The Gospel According to Mark, Pt 21: Miracles Don't Last!

 

November 3, 2024    NOTES NOT EDITED
The Gospel According to Mark, Pt21:  “Miracles Don’t Last”
Mark 8:1-21

 SIS – Only  faith in the Lord Jesus Christ provides eternal salvation.

Some things just don’t last. The flavor of chewing gum. Th battery of a smartphone using WiFi. Ice cream in the freezer when the electricity goes off. The word “encyclopedia” (You might have to think about that). A piece of fried chicken at a Baptist Fellowship

Things just don’t last.  That includes, you and me, at least physically.  If you live long enough, you are going to wear out.  You know your life is moving toward the finale when:

- Your Monday Night Football Team scores a touchdown, and your pacemaker opens the neighbor’s garage door. - When you remember when the Dead Sea was only sick. - You and your teeth don't sleep together. - Your back goes out, but you stay home. - It takes longer to rest than it did to get tired. - You sit down in a rocking chair but need help to get it going. - You wonder how you could be over the hill when you don't even remember getting to the top of it. - It takes a more than one try to get over a speed bump. - You realize that a stamp today costs more than a movie did when you were growing up. - Your childhood toys are now in a museum. (This is actually true for me. My Uncle’s store became a toy museum of Marx Toys) - Your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper. -When your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you're barefoot.

You might as well face it—nothing lasts forever, including you. But, this applies to something spiritual as well:  “Miracles Don’t Last”

That may sound shocking but it’s true. Consider the raising of Lazarus.  It didn’t last.  He eventually died.  Consider the miracle we will look at today:  Jesus fed the hungry multitude in chapter six, and now in chapter eight, they are hungry again and the disciples are worried about where to get food to feed them.  You cannot rely on miracles to sustain your faith—miracles don’t last.

Relying on anything but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ cannot, and will not, provide eternal salvation.  Only faith in Christ will last.

Let’s read our text together and I think it will make this plain: MK. 8:17-21

Back in chapter 6, a great multitude was hungry—5000 men plus women and children; perhaps, over 15,000 people.  Jesus fed them miraculously with only five loaves and two fishes, until they were all “satisfied” and there were even some food left-over.

This miracle of feeding 4000 is obviously similar. It is so similar many scholars believe it is simply a “repeating of the previous event for emphasis.” Scholars see this being a “repeating” of the former miracle primarily do to the fact that they ask, “How could the disciples NOT remember the first feeding and simply ask Jesus to do it again.” That is precisely MY POINT in suggesting this is a completely DIFFERENT event—FAITH BASED UPON MIRACLES DOESN’T LAST. That’s my point. Jesus clearly states in verse 19 they are different events. Sadly, even followers of Jesus FORGET quickly all the “blessings and benefits” we’ve already received. Therefore, the Psalmist, among other Bible writers, reminds us (Psa 103:1):

Bless the Lord, O my Soul, and FORGET NOT all His benefits.

Now, two chapters later (perhaps 6-8 months later) the crowd is hungry again. There are many similarities between the two stories, but also some important differences.  The first group consisted of primarily Jewish people from Northern Galilee.  This is a crowd, mostly of Gentiles from Southern Galilee.  One reason Mark may have included both these stories (along with Matthew) is to show that Christ is the Savior for both Jews and Gentiles. Another reason, as I said, is this text shows us, miracles are not a useful foundation to build your faith on. Whatever the reason, the lesson in both stories is the same—Jesus has miraculous power to meet any and all of our needs.

Along with the similarities, I think the emphasis in this passage is more on the false assumptions of the crowd, including the disciples, than on the miracle of feeding a multitude with a small lunch.  The Feeding of the 4000 exposes some “false” foundations people put their trust in for this life, as well as eternity.  That includes putting trust in “miracles.”  Miracles don’t last.  The first false foundation for faith exposed in our text is the false trust in

1. MATERIALISM (1-10, esp v8)

(NIV84) 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Materialism has many cousins. Scientism is one cousin. The belief that all of life can be understood simply by what we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch—or in short, anything we can measure with instruments. Naturalism is another synonym for materialism. Basically, it states that this world is all there is—the sum total of existence. Materialism is all about “stuff, and the getting and controlling of as much stuff as possible.” Materialism is simply living for the moment and satisfying desires.

Paul referred to “materialism” as “the god of the belly” (Phil 3:19)

Another way to describe “materialism” is “worldliness.”

If you look down in verse 15 you will see that Jesus gives a very stern warning to the disciples.  He says, “avoid the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.”

Yeast represents a “bad influence leading to a bad experience.”  The Pharisees represent the “bad influence of religion, or traditionalism” which we have talked about quite a bit in Mark and will a bit more  al little later today.

Herod, represents outright “worldliness,” or worldly lusts—craving the pleasures of fame, fortune, and comfort and power. There was nothing spiritual or particularly religious about Herod.  Herod and his family were “politicians.” As corrupt as politicians today.

Some people are consumed by “materialism.”  They live to satisfy their carnal wants and desires.  Materialists live to consume and to fill their lives with stuff.  Materialism has many cousins. Scientism is akin to materialism. Scientism is a faith that excludes God and accepts only what can be measured, tested, quantified, and controlled. Naturalism is another form of materialism. Naturalism supposes that this world is all there ever was or ever will be. There’s no place for God in it.

Paul warns against trusting in the foundation of “worldliness.”  In Titus Paul warns the young preacher saying:

Titus 2:12:  “Deny godlessness and worldly lusts.”

