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for June, 2009.
By pastorbillwalden
Mark 5:22-24, 35-42 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him…35While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” 40And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.
There are many lessons to be learned in this narrative.
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By pastorbillwalden
Mark 4:21-25 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
In Mark 4, we see Jesus teaching what are known as “The Kingdom Parables”. They were illustrations about different aspects of the Kingdom of God.
In the middle of that section, Jesus instructs His listeners to “listen well”.
Here’s my understanding of what He said to them.
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By pastorbillwalden
Mark 4:18, 19 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Jesus often taught the masses by way of parable, which is an earthly story that illustrates a heavenly truth. The parable of The Sower was one such parable.
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By pastorbillwalden
Mark 2:15-17 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 17When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
All men have sinned, and fall short of God’s glory, but not all men recognize that fact.
These Pharisees didn’t realize that they had just as much of a need to sit with Jesus as did the people they despised. The tax collectors and sinners were willing to sit with Jesus, and spend time with Him. The self righteous Pharisees didn’t see their need of sitting with Jesus. Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
Mark 1:9-13 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 12Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
John the Baptist had given Jesus much praise as he sought to have people prepare their hearts for Jesus’ arrival.
The Gospel writer Mark records John’s words.
Mark 1:7, 8 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 8I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
God the Father also gave Jesus much praise when He announced that He was well pleased with His Son.
When Jesus had been announced by John, and approved of by the Father, we read that the Holy Spirit drove Him into the desert to be tempted by Satan, to exist among the wild creatures, and to be ministered to by angels.
The phrase is strong. It means to cast out, to send out, to expel, to banish.
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By pastorbillwalden
Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Jesus was no victim. That truth continues to impact me. As He announced His impending death, and deliberately moved towards it, I cannot imagine the enormity of emotion that He experienced.
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By pastorbillwalden
There is a great and awesome day coming when Jesus will judge the nations. It will be a day of blessedness for some, and a day of terror for others. It will be a day of perfect clarity in the minds and hearts of all humanity. It will be a day of overwhelming joy and horrible regret.
Matthew 25:31, 32 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”
I find it very interesting that many do not consider the judgment of God to be true.
The understanding and expectation of judgment is put into the heart of man by God Himself.
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By pastorbillwalden
There is a great and awesome day coming when Jesus will judge the nations. It will be a day of blessedness for some, and a day of terror for others. It will be a day of perfect clarity in the minds and hearts of all humanity. It will be a day of overwhelming joy and horrible regret.
Matthew 25:31, 32 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”
I find it very interesting that many do not consider the judgment of God to be true.
The understanding and expectation of judgment is put into the heart of man by God Himself.
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By pastorbillwalden
The Pharisees were some of Jesus’ biggest critics. They were the supposed super elite of the religious community in Israel, and they were sure that Jesus was a blasphemer who was worthy of death. They had personally challenged Jesus, but had been publicly corrected and refuted by Jesus. This only served to further harden their hearts against Jesus, and so they sent their own disciples to question Jesus, hoping to trap Jesus in His words, that they might incriminate Him.
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By pastorbillwalden
There are no small or insignificant acts of obedience to God. We can never know the importance of our obedience. Ours is not to judge whether our acts of obedience are important or not. Our part is to obey God. Consider the significance of the actions of two of Jesus’ disciples.
Matthew 21:1-9 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”
The Father’s great desire was to make Jesus known to Israel as their Messiah, their Savior, and their King. Hundreds of years before this event, the prophets had foretold Jesus’ arrival to Jerusalem, and they had spoken of certain events that would point to the Messiah. One of those signs was that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey. This was to be an identifying sign to the public that their Messiah had arrived.
Did these two disciples realize the significance of their obedience? Probably not. Did they know that their actions were fulfilling prophecy? That is doubtful. Did they consider this assignment as insignificant? We aren’t told, but human nature would lead us to believe that possible.
Their obedience involved some risk. What if things didn’t turn out as Jesus suggested, and they encountered an angry donkey owner?
Their obedience included humility. Who wants to fetch a donkey when instead, you could spend time with Jesus. They had been on healing and preaching tours. Wasn’t there someone else who could do this unimportant task?
There is much that we don’t know about their attitudes, etc., but we do know the outcome of their obedience. Their actions were a fulfillment of prophecy, and pointed people to Jesus.
If your desire is to point people to Jesus, then no act of obedience is too small. Don’t delay obeying God until you understand what will come of it. You may never know. Don’t think yourself too important to do small things. God evaluates things much differently than we do, and His wisdom is infinitely higher than ours.
May we be found obeying God in things both big and small, and to Him be the glory.