This must make skeptics crack up.  Jesus climbs a mountain with three disciples.  Suddenly he’s transformed.  His clothes become brighter than the best detergent could get them.  Dead-for-centuries Moses and Elijah appear chatting with him.  Fog drifts in and envelops them.  A surround-sound voice booms:  “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”  Then, instantly it’s all gone.  Jesus is alone with three terrified followers.   Right.

It’s widely held that Peter served as Mark’s source for writing his Gospel.  And, since Peter’s been known to suffer from foot-in-mouth disease, maybe the high altitude dizzied Peter’s powers.  But, if it happened, what’s the point?

Here’s Mark’s report . . .

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.  And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.  Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters– one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”  Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus (Mark 9:2-8).

Let’s investigate.  First, we recall that the “star” of Mark’s Gospel is Jesus who came “proclaiming the gospel of God”, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (1:14,15).  We’ve already seen Jesus do some pretty mind-boggling things, like driving controlling unclean spirits from men, making leprosy disappear from a man’s skin, setting a paralytic walking, restoring a man’s withered hand, calming a storm at sea with a command, raising a dead girl to life, feeding 5000 with a few loaves and fish, and walking on water.  This is what the new normal will be when God’s kingdom fully comes.  Wonder-ful!

Second, in view of Jesus’ signs and wonders, transformation into eye-squinting brightness from the inside out doesn’t seem that big a deal.  That’s especially true because of our familiarity with computer-generated “miracles”.  It does, however, reveal something about the person of Jesus.  Not what he can do (walk on water) but what or who he is. More about that later. 

Third, while the appearance of Moses and Elijah is kind of strange, at the very least it shows Jesus has some kind of connection with them.  It’s also interesting to note that Moses died on Mount Nebo, having been banned from the Promised Land by the LORD.  Yet here he is chatting with the One who’s announcing the greater Promised Land, the kingdom of God.  And Elijah never died.  He got a fiery-chariot ride into the heavenly presence of God.  Moses’ presence with Jesus brings to mind the word “mercy”, and Elijah’s the word “power”.  Do those words connect with God’s kingdom Jesus is bringing?  Do they connect with Jesus himself?  Might their presence imply Jesus is the continuation of—even the fulfillment of—what God revealed through the Law (Moses) and through the prophets (Elijah)?

Fourth, think about Peter’s comment.  If I were reporting this event to Mark, I would have conveniently forgotten the part where my terror made me sound like a babbling fool.  “Man, Jesus, this is neat!  How ’bout we set up some tents and hang here awhile?”  ( . . . he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.)  That he included his outburst seems a strong argument for believing the event really happened.

Fifth, the Father’s voice from the cloud is not without precedent.  Remember Jesus’ baptism?  “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”–1:11).  Then the words were directed to Jesus, probably to encourage him for what lay ahead.  Here they’re directed to the three disciples to admonish them to pay careful attention to Jesus in light of what lay ahead for them all.

So what’s the point of this strange event?  It’s as if Clark Kent got caught with his Superman clothes showing.  Jesus exposed.  Exposed as what?  The full of glory God the Son.  He’s not just a miracle-worker.  Not just an announcer for God’s Kingdom.  He’s God’s Son full of the glory of God.

Here’s what John and Peter themselves wrote later about this day . . .

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father . . . (John 1:14).

. . . we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For when he received honor and glory from God the Father,
and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory,
“This is my beloved Son with whom I am well please,”
we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven,
for we were with him on the holy mountain.
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed,
to which you will do well to pay attention,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:16b-19).

“Jesus exposed” was meant to draw our attention to Jesus.  To  properly fear him as “his majesty”.  And to listen to him.  In our world of incessant noise, to “climb a mountain” to a quiet place above it all, open his book and listen to him!

 The sound of glass shattering woke me.  I bolted up in bed.  The clock on my dresser read 2:43 a.m.  Lying beside me, Lois woke.  “What’s that?” she whispered.  “Sounds like the front door glass breaking,” I answered, crawling  out of bed. I grabbed my walker and reached for my baseball bat.  If somebody was breaking into our house, I hoped he would be intimated by a 71-year-old leaning on a walker panting to lift a bat into a killer stance.

