relationships (Mark 12:28-44) All About Heart-Knowledge

(Mark 12:28-44)

28 One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no other besides Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Scribes knew the scriptures very well, especially the Law of Moses, since part of their job was to meticulously copy, preserve, study and interpret all of God's words, accurately, often acting as royal secretaries, lawyers and teachers, to explain the rules for daily religious and social life.  So, here this scribe, being impressed with Jesus' knowledge and how He answered all the other questions leading up to this, asked Him this question- not to learn from Jesus (who literally wrote the book), but- to test His knowledge.

While the scribe asked which ONE commandment was most important, Jesus brilliantly summed up all Ten Commandments into TWO.  To which, the scribe approved of His answer.  But to show off his own knowledge, he added yet another biblical truth into what Jesus had just said.  Paraphrasing another verse, he stated that loving God, and loving people- is far more important than offerings and sacrifices.

We can be very sure that the scribe did not anticipate Jesus's last response!  The scribe--- "was not far from the kingdom of God".???  I'm pretty sure this scribe assumed that he had "already arrived"  He had the head-knowledge, but he did not have the heart-knowledge.  If only he could just get out of his own way, and really digest the paraphrased biblical point that he had just made-

It's not about do's and don'ts.  It's not about going through empty religious motions.  It's not about how much of the scriptures we know... or think we know.  All of that is pointless if one thinks that this will be their way into heaven.  Works, good deeds, tithing, sacrificial giving, serving the Lord God and others--- is only the evidence that a person has become a true believer!  

A believer has humbly repented of their sins and accepted Jesus into their heart as their Lord and Savior... because it is all about having a love relationship with Jesus, who then changes us from the inside-out!  Immediately a believer receives His indwelling Holy Spirit who seals us for eternity, and remains with us- to convict us, guide us, equip us, help us, strengthen us...  As we allow the Lord to continually work for us, in us, with us and through us, it is all done in His love, strength and wisdom, all to His glory.  He will even help us in staying focused on Him, so that He can then help us with all the other relationships in our lives.

relationships (Mark 12:18-44) Our Whole Purpose

(Mark 12:18-44)

18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to marry the wife and raise up children for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

We just saw the Pharisees and Herodians working together to bring forth a question that would stump Jesus.  It was a practical question around taxes, since both groups depend on taxes for their livelihood.  If the people were too burdened with Rome's Imperial taxes, that would cause them to struggle in paying the Herodians' local taxes, as well as paying the temple taxes, which supported the Pharisees.  So, besides trying to trap Jesus, their question was out of greed for more money.  And in yesterday's post, we saw Jesus' brilliant answer.

Next came this question from the Sadducees, which was more out of arrogance and pride.  In all probability, years before this, there was at least one man who was studying God's laws (the levirate marriage, Deuteronomy 25:5-6) meant to protect widows economically, as well as protect birthrights for every family, of every tribe- and saw a legal problem in the afterlife.  Ergo, using earthly knowledge and logic, they decided that there could not be an afterlife- ergo- there was no resurrection, ergo- God and His word is not infallible, ergo- one can be smarter than God or anyone who believes in God.  

This kind of reasoning gave birth to the new school of thought, that being the Sadducees.  Just like secular scientists have established evolution as a fact, in efforts to explain away God.  All this does is try to reduce our entire purpose for being here on this earth- to be living by various do's and don'ts.  Which would lead people to believe that we can just make it all up, and do whatever we want.

So here, these very-well-read and educated Sadducean lawyers, thought that they could outsmart Jesus by bringing forth a very complex case, which seemed to conflict with God's law.  The case that they presented was actually based on a storyline taken from the Jewish book of Tobit.  Except that, these Sadducees described the seven husbands as being all brothers, even though they were not.

Well, who knows God's laws better than the Lord God, Himself!?  Not only is Jesus part of the Trinity, as God's Son, He was there at creation, speaking the universe into existence.  And creating mankind out dust and breathing life into him, with the purpose of having an eternal relationship with us.  Since mankind chose to sin, which introduced physical and spiritual death to the entire world, this brought a separation between us and God.  So now, each person must choose to accept the Lord Jesus into our lives, in order to be reconciled to Him in a personal relationship, and enjoy eternal life in heaven with Him.

Therefore, to the Sadducees' question, Jesus began by pointing out their lack of understanding, of both God's words, as well as God's power.  How often do we "limit" or "minimize" God's power according to what we can only understand or imagine?  If we think that we can fully comprehend... think again!  Yet, God gives us His word so that we can very clearly know and understand the things that we need to know and understand.

