The key of knowledge — Luke 9-11

Posted on December 15, 2011 by parklinscomb

I do not have a soul; I am a soul; I have a body. Our essence, what goes on after our physical bodies die, is spirit. Yet we know very little information about the spirit world apart from God’s existence, basic morality, and perhaps the feeling that we survive death. We depend upon God’s light, His word, to reveal about spiritual reality what we need to know. Keep reading, keep learning God’s word.

As always, I’ll only be able to hit things in our reading that I think are highlights; but I hope you’ll be caused to give deeper thought to them. Let’s dive in…

Ashamed of Him and His words? — Luke 9:26

Shame and embarrassment are common human emotions. It’s a social emotion that weighs what others think — and even what we think of ourselves — of our behavior, our appearance, or even our associates. If others think ill of our behavior, appearance, or associates, shame compels us sometimes to blush and sometimes to hide from others’ disapproval. And it can cause us to walk away from something or someone, to disown and distance ourself from it, so others will not think ill of us. Because Jesus knew that He and His teachings were not going to be understood or accepted by a sin-addled world, He also knew that there would be the temptation among us to be ashamed of Him and His teachings. And He warns us that shame of Him and His words cuts both ways — if we are wanting to disown and disassociate ourselves from Jesus in this world, He’ll disown us, too. So, here’s a question: The last time you were “outed” as a Christian at work, in the neighborhood, among unbelieving family, among friends, were you ashamed or honored to own His name? Was He ashamed of you? And here’s an interesting thing, if we’re unashamed of Jesus, we’ll be ashamed of worldly things; if we’re unashamed of worldly things, we’ll be ashamed of Jesus. There’s a certain power in confession of His name in our daily world. It’s not the key to living a perfect life, but it’s a start.

“Sure I’ll follow; when do we eat?” — Luke 9:57-62

Three would-be disciples come up to volunteer to follow Jesus. You’d think that Jesus would simply be happy about His numbers swelling and wave on into the group. But Jesus seemed to have been largely unimpressed with big numbers, and He never even insinuated that discipleship would be easy. Regrettably, we don’t always share His “truth in advertising” principle and we often leave the impression that discipleship is little more than joining a club. But when these disciples say they wanted to follow Jesus, He seems to be telling one of them something like, “Are you sure? I don’t know where I’m sleeping tonight or what I’m eating tomorrow. Can you handle that?” He seems to be telling another one, “The invitation to follow might not be open tomorrow; if you follow Me, there’ll be no temporizing; you must follow Me now.” To a third one He seems to be saying something like, “Following Me must take first priority, over family, business, and whatever else you love.” Knowing the cost up front will occasionally turn potential converts away; the upside is that they will be committed.

A back-door lesson on neighborliness — Luke 10:25-37

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a very familiar one, but I’ve noticed that the major point that Jesus wanted to get across is often overlooked. A neighbor isn’t just someone like us. Jesus proves this by turning the question around from “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29) to “Who do you want to be a neighbor to you, when you’re in need?” (v. 36). The injured man wanted all of the three of the passers-by to be a neighbor to him, and he didn’t mind at all, when the neighbor turned out to be a Samaritan. The definition of who my neighbor is, when I’m in need, is the same definition as when I’m needed.

Taking away the key of knowledge — Luke 11:52

Obscuring or confusing really important information like God’s word is a serious sin. That’s essentially what false teachers do — and that’s what the lawyers of Jesus’ day had done. Lawyers tend to muddy legal things in our courts so as get their guilty clients acquitted on technicalities or imprecise language, or some other nonsense — that’s bad enough. But it’s infinitely worse, when those who are looked to for spiritual information for the salvation of their souls — teachers, preachers, minister, and even academics — theologize (play lawyer with God’s word) their way through simple commands and principles to acquit their own beliefs, actions, or agendas or those of their patrons. They take away the key of knowledge: not entering in themselves and hindering those who want to enter God’s kingdom.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Describe what great things God has done for you — Luke 6-8

Posted on December 14, 2011 by parklinscomb

After blogging through the Gospels for several weeks now, I am amazed and even overwhelmed at the stuff that is contained in these books! God’s word is so rich and deep and full that a lifetime isn’t enough to get to know it well. And just think, we’re only getting the tip of the iceberg! There’s far more going on that what we can see or know about in this physical existence! Keep on reading, keep on learning, keep on drinking deeply of the deep, sweet well of God’s word.

Filled with rage over… — Luke 6:11

When I read this verse carefully I found myself surprised — and yet not so surprised — at the reaction of religious leaders, when a man with a withered hand was healed. OK, it was a Sabbath; and yes, it demonstrated that what they had been teaching was erroneous; and yes, it probably made them look foolish — but to be filled with rage and discuss what they might do to eliminate Jesus, is just a little over the top! It’s not like someone just managed a better zinger than you to score a debate point or something. This was a teaching accompanied by a miracle to demonstrate the teaching’s divine rightness. Their rage speaks of the personal drive to win rather than a desire to be in the right. It’s a common malady, I’m afraid. So before you get all charged up about someone’s well thought out biblical argument that makes you look bad, think about these guys and ask whether or not you might be mistakenly more concerned about winning than being right. Your soul’s on the line here.

