Mark10:17-27  Mark gives us another scene.. to observe Jesus and a man we know as the "rich young ruler".  At first we observe this man coming to Jesus.. running to Him and kneeling before Him.  And.. he asks a good question, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  

He didn't come to test Jesus as the Pharisees did.  He didn't have a hard heart.  He came like the children came.. it seems.  His desire was sincere and honest.  But.. Jesus had a question for him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. "   He continued.. "You know the commandments.. "  This is what God defines as "good".. "Do not murder. Do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your Father and your Mother."  

The young man responds with confidence.. " Teacher I have kept all these things from my youth up."  He seems to want some recognition or  maybe just some confirmation  that he was on the right track..  that he had already made the grade.  

"And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him.. "   Jesus saw the need this young man had.. a need for more.. a need for truth.. a need that would go beyond the outward adherence to the law.. to a true covenant relationship with the heavenly Father.  And He offers him just that.. 

"One thing you lack; go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  Jesus asked him.  But.. "at  these words his face fell and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property."   

It's hard, Jesus says, "for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God." This statement shocked the disciples!  The wealthy had it easy.. they were "blessed", weren't they?  How can it be hard?  But.. Jesus tells them, "with men it is impossible.. "   Wealth had just kept this young man from following Jesus.. from trusting in the Creator who made him and cared for him. Trusting in property and titles.. position or power.. keeps people from trusting God enough to give it all up to Him.  Don't we know it!

But Jesus doesn't leave us hopeless.. " .. but not with God, for all things are possible with God." 

Father in heaven,  how can we do anything without You?  We can not!  You are the Lover of our souls and You will help us when we come to You. You are at work in us to both "will and do" Your good pleasure.  How else can we live?  How else can we have eternal life?  We must have Jesus as our all in all.. as our Source.. as our Savior and King.  Draw us closer and help us to surrender all to You. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen

 Mark 10:1-12  Once again  Jesus is questioned and tested by the Pharisees.. this time asking about divorce.  Jesus answers with a question about what  Scripture says..  "What did Moses command you?"  Then He goes on to  explain the truth behind their answer.  Moses had allowed divorce because of the hard hearts of men.  The truth is that God made men and women.. He intended them to marry and to become "one flesh".  He did not.. and does not want divorce.  He does not want the pain of broken lives and broken families for His people. It is still our hard hearts that break up marriages..  hearts too hard to forgive..  hearts too hard to trust.. hard hearts that turn away from God and from the vows we make in His Presence. 

Verses 13-16  Jesus sees people bringing their children to Him and the disciples turning them away.. and He became "indignant" with them.. "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these."  Jesus took the children into His own arms and blessed them. This is one of the most precious snapshots that Mark paints for us. Jesus loving the little children who come to Him.. not with questions and tests.. but with open hearts and joy.  This is how we are to come to Him... just like these children.. 

What a contrast!   Hard-hearted religious leaders with their tests and questions... and little children with open hearts and great love.  Which goes away blessed?  Which will we be?  The disciples still didn't get it! They didn't send away the Pharisees but they tried to send away the children...

Oh, Lord.. help us to be like the children coming to You with joy and faith.. And .. help us to receive those children with open arms like You did.. may we never cause anyone to stumble in their faith but to have open hearts.. like Yours.  

Father in heaven,  we ask for Your Kingdom to come.. the Kingdom where children are welcomed with opened arms.... where we are welcome and forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness..  where our hardness of heart is melted and made new.. where Jesus is King and we are all loved and held closely to the heart of God. Where we love as we are loved.. where we forgive others as we have been forgiven.. We ask this is the Name that is above all names.. the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. 

 Mark 9: 38-50  In this passage Mark records Jesus teaching His disciples instead of his usual presentation of Jesus at work among them.  There is something we need to grasp about Jesus in this lesson.. Lord, give us understanding!

It starts with John telling Jesus about some man.. not one of the 12  disciples.. who was casting out demons in Jesus' name.  John did not approve.  But, Jesus said, " Do not hinder him, for there is no one who shall perform a miracle in My name and be able to soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us." 

John and the other disciples received a lesson on discernment. They needed to learn to discern what was good.. and what was evil. If this man was able to help a demon possessed man in the Name of Jesus then they should have been able to discern that he was a follower of Christ even if he was not one of the 12 chosen disciples.  This reminds me of Acts 19:14-15 when some Jewish men.. "the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest" were trying to use the name of Jesus to cast out evil spirits but were unable to.. the evil spirit saying to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"  Not just anyone can use the Name of Jesus.. but only those who are true followers of Him. Those who are "for Him" and not against Him. 

