Following after Jesus #90

We've seen in Luke's Gospel his tendency to organize events in relationship to the theme of the teaching that follows from them. We see that again in Luke 14:

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The first sentence in itself is amazing: Jesus was invited to dinner at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, the very ones who called Him demon-driven and "the friend of sinners." Perhaps this was one of those who later became a follower of Jesus. The healing once again focuses on whether it was permissible to do so on the Sabbath, where once again Jesus makes a credible case that not only was it lawful, it would be a breaking of the law for Him not to.  Jesus now goes to the core of the issue: Why was it that the Pharisees and others like them opposed Him so much, and had such a struggle with Him doing good? Pride. They wanted to use situations and use others for what would benefit their position and others' perception of them.  They had no interested in the well-being of others or the glory of God.  Following Jesus means giving up promotion of self, and instead, like Him, taking the form of a servant, doing what is best for others, and seeking the Glory of God.  Who can you go pull out of the pit today?

Following after Jesus #89

In the 13th chapter of Luke's Gospel, he wraps up the chapter this way:

31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

This follows right on the heels of what we saw yesterday, when Jesus talked about the few and the many who would be in His kingdom. Many would not be in it who thought they should, and many would be in it some thought should not. A case in point was the Pharisees. They did not want Jesus to come to Jerusalem and stir things up, lest the Romans get upset and take away their power. They tried to scare Jesus with the craziness of Herod, but Jesus would not be intimidated, by him or them. Jesus said He had a job to do, and soon it would be done.  Like the prophets before Him, all roads lead to Jerusalem; it would be there He would be rejected and killed. We can then almost picture looking towards Jerusalem and saying 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. Christ was compassionate and merciful willing to forgive, but Israel was not willing to repent and receive salvation. It was heartbreaking. It still is, when someone sees and hears the good news and invitation of God, but refuses to accept it. Jesus then tells them that soon they will sing their Hosannas, with their words proclaiming Him to be their Messiah, but not truly recognizing Him as such.  May that not be the case with us. 

Folowing after Jesus #88

As we noted the other day, as Jesus went around teaching, people would interrupt to ask Him questions, which would set up teaching situations, like in Luke 13: 

22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

This man was asking about the Kingdom of God. Was it hard to get in? After all, earthly kingdoms had walled cities with gates, where people had to pass through under the scrutiny of the gatekeeper. When Jesus says "strive" to enter, He was in no way describing some sorts of works righteousness for salvation. Rather, he was saying entrance is limited.  Many will come thinking they can just waltz right in. Yes, you will see the fathers of the faith there, but many who were hearing Jesus' voice as He taught them in their streets and towns were refusing to trust and follow Him. What you will find, Jesus says, is people from every corner of the earth - people these hearers thought could never make it into the kingdom. It will seem to them upside down and backwards, because they were thinking wrongly about who deserves to enter in. In the bigger context of this passage, Luke records that Jesus was going around preaching repentance - that is what is essential to enter the kingdom - a humble repentence to bow down and go through the narrow gate.  Interestingly, the next passage in Luke, which happened that very day, is when Jesus mourns over the lack of repentance on the part of Jerusalem, the ultimate representation of the people of Israel. The question of many or few fades in the back ground of this one: "How about you? Will you enter in?" 

Following after Jesus #87

In the opening verses of Matthew 9, we find the calling of Matthew to be an apostle. Matthew throws this big party in honor of Jesus, then has some Pharisees crash the party with their complaints. Matthew is about to go on His first outing as an apostle: 

18 While he (Jesus) was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.

Matthew, on his first tour of duty with Jesus, gets to see a double miracle - the healing of the woman with an issue of blood, and the raising of this little girl from death. And all this was on the same evening as his calling and party. As we will discuss later this morning, Matthew's account was the shortest; it was all kind of overwhelming for his first day, but he is able to give us a few key observations: The woman barely touched Jesus and she was healed and He simply held this girl's hand and she was revived to life. But in both cases, it was not just the touch, but the words he spoke, which in the case of the little girl Matthew was not in there to hear. For Matthew these are not two unrelated events. When he concludes in verse 26 with And the report of this went through all that district, he is talking about the double miracle. Jesus not only heals whomever He sets out to heal; he heals those Who come along the way. There are no interruptions with Jesus; He is always ready for people to come to Him. 

