Mark 9_30_50

As they returned to Capernaum Jesus was teaching about His purpose, dying for the sins of man. Jesus came to serve humanity and to pay for its sin ransom. Instead of asking Jesus to explain they spoke about which of them were the greatest. This probably stemmed from Peter, James, and John because they had been taken to the mountain top with Jesus and saw His glory. Jesus tells them that God’s way is different from man’s, the world tells you that to rule is great but in God’s perspective to serve is great. It seems that the disciples attitude were problematic and if they were not careful they would become a stumbling stone for those around them. To illustrate God’s idea of greatness Jesus took a small child in His arms teaching that humble faith was needed. John seemed to understand that Jesus was teaching them not to hinder others from following Him through their action. Or more preciously being a stumbling stone.

John tells of a time they hindered someone from doing good in the name of Jesus but Jesus tells them unity in His name. In Christ Jesus we are all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus! Jesus picks up where he left off, speaking of the consequences of being a stumbling block to the humble, it would be better for them to be drowned in the sea than to cause another to stumble.

Jesus begins to teach of the need for self evaluation and the importance of ridding themselves of the sin in their lives. Sin is nothing to play with, it causes you to stumble. Jesus speaks of cutting off or plucking out body arts that causes you to stumble, this is hyperbole a use of deliberate exaggeration meant for effect. A body part doesn’t make you sin, sin nature makes you sin. Jesus speaks of the hand, he is referring to the things that you do. Jesus speaks of the feet referring to where you go. Jesus speaks of the eyes, referring to what you see. Jesus’ point is to stop doing the things, going to the places/things, and looking at the things that tempt you to sin. It would be better to cut off your hands and feet and to pluck out your eyes than to do these things.

This pericope ends with a call for peace among each others. It is important to live in harmony with each other.

The text from draws to a close Jesus’ Galilean ministry, He will soon begin His trip to Jerusalem where He will die for the sins of the world and be risen to life. A conversation takes place from 33-50 inside a house in Capernaum. Most likely Peter and Andrew’s home.

Important Words

Last (eschatos) 1x [vs. 35]….. least important, lowest in status

Servant (diakonos) 1x [vs. 35]…. One who serves {the word deacon comes from this noun}

All (pas) 1x [vs. 35]….. each, every, whole

Receives (dechomai) (VERB) 4x [vs. 37]…. welcomes

Prevent/Hinder (kōluō) (VERB) 2x [vs. 38,39]…. Prevent, hinder, stop, retrain

Reward (misthos) 1x [vs. 41]…. reward

Causes/Stumble (skandalizomai) (VERB) 8x [vs. 43.45.47]…. Cause to sin

Hell (geenna) 3x [vs, 43,45,47]…. hell, Gehenna, a Hellenized transliteration of the Hebrew, “Hinnom Valley.” A ravine just SSW of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. A place of trash fires and perpetually burning rubbish, hence the figurative extension of a place of eternal punishment

Peace (eirēneuō) 1x [vs. 50]…. live in peace, behave in a way to promote harmony

Important Passages

Compare Mark 9:38-39 with Numbers 11:26-29

Compare Mark 9:40 with Matthew 12:30 (there is no neutrality when it comes to Jesus if you are not for Him then you are against Him.)

Compare Mark 9:49 with Leviticus 2:13, Mark 8:34, and Romans 12:1

Compare Mark 9:50 with Matt. 5:13 (You are the salt (preservative) of the world. Don’t lose your Christian character!)

Mark 9:30-50

Intro: Bicycle Christmas… Popped wheelie and the front tire came off.

Everybody loves a good fall! But the Lord does not like it when one of His children falls… and especially when one of His children falls at the hands of another of His followers. Jesus tells us that we are the preservation of life. “You are the salt of the earth.” (Matt. 5:13). Perhaps it’s time we start acting like it.

Jesus and the disciples return to Capernaum from the area of Caesarea Philippi, along the way Jesus taught the disciples about His appointment with the cross. He would die for the sins of the world but then arise on the third day. This was hard for the disciples to understand and they were afraid to ask Him what He meant. However, instead of contemplating Jesus’ passion and the suffering He and they would go through they began to arguin among themselves who was the greatest among them. They were looking for status and their behavior was a stumbling block to themselves and those whom they came in contact.

CPS: We must humble ourselves and deal drastically with our sin lest we fall and cause others to fall as well.

Be Humble Least you sin and cause brother to sin (30-42)

Be Humble

Be a servant

Once in Capernaum they entered the house of Peter and Andrew, Jesus asked them what they had been discussing along the way. A long silence came over the room because they were ashamed of themselves, as Jesus spoke about His passion they were arguing over their greatness. Greatest is the Greek Adjective megas in this text it means to be important. This argument likely stemmed from the choosing of Peter, James, and John to be with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration where Jesus’ glory was unveiled. The disciples were puffed up with pride.

ILL: It reminds of a story I read about Mohammad Ali, AKA “The Louisville Lip.” While heavyweight champion of the world, he flew to an engagements. During the flight the aircraft ran into foul weather, and turbulence began to toss it about. The pilot turned on the seatbelt light warning all passengers that it was about to get bumpy. The passengers fastened their seatbelts immediately with the exception of Ali. Noticing this, the flight attendant approached him and requested that he observe the captain’s order, only to hear Ali respond, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” The flight attendant did not miss a beat and replied, “Superman don’t need no airplane either.”

Ali’s name has never been synonymous with humility however a disciple of Christ Jesus is to be clothed in humility. Jesus began to teach them that the order of things in heaven isn’t the same on earth. He told them that to be great in the kingdom of God is to be last on earth. Last is the Greek Adj. eschatos which means last. In this text it’s the idea of being least important or lowest in status. It is a call to humility! Like Christ we are to humble ourselves and become lowly. If anyone had the right to be exalted it was Jesus but He came to earth as a servant in order to offer Himself a ransom for the sins of the world (Mk. 10:45). Likewise Jesus instructed the disciple to become servants of all.

Servant is the Greek Noun diakonos it is the word from which we get deacon from. It means one who serves. The servant is the lowest of low, he has no rights. His only job is to tend to others.

ILL: In the late 1800’s a large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Bible Conferences in Northfield Massachusetts. The European custom of the time was to put your shoes outside of your room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But this was America and there were no hall servants.

Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers in Christ. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but was met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world’s only famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.

When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never knew by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret. Perhaps this episode is a vital insight into why God used D. L. Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant’s heart and that was the basis of his true greatness.

Jesus drives home his teaching about humility taking a child on his lap saying “whoever receives one child like this in my name receives Me; and whoever receives me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.” Receive is the Greek verb dechomai it means to welcome. To do so in the name of Jesus means to do as Jesus would do, to do so for His sake. It is the idea of being concerned about others, to care for them, and to show kindness to. NB**** Greatness in the Kingdom of God consists not of position but of ministry.

Jesus is warning the disciples that their prideful actions have not gone unnoticed by him or by others and they have become a stumbling block. John tells Jesus about the man who they prevented from continuing to cast out demons in His name. It seems they were jealous because he could cast out demons while the nine in the valley could not. They drew lines with the man because he wasn’t one of them. Jesus tells them to not hinder him, he who is not against us is for us. There is no neutrality when it comes to Jesus, if we are not for Him we must be against Him; if we are not against Him we must be for Him. The man was bringing glory to Jesus’ name, so he had to be for Jesus!

The man was serving Jesus and hadn’t Jesus taught the greatest in the Kingdom of God was the servant. Service doesn’t have to be great and mighty works, one who shows hospitality to one of His followers is in service. In the dry Middle East a cup of water was an act of hospitality and kindness. Humble acts of service when done because of Christ will be rewarded.

However, the pride and the unkind actions of the disciples prevented the man from following Jesus; their actions if left unchecked would becomes stumbling stones for others. Jesus gives a dire warning “whoever cause one of these little ones who believe to stumble it would be better for him, if with heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.” Little ones does not simply refer to small children but to the follower of Jesus. Stumble (Offend KJV) is used 4 times in this text it is the Greek verb skandalizō which means to cause to sin. Jesus is referring to the prevention of service in Jesus’ name. He is referring to the man they prevented from casting out demons. This offense is so serious that it would have been better for one of them to have drowned in the depths of the sea than to have prevented this man from serving Jesus.

Application: Their pride had blinded them! The Bible teaches that Pride precedes a great fall, they were to be like Jesus… Christians, little Christs, thus they were to be servants of all yet instead they had become stumbling stones. What about you! Are you clothed in humility, are you kind and hospitable to your fellow man and believer in Christ Jesus? Do you boast over your piousness and cause division amongst each other. Are you willing to be unknown and clean the mud off the shoes of your breathern for the sake of Jesus. ARE YOU WILLING TO PUT YOURSELF LAST IN ORDER TO ENCOURGE THE MINISTRY OF ANOTHER OVER YOUROWN! Are you seeking the places of honor, if so you are blind and deaf to the truth that the honor and glory belongs to Jesus alone and it is shared with no other. Friends it’s time to stop playing religion and heed the commands of Jesus be last, humble yourselves in service so that your pride and selfishness will not cause others to stumble. Because, if the truth be known when you cause another to stumble the one who stumbles farther, harder, and deeper is you!

Take drastic measures least you sin and case your bother to sin (43-50)

Judge your sin

Guard your character

Live peaceably with eachother

Christians still deal with sin! This sin is a hindrance to our fellowship with Jesus as well as with our brothers and sisters in Christ. God hates sin and has promised to deal justly with the sins of the world. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is DEATH! There is no sin in heaven, God will see that sin is punished. It is an absolute!

The place of judgment

Jesus begins to discuss a place that Churches today would rather not talk about. A real and literal place called hell. Hell is place for judgment! Hell is the Greek noun geenna a Greek form of the Hebrew gê hinnōm or “The Valley of Hinnom” Every Jew would have understood this term well. Jesus was referring to the valley just south of Jerusalem a place while during the times of the kings was used to worship the pagan god Moloch. A figure of that false god was heated like a furnace and in their idolatry they would take their own small children and sacrifice them to that pagan god. In that valley you could hear the shrieks and cries of those precious children as they were thrown into the fire.

When Josiah became king he stopped that pagan practice and turned the valley into a trash dump. All the trash was taken there and burned. It was a place of foul odor, a place where maggots ate the corpses of the slaves that had been thrown there. It was place that all the impurity and waste was dumped.

The exercising of judgment

Jesus begin to speak in hyperbole, a deliberate exaggeration in order to drive home the importance to deal with sin like it a surgeon would deal with a cancer tumor. Remove it! Jesus says its better to cut off your hands, feet, and to pluck out your eyes thrown them into the trash than to sin. He is not saying to literally cut off your hand BUT judge your own sin! It’s a call for self evaluation and a call to repentance

What you do.

Your Hand represents what you do! Is there any action in your life that is not pleasing to God? Deal drastically with it, cut it out! For the disciples it was prideful boasting and preventing others to serve Jesus…. What about you?

Where you go.

Your feet represents where you go! Are you going anyplace that brings compromise into your life? Deal with it drastically, cut out!

ILL: I had brother in Christ who had been an drug addict but cleaned up. In the name of Jesus he would go to dope houses and witness to users. It seems righteous and spiritual, but it wasn’t long before he was using again. He has now lost his witness and his family. Regardless of the place or the reason don’t go to a place that brings compromise to your life.

What you see.

Your Eyes represents what you see. Are you looking at anything that brings sin into your life? Your eyes are the pathway to your soul, when David sinned with Bathsheba it started as a look, it then became lust, it then became an action and it ended with not only in adultery but murder.

ILL: I walked upfront the other day to hear an employee singing along with a children song she had playing for niece. “O be careful little eyes what you see, o be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above is looking down in love, so, be careful little eyes what you see. .

Guard your character

Salt is for seasoning and preservation, it was also an ingredient in the grain offering which speaks of Jesus’s sinless perfection. We called to be the salt of the world. We preserve life eternal by our testimony to the Gospel of Christ Jesus. I have heard preacher say that the best sermon preached is the one that is lived. AS Christians we talk the talk and walk the walk. John tells us in 1 John 2:6, the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

How we conduct ourselves matters, I have seen many people refuse the Gospel and I’ve heard many people fall out of church and the reason given for both is not necessarily the Christ but the Christian!

We are to be the salt of the world, but in the Middle East the salt in Jesus’ day had many impurities, that means the salt could lose its saltiness. Once the saltiness is lost you can’t get it back. So it is with our Christian Character. Once its lost its lost forever in the eyes of most fellow Christians and certainly the lost. We must keep ourselves above reproach through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit of God!

Live peaceably with each other

Here is the reason for Jesus’ discourse to the disciples, be at peace with each other. Peace is the Greek verb eirēneuō it means to behave in a way that promotes harmony. The disciples had brought division into their fold and inrder for them to carryout the mission of Christ they needed to stop arguing and be in harmony with each other.

ILL: There is not much better than to hear a group singing in harmony but there isn’t much worse than hearing that one voice that is out of harmony, it messes up the whole thing,

How are we to glorify Jesus, sharpen each other, and carry Jesus’ mission to the utter most parts of the world if we are the Church/Christians aren’t at peace with each other! We can/t. The most important thing in the Church is truth but unity is right behind it. It’s time we stop back biting, and nitpicking over every little thing and come together for the strengthening of the church and the salvation of the lost.

Conclusion: The lord doesn’t like to see anyone fall into sin especially at the hand of one of His children, so let’s humble ourselves to the point of service to all and deal drastically with the sin in our lives to insure the perseveration of life through the Gospel message.

Mark 9:30-50 “To Stumble and Fall”

Intro: Everyone loves a good fall.. to see someone fall face first brings a laugh to the lungs of those who witness it. (My Bike fall)

Yes this world loves a good fall! However, the Lord Jesus HATES to see one of His creation fall, especially a child of God and even more so a child of God at the hands of a believer. In today’s text we will see a scene in which the disciples of God stumbled and fell into sin and brought another along with them.

CPS: Jesus has called us to be the salt of the world in order to bring preservation of life eternal through His Gospel message and today it is time to be just that. Let us today humble ourselves to point of servitude, encouraging others to serve and deal drastically with the sin in our lives that cause us and others to stumble.

Today let us humble ourselves least we fall and cause others to fall as well (30-43)

Be Humble

ILL: Mohammad Ali… Superman don’t need to airplane… Ali’s name has never been synonymous with humility however a disciple of Christ Jesus is to be clothed in humility

Be a Servant

Servant is the Greek Noun diakonos it means one who serves

ILL: D. L. Moody’s Bible Conferences in Northfield Massachusetts where he polished the boots of the European preachers…. Perhaps this episode is a vital insight into why God used D. L. Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant’s heart and that was the basis of his true greatness.

Don’t be a hindrance

Out of pride and jealousy the disciples hindered a man from serving and bringing glory to Jesus’ name

Today let us deal drastically with our sin least we fall and cause others to fall as well. (43-50)

Judge your sin

Guard your character

ILL: We are to be the salt of the world, but in the Middle East the salt in Jesus’ day had many impurities, that means the salt could lose its saltiness. Once the saltiness is lost you can’t get it back. So it is with our Christian Character. Once its lost its lost forever in the eyes of most fellow Christians and certainly the lost. We must keep ourselves above reproach through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit of God!

Live peaceably with each other

Here is the reason for Jesus’ discourse to the disciples, be at peace with each other. Peace is the Greek verb eirēneuō it means to behave in a way that promotes harmony. The disciples had brought division into the fold of Christ and in order for them to carry out the mission of Christ they needed to stop arguing and be in harmony with each other.

ILL: There is not much better than to hear a group singing in harmony but there isn’t much worse than hearing that one voice that is out of harmony, it messes up the whole thing,

Conclusion: Jesus has called us to be the salt of the world in order to bring preservation of life eternal through His Gospel message and today it is time to be just that. Let us today humble ourselves to point of servitude, encouraging others to serve and deal drastically with the sin in our lives that cause us and others to stumble.

Mark 9:30-50 “True Greatness”

Intro:

CPS: True greatness is not about personal importance but about personal humility, holiness, and the ability to live in Harmony with other believers.

True Greatness is seen in humility

We are called to Humble ourself to the lowest level of servitude!

ILL: ILL: In the late 1800’s a large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Bible Conferences in Northfield Massachusetts. The European custom of the time was to put your shoes outside of your room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But this was America and there were no hall servants.

True Greatness is seen in holiness

We are called to judge our own sin and remove it from outlives!

True Greatness is seen in harmony

We are called to live peaceably with our brothers and sisiters in Christ to the glory of God and for the mission of the Gospel.

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