Mark 9:43-50 - Cut it off!

Apparently some men have chopped their bits off after grossly misinterpreting the passage we're about to read!  Yikes!  Let's see if we can understand what Jesus is really saying...

Mark 9:43-50

So if I steal things with my hands am I really meant to chop them off?  If I can't stop swearing should I cut out my tongue?  If I stare at pornography should I gouge my eyes out or worse?

Actually, I think Jesus is advocating something even more radical than this!  See, the problem is that chopping my hands off doesn't stop me being jealous of other people's property.  Cutting my tongue out doesn't stop me hating people or losing my temper.  And gouging my eyes out doesn't stop me lusting in my mind.  In Matthew's account of this teaching he also recalls Jesus explaining that sinning in our thinking is as serious as sinning in our actions (Matthew 5:27-30).  So a literal interpretation stops short of what Jesus is getting at here and doesn't really achieve anything because hacking our bodies up won't stop us sinning!

Jesus is tough on sin.  He hates it because it destroys us and he wants us to be ruthlessly thorough in avoiding it.  This is the point.  He wants us to live life fully in relationship with him rather than be destroyed by sin.  Temptation itself isn't sin - Jesus was tempted (Matthew 4:1-11) but if sin starts with temptation (James 1:13-15) then it's a good idea to avoid it wherever possible (2 Timothy 2:22, 1 Thessalonians 5:22, 1 Corinthians 6:18, James 4:7).

So in practical terms, it's about cutting off temptation wherever we can.  If we're easily tempted by sports cars then maybe cycle a different way home that avoids the showrooms.  If we're tempted to lose control of our words when we're angry, perhaps make a habit of walking away from heated conversations.  If laziness is our issue, then why not ask a friend to commit to giving us a wake up call?  Or if porn's our problem, get some free accountability software to remove the opportunity of ogling at stuff we shouldn't.  If it's getting drunk then maybe don't hang out in pubs so much or keep alcohol in the house.  Whatever it takes to help us avoid that which destroys us.  So probably not self-mutilation!  Thank goodness for that!

Mark blog

Questions

These are some of the questions people were asking in the recent Soul Cafe/Jam Club combo event at St Peter's (in no particular order) and my brief answers.  I hope it's helpful! 

What's your favourite singer (male and female)?
Male: Tim McIlrath from Rise Against.
Female: Brody Dalle from The Distillers. 

What happens when you pray that God would look after you in a situation, but what you want to happen, doesn't and you don't feel as though you're good enough?
This is a big one and I'm sure a short answer won't completely solve this but here's three quick thoughts...
1. Find people you can properly talk to, trust in and rely on who can also help you with the challenges you face. Everyone needs this!
2. God promises to hear our prayers and wants us to trust him in every situation (Psalm 66:16-20).
3. This world is full of trouble but it doesn't mean we're to blame (John 16:33) and if we've asked Jesus to forgive us then we really are forgiven (1 John 1:9).

Are you in love with someone?  If so, who?
Yup.  My wife, Chrissi (that's a relief)! 

How do we know the Bible's true?
Lots of reasons but the main one for me is Jesus.  With over 300 very specific prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah (God's chosen rescuer), the mathematical probability of one man fulfilling them all is so unlikely that there's only ever been one and Jesus is it.  And the evidence for the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead is overwhelming.  There are loads of other things that convince me too but like I say, Jesus is the main one.  Without him fulfilling all those prophecies, it would all be made up rubbish. 

Why do women have to suffer childbirth and why were women less respected in old fashioned days?
The Bible says that when people first sinned against God, there were many consequences and one of these was great pain in childbirth (Genesis 3:16).  In the same verse, God says that another negative consequence would be that women would be 'ruled over' by men and I think we see sexism in almost every culture since. 

Are Jaffa Cakes a biscuit or a cake?
Both! 

What do you think God looks like?
The Bible says that God is spirit (John 4:24) and so he doesn't really 'look like' anything.  The exception is Jesus because that's where the Bible says God became a physical human being (Colossians 2:9).  The Bible says Jesus looked like a normal man (Isaiah 53:2). 

Is The Big Bang real?
Short answer: I don't know.  I don't know enough about science to say really.  What I do know is that it's illogical to say the universe came into existence uncaused or that it's possible to get something from nothing.  That's not science and it's bad logic too. 

What were you like at high school?
I was into 90s gansta rap (like Public Enemy and Cypress Hill), had a flat top and was generally a bit of a loser.  I was even in a rap duo called 'Hip-hopular' and we were partners in rhyme!  I trusted and followed Jesus and had some amazing friends, family and great youth leaders who helped me a lot! 

Why doesn't God stop wars or getting people killed?
It's precisely because God loves us that he allows us to choose to not love him back and to choose things that do us and others great harm.  If he stopped us at every turn, we'd be puppets and if he pre-programmed us to only choose good, we'd be robots.  Neither would be capable of real love.  Instead, he made us human beings in his own image (Genesis 1:27) to love him back and by doing so he opened himself up to great personal pain (Luke 13:34) but also opened up the possibility for us to really know him intimately (John 15:15).  One day, for those who trust and follow Jesus and have been forgiven through him, there will be a new world free from suffering, war, death and everything else evil (Revelation 21:1-5). 

Why are there natural disasters?
More 'natural' disasters than you might think are actually caused by human beings exploiting the planet but even so, this world is broken and doesn't always behave the way it should.  In some cases it's killing us.  The Bible says when sin came into the world, it wasn't just people that were effected but it's the world we live in too (Romans 8:20-21).  Sin broke it. 

