HE REVEALS

HE REVEALS Sometimes, you wonder if God cares about what is happening in our lives and work. It may seem that he was not even there at that moment. He may not be in full view – perhaps He is deliberately obscure and is giving faith full reign to make you absolutely sure of Him. A storm doesn’t mean He is not close at hand. He has promised that you will make it safely to the “land that is fairer than day.” The manner of this Man is so far beyond us that the best we can do is move ahead and, without reservation, trust in Him.

In the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, a new teaching method began at the seaside. It was different from His teaching in the synagogues. The poor and all others who could not get into the synagogue gathered to hear Jesus as He began teaching people in parables from a boat near the shore. This teaching method surprised His disciples because rather than explanations of truths that were overlooked or misinterpreted by the Jews, now plain truth about well-known things had to be thought about and considered from a spiritual point of view.

This was not a comparative religion, nor was it to give a further understanding of the law. Now, Jesus' teaching had become personal. Instead of seeking fruit from the people of Israel through His ministry of grace to that nation, it was from every person who heard Him speak that He was looking for a spiritual response and a desire for spiritual life.

A parable literally means placing one thing beside another to form a comparison, such as comparing the natural and spiritual worlds. The “invisible things” are revealed to us by “the things that are seen.” The earth, as God created it for the habitation of man, was a visible expression of what heaven was like. God created it as a perfect place, suitable for life as God intended it to be and to share with humans. Rather than merely a place of beauty and a reflection of the glory of heaven, it was a place of meaningful work, purpose, and spiritual responsibility.

There was only one restriction: out of all the abundant provisions and blessings that would fully satisfy a person. Freedom of the will is what separates humanity from all other creatures God created here on earth. The ability to love, think rationally, and make choices is essential to fellowship and compatibility in a relationship.

The Lord spoke in parables to make the truth clearer to the minds of those who wanted to know it. A parable made truth understandable to those who had spiritual interests by comparing it with things that happen in human life. To some listeners, it would have simply been a story Jesus was telling. They were those who thought about things that relate only to themselves. Seekers for truth would see much more than a story.

Truth illustrated by “word pictures” is often more easily grasped. An illustration lights up a subject to impress it on a listener’s mind. Also, an illustration from life’s experiences is easier to remember than a theological discourse that is taught, which most people have never thought about or experienced. A few people think abstractly, but most people need visual comparison or representation to retain a lesson taught. School teachers used to call them “story problems.”

Another thing about a parable/story is that it conceals what it teaches and reveals. There are outward and inward meanings to parables and stories that illustrate a subject. It is like a seed with an outward husk covering the grain's inward kernel. Compare it to our body that covers our soul. A parable produces good results for those who “diligently seek” truth; it keeps it away from those who resist or mock the truth taught by illustration. Honest seekers who want spiritual life, not just a religious feeling, will seek and find the kernel of truth inside the husk of the parable as the spiritual seed is sown.

A parable sifts out the counterfeit from the real. It gives light to those who do not want to remain in darkness. On the other hand, those who love darkness rather than light will not see the point of the parable used to teach a particular truth. A parable can be a savor of life that brings light and life to one person who is a true seeker. To those who are careless and do not think reasonably about spiritual things, a parable can be a savor of death that awaits them.

The Lord Jesus was rejected by the leaders of the Jews, and consequently, that affected the nation. As leadership goes, so goes the nation. The Lord had been seeking spiritual fruit from Israel, and He had been sowing the good seed of the word of God among the people of His own nation. A few responded to Him with real faith, but the nation as a whole “received Him not.” Now, the Lord begins to teach by the seaside, showing that His grace wasn’t limited to those who could go inside the synagogues of Jewish tradition, but His message was “unto all, and upon all them, that believe.”

The seed of the word of God is sown by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself or those He sends forth to preach. It is His Gospel seed, and He is the One who wants it cast upon fertile ground. Yet, some of the seed sown falls on four soil types through whatever person or means He chooses. In this parable, He describes His own ministry. Some people who heard His word didn’t pay any attention to it. Some people were enthusiastic about what they heard at first. We would say they were “excited” to hear Him, but that excitement didn’t last. When they found out it wasn’t easy to follow Jesus and all their troubles weren’t over, they went away.

Others listened to Him, and for a while, it seemed like they were true believers, but the things of secular and carnal life were so important to them that eventually, they weren’t with Him anymore. Some who heard Him and truly believed in Him stayed with Him and became fruitful Christians.

I have often wondered if those who hear the Word understand or even if a glimmer of light reaches into people's hearts. What way should I use to speak or to illustrate a point? Is what I say made clear enough, or do those truths seem hard to understand? The way the Lord Jesus spoke was surely the way to speak. He gave great sermons when people came to seek the kingdom of Israel. The people heard His words all right; it wasn't what they wanted to hear. They wanted their kingdom on earth, not the kingdom of God that was “at hand.” The Lord used a different teaching method to make people stop and consider what He meant. As an illustration, a well-told story is often better than a nod or a wink. One has to open their eyes to envision what that parable means. Then, after consideration, they will realize it is different from what it initially seemed to be.

There is a different time and atmosphere between the sowing and reaping times. Seed is sown when the days are shorter and no leaves on the trees. The weather is cooler, and sometimes the days are dark and damp. A lot of time goes into preparing the ground to receive seed. When the sower goes out to sow, he is usually alone with a heavy bag of seeds about his neck. With his two hands, he broadcasts the seeds of wheat or whatever grain he sows to his right and left as he walks the field alone. At the edges of the field, some seed goes farther to land on a well-beaten path, and some fall on the stony and thorny ground near the fence. In contrast, harvest time is usually done in good weather by more than one person working together for a short time and being happy while bringing in the harvest.

Isaiah’s prophecy tells on several occasions and in different ways, that the Lord would be alone in the saving work He had to do for us. Sowing is done alone in the darker times of the year. Sowing takes a lot more labor and time than harvesting. The personal effort is much greater. When sowing seed, there is the sacrifice of personal pleasures and ease, with the goal of a harvest in the future, making that hard work an act of faith. Sowing seed and all involved in that work can be very hard and tiring. The sower walks the field with the heavy bag of seed around his neck, and his arms constantly move. Sometimes he “weeps,” but he knows he bears “precious seed.” He has to throw away the best seed he has, in faith, believing that it will bring a good return in the future. The best “corn of wheat” that falls into the ground and dies is what brings forth “much fruit.” The seed that is sown is the best seed he has. The rest he grinds for his own use.

The sower will have a lot of disappointments because some seeds will be lost to the birds, some will sprout and then soon die, and some will produce plants with no seeds because it doesn’t come to full growth. Thankfully, we can expect some of the seed sown to produce the same kind of seed that was sown. It will produce more than was sown, and hopefully, the harvest will be plenteous. The final result at harvesttime will make all the effort put forth in sowing the seed well worth the effort as the fullness of the harvest is gathered into the great storehouse.

The ear's hearing takes place, and a person applies the truth to themselves. Through understanding and conviction, they discover the real worth of their soul and life in the eyes of a thrice Holy God. In repentance to Him and faith in Christ, they can now understand His Word. A story does not have to be just entertainment, but it provides a window into the soul. Some light penetrates the darkness through a parable that is told. Then the hearer takes stock and considers, "This truth applies to me," and the point of a doctrinal truth becomes much easier to see.

The Soil, v.4-20 The seed is the word of God, and the parable's point is that there is the power to reproduce a lot more than is sown if it is in the right place. There is life in the seed. A seed is not a dead thing. Energy and life are stored in every seed. When God’s word goes into the heart of a human being, it has the power to bring a good harvest. There is nothing wrong with the Sower, who is the Lord Jesus, and there is nothing wrong with the seed, the word of God.

