Hopefully making theology simpler to understand! (2 Corinthians 1:12)

I preached again. On Father’s Day of all days.

I might need a new computer, because it, again, took a few days (better than last time, though!) to get this uploaded due to some technical issues.

As usual, my rough notes are below, just remember that they are rough notes and not necessarily everything I said.

Mark 10:32-52

MESSAGE:

vv. 32:
Why were people amazed and afraid?

Possibly thinking about Jesus having just discussed how impossible it is to be saved unless God does it. (vv. 23-31)

Possibly seeing how resolutely Jesus is heading toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51[-62?]).

Possibly because of what He said next:

vv. 33-34:
Jesus explains His arrest, beating, and death, as well as His resurrection.
Is it possible the disciples were amazed at the news, while others merely heard that He would die?

No one knows for sure. We see there are two groups: The 12 and others “who followed”.

Probably a combination of all of this: it is difficult (yet oh-so-easy) to be saved, Jesus looks determined to get to Jerusalem, and Jesus just predicted problems in Jerusalem. “Is the Messiah about to start the war that drives out the pagans and restores true worship?”

Honestly, none of them could see what was coming, even with Jesus explaining it in such detail. We know for two reasons: two Apostles making their request and the immediate healing of a man.

First, how the Apostles did not see clearly:

vv. 35-45:
James and John (and their mom, as seen in Matthew 20) are clearly expecting Jesus to triumph and reign in Jerusalem, so they ask to sit at His right and left hand. They expect a quick and decisive victory. (Which definitely happened at the cross, but they can’t see that yet.)

The other Ten became “indignant” at their audacity. But at least they were looking towards Jesus’ ultimate glory. They knew and expected Jesus to be in glory, and they wanted to be with Jesus in glory! Shouldn’t we?!

We can see they are not seeing the whole picture, though. They each know they can “drink from the same cup” as Jesus, but, as usual, Jesus takes it deeper: “Indeed, you will,” but it is not as rulers as the world understands ruling. “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve”. So, too, we as Christ followers are to serve each other.

How?

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to offer His life as a ransom for many.”

We must [READ Philippians 2:3-5] “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”.
How do we know the Apostles were not seeing things this way? (At least not yet?)

vv. 46-52:
Here is a blind man, crying out for the promised Messiah, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” A crowd – including the Apostles – are trying to quiet Him down and shoo him away. “The Teacher has no time for someone like you. Quiet!”

But this man can see who is nearby. This BLIND MAN can clearly see the Son of God is walking by. He cries out louder, more urgently, knowing this is his only chance to be healed. They are still getting indignant at the audacity of others wanting to be near Christ.

And notice the change in everyone when Jesus finally speaks “Call him”: “Oh, hey, friend, come see Jesus,” they sweetly say to this poor helpless man. We see that the APOSTLES OF JESUS are still missing the point that “the Son of man came not be served but to serve”.

And notice how Jesus heals.

Remember a couple chapters ago when Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida? He spits in the man’s eyes and covers them with his hands. This time, He merely speaks, “your faith has made you well.” (Reminds me of Moses and water from the rocks: First he tapped a rock with his staff, the second time he was supposed to only speak to it. A reminder that a greater Prophet than Moses has finally come.)

Quick Mini-Lesson:

Quick lesson on literary/biblical terms:
One of Caitlin’s favorites: Pericope – an excerpt from a text that forms a complete thought. We had three pericopes today: Jesus predicting His crucifixion, James and John requesting a place of honor, and the healing of Bartimaeus.

Chiastic structure – a poetic writing style that flows (often in a circular way or in an arc) so that themes are repeated in reverse order. As an example (from Genesis 9:6):

A – Whoever sheds
     B – the blood
          C – of man,
          C’ – by man
     B’ – shall his blood
A’ – be shed

Sometimes, there is a hinge that it all swings around. For example, Proverbs 31:10-31 extols the virtues of a godly woman, following a long chiastic structure, with a “hinge” in verse 23 about her husband: “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.”

