Mark 2:
As I begin to read this chapter, I'm reminded of an old TV show, Dragnet, and its main Character "Joe Friday", who was famous for saying, "Just the facts, ma'am... just the facts!". I see Mark as "Joe Friday". His approach to writing this Gospel was "just the facts". Remember, he was not concerned with the genealogy or chronology. He wanted to make sure that he put as much information into his writings about what Jesus had done as he could. And so he jumps right in. In this first chapter, we see a theme of "challenging". Everything that Mark depicts here is in direct conflict with the Pharisees. It was important for Mark to start this way, because he needed to establish Jesus' authority. Remember, he was speaking to a Roman audience, challenging the fact that Caesar was King.
What stood out to me, as it always does, is the story of the paralytic. Can you imagine for one second being crammed into a house, barely enough room to stand. All of a sudden, as Jesus is teaching, you begin to hear some tearing, perhaps sawing. And then all of a sudden, a huge hole in the roof of the house that you're standing in appears. And through it, a man is lowered down into the middle of the room who is a paralytic.
His friends had heard about Jesus. They believed, even before meeting Him, that Jesus could heal their friend. But in typical Jesus fashion, He did something that no one expected. He didn't heal the man... at least right away. He, instead, says, "Your sins are forgiven". And He did that for a reason. Why? To challenge those who didn't see Him as God in the flesh. He knew that they would begin to mumble about themselves. To say, "your sins are forgiven" was blasphemy to the scribes and Pharisees. Only God can forgive sins.... right? We all agree on that. But that was just the opener. Jesus knew they would think like this, and so He continues. In order to prove to them that He was the Son of Man, he then tells the paralytic to take up his mat and leave. Though forgiveness of his sins was what the man actually needed.... Jesus took that next step and healed the man, so that those who were in attendance could witness His authority, not just hear it.
Jesus was always about taking that extra step. What I pull from this is.... how often do we just do what's necessary and not follow up and take that next step? I think we do it more often then not. We need to be about following through and taking as many steps as necessary to finish the work. Jesus always did. And we're to follow His example.
-robbie
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Gospel of Mark
The Gospel of Mark, chapter 1.
As we get into this book, I'm excited and already looking ahead into what we are going to encounter. I love the Gospels probably more than any of the other books in the Bible. Only because I get to read the words of Jesus, as He spoke them. I love seeing Him encounter people and watch as they are moved from one place to another, or have their lives radically changed, merely through Him speaking. My heart yearns when I read those words. They strengthen me and give me peace. I hope as we move through this book, it will have the same effect on you as well.
So first of all... couple things we need to know. What is a Gospel? In the days of the Romans, when a Caesar was "crowned" or what ever you want to call it, a decree went out that said Caesar is King. It meant that you were to submit yourself to him and his authority. It meant that Caesar was a "god-man", that his words were infallible and to disobey him meant death. These decrees were called gospels. So it is no coincidence that when the Gospels of Jesus were written, they were called "GOSPELS" for a reason. It smacked the face of the emperor. They were absolutely, and intentionally saying that Jesus was King, not Caesar. That Jesus was the "god-man", not Caesar and that to not obey Jesus, meant certain death. (We of course know that the death they spoke of was the "second death", as it is mentioned in the Bible in Revelation 21:8.) And make no mistake.... people were put to death by Caesar for this. Secondly, who was Mark? Well, it is widely accepted by scholars and theologians that Mark is John Mark, a companion and scribe of Paul's. It is believed that Mark wrote the Gospel sometime between 60-70 A.D. And contrary to what you may think (him being a scribe for Paul and all...) the gospel is actually an account from Peter. It was written for a Jewish/Roman audience, and it documents mostly the accounts of Jesus. There is no genealogy, nor is there a birth story in this gospel. It merely focuses on the facts of Jesus' ministry. It is believed not to be chronological, but rather, thematic. Pastor Erik talked about this in week two of Sola Scriptura. And one of the biggest things that took place here was the translation from Aramaic for the purposes of the audience being able to understand. That's a little bit of info on the Gospel of Mark. You can find lots of interesting things about this Gospel if you research it, but be careful. If you are tooling around on the internet for said research, you need to pay attention to the source, and if it's credible or not.
