Written by: Christine Gore
Mark 9 v 38-41
Then John said, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to force demons out
of a person. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”
But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him, because anyone who uses my name to do
powerful things will not easily say evil things about me.
Whoever is not against us is with us.
I tell you the truth, whoever gives you a drink of water because you belong to
the Christ will truly get his reward.
Notes
Whose in and whose out?
How often are we suspicious of people who are different from us? People who are
a different colour, race, gender, go to a different church or support a
different football team. We don’t find dealing with difference very easy, it
unsettles us and make us fearful or even hostile towards others.
It’s obviously not a modern disease for here we see John struggling with the
same issue – “someone” was using the name of Jesus to drive out demons and
that “someone” was not one of the disciples – “He doesn’t belong to
our group! He’s not one of us so he must be stopped!”
Jesus doesn’t agree, He uses the situation to teach His disciples a vital
lesson in tolerance. “Whoever is not against us is with us”. If they are not
an enemy then they are an ally, however unlikely we may judge them to be they
are one of us. But hang on a minute – isn’t this teaching a bit liberal? Yes
it is, if liberal means generous. Jesus says we are to generously give people
the benefit of the doubt – anyone who works for the causes of God’s Kingdom
cannot work against its King at the same time.
Jesus also says even if “someone” offers a simple cup of water to a thirsty
person because that person is one of His friends, it guarantees them a place in
His kingdom. Simple faith and obedience – that’s what He asks of His
followers – those who are not against Him. There is no distinction between the
trivial and the important tasks as far as He is concerned, not if they are done
because of Him.
Who are the people that you call different? Be honest with yourself! How does
Jesus’ teaching challenge you? How might you act generously towards them?
Mark 9 v 42-50
“If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child
to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around his
neck and be drowned in the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of
your body and live forever than to have two hands and go to hell, where the fire
never goes out.
If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of
your body and to live forever than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.
If your eye causes you to sin, take it out. It is better for you to enter the
kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.
In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out.
Every person will be salted with fire.
“Salt is good, but if the salt loses its salty taste, you cannot make it salty
again. So, be full of salt, and have peace with each other.”
Notes
What I do affects you too!
Sometimes Jesus says outrageous things. This passage, for example, reads like a
Quentin Tarantino movie with a closing scene courtesy of Delia Smith! What? Sin.
What do I mean by sin? Sin is anything that stops us loving God with all our
heart, soul, mind and strength, and prevents us loving our neighbour as
ourselves (see Mark 12:28-31).
Jesus focuses on sins that cause other believers to sin, or worse, to slip into
unbelief. What do we do, deliberately or thoughtlessly, that undermines others?
This question is serious Jesus pulls no punches. We all at sometime in our life
fall into this category, I don’t think Jesus is planning a concrete necklace
and a swim for us! His warning is for those who make a habit of this, who always
put themselves first regardless of the affect on others.
Jesus focuses on what makes us sin. We are to deal radically with these things
– cut them out like a cancer - to secure our eternal life and health. We will
all face trials and temptations, but by the grace of God and the power of His
Spirit we need not fall.
Finally Jesus turns His attention to the affect of our sins on those that
don’t yet believe. In the ancient world salt was used as a preservative and to
give flavour in food. We are called to be the salt of the earth, to live lives
that bring flavour and stop the rot in a tasteless and decaying world. But salt
can loose its saltiness if it gets “watered down” by other things, mixed up
in things that draw us away from God. So, how salty is your life and does it
make people thirsty for God?
Mark 10 v 1-12
Then Jesus left that place and went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan
River. Again, crowds came to him, and he taught them as he usually did.
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right
for a man to divorce his wife?”
Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”
They said, “Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her
away.”
Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you were stubborn.
But when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’
‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and
the two will become one body.’ So there are not two, but one.
God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”
Later, in the house, his followers asked Jesus again about the question of
divorce.
He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty
of adultery against her.
And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of
adultery.”
