Friends who beg Jesus.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly! ‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭31‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus, making his way through very “Gentile” populations, on his way to the Decapolis (Ten Cities). Sidon is far north of Israel near modern Lebanon today. Mark lets the reader know that Jesus traveled and became popular even in non-Jewish territories. What strikes me is that while Jesus is in town, friends of a deaf and mute man, bring him to Jesus.

The stories of miracles had spread all the way to the far reaches of Roman empire, and clearly it was possible to safely travel because of the Roman road infrastructure. And, there were regular occurrences of soldiers making their way back and forth between the cities. God had prepared the path before the news of Jesus and future news of the gospel would travel on these roads.

This story doesn’t have the same drama as the man lowered through Peter’s mother-in-law’s roof, but it still has the element of urgency and importance of a caring community. Do you see the obvious? Alone, this man would have never heard the stories of Jesus or the miracles he performed! His friends were the eyes and ears of a caring network. They brought and begged on behalf of their unabled friend. This man, who struggled with sound and speech had friends who watched out for him.

When the friends HEARD, Jesus was in town, they knew what they had to do – get him to Jesus. Mark uses this interesting word for the friends who “begged, or implored” Jesus to heal him. The word, “parakalousin” comes from the word, “parakaleó.” Why make such a big deal of these Greek words? Because “parakaleó” is two words meaning “come alongside.” Parakalousin is used twice and only in Mark’s gospel. The beautiful idea behind this word is the concept of advocacy. Someone to come along to encourage, strengthen and comfort. In these friend’s efforts to help, they became advocates to get him to the one who could solve his physical ailments!

I personally love the word “parakaleó,” because it’s one of the words describing the character of the Holy Spirit. THE parakaleó, who comes alongside us. When these friends made their move to get this man to Jesus, it was if they had been waiting and watching for some way to help him, even heal him. This is the posture of prayer we can have when we hear the struggles of our friends, when we know they need far more than we can provide! We cannot heal them or fix them, but we can be constantly on watch and listening to God for the moment when Jesus might show up to restore them. We can implore God on their behalf, we can come alongside and remind them that we are with them. It means so much to know that you are not alone in your suffering!

Jesus led the man away from the crowds to a quiet place. He put his fingers in the man’s ears. He spit on his own fingers and touched the man’s tongue! Can you see the moment? Can you feel the Genesis phenomenon of God creating life out of the dust of the earth. Jesus simply recreated whatever was missing or wrong with his ears and tongue.

Do you have friends who are physically disabled? Are you broken in some way? Are there body parts that don’t function properly or are missing? Jesus is still available to touch you and your friends, recreating what is lacking!

Prayer

​Dad,
Being the same yesterday, today and forever, the miracles, the love grace and mercy extended to people is still available today, right? There are so many hurting and broken. Our “healthcare” systems are overwhelmed with urgencies and emergencies! Yet, you are the great physician, the creator of our bodies and souls. We are more in need of you than ever! Help us in our faith. Help us with our faith for others, our friends and families. Thank you for your Holy Spirit the parakaleó! Come alongside us today! Amen.

Seeing through eyes of mercy.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs. Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In Mark’s gospel, written from Peter’s firsthand, eyewitness accounts, he wants to show the reader the power of Christ. As Jesus reveals more and more about who he is, he also progressively shows more authority. Jesus doesn’t hoard or self consume the power and authority given him. As son of man/son of God, he freely disperses it among the broken, the outlier. And in this case, to a Syrian (Gentile) Woman and her demon possessed little girl.

Jesus breaks through racial and cultural barriers to bring mercy and freedom. Jesus, raised in a typical, but poor family, would have learned all about God’s Laws and God’s ways. But if we look at the common cultural understanding of how young Jewish men and women were instructed, it was very much a separatist mentality. Gentiles (non Jews) are not good people and they should not have any interaction with them. A Jewish male would not culturally be allowed to have any contact with a woman, let alone with one who was a long historical enemy with Assyrian heritage. So either Joseph and Mary instructed Jesus differently (which is completely possible), or Father God had been teaching His own true intentions of rescuing the entire human race – not just the Jews (Isaiah 56:6-7). Either way, Jesus continued to baffle his followers and invite hostile criticism for this kind of cultural faux pas.

