Still, the fundamental question he asks – “how should Christians vote?” – is one that too few believers are asking. Caught up in allegiance to a party, individual personalities, pet issues, and the day-to-day rancor that defines US politics, I believe that many believers are forgetting their primary allegiance to the King of Kings as they pull the lever in the voting booth.

It seems worthwhile to at least hear what Tony Evans has to say on the subject and consider it for yourselves, especially since you can download a free copy of the audiobook at ChristianAudio.com during the month of October. I will be – look for a review soon.

Here’s a quote from an interview with Mr Evans that may whet your appetite for the material he presents in the book:

“I believe that there are biblical positions on every issue, but no party fully represents all God’s views consistently on all God’s issues. Christians are going to vote differently because they will prioritize issues differently. My concern is that we’ve so aligned ourselves with the parties of this world that we’re missing the kingdom of God. The proof of that is that we’ve let political parties divide the kingdom of God. My illustration regarding referees is simply to say that while they sometimes vote for one team and sometimes vote for another team, they’re obligated ultimately to neither team, because they belong to another kingdom called the NFL. So, we should never let the party divisions interfere with the unity of the church, causing the church to lose its influence in the culture.”

I would love to hear your thoughts on the book, or on the general question about how a Christian should vote. Leave a comment below!

The disciples seem to have had that problem too.

The crowd hungered for Jesus’  teaching and his healing enough to stay with him for three days and had nothing to eat. They knew what Jesus knew – man doesn’t live by bread alone. Jesus provided for all their needs, though – he taught, he healed, and he fed as well – from seven loaves and a few small fish he provided enough food to feed four thousand men, plus all the women and children. With leftovers.

Just as when Jesus fed the five thousand, the disciples didn’t think they had what they needed; but they had Jesus.

They still didn’t understand after the feeding of the four thousand, either. In the boat, with one loaf of bread, they still didn’t get that Jesus can provide everything they need, with plenty to spare.

In Bethsaida, a blind man got to “see” what lengths Jesus will go to. When his friends brought him to Jesus and begged Jesus to touch him and heal him, Jesus did so. He didn’t walk away at that point though – he asked the man whether he could then see. The man had definitely improved, but wasn’t yet seeing clearly – he saw people, but they “looked like trees walking around”. Jesus touched him again, and then he could see everything clearly.

Lord, you’ve shown me time and time again the depths of your love and compassion. You’ve provided what I need most – forgiveness, salvation, reconciliation, spiritual healing, your word, your teaching, your love, and so much more. You’ve gone beyond those needs, though, and provided everything else. You’ve blessed me by providing for physical needs; you’ve blessed me with material things. You go even further, giving graciously far more than I need.

As with the blind man, you come again and again and provide your healing touch.

Yet how many times do I fail to understand what you’re capable of, and how far you will go? How often do I fail to trust you completely? How often do I show fear and worry and doubt, when you’ve proved it is unnecessary? That it is truly foolish?

Lord, please help me to see clearly. Continue to provide your healing touch, till my eyes are fully open.

Related Posts:

The stories in Mark 8 about the Pharisees asking for a sign, and about Jesus warning about the “yeast” of the Pharisees and Sadducees are also told by Matthew, and are covered in depth in the post From Rock to Stumbling Block (Matthew 16).

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In Mark 7, Mark recounts the story of the Pharisees challenging Jesus about his disciples having unclean hands, and the story of the Gentile woman who comes to Jesus wanting healing for her daughter.

Here’s what we said as we studied those stories about “clean and unclean” in Matthew 15:

Clean and Unclean (Matthew 15)

Jesus wants to do remarkable things in our lives. Sometimes we have things a little backwards, though.

Mark 6 begins with the story of Jesus returning to his home town with his disciples. Just as he did in the various places away from home that went to, Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath to teach. His teaching and what they’ve heard about him causes them to ask themselves and each other a lot of questions. The first part of the response that Mark records seems reasonable:

Where did this man get these things? What is this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!

Things could go one of two ways at this point. As they listen to him teach and they ponder these questions, they could be moved at the good news of the Kingdom and embrace it. They could rejoice at God’s mysteries revealed to them. They could believe and see him do great things among them. That is, they could if their hearts were open and receptive to the kingdom.

