The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 7: How to Make a Disciple

 

May 19, 2024               NOTES NOT EDITED
The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 6
The Making of a Disciple
Mark 3:1-19 

SIS: In His encounter with a crippled man and the appointing of Twelve “official” disciples, called apostles, Jesus gives us an outline of what it takes to make a fully functioning disciple who is engaging the world by spreading the gospel.

Now, that sermon in the sentence is a masterpiece—or, at least a mouthful. It is the basis for what will come to be known at the end of the ministry of Jesus as the “Great Commission” which states,

Matthew 28:19–20 (NIV84) 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The clear design Jesus has for His church is to “make something,” and that something is “disciples.” This set in motion a Bold Revolution.

In the 18^th and 19^th Centuries, first in England and later in the U.S., there was another world-shaking revolution—and it was indeed “world-shaking” to where the vibrations are still being felt strongly today nearly over 300 years later. That revolution historians call, “The Industrial Revolution.” Basically, this was a dramatic shift in the world from “growing stuff to making stuff.”

The Industrial Revolution is a fantastic study that exceeds the time I have allotted this morning for our discussion. But it changed everything in the fabric of American life down to the thread of the family. Making stuff, selling stuff, and moving stuff became the foundation for creating the great wealth of industrialists like Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Ford and many others.

The major shift in life moved from the family as the central focus to the factory.

As I said, the Industrial Revolution and its consequences is a fascinating study, but my point in discussing it today is to focus on what the heart of the Industrial Revolution is, and that is it is about “making stuff.” With that as a springboard I want to show today that the foundation for the Church, according to Jesus, is also about “making something.” It is about “making disciples.”

While it will still be many months, perhaps nearly a year, before Jesus gives His definitive statement on “making disciples,” his interaction with the man with a crippled hand and the appointing of the Twelve Apostles gives us an outline of “The Making of a Disciple.”

Let’s pick up reading the Scripture where we left off last week with the healing of the man with a crippled hand. Mark 3:7-15 (NIV84):

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was. 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.

Here is what would become the seeds for a “Diciple-making Revolution” that would sweep the world in the next 60 or so years.

Here’s my observation. In just a few decades after Jesus ascended to heaven after His death and resurrection, a terrible decline began to set into the fabric of the church toward the end of this initial revolution. After an explosive 60 years of “making disciples” Christianity became focused on “debating ideas.”

As the Church, we have lost an appreciation for the explosive power generated by the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Here in our text that explosive, revolutionary power is represented by everything from healing a crippled hand to casting our demons. This is EXPLOSIVE!

There are four primary phases in the making of a disciple.

1.  The STANDING Phase.  We can call this: MEMBERSHIP (1-3).

(NIV84) 1 Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Someone has said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” I’ve always taught that We can not learn to “stand on the promises” if all we do is “sit on the premises.”

Making a Disciple begins by “standing up” for Jesus.

Whether we are talking about making “widgets” or “making disciples” everything starts with “raw materials.” Disciple-making begins with the “rawest” of all the materials in the universe: the lost soul.

This raw material, the lost soul, is represented in this passage by the “shriveled” (paralyzed, weak, useless, powerless, lifeless) hand. All humans, before the revitalizing, renewing infusion of God’s grace are “dead, dried-up, useless limbs.” Ephesians 2:1  describes the lost person as being:

(NIV84) As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.

This man’s crippled hand serves as a picture of the entirety of humanity apart from the grace of God—“shriveled, dried-up, decaying, dead.” Zero usefulness or vitality. Laid out flat like a decaying corpse at a funeral.

There are actually two types of “shriveled souls” in this passage. The man with the hand represents souls crippled from the sinful trauma of temptations, traumas, and trials. The other group represented by the Pharisees debating with Jesus are crippled, shriveled, useless, and dead because of religion. One man had a crippled hand—the lost Pharisees had crippled hearts.

 In one way or another, all of us without God’s grace being infused into our lives by the Indwelling Christ Controlling All—the Holy Spirit—are as dead and useless as that man’s crippled hand.

Notice the language here (v3): “Stand up in front of everyone.” The man’s hand had sidelined him in life. He likely spent much of his day sitting on the side of the road begging for whatever he could get from passers-by. He was an outcast. Jesus was inviting the man to “stand up and be counted among his followers—the recipients of His grace.” This took place before any visible blessing by Jesus was bestowed on the man. The man stood in obedience to Christ’s command. That started a “new phase” in his life. He was becoming a member of Christ’s family. Phase one is simply, “standing up for Jesus to be counted as among His followers.” It reminds me of what Jesus said:

“Matthew 10:32–33 (NIV84) 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Jesus takes the “raw material” of a sin-crippled soul sitting on the side of life’s road, headed for hell, and invites that person to “stand up and receive the saving grace that only Jesus has to offer.