The golden rule — Luke 6:31

In my humble opinion, I think this is the best expression of Jesus’ golden rule: “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” Luke 6:31, NAS95. It’s neat, clean, positively stated, and straightforward.  Ah, if only we could live it as neatly, as cleanly, as positively, and as straightforwardly as it is stated. So much of God’s word is simple and straightforward — in reality, not so hard to do; but somehow we still find it hard to do. Perhaps Satan does throw us a lot of curve balls and “gray areas”; but if that is true, it is also true that we probably complicate many things that are really pretty straightforward — because we’re looking for a way to do things we shouldn’t. The world complains about Christians sometimes that we look at things a little too black and white for their taste — they see almost everything as shades of gray — but who is showing better success at morality, at raising functional children, at sustaining marriage, at honor and ethics? Methinks the world could use a lot more black and white thinking — God’s.

Why do you call Me, “”Lord…”? — Luke 6:46

“Lord” is a title of authority; you obey a lord. It is not just an empty, honorary title. Jesus’ original audience certainly understood the meaning, because they lived in a time of kings and other rulers who had what we would consider tyrannical powers. You obeyed or you quickly (with little or no “due process”) payed a dear price for it. Those who were calling Jesus “Lord” were giving the title lip service but neglecting obedience. The point: confessing Jesus as Lord is not enough; you must live Jesus as Lord.

They rejected God purpose for themselves — Luke 7:30

Now here’s an interesting turn of phrase: the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John. The essence of John’s baptism was repentance, and when these religious leaders rejected John’s baptism (do demonstrate repentance) they also rejected God’s purpose for themselves. They should have been the first in line to be baptized, but they were not — maybe some let pride get in the way, maybe some didn’t recognize John as a legitimate prophet, maybe they thought that their Jewishness was quite enough and that this baptism stuff was completely unnecessary. Who knows? But it is sometimes seen among religious leaders today and the people that they lead who reject Christ’s baptism (immersion in water in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin). And in doing so, they reject God’s purpose for themselves, again — “For the promise (of forgiveness and reception of the Holy Spirit through baptism, Acts 2:38) is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”” Acts 2:39, NAS95. Accept God’s purpose for you.

Two debtors — Luke 7:40ff

Who loves God more? The claims are easy to make, but the actions tell the truth. In the larger story Simon the Pharisee has asked Jesus to his home in what appears to be a perfunctory show of hospitality; although Simon fed Jesus, he provided for him none of the usual greetings or favors expected in oriental hospitality. On the other hand, a sinful woman shows extravagant and poignant care for the Master — to Simon’s great judgmental displeasure. In rebuke of Simon’s judgment Jesus then tells the story of the two debtors ending with the rhetorical question, Who loved the moneylender more? Obviously, the one who was forgiven more. Jesus replied, “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Luke 7:47, NAS95. Not that Simon had necessarily sinned a lot less, but, in his self-righteousness, he certainly perceived it less. When our love grows weak, maybe it’s time that we looked at what we’ve been forgiven of.

Bearing fruit with perseverance — Luke 8:15

Bearing good fruit is important, even crucial to our entering Heaven. But it’s not like we’re going to be able to produce fruit one season and then retire. Discipleship, living “Jesus”, fruit bearing, is an endeavor to be practiced until the moment we breath our last. If I may be so bold as to remark on it, I’ve sadly witnessed too many folks who assumed that retirement from the work-a-day world was also a retirement from the Lord’s business. Oh, they still came to church and the fellowship dinners; but they refused to teach, they refused to visit, they refused to do much of anything. “I’ve put my time in; it’s time those younger people pulled their weight.” While it might be a good idea to let younger people do some things; it is never a good excuse for not bearing good fruit with perseverance.

What great things God has done for you — Luke 8:39

After the demon possessed man was delivered from his demons, he greatly desired to follow Jesus. But Jesus had a different plan for him: Go home and tell others what great things God has done for you! This is precisely what the man did. You know, this wouldn’t be a bad strategy for any of us who’ve ever felt a little unskilled at the work of teaching the Gospel to someone else. OK, so you may not be able to quote the book, chapter, and verses like the preacher does; you may get a bit tongue-tied trying to put together a logical presentation of salvation; you may feel less than adequate at answering difficult questions. But you can tell someone else what God has done for you. You can tell someone else about your lostness, about what you learned about Jesus, about what the Bible told you to do to be saved. Doubtlessly, the people you tell these things to will have questions, but that’s when you lead them to someone who can teach. In the meantime, you’ve given them a taste of the Gospel and stirred up their spiritual interest.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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The beginning of Jesus’ ministry — Luke 3-5

Posted on December 13, 2011 by parklinscomb

There’s so much more in these readings than I can possibly comment on in this sort of format. I hope you’re reading chapters carefully and finding things that I’m not mentioning. God’s word is full to the brim with wonderful insights. Read, think, wonder, and practice it.

Steeped in history — Luke 3:1ff

One of the differences between myth and history is that myth and legend exist in “Once upon a time in kingdom far away…” or “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”. The times and places are indistinct. Not so with history, and the Gospel is history. Luke wrote with an historian’s eye for facts, witnesses, historical time markers, specific locations, etc. In fact, the more that historians look at Luke’s Gospel, the more they are impressed. Though some past historians had doubted some of his statements, modern archaeologists and historians have discovered just how accurate he really was. The Gospel, of course, is not a history book; it is a spiritual book: but it is great to know that it is indeed steeped in history. This stuff really happened, folks!

Axe at the root — Luke 3:9

John’s preaching was not for the faint of heart. He cut to the chase, refused to candy coat anything, and motivated folks with “Hell-fire and Brimstone”. But then, he was a prophet; what would you expect? But one of the more picturesque things he says really caught my attention: “Indeed, the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Producing good fruit is really important in God’s scheme of things. This isn’t about making more Christians, although that would be one kind of fruit; but letting our lives produce the fruit of godly teaching, godly intentions, godly thoughts — the good deeds that God has been commanding. Without such fruit there’s what — a doddering old farmer who will say, “Well, that’s alright; you were a good tree anyway”? No, rather: “The axe is at the root. You’re coming down!” John is sort of harsh, but sometimes harsh is what we need. Are you producing the fruit the Lord is looking for.

