Mark 6:14-29 - Herod's guilt

Jesus' disciples' mission causes quite a stir and news reaches Herod - a man still affected by a guilty memory.

Mark 6:14-29

We're introduced to the menacing Roman leader, Herod and he, like many others has heard about Jesus and has also heard the various conclusions people have come to about who he is and how it is that he has such power to do miracles.  He has his own conclusion too, but it's not right (v16).  All of the conclusions ("He's Elijah", "He's like an old prophet", "He's John the baptist raised to life") are pretty thin and stretchy (they really are clutching at straws) but none of them come close to the even more startling truth - God has turned up as a man!

Herod's conclusion was based on a guilty conscience he had because John the baptist had challenged him about the immorality of having his brother's wife, Herodias (v17-18).  Herod also had an interest in John's message though and we're told that 'he liked to listen to him' (v20).  There was something about JB that Herod liked but obviously not enough for him to really listen enough to act on what he said.  Herod hid JB away in prison instead and eventually against his better wishes JB was killed (v21-29).  And now, even though Herod had an interest in the truth because of Jesus, he again hasn't got the courage to pursue it enough to reach the right conclusion.

How determined are you in your pursuit of the truth about Jesus, life and everything, when what you discover might mean changes in your own life?

John spoke out against immorality where he saw it and it eventually led to his death.  How much do you speak out against injustice and wrong actions and what's the best approach?

Mark blog

Mark 6:6-13 - Over to you!

Recently I had the privilege of seeing a Beatbox Jam event at a local secondary school in one of the lunch breaks where a ridiculously talented beatboxing vicar took the stage and wowed everyone with his mad skillz (yes with a 'z').  At one point he invited some of the students to come to the front to freestyle some singing or beatboxing and there was a long pause as one girl tried to find the courage to sing out something.  It was her turn now, and the eyes of everyone in the room were on her.  I started to worry that the vicar had let himself in for an unavoidable disaster.  Why did he give up the mic and risk the show?

Jesus (not unlike the beatboxing vicar) does something similar in today's passage...

Mark 6:6-13

We said already yesterday that Jesus' miracles aren't just a show to impress people but a way of revealing God to them so they might come to know him personally.  Jesus turned up because of God's kingdom family and that means it's about people knowing God and growing to be more like him.  So it's not entirely surprising that Jesus shifts focus onto 6 pairs of disciples to go out and do what he's been doing.  It's about multiplication and this way, more people can see the power of God and be invited to find out more about Jesus and God's kingdom family.  It's about reaching more people.

It's also about the twelve disciples getting valuable experience in trusting Jesus.  Jesus gives the team his authority and power to do the work and so they have everything they need but they have to believe Jesus is right when he says evil spirits and various forms of sickness will submit to them.  It's a big sign of faith that they obey and go out on this mission and I'm sure that's part of the point.  Jesus is training them to always be on a mission for him and God's kingdom family and it's the same for followers of Jesus today.

As I watched along with a crowd of about two hundred students, the shy girl with the mic seemed to be getting herself ready to sing something and when she finally did, it was AWESOME!  She let rip with a strong vocal solo that stunned the room and made the beatboxing vicar breathe a huge sigh of amazed relief.  She took the opportunity and made the most of the moment to shine and it caught everyone's attention.

If you don't yet follow Jesus, how do you feel about the idea that he's sending his followers to reach you with his love and invite you to know God personally?  How do you react when his followers fail to do this with humility and love or fail to point you to Jesus at all?  Should it stop you finding out about the real Jesus?  I hope it doesn't!

If you already follow Jesus, how much are you stepping up for him on your daily mission to invite people into his kingdom family?  Do you think the disciples thought they were ready?  Not likely.  Did they look ready?  Definitely not.  Did they fail in some cases?  Of course!  But Jesus sent them.  And he sends you and me too so that means we don't have any good excuses.

The beatboxing vicar
tyte.bandcamp.com
Bible study questions

Mark blog

Mark 6:1-6 - Prophet or loss?

Ever been frustrated by those who should know you best?  Jesus heads back to his hometown of Nazareth and you'd expect a warm reception after all he's been doing and the following he's gained but instead it's a bit of a dead end...

