The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Grow Pray Study Guide for Saturday 24 February 2018 "Jesus undeterred by misunderstandings"Daily Scripture
Mark 3:20 and once more, such a crowd came together that they couldn’t even eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they set out to take charge of him; for they said, “He’s out of his mind!”
22 The Torah-teachers who came down from Yerushalayim said, “He has Ba‘al-Zibbul in him,” and “It is by the ruler of the demons that he expels the demons.” 23 But he called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan expel Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom can’t survive; 25 and if a household is divided against itself, that household can’t survive. 26 So if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he can’t survive either; and that’s the end of him. 27 Furthermore, no one can break into a strong man’s house and make off with his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. After that, he can ransack his house. 28 Yes! I tell you that people will be forgiven all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 however, someone who blasphemes against the Ruach HaKodesh never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 For they had been saying, “He has an unclean spirit in him.”
31 Then his mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent a message asking for him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” 33 He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Looking at those seated in a circle around him, he said, “See! Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does what God wants is my brother, sister and mother!”
20 Jesus entered a house. A crowd gathered again so that it was impossible for him and his followers even to eat. 21 When his family heard what was happening, they came to take control of him. They were saying, “He’s out of his mind!”22 The legal experts came down from Jerusalem. Over and over they charged, “He’s possessed by Beelzebul. He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.”
23 When Jesus called them together he spoke to them in a parable: “How can Satan throw Satan out? 24 A kingdom involved in civil war will collapse. 25 And a house torn apart by divisions will collapse. 26 If Satan rebels against himself and is divided, then he can’t endure. He’s done for. 27 No one gets into the house of a strong person and steals anything without first tying up the strong person. Only then can the house be burglarized. 28 I assure you that human beings will be forgiven for everything, for all sins and insults of every kind. 29 But whoever insults the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. That person is guilty of a sin with consequences that last forever.” 30 He said this because the legal experts were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”
31 His mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent word to him, calling for him. 32 A crowd was seated around him, and those sent to him said, “Look, your mother, brothers, and sisters are outside looking for you.”
33 He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.”
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Reflection Questions:
Jesus should have had a perfect family life, right? But Mark said his mother and brothers came to “take control” of him, fearing he’d lost his mental balance. The religious leaders went further, claiming Jesus was in league with the ruler of demons. Jesus’ response in verses 29-30 was forceful, but it was an ugly charge: “Attributing the Holy Spirit’s work to an impure spirit (v. 30) is roughly tantamount to calling God Satan.”* And family is important, but on this occasion Jesus reminded his hearers that family is not God. Maybe even without realizing it, some families demand that all family members agree, or avoid embarrassing the family. But Jesus said our highest loyalty is to God and who God calls us to be, even beyond our family.
Lord Jesus, it must have hurt to have your family think you were out of your mind. You kept on loving them, even when you had to act in ways they didn’t like or understand. Help me find that same balance in my earthly relationships. Amen.
Family Activity
Mark was one of Jesus’ earliest followers. Jesus asked His followers long ago and today to treat others the way He did. As a family, discuss how you would respond in these scenarios:
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 226134-226135). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Jesus should have had a perfect family life, right? But Mark said his mother and brothers came to “take control” of him, fearing he’d lost his mental balance. The religious leaders went further, claiming Jesus was in league with the ruler of demons. Jesus’ response in verses 29-30 was forceful, but it was an ugly charge: “Attributing the Holy Spirit’s work to an impure spirit (v. 30) is roughly tantamount to calling God Satan.”* And family is important, but on this occasion Jesus reminded his hearers that family is not God. Maybe even without realizing it, some families demand that all family members agree, or avoid embarrassing the family. But Jesus said our highest loyalty is to God and who God calls us to be, even beyond our family.
- How could Jesus’ mother have so drastically misjudged her son’s actions to carry out his mission? Have your parents ever misunderstood you, or you misunderstood your children or siblings? How can you offer wisdom and support to people you love, and yet not try to heavy-handedly control their lives? Jesus was serious about his bond with those who do God’s will. How can faith and shared life with God create ties as close as, or closer than, those we share with family? Do you have any added “family members” because you share in God’s family? How can giving Jesus your first loyalty make you, in the end, a better family member than ignoring your true self to “get along”?
