Cleansing the Synagogue

 

For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?  So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  --1 Corinthians 2:11

Hollywood has just about ruined the Bible for a lot of people.  In so many movies, the actor cast to play Jesus was white skinned, blond haired, and blue eyed.  People of color, especially those associated with BLM, are rejecting the message of Christ because of the way that He has been depicted on the Silver Screen.  One BLM activist tweeted, "Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down.  They are a form of white supremacy.  Always have been."

In the same way, Hollywood images of evil spirits have colored the way we look at certain passages of Scripture.  Whenever we read of Jesus meeting and healing one tormented or possessed by an evil spirit, we immediately think of scenes from The Exorcist or Rosemary's Baby.  On the contrary, I believe that the people Jesus met on the street and delivered from the clutches of sin were normal, ordinary folks that one would ordinarily see on the street.  Although described as people who "had an unclean spirit", I don't think they they stood out in a crowd, foaming at the mouth and spewing curses while their heads swiveled 360 degrees on their shoulders.  I believe that everyone is at their core a spiritual being, and when we are engrossed in sinful addictions it could be said that our spirits are unclean.

We see one such person in our passage today.  He appears to be a leader of the synagogue in Capernaum, a place where Jesus taught early in His ministry.

A Dramatic Message

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as One who had authority, not as the scribes.  --Mark 1:21-22

This is one of the first recorded activities of Jesus.  Matthew describes the start of Jesus' ministry as going throughout Galilee, "teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people" (Matthew 4:23).  Luke 4:14-15 gives a similar account, followed by what might have been His central message in the synagogues that He visited.  

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up.  And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  And He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." --Luke 4:16-21

We know that the village of Nazareth was only about 20 miles from the town of Capernaum, so it is safe to assume a similar message to the synagogue there.  Mark described Him as one who had authority, "not as the scribes."  Those who normally taught in the synagogue were well versed in Scripture, because they copied it word for word in the scrolls from which they taught, but their message was flat and uninspired.  They did not know of whom they spoke.  When Jesus spoke, He had the authority of the I AM behind him. 

A Dramatic Challenge

The passage that Jesus quoted from, Isaiah 61:1-2, was largely recognized as a Messianic scripture.  That is, the One upon whom the Spirit of the Lord had fallen, who was anointed to preach good news to the poor, to preach freedom to those enslaved (in sin), and to heal the blind was believed to be the Messiah.  When Jesus claimed to be the One of whom Isaiah spoke, it was a bold revelation.

A man stood up to challenge that assertion.  He was described as a man with an unclean spirit.

And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are--the Holy One of God." --Mark 1:24

In reading the context of this passage, this man appeared to be well known in the synagogue.  He was apparently one who had standing to stand up and speak.  I am not a scholar in Jewish tradition, but I don't think any random bum off the street could come in and speak.  So why would the members of the synagogue allow someone to speak in their gathering whom they knew had an evil spirit?  In other words, why would they invite someone into their congregation who had red, scaly skin and horns and a spiked tail, and carried a pitchfork?  They clearly didn't; this was a man who was not unlike themselves.  He was part of the "in crowd" in this religious gathering, but in retrospect (by the time Mark penned this Gospel), they knew what was in his spirit. 

His question to Jesus was a valid question.  Maybe he was a scribe, or a Pharisee, well versed in Scripture.  His question may have been a legitimate one from someone well versed in traditions and liturgy.  "What about me?" he asked.  "Are you saying that I and others like me are obsolete now, useless in the kingdom of God?"  The following statement may have been a declaration of a person teetering on the edge of conversion, one who knows his own heart and wants to change, but won't follow just anyone.  "I hear what you are saying--that you are the Messiah.  How do we know you aren't just a self-proclaimed saint, one who comes to bring judgment on us?"

He said this in such a way as to prove Jesus' point.  "I know who You are--the Holy One of God."  It reminds me of the passage in John 15 when the Pharisees were plotting to kill Jesus. 

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, "What are we to do? for this man performs many signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."  But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all.  Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish."  He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.  So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.  --John 11:47-53

Just as Caiaphas had spoken truth without realizing it, I believe the leader of the synagogue in Mark 1 spoke truth, only realizing afterward what he had said. Jesus said in Luke 6:45, "Out of the abundance of a man's heart his mouth speaks."

A Dramatic Response

Jesus looked past the man's words and spoke to his spirit.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent and come out of him!"  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.  And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  A new teaching with authority!  He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And at once His fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.  --Mark 1: 25-28

The man's response to Jesus was a very dramatic conversion.  I have seen others with a similar reaction to Jesus' message of hope and forgiveness--they crumple to their knees and sob uncontrollably, their shoulders convulsing as they cry out from their very soul.  The words used in the phrase, "crying out with a loud voice" is the same phrase used in the passage describing the time when Herod killed all the babies under two years old in Bethlehem.  "A voice was heard in Ramah,  weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more." (Matthew 2: 18).  This man's conversion used the same imagery--a man weeping from the depths of his soul for his sin, and repenting from them.

