The View from the Mountain

Mark 9:33-34, 38

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest....

...John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us."

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Chapter 9 of Mark's Gospel starts with a literal epiphany and ends with disciples who still don't get it. After rebuking Peter in chapter 8 for not accepting the prediction of Christ's atoning death, we are welcomed onto the mountain of God and given a glimpse behind the curtain of God's plan. Jesus is transfigured before the apostles' eyes, and Moses and Elijah appear in the flesh to discuss the upcoming climax of God's redemptive story. The apostles hear Jesus, Moses, Elijah, and even the booming voice of God from out of the sky, all testifying to Christ's death and resurrection, but they fail to understand! Verses 10 and 23 explicitly say that they don't get it. Then the chapter closes with two stories that really prove they don't get it.

The first story shows that the apostles were still fundamentally confused about the nature of God's kingdom: the power of God is manifested in serving, not in being served - in giving up your life rather than claiming positions of power. We are to become like children, trusting completely in Someone other than ourselves for everything. We are also to receive children and people of no reputation as if they were people of great importance, thus conveying the economy of God's love, where all are welcomed equally into his family through Christ's offer of salvation.

The second story speaks also to this fundamental difference between the mentality of the world and the mentality of the kingdom: those who are not in our clique but use Jesus' name to do good, they should be respected rather than judged. In other words, there is a fundamental graciousness extended within the church community between people of differing opinions. Working out the details of these relationships may involve some hard work and sensitivity to the Spirit, but the starting point, according to Jesus, is grace.

What's the connection between these two anecdotes in Mark 9? I think they should be viewed in light of the Transfiguration, and convict us of how far our natural worldly mentality is from the heartbeat of God - He is working out a cosmic plan to redeem humanity, and we struggle to grasp it, understand it, apply it, or let it inform our view of others. We want first place, even after seeing God in the flesh and hearing the heavenly Voice. We want to judge others, when we've got logs in our own eyes waiting to be removed.

Lord, help me to live as a childlike servant, assuming the best of others, and most of all standing in awe of Your glorious plan of redemption. Help me understand it, treasure it, and live humbly in light of it. All by your grace alone. Amen.

Not Who They Expected

Mark 8:29-32

And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

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Mark 8 continues the itinerant healing ministry of Jesus and his followers, but also contains a couple important stories that reveal the confusion of the disciples.  The first, in verses 14-21, shows that the disciples could not understand even a simple metaphor and were more quick to think about their stomachs rather than the battle between truth and lies, between Jesus and the Pharisees.  Mark ends this passage with "Do you not understand?" - a scathing, unqualified critique of the disciples' obvious disconnect, despite how familiar they were with Jesus and his teaching.

The second story is related above and presents an even more scathing rebuke to Peter and the other disciples. The fact that Peter rebukes Jesus (who he truly believes is the Messiah) is absurd enough, but Mark inserts a little parenthetical statement that makes it even more ridiculous - "And he said this plainly."  Jesus was not being cryptic here or speaking in parables; he was making a clear prediction of how He would be rejected, killed, and raised from the dead.  Peter makes a willful decision to demand his own version of "Jesus," in place of this inconvenient self-description. "The Messiah can't be rejected and killed! He's the king of Israel. I'll set Jesus straight." Bad idea.

Jesus replies to Peter pretty harshly for at least two reasons.  One, Peter's rebuke was in front of others, so Jesus responds in kind, for the sake of Peter, but also for the sake of the other followers.  Peter's misconception had to be stopped before it spread, not unlike the "leaven" of the Pharisees he had recently warned them about.  But, more importantly, the second reason this rebuke was so harsh, was that Peter's denial here struck at the heart of the gospel itself, the very heart of the message of God's kingdom - namely, that God has arrived, not to condemn the world, but to lay down his life as a ransom for many.  The world didn't need another Alexander the Great or Caesar; the world needed someone to pay for the wages of human sin.  Only a divine savior could deal with the infinitely dark consequences of human rebellion and sin.  Only God in the flesh could rescue mankind, open the eyes of the blind, and miraculously give new hearts to a world that was so fallen.  And Peter didn't like it.

Let us be mindful that the gospel message continues to be a radical challenge to our common sense, both inside and outside the church.  People in the world are offended by the crucified Christ, insisting on their own goodness and resistant to anyone who tells them of their desperate need for a Savior.  People in the church continue to resist the cross-bearing nature of discipleship - the fact that Jesus didn't model an easy or convenient way to fix mankind. It will take blood. It will cost you your life.  I pray for myself, that I am careful not to resist the heart of the gospel, that I take up my cross today, whenever the opportunity arises, so that people will see God's determination to redeem a people for himself.

And let's not forget, it doesn't end with death:

...and after three days rise from the dead.

Start Spreading the News

Mark 1:15

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

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When you see the word "gospel" you should always read "good news," because that is what is means. And, when you look at the Gospel of Mark you should always think "news flash." Mark shares many similarities with the other two synoptic gospels (Matthew and Luke): exact textual parallels in many cases, as well as similar chronological ordering and emphasis upon the "kingdom of God." But it is where they differ that is striking for our introduction today. Mark is unique in at least two ways:

1. Pacing. You may notice the words "immediately" and "at once." Well, you should notice them, because they appear about 8 times in chapter one alone! The significance of these phrases is that Mark's pacing is fast and driven. The shortest of the gospels, Mark is all about getting to the point and summarizing the ministry of Christ as it approaches its climax at the cross and empty tomb. This "good news" is more of a "good news flash."

