Another Rebuke May 14
Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”
Again, the crowd is growing. The natural desire to be a spectator at what may be a momentous event is in all of us. The miracles of day to day life are too common, and therefore too small, to hold our interest. Something bigger and shinier is necessary to hold our attention.
This notoriety is a mixed blessing for Jesus. The miracles lend credence to His words, but the message is overshadowed by the spectacle.
Jesus speaks with authority, as the One who has the power behind the words. He rebukes the spirit, denounces it for what it is, an enemy to understanding. “Come out, you who silences hearing and speech, and return no more.”
The boy is again convulsed as the evil spirit cries out. The two have become as one, and separation is painful to both.
The power of the Authority that once created the world retains its power. The truth of how all things were once made remains, and evidence of that truth comes when we submit to that Authority.
Had the father separated himself from God and the boy fell under the wrong authority as a result? Or was it the rebellion that is not uncommon in youth? The question of who or why is less important than the answer.
Jesus does not rebuke the father or the son, only the untruth that is present.
Redemption May 15
Mark 9:26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
The evil spirit had displaced the heavenly spirit. When truth is silenced and speech made impossible, how is a person to live?
When the silencer has departed and communication again is possible, the boy is momentarily between two masters. There is a sudden void, an emptiness, as he is unpossessed by any spirit. The boy is as one dead.
Jesus restores the boy to his rightful master with a touch, and the boy rises up.
Each of us is possessed by one spirit or another in this life. Jesus restores the pneuma spirit of life given in the Beginning to its rightful position of supremacy.
The picture of Jesus lifting up the boy is itself uplifting. Jesus is the One to be lifted up, but He defers to the risen youth.
This part of the lesson is the servanthood of restoration of life. This can be accomplished by anyone who lifts up another, helping them to recognize their identity as a child of the Father, valuable in their own right and not subject to the dominion of those who would hide this truth.
Jesus’ act is dramatic, a picture on a canvas bigger than life. We are all painters on this canvas, however small our corner.
Here Endeth the Lesson May 16
Mark 9:28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
The disciples are chastened. They were unable to redeem the boy the evil spirit, but Jesus has just accomplished this.
They are with Jesus apart from the crowd and ask, “Why could we not…?” A better question is, “How could we…?”
Remember that when Jesus sent out the twelve, He gave them power to cast out evil spirits, and they did (Mark 6). They are at a loss as to the cause of their failure now.
Jesus answers the better question. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” In Matthew 17:20, Jesus summarizes with the necessity of faith.
We sense more clearly that Jesus’ reference to a faithless generation in verse 19 included His disciples.
The implication is that the disciples have not gone through the disciplines necessary for spiritual work. Prayer is submission to Authority, and fasting is denial of distractions from that Authority. (Note that food is only one of many distractions from which a fast may be necessary.)
As the deaf and dumb spirit was rebuked, the disciples also now feel a rebuke.
Hard Truths Again May 17
Mark 9:30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Jesus and His disciples have returned to the western side of the lake, and begin to move south from the lake’s northern end. The destination on the road they are travelling is clear to Jesus, and He shares the journey’s end with the disciples that they may prepare themselves.
After the transfiguration, Jesus told them (Mark 8:31) much the same as He now speaks again. Peter had protested, but this time there is no response from His disciples as Jesus speaks of His betrayal, death, and resurrection.
The disciples have been humbled repeatedly as Jesus has taught them things and they have misunderstood. This incident where they were unable to cast the deaf and dumb spirit from the boy is only the latest.
Jesus’ lessons are hard when they are placed on the foundation of the prevailing religious teachings, the doctrine of men. Although religions always proclaim their doctrine as that of God, the huge number of sects, each with its different emphasis, demonstrates that confusion on the character of God and His relationship with His people.
The disciples are us, the people of every age. People have been confused by the appearances of the world around us that do not fit with their conception of how the world should be. We continue today in the tradition of the perplexed disciples, afraid to question what we do not understand.
They – and we - fear the answer will be no more intelligible and acceptable than Jesus’ answers on other hard questions. All of His answers require His followers to surrender control of their own life.
Perhaps the disciples – and we – do not understand the true nature of life.
Thoughts on Relativity May 18
Mark 9:33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
Still nearer the northern end of the lake, they arrive at the household where they usually stay in Capernaum.
The disciples have been troubled by the last two events on their journey – their inability to heal the boy’s fits, and then Jesus’ repetition of His impending arrest, death, and resurrection.
They direct their attention to themselves rather than examine the issues that these events bring to the forefront. They have been discussing which of them would be the greatest, who was most favored.
This theory of relativity has been the bane of mankind since the Garden. Eve, and then Adam, each made the decision to alter their position relative to God. Rather than submit, they rewrote His one rule as if they were the legislators. They equated themselves with God.
The disciples, perhaps subconsciously, are vying for position relative to the others. Who will be the greatest? Rewrite this as who will lead in the future, be above others, in Jesus’ kingdom?
We are all equal before God. Is anyone of us greater or lesser than another? We each have our unique gift that may make us superior at tiddlywinks or lawn mowing, but we have our weaknesses in other areas and there we will be the “least.”