If Jesus was so religiously and socially counter-cultural, why do we struggle with being like Him today? I think our heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), but we forget there is both religious (legalism) AND humanistic wickedness. The religious have always despised Jesus’ counterculture ways. And, equally the self-serving humanist despises him as well. Normal, common people, who know they are broken and have need of being saved, have always loved Jesus’ ways. Why? Because they reflect exactly how God sees us. Religion and/or humanism both make us arrogant.

Jesus explains to this Syrian woman that his first priority is to the Jews, the people of God. Jesus, not so subtlety referring to her own people as dogs, wasn’t offensive to her at all. She knew the comparison was true. Folks have tried to soft-pedal this “dog reference” as a beloved pet in the household. That’s nonsense. The enemies of the Jews knew they were like wild dogs and were possibly proud of it! The feelings were mutual between the ethnicities.

The woman, similar to the Samaritan woman at the well, had some comments in response to Jesus’ words. She said, “but even the dogs…”

She calmly kept her cool.
She was smart.
She knew who she was, but she also knew who Jesus was!

She was telling Jesus, “I know our story,” “I know God’s intention is for His own first,” “But I don’t need the full on life of blessing and favor as given to the Jews,” “I just need the scraps, the leftovers.” Her faith saw that even the scraps of mercy from God would be powerful enough to free her daughter. Jesus commented about her faith, saying “your faith is great” (Matthew 15:28). You know the gospels record Jesus being amazed just a couple of times. One, he was amazed at his hometown folk’s “lack of faith” (Mark 6:6). Two, he was amazed at the Roman centurion’s extraordinary understanding of authority and faith (Luke 7:8).

Here in this story, the woman got what she wanted. Jesus complimented her retort, “Good answer!” She received what she came asking for. Jesus told her, “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” Jesus was clearly impressed.

Do we want to know how Jesus really feels about the non-religious, even enemies of God? He shows mercy to whomever he chooses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” (Exodus 33:19). I believe we can be just as culturally contrarian in how we see people today. Folks can know how we feel about them simply looking at our facial expression! Following the ways of Jesus means we see with eyes of mercy. If we see with eyes of mercy our face will follow!

Prayer

​Dad,
I absolutely know this is how you saw me, and how you see me still – through eyes of mercy. I absolutely love to wake up each morning with fresh, new mercy in my account for the day! “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”(Lamentations 3:22-23). I am ever in amazement of your enduring patience and grace. Thank you. Amen.

Ignore and substitute.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition. Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you ever find yourself amazed that Jesus cuts through the complicated minutiae of religion and clarifies truth? Ah, it’s so obvious after Jesus says it, yet so painful when he says it directly to you!

As we get older, it is completely normal to establish patterns and customs of the way we like to order our day and live our life. Habits and systems are ways to control the chaos that life can bring. Most religious rituals started out as earnestly simple with all intent of purity in our heart. It’s when they become rote, rigged and mindless routine that it becomes disconnected from relationship.

Earlier in this passage, the religious leaders saw that Jesus’ disciples were eating with defiled, dirty hands. It’s important to note, it’s not that they saw filthy hands and stood aghast that anyone would eat like that. No, it’s what they did NOT see that bothered them.

They did not see the disciples do the typical ritual cleansing before eating anything or using anything that would touch their mouths. The ritual cleansing was this idea that any item that came in contact with the body had to be “washed,” but the Pharisees used an odd word for cleaning their utensils, cups, and dishes. They used the Greek word, “baptizó,” to dip or sink. This wasn’t a health code, it was a religious addendum to an Old Testament purification exercise.

Following the “letter of the Law,” and missing its intent was a favorite pastime of the Pharisees. The Law of Moses did prohibit contact with many things known to be unclean; and if any one had touched them they were seen as “unclean.” This cleansing was a health code, but had a hidden spiritual code to it as well. The command was given to the people so that a person would not approach the temple until they had cleansed themselves by the washing, prescribed in the Law. The spiritual object lesson was that by means of these ceremonial and bodily washings the Jews might be awakened to the necessity of spiritual cleansing when they came before a Holy God.

The Pharisees elevated and twisted the command to be purely an outward act of looking more holy by exceeding the simplicity of cleanliness to a legalistic practice for show! They even insulted their parents and God himself by adhering to and misquoting Ezekiel 20:18, “Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols.” They made the simple spiritual lesson of “washing,” or preparing your heart to meet with God into an arrogant act of faking righteousness!