Following after Jesus #86

We move on in our study today to Luke 13: 

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Luke has been showing us how Jesus was teaching His disciples what it means to follow Him in every area of our lives.  He does this by laying out some sort of encounter Jesus has, followed by some teaching.  Following Him affects the spin we put on the news.  Obviously, those who asked the question wanted Jesus to go off on some tangent about this news of persecution, but Jesus insists that we look at things from a totally different angle: Both good and evil people have bad things happen to them. All need to repent. He then gives a parable that many may had missed the point. He had come seeking fruit in the hearts of His own people, the people of Israel, but found none.  They were self-righteously "taking up space" in His kingdom; room needed to be made for others who would bear fruit.  But there was also room for mercy.  God is patient, making every possible effort for His people to respond to him. Jesus was going to be around a little longer before He would suffer unjustly at the hands of Pilate. Though that was bad and unjust, it would be even worse if these hearers were still unwilling to repent. 

Following after Jesus #85

In Luke 12, we find Jesus giving the crowd a lot of instructions about life: avoiding hypocrisy, not being afraid of persecution, and not worrying about having enough of the things of this world. Often we imagine Jesus talking for hours without anyone saying a word, but notice verse

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

This man cried out: "I want what is fair! Jesus, If you want to be king, make my brother give me some of the inheritance."  This encounter was an exact illustration of what Jesus was talking about: covetousness - always wanting more stuff, never being content, desiring to live selfishly off the fat of the land without responsibility or concern for others. You can almost imagine Jesus, when He gets to the part of His parable where he says: ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ He just happens to look back at the man who asked the question. The big picture of the lesson of course is that there are many ways to live selfishly in this life, and if we want to follow Jesus, none of them are appropriate. Loosen your grip on stuff - not just with your hands, but with your heart. Look more at the people around you than the stuff you have or want, and think about what they need. Love God by making Him the treasure that you seek above all others.

Following after Jesus #84

As we saw yesterday, Jesus had been invited into the home of a prominent Pharisee, and was not being a very "nice" guest. He had confronted him about being hypocritical, merciless and foolish. Luke 11 continues: 

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

The scribes knew their Bibles well, from Abel to Zechariah, Genesis to the end of the Old Testament. But they did not live by what they knew. Their hearts were untouched by the truths they read to the people. They had the same self-righteous spirit that would lead them to kill Him, the great Prophet Moses had talked about, just like those of the past had killed the prophets they said they revered. The buck stops here. The longer we go in history, the more of God's word, His wisdom, and His martyrs we have, and that means that we are more responsible than ever to live by it.  Ever since Eve and Adam, mankind has been proclaiming themselves to be helpless victims for their actions. We cannot do so. We know too much. Even if you or I stopped learning more from God's Word where we are now, we know enough to know how to recognize truth from a lie, right from wrong, and where to go to find out what we do not know. And the more we know, the more accountable we are.  Let's not play dumb. 

Following after Jesus #83

The longer Jesus was teaching and healing, the greater became the intensity of His confrontations with those who resisted the Gospel. He was always questioning tradition and conventional thinking. Like in Luke 11:

37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

One might question Jesus' manners at the dinner table here: He didn't wash His hands; He called His host a fool, and He unloaded every possible criticism against the group of which this man was a part. Jesus had a big problem with hypocrisy. The Pharisees emphasized all the wrong things: external appearance of being holy over true righteousness; minute details over bigger issues of justice and mercy; wanting to be in charge instead of humbly serving God and others.  We often claim to despise self-righteous hypocrisy as well, but we are always looking in other peoples' cups, questioning other peoples' actions and motives, sitting back in our own seat of judgment and self-made authority, when Christ alone is worthy to do so. In calling others Pharisees, we become them ourselves.  Let's come to Him with empty cups, allowing Him to cleanse us. Let us offer Him everything we have to take as much as He wants. Let us take the back seat so we can see more clearly how we can come aside those heading for danger and say: "I stepped in that mess; you don't want to go there." 

