They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. (Mark 9:30-32, ESV)
Sorry about not posting these past couple of days. Headaches and work, yay.
Anyway, it's interesting that Jesus chooses to keep His teachings from the mass public, and reserves them for His disciples only. Perhaps it was to avoid having the Galileans become too attached to Him, which would prevent Him from going to His destiny on the cross.
This is the second time so far in Mark that Jesus predicts His death and resurrection, but His disciples still don't understand what He's saying, and this time, they're too afraid to ask Him what that meant.
But catch Jesus' use of words here. The Son of Man will be delivered to the hands of men.
Jesus probably referred to Himself as the Son of Man more than any other title that He has used on Himself, which is strange, because realistically, that doesn't make Him sound like a big deal. The word in the Gospels can even be translated as the son of a human being, which everyone is. Most argue that this title merely demonstrates his human nature, which is most definitely does. But in Daniel 7, the idea of Son of Man seems to be used to address some kind of exalted figure. If that is the case, then Jesus is being very subtle in hinting at His deity.
But either way, Jesus here is STILL saying that the Messiah, the one that was prophesied to save the Jews, was going to be handed to mankind to die. The supposed political liberator of the Jews was going to die by the ones the Jews hoping to be saved from.
Maybe that's why the disciples were always stupid, or never understood what was going on. The supposed God-man was going to die by the hands of men. This glorious figure was subject to death.
This wasn't supposed to happen. At least, the disciples didn't think so. Having heard such a strange and paradoxical idea from their Rabbi was probably what made them so afraid to ask.
But the strange thing is that this was always plan A.
I once heard a speaker say that Jesus' death was plan B, but I have to strongly disagree with that. If He was plan B, then He must have existed for a while without purpose, only until Adam and Eve screwed up, which obviously doesn't make sense. This whole process was plan A, so that God may receive the most glory possible.
God resolutely sent Jesus to die for us. That was always the plan. Jesus was meant to die at the hands of mankind. That was always the plan. God was going to subject Jesus into the hands of the Romans. That was always the plan. And God was going to allow this to happen, for our sake, and for His glory.
We often confused ourselves by thinking God is so good, so He must give His followers a good life without obstacles or harm or disease or trial. As if God owed us anything! We actively rebel and sin against God both as non-Christians AND Christians, what makes us think we DESERVE any of that?
The truth is that just as God allowed Jesus to be subject to pain, God can and most likely will allow His followers to be subject to pain and suffering as well.
But the truth doesn't end there. The Bible affirms that His glory will be manifested all the time, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, but the Bible ALSO says that pain and suffering is for our own good as well.
Psalm 119 says, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes." It is good for bad things to happen to us, for through them, we learn more about what it means to follow God through them.
James 1 says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Trials teach us to persevere, they teach us to have a faith that is steadfast.
2 Corinthians 12 says, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Hardships reveal in us that it is in our weakness, God is strong.
And we, like the disciples, often don't get it. We, like the disciples, are too afraid to trust God in His promises when chaos happens.
God was never out of control when Jesus was sent to die. God had this perfectly conducted, perfectly coordinated, and it was perfectly executed. And because of God perfect plan, we can become the righteousness of God.
If God had THAT situation under control, how much MORE can He be in control of our situations? Our issues pale in comparison to Jesus' death.
When we face our own trials, never forget that even then, this is God's plan A for us. It will probably hurt and sting us tons, but like one of my previous blogs said before, all of this suffering and pain is only preparing us for the weight of glory that we will receive. It doesn't even compare to how much glory we will get.
-simon
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Friday, November 1, 2013
how faith leads to unbelief
(Sketchy title, yeah? Read on to know what I mean)
And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” (Mark 9:14-29, ESV)
This must've been such a stressful situation to be in, especially for the disciples who got suddenly bombarded by this huge crowd. And too bad for the disciples who couldn't do anything but embarrass themselves in front of this crowd by doing nothing to cast the demon out of this boy. But Jesus comes to not only save the day again, but prove a point... again.
After being told that His disciples couldn't cast the demon out, Jesus calls both the crowd and His disciples out on being a part of a faithless generation. At first read, I thought His whole "how long" spiel was a bit dry, but it echoes the same burden that the prophets probably felt when they declared the will of God to a people that didn't bother to listen.
The moment the spirit sees Jesus, it immediately convulses the boy, knowing that it's screwed. So it tries to create as much of a mess as possible before it's done for. Notice, however, the complete lack of dualism in this encounter? The demon sees Jesus, and therefore, does everything it can before its time is up. This is nothing like how the world sees God and Satan. For some reason, there's always this battle between good and evil, light and dark, God and the devil. But here, there is no battle, no conflict, no struggle. The demon knows that it's going to lose.
The father then begs Jesus to have compassion and heal the boy, asking that if Jesus can do anything, then He can heal his son. Jesus responds to his need with an exhortation, "All things are possible for one who believes." The man's "if" is not a question of whether Jesus could do it or not, but it was a reveal to this man's personal doubts. That's why Jesus exhorts him to have faith.