Mark 6:1-6

Again Jesus amazes people but sadly on this occasion the people aren't ready to accept who he really is because they aren't ready to have their small understanding enlarged by what they see and hear.  Jesus is teaching them amazing things (v2) but they're not ready to listen because of who it is (or who they think it is) that's speaking.

The result is two things that we wouldn't expect to read about Jesus.  'He could not do any miracles there...' (v5) and 'He was amazed at their lack of faith' (v6).  It's strange to think of Jesus not being able to do something and it's also strange that anything would amaze Jesus and yet this is what we read here.

Jesus is all-powerful.  We've seen that much already from Mark's account.  Jesus has healed the sick, calmed storms, cast out demons and forgiven sin as God himself.  Why can't he do miracles in Nazareth then?  And why should people's faith make any difference?  Surely if he's God, he can do miracles anyway, can't he?  Well, apparently not.  And it can't be because Jesus lacks any power (we know he doesn't from the story so far) but people's faith (or lack of it) does seem to have a significant bearing on the extent God chooses to act. Why should this be the case?

The thing is, Jesus' miracles aren't simply a show to impress people but a way of revealing who he is and helping them know God more.  This requires faith.  Not the kind of faith that is blind and unthinking but precisely the opposite.  The staggering thing here is that people aren't drawn to believe Jesus after all the amazing things he's taught them. And if they're not going to trust him, what's the point in wasting miracles on them?  It's not a show.  He loves them too much to reduce his power to a pointless performance.  Their lack of faith amazes Jesus and I suspect it was a painful amazement because they were actually rejecting a relationship with God himself.

Do you want God or just what he can do for you?

Mark blog

Story from North America


A very weird but interesting music video I think.  And some great logic in there about fear. 

Questions to consider...
  1. What reasons does the son use to ask his dad to kill the spider?
  2. What reasons does the dad use not to kill the spider?
  3. It's not just about spiders.  This song is about violence between countries too.  What do you think is the main message of the song?
  4. There are also lessons here about violence between individuals.  How do you respond to people around you who are different, especially when they're VERY different from you and it's difficult to understand why?  What would the song suggest?
  5. How might Isaiah 1:17 from the Bible help us with this?
A prayer...
God, please help us to value all life and all those around us.  Help us not to respond in fear and weak hatred but in the strength of love that enjoys diversity and is always ready to listen, understand and learn from others.  Amen!

Mark 5:21-43 - Touch

Jesus moves on again and his growing reputation continues to bring crowds and now a desperate plea from a synagogue leader...

Mark 5:21-43

At least two people in this passage because of their faith, have concluded that all they need is the touch of Jesus to heal.  The synagogue leader Jairus, when he asks Jesus to come and heal his daughter says, 'Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed.' (v23).  The woman in the crowd on the way also had a similar thought, 'If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed' (v28).  Why did these two have such confidence that all it would take was a touch from Jesus?  It's because they recognised that Jesus is far more than just another good teacher.  He's God!   

Consider the people later on who say to Jairus, 'Your daughter is dead.  Why bother the teacher any more?' (v35).  They've come to a very different conclusion because of who they think Jesus is.  They haven't realised he's not just 'the teacher' and they don't have the hope that Jairus has.

Jesus says, 'Don't be afraid; just believe' (v36) and he says the same to us today through these accounts of what happened.  It's not the vain 'belief in believing' that many people mean when they say 'just have faith' but it's faith in Jesus, knowing who he is and what he can do.

Mark blog

Mark 5:1-20 - Not about pigs

Do you know anyone who's different now (in a really good way) because of Jesus?  It's hard to argue with a changed life. 

Mark 5:1-20

So there's a couple of things that people can get hung up on in this story and they're worth mentioning briefly before we get to the main point.

People get hung up on the idea of demons and demon-possession and there's plenty the Bible teaches us about them, which we'll leave for another time.  In this passage, what we learn is that they're busy destroying a life and that they are no match for Jesus.  He's not just in charge over sickness and nature - he's in charge over demons too and they have to do whatever he tells them.  They're scared of him because they oppose him and they know who he is (v7).

People also get hung up on the fact that cute little piggies die in this story but they miss the point.  As much as we love pigs, they're not as important as people.  A man's life is saved in this story (that's the point) and to Jesus a man's life is worth many pigs (even cute ones).

