Is That All?

So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Mark 10:51

At the end of Mark 10 we come to the story of a man outside Jericho begging. He was also blind. Jesus comes by, and the man calls out for mercy. And then Jesus asks the question we read in our verse for today, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The man was begging, we might see him asking for wealth so that he could give up his occupation. But the man wanted to see, as other people did all around him. We can almost hear Jesus sighing within himself, "Is that all?" The man had called out for mercy, and mercy we all need. But not for our physical limitations, we need mercy for our sin.

The story brings up one of our most common failings. We pray often for the short-term problems of this current life and set aside the spiritual need of forgiveness of sins for eternal life. I understand, I feel them too. Those problems of the body and emotion hurt right now. We keenly feel our pain and limitations. If pain grew muscles, we would all look like comic-book superheroes by now. But Jesus did not go to the cross because Bartimaeus was blind or we feel some pain. He died to save us from our sin.

A little more prayer for mercy, forgiveness of sin, and grace, may be in our eternal best interest,

Bucky

The Son of Man

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

Yesterday I promised more in the Son of Man title that Jesus used of himself. If you saw the episode in The Chosen show, Jesus causes the Pharisees to nearly fly out of their sandals when he uses the title from the prophet Daniel. That, for our edification, refers to Daniel 7:13-14, where one like the Son of Man comes with the clouds of Heaven to the Ancient of Days. The Pharisees would know the passage well, since it promises that the Son of Man will receive a gift.

Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion. (Daniel 7:14a)

This is what the Pharisees and Israel expected of the Son of Man, and then Jesus comes along and says what is in our verse for today - to serve. The Pharisees refused to believe that the Son of Man could come to serve first, and then later receive His kingdom. They decided it was a blasphemy and to oppose Jesus. From their obstinacy, we the Gentiles gained the opportunity to believe in the Son of Man, so let's make the most of it!

To our Lord and King, Jesus the Christ, we believe in You!

Bucky

Service and Ransom

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.  Mark 10:45

One day in the dusty days of the Roman empire, you are out weeding a field of turnips when your neighbor's kid runs past shouting that the king of the universe is coming... to your house. Oh, dear! You run to gather the family and servants, advance bath day by a couple of days, and have them all put on their finest clothing. The king arrives and you prepare to serve him as best the household is able. 

The king then states, "No, I came to serve you and be a ransom for all your household." 

Ransom? You quickly count heads and find no one missing. How can a kidnapping have occurred? Serve the king, no wait, be served by the king, how will he know where the serving dishes are? Did he bring his chef? Whose food will he use in this service? 

We can easily see with just a short story that this statement Jesus made would shock the disciples. But there's more! That title Jesus used of Himself, Son of Man? 

When the King of kings arrives, will we be ready to be served? 

Bucky

Learning to Serve

But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Mark 10:42-43

Danger, there will be some out there who want me to take the current president of a certain nation and have a go at him, but the lesson from our verses for today aims right at our part in this faith. Jesus told us by way of His disciples that if we want to append, the great, to our names as some of our rulers have done in the past, that we must become a servant. Oh, cool! I can serve as CEO, right? Do we suppose Jesus will be fooled by smooshing a few terms until they are unrecognized? We can say things like servant leadership or serving in the top position, but servant in our Lord's context probably meant something quite different.

Perhaps with prayer and scripture study we can learn to serve,

Bucky

The Greatest Ones

They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”
But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
-- Mark 10:37-39

James and John, the sons of thunder, did not know what they were asking, but they knew with that confidence born of ignorance that they could do it. They wanted to be the greatest ones among the disciples, and they asked first. I have enjoyed a similar confidence once or twice in my life, and we'll just say that ignorance can be a tough and humiliating teacher. And asking first makes no difference to ignorance, it will roll over the first with its full weight as well as it will the last to ask. James and John are granted what they ask. Oh, not the places that Jesus will admit He cannot give, but that cup and baptism they know nothing about. As always with this story, I have to wonder if James and John recalled their request as they saw Jesus crucified with two criminals, one on the right and the other on the left of Him.

The Independence Day holiday begins tomorrow for most of us. May the Lord God bless the United States and redeem us from our sins.

Bucky

Plainly Told 'Em

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again. Mark 10:33-34

Some weather excitement last night. A little thumping on the roof, but it does not look like any damage in my immediate area. Now imagine that I told a story more like, "Last night a thunderstorm hit and I ran out to grab the cat, and a 15-lb hailstone whacked me into a coma for two weeks!" You would be nonplussed since clearly I just typed this message to you, and you know what a coma is. Jesus got a similar reaction from His disciples this third time He announced exactly what would happen to Him in Jerusalem. The disciples this time were like, "Yeah, okay. Did you guys see that shooting star last night? It was a whopper!" Jesus plainly told 'em, and they clearly blew it off.

Since we're imagining, now imagine you are a disciple and after blowing off three clear prophecies of what would happen, you are facing the risen Lord Jesus. What do you say to Him? Someone in your group has already done the "ghost!" thing out on the sea. So now what?

Love to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

But Not With God

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”  Mark 10:27

Another way to be introduced to the Almighty is to hear that with Him all things are possible. Jesus states this in our verse for today in response to the disciples' astonished question, "Who then can be saved?" The disciples had just found out that the things we work for in this life cannot save us. Both religious obedience and wealth accumulation had presented themselves to the Master in one rich young ruler. And Jesus had told him that he lacked just one thing that required quite a list of tasks to obtain. Plus... the obedient young man could not do those tasks at that time. The one thing he lacked must come from God it seems, for with men it is impossible. 

All the things we may do from reading the word to selling all our possessions, from kneeling down and praying at an altar to religiously following the commandments and others may prepare the way for receiving salvation, but only God can provide it to us and for us. And it is debatable that doing all that can even prepare the way, since preparing the heart comes by way of the Holy Spirit. So, it is no wonder to us why the disciples were astonished. Peter even begins right after to say all that the disciples had done to follow Jesus. Sorry, Pete, it is still impossible for us. 

Have faith in God,

Bucky