What is needed for the word of God to bear fruit in the life of a person is the condition of the environment surrounding that seed of life that is sown in the Gospel. Seed stored in a bag or barn does not reproduce. Seed has to be taken from where it is dormant and moved to the ground, which is a suitable place for it to bring forth the life source in it. It needs water and light that only God can give. When it is in suitable soil, it will grow. Hopefully, most of the seed of the word of God we sow will fall on good ground. The reality is that once the seed that is broadcast by the hands of the sower leaves his hand, it may go on to places that have not been prepared to receive it. The hard path pounded down by those who pass by, or the stony ground with too many unremoved obstacles for seed to take good root, or thorny ground with bad seed in it, will not produce a harvest.

Success in preaching does not depend only on the one sowing the seed of the word of God or on the seed itself, but it also depends on those who hear the word of God. On a path beaten down by those involved in worldly pursuits, the word of God is exposed to scorn, mockery, and rejection. The devil will try to get people to walk on it, not bother with it, and he will try to remove its influence as soon as possible by making people insensitive to its truth. That attitude may be because of the way a person is brought up or the education a person has had. A human heart can be hardened against the Gospel to where, no matter what is said, there is no response to the call of God. The Pharisees, Pilate, and Festus were those kinds of hearers when they heard the Lord Jesus speak and Paul preach the word of the Lord. It doesn’t take much of a distraction for people today to ignore the Gospel and forget what it will ultimately mean to them for doing that.

It is not a good sign when someone hears the clear Gospel preached and, without any evidence of conviction of sin or concern in their conscience, receives the word with joy. Young children may be a bit of an exception because they have been sheltered from many sinful things. They are more conscious of the holiness of God rather than of their own tendency to sin. Sorrow for sin, self-judgment, and repentance usually result from a person who is conscious of their need for God’s salvation. They respond to the holy light of divine truth when it is preached. When the light of truth exposes sin and is faced with genuine repentance, then the light has done its work, and faith in the Savior of sinners on the part of the guilty soul saves them by the grace of God. That is often accompanied by tears of sorrow that turn to joy when the light of truth enters the soul.

The same seed was sown in different kinds of soil in the parable. When Jesus told the parable to the people, they all heard the word of God. Usually, in every audience of people, there are all kinds of soil in the hearts of the listeners. All those types of soil, the hearts of the people, heard the word of God. It was declared to them as the Gospel. A profession of conversion leads us to hope there is reality until proven differently. The pursuit of worldly things, the overwhelming anxiety caused by the cares of life, or the desire for more money reveals the lack of spiritual life. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are not of God. This is evidence of one who gains the world but loses his soul.

Good ground is prepared ground. It takes time to prepare people's hearts to receive the word of God by faith. When that happens, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” That faith in what the word of God says leads the prepared person to put their saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Their conscience has been reached, the seed has been sown, and God gives life. Life springs forth because of the good seed, the prepared environment, and the warmth of divine light. Some things in the lives of believers may hinder the degree of fruitfulness. When some things in life are allowed to continue that are inconsistent with life in Christ, if they are not faced and dealt with, the potential fruitfulness of a Christian’s life is never reached. Each one God saves has to be sure he or she does not let anything come between them and the Savior that would hinder fruitfulness in their life of faith.

The Response, v.21-25 This second parable teaches us that when the seed of the word of God has been planted and is fruitful, we need to apply ourselves heartily to use what we have been given. The way new life is expressed does not depend so much on the gifts we might have, such as teaching and preaching, but rather on the life of a believer being lived out before those who know us. We are expected to be Christ-like. We will shine as lights in a “crooked and perverse generation.” We should not let the business of living cover our faith. Christ is our light, and we are the candlestick that holds His light up before the world in which we live.

How we live will demonstrate what we truly believe. The Lord wants us to hear what He says and act on it as He instructs us. Those who have “ears to hear” the word of God and are willing to act on it will understand it and want to obey it. If we don’t use what we have been given, we will lose the understanding and light that we already had. The more we give out, the more we are given.

The Multiplying Principle, v.26-29 When a farmer has diligently prepared his ground well to receive the good seed that has been dormant for some time, plants that seed as skillfully as he can, then he can rest. He can go about his other farm chores and duties and sleep well at night, knowing he has done his part in producing a harvest. Divine principles at work bring the results from the seed he has sown. Life is up to God. If He chooses to send the needed rain and sunlight in the appropriate measure in His own time, it will be from God’s own fullness that a good harvest will come. In the creative sense, the earth is full of all needed to produce abundant harvests of whatever seed is planted. Latent in the earth, awaiting the seed, the moisture, and the warmth, is multiplied tons of food that will make a good harvest. That is the same when we plant the spiritual seed of the word of God.

A sower may be discouraged when the results he hoped to see do not come when we expect them. God’s principles of sowing and reaping ultimately depend on His grace and goodness. Our part is to sow. God gives the increase from the abundance of His storehouse of grace. There is full and plenty for “whosoever will may come.” When the harvest comes, the sower and reaper will rejoice together in God’s blessings. “The seed I have sown in the springtime with weeping and watered with tears and dew from on high. Another may come when the harvest is reaping, and gather the sheaves in the sweet bye-and-bye.”

If the Lord Jesus used the story method to teach people when He was here, I will also seek to tell some stories so people know what I say. An illustration one can understand or maybe relate to by thinking about it and considering the point will hopefully open up a gate. A mind can process many things, but when it is called upon to act, it is necessary for the hearer to recognize and grasp that when a person comes to faith in Christ, it is not by some coercion. An act of personal faith in Christ alone is the only way to receive God's salvation.

The Mustard Seed, v.30-33 It is of special interest that the Lord Jesus Christ asked His listeners for their opinion, based on what He had already taught, of what they would compare the kingdom of God to. How would they explain the truths he had taught? He then compared their little faith in the word of God, which He had been teaching them about, to small beginnings that have great results. The mustard seed may be so small that it is considered of little value until it is sown. Jesus came to a humble birth, a humble carpenter from Nazareth who made new life possible in the world of lost sinners. That new life blesses people everywhere when they enter the kingdom of heaven.

We should never despise small things because they may seem insignificant to us or others. God can produce great results from small beginnings. The Gospel has blessed the whole world. Even though most people despise it, that doesn’t affect the growth and greatness of the kingdom of God. “All men” will be drawn to Him at the time of His choosing. Some will be blessed because of the seed of the word of God that they believe in, and others will be rejected because they failed to take the word of God seriously. Christianity started out with great power and blessing, seen by those who repented and believed the Gospel. But many who claim to be Christians are like the birds that come and sit on the branches, thinking they are part of the kingdom of God. They are not part of the great shelter of faith, comprised of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved. There are many who are merely pretenders who are not really in the kingdom of God.

The Storm, v.35-41 Faith to sow the seed and respond to the claims of the Gospel that we preach to others is sometimes tested to one degree or another. There are times in the work of the Lord when we get weary. The Lord Jesus experienced that, so He knows what it is like when we need to take a rest. The strain on the mind and emotions can sometimes affect a Christian worker, teacher, and preacher that really drains us physically. It is at times like that when a rest is needed.

The Lord had both pity and passion for the souls of the lost, which affected Him in His own soul and body. He labored tirelessly, but there was a cost to the toil and labor for souls that He felt personally. Those engaged in kingdom work will feel the same way. Pity, caring, concern, and compassion for the lost souls of people around us are real to those who seek to win souls before they perish in their sins.

Jesus was not heedless to the needs and fears of the disciples when He slept while they labored to cross the sea in a great storm. Neither is He heedless to our needs in the storms of life. Difficulties and adverse events are often not what we had anticipated in our service to the Lord. But that does not mean that He is not with us. Our commitment is to Him and the work to which we have been called. He has assured us, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.” Our Lord never promised His own that the life of a committed Christian would be easy. But He did promise to be with us to the end when we were carrying out the commission that He gave us before He ascended into heaven.

Often, our faith can be made stronger during the trials and testing times of life. True, in trials, there is the danger of weakness and fear, but that depends on whether our confidence is in ourselves or in Him. He is the Almighty God. He is the strong deliverer. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, so He can certainly care for His people in times of fear and weakness. He may choose to go through the storm with us until we reach the desired haven, or He who can do so may instantly calm the storm and do miraculous things beyond our finite comprehension.