They’re not. They say familiarity breeds contempt, and it proves to be true in Jesus’ hometown. They knew him as a boy. They know his family –  his mother and brothers and sisters – and at least some of them still live in the town.  They saw Jesus take on his father’s trade, and work as a carpenter among them. As they listen to him teach, they can’t get past that familiarity. They “took offense” at him.

As we’ve read through Matthew and Mark, there have been several occasions where Jesus has let people know that their faith has played a part in their healing (“your faith has made you well…”). We’ve seen times that Jesus was clearly amazed at people’s’ faith – some of the specific instances were with people that we wouldn’t expect to show much faith, like the centurion and the Canaanite woman – both Gentiles.

In contrast, here in his home village, Jesus marvels at the lack of faith. He’d encountered people who didn’t believe. He condemned some cities where the people didn’t believe. This is the only place I can think of, though, where we are told that he was amazed at the level of unbelief he encountered… here among friends and family.

One solution, it might seem to us, would be for Jesus to simply provide some spectacular miracle that would convince them all that he was more than just the carpenter they thought they knew. The passage says that the lack of faith there hampered Jesus’ ability to minister to them, though. He did lay hands on a few sick people and healed them, but “he could do no mighty work there”.

In other places, crowds flocked to him. People came to him from the length and breadth of Israel – from Tyre in the North to Idumea in the South. People were content to just touch the hems of his clothes, and had faith that doing so would be sufficient to heal them. Here in his home town, though, he was a “Prophet without honor”.

Familiarity can breed contempt, and some of us display that tendency. We know plenty about Jesus. We’ve heard the stories so many times that it is easy to breeze right through them without giving them a second thought. Some of us have been taught them ever since we were babies who couldn’t even talk, and now pay little attention to them as we hear them yet again.

How often do we ask ourselves, “Where did this man get these things? What is this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!”. Not that just asking those questions is enough – it wasn’t for the people in his home town. How often do we move from that starting point to really hear the words of Jesus? To recognize his wisdom in that teaching? To marvel at his power? To grow our faith from there?

It’s easy for us to wish for Jesus to do some mighty thing in our lives, to help us believe more. It rarely happens that way, though. Faith is the starting point for Jesus to do mighty things in our lives. It doesn’t have to be amazing faith. Faith the size of a mustard seed will do. Without it, we limit what he’s able to do – what he longs to do for us and with us.

Does he marvel at our unbelief?

Related passage:

Matthew 13:53-58

Related Posts:

Mark 6 also includes the stories of the death of John the Baptist, the feeding of the 5000, and Jesus walking on water.These are covered in depth in the post Bring It To Me (Matthew 14).

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“Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:41

By the end of Chapter 5, that question is even more relevant. Below is the quick tour; see what you’re asking by the end.

Jesus Calms the Storm

Jesus and his disciples are crossing the lake in a boat, and a “furious squall” comes up. Waves are coming over the side of the boat, and the disciples fear for their lives. Jesus, though, is asleep. The disciples have to wake him, looking for help. He rebukes the waves: “Quiet! Be still!”. The wind dies, the see grow calm, and he asks the disciples why they were afraid and have no faith. They were afraid of the sea; now they’re terrified in his presence, asking the question above: “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Casting Out Legion

If the storm was bad enough, when they get across the lake and climb out of the boat, a demon-possessed man comes out to meet them. He lives in tombs, runs around crying out and cutting himself, and is insanely strong – the people have tried to chain him up before and he just breaks the chains. When he sees Jesus, he runs up, and drops to his knees, and shouts at him. The demons know who Jesus is and beg him not to send them away. They must obey him, though, so they beg him to send them into two thousand pigs (!) instead. He does so, and the pigs drown. The man returns to his right mind, the people of the area are afraid, and they ask him to leave.

Healing a Woman with Bleeding

As Jesus walks through a crowd, a woman touches his clothes. That would seem to be no big deal, but this woman is ceremonially unclean – really, really unclean, and she’s touching a rabbi and in the process making him unclean. She’s been bleeding for 12 years, and has spent everything she has trying to get someone to heal her. She’s desperate, and has faith that Jesus can make her well – that just the touch of his clothes could make her well.  Jesus can tell that his power has gone out through his clothes, and looks to find who touched him. He finds her, trembling with fear for what he might do. When he does, Jesus doesn’t chastise her - instead, calling her “daughter”, he tells her that her faith has healed her, she’s free of her suffering, and sends her off in peace.

