Day 53: Mark 6:1-29

“And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.” - Mark 6:5-6

The Greek word for marveled here is thaumazō, and it can also be translated as to be astonished or to be amazed. Mark used this same word in 5:20 to describe everyone's reaction to the demoniac Jesus had healed. It seems like it takes a lot to amaze our Savior, and here it is not in a positive way.

Aren't you amazed when you see someone outright reject Jesus? When I worked in the local church, it blew me away to see how people would react to each week's services. It seemed that the same people were engaging and responsive to the worship and the study of God's word. At the same time, many were obviously there with the mission of staying unmoved. The same Good News was delivered to both, but a much different reaction.

Do you find yourself numb to the work of God today? Has your love for Jesus grown cold? Have you turned the Christian experience into a mere mental exercise to try and pacify your conscience? That won't work.

Jesus desires that you and I trust him with everything we are. Not because He's on a power trip. It is because he knows what the best life possible needs to look like. He lived it. He invites us into this way of life as well.

Ben Witherington makes a great point when he writes: "The focus, then, is not so much on Jesus’ inability as on the amazing lack of faith, but clearly Mark sees a connection between faith and healing, as the previous stories in the second half of Mark 5 show. We may perhaps put it this way—lack of faith limits the reception of help readily available from Jesus." - Witherington, B., III. (2001). The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (p. 195)

Day 52: Mark 5:21-43

“And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’” - Mark 5:34, 36 ESV

It hit me for the first time this morning that this little girl was born around the same time that this woman fell ill. So, when Jairus' family was flooded with joy and hope for the future, the woman with the issue of blood was overwhelmed with shame and despair. Yet, at this moment, both the girl and the woman were in desperate need.

Jairus was not necessarily a religious leader, being the frontman of the synagogue. Most rulers of these Jewish places of worship were the most wealthy and influential in their community.

Also, by touching the woman (bleeding) or the girl (dead), Jesus would have made himself ceremonially unclean according to the Law of Moses. He engaged despair with healing and hope for what was to come. Why? To show us what compassion looks like, and to reveal that he was and is the Son of God.

So, when Jesus invites us to not fear and only believe, may we take him up on his offer. Not only that, let's share that hope with everyone who crosses our path.

"The NIV says Jesus 'ignored' what they said. The Greek verb used here (παρακούω, parakouō) is difficult to translate, but the context points more toward the NRSV translation that Jesus 'overheard' what they said. Having overheard it, he exhorted Jairus, 'Don’t be afraid; just believe.' The woman with the hemorrhage had just demonstrated faith and how faith can conquer fear. Jairus needed to follow her example." - Black, A. (1995). Mark (Mk 5:35–36)

Day 51: Mark 4:26-41; 5:1-20

“And he did not permit him but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.” - Mark 5:18-20 ESV

This was one wild man that Jesus encountered. He was chilling in graveyards, naked. He had people trying to bind him with chains, to no avail. Mark records that he wrenched the chains, which is the Greek word diaspao, meaning that he tore the chains apart like one rips a piece of paper.

It didn't take a psychologist to know something wasn't quite right with this man, psychologically or physiologically. Jesus knew the source was unseen: Demonic activity. Jesus frees this man of the demons at the expense of 2,000 head of swine (trying to picture that is blowing my mind).

This man was found sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. Not only that, but the man asks Jesus for permission to become one of his disciples ("that he might be with him" is the same language used for the 12 in Mark 3:14).

In a strange turn of events, Jesus tells this man to do something he rarely said to anyone: "go and tell everyone what the Lord has done for you." The man obeys, re-enters society, and paves the way for the Apostle Paul to do his work twentyish years later in this area.

An obvious question for us all is this: Are we telling everyone we come across what the Lord has done for us? Let's keep the legacy of this man's faith going. We are preparing the way for future generations to be changed by the Gospel!

"The healed man begged to stay in the company of Jesus, but his request was refused. There is another paradox: The healed leper (1:44) had been strictly forbidden to tell anybody about his healing, but this healed demoniac was ordered to return home and bear witness to what God had done for him (19). There are good reasons for what might at first seem arbitrary and inconsistent. For Jesus himself to continue preaching in the Gerasene country was clearly now impossible: therefore, in refusing the man’s request to leave with him, Jesus was ensuring a continuity of witness in a needy area." - Cole, R. A. (1989). Mark: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 2, p. 162)

Day 50: Mark 3:31-35, 4:1-25

“And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ‘Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.’” - Mark 4:2-3 ESV

"...the sower is not very important in the story, and not identified in the interpretation in verses 13–20. The focus in the story and in the interpretation is the four different soils and their different responses to the seed." - Schnabel, E. J. (2017). Mark. (Vol. 2, p. 100)

Growing up, as kids, we (at first) don't realize if we have it good or have it bad. However, whenever wonderful or messed up things surround us, we consider it normal. Yet, the environment in which we are raised dramatically affects us in every way. Why do we tend to scream when we're angry? Or why are we bent toward shutting down when we become angry?

