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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Moved With Compassion, Jesus Stretched Out His Hand and Touched Him

Posted by Pastor Pat on March 27, 2009

Read Mark 1:40-45

As I work through Mark’s Gospel and the life of Jesus Christ, I have been challenged to become more aggressive in emphasizing the role of the local church in mercy ministries.  It appears unfortunate but we fail to hold in tension evangelism of soul and ministries of “healing.”  We must become the cup of cold water to the thirsty, we must become fathers to the fatherless, and we must become a shelter to the homeless.  How do we come alongside those who are buckling under the weight of life?  To have the mind of Christ without His hands or feet is restrictive and one dimensional.  We must maintain the gospel, we must engage our culture, and we must build His church.  None of these three items are capable of being neglected.

Our involvement in our community should be a real ministry expression of this local community.  Our community is already trying to address these issues, but all attempts on their part are one dimensional.  We must not deceive ourselves.  It is only Christ and His church that can address the souls of these individuals.  The church fails when it focuses on only one area and not both.  It is never either or.  It is always both the soul and the body.  William Barclay notes how there are three pairs of things which Jesus never separated and we would do well to consider his observations.

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