Whatever He chooses to do will always be the best in the final outcome of our life of faith here on earth. Some have lived “quiet and peaceable” lives. Others have lived their whole lives under the gun and pressures of opposition. It is for His own reasons that the Lord allows both good and bad to happen to His people. May we always be able to honestly say, like Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

In the calm of the evening, when all is beautiful and quiet, He is there. In the busyness of work, when we are pressured to buy, He is there. No matter what testing we are called to go through, even if old temptations don't affect us, now there's something new to attract our attention, and when the pressure comes upon us until we don't know what to do, He is there.

He is there when the winds of opposition get stronger and rise against us. When the voices of those who know us mock and scorn our trust—He is there. It may be when we are caught in the middle of laughter and others' derision of our faith and commitment to God, and we are making life-changing decisions knowing we live in fast-declining moral conditions—He is there.

When there is no question that we are under Satanic challenge, He is there. When everything in our lives is thrown off balance, He is there. Even though the storms of life do not cease, and we wonder what is coming next, abundant grace is available to me. I am at peace in the middle of the storm because I know He is there.

MARK 5 This chapter emphasizes the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ to individual people, who each has a need beyond the help of any other person. Each of the three people reached by the grace of our Lord Jesus would have been considered untouchable by the Jews because of being unclean by demon possession, the pollution of blood, and death. The sowing of the good seed by the Perfect Servant in the previous chapter tells of the potential blessing of the Gospel message to the world. Perhaps the storm on the sea of Galilee, when the Lord was crossing with His disciples, was an attempt by Satan to hinder them from reaching the country of the Gadarenes because he had a captive there.

To calm a raging sea and stop the wind and waves was a miracle beyond human comprehension unless one is convinced that the Lord Jesus is the Mighty Creator. He does have control over all He has created and what He sustains by the word of His power. Creation is in submission to His sovereign authority. The disciples were amazed and wondered with fear at the authority of the One they were now following. They had seen Him heal the sick instantly, which was beyond the power of human beings, and now they see Him control the elements beyond man's control. When they stepped out of the boat after the Lord, there was a greater and even more dangerous confrontation with a wild man controlled by many demons. The power of darkness in the Gadarene maniac was beyond physical control in nature and physical sickness in disease. He was beyond moral and spiritual control, as the demons within empowered him with supernatural strength.

As the Perfect Servant of God continued His service, He now deals with individuals under the bondage of the devil, disease, and death. The Person of our Lord and Savior whom we know personally by faith is the same Person who, in grace and power, delivered a demon-possessed man, a disease-controlled woman, and a dead child who had succumbed to mankind’s last enemy. These three miracles illustrate the authority of the Lord over our enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. None of those will be satisfied until they conquer faith. When we have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we know that will never happen. The Spirit of God is within us. The Father and Son are with us so that we have the supreme power of divine Persons, preserving us in and through the trials and dangers of life. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Jesus casts out demons, v.1-20 Calming the wild storm of winds and waves was certainly a miracle of divine power and authority over out-of-control creation. A demon-possessed man with self-imposed cuts and strength that could not be controlled by being bound with chains takes being out-of-control to an entirely different dimension. The power of sin goes far beyond wind and weather to the realm of moral and spiritual darkness that defies all attempts of human endeavor to control. A person under the control of Satan is a terror to other people. Luke’s account of this event says this man was naked as well; so, this cut, bleeding, naked, and super-strong man under Satan’s control was a living testimony to the ruin the power of Satan makes of a person under his control.

There are people living today whose unrestrained evil goes beyond human sin to a where a human being is controlled by the forces of evil that are opposed to God in every way. People were made in the image of God to be able to love God and enjoy all that God enjoys. He desires to share His joy with Him in communion and close fellowship. Satan is determined to stop that from happening. Grace is greater than all our sins and greater than the power of the devil. Those who have been saved by God’s grace and enjoy the life of faith that we have cannot be indwelt by demons. Believers can feel the attacks and effects of Satan’s power. Therefore, we are instructed to “resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw night to God, and He will draw nigh to you.”

Unregenerate people who have yielded to the power of sin and Satan are powerless to resist him and deliver themselves from his power. For a person to try to control and restrain evil by willpower or reforming the kind of life one has chosen by one's own strength will end in failure. The laws of nations and powers of society to try to keep people from becoming dangerous will also fail. All laws can do, whether civil or religious laws, are to seek to limit the power of evil and the outbreak of sin to where people are hopefully not in danger. The police, prisons, courts, and punishments people have imposed on each other have failed to change the evil in human hearts that is influenced by Satan and often controlled by him.

Human society, social pressures, and man’s religion do not change human hearts. The heart of a man, by nature, is desperately wicked and beyond human control. The only hope for an individual to be changed is for them to be born again. No form of human restraint has worked against the powers of demonic forces. Outward actions can only be changed from within a person. A new heart, a new mind, and a new nature are needed. The Lord Jesus goes right to the root of man’s problem. He alone can remove the consequences of guilt and sin. Death is the only solution. “The wages of sin is death.” He provided the solution for the sin problem by dying for the ungodly as the perfect Substitute for the sinful soul. God alone can then remove the uncontrolled passions, lusts, and appetites that keep people bound. He has made peace between God and men through the blood of His cross, and when one puts their personal trust in Christ as their Savior, He “speaks peace” to that troubled soul. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”

When a person becomes a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ, He can give us the peace He has for us. His peace is not like the peace the world gives that comes and goes, and it is accompanied by fear that is not far off. The misery of a man under the power of Satan, and who is helpless to deliver himself or others from that power, yields to the power of Christ. Ruined, helpless people can be changed by the grace of God to become people who are quietly sitting, clothed, and in their right mind, and paying attention to their Lord Jesus Christ. A saved person is at rest when they are conscious of Jesus. They are justified, cleared of all guilt, and clothed in the righteousness of Christ. They are reconciled to God and are no longer a cause of fear to others or afraid of themselves.

Whenever the Lord Jesus comes to a place, choices must be made. One can't avoid making a response to grace. If one trusts the Savior, there is a price to be paid. Evil has to leave when people put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Darkness and light do not mix; one cannot please God and the devil. Holiness and evil cannot coexist. The power of Satan is a binding one that keeps those who follow him captive. All the things one under his power in life has done are only evil and sin.

Demons are evil spirits without bodies, but they can control the host body in which they are allowed to dwell. The wild, uncontrolled, evil actions of the possessed man of Gadara were gone when the demons were cast out. He returned to a normal body condition, and peace, gratitude, and love were in his saved soul. The demons knew who Jesus was and that He could send them to the Abyss. When they entered the bodies of the swine, their malice and hatred knew no restraint, but they also found they couldn’t control the bodies of the herd of swine. The power of Satan is terrible to behold in humans, but even more intolerable to demons is the presence of God.

When the Gadarenes came out of the ten cities of Decapolis and saw evidence of God’s grace and power in the changed man, “they were afraid!” The cause of their fear is not stated, but instead of joy and relief at the blessing of a citizen of their country being cleansed, forgiven, and restored to normal humanity, they would not receive Christ. Most of them were likely Gentiles, and one would think that their response should have been gladness that the One who had performed miracles in other parts of Galilee among the Jews had come to Decapolis. Their response was opposite to that of the people in Capernaum. They brought no sick or diseased people to Jesus. They just urged Him to leave. It may have been because of the financial loss caused by the drowned pigs, or it may have been a sense of guilt as they saw the evidence of divine holiness and authority. We do know that they did not want Jesus there.

That same attitude is prevalent in this society today. Some people get very angry when the Gospel is preached publicly, and others fear what will happen economically if righteousness prevails in their homes, lives, and businesses. People still prefer “pigs” to the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not want the Savior because they don’t think they need Him. Sin and moral wickedness are exposed for filth, and it is when the Holy Savior is in the midst of people. Politicians do not want Jesus because He knows the deceitfulness of their hearts. Business people do not want Him because holiness and extortion do not mix. Religious hucksters do not want the Perfect Servant of God because His presence reveals their hypocrisy. The Lord Jesus does not force Himself on people. He waits for them to open the door. If He is not welcomed, eventually, He goes away and does not return. He left the people of Gadara, who wanted swine instead of the Holy One of God.