Following after Jesus #82

Luke, in his account, had a way of grouping events thematically to give us a big picture of what it means to follow Jesus. Just after what we call "The Good Samaritan", Jesus had another educational encounter for his followers:

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The very fact that we refer to the account before this as "The Good Samaritan" indicates a bias most had that most Samaritans were bad. Jesus shattered that stereotype. Here he shatters another one. Good women stay in the kitchen and leave the religious discussions to the men.  Here Mary chose to sit as close as she could to Jesus, listening, choosing better. Martha, doing the conventional thing, is described as "distracted" with much serving.  Jesus was not downplaying responsibility, and was in fact emphasizing how to be a merciful servant just like the Samaritan. But we can become so distracted by doing, that we miss out on what true service is. While we serve, we still need to be able to hear the voice of Jesus. Martha had done a good thing by inviting Jesus to be their guest; Mary had done a better thing by listening to Him.  May we serve Him well today, by serving our neighbor while we listen to our Lord. 

Following after Jesus #81

Jesus had made it very clear that following after Him was not like climbing the corporate ladder to see who could become most important. There was to be no comparing ourselves to others to determine how right we are with God. Even comparing ourselves to God's law can fall short. Luke 10:

 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

The man answered the question correctly. He sounded like Jesus. He narrowed God's law down to two commands meshed into one. But... there is that word again... desiring to justify himself... That reminds us of another encounter Jesus had with the rich young ruler, who sought to justify himself by his actions - all the things he did not do. There Jesus challenged the man on his obviously flaw of greediness, which led to a long discussion on the matter. But here, when Jesus gives an illustration in answer to this man's question Who is my neighbor?, there is no after comment on his response or any after discussion. All we can do is think that Jesus' answer hit home. This man was not following Christ in His view of other people of different ethnicity; he was not demonstrating mercy "to the least of these"; this man too was selective in what part of God's law he would and would not obey, ending up missing the spirit of the law. May we truly follow after Jesus in being people who show mercy, especially to those we don't think deserve it. When we do, we will understand how much mercy God has shown to us. 

Following after Jesus #80

Yesterday, we talked about how the apostles, long after they had been empowered by Jesus to preach, heal and cast out demons, found themselves lacking, and began to compare themselves to others, to argue over who was the greatest. Jesus solved the argument by taking a child in His arms and focusing on him. Later on Jesus makes a similar comparison in a bigger way:

Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Jesus had sent out not only the twelve, but six times that many. They came back giving even greater reports than the twelve had. Jesus said "Great! But don't get things out of perspective. Greater yet is the fact that God has given you opportunity to know Him, and to have the assurance of your place in heaven." Stop and think about the Apostles here.  All of a sudden they may have felt less "special." They were not the only ones being sent out by Jesus; they might have felt more reason to vie for a place of greatness. But Jesus' words and God's will do not allow that.  God's will is humble service, viewing oneself as a child, as God's child, and Jesus as the One through Whom all authority flows.  The apostles, the seventy-two, and we as well need to rejoice in knowing God and His grace in Christ more than anything else. Rest in that. 

Following after Jesus #79

As we saw yesterday, after the glorious revelation on the Mount of Transfiguration, God made it very clear Who Jesus was - His Son, to be listened to above all others. When they came down from the mountain the disciples were shown very clearly their inability to do anything on their own, apart from Christ. The next discussion they have is this: Mark 9

 33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

They are back at their home, their headquarters for ministry; they are where they can be themselves, when Jesus asks this piercing question, of which He already knows they answer. They have been comparing themselves to one another.  You can almost hear the bickering: "Well, I got to go up on the mountain;" "Well, I healed 10 blind men." "Well, Jesus entrusted me with the money." Well, I preached to a thousand people." Jesus sat down - that's what Rabbis, did, and called them to gather around. It was almost like He was taking them back to square one: "Okay, guys; here is the most basic principle for following me: This child trusts Me to hold him. Right now, I would rather have him than you twelve grown men. Follow my example: see people not for what they can do for you, but for what God can do when they fully trust Him. See yourselves the same way. Stop comparing. Stop striving. Simply trust Him to change you and others."  

