Beware the Leaven–A Sign Demanded in Dalmanutha

Posted by Pastor Pat on July 14, 2009

Read Mark 8:10-21

In this short study, I would like us to consider the biblical warning to “watch out” and “beware.”  The word “watch out” is used three times in Mark’s Gospel (1:44; 8:15, 24).  It is only here where it is used with the force of an imperative.  Mark uses the word for “beware” fourteen times.  It is used with force in Mark 4:24; 12:38; 13:5, 9, 23, and 33.

The words “watch out” or “beware” call for a quick response.  They warn us of immediate or impending danger.  In the passage before us we are warned of three potential adversaries: hypocrisy in fake questions, hostility in false teachers, and hardness in fat hearts.

All three areas can cause the unaware to be positioned against God.  The first danger of hypocrisy is seen in the question asked by the religious establishment.  Their questioning attempted to cloak the deception of their hearts.  They did not ask to investigate, but to ensnare.  Their sole intent was to trap and destroy.  They had no desire to hear, examine, and grow through change.  Their minds were already made-up and their resolution was already against Him.

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Developing a CHRISTian Worldview The Feeding of the Four Thousand

Posted by Pastor Pat on July 10, 2009

Read Mark 8:1-9

I believe it is important to keep our Lord’s movements in mind when reading the various stories.  Jesus is in the Decapolis and is speaking to a predominately Gentile audience.  It is important to remember the continued conflict with the religious leaders and political authorities.  He has come to His own people first and then begins reaching out to the Gentile world.  In the world in which Jesus lived, everyone who is non-Jewish is Gentile.  Mark shows how Gentiles are included in the story of God.  Mark opens this idea with Jesus addressing the Pharisees on the topic of “clean versus unclean.”  He then heals a Canaanite woman’s daughter of a demon.  He continues His handling of the unclean Gentiles by healing a deaf and mute man.  To show equality among the Jews and Gentiles, He repeats His feeding miracles among a predominately Gentile audience. His actions do not negate Jewish primacy.  Jesus did not forget that it was to the Jew and through the Jew that God’s revelation and divine incarnation would take place.  Such action on His part reflects an impartial worldview.    In fact, His actions always reflect a Christian worldview.  Often I think as Christians we need to be reminded that a Christian worldview is a Christ worldview.  His worldview is to be reflected by and represented in our worldview.  It is not the other way around.  Sometimes I, we, confuse our nationalism, our patriotism, our tribal instinct, our religious experience for a biblical worldview.  What is His worldview?  What is a Christian worldview? WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

The Relentless Goodness of God

Posted by Pastor Pat on July 6, 2009

Read Mark 7:31-37

This narrative continues to celebrate the innate goodness of God.  Regardless as to what our thoughts and opinions might be concerning Jesus, they must conclude with the idea that He is good.  It is because He is good that what He does is good.  It cannot be otherwise.  In our present passage, Jesus heals an individual who is both deaf and speechless.  His inability to hear contributed to his inability to speak.  Regardless as to the condition, it was just cause for our Lord to act and, in acting, to display His power over all disease.  In so doing, His status as Messiah continues to be established.  In commenting on the grammatical structure of this statement, A.T. Robertson notes how, “The present perfect active shows the settled convictions of these people about Jesus.”  Jesus was never charged with doing evil.  Everything He did was “good.”

The entire Gospel of Mark seeks to establish the identity of his primary character.  He is the one who was foretold and pre-figured.  He is God’s Hero King.  What Jesus did and why it was done has intentional design.  Nothing was random; everything was deliberate.  I appreciate the calculated manner in which the following thought explains this idea.

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Whose Side Are You On?

Posted by Pastor Pat on July 2, 2009

“Even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”

Read Mark 7:24-30

Mark’s accounting of this story is direct and terse.  Matthew provides necessary embellishment that enhances the encounter.  Together they form a remarkable story of how our Lord is merciful.  Mark places this story in contrast to the interaction with the religious leaders.  The Pharisees and Scribes are arguing over whether or not one should eat with unwashed hands, and Jesus ministers to a Gentile woman whose daughter is demon possessed.  The disparity could not be more stark.  How many times do we “hyperventilate” over the unimportant only to overlook the dying lying at our feet?  Although it would appear His actions are insensitive (“He did not answer her a word”) and His words are demeaning (“throw it to the dogs”), what we cannot feel is the look in His eyes and the expression of His face.