Now, as we often might do, we look at the religious practices of the Pharisees and say, yeah, “boo on organized religion,” or “deconstruct everything and cancel all the religious rules.” We would be missing Mark’s point of writing this story. Jesus was angry that God was misrepresented! And God’s Law was twisted and tweaked for human gain. Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

We have the fulfillment of all the Law of God in and through Jesus himself. We complicate God and do similar as the Pharisees – even today. We have to stop adding things to the gospel! We have to quit making it difficult for people to see Jesus in us. The only people that respected the Pharisees were other religious leaders! The normal folk, despised them and feared them.

Jesus summed up God’s law – love God, love people. Jesus summed up how we should treat people, “love them LIKE I have loved you!” How has Jesus loved us, accepted us, forgiven us multiple times over? How often has God been patient with us, merciful towards us? Do not ignore God’s law and substitute our ideas of holiness, righteousness or forgiveability and pass them off as godly!

Prayer

Wow! I love Your word. I love Jesus words that cut through my religiosity, my judgmental attitudes and competitive comparisons to others. But oh how it stings when I must make decisions based on truth rather than customs. Help me, Oh God, to live to represent you well! Amen.

Desires for decompression.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The New Living Translation takes too much liberty here describing the disciples reconnecting with Jesus and with each other. Of course, it’s true, they had just returned from their assignments and I’m sure they were full of stories and a lot of questions. But Jesus did recognize their need to get away from the crowds and just be alone, together. Mark notes that there were so many people with so many needs that no one got a chance to even eat. Eating in New Testament times was very much like it is still today in the middle east. It’s a LONG process involving several courses of food, but it is clear that long conversations and long stories are the priority over the main course being served. A meal easily could last a couple of hours! I don’t think they had any concept of “fast food,” or just grabbing a bite to eat.

Even though Jesus’ intentions are given, Mark lets us know that the crowd had figured out where the group was going and were waiting on the other side of the boat ride. “So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them.” Maybe there was time to talk on the boat? With the crowds gathered, Jesus just could not ignore their passion to hear the words of God. Compassion once again drove Jesus to work while there was still light!

I find that in full time ministry these kinds of dilemmas happen far too often. Pastors used to brag about zero vacations and no days off, thinking it was honoring the responsibilities of ministry. Jesus intended to get away from the crowds with his team! He would often slip away at night or before sunrise to pray and spend time with Father God, but in this instance he wanted the group to get some rest. No breaks, no rest, no quiet, no solitude is a recipe for personal disaster! The difficulty was that Jesus ministry time on earth was rather brief – just three years. Three years to establish His mission of being the living gospel – the good news that God had prepared the way to make things right with sinful humanity and repair the breech that had been created in the very beginning of creation.

The crowds, that Mark wrote about, the ones who represented sheep without a shepherd, would be the object lesson or picture of humanity searching for something more than the misery of life under the religious and political leaders of that day. That crowd has only grown larger!

Look around the current situation in our world today. With unending ability to see around the globe from our screens, we know that the United States is not the only country in religious and political crisis. So, even though it is necessary to find places of quiet to rest, it is also possible to be available when the hurt and heartaches of the crowd stir up a passion and a hunger to hear the voice of God for themselves. Will we be available to speak truth and feed them the bread of life? Is the Church ready to set aside its bickering, complaining and judging hearts to BE the gospel of life for those who are searching? I hope so.

Prayer

​Dad,
You see how tiring it is to be serving in the Church today! You see how exhausting it can be to carry the hurts, struggles and sicknesses of families. Yet, out on the horizon, I see a crowd forming. A crowd filled with despair and grief. A gathering of people who have discovered that they have been lied to and are living in that lie. Sheep who are looking for their good shepherd. The crowd is coming! Will I be ready? Will we be ready? Will we have the strength and clarity to give them the bread of life, the living water – your good news? Help us Oh God, in our time of preparation, to not lose heart, hope or strength! Amen.

The Haunting of Truth.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.” Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.” When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead. ‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Just the mere mention of the miracles that Jesus had performed spooked the Roman officials. Herod was a 1st-century ruler (tetrarch) of Galilee and Perea. His father, Herod the Great, was responsible for ordering the Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem. Herod Antipas had tremendous political, economical and social power in his day. As a Roman ruler he did whatever pleased him, like divorcing his first wife Phasa’el, and marrying Herodias, who had formerly been married to his half-brother Herod II.

