Getting on Together

These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Mark 3:16-19

The university that I attended is renowned for the diversity of its students.  We had a great number of students from overseas; I was fortunate enough to befriend people from Spain, Finland, Poland, the USA, Canada, China, and even Yorkshire.  And that was just in the Christian Union!  At CU we had people whose parents were multi-millionaire businessmen, police officers, lawyers, shop workers, postmen and more besides.  We were a very diverse lot indeed.  Had we met anywhere else, we would probably not have been friends.  We were, however, and that was due in no small part to a mutual love for Christ, and an awareness that he loved all of us too.

What strikes me when reading through this list of Jesus’ twelve apostles is the diversity of the people he picked to serve him.  Particularly noticeable is the fact that a Zealot numbered amongst Jesus’ closest followers, and also Matthew, a tax collector.  We’ve met Matthew before in Mark’s gospel, and have seen how he was regarded as a traitor to his people, since he collected taxes for the Romans, the occupying forces.  Yet Simon the Zealot was also amongst the apostles; Zealots were vocal, and often violent revolutionaries who wanted to overthrow the Romans.  One would not expect Simon and Matthew to get on particularly well, and yet they lived and worked together serving Jesus.  They were able to put aside their differences because they shared a love of Christ, and an awareness that he loved them too.

Jesus’ apostles were a diverse band of people, yet he called them all and he loved them all.  There is not a “Christian-type.”  Jesus calls us all to share in his love for us, no matter who we are, where we are from, or what we do.  He also shows us that it is possible to put our differences aside and love each other.

Let’s try and be a little more loving in the days ahead.

He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.

Mark 3:14-15

Here at Crossring, we have a clear mission; we want to build a community around scripture.  We want to encourage people to write articles reflecting on scripture, and to discuss them.  We want to provide scripturally focused sketches for our visitors to use in churches and youth groups.  In order to do this, we have a team of people who work together to fulfil specific areas within our ministry.  We recognise that it would be impossible for any one – or even two – of us to create this website together, so we have a clear division of labour.  In this way, we hope to be able to grow and develop the website in a way that would not otherwise be possible.

Teams are vital for success.  It is so much easier to achieve anything if you work with other people.  Even Jesus recognised this.  He was the Son of God and could have achieved absolutely anything, but instead he recognised that a team would be useful if his earthly ministry was going to have the success he wanted.  For this reason, we see in this verse that Jesus appointed twelve people, called by name, in order to support him in his ministry.  He wanted these twelve men to go out and preach the gospel; twelve preachers is surely better than one.  He also tasked them with driving out demons.  Interestingly, however, he also has another reason for calling the twelve apostles; like all humans, Jesus needed company, and gathered these men around him to be with him, to be his friends and his confidantes.

Jesus calls us all to be with him.  He wants a friendship with each and every one of us.  He is waiting for us to respond to his call.  He might call you to teach or to drive out demons, but he might not; he might have other things in mind for you.  Do reflect today, though, whether you have responded to Jesus’ call of friendship, and consider what role Jesus has given you in his team.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.

Mark 3:7-8

Celebrity seems to be a major feature of western society these days; so many children want to grow up to be famous, with no idea of what they’re going to be famous for.  Here in Britain we have a strange relationship with our celebrities.  On the one hand, we worship them like twenty-first century Gods, following every detail of their lives.  As soon as they put a foot wrong, though, or become too famous, or too rich, we delight in tearing them down again.

When I was working in London, David Blaine shut himself in a Perspex box just down the river from my school.  Blaine had been used to the adoration of American fans, yet when he reached England, people were more interested in jeering at him and throwing things at his box.  All very peculiar!

Jesus quickly became a celebrity.  Here we are, only up to the third chapter of Mark’s fast-moving gospel, and we see him being followed by huge crowds of people who had come to see this incredible man.  News of Jesus’ teaching, his healing, and his miracles had spread far and wide, and people were traveling great distances to see him for themselves.  Here was someone who seemed to deserve his celebrity; he was doing impressive things!

Jesus certainly created quite a stir in the first century AD, yet his fame has spread for more than 2,000 years, so that people are still eager to listen to what he has to say, and to learn more about his miracles.  Are you amongst that number?  Are you desperate to meet Jesus for yourself?  Keep with us on the Mark Marathon – we’ll encounter Jesus together!

Healing on the Sabbath

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

Mark 3:4

My route to work takes me along several small country lanes.  At one point, there is a very difficult crossroads; all the roads passing through it are very busy, and often it can take a while to cross.  Tempers can get a little frayed sometimes, as people are generally in a rush to get to work.  One day last week, I encountered a large, black BMW.  The driver was getting extremely angry, and sounded his horn whenever anyone in front of him let a car through the crossroads.  I then followed him down the road leading to my school, and he drove practically fixed to the bumper of the car in front, desperately looking for an opportunity to overtake.

Also last week, I was driving down a fairly busy road, and a large white van was driving, some would say fairly recklessly.  As it approached, however, rather than getting angry, people pulled over and let it pass.  Why?  Because it was an ambulance.  Both vehicles, the black BMW and the ambulance were driving over the speed limit, and yet one was considered to be permissible.