But before I reached the bedroom doorway, a huge flashlight blinded me.  I could barely make out the man who held it.  He towered over me and seemed wrapped in black, just a slit for his eyes.  That’s when I noticed what I feared—a gleam of light reflecting from a long knife held in his left hand. 

“You are infidels!” he screamed.  “You have three minutes to deny your despicable faith, bow down, and confess “There is no god but Allah. Otherwise, death to the infidels!”

The story is fiction.  (though  I do keep a baseball bat handy.  If you break into my house I figure you’ll fall over laughing enough so I can crack you on the head.)  Of course, for many people, while the details differ, the story is true.  So let’s suppose this question:  what would I do if faced with a choice to deny Christ or die?”

In Mark’s Gospel it’s not a Muslim terrorist, but Jesus who makes a death-demand . . .

“If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
(Mark 8:34)

That is what this demand means.  (See my “Selfie” post https://theoldpreacher.com/selfie/).  Though all of his disciples won’t be martyred, Jesus demands that anyone who would come after him be willing to be.

Why would Jesus demand a potential disciple be willing to die?  Jesus explains: 

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (8:35).

“For” introduces the reason.  Jesus identifies two groups of people.  First, “whoever wants to save his life.”  As the contrast with “whoever loses his life” shows, “to save his life” means “to protect his life from death”.  Jesus says such a person who makes saving or protecting his life from death will actually “lose” it.  “Lose” here means “bringing his life to ruin and destruction.”  The Greek verb tenses provide a more-detailed look, which we might translate this way:  “whoever decides he wants to protect his life from death will progressively bring his life to ruin and ultimate destruction.”  In other words, when Jesus calls and you decide  to save your life from death instead, your decision will lead to a life of progressive ruin and final destruction.”

The second group consists of “whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel”.  The same meanings attach to the same words.  To lose one’s life for Jesus  and the gospel means to die for Jesus and the gospel.  But that person actually will save his life from death.  See the slight alteration in this clause.  Whereas in 8:35a, Jesus said “whoever wants to save his life . . . “, in 8:35b, Jesus said “whoever loses his life.  Does Jesus mean  martyrs-for-him will actually save themselves?   That would contradict the whole of the Gospel!  Jesus is most likely implying that when we hear his call and choose to follow, at that very moment we die to living life to save ourselves and at that moment choose to “die” for Jesus and the gospel.  If martyrdom comes, it comes as the logical and ultimate outcome of that decision we previously made.

But why is this save-life/lose-life, lose-life/save life necessary?  Again, “for” introduces the reason.

“For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world,
yet forfeit his soul? 
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (8:36,37)

“Good” refers to what is profitable, valuable or beneficial.  “Gain” means “to profit or acquire an advantage”.  “Soul ” is the “inner essence of who and what we are before God (as opposed to our “flesh” or body).  So we might translate like this:  “What’s the profit if a man acquires the whole world yet suffers the loss of his very inner essence?”  King Solomon is a case in point.  Asking and receiving great wisdom from God, he nevertheless gained a “world” of wives who soon led  him into idolatry. 

Jesus’ question in 8:37 is rhetorical.  He expects no answer because there is nothing a man can trade for his soul and come out the winner.  So save-life/lose-life, etc., is necessary because the world inherently hates Jesus.  Jesus and this world order are mutually exclusive. 

But why is our soul so important?  For the third time, “for” introduces the reason–and also reveals what Jesus meant earlier about losing our life for his sake and for the gospel.

“For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed,
when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (8:39).

Here Jesus seems to refer specifically to people of his generation.  However, Paul’s use of the same word in Philippians 2:15 where he speaks of “this crooked and depraved generation” may imply that any generation can be so-described.  “Ashamed” refers to a fear of embarrassment or fear that one’s expectations may prove false.  So we might translate, “For whoever is embarrassed about me or afraid that what I’ve said won’t prove true, of him the Son of Man will be embarrassed . . . ” 

Finally then, “soul” is significant because the Son of Man is coming in his Father’s glory with the holy angels to judge.  Therefore, “losing the essence of who and what we are” is more than a metaphysical consideration for the present.  The condition of our soul ultimately determines our eternal destiny.