To the Sadducees, Jesus then imparts some information that only God could know- the fact that in heaven- after all believers are resurrected, we will receive glorified bodies, which will be "like" angels.  (Note: Jesus doesn't say that we will "be" angels!)  Therefore, in heaven, there will be no marriages.  There will be no need!  Believers will all be with the Lord- completely complete, and fully fulfilled!

To finish His response, Jesus actually used a standard method that the Pharisees liked to use when debating the Sadducees on this very topic... Jesus quoted a portion from the book of Exodus (3:6) which has God telling Moses that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob --- in the present tense --- to emphasis and back up Jesus' statement that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

This is the main takeaway:  The Lord Jesus created us with the purpose of having an eternal love relationship with us.  And the Lord Jesus came in flesh to pay for our sins on the cross, so that we can be reconciled to Him, so that we can have and enjoy that eternal love relationship with Him!

(Colossians 1:15-20) 

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: 16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

relationships (Mark 12:14-44) Putting Things Into Perspective

(Mark 12:13-44)

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 And they brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

The Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees, who disagreed on many things and typically didn't get along, all agreed that Jesus threatened their religious and political positions and influence.  Here, they all put on their thinking caps, trying to come up with questions that would expose Jesus as a fake, but what they really did was help reveal the fact that He is the Son of God- the Lord God in flesh!  

We don't know if there was only a series of three questions, but these three are the ones that are recorded, and this was the first one.  One would think that it was the easiest to answer, since it is about paying taxes!  But there is a relational and spiritual entity to it.

Keep in mind that we are to tithe to the Lord.  And for Israel, it was even more than honoring God with our first fruits, which is a physical demonstration of our thankfulness for all that God has given, and a demonstration of our trust in the Lord, that He will continue to provide.  For Israel, it was also their "taxes" (if you will), which would support the temple and local community.  

Initially, with the purpose of being an example and a light to all nations, to demonstrate God's power, truth and love, God set up the nation of Israel to be a theocracy, based on the covenant He made with Abraham.  This is NOT the same as church-and-state, which is where a government collects and spends tax money, while using a religion to influence and control the people.  God, being sovereign, as well as holy, truth and love, is able to govern a nation perfectly.  Therefore, having the Lord God as their King, when the people followed Him and His way, they would thrive, and experience peace and blessings!  (By the way, this is what the Millennial kingdom will look like, when Jesus physically returns to earth and is accepted as King of kings.)  But...

For some crazy reason, the Israelites wanted to be like other nations, and cried out for a physical king... someone who is not perfect.  Well, God let the people know that when their physical king was righteous and followed the Lord, they would continue to experience peace and blessings, but when their physical king rejected God and His way, there would be consequences... oh, and lots and lots of taxes!

Now let's go to the situation that Israel found themselves in at this point.  They were still to tithe (that being the regional temple tax).  Then there was the Herodian local tax which went to the illegitimate king Herod the Great.  And then there was the Roman Imperial taxes that went to Caesar and the Roman Empire.  So these three groups that approached Jesus were hoping that He would speak out against the Roman Empire and those taxes.  But Jesus never got political.  He only ever challenged the spiritual leaders, who were leading the people astray.

Regarding our relationship with government, we are to respect, pray for, and submit to those in power, as unto the Lord.  We are to obey the laws, unless they go against God's.  And, we should pay our taxes.  So, in the grand scheme of things, our hope, faith and trust should not be in the government, or in a spouse, or even in our own strength.  Whoever or whatever we put first in our lives, is our god and "king".  I don't know about you, but I make a terrible king.  

God, being sovereign, holy, truth and love- makes Him, not only a perfect King, but the best friend and most excellent "soulmate"!  And when we allow the Lord to reign in our lives, He will guide and help us in all other relationships, allowing us to thrive and experience His peace and blessings, no matter what is happing to us, or around us..

relationships (Mark 12:13-14) Caring-Not-Caring

(Mark 12:13-14)

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it ...

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

To catch Jesus in some sort of error, before throwing a barrage of questions at Him, the Pharisees and Herodians (and scribes) actually insulted Jesus.  The statements were an underhanded guise of "compliments", which would cause most people to become distracted by their own bravado.  Or, if an astute person, with a level of integrity, realized the slight, they might want to address the details of these first, which would diminish whatever point was to be made later.  Or, in brushing it off, the subtle insult might continue to gnaw away at their ability to stay focused on properly answering the question/s put forward.

