They still have a drive-in movie theatre in Sacramento, and that's where I saw the Matt Damon action-thriller, "The Bourne Ultimatum." I gotta tell you, the action in that movie moved so fast sometimes, it made my head hurt. The gospel of Mark is not quite so frenetic, but it does move apace. In the first 28 verses we have the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus' baptism, Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, John's imprisonment, Jesus initiating His preaching ministry, Jesus calling His first four disciples, Jesus initiating His teaching ministry, and an exorcism!
During this swift sequence of events, John defers to Jesus, God the Father endorses Jesus, the Holy Spirit guides Jesus, Satan is resisted by Jesus, angels minister to Jesus, disciples follow Jesus, and evil spirits obey Jesus. Hmmm, that last one is an interesting one. Evil spirits obey Jesus. He gives orders to demons and they comply. Wow. Demons obey Jesus and people don't. How bold are we? How bold and foolish.
I look at the passage again and notice that so far, Mark has only recorded commands from Jesus' lips. Christ came with authority and with imperatives:
"Repent and believe! The time is now and the Kingdom is here."
"Come follow Me! We've got more repentant believers to gather in."
"Be quiet, demon, and come out of him!"
Mark's gospel moves with urgency and doesn't mince words. And why shouldn't it? There is evil to be quashed; there are souls to be saved; there's a new community to be formed. The time is now and the Kingdom is here!
Those same dynamics exist today and always will. The Kingdom is here and the time is now. What are we doing to drive out the evils of our society? To heal its victims? What are we doing to bring the good news of the Kingdom of God to the people around us? What sort of disciple-making disciples are we? Have we learned to be fishers of men?
Life's events run swiftly by us. Everything seems to scream for priority and urgency. It is a kind of tyranny. But that's not the realm God calls us to. He calls us to His Kingdom. The domain of peace, love and joy. And the domain of obedience to the Savior and His imperatives.
The demons comply.
Will you?
Pray: Jesus, you are as Mark says, the Messiah and the Son of God. And what you bring to us is good news. Even if that good news comes in the form of imperatives, they are the divine imperatives that guide us toward everlasting life. Help us all to defer to you, Lord. Help us to follow you urgently like Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Help us to learn every lesson you have for us. And to live out those lessons in your Name.
Matthew 28:1-20 - RISEN
There isn't nearly enough space here to discuss the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ. Suffice it for me to say, my life has been transformed and continues to be impacted and blest by a lively Son of God, so instead of dis-believing until someone proves it to be true, I'm going to believe it until somebody proves it to be false. I'm open to receive all comments for and against the resurrection.
This leads me to a couple of observations for the last five verses of Matthew's gospel. From both the angel that rolled the tombstone away and the risen Christ Himself, the promise went out that the disciples would all see Jesus alive on the mountain in Galilee. So they travel to the designated place, and Jesus shows up, they go to their knees, their faces, in worship, and then the text records - "but some doubted." Wow! Really? They doubted? Doubted that it was Jesus? Who else would it be? It says they all worshipped Him, so apparently they recognized Him as their Jesus, their Master. They revered Him as God, because you don't just worship any old body. So, those who doubted -- what were they doubting?
Looking up the word in the Greek text, I found edistasan, which literally means to stand in two places at the same time. Like walking past someone at an airport halfway around the world and swearing it's an old buddy you haven't seen in thirty years. "Is it him? No it can't be. But it sure looks like him. What are the odds? No, he just favors him. But wouldn't it be something? He's looking knowingly at me. Should I approach? Nah, what if it isn't? But ... what if it IS?" At a crossroads and halting back and forth, that's the idea behind the word translated "doubting."
I don't think the disciples doubted it was Jesus back from the dead. The hesitancy wasn't about the 'who,' the hesitancy was about the 'how.' The cruelly tortured, drained and lifeless Jesus, wrapped and sealed -- how ... how? It is truly incomprehensible. But it is not unbelievable. I cannot comprehend how a plant turns toward the Sun to drink up its light. The plant has no brain, no nervous system, no musculature. How does a plant know that the Sun is a necessary element in photosynthesis? How does it translate the rays of the Sun into data sent to the stem cells to tell them to flex and relax to twist the leaves toward the light? I cannot comprehend that. But I certainly do believe it.
I cannot comprehend the Incarnation. I cannot comprehend the Trinity, nor the resurrection. But I believe in them. And that's why I believe that Jesus' authoritative command is for me. "Go make disciples of all peoples ..." Go live like a believing follower of Jesus Christ so that others may, though doubting, worship and follow Him also. And seeing as He's alive, not dead, He is with us all the way.
Let's go turn some people toward the Son!
This leads me to a couple of observations for the last five verses of Matthew's gospel. From both the angel that rolled the tombstone away and the risen Christ Himself, the promise went out that the disciples would all see Jesus alive on the mountain in Galilee. So they travel to the designated place, and Jesus shows up, they go to their knees, their faces, in worship, and then the text records - "but some doubted." Wow! Really? They doubted? Doubted that it was Jesus? Who else would it be? It says they all worshipped Him, so apparently they recognized Him as their Jesus, their Master. They revered Him as God, because you don't just worship any old body. So, those who doubted -- what were they doubting?
Looking up the word in the Greek text, I found edistasan, which literally means to stand in two places at the same time. Like walking past someone at an airport halfway around the world and swearing it's an old buddy you haven't seen in thirty years. "Is it him? No it can't be. But it sure looks like him. What are the odds? No, he just favors him. But wouldn't it be something? He's looking knowingly at me. Should I approach? Nah, what if it isn't? But ... what if it IS?" At a crossroads and halting back and forth, that's the idea behind the word translated "doubting."
I don't think the disciples doubted it was Jesus back from the dead. The hesitancy wasn't about the 'who,' the hesitancy was about the 'how.' The cruelly tortured, drained and lifeless Jesus, wrapped and sealed -- how ... how? It is truly incomprehensible. But it is not unbelievable. I cannot comprehend how a plant turns toward the Sun to drink up its light. The plant has no brain, no nervous system, no musculature. How does a plant know that the Sun is a necessary element in photosynthesis? How does it translate the rays of the Sun into data sent to the stem cells to tell them to flex and relax to twist the leaves toward the light? I cannot comprehend that. But I certainly do believe it.
I cannot comprehend the Incarnation. I cannot comprehend the Trinity, nor the resurrection. But I believe in them. And that's why I believe that Jesus' authoritative command is for me. "Go make disciples of all peoples ..." Go live like a believing follower of Jesus Christ so that others may, though doubting, worship and follow Him also. And seeing as He's alive, not dead, He is with us all the way.
Let's go turn some people toward the Son!
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