Jesus continued His teaching on discernment... 

Those who would give them a cup of water because of the Name of Jesus.. is someone on their side.. and they would be rewarded. 

Someone who would cause little ones to stumble in their faith are not on their side...and they would be judged and punished.

Jesus turned His lesson towards personal discernment.. 

"If your hand causes you to stumble...If your foot causes you to stumble... If your eye causes you to stumble"... "cut it off.. cast it out"..  what good is it to keep anything in your life that keeps you from heaven?  Get rid of those things that keep you from being on the Lord's side!

"For everyone will be salted with fire."  Jesus said, "Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another." 

Father in heaven,  help us to truly recognize those who are followers of Jesus Christ and help us to recognize in ourselves those things that keep us from being in true covenant relationship with Him.. on His side. Unite us together in One Spirit.. that we might in peace and in godly wisdom serve You with whole hearts and willing minds. We ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen. 

 Mark 9:30-37  Jesus and His disciples head back home to Capernaum.  The trip was quieter than usual for Jesus wanted some time alone to teach His disciples about what was coming. "The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later." 

It was a clear message. A wonderful message!   Yet "they did not understand.."  We look back and wonder how they could miss this... but, they did.  Instead, it appears they were absorbed in a completely different issue.. "which of them was the greatest.. "  They seemed embarrassed to tell Jesus about their discussion.. but Jesus knew anyway.  He asked the question so that He could teach them the truth about greatness.

"If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all." Jesus tells the 12.  

Mark paints us another picture.. "And taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me." 

I love the picture of Jesus with this little child.. arms wrapped around him.. love poured out on him.  This is greatness, Jesus shows them.. loving.. simply loving.. serving.. blessing.  It is not about what we receive... but about WHO we receive.  The greatest disciples of Jesus are the ones who don't think about their own worth.. but about the worth of the "least of these".  

Father, we always seem to get things backwards in our efforts to be "more".. more righteous.. more favored.. more spiritual.  Jesus teaches that it is not about our efforts or our value.. but that true faith, true service and worship is about loving and caring for those You bring into our lives. As James wrote "This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and keep oneself unstained by the world."  Help us to understand and to do Your will.. to love one another.. to care for those around us..to serve.  It is not a competition for greatness.. our desire is to be Your servant.. to genuinely love and receive others into our own hearts.. receiving You.. receiving Jesus Christ our Lord. Help us. Create in us the heart of Jesus.. a new heart.. pure and undefiled.  In the Name of our Savior we pray. Amen. 

 Mark 9:14-29   Mark sets another scene for us.. Jesus coming down the mountain.. to a crowd surrounding His disciples.. with scribes arguing.. and with one desperate man hoping someone could deliver his son from an evil spirit.  

This young man suffered so much.  He could not speak.. he had terrible seizures that would cause him to fall to the ground, grind his teeth, foam at the mouth, and stiffen out.  The father tells Jesus, " And I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."  

What was going on in this encounter?  Jesus centers in on the main problem.. "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?... "  Was He addressing the man, the crowd, or the disciples?  Whose lack of faith kept this boy from deliverance?  Perhaps it was all of them.. 

Jesus continued, "... Bring him to Me!"   He watched the boy being attacked by the evil spirit, thrown to the ground.. convulsing, rolling about and foaming at the mouth.. but He still did not act.  "And He asked his father, 'How long has this been happening to him?' "   Jesus seemed to be waiting for the father to ask the question.. to make the plea.. to state his position... until finally the man humbled himself and realized his own need.. "But if You can do anything take pity on us and help us!"  

Still Jesus waited, ".. If You can!  All things are possible to him who believes."  Only then does the father cry out, "I do believe ; help my unbelief."   This cry is one that we all probably have made at one time or another.. "Lord, I believe.. but help my unbelief."  My faith is puny sometimes. Like this man.. we want help.. we need help.. we think we can demand that help.. but only when we really encounter the One who can hear our cry, do we bow before Him and surrender our unbelief. 

Jesus healed this young man. As the evil spirit left him it cried out.. it threw the boy down.. and he appeared to be dead.  But.. Jesus took his hand and raised him up.  "All things are possible to him who believes."!!   Even if that belief is puny... 

Father, There is nothing that You cannot do. There is no-one that is too far gone for You to help. We pray that You will increase our faith.. that You would draw us nearer to the grace and truth found in Christ Jesus our Healer and Deliverer.  Help us learn to trust fully and to pray always.  Thank You for this word that reveals to  us the power and the kindness of Jesus. Thank You that He can do all things! We need You, Lord Jesus.. have Your way in us today we pray. Amen. 

