.  It is one thing to see other people perish, but it is another thing when it is my life.

The disciples had seen Jesus heal every kind of sickness and cast out demons.  Every day they watched all who came to Him walk away healed.  They were His devoted followers and believed that He was the Messiah, the Son of God.  They heard His parables and then had them explained to them.  They were immersed in His teaching.  They of all people had faith.

In the storm, their lives were on the line, testing their faith.  In response to their fear and anxiety, Jesus asks them a pointed question, “Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?”  (Mark 4:40, NLT)

What is this faith He is talking about?

“When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’”  (Mark 4:39, NLT)  In response to this, verse 41 tells us that the disciples were terrified and were asking each other, “Who is this man?”

Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”  (NLT)

The disciples were overwhelmed, dumbfounded and terrified by the things they were seeing.  While faith is the assurance of things we cannot see, what they saw and could not comprehend shows us where the disciples’ faith was still lacking.

It is one thing to confess with the mouth, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”  (Nathanael to Jesus, John 1:49, NLT)  It is another thing to see demonstrated the meaning of this before one’s very eyes.

Fear and an unwillingness to obey expose to me where I, like the disciples, still lack faith.  

The test of faith comes when our life is on the line.

For example, salvation is about the forgiveness of sins and inheriting eternal life and heaven.  Jesus says, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  (John3:16, NLT)  Along with this, the Bible teaches that salvation is for everyone who believes.  However, our tendency is to act as if we need to do something to inherit eternal life.  We try to clean up our life.  We try to be good enough.  Our life is on the line and we want to be sure, so we work to earn as much favor with God as we can.

Faith worships, and gives thanks for a salvation freely given and freely received.    

Faith can look at the evil that is in our world today, and realize that it is for this very reason that Jesus had to die.  Faith is what allows believers to face death at the hands of their persecutors because they know that the One who calmed the wind and the waves holds them in His hands, and nothing can snatch them out of His hands.

Faith is not something we can create in ourselves.  The disciples in the boat in the very presence of the Son of God demonstrated the human weakness that always falls short.  

However, God gives faith.  In the case of the disciples, Jesus was teaching them and building their reliance on Him.  In our case, He does the same.  He never tests us beyond what we are able to bear, and the Holy Spirit is our teacher.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (ESV)  Here it teaches that the faith that saves us is the gift of God.  It is not our own doing.  

This is important for us as believers because we live by faith.  Our relationship with God is one that is by faith from start to finish.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Here is the confidence we have before Him:  “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6, ESV)[ii]  

This confidence tells us that no matter what storm assails our small boat, we will be okay as long as Jesus is in the boat with us.

Do you have this confidence today?  Is Jesus in the boat with you?  Have you seen His glory so that your confidence is unshakeable?

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[i] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.