Tired Heart Seeking

 

“O unbelieving generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.” Mark 9:19

When Jesus returned from the Mount of Transfiguration, he became exasperated with the people. He spoke with exaggeration and frustration. His words, “this generation,” referred to the people of that age. Jesus said that generation would never believe in him.

“How long must I be with you for you to have faith in me? No matter how much I prove myself or how long I stay with you, you will never believe. Lest the boy never experience freedom from his torment because you do not believe in me, bring him to me. I care about him because of his torment and because your faith will never be enough to lead to his healing.” This was the spoken and unspoken meaning of Jesus’ words.

The amazing thing in verse twenty is the contrast between the beings—human and spirit. In both Mark’s and Luke’s recording of this event, even before Jesus spoke, the demon thrashed the boy to the ground. The demon recognized Jesus as being the Son of God, who has authority and power to command and control him. The demon's belief about Jesus contrasts with the generation's lack of faith in Him.

In verse twenty-two, the boy’s father’s words to Jesus showed the lack of faith by that generation of people. He said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion for us and help us.” A desperate father grasping for the last straw, the least possibility in his mind, for his son to have freedom from the evil spirit. This man may have exhausted his funds to see every doctor, the priest, and spiritual medium. Another chance for his son’s healing walked into town. This father heard whispers of a man named Jesus. He sought those who could direct him to Jesus, but he found only his disciples. With a loud sigh and deflation of hope, the father may have despaired. Then Jesus walked up to the clamorous crowd. The father’s hope rose. His eyes opened wider, and he sought Jesus’ attention. This father said to Jesus, “If you can, help us...”

Jesus’ response? Incredulity. Spoken and unspoken, Jesus said and may have felt, “How long must I keep showing miracles for these people to believe and be in a right relationship with God? Forever will not be enough time. They have hardened their hearts against me as the Messiah. They must choose to open their hearts and choose to believe in me. Anything is possible to him who believes!”

The boy’s father heard Jesus’ incredulity and exasperation. His hope increased, and he wanted to trust in Jesus. Jesus was the father’s last hope. The man acknowledged his small faith, yet desired belief. He was desperate for his son to be freed from the demon. The father said, “I do believe. Help my unbelief.”

Jesus rebuked the demon and demanded it leave the boy and never re-enter him.

Jesus clarified to the disciples that only prayer can expel such entities.

Jewish scribes argued with the nine disciples who didn't go with Jesus to the mountain. Nothing written in the Bible states these nine disciples had been communing with God. Instead, they stayed in town and became distracted by argumentative people. The disciples focused on defending against the scribes, not on the source of healing and wholeness.

The father, desperate and grasping at his last hope, wanted to believe. His cry, “Help my unbelief,” was his crying out to God for faith, who gives faith to all who ask of him. This father was praying. He recognized Jesus as his only hope and begged God to give him faith.

Jesus said, “This kind can only come out by prayer” (Mark 9:29). The father’s recognition of his own lack of faith led to his desperate cry of wanting faith. God gave him faith to believe in Jesus. God gave faith to the father when he opened his heart to him.

That day, Jesus did more than cast out a demon and make a boy well. He provided faith and hope to a man who had given up hope. This father and son met and experienced Jesus, the divine Son of God and Messiah. The disciples grew in their knowledge of, understanding of, and faith in Jesus. Mark omitted the scribes’ and crowd's faith in his gospel account. In his view, the crowd merely watched and listened.

Today, we each are part of one of these three groups: a growing disciple of Jesus, a desperate seeker of hope and faith, or a hardened and combative person.

Will you choose to grow in discipleship with Jesus?

Will you cry out to God to give you faith to believe?

Will you harden your heart more against Jesus and the salvation he offers to you each day?

It’s your choice. God will never force you to accept him or His forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life in his kingdom.

Anger and Perspective

 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” — John 11:25

 

In this passage, Martha asked accusingly why Jesus had not come sooner when he had learned of Lazarus’ illness. She knew Jesus could heal him and blamed Jesus for his death. We can imagine she might have said, “I thought you loved Lazarus as your brother, Jesus. Why couldn’t you come heal him?” Martha blamed Jesus for Lazarus’ death. She did not deny his death but was angry Lazarus had died. “Why, Jesus, did you let him die?” she might have asked. 

 

God had another plan, one far greater. In John 10, Jewish religious leaders asked Jesus to tell them if he was the Christ. Jesus replied that his works in the Father’s name testify to who he is (John 10:25). Next, He stated to these leaders that his sheep hear his voice and follow him, and he gives them eternal life, so they will not perish (John 10:26-28). The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus for blasphemy. They wanted to stone him.

 

Jesus told the religious leaders about his disciples and what they do; they listen to his voice and follow him. He spoke about what he does for his disciples (believers)—give them eternal life. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived in Bethany. It was about two miles outside of Jerusalem. Jesus' teachings on eternal life would have been shared in Bethany prior to his arrival after Lazarus' death. This makes Martha and Jesus’ conversation poignant. She would have heard that Jesus gives life to his followers. Would Martha have pondered this and wondered why Jesus didn’t heal and give life to Lazarus, his follower and friend?