 Mark 9:1-13  Mark takes us up the mountain with Jesus, Peter, James and John.  He tells of the transfiguration of Jesus before these 3 disciples.. unlike anything they could have imagined up to this point.. they saw with their own eyes the reality of Who Jesus is.  

His garments became whiter than anything on earth.. He was radiant.. and He was not alone, for Moses and Elijah appeared and talked to Him.  

Terrified.. Peter wanted to build 3 tabernacles. Struck with nothing else to say.. they were covered by a cloud that formed "over-shadowing them", and they heard a voice "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him." 

And then... they were once again alone with Jesus. 

Some say that this brief glimpse was what Jesus was referring to in verse 1 , "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."    Jesus told the three disciples to not talk about what they saw until after He was resurrected from the dead.  They would understand the Truth about Jesus then.. after He went to the cross, was buried and then came out of the grave .. glorified.  They needed the filling of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost before they could put it all together. They would see the kingdom of God when it came "with power".  

The Father tells the disciples to "Listen" to the Son. Elijah had come.. and gone.  Moses had come and gone.  But.. Jesus was still there and His Words were life and they needed to listen.  John would later write, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) He saw and he heard.. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (v14)  Many years later as he was captive on Patmos, John once again saw Jesus, fully glorified.. "And when I saw Him, I fell at HIs feet as a dead man.. " (Revelation 1:17)  The Kingdom of God came with power and John and the others knew it and proclaimed it the rest of their lives. 

How do we know Jesus?  Do we see Him as He was before or after His death and resurrection?  Are we listening? Are we experiencing Him .. beholding His glory.. His grace.. His truth? 

Father, once again we plead to have our eyes opened and our ears able to hear Your Beloved Son.  Help us to listen !  We ask for Your Kingdom to come "with power"!  We ask that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.. that we might behold the  glory of Jesus Christ and be filled with all grace and truth in Him..  to the glory of Your Name.  Amen. 

 Mark 8:34-38  It seems that there is a shift in Mark's presentation of Jesus after the proclamation by Peter ...that they believed Him to be the Messiah.  This revelation to the disciples and the rebuke of Peter's reaction to the news that Jesus would die by the hands of the Jewish leaders began a new season of teaching.. beginning with this intense sermon... 

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me." (v34) 

Jesus had done miracles, healed many, cast out demons, and fed the hungry.  He had taught about God's kingdom and revealed to them what that Kingdom looked like.  Now, He begins to teach about the deeper truths of Kingdom living.. starting with denying one's-self.  To deny means to disown and forget one's self, to lose sight of your own interests.. to abstain from focus on yourself.  This is a hard word to hear, let alone do.  But, it is necessary, Jesus says, to follow Him. 

Jesus calls His followers to take up a cross.  Those listening to this sermon knew all about crosses.  They knew that it was cruel.. they knew it meant death.. they knew that the worst of criminals ended up on the Roman crosses.  What would it mean to them that Jesus calls them to "take up his cross"?  To willingly chose death? It was incomprehensible.. but Jesus said it was necessary... to follow Him. 

Jesus calls us to "Follow Him".. to join with Him.. to accompany Him on the same road that He walks.  It speaks of a union with Him.. being  on His side.

Jesus goes on to say, "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's sake shall save it."  Can we save ourselves? We know the answer is "NO".  We can't save ourselves from suffering, from disease, from peril, or from evil.  We need Jesus!   But.. Jesus says.. if we lay down our lives and follow Him.. He will save us.  He is the only One who can. 

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"  This was a startling and powerful teaching.  The people then.. as people do now.. desired to "gain".. to win.. to get more.. to prosper.  It is only when we believe in eternal life.. when we become aware that the choices we make determine our soul's final destination.. do we see the great value of following Jesus, the only WAY to the Kingdom of God... so much more profitable than all the riches of the world. 

Jesus has one more thing to say about this, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." 

Our decision to follow Jesus or to reject His salvation... effects all of eternity.  This message is like a laser that goes deep into the heart.. it is a greater challenge.. a powerful call to all who have "ears to hear".  

Father, open our ears.. open our eyes.. let us look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.  Help us to always choose to follow Jesus.. "no turning back.. no turning back.."  Here's my life, Lord.. "let it be consecrated Lord to Thee."  I deny myself.. I am taking up my cross to follow You wherever You lead me. May it be so.. by the power of the name of  Jesus Christ the Messiah.. Amen.