The woman was consumed by her grief.  Her condition was agitated and her actions were aggressive.  Her circumstance removed all protocol and etiquette.  Without shame or restraint, she pursued our Lord with her petition.  Her daughter, her little daughter was cruelly possessed by a demon.  As a Canaanite, an outcast and dog to the Jew, she came and prostrated herself before, “The Son of David.”  Her petition was simple, “Lord, help me, have mercy on me.”

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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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I Was Watching Satan Fall From Heaven Like Lightning

Posted by Pastor Pat on May 30, 2009

As believers, you and I are in constant spiritual warfare.  Often, however, we fail to recognize our battles as such.  In addition, we are often ignorant of Satan’s mode of operation.  And finally, we regularly fail to fight from a position of victory.  Although this is a lengthy study, I would like to simply note several verses and then conclude by noting how we live from victory and not for victory.

First, let us begin by noting how the devil’s defeat is already secured.

“But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house” (Mark 3:27).

This parable tells us that Jesus has bound the devil and has placed him in a position of subjection.  Jesus is the strong king who has conquered His enemies.

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out”  (John 12:31).

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Why Are You Afraid? How Is It That You Have No Faith?

Posted by Pastor Pat on May 26, 2009

Mark 4:35-41 has a distinct place in Mark’s narrative.  It is intentionally placed just after an extended discourse that explained kingdom ideas.  Jesus has clearly shown from the parables the distinction between children of light and those who continue to abide in darkness.  He has equally shown how the rule or control of God continues to steadily unfold and moves toward ultimate fulfillment with certainty and confidence.

The story before us reinforces these truths.  He is God and has absolute authority and control over all things created.  I believe the storm was a test to see if they learned what He had just taught.  Some tests are “passed” and others are “failed” but all are intentional and purpose filled.

Here is my premise: All of life’s storms are an intentional part of God’s redemptive purpose for us.  Romans 8:28 says that everything works together for good.  The “good” concerns our justification, our sanctification, and our glorification.  The “everything” includes all of life in all of its joys and sorrows.

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He Was Speaking the Word to Them, So Far As They Were Able to Hear It

Posted by Pastor Pat on May 22, 2009

With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

Read Mark 4:33, 34

Verses 33 and 34 are Mark’s editorial on the teaching ministry of Jesus Christ.  They form a fitting conclusion to the parables found in verses one and following.  There are two questions confronting us in these two verses.  Was what Jesus taught understandable by His immediate audience?  And secondly, why did Jesus not explain everything to everyone rather than only to His disciples?

First, it must be understood how He taught with plainness and simplicity (v. 33).  He did not preach what he could not illustrate; and when he was finished, the people who heard him understood what he had said.  “Our Lord spoke in parables, adjusting His discourse to their capacity to understand.  The implication is clear that parables were employed to make truth plain.”[1] They understood what He said in a context.  The circumstances of the moment lent itself to interpreting the story.  What might appear confusing to us was possibly apparent to His immediate audience.  The larger idea presented by our Lord was clear.  What He wanted them to understand could be understood.

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The Seed Sprouts and Grows

Posted by Pastor Pat on May 18, 2009

Read Mark 4:26-29

. . . ²⁷ and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows-

how, he himself does not know.  ²⁸ “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade,

then the head, then the mature grain in the head^.

²⁹ “But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

As is true of all parables there is a large, singular idea that needs to caught by the listener.  The intent of the parables as found in Mark 4 is to encourage His disciples as to the certainty of the work in which they are engaged and to instruct them as to the character of this kingdom.  There are three aspects to this kingdom as it is described in the parable.  First, the growth of the Kingdom is always constant.  Second, the growth of the Kingdom is unavoidable.  And finally, the growth of the Kingdom is complete.

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