Mark 1:28 - Fame Don't Equal Comfort

The Verse

Mark 1:28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (ESV)


My Paraphrase

Immediately, Jesus got super famous in all of Galilee.


My Thoughts
This should show us the impact we can have simply by standing firm and wielding God's authority with wisdom. Authority sets us apart. Authority gets people dialoguing about God. Even though we are about to see Jesus trying to keep Himself a secret in the next few verses (Mark 1:34, 44), at this point, the news needed to spread and God's Authority was what compelled that to happen. 

I think it's funny that in our day and age, there is such a desire among all of us to be "liked" and "favorited" on social media. Any of us would kill for half the followers Jesus was accumulating--but why? For our own egos? So we feel self-worth? So we can be successful? Jesus had no desire for popularity (because His self-worth came from God alone), but popularity was a side effect of his obedience to God and His filling of the soul-deficit in the people. 

Yes, we would all kill for that kind of impact, but we need to realize that there is a responsibility attached to popularity. We all like the fame, but we don't like the repercussion. As Loretta Lynn famously wrote, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." This is so true. People may follow you in scads at the beginning, but it takes only one little issue, one little complaint, and they drop you like a rock. Note: when the masses dropped Him, Jesus' popularity directly resulted in His crucifixion! 

Now, I'm not saying that if you become popular, that you will also be crucified, but it should at least make you aware of the fickleness of humanity and what responsibility attached to fame should actually look like. (Also, Jesus was perfect, so. . .if people drop you a little faster than they did with Him, it's probably because you're not.) That should tell you something about people. And guess what, all those followers that you want more than anything are, you guessed it, people. 

However, God is God, so. . .He's really efficient and uses everything at His disposal, even the negative. It's really important to realize that God used both Christ's popularity and the ensuing crucifixion for our good and His Glory. Consider this: If Jesus had been a nobody with no impact, He would never have been able to pay for sin. God caused Him to become popular in order to save billions of people. That includes all the fickle people who like you and then drop you. And that includes you.

And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about.

So remember, if you are obedient to God and you happen to get really popular, keep God first and He will guide you. But also know that while you aren't necessarily guaranteed to be crucified when and if people drop you, God-given fame doesn't often guarantee a super comfortable life.

It's like Spiderman's Uncle Ben once said, "With great power comes great responsibility." 

Mark 1:24 - The Stupidity of Hell (A One Act)

The Verse

Mark 1:24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”


My Paraphrase

"What are you going to do to us, Jesus?  Will You destroy us?  I know you're God's Chosen One!"


My Thoughts

(If you are just tuning in, I am doing a verse-by-verse study of the Book of Mark, and it helps me to think when I reword the verse. I'm not suggesting that my paraphrase is Scripture or anything. It's a little Bible study tactic I learned from a Priscilla Shirer simulcast.)


 So many things in this verse and where to begin. . .


So first of all, whenever I have read this verse in the past, I tended to read it as though the demon had all the information that we do today. (Just like how I used to read the temptations of Jesus as though Satan actually knew with Whom he was dealing in verses 12-13. . .You know what? Go here if you don't know what I'm talking about.), so I used to think that maybe the demon was being sarcastic like how Goliath was all, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with a stick?" (I Sam. 17:43)  Like. . ."Is this tiny person supposed to scare me?  I'm so much scarier!  Bwahahaha!"  


When I was little, I used to be really scared of demons, so I think that now--even as an adult--I have just given them too much credit.  Honestly, I think the demon in this verse was just going on whatever information Satan was able to give him from his "Temptation of Jesus." 

Which, honestly, was not much.  During "The Temptation," Jesus hadn't done any miracles.  He hadn't tried to fight.  He hadn't tried to prove Himself.  All He had done was to withstand temptation--which, granted, had exceeded most Old Testament men's decisions (Think: David and Bathsheba, Noah and his daughters, King Saul and. . .everybody....*cough*) 


So here's how it probably went down: Satan tempts Jesus.  Jesus withstands temptation.  Satan concludes, "This Guy must be at least a prophet--and a good one at that. . .But is He that blasted "M" word?. . ."  Remember, it's the Messiah that he has been trying to thwart all the way since the Garden of Eden, so any prophet up to this point has been fair game.  (Talk about being a nervous wreck!  Satan has known this Messiah to be his undoing for millennia!)  