The power of God sets one at liberty; chains and habits that once bound a person are broken. A new life and creation begin, and one is set free when that person obeys the spoken Word. There is no denying the work that God does; all is new, and old things have passed away. The desire is there to speak of and obey the Lord; darkness is gone, and we live in the light of a new day. Others may mock, wonder, and make remarks, but the reality is there to see. The old life is gone, and one has made a new start as people start to read "The Gospel according to me."

The Lord Jesus did leave a visible public testimony that the Son of the Most-High God had visited them. The healed, cleansed, made new man was prompted by love and gratitude to want to always be with Jesus. He wanted to go with Him. That is certainly a natural response of one who has been “made a new creation in Christ Jesus.” That was true of him and will be for us when the Lord calls us to be with Him that “we should live together with Him.” But like the man of Gadara who was made new in Christ, we are called to be for Him where we are in the world that has now rejected and disowned Him. That is where we are now in our life for Christ. Now, we are to “go home to [our] friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for [us] and had compassion on [us].”

God in mercy has saved us, and the “blood of Jesus Christ” has cleansed us from our sins. We owe it to people to give them the Gospel. Our Lord intends that we are to be active in our lives and serve Him where we are in the world today. We have a duty, and when we realize the One who gave us this responsibility is the One who gave His life for us on the cross to save us, then we see this duty as a precious privilege. We have freely received, and now we should freely give.

Often it is a personal testimony, that has a greater impact on people we speak with, instead of a whole lot of preaching. God is working in individuals today, which makes the Great Commission our Lord give an individual charge to individual disciples to go to individuals and preach the Gospel to them individually. Then we are to make disciples of them, baptize them, and teach them to observe personally all that the Lord Jesus Christ taught when He was here.

Faith born out of Desperation, v.21-34 What a difference there was between Gadara and Capernaum! A crowd was waiting for the Lord Jesus to return because they had been stirred by the evidence of divine authority and power in the healing miracles He had done previously. Sadly, for the most part, their waiting was not the waiting of faith but of curiosity and excitement. However, among those people, at least two people were anxiously waiting for the Lord in faith, which was born out of desperation. Twelve years before, a baby girl was born into a privileged home, and that child was greatly loved by her father, Jairus. That same year, a woman was sick with hemorrhaging, which hadn’t really stopped. For twelve years, she had lived with weakness caused by that and couldn’t find any help.

Some of the crowd that gathered to meet Jesus would have come out of gratitude to see the One who had previously healed them. At least Jairus and the sick woman were there with the hope that a little faith brings. Many people who gather in great congregations have an outward profession of being a Christian but don’t want the commitment, loyalty, and allegiance that real salvation brings when a person is saved from their sins by God’s grace. Such people only want the appearance of faith in Christ. They have never experienced personal faith born out of desperation by those who have been convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit and are seeking deliverance. When the pangs of sin get hold of a person’s soul, and the consequences become an unbearable burden, we seek the Lord with an honest heart.

Such a person is not willing to be a bystander. When urgency is born out of deep need, that person will not allow anything in themselves or others to keep them from seeking the Lord with all their heart. Young children who have not gone willfully into sin find that in them there is a need for God. They may have been taught from their first recollection about the reality of God and the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. They, too, need to come to know the Lord Jesus personally because they know that much of what they want to do is wrong when they become conscious of themselves.

We may find ourselves in a large crowd, and it seems wonderful to be there with such happy people. But if a person has suffered themselves, they have a sympathetic heart toward others. They know there are people in that crowd who are suffering and sorrowing as they did, and no one knows it. It won’t be long before such people find those in need. The message of the Gospel often draws inner sorrow to the surface in hurting people, and when it is urgent and overwhelming, those people will seek to find the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jairus was a man in a high position in the synagogue and likely in the community. He would have been well-known as a person of influence and prestige. When sorrow for his sick daughter became real to him, what people thought or said about him was of no real importance to him. The well-being of His daughter was a much higher concern. He went to Jesus in faith, born out of desperation. Without pride or a sense of importance, he fell at the feet of Jesus as an unworthy supplicant. He expressed his faith in Jesus’ ability to heal his daughter. He had seen evidence of the power and authority of Jesus before but had never felt his own need. Now, it was personal. It was in that humbled state of soul and a little personal faith that he came to Jesus.

The hemorrhaging woman had known her need for twelve years but seemed to think that her case was hopeless after having spent all she had on those who could not help her. She knew the goodness of the Lord and had confidence in His power and authority over sickness. She was conscious of her need for the Lord and believed He could help her. So, in her helplessness and humility, she took the action of faith. Faith in Christ demands an action to demonstrate that faith is real. The Lord knew the woman's need, and He knew who she was, but the stretched-out hand of faith was needed.

When she was instantly healed, she knew it, and so did the Lord Jesus. He knew her faith in Him was genuine, and she knew Him for who He truly was. Confession is a real part of the conversion. Her healing had already occurred when Jesus asked, “Who touched Me?” Her open confession of her need and “the whole truth” and her faith in Him assured the total healing of body and soul. She was free from suffering, and she also had peace. Freedom from the power of sin and peace within one’s soul results from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and deliverance from the power of sin. How comforting and assuring are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Jairus’ faith followed his awareness of the need and his humbling of pride. This account emphasizes his social and religious position because not many of his social class and rank came to the Lord Jesus as humble supplicants. Usually, those in Jairus’ group were critics, looking for some way to bring Jesus down, and none were humble before Him. It was unprecedented to see a synagogue ruler down on the ground before the Lord Jesus Christ. It was likely more difficult for Jairus to be humbled before the Lord than even the fearful woman. Jairus was going against the open hostility of the Pharisees and scribes.

God has His own way of bringing people to Him. In this act of grace, Jairus was brought in desperate faith to the Savior. He obviously knew about the Lord Jesus and perhaps even knew Him. The battle between pride and love didn’t likely last long, as he saw his daughter dying. Love for his child brought him to Jesus. This happens occasionally in our world today. Imagine a child saying to a father, “Daddy, why aren’t you saved? Don’t you want to go to heaven with Mom and me to see Jesus?”

Jairus’ friends didn’t have faith and told him there was no point in going any further with Jesus. Perhaps Jairus was upset that Jesus had stopped to talk and heal the sick woman. But Jesus knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts and all people, and He knew what Jairus was thinking. “It’s too late! I was too late in coming to Jesus, and He was too late in coming to my daughter.” What compassion was in the calming words of the Lord when He said, “Fear not, only believe!”

Those words are appropriate in every calamity, every problem that seems unsolvable, and every heartbreak. “Only believe” doesn’t mean one’s own belief is what is needed to solve the problem. It means believing in the One who can solve the problem, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jairus was tested as to where his faith was and in whom it was placed, not in his confidence in his belief.

The Lord first dealt with the mocking unbelief of those around. Those who do not know Christ or want to know Him can keep a person from the Lord Jesus if they are listened to. They had to be put away from the scene of true faith. It was with His trusted disciples and the parents who had a little faith that He, who holds the key to life and death, took with Him and watched with amazement as the Lord Jesus Christ brought life back to the dead young girl. He has power over demons. He has power over sickness. He has power over death. He is the “Resurrection and the Life.”

A lot can happen in twelve years of life. A twelve-year-old Carpenter would have been working with a saw and draw-knife to assist His "father" and meet some needs. Knowing His Heavenly Father was pleased with Him moved Him to “be about My Father’s business” when they visited the temple in Jerusalem.

In another home, a child was born, bringing her parents great joy. For twelve years, they probably taught her using the best methods they could so that she would grow up to be a person who could be well-used in guiding another generation in the way she chose because she had been taught well by her faithful parents.

At the same time, things were breaking apart in another home. Disease had struck a woman who would have a broken heart as she had to leave and was ostracized from society. Year after year passed as her worst fears were realized, and twelve years passed slowly and hopelessly.