So the main point then!

The facts before meeting Jesus: The man lived among the dead (v3), broke every restraint - even chains and irons (v3-4), fought off everyone who tried to help him (v4), spent night and day in the hills wracked with grief and cutting himself (v5).

The facts after meeting Jesus: The man sat still and calm (v15), wore clothes again (v15), was in his right mind (v15), wanted to follow Jesus (v18) and ended up amazing everyone by telling his story (v20).

It was such a changed life that people were shocked and even afraid at first (v15).  These people had all sorts of ideas about who they thought Jesus was but they found it impossible to dispute the changed life that confronted them.  

Another story of a changed life - Brian 'Head' Welch (ex-Korn guitarist)

Mark blog

Thou shalt not

'Thou shalt always kill' by Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip...



Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip getting things off their chest as usual and effectively firing off a list of things people do and say that really annoy them. 

Questions to consider...
  1. What do people say and do that really winds you up?  
  2. The song mentions small things (like spelling 'phoenix' wrong) and big things (like how we think about disasters in non-English-speaking countries).  What BIG things do you think are wrong and shouldn't be allowed? 
  3. If you were making your own 'Thou shalt not' list, what would be in the top 5? 
  4. What do you think of God's 10 Commandments in the Bible?  Are they a good top 10?
  5. What are you going to do about any of this to make a change?

A prayer...
God, thank you for giving us minds of our own.  Please help us think, speak and act well and where we find things that are wrong, help us to take action to change them.  Amen!

20-20 Campaign

Simon (the voice in this video) is out in Berundi doing great work...


www.greatlakesoutreach.org
Donate to the 20-20 Campaign

Mark 4:35-41 - Quite a storm!

Mark continues his account.  Jesus again demonstrates his power but this time it's nature that submits...

Mark 4:35-41

It's worth noticing that it was Jesus' idea to cross the lake (v35), so it was a journey he initiated and was confident of finishing.  This is something big that we learn about Jesus from elsewhere in the Bible too.  He finished his plan to defeat death on the cross (John 19:30), he's the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2) and he will finish the work he's started in his people (Philippians 1:6).  In other words: Jesus finishes what he starts!

The contrast between Jesus and the disciples in verse 38 is dramatic.  Jesus clearly isn't worried about (or even aware of?) the storm whilst he sleeps peacefully 'on a cushion' (love that detail!), whereas his followers' reaction to the storm lead them to conclude that they have almost no hope of survival!  Jesus knows better and they should too, especially after all they'd seen and heard so far.

Then the miracle.  Jesus tells the storm to stop and it immediately stops (v39).  That's it.

Jesus lovingly tells his disciples off for not trusting him more (v40).  After all they've seen (driving out evil spirits, healing many people instantly and obviously, forgiving sins and proving it with miracles and loads more), they "still" (v40) don't get it.  In fact, the knowledge and experience of Jesus they've gained so far lead them to fear Jesus rather than trust him at this point (v41) and Jesus is disappointed... but patient.  He doesn't ditch them.

In the end, the disciples asked an important question, as everyone should in response to what can be known about Jesus: 'Who is this?'  Intellectual apathy or indifference would have been a ridiculous response and it still is.  Jesus' actions had left them with only two options: fear or faith.  They had to keep following him, finding out more and trusting him to lead.  And so do we!

Mark blog

Mark 4:26-34 - Seeds

I've just finished watching JCVD, a film where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself, delivers a moving 6-minute monologue to the camera (breaking 'the fourth wall') and presents a strange and confusing (for me) mix of fact and fiction.  It was another story where I enjoyed the ride but was left thinking, "What???"

Jesus tells a couple of stories about seeds to teach us about God's kingdom family and it's not immediately obvious what he means by them...

Mark 4:26-34

No wonder Jesus' hearers were only just about following it (v33) and he had to explain further to the disciples later on (v34).  What's the meaning of these two stories? 

The growing seed (v26-29) 
We know it's about 'the kingdom of God' because Jesus says so.  And there's three key parts to the story: sowing, growing and reaping.  Jesus is saying that God has 'sown' the world and the people in it and he's let it 'grow' but there will come a time where he 'reaps'.  In other words, God's kingdom is not of this world.  This world is not it.  God has something even bigger and better planned and the time will come for this world to end.

