Mark 6:12 (New Living Translation)
So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God.
This isn’t complicated. The followers of Jesus went out with a two-point message:
I wonder how many missionary seminars they attended before they traveled with this message?
Sometimes, with the best of intentions, we complicate things.
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Luke 18:9-14 (New Living Translation)
9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Look at the words and phrases in this translation.
As a writer and consultant, when I hear words like these in conversations my ears tingle. Something is happening here, something that people are not saying aloud. There is much emotion and bite here. This is not a simple little story like The Three Bears or Goldilocks.
This is a serious story that deserves attention. How much confidence do I have in my own righteousness? How much do I look to the Messiah for righteousness?
Tough questions. Tough story.
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Mark 7:32-35 (New Living Translation)
32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.
33 Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!”35 Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!
Deaf people don’t speak clearly. The reason is simple – they don’t hear people speaking. They don’t know the sound of “clear speech.” One result is that the muscles needed to manipulate the tongue and mouth for clear speech are not developed. The deaf person has not exercised those muscles.
Now consider verse 35:
his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly.
In an instant, years of muscle development occurred. It was like Jesus sped time for this person. The muscles in his mouth jumped over those years.
I don’t understand how that could happen. I don’t understand the abilities of God; I don’t understand His power of His physical creation. Praise God.
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Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 (New Living Translation)
8 Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. 9 Even the king milks the land for his own profit!
Wow! Read this through a few times. I worked in government for 28 years and saw these things everyday. The end of verse 8 is particularly biting:
matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy
That is not funny. That is tragic. That should be required reading for every employee of government at every level.
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Malachi 3:5 (New Living Translation)
“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
The prophet gives a list of offenses committed by the people. Look at the list:
This is horrible conduct. Wait a moment. What is that fourth bullet? “Cheating employees of wages.” How did that become part of this list? It doesn’t rank up their with sorcery and adultery, does it?
Employees should be happy to have a job. Right? Look at the economy now. What is the problem here? Hmm, God sees a problem here. Perhaps I should adjust my sights on what God considers to be horrible.
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Mark 5:4 (New Living Translation)
Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
This verse described a demon-possessed man. The man was possessed by “Legion, because there are many of us inside this man” (verse 9).
Note the capabilities of the human body – snapping chains and smashing shackles. These were probably made of iron. This was super-human strength – NOT. This is an example of human strength. This was a man, a human man. Yes, he was propelled or motivated or something-or-other by demon possession, but it was still a man in a man’s body.
The human body, created by God, is amazing. It is capable of what we call “super-human” achievements. Would it be possible for us to use the ability that God has given to us? Was there a time, e.g., in the Garden of Eden or before the flood, when humans did use the “super-human” abilities God gave us?
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John 1:4-5 (New Living Translation)
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
Just like that, God flipped the switch and there was light.
And the darkness can never extinguish it.
Never is a long time, but that is the promise from a God who fulfills promises without fail.
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Mark 2:27 (New Living Translation)
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.
This verse is part of yet another of those instances when the lawyers were after Jesus concerning obedience of the Sabbath day. Let’s be clear about a couple of things:
(1) The Sabbath day was not a day of worship.
(2) The Sabbath concept was for resting.
Per (1), most people I know believe that the Sabbath was a day of worship. They tend to think this because the Sabbath (Saturday) of the Old Testament was replaced by Sunday in the New Testament. Since Sunday has become the “day of worship” (another concept I discard (something for another post)), the Sabbath must have been a day of worship as well. False, false, false.
Per (2), the Sabbath was about rest. People were supposed to rest on the seventh day. People were supposed to let the land rest on the seventh year. People were supposed to do other special things on the 49th year (seven times seven).
Given this, Jesus’ statement is obvious. God gave people the Sabbath so people could rest one day in seven. In our “modern” world, or post-modern world depending on what you believe, a day of rest seems odd. The weekend is for play and is often more stressful than the week of sitting in an air-conditioned office. In the day of Jesus, however, a day of rest was a big deal. People worked hard every day, all day just to survive. Subsistence was the ideal, not just the goal.
God gave people a day of rest. Some people turned it into a way to catch other people doing something “wrong.” It was a day to keep other people under control.
Today, some people turn parts of God’s Word into the same thing – a book to keep other people under control. That is a shame.
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Luke 1:67-80 (New Living Translation)
67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:
68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant—
73 the covenant he swore with an oath
to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live.76 “And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God’s tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.”80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
I think I understand Old Testament prophecies. (I am happy to hear from those who can correct me on this understanding.) In the Old Testament, the LORD spoke directly to some people who were known as prophets. They told the people what the LORD was going to in the future. (They also said when the people were doing things that displeased the LORD.)
New Testament prophecy has been fuzzy in my mind. Listed above is a New Testament prophecy. That is what verse 67 tell us. So how does a New Testament prophecy read?
Then a look back from years later at how the prediction (4) came true.
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Malachi 2:10 (New Living Translation)
Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors?
The prophet Malachi brings to mind something that was oft forgotten by God’s people in the Old Testament era. It is also something oft forgotten by Christians today as we read the Old Testament.
The Israelites were one big, (not so) happy, blood-related family.
They were all descended from Jacob. There were a big bunch of cousins and distant cousins and aunts and uncles and so on. The terrible things they did to one another – they were doing these things to their family. How could they be so cruel to their own blood relatives?
Fast forward a few thousand years…How can we today be so cruel to those people who are our brothers and sisters bound to us by the blood of Jesus? Hmmm.
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