Basing your sense of happiness and well-being on “materialism” will guarantee you will never be satisfied.  You will always hunger for more.  The Crowd of 5000 was fed till they could eat no more, and now they were hungry again.  Miracles don’t last.  Materialism will never satisfy, and certainly never satisfy you eternally.

Jesus had an encounter with a woman who came to the local well to draw water to quench her thirst.  In her encounter with the Woman at the Well Jesus pointed out the short-coming of a “materialistic” view of happiness.  Jesus said, (John 4:13-14)

“Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. ¹⁴ But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever!  In fact, the water I will give him will become a well  ^x of water springing up within him for eternal life.”

This will always be the case when anyone seek satisfaction through “stuff.”  You may feast one day, but you will be hungry again the next.

2.  EMOTIONALISM also won’t last (18a; 20a; 21b)

Notice what Jesus says regarding disciples questioning “how in the world could we ever find enough bread in this wilderness to feed a crowd of 4000 people?”

18a: “Don’t you remember” 20a: And when . . .
 and 21b: “Do you still not understand?”

By “emotionalism” I’m talking about “having an experience” that moves you deeply—even a religious, or spiritual experience.

Just a few months or less ago, Jesus fed 5000 men with women and children. Just a few MINUTES ago, Jesus fed 4000. The emotional high from those MIRACLES didn’t last very long at all. Spirituality based upon emotion and experience are more shallow than a Kamala Harris press conference.

If I were Jesus, I’d say what I heard my Mom and Dad say more times than I want to count when I was growing up.  Usually, this speech came right after something had crashed to the floor because the Clegg Boys were running through the house.  Dad or Mom would say, “How many times have I told you not to run in the house.”  Or, when my little brother would come home with blood gushing from a wound on his head because we were using rocks as grenades in neighborhood battle reenactment.  “How many times have I told you not to throw rocks.  Do you want to put your brother’s eye out?”

Well, I often contemplated saying, “Hey, he’d make a neat pirate with an eye patch.”  But, my good sense got the best of me and I didn’t.

How many miracles was it going to take before the disciples would finally and fully realize, “Jesus is the Messiah, Almighty God, the Alpha and Omega, and Jehovah Jireh the Eternal Provider?” Well, dozens, perhaps hundreds of miracles hadn’t solidified the faith of the disciples to that point.

Jesus was saying, “How many people do you have to see me miraculously feed before you will trust in Me to care for you?

Most of us, and many non-Christians, have had a moment when God seemed to leave heaven and sit right down beside of us.  I’m thinking during a moving moment at a funeral, or an emotional sermon at a revival, or a moment of intense spiritual growth at camp.  There’s nothing wrong with getting emotional when we have a significant experience with the Lord. We should be deeply moved.

But, emotionalism and experiences alone will not do you any more good than it did the disciples.  They went to the top of the mountain with Jesus.  They saw him feed a multitude with a meager lunch.  Yet, 6 months or so later, it’s like nothing even happened.  The emotional feelings had subsided, and the disciples were just as they were before.

This has no doubt happened to many in church.  In a moment of intense emotional response to something in a church service people will walk down the aisle to “get saved.”  They get saved, and then get baptized, but soon they get right back to what they were doing. The emotions die down, and their commitment dies off.

Emotionalism will not last.  It will not take you down the path to eternal salvation.  You need something more.

3.  Third, TRADITIONALISM will not last (11-13, 15)

¹¹ The  ^•Pharisees  came out and began to argue with Him, demanding of Him a sign  from heaven  to test  Him. ¹² But sighing deeply in His spirit,  He said, “Why does this generation  demand a sign? I assure you:  No sign will be given to this generation!” ¹³ Then He left them, got on board _⌊the boat_⌋ again, and went to the other side.

……………………………….

¹⁵ Then  He commanded them: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast  of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” 

As we have noted in several previous sermons, the Pharisees were the quintessential example of “religious people.” The Pharisees had built a system of rituals and traditions that demanded extreme devotion and utmost purity, taking the basic Ten Commandments and expanding them to hundreds of commandments. Much like the Catholic Church, and other “religious” groups have done.  It’s all about maintaining the “traditions.”

But, Jesus said, as I have pointed out before, “traditionalism” will nullify—make void—the grace of God (Mk. 7:13) Rather that making someone “fit” for heaven by their own righteousness, Jesus said of the Pharisees that their rules and regulations made their followers, “twice the children of hell!”  (Mt. 23:15)

That’s pretty serious which is why Jesus offers a serious warning.  Stay away from “religion and its traditions.”  This is repeated so often in the N.T. that I wonder how we get so deceived into thinking that our traditionalism will serve as a foundation for eternal salvation.

It won’t.  Traditionalism, like materialism and emotionalism, simply will not last.  Just like the crowd once again becomes hungry after the first miraculous feeding, people cannot satisfy their deep spiritual need for salvation relying on traditionalism.

“Miracles don’t last.”  Think about it.  In another 6 to 8 months, or so, Jesus will be crucified on a hill outside of Jerusalem.  The only crowd there will be the crowd crying “crucify Him! Crucify Him!”  The only disciples that will be at the cross are some women, and John.  Obviously, experiencing the miracles of Jesus did not increase the faith of the crowd.  Neither did seeing Jesus perform miracle after miracle after miracle for three years increase the faith of the 12 disciples (except perhaps John).  Miracles don’t last.  Neither will “materialism, emotionalism, or traditionalism.”  Or any other “ism.” No “ism” of any kind—miracles or not—suffice as a sufficient foundation for eternal salvation.

In fact, this very strong warning from Jesus teaches us that “False faith is as damning—maybe more so—than no faith at all.”

There is only one sure foundation that lasts for all eternity—

4.  Only faith in Jesus Christ will last (v21)

The real key to understanding our text this morning is in verse 21:

²¹ And He said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?