This means two things for those listening to Jesus (then and now):
  1. We shouldn't live as if this is all there is.
  2. We need to keep listening to Jesus about what more there is!
The mustard seed (v30-32)
This time Jesus describes God's kingdom family specifically as a mustard seed and the main point is about scale and size.  A mustard seeds starts tiny but ends up massive and a big enough home for many birds (v31-32).  So presumably, the same is true of God's family.  It starts small but grows to be HUGE and big enough to be a safe home for multitudes of people.

This means two more things for those listening (again then and now):
  1. God's plans and kingdom family are way bigger than we can comprehend and we shouldn't think that we have understood everything yet.  God wants to show us more!
  2. God wants us to know him and be part of it!  Why else would Jesus be sharing this and trying to help people understand?  This is good news!
Jesus tells these two brief stories to whet people's appetite for what he's come to show them.  It's not the whole story but he's not finished yet.  He's still setting the scene and getting our attention. 

Some questions to consider...
  • Has Jesus got your attention?  
  • How much are you getting to know him?  
  • Are you happy enough to settle for this world?
  • What if Jesus is right about there being a 'harvest'?
Mark blog

    Mark 4:21-25 - Show time!

    The 'reveal' is something we get very excited about when it's a magic trick or a lengthy TV drama series but what about when it's our own lives?  Jesus tells a swift parable about the fact that he's come to shed light on life itself... 

    Mark 4:21-25

    Go back and read it a couple of times and let it sink in.  Try and figure out what Jesus means by this.

    I think Jesus is saying that he's come to shed light on life and reveal truth to people that was previously a mystery to them.  He's come to show people what life is really all about and to invite them into it - into God's kingdom family.  In the story of the sower immediately before this, Jesus has been teaching about what it takes to decide to follow and keep following him and after this lamp illustration he goes on to teach about his kingdom family and what it's like.  So he's gearing up to this by explaining that he's here to make known things that were previously hidden - to shine light on things that were previously in the dark.

    Jesus challenges his hearers to consider carefully what he says and to consider their response too.  If they hear his words and continue to live small lives without God, they'll get little back.  In fact, Jesus warns everyone like this that they'll get less than nothing.  But to those who consider Jesus' words and respond in faith, Jesus promises much in return.

    So have you considered carefully the words of Jesus yet and made your response?  Have you asked all your questions?  How's it going?  And if you're already follower of Jesus, how much are you passing on Jesus' love, light and teaching to others so they can do the same?  It's still show time!


    Mark blog

    Make it stop


    Questions to consider...
    1. What are the impacts of bullying, prejudice and rejection in your school that you know about?
    2. What might be the impacts you don't know about?
    3. The Bible (in Isaiah 53:3) says Jesus knows exactly what it's like to suffer rejection.  Why would he allow himself to feel like that?
    4. How can you stand with those who feel alone or rejected?  What hope is there for those who feel this way?  Psalm 121:1-2.
    A Prayer...
    God please help see that bulling, prejudice and rejection really are killers and that we can stand against them.  Please help us not to hate those who are different from us, either by our action or inaction but rather to care for and value all life, including our own.  Amen.

    Outdoors


    Questions to consider...
    1. What's so good about the outdoors and experiencing nature?  Why do people enjoy it?
    2. How important is it to you to make the most of opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy it?
    3. What does Psalm 19:1-2 in the Bible suggest that we can learn from nature?
    A prayer...
    God, with all the comfort, convenience and entertainment modern technology brings, help us not to miss out on the natural playground you've given us to enjoy and help us to see your power in all of it too.  Amen.

    58

    58 trailer

    58 is a film that raises some big questions for us...
    1. What do we know about extreme poverty?
    2. Is it really possible to see it end?
    3. What can we do to help end it?
    4. Will we do anything at all?
    The film's called 58 because of Isaiah 58 in the Bible and it challenges us to live it out.  Have a look at the chapter and imagine what it would be like if we started living like this.  

    A prayer
    Lord, please help us to learn more about the reality of extreme poverty and to do everything we can about it.  At the very least, help us to each do something meaningful to contribute to stopping it.  Amen!