But, the Making of a Disciple does not end here: The next phase is

2. The STRETCHING Phase  We can call this MATURITY (VERSE 5)

(NIV84) 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

Take note that the man who takes a stand for Jesus and with Jesus will do so in a “hostile environment.” Every stand FOR something is a stand AGAINST other things. The first thing that happens with someone “Stands up for Christ,” is the Devil tries to “Knock them down.” This was even true of Jesus after His baptism if you recall. As soon as Jesus rose from the waters of baptism the Word says,

Mk 1:12  At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert,

If that is true of our Master, why should we expect anything less as His followers? The Word tells us:  John 15:18 (NIV84)

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

This represents the “STRETCHING” phase of Christian devotion. We might also call it the “MATURITY” Phase. It is the time that God allows or even directs the “stretching of our limits and the testing, or proving (in the sense of strengthening) of our faith. James describes this “proving, testing, or STRETCHING phase” of a believer who is becoming a mature follower of Christ. James 1:2-4 (NIV) says:

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The word mature comes from the Greek word, “teleiose.” It has a wide range of meaning. A. It can mean “no missing parts; whole; without blemish referring to sacrificial animals. B. It can mean perfect in all stages of learning from initiation to mastery. Aristotle used the word this way when forming a definition:

“Perfect” is that beyond which there is no further advance in excellence or quality in its genus, which lacks nothing of its own excellence. In this sense the word is not primarily ethical; it is purely formal and may ref. to a physician, a flautist, an informer, or a thief”

C. It can refer to something coming to an appropriate end. D. Finally it can refer to biological growth as in, “becoming an adult.”

Most Christians never complete this phase. Instead of embracing this stretching of one’s faith, most just give up and sit back down to spend the rest of their days in life as an “infant in a carnal cradle.” Or as Paul describes it 1 Corinthians 3:1–3 (NIV84)

1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

This stretching phase is not comfortable, nor is it easy. It involves a high degree of openness and vulnerability. In order for the man to begin to grow toward maturity, he had to “expose his weak, lifeless, perhaps even grotesque looking hand. Nobody can “grow and mature” as a Christian “in secret.” God doesn’t have any “secret agents.” Our Christian life, including our struggles, must be lived “out in the open” for all to see. Again, I say, this is unpleasant and uncomfortable.

But, this phase is necessary. Building spiritual muscle is like building physical muscle. We’ve all seen bodybuilders with massive, defined muscles. Getting that look was not comfortable or pleasant—and certainly not easy. In order to build muscle, you have to put it under enough stress to tear it down at the cellular level. This results in a protein synthesis that repairs the muscle making the fibers stronger and thicker. Stretching muscles make them stronger and thicker.

This is equally true of spiritual muscle. In order to grow and mature, we must be stretched by trial and temptation.

3. The SERVING Phase  Also called MINISTRY (7-12)

(NIV84) 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.

I want to drill down this section to verse 8: When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him. Then I want to drill down even further to one word, “doing.”

A disciple is somebody that is “doing something.” In verse 10 it says that Jesus was “healing many.”  In verse 11 it describes Jesus “casting out demons” as Jesus commands authority over them. It is assumed by the context before and after that Jesus cast these demons out of people.

My point is: a disciple is a follower of Jesus and is DOING something. We call this, “MINISTRY.” Ministry means, “service to others” and is the responsibility of every believer and follower of Jesus. Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV) tells us:

11 It was he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Other translations use the word, “ministry” instead of “service.” They are synonyms. My point is, to become a disciple of Jesus Christ we must do as Jesus did—serve other people. Jesus is very clear about His ministry to humanity. He says later in Mark 10:45 (NIV):

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Every faithful follower of Jesus must have an identifiable “job” or “ministry” to others through the church.

Being a disciple is all about service. That makes me think of a pregnant woman who ordered a maternity dress. The service was not what she expected. She called customer service: “Hi, I bought a maternity dress through your site and I want to cancel the order.” she says. The service rep says, “Sure, I can do that for you.. but I’d also like to get your feedback; may I ask why?” “Yeah,” says the customer. “My delivery was faster than yours.”

Disciples of Jesus ought to be the “Best in regard to Service.”

