Mark 3:13-19 He Appointed Twelve

I've been discipled lately. That's why no posts - actually I've been avoiding this post!

It worries me that I may be called to do "something" and frankly that is confronting.

Anyway back to my discipling... I won't bore you with the grimy details except to say that at church and work I've been 'chastened' three times in the last few weeks but I've learned three big lessons:

1. Consult widely before changing things


2. Don't speak in the heat of the moment


3. Always speak kindly

I did the exact opposite to my list and got, deservedly, clobbered each time! I was comforted by that great verse in Revelation 3:19, spoken by Jesus, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten" God still loves me!!

Jesus has been so crowded that he had to have a small boat ready in case they crushed Him. But now He goes up the mountain and He called out the twelve He "wanted".

Mark says they responded to call, they "came to Him". Mark names the twelve and Jesus gives three of them (does He have favourites?) nicknames. Simon becomes Peter (a piece of rock) and James and John, the "Sons of Thunder".

Jesus wants a support crew to do exactly what He was doing; to carry on His preaching, healing and casting out of demons. He appoints them to these tasks. This is the real qualification for working for the Lord, that He has appointed us.

I love that word that Mark uses here for "appointed", in Greek it is poieo. According to my Strongs it means "to make or do (with very wide application)". The old KJV says "ordained", and that has been an emotive word too. But I know it best in haematopoiesis : the making of blood

This incredible process occurs inside our bones where haematopoietic stem cells can produce any of the three main types of blood cells. As each stem cell matures it changes in such a way that eventually it can only be a red cell or T cell or macrophage or any of the other cells that make up our blood. What it becomes is determined by need. If there is an infection, many more granulocytes are produced, if there has been a loss of blood then red cell production rises.

In the same way Jesus appointed these men to share His work, He could no longer do it all Himself. Actually, looking at the next few chapters there is lot more red ink. Jesus is able to preach more and tell parables, maybe the disciples are busy with the healing and casting out spirits.

That was what He needed then, does He still call and appoint those who answer the call? Does He need anything done in the world today? Am I being called? What will He "make" me into?

Mark 3:7-12 Don't Preach!

The Pharisees have begun their plotting against Him, so Jesus withdraws to the sea. But it wasn't a quiet withdrawal because a "great multitude" is mentioned in both verses 7 and 8. People come from all the surrounding areas. His popularity is increasing.

But why do they come? Because of the "many things He was doing". They come not to hear the preaching or even the teaching but to see miracles!

How often do I want God to "do something" when He offers far greater?

Jesus fears the crowds would crush Him. I get the feeling that He is uncomfortable with this popularity. Sure He meets their needs for healing and getting rid of the unclean spirits, but He sternly warns the spirits "not to make Him known". He has enough popularity and pressure.

Once again the unclean spirits know who he is and bow down to Him. They have fought against Him in heaven because they wouldn't worship Him. Now they bow and admit He is indeed God.

But Christ has no need of spirit preachers and commands them to stop.

I have to have more than just a knowledge of Jesus before I can "make Him known". And Mark in the next section tells what this qualification is.

Mark 3:1-6 Sabbath: Good

I don't get why Jesus had to provoke this incident.

He could have waited and healed the man later, couldn't He? He knew the Pharisees were watching to see if he would heal on Sabbath, an offense in their sight, so why provoke them?

Mark, I guess, is trying to continue the theme of "new wine in new wineskins" ie. the new kingdom of God is to be lived out from very different motives. He already quotes Jesus saying "the Sabbath was made for man", now he's showing what "for man" means.

But is this really worth making people so mad that they would work together with their political enemies to destroy Him? He obviously thought so!

I really like the fact that He asks a question that would entrap his enemies. Obviously the Sabbath is a day to do good and to save life, even to the Pharisees keeping the Sabbath so God will notice them. But they are far too busy trying to catch Him breaking their little rules. So they won't answer.

This really irks Him. He looks angrily at each one.

I like this Jesus. Yes... there is a big problem here. They are concerned about looking good, God with doing good. God with saving life and they with immediately, on their precious Sabbath, going out to plot, with the Herodians of all people, to destroy Jesus.