Until an opportune time — Luke 4:13

This phrase is found at the end of the temptations of Christ in the wilderness. Sometimes we are of the opinion that Jesus wasn’t really all that tempted by Satan, but I would like to disabuse you of that silly thought. Sure, Satan knew that Jesus would be strong, but this was Satan’s great chance to take down the grand plan for redeeming man. If Jesus sins, it’s all over! Satan left Jesus alone, alright — until his next opportunity cropped up, which didn’t let up until He breathed His last on the cross.

But this phrase also tells us a little of Satan’s modus operandi, doesn’t it? He’s an opportunist. But what if we starve him of opportunities? The truth is, we give him way more opportunities than we should, don’t we? The shows we watch, the books we read, the songs we listen to, the people we choose to associate with. No, I’m not saying that we should cloister ourselves from the world; I’m just saying that we’d probably find ourselves less tempted, if we’d just give the devil fewer opportunities.

A miraculous escape — Luke 4:29

Jesus wasn’t appreciated in His own hometown. They didn’t believe in Him and when He told them things that they didn’t want to hear they

The actual cliff in Nazareth Jesus was almost thrown off of — in background

tried to throw Him off a nearby cliff. Jesus’ life was never easy, even at home. It was a miracle that He escaped — the Bible says as much. It wasn’t His time.

Put out into the deep — Luke 5:4

Peter and friends were professionals. They knew through experience how things worked with fish. You fish at night and you fish in the shallows. That’s what they had been doing. But when Jesus comes up and tells them to throw their net out one more time “in the deep” you have to appreciate what Peter said, “Nevertheless.” It made all the difference! It will make all the difference for us today, when we think we’re the experts. I’ve read lots of church growth books and articles in my lifetime. Some of them have good things to say and others are just the latest craze. Jesus’ way is always good however, “Cast out into the deep,” get out of your comfort zone, step out on faith, and lo and behold, people respond to the Gospel — rather than the method or the man.

Wineskins — Luke 5:33-39

Religious experts were wondering why Jesus was teaching and doing the things that He was doing. Jesus warned them to be careful about trying to fit Him into their traditions and way of thinking. He was going to be out of their box in a different paradigm — new cloth sewed onto old cloth or new wine in old wineskins. And that’s the way of most of Jesus’ teaching; it doesn’t “compute” in the world’s way of thinking. The world won’t get it; Paul talked about it at some length in 1 Corinthians 1-3. Part of dying to self is the transformation “by the renewal of the mind” (Romans 12:2). Have you renewed your thinking?

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Mark 15 and Luke 1-2

Posted on December 12, 2011 by parklinscomb

I’m doing something a little different today, spanning the end of one book to the beginning of the next — and we’re in the Gospels no less! But I didn’t want to overwhelm the daily Bible readers with either too much to read in the Bible or in this blog. So, today we’ll be talking about the resurrection of Jesus and then turn right around and talk about the birth of our Savior. Don’t get whiplash, now. 🙂

Skeptics — Mark 16:9-13

This may sound odd at first, a preacher saying that he’s glad that the apostles didn’t believe, were skeptical, for a while after Jesus’ resurrection; but I am. Oh, I’m really grateful for the ready faith of the women who first brought the news, too; but the skepticism of the apostles and others helps me generations later know that these men weren’t engaged in a lot of wishful thinking, were too trusting, too naive, or too ready to believe. Oh, yes, they had seen Jesus raise the dead; but now that Jesus was gone, who was going to raise Him? They didn’t do it, they couldn’t do it; and they had never seen or could even conceive of anyone recovering from “dead” on their own. These guys hadn’t just fallen off the turnip truck, as the saying goes. Their skepticism turned to belief gives the rest of us, 21 centuries down the road (and beyond), stronger evidence and reason to believe the unbelievable. Discernment is important in matters of faith; there’s a lot of false claims and teachings based on those false claims out there. Jesus’ resurrection was the real deal, however — skeptic approved, if you know what I mean.

The Great Commission — Mark 16:15,16

The life, death, and resurrection is more than just a nice story; it’s a saving story that needs to be told. Jesus, therefore, told His apostles (and by extension the rest of His disciples) to share it with the world. The response to this story needed to be — in condensed form — belief and baptism (immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin — Acts 2:38; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:1ff). Repentance (e.g., Acts 2:38) and confession of faith (e.g., Romans 10:9,10) are also mentioned as part of the early Christian responses to the Gospel — all on the basis of faith. If you don’t believe, you’ll never do the rest of it (repent, confess, be baptized). That’s why Jesus says that those who would refuse to believe will be condemned; if you can’t take the right first step, you’ll never get to the right destination.

Intro to Luke

Whole books are written about the background and introduction of Luke; I’ll try to be a little briefer than that. 🙂

Although Luke never names himself as the author, earliest Christian tradition and history attributes it to the Luke who accompanied Paul on his missionary trips. Luke was a Greek, making him the only Gentile writer of the New Testament. Luke was a physician and, therefore, well educated. This meshes well with the kind of Greek that is used in Luke (a bit more intellectual Greek than, for example, John). And Luke and Acts are apparently written by the same author — same sort of language, the same dedication (to a Theophilus), and Acts picks up right where Luke leaves off. Because Luke was well educated he had doubtlessly read books of history and knew how histories were generally written. He makes brief mention of his research among eyewitnesses to compose a Gospel in “consecutive order”. In connection with this, you’ll notice that Luke often mentions the names of people people that are pretty minor characters, and who would usually not be named in a straightforward telling of a history. These are likely the very people who he talked to; he’s probably naming his sources, so that potentially the reader could cross-check his facts. As Luke writes the book of Acts, later, he himself is an eyewitness to much of Paul’s missionary activity. Because Luke was a Gentile and a physician, his Gospel tends to highlight the outsiders and underdogs in Jesus’ story — Gentiles, women, the sick, the poor, etc. Finally, Luke has interesting and poignant stories and parables we don’t have in the other Gospels — e.g., the Prodigal Son.