So, anyway, Satan gathers his minions (Like. . .the actual definition of the word.  Not the adorable one-eyed yellow rip-offs of the Aliens in Toy Story. . .). Satan tells them, "Okay, Guys. This Man needs constant surveillance--I couldn't even crack Him!"

Obligatory gasps.  

"What in bleepity-bleep is Yahweh up to???"  Satan notices one demon in the crowd that didn't gasp.  He's too busy playing Words with Enemies on his cleverphone.  

"You!"

All hell is silent as all eyes fall on this demon.  His buddy next to him nudges him.  He shoots his buddy a look of death and then realizes the situation.  He is mortified.  His cleverphone zips out of his hand and up onstage onto Satan's podium.

Satan looks at the phone, holds up his fist to smash it, stops at the last second, and then starts speaking. . .patiently, yet through his teeth, "Since you obviously have a lot of time on your hands, you will go to that synagogue, and when this Jesus starts preaching, I want you to FINISH HIM!"

The demon whines, "But, Sire!  It's not fair!  I'm only second level!  I haven't even been given grave wandering rights yet, let alone execution ones!"

Satan, hot with (self-) righteous anger, yells, "Oh my...G-Gog and Magog!!!" grabs a lightning bolt from his stack, and is about to hurl it at the demon.  Just then, the guy on Satan's left taps his shoulder, whispers in his ear, Satan turns to listen, after two seconds pushes him away, looks back at the demon in question, and waves his hand. "Okay, so.  Whatever.  Avada-Kedavra! Boom! You have them now, Okay?"

Another frantic tap to Satan's shoulder.  More whispering.  Lots of pointing and "No"-nodding and hands making an "X" like, "Not the best idea with this one. . ."  Satan looks perplexed, smacks his forehead, and whispers under his breath, ". . .So hard to find good help these. . .ever. . ."  He looks up realizing he said that into the microphone.  To the crowd he says, "Just another perk of running hell.  Am I right?"

The crowd laughs nervously, thankful for a little tension release.  

Satan turns back to the demon with feigned composure, "Can you. . .inhabit?'

The demon says, "Yes."  Buddy nudges him again. "...Sir!"

"Can you intimidate?" 

"Probably. . .Like. . ." The demon furrows his brow stupidly, "That means yell, right?"

Satan rolls his eyes, "Yes. . .Yell!. . .Wave the guy's arms!  Froth at the mouth!  The regular routine!"  Satan grabs the podium with both hands trying to restrain anger, "I mean...anti-Christ!  Do I have to spell it out for you???  Just get him to reveal His plan!. . .If you can, do the--" Just then a thought pops into his head and he begins pacing onstage as he brainstorms,  "Here!  I know what to do!--I can't believe I didn't think of this before!  When I had my one-on-one with Him, I kept qualifying His title with an 'if,' as in, 'if you are the Son of God,' and that didn't work, because it was too easy to brush off!  It wasn't in-your-face enough!"  Satan stops pacing, looks at the demon, and starts wagging his finger, "What you need to do is look Him right in the face and, as eloquently as you can, get him to divulge His secrets!"   

"But how--" Nudge. "--Sir?"

At this point, Satan ignores the demon's ineptitude because he is so excited with his super intelligent plot, "Try calling Him. . ." He puts a hand to his chin and then releases it, "The Messiah!--No, no, that's not grandiose enough. . .Try, 'The. . .The Holy One of God'!--Yes!!!--and see where that gets you!"  Satan claps for emphasis and then crosses his arms, standing tall,  "If you puff Him full of smoke and flattery, maybe that will trip Him up!"

The demon slowly repeats the words, calculating how they feel in his mouth, "The. . .Ho-o-oly Wu-u-un of G--"

Satan interrupts, "--But remember!  Be eloquent!. . .Remember what you learned in 'Inhabiting an Atheist Professor' class!"

The demon looks a little confused, but says "Uh.  Okay. . .Right. . .Yeah."  Then, his face changes to spoiled boredom and he says indignantly, "I can do it.  Okay?  Whatever.  Can I have my cleverphone back now?"

Satan lifts his fist upward and shakes it as he yells, "Intertestiment-tennials!!!"