Understand what?  What did the disciples need to understand from seeing all the miracles that Jesus had performed, including twice feeding a multitude with only a small lunch?  It is surely a lesson that seeing the miracles, even participating in the miracles, did not teach them.

They missed seeing the forest for the trees as the saying goes.  They saw the miracles, but they completely missed the message.  To understand exactly what they had missed, we need to go all the way back to chapter two, verse 6 to pick up the key theme of the gospels:

⁶ But some of the scribes were sitting there, thinking  to themselves:  ⁷ “Why does He speak like this? He’s blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Jesus had just healed a paralyzed man who had been lowered down into His presence by four friends.  Jesus had done many miracles before this one, but He said something different in healing this man that He had not said before:  “You are forgiven!”

Immediately, the religious leaders and traditionalists recognized what this meant—even if the disciples would be slower to recognize it—Jesus was saying, “Watch me. What I do and what I say shows Who I am.  I am Yahweh!  [This cannot be stressed enough!]

Now, we come to the Feeding of the 4000 and Jesus says, “Do you not understand—that is, do you not see that I am God Among You?”

That’s really what Mark is trying to show in his fast-passed, action-filled chronicle of the Life of Jesus Christ.  Mark wants to show us that Jesus is “God Among Men.”  He is the God-Man.  He is All God and All Man. He is Lord.  He is Savior.

Everything Jesus said or did was to prove one thing to the world.  John, the last apostle to write a chronicle of the Life of Jesus put summed up the answer to the question that Jesus was asking here in Mark 8.  Jesus gives that answer through John:

I am “the” Way, “the” Truth, and “the” Life.  No man
comes to the Father but by Me.” (Jn. 14:6) 

Materialism won’t get you to the Father.  Emotionalism won’t get you to the Father.  Traditionalism won’t get you to the Father.  No salvation based upon such false foundations will last for eternity.  The only thing that will last is faith in Jesus Christ.”

The Book of Hebrews states very clearly:  “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6).

In verse 14 we see the complete ignorance of the disciples in regard to the main point Jesus was trying to teach them.  When Jesus questioned them about not having but one loaf of bread among them the text says,

¹⁶ They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 

Jesus reply could be summed up in this manner:  “Oh, foolish disciples. The problem is not that you don’t have any bread.  The problem is that you don’t have any faith.”

They had only “one loaf,” but it wasn’t the little flat piece of bread in their hands, but it was Jesus Christ, Himself.  In John 6:35 Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of Life.”

The disciples had travelled with Jesus for going on two years or more, and they had yet to “understand” fully Who He really was.  We are so often just like these disciples. So many Christians travel through this life never fully understanding that salvation is “all about, and only Jesus.”

Only salvation through faith in Jesus alone will be a miracle that lasts!

Our families won’t last.  Our careers won’t last.  Our health won’t last.  Everyone who was healed, eventually died.  All those who were fed by the miraculous hand of Jesus hungered again.  Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is the only miracle that lasts.

When it comes to eternal salvation, materialism, emotionalism, or traditionalism will not last any longer than a Kardashian wedding.  What you should long for is something that really lasts—something that lasts for all eternity.

Ever since I was a little boy in Sunday School in Moundsville Baptist Church, I’ve thought of a little rhyme I learned:

Tis one life, will soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last.

Miracles Don’t Last—But Jesus Does!

Kaboom! The Politics of Trump and The Ministry of Jesus

 

October 27, 2024                            NOTES NOT EDITED
Ka-Boom:  The Politics of Trump and the Preaching of Jesus
Lk 7:24-50

SIS: Whether in politics or religion, the key to progress is blowing up the status quo.

Donald Trump is a lot like Jesus. That’s a shocker. It shocks even me when I say it. But, there is at least one similarity that justifies that statement. BOTH BLOW UP THE STATUS QUO. Beyond that similarity, Trump who openly and boldly declares to be a follower of Jesus has a lot of growing to do.

When Trump was first inaugurated president after the 2016 Election, he ignited a political bomb that is still blowing up the political speech 8 years later.

When Jesus came to earth, he exploded the religious status quo that is still blowing up today. Jesus exploded the establishment religion of his day, referred to as the Pharisees, and continues to challenge and demolish “man-centered, works-based, establishment religion” today. Write that down: man-centered, works-based, establishment religion.” Jesus blows it apart. The “Christ-centered, grace-based, revolutionary” movement Jesus founded is like an atomic bomb that blows up status quo.

With Trump, the corrupt Washington establishment is running like cockroaches when one turns on the kitchen light at night in an infested apartment. Similarly, the unrighteous Pharisees ran for cover under the dirty shroud of Pilate when Jesus exposed them.

Here we are, six years after an well-known celebrity but a political novice exploded all expectations and became president of the U.S. This was a huge explosion in 2016 and the reverberations continue strong to this day. That’s the nature of a movement that “explodes the status quo.” Nothing will ever be the same again. As with Trump’s politics, so it was with Jesus’s ministry. Both TOTALLY EXPLODED THE STATUS QUO.

Jesus was nothing if He was not a revolutionary. God is called the Lord of Hosts, which means the Lord of the Armies of Heaven. Jesus dropped a holy bomb on humanity and the explosion exposed the many cracks and weaknesses of religion--which is the human efforts to obtain what only God in His grace can bestow. That explosion started a war that continues to this day—and will until Jesus, the Lord of the Hosts, returns.

Our passage is long today, but this simple truth of Jesus challenging, disrupting, and explosively demolishing the status quo ties this section together. Indeed, this theme ties the entire Bible together being woven into the fabric of truth from Genesis to Revelation.

