What do you value in life? - Mark 12:35-40
What do you value in life? - Mark 12:35-40
By Pastor Lee Hemen
December 5, 2010 AM
In the gangland movie, “The Untouchables,” Elliot Ness, played by Kevin Costner, moans, “I want to get Capone! I don’t know how to do it.” Malone a tough hardnosed Irish-American cop, played by Sean Connery, tells him, “You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital; you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way! And that’s how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I’m offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?” The movie is about how Elliot Ness takes on the notorious gangster Al Capone during Prohibition. Ness faced a huge challenge in trying to bring down Capone because of a corrupt Chicago police department. It was a time of greed and ungodliness fueled by people’s addiction to booze. Interestingly, before they agree to work together, Malone tells Ness, “The Lord hates cowards.”
Here in Mark’s gospel we find Jesus facing the same kind of tactics. Jesus has been challenged again and again by consecutive questioners. Each time he has deflected and met their assaults, not with knives, guns, or by sending someone to the morgue, but with wit, wisdom, and Messianic insight. In today’s passage in Mark we find Jesus kind of turning the tables on his questioners and the crowd loves it. Now he is the one asking the tough questions, yet he is getting no good replies.
READ: Mark 12:35-40
Why is it that Christians become embarrassed when folks find out they follow Jesus? Far too many of us allow the world to dictate how we are to live our lives or respond. We have falsely been led to think that turning the other cheek means being silent, self-conscious, and humiliated. Yet, if we truly think that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the father but by him, then we would do well to reevaluate what we value in life as Christians. Mark’s gospel teaches us anew to realize that…
I. In life there is value in knowing Jesus! (Vv. 35-37)
1. If Jesus is the life, then why live any other way? For us, Jesus’ comments sound enigmatic at best and make little sense. However, Jesus was offhandedly making a point concerning himself as the Messiah. Jesus being the Messiah does not have the impact today as it did then. The Messiah for the Hebrews was a promise from God. He would be an avenging king who would restore Israel and establish David’s throne. David was the real beginning of Israel being a nation. God promised David that from his lineage would come the future Messiah and the security of his monarchy, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16) God, through the Prophet Amos, told Israel “‘in that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be.” (Amos 9:11) This is why when the angel Gabriel told Mary that her baby boy would “be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,” they rejoiced at the news! (Luke 1:32) So, when Jesus related that King David called the Messiah “Lord,” why would a king do that? How could the Messiah be both his “son” and “Lord”? Jesus’ rhetorical question pointed His listeners to the only answer: the Messiah is David’s Son, as a future heir, and David’s Lord at the same time. The Messiah is both God and man! This truth was not lost on Jesus’ listeners. And, this truth should not be lost on us either. Jesus entering into the world as the Messiah, points to his rightful place as our Savior and Lord. Believers enter into his kingdom through their faith and trust in who he is. Peter reminds us that Christians “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Christians are King’s kids. John tells us that, “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God!” (John 1:12) Paul related, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:16-17a) What those who listened to Jesus’ words failed to completely comprehend we now fully know! In life there is value in knowing Jesus!
EXAMPLE: We live in a day and age where Jesus has been reduced to a “buddy,” a means to an end, or a way to feel good about oneself. Jesus is our redeemer, prophet, priest, king, and Messiah. We forget he is God in human flesh and instead focus on Jesus being a Hallmark Hall of Fame moment. Jesus is more than a mushy sound bite for our lives. The Hebrews had reduced God’s Messiah to an avenger who would make them the center of the world and restore them to their rightful place. John gives us a glimpse of what Jesus’ Messiahship truly means for all who believe in him when he wrote, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.’” (Revelation 21:3-7) In life there is value in knowing Jesus!