---------------------------------------

So the demon leaves, finds someone easily inhabitable in the synagogue, and finally the big day comes.  He's confident.  He's rehearsed his speech a thousand times. . .or at least twice.  He has bullet points.  He has rebuttals.  He even has pauses for laughter.  The whole shebang.  So he gets his guy to sit down in the midst of the crowd.  He's ready.  He's golden.  Then Jesus comes in.  All of a sudden the demon is struck with a strange overwhelm.  His guy's heart rate goes up.  Just be cool, he whispers to them both inside his guy's head.  Jesus starts preaching.  But His words are like nothing he, or his guy, have ever heard before.  Such authority.  Such amazing grace.  So. . .truthful.  All of a sudden, the demon starts losing his bullet points. . .Wait.  What was point one?  Was it, "How can there be a loving God if there is pain and suff--?. . .Errrrrr was that point two?. . .Was it. . .Wait. . .Evah. . .No. .. Evo. . .lu-tion?--No, no no! That one doesn't come for another 1800 years!!  His guy's palms start to drip from sweat.  Wait. . .What's my name again?. . .Not your name, Stupid! Mine!  Just then Jesus looks right at him, he panics, and the guy's leg straighten.  He's up.  Oh no.  Everyone is looking.  No going back now.  And he blurts out,

"What do you want with us, Jesus?. . . .To destroy us??" . . .Wait. . .that wasn't right!. . .Idiot!  Just keep going.  Oh!  I remember now,  "I know who you are!  The Holy One of God!"  Yes!  There!  At least I did something right!--err--wrong. . .?

And then his guy thinks to himself, "Well, that's it for me here.  Guess I better see if they're hiring in Damascus!"


[Aaaaaand. . .Scene!] 



Okay, I'm pretty sure that's not how it went. . .


Still, how completely gauche and pedestrian is it to blurt out "Why are you here??? To destroy us???"  Seriously.  Giving away the punch line before the joke is even told?  No class at all.  How can you scare Someone who clearly scares you and fills you with such paranoia?  


The stupidity of hell. 


Lastly, look at this demon's tactic:  He tries to intimidate Jesus by "blowing His cover."  It's like he's taking the glasses off Clark Kent and everyone is supposed to gasp in horror or something.  "I know who you are--The Holy One of God!!!"  This, of course, is what is so hilarious about that statement: In trying to "out" Jesus, he is actually helping to solidify Jesus' Messiah-ship.  How many non-believers became believers that day just because of this demon?  Answer: Plenty of them did.  (Spoiler Alert: Skip ahead to verse 27.)  Way to go, Satan.  Playing right into God's hands.


As per usual.


That's the thing about Jesus, Y'all.  You can tell me that Jesus was just a good man, and that He's nothing special.  So why do demons react to Him like this, then?  Why do people who reject Jesus reject Him so much? 

In the words of Billy Shakespeare, "Methinks thou dost protest too much. . ."

Mark 1:23 - Demons in Our Midst

The Verse

Mark 1:23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out,

My Paraphrase

Suddenly, a demonized man in the synagogue started yelling,

My Thoughts

This a very short verse, but there is a lot of serious ramification within it.  The first thought that hits me is this: So. . .what was this man doing in the synagogue?  Did he just wander in from off the street?  I kind of think that isn't the case because I think the Scripture would have said, "Just then a man wandered in from off the street," right?  There is no reason necessarily to think this was some hobo coming in to cause a ruckus.  So, I'm pretty sure this guy was a regular attender.  He was a man "in their synagogue."  I read several versions to verify the wording, and all of them suggest that this guy had been in the synagogue the entire time--like the entire time that Jesus was up there amazing the crowd at His authoritative teaching!  Isn't that crazy?  I mean, the entire time Jesus--Son of God, Creator, and Promised Messiah--is up there preaching His heart out, there is a demon-possessed man sitting there like a ticking time bomb!  This begs the question: If a possessed man can sit through the teaching and be in the physical presence of Jesus Christ Himself, and no preacher today even comes close to Jesus: How many demonized people do we have currently sitting in our midst?  Also: How many of us are demon-possessed/oppressed and don't even know it?  Doesn't it seem really out of place for demon possession to occur WITHIN the walls of, what one would assume to be, spiritual protection?  If a man can be demonized within the church--breathing the same air as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ--then, really, that means none of us is safe, right?   