* * * * *

Back to the bedroom.  Holding flashlight and knife, the terrorist is screaming, “You are infidels!  You have three minutes to deny your despicable faith, bow down, and  confess “There is no god but Allah. Otherwise, death to the infidels!”

What will we say?

  A sellfie is “an image of oneself taken by oneself using oneself’s digital camera especially for posting on oneself’s social network.”  Okay, I inserted the last two oneself’s, not Merriam-Webster, to show (as if needed) the self nature of selfies.

How counter to culture Jesus spoke!
“If anyone would come after me,
let him DENY HIMSELF . . . ” (Mark 8:34b). 

* * * * *

 It was a rough conversation for the disciples.  First, after Peter acknowledged Jesus as Messiah,  Jesus told them Messiah must suffer, be rejected and killed, then rise again.  Shocked, Peter rebuked Jesus.  Which leads to the second bump in the road—Jesus rebuked Peter, called him Satan, and chastised him for thinking like a mere man and not God.  Now comes the third bump in the conversation . . .

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples he said to them,
“If anyone would come after me,
let him deny himself
and take up his cross
and follow me” (8:34).

That’s death language.  “Cross” isn’t shining jewelry; it’s a rough, bloody frame for crucifying criminals.  Jesus will deny himself and take up his cross.  Therefore, anyone who would come after him must follow him by being willing to do the same.

Did Jesus mean anyone who would come after him?  It’s a critical question.  Was this requirement meant only for those first disciples and that crowd?  Look at the broad sweep of Jesus’ words . . .

“if ANYONE  would come after me . . .
For WHOEVER would save his life will lose it,
but WHOEVER loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it . . .
For WHOEVER is ashamed of me and my word
in this adulterous and sinful generation . . . “

“Anyone” and “whoever” mean “anyone” and “whoever”.  The apostles’ martyr-deaths help confirm it.  So do the martyr-deaths of persecuted Jesus-followers in the world today.  Here’s an example of a woman named Asmita on the 8thirty8 Facebook website (https://www.facebook.com/8thirty8) . . .

A Hindu mob forced her husband, Pastor Digal, to convert to Hinduism or die. When he refused, they buried him in a muddy pit up to his neck for two full days, leaving only his head exposed. At one point Digal asked for water, and one of his captors urinated into his mouth. On the third day, they took him out and asked ‘Are you willing to convert?’ and every time he said no. In response, they cut off each of his limbs, one by one.

“My husband gave his life for the Lord. It’s caused me great problems for my earthly life, but in spite of everything, I won’t deny Jesus Christ, and my children will grow up knowing him!”

And Jesus meant ANYONE.

What does that imply about how we invite people to “accept Jesus”?  You’ve heard it.  “Bow your heads.  Close your eyes.  No one looking around.  If you want to accept Jesus, just slip your hand up.  No one’s looking.  I see those hands.  Now, if you raised your hand, repeat this prayer after me.  In fact, let’s have everyone repeat it (so no one gets embarrassed). ‘Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.  Amen.'”

Not even a hint of “let him deny himself and take up his cross” in that prayer.  Will someone who became a believer so comfortably be ready to die for Jesus?  Some will argue that Jesus didn’t “spring” this dying thing on his disciples until they’d followed him about two years.  (I guess, timing is everything.)  Most of us have followed Jesus for years.  So how about these questions now?

Am I willing to suffer for Jesus?  Am I willing to die for Jesus?  Tom Doyle climaxes his inspirational, soul-stirring book, Killing Christians–Living the Faith Where It’s Not Safe to Believe (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512aJsLGS1L._AA160_.jpg), with these words:

 “Did I think just because I live in America that I would never be faced with the possibility of dying for my faith?  Because we have the strongest military in the world, that that option was off the table?  No, friend, that option has always been on the table—whether we knew it or not.  So . . . it’s probably time to settle this in your soul, once and for all.  Take some time to let God search your heart.  Then answer:

• Am I willing to suffer for Jesus?
• Am I willing to die for Jesus?