This man responds that he indeed DOES believe in Jesus' power, but asks Jesus to help his unbelief. He acknowledges Jesus as powerful, but admits that he has his weaknesses, and asks Jesus to give him the heart to believe and have faith.
The thing is that it takes faith to say something like that. It takes faith to admit that you have little faith. If you had no faith, then you wouldn't be able to recognize your lack of it, because pride would take over. But even the smallest bit of faith reveals our dark corners and blind spots, and we can then admit to them.
Now, it's interesting that Jesus calls this demon mute AND deaf, considering that all that these people knew was that this was a mute spirit. This demon apparently caused the boy to be deaf too? Or maybe this demon was just deaf itself. Either way, it proves that Jesus knew this demon. This is apparently in contrast to most contemporary Jewish exorcists, who believe that you needed to know the name of the demon to exorcize it. So if the demon was mute, you would never know its name. But the fact that Jesus knew that this demon was both mute AND deaf, something that the others did not know, goes to show the authority that Jesus has over this demon, and that either way, Jesus was going to make this demon know His authority. So He demands the demon to leave, and it ups and goes.
With the demon having left, the boy is left on the ground, seemingly dead. He ONLY moves when Jesus takes him by the hand.
I feel like this is symbolic to how God saves us. He calls us to have faith in Him, to which we die to our old and even "demonic" ways, and then Jesus comes and takes us by the hand, and brings us back to life. This whole process goes to show how we really have no part or say in our salvation. So much so to the point that the Bible says that even the faith to believe in Jesus was a gift to us, so that we literally have NOTHING to boast about.
Likewise, the father of this boy can't boast that it was his faith that made Jesus save his son, because even he knows that the heart to believe and have faith has to be given to him by Jesus Himself. He totally depended on Jesus to take care of his doubts and his son.
Unfortunately, this dependence is something that the disciples lacked. When they asked why they couldn't cast the demon out, Jesus tells them that only prayer could've done the job. Prayer and faith were what, apparently, the disciples lacked. Despite the fact that Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits earlier in Mark, it is evident that their authority can only be enacted through faith and prayer, through a close relationship with God. But their obvious disappointment in themselves is a sure sign that they did not trust God. It reveals that in that situation, they trusted themselves.
We have to be like the father of the son in this story. We have to know that our faith and our heart to believe is a gift from God Himself. It takes faith to know that we don't have faith. We have to ask God to help our unbelief.
I have to ask God to help my unbelief. I shouldn't be disappointed in myself when something goes wrong, because then it shows that I trusted myself too much. I have to start asking God to give me faith to know that His promises are true, that they will be brought to life, and that He will carry me through.
The exact same thing goes for you, the reader. Trust God's promises for you, and ask that God would give you faith, to help your unbelief. Have faith to know that you have unbelief. Don't trust yourself to do what God can most certainly do perfectly and timely. Desire a relationship with God first, before you start asking Him to hear your requests. What God has enabled us to do can only be done in faith. Apart from faith, what we have is disappointing and sad and useless.
Have faith to know that you don't have faith.
-simon
And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” (Mark 9:14-29, ESV)
This must've been such a stressful situation to be in, especially for the disciples who got suddenly bombarded by this huge crowd. And too bad for the disciples who couldn't do anything but embarrass themselves in front of this crowd by doing nothing to cast the demon out of this boy. But Jesus comes to not only save the day again, but prove a point... again.
After being told that His disciples couldn't cast the demon out, Jesus calls both the crowd and His disciples out on being a part of a faithless generation. At first read, I thought His whole "how long" spiel was a bit dry, but it echoes the same burden that the prophets probably felt when they declared the will of God to a people that didn't bother to listen.
The moment the spirit sees Jesus, it immediately convulses the boy, knowing that it's screwed. So it tries to create as much of a mess as possible before it's done for. Notice, however, the complete lack of dualism in this encounter? The demon sees Jesus, and therefore, does everything it can before its time is up. This is nothing like how the world sees God and Satan. For some reason, there's always this battle between good and evil, light and dark, God and the devil. But here, there is no battle, no conflict, no struggle. The demon knows that it's going to lose.
The father then begs Jesus to have compassion and heal the boy, asking that if Jesus can do anything, then He can heal his son. Jesus responds to his need with an exhortation, "All things are possible for one who believes." The man's "if" is not a question of whether Jesus could do it or not, but it was a reveal to this man's personal doubts. That's why Jesus exhorts him to have faith.
This man responds that he indeed DOES believe in Jesus' power, but asks Jesus to help his unbelief. He acknowledges Jesus as powerful, but admits that he has his weaknesses, and asks Jesus to give him the heart to believe and have faith.