Well!  We ARE talking about Jesus, here!  So not only did He remain humble and focused, He answered all of questions brilliantly.  The first key lesson for us is that as we are asked questions, or as we are presented with an opportunity to share God's message of truth, we should be asking the Lord for His wisdom and guidance, and for Him to give us the right words to speak.  As well, It helps to be prepared!  In other words, we should be looking at His word, daily, so that we will be gaining more and more knowledge and understanding of both Him, and His truth.

Now for the second lesson.  Since the devotion's topic is "relationships", I do want to dissect the deceptive flattery of the Pharisees and Herodians, because I know that I could easily fall into any of those reactive categories.  Also, it would be helpful to understand what is true about Jesus, as it relates to our relationship with Him.

1st "COMPLIMENT":  

"while You are truthful- You do not care what anyone thinks."  

TRUTH: 

- yes, the Lord God and His word is truth  

THE TRUTH with the THEN, IF, AND, OR, BUT:

- He does care what everyone thinks

----- but He will not waver on truth!  

- He knows what everyone is thinking, and because He does care

----- then He is timely in how and when He presents truth and directions.

.......... (Hebrews 4:11-13)  Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.

2nd "COMPLEMENT":  

"while You teach the way of God in truth- You are not partial to anyone."  

TRUTH:   

- yes, the Lord Jesus not only teaches the way of God in truth, Jesus is the way, and He is the only way!  

THE TRUTH with the THEN, IF, AND, OR, BUT:

- He is impartial (to all people), judging with justice and fairness

----- but He cannot tolerate or accept sin or evil

----- and He will forgive all those who come to Him to humbly repent

.......... (Deuteronomy 10:17)  For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe.

.......... (Acts 10:34b–35) ...God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

.......... (Psalm 5:4)  For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil can dwell with You.

- He is impartial, showing no favoritism based on race, wealth, status, or background

----- because He loves all people, suffered and died for all people, and desires that all come to know Him

----- and so, He saves and adopts anyone who chooses to follow Him

----- and, to those who follow Him, in His mercy- He withholds the eternal death and punishment that we so deserve

----- and, to those who follow Him, in His grace- He bestows eternal life and blessings, which we do not deserve

.......... (Ephesians 2:4-10)  But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

- He is impartial towards His children, seeing us all as important, and giving each one of us purpose

----- yet, as He sees fit, being omniscient and caring, He gifts each of us differently and uniquely, so that we are equipped to serve the Lord and others

.......... (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)  Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

As we can see, those false compliments were loaded with details that one could spend days unpacking. I only scratched the surface!  But because Jesus knew that they were trying to trap Him, He did not need to show off His vast knowledge, nor did He become defensive or offensive.  While caring, and because He cares, Jesus peacefully, wisely, and considerately stayed on topic, and answered their questions, even though He already knew that they were not going to appreciate His answers.

relationships (Mark 12:1-44) Having and Giving Control

(Mark 12:1-44)

And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

     ‘A stone which the builders rejected,
     This has become the chief cornerstone;
11 This came about from the Lord,
     And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

If we were looking at this parable with only a mind for business, we'd like to think that God would have dealt with these evil tenants immediately, with swift justice!  But now let's consider it for what it is, a spiritual overview of Israel over hundreds and hundreds of years up until that point.  God in His sovereignty, allows mankind the freedom to accept or reject Him and His way.  And one day, when Jesus returns to sit on the throne and reign over Israel and all the earth, there will be worldwide peace.  And finally, after giving each individual their fair opportunity to make their eternal decision, everyone will go to their eternal destination that they have chosen.

As Jesus is referring to how it is spiritually, we have to know that our sinful inclination in life is to selfishly control things.  In order to have our own way, we will even try to "create" God in our own image.  If we look around, we can see many religions and cults, and all of them involve mankind having the control, and insisting that they or you must do such-and-such to attain some higher level or status...  Sounds a lot like a business model, doesn't it!  But this is not God's way at all.

Christianity, which is to be a Christ-follower... is to give the Lord Jesus Christ the control, the honor and the glory... for so many reasons!  Even if we just assess ourselves honestly, we've got to know that we (mankind) do not have the answers!  We are NOT perfect, nor all-knowing, nor all-powerful, nor everywhere-present... Left to ourselves and our way, we will only make a mess of things. So...