Why are those such hard questions to answer honestly?  (1) Because we are blessed to live in a country where violent persecution doesn’t exist.  But Islamic terrorists are here!  Whether they’re merely ISIS-influenced or ISIS-trained makes no difference when bullets fly.  If they’re killing Christians in the Middle East, how long before they do it here?  And how well-prepared do you think our federal government will be to defend us?

(2) Because we’ve been taught a Christianity of cheap grace (to borrow Bonhoeffer’s phrase).  Salvation is God’s free gift.  If they’ve repeated the sinner’s prayer (above), we’ve told people they’re  on their way to heaven.  In his classic,  The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer challenges us . . .

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession . . . Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

(3) Because we don’t want to suffer or die.  I don’t.  I want a comfortable Christianity, with every pain healed, every table full, every prayer answered, and a parking space suddenly open just for me.  How different the attitude of five young men on the Gaza Strip!  Ali, a long-time Christian, was discipling Abdul, Isam, Jamal and Mahmoud.  One day Jamal spoke up.  “I want you to baptize me, Ali.  I want to be baptized in the Mediterranean—tonight!  If we get killed, we get killed” (Killing Christians).  That night all four followers showed up and were baptized.

In our “selfie” society, Jesus calls to us as he did his first disciples . . . “If anyone would come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (8:34).

Here, again are the sobering questions that confront us in “selfie-land” . . .

• Am I willing to suffer for Jesus?
  
• Am I willing to die for Jesus?

*Note:  Some weeks after the baptism, Mahmoud went to be with Jesus.  His friends aren’t certain about the source of the explosion that killed him.  An Israeli strike?  A Hamas rocket exploding before launch?  Whichever it was, Mahmoud was walking into one of the refugee camps on his last day to share Jesus among Muslims.

A brief, unexpected conversation can change your life.  It did the disciples’.  It does ours also. Here’s the first part of Mark’s report about the exchange . . .

And Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”  Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him (8:29,30).

Caesarea Philippi lay 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee.  A city populated by Syrians and Greeks, it had long been a center for idolatry and was now dominated by the Roman empire and Caesar-worship. 

“Who do people say I am?” was a natural, perhaps unexpected question.  For two years Jesus’ fame had spread through Galilee.  His miracles made people think he might be John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets raised back to life.  God’s power was obviously at work in him as it had been in them.

Today opinions have shifted a bit.  Jesus was a prophet (Islam).  Jesus was a god (one of the deities of the Hindu pantheon, for example, or a created supernatural being according to Arians/Jehovah’s Witnesses).  Jesus was a great moral teacher (generally held by secularists).  Jesus was/is the Son of God.  (Do they understand what they’re saying?)  For a look at how some famous and infamous answered,  go to http://powerpointparadise.com/blog/2010/08/what-famous-people-said-about-jesus/. 

On this subject, I can’t ignore what C. S. Lewis famously wrote in response to the “great moral teacher” answer:  “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the devil of Hell. . . . You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

“Who do you say I am?”  Awkward silence?  Disciples fascinated with their feet?  Or did Peter blurt it right out?  “You are the Christ.”  “Christ” is Greek for the Hebrew “Messiah.”  If this were a movie scene, a golden glow backed with heavenly harp music would surround the men.  For us, familiarity takes the edge off.  For Peter—did he really understand what he said?—it was breathtaking.  Centuries.  Pages of sacred prophecies.  Endless longings.  Desperate hope for downtrodden people.  “You are the Messiah.”

Mark, sparing words, records no reactions.  Did other disciples say, “I was just going to say that!”?  Or did their jaws drop?  Did Jesus nod, smile?  All we know is he charged them to keep it a secret.  He didn’t want more crowds and it wasn’t time to die.  After Peter spoke, did he cover his mouth and wonder, “Did I really say that?” 

Wait:  they’re all in for a greater shock.  He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.  He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (8:31-33).