2. Action. Another distinctive of this gospel is that the content of the book is dominated by narrative action, with only snippets of teaching quoted here and there. As opposed to the Sermon on the Mount and John's lengthy Olivet Discourse, Mark is primarily concerned with following the action of Jesus' ministry, once again, giving the story a sense of speed and urgency. In chapter one alone we learn about John the Baptist, Jesus' baptism and temptation in the wilderness, the calling of the first disciples, an exorcism, two healings, a glimpse at Jesus' times of solitude, and some mention of Jesus' teaching. As for the content of that teaching, out of 45 verses, only one of them gives us a glimpse at what Jesus is teaching the crowds: verse 15, which is quoted above.

As many have suggested, Mark 1:15 is a good summary statement for this gospel. Jesus has come to fulfill all that God's people have been waiting for for hundreds of years: namely, the kingdom of God has arrived on Earth. Chapter one gives us an early glimpse of what characterizes this king and his kingdom: teaching with unique authority and dominion over the forces of nature. But, perhaps the most important (and possibly surprising feature) of this coming kingdom, is how we are commanded to respond to it: Repent and believe. Jesus cuts to the core of what the kingdom is about here by demanding a changed life and a changed heart. As we continue through the Gospel of Mark, we will see more of this "news flash" unfolding, and be ourselves challenged to respond to Christ's authority with repentance and faith. Perhaps the response of the leper will be our own:

But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news...

The Gospel According to David

Psalm 8:3-4

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

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This is perhaps one of the best summaries of the gospel in the entire book of Psalms. I say this because of the Psalm itself and the way it is referenced in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews.

In itself, this Psalm is a powerful testimony to God's character as Infinite-Personal Creator, and a testimony to Man's character as God-reflecting Image-bearer. The "good news" of the gospel is often boiled down to a cross, an empty tomb, and a sinner's prayer. But, if you know that the gospel story begins in Genesis and continues through the Old Testament, you realize that there is more to it than that. It is not merely reconciliation with God, but reconciliation with a particular God -- the Infinite-Personal Creator of the Old Testament.

In Psalm 8, we get to see the majesty power of this Creator, in all of His infinite glory and creativity. And, we get to see how personal this God really is, stooping down below the heavens to consider the lives of you and me. Humility is the appropriate response, and that's exactly what David displays here. But, humility also involves reflecting God, not just contemplating God. That is why the Psalm goes on to talk about the responsibilities we have as image-bearers who have been charged with stewardship of the Earth and all of its resources. I may not be a member of PETA, but I know from this clear passage that the care of the Earth and its creatures is part and parcel of what it means to be truly human, to be truly made in God's image, because He cares for those things and so should we.

Now, the gospel does not end with a description of who God is and how he has made mankind in His image. We know that God is also a judge over evil, and that mankind has smeared and broken God's image within us by rebelling against Him. We live in a broken world, but the way this Psalm is used in Hebrews gives us a window of hope with a view to the cross and the empty tomb.

"You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
putting everything in subjection under his feet."

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Heb. 2:7-9)

There's almost nothing more to be said. How wonderful! This Psalm is referring not only to you and I as image-bearers, but really to the ultimate Image-Bearer, Jesus Himself. He reflected God like no one else every had. "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:3). Nobody comes close to being the kind of "image-bearer" that Jesus is.

And he lowered Himself.

He lowered Himself to become a man, and more amazing still, to become a servant to us (see Phil 2:5-11). He took thought for our broken condition and had compassion on us. He has also welcomed us, by faith, into the family of God, allowing us to be redeemed as true sons and daughters, to be adopted by God the Father and allowed to stand in the place of his perfect Son (see Heb. 2:10-18). And, on top of all of that, He is coming again and all things will be put into subjection under His feet. Every knee and heart will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Death and sin will forever be defeated. Justice will once again flow like a rushing river and the world will be restored into a New Heavens and a New Earth.

And, it's all right here in Psalm 8.

Turning Points

Psalm 3:3-4

O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God.

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After seeing the temptations of Christ in Matthew 4, it is a little easier to understand why Jesus might have been a big fan of the Psalms. Aside from many of the Messianic references, the majority of the Psalms are technically classified as "laments." While Jesus was not well known for his melancholy, he was a "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Is 53). In fact, it was to the Psalms of lament that he turned when he was hanging on the cross, betrayed by his closest friends and bearing the curse of sin for those he loved (see Mt. 27:46, quoting Ps. 22:1, and see Gal. 3:13 about the curse).

The beautiful thing about the Psalms is that they almost always have a turning point of hope. After beginning with a prayer of desperation in Psalm 3, the writer immediately turns to what he knows is true, and this changes everything:

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill.

I admit, there is something romantic about wallowing in your problems. Human nature takes a sick delight in self-pity, and we must be aware that this in not the pattern in the laments of Scripture. There must always be a turning to what is outside of oneself (a pointer to the objective beauties of the gospel, especially the finished work of salvation accomplished by Christ - go to Romans 8 for a refresher). The psalmist gains hope by (forcefully, if necessary) reminding himself of what he knows is true, based on God's former actions and the promises He has made. Let this be a pattern we also follow when we are facing life's many trials: a prayer of desperation, followed by a declaration of truth to match.