4. The SENDING Phase  We call this MISSIONS (VERSE 14)

He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.

The terms “apostles” and “send”  come from the same Greek word. The meaning of apostle is, ”one sent with the authority of another to deliver a message.” An apostle is like the modern role of being an “ambassador.”

The word, “apostle” is used rarely in the New Testament, only a few times. Here is a “specific” application to the Original Twelve Apostles. In John 17:18, Jesus applies this term to every believer:

As you sent [ἀποστέλλω apostellō] me into the world, I have sent [ἀποστέλλω apostellō] them into the world.

Preaching the gospel to lost people, that is sharing the gospel with others, is EVERY DISCIPLE’S JOB,  not just the pastors and leaders of the church. EVERY DISCIPLE is a MISSIONARY. As I like to say, “Every lost person is a mission field and every believer is a missionary.”

This phase of Making a Disciple is really the sum total of the other three phases: standing, stretching, and serving. The SENDING phase describes the very heart of being a disciple. At the end of the Gospel According to Mark we see summary of the SENDING phase:

Mark 16:15 (NIV84) He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

I don’t want to lay a guilt trip on anybody, but here is the best data we have: “95% of all people claiming to be a follower of Christ never leads another person to salvation!”

A fully functioning disciple of Jesus Christ is someone who is standing up for Jesus, stretching their spiritual muscles, serving faithfully through the church as one sent with a special message to the world.

It’s not enough to simply put your name on the membership roll of a church, a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ must put his or her life on the line for the Kingdom of God.

Too many people end their discipleship process with MEMBERSHIP. They never move on to MISSIONS.

In our church we have a picture of what it means to move from MEMBERSHIP TO MISSIONS AS A FULLY FUNCTIONING FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST. It looks like this:

The first step is to understand what it means to be a “Member of God’s Church.” I will have more to say about Getting Started in the Life Development of a Disciple over the Summer.  FOR NOW:

Stand up; Stretch; Serve; and let God send you to the world!

The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 6: Guess Who's Coming to Church

 

May 12, 2024               NOTES NOT EDITED
Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 5
Guess Who’s Coming to Church
Mark 3:1-6

SIS: People attend church for different reasons and from different situations, so we should regularly evaluate our motivations for coming to church.

Last Sunday at a Jesus Dwelling Place Church in Pennsylvania, Bernard Junior Polite, 26 years old, entered the church and pointed a gun at the pastor as he was delivering a sermon while being LiveStreamed on the Internet. The man pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. As the pastor dove for cover off stage, the shooter climbed the banister in front of the stage stalking the pastor. A deacon ran up behind the man, put his arms around him and brought him to the ground holding him until police arrived.

It is an understatement to say that the Pastor and congregation were shocked by who came to church last Sunday.

I think that often, churches are equally shocked to discover who’s coming to church, if they take notice. Many people may seem as “unwanted” in church as this gunman, but with no justification. Churches can be notoriously prejudiced and “people-blind” to who is—and even more so—who needs to be in church.

Today, as we see Jesus encounter a “crippled man” we are going to discover three groups of people who attend church—or three reasons why—people attend church on any given Sunday.

Everyone who comes to church does not necessarily have the same agenda, or motivation.   The Scriptures talk about these three groups of people that come to church every Sunday—the HURTING, the HINDERING, and the HELPING.

Let’s read about these three groups of people

 

(Mark 3:1-6)  Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. {2} Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. {3} Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." {4} Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. {5} He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. {6} Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

This passage clearly outlines the three types of people who come to church, or three reasons people come to church. The contrast between each group is unmistakable. 

1.  Some Come to Church HURTING (v1)

Remember in our last couple messages when the religious leaders, or Pharisees, criticized Jesus for meeting with the needy, sinners of the world? These were people who “needed all manner of healing” from the physical to the spiritual. What did Jesus say about such hurting people?

Mark 2:17 (NIV84) Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

If you look around the room today, everyone you see is someone who is “hurting” to some degree or another. Some mask, or even deny, they are hurting. What we cannot deny is that we ALL NEED JESUS DESPERATELY TODAY! This is the group I call the “Hurting.” Sinners in desperate need of salvation

This HURTING group—you and I—are represented by the man with the “shriveled hand.” This man with the crippled hand was typical of those in the crowd who were hurting: emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  Clearly, the gospels show that the primary purpose of the Lord’s ministry was to create a church that would be a HOSPITAL FOR HURTING PEOPLE.

