Made Whole August 20
Mark 10:51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Jesus asks the blind man to speak his request with the same words as He had spoken to the sons of Zebedee, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The nature of the plea seems obvious, but Jesus wants the man who speaks and the crowd who watches to know the specific request.
The man responds, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” The request is itself a statement of faith, for no human has the power to grant it.
The translation of Jesus’ response is tricky. The words may be read as “your faith has saved you,” or as “your faith has made you whole.”
When we think of being saved as being restored to oneness with God, and being whole as being in oneness with God, we understand better the gift that Jesus has given.
This act of healing is a confirmation of faith, an acknowledgment of the unity that already exists. The restoration of the man’s physical sight creates a wholeness with the man’s spiritual sight.
Bartimaeus physically sees Jesus, and the two that are body and spirit within him are united in their vision. Freed from the bondage of blindness, Bartimaeus accepts the tie that now binds him to Jesus. He becomes one of the many beyond the 12 who follow Jesus.
Just a Thought August 21
Mark 10:48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus pauses on His way to the cross. A moment’s delay will not harm the world, but it will make a world of difference to an individual.
The blind man may be considered as a metaphor for all who live in this physical world. Each is subject to the physical law of death. The other laws of physical life are so burdensome as to weary every individual to death if another issue does not first cut short the limited lifespan.
The spiritual world stands as an antidote to the fatal poison of the snake bite.
Those humbled sufficiently by physical reality are more likely to have their eyes opened. The follower of Christ looks toward a future that lasts forever. “Forever” in the Old Testament has the sense “as long as it lasts.” The eternal God gives no reason to doubt that heaven is endless.
To be able to see truth is freeing, but we first must be willing to see truth, even if it changes the world we think we know.
To know that God loves everyone regardless of who they have been is the ultimate freedom of truth. (Matt. 5:45).
Freedom comes through eyes that see beyond mankind’s reality.
Act 4 August 22
Mark 11:1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
If the Gospel of Mark were a five act play, Mark 11 is the beginning of Act 4.
Act 1’s scenes lay the foundation for the story with Jesus’ baptism, wilderness experience and the calling of the first disciples.
Act 2 shows His rise in notoriety as He preaches and heals, shows His wisdom and miraculous power. Jesus is ascendant.
In Act 3, His work continues, but there is an undercurrent of opposition that grows stronger. An ominous air grows more pervasive in the narrative.
Here in Act 4, events work toward the inevitable conflict between earth and heaven, wayward mankind versus the spiritual power that will restore the rightful relationship between the two.
Symbolism carries power, and Jesus knows the symbols to use. As He draws near to Jerusalem, His entrance is to be the picture of peace. He comes with no military power, no army, and no weaponry.
From His enemies’ perspective, Jesus’ approach is seen as even bolder. He provokes them with a figurative finger in the eye. Instead of leading an army, He comes riding on the symbol of kingship.
Preparing an Entrance August 23
Mark 11:1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
Jesus sends two of His disciples ahead to secure a young ass, a colt, for Him. This is the season of Passover, the celebration of Israel being led out of bondage. Jerusalem is a tinder box that can be set aflame with incendiary language. He will let the imagery of His entrance speak the words that He dare not say.
Jesus allows the words of Zech. 9:9 to make a peaceful proclamation of the coming of the Messiah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Only in peace is it possible to bring peace. Violence begets violence, and at best the victor rules over a place of simmering hostility.
“Simmering hostility” describes the nature of Israel (or any subdued people) under the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, and now the Romans. A military victory overthrowing the Romans would lead to the same divisions that had plagued the Maccabean rulers during the brief independence between Greek and Roman rule.
The Prince of Peace chooses a more excellent path to freedom, riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey.
The Lord Has Need August 24
Mark 11:4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”
6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.
This is the first day of Jesus’ last week. Before this moment, Jesus has discouraged all messianic hope in the sense of political ambition. He has taught and healed, and His emphasis has been – and still is - on the spiritual rather than the secular, on oneness rather than division, and on peace rather than conflict.
Those who oppose Him have made the opposite choices: secular, division, and conflict. By these choices they have separated themselves from the foundational truths established from the beginning. Without the foundation, anything they have built is vulnerable to destruction. Indeed, their edifices are destruction. Those who inhabit them, who depend upon them, are shaking reeds in the winds of misplaced faith.