Jesus is angry because they have hard hearts. My Strongs defines hardness as stupidity or callousness, blindness. They were blindly defending themselves and their ideas in the face of reality. We usually can't treat long-term brachial palsy these days, this man's hand could not be healed by a human. Couldn't they see that their little test proved that Jesus is indeed Lord?

So I guess Jesus is saying:

1. Sabbath is a day of forgetting how I look and doing what others really need


2. Others really need salvation


3. My hardness of heart bothers God, when my plans and positions take precedence over people


4. Jesus is more concerned with having his enemies and me face reality than He is with His own preservation.

Hey, this has been another great Bible time for me. Thanks, Jesus! Make me more self forgetful and more healing.

Mark 2:1-12 That you may know

I love this story. It cuts to the core of what Jesus was all about.

Jesus, after some time, returns to Capernaum to Simon and Andrew's house and 'immediately' He is crowded out

So "He preached the word to them." Jesus is right on task but He about to be interrupted.

Interuptions really rile me up. I resented having to spend so many of my days off cleaning up after last month's storm, despite the good feeling from having thrown out so much junk, cleaning under the house and getting the garden looking good.

But not so Jesus! He looks at the motives, not of the paralytic but of his friends. He saw "their faith". Is this what intercessory prayer is about?

So he forgives the man's sins.

What gives here? Isn't healing the big thing, isn't this the reason the paralytic was brought? Sure he is forgiven but he's still helplessly paralysed.

Is this how God answers prayer? He gives what is needed, not what is asked for. What is more important from God's perspective, health or holiness?

The scribes are there, "reasoning in their hearts". And doing a good job of it. Their reasoning goes like this:

1. Only God can forgive sins


2. Jesus has just forgiven this man's sins


3. Therefore Jesus is claiming to be God


4. But anyone can claim to be God - that's blasphemy - a big sin indeed (unless He really is God, which is unlikely)

All perfectly logical and true. They are good thinkers. But also human. They, as locals, probably knew this paralytic and knew what sins he had committed. Maybe they had even told him that his paralysis was a result of his sinfulness. And now they accuse Jesus of sin as well. How often have I been ready to think the worst?

But Jesus knows their thoughts. This is amazing! Can He read minds or is He just a shrewd observer of humanity. In any case He answers the implications of their logic with a great question, the answer of which determines my salvation.
"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ' Your sins are forgiven you" or to say 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?"

A "no-brainer": it's easy to SAY either, but it's impossible for a human to actually DO either - only God could heal a paralytic (even modern science has to wait for nature to take its time to heal paralysis - there is no immediate cure, even today).

The easiest to SEE however, is the healing. Forgiveness is invisible. So Jesus answers the scribes' unspoken question by using the visible to prove the invisible and also to prove His own divinity.

"That you may know" - I can be sure.
"that the Son of Man" - what Jesus consistently, and humbly, calls Himself
"has power on earth" - He already has authority in heaven, now He claims it here
"to forgive sins" - proof that He is God, and can meet my true needs
"Arise" and "Immediately he arose..."

This is the part I like.: Jesus has the power to do impossible healing so He can do the bigger impossible - forgive. At least one of the reasons that Jesus heals is so I can believe that He forgives, that He can indeed save, even in this world. My salvation is secure!

Glorify God saying "We never saw the like!

Mark 1 The Real Jesus

In the "Christian Growth" section of the newly opened Argenton branch of Koorong, I found this great book Jesus Mean and Wild. Mark Galli bases his book on Mark's Gospel so I grabbed a copy.

He suggests that Jesus, contrary to the prevailing view, is not gentle, meek and mild all the time. Galli spends his first three chapters in Mark 1 showing us the love of an "untamable God".

Chapter One, entitled "Difficult Love", comes from
Mark 1:11-13. He brings out that straight after being filled with the Spirit and affirmed by His Father Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for testing. He sums it up by saying "God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life". Those God loves the most are the ones He tests to their limits and refuses to pamper. Why?...Galli posits that suffering renews our spiritual vitality and strengthens our character, but maybe more importantly, it also prepares us for ministry. He says that God may appear cruel but really He is fashioning us, like he did with Christ in the desert, to go out into the wilderness of this world with the gospel. Just as his Beloved Son did.