The thing is that it takes faith to say something like that. It takes faith to admit that you have little faith. If you had no faith, then you wouldn't be able to recognize your lack of it, because pride would take over. But even the smallest bit of faith reveals our dark corners and blind spots, and we can then admit to them.
Now, it's interesting that Jesus calls this demon mute AND deaf, considering that all that these people knew was that this was a mute spirit. This demon apparently caused the boy to be deaf too? Or maybe this demon was just deaf itself. Either way, it proves that Jesus knew this demon. This is apparently in contrast to most contemporary Jewish exorcists, who believe that you needed to know the name of the demon to exorcize it. So if the demon was mute, you would never know its name. But the fact that Jesus knew that this demon was both mute AND deaf, something that the others did not know, goes to show the authority that Jesus has over this demon, and that either way, Jesus was going to make this demon know His authority. So He demands the demon to leave, and it ups and goes.
With the demon having left, the boy is left on the ground, seemingly dead. He ONLY moves when Jesus takes him by the hand.
I feel like this is symbolic to how God saves us. He calls us to have faith in Him, to which we die to our old and even "demonic" ways, and then Jesus comes and takes us by the hand, and brings us back to life. This whole process goes to show how we really have no part or say in our salvation. So much so to the point that the Bible says that even the faith to believe in Jesus was a gift to us, so that we literally have NOTHING to boast about.
Likewise, the father of this boy can't boast that it was his faith that made Jesus save his son, because even he knows that the heart to believe and have faith has to be given to him by Jesus Himself. He totally depended on Jesus to take care of his doubts and his son.
Unfortunately, this dependence is something that the disciples lacked. When they asked why they couldn't cast the demon out, Jesus tells them that only prayer could've done the job. Prayer and faith were what, apparently, the disciples lacked. Despite the fact that Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits earlier in Mark, it is evident that their authority can only be enacted through faith and prayer, through a close relationship with God. But their obvious disappointment in themselves is a sure sign that they did not trust God. It reveals that in that situation, they trusted themselves.
We have to be like the father of the son in this story. We have to know that our faith and our heart to believe is a gift from God Himself. It takes faith to know that we don't have faith. We have to ask God to help our unbelief.
I have to ask God to help my unbelief. I shouldn't be disappointed in myself when something goes wrong, because then it shows that I trusted myself too much. I have to start asking God to give me faith to know that His promises are true, that they will be brought to life, and that He will carry me through.
The exact same thing goes for you, the reader. Trust God's promises for you, and ask that God would give you faith, to help your unbelief. Have faith to know that you have unbelief. Don't trust yourself to do what God can most certainly do perfectly and timely. Desire a relationship with God first, before you start asking Him to hear your requests. What God has enabled us to do can only be done in faith. Apart from faith, what we have is disappointing and sad and useless.
Have faith to know that you don't have faith.
-simon
Thursday, October 31, 2013
out-white white-out
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” (Mark 9:2-13, ESV)
Sorry again that this is coming late. I guess I'll just make Tuesdays my sabbath day, since by the time I come home, I don't have enough time to blog.
This one was a bit of a thinker anyway, but here's what I think of it...
I'm still curious as to why Jesus picked these three disciples specifically. Especially Peter, considering how often he messes up, but who knows. God uses the weak for His mighty purpose, in the end.
I can't begin to imagine how I would have felt if I saw all of this happen before me. Jesus takes these guys up a mountain, starts transforming into something more beautiful (that's what it means to be transfigured), and then all of a sudden, two dead guys show up and start chatting with Jesus. And then a random voice from a cloud starts talking, and suddenly, the two dead guys are gone, and Jesus is back to normal.
But the more I read this, the more it sort of makes sense.
On that actual transfiguration itself, we often think that this is a new miracle, that this is a new thing going on. But the truth is that it isn't. The transfiguration, as some commentators put it, is a real miracle put on hold. This is because the real miracle is Jesus CONCEALING this kind of radiance and glory. After all, this is who Jesus was all the time, before He humbled Himself and became man. Though He was rich in glory, He decided to conceal it and become poor, for our sake.
And I don't think it stops there. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that we are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next. To be transfigured it to be transformed to something more beautiful. Are we not, in some sense, in the process of being transfigured as well? Christ here is shining so bright, that His clothes become a radiant white that out whites any possible bleaching job. That's REALLY white. And yet, the Bible says that we have been washed as white as snow. Not the greatest comparison, but the point is that we too, because of Christ, are going to be completely white as well. After looking at the transfiguration, it makes much more sense when we say that when God sees us, He see Christ, and that's why we are seen as spotless and righteous. This is so cool.
On Elijah and Moses, they both showed up because of what they represented. Elijah represented the Prophets, and Moses the Law. Them talking with Jesus is symbolic of the fact that both the Law and the Prophets ultimately pointed to Christ. Everything the Mosaic Law and all of the Prophets stood for was Jesus. It all pointed to Jesus. Then God speaks, instructing the three to listen to Jesus, who is God's beloved son, and then they disappear, which is symbolic of the fact that Christ came and fulfilled both the Law and the Prophets. This is huge, because the Christ that we follow is the Christ that everything we know is centred around. Everything points to Christ, because Christ is over everything.