Messiah suffer, be rejected and killed?  No wonder Peter rebuked Jesus!  Months of miracles.  Pages of prophecies of Messiah’s reign.  Jesus himself announced he was bringing God’s kingdom near.  No way the King could suffer!  The Jewish authorities wouldn’t reject their Messiah!  Messiah killed was insane!

We  live later.  We understand he had to die and be raised.  Prophecies like Isaiah 53 are familiar.  In Jesus’ day the people were so oppressed by Rome and their lackeys and so desperate for Messiah’s David-like kingdom, Conqueror-prophecies drowned out Sufferer-prophecies.

Jesus’ didn’t mince words.  When Peter pulled him aside and rebuked him, Jesus rebuked him more harshly.  He called Peter Satan.  Accused Peter of thinking like a man not like God. 

 The conversation continued.  We won’t follow it now.  We’ll stop to highlight this point . . .

Here is the Great Divide of the Gospel.  Mark 1:1-8:26 reports the Son of God’s kingdom coming with power.  Jesus invaded Galilee with authority that sent demons screaming, cripples walking and the dead living.  From here on, Mark reports the Son of God’s kingdom coming with suffering.  A dizzying turn-around, with heavy implications for us.

Jesus’ question here is also the Great Divide of the Gospel for everyone.  “But what about you?  Who do you say I am?”  Earlier I said this conversation changed the disciples’ lives and changes ours.  And that change depends on how we answer Jesus’ question.

We know the right answer, right?  “You are the Christ.”  But this isn’t a school test—you know, parrot back the answer the teacher wants.  This isn’t about information; it’s about devotion.  It’s not about getting a grade; it’s about getting a life.

So here’s how we should do this . . . It’s just Jesus and you.  Not the church or your family or your friends.  You’re not at a concert or ball game.  You’re outside in God’s creation.  Just you and Jesus.  It’s unlike standing alone with anyone else—sacred because he’s there.  You can’t “spin” your answer because he sees your heart.  Looking you straight in the eyes, he asks, “Who do you say that I am?”

How do you answer?
Tell him!

How blind we can be!  How slow to believe!  Especially regarding Jesus.

Jesus feeds 4000 (Mark 8:1-10).  During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said,  “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.  If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”  His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”  “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied.  He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so.  They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.  The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.  About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away,  he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

First thing to say here is Mark didn’t get his news-notes jumbled.  This isn’t a rerun of 6:30-44.   It’s now six months later.  Number of people is different.  So is the food amount.  Not surprisingly, knowing Jesus, his compassion is the same (6:34; 8:2).  So why this “second helping” miracle?  We’ll see shortly.  Hint:  it has to do with slow learners (which, of course, can’t apply to you or me, right?).

The Pharisees test Jesus (Mark 8:11-13).  The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.  He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.”  Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

Back on the west side of Galilee Sea, Jesus gets questioned by Pharisees,  the strict, fundamentalist Jewish party. The “test” is fixed from the first.  These Pharisees are searching for evidence to support their already-made verdict—Jesus is demonic (3:22).  A miraculous sign, in their minds, will  prove Jesus a false prophet (see Deuteronomy 13:1-5).  Jesus refuses the test.  No sign on demand.  Jesus doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone.  So away he boats.

About these Pharisees:  are they slow learners?  No.  Their learning problem is more serious.  They’re unwilling learners.   And slow learning gets Jesus’ patience; unwilling learning gets Jesus gone.

Jesus drills his disciples (Mark 8:14-21).  The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.  “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”  They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”  Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?  Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.  “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”  He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

It’s the Comedy Cruise.  Jesus and the Twelve Bozos.  Sorry.  Not showing respect for apostles.  But, you have to admit these guys don’t sound like the  sharpest minds in the Middle East.  Jesus warns them against being influenced  by the Pharisees inflating evil (using the common Jewish metaphor of yeast as evil) and they think they’re in trouble for forgetting to bring bread!

Imagine Jesus’ reaction.  Scratching his head in amazement?  Smiling toward heaven while shaking his head and throwing up his hands?  Wondering how dim a few fishermen could possibly be?  But notice he doesn’t climb out of the boat and walk off.  Patience, Jesus.

Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?  Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.  “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”  He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

According to Mark’s report (from Peter), dead silence.   Only the sound of waves lapping the boat.  And twelve guys looking at each other, desperately hoping somebody will answer.

You get it?  No bread, even in the desert?  No problem.  Jesus can multiply it.  Or make it from nothing.   You’ll be satisfied.  And have more leftover than when you started.  You’ve got bigger fish to fry.

In 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled African-Americans were not U.S. citizens.  This encouraged whites to treat blacks as inferior and segregate them to the back of the bus and to their own schools, hospitals, cemeteries and churches.

In the 1st century, Jews considered Gentiles unclean “dogs” and avoided them.  But in today’s text, Mark reports Jesus intentionally going to Gentile cities.  Good for us!  If Jesus had been a Jewish supremacist, he’d have had nothing to do with us.

Jesus and the Dirty Woman (7:24-30). 

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.  In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet.  The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.  “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”  “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”  She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus retreated 30 miles west to Tyre on the east coast of the Mediterranean (today’s Lebanon).  He couldn’t keep his whereabouts unknown.   Tyre people knew him, because months earlier they had crowded the sea to hear him teach and see him work miracles (3:8).

A Syrian-born Greek woman heard he was near, found him and on her knees begged him to drive a demon out of her daughter.  Jesus answered rudely:  “The children have to be fed first.  It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to dogs” (CEV).   In other words, “Israel first.  It’d be wrong to give to dogs like you!”

The woman’s reply sounds as humble as Jesus’ sounded arrogant:   “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (CEV).

I suspect a moment’s silence hung in the air as Jesus looked into that mother’s heart.  Then:  “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”  And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”

Three lessons.   

First, Jesus wasn’t (and isn’t) bound by national, racial, gender or traditional barriers.  He goes to anyone at anytime, sometimes in the most startling ways.

Second, Jesus isn’t tame.  He called a needy mother a “dog”!  Commentators do mental gymnastics to soften the blow.  But Jesus—to test her faith?—hit the desperate woman full force.   Aren’t some responses we receive from Jesus hurtful at first?

Three, faith is a humble virtue.  So-called faith preachers “sell” faith like a reward to the highest bidder.  But this Syrian woman shines with true faith:  “You are the Lord.  If I’m a dog, so be it.  And if all you’ll give me is a crumb of your blessing, I’ll take it.”  Faith is admitting we have nothing to bring to Jesus but our need—and simply trusting him to love us well.

Jesus and the Dumb Man (7:31-37).

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.  There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.  After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.  He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”).  At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.  Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.  People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The Decapolis, a league of ten cities east of Galilee, was mostly Gentile.  Jesus’ reputation preceded him: for many months the delivered Gerasene demonic had gossiped what Jesus had done for him (5:20a).  Unsurprisingly then, when Jesus shows up, people bring him a deaf and dumb man.  One wonders if they wanted entertainment or really cared about the poor guy.  No matter.  He wins in the end.

Jesus’ healing technique sounds like  a “faith healer’s” show (except for taking the man apart from the crowd!)  Jesus puts his fingers in the man’s ears.  Spits on his finger and touches the man’s tongue.  Looks up to heaven, sighs and says, “Be opened!”

At once the deaf man hears the crowd praising Jesus.  Immediately he praises Jesus to every person who’ll listen.

Three Lessons.  First, Jesus had (has) emotions.  He “sighed.”  The Greek can mean “complained” or “grumbled”.  Or it can mean “groan” out of deep concern.  The first would have Jesus complaining, “Not another one!  Let’s get it over with!”  The second, “I care so much for you, man of my creation.  Let me make you well!”  I suspect the second.   How could the Son of God’s love not love?

Second, Jesus touched the “ugly.”  One can imagine this man a big, dumb, silent ox.  Easily a butt of bad jokes.  Often ignored because he didn’t “work” right.  Jesus came.  He didn’t (doesn’t) heal from an ivory tower.  He touched.  Maybe that’s why we lay hands on the sick when we pray for them.