The consolation of being the greatest among those without understanding is small. The disciples keep silent as to this subject they had debated, seeing the smallness of it relative to Jesus.
The “greatest” is an illusion based on a small pond. The only One who is greatest is the Creator of the small pond.
The Actuality of Relativity May 19
Mark 9:35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
On the road of life, we may boast as did the disciples about our own greatness. Jesus turns thoughts of greatness upside down.
“If anyone desires to be first….” To be first is to be foremost in importance, to be the best. Again, this is a question of comparing self to others or against some standard. We control the comparison by establishing the object or definition against which we compare ourselves.
Jesus is using the word in the absolute sense, not in the comparative sense. Jesus’ statement, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all,” is a contradiction if taken in the sense of a competition. One cannot be first and last in a race….unless there is only one runner.
The apparent contradiction is actually two foundational principles of kingdom of heaven living. Being first in the kingdom of heaven is also to be last. The goal of kingdom living is to be first and last.
First, Jesus continually demonstrates the principle of humility: He is obedient to the Father. Jesus accepts His role beneath the Father.
Second, His demonstration of humility is an active pursuit. He shepherds the flock toward the kingdom, using His gifts in service of those whom He leads. Being last places Him behind the others, urging them forward, or beneath them, lifting them up.
Each of us is first and last in the eyes of God. Because He creates and loves individuals, each unique, there is no true comparison that establishes one as greater than another. Our differences lie in how we accept this uniqueness and what we do with it.
His Lesson on Relativity May 20
Mark 9:36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Relationships with others come easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Serving, helping others and lifting them up, comes easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Agape love comes easily for some, and with more difficulty for others.
Jesus gives us an object lesson in relativity when He takes a child into His arms. Taking a small child into the agape relationship is generally easy.
Note that Jesus says, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name….” In other words, whoever receives one of these little children, not out of a natural impulse or instinct, but out of love for God and Christ, will receive the Son and the Father.
Consider the child as someone in a less fortunate state than ourselves at a particular moment, as with the good Samaritan and the wounded Jew.
In the story, the Samaritan tends to the wounds of his Jewish enemy. The Samaritan goes out of his way to find help for the wounded man at the Samaritan’s own expense. The Samaritan’s natural impulse might have been to be glad at his enemy’s misfortune, but he answered to a call greater than a petty emotion.
To take on the yoke of service in spite of our natural inclinations is to answer Jesus’ call to become the intersection of the greatest and the least, both together in one.
Next day
Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”
Again, the crowd is growing. The natural desire to be a spectator at what may be a momentous event is in all of us. The miracles of day to day life are too common, and therefore too small, to hold our interest. Something bigger and shinier is necessary to hold our attention.
This notoriety is a mixed blessing for Jesus. The miracles lend credence to His words, but the message is overshadowed by the spectacle.
Jesus speaks with authority, as the One who has the power behind the words. He rebukes the spirit, denounces it for what it is, an enemy to understanding. “Come out, you who silences hearing and speech, and return no more.”
The boy is again convulsed as the evil spirit cries out. The two have become as one, and separation is painful to both.
The power of the Authority that once created the world retains its power. The truth of how all things were once made remains, and evidence of that truth comes when we submit to that Authority.
Had the father separated himself from God and the boy fell under the wrong authority as a result? Or was it the rebellion that is not uncommon in youth? The question of who or why is less important than the answer.
Jesus does not rebuke the father or the son, only the untruth that is present.
Redemption May 15
Mark 9:26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
The evil spirit had displaced the heavenly spirit. When truth is silenced and speech made impossible, how is a person to live?
When the silencer has departed and communication again is possible, the boy is momentarily between two masters. There is a sudden void, an emptiness, as he is unpossessed by any spirit. The boy is as one dead.
Jesus restores the boy to his rightful master with a touch, and the boy rises up.
Each of us is possessed by one spirit or another in this life. Jesus restores the pneuma spirit of life given in the Beginning to its rightful position of supremacy.
The picture of Jesus lifting up the boy is itself uplifting. Jesus is the One to be lifted up, but He defers to the risen youth.
This part of the lesson is the servanthood of restoration of life. This can be accomplished by anyone who lifts up another, helping them to recognize their identity as a child of the Father, valuable in their own right and not subject to the dominion of those who would hide this truth.
Jesus’ act is dramatic, a picture on a canvas bigger than life. We are all painters on this canvas, however small our corner.
Here Endeth the Lesson May 16
Mark 9:28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
The disciples are chastened. They were unable to redeem the boy the evil spirit, but Jesus has just accomplished this.
They are with Jesus apart from the crowd and ask, “Why could we not…?” A better question is, “How could we…?”
Remember that when Jesus sent out the twelve, He gave them power to cast out evil spirits, and they did (Mark 6). They are at a loss as to the cause of their failure now.
Jesus answers the better question. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” In Matthew 17:20, Jesus summarizes with the necessity of faith.
We sense more clearly that Jesus’ reference to a faithless generation in verse 19 included His disciples.