Chapter Two, entitled "A Hopeful Repentance" is based on
Mark 1:14-15 where Jesus connects the gospel with repentance (ie. to start living and acting differently). Galli says that the shame and guilt of looking honestly at our lives and realising that we are miserable sinners drives us to Christ and repentance This repentance has hope because God is gracious and will not only heal but will also change our actions. As Galli quotes from Frederica Mathewes-Green:

"Jesus didn't come to save us just from the penalty for our sins; he came to save us from our sins - now today, if we will only respond to the challenge and let him.... The Lord does not love us for our good parts and pass over the rest. He died for the bad parts and will not rest until they are put right. We must stop thinking of God as infinitely indulgent. We must begin to grapple with the scary and exhilarating truth that he is infinitely holy, and that he wants the same for us."

Chapter Three, "Holy War", about
Mark 1:23-26 where the demon rightly assumes that the Holy one of God is here to destroy evil.. Even though he fears for his life, the possessed man is attracted to Jesus. He realises that Jesus loves him. Galli says

"The one who loves us is the Holy One who wishes to make all unclean things holy. That means the one whom we cannot stay away from is the same one who is out to destroy those very habits, sins, notions, addictions, and self-justifications that we think we can't live without. And there are times when we feel as if Jesus is out to destroy us.
It is a wonderful and a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the real Jesus."

The real Jesus!

Mark 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ

Months ago a friend, whose children have grown up, gave me his old telescope. It is about a metre long, dusty and dirty with its tripod legs rusted in the fully extended position, a result of years stored under his house. The eye pieces were in a plastic bag, and the one I looked at back then was broken and unusable. I held little hope that it worked and didn't even try it out. So it was stashed under our house in all the garden stuff, between the stack of old newspapers and the rusty wire and star pickets. Unused again.

Then the storm came and we were forced to throw the old wire and some of the pickets onto the small mountain of rubbish out on the nature strip. The newspapers, from the past three years, heavy with flood water, now thickly cover the" vegetable" beds, smothering the crops of weeds and grass. The telescope only had its tripod wet so it was one of the few things from that pile under the house to be actually kept.

Being so obvious now, the other night as a fullish moon rose, I dragged out the telescope. and tried out an eye piece. Wow!! I could see the craters on the moon! And the the disc of Jupiter! I dragged the kids out of the warm house, they were vaguely impressed. But it was too cold for my wife.

Then a week ago I noticed that Venus was high in the dusk sky, so the scope came out again and this time I tried out another eyepiece (there are three in all) and this one was a higher resolution and Venus looked like a small version of the waxing moon with a crescent of light on the sunward side. Jupiter was still high and I could see three of its moons!

But below Venus was another untwinkling body. Was it Mercury? It was definitely a planet. I excitedly called the youngest, and his neighborhood friend away from the online games. And it was his 12 year old eyes who found that "Mercury" had rings! Another look and some focusing and it was confirmed, we had Saturn!

I have only ever seen the rings of Saturn through a telescope once before, with a bunch of noisy, pushing kids, but here in the quiet of my backyard (and at much smaller resolution) this sighting made a deep impression on me.

Saturn was real! It actually was up there, I could see it!

So to confirm it, the scope came out last night and the white little planet and the silver rings were still there! I even convinced my beautiful woman to leave the warmth and take a look.

I think Mark One has been a neglected telescope for me. Jesus Christ is real. He has been there all the time but I haven't taken the time to look.

Who is this Jesus I have been introduced to?

• He is Good News - He preaches the Gospel everywhere, that is His purpose in coming. He lives the Gospel, by healing the demon possessed, the fevered and the unclean leper. He teaches the Gospel with authority. He invites belief in the Gospel. And all this is just the beginning!


• He is the LORD - the Son of God. The Creator and re-creator, God of the Old Testament, YAHWEH. Even the unclean spirits knew that He was the "holy One of God".