Who is your favourite actor/actress? 
Probably Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man, Hook, Tootsie, Kramer vs Kramer, Meet the Fockers). 

What does God think of other religions like Muslim and Jewish?
God loves people but that doesn't mean everyone's believing the truth about him.  Truth matters.  It's not true because of human tradition (2 Timothy 4:3) or popularity (Colossians 2:8).  Absolute truth (truth that is true for all people in all places at all times) is true because it's true and God must surely be by definition the biggest absolute truth there is.  It's no good agreeing with everyone's ideas about him because if there's any truth at all, then they can't all be right.  Let's love people but pursue truth. 

Do you think religion starts wars?  If so, why do we use it?
Religion starts wars and religion can be an embarrassment to the people in them.  That's why I would say I'm not part of a religion but simply that I follow Jesus.  Jesus is never embarrassing to me and he never started any wars.  Let's stop talking about religion and start talking about Jesus. 

Why does everyone speak different languages?  Wouldn't it be easier if everyone just spoke English?
The Bible says that when God made people he told them to fill up the earth (Genesis 1:28) but for a while, they did the opposite and gathered all in one place (Genesis 11:4) so to stop this, God gave them all different languages and they went their separate ways to fill the earth like God wanted (Genesis 11:8-9).  So global diversity is what God wanted all along and it's all part of the fun and frustration of being human beings! 

What's your fave soap on TV?
I only watch DVDs and online stuff but love West Wing, The Wire and Sopranos. 

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
I'd be more like Jesus and specifically, I'd be better at listening and caring.

More questions and answers

Mark 9:38-42 - Starting where people are

Mark 9:38-42

The disciples complain to Jesus about some guy driving out demons in his name, even though he's not one of them.  The question here is about people who are doing stuff in Jesus' name or to promote Jesus or maybe just doing good like Jesus did without actually trusting or following him personally.  What Jesus says here needs to be seen in the context of other things he said like in Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus makes it clear that no amount of good deeds will get anyone into heaven but the only way in is for people to know him.  The point Jesus makes here though, is that it's good to do good (and there are even rewards that come with it in this life) and his followers should affirm people in this, rather than discourage them.

Continuing the same line of thought, Jesus says that causing young Christians to stumble as they trust and follow him is a serious offense.  Young or new followers of Jesus need nurturing, encouraging and mentoring.  We're all learning and we need to stay humble.  Disqualifying, discouraging or giving up on any Jesus follower for making mistakes or for having wrong ideas is totally unhelpful and is something that makes Jesus incredibly angry.  The violent drowning death he describes in verse 42 makes this very clear.

So it's about starting where people are by:
1. Affirming the good that people do, even if they don't know Jesus yet.
2. Encouraging young or new Jesus followers and challenging them compassionately.

Mark blog

Mark 9:30-37 - True greatness

With time to themselves, away from the crowds, what do you think the disciples talk about?  And what does Jesus want to talk about?  The two topics of conversation could not be more opposite and they collide here...

Mark 9:30-37

The disciples' topic of conversation as they stroll along the road behind Jesus is about which of one them is the greatest.  It's like they're jockeying for position in Jesus' kingdom.  Each one is concerned primarily with justifying themselves and they don't want anything or anyone to get in their way.  When Jesus speaks to them, he has exactly the opposite attitude.  He talks about his death and resurrection.  It's the death he would die to serve the world.  He's concerned primarily with justifying others and he won't let anything or anyone stand in his way.  The disciples expect greatness whereras Jesus expects to die.

The disciples keep quiet twice in this passage.  The first time they hold their tongues is because they're scared to ask Jesus about his death and what it means.  Dying is not exactly what they have in mind for their great leader who they hope will lead them all to greatness.  They don't want to think about it, probably because it sounds to them like a horrible idea.  The second time the disciples stay quiet is because they're embarrassed about their argument about greatness.  They're realising that there was something wrong with their hearts in that journey along the road as they argued.  So they're quiet because they're scared of the truth of Jesus' plan and embarrassed about themselves.  This is another moment for them to shut up and listen and learn from Jesus.

Jesus turns their thinking upside-down.  True greatness is not about putting yourself first and trampling on everyone else (or ignoring them) but rather, it's about putting others first and where necessary, letting them trample you.  Jesus is Lord of all but he's not come into the world to trample everyone or to ignore them.  Jesus wants his disciples to see that he has come into the world to be trampled on and this is why he wants to talk to them again about his death.  He has come to become nothing, to serve the world by dying in their place, for their sin, on the cross.

Jesus wants his followers to have the same attitude and approach in life.  Having allowed Jesus to serve us on the cross, having received forgiveness and friendship with God, we are able to live in a new way. We are able to do away with power struggles, unhealthy competition and striving for wealth.  We are able to enjoy people and welcome others to come to know God and follow Jesus with us.  Jesus shows his disciples this by welcoming a child as the example of the humility and dependency they had failed to pursue.

This all flies in the face of our western consumerism of which we are all products to a large extent.  We don't worry about where the next meal is coming from.  Our concerns are about the next Jack Wills hoody and when that new Asda will be here.  We think we're the greatest but in reality we're merely the richest and most selfish people on the planet, each of us living primarily for ourselves until Jesus knocks us off-course and wakes us up to the startling truth: "It's not about you!"

Let's stop trying to be great.  Let's stop living primarily for ourselves.  Let's start following Jesus, loving him and loving others.

Mark blog