Tag: Mark 12

Bad Medicine (Mark 12:38-40 Devotion)

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Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, [love] greetings in the marketplaces, 39 “the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 “who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

– Mark 12:38-40 (NKJV)

There once was a doctor who saw a patient for a cold. He prescribed a medicine that helped with the cold but the medicine caused the patient to vomit, so the patient came back. The doctor knew that the vomiting was because of the medicine he gave, but prescribed another medicine for the vomiting. The medicine for vomiting caused the patient to have headaches, and so the patient came back again. The doctor then proceeded to give the patient another medicine for headaches… all of these medicines cost a lot and of course the doctor made more money every time the patient came back. Soon the doctor felt important because he was treating all of his patients like this and so all of his patients kept coming back to him for help over and over again. He’d give them new medicine that would give them new side effects that would cause them to need even more medicine. Instead of helping his patients, he was using them, and they were getting sicker and sicker.

This is kind of what the scribes were doing. They were very familiar with the scripture and so people would come to them expecting to hear what the bible said. The scribes were skillful at using portions of scripture that suited their fancy and ignoring other portions and thus induced people to do things against their best interest. Instead of loving and looking out for the people and pointing them to God, they were creating a tangled mess that exploited others including poor widows (who were among the most vulnerable in that society). They very people they should have been looking out for, they were hurting. All the while claiming credit for being fine, upstanding, really righteous people.

We should all be on guard and discerning of people who would use religious pretense to hurt us rather than help us. We should also examine our own hearts to be sure that we aren’t the type of people who take scripture out of context to make it say what we want it to say for our own selfish purposes. Such a people will not go unpunished.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful for the power that it has to transform our lives. Give us grace to study your word and know what it teaches. We ask that we would live moral and quite lives for your kingdom and your glory. Let us not be exploited or exploit others for selfish gain, but let us love one another and seek help for those who are in need and danger of being taken advantage of. Please give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

The Messiah is Greater Than David (Mark 12:35-37 Devotion)

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Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How [is it] that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 “For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ‘ 37 “Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He [then] his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.

– Mark 12:35-37 (NKJV)

When I was in seminary I showed up early for a workshop and was eating in the cafeteria. I got into a great conversation with a man who was also there for the workshop. I was blown away when I showed up at the workshop and found out that he was actually one of the speakers on a panel! He was there for the workshop, but he wasn’t there to study like I was. He was there to teach!

The scribes in Jesus’ day had deduced that the Messiah would be a descendent of David. Which was true and there are many times in the New Testament where Jesus is referred to by the messianic title, “Son of David.” Even the blind man earlier in Mark called Jesus by the title, “Son of David” (Mark 10:47). Jesus is not disputing that the Messiah is descended from David. What Jesus wants folks to see is that He, the Messiah, is more than descended from David.

Jesus points to the scripture in Psalm 110. The Messiah is greater than David because David calls Him “My Lord.” David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit shows honor and deference to the Messiah.

Jesus was pointing out something that was already written in the Old Testament. He is helping people understand what is already plainly there in the text. That is called exposition. He is helping make God’s word clear to the audience. He isn’t pitting his teaching against the Scribes as much as he is saying, “here is a place where they have half the truth, but there has to be more to it than that because of what David says in Psalm 110.”

Ultimately the truth Jesus was pointing out was about him. He was the son of David, but he was more than the son of David. He is the Son of God! Jesus isn’t leaving us room to call him just a great man. We must recognize that he is more than just a great guy or a teacher, but that he is God!

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Thankyou for the gift of your word that helps us know about you. Please give us insight and understanding into every part of your word, even small things like pronouns help us understand great things like the divinity of Jesus. We ask for guidance to know your word in it’s context and application to our daily lives. Please give us discernment as we seek to live out you word. In Jesus Name, Amen.

The Mistake of Not Knowing the Power of God (Mark 12:18-27 Devotion)

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Then [some] Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves [his] wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 “Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. 21 “And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. 22 “So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. 23 “Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.” 24 Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 “But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the [burning] bush [passage], how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I [am] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ? 27 “He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.“

– Mark 12:18-27 (NKJV)

This time a different group of religious leaders come to test Jesus with a question. They are asking him a hypothetical question. This one has no basis in reality but is a made up situation. The one’s asking the question are mocking the idea of resurrection because it’s something the simply don’t believe.

So they ask about a woman who was married several times in her life and who she will be married to in the resurrection? To them, this is a “gotcha” question. But they are deeply mistaken. They wanted to select pieces of scripture to believe and left others to be disregarded. They were all about the Law (the first five books of the Old Testament that were written by Moses) but not the prophets (pretty much the rest of the Old Testament). So their question was rooted in the principles of the Law… “Who will she be married too in the resurrection?”