Again, I can't see this scene play out like some Hollywood version of an exorcism, because of the people's reaction to it.  Their first response was to Jesus and His message, a new teaching or doctrine delivered with authority, as though from God.  The deliverance from the unclean spirit was like an afterthought. 

We all are born with an unclean spirit.  Sin's currents run deep and strong within our innermost being.  When Jesus sets us free from the bondage of sin, He gives us a new heart.  Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."  This heart transplant is God's gift of repentance.  Those who still have a heart of stone feel no remorse for sin, for their hearts are hardened.  The redeemed of the Lord know that sin pricks us to the very heart, and makes us sorrowful.  Thanks be to God for renewing our hearts, and giving us a clean spirit.

In Jewish tradition, there are many rites of purity.  A person may become unclean, ineligible to participate in Temple worship, because of his or her association with unclean things--dung, blood, vermin, wild animals and death, to name a few.  Jesus came to be our sacrifice, once and for all, to make us clean in the eyes of God.  God is holy, and cannot abide sin; man is sinful and cannot approach God.  Jesus bridges the gap, coming to us so that we may go to God and worship him.  

If your place of worship has leaders with an unclean spirit, pray that God would cleanse their hearts like He cleansed this leader of the synagogue.  Jesus still sends out a message of repentance and hope and healing, of setting captives free and restoring sight to the blind, bringing liberty to the oppressed, and proclaiming the Lord's favor.

Captivated by Love

 

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always lead us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.  --2 Corinthians 2:14

When you fall in love, the poets say your heart is taken captive by your beloved.  You lay down your weapons, put away your defenses, and become very vulnerable to your lover.  She may catch your eye before she captures your attention, but if you are smitten by her, you may fall heels over head for her.  The imagery is quite violent, but when you are in the midst of it, you don't seem to mind.  Love makes you hand over your heart voluntarily.  It makes you lay aside your desires and work diligently for what she wants or needs.

It's not all romantic.  The same feeling comes over you when you hold your child in your arms.  Your heart is captivated by his smile, his every need is yours to meet, his every desire is your heart's desire.  You truly would rather die than to see your child harmed in any way.  You would gladly give up your life for his.  If given a choice between breathing and loving your child, you would use your last breath to tell him how much you love him.

O, that we could love God in this way.  How sweet it would be if our love for Jesus was so great that we could willingly lay down our life for Him the way that He laid down His life for us.  How wonderful to be captivated by the Spirit such that if our bodies were taken prisoner we would still praise Him.  As we look into the gospel of Mark, there are three such stories.

Captivated by force

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."  --Mark 1:14-5

John the Baptist had been preaching the good news that Jesus was on the way.  But when Jesus began His ministry, John was put in prison for speaking truth to power.  He had been preaching a message of repentance--the only way to God is to put aside willful sin, and Herod had willfully divorced his own wife Phasaelis and had bedded his sister-in-law Herodias.  Herod put John in prison to shut him up, because he feared an insurrection--according to historian Josephus, John was so powerful a preacher that Herod feared he would lead the people to rise up against him.   Apparently Herodias was not too fond of John either, because she is the one who suggested putting him to death.  When her daughter Salome had danced seductively for her drunken stepfather Herod, he promised her whatever she asked, up to half his kingdom.  Salome asked her mother Herodias what she should ask of Herod, and her mother demanded the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

I think that if John was such a captivating speaker that Herod feared him, then it may have been difficult for Jesus to get the crowds to follow Him.  I believe it was God's will for John to be imprisoned and martyred, so that John's own words would be fulfilled: "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30).  Jesus may have had John in mind when He said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13).  Yes, I know that Jesus was speaking prophetically of His own death, but on a different level I think he was also speaking of all of the the martyrs, those who would lay down their lives for Him.

How deep is your love for Jesus?  Deep enough to be taken captive for Him, and to risk your own life rather than renounce Him?  O, that God would grant me that undying love for Him.  "If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword he must be slain." --Revelation 13:10 (cf Jeremiah 15:2).  If it is the will of God that this happen to you, He will give you grace to fulfill it.

Captivated by His calling

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.  --Mark 1:16-18

Very often men get their identity through their profession.  Very often in Scripture men are identified by what they do.  "Simon the fisherman" is different than "Simon the tanner".  If you have a common first name, perhaps people will list you in their phone logs by what you do: "John the accountant" or "Dave the plumber."

When Jesus approached these two brothers, he offered them a chance to change their identity by changing their occupation.  He recognized them as fishermen; He offered them a new identity as evangelists, or "fishers of men."  I can't imagine what might have gone through their minds at this moment.  I'll bet the two brothers looked at each other and grinned before leaving their nets.  God had to have been working in their hearts beforehand, because this was not a decision to be taken lightly.  At that very moment, however, they responded decisively.  