If you also notice, there was a group of religious leaders called Pharisees. They denied their need and even despised the needs of those hurting around them. We’ll get to this group a little later.

We must try to grasp fully the plight of this man who represents a host of people in the world that are hurting.  The original phrase used to describe this man’s condition is very enlightening.  The original Greek construction suggests that this man was hurt in an accident and was not born with a withered hand.  Literally, the phrase would read, “having been withered.” (A.T. Robertson). Something happened to wither the hand. 

The phrase also suggests that the condition was so bad it could not be helped without miraculous intervention [perfect tense].  Another writing of this time, which has been called the Gospel According to Hebrews (which is not complete and not a part of the Bible) mentions this same man and confirms what the word structure suggests.  This fragment tells us that this man was a stone mason who had made his living with his hands.  Now, he was forced to beg on the streets because of his injury.  He was truly hurting: physically, emotionally, and financially. 

      Here we have a picture of so many people in the world today.  They are truly hurting. Sometimes, like this man with a shriveled hand, we can see they are hurting. Many times, people mask deep inner hurt behind a “socially acceptable fascade.” Sometimes, the most brilliant smile hides the most agonizing pain.

Christians need to constantly remind themselves:

The person next to you in church may be really hurting.

One group of persons who come to church regularly, are those who are hurting. We should always look at others with eyes of compassion. 

Here’s a heartbreaking letter received by a pastor: “Dear Pastor,

Why do churches often ignore the poor, the hurting, the victims of disease and disaster? My son tried to call all the Christian churches in our area to help in supporting me. I’m bedridden and wanted someone to come visit me in my time of illness such as reading inspirational scriptures to uplift my spirit. Not one of them came to see me! Even though I pray about it constantly. We have no family or friends and are very isolated; yes we have read the bible; having one in one with God but we still need Christians on our side for support in a time of need! Where has Christianity gone today when all Churches do is make money; open Cafés; book shops in their churches; lure people into buying their goods when in reality should be going out to all communities to reach out for the needy when they don’t; are too busy with their own Church Conferences and meetings!!! I’ve always believed churches should care about hurting people, but why aren’t they there for me?

Dear brothers and sisters, let’s never forget that our primary mission is to reach a “HURTING” world.

2.  Some Who Come to Church Regularly are HINDERING (V2)

I think those words I just spoke are the most sad and horrible words I’ve ever spoken. But, sadly, too often they are true. Look at verse 2:

²Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.

The “religious folk,” the Pharisees, could have cared less about the hurting man. All they cared about was the “religion.” 

Again, the original language is very enlightening.

The phrase, “looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,” both identifies and characterizes the group opposing Jesus.  This group had been watching Jesus carefully because of what took place a short time before and is recorded in chapter 2.

²³One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 

Once again, Jesus is confronted

by the Pharisees about His views of the Sabbath.  The previous time it was not Jesus who violated the Pharisaical laws of the Sabbath, but His disciples.  This time they were watching Jesus, Himself.  This is the same group of legalistic, self-righteous, hyper-religious people that Jesus would confront the next 1 and a half years of ministry.  This is the same self-righteous, hyper-religious people that would one day soon demand the Romans crucify Jesus.

 The word structure not only identifies this group at church as the Pharisees, but it characterizes them as well.  The translation we have here is accurate: they were watching with malicious intent.  Of the six times this word appears in the New Testament, five times it refers to “watching with malicious intent,” or “lying in wait to spring a trap.”

How sad it is that some people come to church to point out the faults of others, rather than pointing others to the faultless Christ.  Most people come to church to get into the work, others only to get in the way. Many HINDER the work of the church not because of what they do, but because they DO NOTHING! They are like West Virginia potholes that just sit in the middle of the road slowing traffic and causing damage.

 A group of church people gathered at a Mountain Lodge for a conference on church ministry.  The next morning was very cold and the room heaters did not work well.  The owners started a nice fire in the large fireplace in the dining hall.  A man not associated with the conference, and not a Christian, came into the dining hall, hoping to get warmed by the fire.  He was shivering but could not get close to the fire because the church group blocked the way.  This businessman sat in a chair shivering for a few minutes.  Suddenly, he shouted, “Last night I dreamed I was in hell!”  The church group was naturally startled.  One member asked, “Really?  What was it like?” The businessman responded sarcastically, “Well, it wasn’t much different than right here.  I couldn’t get next to the fire because all the church folks were in the way!” Church folk need to be mindful of which fire they are being warmed by.

This is a sad picture, but often true.