Chapter 1:
Aw, man... I could go on and on and on just in this one chapter! But for time's sake I'll let you guys explore and talk about the many things. I'll key on two things. First: vs. 17-18 "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. WHAT! Are you serious? Some dude comes along, that you've never seen before, speaks one sentence and you completely throw away your entire life to go follow him? Seriously!
Can you imagine, for one second, what Peter and Andrew's hearts felt like when they heard, literally, the voice of God speaking to them; commanding them to follow. I don't know about you, but my heart is wrecked when I read Jesus' words. I can't fathom actually hearing them. If I hadn't had a heart attack at that moment from the sheer power and authority of them, I probably would've fallen to my knees and wept at the beauty of the sound of His voice!
Next: vs 23-28. There were so many teachers and philosophers trying to win the attention of the people back then, they immediately recognized that when Jesus spoke, he carried authority. It wasn't new to them that someone else would be coming along spouting out this new philosophy, it WAS new to them that the person could actually command results with His teaching and his words alone. Can you imagine standing there watching a demon possessed person, who by the way refers to himself in a pluralistic fashion saying, "Have you come to destroy us?" But then he says probably the most key thing from this entire chapter. "I know who you are- the Holy One of God". If I hadn't believed by then, I probably would've had to re-evaluate my position after that encounter!
Okay, I'm done. But I can't wait for your comments! There's sooooo much more in here. We could seriously do a month just on this first chapter. What are your thoughts?
-robbie
As we get into this book, I'm excited and already looking ahead into what we are going to encounter. I love the Gospels probably more than any of the other books in the Bible. Only because I get to read the words of Jesus, as He spoke them. I love seeing Him encounter people and watch as they are moved from one place to another, or have their lives radically changed, merely through Him speaking. My heart yearns when I read those words. They strengthen me and give me peace. I hope as we move through this book, it will have the same effect on you as well.
So first of all... couple things we need to know. What is a Gospel? In the days of the Romans, when a Caesar was "crowned" or what ever you want to call it, a decree went out that said Caesar is King. It meant that you were to submit yourself to him and his authority. It meant that Caesar was a "god-man", that his words were infallible and to disobey him meant death. These decrees were called gospels. So it is no coincidence that when the Gospels of Jesus were written, they were called "GOSPELS" for a reason. It smacked the face of the emperor. They were absolutely, and intentionally saying that Jesus was King, not Caesar. That Jesus was the "god-man", not Caesar and that to not obey Jesus, meant certain death. (We of course know that the death they spoke of was the "second death", as it is mentioned in the Bible in Revelation 21:8.) And make no mistake.... people were put to death by Caesar for this. Secondly, who was Mark? Well, it is widely accepted by scholars and theologians that Mark is John Mark, a companion and scribe of Paul's. It is believed that Mark wrote the Gospel sometime between 60-70 A.D. And contrary to what you may think (him being a scribe for Paul and all...) the gospel is actually an account from Peter. It was written for a Jewish/Roman audience, and it documents mostly the accounts of Jesus. There is no genealogy, nor is there a birth story in this gospel. It merely focuses on the facts of Jesus' ministry. It is believed not to be chronological, but rather, thematic. Pastor Erik talked about this in week two of Sola Scriptura. And one of the biggest things that took place here was the translation from Aramaic for the purposes of the audience being able to understand. That's a little bit of info on the Gospel of Mark. You can find lots of interesting things about this Gospel if you research it, but be careful. If you are tooling around on the internet for said research, you need to pay attention to the source, and if it's credible or not.
Chapter 1:
Aw, man... I could go on and on and on just in this one chapter! But for time's sake I'll let you guys explore and talk about the many things. I'll key on two things. First: vs. 17-18 "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. WHAT! Are you serious? Some dude comes along, that you've never seen before, speaks one sentence and you completely throw away your entire life to go follow him? Seriously!
Can you imagine, for one second, what Peter and Andrew's hearts felt like when they heard, literally, the voice of God speaking to them; commanding them to follow. I don't know about you, but my heart is wrecked when I read Jesus' words. I can't fathom actually hearing them. If I hadn't had a heart attack at that moment from the sheer power and authority of them, I probably would've fallen to my knees and wept at the beauty of the sound of His voice!