But Peter doesn't see that. Speaking out fear, he decides to try and pitch the idea of building tabernacles for all three of these radiant beings, as if they were equal to each other, as if by doing so, he would be able to avoid the much-talked suffering and rejection and enjoy the glory of God now and from then on. But no, Christ is supreme even over Moses and Elijah.
I gotta say though, I can't blame Peter. I don't think anyone else would know what to do in a situation like that. He's bold, I'll give him that, but not very wise.
On the cloud and the voice, this cloud is no stranger. This cloud is none other than God Himself, the same cloud that guided the Israelites in the dessert, the same cloud that was over Mary when she gave birth to Jesus, and the same cloud in many other passages as well. And the fact that God is affirming Christ should have been enough reason for the disciples to know that Jesus meant His every word from before this moment, and that they have every confidence to believe Christ.
But apparently, the disciples still don't. On the way down, Jesus commands them not to say anything until after Christ rises back from the dead. On the way down the mountain, the disciples are debating with each other as to what that means. They didn't see that rising from the dead meant rising from the dead. Jesus was going to die, but He would rise to life again.
When the disciples ask about Elijah coming first, Jesus answers that he will come first. Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah though. So if Jesus is the Messiah, where's Elijah?
Apparently, Jesus was referring to His SECOND coming, where he who restores all things will make way for THE RESTORER of all things. That's what Jesus is going to do on His second coming, so it is likely that Elijah will show up before then. BUT, at the same time, Elijah already has showed up, considering that John the baptist helped pave the way for Jesus Christ, in the spirit of Elijah. This is all kind of confusing, I know.
But the important thing here, I think, is that Jesus again asks the disciples to consider this whole suffering thing again. They just saw Jesus in all of His glory, but they still can't quite understand Jesus suffering.
Maybe that's why Jesus told them to not say anything about what they saw. If they did, it would risk Jesus being seen as some glorious political fighter, and not a humble, lowly servant who was to be punished in our place. Again, Jesus' real miracle here is that He is choosing to hide His glory for our sake.
While Jesus was on earth, His glory was hidden from us, so that He would become like us, yet He was still the radiant, bright shining king over everything, and His transfiguration revealed that to these three men.
I think at the same time, His transfiguration reveals this beautiful truth to us; He became like man, so that man would become like Him, and not in the sense that man would be like a god, but rather, man would be able to share in His radiant glory, that they would shine from the inside with a light so bright, that it would reveal their stains being washed to a white that is too bright to even see. Our sins aren't just whited-out, but they are washed to the degree of out-whiting any white-out.
Christ hid His glory for us, so that we might share His glory with Him.
What a beautiful Gospel we believe and celebrate.
-simon
I can't begin to imagine how I would have felt if I saw all of this happen before me. Jesus takes these guys up a mountain, starts transforming into something more beautiful (that's what it means to be transfigured), and then all of a sudden, two dead guys show up and start chatting with Jesus. And then a random voice from a cloud starts talking, and suddenly, the two dead guys are gone, and Jesus is back to normal.
But the more I read this, the more it sort of makes sense.
On that actual transfiguration itself, we often think that this is a new miracle, that this is a new thing going on. But the truth is that it isn't. The transfiguration, as some commentators put it, is a real miracle put on hold. This is because the real miracle is Jesus CONCEALING this kind of radiance and glory. After all, this is who Jesus was all the time, before He humbled Himself and became man. Though He was rich in glory, He decided to conceal it and become poor, for our sake.
And I don't think it stops there. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that we are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next. To be transfigured it to be transformed to something more beautiful. Are we not, in some sense, in the process of being transfigured as well? Christ here is shining so bright, that His clothes become a radiant white that out whites any possible bleaching job. That's REALLY white. And yet, the Bible says that we have been washed as white as snow. Not the greatest comparison, but the point is that we too, because of Christ, are going to be completely white as well. After looking at the transfiguration, it makes much more sense when we say that when God sees us, He see Christ, and that's why we are seen as spotless and righteous. This is so cool.
On Elijah and Moses, they both showed up because of what they represented. Elijah represented the Prophets, and Moses the Law. Them talking with Jesus is symbolic of the fact that both the Law and the Prophets ultimately pointed to Christ. Everything the Mosaic Law and all of the Prophets stood for was Jesus. It all pointed to Jesus. Then God speaks, instructing the three to listen to Jesus, who is God's beloved son, and then they disappear, which is symbolic of the fact that Christ came and fulfilled both the Law and the Prophets. This is huge, because the Christ that we follow is the Christ that everything we know is centred around. Everything points to Christ, because Christ is over everything.