 

When Jesus received Martha’s message that Lazarus was sick, he stayed two more days in Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, where John the Baptist first began his ministry. He said the sickness of Lazarus would not end in death, but would bring glory to God (John 11:4). The second day after Martha’s message, Jesus told the disciples it was time to return to the Jerusalem area—to Bethany, a two-day walk from where they were. The disciples worried about Jesus being stoned by the Jewish religious leaders (vs. 8). Jesus had no concern about his death. He knew he wouldn't die soon, and stoning was not how it would happen. 

 

The disciples appeared to have forgotten the introduction to the lesson Jesus was teaching them—Lazarus’ life would bring glory to God (vs. 4). Jesus told them Lazarus was asleep, and he was going to Bethany to awaken him. The disciples couldn't understand or remember Jesus' words because the human mind struggles with grasping spiritual concepts. Jesus said in John 10, he gives eternal life to his disciples. The disciples’ reply to Jesus’ statement of going to Bethany to awaken Lazarus showed their literal understanding. Jesus meant Lazarus was dead, not just sleeping (vs 12-14). For the disciples’ (all disciples of all time) sake, Jesus said he was glad he wasn’t in Bethany to heal Lazarus. 

 

After a two-day wait and a two-day walk to Bethany, Jesus arrived after Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus understood the number three symbolized completeness. The third day after a person’s death signified the person was certifiably dead. The fourth day after, a person was dead-dead. No doubt could exist that he or she was asleep, in a coma, or sick. The dead person would not awaken and walk out of the tomb. Jesus arrived in Bethany when the people had no doubt Lazarus truly was dead. 

 

The stage was set. Jesus walked on scene when mourning was obvious. Those aware of Jesus' close bond with Lazarus' family would have wondered why he had arrived so late. They might have whispered among themselves, wondering why Jesus didn’t use his power to heal Lazarus. These people may have heard about Jesus’ conversation with the religious leaders four days earlier about giving eternal life to his disciples and wondered why Jesus wouldn’t have spared Lazarus’ life and the heartache of the sisters. “Did Jesus not love them?” they may have conjectured. 

 

The curtain rose and Martha confronted Jesus about not arriving before Lazarus died. “You could have healed him,” we suppose Martha said. Jesus replied, as any Jew would say, “He will rise again.” (Jews believe in a bodily resurrection.) Martha’s reply, we conjecture, is our own, “I know that, but why weren’t you here? You could have healed him.” Do you recognize your own voice in this situation? Jesus’ reply to Martha is a reply to humanity, and the lesson Jesus began in John 11:4. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

 

These verses are the lesson. They bring glory to God and glorify the Son (vs. 4). In what way? Jesus did not just say he gives resurrection and eternal life to believers. He didn’t say he merely creates and resurrects people. Jesus said, “I AM the Resurrection. I AM the Life.” Jesus doesn’t just give from what he creates. He gives from himself, from his essence. Just as perfect love (agape) comes from God’s being, since it’s part of his essence, life comes from his being. God—the Trinity—is the origin of life, the Author. He is, has been, and will always be. God is not created, but is. Jesus assured Martha and the listeners that he is life, both in the present and for all eternity. The life Jesus lives is from his eternal being and that’s the life he gives—eternal life. Jesus is the resurrection, and that is an undeniable truth. Jesus offers everlasting life that surpasses death's boundaries. Jesus gives resurrection life from his life to people who believe in him when he saves them. These people become his disciples when he Jesus saves them.

 

The manifestation of God's glory, as Jesus foretold, would show through Lazarus' death. After Jesus spoke with Martha and Mary, other Jews questioned Jesus about not arriving sooner to keep Lazarus from dying (vs 37). These Jews refocused all eyes on Jesus’ purpose, as he stated in verse four. 

 

The curtain arose on the next scene. Jesus commanded the people to roll stone from the tomb. Martha stated the obvious after four days of his death. “His body will stink,” she said. Jesus reminded the watchers, if they believe, they will see the glory of God (vs 40). Jesus prayed to the Father, thanking Him for hearing and understanding the people's experiences, teaching them about God's attentiveness. Finally, Jesus commanded, “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus walked from the tomb still bound in the death cloths and Jesus ordered him to be unbound. Notice, no one doubted Jesus’ authority or power. They did not rebel at doing what he commanded. People moved the stone. Lazarus walked out of the tomb. People removed the death cloths from Lazarus. 

 

Returning to verse four, the lessons Jesus taught are several. God is Lord over life. Jesus is life, the author/originator of it. As life, Jesus is the resurrection. He has power to bind and/or cast away death. God hears us and knows what we are facing. He cries with/for us because of his great love for us. Most of all, Jesus is to be glorified. That’s why Jesus waited two days before beginning his journey to Bethany. 