Jairus’ Daughter Raised From the Dead

Jairus is an important man – a synagogue ruler. As this story begins, however, he falls at Jesus’ feet and begs him for help. His daughter is dying, he wants Jesus to heal her; he believes that Jesus can. She dies, though, before Jesus can get there.  Jesus tells him not to be afraid, but to just believe. When they arrive, Jesus calls her name and with a word raises her from the dead.

Four stories.

All four involve fear. The disciples fear the storm, and then they’re terrified of what he’s able to do. Evil spirits are afraid of what Jesus will do to them, and the people who see what he does are afraid enough to ask Jesus to leave. The woman healed by Jesus is afraid of Jesus’ reaction to her unclean touch. Jairus is afraid about the loss of his daughter.

All four involve belief and/or faith. The disciples lacked faith as they faced the storm, and Jesus chastised them for it – yet he took care of them. The woman had enough faith to trust that just touching his cloak would heal, and Jesus told her that it was her faith that healed her. Jesus had to encourage Jairus to keep his faith in the face of death. The people at Jairus home had none, as they laughed at Jesus’ suggestion that the girl was “sleeping”. Even with the demons there is an element of belief – though belief is different that putting faith in Jesus, they did believe in who he was.

All four involve great power. Power over the natural world, as Jesus calms the storm. Power over the spiritual world, as he commands the demons and they obey. Power over illness, as he heals the woman. Even power over death, as he restores life to Jairus’ daughter.

In the face of Jesus’ power, the disciples ask a question. Mark repeats it for us to consider. Everyone who encounters Jesus’ power must answer it. Who is this man, who can command the storms, command the demons, remove sickness, and defeat even death? In fear, will I run from him, will I fear what he will do with me? Or will I come in faith to the one who has the power to give me what I really need – peace, spiritual healing, physical healing, and life?

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What Sort of Man Is This? (Matthew 8 )

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Funny thing. No matter how good the soil was, nothing grew in the pots that had no seed.

Mark Chapter 4 is very similar to Matthew Chapter 13.  The setting is quite similar – both relate the use of parables to teach secrets of the kingdom to the disciples following a period of opposition. Some of the same stories of opposition occur in both books before the teaching; some of the same parables are told in both books. The same information about why Jesus used parables is told in both, though Matthew fleshed out the explanation a bit more.

In both, Jesus gives the Parable of the Sower and its explanation, showing that the seed of the word won’t be received by everyone in the same way, and won’t yield fruit in everybody. There are those that don’t understand what they hear, those that have no root and fall away when persecution comes along,  and those in which the word is choked out by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things. There are those, though, that are good soil – those that hear the word and accept it and bear an incredible amount of fruit. The condition of the soil is important for the seed to be able to grow.

Both books share Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed, showing how the kingdom will grow into something incredibly big from a very small start, just as a small mustard seed grows into a large plant. Despite the three kinds of soil that will be unproductive, the kingdom is going to grow far beyond what they can imagine.

One parable focuses on the beginning; one parable focuses on the result.

Mark tells a parable that Matthew doesn’t relate, however. In the Parable of the Seed Growing, Mark focuses briefly on what is happening in between the beginning and the end. In just a couple of sentences, he shows the incredible power and mystery of the seed itself:

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Soil, on its own, yields nothing.  In the right soil though, the seed will do what it is designed to do. One doesn’t have to understand how. Slowly, gradually, step-by-step, it grows. You can see it happening – it sprouts, the stalk appears, then the head, then the full kernel, and then it ripens. With the right seed, in the right soil, the process will repeat over and over.

The Word is like that seed. It will do what it was designed to do. In the right soil conditions, it is unstoppable. It will grow, gradually, step-by-step, until it produces the harvest.

Lord, prepare our hearts for your word. Prepare the hearts around us for your word. Help us to hunger and thirst for the seed you have to give. Grow it in us, until we yield the harvest you desire.

Related Posts

Telling Secrets (Matthew 13)

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Especially when the people who are an obstacle are those closest to us.

Jesus had to face that kind of obstacle in his ministry. Jesus had to make some choices about how to deal with those obstacles, and get on with his ministry.

After the five stories of opposition that are recorded by Mark in Chapter 2 and the beginning of Chapter 3, we now see a different difficulty that Jesus is facing. He’s having a bit of a problem with crowd control.