I expect there will have to be at least someone who disagrees with my premise. I'm led to disagree with it myself if I were truly honest. It seems at best insane and at worst blasphemous to suggest that Trump and Jesus in their respective political and spiritual campaigns have anything in common.

Let’s read just a portion of the text showing how Jesus collides with the religious establishment resulting in a great explosion.
READ LUKE 7:24-33. Jesus Explodes Four Foundations of the Pharisees False Religion (Each One Closely Related to the Others)

1.  Jesus Exploded the
     WRONG ATTITUDE of the Pharisees (24-35, esp 30)

The Pharisees represent lost people with a particularly bad attitude of thinking they could please God without surrendering to Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.

{30} But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.) 

The Pharisees rejected John’s baptism for two reasons: one, he preached the need for repentance. They believed their deeds made them righteous; two, John pointed to Jesus as the “Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Again, the Pharisees trusted in their religion of good deeds to take away sin, not Jesus. 

The disciples of John the Baptistjust came from a meeting with John.  At that meeting they reported to their beloved leader all that Jesus had been doing. Apparently, John and Jesus had not spoken to one another for quite some time, since the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when he was baptized by John.  All the excitement over the miracles and powerful teaching of Jesus had raised questions about the identity of Jesus, even in John’s mind.  Jesus pointed out that John was a man of strong conviction and willing to make a strong stand for righteousness and preached devotion to Jesus. (Eventually John would be martyred for his strong stand).  Jesus reminded them about John’s strong convictions about the Coming Messiah, Jesus.  Look at verses 24-28:

After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? {25} If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. {26} But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. {27} This is the one about whom it is written: "'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' {28} I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." 

John was the greatest prophet to have lived and he preached Jesus was the Only Savior. Remember, as I just said, it was John the Baptist who firstidentified for the crowds of people that Jesus was the Messiah, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” (Jn. 1:29). John’s preaching pointed out Jesus’ identity and the miraculous deeds of Jesus confirmed it.  For the most part, the common people accepted who Jesus was—but not the Pharisees.

The Pharisees had bad attitudes.  First, they refused to repent no matter what Jesus said or what miracles he performed. They rejected Jesus in the face of undeniable evidence. (Compare Psa. 14; Rom. 1:18-20). Look at the Pharisees attitude again in vv29-30 

29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John.  {30} But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.) 

{31}"To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? {32} They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.' {33} For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' {34} The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."' 

Jesus embraced sinners. The Pharisees considered themselves righteous and “better” than others. That’s a BAD ATTITUDE. Sadly, a lot of Christians look down on the “down and out” and have an attitude of contempt for those struggling with sin. 

John lived a brutally holy life alone for the most part in the desert living off grasshoppers and wearing a camel-skin coat. His righteousness was impeccable and noted as such by Jesus. Yet, the Pharisees considered John’s behavior as “having a demon” (33). Jesus spent all his time with drinkers, gluttons, and tax collectors, and the Pharisees despised him as “A drunkard and friend of low lifes” (34). Nobody could live up to the Pharisees standards—the religious status quo.  You just can’t reach some people no matter what you do!

People get stuck in status quo. They get chained to false ideas based upon their experiences, not the evidence. This can happen to anyone. Football players. T.V. producers. Or even morticians. Three women got together for lunch on Saturday. The wife of a prominent football player said, “You know, I hate it when my husband refers to leftovers as “replays.” The wife of a T.V. producer chimed in and said, “Yea. My husband calls them, “reruns.”  The third lady’s husband was the local funeral director and embalmer. She sighed, “Well, at least you don’t have a husband calling your leftovers, “remains.”

We can fall into a pitiful pattern of seeing everything from our own narrow perspective and develop a bad attitude of viewing our religious status quo as more important than the Savior’s mission. 

Jesus exposed the WRONG ATTITUDE of the Pharisees. 

2.  Second, Jesus Exploded the
     WRONG FOCUS of the Pharisees (37-48)

Since the Pharisees didn’t think they needed Jesus to save them, they focused on their religious program, not helping struggling “people.”

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. {37} When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, {38} and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. {39} When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner." 

The Pharisees focused on their religious programs not lost people. 

Everyone knew this young lady – She was a “working gal” and I don’t mean selling Avon!  It was perfectly acceptable that this woman come into the party. 

According to the prevailing custom of the day, the poor were allowed to visit the banquets of the rich to receive the left-overs.  But, this lady had something else in mind. She bowed at his feet anointing His feet with expensive perfume, and washing the dust with her tears of repentance. This humble act was something Simon, the Pharisee, had no intention of doing (vv 44-46) 

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. {45} You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. {46} You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. {47} Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." {48} Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are FORGIVEN." 

The world is full of religious people who focus on the sins people commit but have no love for the souls of those sinners. Pharisees, status quo Christians, focus on programs, not people. 

Christianity is about “people,” not programs. There are people in every church that will fight at the drop of the hat if you change part of the religious rituals of the church, but these same people won’t lift a finger to reach out to lost people.

Jesus raised a ruckus with the religious because He showed more concern for lost people than He did the Pharisees empty traditions. 

Literally thousands of churches have drifted into oblivion because they did not want “their” church filled up with undesirable people. Let, me give you a little hint about God: there are no undesirable people except perhaps people like the Pharisees.

Jesus exposed the wrong focus of the Pharisees– they worshipped worship rather than work to find God’s lost sheep. 

3.  Jesus Exploded
     WRONG PRACTICE of the Pharisees (46).

The Pharisees worshipped their religion and so focused on their behavior, but Jesus pointed out their practices without a love for people made them hypocrites.