However, in one short day, those three came together in one place—two with broken hearts and One filled with amazing grace. A hurting woman in simple faith reaches out a trembling hand, and virtue flows into her body from a sympathetic Man. The grief-stricken father standing by watched all this, not understanding the purpose of the lesson learned was for him to learn so he would get his eyes off himself and the sorrow he felt. After that lesson was learned and the day had passed, in faith, he would be able to tell—others of the Savior who brought his daughter back to life.

The Great “Blesser” was there, knowing the heart of each one. He did for the woman what He knew was best to be done, and He taught the anxious man to look away from himself and his need and then, in real faith, give heed to the Lord's word. By the end of that day, there would have been great rejoicing when the woman could go back to her family, testifying to her faith in Christ. A mother and father and their fully recovered daughter would be eating a meal together as the events of the day, and of the Lord's grace they would be repeating.

The Lord Jesus and His disciples would continue on their way. Quite likely, Peter, James, and John would never forget this remarkable day when, by His power and authority, Jesus raised from the dead a young girl and healed a woman by His virtue and the power of the words He said.

It was in Him that those parents placed their faith, and they watched what not very many people have ever seen: a person raised from the dead. Today, we walk by faith, not by sight. We have seen the miracle of the new birth happen and the changed lives of people who have come to life, who had been dead in trespasses and sins. We have experienced that ourselves and know what new life in Christ is like. When the dead come from the graves at the coming of Christ for His church, the Object of our attention will not be all the bodies of the dead who are raised to corruption, but on the One who raised them and us. Every individual believer knows the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and anticipates the joy of seeing Him at any time.

MARK 6 The rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ by the leaders of the nation of Israel that we read about earlier in the Gospel of Mark marked the end of the Lord Jesus’ first tour of preaching ministry in Galilee. A second tour occurred shortly after the Lord Jesus chose the twelve disciples that we read about in the Gospel of Luke. The third tour is what we read here in which the Lord sent out the disciples two by two. After they returned, He went preaching and teaching Himself. This was when Jesus visited Nazareth again.

This chapter is concerned with events rather than individuals. The service of the Lord as the Perfect Servant of God is connected to the incidents Mark wrote about in this chapter. One of these took place in the country. Another happened in the king’s court. The third was in the desert (a deserted place), and the fourth was on the sea of Galilee in a storm. Mark’s message about what Christ did when He was here reveals what things were like in the nation then. There was a morally low condition of those who were in Nazareth and in the world in general who rejected the Savior. That same condition prevails here today. For those who followed the Lord Jesus Christ, there was the full provision in Christ to meet their needs. That same provision is available to believers in the Lord Jesus today.

There are familiar places I have known since I was young, secret spots and places in town, and favorite vistas where I go to see views that impressed me with eternity. Lessons were learned then that I still use today and experiences that guide me along life’s way. Still, how strange it seems that where I learned about God and truth that became light to me through reading His Word; to those who live here now think it strange or unusual when I turn the pages of the Bible as I did long ago to teach God’s salvation and pass on what I know.

It is not just me; it happened to Jesus long ago when He returned to His country after His first Gospel tour. His kin folks thought only of the works of His hands, thinking of Him as no more than a carpenter. They didn’t think of Him as the One who made land and sea with His word. They only thought of Him as a relation, not their Lord. Even His brothers and sisters, from His own house, didn’t believe His word. They heard of His wonderful works but would not believe in Him by their choice. The evidence was there, but they lifted their voice of unbelief in Him who blesses people of faith. So, He left them alone, reaching out gracefully to people in another place. Even today, to those who won’t listen, though they live in a place of great blessing, He moves on to other towns and people who know what they need.

To those who come asking, the Lord always has time in compassion and mercy to move to help them. When comfort is needed, the Savior draws near to calm the torn spirit and remove their fears. When people are hungry for true righteousness, He has promised to fill them and impart His perfect righteousness. When life’s road seems too steep, He levels the hill. When He gives clear instructions as to where I should go, He guides me; though I don’t see Him in each event ahead, He knows. When things seem impossible on the course set for me, He makes Himself known, walking over life’s troubled sea. He speaks words of cheer, setting my fears all aside, and comes to where I am, willing with me to abide in Him.

Despite the decline in the moral, spiritual, and religious life of our nation and the world in general, we do not need to fear because in the storehouse of divine grace is all the strength we need when we are weak. Plenty is at the table of the Lord to meet the need of the one who hungers and thirsts after righteousness. There is the assurance of the Lord’s presence with each of His people when they are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. The fullness of all our resources in Christ is ours to use in the walk of faith and service when we are in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

We must never allow societal, government, church, or home life events to lower our expectations that the Lord will meet all our real needs from His bountiful supply and fullness. Hurtful and unexpected responses from events in life or from people we know should never be allowed to cause us to doubt the concern of our blessed Lord and Savior. He saved us to bring glory to Him and share in His future glory. How He chooses to bring that to happen is up to Him.

Teaching at Nazareth, v.1-6 It may have been the enthusiasm and excitement at Capernaum, in which people would have wanted Jesus to be the conquering King of the nation rather than their personal Lord and Savior from sin, that motivated the Lord to leave there and go to Nazareth. Jesus had left Nazareth on two occasions before. They would not accept His teaching the first time and disparaged his family and occupation. The second time He taught in the synagogue, they tried to kill Him because He pointed out in the scripture which He was, and they refused to accept that as a fact.

Jesus had been considered “mad” by His kinfolks, and there seemed to have been an alienation on their part to be associated with Him. On one occasion, He inferred that those who believed in Him were His true brothers and sisters and mother in a more real way than those of His natural family. Not that He disowned His own family, but that they didn’t believe in Him, so there was no spiritual connection with Him. James, Joses, Jude, and Simon were half-brothers, and He had at least two half-sisters. Returning to Nazareth, He would have renewed the family relationship and given the community another chance to accept who He was and what blessings He could give them. His love and compassion for them remained unchanged.

Even when people openly reject the Lord, He is longsuffering, unwilling that any should perish. Often, salvation is offered in the Gospel before people stop to consider what they have done. In mercy and grace, God calls more than once, but sadly, “man perceiveth it not.” With divine wisdom and power, God works to redeem and save precious souls that come to Him in faith. All are loved, but all are not saved. The teaching of the Gospel is not complicated and people with an ear to hear can understand it easily if they desire. Deliberate blindness of the mind comes when people know the truth and reject it because of their own ideas or sins, which they want to continue. Righteousness and truth condemn sin and deception.

The derogatory comments of the Nazarenes were an attempt to disparage what the Lord Jesus said, even though they recognized the wisdom and authority He had. The citizens of Nazareth belittled the mighty works of the Lord and His teaching because He was like them and one of them. Consequently, they compared Him to themselves and had an exalted opinion. They willfully rejected the Person of Christ and the grace in His heart toward them. He who was rich, for our sakes, became poor so that we who are spiritually poverty-stricken could be partakers of the riches of His grace.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was not dishonored by those of His own “country” because He had failed in any way. There was no moral or spiritual weakness in the Lord Jesus. Their problem was that they were casually familiar with Jesus and expected the Messiah to come with visual glory, great drama, and dramatic events that would unfold the kingdom of Israel with them in a significant place. It is a danger for any person to approach the Lord casually, nonchalantly. To seek a careless familiarity with Him is to bring Him down to our level until God is not much higher than us. That was the problem of the Nazarenes.

The difference between Jesus and the other people of Nazareth became obvious to them. He had grown up among them, worked with them, lived with them, and likely, some of them sat on chairs He had made or ate at tables He had constructed. His family members would have known the difference between them and Jesus. Despite their excuses for themselves, all the Nazarenes could not deny the difference between Jesus, the Perfect Servant of God, and themselves – and they resented it. Their problem was that they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, account for the difference. He was the Son of God in human flesh, in their town, and they refused to believe that. Because of that unbelief at which he marveled, He moved on to preach and heal in other villages.