The people have heard about all the things that Jesus is doing, and they’re coming to him from all over: from Tyre in the northwest all the way down to Idumea in the south, and points in between. The huge crowds are pressing him, with the sick all wanting touch him because of the healing he’s done. There’s a serious enough possibility of him being crushed by the crowds that Jesus asks the disciple to get a boat ready for him.

One solution to the problem is to appoint some helpers. Out of his disciples, he selects his twelve apostles – men to whom he gives the authority to preach and cast out demons.

The crowds have created another problem for Jesus, though. Mark relates in verses 20 and 21 that when he returned home, the crowds gathered again, and that Jesus couldn’t even eat because of them. His family hears about this situation and comes to the conclusion that Jesus is out of his mind. They come out to “seize him”.

When his mother and brothers arrive, the crowd is dense enough that they can’t get to Jesus, and try to send for him. Jesus doesn’t go out.

The people heard what Jesus did, and came to see him. They saw him heal and cast out demons, and heard him preach, and as a result they can’t get enough and will hardly let him eat or rest.

His family, on the other hand, thinks that he has lost his mind and plan to take him away. This despite what Mary knew of his miraculous conception, the events of his birth, the role of angels and dreams during the pregnancy and his infancy, and all the other things she had treasured up in her heart about him. It seems hard to believe that at this point, his own family has become an obstacle to his ministry.

They have, though, and Jesus makes the choice of an adopted family – his disciples and the crowds. “Who are my mother and my brothers? Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

In the midst of all this, Jesus continues to have a problem with the religious leaders. We know from verse 6 that they’re plotting to destroy him. We see an example of their tactics in verses 22 – 30.

Mark has given several examples of Jesus’ power over demons. They know who he is – they call him the “Holy One of God” and the “Son of God”, and they submit to his power as he silences them and casts them out of those they possess.

The scribes have come out from Jerusalem, and they have a theory about Jesus and how he deals with demons. He has an unclean spirit; he is possessed by Beelzebul; he uses the power of the prince of demons to command the demons. It seems to be a claim aimed at discrediting Jesus in front of the crowds who are so attached to him. It is a ridiculous claim, and a claim that carries a lot of danger spiritually to those that are making it.

Jesus points out the problem with their logic – that it makes no sense for Satan to use his power against himself. A house or kingdom divided against itself can’t stand – it will come to an end. One cannot rob a strong man’s house without tying the occupant up first – a power stronger than Satan has come to “plunder his goods”.

That power is the Holy Spirit, working through Jesus. In the scribes’ claim that Jesus is using the power of Satan instead, they’re blaspheming the Spirit, and Jesus warns them of the peril they’re in for making that claim – it’s unforgivable.

Jesus has a mission, a ministry to accomplish. He has a following – close around him are his twelve apostles, then a wider circle of disciples, and then the crowds.

He also has obstacles to his ministry, however, and those obstacles are the very people who should have been the first to line up behind him: the spiritual leaders of God’s chosen people and his own family.

The ministry is more important than the obstacles, and Jesus chooses accordingly.

There is a message in that for us. Sometimes those difficult choices, thankfully, are temporary. Eventually Jesus’ family came around, though the religious leaders never did. Regardless, the mission comes first. Jesus comes first, over any obstacles – including family and our own religious tribe, if necessary. The good news is that we have a new family, adopted as sons and heirs into God’s family, one that takes precedence over any other ties.

The question is, would Jesus consider me one of the obstacles, or one of the family?

Related Posts

 Something Greater (Matthew 12)

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N.T.Wright “The whole sweep of Scripture” from Rodica on Vimeo.

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Not everyone that Jesus encounters accepts who he is, though.

In Mark Chapter 2 and the first part of Chapter 3, there are five stories, all of which show growing opposition. In the course of that opposition, Mark poses another question that we need to consider.

Jesus heals a paralyzed man

Jesus is in a house in Capernaum preaching, and the crowds are so great nobody can even get to the door.  The paralyzed man has four friends, though, that are determined to get him to Jesus.  They climb to the top of the house, make an opening in the roof, and lower their friend through the opening so that he can get to Jesus. Jesus responds because of their incredible faith, and tells the man his sins are forgiven. In this culture, the belief was that this kind of physical illness was a punishment for sin, and Jesus could have been saying this just as a way of telling him, his friends, and the crowd that he was healed… or it could have been that Jesus was dealing with his spiritual needs before he took care of the physical needs. Either way, the statement stirred up some trouble.