• He is the Cleaner - of men with unclean spirits and unclean diseases (leprosy)


• He brings a new and close-by kingdom - He's the King


• He demands change - Repentance, a change of heart, a change of thinking. The biggest change of all. He has four men leave their occupations and family to become, not fishermen, but fishers of men. Rebuking the spirits, He changes the thought life of a possessed man. He keeps moving, changing location, there is always a "next town". He tries to silence the leper, now bursting with health, demanding he go to the temple silently.


• He cares for the rejected leper, even touching him. He also cares for the loved mother-in-law too.


• He attracts - first disciples then crowds, the sick, the possessed and the curious.


• He prayed - in the wilderness and came back with a sense of mission

Jesus you are still here, sorry for neglecting You.

Mark 1:44,45 Say Nothing

This morning I had just arrived at work when I got a phone call from my wife. My 17yo son had lost control of the car in the wet and had an accident. My 21 yo daughter was a passenger. My wife asked me to come immediately.

The spot was only 5 minutes drive away and the police were there directing traffic to a detour around the accident, which we couldn't see. It had happened on a downhill right-hander with a cliff rising from the left side of the road.. I was worried.! But apart from being shaken, neither driver nor passenger were injured. The car is already fixed and ready to go again.

He was running late for college, driving within the speed limit but too fast for the heavy rain. He had lost control on the corner, spun to the wrong side of the road, and then back to the left where the car spun up the side of the cliff prescribing an arc 20 metres long on the sandstone, back down to the verge over some shrubby trees and came to rest, still on the left side of the road, about 100 meters from where the slide started. At that busy time of day, no other car was near! The damage: one flat tyre, a broken headlight and a bent and mud-filled exhaust system!

The policewoman gave him a stern lecture on driving in wet conditions, but didn't book him. The firemen turned off the LPG in case of leaks and the tow truck operator (from Sydney - up here to help clear the 5000 storm damaged cars from the roads) made an interesting comment that I would not have expected from such a man.

He said "God was a passenger in this car today, it should have rolled!"

Yes God was good to our family today, even miraculously good.

Shouldn't we witness to the miracles in our lives and tell others about what God has done for us? Yet Jesus tells the healed leper not to tell anyone about it!

There are a few reasons I can think of:

1. Healing was secondary to something else in Jesus ministry


2. Healing is only here and now. Christ is focused on eternity


3. Miracles would focus our attention on earthly power


4. Focus on the miraculous doesn't allow Christ to do His real work

The man proclaimed it freely, a very natural human response, one I just made!. And it looks like reason number four came true as Jesus could no longer "openly enter" Capernaum. He had to stay in the desert. But people still came from everywhere. He was still very attractive.

Do I concentrate just on the miraculous when He wants to do something more for me? Do I overlook the greatest things for just something good just now?

It seems Jesus never succumbed to the lure of fame. I would have become a showman, but Jesus retires. he would only meet people on His terms. Sure He would heal people, but only in the context of His preaching. It must have been around this time that He preached the sermon on the mount.

Reason 3 is all about fame and power in this world., But Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, a very different kingdom to any in this world.

Reason 2 is all about this temporary old world. Jesus didn't want to change the world., He wanted a completely new one, with a whole different way of operation, which we will see more about in Chapter Two, where we find out what is more important to Christ than miracles.

What could be more important than my kids being safe and well?

Mark 1:44 For Your Cleansing

Cleaning up after our flood continues. Unfortunately the rain has returned, making things difficult.

The basic process is to wash all the dirty (now smelly) water out with clean water then let the item dry in the sun. This is a tedious process, so lots of things that were once precious are now on the pile to throw out.

Cleansing was no less complex for lepers: The now-clean leper is to go show himself "to the priest and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded".
Moses' commands are found in Leviticus 14.