Following after Jesus #78

After the Transfiguration, when God did show and tell, confirming to the disciples that Jesus was indeed His Son, Luke records this: 

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

Once again, whenever Jesus came down off the mountain from His time with the Father, the crowds are there ready to meet Him, and people are begging Him to heal.  This was another case of demon oppression, which the man says, the other nine disciples were unable to deal with. Jesus then uses one of His piercing statements, saying with a sigh “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Who is He talking about? The Apostles.  Just as we have already seen, He talked about their hardness of heart.  These Apostles had gone out two by two, preaching, healing, and casting out demons, but now they could not. Why? Were they losing their touch? Or was their faith being placed more in themselves than in Him and in the Father's will? Their faith in Him was not a great as they thought. And He is about to stretch their faith in the Father's plan even further, as He is about to begin to elaborate on the last half of His remark: how long am I to be with you and bear with you? In other words, His time here was limited, and they still had a lot to learn. So do we. How strong is your faith in Christ?

Following after Jesus #77

As we saw yesterday, the apostles are finally learning the lesson of the loaves - they are finally coming to grips with Who Jesus is. We saw in Mark 8 Peter confessing: "You are the Christ."  Mark 9 begins: 

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

Recent reports among the people had said that Jesus was The Prophet who Moses had promised. Others were saying that He was a prophet like Elijah or John the Baptist.  These key three disciples get to see what God has to show and tell about Jesus.  Peter, who seemed to be a step ahead of the rest, still does not fully get it, as He calls for three tabernacles, places of veneration to honor each one. The appearance, and then removal of these two Old Testament greats speaks volumes: Jesus is in a class of His own. The Voice from the cloud, just like the days of Moses, gives the final word: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” That is the brief summary of the lesson of the loaves and all the other miracles as well: Jesus is God the Son, to be listened to, trusted, and followed above all others.  He is where we will hear the voice of God. 

Following after Jesus #76

As Jesus' followers watched Him do miracle after miracle, occasionally the topic would keep returning to the question: "Had they learned the lesson of the loaves?" Finally, in Matthew 16, the disciples begin to understand, when this happens: 

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

The whole purpose of the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000, as well as His other miracles was to reveal to people Who He was: the Christ, the Son of the living God. He was not just a miracle worker. He was not only a prophet like Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah or John the Baptist. He was indeed God the Son, to be listened to, trusted in and obeyed more than any other. It was not the popular opinion. People wanted someone to give them handouts, to tell them they are okay, and to be there for them if and when they wanted Him to be. But He is far more: He IS the self-existent One, Who has always been there and always will be; He IS the all-powerful One, who gives life and whatever we need for it. He IS the all-knowing One, before Whom we all must stand.  And He came to let us know Him, trust Him, turn to Him, and follow Him. 

Following after Jesus #75

After the feeding of the 4000 plus people in Mark 8, we find another event that appears only in that Gospel: 

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Some obvious questions come to my mind when I read this passage. First of all: Why does Jesus take this man out of town? Why does he lay His hands on him, when at other times He would simply speak? Why did Jesus seem to have to do this miracle twice "to get it right"? And finally, why does He sometimes tell people to go tell others, while at others, like here, He tells him to not even go where he will see people? Jesus likes us to ask questions, if we are sincerely seeking to understand His will and His ways. I'm still sure I don't know all the answers, but we can draw some conclusions. Jesus is more and more pulling away from the mob scene that has developed when people here He is in town. He wants to be heard more than seen.  Notice also that the people who brought the blind mand begged Jesus "to touch him." Jesus did not always do things the way people asked; in fact, He often did things differently or in a different order, like forgiving people before healing their physical ailments. But Jesus is passing through quickly, so he wants these people to witness that it is indeed He Who heals this man.  As for the double touch, this is not because Jesus' first touch was "not enough"; it too was for the sake of this man and the ones who brought him. When Jesus healed other blind men, they did not get to see Him till after they had gone and washed their eyes. This time, Jesus will be leaving right away, and the man will have to get a good, clear look at the One Who healed him, to etch Him forever in his memory.  Finally, Jesus sends this man home, to start there to testify to His power, which is where we all should begin our witness for Jesus. 

