Thus He Declared All Foods Clean

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 28, 2009

Read Mark 7:1-23

Remember to whom Mark writes.  He is writing to a Roman audience, a Gentile audience.  He is showing how they are included in the redemptive purpose of God to secure for Himself a people who will love Him and worship Him forever.  It is these people who will enjoy the presence of God forever.  Although this truth caused the religious establishment to put Him to death, it caused the larger world to rejoice.

In the purpose of God for the redemption of His people, worshippers from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation were intentionally included.  Many within the Jewish religion excluded Gentiles from a redemptive hope.  Jesus forcefully shows how Gentiles were a part of God’s plan all along.

The same tension continued to exist with Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10.  In Acts 10 we have the vision to Peter declaring that all foods are clean (10:1-23).  The Holy Spirit then falls on the Gentiles, just as He did in Acts 2 (10:23-48).  Peter defends Gentile inclusion (11:1-18) and the church in Antioch grows strong in the Spirit (11:19-30).

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Living the Christ Life

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 24, 2009

But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” (Mark 6:37)

Mark appears to emphasize the fragile and frazzled existence of Christ and His disciples.  No matter where they turned, the masses waited with their needs.  This thought has two immediate applications.  First, in vocational ministry “life” can be very consuming.  People have needs and if anyone attempts to meet those needs in their own strength, they will fail physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  The pace alone when engaging in vocational ministry will consume the individual.  It has been said, “Ministry makes a terrible mistress” and “the ministry will take all you have, never set boundaries and never thank you for what you’ve given.”  Second, simply living is consuming.  No matter who you are or what your station is in life, it is demanding and draining.  The question is, “How do we exist with physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being without disengaging?”  “How do we rest in Him no matter what the storm offers?  Let us consider the thought as it is found in Mark 6:37.

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Patriotism, Christianity, and Dissent

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 20, 2009

¹⁷ “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.  ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife’”(Mark 6:17, 18).

I find John’s statement and cause for imprisonment striking in light of our presidential elections on Tuesday (November 4, 2008).  Although I would probably argue that the prophet’s role in a theocracy, John’s role in a monarchy and our role in a democracy might be different, there are similarities.  I am told pastors cannot tell you to vote for specific candidates, there is, however, a right and wrong in what each of our presidential candidates promote and the Bible does speak to issues.

Does the Bible promote a system of honorable work?  Are we to concern ourselves with the poor, widowed, and orphaned?  Is greed and the exploitation of the less fortunate sinful?  Should we be warmongers or peacemakers?  Does war, like divorce, exist simply because of the hardness of men’s hearts? Should laziness be enabled?  Does the issue of personal convenience justify taking the life of the unborn child, infanticide or euthanasia?  Is the use of our natural resources an expression of biblical stewardship and mankind’s dominion over the earth?   When does environmentalism become idolatry and exploitation become criminal?

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The Authority of Christ Today

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 16, 2009

“And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs,

and gave them authority over the unclean spirits”(Mark 6:7).

The word used for “authority” is the word used to describe a person whose position gives them the power to act and order.  Mark uses the word “authority” nine times.  Jesus taught as one having authority (Mark 1:22).  He exercised “power” over demons (Mark 1:27).  In healing the sick Jesus revealed His power over sin and its consequences (Mark 2:10).  It is this same transfer of “authority” He gave to the twelve disciples (Mark 3:15; 6:7).  The power exhibited by Jesus Christ was evident to all; from where this power came was openly questioned (Mark 11:27-33).  The religious establishment desired to assign its source to Satan.  Jesus openly refuted such blatant error.

There is a parable unique to Mark in Mark 13:28-37.  In the parable our Lord speaks of the time when He will be physically absent from the work.  Verse 34 continues the thought found in Mark 3:15 and 6:7 where authority is given to His servants in His absence.  It is through His people that His presence is continued.  It is because of this authority transfer that His people are able to go into all the world and call everyone, everywhere to repentance and faith in Christ.   It is the same idea contained in Matthew 28:18 where Jesus is described as having been given all authority in heaven and in earth.

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He Marveled Because of Their Unbelief

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 12, 2009

Read Mark 6:1-6

In all of our stories from Mark 4:35 and following, there is consistent thread of faith.  Faith appears throughout as a precondition to the miraculous.  Nonetheless, is faith a precondition to the miraculous or is it a consequence of the miraculous?

Some would argue from the passage that “the miracle does not generate faith; rather, faith must be present for the miracle to occur.  This is the negative side of the positive correlation between faith and miracles seen already in Mark: miracles can and do take place in a context of faith (cf. 2:4; 5:43, 36); conversely, where there is no faith, miracles cannot occur.”  ([emphasis added] The Oxford Bible Commentary, Ed. John Barton and John Muddiman [Oxford: University Press, 2001], 897, 898).

Here is my tension with the absoluteness of this statement.  If such a conclusion is true, then faith becomes a burden to be born.  Faith becomes a tool to be exploited and expanded on.  In the absoluteness of this statement, every bad thing you’ve prayed over and had as its outcome nothing can be attributed to your lack of faith.  Had you simply believed “enough” disease, death, depression, and dysfunction would have turned out the way you asked.  Your child would not have gone astray, your marriage would not have failed, your bills would have been paid out, and your health would have been restored, had you simply believed.  Such thinking is truly guilt-forming and bondage-making.  This is not a biblical view of faith.

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Faith, Repentance, Fellowship, and Forgiveness

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 8, 2009

Read Mark 5:25-34

This passage, and those surrounding it, has challenged me to continue thinking of the inter-play between faith, repentance, fellowship, and forgiveness.  Personally, I desire to make each of these elements containable and connected.  I want them “to fit” into a way of thinking that is understandable, tamable, and perhaps controllable.  I want to be in control of what each of these elements look like.  Yet it is impossible to fit the proverbial square peg into the round hole without doing damage to both the peg and the hole.  Unfortunately, what I want and what is biblical are not always the same.  You might wonder how the passages in Mark 4:35-6:6 evoke such thinking?  Faith is “huge” in all of the stories noted in Mark’s gospel.  Repentance is never stated, only assumed.  As a consequence of faith, God works mighty miracles.  In the absence of faith, established boundaries are honored and God chooses not to work.  Much is assumed throughout.  As I have meditated on these things I have tried to honor the biblical text without forcing many of my theological presuppositions into the text (i.e., “exegesis good, eisegesis bad”).  Initially, if my ramblings appear disjointed and unconnected, please dismiss it and forgive me.  However, there is a chance that it might jar you into greater clarity in these areas and thus I press ahead with my delineations.

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Fell At His Feet and Implored Him Earnestly

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 4, 2009

²² “One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him,

fell at His feet ²³ and implored Him earnestly, saying,

‘My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her,

so that she will get well and live’” (Mark 5:22, 23).

This passage has a couple of dynamics within it.  First, one can get lost in the debate as to whether or not God still heals as dramatically as we read in this passage.  Whether or not we believe He heals in this fashion might have little immediate or direct impact on us if we are not facing the imminent death of a loved one.  The second dynamic is immensely practical and strikes much closer to the heart – the humbling of the individual in his coming to Jesus.  The description of this man’s humbling in his coming to Jesus continues to mark those who would come to Jesus.  No one comes in any other way.  The means our Lord employs to bring us to this point is varied, but the process is always the same.  It is only when we come to the end of self that we find the Savior.

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