Many church members are so self-centered, and/or so self-righteous that they are in the way, rather than in the work.  They are a hindrance to the work of God, rather than a help.  They are focused upon themselves and their petty agendas without any care or concern for those who are lost and hurting.

 Jesus points out the hypocrisy of this self-righteous group of religious bigots.  Notice the biting words of the Master that pin-pointed the petty agenda of these religious tyrants in verse 4:

 ⁴Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. 

Jesus spoke with an edge in His voice and a glare in His eye, because He knew what was in their hearts. Look at verse 5:

 ⁵He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

 The word stubborn means to “petrify.”Each time the Pharisees refused to submit to the ministry of Jesus their hearts became harder.  The word can also mean to become “calloused.” 

 I see this many times in the lives of Church-goers.Over the years they have allowed their hearts to develop a thick callous.  They stubbornly and rebelliously demand to have church conform to their standards instead of letting the Holy Spirit transform them to Christ’s image.  They expect everyone to conform to their view of Scripture. They defend doctrine to the death while never lending a hand to help someone else.  They develop callouses over their hearts and cannot see a hurting world.

Do not miss the irony of this passage. The greatest hindrance to the man’s wholeness was not the paralysis of his hand, but the hardness of the Pharisees hearts.  The Pharisees had set themselves up as the “keepers of the law.”  It had to be followed to the letter.

Jesus confronts their religious hypocrisy by asking the question in verse 4, “Which is better to do on the Sabbath, help a crippled man or [plan to] kill someone.”  Jesus knew what was in their hearts.  Did you catch the irony of verse 6?  The Pharisees were plotting with the Herodians to kill Jesus for helping a crippled man on the Sabbath.  How ironic—it is OK to plot murder on the Sabbath, but not help a crippled man.

According to Pharisaical law, only the bare medical treatment necessary to save a life was permissable.  You could place a bandage to stop bleeding for example, but you could not add any medicine or ointment that would bring healing.  All elective surgery had to be put off until after the Sabbath.  Jesus showed His con-tempt for such legalistic traditions by violating the law against healing a non-emergency condition. 

Doctrine that denies help and hindersthe flow of God’s love and mercy is not truth–it is dead tradition.  Dead tradition brings burdens and bondage but true love brings wholeness and healing.

The Pharisees were concerned about procedures, Jesus is concerned about people.

Anytime our “procedures come into conflict with helping people” we should change our procedures.

If our tradition becomes a hindrance to reaching hurting people,
we should discard it. 

Now we have viewed snapshots of two groups that regularly attend church: some come hurting; others come hindering.  The group that loves Jesus will come to church

 3.  HELPING (v 5)

 ⁵He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

 Jesus came to earth as a “Helper and a Comforter.” When He left He said He would send another (just like Him) to be our Counselor, Comforter, and Helper (Jn. 16).  True followers of Jesus can be identified by their eagerness to help others be whole and happy. 

 Blessed is the hurting person who comes to church and meets a helper, for he will be completely restored.

Years ago, I realized how easy it was to become a Pharisee. I believed it was my duty to defend doctrine.  I still feel the church must stand boldly for truth and defend it at every chance.  However, I do not believe the Christian cause necessitates leaving a trail of bruised and battered people along the way. We must never sacrifice “love” on the altar of “orthodoxy.”  True doctrine rightly practiced is always a help and never a hindrance.

 Too many devils hide beneath the dead carcass of right doctrine and are nothing more than “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

The church that Jesus established is a “haven for hurting people” with plenty of people willing to help them.”

 Jesus gives us a clear example of the cost of being a helper.  A helper must buck tradition and risk the scorn and condemnation of those who are self-righteous, religious fanatics who defend dead traditions while denying help and healing to hurting people. 

 I believe in following the rules but all rules of faith and order must conform to God’s second great commandment: “love others as you love yourself.”

Think about this for a moment . . . when a person is lonely, spiritually crippled, a social outcast, without a friend in the world–where can they go to find restoration and healing.  This is the mandate God has given to the church.  We see what a mess the government has made in helping the poor.  We’ve created generation after generation of “welfare junkies.”  God has called the church to help the poor, lift up the fallen, and bring freedom to those held captive to drugs, despair, and other deadly vices. 

 God’s people must be HELPERS! 

Guess Who Is Coming to Church?

 

Some come to church to take a walk; Some come to church to laugh and talk;

Some come to meet a friend; Some come their time to spend;

Some come to meet a lover; Some come a fault to cover;

Some come for speculation; Some come for observation;

Some come to doze and nod; The Wise come to worship God.