Scribes were there, and asked a question “in their hearts”:

“Why does this man speak like that? … Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

They think he’s blaspheming, setting himself on a level with God by claiming to do what God alone can do. They challenge his authority to make such a statement. Though they don’t believe, they’ve hit the nail on the head. No one but God can forgive a person’s sins. Jesus can. What does that make Jesus?

Jesus knows what they’re thinking, confronts them, and then tells them that he will show them proof of his authority as the Son of Man to forgive sins; he does so by healing the man and sending him home on this own two feet.

Jesus calls Levi

The story is similar to Jesus calling Peter, Andrew, James and John in Chapter 1. Jesus says, “Follow me”, and Levi immediately does so.

There is one major difference, though. Levi is a tax collector, and his friends are tax collectors and sinners. Levi has Jesus to his home for dinner, and has all his friends there too. Mark lets us know that many tax collectors and sinners were following Jesus, so I guess you could say they were Jesus’ friends too.

The scribes and the Pharisees object to the company Jesus is keeping. They certainly wouldn’t be seen with these kinds of people. No self-respecting teacher would. Why does Jesus, they ask his disciples.

Jesus had an answer for them: I’m not here to call the righteous; those that are well don’t need a doctor, the sick do. I’m here to call sinners.

Of course no one is righteous enough not to need Jesus. There are some, though, that think they’re righteous enough not to need him. Like the scribes and the Pharisees.

Fasting

The Pharisees and John’s disciples are fasting. Jesus’ disciples aren’t. Jesus is being asked why – as a teacher, why isn’t he imposing this discipline on them?

Jesus compares the situation to a couple of different things. It would be inappropriate for people to fast at a wedding – it’s a time of celebration. In the same way, now is not the time for Jesus’ disciples to be fasting – the implication is that the time while he is here is a joyful time, and the fasting would be out-of-place. He says there is a time when they will fast, though – the implication is that it will be when he is taken away.

He also compares it to someone sewing a new piece of unshrunk cloth on old clothes, or pouring new wine into old wineskins. In either of those situations, the result is going to be a mess. The new patch will pull away from the old clothes and make a worse hole; the old wineskins will burst if new wine is put in it.

Fasting is an important spiritual discipline – the issue here is not really fasting and whether or not to do it. The issue is their challenge to Jesus – the issue is the  idea that if he were a good teacher, he’d make his disciples do what the Pharisees do; he’d make them follow their rules.  What Jesus was bringing was something completely new, and wasn’t going to fit into their rules and traditions.

Plucking grain on the Sabbath 

Jesus and his disciples are making their way through a field of grain on the Sabbath, and as they go, they pluck some of the grain and begin to eat it.  They were hungry. Nobody would object to this – under the Law, the poor were allowed to go into a field and do this.

The problem is, this is the Sabbath, and the Pharisees were watching. The Pharisees had decided that the prohibition against work on the Sabbath included this kind of an act. They again criticize Jesus’ disciples, and in doing so, are criticizing him and his authority. Again, if he were a good teacher, he would whip his disciples into line. He’d make them follow the Pharisees’ rules.

Jesus tells them that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to provide men with rest, not to be a burdensome rule for them. Jesus’ was concerned with the disciples’ hunger; the Pharisees were concerned with their traditions. Jesus tells them, in essence that he doesn’t have to follow their rules – as the Son of Man, he’s Lord of the Sabbath.

The man with the withered hand

Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath. A man is there with a withered hand – the Pharisees expect him to heal the man, and are watching and waiting to see if he will. They are  looking for him to do something that would provide a basis to accuse him, and hope this will provide a chance.

They don’t care about the man and his needs. Jesus does, though. He confronts them with the decision that is there: to do good or to harm, to save life or to kill. They won’t answer his questions.

He heals the man.

As a result, the Pharisees join force with Herod’s backers to plan to destroy him.

Five stories. A progression of opposition – from questioning Jesus’ authority in their hearts, to asking his disciples why he does what he does, to questioning Jesus’ about his disciples’ behavior, to actively plotting to kill him.

The basic bottom line is that in each situation their expectations and their traditions are more important to them than people are, and they question his authority to do what he’s doing.

And it is this issue – the issue of authority, that I think Mark wants us to consider. The questions that the scribes ask are fitting ones for us to ask – Why does he speak like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone? What does it mean that he can say he forgives sins, and can back it up with power? What is his authority for doing the things he does, instead of doing what they expect him to do?

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