Timing of Jesus’ birth — Luke 2:1,2

This being the Christmas season, this bit of info might be of some special interest to you. You likely know that traditional Christmas story varies a little from the biblical story. As I had mentioned in the Matthew part of this blog, the Magi came some two years after Jesus’ birth. Most of us are aware of the fact that December 25 is a very unlikely date for the actual birth of Jesus — the earliest traditions place it in spring. But here’s one that you may not know, Jesus wasn’t born in 0 or 1 AD. Consider these historic facts:

  • Augustus (Luke 2:1) ruled from 30 BC to AD 14
  • Quirinius served as governor (Luke 2:2) from from 12-7 BC
  • King Herod (Matthew 2:1, referring to Herod the Great) died in 4 BC

Put it all together and it would seem that the latest that Jesus might have been born would have been 7 BC (before Christ), which of course may skew a few other dates off just a bit, too — for example the date of Jesus’ crucifixion (which could be as early as AD 26) and beginning of the church. An abbott by the name of Dionysus Exegines, who did the work for the Gregorian calendar, by which we all currently live, miscalculated when Jesus was born (due to insufficient historical data) in the 6th century. We’ve had to live with the error ever since. Now you know! 🙂

About My Father’s business — Luke 2:49

when Jesus was 12 years old, His family went to the usual Passover feast in Jerusalem. Travel of this kind in those days was usually done in large crowds for protection from outlaws — and company. The men walked together and the women and children walked together — not because of any gender biases, but for the same reason that at any party the men gather in the living room to talk about guy stuff and the women gather in the kitchen to chat about their interests — gender differences rather than gender biases. Jesus was almost old enough to be considered a man, and young men that age often began hanging around the men rather than with the women and children. Mary thought that’s where Jesus was and Joseph assumed He was back with His mother. When they discovered He was not with them, they made a panicked trip back to Jerusalem and looked everywhere they could think of. When they thought to look in the Temple, lo and behold that’s exactly where He was. Mary began to do what mothers do, lecture Him for worrying them so. Jesus response was simply, didn’t you know I had to be about My Father’s business (some translations read “house”). We don’t know how Jesus got separated from His family or whose fault it was; but what we do know is that Jesus went to the place where He thought they would first look, the Temple. To Him, it was a no-brainer; of course, I’d be at the Temple!

Where would people think of first to look for you? In front of the TV, playing video games, at the office, on the phone, in disreputable places, or at church? The question may say a lot about us.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Be on the alert — Mark 13-15

Posted on December 11, 2011 by parklinscomb

God’s word is the food for the soul; it’s insight into a realm we cannot see; and it’s wisdom beyond what we’re able to come up with on our own. You are to be commended for being disciplined enough to read everyday from God’s word, in spite of the busyness of the season. Christmas is a time for feasting — physical and spiritual food. Don’t starve!

No one knows — Mark 13:32

The world’s history is full of prophets of the end of the world. The most recent prophecy that I’m aware of came from a Mr. Campbell (I think), who predicted a May 21, 2011. And of course, there’s an expectation, based on the Mayan calendar for an end to the world near Christmas of 2012. Adventists in the 1800’s predicted the coming of the Lord but had their “Great Disappointment” in 1843 and 1844. And the Jehovah’s Witnesses on the basis of Mr. Rutherford’s Millions Now Living Will Never Die prophecy that the Lord would return in 1925 were also disappointed and had to change the name of the book to Millions Now Living May Never Die.

So many unnecessary disappointments. All they had to have done is read Jesus’ words, “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (Mark 13:32, NAS95). No man, no angels, and not even the Lord Jesus Himself know or will know. The timing of the event is the Father’s prerogative, His call. And although it might be a date circled on a Heavenly calendar in God’s personal office (as if), but it might be as much a matter of the condition of the world. Or a combination of the two. Or a factor we have no knowledge of. But never, ever be fooled into thinking that anyone in this world — or the next — will have any idea when the second coming of Jesus will be. I have a rule of thumb: If anyone claims that they know the day or the hour, the one thing that we can know for sure is that Jesus won’t come that day.

Be on the alert — Mark 13:33-37

Jesus follows up this assurance that no one will know the day or the hour with His main point: Be on the alert! Don’t fall asleep spiritually. Don’t get caught up in spiritual neglect or get spiritually out of focus. Those on the alert are paying attention, are not getting distracted, are on their toes, are ready for whatever is coming, and realize the need for staying prepared for the unexpected. How spiritually alert are you?

Remove this cup from Me — Mark 14:36

Was Jesus really human? We sometimes look at Jesus and think first of His divinity and how powerful He was. But the Scripture is also very clear that though He was God in the flesh, He “emptied Himself” (Phil 2:5ff) to become a man. Looking at this passage the conclusion is obvious, He was indeed human. He did have the same longing that we have not to die, not to suffer, not to suffer the indignities, pains, and shames of the cross. “Remove this cup from Me,” He said. But He also added, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” Are you facing some crisis? Some suffering? Some injustices? Have you prayed to the Lord, “Remove this cup from me”? Me too. Are you still willing to do what’s right? Do God’s will rather your own?