The implication is that the disciples have not gone through the disciplines necessary for spiritual work. Prayer is submission to Authority, and fasting is denial of distractions from that Authority. (Note that food is only one of many distractions from which a fast may be necessary.)
As the deaf and dumb spirit was rebuked, the disciples also now feel a rebuke.
Hard Truths Again May 17
Mark 9:30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Jesus and His disciples have returned to the western side of the lake, and begin to move south from the lake’s northern end. The destination on the road they are travelling is clear to Jesus, and He shares the journey’s end with the disciples that they may prepare themselves.
After the transfiguration, Jesus told them (Mark 8:31) much the same as He now speaks again. Peter had protested, but this time there is no response from His disciples as Jesus speaks of His betrayal, death, and resurrection.
The disciples have been humbled repeatedly as Jesus has taught them things and they have misunderstood. This incident where they were unable to cast the deaf and dumb spirit from the boy is only the latest.
Jesus’ lessons are hard when they are placed on the foundation of the prevailing religious teachings, the doctrine of men. Although religions always proclaim their doctrine as that of God, the huge number of sects, each with its different emphasis, demonstrates that confusion on the character of God and His relationship with His people.
The disciples are us, the people of every age. People have been confused by the appearances of the world around us that do not fit with their conception of how the world should be. We continue today in the tradition of the perplexed disciples, afraid to question what we do not understand.
They – and we - fear the answer will be no more intelligible and acceptable than Jesus’ answers on other hard questions. All of His answers require His followers to surrender control of their own life.
Perhaps the disciples – and we – do not understand the true nature of life.
Thoughts on Relativity May 18
Mark 9:33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
Still nearer the northern end of the lake, they arrive at the household where they usually stay in Capernaum.
The disciples have been troubled by the last two events on their journey – their inability to heal the boy’s fits, and then Jesus’ repetition of His impending arrest, death, and resurrection.
They direct their attention to themselves rather than examine the issues that these events bring to the forefront. They have been discussing which of them would be the greatest, who was most favored.
This theory of relativity has been the bane of mankind since the Garden. Eve, and then Adam, each made the decision to alter their position relative to God. Rather than submit, they rewrote His one rule as if they were the legislators. They equated themselves with God.
The disciples, perhaps subconsciously, are vying for position relative to the others. Who will be the greatest? Rewrite this as who will lead in the future, be above others, in Jesus’ kingdom?
We are all equal before God. Is anyone of us greater or lesser than another? We each have our unique gift that may make us superior at tiddlywinks or lawn mowing, but we have our weaknesses in other areas and there we will be the “least.”
The consolation of being the greatest among those without understanding is small. The disciples keep silent as to this subject they had debated, seeing the smallness of it relative to Jesus.
The “greatest” is an illusion based on a small pond. The only One who is greatest is the Creator of the small pond.
The Actuality of Relativity May 19
Mark 9:35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
On the road of life, we may boast as did the disciples about our own greatness. Jesus turns thoughts of greatness upside down.
“If anyone desires to be first….” To be first is to be foremost in importance, to be the best. Again, this is a question of comparing self to others or against some standard. We control the comparison by establishing the object or definition against which we compare ourselves.
Jesus is using the word in the absolute sense, not in the comparative sense. Jesus’ statement, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all,” is a contradiction if taken in the sense of a competition. One cannot be first and last in a race….unless there is only one runner.
The apparent contradiction is actually two foundational principles of kingdom of heaven living. Being first in the kingdom of heaven is also to be last. The goal of kingdom living is to be first and last.
First, Jesus continually demonstrates the principle of humility: He is obedient to the Father. Jesus accepts His role beneath the Father.
Second, His demonstration of humility is an active pursuit. He shepherds the flock toward the kingdom, using His gifts in service of those whom He leads. Being last places Him behind the others, urging them forward, or beneath them, lifting them up.
Each of us is first and last in the eyes of God. Because He creates and loves individuals, each unique, there is no true comparison that establishes one as greater than another. Our differences lie in how we accept this uniqueness and what we do with it.
His Lesson on Relativity May 20
Mark 9:36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Relationships with others come easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Serving, helping others and lifting them up, comes easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Agape love comes easily for some, and with more difficulty for others.
Jesus gives us an object lesson in relativity when He takes a child into His arms. Taking a small child into the agape relationship is generally easy.
Note that Jesus says, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name….” In other words, whoever receives one of these little children, not out of a natural impulse or instinct, but out of love for God and Christ, will receive the Son and the Father.
Consider the child as someone in a less fortunate state than ourselves at a particular moment, as with the good Samaritan and the wounded Jew.
In the story, the Samaritan tends to the wounds of his Jewish enemy. The Samaritan goes out of his way to find help for the wounded man at the Samaritan’s own expense. The Samaritan’s natural impulse might have been to be glad at his enemy’s misfortune, but he answered to a call greater than a petty emotion.
To take on the yoke of service in spite of our natural inclinations is to answer Jesus’ call to become the intersection of the greatest and the least, both together in one.
Next day