To summarise this process for a poor man:

1. The priest takes the man away from a settled area to examine him for signs of leprosy
2. If the leper is found to be clean, the priest will take two "clean and living birds", apparently wild birds, often sparrows. (Was this why two sparrows are sold?) The priest kills one bird over a stream and catches it's blood in an earthen vessel.
3. The living bird, along with some cedar wood, scarlet (dyed wool) and hyssop (cleansing herb), is dipped into the blood.
4. The drenched living bird is sprinkled, seven times, over the leper, who is now pronounced clean.
5. The living bird is released there in the field.
6. The now-clean man washes his clothes, shaves completely and washes himself.
7. The man goes home, but he is not allowed inside, he has to camp outside for seven days.
8. On the seventh day he shaves again (head, beard, eyebrows), washes his clothes and himself in water and "he shall be clean".
9. On the eighth day he visits the temple for the first time, taking a male lamb, two doves or young pigeons, 2 litres of fine flour mixed with oil and 300mls of oil. He gives these things to priest at the temple door.
10. The priest takes the lamb, as a trespass offering - "to make atonement for him", and the oil and "waves" them before the LORD. The priest then kills the lamb and puts some of its blood on the man's right ear, right thumb and right right big toe.
11. The priest pours some of the oil into his left palm and using his right-hand fingers, sprinkles some of the oil "seven times before the LORD", he puts some on the man's right ear, thumb and big toe on top of the blood and the rest is put on the man's head "to make atonement".
12. The priest offers one of the doves as a sin offering and the other with the grain as a burnt offering.

Why did Jesus command him to do this, he was obviously clean. already. Why go through all this unnecessary ritual?

Some of the reasons may have been:

• As LORD himself, Jesus would uphold the laws that He Himself had told Moses to enact.
• The purpose of the ritual was to "make atonement", and Jesus' purpose was to preach the good news of atonement.
• His stated purpose in this verse, is that it would be a testimony to the priests. He was intent on converting the priests and didn't want any "illegal" behaviour to get in the way of their acceptance of Him

Actually, just reading all this ceremony is a testimony to me. I realised that:

• My cleansing.requires lots of blood and a long process. It is no simple, one-off event.
• The birds show me justification: Jesus died and washed in that blood I am "free as a bird".
• The wait outside home shows me that, despite the fact that I am clean, I still haven't "arrived" yet, I am still not home, there is more to be done. In a way I'm on probation.
• The real atonement, becoming close to God, didn't happen out in the field, it happens through Christ's sacrifice and work as a priest.
• This atonement is only complete when the "Lamb's" life blood has made a restitution for my wasted and filthy life and the same blood has been applied to my all hearing, doing and going And then the oil (the Spirit?) sanctifies those same areas and blesses my clean-shaven head. So now I am consecrated to God in the same way as a priest.
• The atonement is complete, I am back with God!. But the process is not finished yet. A sin offering must be made. Even though I am clean and at peace with God, I still offend Him. Christ as my High Priest must continue to present His blood for me in the heavenly sanctuary.

What a wonderful Saviour! I come to your temple...atone for me.

Mark 1:42 And he was Cleansed

Last Friday, Lake Macquarie (and the whole Hunter Valley)was hit by a storm. We had over 300m of rain and 120k/h winds that blew a huge collier up on beach in town (Newcastle).

Andrew,my 17 yo son, picked me up from work that day. It was dark at 5.00 and the rain was blinding. We passed at least 6 "drowned" cars on the short drive home. Andrew has become an excellent driver, I'm not sure that I could have handled the treacherous conditions as well as he did.

Once home our problems had just begun. By 9:30 flood waters were rising downstairs and we had to bring the washing machine and whatever else we could salvage, up stairs. There is nothing worse than watching the water slowly going up the doors of the cars, knowing that there is no way of moving them.

By the time we went to bed the water was knee deep and almost waistdeep out in the back yard. (We went down to rescue the hens, they spent the night in the bathroom). The water was so cold that we were hypothermic after our efforts.

By Saturday morning the water had gone, but all our stored papers, clothes, Julie's sewing materials, the car floors and our camping and garden equipment were covered with a layer of grey mud. The firewood had washed down the backyard and the bananas were over at crazy angles.

We had no power but just a visiting the neighbors, made us realise that we had gotten off lightly. Both neighbors were evacuated and one had water through the living area of the house (and their car was flooded to the roof). On our block, at least 4 houses were flooded that we know of.