{46) You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet . 

The Pharisees did all the right things for all the wrong reasons. The Sinful Woman was the “wrong kind of person” who did all the right things. That’s the ugly irony of religion—it values programs but ignores real people. The Pharisees proudly said, “Look at all we DO.” Jesus said, “Look at what you DID NOT DO.” Practicing all the religion in the world is no substitute for a devoted love for Jesus.

The Pharisees meditated on Scripture. The Pharisees worshipped regularly and passionately. The Pharisees gave regular offerings. The Pharisees spread the message of their beliefs religiously. The Pharisees were “so religious” in their practices Jesus actually mentioned it, Himself. He said in Matthew 23:15 (NIV84):

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, . . . You travel over land and sea to win a single convert. Then in 23:23 Jesus remarks on the Pharisees meticulous approach to “tithing” (giving a tenth):

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

Jesus did not condemn the religious practices of the Pharisees  themselves. He said clearly, “you should make converts; you should pay your tithes.” Jesus recognized the intensity of their devotion. What made the practices “wrong” were not the acts themselves but the reason the Pharisees practices them. Jesus was exploding the “wrong practice” of SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS that did “right things for the wrong reason.” Their godliness began and ended with themselves—that is, what they did for God and completely rejected, dismissed, and devalued God, Himself, Jesus Christ.

Religion says, “Look at me what I am doing.” True faith says, “Look at Jesus what He has done.” The Pharisees saw their self-righteousness and did nothing for Jesus. The Sinful Woman saw her Savior and anointed His head and kissed his feet.

This is why the self-righteous Pharisees had zero tolerance for the “reckless, extravagant devotion” of this common sinner-a woman no less. Do you see the irony that the Self-righteous Pharisees valued their practices more than they valued the souls of sinful people? Let me ask you again, “Do you see the irony that the self-righteous Pharisees valued their practices more than they valued the souls of sinful people?” 

Jesus explodes the “wrong practices of empty religion” that puts a high value on practices and programs and NO VALUE on people. The religiously blind Pharisees saw a dirty sinner wasting valuable perfume. Jesus saw a “needy sinner” eternally grateful for the gift of forgiveness.

In the practice of the Pharisees, just touching the woman would make them ceremonially unclean.  Sinners had no value to the Pharisees.  In fact, to the Pharisees this woman would probably have been viewed as a liability, rather than an asset.  What could this poor prostitute do for the church?

I read an interesting story about a dentist that died.  When the family went through his belongings they discovered a key to a safe-deposit box.  Going to the bank they thought they would find a few pieces of jewelry, or perhaps some important papers.  WHAT THEY FOUND WERE–OLD ROTTEN TEETH!  For years the dentist had been buying the old rotten teeth of his patients.  They were all rotten, but they were all filled with gold or silver.  They looked nasty.  But, one of the sons of the dentist made a few contacts and found someone who would break away the old rotten tooth material and refine the gold and silver so a value could be placed on the material.  The son was surprised to learn that the old rotten teeth, nasty and disgusting to look at, netted a check from the refiner for $4000. Jesus sees the gold in each of us, while the world may only see “rotten teeth.”

Jesus created quite a commotion by “exploding the wrong practices of the religious Pharisees.” He’s still rattling the cages of the religious elite even to this day.

4.  Jesus raised a ruckus with the religious by exploding their WRONG EXPECTATIONS (47-50)

The Pharisees, representing many religious or spiritual persons today EXPECTED their religious activity would save them without a love and devotion to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Here Jesus really ruffled their feathers—and ruffles feathers today. People who expect to get to heaven without show the lavish, sacrificial love of Jesus demonstrated by the Sinful Woman should expect to be eternally disappointed in hell. 

{47}Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."  {48} Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 

Jesus is using figurative speech here in the form of exaggeration. Nobody can literally be “forgiven little.” This is a figurative way of saying “those who are self-righteous and feel no need for a Savior.” The Pharisees had no love for Jesus because, since they were saved by their own works, Jesus did nothing for them in their minds.

Not long ago, a group were out boating.  The boat sprung a leak near the stern (back).  Most of the passengers were in the back bailing out water frantically.  Toward the front of the boat was a self-righteous couple who thought they were above such a menial task as bailing water.  As the boat started to sink, the wife turned to her husband and said, “I’m certainly glad the leak is not in our end of the boat.”

These people are like the Pharisees and so many today thinking, “I’m not that bad so I don’t need to accept Jesus to save me. I’m even a fairly regular church-goer.” The Bible says otherwise,

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). And, “The wages of sin is death (hell)” (Rom. 6:23).

Friend, if your religion is like that of the Pharisees–you are going to get wet when you die (actually hot).  The trouble is, most people who are like the Pharisees are like that couple on the boat–they don’t even realize how much danger they are in. They just ‘EXPECT’ they will be saved because . . . well, because God saves everybody on this boat of life, and I’m not that bad anyway. 

The Pharisees felt they would be saved because, they weren’t “sinners like the woman.” Jesus exploded the wrong expectations of the Pharisees: they were wrong to think that by being religious they would go to heaven. Jesus ends this section by pointing out the only way to heaven: 

{50}Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Faith: trust in, rely on, cling to Jesus as Lord.

Are you willing to “fall down at the feet of Jesus and wash His feet with tears of repentance” and the perfume of humble service–that’s the only way. The Pharisees expected to get to heaven by their own works and good deeds. Jesus said, the woman alone was forgiven because she recognized Who Jesus was and relied on His deeds—namely living a sinless life and dying on OUR cross.