Lord Jesus, it must have hurt to have your family think you were out of your mind. You kept on loving them, even when you had to act in ways they didn’t like or understand. Help me find that same balance in my earthly relationships. Amen.
Family Activity
Mark was one of Jesus’ earliest followers. Jesus asked His followers long ago and today to treat others the way He did. As a family, discuss how you would respond in these scenarios:
- A new person comes to your Sunday school class and doesn’t know anyone.
- The person in front of you at the grocery store drops a dollar.
- Your neighbor is an older woman and lives alone. After a storm, all her trash cans fall over.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 226134-226135). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Read today's Insight by Steve LanghoferSteve is a Congregational Care Pastor at Resurrection Leawood.
It’s been said we don’t get to pick our family—we’re born into it. It was no different with Jesus. His family didn’t see what others saw in him. They misunderstood his mission. They didn’t catch his vision. It must have weighed heavy on his heart.
So he enlarged his family, adopted a new one. “Those who seek God above all, from now on, will be my sisters and brothers.” Did he abandon biological kin? No, surely he loved them still. He redefined himself. He stayed in relationship while setting himself apart.
Prayer: Thank You, God, for being who You are, and how You are. Thank You for Your patience when we misunderstand who You’re calling us to be. Thank You for enabling us to differentiate ourselves, to stand apart from those we love while remaining grounded in our union. Even as Jesus did. Amen.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Grow Pray Study Guide for Friday, 23 February 2018 "Opposition hardened, but apostles enlisted"
Daily Scripture
Mark 3:1 Yeshua went again into a synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, people watched him carefully to see if he would heal him on Shabbat. 3 He said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Come up where we can see you!” 4 Then to them he said, “What is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or killing?” But they said nothing. 5 Then, looking them over and feeling both anger with them and sympathy for them at the stoniness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, it became restored. 6 The P’rushim went out and immediately began plotting with some members of Herod’s party how to do away with him.
7 Yeshua went off with his talmidim to the lake, and great numbers followed him from the Galil. 8 When they heard what he was doing, great numbers also followed him from Y’hudah, Yerushalayim, Idumea, the territory beyond the Yarden, and the Tzor-Tzidon area. 9 He told his talmidim to have a boat ready for him, so that he could escape the crush of the crowd if necessary, 10 for he had healed many people, and all the sick kept pressing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But he warned them strictly not to make him known.
13 Then he went up into the hill country and summoned to himself those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve to be with him, to be sent out to preach 15 and to have authority to expel demons:
16 Shim‘on, to whom he gave another name, “Kefa”;
17 Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, Ya‘akov’s brother — to them he gave the name “B’nei-Regesh” (that is, “Thunderers”);
18 Andrew, Philip, Bar-Talmai, Mattityahu, T’oma, Ya‘akov Ben-Halfai, Taddai, Shim‘on the Zealot,
19 and Y’hudah from K’riot, the one who betrayed him.
Then he entered a house;
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Reflection Questions
By Jesus' day, efforts to uphold the Sabbath (it was the fourth of the Ten Commandments, after all—cf. Exodus 20:8-11) had led to a complex tangle of rabbinic rules about what was and wasn’t work. Jesus more often defied those rules than obeyed them, as we saw in yesterday’s and today’s readings. The Sabbath rules forbade action to make people well on the holy day, a rule that angered Jesus. His determination to offer healing on the Sabbath led “the righteous” to seek an alliance with the corrupt Herodians to destroy Jesus.
Lord Jesus, give me the boldness to be one of your disciples, and the courage to do what is right even when there’s pressure to stay quiet and “go along.” Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, pp. 73-74.
By Jesus' day, efforts to uphold the Sabbath (it was the fourth of the Ten Commandments, after all—cf. Exodus 20:8-11) had led to a complex tangle of rabbinic rules about what was and wasn’t work. Jesus more often defied those rules than obeyed them, as we saw in yesterday’s and today’s readings. The Sabbath rules forbade action to make people well on the holy day, a rule that angered Jesus. His determination to offer healing on the Sabbath led “the righteous” to seek an alliance with the corrupt Herodians to destroy Jesus.