But Peter doesn't see that. Speaking out fear, he decides to try and pitch the idea of building tabernacles for all three of these radiant beings, as if they were equal to each other, as if by doing so, he would be able to avoid the much-talked suffering and rejection and enjoy the glory of God now and from then on. But no, Christ is supreme even over Moses and Elijah.
I gotta say though, I can't blame Peter. I don't think anyone else would know what to do in a situation like that. He's bold, I'll give him that, but not very wise.
On the cloud and the voice, this cloud is no stranger. This cloud is none other than God Himself, the same cloud that guided the Israelites in the dessert, the same cloud that was over Mary when she gave birth to Jesus, and the same cloud in many other passages as well. And the fact that God is affirming Christ should have been enough reason for the disciples to know that Jesus meant His every word from before this moment, and that they have every confidence to believe Christ.
But apparently, the disciples still don't. On the way down, Jesus commands them not to say anything until after Christ rises back from the dead. On the way down the mountain, the disciples are debating with each other as to what that means. They didn't see that rising from the dead meant rising from the dead. Jesus was going to die, but He would rise to life again.
When the disciples ask about Elijah coming first, Jesus answers that he will come first. Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah though. So if Jesus is the Messiah, where's Elijah?
Apparently, Jesus was referring to His SECOND coming, where he who restores all things will make way for THE RESTORER of all things. That's what Jesus is going to do on His second coming, so it is likely that Elijah will show up before then. BUT, at the same time, Elijah already has showed up, considering that John the baptist helped pave the way for Jesus Christ, in the spirit of Elijah. This is all kind of confusing, I know.
But the important thing here, I think, is that Jesus again asks the disciples to consider this whole suffering thing again. They just saw Jesus in all of His glory, but they still can't quite understand Jesus suffering.
Maybe that's why Jesus told them to not say anything about what they saw. If they did, it would risk Jesus being seen as some glorious political fighter, and not a humble, lowly servant who was to be punished in our place. Again, Jesus' real miracle here is that He is choosing to hide His glory for our sake.
While Jesus was on earth, His glory was hidden from us, so that He would become like us, yet He was still the radiant, bright shining king over everything, and His transfiguration revealed that to these three men.
I think at the same time, His transfiguration reveals this beautiful truth to us; He became like man, so that man would become like Him, and not in the sense that man would be like a god, but rather, man would be able to share in His radiant glory, that they would shine from the inside with a light so bright, that it would reveal their stains being washed to a white that is too bright to even see. Our sins aren't just whited-out, but they are washed to the degree of out-whiting any white-out.
Christ hid His glory for us, so that we might share His glory with Him.
What a beautiful Gospel we believe and celebrate.
-simon
Monday, October 28, 2013
finding glory six feet under
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” (Mark 8:34-9:1, ESV)
The first couple of verses are often recited amongst Christians, as a means to say that they are committed to their faith. And that is a wonderful thing, but we often undermine what it really means to deny yourself and pick up your cross (Luke adds daily). When we undermine those things, we also undermine what it means to truly follow Christ, and that's not a good thing.
It was already bad enough that Jesus said He was going to suffer and die. It only gets more serious when Jesus asks the crowd and His disciples to do the same thing. Because everyone at this time knew what the cross was. It wasn't some bling people wore around their necks, it wasn't just a ring people wore on their fingers, but it was an infamous and relentless instrument of death. To take up your cross meant to believe and persevere to the point of death. Taking up your cross, therefore, was a one way trip. It would be the same thing if Jesus said to us today to walk down death row and follow Him daily. Not very pretty.
Denying yourself was also not the prettiest thing for Jesus to ask for. And know this, denying yourself and self-denial are two different things. Self-denial is giving up certain things or activities. Denying yourself, however, is completely giving yourself up to the will and glory of God. Not only was it just stuff you took part of, it was ALL of you that was being given up and surrendered.
Jesus, when saying this bold phrase, equated these two ideas. Denying yourself and taking up your cross go hand in hand, and they do not ever separate. This is what it means to follow Christ. If we want to follow Him, we must willingly give all of ourselves up to Him, and die to ourselves completely.
This leads into the next part of Jesus' teaching, which explains why we must deny ourselves and take up our cross.
Jesus' next statement here is a bit paradoxical. If you save your life, you will lose it. If you lose your life, you will save it. What Jesus says here is that he who tries to save and maintain his life now on earth, will lose it on the day of judgment, while he who tries to rebel against his life now, will find it and live forevermore in glory.
Then He expands by asking questions. How can you profit by gaining the whole world and losing your soul? What can you give in return for your soul?
It's interesting that He deliberately says the WHOLE world. Even if we were to gain EVERYTHING in this earth, all of its riches and resources and opportunities, it would still fail to outweigh the loss of your own soul. Even if you had EVERYTHING in this earth, it would still not be enough to gain your soul back.
Why?
Because everything in this earth is temporal and transient, in comparison to what we could receive. In the end, how do you profit if you try to gain what is transient, and give up what is meant to live for eternity?
