Get Serious (Mark 8:31-9:1)

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." (Mark 8:31-33 NIV)

Sometimes the teachings of Jesus are hard to understand.  Other times, like this, his teachings are simply hard to accept.  Peter didn't understand why Jesus needed to die and he certainly didn't want it to be true.  So, Peter did what many of us do.  He argued with Jesus.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (Mark 8:34-38 NIV)

Finally, there are times Jesus' teachings are hard because we simply don't want to do them.  We're OK with a God that calls the weary and heavy-laiden to give them rest.  We appreciate it when he says his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  We love it when he offers salvation to the whole world and the gift of His Spirit to help us through everything in this life.  We don't enjoy it so much, though, when he says we need to pick up our cross and follow him.

Notice, though, what our cross is to bear.  We need to let go or lose our lives for Jesus.  We cannot be ashamed of Jesus.  We need to follow, hold on to, and proclaim Jesus to our worlds.  Jesus must be the center of our lives.  This will save and continually refresh our souls.  It will also bring us to The Father through The Son.

And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power." (Mark 9:1 NIV)

This final statement is considered a hard saying or "problem passage" because so many have interpreted it to mean Jesus didn't keep his promise.  It's two thousand years since he left and he has not returned yet.  Is someone who was standing there still roaming the face of the earth?  Perhaps the answer is much more simple than that.

What is Jesus trying to teach his disciples here?  He's telling them that he will suffer, die, and in three days rise from the dead.  The resurrection of Jesus shows great power.  Some of them standing there that day saw the resurrection of Jesus.  At least one of them, Judas Iscariot, would not.  Judas would give up before he saw the power of God at work in Jesus.

How about you?  Are you ashamed of Jesus?  Do you stick with Jesus when his teachings are hard to understand?  Do you stay when you don't like what he taught?  Do you follow him even when he tells you to pick up your cross?  Do you give up just short of seeing God's power, like Judas, or hold firmly to him through the storms like the others?

Serious Forgiveness (Matthew 18:15-35)

"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:15-20 NIV)

This passage is filled with hard sayings that have divided God's Church for over a millennium.  Let's take a look at what is happening here.

Jesus starts out this section talking about a "brother" who sins.  How do we know when someone in the Family of God sins?  Sin is anything we say or do that displeases God, but how does one person know that another person is displeasing God with his words or actions?  Usually, we begin by turning to the Bible.  When a person goes against God's instructions from the past, we consider that sin.  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so that would be a good start.

Remember, though, that the Apostles (being taught by Jesus here) did not have the New Testament.  They had the Old Testament Scriptures as well as the new teachings of Jesus.  But what if something comes up that Jesus didn't cover in his seminars?  He's telling them what to do.

Jesus explains to them that the first two layers of help, Old Testament + Jesus' teachings, will have a third layer added: the Holy Spirit.  Once His Spirit is dwelling in them, He will guide them into all truth.  

So, when someone sins, they should be able to recognize it.  The Spirit will help them.  Learning to discern His Spirit, though, takes some work.  It's like getting your sea legs - you get used to it over time.  It's good, then, to check with someone else with His Spirit to check with.  This would be a second witness.  This person would not only need to be a "brother or sister" with His Spirit, but also someone else who is a witness to the person's sin.  If they agree, they should confront their brother or sister together.

The third step, should the sinner refuse to repent, is to take them to the church.  This would be bringing the situation before older, more experienced, wiser people who have been walking with God longer than you.  In Biblical days, these were often rabbi/teachers or elder/shepherds.  Hopefully, with their wisdom and insight, you can turn the sinner around.  This more experienced believer, however, may turn you around - helping you see that it is not sin.  If it is, however, you confront the sinner.

The final step, should they still refuse to repent, is to treat them like a pagan or tax-collector.  We often call this excommunication - kicking them out of the church.  Wait a minute, though.  Didn't Jesus hang out with tax-collectors?  Wasn't Matthew (who wrote this Gospel) a tax-collector who threw a "sinners and tax-collectors party" to introduce people to Jesus?  Why, then, would Jesus tell us to kick this sinner out of His Church?  I don't think he does.

