Category: MARK

Re:Verse reading– Mark 6:1-13 (day three) 

“Isn’t this the carpenter?”  One generally does not welcome surprises.  Beyond the very few instances of well-meaning diversions—a gift kept secret until the unwrapping, a longed-for family member who shows up for the holidays after all—surprises interfere with one’s ability to meet the demands of the day while time still remains to meet them.  If you learn that something you thought you knew you actually do not know, that’s a surprise.  If the matter turns out to be one on which your well being will always depend, surprise turns to fear and confusion.  Fear and confusion will take the place of listening and thinking.  That’s the way we often approach new ideas.  But Jesus came in the flesh, not as a disembodied idea.  He is a person to whom you can listen.  Hear him.

Re:Verse reading– Mark 6:1-13 (day two) 

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ” vs. 2b

Going home can be rough. Perhaps you are experiencing that this holiday season. Often when we go back to the place where we grew up, surrounded by the people we knew it can be like we are playing a part that we’ve been playing for decades. Arguments that have never been resolved. Truths that have never been told. This is due, in part, to how others view us. We are forever that 16 year-old kid that kept making poor decisions.

When I was a teacher and I would hear my students talk about politics, world events, or give some commentary on culture I often found it amusing but, just as often, dismissed it as youthful ignorance. As those same students left, went to college, had families and careers their voice began to have a ring of wisdom, but my first reaction was to hear them as a high school student, not a lawyer, teacher, political consultant, or frankly as an adult.

I have been on both sides of this parable. I have gone home and been dismissed, and I have readily dismissed those that I couldn’t imagine as anything other than a child. Where are you on the spectrum? Where was Jesus? How did he react? He continued healing, he sent disciples out with instructions to teach, heal, and move on if need be. Let’s listen better. Let’s give honor where it is due.

Re:Verse reading–Mark 6:1-13 (day one) 

Nazareth was a small town.  In several ways.  Small in population.  Small in imagination.

The people of this village all knew Jesus.  They had seen him grown up.  Known his father, his family.

Good to a point, except that it made them, as individuals and as a group, resistant to viewing Jesus through different lenses, to thinking of Him with a larger mind.  When He began to do miracles that strongly indicated His identity, they refused to go down that road.  He was a puzzle, but they steadfastly refused to consider that He was more than they already knew Him to be.  The idea offended them.

“Familiarity breeds contempt” is the old proverb.  In the case of Nazareth, it bred unbelief. (see Matthew 13:58 for this insight)

Do WE resist steps forward with Jesus because we think we already know Him?  Are WE willing to consider that He is more than we presently know?

Re:Verse reading– Mark 5:1-20 (day seven)

“And they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind”–v 15

There are two sides of the Christmas message.  The first is that Jesus is LIGHT.  We celebrated it last night in the Christmas Eve service.  The second is the Jesus is LORD. GOD with us!  He doesn’t just show the way, He makes it possible for us to walk it. He has power over dark forces  we struggle with every day.

In some ways, the demonized man in Mark 5 is a strange story to tell on Christmas morning.  In another way, it is perfect!  Until life is transformed by the power of Christ,  Christmas hasn’t come, no matter what the calendar says.

Christ has come!  We should all rejoice in this truth.  Come to Christ!  We should all obey this truth and find power for holy living.  Then, it will be Christmas!

 

 

 

Re:Verse reading– Mark 5:1-20 (day five) 

In an unprecedented move, Jesus tells the demon possessed man to, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” Earlier (Mark 1), Jesus forbids people to tell others. So, why does this man get a different response? Why is he told to go preach when Jesus didn’t yet trust His disciples who had “little or weak” faith (Mark 4:40).

Maybe better questions for us to consider would be: How much do you need to know before God will desire to use you for His Purpose and Glory? Do you need seminary? Evangelism training? (Answer- All you need is your testimony (your life before you encountered and surrendered to Christ, how and when you encountered and surrendered to Christ, and what your life has been like since you have encountered and surrendered to Christ.) How long do you have to wait before God will use you? (Answer- God can use you immediately).

Do you have a testimony? Will you ask God to use you today?

Re:Verse reading– Mark 5:1-20 (day four)

“What can God do with me?  I’m just one person!”  Have you ever said this…or at least thought it?  What a great answer to the question is found here in Mark.  The Decapolis, home of the Gerasenes, was a pagan land.  There were no God-followers in this region.  It was what we would call an UPG (Unreached People Group) today.  When they saw Jesus and what He had done, they asked Him to leave immediately.

After Jesus’ encounter with the demoniac, it was natural that the man who was formerly possessed by legions of demons would want to go with Jesus.  In V. 19, Jesus gave him a command…very similar to our Great Commission…to ‘go and tell’.  In Mark 7:31, we see the results of this man’s obedience.  Jesus and His disciples returned to the region of Decapolis.  Multitudes were now seeking Jesus…from one man’s witness.

Back to our original question…”what can God do with me?”  Go to your people and tell and let’s see what God can do!

Re:Verse reading– Mark 5:1-20 (day three)

“The herd…rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.” Jesus did not roll into town as an expert from the wild blue yonder, dispensing advice while remaining above the fray. He lived with people, and his nearness involved messy work: blood and bone, anguish and anger, spit and sweat, demons and decisions. We like our miracles clean; Jesus uses saliva and dirt. We want divine intervention in our squabbles; Jesus says “Who made me an arbiter between you?” We like a good rescue story, but in this fallen world, God’s rescue will result in collateral damage. Miracles aren’t magic. God in his activity leaves a footprint in the world of men. When you pray for deliverance, are you prepared for what God will destroy in the process?

Re:Verse reading– Mark 5:1-20 (day two) 

Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him. Vs 6

It strikes me to read of this reaction by evil (demons) toward Jesus. How did Legion recognize the Son of God? Was Jesus so pure, so radiant that he was instantly recognized? What does that say about us? When evil looks at us what is the reaction? Oh, look here, a sympathetic soul. Or, He’s been down this road before this should’nt be difficult. How about, Hey, this guys on our team already. We are not Jesus, but don’t we want to live a life that make evil beg for mercy when we are around? I’d much rather be an unyielding force than an easy target. Pray for God’s strength to fill you in those places that are prone to get you into trouble. Anger, fear, lust – actively give those to Jesus each day, and let evil deal with him rather than you. A herd of pigs might not appreciate it, but you certainly will.

Re:Verse reading–Mark 5:1-20 (day one)

“Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region”–v 17.

It surprises me every time I read it.  Shocks and saddens me.  They want Jesus to leave!

They’ve just seen a miracle (or heard about it).  Rather than be attracted to the purity and power of His life, they are offended and threatened.

Was it the pigs?  It’s possible.  Animals in the ancient world were currency, wealth, livelihood.  To suggest that God would sacrifice a fortune just to save a man was an unacceptable notion!  Like the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10, God is fine until He begins to mess with your finances!

“Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ “–Hebrews 13:5.

Hmmm. . . do I want the Lord, do I rejoice in Him alone?  Or am I a pig person?