When Jesus calls, one always responds.  He either responds positively, following the call of Christ, or he responds negatively, rejecting the call.  No one knows how many chances he may get.  God is gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, but His Spirit will not strive with man forever.  This calling may be the last call, the last chance to respond to His will.  I want to be so in love with God that when His Son calls, I respond decisively.  I want to be captivated by His calling.

Paul gave this advice to his young protegee Timothy, "And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:24-26).  I would much rather be captivated by God's calling to do good than to be captured by the devil to do evil.

Captivated by love

And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in the boat mending the nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.  --Mark 1:19-20

James and John had strong family ties.  The two brothers were practically inseparable.  Whenever the disciples are listed, the three who are always listed first are Peter, James and John, perhaps indicating that they were considered leaders in the group.  James and John were present at the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-8; also Matthew 17:1-8 and Luke 9:28-36).  They shared a strong temperament, as Jesus called them Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17).  Their mother called Jesus aside and asked that her two sons be seated in places of authority when Jesus came into His kingdom, one on his right side and one on his left (Matthew 20:21).

So when they left their father with the hired servants to help him care for his fishing nets, it was not because they did not love their father.  Their love of God the Father was greater.  Jesus said, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37).  In the Gospel of John, the younger brother referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved."  At Jesus' crucifixion, John was designated as the caretaker of Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

It was John who penned one of the most recognized verses in all the Bible, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, what whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." This, my friends, is the gospel: that Jesus loved us more than Himself, so that we could love Him more than we love ourselves.  That is the love that captivates us, that conquers all, that commands us to follow Him.

In the mid 19th century a man by the name of George Matthison was engaged to be married.  However, the girl broke the engagement when she found out that George was going completely blind.  Years later, when George's sister was getting married in 1882, he wrote this hymn out of an anguished heart, remembering his broken engagement:

O Love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light, that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be

O Cross, that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Come, Holy Spirit

 

Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.  --Psalm 68:13 NKJV

There is a meme on Facebook that has been around my feed for the past several months (or years, maybe, as my feed is not always on the cutting edge).  In various forms, it reads, "QUESTION: Do you need the Holy Spirit to go to heaven?  ANSWER: Man, you need the Holy Spirit to go to Walmart!"  The answer is intended to turn the question on its head.  Not only do you need the Holy Spirit to indwell your heart and life to assure a place in heaven forever, but you also need the Holy Spirit to consume your soul and body in the more mundane, everyday activities like shopping for groceries or replacing a light bulb.

One should not get their theology from memes or T-shirt slogans.  Last week I wrote about some who go to church expecting excitement and heart-racing thrills, like one who "rides the rapids" in a raft.  They enjoy the wind in their hair as they get bounced over rocks in the river by water that flows extremely fast but is only a few inches deep.  Experiences like this do not help them face the hard parts of life, the rocks in their path in the day-to-day life.  That's why we want to slow down and enjoy the Scripture as we would enjoy bread--one bite at a time, and chewed slowly and carefully.

In the introduction to our study of Mark last week we were introduced to John the Baptist, who preached a baptism of repentance.  His presence was a fulfillment of prophecy as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord.'" (Isaiah 40:3).  Part of John's message was that the large crowds who came to hear him preach should watch for another, One greater that John, who would be coming soon.  "I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:8).  I want to move on from there.

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."  --Mark 1:9-11

I don't know why Jesus started His ministry by being baptized--He certainly didn't need to repent, and John's baptism was one of repentance in anticipation of Jesus and His message.  That's a discussion for another day, but if you want to go down that road, then bookmark this lesson and go to Matthew 3:13-17.  The point that Mark was making was the activity of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit confirms

God the Father spoke audibly, saying "This is my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."  The Spirit was present in the image of a winged creature descending from heaven and alighting gently on Jesus, the Son.  Very few times in Scripture is the Trinity mentioned in such close proximity.  If you look hard, you can see it in Genesis in the creation story, when God said, "Let us make man in our image."  The word used for God in that passage is the plural proper noun Elohim.  God was present in three Persons at the creation of the first Adam, and God was present in three persons in the confirmation of the second Adam.

Many Christian denominations take children of a certain age and make them go through a number of classes.  When they are able to recite the Apostle's Creed and take their first Communion, then they are said to be confirmed into the Church.  This is their "confirmation."  In Mark 1:10, the Holy Spirit confirmed that Jesus came from God. This was His confirmation.  

I like the image at the top of this post, when the photographer captured streaks of light in the shape of a bird.  In Acts 2, the image of the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples as flames or "tongues of fire."  There are similarities in the image, especially if the source is light.  The significance of the dove is interesting.  A humble creature, a dove was used as a sacrifice in the Jewish sacrificial system for a poor person, one who couldn't afford a lamb.  Jesus was the Lamb of God who came as a sacrifice for all, rich and poor.  He came humbly into the world, born in poverty being laid in a manger.  He was a "Man of sorrow, acquainted with grief."  However, God worked His redemptive plan through the sacrifice of His Son, and the next time He comes it will be as a victorious conqueror.

Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those who also hate Him flee before Him.  As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.  But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.  Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him.  A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.  God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.  O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness....The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it: "Kings of armies flee, they flee, and she who remains at home divides the spoil.  Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."  --Psalm 68:1-7, 11-13 NKJV

This was what the Holy Spirit confirmed: That Jesus is He who rides on the clouds, a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows.  He is the Word made flesh (John 1:1-14).  He was humbly laid in a manger in a sheepfold.  Yet here, at the shore of the Jordan river, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Him.

The Holy Spirit compels 

Reading further in the text, we see that after His baptism, "The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness.  And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan." (Mark 1:12-13a).  Jesus was compelled by the Spirit to spend time alone, fasting and praying for 40 days.  God had been preparing Jesus for His work on earth for 30 years.  From His birth in Bethlehem to His emigration to Egypt to His return to Nazareth in the region of Galilee, God's hand was guiding His steps.  From the dedication in the Temple at Jerusalem throughout His growth "in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and Man" (Luke 2:52), God was preparing His Son for the physical walking and mental jousting with the Pharisees who followed Him from town to town.

I've never been in the military, but I'm told that if a soldier wants to be a Green Beret or a sailor wants to be a Navy Seal, they must not only go through Basic Training and serve for a time, but then they must also go through an intense period of additional training to hone their warfare skills.  I like to think this is what Jesus went through during the 40 days of fasting and praying, with Satan attacking Him daily with taunts and tirades and temptations.

People today have this idea that the work of the Holy Spirit is to bring them health and wealth and happiness.  They don't realize that the Spirit of God compelled Jesus to go to the wilderness to be tempted. It doesn't occur to them that the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to fashion a whip out of cords and use it to drive the money-changers and merchants out of the Temple.  They never seem to preach that the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to go to the Cross to die a horrible death.  In the same way, they don't realize that Christ-like men throughout history have been compelled by the Spirit to preach the Gospel of Jesus to hostile peoples, often at the cost of their lives.  Television preachers don't tell their viewers that the Holy Spirit compels people to take up their cross, crucify their fleshly desires, and to follow Jesus wherever He leads them.

2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."  In context, this does not speak of freedom from want or freedom from pain and sickness or even freedom from oppression and slavery.  What it means is that the Spirit of God frees us from the veil that lay over our hearts when we were dead in our sin and despair.  We are freed by the Holy Spirit to do what He compels us to do.

The Holy Spirit comforts

The last verse I want us to look at today is Mark 1:13: "And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.  And He was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to Him."  Amid all the attacks of Satan, the Holy Spirit was with Him, helping Him to endure.  In Luke's account of the temptation of Jesus in Luke chapter 4, once it was all over and "the devil had ended every temptation" and departed from Jesus "until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13), it then says "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee." (Luke 4:14a).

In Mark, and in the corresponding passage in Matthew, it says angels ministered to Jesus. Something you might not know about angels: they never do anything of their own accord.  The word "angel" means "messenger".  They only do God's bidding.  When the Holy Spirit came upon Mary so that she was with child, an angel was sent to inform her.  So when it says that angels ministered to Jesus, it is only because the Holy Spirit sent them to comfort Him.

Lamentations 1:16 says, "For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a Comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed."  This was our life before Jesus.  Now that we know Jesus, He has promised to provide help and comfort for us.  "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever." (John 14:16 KJV).

Jesus said, "But when the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor--Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, He will testify and bear witness about me." (John 15:26, AMP).  Come, Holy Spirit!  Come.

Give me Jesus

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  --Acts 4:12

I love the song "Give Me Jesus" by Jeremy Camp.  Its simple message is a reminder that whatever happens, wherever we are or whatever we are doing, Jesus is our hope.  Whenever the world seems to spin out of control, give me Jesus, for He is my Rock (see Mark 12:10 and 1 Peter 2:7).

The world seems to be in a great upheaval these days.  Men are bitterly divided on what to do about a new disease capable of killing hundreds of thousands.  We seem bewildered about rising unemployment and look to government to help us, but our leaders are at odds with each other on how to proceed.  We seem destined for a "new normal" while everyone longs for things to get back to the way they were.  Sadly, there is no call to prayer or call for revival in the national discourse, because of all the voices clamoring for racial justice or economic security or disease control.

If Jeremy Camp were writing the song lyrics today, it might be "When I'm quarantined...give me Jesus.  When I lose my job...give me Jesus.  When I feel oppressed...give me Jesus."  You see, the words are timeless.  Jesus is all we need.

