Rest, Discipleship & Action

Mark 3: 7-30

Withdrawing from crowds
Jesus needed time alone, to recharge, to build up his relationship with the Father. This is the height of His popularity. The pharisees have only just realized that He is a threat, and have determined to kill Him. But the people have not yet turned. They still adored Him for His authoritative teaching and supernatural healing. Nevertheless, Jesus did not seek their adoration, He withdrew from it. As strange as it seems, He had to remain crucifiable.

Choosing the 12
This is an interesting point, brief in the passage but immense in history. Christ didn't simply have people who he was teaching, he had a smaller number, almost a ministry team, that he pulled together and taught more intimately, and truly invested his life in. I think this is one of the mistakes many church leaders make today. Instead of investing themselves more fully in fewer people, they try to accomplish the same amount of intimacy with 2 or 3 times the number, and as a result, no one is brought along effectively. Instead, shouldn't we focus more exclusively on the few that are truly prepared to commit their whole beings to their Savior, and allow them to impact the others?

Jesus & the prince of demons.
We can know people's true allegiance by their reactions to works of Satan and works of God. If someone is OK with sin, if they can easily turn a blind eye to the pain of their fellow human beings, we have trouble identifying them with the kingdom of God. In the same way, we cannot question the faith of those with perhaps marginal. By the same token, if someone is working hard to see the kingdom of God advance, at the sacrifice to themselves, we do not have the right to question their salvation.

What It's Like

I'm taking a little break from Mark today, I'll have a little bit longer post tomorrow, hopefully. For now, a little pop culture, albeit more than a few years old. I'm not a huge Everlast fan, but this songs message resounds with a theme that should not be unfamiliar to believers. (This is the edited version, I think it carries the same weight without the language"



Here's a song I have loved for a long time, despite a number of inappropriate lyrics, because the kernal of the message is one so close to the heart of Christianity. Christ came to earth to learn what it's like. He faced the temptations and issues that we face, so that he could never be accused of not understanding. He was tempted in all things in the same way we are tempted. In addition, He allowed Himself to be crushed under the burden of the sin of the world. But he emerged victorious, and because of that, we have victory, no matter what our circumstances or temptations are.

Furthermore, because of this redemption, we cannot force others to bear their burden of sin. When we see sin or temptation come into the lives of others, we need to respond with love, and point them to the cross. Forcing them to wallow in it, to carry the weight that Jesus has offered to bear, is not only unloving, its disobedience to what Christ has asked us to do. And I'm not just talking about unbelievers here. Many Christians need to unload their burdens at the cross as well, but we remind them, pointing them out as they try to take it off, reminding them of their sin. We need to allow our fellow believers to confess and move on. After all, isn't that what we want for ourselves?

Applying the rules correctly

Mark 3:1-6

This is something that Christians the world over have a problem with. In this section, the Pharisees have misunderstood the commandment of God. Instead of looking at the purpose, the meaning of the commandment, and working it into a consistent view with more important commands (such as "Love the Lord your God") In addition, they took that command (important as it was) and applied it almost cruelly. God does not want us to suffer as a result of His commands. In a sinful world, sometimes it happens, but it should never happen at the hands of those who claim to follow God.
As believers, we have a responsibility 1st and foremost to love God. We demonstrate that love through our love for other individuals. Anytime we feel that a command from God gives us the license to act in a way that is hurtful to individuals, we need to reread this passage. If we believe a person is in sin, we cannot afford to drive them away with hatred. We must display the love of Christ to them in hopes of bringing them into a relationship with God. If Christ dined with sinners, and "broke" the sabbath law to reach out in love, why do we feel the need or the right to reject sinners based on a moral law? Do not think that I am condoning sin. I did not say disobey your conscience or the Holy Spirit. But don't think that the Holy Spirit is going to move you with hatred. Always remember that Christ loved sinners so much He died for you.

The RULES

Mark 2:18-28

Strange how Scripture reflects life. This weekend, I spent a little time talking with some friends about some people we grew up with who became extraordinarily conservative. They fill their lives with rules that God has not commanded, and they call it sin to break these man-made rules. Jesus struggled against something similar, as Pharisees ask Him why his disciples didn't observe certain rituals.

The first example, fasting, is one that is interesting for the complexity of Christs response. He says that the problem is not that they Pharisees fast, it's the fact that they should recognize the life of Christ as a time for rejoicing. The Messiah was on earth, and should be greeted with happiness, not fasting or mourning. He points out that while there will be time for fasting after he leaves, his followers must be careful not to apply old rules to the new relationship. Judaism does not hold the blueprint of Christian ritual.
What about the current need for fasting? Is that acceptable because Christ is not physically on earth? Undoubtedly yes, but we do not have a culture of fasting. Especially in the US, we have a fascination with eating as community, but not with abstaining as community. Are we afraid of prostrating ourselves before God? Fasting seems to be a forgotten art, a vestige of a another time, but the most common reason for fasting, repentance, is something we need now more than ever, or at least, as much as ever.

The second ritual, Christ doesn't even allow for. It is an empty religious rule to prevent anyone from offending God. The disciples essentially snack while walking. Not an uncommon practice in the ANE, to pluck some grain in the field while walking by, crack it in your hands, and eat it. But the pharisees had decided that it was wrong, a violation of Sabbath rest. So they criticized Christ & the disciples. Christ points out the hypocrisy of venerating David, who ate the bread meant ONLY for the priests, and not recognizing the standard behind the law, that of personal rest.