The crowd liked Jesus getting the better of their overly pious religious leaders. I would also like to think that the crowd may have comprehended more than we realize. Not only did they see this popular itinerate rabbi out foxing his enemies, they liked what he said and did. Far from being similar to the religious phonies they were used to, they saw Jesus for who he was and they like what they saw and heard. In this we learn that…
II. In life we should value sincerity! (Vv. 38-40)
1. There is no substitute for sincerity in life! In concluding his public ministry, Jesus deliberately confronts the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders. It signals Jesus’ final break with these authorities. He begins a process of intimate teaching with his disciples. It is as if he desires that they finally realize his actual mission and where it would lead. Yet, as we pause for a moment, we discover something about Jesus that has always been appealing from the first moment he went to the wedding at Cana, to his trial before Pilate. Jesus was completely honest and straightforward. Contrary to those who tried to entrap him, Jesus wasn’t a hypocrite. He was sincere and in his sincerity we discover we are attracted to his teaching. The crowd that day was as well. Notice he bluntly tells them, “Watch out for the teachers of the law.” The idea here was that they were to continually watch out for these hypocrites and their false piety. Jesus tells the crowd to not be fooled because, “They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.” Like the TBN cultist of today, these men were only interested in power and greed. So much so that they would “devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.” They wanted to wring out every ounce of money from unsuspecting widows. These vile men were in love with themselves. Jesus warned, “Such men will be punished most severely.” In Matthew’s gospel Jesus called them “blind guides” and that they were “like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.” He went on to call them “snakes” and “vipers.” (Matthew 23:23-26) Jesus told them plainly, “Look, your house is left to you desolate!” (Matthew 23:39), and all of Israel would suffer because of their ungodly behavior. The contrast between Jesus’ sincerity and their hypocrisy could not be plainer. Jesus would warn, “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” (Luke 22:26) Paul would remind believers that, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9) In life we should value sincerity!
EXAMPLE: What the world truly longs for is genuineness in the lives of others. We live in a world full of fake starlets and phony politicians. Sadly, many religious leaders are not much better. I believe this is why folks are attracted to individuals like Sarah Palin. It infuriates some people that George Bush is still well liked and is gaining new respect. This is nothing new. The down-home appeal found in the likes of Will Rogers, Billy Graham, Andy Griffith, or today’s Bristol Palin, attract the attention of people who desire a sincerity they do not find in the world. It is also why many are angered at the current Administration in Washington DC. While millions are out of work, losing their homes, and cannot feed their families our Government secretly gave trillions of our tax dollars away at zero or near-zero interest rates to many of our largest corporations -- including GE, McDonalds and Verizon! They secretly lent billions to foreign banks, including Germany's Deutsche Bank Securities, London-based Barclay's, France's BNP Paribas Securities, Switzerland's UBS Securities LLC and Daiwa Securities one of Japan's largest brokerage houses! Politicians do not pay their taxes and get slapped on the wrist, the President flies all over the world with an entourage of folks, a flotilla of ships, vacationing and golfing at every opportunity and spending millions in the process while folks wonder where their next paycheck is coming from. Is it any wonder then in life we should value sincerity?
Conclusion:
In life there is value in knowing Jesus and we should value sincerity in life.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
December 5, 2010 AM
In the gangland movie, “The Untouchables,” Elliot Ness, played by Kevin Costner, moans, “I want to get Capone! I don’t know how to do it.” Malone a tough hardnosed Irish-American cop, played by Sean Connery, tells him, “You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital; you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way! And that’s how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I’m offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?” The movie is about how Elliot Ness takes on the notorious gangster Al Capone during Prohibition. Ness faced a huge challenge in trying to bring down Capone because of a corrupt Chicago police department. It was a time of greed and ungodliness fueled by people’s addiction to booze. Interestingly, before they agree to work together, Malone tells Ness, “The Lord hates cowards.”
Here in Mark’s gospel we find Jesus facing the same kind of tactics. Jesus has been challenged again and again by consecutive questioners. Each time he has deflected and met their assaults, not with knives, guns, or by sending someone to the morgue, but with wit, wisdom, and Messianic insight. In today’s passage in Mark we find Jesus kind of turning the tables on his questioners and the crowd loves it. Now he is the one asking the tough questions, yet he is getting no good replies.
READ: Mark 12:35-40
Why is it that Christians become embarrassed when folks find out they follow Jesus? Far too many of us allow the world to dictate how we are to live our lives or respond. We have falsely been led to think that turning the other cheek means being silent, self-conscious, and humiliated. Yet, if we truly think that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the father but by him, then we would do well to reevaluate what we value in life as Christians. Mark’s gospel teaches us anew to realize that…
I. In life there is value in knowing Jesus! (Vv. 35-37)
1. If Jesus is the life, then why live any other way? For us, Jesus’ comments sound enigmatic at best and make little sense. However, Jesus was offhandedly making a point concerning himself as the Messiah. Jesus being the Messiah does not have the impact today as it did then. The Messiah for the Hebrews was a promise from God. He would be an avenging king who would restore Israel and establish David’s throne. David was the real beginning of Israel being a nation. God promised David that from his lineage would come the future Messiah and the security of his monarchy, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16) God, through the Prophet Amos, told Israel “‘in that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be.” (Amos 9:11) This is why when the angel Gabriel told Mary that her baby boy would “be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,” they rejoiced at the news! (Luke 1:32) So, when Jesus related that King David called the Messiah “Lord,” why would a king do that? How could the Messiah be both his “son” and “Lord”? Jesus’ rhetorical question pointed His listeners to the only answer: the Messiah is David’s Son, as a future heir, and David’s Lord at the same time. The Messiah is both God and man! This truth was not lost on Jesus’ listeners. And, this truth should not be lost on us either. Jesus entering into the world as the Messiah, points to his rightful place as our Savior and Lord. Believers enter into his kingdom through their faith and trust in who he is. Peter reminds us that Christians “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Christians are King’s kids. John tells us that, “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God!” (John 1:12) Paul related, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:16-17a) What those who listened to Jesus’ words failed to completely comprehend we now fully know! In life there is value in knowing Jesus!