I have felt impressed recently to being an in-depth study of the book of Mark.  Most of my blog posts  over the years have been topical in nature.  Friend, when you look for a church to join or a pastor to follow, do not find one who preaches topical sermons, no matter how eloquent he may seem.  Instead, look for one that preaches expository sermons, going verse-by-verse through the Bible.  It may not be as exciting, but it will help you grow.  A wise man once said, "Still water runs deep."  Psalm 23 says, "He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul."  If you want excitement, go float the rapids.  If you want to grow, plant yourself beside still waters.  Anyway, God willing, I will endeavor to be more expository in my blog posts from this point forward.

I wanted to begin with the book of Mark for several reasons.  First, it is the shortest account of the life of Jesus, and easiest to read through in one sitting.  Second, it was written by a fellow named John Mark, who was a good friend of Simon Peter.  Now, I can identify with Peter: when he messed up, he did it big.  Peter shows us how we can get in our own way, but that Jesus can still forgive us, still restore us, and still use us for His glory.  Mark did not walk with Jesus while He was here on Earth, but Peter did.  Peter probably could not write--he may have been illiterate, or else he could not write very well--but Mark could.  So we have a gospel account of Peter, the impetuous apostle.  Third, it was written during a time of great political, social, and religious upheaval.  Mark wrote this as a gospel to Rome, and the Roman emperor during the time of his writing was Nero.  Nero persecuted the young Christian church at the time of it's greatest expansion.  He was a despised ruler (sound familiar?), and many thought he was crazy.  In 66 AD there were riots in Jerusalem, and two years later the Roman army besieged the city and set up their general Titus as leader.

Today, we are also seeing riots in the streets.  Churches are being shut down in the name of public safety, while many others feel that this is just a back door attempt to persecute the Church without overtly overturning the Constitution, which guarantees religious liberty.  Many feel that the current American president is bat-crap-crazy.  Many are looking for regime change, not realizing that Ol' Joe, the leader of their party, is no better suited to leading a nation in crisis than The Donald.

Same song, different verse.  The names have changed, but the game remains the same.

In this environment, Mark compiled all of the stories that Peter had told to him, and announced that there was good news, or a "gospel", found in Jesus.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  --Mark 1:1-8

Mark begins his story of good news (for that is literally what "gospel" means) with a preacher.  The veracity of this preacher was checked against Scripture.  Let me say that again: John was a preacher, and Mark verified John's message against the Word of God.  You see, there had not been a legitimate prophet of God for about 400 years.  So when John stood up and called for repentance, there was a great response, because people were hungry for a word from God.  Mark referenced the book of Isaiah, making it apparent that this preacher, John, was the one foretold in the Scripture.

Three things about this:  

One, John preached.  There is a lot of talk these days about finding your own way spiritually, but the importance of preachers cannot be emphasized enough.  Paul wrote in Romans 10:13-14, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" 

Two, the preaching was scriptural.  1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 says, "Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast to what is good."  Instead of following preaching that "tickles the ear", we should be like the believers in Berea: "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." (Act 17:11). 

Three, the message John preached was of repentance coupled with forgiveness of sin.  Too often today, we hear one message without the other: we are either drilled with the message of sin so often that we fear we may lose our salvation if we are not diligent with our confessions; or we are placated with the message that all is forgiven to the point where sin is not even a worry for us, to the point where sin is not sin, taking out of context the message that nothing separates us from the love of God, so there is no hell because all will end up in heaven.  The fact is that these are two sides of the same coin: sin does separate us from God, or else there would be no need for a Savior; and without turning from that sin and seeking God's forgiveness, we are beyond the Savior's mission, thus we are lost forever.  Grace does cover a multitude of sins, but without our acknowledgement of the price Jesus graciously paid, we have no receipt, no ticket into heaven.

I believe things will get worse in our world before they get better.  I also believe that most people have what I call crisis fatigue.  In our house we have turned off the news, because each day it seems to get worse.  People are hungry for something that will give them peace and eternal security.  The world needs Jesus.  The world needs preachers who will bring the good news with humility, not so much "Look at me" as "Look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith."  Those preachers need to be tested against Scripture to verify their message.  Finally, the message needs to be one that incorporates equal measures of God's wrath and God's grace.

Anxious times

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad.  --Proverbs 12:25

We are living in anxious times right now.  A unique confluence of events has us living in a constant state of fear.

First, a worldwide pandemic has devastated us physically, socially and economically.  Even if you personally have not come down with the sars-cov-2 strain of coronavirus (and chances are you haven't),  federal, state, and local governments have put precautions in place that mandate protective masks and social distancing.  Many businesses have shut down, and those that have not found a way to adapt and survive have gone out of business forever.  Many have lost their jobs, and fear that they may not be able to buy food, clothing, or shelter.

Second, a series of police shootings have spawned racially charged marches, some of which have turned into riots.  Even as police respond to outbreaks of violence all across the nation, there is a national call to de-fund police departments.  If police were disarmed, the thinking goes, there would be fewer incidents of "unarmed" suspects being shot.  If police departments shared responsibility with social service agencies and community groups, many Millennials and people of color feel that there would not be so much power concentrated in one department.  However, older people and people who have been victims of crimes fear that a lack of adequate police protection might bring out an "old west" mentality of vigilantism and that chaos would rule.  Unfortunately, the uniting of people of color demanding respect has caused many to fear and distrust racial minorities more than ever.