Three, Jesus’s kingdom authority reaches to all peoples.  Not just the healthy, the sick.  Not just the religious, the sinner.  Not just the valuable, the seemingly good for nothing.  “God chose what the world considers foolish to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27a, CEV). 

We who follow Jesus have a King who loves the dirty and the dumb who are humble enough to confess that they are!

Virtually all world religions rest on rules.

Islam.  For example, according to the Islamic Supreme Council of America, “Islam . . . is firmly founded on the concept of ‘rule of law’ . . . Muslim citizens must adhere to Islamic law—Shariah. If a Muslim citizen commits a religious violation, he is judged according to Islamic law . . . The intent of Islamic law is not punitive, as much as corrective and reformative ”  (http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/legal-rulings/52-understanding-islamic-law.html).

According to Pew Research (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/07/worlds-muslim-population-more-widespread-than-you-might-think/) , Islam is the world’s second largest religion (23% of world population) behind Christianity (33% of world population).  By contrast, Judaism, also based on Law (Torah), accounts for 0.22% of the world’s population (http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_ Adherents.html ). Hinduism (14%) and Buddhism (6%) both have their own distinctions, but also function according to rules and laws.  Even without mentioning smaller groups, that’s a lot of people caught up in rules-religions.  The Gospel is acutely different.

Gospel.That brings us to today’s Gospel report from Mark  chapter 7:1-23.

Jesus’ fame in Galilee now brings Pharisees with their scribes from Jerusalem to investigate him more closely (7:1).  They catch his disciples eating with ceremonially defiled hands.  This violates traditional Pharisaic rules of washing everything possibly made “unclean” by sinners, tax-collectors or encroaching  Gentiles (7:2-4).  Why, they want to know, does Jesus allow this (7:5)?  His answer is unexpected prosecution . . .

“Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God),  then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that” (7:6-13).

Two critical points.  One, Jesus was not anti-law.  He condemned the Jewish Pharisees for letting go the commands of God.  Two, Jesus charged the Pharisees with vain worship of God, which he defined as replacing God’s commands with men’s traditions.  The Law allowed people to devote certain property to the LORD.  (“But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD–Leviticus 27:28).  But the Pharisees used it to keep someone else (in this case needy parents) from having it.   Men’s traditions over God’s commands equaled vain worship.

Four deficiencies.  Here, then, are four deficiencies of rules-religions we can deduce from Jesus words . . .

1. We humans can easily manipulate the rules to serve our self-centered purposes.
2. Rule-manipulation often results in our hurting someone else.
3. Religious rule-keeping has no power to change our character.
4. The root of human moral corruption isn’t outside us, but inside.

Gospel again.  To those last two deficiencies Jesus now turns . . .

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.  Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.'” After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.  “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?  For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)  He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’  For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,  greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean'” (7:14-23).

Two further critical points.  One, Jesus’ answer to  the Pharisees implies that being “clean” or “unclean” before God isn’t a secondary issue.  He could have said, “Ceremonial defilement means nothing.  I won’t even talk about it.”  Rather, Jesus implicitly regarded the “cleanness” of our standing before God as critical.

Two, we are “unclean” before God because of what’s in us, not what touches us from outside—“evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.”  Who of us can claim we’ve never been “dirtied” inside by some of these “evils”?

So what is Mark, inspired by the Holy Spirit, telling us about the Gospel here?  That the kingdom of God Jesus proclaimed as near (1:15) is wholly “other” from our rules-religions, however commendable their aim.  Jesus, as John the Baptist announced, will “baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (1:8b).  As yet in Mark’s report and Jesus’ revelation, we have no details—no means, no methods—as to precisely how that kingdom comes nor what “baptize with the Spirit” means.

What we do know is that our defilement before God is serious . . . that rules-religions can’t resolve it because the dirt is inside not out . . . and that somehow the Gospel of the kingdom with the baptism of the Holy Spirit is good news about getting “clean.”

Islam isn’t the answer.

Judaism isn’t the answer.

Christian rules aren’t the answer.

Jesus is the answer.

What a confusing juxtaposition Mark 1:15 and today’s text Mark 6:14-29 is!  In 1:15 Jesus proclaims “the gospel of God” . . .