A certain young man — Mark 14:51-52

It’s no huge thing here, but the young man that is mentioned in this part of Mark is likely to be Mark himself. Tradition tells us that the last Passover was held in the upper room of Mark’s own home. And when Mark — who was probably supposed to be in bed — heard Jesus and His disciples leaving, his curiosity got the better of him and he followed them out to Gethsemane to see where they were going in the middle of the night. This makes Mark an eyewitness of the things that he is writing about — narrowly escaping capture and arrest at Jesus’ arrest. Coming home naked must’ve been quite the story to explain to momma, don’t you think. It’s probably the reason why Mark’s Gospel is full of interesting details, gestures, and picturesque descriptions, not found in the other Gospels.

When is blasphemy not blasphemy? — Mark 14:62-64

If anyone else had said the things that Jesus had said, His words would have indeed been blasphemy. But instead of condemnation, the Father raised Him from the dead to declare to all that He indeed was and is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Will Rogers once said, “It ain’t bragging, if it’s true.”

Why have you forsaken Me? — Mark 15:34

You may have heard of this before, but it’s worth another moment to think about it — the worst part of the crucifixion appears to have been the separation of Christ from the Father. In perfect union for all of eternity, now separated not by Jesus’ sin, but ours. And since it is OURS (plural), it had to have been quite the mountain of sin, don’t you think? I’m blown away, when I let my imagination try to grasp the spiritual magnitude of what Jesus was bearing that day. Never let the words, slip from your mouth, “Lord, You’re just asking too much.”

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Believe you have received — Mark 10-12

Posted on December 10, 2011 by parklinscomb

I hope that during the holidays you’re continuing to read. Things can get really hurried and harried. Don’t let the crush of the season, divert you from the greater “reason for the season”.

Divorce — Mark 10:3ff

Mark’s version of this teaching from Jesus is less expanded on than Matthew’s. Matthew includes the allowance of divorce for the cause of adultery, but Mark doesn’t. The point to take away here is that God takes the marriage covenant very, very seriously, and He takes a very dim view of divorce. This is a teaching that needs more emphasis today in our churches and in our culture, when so many seem to think that marriages are no different than any other contract that can be broken on a whim. Covenants may be like a contract in that they are an agreement, but they are far more serious and unbreakable. It’s not just a piece of paper; it’s making family! We must take it more seriously for the sake of our children, for the sake of our society, for the sake of our churches, and for the sake of our souls — this last one especially! Yes, breaking covenants can send you to Hell.

Inheriting eternal life — Mark 10:17

This rich young ruler wanted eternal life, but he apparently didn’t want it bad enough. I’ve talked about the cost of discipleship before, but I’ll emphasize it here again; we really must be willing to part with anything and everything. Jesus didn’t give this challenge to this man to teach some greater virtue in poverty; there’s no great virtue in poverty. Jesus simply knew this man’s weakness and wanted to reveal it and challenge it. Satan will use our weaknesses, you know; it is the very point of Jesus telling us at a different point that we must hate father, mother, etc. to follow Him. What would Jesus have said to you?

Leading the fearful — Mark 10:32

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for the last time. His disciples are fearful for good reason. Jesus ought to be fearful; fearful things await Him in Jerusalem. But walking ahead of them, Jesus demonstrated a courage that impressed and amazed them all. Perhaps this is part of what inspired the apostles in their martyrdom, a memory of Jesus courageously and faith-fully marching to Jerusalem. Leaders lead courageously from the front, elders, deacons, and preachers.

The Lord has need of it — Mark 11:3

There are some commentators who are convinced that Jesus had made prior arrangements for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. If it wasn’t an previous arrangement, it was foresight; and if it was foresight, it provides a great example that some nameless fellow gave us all — immediate and selfless stewardship in the real sense of the word. Stewardship is not preservation of the things we have been given, but the proper and liberal use of what we have been given in the Lord’s service. “The Lord has need of it,” said the apostle. “Oh, OK, says the owner of the donkey; if it’s for the Lord, of course!” Are you preserving your stewardship or using it? The Lord won’t need it in pristine shape, just well used and maintained.

Believe you have received — Mark 11:24

I get asked a lot about what praying in faith is about and I think that Jesus explains it here so very well. Praying in faith is then acting like you’ve received what you’ve asked for. What would you be doing if you believed that you were receiving what you’d asked for, for sure. An example Peter stepping out of the boat onto the water: he asked Jesus, Jesus said yes, and Peter stepped out. What have we NOT received because we did NOT ACT as if we had received it? Why hasn’t God answered your prayer? Have you asked in faith as Jesus has defined it?

The God of the living — Mark 12:27

When you die, it is not the end of life. Your spirit continues on; it is even conscious (Lk. 16:19ff). Moreover, we will be raised again on the last day. This question, raised by skeptical Sadducees, was rebuked by Jesus because they should have read the books of Moses that stated clearly that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living! Take comfort and be hopeful even in the throes of grief or walking personally into the “valley of the shadow of death”. God is the God of the living!

Out of her poverty — Mark 12:44

As Jesus watched people put money into the Temple treasury, He had seen some big donors throw their substantial gifts in. But when a widow came in and put in only two pitiful copper coins, Jesus the Son of God was impressed. The amount wasn’t big by visual standards, but it was huge by spiritual standards. It was more than the spare change we sometimes give, it was more than just a generous contribution (which implies some sacrifice), it was everything. 