 

What does giving God glory mean? It means displaying acts of kindness and love, regardless of whether anyone witnesses them. Giving God glory means obeying God by doing what he says when he says it. often, God’s timing is a very important part of his plan. Rushing in to help too soon may prevent people from seeing God, only you. You would, then, be stealing God’s glory. How God intervenes is important. Failing to help someone according to God's plan means we don't do what's best for them and God isn't glorified. If we rush in to rescue someone without praying and seeking God’s will, we take God’s glory and could create a worse problem for the person needing help. Often, part of God’s plan is for the person in need to be a part of praying for God’s guidance and help. That enables the person who needs help to know God hears and loves. That brings God glory.

 

Jesus, filled with love for his stressed and grieving friends, waited two days before being with them. Yes, he could have healed Lazarus by being there or by just saying, “Be healed,” while he stood at Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan. Yet, Jesus knew God’s plan for Lazarus’ life, since Jesus is part of the Trinity. Lazarus' life would bring glory to God and reveal Jesus as the Messiah, the Resurrection, and the Life. 

 

Today, do you need to remember Lazarus’ story because you need new life from Jesus? Do you need a reminder to trust God's plan and avoid hastily rescuing someone from a situation? Jesus is the only real Savior. Do you need to remember that God’s plan is best and not to rely on your own plan? Finally, do you need to remember to glorify God with your life? He can use all of you, in life and death, for his glory if you will totally surrender it to him. 

 

Martha was angry. She and Mary blamed Jesus. Lazarus, we may surmise, was thankful for God’s plan. He was alive, and God had used him for God’s own glory and purpose. Are you angry at God? For what do you blame God? Will you spend time with him now in prayer to get his perspective and understand better? See God and his purposes in your circumstances. “Seek God with all your heart and you will find him” (Jeremiah 29:13). God said when you seek him, he will be found by you (Jeremiah 29:14a).

Timeless

 

“In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.”

— Matthew 7:12

 

Let’s consider this whole passage.

 

“For this is (the essence or summation)” comes from the similar meaning as “now and forever,” i.e. eternally. The verb “is” is time inclusive, present indicative. It has timeless implications. Jesus used it in calling Himself, “I AM.” It speaks of His eternity and self-existent self.

 

So, the teaching of this verse, “do to others as you want them to do to you,” is a timeless command that Jesus used to sum up the previous eleven verses in His Sermon on the Mount and to sum up God’s command about caring for all creation, including human life. This command didn’t go away when the Old Testament period ended or when Jesus ascended to heaven or when the modern or post-modern times began. 

 

This verse, verse twelve, sums up the previous eleven verses. 

       *Don’t judge other people. (Vs 1-5)

       *Don’t continue to teach God’s truths 

         to people who continue to malign   

         and curse you and what you teach.     

         “Don’t throw pearls to swine.” (Vs 6) 

         They will only continue to twist 

         God’s truths, curse them, and/or       

         speak derisively about them. Obey 

         God then let Him work in the 

         person’s heart.

       *Don’t ignore someone when they 

         seek you, ask for your help, and or 

         plead for something from you. 

         Just as when you ask of something 

          from God, seek Him, and knock on 

          His door to visit with or beseech Him 

          and He responds by providing, 

          opening His door to you, and 

          listening, so you do to others. (Vs 7-

          8). But remember about pearls and 

          swine. 

        *Don’t give what won’t fill the need for 

          what they asked. For example, fry 

          beans to a homeless person, who 

          has no stove, will not give him food 

          to eat. It would be the equivalent of

          stones in his stomach. Giving fruit, 

          vegetables, or meat that is starting 

          to spoil or is spoiled is just as 

          dangerous as giving a snake 

          instead of a fish to eat.

 

In all these instances, do as you want to be done to you. It’s a timeless command, as timeless as Jesus and His love. It never goes away. It’s based on love and care for humanity, the pinnacle of God’s creation. Jesus came to earth because of His love for all people, a love that fed, healed, taught, forgave, and died for them. 

 

Jesus taught His disciples to follow His example. And, the base of it is love for all people. Do as Jesus did and does and will do for you. Do to others what you want them to do to you—love them in action and word and in truth. Teach. Feed. Pray over. Forgive. Help. With the means God has given to you, do to others as He has done for you.

Pruned or Cut Off

 

“Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.”— ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭2‬‬

Every vine, if it’s healthy, has branches. Jesus compared himself to a vine. He said He’s the true vine, the only one based in the Godhead. All other vines that supposedly lead to help and strength now and to life after death are false. They don’t begin from the Godhead and don’t lead followers to true Life. 

Jesus called His disciples branches. He said every branch from the vine that does not produce fruit—meaning obedience to God that causes others to know about Jesus and/or be helped because of His love in the disciple—will be cut off. Notice the difference in words in this verse. The branches not bearing fruit are cut off to be burned up. The branches producing fruit are pruned. 

Cutting off and pruning have two different purposes. Cutting off something to burn up bears witness that the thing removed was tainted, infected, unproductive and producing a fruit that did not carry the standard for which the vine grew. Pruning is not done to remove something producing fruit contrary to the vine. Pruning a vine is done to grow a branch more inline with the potential of the vine. It gives the fruit of the branch a more intense flavor similar to the first fruits of the vine, and, therefore, similar to the vine. 

The branches (true believers) in the true Vine (Jesus) are pruned (trained, disciplined, mentored, corrected, encouraged) so that what they teach, preach, do, and think is what Jesus thought, said, and did. Pruning makes the branch more like the Vine. It ensures the fruit of the branch are greater in cluster and intensity so that the seeds of that fruit bear much fruit with the intensity of the Vine. 

This should make us stop and consider if God is pruning us or cutting us off. If you’re truly a believer in Jesus whose life has been changed so that your words, actions, and attitudes are less like your old self and becoming more like Jesus, God will prune you. If, however, you have never believed in Jesus or say you did but never changed your life and submitted to God, God will cut you off. Why is this important? Pruned branches continue to grow, thrive, and become more like Jesus, with His passion, intensity, and purpose. They live with Him forever. Cut off branches are burned. 

What is the Vinedresser (God) doing to your branch, pruning or cutting you off from the Vine?

Proclaim Fellowship

 

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

— 1 John 1:3

 

John said he and the other disciples proclaimed, they declared openly to everyone. He testified. 

 

Unless a person has experienced something with at least one of his/her senses, it is not a testimony. It would be hearsay, which is when no personal senses are involved. John declared he had a personal testimony proving Jesus is who He said He was. 

 

Which of John’s senses witnessed Christ? John wrote of what he personally had seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears. He probably could have testified based on touch, too. As the “beloved” disciple of Jesus, John probably hugged Jesus before His death and after His resurrection. 

 

John said he and the other disciples openly declared their testimony to whomever would listen about what they saw and heard from Jesus, the Son of God. Did the disciples proclaim to gather a following of disciples for themselves? Did they proclaim so they would receive offerings that would provide them with an income? Did these disciples of Jesus declare their testimony to become famous? No. John said they spent their lives proclaiming their testimony about what they’d seen Jesus do and how He lived and what they heard Jesus teach and preach. They proclaimed so that other people could have fellowship with them. 

 

What did John mean by having fellowship with them? “Fellowship” comes from the Greek word “koinonia”. Koinonia is the absolute bond of love and care among believers in Jesus that unites them with and for each other no matter the cost. This bond unites believers in fellowship with God and Jesus. Koinonia is absolute love for the benefit of the community corporately and individually, whether in joy or crisis or in excess or need.  Koinonia was very visibly seen in Acts 2:44-45 after Pentecost when many people believed in Jesus. Luke wrote it as follows:

 

“And all the believers were together and had all things in common; and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.”

 

That is koinonia. Giving whatever you had to help others in need, doing whatever it takes to help. John and the other 11 disciples knew this sacrifice personally because of their fellowship with God and Christ and their witnessing of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. These men did not only give up the right to income or a place to call home. In their decision to follow, believe in, and fellowship with Jesus, they absolutely gave up their right to their own selves. The disciples were persecuted. Many of them died in horrendous ways. John lived to an old age, but exiled from his people. Yet, he still had fellowship with God and Jesus.

 

Where do we stand in this? Do we openly declare our faith in Jesus? Do we give God the glory for the blessings we have received? Do our lives show a fellowship with God and Jesus by doing and giving whatever they request, even their blessings, for other people’s aid? Do we have an absolute bond of Christian love and care for our brothers and sisters in Christ so that what we have would be sold to help them in their need? This shows our absolute fellowship with God and Jesus. It is our living testimony of our faith in Christ and His work in us. This shows our fellowship with Him.

 

Do you have a testimony about your relationship with Jesus?

Do you openly tell it?

Do you have a koinonia fellowship with God and Jesus that causes a koinonia fellowship with and for other Christians?

 

Even to his old age in exile, John’s koinonia with Jesus led him to koinonia (fellowship) with other believers by testifying and teaching through something as simple as a letter. Do you have a heart like John, who had a heart for and like Jesus? That’s koinonia.

Righteousness or Religiosity?

 

Mark wrote his gospel to tell people about Jesus’ ministry. He did it by first showing Jesus’ power and authority. Mark showed this by telling of Jesus’ baptism, forty-days in the wilderness, succeeding over Satan’s temptations, calling men to follow Him, casting out demons, teaching in the synagogues, and healing people. Through Mark chapter 1, Jesus did not meet any overt challenges to Himself. From chapter two, the religious leaders began challenging Him outright.

In Mark 2:1-3:6, Mark used a teaching method called a chiasm. Because the people learned orally, teaching this way made for easier remembrance. The style used a step method of A, B, C, B’, A’. A and A’ tell about Jesus' healing people. B, C, and B’ relay Him teaching about and using food as an illustrative tool. The middle and last stories, C and A’, emphasize the main point. As Mark taught each level of the chiasm, the people would understand better the main point of the teaching. They would learn about Jesus’ authority and power. The people would learn more and learn to believe He is Deity.