What is the basis for any expectations you have for eternal life? Are you trusting in being good? You can’t be good enough? Are you trusting in being religious? Religion only makes you a self-righteous Pharisee as lost as a teepee in a tornado.

Jesus completely exploded the status quo of false religion of good works in His time on earth and continues to explode wrong attitudes, wrong focuses, wrong practices, and wrong expectations of people trying to gain Heaven any other way than through faith and extravagant devotion to Him as the “Only Way, the Only Truth, and the Only life.” This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only gospel that saves.

Any time the gospel is preached in power, somebody won’t like it as evidenced by the Pharisees reaction to Jesus. 

This is where I see a great similarity between the Politics of Trump and the Ministry of Jesus. Both are exploding the status quo and those vested and invested in the status quo are reacting violently. In politics, the Swamp of Status Quo reacted violently with 39 Federal Indictments and two Failed Assassinations. In regard to the Ministry of Jesus, the status quo reacted by crucifying Him on a cross.

The echoes of Jesus exploding the false ideas of His day can be heard clearly today, if you open your hearts and listen. I believe strongly that the Politics of Trump may be at least a part of that echo reminding us that there is only One King and One Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

 

The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 20: "Well Done!"

 

October 20, 2024            NOTES NOT EDITED
The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 20:  “Well Done!”
Mark 7:31-37

SIS – We do things well when we do things God’s Way.

One of the first things my Company Commander in Bootcamp told us was: there are three ways to do things:  the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way! I’d always thought that the “right way and the wrong way” were the only two options. Boy . . . did I have an awakening in bootcamp!

I think we could modify my Company Commander’s instruction to cover how most people basically live their lives. There’s God’s Way. There’s the Devil’s Way. And, there’s “our” way that we think is somehow different from the Devil’s Way. We somehow convince ourselves that “Our” way is somehow “acceptable” to God even when we know it is the “Wrong Way.”

I think about farming. There’s a right way to farm and a wrong way. A successful Wall Street Stockbroker wanted to simplify his life. He sold his expensive New York condo, bought some acreage in the country and decided to be a farmer. He wanted to be a chicken farmer. He’d never even seen a farm in his life and the only chicken he knew anything about was in the frozen food section of the grocery store. But, he wanted to have a simpler life and was going to give it his best. He bought a hundred chickens and was on his way. Months went by and he had no chickens—none. After a few more months he grew concerned and decided to call the local Government Agricultural Extension Department. When a man answered the phone the new farmer said, “Sir, I am new at chicken farming and I could use some help.” The Government Ag Worker replied, “Sure, what’s your question?” The New Farmer responded, “Well, it has been all most three months now and I don’t have a single chicken. Do you think it was because I planted them to close together or too deep?”

Well, I guess there’s a right way to grow chickens and a wrong way.

As I think about my Company Commander, and I think of this farmer’s story I realize that there are, in fact, only two ways to live our lives: The Right Way, or God’s Way; or the Wrong Way which is the Devil’s Way. One way leads to blessing; the other leads to chaos and a curse on life.  Today, we are going to look at doing things “God’s Way.” We do things well when we do things God’s Way.

America, by nearly every measure, is in decline. American families are in chaos and on the verge of collapsing. Churches, once the focal point of community in that the steeple of the town church was the primary landmark of the community, are in decline.

If we pay attention to recent statistics we will see very clearly that “doing life God’s Way” is no longer central to being an American, as it had been in our past. Doing things God’s Way is not even central to how Christians live their lives. Over 8 out of 10 people profess to be Christians but only 4 out of 10 believe the Bible!  Only half of them attend church; less than 2 of them attend Sunday School; and only two of the eight who profess to be a Christian ever volunteer to serve in the church.

Clearly, these statistics should alarm us as the Church.  I’m not sure they surprise us.  I think we all intuitively sense that the world is, as they said in my day, “Going to hell in a handbasket” and the Church seems to be greasing the slide! 

America’s political, social, and economic problems are not the cause of the decline in Christian devotion, but quite the opposite.  Whatever we are doing as a church, it simply is not working. Our church  shoes are coming untied and we are tripping all over them.

Our way of doing church is not working—in fact, our way of doing Church has never worked and cannot work.  The only way that works is God’s Way.  As the people in our text this morning view the Life of Jesus Christ they exclaim with enthusiastic amazement:  “He has done everything well!” Jesus did everything well because He did everything God’s way.  The Jesus said,

Jn. 4:34: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me.” And in Jn. 8:29, Jesus said, “I always do what please Him [the Father].”

And, when the Lord was faced with the most difficult trial of His earthly life—a trial of unimaginable pain—the Lord said,  “Lk 22 ⁴² “Father, if You are willing, take this cup  away from Me—nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”

Jesus did “everything well” because He always did things God’s way.  Likewise, we His followers, can “do all things well if we do things God’s Way.”

So, alas! All is not lost.  There is a way for us as believers to experience a new power from God in and through our faith community!  Discover God’s Way and follow it.

Let’s read about Doing Things Well By Doing Things God’s Way.

MARK 7:31-37

1.  FIRST, God’s Way is a DIFFERENT way (31)

Our text begins with the description of a very peculiar route Jesus took to get to his destination. His destination was the area called the Decapolis (Ten Cities) on the south-eastern shore of the sea of Galilee. To reach this southern destination Jesus went “north.” And through rough, often hostile Gentile territory.

31 leaving the region of Tyre,  He went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,  through  the region of the Decapolis.

This is like going to So. LA by first travelling north to Ventura, across through Filmore, over to Santa Clarita, and back down to S. LA.  It would have been about an eight month journey for the Lord and the disciples.  To say that this was a “different” route to take for the Lord would be an understatement.