Third, due to economic slowdown, the evolving economy, and health concerns, there is a call by some to do away with cash transactions.  Some of the national minting capability has been hindered by COVID-19 lockdowns, and many banks have shut down in-person teller windows.  It's hard for businesses to get coins from ATMs, so they have a difficult time making change for cash transactions.  Almost everyone has a bank card, even if they don't have a credit card or even a banking account.  Since paper money and coins are passed from person to person to person, there is a higher probability that cash carries germs, and it would be difficult to track who had the twenty dollar bill before you if it were found to be tainted with the virus.  On the other hand, economists warn that cashless societies will hamper entrepreneurs, low paid workers with a "side hustle", and kids trying to learn to save their allowance for a skateboard, bike, or their first car.  Political conservatives fear that going cashless would cede too much power to the government, since banking is so highly regulated.  Dispensational Christians fear that this is one more step toward the "mark of the beast" where "no one could buy or sell without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name." (Revelation 13:17).

It's enough to make a normal person have an emotional breakdown.

The Bible speaks to this issue of fear on a national scale.  The prophet Ezekiel got this word from the Lord:

Son of man, eat  your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety.  And say to the people of the land, "Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel:  they shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay.  In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it."  (Ezekiel 12: 17-19)

You see, the people of Israel had turned away from God and had become religiously pluralistic.  As a result, their society had become more and more violent.  On a global scale, the two superpowers at the time were Assyria and Babylonia.  Militarily, these two superpowers could overwhelm a nation, and take the survivors as exiles to be slaves of the conquering country.  Fortunately, they were usually at war with each other, so they would leave smaller nations like Israel alone.

Enter the Chaldeans, a smaller tribe who could not compete with the two superpowers militarily, but they could make life difficult for Israel.  Chaldeans were known for astrology and witchcraft, which was antithetical to Hebrew law.  Ezekiel warned that the Chaldeans would lay siege to Jerusalem, and that could cause multiple concerns.  The Israelites were an agrarian society, but their capitol city was defended by a wall.  The Chaldeans, a more militaristic culture, could lay siege to the city, cutting it off from outside trade.

Economically, food and potable water would be scarce.  Supply routes would be cut off, and those who did work the land would be prevented from planting and harvesting their crops.  The fields would probably be burned anyway by the marauding Chaldeans, so whatever the residents of Jerusalem had stored would be all that they could eat or drink.

Politically, the people would look to their leaders for answers.  The government might have given tax relief to ease the starving, but if there was no food to buy then the people would call for more action.  On the other hand, the government might have raised taxes to try to raise an army, or maybe to send word to a neighboring nation for military assistance.  Hiring mercenaries had to be discussed, but there was the problem of getting word out if the city was surrounded.  It was a lose-lose situation.

Religiously, the people knew that the Chaldeans were radically different.  If the city fell, they would be carried off into exile, and the conquering Chaldeans would not allow them to pray to God or worship in the way they wanted.  The very foundation of their nation was based upon the worship of one supreme God, manifested in service and sacrifice.  Not only would the pagan captors prohibit them from worship of the true God, but they would introduce them to astrology and witchcraft.

The fears were well-founded, and could cause disruption in many areas of their lives.  Sound familiar?  The similarities don't end there.  There were apparently nay-sayers, deniers of the obvious.  Civic and religious leaders urged calm, and started a smear campaign against Ezekiel, who was trying to wake them up to the reality of the dangers posed against them.  A slogan was circulated, something Ezekiel called a proverb or adage.  It went something like this:  "The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing."  In other words, Ezekiel had been preaching this same doom and gloom for years.  No calamity had come against them yet, and besides, wasn't God on their side?  They began making fun of Ezekiel's message.

In chapter 4, God gave Ezekiel this same message, which the prophet portrayed on a very small scale.  He took a brick that was to represent Jerusalem.  He surrounded this brick with clay figures, like the little green army men that little boys play with.  He built models of siegeworks--little battering rams on little clay hills.  He even took an iron griddle and set it up like a siege wall, to represent the iron force that would be set against the city. (See Ezekiel 4:1-3).  Then God told him to lay on his left side for 390 days--over a year--to represent the number of years Israel would be exiled, and then to lay on his right side for 40 days to represent the number of years that the more faithful tribe of Judah would spend in exile.  Can you imagine the ridicule?  "This guy's crazy," they must have thought.  "He's playing with his little toys, and then laying around for a year and a half, and we're expected to believe he speaks for God?"

In chapter 12, God gave Ezekiel the message again.  His method of portraying the message was more direct this time, less obtuse than playing with toys.  Ezekiel packed his belongings and left his home.  Wherever he showed up, he would tell the people he was in exile from his home.  He told the people to pack their essential belongings, that they would be carried off into exile soon.