Our environment conditions us, but it doesn't sentence us.

Jesus' parable of the sower shows the same kind of truth. The word of God is powerful, alive even. Still, our hearts' condition can make it where the most powerful force in the universe will not pierce our soil. This is where the Devil has a field day.

This is why we have to be very patient and consistent with someone who wasn't raised to know much about Christianity. They were conditioned to be a hard, flighty, or anxious soil. But we are convinced as believers in Jesus that any heart can turn with the right amount of the Holy Spirit's tilling (see John 16:8).

"Father, may we keep our hearts ready to receive your word. May you also provide us with opportunities to sow your word into other people's lives, and when we see them, help us to be obedient. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 49: Mark 3:7-30

“Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind.’” - Mark 3:20-21 ESV

At first glance, this may seem odd to us. Jesus' mother and his brothers are attempting to put a stop to what he was doing. Why did they think he had lost his mind? I mean, he had been teaching and healing for a while now. His first miracle (John 2) was at the prompting of his mother as she told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." So what had changed?

It seems like the thing that is concerning them most are the crowds. This has all the makings of a revolution, and movements like these almost always ended in the death of the revolutionary.

They didn't want to lose their guy. Later on, Peter would have the same reaction when he heard Jesus tell the disciples about his coming death (Mark 8:32).

They were essentially saying, "If this thing ends in your death, we will not support it."

This is why verse 36 is so important. To Jesus, surrounding himself with those interested in doing God's will was more important than even spending time with his loved ones if it meant it would distract him from his purpose. Don't worry, though. His family comes around in the end (see Acts 1:14).

Are we willing to do what God wants for our lives, no matter what the cost or the reaction of those closest to us?

R. Alan Cole's thoughts on this passage are especially helpful: "This, to them, was the last straw; like Peter when he heard of the cost to Jesus of the road to Jerusalem (8:32), they decided that they must save him from the consequences of his own vocation. Again, like Peter, they thought that they acted as his friends: but such friends were more dangerous to him than enemies. Like the disciples at the well of Samaria, they had no concept of the true food that sustained Jesus, the moment-by-moment obedience to the Father’s will (John 4:32–34)." - Cole, R. A. (1989). Mark: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 2, p. 142)

Day 48: Mark 2:13-28, 3:1-6

“And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” - Mark 3:5 ESV

How much of a planner are you? Do you find great pleasure in having your entire day (or life) mapped out? It is definitely helpful to be organized and to have boundaries for our days. Otherwise, we would never get anything done. We also need limits to keep us from making life-altering mistakes.

Yet this still can be taken too far. We can do so much planning, and our schedules and ideals can be so rigid that we don't have room for compassion.

Like we saw yesterday, Jesus made time for intimacy with his Father. Today we see that He also made time for people, and he thought it was ok to do this at the expense of the Pharisees' religious traditions.

It is wild, because Mark records that he was angry but also that he was grieved toward these Jewish religious leaders' resistance.

The word for grieved appears only here in the entire New Testament, and it is the word syllypeō; it can also be translated as to be hurt or mortified.

This is what love sometimes looks like. We are angry when people don't get it, and we are hurt, because we know their lack of faith is killing them (spiritually).

"God, help us not to compromise when it comes to the compassion we show to others. For those who don't get it, may we not suppress our anger or our grief. May you use them to help us get a clearer picture of your heart. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 47: Mark 1: 29-45, Mark 2: 1-12

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”- Mark 1: 35 ESV

"This is the first of three glimpses Mark provides into Jesus’ prayer life (see also 6: 46; 14: 32–42). Jesus rose early and found a deserted place partially because the crowds were always present." - Black, A. (1995). Mark (Mk 1: 35–39)

There are really two types of communication we use on any given day.

The first is what I would call a blip in communication. It is when we send the obligatory texts like brb or lol or jk or on my way or almost there. We use this type to share in short bursts. It is helpful, but we wouldn't probably call it affectionate.