Surprisingly Herod and John the Baptist had an interesting relationship. Mark comments that Herod “respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him” (6‬:‭20‬). It was in these conversations that John must have confronted Herod about his decision to marry.

We often talk about religion mixing with politics and how we should not judge non-believers in their choices, but John the Baptist did not subscribe to that AT ALL. John had extraordinary access to a top Roman official and Herod respected the relationship. John was very outspoken about the marriage and everyone knew he pointed the finger at Herod regularly pointing out his sin saying, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife (6‬:‭18‬).”

But who was offended by this “truth spoken to power?” It wasn’t Herod. It was Herod’s new, also newly empowered wife! Herod had to be tricked into killing John. Herodias was the offended one and she couldn’t stand someone being critical of the king! She wielded her own power, convincing Herod to take action, “For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias” (6‬:‭17‬). Eventually scheming and manipulating a plan to have his head on a platter!

Herod saw something similarly convicting in the news of Jesus. Herod believed that the same spirit of John the Baptist came to haunt him through this rabbi, Jesus! Does God haunt our wickedness with truth? God was after Herod, just like He pursues every other broken human being! When Jesus was arrested in the garden, twelve hours before his death, he was sent to Pilate. Remember Pilate wanted nothing to do with Jesus, knowing that he was innocent. So Pilate handed him over to Herod Antipas. But what did Herod do… he sent Jesus back to Pilate’s court. Herod was not going to put another truth whisperer to death!

God doesn’t just work on and in the least of these, He also comes to the powerful and the proud, haunting them with truth. No one escapes the love and truth of God’s pursuit. It’s the human heart that turns, ignores or denies God.

Prayer

​Dad,
I am grateful that you pursue us. You are not hidden from those who seek. You are not hidden from those who want truth, justice and peace. You come after all of us and I am so glad you came after me! I pray you help us wield the power of Your truth, not as a weapon of judgment, but as an instrument of mercy. Amen.

Storm sleeping peace.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “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). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭35‬-‭38‬ ‭NLT

Mark’s gospel, with its raw and punchy language, tells a progressively radical truth that Jesus has power over all things – proving He is God.

Jesus has healed the sick, kicked out demons and here he has power even over nature itself! It’s just my opinion, but open water in daylight is a delight. However, open water at night is a fright!

Whether it’s lake or sea, creepy things happen on the water when it gets into the bewitching hours of the night. Some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, but even then, they respected the lake, especially at night.

Lake weather is tricky. The water can be like glass in the morning, but by three O’clock the winds can often create white capped waves. I was once in lake storm as a boy with my grandparents. We had a nice sunset cruise and had finished dinner out on Lake Mohave. It was dark, but my grandfather didn’t seem at all worried. Then, out of nowhere the wind turned into a squall. The waves were coming in and even over the boat. Grandpa had to head for shore as quickly as possible. He was scared that we would capsize! We spent the night at some random folks campsite. I’ll never forget it.

In this passage, as Peter tells this story to young Mark, the lake storm was fierce! It describes enough of the scene that anyone who’s been in a boat, in a storm like this, knows how terrifying it is. Then suddenly the story shifts to Jesus. It was Jesus’ idea to cross AT NIGHT. Where is Jesus and what is he doing? He’s sleeping in the stern on a pillow! The tumultuous storm with wind and wave, the men yelling out commands to row and bilge out the water as it came into the boat. Jesus was at peace – asleep.

The disciples woke Jesus up, not because they thought he could help, but because they were shocked that he seemed so disengaged with what was happening. They asked him, “Don’t you care?” They weren’t just being dramatic they thought this was the violent end to their life! The paraphrase would be, “how can you sleep as we go to our deaths?” Ouch, that’s gotta hurt! Jesus heard their fear and a complete lack of understanding about who was in the boat with them that night!

Jesus woke up and spoke to the storm. He spoke to the winds and waves! He spoke to nature itself like it was some petulant pet who had just misbehaved. ”he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. How is this supernatural miracle different from the others? The other miracles were of flesh and spirit – healing and exorcism. This was of the wild and irrational forces of the earth itself!