–adapted

But, Who is Coming to Our Church?

 Some come hurting,

Some come hindering,

True disciples come helping!

 

The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 5: His Way

 May 5, 2024                   NOTES NOT EDITED 
Mk 2:13-28 
His Way!

SIS: We, the Church, can see God move in great power and experience unimaginable blessings if we do things His Way.

One of the most significant verses dealing with how to have success in life, and especially success in the life of the church, is Isaiah 55:9:

⁹ “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

The men God uses are a different kind of man.

The method God uses are a different kind of method.

The mission God has is a different kind of mission.

In nearly every church in the United States, and there are over 300,000 evangelical churches alone, there is more pew than people.  Some churches go many years without anyone new joining their fellowship. 

What’s the problem?  I think it is simply this:  we are following Frank Sinatra’s philosophy of life, not Jesus!

And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way.

That’s a great melody and it really sounds good.  It promotes the rugged individualism that has become engrained in the mindset of American pop culture.  But it is wrong!  Dead wrong!  It is a “way.”  But it is the “wrong way.”  As is the case so often, what looks good and sounds good, upon further investigation, is not good at all.

The Word of God gives us a better way.  A harder way to be sure, but a better way.  The key to true prosperity and lasting well-being lies in doing things God’s Way.  And, that way will often bump right up against the way of the world.

Proverbs tells us:  “There is a way that seems (dokein, dogma) right unto a man but the end thereof is destruction.” (14:12; 16:25).

This morning we begin to see the increasing hostility toward Jesus arising in the hearts of the religious leaders—the Scribes and Pharisees.  It started back with the cleansing of the leper and Jesus preaching about the need for forgiveness from sin.  Jesus began to assert His authority as God and the religious leaders did not like it.

If we do things God’s way two things are sure to happen:  1) God will begin to move in powerful, wonderful, unimaginable ways in and through our lives—can I get an Amen!  2) the world, including the “religious” world, will rise up in opposition—bitter opposition.

Our Scripture today details three aspects of God’s Way that are sure to fire up the opposition:  1) God’s Way Pummels Prejudice; 2) Trashes Tradition; and 3) Demolishes Dogma.  Let’s read it together:

READING:  Mark 2:13-17 (NIV84)

13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

As Jesus continues his trek to the cross where He will present Himself as the “Once for all” sacrifice to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind he makes a great deal of friends, and not a few enemies.  Some people, most people, are opposed to the Way of God.  We as His people need to understand His Way, and do everything in our power to walk in that Way.  But, we must be forewarned:  His Way is pretty radical and will elicit a radical response from the Enemy.

1.  His Way PUMMELS Prejudice (13 -17)

(NIV84) 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

As our text opens this morning we are introduced to a man called, Levi, the son of Alphaeus.  This is the same one called, Matthew.  It was not at all uncommon for a person to have two names:  one semitic and one Greek, as with Thomas, called Didymus, or two versions of a semitic name in Greek such as Simon, called Peter. 

Matthew’s name does not hold the place of prominence in this text, but rather, his occupation, and more specifically how people in the region viewed his occupation.  He was a “publican,” a Jew collecting taxes for Rome.  They were cheats and extortionists.  It would be hard to come up with a modern occupation as detestable as that of the first century publican.  The Jews thought he was a trader and the Romans thought he had no honor.  Everybody despised the tax collector.

Even today, tax collectors working for the IRS seem to be genuinely despised by almost everyone.

Then, following the call of Matthew we immediately are invited to a party where Jesus was a guest.

A “CROWD” (“ochlos” QUALITY as well as QUANTITY ) of “common” people were at this party. To the religious establishment, which controlled most of life in the Jewish community, these people were what today some call, “rift-raft.”  They were “earthy, common, mostly uneducated.”  The Rabbis had a term for them:  the am ha’aretz la torah.  This meant, “people of the earth who do not know the Torah.”

Here’s the point we cannot miss.  Jesus absolutely pummels prejudice.  Man looks on the outside but God looks on the inside.

A preaching professor in college used to say, “God gets some pretty good licks with some pretty crooked sticks.”  God’s chooses to use the base and common people of the world to do His bidding.

God delights in having a “house full of misfits.” (Riff Raff)

‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’ . . . so that my house may be filled.  (Luke 14:21, 23)

Notice how Jesus absolutely pummels the prideful Pharisees with a simple direct statement of His mission:

Verse 17: “Those who are well don’t need  a doctor,  but the sick  _⌊do need one_⌋. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

When it comes to church – the more sinners the better!