EXAMPLE: We live in a day and age where Jesus has been reduced to a “buddy,” a means to an end, or a way to feel good about oneself. Jesus is our redeemer, prophet, priest, king, and Messiah. We forget he is God in human flesh and instead focus on Jesus being a Hallmark Hall of Fame moment. Jesus is more than a mushy sound bite for our lives. The Hebrews had reduced God’s Messiah to an avenger who would make them the center of the world and restore them to their rightful place. John gives us a glimpse of what Jesus’ Messiahship truly means for all who believe in him when he wrote, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.’” (Revelation 21:3-7) In life there is value in knowing Jesus!
The crowd liked Jesus getting the better of their overly pious religious leaders. I would also like to think that the crowd may have comprehended more than we realize. Not only did they see this popular itinerate rabbi out foxing his enemies, they liked what he said and did. Far from being similar to the religious phonies they were used to, they saw Jesus for who he was and they like what they saw and heard. In this we learn that…
II. In life we should value sincerity! (Vv. 38-40)
1. There is no substitute for sincerity in life! In concluding his public ministry, Jesus deliberately confronts the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders. It signals Jesus’ final break with these authorities. He begins a process of intimate teaching with his disciples. It is as if he desires that they finally realize his actual mission and where it would lead. Yet, as we pause for a moment, we discover something about Jesus that has always been appealing from the first moment he went to the wedding at Cana, to his trial before Pilate. Jesus was completely honest and straightforward. Contrary to those who tried to entrap him, Jesus wasn’t a hypocrite. He was sincere and in his sincerity we discover we are attracted to his teaching. The crowd that day was as well. Notice he bluntly tells them, “Watch out for the teachers of the law.” The idea here was that they were to continually watch out for these hypocrites and their false piety. Jesus tells the crowd to not be fooled because, “They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.” Like the TBN cultist of today, these men were only interested in power and greed. So much so that they would “devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.” They wanted to wring out every ounce of money from unsuspecting widows. These vile men were in love with themselves. Jesus warned, “Such men will be punished most severely.” In Matthew’s gospel Jesus called them “blind guides” and that they were “like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.” He went on to call them “snakes” and “vipers.” (Matthew 23:23-26) Jesus told them plainly, “Look, your house is left to you desolate!” (Matthew 23:39), and all of Israel would suffer because of their ungodly behavior. The contrast between Jesus’ sincerity and their hypocrisy could not be plainer. Jesus would warn, “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” (Luke 22:26) Paul would remind believers that, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9) In life we should value sincerity!
EXAMPLE: What the world truly longs for is genuineness in the lives of others. We live in a world full of fake starlets and phony politicians. Sadly, many religious leaders are not much better. I believe this is why folks are attracted to individuals like Sarah Palin. It infuriates some people that George Bush is still well liked and is gaining new respect. This is nothing new. The down-home appeal found in the likes of Will Rogers, Billy Graham, Andy Griffith, or today’s Bristol Palin, attract the attention of people who desire a sincerity they do not find in the world. It is also why many are angered at the current Administration in Washington DC. While millions are out of work, losing their homes, and cannot feed their families our Government secretly gave trillions of our tax dollars away at zero or near-zero interest rates to many of our largest corporations -- including GE, McDonalds and Verizon! They secretly lent billions to foreign banks, including Germany's Deutsche Bank Securities, London-based Barclay's, France's BNP Paribas Securities, Switzerland's UBS Securities LLC and Daiwa Securities one of Japan's largest brokerage houses! Politicians do not pay their taxes and get slapped on the wrist, the President flies all over the world with an entourage of folks, a flotilla of ships, vacationing and golfing at every opportunity and spending millions in the process while folks wonder where their next paycheck is coming from. Is it any wonder then in life we should value sincerity?
Conclusion:
In life there is value in knowing Jesus and we should value sincerity in life.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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