So then, how do we find our life? How can we even begin to lose it so that we may find it?
We lose it at the cross, and we find it at the cross. We come to the cross to die, and then we find new life in it. This is why Jesus asks us to take up our cross, because in willingly taking up the burden of dying to ourselves, we will find life.
More importantly, though, this is why Jesus says "follow me." Because He was the first to do this. He was the only one who did this perfectly. In His taking up the cross, He actually died. In His obedience towards God's will, He took on one of the worst ways to die, so that we might live. Even more so, He took on the full wrath of God, so that we wouldn't have to. This is where we find life. We don't just find life in the cross that we carry, we find life in the cross that Christ already died on. We find our death and life in His death and life first.
I said it earlier in this blog, but taking up your cross and denying yourself is all a one way trip. People at the time knew that physically carrying your cross to your place of crucifixion meant shaming yourself and taking on the insults of the entire town. As bad as this already is, Jesus goes on to say that whoever is ashamed of following Him or the things that He says will be put to shame when they face the glory of God. This is where we have to ask ourselves the honest question that probably determines where we truly stand in our faith.
What impacts us more, being ashamed in front of people, or being put to shame in front of God Himself?
I'll be the first to admit that sometimes, the former does scare me more than the latter, and that's because, as mentioned in the post before this one, I'm setting my mind on the things of man, and not God. If I were to set my mind on the things of God, I would know for sure which of those two options is worse.
By the way, I absolutely hate it when people use the verse about God being ashamed of you as a reason to post up some tacky picture about Jesus on facebook. Not posting doesn't put you to shame. It's just social media. Relax, people.
Anyway, what truly matters here is the fact that if we are to call ourselves Christians, then this is what it takes. It takes commitment to the point of complete surrender and even death. It means giving up everything about ourselves to the kingdom of God, and finding our true lives in that. It means that everything is about Christ, none of it is about us.
There is a certain blessing in this commitment. Many people who have followed Christ to such a degree have shown that they have lived genuinely joyful and extremely happy lives. Paul says that the suffering we receive in this life is not worth comparing to the glory that we are to receive in Heaven. He considers his own suffering as light and momentary affliction that prepares us for the eternal weight of glory. This is Paul who has probably suffered the most out of all the post-death Christ followers. I could go into detail as to what happened to him, but I won't bother. The list is really long.
There are so many more people who suffered for the cause of Christ, and died joyfully because of it. This is real commitment and passion that I hope we all can strive for.
And this commitment and passion doesn't come without reward. The only thing is that our reward is not physical. It's much better than that. It's the kingdom of God itself. The Bible says that God desires to give us the kingdom, that we are co-heirs with Christ to the kingdom, that our inheritance is the kingdom.
And the good news is that we get to see some of it in our lives now. When Christ said that there were some standing there that would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God, He may have been referring to the people He would take with Him to His transfiguration. But either way, when we seek earnestly His will, and when we come to die to ourselves every day, we will see God's glory manifest in different places of our lives. We will see glimpses of His kingdom, and when we do, we can be wonderfully reminded of the coming eternity that we get to have with Christ. It's going to be awesome.
So yes, the cost of following Jesus is great, but the reward we will receive from it will far outweigh that cost. I hope and pray that we all can remember and hold fast to that, so that
we might live in radical abandonment for the cause of Christ. Let's go get em.
-simon
freed from, freed to
And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 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. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Mark 8:27-33, ESV)
This is a bit of weird one. When Jesus asks what the word on the street is about Him, His disciples say that the general population thinks that He is some reincarnated ghost. And then when Jesus asks His disciples who THEY think He is, then Peter answers on behalf of the team, and says, "You are the Christ." You would think that he got that right, but apparently not.
When Peter refers to Jesus as Christ, he's not referring to Jesus as the Son of God, sent to die. He is referring to Him as the Son of God, sent to liberate Israel from Rome's grasp. Pretty much every Jew was waiting for THIS kind of Saviour. And they're not wrong, Jesus was going to do that, but they're not entirely right either.
This is why Jesus goes on to teach them about how He must suffer, be rejected, die, and then come back to life three days later. Now, this sounds like an awful thing to say about yourself, but Jesus didn't necessarily end that statement on a bad note. AT LEAST He was gonna come back to life, right?
But even then Peter, out of his sincere heart, decides to pull his own Master and Rabbi aside to rebuke Him. The student tries to rebuke his Teacher! But Jesus looks at Peter and His other disciples, and responds with the bold statement, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
I think that if your teacher, let alone Jesus, calls you Satan, then I don't think you really win any points. But Jesus gives a reason for this. It is because Peter and the rest of His disciples are not setting their minds on the things of God, but on the things of men.
In Jesus' time, there was a whole lot of confusion as to who He was. The Pharisees called Him a demon, His own family called Him crazy once, and His own disciples couldn't even fully comprehend who He REALLY was. All of these people probably had the same thing in common though, they were all setting their minds on the things of men.