Commanding the wind to stop is a miraculous feat all on its own. But Mark tells us that even the waves stopped their motion! Jesus spoke two very cool Greek words to the wind; “siópaó” be quiet, and “phimoó” muzzle it! The wind obeyed its master and immediately “kopazó” grew weary of its gale. The waves also submitted and became greatly “galéné” calm. I’m not a physicist, but I’m pretty sure that stopping the wind and wave in motion is impossible! I can kind of see how the wind would die down quickly, but stopping waves in motion? How’s that work?

The object lesson of Jesus power over all things is certainly apparent because the disciples instantly feared Jesus more than the storm and asked “who is this guy?” Who is this, that wind and sea might obey him? God was in the boat. God was in the storm with them. And, when God made nature match his own internal character and emotion of PEACE, we should understand how powerful he really is! Are we capable of being calm in life’s worst storms? Is God with us? Why do we still fear? Can we have storm sleeping peace?

Prayer

Dad,
You are my peace in the middle of the storms that quickly arise all around me. Jesus did not have the disciples avoid the storm, Jesus took them through it. That’s how it is, right? Not peace avoiding the storm. It’s peace within the storm? When I am overwhelmed with fear, I need your peace that surpasses my understanding. Amen.

The Teacher’s Shtick.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. In 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. ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Every great speaker or teacher has a shtick, a method, a way of setting them apart from the others in their profession. Rabbi’s told stories and they are really good at it. Think of a Andy Griffith giving Opie a life lesson or helping Barney learn how to be Sheriff himself one day. Mark writes about Jesus’ shtick, His go to method of teaching truth woven in with miracles and stories. Mark uses the word, parabolḗ, parable – which literally means to cast alongside. A well known teaching aid used in ancient times and still used today.

Parables are amazingly helpful when a real life object lesson, illustration or story is presented alongside the lesson to be learned, thus “casting additional light” which is often fictitious or metaphorical, but sometimes true itself. What makes this chapter even more unique is that Jesus tells three seed parables, but throws in a light or lamp illustration as well. This lamp parable gives a spotlight not only on the multiplying effect of truth, but also what these teaching aids do to help us listen, process and eventually learn how to apply truth to our everyday life.

Jesus profoundly says, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more.” Jesus used another linguistic trick here, playing a word alliteration game to help us remember. He uses the Greek word “metron” (measure) three times in rhythm driving the point home – use the measurement of how well you listen to measure how its usefulness to you. Then, Jesus will use that same measurement to decide how much MORE he gives you. Jesus gives us more truth, more understanding based on our listening capacity and our ability to put it into practice. It’s a compounding reinforcement of truth.

Let’s say we go for a walk in the woods and I want to teach someone survival skills. As we start out I say, “Look at those flowers over there.” Then I say, “The flowers are purple today.” The listener may think nothing of it. But after a bit more walking, I say, “Look at those flowers over there,” and ask, “What color are they?” The learner may say, “orange,” or “yellow.” Then at the end of the hike we stop and look over a field of flowers with many beautiful colors. I tell them that some are good for food, but others are poisonous. Then I ask, “What color was the first group of flowers spoken of at the beginning of the walk?” The ones who listened would remember their color? Did you remember without having to look back a couple of sentences? What if I told you that your survival depended on your knowledge of the color of the flowers? Let’s say the purple flowers are safe and eatable, but the others are deadly. Truth would be compounded into very useful information should you be stranded without food.

Jesus also highlighted a known necessity for learning – a healthy curiosity. The curious listener is a lifelong learner! Mark makes a profound observation in his gospel of Jesus’ life. Mark says, “In public ministry, Jesus never taught without using parables.” God wants us asking, seeking and knocking. God answers when we do! But maybe God answers to the measured level of our listening.

Prayer

​Dad,
I’m pretty sure that people only see the Bible as a means of knowing You, learning about Your will and ways. And, that’s true. But Your Word, being a lamp and light reveals not just spiritual truth, but also knowledge and wisdom of how the world works, how life itself works. Your Word goes far beyond just teaching us about yourself, it does just as much to teach about ourselves and others as well. Help me Oh Lord, not just be a multiple measured learning, but a compounded effective teacher as well. Amen.