Did the rest of the people know this guy was demon-possessed or was this a surprise to them?  If this man was a regular, did anyone ever question him?  Did they whisper to themselves at home behind his back?  Did anyone ever try to confront the evil spirit?  Or did the man simply hide it from everyone?  Was the man even aware of his possession until that moment?  There are a lot of unanswered questions, but two really important answers jump out at me:

(1) Demon-possession can happen within the church.  Not everyone who goes to church is a Christian, after all, and even Christians can be oppressed.  (2) If it can happen in the presence of Jesus Christ, it can DEFINITELY happen (and most probably--and obviously--is happening) in our churches today! 

This means we need to educate ourselves with how properly to deal with demons and evil spirits.  Ignoring them or downplaying them is the same as enabling them. 

I think the best teachings I have ever heard about demon-possession and demonic oppression are a sermon series called "Free Indeed" by Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church. (You can listen/watch the series by clicking the words "Free Indeed" above. They are in order from the bottom to the top.)  He explains really well how believers can come under oppression a lot more easily than we may think.  He also gives practical and helpful information about how to bind these spirits for good.  (You really need to watch it if you haven't already.)

 Anyways, my last thought here is how humbling it is that this first encounter with a demon in the Book of Mark wasn't out among the graves, nor in a house of tax collectors and sinners. Instead, it was within a place of worship.  That is very telling and should give us all pause.  

Mark 1:22 - No Authority?...Try Grace

The Verse

Mark 1:22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

My Paraphrase

The people were amazed at the authority of His teaching, because it wasn't like their normal bland teachings.

My Thoughts

This verse always perplexes me. How could there have been, prior to Jesus' arrival, teachers teaching anything if they weren't being authoritative?  Doesn't teaching, by definition, naturally carry authority?  I mean, can it even be called teaching if it doesn't?  On top of that, these teachers had the Torah!  From God's own mouth!  So. . .what were they wasting time saying??  I mean, we find out later in Mark that the Pharisees had added thousands of rules and regulations to the law. So. . .how did they foist these rules onto their congregations if not authoritatively?  

I've always wonder what the teachings were like before Jesus showed up.  

I grew up in a church environment and I have heard my share of bland, lifeless sermons (as well as many good ones, don't get me wrong), but. . .in the end, even the tritest, most boring messages still proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus along with whatever else they were saying, so there were still things to quicken your heart into an "Amen" agreement. . .

So. . .I always wonder what these lackluster teachings sounded like.  Social reform?  Behavior modification?  Slaps on wrists?  I mean, even a rote, monotone reading of Scripture is still the Words of a Holy God, right?  So these Pharisees and rabbis must have been so way out in left field, it took the preaching of The Author of Creation only once to get the people excited and interested again!  

Anyway, this is obviously to show that Christ was God, and Life-Giver, in all respects.  He healed, did miracles, and even raised people from the dead; and in addition, He taught with authority--bringing souls back to life.  But what made Him so different as a teacher (besides being the Son of God and all)?  I think, it is because, unlike the other teachers, He taught with Grace.  

See, the concept of Grace naturally has more authority than mere law.  This is why: People, believers and non, will always question a rule with, "But why should I follow it?"  That is just human nature.  A law-slave can only answer, "Because God said so."  The most authority a law-slave can experience is guilt.  Which isn't a very strong selling point to an unbeliever (nor a believer like me, frankly).  However, Grace answers the "why" question like this: "Because God has paid a way for sinful souls to enter holy heaven and therefore calls us all to walk in newness of Life."  

Even if you reject that statement, or even if you don't quite understand it, it does give you pause.  It makes you think.  It changes your heart.  The question is no longer "why should I do....(fill in the blank)?"--which is easy to ignore. Instead, it becomes, "But why would a Holy God do that for me?"  There is something wonderful, awe-inspiring, and terrible in that statement.  And isn't authority much deeper and truer when it is based on love and empowering rather than guilt and force? 

How the Eclipse is Like the Trinity

Okay, so you know how you know people who constantly try to over-spiritualize everything? And you are like,...'I'm pretty sure that's not what that verse means...ever.' Well, don't judge me too harshly before you hear me out, but I just had some thoughts, as have many of us, about this past Solar Eclipse that happened Monday. It's like my friend Stephanie posted, "Ah eclipse day. Do you hear that? That's the sound of millions of pastors' heads exploding with metaphors." 