The lesson relayed in the Bible study titled “The Standard” explains Jesus is the bridegroom. Jesus taught the religious leaders that His disciples do not fast when the Groom is with them. Only in the Old Testament does God use the analogy of Himself as the Groom. Jesus took this title when the Pharisees challenged Him about His disciples not fasting like they did. This teaching is the central one of this chiasm because in it, Jesus explains He is God in a way the Pharisees, who were learned men, would recognize and understand.

This lesson comes from Mark 2:23-28. Through this third teaching moment, Jesus instructs people using food for illustrative purposes. The Pharisees openly challenged Him in this retelling of Jesus’ meet with them.

The Setting

And it happened that He was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. (Mark 2:23 [NASB])

This verse begins by telling the hearers and readers, “And it happened.” What happened? Mark sets the stage. He leads his audience to set their focus and pay attention to what would be said in this passage. Mark does this by aiming people on the person and occurrence coming up in his retelling of history.

Mark said, “And it happened that He (Jesus) was passing through the grain fields.” Many people, if they are walking somewhere, they will try to take the quickest route. Sometimes that meant they walked through another person’s property. We readers might think that is why the disciples and Jesus walked through a field of grain, because it was quicker. Yet, often, the destination was not the main purpose for Jesus doing what He did. Many times, the journey was more important than, or just as important as, the end point. The disciples may have thought Jesus took them through the grain field because it was quicker, but Jesus knew the Pharisees looked for a way to find fault with Him. Jesus wanted to meet the Pharisees. He wanted each person to believe in Him and receive salvation. This was not an “Uh oh, we’ve been caught moment,” but a planned meeting by Jesus.

Besides the meeting being intentional, let’s consider another matter. In this verse, we notice the disciples picking heads of grain. They did not pick them to harvest the grain for the landowner. The disciples picked the grain to quench their hunger.

Mark made one other point to set the scene for Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees. Jesus and His disciples walked through the grain field on the sabbath day. They did not walk to go to the synagogue in Mark’s retelling in this verse. They may have already left or were going to the synagogue. Mark does not give us that information. The day of the week was important in this story about Jesus’ ministry. The sabbath day was the focus.

Mark recalled pertinent details for his readers and hearers. He relayed Jesus, and the disciples walked through a grain field on a sabbath day. The disciples plucked heads of grain. The Pharisees laid in wait to catch Jesus and His disciples. What would be the lesson for the listeners?

The Challenge

The Pharisees were saying to Him (Jesus), “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (Mark 2:24 [NASB])

The Pharisees never seemed far from Jesus. They boldly approached Jesus with their accusation couched in a question. These men scrutinized Him and His disciples so they could confront and accuse Him. When people want to accuse someone of doing wrong, it does not take much scrutinizing to find a fault. Each person is a sinner, after all.

The Pharisees felt their job was to point out a person’s sins so the person could make amends with God. Their idea of holiness came from a skewed interpretation of God’s intent of His laws. God gave His laws, statutes, and commands to lead people to Him, not to drive a wedge between Him and them.

The religious leaders had created 633 laws for the Israelites to live by, based on God’s laws. Instead of making it easier for people to live godly lives, it created a caste system of sorts. The people who publicly lived the laws obviously were holy, according to the religious leaders. To appear holier than the common people, the Pharisees, scribes, and rabbis prayed aloud on the streets and in the city gates. They fasted twice a week instead of on the only day of the year God required. These religious leaders publicly repented with ashes and loud prayers for people to see and hear them.

The only use the Pharisaical laws gave was to create a sense of holiness, which people call religiosity. Doing religious actions do not lead to holiness. Works do not save a person from their sins. They do not convince God a person is holy enough to redeem. Yet, for the Pharisees, the laws they created served a purpose. It showed their pseudo-holiness, a lack of righteousness.

With this mindset, of course, the Pharisees would challenge Jesus. They saw Him as a threat since He daily gained followers. If Jesus became great in people’s minds, people might give fewer offerings to the synagogues and temples. They would be less inclined to follow and obey the religious leaders. The religious leaders would lose stature in the nation.

With this understanding, the Pharisees waited for Jesus and His disciples to make a mistake. To them, plucking grains of wheat on the Sabbath was not lawful. The Pharisees considered their actions and opinions made the sabbath day revered. How they lived—what they said and did—mattered more than the purpose God set aside for the day. Their Pharisees showed the intentions of their hearts with their question to Jesus. Actions determined a sabbath day’s purpose, according to the Pharisees.

Notice, the Pharisees did not say the men plucking grain from another man’s field was wrong. What they pointed out was that they plucked grain on the sabbath day. In Deuteronomy 5:12-15, no work was allowed on the Sabbath. That permitted people to keep the sabbath day holy. Holy means consecrated by God and set apart for Him. The focus of the sabbath day was to keep one’s mind set on God. The focus was not work was disallowed. For the Pharisees, the sin was plucking the grain on a Sabbath.

Is plucking working? Is plucking to satisfy hunger work? Many Old Testament passages teach about this topic. Each deals with “working” on the sabbath day. Is plucking a few heads of grain reaping? This takes us back to the intention of the Ten Commandments and, particularly, the fourth commandment. The fourth commandment states, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The intention of this commandment, according to the wording, is to keep the sabbath day holy. God’s nature defines holiness. For people to keep the sabbath day holy, they must focus on God and set themselves apart only for His purposes. The purposes of a person for the sabbath day sets it apart in their lives as being for him or herself or for God. Those purposes originate in the heart, take form in the mind, and can cause each person to act for God or him or herself.