The “few” sick folks He healed in Nazareth would have been a testimony to the fact that He had been there again and had been willing to bless them all. Despite rejection by the people of Nazareth as a community, there were a few “lights” there that couldn’t be denied. Some places where the Gospel is preached seem open to listening to and believing the truth. Others are closed and, for no known reason, have no interest in a divine visitation of God. The salvation of any soul and blessing to any community is a sovereign act of our gracious God. To reject the offer of God and the work of God is to reject Him. May we never forget the Word of our Lord, the Wisdom of our Lord, and the Works of our Lord that have brought us such blessings now and that will last forever.

JESUS AND HIS OWN: The neighbors and His family had doubts. What was so different about this one they all knew? Jesus’ work as a carpenter was in the town where everyone could see, but now there were mighty works from His hands that no one but God could do. Works that healed sick folks that were obvious but unbelief blinded, all but a few. In other towns and places, many people came to Him, and He healed and fed them all, not just some. The bread from His hand was more than enough to satisfy every hungry person. The fish and bread they ate were all blessed by His mouth. The extra was gathered so none went to waste; likely, some folks returned home with His food on their plates.

JESUS AND THE KING: Herod the King had fear in his heart that cut deeply because of his guilty conscience and from terrible sins that he had committed, which convicted him. He knew John was an innocent man, but he had him killed just the same. When he heard about Jesus, he thought John had come back to convict him again.

JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES: His disciples who followed and did what He said were out in a boat on a stormy night, toiling with fear, while He prayed alone to His Father. When they saw Him coming by them on top of the sea, they would have wondered, “He’s walking on water! Who can He be?”

JESUS AND US: They had to learn then, as we do today, that Jesus is more than the other folks say. It is true He’s Man, but He is much more. He has all power in heaven and on earth. He is the Great Creator who creates food abundantly and walks on the sea, which He put in place and set its boundaries. He knows all men’s hearts and can meet every need we have according to His will. He knows what is best before we even plead before the throne of grace, where He hears every cry we make. He came here by divine design so that on Calvary, He died for our sins to bring us to God. This same Jesus is raised from the dead, and at His Father’s right hand, He is our Advocate. He was here as a man among men, and He has experienced our kind of life so that from His fullness, He meets our needs.

He personally knows what it is to experience rejection by kinfolks. He knows when men’s laws go right against Him. He knows about people who will take and not give. He knows weak disciples want Him to make it easy to live. So, we take courage, and with hearts filled with cheer, we praise our Lord Jesus and seek to serve our Savior who once lived here. Even though failure and doubts did abound when He was here, He assures us that He walked on this ground before we did. He won a great victory over sin so that we, too, can overcome it because we live in Him. He looked down the road, past the cross, where He could see that we, with Him, would be victorious.

The Twelve sent out, v.7-13 Rejection by people who have been pressing hard on the heart of a soul-winner is very hard to accept. Earnest prayer, the entreaties of the Gospel, and personal interest shown toward people, a place, or an individual draw the strain of emotion from one who looks ahead and knows that judgment is coming on every person who rejects Christ. It is a blessed consolation when we hear of a person we knew who repented of their sin and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has gone to be with the Lord. It is heartbreaking to hear of those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel and who have passed on into eternity without the testimony of saving faith in Christ.

The rejection of Jesus by the people of Nazareth would have caused sorrow in the compassionate heart of the One who is a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” But it did not dampen the grace in His great heart of love toward those in the “villages,” the small, overlooked places where common people live and work in relative obscurity. In those simple settings, those who worked the land would go about their work each day, and when that was done, they knew they had to rely on God to produce the fruit of their labor. The same attitude would be among those who fish for a living. They rise up early daily to put the nets they have mended and cleaned into the water. The labor-intensive work is done. Now, all they can do is wait. It is the Lord of the harvest and of the great waters who can give or withhold the desired result.

The Lord Jesus didn’t stop His work for His Father or His service for the welfare of people because of the rejection at Nazareth. Instead of going to the large centers, He went to the small places. A lesson for us is that we must not allow bitterness, discouragement, or depression to keep us from pressing ahead, even after what may seem like a failure. Sometimes, we may have to change our sphere of service or the method of serving, but the message we have to give to the nations does not change. The meekness and lowliness of our Lord are examples for us. Power under control is meekness; mind and heart under control is lowliness, which will be seen and accepted by those who have no pretensions.

The twelve were sent out two by two as a fresh approach to the witnessing strategy of the Lord as well as training time for the apostles. It was plain to them that they were to go without a sense of superiority in any way and without pretense. They were to keep things as simple as possible so they would be witnesses to their message and words. They were sent out as poor men with an urgent message: not to go and socialize with the people. The King had come, and His kingdom would be announced far and wide. The messengers were enabled to do the things their Master did. Preaching the message of the Gospel of the kingdom was their objective, and healing would confirm the authority of the message they gave.

“The harvest is great, and the laborers are few,” but that does not give us an excuse to hold back because others are not responding to the call of our Lord. The waiting times are preparation times. We hear the word of the Lord and learn from Him first. To give a sermon without a message is a waste of everyone’s time. Neither the listener, speaker nor the Lord profits if one does not have a message from the Master. We have to learn the lesson first before telling it to others. We have to be disciples first before we can speak for the Lord. There is also a problem on the other side of the matter. Some spend all their time learning and studying instead of going forth with precious seed and watering it with the tears of a soft heart that has been given an urgent message.

Much as we appreciate those of our flesh and blood, it is much more important to be a child of God. These few years of living on earth will soon be gone. All we will have to show for living is what for Christ we have done. I shouldn't condemn those who don't understand me and what I do. All they can grasp are the things they can see. What is inside me and the Holy Spirit's motivation, they may believe, is an act of ostentation.

It is hard to explain how God has chosen to bless what He has placed in my heart, which is not done under duress but is prompted by God's grace. It is a privilege to know that He has used this weak mortal man to bring about blessings to those He did choose. Those things that have been done for the glory of God alone may never be accepted by those who live here at home but God can and will use that which is done for Him. I can't worry too much about the effect upon those who doubt or mock.

Some might wonder why the Lord sent His disciples out in pairs instead of individually. Their idea is that twice as many places would be reached simultaneously. There are several advantages to having two messengers together. One is the safety factor. There is safety from temptations of various kinds. Often, there is opposition to people preaching the Gospel, and it can get quite ugly. Another is that in times of discouragement when the message is rejected, they can strengthen each other by comforting and encouraging the word of God.

There is also the advantage of two presenting a different part of the message. One may be more acceptable to some of the hearers than the other. Checks and balances are needed to ensure the message is clear, correct, and presented acceptably. Another consideration is that by two being together, there is less of a tendency to slack off and not take the challenge of evangelism seriously.

That day in Galilee began a missionary endeavor that is going on today worldwide. The stream of evangelism may seem small to some, but over the centuries since that time when this first began, there have been thousands of faithful servants of God, who have committed their lives to whole-heartedly reaching out to others with the word of God so that they will be saved. People commit themselves, body and soul, to the word and work because of the Perfect Servant who sends them into His harvest field. The Lord Jesus said essentially, “Care not” how you are going to finance the work, maintain your household, and get from one place to another. Trust the Master who sent you to do for you what needs to be done that you can’t do. More than that, you should “Fear not” what might happen to you. You are your heavenly Father’s child, and your Master will not send you to do what you cannot do. He will give you the power to do what He wants.

John the Baptist, v.14-19 With the sending out of the twelve, the whole area was stirred beside what the Lord was doing. People were being healed, demons were cast out, and the Gospel was preached. The kingdom's work was not some background issue in the people's daily affairs. From the sick and afflicted on the streets to the king's palace, the news was out. Something was going on that was way beyond the ordinary routine of life.

It is not much different among people in the twenty-first century when we speak of Jesus being God in human flesh. Some folks politely nod and say, “You believe what you want to believe, and I will believe what I think is true. It will all come out okay if you are sincere in your beliefs.” The sad part is that some spiritual advisors promote that, leading many into a lost eternity. People who will not accept the truth that Jesus is the Son of God make up their own explanations of what historical facts support His claim. Millions of people have been, and are today, living proof of the miracle of the new birth.