Notice what two groups Jesus is describing here.  Pagans (or Gentiles in other translations) are simply non-believers.  They are not Jewish.  The second group, tax-collectors, are Jewish in their town.  The Roman Government would recruit people from the local culture to collect taxes for the Government.  To make things worse, they were allowed to keep any money they could get out of people that was over and above the taxes owed.  In some ways, tax-collectors were worse than Gentiles because they should know better, but they had gone over to the "dark side."

So here's the question:  How did Jesus treat non-believers and tax-collectors?  He taught them about God.  He brought them to God.  He helped them overcome their unbelief so they would return to God.  Jesus didn't kick out pagans and tax-collectors.  He evangelized them - bringing them home like the prodigal son.  Jesus wasn't telling us to kick them out of His Church.  He was telling us to change our approach.  We can't approach them like a believer that knows better.  Instead, we need to approach them as a teacher who explains to them.  We simply change our approach

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?"  Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." (Matthew 18:21-22 NIV)

With this understanding of the passage, Peter's question makes perfect sense then.  Let me say it in another way: "Jesus, you're telling us to hang around people who keep sinning.  How often are we going to need to forgive them before we finally give up?"  Jesus' answer is simple.  Never give up.

Now, I know that some of your translations say seventy seven times and others say seventy times seven.  That's just because the Greek language is unclear here.  All three words are there (seventy, times, seven) but the word order makes things arguable between language experts.  The bottom line for us, though, is simple.  Jesus isn't telling us to stop forgiving after 77 times or even after 490.  He's telling us to forgive every time.  Notice the very next thing he tells them.  It's a parable.

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "At this the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart." (Matthew 18:23-35 NIV)

How about you?  Do you forgive "brothers and sisters" who sin against you from your heart?  Do you forgive them every time?  Do you use their sin as an excuse to "kick them out" or do you treat them as one who needs to be taught?  Do you check with others more wise than yourself to confirm that they really did sin against you?  Are you humble enough to change your mind when you are wrong?

Prayer Guarantee (John 14:1-14)

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."  (John 14:1-4 NIV)

Jesus often refers to his relationship with The Father.  As he is teaching and preparing his disciples for the short term future (his death, resurrection, and ascension), Jesus tells them he is going to go home to The Father and prepare a place for them.  His Father wants them to come home, too.

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." (John 14:5-7 NIV)

Thomas probably wasn't the only one confused by this statement.  They wanted to know the way to eternal life.  Jesus' statements are getting more and more bold now.  He tells them that he is the only way.  He also makes a bold statement about his relationship with The Father.  When they saw Jesus, they saw The Father.  Jesus is that in sync with Him.

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. (John 14:8-11 NIV)

Yesterday we heard Jesus attribute his miraculous word to The Spirit.  Everything he did, he was saying, was actually done by The Spirit through him.  Now Jesus points out who's Spirit this is.  It belongs to The Father.  The miracles not only come through the power of His Spirit, the words he teaches come from The Father as well.  Jesus is explaining how he is operating here on earth.  He was also teaching the Apostles what would happen to them on the day of Pentecost.

Jesus promised them that he would send his Spirit to dwell in them, just like The Father's Spirit was dwelling in Jesus.  The miraculous works would show them that his Spirit was there.  More importantly, though, his Spirit would be the Spirit of Truth, guiding them into all Truth.  His Spirit would give them Wisdom.  His Spirit would show them how to walk together with God.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14 NIV)

That promise came true on the day of  Pentecost.  Not only that, the promise was offered to the people there that day, the following generations, and all nations.  We only need to repent of our rebellion against God and be baptized.  Then, we are promised, we will receive forgiveness of our sins and the gift of His Spirit (Acts 2:38-39).  When we listen to His Spirit, speak what He wants, and do what He asks, nothing is impossible because nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26).  We receive anything we ask for, then, when we ask for what He wants - in the same way Jesus asked for what The Father wanted.  It all goes back to aligning ourselves with the Will of God.