What were the disciples’ intentions for plucking grain that sabbath day? Did they intend to harvest the grain, or did they intend to quench their hunger as they followed Jesus, the Son of Man? What were the intentions of the Pharisees that day? Did they intend to help a person realign to be in God’s will or to accuse a person so they themselves seemed more holy? What was the intention of Jesus that day? If He meant to catch the Pharisees by setting Himself and His disciples in their path, He succeeded. If He meant to help them see Him as the Messiah, He tried, but the Pharisees' hearts still were stubborn.

God set the sabbath day aside for rest because it was a day of rest for Himself. Instead of focusing on the sabbath day or on what one can or cannot do, people should focus on the One who created it and gave it to them. The sabbath day is not god over Yahweh. Yahweh is God over the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, people are to rest and focus on God because He created it and gave it to them.

For the Pharisees, the laws based on the interpretations of God’s Laws were more important than the words God gave the Old Testament writers. They became inflexible in applying their own interpretations and put more emphasis on them that on God. All the while, God gave the Old Testament to point people to Himself. God judges each person according to His Word, not the rules humanity makes.

God forbade men to work for their profit on the Sabbath, not for gathering a few grains to feed themselves. Jesus’ disciples wanted to know Jesus more and to see Him teach, preach, heal, and cast out demons. They followed Jesus, even on the Sabbath. By following Jesus, they kept the sabbath day holy. They focused on the Messiah. When they became physically hungry, these men ate what they could find, heads of grain near their hands. This action was not harvesting, but gleaning. Deuteronomy 23:25 teaches about this. It says, “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.”

The disciples’ plucking grain was not work. It did not distract them from God. The disciples’ actions did not make the day unholy. The intention of Jesus’ followers was to continue to follow Him, but they had a need. Their physical bodies required sustenance to continue following Jesus.

The Reminder

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry: how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar, the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” (Mark 2:25-26 [NASB])

Jesus continued teaching. He taught with words and with actions. He knew the Pharisees followed Him to trap Him in what He did and taught. Jesus understood the educated religious leaders would learn from His use of history and Scripture. It would be easier for these learned men to discount miracles and harder for them to push aside known historical facts and sacrificial laws. Jesus meets each person where they will listen most to Him.

Jesus did not debate or argue with the Pharisees. He focused the Pharisees upon a man whom they held in high esteem in Israelite history. That man was David, God’s chosen man as king for His people. David had expanded the borders of Israel. The crops and livestock of the nation had increased. David was deeply devoted to God and enjoyed His favor. God had promised David that his kingdom would never end (2 Samuel 7:11-13) and, from him, the Messiah would come (Isaiah 59:20). The Israelites considered David godly. Jesus then reminded the Pharisees of the time David fed his soldiers with the showbread on the altar in the holy place of the temple.

Jesus taught the Pharisees in the method to which they were accustomed by asking questions. This was the rhetorical method where education happens through discourse, orally. He said to the Pharisees, “Have you never read?” Jesus knew these learned men had read about David. He realized they held David in high esteem. To the Israelites, David was the model for being a great Jew. People sought to emulate him. They also had hope in the promise God gave to David about the Messiah coming from his line. Because of this, Jesus showed His disciples’ actions were like David’s men’s actions. This could then be reason enough, according to the religious leaders, for the disciples to pluck grain. David and his men were hungry and so ate from the temple offerings (1 Samuel 21:1-6). Likewise, Jesus’ disciples were hungry and so plucked and ate on the Sabbath. The actions of both leaders’ followers ran parallel.

According to Leviticus 24:5-9, only the priests were to eat the showbread that was in the holy place. Yet, the high priest, Abiathar, offered the showbread to David and his men, if they had kept pure from women. God never condemned this action by the priest. David had not acted in rebellion to God when he asked for food and accepted the showbread. He wanted to meet the immediate need of hunger in a life-or-death situation. God never condemned the priest for giving David the showbread. God considered David just.

Like David and his men had a just reason for eating the showbread, Jesus’ disciples had a just reason for plucking and eating the grain. They hungered while following Jesus. The disciples did not reap and steal a man’s grain. Their intention was to eat while continuing to follow and learn from Jesus. Staunching the hunger was a necessity. Ceremonial law was less important than the necessities of men.

The Pharisees would not dare to say David and his men eating the showbread was inappropriate. They held him in too high a regard to consider saying that. If they could not judge David, then they could not judge Jesus’ disciples. In both instances, the men ate out of necessity. The bread was still holy in that the men received it from God. Likewise, Jesus and His disciples still held the sabbath day in high esteem. The followers did not stop to harvest a field so they could make bread; they just plucked a few grains to eat as they followed Jesus.