In Jesus’ day, there were several different thoughts about who Jesus was. Some thought He was Elijah, likely because Elijah did miracles and raised a dead boy to life again. Jeremiah was a prophet who faithfully warned the people what would happen to them if their repentance wasn’t real and they would not turn to God from idolatry. Herod was sure Jesus was John the Baptist, risen from the dead, and returned to deal with him. His guilty conscience was aroused because he knew he had beheaded an innocent man who warned him of his deviant behavior and the consequences of sin that were ahead of him.

The crime he committed because of the pleasure he got from a dancing girl stayed with his conscience long after the dance was over. The guilt he felt was seriously awakened when he realized a Person was in his tetrarchy who had power and authority that was far beyond his. He had committed murder. This Man had raised a twelve-year-old girl from the dead! John had spoken faithfully to him about his sin, but as any immoral man tangled in the web of his own sin will find, Herod found it impossible to untangle the net surrounding him.

When a person acts upon the feelings and fears of the moment, they miss the point of the Gospel message. Sin has to be faced and acknowledged before God. Feeling sad or scared doesn’t help a person who is not willing to repent of his or her sins. Acknowledging guilt and turning from sin to God is needed before a person truly puts their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins that only He can give. Neither repentance nor faith is casual nor common. When a soul is awakened, “the wages of sin” is not just a verse in the Bible that has been memorized; it is a death sentence.

If only awakened to a sense of guilt, the human soul will not find any peace. Sin and its eternal consequences have to be addressed, and as John preached, a person will “flee from the wrath to come.” Herod failed to listen to John, and when he was face to face with Jesus a while later, Jesus would not say a word to him. No John - No Jesus! And at his quick death, hell received him.

5000 fed, v.30-44 This is the only place in Mark’s Gospel where the disciples are called apostles. They had returned from their commission as “authorized representatives” of the Lord Jesus. Those sent out to do work for the Lord are accountable to the One who sent them, not only in their work and teaching but to report back to the One who sent them as His representatives. We need to get used to reviewing before the Lord all He has entrusted us to do when we have been involved in His work. Not only are we accountable to Him, but also to those to whom He has sent us. When the designated work is done, we need to report to those affected by what we have done in the work.

The first mission of the apostles was likely their first time preaching, the first time knowing that God was using them to heal the sick, and the first time sharing the responsibility of doing divine service with another fellow laborer. Tension, fear, and consciousness of personal inability can’t be avoided in times like that. Preaching and healing were their double duty, and to do both from place to place would have been very daunting. Yet, the healing was necessary to authenticate their preaching. The physical part of this kind of work for the Lord is tiring, but more effecting is the emotional drain that results from dealing with such important work. That kind of tiredness can’t really be dealt with without some rest.

Jesus knew when the apostles returned and reported to Him “all they had done;” what they had done. He already knew because of His omniscience, but people engaged in work for God, like those apostles were, need to be able to tell others about it to ease their minds. A review of an effort we have been involved in is important for all concerned. There is the value of comparison with what others have done and learned in situations different from ours. We learn from each other ahead of time how to deal with different situations and different actions, which have been learned to be effective. The apostles told Jesus what they “had taught.” A preacher needs to review a message preached as soon as possible. In that way, the critic may help reinforce what was suitable and eliminate what was either too redundant, hard to understand, or unsuitable in a particular place. Just because a message was appropriate in one place doesn’t mean it is in another.

They are in every town and city of God's great harvest field. It seems like a very daunting task because so few pay attention to the Gospel. All people seem to want is to be considered successful in life. They want their religious beliefs to be soothing, with no obligations. Success to them is measured in dollars and material gain. They desire to live with the least possible amount of discomfort or expectations. Comfort and pleasure are far more important to them than integrity.

The most possible amount of profit with the least amount of energy is what most people in this area consider to be evidence of success. To be called upon to repent of their sins so that they may possess their souls is cause for their rejection of the messenger of God's message. Believing the Gospel and living by faith, there is no evidence of nor desire. Grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ are rejected out of hand. They want to think these things come under the definitions made by man. They want to make decisions without fundamental standards so they can live with a seared conscience unaffected by moral parameters.

When they hear the Gospel that first calls on people to repent, they reject it out of hand, not caring for the God who sent it. Consequently, the messenger must take stock of when to move on. It is not in our mandate from the Lord to try to right every wrong. Our work is to take the message and proclaim it far and wide. The Spirit of God uses ordinary people so individuals will know we cannot hide from the conviction of sin before we are saved. We preach the Gospel so others will repent and try to seek the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. From the Word of God, we teach the truth that responds to that person's deeply felt inward need, and we pray that they will give earnest and attentive heed to the message of God. The light shines in the darkness of the soul who, in simple faith, reaches out the hand of trust to the Savior who saves them by His grace.

Their open report to the Master was a fundamental part of their training. They submitted it to Him for His criticism, judgment, and/or approval. It was likely He had to firmly, gently, and wisely rebuke a certain boastfulness when they realized they had used miraculous powers He had given them to heal sick people. The most effective way to correct mistakes and avoid them in the future is to tell the Lord Jesus “All things openly.”

Whatever the Lord told them is not recorded for a good reason. Our mistakes, blunders, and personal faults are dealt with in private. If a person preaches and serves the Lord in any way, they will make mistakes and will experience the correction of the Master. A wise person takes the correction personally and consciously makes the necessary changes, then allows them to be indelibly printed on one’s mind, will, and heart.

Like those apostles, a review at the end of each day is an invaluable way of rejecting what is wrong and should never be done again and cultivating what has been right. Nurturing what should be practiced in a general sense will give us some guidelines in different situations. Each place and person is different, but basic principles apply to everyone. One thing that is most important is that a servant makes it plain that they are speaking for God, not from their own opinion. That is why the word of God in our hearts is so important. Then, when we sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, He draws from that which is already in us and uses it appropriately for the need at hand. Peter learned that, practiced it, and passed it on to us in his letter. Review each day with the Lord in prayer, and you will avoid being a people-pleaser, self-centered/self-conscious thinker, and “successful servant.” When we have done our best, we are still unprofitable servants.”

An attitude of genuine humility and the conviction that “TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!” will keep a person useful in the work of the Lord. The apostles told the Lord everything and knew there was no reason to withhold the good and the bad things that had happened. When they had “got everything off their chests,” it was time for a rest. The rest of the body often leads to the rest of the soul. We can only put so much pressure on the mind and spirit.

The life of a Christian is intended to be one of service for the Lord and communion with the Lord. One without the other is unhealthy and likely quite barren and sterile. When our activities are without communion with the Lord, we have gone too far and are doing too much in the energy of the flesh. When our communion does not bring about a desire and sphere of service, we deceive ourselves into thinking study and communion are the same.

It was not an accident that many people followed the Lord and were in that deserted place before Jesus and His disciples arrived. It was a deserted place where the disciples may have thought they would lie down and go to sleep. The rest the Lord had for them was the best kind because active physical efforts put all the tense thoughts and “what ifs” aside. The Lord knew what was coming; this was another teaching moment for His disciples and those “sheep without a shepherd” for whom He had compassion. The outcome of that event would have been, for the disciples, a time of taking the Lord’s yoke upon them and learning from Him. He said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The easy yoke and the light burden would have been the best possible rest they could get. They had been laboring and were heavy-laden, but the way they found rest in their souls was to participate in meeting the needs of others.

The result of being at that place that was “deserted” was the Lord taught people many things; thousands of people were blessed spiritually and fed physically; the Lord Jesus was openly revealed as “The Great Creator (who) became my Savior,” and everyone in that place learned that “all God’s fullness dwelleth in Him.” More than that, the weary disciples found their real rest in serving others and seeing the gratitude on thousands of faces that looked up at them with grateful thanks.