Colossians 3 lists out a ton of practical things that we can put to death, and things that we can put on, but only after it explains why we have to do these things. We set our minds on things above because we have been raised with Christ. This is why Jesus, when He predicts His death, doesn't leave out His resurrection. Yes, He will die, but so must we. Even better, He will come back to life, and so will we. We set our minds on the things above because we have been raised with Christ.
Now, to set your mind on the things of God is to grow in a deeper knowledge of Christ Himself. Again, there was a huge confusion as to who Jesus was. No one knew who He really was. The only ones that did know who He really was were the demons, when they said in Mark 1, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But when His own disciples can't get it right, it makes perfect sense that Jesus would rebuke them to set their minds on the things of God, a.k.a set their minds on Jesus Himself.
When we set our minds on the things of God, we will know Christ in a deeper way, and it will call us to put to death the things of man in us.
When I'm caught in temptation, I realize that half the battle is setting my mind away from the temptation. I have to mentally tell myself "don't go there, run the other way." The mind is a powerful thing that plays a huge role in how we conduct ourselves. So if we are to follow Christ, we have to set our minds away from sinful things.
But again, it's not enough to just set your mind away from something. We have to set our minds to something else. That's the beauty of this whole process! We are to set our minds away from sin, and set it to Christ, where there is freedom. And all of this is possible because Christ has died so that we can die to our sin, and He has been raised to life so that we can be raised with Him to a new life.
Even though Christ rebukes His disciples, this is ultimately what He is getting at. The Son of Man must die and come back to life, so that His disciples would be able to set their minds on the things of God, and not on the things of man.
I'll end it with this verse...
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, ESV)
-simon
Sunday, October 27, 2013
walking trees
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (Mark 8:22-26, ESV)
Interestingly enough, this is the only miracle that Jesus performed in parts. The first part was spitting on the blind man's eyes, and then laying hands, the second part was Jesus laying hands again. We'll get back to this later though.
I've slowly realized that the motive behind Jesus' miracles wasn't so much as to do good for the people he performed to, but rather, it was to teach His disciples. This would make sense, because almost every written miracle that Jesus did, He either did it to them (walking on water, calming the storm), referred back to it for them (feeding the four/five thousand people) or the miracle would deal with what Jesus was teaching them (opening eyes and ears of the blind and deaf). The third option is especially heavily implied, when Jesus, in the previous passage about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, would ask them if they had ears to hear and eyes to see. Healing this blind man occurred RIGHT after He said that to them. And the healing of the deaf man happened not too long before He said that. So Jesus is going to teach His disciples another lesson through this miracle.
It's cool that Jesus took this blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. It's very reminiscent of how God grabs us by the hand, and leads us to places outside of where we are, beyond what we know, so that God may reveal something new and different to us.
Now let's talk about the whole two-step process of this miracle. After the first step of spitting on the eyes (which is gross, and again, invasive) and laying His hands on the blind man's eyes, Jesus asks if he sees anything, to which the blind man says that he sees men, walking like trees.
There's a certain lack of clarity after this first step. This man sees, but not clearly. He's not sure what he sees, really. I'm willing to bed that this man is seeing what he is seeing because this is what Jesus wants him to see first. Remember, Jesus is giving this man His sight, He could make him see whatever He wants. But why the walking trees? Why trees?
Generally speaking, when the Bible talks about trees, it often refers to them as rooted, planted by water and bearing fruit. Trees, by nature, are things that are supposed to hold fast to their roots, firm in the ground and immovable. They are dependant on what the roots are feeding on, and therefore, where the trees are planted matters.
But this man sees trees that are walking. Trees that are NOT rooted, not grounded, and not feeding on things that keep them alive. Even more so, he sees men that are like walking trees.
Could these "men as walking trees" thing refer to someone? Or people in general? I think this "sight" is referring to the disciples. The disciples have been following Jesus around for a while now, watching Him perform miracles right in front of their eyes, but Jesus constantly calls them out on their hard-heartedness and lack of understanding. These men, though they see Jesus and are amazed every time, consistently fail to believe that Jesus is Lord over everything. In a sense, these men aren't rooted in Him.
And now Jesus goes to the final step, where He lays His hands again, and then this man has his full sight back. Jesus then sends him home, but tells him to not enter the village, to which i wonder... isn't this guys home in the village? I don't know.
Anyway, perhaps Jesus is trying to remind the disciples of where they are standing. Jesus is reminding them through the miracle that they are not yet rooted in Christ Himself. But it doesn't end there. Jesus eventually heals the man of his sight in full. Again, this is the only miracle that was done in steps.
When you really think about it, this is how God heals us all the time. We always expect giant leaps and bounds in our walk with God, but really, we walk step by step. Our walk with God is a process that God Himself walks us through. We receive His help little by little.
John Calvin himself wrote, regarding this passage, "And so the grace of Christ, which had formerly been poured out suddenly on others, flowed by drops, as it were, on this man."