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the good news.”

Affirming that proclamation’s truth, Mark reports Jesus’ kingdom authority and power over unclean spirits, disability, illnesses, nature, and even death (1:16-6:6).  Unexpectedly, though, in 6:14-29 Mark reports how King Herod beheaded John the Baptist.  John was Jesus’ cousin and unique messenger.  Where was the demonstration of Jesus’ kingdom power when John was slaughtered by a crazed king?

This King Herod was Herod Antipas, son of  Herod the Great, infamous for the slaughter of young children in Bethlehem after Jesus’ birth.  Antipas was appointed by the Roman emperor Augustus to rule over a quarter of his father’s kingdom (Galilee) from 4 B.C.-39 A.D.  Here’s Mark’s report of John’s death . . .

Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because people everywhere were talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist come back to life again. That is why he can do such miracles.”  Others thought Jesus was the ancient prophet Elijah. Still others thought he was a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.  When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.” For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her.  John kept telling Herod, “It is illegal for you to marry your brother’s wife.”  Herodias was enraged and wanted John killed in revenge, but without Herod’s approval she was powerless.  And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.  Herodias’ chance finally came. It was Herod’s birthday, and he gave a party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee.  Then her daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased them all. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.”  Then he promised, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half of my kingdom!”  She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”Her mother told her, “Ask for John the Baptist’s head!”  So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”  Then the king was very sorry, but he was embarrassed to break his oath in front of his guests.  So he sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison,  brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother.  When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came for his body and buried it in a tomb.

Herod Conflicted (6:14-16).  Obviously.  Herod knew John to be righteous and holy, so feared him.  He  happily listened to John, but could never really understand him.  With news of miracles spreading through Galilee, Herod thought John had been raised from the dead.  I’m guessing that terrified him.

Herodias’ Grudge (6:17-20).  Herodias was not a happy king’s wife.  John the Baptist publicly condemned her marriage to Herod Antipas, because he was her brother-in-law.  But Herod (who still held final word despite his wife’s charms) would make John a dead man.

Herod’s Birthday Banquet (6:21-28).  Herodias’ opportunity came party night.  She had her daughter, probably from her “previous” marriage, dance for the crowd of nobles, military commanders and leading men of Galilee.  The teenager’s dancing got the men’s juices flowing.  Herod was so overcome he dramatically promised the girl anything she wanted up to half his kingdom.  (Can you see the sweaty, lustful smile on his face?)  She ran to Mommy for advice.  Mommy didn’t hesitate:  “The head of John the Baptist.”  One would think the girl would turn squeamish.  But either she knew better than to disobey Mommy or was, like everybody else, caught up in the sensuality of the moment.  She strolled back in and seductively said, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”  Herod was hoping she’d want a Corvette carriage.  But what was a king to do?  The offer was out there and his step-daughter grabbed it.  And so the deed was done.  The executioner carried John’s head to Herod on a platter and he handed it to the girl, who slithered offstage  with it to Mommy.

John’s Burial (6:29).  His disciples heard the news and came and laid his body in a tomb.  What did they think?  Their master had announced the arrival of Messiah!  Yet, when the executioner flashed his sword, Messiah was absent.  John, who fearlessly challenged King Herod and announced the nearness of God’s kingdom, met a dead end.

Our Dead Ends.  Not as violent and antiChrist as John’s.  Ours are mini-dead ends (until our body actually dies).  No need to list examples.  Who of us hasn’t been there when we expected Jesus to make a way where there was no way—and instead we ran smack into a dead end and got pretty banged up?  And given the state of the world, who knows how much like John’s our death may be?

Right about here I could cite Romans 8:28.  Instead, I’ll quote 1 Peter 4:12,13 (NLT), because this too is the Gospel.  And this too is reality for Jesus’ followers in this fallen world.

 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through,
as if something strange were happening to you.
Instead, be very glad–
because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering,
and afterward you will have the wonderful joy
of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world.

(If you haven’t listened to the video, do it now.
Even if you have, listen again—
and rejoice that His kingdom overcomes . . . all . . . forever!)