Notes
Stern Sound-Bites
This incident reminds me of a familiar scene today, of a celebrity or politician
being cornered by the press and asked a difficult question to try and trip them
up. The resulting conversation in Mark even reads like an edited TV news report,
and as with any news report, we do not get the whole picture of Jesus’ views
on divorce - only a few choice sound-bites.
Divorce was a “hot” moral and political issue in Jesus’ day. Only men were
entitled to divorce their wives – she being considered merely his property.
Wives could only “file” for divorce in exceptional circumstances (such as if
their husband contracted leprosy). There were at least two schools of thought on
divorce – one that had a strict view (only on the grounds of the wife’s
adultery) and one that was very lax (e.g. if a man grew tired of his wife).
Needless to say the latter view was most popular!
Jesus, refuses to take sides – what He said would have wiped the smile off
every man’s face. He goes back to the creation accounts to explain God’s
mind and heart on this matter. God made men and women equal – both must be
respected and treated as such. A man must, therefore, leave behind his past
commitments to make this new and all-important one to his wife. The two lives
becoming one forever. Jesus’ strict view on divorce and remarriage was a
resounding rejection of the belief that the wife was her husband’s property
and that she was not an equal partner in the marriage. Marriage for Jesus was a
relationship in which both the wife and the husband were responsible to each
other and to God for maintaining its sanctity.
Why not pray today for some married couples you know as they try to live out
God’s ideal for their marriage.
Mark 10 v 13-16
Some people brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch them, but
his followers told them to stop.
When Jesus saw this, he was upset and said to them, “Let the little children
come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who
are like these children.
I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little
child, or you will never enter it.”
Then Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed
them.
Notes
A free gift for all!
Jesus was a celebrity in His day – love Him or hate Him. Today’s reading
records another one of those ‘celebrity moments’, we see the people bringing
their children for a blessing from the great rabbi and healer, much to the
disciples’ annoyance.
Jesus was on His way to the cross, undoubtedly it was weighing heavily on His
heart and mind. His disciples were no doubt sensing His tension and decided the
last thing Jesus needed was more people to deal with. Maybe they were feeling
over protective towards Jesus, or maybe it was just a bunch of pesky kids. The
disciples were, men of their time and in that culture children were of no social
standing – yes, important and loved by their family, but to be ‘seen and not
heard’ by others.
That Jesus is annoyed with His disciples shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus was keen
to affirm the equality and worth of ‘unimportant’ women and he does the same
for ‘unimportant’ children. In fact He uses them to teach an important
lesson, “you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or
you will never enter it.” What did Jesus mean? Entry into God’s kingdom is a
gift of grace, given out of God’s generosity and love, not because of merit or
status. When children are offered a gift they openly and confidently take it –
they don’t look for any hidden strings or demands. It is with this attitude
that we should receive God’s gift of eternal life.
Take time today to think about your own attitude towards God and His free gift
to you. Do you find it hard to receive? Reflect on Jesus – how does his
treatment of these supposedly ‘unimportant’ children say to you about Him,
yourself and others?
Mark 10 v 17-22
As Jesus started to leave, a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus.
The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to have life forever?”
Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good.
You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of
adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor. You
must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’ ”
The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these things since I was a boy.”
Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, “There is one more thing you
need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left sorrowfully, because he was
rich.
Notes
Things that get in the way
Can you imagine the sight? A rich young aristocrat comes running down the
street, breathlessly he flings himself at the feet of a poor man who moments
earlier was playing with a bunch of children. The curious onlookers are quite
taken aback at this unseemly behaviour. Whatever next! The young man lifts his
head from the dust and says “Good teacher, what must I do to have eternal
life?” Jesus’ response to this earnest question takes everyone by surprise.
“Forget the flattery. Don’t call me good, for that’s a word you should
honour God with alone.”
Well that poured cold water on the situation! The young man, puts aside his over
enthusiasm and begins to focus on what Jesus is saying. “Have you been loving
your neighbour as you should?” Yes, since he was a boy in fact. Obviously he
knows something is missing from his life, why else would he come to Jesus? Then
Jesus, out of love for him, puts His finger on the problem. “Your riches -
that’s where your problem lies. Give sacrificially and then again, to those
who need them more than you”. It’s the last thing the young man expected to
hear, it’s the last thing he is prepared to do. So he leaves empty handed and
empty hearted.