Anyways. . .I thought I would share my explosions.

To begin. . .my dad reminded me of the fact that even though the Sun, Moon, and Earth are all completely different sizes, God has set them up at perfect distances, so that they appear to us to be all the same size. I've actually heard testimonies from scientists who, after years of freaking out about this fact and how IMPOSSIBLE it could be to be mere chance, give up the atheist fight and convert to Christianity over this phenomenon.

Have you ever sat and thought about this? It's truly amazing. How can we experience BOTH lunar and solar eclipses so perfectly? When the Moon intersects the distance between the Earth and Sun, we get to see a solar eclipse. When the Earth intersects the Moon and the Sun, we get to see a lunar eclipse. Perfectly. Both the Moon and the Earth appear equally to block out the light of the Sun and Moon, respectively. What is the point of that? Why do they all three appear to be the same size to us? I mean, okay. . .I could maybe chalk up two to chance. . .But all three??? I'm sorry, but there has to be some reason! None of the other observable planets share this anomaly. Just us.

Why?

Okay, so. . .here is where I'm going to go all crazy and spiritual. . .but let me disclaim that none of these thoughts are in place of Scripture, nor are they in any way fundamental to the doctrines of the faith. Nor am I suggesting that we start treating the Sun, Moon, and Earth as the persons of the Trinity or worship them in any way. These are just some interesting thoughts that popped into my head, and they were too cool to keep to myself.


The Sun: God the Father

The sun is kinda like God the Father. It sustains life. It warms us. It keeps us on our path. It guides us. It gives us hope every morning waking us with the dawn. Without it, deficiencies result.

It's light is the brightest light in the heavens to us. No man-made light can compare to natural day light. Even a tiny sliver of the Sun can light up an entire side of the Earth. Darkness must flea when in its presence. Secrets are revealed in its light.

It has requirements. The sun has a schedule. We live life the best when we keep this schedule, but we are free to disobey it as well. (However, disobedience comes at a cost.) The sun requires respect. We can't just do whatever we want in the sun and expect not to have permanent damage. Staring directly at the sun for as little as two minutes, for instance, can result in blindness. Certain care must be taken when dealing with the sun. Certain protocol must be observed. It isn't because the sun is evil or judgmental or "has it in" for us. It's because the sun is a force to be reckoned with.

The Father is terrifying like the sun, in the sense that He is like a controlled fire. At any point, He could wipe us all out and start over, but He holds back this fear-inducing power--power that could be easily mistaken for evil by the willingly ignorant--for our own good. His fire refines us and brings us forth as gold. His fire burns in our hearts. His fire melts our worries. His fire punishes the unjust.

The sun is the largest of the three bodies. Like, immensely big. Like 864,938 miles across, to be exact. (That's 109 earths lined up.)--Now, I realize that God the Father is infinite in size, so much so that the word "size" doesn't really makes sense in relation with Him. . .but the sun's immensity dwarfs us by comparison. The sun's size reminds us that there is Something out there far greater than we are.

In proximity, the sun is also the farthest away. God the Father is the most "removed" from us--not technically, but philosophically.  In other words, The Father is perfect, holy, infinite, etc.--pretty much everything we are not. In that sense, He is the farthest away from us.

However, if you want to get technical, God the Father is actually omnipresent. Even though the sun is 93,000,000 miles away from us, it is always present as well. It affects us every second of every day. Even when we think it's gone entirely and the night is pitch black, it still effects the tides, our bodies, and plant life, while its gravity holds the Solar System in place. It is also right around the corner ready to shed light on us the next day.


The Moon: Holy Spirit

The moon is kinda like the Holy Spirit. The moon shines the light of the sun upon us. The Holy Spirit reveals God's truth to us even in the dark. The Holy Spirit carries the light of the Father to sinful people.

Like the sun, the moon is always present. Always influencing us, but never forcing us.

Our relationship to the Holy Spirit tends to come in phases. One day we are on a spiritual high. A few weeks later, a low. If we look at these phases as our own efforts, we miss the whole point. Like the phases of the moon, this waxing and waning is necessary to sustain our spiritual lives. If life were all full-moon-spiritual-highs, we wouldn't appreciate them and we wouldn't understand them for what they are. It would throw off our entire spiritual eco-system. We would never learn. We would never grow.