2.  His Way Trashes Tradition (18-22)

(NIV84) 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” 23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.

Verses 18-22 are connected to the previous verses by the little, oft used word, “kai.”  It can be used in various ways and in some cases isn’t even translated because it can be a simple idiomatic way of moving to a new idea.

But, in this case, the context shows clearly that the problem people had with Jesus extended past the people Jesus associated with to the practices Jesus routinely ignored.  In regard to particular religious practices, such as prescribed ritualistic fasts, (modern idea of Feast Day in the Catholic Church), just because, “everybody else was doing it,” Jesus did not feel compelled to join in.  Jesus did fast, but for the purpose of communing with the Father, not conforming to a calendar.

These scheduled fast days were the accepted “Traditions” of the day. You have heard me in my preaching talk several times about the evils of “tradition.” Jesus calls these “traditions,” wineskins.  This refers to MO’s-METHODS of operation. This is in contrast to “new wine” or the MESSAGE of the gospel. We need to understand:

Methods will always change—the Message never changes

I want to take a moment to clarify exactly what the Word means when it uses the word tradition, and the attitudes and practices associated with traditions—especially in the evil sense.

Traditions are prescribed religious practices added to the Word of God by man.  These traditions take on a “sacramental,” or a saving value.  All denominations, Catholic and Protestant, Baptist or Buddhist, have these “traditions.”  Traditions become a “substitute” for the truth of God’s Word.  Jesus said, Mark 7:9

“You completely invalidate God’s commands by your traditions”

The word, “traditions” comes from the original word root meaning, “to stand up alongside.”  A tradition is any practice that man “adds to or puts alongside the truth of God’s Word.”  The Jews of Jesus’ day did it with all the writings of the Rabbi’s, the Mormons do it with the Book of Mormon, the Catholics do it with all the pronouncements of the Pope, Jehovah Witnesses do it with the New World Translation, Muslims do it with the Quran, and the list goes on and on.  Any man-made book or writings put up as “equal alongside the Bible” is a tradition and “Jesus trashes traditions.”

The word, “invalidate,” in the original language (akouo) meant to “rob something of it’s force, or to make something invalid, and thus useless.”  So, anytime someone uses any authority, idea, or practice that substitutes a religious practice for having a relationship with Jesus Christ, they are leaning on tradition, not leaning on true faith.

God’s grace does not require the assistance of man’s works to accomplish the salvation of His elect.  God can get the job done without any help from our “traditions.”  In fact, as Jesus points out, most of the time our traditions are a great hindrance to God accomplishing His Will and His Way in the life of people.

This means that we must constantly reevaluate what we do in church and why we are doing it.  We need to measure our worship and devotion to God according to The Book—His way.

Jesus trashes tradition. When religion offers us “sacred cows,” Jesus serves us “steaks!”

[STORY] Back when I was growing up, it was tradition in the Catholic church not to eat meat on Fridays, so they substituted fish. In one particularly Catholic neighbourhood  people were settling down to eat their Friday night fish when they smelled a delicious steak wafting from the recently-purchased house nearby. The men of the neighbourhood looked and saw their new neighbour having a BBQ. They looked at their fish but remained stoic and ate it religiously.

However, this kept going on - Friday after Friday the neighbour cooked a BBQ while they ate fish. They got together to determine what to do about this problem. One man had the genius idea they convert the newcomer to Catholicism and then he would have to settle into the same tradition. So, they set about becoming best friends, watching sports, mowing lawns, socialising and the like. The new neighbour was so moved by these efforts at friendship that he agreed to convert to their religious views.

He attended a Catholic church where the Priest splashed him with water, "You were born a Protestant" (splash) "You were raised a Protestant" (splash) "You are a Catholic." The men were pleased and figured this was the end of their troubles.

Next Friday as they settled down to eat fish they again smelled a delicious steak sizzling nearby. They looked out their windows, and there was the neighbour at his BBQ with a small bowl of water ... "You were born a cow" (splash) "You were raised a cow" (splash) "You are a fish."

Our traditions are like fish – they will never be steak

3.  His Way DEMOLISHES Dogma (vv 23-28)

VERSE 25: (CSB) He said to them, “Have you never read

Here also we must define our terms.  What is dogma?  How does dogma differ from “doctrine?”  In a sense, dogma and doctrine are synonyms and mean the same thing.  However, if you look at how the official religious leaders developed their dogma, you will see a very distinct difference. Dogma is a “half-truth without grace.” Dogma may “seem to be right, but it is DEAD WRONG.

