Fri 19th June - #66. A yeast shortage?
I have just started to make my own bread again. One of the frustrations I have is the lack of yeast in the shops. Is everyone making bread at the moment? Answers on a postcard please. Anyhow, this morning we read about the yeast that the Pharisees and the Herod have.
Mark 8:14-22
14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 ‘Be careful,’ Jesus warned them. ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.’
16 They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread.’
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’
‘Twelve,’ they replied.
20 ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’
They answered, ‘Seven.’
21 He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’
The disciples have spent quite a bit of time with Jesus - they have witnessed miracles, great teaching and a new way of life. Yet, through all of this, they have not been able to see Jesus’ true identity. In Mark’s gospel, one of his main aims is for us (the reader) to see who Jesus is. When you have the whole gospel, it is much easier to work out who Jesus is but when you feature in the gospel (the disciples) things aren’t as clear cut.
In todays reading it has nothing to do with the actual yeast that Pharisees and Herod had
But it is a reference to Jewish people who had to remove yeast, on pain of being cut off from Israel, in preparation for the first Passover and for all Passovers thereafter.“ (Exod 12:14-20).
In some Jewish traditions the removal of yeast came to symbolize the future purification of God’s redeemed people (cf. 1 Cor 5:1-8). The metaphor is appropriate because Jesus’ death at Passover belongs to His inauguration of Israel’s new exodus- in which the impure attitudes of Herod and the Pharisees have, like yeast, no place.
The Pharisees have been the most prominent opponents of Jesus, and it was Herod who executed John. If Jesus’ disciples are to participate in this new redemption, they must rid themselves of the pride and self-deceit: that which comes from the heart, is what defiles (7:14-23); and it was that which led the Pharisees and Herod to oppose the inbreaking kingdom of God.”
This morning,
thank God that we have the whole gospel that shows us Jesus’ full identity and
live today knowing that He came to seek and to save the lost.’(Luke 19:10).
Have good week end.
Much love
Tim
Thurs 18th June - #65. I wanna hold your hand
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.” (Isaiah 42v6)
There are many reasons why hands are held. A Father holds his child’s hand for safety whilst walking along the pavement. Lovers will hold hands to show affection. You hold someone’s hand to steady them from the boat to the jetty. You hold someone’s hand to help them out of the car. You hold someone’s hand to reassure them when they are afraid to go into that place. You hold someone’s hand to comfort them when they are dying.
And God holds our hand for all the above reasons. He protects us, he loves us, he steadies us, he helps us, he reassures us, he comforts us. He wants to hold our hand.
Through faith may you know this experience today as a reality in your life.
Love from Paul
Wed 17th June - #64. I could eat a football!
As a young person I was often encouraged to raise money for charity. So at school, it was a non uniform day and a fee of 20p for the privilege, once, I had to see how many cars I could wash in an hour and people then would sponsor me!
Once at our youth group the fund raising idea was to have a sponsored fast. We had to go without food for 24 hours and in doing so raise money for World Vision. The fast started at 6pm on a Friday night, by the time football focus started on the tv (12:15pm on the Saturday) I could have eaten the leather of a football. It was tough going (the fast not the football) but I did it. This morning we are told that the people who followed Jesus had not eaten for 3 days. Jesus responds again with compassion -
Mark 8.1-13
1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.’
4 His disciples answered, ‘But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?’
5 ‘How many loaves do you have?’ Jesus asked.
‘Seven,’ they replied.
6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, He broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; He gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterwards the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9 About four thousand were present. After He had sent them away, 10 He got into the boat with His disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test Him, they asked Him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.’ 13 Then He left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
At the end of the feeding, Mark says that ‘the people ate and were satisfied’.
In 1965 Mick Jagger sang the song ‘I cant get no satisfaction’. Satisfaction is what we all need and we look everywhere apart from Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can truly satisfy.
Jesus spoke about him being like ‘living bread’ (John 6:51)
In Jesus’ day bread was at the heart of people’s diet. This is what one American commentator has said about Jesus being living bread -
Simply put: without bread, there was no life. Even today, almost everything we eat comes from something else that has died. Dead animals provide us with meat. Dead wheat gives us bread. Vegetables come from dead plants. When we see how other life dies that we may live, Jesus’ words take on a new meaning.