What are we to garner from this peculiar, unexpected, and for some, perhaps even ill-advised route of the Lord?

Well, we know that in chapter 8 Peter will make the quintessential confession of faith in Jesus by answering the Lord’s question, “who do you say I am?”  Peter would declare with confidence and boldness—a confidence and boldness that would help him later overcome a terrible failure in his life—Peter declared, “You are the Messiah—the One Sent From God!”

So, at least part of the Lord’s design for this weeks-long or even months-long journey was to draw His disciples close to Him and pour His life into them.   It takes time to grow “disciples.”  A fungus, such as a mushroom, can grow up overnight; but, it takes many years for a mighty oak to reach its majestic size.  Time.  That is often the missing element in disciple-making.

Another lesson we garner from this circuitous route of the Lord is to demonstrate what we read throughout the Scriptures:  the Way of God is a DIFFERENT way.  Isaiah declared, (55:8)

My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.”

God’s ways are what we might refer to as “counter-intuitive.”  Counter-intuitive means, “contrary to what seems right according to common sense or a ‘gut’ feeling.”  The most obvious answer of a truth that is “counter-intuitive” would be that “the earth is a sphere.”  That is true, but it is counter-intuitive.  The common experience for a human being (given our small size relative to the earth) is that the earth is indeed, flat.  But, of course, further study shows that the world is not flat, but “counter-intuitively,” it is a sphere.

God’s Ways appear so different to us because we don’t see the “Big Picture” as God sees it. He sees a thousand tomorrows as if they are one today. His perspective is “infinite.” Ours is “finite.”

A few years ago a woman was asked to give a motivational speech on “broadening one’s perspective in life.” She took the stage and immediately tacked up a huge white sheet of paper. She then took a black marker and made a “dot” in the center of the paper. She asked a man in the front row, “What do you see.” The man replied, “a black dot.” She asked the person next to him and she replied, “a black dot.” She then went row by row asking random people what they saw. They all replied with the same, obvious, answer, “a black dot.” She then asked for a show of hands of those in the audience who saw a “black dot.” Every hand in the auditorium went up. The woman giving the speech on broadening one’s perspective said, “All of you saw the black dot. None of you saw the huge white sheet of paper. With that, I will end my speech.”

The ways of God are DIFFERENT from the ways of man. We must seek the Lord’s guidance through His Word in all things in order to broaden our perspective and see things the way God sees them. Only when we first “SEE THINGS” God’s Way can we then “DO THINGS” His Way. God’s Way is different from our way. They are very often counter-intuitive. Often we must “go north to get south.”

We can become quite frustrated if we do not accept the fact that God’s Way is DIFFERENT from our way.  God operates on a different time schedule (His own); and according to a different purpose (His own).  That’s why sometimes God says, “no” to what we ask of Him in prayer.  Or, that is why God takes much longer to answer our prayer than we would expect or hope.

God operates according to His Way, not ours; and, His way is a much DIFFERENT way.  We must spend many hours in prayer and constant meditation on God’s Word if we are going to even begin to understand His Way.

2.  God’s Way is an EFFECTIVE way (32-36)                                                           

Thinking about Jesus’s route to get “south by going north” we can say it wasn’t the FASTEST route, nor the EASIEST route, the SAFEST route, or even the USUAL route. . . but it was the most EFFECTIVE route.

Of all the healing stories thus far in Mark, the Lord’s actions regarding the deaf man with a severe speech problem is by far the most unusual.  The man’s condition is not all that unusual, but the Lord’s method of healing is unusual.  Unusual—but EFFECTIVE.  Let’s read it again:

³² They brought to Him a deaf  man who also had a speech difficulty,  and begged Jesus to lay His hand on  him. ³³ So He took him away from the crowd privately. After putting His fingers in the man’s ears and spitting, He touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!”  (that is, “Be opened!”). ³⁵ Immediately his ears were opened, his speech difficulty was removed,  and he began to speak clearly.  ³⁶ Then He ordered them to tell no one, but the more He would order them, the more they would proclaim  it.

Keep in mind the guiding truth of this passage:  “Jesus has done everything well.”  We might say in this age of business coaches and success gurus, “Jesus was highly effective.”  He got the job done and he did it well.

Too often in life we look for the FASTEST way, or the EASIEST way, or the SAFEST way, or the USUAL way, but the most EFFECTIVE way is always, “God’s Way!” Don’t question it—just do it.

If you don’t realize that his purpose is always to be “Effective,” then the actions of the Lord may call upon us to perform will indeed seem quite strange; perhaps even a bit gross.  But, everything the Lord does was to assure the “effectiveness” of His ministry.

When the “church growth experts” of the 70’s and 80’s looked for models on how to build “big” churches, they looked to the business world, not the Bible.  The classic example would be Robert Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral. This “Business Model” brought us the “megachurch movement.” Church became two miles wide and inch deep.

I do not want to wholly discount practicing sound principles of marketing and business, for the Word of God has much to say about these things.  We do err greatly, however, when we look first, or even exclusively to the world, instead of the Word.  Whatever “methods” we may choose, they must conform to the message we have in God’s word.  Function must always proceed form.  The message must always have precedence over the method.

So, why all this seemingly bizarre activity of putting fingers in a man’s ears, spitting on one’s finger and touching the man’s tongue?

Well, the point is, the finger-jabbing and spitting is not the point!  Effectiveness in ministry—that’s the point. The point is: EFFECTIVENESS.

Consider the man was deaf.  Jesus could not tell him what He was going to do for the man, so Jesus showed him.  Jesus spoke with the man in a language the man could understand and respond to – the language of “touch.” 