God's grace, more often than not, flows out by drops. But the wonderful thing about that is that even when we feel just a drop of His grace, we know that it's more than enough for us.
I think that Jesus is not only telling His disciples where they are currently standing, but He's also showing them what He will do for them in the coming chapters. The disciples may not be rooted now, but God will reveal to them where they are blind and deaf, and He will be their roots.
So whether you aren't as grounded or rooted as you should be, or maybe you feel that you are, always remember that where we are now is just the first step. We may not see things clearly now, we may still have blind spots. But through grace, community, and help, those blind spots can be healed. We will receive this bit by bit, drop by drop, little by little. That's why in Psalm 119, it says that the Word is a lamp unto our feet. A lamp unto our feet doesn't show us everything, it just shows the next step.
Receive God's grace amidst our weaknesses, little by little. It is enough either way.
-simon
Interestingly enough, this is the only miracle that Jesus performed in parts. The first part was spitting on the blind man's eyes, and then laying hands, the second part was Jesus laying hands again. We'll get back to this later though.
I've slowly realized that the motive behind Jesus' miracles wasn't so much as to do good for the people he performed to, but rather, it was to teach His disciples. This would make sense, because almost every written miracle that Jesus did, He either did it to them (walking on water, calming the storm), referred back to it for them (feeding the four/five thousand people) or the miracle would deal with what Jesus was teaching them (opening eyes and ears of the blind and deaf). The third option is especially heavily implied, when Jesus, in the previous passage about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, would ask them if they had ears to hear and eyes to see. Healing this blind man occurred RIGHT after He said that to them. And the healing of the deaf man happened not too long before He said that. So Jesus is going to teach His disciples another lesson through this miracle.
It's cool that Jesus took this blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. It's very reminiscent of how God grabs us by the hand, and leads us to places outside of where we are, beyond what we know, so that God may reveal something new and different to us.
Now let's talk about the whole two-step process of this miracle. After the first step of spitting on the eyes (which is gross, and again, invasive) and laying His hands on the blind man's eyes, Jesus asks if he sees anything, to which the blind man says that he sees men, walking like trees.
There's a certain lack of clarity after this first step. This man sees, but not clearly. He's not sure what he sees, really. I'm willing to bed that this man is seeing what he is seeing because this is what Jesus wants him to see first. Remember, Jesus is giving this man His sight, He could make him see whatever He wants. But why the walking trees? Why trees?
Generally speaking, when the Bible talks about trees, it often refers to them as rooted, planted by water and bearing fruit. Trees, by nature, are things that are supposed to hold fast to their roots, firm in the ground and immovable. They are dependant on what the roots are feeding on, and therefore, where the trees are planted matters.
But this man sees trees that are walking. Trees that are NOT rooted, not grounded, and not feeding on things that keep them alive. Even more so, he sees men that are like walking trees.
Could these "men as walking trees" thing refer to someone? Or people in general? I think this "sight" is referring to the disciples. The disciples have been following Jesus around for a while now, watching Him perform miracles right in front of their eyes, but Jesus constantly calls them out on their hard-heartedness and lack of understanding. These men, though they see Jesus and are amazed every time, consistently fail to believe that Jesus is Lord over everything. In a sense, these men aren't rooted in Him.
And now Jesus goes to the final step, where He lays His hands again, and then this man has his full sight back. Jesus then sends him home, but tells him to not enter the village, to which i wonder... isn't this guys home in the village? I don't know.
Anyway, perhaps Jesus is trying to remind the disciples of where they are standing. Jesus is reminding them through the miracle that they are not yet rooted in Christ Himself. But it doesn't end there. Jesus eventually heals the man of his sight in full. Again, this is the only miracle that was done in steps.
When you really think about it, this is how God heals us all the time. We always expect giant leaps and bounds in our walk with God, but really, we walk step by step. Our walk with God is a process that God Himself walks us through. We receive His help little by little.
John Calvin himself wrote, regarding this passage, "And so the grace of Christ, which had formerly been poured out suddenly on others, flowed by drops, as it were, on this man."
God's grace, more often than not, flows out by drops. But the wonderful thing about that is that even when we feel just a drop of His grace, we know that it's more than enough for us.
I think that Jesus is not only telling His disciples where they are currently standing, but He's also showing them what He will do for them in the coming chapters. The disciples may not be rooted now, but God will reveal to them where they are blind and deaf, and He will be their roots.
So whether you aren't as grounded or rooted as you should be, or maybe you feel that you are, always remember that where we are now is just the first step. We may not see things clearly now, we may still have blind spots. But through grace, community, and help, those blind spots can be healed. We will receive this bit by bit, drop by drop, little by little. That's why in Psalm 119, it says that the Word is a lamp unto our feet. A lamp unto our feet doesn't show us everything, it just shows the next step.
Receive God's grace amidst our weaknesses, little by little. It is enough either way.
-simon
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