Following after Jesus #74

In John 5, Jesus had just healed a man who had been hopelessly lame. But the account is far from over:

10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

The question is "Who? - Who is this man Who healed you? Who is this man Who told you to carry your bedroll in the temple? Who is this man Who thinks He can heal on the Sabbath and break our rules for it? Who is this man Who calls God His Father?  Jesus is the answer to every one of those questions. There was a chorus that was popular a generation ago called "Jesus is the Answer".  People loved it, but there was also this thought that it was too simplified, like how little preschoolers in Sunday School think that the answer to every question their teacher asked was "Jesus."  The more in-depth question is "Who is this Jesus?" He is the One Who made the Sabbath, so He is Lord over it, and cannot be called a "Sabbath-breaker." He is God the Son, and has every right to refer to Himself as equal with God.  He is the One Who had spoken God's word of right and wrong, and has every right to confront us when we sin against it. Who do you believe Jesus to be?

Following after Jesus #73

In following after Jesus we have seen a lot of people come to Jesus seeking help, while on occasion we see Him spot a person, stop, and address his/her need without request, like the opening verses of John 5:

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

John seeks to lay out for Theophilis the setting for this event, where this one invalid, among many hopeless people sticks out to Jesus. Day in and day out people came into the city with their sacrifices through the sheep gate, oblivious to these people. They all needed to be healed, but they all had a need for spiritual healing as well.  This man, like the others, was putting his hope in the story he had been told about the waters being stirred up by angels at times, giving them healing powers.  Jesus challenges the place of the man's trust. "If you really want to be healed, your faith needs to be in something, Someone else than these waters."  If you really want your life to be changed, you need to trust and obey Him. What are you waiting for? The lottery? Prince Charming? The aligning of the planets? Wait no more. Trust and obey Christ. 

Following after Jesus #72

After healing the man who was deaf and mute, both Mark and Matthew tell us what happened next: 

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Now, at first glance, my thought is: Why did this event happen and what record it. After all, the first feeding, in all four gospels, was bigger. Isn't bigger better? Isn't this almost a letdown after the other feeding? Notice a few things. First, remember where they are - in the Decapolis, in a Gentile area, which was less densely populated . At the feeding of the 5000, they crowd was already there; here it is building; people are coming out of the woodwork. The response is better than in Israel. Secondly, He uses the same word for how He views these Gentiles as He did those in Israel: compassion. Third, we are talking not one day, but three that these people stuck with Jesus; they are even more desirous to hear what He has to say. Fourth, this is done just as much for the disciples as the crowds; They still had not learned the lesson of the loaves - to fully trust Christ in all things and to be able to see people and situations the way He does. Finally, the leftovers were much greater. In the feeding of the five thousand each disciple held in his hands a personal picnic basket to take with him; these baskets were much larger, like a laundry basket, big enough to hold a grown man. Jesus had drawn from a less-densely populated area with less spiritual background, a following larger and much more committed, giving them a meal with many more leftovers. The key question was: How did His disciples come away from this event? Had their faith in Him increased? 

Following after Jesus #71

After leaving Tyre and Sidon, Jesus goes all the way east, past his home base of Capernaum, to the Southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Continuing in Mark 7:

 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The Decapolis was a group of 10 cities established under Alexander the Great to infuse Greek culture into the region. So now, over two hundred years later, it was a very Gentile area. Once again, Jesus is stepping outside the fringe of Isarel.  Matthew, in his gospel lists a whole series of miracles Jesus healed there: the crippled, the lame, the blind, but first in his list is "the dumb speaking", and Mark here chooses only this one miracle to represent them.  Many of us have known someone who was deaf from birth; it is impossible for them to learn to speak clearly, having never heard how words are said, so often they say very little, because it is frustrating for them and for the hearers. Jesus takes the man aside, puts his fingers in his ears and spit on the man's tongue, then looks up to heave, which we have seen is He preferred form of prayer, and said one word" Be opened." This was Jesus prayer, not only for this man, but for the whole region: "May their ears be open to hear the Good News, and may their tongue have no defect, their words have no restrictions in sharing that good news.  Jesus told them to keep it quiet, but for those who have heard the good news, and those who have witnessed the change He brings, there is a zeal to proclaim it. Notice Mark's conclusion: 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” They were more than astonished, like many had been.  They had no criticism of Him like the Scribes and Pharisees, and many Israelites did. He had done "all things well."  And there is a sense in which the healing of the ears and tongue are even more impressive than the blind, crippled and lame: It is a double miracle which enables the cured to help go out and save the world.  Jesus still does all things well.  