How about you?  Do you align yourself with the Will of God?  Does your relationship with God reflect the kind of relationship Jesus had with The Father?  Have you seen God do "greater things than these" through you?  Do you want Him to?

A House Divided (Mark 3:20-35)

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.  (Mark 3:20 NIV)

Jesus is drawing larger crowds by now.  He's been healing the sick, casting out demons, and performing enough miracles that people are paying attention.  Not only that, they are listening to his teachings, which seem to have more authority than the other teachers of the day.

When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."  (Mark 3:21-22 NIV)

Not everyone is convinced, though.  His family, for one, thinks things are getting a little out of hand.  They think that they need to reign him in a bit.  So they go to bring him back home.  The teachers of the law are also not on board with Jesus.  They think he's demon possessed himself.  With the miracles he's performing, it must be a high-ranking demon at that!

So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man's house. Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an impure spirit."  (Mark 3:23-30 NIV)

This is where the difficult saying comes into play.  Jesus tells them that anyone blaspheming the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.  This makes all of us followers a little nervous.  Does that mean I can say "Jesus Christ" in a fit of anger and can be forgiven of this sin, but if I yell out "Holy Spirit" the next time I hit my thumb with a hammer I just bought a one way ticket to hell?  I'm not sure that's what he means.

Notice the conversation that is going on here.  Jesus is healing people, casting out demons, and feeding thousands with his spiritual gold card.  People see the miracles that are happening.  The teachers of the law, however, are saying these miracles are happening by the power of Satan, not the power of God.

Jesus' comment is directed right at them.  He's warning them not to call the Holy Spirit a demon.  That is blasphemy.  Jesus is telling them that the Holy Spirit is the one providing all the power for his miracles and wisdom for his teaching.  He's telling them to back off and be careful, because going against Jesus means going against God's Spirit who dwells in him.  That's a fight you just can't win.

Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."  (Mark 3:31-35 NIV)

How about you?  Do you believe that Jesus taught and acted in the power of God's Spirit?  Have you received His Spirit in you as well?  Do you believe that the Spirit in you is the same Spirit that was in Jesus?  Are you more like Jesus' physical family, thinking he's gone too far, or like his spiritual family, doing the will of God?

Soul Food (John 6:25-71)

Remember when Jesus fed the 5,000?  That night was the same night he walked on water to his disciples in the boat.  Now, he is on the other side of the lake and the crowd is confused.  They saw only one boat leave the night before and Jesus was not on it.  After searching and finding he was gone, they crossed over to the other side of the lake looking for him.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"  Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." So they asked him, "What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:25-33 NIV)

Jesus is a masterful teacher.  Often times he will take part of their normal everyday experience, like the 5,000 eating loaves of bread the night before, and uses that experience to begin teaching a spiritual truth.  Here, he moves from physical food to spiritual food that "endures to eternal life."  He also begins to talk about the "Son of Man" again, which has become code for the Savior/Messiah.  He begins a metaphor.

Metaphors are word pictures that use something we do see and experience to describe something we do not see or experience yet.  In this case, bread is a metaphor for something spiritual.  As with all teaching tools, there are places where the picture lines up well and places where the metaphor "breaks down."  Jesus starts expanding on the metaphor showing the places where it explains what he wants it to explain as well as the places the picture does not match the spiritual truth.

Here are some of the spiritual truths he's pointing out with this metaphor:

• We should work for spiritual "food" that will endure to eternal life
• The Son of Man will give us that food - God has sent him and approved of him
• We must believe in the one God has sent, this Son of Man

People sent by God always have miracles (signs) to show they are sent by God.  They asked Jesus what sign the Son of Man will give them.  Moses, they point out as an example, gave them manna in the desert.  Perhaps they expected him to point out the miracle he had just done the night before. After all, he had just fed 5,000 men with 5 loaves.  Maybe they thought they were throwing him a softball so he could hit it out of the park.  Jesus doesn't swing.