They did not listen.

Whatever message God is trying to give to America and the world should be heeded, and soon.  We should repent, and turn our hearts to the Father.  We should not be overcome by fear.  You see, fear paralyzes some; others are motivated by fear to make bad decisions.

If you grew up with a father at home, you probably know the mind-altering anxiety that came from disobedience.  At some point in your life, you probably have thought, "My Dad's going to kill me!"  We need that same reverence for God.  Like the psalmist David said, "I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin." (Psalm 38:18 NASB).

God may be gracious.  Just as we know my Dad did not kill me as I had feared, our heavenly Father may show mercy.  "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7).  We must place our trust in God because He controls all things.  "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

Anxiety never solved anything.  Jesus said, "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" (Matthew 6:27)  Instead, we should pray.  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7).

Peace.  This is what everyone needs right now.  The peace that only God can give.  Otherwise, we are all paralyzed with fear, or else we will run around like chickens with our heads cut off, accomplishing nothing.

Real Cowboys Don't Snap Beans

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.  --Romans 12:3

This past weekend my wife and I were visiting with my mother, and Mom started to reminisce about my childhood.  She reminded me of the time when I was six or seven years old, and would spend much of the summer with my grandmother.  Grandma was married to a farmer named George in the Hill Country of central Texas.  The old farmhouse they lived in was not adjacent to their farm, but did have a small pasture out back with a lean-to shed and an old brown horse.

One day I put on my cowboy boots and walked out into the pasture behind the house.  George was out in his field across the highway driving a combine, which filled his trailer with maize.  Grandma was in the kitchen on the phone with my mother.  Suddenly, Grandma let out a terrified yell, dropped the phone, and ran out back waving her arms.

"Stop!  Stop!!" she yelled, frantically.

You see, I had found a short rope with a loop.  I calmly walked to where the horse was standing, placed the loop over the horse's head, and cinched it tight around his neck.  Then I led the placid animal to a water tank, climbed up onto the tank so that I would be tall enough, and I mounted the horse, riding bare-back.  The horse started toward the shed at a trot, which was not much taller than the horse himself.  I am sure that he intended to knock me off his back when we got to the lean-to.

At this point, my grandmother burst out of the back of the house, hollering hysterically.  The horse stopped short just outside the shed, just as I was deciding in my mind whether I could duck under the shed's roofline, or if I would have to exhibit some more daring horsemanship like I had seen trick riders do at the circus or the rodeo.  Grandma demanded that I get down off that horse this instant, and come back in the house where she could keep an eye on me.

Later that day, Grandma had picked some fresh green beans out of her garden.  She and I were on the shady porch, and she handed me a bowl.  "Here," she said, "help me snap the stems off these green beans before dinner."

I took the bowl off my lap and set it on the porch.  I crossed my arms over my chest and sulked.  "What's the matter?"she asked.

"Cowboys don't snap beans," I replied.

It seems that I had some definite ideas about what cowboys did and did not do.  In my six-year-old mind, I could not imagine that an adult Cowboy would do much else than just rope and ride.  In all the old western movies I had seen, when a cowboy wasn't on his horse, he was beside a campfire, or maybe near a chuckwagon eating beans and such.  It had never occurred to me that an adult cowboy would have adult responsibilities, like paying bills or finding work or even raising a child of their own.

I think a lot of people have misconceptions like that about certain professions.  My father was a pastor, and I am sure there were people in his congregation that thought he only worked about three hours a week--preaching on Sunday morning, and leading Bible Studies on Sunday night and Wednesday night.  Those more familiar with the calling might realize that a pastor was also expected to keep office hours during the week for counseling and Deacon's meetings, as well as visit the sick and shut-in church members as needed.  However, I'll bet no one ever imagines that a pastor might get a call in the middle of the night from the police department saying that they found water flowing out the door and into the street from a broken pipe in the rest room.  I remember going to the church with my Dad after just such a call, and seeing him put on rubber boots, wade upstream to turn off the overflowing toilet, then using a broom or squeegee to push the pools of water out of the fellowship hall and drying off the tile floors.

Being an adult means sometimes doing things you never thought you'd have to do.

Similarly, being a Christian means sometimes doing things that go against your nature.  C.S. Lewis wrote:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

As we grow in our faith and in our relationship with God, we learn more about being like His Son.  We are taught humility, because we see that Jesus washed His disciples' feet.  We are taught to be a servant to all, because Jesus said, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35).

We also learn to sometimes ignore what people think being a Christian means.  In their ignorance, the World might say that the Bible says we must love everybody all the time.  However, a deeper reading of scripture reveals that Jesus said, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34).  The World conveniently forgets that Jesus Himself became pretty violent when He saw the commercialization of the Passover.