Following after Jesus #70

After spending much of His time around Galilee, Jesus ventured out into other areas, even outside of Israel proper. Mark records in chapter 7: 

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

What is interesting to note is that this account follows right after Jesus has a debate with the religious leaders over what made one ceremonially unclean. It is not what you eat, or even where you go, it is what is inside. So now, He goes into the home of a non-Israelite. And in comes this Gentile woman with a little girl who has an unclean spirit, begging Him to case the demon out.  And Jesus insults her. He reveals that He has been primarily sent to give the Gospel to the Jews, the Children of Israel, not to Gentile "dogs." But... always look for that word... But she is ready with a response: "All I'm asking for here is crumbs." In other words, "You are so full of truth and power, You have plenty to let it come our way." She recognized the truth Jesus had been telling His disciples miles away: "What my daughter needs is to be cleansed from within, and Jesus has to power to do so."  Jesus then said: “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” What came out of this woman's mouth was a confession of faith; she showed what was in her heart by her words and actions - that she even come and approach this Jewish Rabbi. What a lesson to these disciples and to us: God is not looking for us to live spiritually sanitary lives of rituals or regulated righteousness; He is looking for us to speak and do what pleases Him out of purified hearts that know we cannot do it without Christ. 

Following after Jesus #69

We continue to follow Jesus after His disciples see Him walk on water in the last paragraph of Mark 6:

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

The region of Gennesaret was on the Northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had been through there a few times, especially as He went back and forth between Capernaum and Bethsaida, but this is the first mention of His landing there to spend time.  But notice, people immediately recognized Him, and their first response was to run to their homes and bring their sick loved ones to Jesus. They would bring them to the city gates or other common areas where people passed by, because that increased the chances of them seeing Jesus and Him seeing them, and therefore them being healed. Jesus was getting quite a reputation. They had heard about the woman with internal bleeding who had touched the fringe of His robe, those little tassels that reminded good Jews that day in and day out, life was to be lived in the presence of God. What their actions were showing, whether they fully knew it or not, is that God's presence was there, in His Son. For some of us, this may sound a little too far-fetched or mystical - especially as we have seen men try to exploit such things.  But for Jesus this was pure, innocent, and true.  He was God in the Flesh, who made life, restores life, and gives life. He is worth coming to, trusting in, listening to, and following every day.

Following after Jesus #68

In Mark's Gospel, from Peter's memory, the next significant event after the feeding of the twenty thousand was this:

45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Jesus, like before or after any great event, spent time alone with His Father in prayer. What a great example for us all. Meanwhile, He had sent His disciples to Bethsaida, a spot where they were to meet for some time together.  The Sea of Galilee is below sea level, with some significant mountains around it. He could see them. They were once again struggling against the storm in fear of their lives. It was now somewhere between 3 and 6 a.m., and they had put in a hard day's work throughout the night battling the storm, when Jesus goes walking by. Notice what Mark says: "He meant to pass them by." Ouch. Was Jesus just going to abandon them there? Now they were even more afraid, thinking they were seeing a ghost, and they cried out in fear.  Jesus responds to their cries and says: "It's okay. I AM is here. Stop being afraid." But rather than being completely calmed by this, they were "utterly astounded", because they still had not fully learned the lesson of the loaves. This account describes so much how we often feel in life when we are trying to follow Jesus, obey His commands, and live courageously in a scary world.  It seems like He has left us alone in the storm, even when He sees our struggle.  Then, when we remember He is there, He still doesn't seem to be answering our prayer. When He finally does, and things calm down, we still cannot see why He brought us through that storm.  We have tunnel vision.  But we keep on following. Why? We know deep down that some day things will make sense. Eventually our hearts are softened, and our eyes are open. But for now, we still see faintly, in a clouded mirror, through the mist in the storm, once again brought through by the Grace of God in Christ.  

Following after Jesus #67

Looking at Luke's account of the Big Picnic, he says:

 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Luke was a great historian, recording facts about people, places and events. Here he gives a concise summary of what Mark goes into detail to describe. What is it Luke wants us to take away from this event? In following after Jesus, He wants us to learn to see the need around us. Luke says they came to Him and presented the problem as they saw it: "Lord, it's late; it's time for dinner and then rest; they need to go."  Of course, Jesus sees things differently than we can, so Luke records: "But He said..." His solution was that the people have dinner before going to find lodging.  They again are able to see the problem: "we don't have enough food." Jesus then takes control of the situation and shows them how He will solve the problem. They willingly follow His every direction, doing their part in distributing the food and collecting the leftovers.  That's the process God wants us to go through: see the problem, care enough to talk to Him about it, then submit to the way He wants us to be a part of the solution.  