The person who has the colt that Jesus has requested has been waiting, and the request is granted willingly. This likely was prearranged, or possibly the wording of the request is too compelling to be denied.
“The Lord has need of it.” The Lord, Who commands all, “has need of it,” a confession of lack. He does not demand the symbol of kingship, but asks that it be given willingly.
Zechariah’s words, “lowly and riding on a donkey,” speak to the humility of the king who has had need of everything and everyone on His journey. Yet He has taken only what was necessary, things freely given. A very brief parable….
Regal Leadership August 25
Mark 11:7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The colt has never been ridden before, but apparently does not object, does not feel a burden when Jesus mounts.
Jesus receives a king’s welcome from the common folk present. John the Baptist had quoted Isaiah 40:3-5 in Mark 1:3, “‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’” Now the people place a carpet of palm fronds in His path.
Jesus often speaks figuratively. He now acts figuratively, the humble Son of God arriving in the capital as a king.
Kings claim their power by divine right from the god of their choosing. But they often acquire and maintain this authority through the force of law and arms.
Jesus stands in stark contrast to the kings of earth. He claims the throne by divine right from above, but He accepts it only when freely given from below.
Through the ages, self-professed followers of Christ have claimed that if He had possessed an army, He would have used it. And they have used their armies in His name. In so doing, they denied Jesus as the Prince of Peace and the Servant of Mankind.
Jesus leads by drawing followers to Him rather than by compelling slaves to obey.
Hosanna! August 26
Mark 11:9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”
The people’s cry echoes Psalm 118:25-26:
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; (Hosanna, O Lord)
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
Hosanna is a compound Hebrew word meaning, “save us, we pray.” Strong’s H3467 in the Old Testament is translated variously as save, defend, help, and preserve.
This psalm is part of the Passover celebration, a praise of God for His active presence in the past in Israel, and a Hosanna for the present, as well. The reference to David is a reminder of when Israel was independent as a geographical nation and dependent on God as a people.
This is a remembrance of a past that marked Israel’s peak. The era of David and his son Solomon was a thousand years past at the time of Christ, and the people long for a return to a better life.
But they do not know how to return to a better life, to the life intended from the Beginning, and hence the “Hosanna!”
Jesus is there to show them (and us) how to return, or as it is translated, to repent.
Next day
Mark 10:51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Jesus asks the blind man to speak his request with the same words as He had spoken to the sons of Zebedee, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The nature of the plea seems obvious, but Jesus wants the man who speaks and the crowd who watches to know the specific request.
The man responds, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” The request is itself a statement of faith, for no human has the power to grant it.
The translation of Jesus’ response is tricky. The words may be read as “your faith has saved you,” or as “your faith has made you whole.”
When we think of being saved as being restored to oneness with God, and being whole as being in oneness with God, we understand better the gift that Jesus has given.
This act of healing is a confirmation of faith, an acknowledgment of the unity that already exists. The restoration of the man’s physical sight creates a wholeness with the man’s spiritual sight.
Bartimaeus physically sees Jesus, and the two that are body and spirit within him are united in their vision. Freed from the bondage of blindness, Bartimaeus accepts the tie that now binds him to Jesus. He becomes one of the many beyond the 12 who follow Jesus.
Just a Thought August 21
Mark 10:48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus pauses on His way to the cross. A moment’s delay will not harm the world, but it will make a world of difference to an individual.
The blind man may be considered as a metaphor for all who live in this physical world. Each is subject to the physical law of death. The other laws of physical life are so burdensome as to weary every individual to death if another issue does not first cut short the limited lifespan.
The spiritual world stands as an antidote to the fatal poison of the snake bite.
Those humbled sufficiently by physical reality are more likely to have their eyes opened. The follower of Christ looks toward a future that lasts forever. “Forever” in the Old Testament has the sense “as long as it lasts.” The eternal God gives no reason to doubt that heaven is endless.
To be able to see truth is freeing, but we first must be willing to see truth, even if it changes the world we think we know.
To know that God loves everyone regardless of who they have been is the ultimate freedom of truth. (Matt. 5:45).
Freedom comes through eyes that see beyond mankind’s reality.
Act 4 August 22
Mark 11:1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
If the Gospel of Mark were a five act play, Mark 11 is the beginning of Act 4.
Act 1’s scenes lay the foundation for the story with Jesus’ baptism, wilderness experience and the calling of the first disciples.
Act 2 shows His rise in notoriety as He preaches and heals, shows His wisdom and miraculous power. Jesus is ascendant.