God wants seekers.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven. Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Mark gives a now famous parable (a simple story with a hidden truth), and gives us the Jesus’ commentary, like the director’s comments about the story and the bonus explanation. Jesus wants his disciples not only know the meaning of the parable, but maybe even pickup the teaching style itself.

Does God hide for us to find him? Both Matthew and Mark write, “Then he told them many things in parables.” An old quote rings true, “For when the disciple is ready the Master is ready also.” Learning seems to require curiosity! Parables and object lessons both help us to mentally dig a little, forcing our brains to get a little messy meddling in the dirt of a plethora of information. Parables encourage us to connect the dots, to make sense of what we hear. How often do I approach God with everything but patience, humility and a holy openness of curiosity? I have needs. I want answers. But to sit and be still? Or to come to God’s Word just to hear His voice echo through the pages. As the reader, what am I looking for? Truth? Knowledge? Results?

I come to the words in this story without the context of the original listeners. I am missing the wispy-wind off the lake. That smell of fresh water mixed with what reminds me of lake-life. The feeling of sand beneath my feet. And hearing the Master’s words reverberating off the water.

I am not lost to the irony of Jesus telling a farming story while delivering it from a boat! Jesus often told stories while he was in the environment of the story itself. Picking a grape while talking about wineskins or picking figs along the road while teaching about the dangers of looking like religious leaders, but not capable of producing real spiritual fruit. Jesus speaks of sowing seeds while on the water. Maybe it was a farmer’s meetup at the Galilee shores that day?

Jesus, remembering the words of Isaiah (6:9-10), knew that he was both experiencing and fulfilling what the ancient prophet foretold – they will see and hear, but will learn nothing! Jesus was also fulfilling the truth of what Ezekiel was teaching the Israelites about disappointment of hearing, but never following through with doing. Ezekiel (33:32) writes, “Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.”

Doesn’t that just sound like us today? We may know a lot of God’s Word and even about God’s character, but it MUST show up in our lives as behaviors. Followers of Jesus were never meant to be simply Snapple-cap facts or some form of Bible-pedia. Jesus promises, when we seek we will find him. However, the proof of finding is most effective in others when we DO what God’s Word says to do. If you have found Jesus, now what are you going to do with your life?

Prayer

​Dad,
You found me. And, I was a mess when you did! I am so thankful you rescued me when you did. Now, I have spent the entirety of my life fulfilling Your calling on my life. The sum total of my life will be seen as a surrendering to Your will and Your ways. Let my actions always reflect what I know about You. May everyone see Jesus in and through me. Amen.

The walking drones.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him. He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was. Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They walk among us. They are us, or they used to be. Horror stories and stereotypes have completely destroyed the truth or have severely masked it under mental euphemisms. A recent poll asked, “Do you believe demons are real?” Result, 45 percent of Americans believe demons and ghosts really exist. Ghosts? Seriously? Weirdly, they also found that Republicans are statistically more likely to believe in demons, ghosts and aliens than Democrats! 😳

The gospel journalist, Mark, has quite a few demon reality stories. How does one get possessed? Is it by invitation or infestation? Is it by brute force or sips and bits of lies believed over time? There is a whole section of theology (study of God) called demonology (study of demons). I was taught it was much better to study the ways of God, than the enemy. Sounds safer too, right?

The Bible is clearly filled with episodes where Jesus shows up and demons demonstratively show up as well. BTW: My fav demon story is the mad naked man in Mark 5. Mark’s whole purpose and presentation of demons or evil (unclean) spirits, as they are referred to, is to show the reader that Jesus has power and authority over all things! Power over demons is not considered a high level use of invoking Jesus name. It’s down there with healing the sick. Miraculously reproducing food, commanding wind and waves, and bringing the dead back to life – now that’s some power! In the very next section, Jesus appointed the apostles and gave them the authority to cast these dark, spiritual creature out of human beings! Also, Mark, the evangelist and author of this book wasn’t an apostle.

I am fascinated by a few facts:

One, Jesus wasn’t the least bit fearful nor intimidated by these hybrid human/demon encounters. I get the feeling that to Jesus, all the antics of shrieking, flopping about, and behaving like a wild animal came off about as scary as a toddler throwing a tantrum!

Two, Jesus deeply felt compassion, not for the demon, but for the human trapped inside! These humans, image bearers of God, imprisoned in their own skin, commandeered by some low level minion of satan.