If you missed it, Luke presents something the other writers did not say:“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging..." Did the disciples dare to say to Jesus after dinner: "Okay, that was good. Now, what are we going to do about lodging for everyone?" Just a thought. 

Following after Jesus #66

Mark's account of the Feeding of the  20,000 is the most detailed of the Gospels:

30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Since this is the only non-resurrection event recorded by all four Gospel writers, we have a lot of details to compare and contrast, like whose idea was it to go and buy bread, to go and see how much food was on hand, and to go and bring it to Jesus.  Mark fills in those details as the most extensive passage, possibly for this reason: He wrote for Peter, who remembered this event for how many ways the disciples were humbled by it. They thought they had arrived when they preached to crowds and performed miracles, but now were unable to handle the first challenge they came to. They thought they were doing Jesus a favor by taking Him away from the crowds for a time, when He was doing it for them. They failed to see the problem coming till late in the day, when He had foreseen it right away. They asked questions as a way of making excuses, while He asked them to help them find the solutions.  There Peter was, holding His basket, once again in awe of Jesus, and humbled by the privilege to serve Him while serving others. How will we allow Christ to teach us a little humility today? 

Following after Jesus #65

Matthew has the most concise version of the feeding of the 20,000: 

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

As we saw yesterday, compassion was the name of the game with Christ.  As He grieved over the death of John the Baptist, He did not become self-consumed. As soon as He saw the crown, He had compassion on them. Matthew emphasizes not His teaching, but His healing.  The words and actions of His disciples show that for their great progress in being able to teach, heal and cast out demons, they still had a long way to go in Compassion Class; their attitude was: "let them fend for themselves." Very Darwinian of them. Then in the middle of the passage we have that all-important phrase "But Jesus...". Just like when we read in scripture: "But God...", this indicates He is about to do something profound and life-changing. Jesus said, "No; if you are my disciples, you need to see this as your problem - better - your opportunity." But they object: "We only have this much food; we only have this much money; we only have a little time." This is exactly where they needed to be - exactly where we need to be: however much we have, in the way of time, resources, ability or experience is not enough. We will always need Him more.  So, He says: "give Me the resources; give Me the "problem"; give Me control; give Me your service, and this will all turn out well. Everyone - all twenty thousand, including men, women and children, and all twelve of their baskets were filled.  Compassion is not squandering or even spending; it is investing in God's will. 

Following after Jesus #64

Jesus was becoming more and more well-known, especially after Jesus had sent His apostles out two by two to preach and to heal. Mark continues in chapter 6:
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Besides setting the stage for the next great event, this paragraph tells us something about Jesus. He was a Man, and also God the Son, filled with compassion.  He really cared about people. The paragraph before this tells us how John the Baptist had died, and receiving that news really affected Jesus; He grieved over him; He cared about him not just as His forerunner, but as a man and fellow minister of God's Word. Here in the words we have read, we see He also had compassion on the Apostles, after their busy ministry journey; He wanted them to "come away and rest." So they did, but then the crowds showed up once again. Their retreat was cut short, but Jesus was not aggravated; once again He had compassion on them. He really cared about their needs - especially their need for salvation and spiritual deliverance. So He taught them. The other Gospel writers tell us He was also healing their illnesses. How do we look at people? Do we view them as competitors, incompetent, and constant pests? Or do we view them with compassion, like Jesus did?

Following after Jesus #63

We pick up where we left off yesterday in Mark 6:

7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. 

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 

The name of Jesus of Nazareth was becoming a household name, not only in Galilee, but throughout all of Israel.  This was accelerated when He sent out the twelve, two by two, preaching and healing in His name. Word was travelling fast because Jesus' disciples were traveling light, and they were not staying in places like Nazareth, where people were not receptive to the truth. We note one again Mark's emphasis on Jesus authority over the unclean spirits that had been haunting in the background. Well something was haunting King Herod as well. When he kept hearing about Jesus from reports all over his kingdom, guilt was filling his heart and mind. The passage goes on to describe this last statement we read: “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” Herod had blood on his hands, and he feared that John the Baptist, or at least the spirit of John the Baptist, had come back to haunt him. That's of course because both John and Jesus preached the necessity of repentance, and to repent was something Herod, and many others were, and are, not willing to do. They would rather remain in their guilt. How about you?