The second is what I would call long-haul communication. This is when we sit down over a meal and work through things in a relationship. Maybe we need to really speak the truth into someone's life. With this type, no amount of time really seems like enough.

I'm sure Jesus had many blip prayers during his 33 years as he walked this earth. This is the kind that Nehemiah prayed as he approached the king (see Nehemiah 2: 4). Yet the substance that he fed on most for strength was found in these early-morning (long-haul) prayer sessions (or late-night; see Matthew 14: 23).

What about us? Do we make time for this kind of rich prayer? Or do we have too much going on to communicate with our Creator (even seems odd typing this out)?

If Jesus found (or made) time during his frantic, three-year earthly ministry, surely, we can make time in our schedules as well.

As a mentor once told me, "We have time for what we make time for."

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." - Colossians 4: 2 NIV

Day 46: Mark 1: 1-28

“And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’” - Mark 1: 27 ESV

We have all met people who aren't shy about telling you how fantastic they are. It's almost as though they're, at the same time, trying to convince themselves of this as they drone on and on.

We listen to what they are saying and notice that it doesn’t match what they are doing.

What about Jesus? Did he only have clever sayings about forgiveness and Good News (Gospel), or did he back it up with the way he lived?

What stood out to me most in our reading for today is that what Jesus did confirmed what he said. This is why the people were saying he taught with "authority." Jesus had more rights than anyone else to be a top-down leader, barking commands to everyone in Israel while not engaging himself in earthly matters. Yet Jesus' whole life was a masterpiece of powerful words and unforgettable deeds.

May we ask God for the same kind of life. One that is rich in language and overflowing with faithfulness.

"This exhibition of power only confirmed the impression left in the minds of his hearers, that here was one invested with authority." - Cole, R. A. (1989). Mark: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 2, p. 115)

Day 45: Matthew 28:1-20

“But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.’” - Matthew‬ ‭28:5-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We live in a world that is in desperate need of this truth of the resurrection. Hate. Abuse. Injustice. Sexual sin. Racism. Poverty. Violence. Division. We don’t have to live very long to start asking God the question, “When are you going to start doing something about all of this?”

We pray again with the martyrs from Revelation 6, “How long, O Lord?”

Yet God has already done the most significant work. He sent his Son to die and rise for the world, all the broken and dysfunctional. Jesus didn’t just rise from the dead to prove he was the Son of God, the long-expected Messiah. He also rose with a view to someday raise us. This happens initially when we first become Christians by faith, and it will again occur one day in the final resurrection of the dead.

We will be fitted with new bodies. Bodies not prone to selfishness or pride or any wear and tear.

Until then, let's resolve to walk by faith in this life, living resurrected lives that dispense hope to a dark world in desperate need. Jesus was crystal clear when He gave us our three marching orders and one statement of assurance in verses 18-20:

THE THREE:

Go and make disciples.

Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Teach them to obey.

THE ONE:

"I will be with you always, even to the end of the age."

Today we say, "Let's go."

Someday Jesus will say, "Let's go."

Day 44: Matthew 27: 32-66

“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” - Matthew 27: 42-43 ESV

To truly appreciate what is happening in our reading today, you have to go 33 years back to when the angel visited Joseph. He declared in Matthew 1: 21 that the baby should be named Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. At that point, we learned that our Savior’s name would mean "the Lord saves" (Greek form of Joshua).

These onlookers mocked Jesus and all that he did for others during his earthly ministry. Couldn't he save himself? They didn't realize that he was performing his most significant act of saving others by not saving himself. He would get to save himself on Sunday. Friday was about his blood being shed for all of us. His death would be our opportunity for life.

Another thing to note here is that they sing a Hebrew song at Jesus in mockery from Psalm 22. Jesus will back up into the same song for one of his seven sayings on the cross (see verse 46). This proves that they had no idea what was actually happening.

Blomberg makes a great point in his commentary: “Verse 43 is unique to his Gospel and reflects his emphasis on the Son of God, also alluding to Ps 22: 9. Jesus’ opponents unwittingly testify to his identity. Precisely because Jesus is the Son of God, he consciously decides not to come down off the cross. Mounce rightly observed, ‘It was the power of love, not nails, that kept him there.’” - Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew (Vol. 22, p. 418)

In light of all this, why wouldn't we want to take a moment to remember what Jesus did with bread and the fruit of the vine?

This old, old story never gets old.

It is even sweeter on Sunday mornings, in which we have a dedicated time each week for us to remember the greatest act of love the world has ever seen.

Jesus, we choose to remember Your sacrifice today.