Three, these creatures knew who Jesus really is! What a rip off! These puppet masters had the insight and ability to know the true identity of Jesus when thousands could only see him as a lowly carpenter’s son from Nazareth! I don’t think they were trying to “out” Jesus, I think they had to confess who He is – the Son of God!
And, for unknown reasons, Jesus did not cast them out at that time.

Bottom line; the ancient world and what we call “third world,” or countries filled with the poor and disenfranchised know all about demons and spirits. Us, on the other hand, live in a culture of denial. Like we are so enlightened and far too intelligent to believe that evil, darkness and chaos is at war with us! C.S. Lewis, in his book Screwtape Letters, reveals that “non belief” is much preferable in satan’s domain. We’ve got thousands of mental diagnoses (DSM-5) labels to cover up any possibility of demonic possession or oppression. I’m not a psychiatrist, but it seems that most of these disorders are rooted in our own rebellion to do whatever we want, or a deep seated need to find relief from someone else perpetrating on us! The Bible just defines it as sin or the wounds of someone sinning against us.

There may be hundreds of different methods on how a demon might take up residence in a human, but there’s only one way to kick them out – by the power of Christ!

Prayer

Dad,

I have no idea why we would think these things, these creatures don’t exist. And, I have no idea why we would be so blind, so full of ourselves to think that we could somehow “get along” with these spirits and that they might be helpful to get us what we want, what we crave or desire. In our denial of who You are, we seem to believe the strangest, darkest, most dangerous lies, believing it leads to freedom. It only leads to being the walking dead or evil drones for the enemy of our soul. Help us, Oh God! Reveal truth in our panmoralistic culture. Shine light in our dark hearts. We desperately need You!

Tension between justice and mercy.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him. He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus. Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have written about the struggles with Jesus and the religious leaders before in other posts. The Jewish leaders, over centuries of silence from God, just continued to add layers of laws to God’s 10 and the additional societal/health codes God commanded the Israelites to live by to keep them safe and prosperous.

The Sabbath seemed to be one of the favorite laws to drill down on in a policy/procedure kind of way. Chabad.org list three categories: Basic Rules, Muktzeh Rules (forbidden objects to move), and Carrying Rules. There’s even a handy little chart for their 39 Melachos list – https://bit.ly/melachos. These and many others, became more than just impossible to fulfill, but they missed or drifted from God’s intent. God intended that His people rest! God still intends for us to rest.

The clash became a serious religious offense in Jesus’ day. And in the perfectionistic pursuit of the keeping their interpretation of God’s Law, they chose policy over personhood. Jesus made it abundantly clear about God’s intent – Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath serves the need for rest, but in that rest, humans were never to be held to serving that law. In the process of finding more legal minutiae, they lost the heart of God and to some degree, the heart of the Law. Namely mercy.

The religious system became so litigious, so loophole-crazy that it only served to pile on MORE work instead of relieving it! The result; harsh treatment for everyone, especially the poor, sick and needy. Isn’t that the way it goes? The deeper the detail of additional laws and the responsibility of keeping them, the more the socioeconomic/sociopolitical the whole system becomes. The rich either pay their way out or find a loophole around the law itself! The poor do not have the resources, time or ability to create their own loophole so they just continue to be lawbreakers.

Jesus cut right through all the ridiculous, add-ons of the original law – GET REST, and healed the suffering man with a withered hand! And remember, Jesus did not violate the Sabbath Law at any point! He only irritated the religious police/lawyers who were committed to bust lawbreakers with no thought to God’s intent, and no longer able to access the mercy of God. You can hear the religious leader’s defense, “I don’t make the laws, I only keep them!” Sound familiar?

As humans, we still do the same thing that the Pharisees did. We look for breaches in the law, try to fix it with policy-patches and then feel justified in arresting or fining the lawbreaker. The tragedy is that these men, who supposedly worked for God, knew nothing about their boss’s true nature and intent. And they lived a life without mercy. Justice and mercy will always be in tension and God is the only one who can truly have both!

Prayer

Dad,
Where would I be without your mercy? I would collapse under the weight of my own sin, my own deterministic decisions. I deserve the consequences of my behaviors, yet you have provided the way of forgiveness and erased my debt. How can I not, in turn, see others through eyes of mercy, and forgive them as well? Thank you for a fresh deposit of your mercy each morning. Amen.