In Act 3, His work continues, but there is an undercurrent of opposition that grows stronger. An ominous air grows more pervasive in the narrative.
Here in Act 4, events work toward the inevitable conflict between earth and heaven, wayward mankind versus the spiritual power that will restore the rightful relationship between the two.
Symbolism carries power, and Jesus knows the symbols to use. As He draws near to Jerusalem, His entrance is to be the picture of peace. He comes with no military power, no army, and no weaponry.
From His enemies’ perspective, Jesus’ approach is seen as even bolder. He provokes them with a figurative finger in the eye. Instead of leading an army, He comes riding on the symbol of kingship.
Preparing an Entrance August 23
Mark 11:1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
Jesus sends two of His disciples ahead to secure a young ass, a colt, for Him. This is the season of Passover, the celebration of Israel being led out of bondage. Jerusalem is a tinder box that can be set aflame with incendiary language. He will let the imagery of His entrance speak the words that He dare not say.
Jesus allows the words of Zech. 9:9 to make a peaceful proclamation of the coming of the Messiah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Only in peace is it possible to bring peace. Violence begets violence, and at best the victor rules over a place of simmering hostility.
“Simmering hostility” describes the nature of Israel (or any subdued people) under the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, and now the Romans. A military victory overthrowing the Romans would lead to the same divisions that had plagued the Maccabean rulers during the brief independence between Greek and Roman rule.
The Prince of Peace chooses a more excellent path to freedom, riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey.
The Lord Has Need August 24
Mark 11:4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”
6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.
This is the first day of Jesus’ last week. Before this moment, Jesus has discouraged all messianic hope in the sense of political ambition. He has taught and healed, and His emphasis has been – and still is - on the spiritual rather than the secular, on oneness rather than division, and on peace rather than conflict.
Those who oppose Him have made the opposite choices: secular, division, and conflict. By these choices they have separated themselves from the foundational truths established from the beginning. Without the foundation, anything they have built is vulnerable to destruction. Indeed, their edifices are destruction. Those who inhabit them, who depend upon them, are shaking reeds in the winds of misplaced faith.
The person who has the colt that Jesus has requested has been waiting, and the request is granted willingly. This likely was prearranged, or possibly the wording of the request is too compelling to be denied.
“The Lord has need of it.” The Lord, Who commands all, “has need of it,” a confession of lack. He does not demand the symbol of kingship, but asks that it be given willingly.
Zechariah’s words, “lowly and riding on a donkey,” speak to the humility of the king who has had need of everything and everyone on His journey. Yet He has taken only what was necessary, things freely given. A very brief parable….
Regal Leadership August 25
Mark 11:7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The colt has never been ridden before, but apparently does not object, does not feel a burden when Jesus mounts.
Jesus receives a king’s welcome from the common folk present. John the Baptist had quoted Isaiah 40:3-5 in Mark 1:3, “‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’” Now the people place a carpet of palm fronds in His path.
Jesus often speaks figuratively. He now acts figuratively, the humble Son of God arriving in the capital as a king.
Kings claim their power by divine right from the god of their choosing. But they often acquire and maintain this authority through the force of law and arms.
Jesus stands in stark contrast to the kings of earth. He claims the throne by divine right from above, but He accepts it only when freely given from below.
Through the ages, self-professed followers of Christ have claimed that if He had possessed an army, He would have used it. And they have used their armies in His name. In so doing, they denied Jesus as the Prince of Peace and the Servant of Mankind.
Jesus leads by drawing followers to Him rather than by compelling slaves to obey.
Hosanna! August 26
Mark 11:9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”
The people’s cry echoes Psalm 118:25-26:
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; (Hosanna, O Lord)
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
Hosanna is a compound Hebrew word meaning, “save us, we pray.” Strong’s H3467 in the Old Testament is translated variously as save, defend, help, and preserve.
This psalm is part of the Passover celebration, a praise of God for His active presence in the past in Israel, and a Hosanna for the present, as well. The reference to David is a reminder of when Israel was independent as a geographical nation and dependent on God as a people.
This is a remembrance of a past that marked Israel’s peak. The era of David and his son Solomon was a thousand years past at the time of Christ, and the people long for a return to a better life.
But they do not know how to return to a better life, to the life intended from the Beginning, and hence the “Hosanna!”
Jesus is there to show them (and us) how to return, or as it is translated, to repent.
Next day