See you tomorrow, Lord willing

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Mark 7-9

Posted on December 9, 2011 by parklinscomb

I hope your enjoying your second run through the Gospel of Jesus. Let’s see what lies within our reading today…

Experts at setting aside the commandments of God — Mark 7:9

These religious leaders with all of their training in the Law and the the Traditions were the lawyers of their day — men trained to find and exploit loopholes, trained to parse words to make the pieces fit the way they wanted, experts in find ways around God’s will. Now there’s an interesting and twisted sort of expertise. We dislike and distrust modern lawyers for such expertise. And yet it’s one that many of us show considerable aptitude for — justification, rationalization, creative theology, whatever you’d like to call it. Human beings, when they want to do something that they know they shouldn’t will explore every loophole, parse every word, find any excuse, shift every blame, generate every conceivable hypothetical situation, and leave no stone unturned to set aside the commandments of God. Jesus criticizes these religious leaders and class what they’re doing what it really is — setting aside the commands of God; and the criticism applies to us as well as them, when we try to paint our sins in such a way as to make them technically OK. God sees through every attempt of ours to “play lawyer”. Why not use the energy we expend to dodge God’s will for simply obeying it?

Short memories — Mark 8:4

When the multitudes needed to be fed in a desolate (desert) place, the apostles were initially dumbfounded by Jesus’ command that they feed them. “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” But it’s not like God had never fed lots of people in the desert before! It’s not even like Jesus had never fed thousands of people before with relatively nothing. Our memories are regrettably quite short. We don’t remember how many times God has provided for us in our lives, we don’t count our blessings often enough. When my son was young (2 or 3 years old), my wife and I decided to have a night to ourselves and we took our son to stay with some older friends that he considered to be something like grandparents. He was a little upset that we were leaving him overnight with our friends, struggling with classic separation anxiety that is part of the age, and as my wife and I left he told our friends, “Well, I’ll never see them again.” Of course we were coming back, we’d left him with babysitters before and always come back; but in the throes of the emotions, he thought we were abandoning him. And sometimes we wonder. if God has abandoned us; despite the fact that He’s always provided for us before. We all suffer from shorten memories, and that’s why we need weekly church assembly, weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper, weekly encouragement, and Ebenezers (1 Samuel 7:12 — markers in our lives to remind of God’s provisions).

“Get behind Me Satan” — Mark 8:33

You’ll probably remember this quote from Matthew. I thought I’d comment on it here rather than when in Matthew, because there was just so much to talk about in those chapters. Contextually, Peter has just made the “Good Confession”, and Jesus had blessed Peter for it; but now that they were on the way down the mountain Jesus wanted to share something that was heavy on His heart and something that they needed to know and be prepared for: Jesus’ death and resurrection. Peter, who had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, couldn’t begin to grasp that such a thing could happen to the Messiah; and he rebukes Jesus for saying such things! On the one hand, I’m sure a forceful outburst of concern for Jesus’ safety and life was appreciated by Jesus; but on the other hand, it was the very thing that the human side of Jesus wanted to avoid. Jesus responds quickly and aggressively to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Have you ever noticed that sometimes the good intentions of others are great temptations to do the wrong things, feeding right into the things that we want to do, but shouldn’t?

  • “You’ve worked so hard this week, why don’t you sleep in on Sunday?”
  • “You’ve been so stressed lately, you deserve to let your hair down a little.”
  • “Well, if that woman would say something like that to you, you just shouldn’t darken the door of that church again.”
  • “You’ve worked for that company for years, they can spare you a few office supplies.”
  • Etc.

Notice again what Jesus’ response was: 1) He recognized the real source of the suggestion, 2) He responded quickly and decisively (there was no “thinking it over”), 3) He reminded Himself and everyone present that our first interest should be the God’s.

Rid yourself of the impurity of jealousy — Mark 9:30-50

After coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was interrupted in telling His closest disciples about His death and resurrection by an urgent request for healing. In their continued travels Jesus appears to have picked up where He had previously left off and continued talking about His future death and resurrection. Sadly, his disciples weren’t getting it (9:32), presumably because they were jealously arguing about position (9:33-35). The discussion had apparently come from an incident in which the disciples had discovered a man exorcising demons in Jesus’ name and had jealously forbade him to do so anymore — he wasn’t part of their troupe. Jesus addresses the problem by telling them that a) they shouldn’t have forbad this man from doing good in His name (they may have caused him to stumble — 9:40-42) and b) they needed to purify themselves from their dearly held jealously of position. And it’s this last matter that is the target of what He is saying in vvs. 43-49 about being cast into Hell. This jealousy of theirs about position — as dear to them as their right hand or foot or eye — could be the very thing that could land them in Hell! So, purify (the idea of salt and fire, in vvs. 49,50) yourselves! If they would purge the jealousy and competition for position, they could find “peace with one another”, but as long as they continued to vie for place and authority in the Kingdom they’d find division among themselves and spiritual danger for their souls.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Parables — Mark 4-6

Posted on December 8, 2011 by parklinscomb

Things move fast in the book of Mark, as you’ve probably noticed; but fast doesn’t mean superficial. There’s lots of meat to chew on here.

Can you hear Him now? — Mark 4:1-20

This parable has a number of great lessons, but one of the things that strikes me is about what listening entails. In this parable the seed is the word. What hearers are doing with the word is a major part of the point of the parable. Hearing is much more than merely registering the sounds that hit the ear. It’s about listening to the word — understanding and obeying it; sticking with it through thick and thin; focusing on it rather than the million other things vying for our attention; and bearing fruit with it. He who has ears to hear, LET HIM HEAR.