So after 5 days of cleaning I'm exhausted but downstairs is almost back to normal (minus the two large piles of things that we used to consider important) So I can sympathise with our leper in today's verse. He wanted to be clean. I know just how wonderful that first hot shower on Monday night felt. Clean at last!

Jesus touch, though wonderful, didn't bring the cleaning, it was His words. His words still had (and have) the same power they held when he spoke the solar system into existence.

The leprosy left. What a wonderful result - nothing like this had happened since Elisha's time. And everything left behind was beautiful and clean.

I know that cleaning is hard work. In this case it was Christ that did the work. And so it is with my sin, He bears the cost.

Speak to me, Lord.

Mark 1: 40-41 Moved with Compassion

A leper came... He must have had some hope that this man would do something for him. And how did he find out? Lepers were (are?) outcasts, they didn't live with uninfected people. Separated from family, synagogue and community - alone.

Anyway, as Christ's fame for healing and casting out demons spread, the leper thought that maybe there was a something Christ could do in his case. And he "came"...Jesus is attractive!

The filthy leper comes, he implores and kneels down and asks. I should show my faith more.

And his question doesn't have a question mark. It is a statement of fact and of faith. "You can do anything You want to, even make me clean."

But is Jesus willing? Would He stoop to heal a smelly, dirty outcast, a God-forsaken person ( I guess a "good" Jew would remember when God punished Miriam and Elisha's servant with leprosy - so they may have thought that every case was a punishment from God. - I imagine most lepers felt God-forsaken)

Jesus cared - He was moved. Wow the first emotion Mark records is compassion. I guess I would be too. I've seen deformed beggars but I certainly couldn't do what Jesus could do, maybe give some money but not "cleaning" from leprosy!

Jesus acted before he spoke, reached out and "touched him". He broke with the old laws and norms. He actually touched the untouchable. This man's greatest need was not even cleaning, it was human contact he craved. Like us all, his greatest need was to be loved. To be touched.

Jesus came through. He loved enough to richly bless an outcast with the love he craved.

Then he spoke.. "I am" The name God used when He
rescued Israel from Egypt.

"I am willing". Great news. The Son of God is willing! Heaven is willing!

"Be cleansed"

Say it to me, Jesus.

Mark 1:32-34 He Healed Many

Even though Jesus had shown that He was alright with healing on the Sabbath, the people waited until after sunset, to bring "all" the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus. It had to be them all because whole town was gathered there. So the town must have been only small.

They must have seen the first healing in the synagogue and heard about Peter's mother-in-law, so they came out for something to do on Saturday night in a small town.

Then in front of the crowd, Jesus heals "many". Does that mean some weren't healed?

And they were sick of "various diseases", so there was no limitation on the type of disease that Jesus healed. He could heal disease, any disease.

And He cast out many demons. So even "many" demons have no authority over Him.

But like the first demon (unclean spirit) from that morning, the demons knew Him. They knew who He was and would have said that if he allowed them. But he didn't allow them to speak. I guess He didn't want demons advertising for Him.

These verses show that Jesus is great healer. A healer who fitted in with the needs of people around Him. Heal me please, Jesus. and do I have faith to bring others to You?

Mark 1:29-31 In-house Healing

The five men go to Simon and Andrew's place for Sabbath lunch after an eventful morning.

"But"... just when things are going well there is a family illness to dampen the enthusiasm. Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.

Peter is married! Do we ever hear of his wife?

Fevers are still fatal and Mum is in bed so must be quite sick. Maybe even dying. This is family and it's important. "So they told Him about her". Do I take my problem people to Him? They had not seen Him heal fevers, they were expressing their faith - sight unseen. Just as I can't see the miracles either.

He "came and took her by the hand". Jesus please come near to me and take my hand and lift me up.

Suddenly the fever was gone and she served them. They either made the poor woman work or she was so completely well that service was easy. I think the latter.

So he has authority over acute illness too! He is good at fixing things up...making them right. he turns what could have been a bleak afternoon into one where joy of recovery leads to service.

Does my gratitude show itself as service to Jesus? Haven't I been healed from a worse "fever"? Shouldn't my gratitude and service be even greater?