So Jesus answers them from the portion of scripture they believed (Exodus, the second book of the bible). He makes them aware that even though they only hold to a small portion of the Old Testament scriptures, they don’t understand those scriptures very well or the power of God! He has no problem pointing out that they are “mistaken.” And he basically gives them chapter and verse of how bad their understanding is (chapter and verse markings come later). Jesus answers the question, but points out that these men are ignorant of what they are asking.

These men thought they had a grasp on God’s word and a grasp on how to trap Jesus with their words, but they soon realized that they didn’t know God’s word as well as they thought and they didn’t know Jesus at all. This was a grace for them to see their mistaken interpretation of God’s word and all the other conclusions they had jumped too. I wonder if any that day received the mild rebuke from Jesus and went back to examine their beliefs.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Help us receive your word with humility and meekness. I pray that we would examine our own hearts in light of who you have revealed yourself to be. Let us not bring our own conclusions to your word, but help us to see what you reveal about yourself in your word. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Give to God the Things That are Made in His Image (Mark 12:13-17 Devotion)

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Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in [His] words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 “Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see [it].” 16 So they brought [it]. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription [is] this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

– Mark 12:13-17 (NKJV)

This is another attempt at a “gotcha” moment with Jesus. These leaders are trying to trick him up in his words and so they ask him a question about taxes. They don’t really care about taxes. What they want to do is get Jesus on the record saying something that will get him in trouble either with the government or the people and so they ask him a simple “yes/no” type question. “Do we pay our taxes or not?”

The design is to trap Jesus. Like when I was in the 5th grade and someone asked me, “Have you told your mom that you wet the bed yet?” To answer a simple yes or no to this question would lead to endless hours of ridicule from my classmates for wetting the bed, even if I never wet the bed… It was a trick question.

So these leaders ask Jesus a trick question. A simple “Yes” or a “no” will give them all the ammunition they need. They just need to hear it from Jesus’ lips. But instead, Jesus gives them a different answer. One that goes deeper than the initial question they were asking. He refers to the image on the coin and says, “Give the things to Caesars that are Caesars.” That would have been profound on it’s own, but Jesus goes a step further and says to give to, “God the things that are Gods.”

Which makes you think. What has God’s image on it?… It’s you and me! People are made in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26)! We owe God more than taxes. We owe him our life, our breath, our everything! We were created by God and for his Glory!

This means that God doesn’t have a right to JUST a portion of my time, money, etc… He has a right to ALL of it! The portion we may give as a tithe or an offering is a representation of how we are stewarding the rest. The time we give on Sundays as a day of worship is a representation of how we steward the rest of the week.

So they asked about if they should pay their share of taxes and Jesus hit them back with a question not just about taxes, but how they spend the rest! We may owe the government a little, but we owe God everything. So if I’m stewarding the life he has given me, am I using it in a way that brings glory and honor for him?

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful that you have blessed us with so many wonderful blessings in this life. I pray we never take your gifts for granted but that we would live whole and purposeful lives in bringing you honor and glory. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Trusted Steward or Violent Thief (Mark 12:1-12 Devotion)

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Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around [it], dug [a place for] the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 2 “Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3 “And they took [him] and beat him and sent [him] away empty-handed. 4 “Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded [him] in the head, and sent [him] away shamefully treated. 5 “And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 6 “Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 “But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 “So they took him and killed [him] and cast [him] out of the vineyard. 9 “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10 “Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 11 This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? ” 12 And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

– Mark 12:1-12 (NKJV)

Jesus continues to address the misuse of religious authority by those who are in power over the Jewish people. Jesus’ authority had been questioned by the religious leaders. The insinuation in this parable is that the religious leaders are unrighteous stewards. They didn’t want to honor God. They just wanted to use God’s name to gain power and authority for themselves. Furthermore they hardened their heart against God’s messengers and didn’t listen to what they had to say. Now these leaders had hardened their hearts against Jesus himself and because they had, judgement was coming.

In verse ten Jesus makes a statement about a cornerstone. He is quoting from Psalm 118. The meaning is that the leaders had rejected Him as the cornerstone (foundation and guideline) for their lives, but that even though he was rejected by them, He would still be the guideline by which their lives were judged.

Many people reject Jesus. Even seemingly Christian people can conduct life under a set of rules apart from a relationship with Christ. Jesus is the cornerstone of a believers life. The Holy Spirit is moving and working in each one of us to conform us to the image of Christ. To be confirmed to the image of Christ, we must accept God’s authority in our lives.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful for your word, let it be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We gladly submit our hearts to you. Let us live with confidence in your authority and benevolent good will. Let walk in humility. Please give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.