In our current Mark Marathon passage, Jesus once again gets in trouble with the Pharisees, this time for healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, which the Pharisees considered to be work.  Jesus, however, rebukes them.  He is doing good on the Sabbath, yet they are complaining that he is breaking the law.  He questions whether it would be better as far as Jewish law was concerned for someone to harm another person.  Jesus has the ability to heal this man.  If he does not, because he observes the Sabbath in the way the Pharisees expect him to, he would effectively harm the man, since he would be destined to live for the rest of his days with his withered hand.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that he has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it.  He is the reason for the law.  He shows us here that our priority should be to display the love of God to all those around us.  He shows his love to this man by healing him, even if in the eyes of the Pharisees he is a law breaker.

Let us try and display the love of Christ to all those we meet today.

The Lord of the Sabbath

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Mark 2:28

Power is a funny thing.  As someone who works in middle management, I sometimes feel that I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I have to take responsibility for my department, but at the same time there are occasions when senior management want me to do things differently.  Equally, sometimes I have what I consider to be good ideas, but when I put them forward, they usually get rejected, since I am thinking beyond the level of my authority.  The one who has the authority in my school is the Headmaster.  You could say that he is the Lord of our school.  He can implement any idea he wants, and run the school pretty much how he wants.

In our Mark Marathon article, Jesus is criticized for allowing his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath.  His response is that he, the Son of Man, is Lord even of the Sabbath.  He has authority over the Sabbath.  This would stand to reason, since he was there when God the Father created Heaven and Earth.  He was there when God created the Sabbath.  Who is better placed to judge what is and isn’t allowed on the Sabbath than Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath?

As we go through Mark’s Gospel together, we will discover that Jesus has authority over all manner of things, precisely because of his unique position as a member of the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  The question is – is he your Lord?  Do you show him respect?  Do you pay him homage?

The Challenge of Christ

Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.

Mark 3:2

I used to work as a manager in one of the UK’s most prestigious retailers.  Some days I really enjoyed working there – I liked meeting the public, and my staff were a great bunch.  I often felt, however, that the senior management in my store had it in for me.  My boss made it absolutely clear to me that she didn’t like me when I first met her – an opinion formed solely on the basis of my CV and the paper work from my interview and assessment centre.  Consequently, I felt that she and a couple of her friends in senior management were constantly watching me, desperate for me to make a mistake so that they make life difficult for me.  It wasn’t a happy environment to work in, and I was relieved when we finally parted company.

By the time we get to chapter three in Mark’s gospel, Jesus is quite well known to the Pharisees.  They have taken an instant dislike to him, since he challenges their perceptions of the world, their faith, and their God.  They have built up a picture of God that they are happy with, and Jesus, with his tendency to heal people, expel demons, preach and allow his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath, is not what they expect of their Messiah.  Consequently, they are watching him even closer than ever.  They are waiting for him to flout Jewish law so that they can come down on him hard, and get rid of this uncomfortable figure.

Jesus continues to challenge us today with the demands that he makes on our lives.  Will you listen carefully to Jesus, study his words, observe his reactions, and accept the challenge he gives you?  Or will you, like the Pharisees, look for any possible reason to reject him, and keep him out of your life?

“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

Mark 2:22

Sometimes I think that people are fundamentally conservative creatures; we don’t like change, and are keen to avoid it.  At work recently, an experienced and well-respected Head of Year retired, having been in the position for many years.  His replacement, a good friend of mine, was considerably younger.  She had lots of new ideas, and was keen to start making changes as soon as she started in her new role.  I was a member of the Year Team, and it was really exciting to have someone so vibrant and energetic leading our group of tutors.

There were many in the school, however, who were wary of this new person.  Things had always been done in a certain way, and they were happy with that.  Life had continued smoothly for twenty or more years, and there was no need for change.

When Jesus appeared on the scene, there were plenty who were wary of him.  The Jewish traditions had continued unchallenged for centuries, and now, here was someone who was telling them that things had to change – there was a new order.  Whilst this was exciting for many, and attracted plenty of new people, the traditionalists felt that it was not right to change things.

Jesus, in today’s verse, makes it clear that things are going to have to change.  He is like a new wine, he says.  You can’t put new wine into old skins, because they’ll simply burst.  In the same way, you can’t simply put Jesus’ teachings into the same old pigeon holes, because they are radical, exciting and new.  Those conservatives have to recognize that things are going to have to change, whether they like it or not.

Be excited by what you read in your Bible, especially as we continue to study Mark together.  Be prepared to be challenged, however.  Don’t try to fit Jesus’ message into your view of the world – it won’t fit.  Instead, you will need to build a new view of the world, based around Jesus’ words.

The Crowds Continue to Gather

Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.

Mark 2:13

I love Coldplay.  I think their X&Y album is a masterpiece.  As I’m always saying to my friends, I think that this album works together as a coherent work of art, in a way that very few albums do these days.  My housemate and a few of my friends are off to Wembley this weekend to see Coldplay perform live, and I’m very jealous, because I’m not going.