Instead, Jesus continues the metaphor and points out:

• Moses didn't bring the bread from heaven.  The Father (God) did.
• The same Father (God) gives us "true bread" from heaven - the bread that brings eternal life.

"Sir," they said, "always give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."  (John 6:35-40 NIV)

Jesus now claims to be the "bread" that The Father sent from heaven.  He's claiming to be the Son of Man, the Savior/Messiah.  He has come down from heaven to do the will of The Father.  It is The Father's will that everyone who believes in the Son will have eternal life.  Jesus is the one.

At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"  "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."  (John 6:41-51 NIV)

They start struggling with his teachings here because they know Jesus.  They know his parents.  They watched him grow up.  How can he say he has been sent from heaven?  Jesus doesn't back down.  He simply says that some will believe and others will not.  We will believe in Jesus if we allow ourselves to be "taught by God."  Then Jesus reaffirms his point.  He has seen The Father and was sent by Him. 

Then he returns to the "bread" metaphor, calling himself the "bread of life."  He expands the image a little further, now, saying:

• Whoever eats this bread will live forever (which he already said).
• This bread is his flesh
• He gives his flesh for the (eternal) life of the world

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."  (John 6:52-58 NIV)

Perhaps his word-picture makes you uncomfortable, too.  Jesus took us from eating miraculous bread the night before, to miraculous bread (manna) in the desert, to eating his flesh as the bread of life.  He even adds drinking his blood, calling them "real food" and "real drink."  Here's where the sayings of Jesus get hard to interpret and understand, even for the people of his day.

Please note, though, what did not happen.  Jesus did not pull out a knife and begin cutting off pieces of his skin to feed to people.  He did not cut himself and begin dripping blood into a cup for people to drink.  His teaching style was still a metaphor (word picture) that tied salvation to one and only one place: Jesus.

The metaphor doesn't break down at this point.  It just kind of grosses people out.  Not only that, the Jews of the day would have been completely shaken.  Cannibalism is clearly prohibited by God.  How can someone claim to be sent by God and then tell them they must eat his flesh to have eternal life?  Simple.  He was getting their attention with a metaphor that they would never forget - then pointing them to the work he was about to do.  

This "bread" metaphor would not stop on this day.  He would pick it up later and explain the "rest of the story" to the twelve when they had a special meal together.  We often call that meal "the last supper."  Jesus' difficult teaching would have them thinking about this metaphor as an open question in their minds that had not been resolved.  That's exactly what Jesus was trying to do.  When he gave them the bread and cup of the New Covenant, another piece of this teaching would make sense to them.  When they watched him being crucified, the final piece of this teaching would click into place.

He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"  Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them."  (John 6:59-65)

An unresolved metaphor (picture) or story can be a powerful teaching tool.  It keeps the listener thinking about what they discussed that day.  It works much in the same way as a cliff-hanger at the end of a chapter or television episode.  You think about it all week until the next episode resolves the conflict in your mind.  

Part of the conflict set up here would be resolved at "the last supper" when they are given bread and wine as his "flesh" and "blood."  Part of it would be resolved when he died on the cross, where his flesh and blood brought eternal life to the world.  Finally, part of it will be resolved when he ascends into heaven as they watch.  They asked for a sign like manna from heaven.  Part of his sign will be the opposite: rising into the sky to return to The Father who sent him.

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."  (John 6:66-69 NIV)

Many people walked away from Jesus when his teachings got tough.  They liked it when he healed them of their ailments.  They even enjoyed the free meal when Jesus paid the tab.  Hanging on long enough to see the "rest of the story," though, was too much investment.  They walked away.

How about you?  Do you walk away from Jesus when the investment is too much?  Do you only stay around when Jesus gives you something quick and substantial like healing or food?  Do you stay with him even when his teachings get difficult to understand?  You won't be disappointed if you do.  When it all resolves itself, you will like the ending.