Following after Jesus #62

Jesus had been going around teaching, healing, and driving out demons. After being asked to leave the place where He had commanded the demons out of the man and into the pigs, Mark says this happened:
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief.

Which is worse: asking Jesus to leave, or having Him throw up His hands and walk away? I've wondered at times what it might be like to go back to places where I grew up and be a pastor there: would it work? Would they be able to see the ways that I had changed? Would they be able to accept God's call on my life? Would they listen to what I had to say?  For Jesus, people were shocked by His ability to unfold the scriptures in the synagogue, but they could not get past the fact that He was one of them; they could not stop seeing Him as "the carpenter". They took offense, they stumbled over who they thought Him to be. Then there is verse 5: 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. But wait, Jesus can do anything, yet here it says He was not able to do any mighty works there. Why? They would not believe in Him. Jesus had done nothing to disqualify himself. He did not have some wild, sinful past people could not forget; He was not some self-righteous arrogant Pharisee people had no interest in being like; He was rejected because people refused to believe Who He really was. He did some signs, some miracles, but people refused to receive them as evidence that what He said was to be accepted and trusted.  What we believe about Jesus will affect what we see Him do in our lives. 

Following after Jesus #61

After the dramatic event with the pigs plunging off the cliff into the sea, Jesus returned to His headquarters in Capernaum, teaching, healing, and forgiving sins. Matthew gives event after event, like in chapter 9:

27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

It's all in the attitude.  These two blind men were crying out "Have mercy on us!" It's a study in itself just going through the Gospels looking at every time that happened: people calling out to Christ for mercy. He then brings up the question: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They do, and He does. He then says: "Just try to keep this a secret." Not a chance.  People who are truly changed by Christ cannot keep it a secret. They have to tell someone; these men wanted to tell everyone. I love the set-up Matthew notes here: "as they were going away." It was like a doctor's office; people coming and going all day long. This man was brought to Jesus being oppressed by a demon. His case does not seem to be as bad as what they had seen in Gadara, but then again, they are back in Israel. This man could not speak, but once healed by Jesus, he could, and he could praise God just like the two blind men did.  Here's another response to study: "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." Look at all the times people respond that way to what Jesus does. But here's the attitude check. The Pharisees see the exact opposite. Their foredrawn conclusions and predetermined self-righteousness interpret this as the work of darkness, a totally illogical and erroneous thought process.  So, how are you going to approach Jesus today? Coming honestly with your need? Or acting like you don't need Him at all, like you're just fine the way you are? It makes all the difference. 

Following after Jesus #60

After the incident with the deliverance of the men with demons, which went into the pigs and over the hillside, Jesus and His disciples went back to the other side of the sea, where He was once again greeted with great crowds. (For those of you following the calendar the next event will be covered later this month.) In the middle of Jesus going to Jairus' home to heal his daughter, Mark tells us this happened: 

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

You'll recall that Jesus had been putting his disciples through increasingly fearful situations to test and strengthen their faith. While they struggled to keep up, He also exposed them to people like this, whose faith was immediately evident and challenging. This woman is another example of desperation. She had exhausted every medical option, tried every home remedy, and been taken advantage of by every traveling quack who came along.  She had lost all her money and was about to lose all hope.  Her condition, like many, made her ceremonially unclean, so she was in this alone; no one was there to help her, unlike the girl whose healing she was interrupting. So she gets just close enough to touch Jesus. She truly believes it is Him in Whom she will find hope. Jesus did one of those things that drove His disciples nuts. They could not wait to see Him heal this famous man's daughter.  But Jesus stops and asks: "Who touched my garments?" He would not move on until someone confessed. But guess what: Jesus already knew who she was. He just knew for her sake, and for the witness to her fellow citizens, she needed to come forward. So she did.  Now he can say to her, but for His followers and those around: "Your faith has made you well." Here He speaks after she has already been healed, confirming what she already knew: Jesus was her healer.