The greatest chiasmus is the entire Bible:

A – Creation of Paradise
     B – The Fall into sin
          C – The spread of sin
               D – Christ’s Life, Death, and Resurrection
          C’ – The spread of the Gospel
     B’ – Christ’s return and final redemption from sin
A’ – Restored Paradise

Our big chiasmus from Mark:

A – 8:22-26 – Blind man healed
     B – 8:27-30 – Peter’s Confession of Christ
          C – 8:31-9:1 – Christ’s 1^st Foretelling and Peter’s “tempting” Jesus with rebuke
               D – 9:2-13 – Christ’s Transfiguration into glory as God’s true Son
                    E – 9:14-30 – Christ is greater than spirits by healing a child
                         F – 9:30-32 – Christ’s 2^nd Foretelling of His Crucifixion & Resurrection
                    E’ – 9:33-37 – Disciples argue who is greater, Christ’s call to childlikeness
               D’ – 9:38-10:31 – Those who tempt others to sin and turn from God’s truth,
                         instead accepting His glory
          C’ – 10:32-34 – Christ’s 3^rd Foretelling
     B’ – 10:35-45 – Apostles acknowledge Christ and His glory
A’ – 10:46-52 – Blind Bartimaeus healed

So what?

Mark is pointing out to us how blind we are to God’s truth. We need God to reveal Himself to us, because we tend to think we know better … or that truth can’t be known or is relative or up to each person.

No, Mark is showing us through these pericopes that Jesus came to work, to serve other people. We start with the Son of God showing us He is our Creator and Healer by healing a blind man. We can easily confess Christ as the Son of God while still not seeing Who He really is. And then Jesus predicts His death and resurrection.

Then after the failure of the Apostles to catch on, He predicts it again, that hinge of these stories, reminding us to innocently believe in Him and not distract others.

He predicts it again and drives the point home how blind we are to truth by healing another blind man WITH ONLY HIS WORDS.

Blindness. Revelation. We mess up. Revelation. We mess up. Revelation. Blindness.

We foresee Christ’s passion in the midst of our pride and persistence to think we have it figured out. Fortunately, He is more persistent than we are, and motivates us to be more persistent.

It can be awesome and intimidating to think about the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe coming after us, but it is all because of His love for us and for the Father’s glory.

RESPONSE:

We cannot begin to understand God and His ways (Isaiah 55:8), but we can let Him open our eyes to what He is doing.

We can look to our Savior and see that our Maker and Savior came to us to set the example of how to serve others with sacrificial love and compassion.

For all people.

We can see that He is the God who heals. He may not physically heal us in this life, but by His resurrection we have the hope of eternity free from pain, suffering, and fear.

We should be zealous for a God who saw us in our pride and misunderstandings yet loved us enough to come die for us, to open our eyes to truth and forgive us.

APPLICATION:

How then should we live?

How do we treat people? How do we treat God?!

It can be so easy to get upset with others when we think they are wrong. We can get indignant with their seemingly overblown sense of passion for something, or that they are interfering with important matters.

Do we remember that sometimes (many times?) we each can be the seemingly overblown, interfering person?

We need to remind ourselves that we don’t know everything. But we know the One who does and sees each person, their circumstances, and their lives.

We need to ask Him to open our eyes to what He is doing in their lives … and our own.

We need to ask Him to reveal our own blindness toward others, ourselves, and His glory.

We need to be passionate about the things of God, to want to do the Father’s work in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And how?

We read His Word. We get into the Bible: individually, with others, and when we meet as the Church. We must be learning what He has revealed through Scripture and listening to those who have put in the time and training to be teachers and pastors, but always comparing what they say (and write) with the Bible. (Like the Bereans in Acts 17) And we need to be telling others the truth of Christ. It shows we truly believe He is the promised Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God who takes away the sin world. This is how we acknowledge His glory. We should be passionate about sharing Christ with others, unable and unwilling to be told to be quiet about our Great Healer God.!