Coldplay is one of those bands that continues to draw huge numbers of people to their gigs.  The capacity of Wembley stadium is 90,000, and I suspect that the crowd on Saturday will be close to that.  That’s just one evening!  Many of the people who go will no doubt be the die hard fans who go to see Coldplay whenever they can; they never tire of seeing their idols perform live.

In our verse today, Jesus has once again drawn a large crowd to him.  This seems to be becoming a bit of a theme; everywhere that Jesus goes, the crowds follow.  It doesn’t matter if these people have heard Jesus before, they continue to go and listen to him.

What does Jesus do when he gets this captive audience?  Once again, he teaches them.  Mark keeps stressing that Jesus teaches the crowd, and so I feel no shame in repeating this theme in our Daily Readings.  At every opportunity Jesus wants to share the gospel with those around him.

There are two ways of learning from this passage.  First of all, if we imagine ourselves in the crowd, are we going to listen carefully to all that Jesus says?  What are we going to do with these teachings?  And secondly, we can put ourselves in Christ’s shoes – are we taking every opportunity available to us to preach the gospel?

So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

Mark 2:2

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Michael Jackson died recently.  He had been a pop icon for many years, and was renowned around the world for his skill as a songwriter and singer, not to mention his dancing.  I remember one of my friends at school, Howard, used to be a massive fan of Michael Jackson, and would moonwalk from one lesson to the next.  Howard is now something of a celebrity himself, having appeared on both the big and the small screen on many occasions.  I’m sure he won’t mind me saying that he has yet to reach the fame of Michael Jackson, however!

Everywhere Michael Jackson went, he was followed by crowds.  On one memorable occasion, huge crowds had appeared outside the hotel where he was staying, and he dangled his baby out of the window to show his fans.  Even in death, Jackson is massively famous; not a week seems to pass when he isn’t in the papers and on the news.  Everyone is desperate to hear the latest about this iconic man.

First century Palestine had a somewhat different outlook on fame; they didn’t have the same kind of celebrities that we have in the twenty-first century.  One man who very quickly became very famous, however, was the Nazerene Jesus.  This carpenter had somehow developed a massive following, no doubt as a consequence of his miracles, but also as a result of his preaching.  Mark has already told us that people were astonished by Jesus’ teaching.  Now, a short time later, huge crowds have appeared to see him.  And what does he do?  He preaches the word to them.  He recognizes that he has an amazing opportunity, with so many people gathered around, and takes full use of it to tell people of God’s love for them, and how they should respond.

Clearly this Jesus character is something rather special.  There are two important messages for us here, I think.  First of all, imagine that you are in the crowd.  Will you listen carefully to what Jesus has to say?  Will you study his words carefully, as recorded for us in the Bible?  How will you respond to what Jesus has to say?  Now imagine that you are Jesus in these verses.  Will you take advantage of every opportunity to preach God’s word?  Will you tell all those you encounter about God’s love for them?

Loving the Unloved

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

Mark 1:40-41

I saw District 9 at the cinema earlier this week.  It’s a film set in an alien colony in South Africa, which starts out as a humanitarian camp, set up to provide for aliens who had become trapped on earth.  Over the ten years of the camp’s existence, it gradually evolved from something that was meant to benefit the aliens into a slum, a shanty town, in which the aliens were forced to live in absolute squalor.  As the colony expanded, people become more and more hostile to the aliens, which they nicknamed “prawns.”  Having initially been keen to help the extra terrestrials, as a consequence of mistrust and ignorance, people began to despise them and thought that they should either be destroyed or sent back to their own planet.  It amazed me how in just ten years, the whole situation could change; the aliens were initially given a warm welcome and put up in a humanitarian camp, but ten years later they were despised and living in squalor.

Yesterday, we looked at the rule in Leviticus which states that lepers had to live on their own outside the camp.  Just as the original purpose of the District 9 camp had been forgotten over the ten years of its existence, people had forgotten that the Leviticus rule was imposed for very practical reasons.  People in the first century AD were using it as a basis to victimise lepers, people who were suffering from a disease that they didn’t really understand.

Jesus, however, has a different approach to this particular leper.  He reaches out and touches the man, and he is instantly healed.  This action would have shocked many people, not simply because the man was cured, but because Jesus had actually touched someone who they considered to be ‘dirty’.

Jesus came to show the world how to follow God.  Whilst the laws in Leviticus had a specific purpose at a specific time, people had lost track of what they were for.  By the first century, people were using the law of Leviticus to justify the  victimisation of lepers.  Jesus, on the other hand, shows compassion for the man, touches him and heals him.  Whilst society was saying to reject this man, to isolate him and have nothing to do with him, Jesus drew him to himself and showed that he loved him as he loves anyone else.

Do we always have compassion for those around us?  Do we reject people for reasons we can’t really remember?  How would Jesus handle these relationships?  Let’s try today to show love and compassion to all we meet.