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WORD POWER:  (See Sermon Notes for Detailed Description)

The dictionary gives several meanings for dogma:

1.  an official system of principles or tenets concerning faith, morals, behavior, etc., as of a church. Synonyms: doctrine, teachings, set of beliefs, philosophy.

2.  a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church: the dogma of the Assumption; the recently defined dogma of papal infallibility. Synonyms: tenet, canon, law.

3. prescribed doctrine proclaimed as unquestionably true by a particular group: the difficulty of resisting political dogma.

4. a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle: the classic dogma of objectivity in scientific observation. Synonyms: conviction, certainty.

Origin:  1590–1600;  < Latin  < Greek,  equivalent to dok ( dokeîn ) to seem, think, seem good.  Dogma was related to the “official church” tradition of the Catholic church, but it really had its origin in the first century with the scribes and Pharisees.
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Dogma is about POWER, not PRINCIPLES.

Dogma is simply what “seems right,” particularly what seems right to those who hold the power—in Jesus’s day it was the Religious leaders, or Scribes and Pharisees. But remember our warning from Proverbs earlier:  “There is a way that seems (dokein, dogma) right unto a man but the end thereof is destruction.” (14:12; 16:25).

Like traditions, religious practices such as ritual washing and fasting, dogma is an addition to faith.  The modern battle over hymn-singing verses Praise songs was about dogma. Pews verses tables is about dogma. At first glance, dogma may seem quite correct, but in the case of Jesus interacting with Pharisees, Jesus “demolished their dogma” and showed how grievous was the error of the Pharisees.  The example of “dogma” we have in our text is the question of the Sabbath.  Look again at verses 23-24.  Jesus is having a debate over one of the many ADDITIONAL LAWS (DOGMA) added to the Fourth Commandment.

There are as you know, Ten Commandments.  The Sabbath commandment is number 4.  We read in Exodus 20:8-11:

⁸ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

You will notice if you read the Ten Commandments, that God said more about the Sabbath Commandment than any of the other 9, with three verses.  Well, the Pharisees took the matter even further.  The dogma, or teaching in regard to the fourth commandment expanded to to as many as 600 additional laws, as some scholars have noted.

So, clearly in the minds of the Pharisees it seemed (dogma, from dokein, to seem) that Jesus and the disciples clearly were violating the Fourth Commandment by “reaping and harvesting on the Sabbath.”

Here’s the problem with “dogma.”  It seems right and it has a remote connection to what the Scriptures says, but it is as far off from the truth as the stars are from the earth.  Dogma is often a “half truth that is a total lie.” Dogma is “religion of the head without any heart.”

God’s truth involves both the “spirit of the Law and the letter of the Law.”  You can be dead right regarding the “letter” of the law and miss the spirit of the law by a mile. Jesus embodies both the “Spirit (grace) and the “Letter” (truth) of the Law. You must have both.

The Bible says of Jesus,

^{JOHN 1:14} The Word  became flesh  and took up residence  among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only  Son  from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I’ve come to discover that God is not impressed by people who can quote the Scriptures . . . God is impressed by those who live the Scriptures!

I had a professor in college that said, “Boys (he always called us boys), people will never care how much you know until they know how much you care!  A man or woman (or child) armed with a few verses and great faith will always accomplish more for the Kingdom of God than an intellectual giant full of Scripture, but no real faith.

Truth with grace ends death – dogma leads to a DEAD END!

The problem with dogma is that it has “no heart.”  It is “dead doctrine.”  It turns people into the “frozen chosen” with attitudes that could chill a polar bear and give frostbite to an Eskimo.

The Way of Jesus “demolishes dogma.” 

Jesus is by far the most “radical” figure in history. Here in our text Jesus Pummels prejudice, Trashes tradition, and Demolishes dogma. His Way is a “radical” way that leads to eternal life.

We, the Church, can see God move in great power if we do things His Way.

But, His Way is not the easy way.  His way is not the “politically correct” way. 

Every time I read a passage like this in which the Pharisees and religious leaders confront and attack Jesus, I ask myself:  “If I were there, would I be just like the Pharisees?”  Would I seek to keep my prejudices, follow my traditions, and defend my dogma?

Or, would I live among and love sinners so they could experience
Jesus Christ and gain eternal life?

When my life is all said and done I’d like my song to be:

I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did HIS WAY!