In the temple He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.  And making a whip out of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen.  And He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.  And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade."  His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."  --John 2:13-17

During these times, there may be criticism of those who call themselves Christians.  Some may say things like, "Real Christians don't hate." When you hear things like this, please do not let non-Christians control the narrative.  Real Christians are to be like Christ, and there are definitely things, and people, that Jesus did not love.  Pray for discernment.  Pray for the ability to educate those who attack us with lies and distortions, standing up to them with truth and power.

My fellow Christians, grow up.  Be an adult.  Do not follow some fantasy of Christianity, but strive to become more like Christ.  Read His word, and put it into practice.  Do not attack those who may be at a different point in their Christian growth, but be sure to defend your faith against those who have no idea what true Christianity really means.

 

Feral Children

 

“He's a feral child. No mother, no father, no one to care for him or raise him or teach him how to be human. So he's existed much like an animal, without language. He thinks in images, not word."
"How strange," Lanaya, sounding amazed.
Ryter shakes his head sadly. "Not strange, I'm afraid. His condition is all too common in the latches. And becoming more common every day.”
― Rodman Philbrick, The Last Book in the Universe

My wife and I have been watching old episodes of the television drama "E.R."  The series was written and created by Michael Crichton, who also wrote "Jurassic Park", a book that was turned into a movie franchise.  Michael Crichton himself was a Harvard trained Medical Doctor, but never actually practiced medicine.  That may be one reason why the "E.R" franchise was so successful, and lasted so long even after the big-name actors (George Clooney, Juliana Margulies) left the cast.

One particular episode speaks to our culture today, I think.  Season 13, episode 8, "Reason to Believe", first aired November 16, 2006.  In it, a group of homeless children bring their friend to the ER.  The child has a mysterious illness that brings him to the brink of death, but the kids have faith in Neela (played by Parminder Nagra).  They call her "The Lady in Blue", and they seem to have boundless faith in her supernatural ability to heal, until one of them discovers she is "just a doctor."

The children in this episode are living in an underground shelter, and doing whatever it takes to survive.  They appear to have made up a mythical back-story in lieu of their actual history, in order to explain dangers "beyond the river".  Their search for the goddess or saint they called "the Lady in Blue" led them to Neela, who was seen wearing blue scrubs.

Feral children are a major theme in dystopian literature.  Left without adult supervision, they let their imaginations run wild in ways that are intended to explain their universe in ways they can understand and control. 

In much the same way, modern anthropologists explain the origins of religion as myths and legends meant to explain naturally occurring phenomena in imaginative ways, and the gods and goddesses their minds created were used in ways to control the masses and empower shamans and priests.  Out of that system of belief, they surmise, evolved the Judeo-Christian concept of God.

I believe they have it backward.

I believe that God pre-existed Man, and that Man's concept of God originally came from the tangible, corporeal experience of Adam.  After the Fall, the first-hand experiences of Adam standing face-to-face with God, walking hand-in-hand with Him, were told to his children, who had no first-hand experience with God.  Over time, the message degraded, and rival myths and legends popped up to compete with the truth.  I believe that Satan, the father of lies, put the thought of rival deities into the minds of men to confuse them, and to lead them away from the truth.  The Bible speaks to this in 2 Timothy 4:3-5, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."

Let's look at it logically.  Suppose for a moment that there is no God, no Satan, no spiritual beings whatsoever.  Like feral children, men are left to explain their universe in ways that are limited to their own experiences. They observe and adapt.  They hunt, they gather, they learn to domesticate animals and control the edible plants and herbs that they eat.  They discover medicinal remedies for diseases.  They live, they die, and the world of knowledge expands slightly with what they have left behind.  This is the evolution of our species.

Without God, there would be no need for a deity.  No one would even come up with the idea.

I challenge you to find one person alive today whose concept of God was not based on a teaching, a philosophy, a theology that he was told or that he read about.  You can't.  Everything we know or think we know about God was told to us by someone else.  If you follow that teaching back to its original source, it was God Himself.  Satan may have come and misstated the truth, misdirected the narrative, but without the intervention of the Creator Himself, we do not have the capacity to know about Him.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says, "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing  the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."  Christ came to refocus theological thought to the beginning, to the true and original God with whom he had first-hand knowledge.  Like Adam, Jesus had a first-hand account of God's word and work.  People who heard Jesus and believed in him had faith that he was the only way to God.  Others could not  hear the Word because of the noise of false teachings and false religions around them.  2 Corinthians 3:14 says, "But their minds were hardened.  For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away." Colossians 1:15 says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."


Matthew 13:15 says, "For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."  Men are sick and dying without God.  We must tell them the truth, "To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:18)

This, then, is our mission: to implore all men to call on the Name of the Lord for their salvation.  Not to rely upon themselves, not to follow a demigod with human limitations and foibles, not to listen to false religions or sects.  All must call on the Name of the Lord to be saved.

Romans 10:14-15a  says, "How then will they call on him whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?"  Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." (John 20:21)

Go.  And as you go, take Jesus with you.  The world is full of feral children in need of guidance, truth, peace, and healing.