- Couldn’t Jesus have just told the man to meet him in secret the next day? It seems, in this and other stories (e.g. Luke 14:1-6, John 5:1-18) that Jesus went out of his way to show that he valued people’s well-being more highly than strictly following rules. Of course, we need some level of rules and guidelines. Have you ever faced a situation in which you needed to set aside the rules or guidelines in the interest of meeting human needs?
- Scholar William Barclay wrote, “It is significant that Christianity began with a group. The Christian faith… from the beginning had to be discovered and lived out in a fellowship.… The very name Pharisee means ‘the separated one;’ the essence of Christianity was that it …presented [people] with the task of living with each other and for each other.”* How does our age of division make this a vital Christian principle? How, if at all, has shared loyalty to Jesus helped you bridge beliefs or ways of living that might have divided you and another person?
Lord Jesus, give me the boldness to be one of your disciples, and the courage to do what is right even when there’s pressure to stay quiet and “go along.” Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, pp. 73-74.
Read today's Insight by Darren LippeDarren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group and a men’s group, and serves on the curriculum team.
Mark’s Gospel has the feel of someone in a rush to get as much written down as quickly as possible. (Think of a high school student taking an ACT test & hearing the dreaded phrase, “15 minutes left,” – that’s our friend Mark.) He doesn’t claim to be writing an “orderly account”, like Luke, or trying to trace the lineage of Jesus, ala Matthew, or elaborating on the broad themes of Jesus’ life & teachings, like John.
Today’s passage illustrates Mark’s cryptic writing style with a simple roll call of the 12 Disciples. (If only Mark could be a role model for all writers – Editor.)
Jesus has selected an interesting group to be His earthly Board of Directors. 2,000 years later let’s take a brief look at His boardroom of executives:
- Peter, the headstrong leader, always rushes in to grab the seat at the head of the table. One, because it is the head of the table & two, because, well, it is the only chair that swivels.
- James & John, the power-hungry brothers, are always suspiciously sitting next to the Krispy Kremes & “forgetting” to pass them down the table to the others.
- Andrew, who constantly brought people to Jesus, is forever popping in & out of the meeting to bring in new employees to introduce to the CEO.
- Philip, Mr. Logistics, is worrying if they have enough paper plates for the taco bar for their working-lunch later on.
- Bartholomew, who belittled anyone from Nazareth, is already mentally mocking any proposal that didn’t come from someone on the Executive Floor
- Matthew, the former tax collector, is quietly calculating the difference in the sales tax on the Krispy Kremes if the tax were charged per box verses a tax per doughnut.
- Doubting Thomas is still standing at the door – not sure which chair to pick. Do I face the windows? I could look out & enjoy the view. Or do I sit with my back to the windows? But then the sun would be on my back & could make me drowsy. Or…
- James-Son of Alphaeus / Thaddaeus / Simon the Zealot - since not much is known about this trio, they’d probably just answer “Here” & keep their heads down the rest of the meeting to avoid being handed any tough assignments. (They wouldn’t want to get stuck with trying to write an explanation of the Trinity again.)
- Judas, the betrayer, is probably taking diligent notes of the meeting to sell to some competitor.
At first glance, Jesus’ Board of Directors does not seem to be a very impressive group. Yet, they were certainly among Jesus’ closest/dearest friends & He entrusted the success of His entire earthly mission in their hands. This trust would ultimately be vindicated, as 10 of the Disciples would be violently martyred for professing their love of Christ.
So, what might this mean for us today? Who would you consider to be on your personal Board of Directors? Do they support your values & try to help you be the best person you can be? Do they offer wise counsel & can they be counted on in times of need?
Conversely, whose Board might you be on? Are you earnestly praying for them? Do you rejoice with them when they are glad & mourn with them in their times of sorrow?
To wrap up, that reminds me of the old preacher joke: Peter, Matthew, & Thomas walk into a bar. And the bartender says
(I’m so sorry. Time is up. Please submit your Insight & step away from the keyboard– Editor.)
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You might also like
Opposition hardened, but apostles enlisted
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Outer healing as a sign of inner healing power
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"Announcing God's good news"
Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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