What is jumping out to me right now is- just how loving and patient God is with us.  All the Lord wants and has ever wanted is a personal relationship with us.  This is why He created us in the first place, and this is why He came to die in our place!  And while we might impatiently wonder why God doesn't just wipe out all these selfish, power and money hungry tyrants, let's ask ourselves, here:  Have I ever been selfish and stingy with what God has given me?  Have I ever had negative thoughts towards spiritual leaders or well-meaning Christians who were just trying to encourage me?  Have I ever just wanted to do things my way, and completely ignore God's way?

To whatever degree, it would be impossible to say no to any of those questions.  Therefore, we can appreciate just how patient God has been with us, and in that, see our great need for the Lord to be in our lives.  As well, we should appreciate our steadfast Christian leaders, mentors and friends, who serve as accountability measures, and help guide us towards continuously growing closer in a healthy relationship with the Lord, which will then help us in our relationship with others.

This is what it means to have Jesus as our chief cornerstone.  And this is not about "having NO control".  As Christians, we have the control- to give God the control- for each and every step and decision that we make.  There is no autopilot to do this, because, very simply, the Lord is looking for a love relationship with us, in which we interact with Him, every day, every minute, all the time, for everything!  Our choice!

relationships (Mark 11:27-33) Game-Playing Doesn't Work!

(Mark 11:27-33)

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him, 28 and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” 29 But Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” 31 And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But should we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet. 33 Answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Oh, these guys... Jesus just cleaned up His temple the other day, and they knew that Jesus was right in doing so.  But that didn't matter.  They hated Him, and they were just looking for an excuse to hate Him more, and to kill Him, because they wanted the control to do what they wanted to do- or not do.  And, they actually thought that they could outsmart Jesus and get Him to say something stupid, which would then incriminate Himself.  But- talk about a mic-drop-moment.

Yet, how often do we try to outsmart the Lord with false justifications, lame excuses, or attempts to distract Him from seeing something we did, or something we want, even though we already know it's wrong.  But if we continue down that wrong path, we are only hurting ourselves, and others, but most especially, WE are hurting our relationship with the Lord!  While we cannot lose our salvation, we can suffer the consequences of our actions.  And while we wallow in self-pity and selfishly, angrily cry out "Why?" and try to blame God, Jesus will be like- "Neither am I telling you..."

Here's the great part!  And if we say that we love the Lord, we have to know this!  Jesus is still here, still loving us, and waiting for us to return to Him and His will.  Things are so much better "there".  Us talking to the Lord, the Lord talking with us!  The Lord warning us about the dangers of sin... us wisely listening and obeying!   No need to play games, because it won't work anyway.  God knows everything!  And because we have chosen to love Him- BECAUSE He loves us- we KNOW that He cares, and desires the best for us, and desires that we have a close relationship with Him, and others!

relationships (Mark 11:20-26) Purposeful Meaning

(Mark 11:20-26)

20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 And being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. 24 Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your offenses. 26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your offenses.”]

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Remember from the devotion two days ago, this fig tree with leaves did not have any fruit in it, and therefore, it was known that this tree would not be producing any fruit at all, for the entire year, even in season. The symbolism was that some people might appear to be believers, but in that condition of not believing and not having faith in God, they would not have eternal life, and they would never produce any fruit.  But, is there any hope for these people?

Like most people, I enjoy seeing results!  If I'm working on something, and never see anything come of it, it can be totally disheartening.  Questions arise, like, "What is the meaning and purpose of all this, anyway?"  And this question will be asked of our lives, in general.  Of course, the answer is to put our faith in the Lord God!  

Here is our hope!  Here, Jesus tells the disciples to have faith in God.  In our belief, we will have a personal relationship with the Lord, allowing us to go to Him and make requests.  With God, there isn't any request too big.  With God, all things are possible.  Therefore, He will equip and help us accomplish whatever it is that He asks of us.  And God will bring down all obstacles opposing the things that He designates.  And in our relationship with and In Him, as we strive to live out His will, in His love, wisdom, guidance and strength, we will produce fruit, all to His glory.  

God's will includes us forgiving those who have hurt us.  Does that sound impossible to do?  Well, with God all things are possible.  Therefore, ask Him to forgive those people FOR you.  And trust me, I know from experience, this will lighten your load, and change you from the inside-out!  And this- and more- is the evidence of our faith in the Lord.  This- is the evidence that there is hope, truth, joy, purposeful meaning and satisfaction!