The moon causes surges in the oceans the way the Holy Spirit is constantly moving us. Like the tides, He is constantly wearing away who we think we are and replacing it with who God says we are.

In proximity to the Sun, the Moon is very near us. Like the moon, the Holy Spirit is our "go between." He covers us. As the Moon orbits the Earth, the Holy Spirit surrounds us in holiness. He makes us blameless before the Father. He hears the prayers of fallen people and speaks them before a Holy God.

Traditionally, the moon has been a representation of the feminine. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit is feminine--as God is neither male nor female and is referred to as "Him" because we are too finite to understand how else to personally relate to Him--but as Eve was created as a "comforter" for Adam, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter. Likewise, the moon provides a very comforting light. A respite. A time for stillness. For reflection. For peace. For rest.


The Earth: Jesus

The earth is kinda like Jesus. Like Jesus, the earth represents humanity. It is the home for humanity. This is where we live and exist. Jesus came here as one of us, but not only that: We were made by Him and through Him. He is the only perfect human to have walked this earth, and He is our human example, brother, Messiah, and Lord.

Like Jesus, the earth has faced the direct effect of sin that it did not commit. The earth has received punishment for our choices. (I'm not referring to global warming as much as I am referring to the devastating effects of the Fall from Eden and the Flood.) Christ took all our sin upon Himself, just as the Earth broke apart because of sin.

By Him, all things consist and have being. Without this planet, none of us would be here. He brings us life abundantly just as the earth is abundant with life.

While on earth, Jesus repeatedly told us that His "kingdom is at hand." Hold out your hand, Earthling. There it is. Jesus is here.

One day, there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth. This second "incarnation" of sorts will be due to Christ's Second Coming. Jesus will reign supreme from then to eternity future, and every knee will bow and tongue confess.

Jesus is called the "first-fruits" of creation. Meaning, as I said before, that all things were made by and through Him. He is the example by which all creation is modeled. Have you ever noticed that the earth was the first thing created? Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." This was even before day one of creation! Before dark and light. Before the firmament. Before the other heavenly bodies!

The human body was created from the dust of the earth. The human body is also close to 70% water. So is the earth's surface. Jesus is fully man and fully God. The earth is clothed in both life-sustaining land and water. . .but at it's core it is as hot as the surface of the Sun. (I just learned that last fact while writing this, and it blew my mind.)


The Eclipse: The Trinity

So, if you've stuck with me this long, let me now bring this all full circle (pun intended), and get back to my original point: Why do all three heavenly bodies appear to us to be the same size--even though each is a completely different size and plays an entirely different role? What is the point of that? To me, I think one answer is that all persons of the Trinity are equal, connected, but completely different. I am not suggesting that the Trinity is exactly like the Sun, Moon, and Earth or that this analogy is perfect, but I am wondering if maybe. . .just maybe. . .these thoughts might shed just a little more light on the words of the Psalmist who said, "The heavens declare the glory of God!"

Mark 1:19 - Go Fish or "Go Fund Me"?

The Verse

Mark 1:19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.


My Paraphrase

Going just a little further, Jesus saw James and John working on their nets.


My Thoughts

Again, we see Jesus quietly observing men before calling them. Again, this is a moment before the moment. In this verse, we catch James and John--two of the most influential and beloved disciples--in this "pre-" state. In this verse, they were just James and John, sons of Zebedee. In the next verse, they would become "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). I never bothered to think about these "moments before moments" before I started studying this book verse by verse. It's amazing what jumps out when you slow your study down! What a precious moment in time to have the Creator of all things physically observing His creation, and yet. . .being in mortal form, having the willing suspense of "What will happen next?" and "These two men will become my best friends, and they don't even know it yet." Have you ever had that moment when you see a person across the room for the first time and think, "I am pretty sure he/she and I would get along. . ."? It's a strange human anomaly. Some people call it serendipity. I call it Providence. Anyways. . .that's what is happening here.

But what REALLY stands out to me in this verse is this point: The men are working. How many people (Christians notwithstanding) do you know that are just sitting around waiting for jobs and purposes to drop into their laps? In fact, with the advent of social media apps like "Go Fund Me" a trend has formed not just to ask for supplemental mission support or temporary help in a moment of destitution, but rather to ask for entire support in lieu of working at all! What is it that tells us that we don't need to be proactive about our own futures, but yet entitles us to foist that responsibility onto other people? I think a lot of times we say, "My future is in God's hands," so much so that we act like we are completely powerless. This isn't true. The Bible plainly tells us that we have been given His power (II Timothy 1:7) and that a man who doesn't want to work, shouldn't eat (II Thessalonians 3:10). 