There is no greater rest and comfort that can come to a soul-winner than to see and hear from others words of thanks as faces light up and words of appreciation are given. When God blesses other people through any effort that we might make, weariness goes, and joy fills our souls. The disciples were refreshed in spirit and soul by being used by the Lord to benefit others. Also, each had a full basket of food for themselves.

Interruptions in the life of one who serves the Lord should never be a reason for annoyance. We make plans, which is sensible, but we always need to remember that people are more important than things. Eternal things are more important than temporal things. Often, what we consider an imposition turns out to be an opportunity to show compassion. Rather than being vexed, we should be grateful that the Lord trusts us enough to send a needy person to us for help.

This world is a desert place morally and spiritually, not just to believers in Christ, but to everyone. We need to keep that fact in our minds always. Deep in the soul of every person is a vacuum that can only be filled by the presence of God. The word of God is a word of hope for the hopeless. It gives direction to those who don’t know where they are going. It is an entreaty to those who have tried everything but found no satisfaction—the words of scripture comfort the sorrow and light to those in darkness. The Lord gave that to the thousands of people in that desert. As His disciples serve Him in this desert place today, that is what we are to give people now.

There are many spiritual lessons to be learned when one studies “The Feeding of the 5000,” but one that we need to remember especially is that there are needs all around that people are not able to meet. When we give what we have received and are able in one way or another to distribute to others what we have, we will end up with more than we gave. God is no man’s debtor. Christ is the One who multiples the seed. Whether He does it by having a seed fall into the ground and dying to bring forth more seeds that eventually make a lot of bread, or whether He does it by instantaneously making a whole lot of bread and fish out of a little; the principle is the same. We are called to plant and water and distribute the finished product, but God gives the increase. The whole work is God’s work! It is all of God!

The Storm, v.45-52 It is not uncommon for those who serve the Lord in preaching the Gospel to find testing times come right on the back of our high spiritual experiences and occasional victories. The disciples returned from preaching and healing with the assurance the Lord was with them in their work. Then in the desert place filled with hungry people, they were able to share in a remarkable experience of abundantly meeting the needs of thousands of hungry people. What enthusiasm and joy they must have had!

What a surprise and disappointment it must have been when the Lord told them to go away by themselves on a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee in the night. Reading the passage, it seems like they were hesitant at first, whether to do what He said or even to understand what He meant. So, He “constrained” them to do what He told them. One can think that as those twelve disciples walked away from the Lord and the multitude of people with a small basket full of food each, they would have been confused and disappointed. John’s account of this event tells us that the multitude wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him their King. Likely, they anticipated Jesus would lead a march on Herod’s palace and be installed as King in his place. The disciples were preserved from doing the same as the multitude because they had been “constrained to get into the ship and go to the other side.”

He sent all the people home by His own authority, and the disciples had nothing to do with that. I suppose they would have agreed with the people of that area because they still hadn’t grasped the uniqueness of God’s kingdom compared with the kingdoms of men. Not only was sending the people away something Jesus had to do Himself, but it was a time when He needed the fellowship of the One Person who was in perfect harmony with what He was doing. This was not the time for a teaching moment. Rather, it was a time of communion, holy harmony, encouragement, and intercession as divine persons joined in fellowship regarding the eternal purposes of God, during which all three persons were engaged.

It is of great joy for us to know that behind all the schemes and purposes of men and governments, our sovereign God rules with authority to fulfill His purpose of having God and man in communion. He wants fellowship with His people like He intended when He made man in His image. This follows a path of justice, righteousness, fairness, compassion, holiness, and love. It will come to pass in God’s own good time. He does not short-cut anything until “all righteousness” is fulfilled.

The disciples likely harbored some bad thoughts as they started across the sea without the Lord Jesus, especially when the wind came up, and they were rowing hard and getting nowhere. Testing times after successes are very hard to accept. We think we have passed a test and gone to a further milepost where things will come easier, and successes are common occurrences.

Then comes a storm, and we feel like we are getting nowhere but are going backward. Let us all remember that Jesus sees everything and knows all we are going through. He allows everything that happens to us. Sometimes, it is for our learning and sometimes for our correction. Be assured of this fact: He knows every step of our journey in life, even before we take the step. At the right time and in the most effective way, He will come to our aid and help us. He didn’t calm the storm even though He was walking on the water. He shared the storm with them even though they didn’t know it. “Fear not… When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee…” Our Lord does the same with us as He did with them. He prays for us as our Intercessor and pleads our cause as our Mediator. He sees and knows what is happening to us and comes to us at just the right time.

That is where our faith in Him is tested. Do we know Him well enough to call upon Him in faith, or do we call out in fear? We will experience many different situations in life, so there is no particular formula or template to follow apart from the word of God being our guide, counsel, and instruction manual. When we are used to hearing the voice of God in His word, we can honestly be without fear, even when things around us are dark and stormy. There are many things we learn only by experience and living and laboring in fellowship with our Lord. The disciples hadn’t yet learned the Creator's power and grace over His creation. He had created truckloads of food out of five loaves and two fish. They should have known the wind and sea obey Him. When He tells you to go to the other side, you will get there, even though the journey may not be easy.

By walking on water, Jesus gave the disciples another visual lesson about who He is. By the wind immediately ceasing by the power and authority of His word, they learned again who He is and what He does. If we get too occupied with ourselves and our difficulties, we tend to forget who we are and whom we serve. Our unfailing resources for living, serving, and dying, are in our Lord. We must always be “Looking off unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.”

Healing at Gennesaret, v.53-56 There was a period between the previous verses and these events described in the Gospel of John. Jesus had declared Himself to be “The Bread of Life,” and people had to become part of Him and His kingdom to have eternal life. That meant they would have to commit themselves personally to Him. Jesus knew who would truly believe in Him and who were there only for healing and “the loaves and fishes.” They were like those who wanted the result of being a Christian without being a Christian. When many walked away from Him, He was left with only a few real disciples.

People had turned their backs on the teaching of our Lord, but they had lost no faith in His healing power. Wherever He went, there were sick people wanting His healing touch or simply touching His garment themselves. They didn’t want His spiritual healing but were anxious for His material blessings. People are still like that. They want God to bless them materially and physically but leave them alone morally and spiritually. To them, Jesus is a mere convenience whom they think should make life easy for them on their own terms.

Even though people still despise and reject the Lord Jesus Christ, He still helps and heals. In spite of people not taking what He taught seriously, believing in Him, and wanting what they want, not what He wants, He still gives. In a future day, the Lord Jesus Christ will be received by a nation of people where once He was rejected.

We may want to rest, and then God opens the way for us to go someplace nice for a holiday, but even there, we may find people with problems to face. It is only right to speak to them of God's saving grace. Hunger of spirit and soul is real, and it may be that if they are filled, the body will heal faster and better than just by taking some pill. The fullness of God's grace is sufficient still.

Actually, when we take time to taste that the Lord is good, we will find out that what we really never understood is that God allows difficulties, whether hunger or pain, to come upon us so that He might give us a greater gain. When we learn of Him by taking His yoke upon us, we find that when we are under pressure, we can safely trust Him to bring out what seems a need or a danger, a lasting result that brings pleasure to both God and us.

Whether it is the common things of life or dramatic things, I can honestly say to those in need with words emphatic that from God's heart of love, He has blessings to give to them that far exceed blessings from men. He knows what the need is, so He knows what to give. Those who know Him have learned to believe that He will abundantly supply what is best, and in the sufficiency of what He supplies, we rest in comfort.

MARK 7 The events recorded in chapter six occurred in the country, in the king’s court, in the desert, on a mountain, and in the stormy sea. This illustrates the moral condition of the world when Christ is rejected, but it also demonstrates the fullness of divine resources for those who follow Him. It is an exposure and condemnation of the social and political world. In chapter seven, the religious world is exposed for what it really is rather than what it appears to be. Formal man-made religious rules are condemned when religious leaders come together to undermine the Person, teaching, and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The critical attitudes, judgmental opinions, hypocritical actions, and traditional forms that people have were all exposed to the people for what they are by the Lord.

“These people – He!” Mark 7:6b, 37. “This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me---- And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, ‘He hath done all things well…’”