Next: vs 23-28. There were so many teachers and philosophers trying to win the attention of the people back then, they immediately recognized that when Jesus spoke, he carried authority. It wasn't new to them that someone else would be coming along spouting out this new philosophy, it WAS new to them that the person could actually command results with His teaching and his words alone. Can you imagine standing there watching a demon possessed person, who by the way refers to himself in a pluralistic fashion saying, "Have you come to destroy us?" But then he says probably the most key thing from this entire chapter. "I know who you are- the Holy One of God". If I hadn't believed by then, I probably would've had to re-evaluate my position after that encounter!
Okay, I'm done. But I can't wait for your comments! There's sooooo much more in here. We could seriously do a month just on this first chapter. What are your thoughts?
-robbie
Monday, February 8, 2010
Romans 16
Romans 16
Well, everyone, this is it; the final chapter of Romans. I'm sure some of you are saying, "Woohoo!" But the reality of it is, we can almost find more useful instruction on Christian living in Romans than anywhere else in the new testament. Obviously we can find lots of stuff in other books, but Romans is just one nugget after another.
First I want to clear up something that probably gave you pause while reading this. We all have been told forever that Paul wrote Romans. But in the last few lines we see someone named Tertius claiming to have written this letter in his own hand. Don't let that confuse you. It is widely accepted and customary of that time for people like Paul to have hired scribes or "secretaries". Remember, the servant culture in that day was huge. If you weren't a peasant, which Paul wasn't, you would have your "posse" that would carry out your tasks. You need to know that Paul hand wrote the greetings of his letters. From that point on, he dictated the body, then hand-singed the letter. So don't let that confuse you.
The instruction from this chapter is pretty clear. Don't be led astray. Hold true to the teachings of Christ. Be careful not to be in the company of those who are divisive. In Paul's time, there would be Jews who would come behind him, from city to city, and try to tell the new Christians that they had to adhere to all of these Jewish customs in order to truly be saved. Paul warned the church of this. And I think we would do well to listen in our day as well. We have so many people offering up these pluralistic ideas of how Jesus is just "one" way, or unless you do x,y, and z, you can't truly be saved. We need to be armed with the knowledge of the scriptures to combat these ideals. This is why we are devoting so much time this year to this kind of teaching from the stage, and this kind of study by this team. When Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15 to be prepared to give an account, I don't think that he just meant for you to say: Because Jesus loves me and I prayed to Him to save me. If that's the extent of your knowledge of your salvation, you are going to fall prey to those who would cause you to question your salvation. You are going to be hard pressed to defend yourself to a Hindu or a Muslim who can tell you everything about "Your" Jesus, and why their god is just as good.
Anyway, that's Romans. I'd like some feedback on what you guys would like to do for our next blog session. I'm thinking about the Gospel of Mark. What are your thoughts?
-Robbie
Well, everyone, this is it; the final chapter of Romans. I'm sure some of you are saying, "Woohoo!" But the reality of it is, we can almost find more useful instruction on Christian living in Romans than anywhere else in the new testament. Obviously we can find lots of stuff in other books, but Romans is just one nugget after another.
First I want to clear up something that probably gave you pause while reading this. We all have been told forever that Paul wrote Romans. But in the last few lines we see someone named Tertius claiming to have written this letter in his own hand. Don't let that confuse you. It is widely accepted and customary of that time for people like Paul to have hired scribes or "secretaries". Remember, the servant culture in that day was huge. If you weren't a peasant, which Paul wasn't, you would have your "posse" that would carry out your tasks. You need to know that Paul hand wrote the greetings of his letters. From that point on, he dictated the body, then hand-singed the letter. So don't let that confuse you.