“I am the Bread of Life” is another way of saying: “Without My death, you cannot live.” Just as bread is the essential element in the human diet, Jesus says that He Himself is the foundation for spiritual life. Without His death, no one else can live. Those who come to Him will never again be hungry. Those who believe in Him will never again thirst. Through His death, we live.
John describes many people turning away and rejecting Jesus after the “Bread” speech. Many today will also find it too hard to swallow that Jesus is more than just one religious teacher in a diverse grocery-store selection of beliefs. Yet, Jesus’ words remain true. Whoever eats the bread that He gives (His flesh) will live eternally. The “open-minded” and “diverse” people who leave room for belief in other religious figures will starve to death.
I Hope that’s enough to chew on this morning.
Much love
Tim
Tues 16th June - #63. I’m still waiting
Isaiah 40v13,14
Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
These verses tell us that God knows exactly what He is doing and He doesn’t need our advice! He is the wonderful counselor and doesn’t need to be instructed by us. He has all wisdom and doesn’t need to be enlightened by us. He knows precisely what to do and doesn’t need us to tell him the right way of doing things. He knows all things and doesn’t need us to teach him a thing, nor can we add to his understanding! Humbling isn’t it?
And yet sometimes we think we know better than God! We even say, “If I were God I would…” Or we question his ways and timing. Or in our prayers we tell Him to try and see it my way only time will tell if I am right or wrong. When God says “your ways are not my ways” (Isa 55v8). Proud aren’t we?
There is a wonderful scene in one of my favourite films: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Caractacus Potts has bought an old car that is in desperate need of repair. He locks himself in his workshop 24/7 so that nobody can see him working and sets about transforming the car. Every now and again he will appear to get something and immediately go back to working in secret in the workshop. His children, Jemima and Jeremy, can’t wait for him to finish, and spend their time hanging around outside the workshop, trying to look in to see what their Father is doing; and they wonder why it is taking him so long! When he appears every now and again they try to guess, but they can’t tell him what to do, indeed they don’t even fully know what he is doing, they just have to wait until all is revealed.
And then comes the great day when all is revealed and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is wheeled out sleek as a thoroughbred, with seats like a feather bed that would turn everybody’s head. Caractacus knew what he was doing while his children just had to wait and see what their Father was up too.
Hmmm, Our Father knows exactly what he is doing and we cannot instruct him or teach him any better. One day all be revealed in splendid glory and everything will make sense. Meanwhile we, his children, though we try to peep into the hidden things of God and guess what he is up to, yet really we just have to wait and see.
This takes humility and faith, and so often we are lacking in both.
Today, believe that your Father God knows what he is doing behind the scenes, and submit yourself to Him and wait patiently for Him to reveal the finished story. One day everything will make sense.
Love from Paul
Have a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq59iE3MhXM
Mon 15th June - #62. Checkatrade.com
When you need a job done in the house (if you are like me) you immediately think not “how can I do this” but “who can do the job for me”? Most of the time I need recommendations of tradesmen who will be reasonably priced and have excellent reviews. We look for those people who have been told they have done every thing well.
In this mornings reading the people say that Jesus ‘has done everything well’
Mark 7:31-37
31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.
33 After He took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spat and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more He did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’
Jesus is still on foreign soil and people are getting to know about this miracle worker. Today Jesus encounters a deaf man who could hardly talk; of course Jesus heals him.
Jesus again instructs the people not to tell anyone but they can’t keep a secret.
Also, the people haven't fully understood who Jesus is. This is what one theologian says of this encounter -
The people are amazed and speak in highest terms of Jesus’ achievements. Yet they are not truly disciples of Jesus. Two recurring emphases of Mark are present. In the first place, they have not yet witnessed the entire gospel story. Trial, crucifixion and resurrection still lie out in the future. In the second place, genuine faith commitment to Christ, as Mark understands it, is a miracle anyway. Only the ‘Ephphatha’ of Jesus can set us free to believe. *1
Jesus does everything well and He can open blind eyes and ears that are deaf to Him.
Let’s remind ourselves of his amazing grace -
Much love
Tim
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*1 The Message of Mark - D English