Take care what you listen to — Mark 4:21-25

And speaking of listening there’s something more that Jesus wanted to tell us about listening — a warning about what we listen to and how we listen. Proper listen will serve to increase or decrease our understanding of other spiritual things. The more Bible you read, the more you understand. Especially in view of the comments in the above paragraph about how what hearing really implies, the more you actually do what the Bible says, the more you understand. Before long you begin to connect dots, a few here and few there, and you develop spiritual wisdom and deeper understanding. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given…” On the other hand, the less we study, the less we practice what the Lord has commanded, the less apt we are to understand things, the fewer dots we can connect, the less wisdom we develop.

In his right mind — Mark 5:15

I’ve always found this remark about the man with the demons after Jesus had cast out his demons to be great — he was found clothed and in his right mind. That’s what happens every time, when we let Jesus cast out the evil in our lives we’ll be in our right and sane minds.

Asking the Savior to leave? — Mark 5:17

But interestingly enough the local populace wasn’t positively impressed with what the Savior had done — they’d lost thousands of pigs. What’s a Jewish population doing with a bunch of unclean pigs? Good question. It would appear that it was more than the demoniac that needed the some evil cast out — except that the local folks didn’t want that evil cast out. Sadly, their number is legion — who are perfectly happy with their evil, thank you. They’d rather Jesus leave instead. It is the sad story of our modern age; Jesus is OK until He begins to meddle with our pet sins, then He’s welcome to go someplace else. Christians must always be vigilant to guard against loving sin more than the Savior.

More than casual interest — Mark 6:33ff

After hearing of the death of John the Baptist Jesus wanted to take His disciples away from the crowds — some of them were disciples of John’s before they followed Jesus. But the some of the crowd followed them as best they could — on foot, apparently some of them running, arriving at the other side of the lake ahead of them. It indicates more than just casual interest, more than just a religious hobby. What is Christianity to you — a casual interest or a life pursuit? Would you have been among those who would running ahead of Jesus and His disciples, or would you have just waited until the next time He was more conveniently around?

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Grieved — Mark 1-3

Posted on December 7, 2011 by parklinscomb

Introduction

Although the Gospel of Mark is almost unanimously ascribed to Mark, the cousin of Barnabas and associate of Paul and Peter, Mark’s telling of the life of Jesus is often considered among scholars to be sort of a Gospel of Peter. This is due to a strong tradition of the early church that, although it was written by the hand of Mark, it reflected much of Peter’s inspired preaching. The writing certainly bears the personality that we would expect from Peter, very action oriented. The word “immediately” is generously used throughout the book, the verbs are often in the present tense (e.g., “Jesus teaches them”; not “Jesus taught them”), and the story moves quickly from one event to another. Actions are emphasized, long teaching discourses are minimized.

Mark also is known for vividness of details not found in other Gospels: for example, the looks and gestures of Jesus, and the picturesque language used in the story of the feeding of the 5000. Mark may even feature himself in a “cameo” detail at the arrest of Jesus (Mark 14:51,52).

Lastly, Mark is usually considered to be the first written of our four New Testament Gospels, written somewhere between AD 50 and AD 70.

Humility does not mean weakness — Mark 1:7,8

John the Baptist is usually associated with the variety of preaching known as “Hellfire and Brimstone”. His was a bold, no-holds-barred call to men for repentance. So, we easily caricature him as rough, tough, judgmental, and overbearing. But note his attitude of humility and submission toward Jesus, the Messiah. Rather than being a one-dimensional, cut-out character, John was really a man who loved God deeply and sought to rescue others from the consequences of sin to the best of His ability. New Christians are often misunderstood and misjudged as they try to share what they’ve learned; but like John, they are just trying to serve God to the best of their ability. Sadly, they are sometimes criticized by older Christians for being overzealous — not unlike new employees are often told by older employees to stop working so hard (they make them look bad). Maybe we need more John the Baptists in the church, humbly loving and submitting to God and rescuing as many as they can from the terrible consequences of sin. Be humble and be bold — they’re not contradictory.

With authority — Mark 1:22

This phrase means not merely that Jesus spoke boldly or loudly or with swagger. It means that He didn’t quote the revered rabbis and their traditions, like almost everyone else did. Generally, when a question arose about the Law, rabbis would cite this rabbi or that rabbi to back-up his teaching. Jesus didn’t do this. When a question of the Law came up or when Jesus simply wanted to teach something about morality, about the love of God, or about anything else, He just taught it — no citations, no quotes, no references. In fact, you’ll remember that in the sermon on the mount Jesus said several times, “You’ve heard it was said…, but I say…”. He had / has authority above any rabbi or any other man. Authority also implies the power to hold someone to account for obedience or disobedience; and Jesus taught with this authority, too. So, let the Popes pontificate, let the councils counsel, let the preachers preach, let the teachers teach — but listen to Jesus!

On being a physician — Mark 2:14-17

Upon being called to follow Jesus Matthew, who was a tax gatherer, called together a number of his less-than-popular associates to introduce them to his new Teacher. This “meet and greet” was grounds for criticism of Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees. Why would a righteous man hang out with sinners and tax collectors; shouldn’t He be associating with the good guys? Jesus’ answer cut to the heart of the matter, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Although we must always be cautious of sinful associations and influences in our lives (as 2 Cor. 6:14-28 teaches), we must also be aware that pure association with the righteous will never get the Gospel preached. Are you not grateful that some good Christian decided to hang out with you and introduce you to the Great Physician? We must not be of the world, while yet living in the world.