The instruction from this chapter is pretty clear. Don't be led astray. Hold true to the teachings of Christ. Be careful not to be in the company of those who are divisive. In Paul's time, there would be Jews who would come behind him, from city to city, and try to tell the new Christians that they had to adhere to all of these Jewish customs in order to truly be saved. Paul warned the church of this. And I think we would do well to listen in our day as well. We have so many people offering up these pluralistic ideas of how Jesus is just "one" way, or unless you do x,y, and z, you can't truly be saved. We need to be armed with the knowledge of the scriptures to combat these ideals. This is why we are devoting so much time this year to this kind of teaching from the stage, and this kind of study by this team. When Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15 to be prepared to give an account, I don't think that he just meant for you to say: Because Jesus loves me and I prayed to Him to save me. If that's the extent of your knowledge of your salvation, you are going to fall prey to those who would cause you to question your salvation. You are going to be hard pressed to defend yourself to a Hindu or a Muslim who can tell you everything about "Your" Jesus, and why their god is just as good.
Anyway, that's Romans. I'd like some feedback on what you guys would like to do for our next blog session. I'm thinking about the Gospel of Mark. What are your thoughts?
-Robbie
Monday, February 1, 2010
Romans 15
Romans 15
Well, I guess by now we should just automatically assume that whatever is next on our blog is going to directly reflect whatever Pastor Erik just taught on! LOL. Apparently, God has some work to do in us beyond what Erik's talks have been about. :)
So, for those of you who didn't get the chance to check out his talk yesterday, as he streamed it live on the web, let me give you a brief rundown of what he talked about. The message was entitled, "The Christ Who Changes Me." And basically, it was this: Christ, who gave you grace and salvation expects a life change to go along with the heart change that was given to you in order that you may come to Him. If the Holy Spirit lives within you, meaning you are a Christian, then you have an obligation to put aside the things of this world and strive for righteousness. One of the main points that he talked about was building up each other. And while his central passage was Colossians, it mirrored that of Romans 15 and the book of James. We are to build each other up, and hold each other accountable.
Vs. 1-7 really speak of this. How many times do we give someone a hard time, in fun, but yet we rarely, if ever, encourage them, tell them how much we appreciate them, or just thank them for who they are and what they are bringing to the church? Or even, how much they mean to us, personally. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to chide each other in fun. But we also have to remember.... are there any unbelievers in our midst while we're doing it? Cause if they are, are we showing them that we have been changed? Or are we just conforming to the culture and the world around us? Are we saying something to build someone up, or tear them down? If Jesus were standing right beside us, would we say it at all? That last question is the big one! Cause here's the reality.... He is!
In a nutshell, this is something that I have to get better at. My nature is one to have fun and joke around with people; to let the little snide remark come out. But at the end of the day, I'm not building up anyone or edifying the church in doing it. I need to repent of this and ask God to continue to change me and grow me.
Robbie
Well, I guess by now we should just automatically assume that whatever is next on our blog is going to directly reflect whatever Pastor Erik just taught on! LOL. Apparently, God has some work to do in us beyond what Erik's talks have been about. :)
So, for those of you who didn't get the chance to check out his talk yesterday, as he streamed it live on the web, let me give you a brief rundown of what he talked about. The message was entitled, "The Christ Who Changes Me." And basically, it was this: Christ, who gave you grace and salvation expects a life change to go along with the heart change that was given to you in order that you may come to Him. If the Holy Spirit lives within you, meaning you are a Christian, then you have an obligation to put aside the things of this world and strive for righteousness. One of the main points that he talked about was building up each other. And while his central passage was Colossians, it mirrored that of Romans 15 and the book of James. We are to build each other up, and hold each other accountable.
Vs. 1-7 really speak of this. How many times do we give someone a hard time, in fun, but yet we rarely, if ever, encourage them, tell them how much we appreciate them, or just thank them for who they are and what they are bringing to the church? Or even, how much they mean to us, personally. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to chide each other in fun. But we also have to remember.... are there any unbelievers in our midst while we're doing it? Cause if they are, are we showing them that we have been changed? Or are we just conforming to the culture and the world around us? Are we saying something to build someone up, or tear them down? If Jesus were standing right beside us, would we say it at all? That last question is the big one! Cause here's the reality.... He is!
In a nutshell, this is something that I have to get better at. My nature is one to have fun and joke around with people; to let the little snide remark come out. But at the end of the day, I'm not building up anyone or edifying the church in doing it. I need to repent of this and ask God to continue to change me and grow me.
Robbie
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