To Jesus, ceremonial ritual is not always necessary, but moral duty is. Feeding people. Helping the sick. Caring for the homeless, orphans, and widows. These are moral duties. As Christians, our care for people shows our love for God. This being said, Jesus did not encourage willful disobedience. He considered how God’s Word deals with the issue. Scripture should always guide how we live.

The Lesson

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27 [NASB])

Jesus helped the Pharisees to realize ceremonial rituals are not as important as giving what is necessary for people to live. He then arrived at the point of His teaching. Jesus reminded the Pharisees of David. He wanted to make sure the Pharisees, and each person, understood this lesson. Jesus understood if a religious leader learned a truth, then his/her followers would learn the truth, too. This model of getting the truth to more people is one reason Jesus trained His followers and made them fishers of people. A quicker way to get the gospel to each person was to multiply the messengers.

Jesus used the sabbath day to teach His disciples and the Jewish religious leaders. He willingly faced the Pharisees’ accusations so He could discuss God’s intentions and His heart. Plucking grain heads on a sabbath day and having the Pharisees see it allowed Jesus to instruct both sets of people about God’s intention for the Sabbath. The lesson about the Sabbath is that God’s faithful ones should serve people, not restrict activities. This promoted keeping one’s focus on God and not on self. This teaching showed the Sabbath say was for serving God by His ways.

The purposes of the Sabbath are about keeping it holy to serve God and providing a rest day to serve people. If we truly serve God, then helping someone on the sabbath day can honor God. It can allow someone to hear the gospel or get needed encouragement and prayer. God instituted the Sabbath as a day of rest and focus on Him.

With this lesson about David breaking ceremonial law, Jesus taught a principle that governed this incident. The “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” This lesson would help the Pharisees accept the disciples’ actions of plucking grain. The disciples plucked grain because of their hunger. The Sabbath law created by the Pharisees hindered the moral law of meeting the hunger need of the disciples. Ceremonial laws they created were secondary to the necessity of the men. Jesus differentiated between ceremonial law and moral law. He wanted the Pharisees to learn this and believe in Him. Jesus wants each person of every nation, race, people, tribe, tongue, and time to learn about God, His Sabbath, and the salvation He offers.

The Point

So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:28 [NASB])

God created the Sabbath Law (“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” [Exodus 20:8].) to keep us focused on Him and to give us regular rest. This Law is for the good of each person. This Law is a divine law, not human created. Since this law is a divine law, the Son of Man, as Daniel wrote in Daniel 7:13, can direct which of humanity’s laws can be interrupted for the moral good. Because of this, plucking grain to feed hungry people is not working. People are affected for good when they are not starving. Jesus’ disciples did not faint from hunger. He explained to the Pharisees and His disciples that He has the authority to suspend law to meet the needs of humanity for his/her spiritual and physical good.

Further, this means it was right to eat with sinners so they would come to know God through the Messiah (spiritual good). It was right to heal the paralyzed man because it was for his physical and spiritual good. It was right to eat with the bridegroom—Jesus—while he was with the groomsmen, His disciples (spiritual good). Each of these was for spiritual and/or physical good. Jesus, as God, had authority to suspend manmade Sabbath laws for the physical and spiritual good of these people and everyone He healed, cast out demons, and ate with during His three-year ministry.

By feeding the disciples grain (taking them through the grain field), Jesus sought to ease their hunger. By forbidding their plucking grain, the Pharisees showed they cared not for the plight of men, but for their own system of godliness, which did not include God. These Pharisees did not argue with what Jesus said. If they did, they would show their stony hearts of not caring for other people. The Pharisees’ pride was bound up in their laws and self-ordained religiosity. They would hate whatever and whoever came up against their standard of faith, yet their faith was not in God, but in their ability to do every one of the 633 Judaic laws. The Pharisees were religious, according to their standards, but not godly, according to God’s standards. Religiosity is following rules and rituals as dictated by a religion, but not necessarily having the faith in Jesus that is the hallmark of being a Christian. Doing things does not make a person faith-filled. Actions do not save a person from his or her sins. Faith in Jesus alone by God’s grace saves a person from his or her sins and eternal death.

Jesus showed His innate power and authority. He did this by healing people, casting out of demons from people, feeding people, and teaching people. His love issues from His being. God is the source and definition of pure love. Jesus speaks, acts, and thinks morally. From Him comes absolute morals for the good of all humanity.

From this time onward, the Pharisees sought to catch Jesus blaspheming so they could add it to His list of crimes. Jesus has been calling Himself the Son of Man. If the Pharisees had been paying attention, they would have realized His statement meant He is Deity and has authority over God’s laws. Jesus’ statement was like peeling another layer of the onion to show more to people that Jesus meant He is the Son of God—the Messiah.

Application and Conclusion

The Pharisees were preoccupied with every ritual of the Sabbath. They did not see Jesus as the Messiah. They put more emphasis on the day of the week than they did on the Savior. Jesus should have been their priority. Instead, they chose the demands of human traditions as their priority.