So why did this young man’s wealth prevent him from coming to God? He was
keeping the second greatest commandment, but Jesus could see he was falling
short of the first. His riches stopped him surrendering totally to God. Jesus
tells him to give them away, without them he would learn to rely on God, not on
himself, for all that he needed.
What gets in the way of you relying on God? Surrender these things to God in
prayer and action today.
Mark 10 v 23-27
Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, “How hard it will be for the rich
to enter the kingdom of God!”
The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children,
it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
person to enter the kingdom of God.”
The followers were even more surprised and said to each other, “Then who can
be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “This is something people cannot do, but God
can. God can do all things.”
Notes
Money can’t buy you Love
It’s easy to feel smug about this passage when we don’t consider ourselves
wealthy. If you have received these notes you must have regular access to a
computer and have had an education as you can read. Compared with many others in
this world you are, most definitely, rich.
It was popular belief in Jesus’ day that wealth was a sign of God’s favour
and blessing (this view is even around in Christian circles today!). This is why
the disciples are so totally gobsmacked by Jesus’ comment. If good people
(they must be, they are rich!) can’t get into the kingdom of heaven then who
on earth can?! Who can be saved?!
“No one” says Jesus “if their salvation depends on their own goodness or
efforts. So no one has a head start, rich or poor. It’s just not something
that people can do for themselves. But for God? Ah well for God, nothing is
impossible”.
Why is it hard so for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God? ‘The peculiar
danger confronting the rich, however, lies in the false sense of security which
wealth creates and in the temptation to trust in material resources and personal
power when what is demanded by the Law and the gospel is a whole-hearted
reliance on God’ (W.L. Lane).
List your good points and your bad points. Thank God for your good points and
submit them to Him to be used for His good purposes. Look hard at your bad
points and thank God that they don’t prevent Him from loving you, prevent you
from being His Child. Remember, salvation is His gift to give, not yours to earn
or buy. All you have to do is receive it like a child, openly and confidently,
from your Heavenly Father.
Mark 10 v 28-31
Peter said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, all those who have left houses, brothers,
sisters, mother, father, children, or farms for me and for the Good News will
get more than they left. Here in this world they will have a hundred times more
homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields. And with those things,
they will also suffer for their belief. But in the age that is coming they will
have life forever.
Many who have the highest place now will have the lowest place in the future.
And many who have the lowest place now will have the highest place in the
future.”
Notes
The cost and rewards of discipleship
In a culture where wealth was regarded as a sign of God’s blessing, a
religious teacher (if he were worth his salt) would be expected to be at least
moderately wealthy. Jesus and His disciples would therefore have been
conspicuously different. Here we see Peter reminding Jesus of this fact, and
that the disciples had taken up the very challenge the rich young man had walked
away from. They had given up not only possessions, but also relationships to
follow Jesus. “So, what’s in it for us?” Implies Peter with characteristic
bluntness!
“Don’t worry” Jesus assures them. “God will honour the sacrifices you
have made for the Gospel. For God is no ones debtor”. But Jesus promises
“hundreds” more possessions and relationships to replace those sacrificed.
This super-abundance of possessions and family probably refers to all that
becomes available to us in and through the Christian family – those extra
brothers and sisters, those homes we are welcomed into, all those possessions we
are invited to share and so on.
As a reality check, against all this talk of blessing, Jesus reminds his
disciples there will be hardships and suffering for those who follow Him. It is
a costly business, but ‘He did not call [us] to win the rewards of time. He
called [us] to earn the blessings of eternity. God has not only this world in
which to repay’ (W. Barclay). The world may treat followers of Christ like the
lowest of the low, but in the topsy turvy world of heaven we will be exalted to
the highest place.
Are you willing to sacrifice all to follow Jesus? How will you stand firm in
your faith when the going gets tough? What good habits can you build into your
life now to help you in these times of trial?
word-on-the-web uses the
Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised
Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes