God’s Perspective or My Perspective Mark series
Notes
Transcript
Text: Mark 9.30-10.12, Reading: Matt. 5:33ff
Intro: We have all heard the saying that goes something like, “Life would be great if it was not for the people causing me problems.” Or “the church would be great if it did not have anyone in it who falls into sin.” Problem is, we may all feel that way but know it is not true nor would we be able to be the people God wants us to be if we were able to get that “wish”. Today we want to …
Theme: Understand how God wants us to relate to other people in and around our life!
Theme: Understand how God wants us to relate to other people in and around our life!
Review:
Review:
A. Last year we were studying through Mark with the over-riding theme of “Jesus changes everything.”
B. Josh covered the important passages on faith as he looked at the accounts of the mount of transfiguration and the difficult case of a demon possessed child.
1. Setting of this passage:
1. Setting of this passage:
A. They are still on the journey that will end in Jerusalem.
A. They are still on the journey that will end in Jerusalem.
Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.
Jesus has some alone time to teach the disciples as they travel.
B. The training again covered the work Christ must finish for our salvation.
B. The training again covered the work Christ must finish for our salvation.
For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”
· Get this and you will begin to understand God’s perspective on what is important!
· Jesus’s death would not be a murder or an accident. He would be betrayed, handed over. His death would come from a conscious act of people working to stop His ministry – and yet they would fulfil God’s plan.
who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
· Jesus tells them how much His finished work is for other people – He will to suffer for us, die and rise again for us.
C. Sadly, they not only did not understand, but they were afraid to ask questions.
C. Sadly, they not only did not understand, but they were afraid to ask questions.
But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Why were they afraid? Jesus had never given them reason to be afraid. They were afraid to ask because they might look ignorant for not understanding.
This leads to not understanding life as will be played out in the upcoming paragraphs.
Now we get into a series of conflicts that show they did not get it - they did not understand!
2. The conflict over who is the greatest shows they did not relate to others well. 9.33-37
2. The conflict over who is the greatest shows they did not relate to others well. 9.33-37
A. That night, Jesus asks them what they were arguing about as they travelled that day.
A. That night, Jesus asks them what they were arguing about as they travelled that day.
Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?”
He knew, but He asked out of politeness
B. They kept quiet, because they were embarrassed.
B. They kept quiet, because they were embarrassed.
But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
· They were not loving one another. They were loving themselves and thinking they were better.
Just a life tip: If you are embraced to tell Jesus about what you are arguing about - then you probably should not be arguing about it.
C. Jesus uses the awkward situation to teach what has become a basic principle of the Christian faith!
C. Jesus uses the awkward situation to teach what has become a basic principle of the Christian faith!
And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Jesus already knew what the disciples had been discussing; for even though he asked the question, he didn’t receive an answer (9:34). But he then gave them an unforgettable lesson in true greatness. Barton, B. B. (1994). Mark (p. 264). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
“The first shall be last” is mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is a counter-culture teaching of Jesus Christ that we have to remember still today.
o The wealth and prosperity gospel is about getting your own and getting the best for yourself now. Jesus did not preach that. He changed the thinking to loving others more than yourself.
o Jesus has already taught on this concept in His call to self-denial (Mark 8.34).
o We will see this concept come up again (Mark 12.31) in an emphasis on loving your neighbour as yourself.
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus tells them they are talking like unbelievers. Luke 22.24–30 says we are not to strive for first place but for the servant’s spot.
3. The conflict over trying to ban others from teaching show they did not relate to others well. 9.38-41
3. The conflict over trying to ban others from teaching show they did not relate to others well. 9.38-41
A. We do not wish for other Gospel preaching churches to be shut down.
A. We do not wish for other Gospel preaching churches to be shut down.
· Don’t try to control everybody!
· Don’t think any person controls the people who serve God!
· Don’t think we alone have God’s truth.
o The church is not like a business that makes itself better by cornering the market.
B. The Disciples are not relating to others well because they want to control people.
B. The Disciples are not relating to others well because they want to control people.
· John thought he would impress Jesus with his zeal, but Jesus lovingly rebuked John for his lack of love and discernment.
But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.
· Jesus lays out a principle of life. The Disciples eventually remember this and the church grows as the Lord adds to His church by reaching people through the newly reached.
C. Outreach happens in many ways.
C. Outreach happens in many ways.
· Our SIC is sharing a bottle of water to change hearts.
Our Opening Scripture was about different ways of outreach!
· Verse of the day
For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
4. The teaching on the causes to sin shows they did not relate to others well. 9.42-50
4. The teaching on the causes to sin shows they did not relate to others well. 9.42-50
A. This passage is often seen as gross or sickening. It is the longest passage of Jesus’s teaching on coming eternal punishment.
A. This passage is often seen as gross or sickening. It is the longest passage of Jesus’s teaching on coming eternal punishment.
· Jesus compared hell to a furnace (Matt. 13:42) and an unquenchable fire. The image in this passage is of the garbage dump in the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:10; Isa. 66:24), where the waste was burned by fire and eaten by worms.
· Hell is the absence of all good and an eternity without any of any of the blessings of God. From Jesus’s teachings we know it is a literal place and a place to be avoided!
B. This passage is about cutting things out of your life (amputating them) that tempt you to sin.
B. This passage is about cutting things out of your life (amputating them) that tempt you to sin.
W. W. Wiersbe says, “We must deal drastically with sin in our lives, both for our sake and the sake of others.” (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (p. 126). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
· Verse 42 is basically saying, “Don’t cause others to fall into sin.” Balaam did that in the Old Testament and we even read about it in the instructions to the church of Pergamum in Rev. 2.14.
o Cut people who show you how to sin out of your life! The church is called to this kind of separation in Matthew 18.
o Throw out things around your home that tempt you towards greed and lust and a reliance on anything but God.
· Does a hand force me to sin, or is it the temptation in my mind?
· Does a foot cause us to sin or is our foot getting blamed for taking us where sin desires us to go?
· Does our eye cause us to sin, or does it get blamed for seeing something that leads to lust?
Barton, B. B. makes note that, “In the Bible, feet are often associated with traveling to do evil, hands with accomplishments, and eyes with vision or desires of the heart, aspirations, or ambitions.” Barton, B. B. (1994). Mark (p. 271). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
· Don’t doubt Scripture. Jesus is saying some religious zealots go to extreme to show spirituality but never deal with the source of sin and never find the forgiveness that forever keeps them from hell.
“Jesus’s illustrations were vivid and painful: The loss of a hand, foot, or eye could hardly pass unnoticed. But self-righteousness creates a more terrible hazard. Self-evaluation and self-denial keep us prepared for ministry.” “God wants is an attitude that renounces sin instead of one that holds on to sin.” Barton, B. B. (1994). Mark (p. 270). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
C. This passage ends with a verse that is often misunderstood. V 50
C. This passage ends with a verse that is often misunderstood. V 50
· It is important that we “have salt in ourselves” (maintain true Christian character and integrity—) Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (p. 126). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
We are to be a preservative in this world as well as flavouring things for the better!
· The “salt” that believers have in themselves refers to true discipleship: obedience, denial of self, humility, willing suffering, and a desire to properly relate to other people in life.
5. The conflict over marriage and divorce shows they did not understand God’s plan. 10.1-12
5. The conflict over marriage and divorce shows they did not understand God’s plan. 10.1-12
A. Now the crowds come as they travel on to Judea.
A. Now the crowds come as they travel on to Judea.
· They are moving ever closer towards Jerusalem.
· This is the area John the Baptist had ministered in and where Jesus had taught back in Mark 3.8.
B. Jesus again fulfils His purpose as He teaches the crowds from God’s perspective.
B. Jesus again fulfils His purpose as He teaches the crowds from God’s perspective.
· Even when we feel like ungodly people are attacking, we must still fulfill what God has called us to do.
C. Jesus is asked a question, but it is not to worship better, live better or learn. It’s a trap!
C. Jesus is asked a question, but it is not to worship better, live better or learn. It’s a trap!
· John the Baptist had been killed for teaching on this very topic in this very area.
· Jesus had confrontations with teachers of the law usually involving an Old Testament teaching that they had twisted to hurt rather than help people. Jesus used God’s Word to show His opponents their own error. This usually had the effect of showing everyone that they did not know God.
D. Jesus teaches that while divorce exists, it is not what God wants.
D. Jesus teaches that while divorce exists, it is not what God wants.
· They wanted to use divorce to get their way, to hurt people, and to manipulate other people’s lives. That goes against everything this sermon has been about!
· Jesus’ response reveals that He was referring to Moses’ words in Genesis about the ideal state of creation and particularly of marriage.
· Jesus gave women dignity. He saw women not as property for keeping or disposal, but as full partners. We are not sexist in this church. Men and women have equal value!
Conclusion: We must understand how God wants us to relate to other people in and around our life!
Conclusion: We must understand how God wants us to relate to other people in and around our life!
I need to relate to you the way God wants me to. You need to relate to me the way God wants you to. All kinds. Of pain and hurt comes from people getting this wrong. Sometimes it even has eternal consequences because our matters and heaven and hell are on the line!
1. Do we struggle to relate to other people in and around our life because we are pushing ourselves to the front of the pack all the time?
1. Do we struggle to relate to other people in and around our life because we are pushing ourselves to the front of the pack all the time?
As BB Barton says, “The only safe ambition is directed toward Christ’s kingdom, not our own advancement. We must renounce pride and status seeking.”
2. Do we let a desire for correct theology become an excuse to avoid helping people in need?
2. Do we let a desire for correct theology become an excuse to avoid helping people in need?
3. Can you put a label on one thing that should be cut off from your life to keep you from repetitive sin?
3. Can you put a label on one thing that should be cut off from your life to keep you from repetitive sin?
Any relationship, practice, or activity that leads to sin should be stopped. Name the problem, then stop the cycle.
4. When we face difficult issues over relating to other people, do we come back to the central message of the love of Christ and God’s mercy to all who believe?
4. When we face difficult issues over relating to other people, do we come back to the central message of the love of Christ and God’s mercy to all who believe?
It could be about divorce; it could be over COVID restrictions. The issue is not what most people make out as the problem. It is always how we relate to others in and around our lives.