God calls people who are diligent. Think about it. If you are just waiting around for an opportunity to drop into your life and not actively working, why would God bother to call you? An earthly boss doesn't give a promotion unless a worker has done good work. Why would God be any different? God doesn't promote lazinss. Ever. Think of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The only ones who are rewarded in that story are the ones who worked hard to make good investments. It's not God's job to fix all our problems. That would actually be spiritual rape, if you think about it. God doesn't force Himself onto people--even during times of pain and hardship. It is up to us to hear God's voice above the cacophony of life.  It's God's job to make us stronger, and that can only happen if we are willingly and actively seeking His plan in those hard times. 

True, in this particular story, James and John aren't exactly suffering. They are just doing their daily routine jobs, that is, only if the word "preparing" means "getting ready." However, most translations translate the word as "mending" or "repairing."  If that is the case, then we do in fact, see a problem here. Maybe they were suffering a little, after all. Apparently, these once-working nets had ripped. If that is the case, then we do see them struggling in life. If that is the case, this adds to the point that they were extremely hard workers. Not everything was perfect in a fisherman's life. Sometimes, one even had to forgo time spent fishing with preparation and mending. If they hadn't spent this time working on the nets and getting them to their optimal state, the entire time spent fishing would have been wasted.  These were not men who went to work unprepared.

Jesus observes them as they work to make their own lives better, and knows that the life He was about to call them toward would only make their lives seemingly harder: More responsibility, more time, more heartache, etc.. However, He could see by their prudence and industry that God would receive glory through these diligent men. These men who would take the time to work on damaged nets, would eventually take the time to work on people with damaged souls. It would be a hard life, but it would be a life of legacy and ultimately a life of fulfilling God's plan.

But it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't already been working.  

 I think this means that we--instead of sitting around waiting for God to call us--need to be diligent and hard-working, performing tasks already set before us--as lackluster and mundane as they may appear.  Throughout the gospels, the disciples continue to fish, so we can't automatically think that God will call us to be lazy or tell us to quit our regular jobs for some "higher calling." The jobs we are already in are either preparing us for our "higher callings" or are already our "higher callings"! Actually, this point is observable throughout the entire Bible. Ruth was gathering food when she was noticed. Samuel was living and working in the temple when he was called. David was tending sheep. Even Paul, who was a persecutor and murderer of Christians, was working when he was called! I think there is an important lesson to learn here! Diligence is important to God! 

Whatever job you are currently working, you are in the exact right place. And. . .if you aren't working. . .GET A JOB!

Mark 1:16 - The Moment Before the Disciples

The Verse

Mark 1:16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

My Paraphrase

Walking beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus watched as fisherman brothers, Simon and Andrew, threw a net out to catch fish.

My Thoughts

In this verse, it's almost like we see Jesus taking a break. In taking a leisurely stroll, He comes upon two fishermen brothers, Simon and Andrew. I wonder what thoughts ran through Jesus' mind as He watched them. As God, did He flash their childhoods through His memory? As a man, did He watch, notice, and appreciate the fisherman skills a poor carpenter would not have known? As God, did He think about the future Peter denying Him three times before His crucifixion? Did He see Peter as the amazing leader of the church that he then becomes? As a man, did He see their huge muscles--a fisherman's necessity for pulling large nets--and have any sort of hesitation about what He would command them next?

It also makes me wonder how long He watched them before speaking. Was it instantaneous? Or did He watch for several minutes before speaking? Was He in full view of them before approaching them? Or did He hold back and silently gaze before stepping forward and stating His purpose? The whole scene seems so lackluster and normal compared to the amazing miracles that are to follow, but yet these men's lives and destinies were about to change forever, so it is worth it to slow down and consider this moment.

So much can happen in just a moment. This verse catches that last vestige of Peter's and Andrew's lives as mere fisherman, just working class cogs in a worldly Mediterranean machine. In the next two verses they will suddenly start becoming spiritual forces with which the devil himself could not reckon.