Doing things well means doing things God’s Way.  Doing things well means “doing things effectively.” We need to stop regularly and reflect upon our lives. Is what we are doing being “effective,” that is bringing the desired RESULTS of godliness for us personally and extending godliness to our community. Are we GETTING RESULTS?

So much of the modern church’s ways of doing things are INEFFECTIVE.  The declining “State of the Church” as I outlined in the statistics above, should cause us to reflectively and resolutely reevaluate every activity in our church to see if it is effective in meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our community. Every once in a while we need to “overhaul” the processes and practices of our ministry and align, or realign them with God’s Ways.

Just consider something as simple as our name. First Baptist Church. What’s the “First” mean? Where’s the second and third. First in regard to what? First in the rapture? What? Then think of the word, “Baptist.” First of all, what does “Baptist” imply? Does that mean we exclude anyone who had a different religious background? Is “Baptist” a positive term in our community or a negative one? When did the “Baptist Church” start? What started it? When? Even most Baptists don’t even know. My point is that we need to constantly evaluate everything we do to make sure that it is:  One, Biblical; and TWO, effective.

By effective I mean:  Is the Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven as a result of the way we are doing things?  Are the blind receiving their sight?  Are the lame walking?  Are the deaf hearing? Are the lost being found? Are we being EFFECTIVE?

Notice carefully the instruction Jesus gives to the people (and instruction He has given several times before).  Verse 36 says:

³⁶ Then He ordered them to tell no one. 

Why not tell everyone?  Certainly if any man today did anything like what Jesus did or taught in the manner Jesus taught, that person would have his own television program—or even broadcast network.  Such exploits would be nothing short of “sensational.”

That’s the point.  Jesus did not come to be “sensational,” but to be “effective.”  He did not come to gain popularity, but to prepare a way for us to be saved.  Ministry is never about being “sensational,” but about being “effective.”  It’s never about being the “biggest,” but about being “effective.”  Ministry is not about making a name for oneself, but about making a difference in one’s world.

They exclaimed about Jesus, “He has done everything well.”  A major issue in doing things well is to do them EFFECTIVELY.

God’s way leads to a job “well done.”  God’s way is a DIFFERENT way.  God’s way is an EFFECTIVE way.

3.  God’s Way is the ONLY way (37)

There are 66 books in the Bible.  There are 1189 chapters.  There are 31,103 verses (+/- 137).  But, there is one theme.  That theme can be summed up in one name:  JESUS.

Jesus is His name, and Christ, or Messiah is His title.  It’s all about “who” Jesus is and “what” He came to do.  The story of Jesus takes many turns, crosses many rivers, climbs many mountains; but there is only one theme:  Jesus and His cross.

This text is not about a deaf man that was healed.  This story, like the entire story of the Bible is about a “Dead Man Who Brought Life.” Jesus died so we might live.  The crowd exclaimed when they watched all those who Jesus was healing, including this deaf man, “He has done all things well.”  And, indeed He did.

 

But, the one thing above all things that Jesus did well was to “die and then raise from the dead so that, “whoever would believe in Him need not perish but could have eternal life.”  Think about it. If all Jesus ever did for this man was give him hearing until he died, the man would have remained eternally lost forever. What good is it to be able to hear if nobody ever shared the message of the gospel so you could be saved? Healings and miracles can become like the “BLACK DOT” on the WHITE paper. Too many people miss the “big picture” in the healings of Jesus—THEY POINTED TO WHO HE WAS—THE MESSIAH. THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.

Jesus did all things well because He did all things God’s Way.  God’s way is a DIFFERENT way, an EFFECTIVE way, but more than anything else God’s way is the ONLY way one can be saved.

This text is about Jesus—“who He is and what He did on the Cross.”  This text is not about Jesus, the Healer, but Jesus the Messiah—the One From God Who Would Be a Sacrifice For All.

The healing is the “black dot.” The message of the Messiah is the “white paper.”

Look closely at how the crowd associates Jesus with the healing of deafness and the healing of speech:

³⁷ They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well! He even makes deaf people hear, and people unable to speak, talk!”

 Now, listen to how Yahweh describes Himself in Exodus 4:11 when Moses protests that Pharoah would not listen to him because he did not speak well:

¹¹ Yahweh said to him,[ei. Moses] “Who made the human mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 

And, listen to Isaiah describe the coming Messiah (35:5):

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Mark closes this section of Scripture with a summary statement pointing to the identity (and authority) of Jesus Christ.  We know this is a “summary” declaration of the identity of Jesus by the words, “extremely astonished.”  In several places Mark talks of the crowd being “astonished or amazed,” but here adds a very descriptive adjective “hyper abundantly astonished.”

Mark wants to affirm the identity of Jesus as the Promised One of God.  Mark wants to move from the healing power of Jesus to the Saving power of Jesus.

Jesus did all things well because he followed the way of God. That Way is All About Jesus. Jesus IS “The Way.”  (Jn. 14:6). Jesus, is in fact, the only way in which any person will ever finish well in this life.

It is not the “good deeds” of our lives that will save us, but the Deed Done By Jesus.”  He is the Messiah—the God-Man—the ONLY way anybody can please God and “do all things well.”

One day, everyone of us will stand before God and will be judged according to the “way” in which we lived our lives.  Did we “do all things well?”  Did we live in a way that was DIFFERENT from the world?  Did we minister in a way that was EFFECTIVE in the world.  And, did we follow in the ONLY way that would lead to eternal life after this world?

Jesus did all things well because He did things God’s way.  If we follow Jesus, one day we will stand before Him and we will hear Him say,

“Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into your eternal reward.” 

Always remember when raising chickens: don’t plant them to close together or too deep!