Grieved at their hardness of heart — Mark 3:5

Here’s one of those vivid descriptions of Mark that I mentioned earlier. You don’t get them often in the rest of the Gospels. Mark says that Jesus was grieved, deeply troubled, enough to show on the face. The synagogue leaders were waiting like watchdogs to see if Jesus would heal on a Sabbath — so they could accuse Him, tear Him down, eliminate the competition for local importance. We can easily understand how such judgmental hardness of heart would wound the Master. Do our hard hearts grieve Him still?

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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The climax of world history — Matthew 26-28

Posted on December 6, 2011 by parklinscomb

We’ve read through books and books of the Old Testament telling of a Messiah, a great King, a great Prophet, a Redeemer, the root of Jesse, the son of David, the Branch, a vicarious Sacrifice, and God’s Servant. He came in the fulness of time, lived perfectly, taught brilliantly, and now in today’s reading fulfill God’s great scheme of redemption for all mankind — die for our sins and prove the effectiveness of His death for us through His resurrection. It is the keystone, the climax of all history.

A kind deed to always remember — Matthew 26:6ff

Kind deeds are always appreciated, but perhaps you can remember a kind deed done or kind word spoken to you in your life that came at just the right time and will never be forgotten. Such was the extravagant gift of a woman to Jesus probably less than 36 hours before his betrayal and arrest. This was “Apples of gold in settings of silver” in a deed (Prov. 25:11) to Jesus, a spontaneous act of love in a stressful time, when everybody else was concerned about the less important things. Certainly, it was very costly perfume, almost a whole year’s income! But I think it was more than just the perfume; I think it may have been because she had actually listened to Him as He talked about His death. Jesus had spoken to His disciples about His impending death, but His disciples (like Peter) wouldn’t even allow themselves to think about it: “That will never happen to You, Lord.” But Jesus defends her actions to the others by telling them that she had done this to prepare Him for burial. Had she really listened when the others, occupied with their own agendas, had not? And was she simply responding in the only way she could think of?

Do we listen carefully enough to Jesus? What does He really care about? The bells and whistles? The budget? The long range plans? Or obedience? Your heart? Rescue of the lost? Service to a little one?

A communion supper to always remember — Matthew 26:26ff

The Lord’s Supper is a weekly observance of what the Lord Himself set up on the night in which He was betrayed — in memory of His sacrificial death for us. It was observed every first day of the week in the early church (Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor. 16:1,2), and church history confirms this practice. The bread and wine signify a rightful sharing in the sacrificed body and the shed blood of Jesus (1 Cor. 10:16-17). It is different from an ordinary meal or snack and should not be viewed this way; although it uses common foods, it is meal separated from the ordinary for remembrance and reflection — remembrance and reflection on who we once were, how we’ve been redeemed, Whose we are now, and where we belong now (God’s family, the church).

Some fear making the Lord’s Supper too common by partaking of it every first day of the week — some groups take it quarterly or whenever their leader decides — but as someone who has been a Christian and partaking of the Lord’s Supper weekly for almost 50 years, it never grows old, never loses its significance, never becomes ho-hum. To the contrary, it only becomes more meaningful. The Lord’s Supper is a part of the pattern of the Lord’s church and part of that pattern is to share it each first day of the week. This Sunday the Lord will be “at the table” waiting for you, will you stand Him up?

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak — Matthew 26:39-41

Jesus knew the strength it would take for Him to endure the sufferings of the trial and the cross He was facing. He also knew what kind of strength the apostles would need to endure the events of the next 3 or 4 days. He knew their intentions, what they wanted to do, what they thought for sure they would do, but He also know that they’d face greater temptations than they had imagined to abandon Him, deny Him, and fall away permanently in guilt. Their spirit was willing, but their flesh was weak. Prayer was needed more than they knew. Here’s a lesson for us, too. Do we not need to pray everyday like we’re about to face terrible temptation or persecution? Although we’re not sorely tempted every day, there are some days… when our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak. And we never know when those days are coming — just like sleepy Peter, who probably couldn’t figure out why Jesus was so insistent on prayer that night. Pray without ceasing.

Unexpected confessions on Golgotha — Matthew 27:33-54

We’re all familiar with the “Great Confession” that Peter made, the statement of faith upon which Jesus built His church. But on Calvary two unexpected confessions of Jesus’ identity as the Messiah were made. One was by Pilate who directed that a sign be placed above the head of Jesus. Putting the crime above the head of condemned men was not unusual, since part of the public nature of crucifixion was to warn would-be wrong-doers, “Don’t let this happen to you.” On this particular placard, however, was put an unusual crime: “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” John tells us that the religious leaders objected and said that it should be tweaked to read: “He said He was the King of the Jews”. But Pilate answered them, “What I have written, I have written.”

But likewise at the end, when Jesus was giving up His spirit, the centurion who had watched everything — the trial, the flogging, the beating, the spitting, Jesus’ silence toward their accusations, the mocking, the carrying of the cross to Golgotha, the nails in the hands and feet, the continued mocking, the darkness at noon, the earthquake, and the courageous and noble way Jesus lived down to His last breath — concluded, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

After the awful news comes the good — Matthew 28:1ff

The account of the crucifixion is brutal to read. The mere fact that the Savior of the world could be treated this way is such a shame upon all of mankind. And to think, it was all for what I’ve done! It’s awful! It turns the stomach. But thanks be to God, it did not end there! There is an empty tomb! Death is not the final victor!

And you know, this is a type of story that could be told again and again. Life, even for a Christian, can sometimes be really brutal and ugly. An unbeliever will just shrug and repeat the cynical mantra, “Life stinks and then you die,” as if there is nothing more. But Christian reality is different: if you’re a Christian, after the awful comes the good. Hang in there; fight the good fight; finish the course; keep the faith — there’s good news coming!

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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