Jesus suspended a ceremonial law to meet the moral law. He taught the Sabbath Law God gave was to serve God and humanity, so keep it holy by focusing on Him and helping people in need to whom He sends you. Often, people cannot or will not hear a person tell them about Jesus because they are hungry or in pain. Sometimes only when a person receives tangible love from a Christian can or will he or she see Jesus. Often, people are stubborn, like the Pharisees. Other people refuse to see or hear Christians until Jesus shows proof of His love. Sometimes even tangible proof does not move a stubborn heart.

The point of this chiasmic story from Jesus’ ministry is that Jesus has authority over the Sabbath because He is the Son of God, Deity. The Pharisees, after this discussion with Jesus, still refused to believe in Him as the awaited Messiah. They continued doing their ceremonial rituals and immersing themselves in religiosity. We do not have to be like them. At this point, we can choose to believe in Jesus for salvation and cast away the empty rituals we follow aimed at proving our self-proclaimed goodness. This will allow us freedom from sacrificing ourselves on the altar of good-enough-ness. We can know without doubt Jesus redeemed us and set us free to be holy, focus on God and His intentions, and serve Him and other people. The Sabbath Law of God is our law of rest and service.

This leads to questions:

1.     Are you too busy policing others that do not worship?

2.     Are you too busy criticizing the music or sermon that you do not worship God?

3.     Are you telling other people about Jesus, while feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and taking care of the widow, orphan, and foreigner?

Take your day of rest before God and receive what He offers you-wholeness, peace, joy, renewed energy, and His mission—for you to serve other people.

¹⁷ Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

²³ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people,

 ²⁴ knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (Colossians 3:17, 23-24 [NASB])

Willing

 

The first thirty-nine verses of Mark chapter one, introduces the reader to Jesus, who He is, what He said, and what He did at the start of His ministry. Mark’s intent in writing this gospel was to show Jesus is who He said by showing His ministry. After His baptism by John the Baptist and God’s proclamation that Jesus is His Son, Jesus walked to and stayed in the wilderness for forty days without food or drink, and He did not succumb to Satan’s temptations.

Upon exiting His wilderness experience, Jesus walked to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee and called four fishermen–Simon, Andrew, James, and John–to follow Him. The men immediately left their boats and walked with Him. Jesus and the four men walked to the synagogue in Capernaum, Galilee. He stood in the synagogue and taught from God’s word with power and authority, then cast evil spirits out of a possessed man. The people began talking among themselves with amazement. Afterwards, Jesus walked with Simon and Andrew to their home. Simon told Jesus about his mother-in-law being sick in bed with a fever. Jesus walked to her, helped her sit up, and willed her to be well. He helped her to her feet, and she began serving the men. When the Sabbath ended, the people brought to Jesus those who were ill and demon possessed. Mark said, “The whole city had gathered at the door. And He (Jesus) healed many who were ill with various diseases and cast out many demons” (Mark 1:33-34 [NASB]). People commented throughout Jesus’ actions about His power and authority.

After these activities, Jesus retreated to a quiet place early in the morning to pray. Simon and others searched earnestly for Him. When they found Jesus, Simon told Him everyone was looking for Him. Jesus told Simon and his companions they must go with Him to towns nearby so He could preach there, too. In these four verses (Mark 1:35-38), Jesus modeled and explained ministry for these people. Ministering includes praying to God and proclaiming the gospel. Jesus then took them into synagogues throughout Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

Compassion

⁴⁰And a man with leprosy came to Jesus, imploring Him and kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴²And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:40-42 [NASB])

While in a district in Galilee, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. This man understood the law forbade him from entering the city walls because of his disease. He knew the law forbade him to approach a clean person, a person who was not an outcast because of illness or demon possession. This leper learned about Jesus’ miracles. He wanted Him to cure him, too. Perhaps he had listened to the religious leaders teaching that God judges sinners with infirmities. We do not know what this leper knew and understood. He wanted to go to the temple to worship God. The leper wanted to be around other people. He did not want to be an outcast.

This leper listened to people talk about Jesus and risked further shunning by approaching Him, a non-outcast, a clean person. He begged. This man used the most humbling way to approach a person for a favor. He kneeled before Jesus. He lowered himself physically and in status before Jesus begging Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (vs. 40). After hearing about the people Jesus healed and the demons He cast out, he believed Jesus could heal him. The leper recognized Jesus as being greater than himself and risked shunning to implore Him for favor, grace.

The leper stated Jesus had the power to heal him when he said if He “willed.” When Jesus willed something, He gave His best offer. He was disposed-chose-to do something. When Jesus died on the cross, He gave His absolute best offer-salvation and eternal life. This leper did not realize Jesus had that ability, but he trusted Jesus could heal him and stated that fact in this verse. “If You are willing.” The leper begged Jesus to give His best offer that he had noted from overheard conversations–healing that made him ceremonially and socially clean. His curing would make him clean. This man desired for the people to accept him.

Jesus disposed Himself toward this man. He listened to the man and acted upon it. Mark said, “Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’” (vs 41). Jesus willed-desired-to give His best offer to this man. He desired the leper to receive ceremonial cleansing. Jesus used the same word the leper did when he asked for cleansing. The leper wanted ceremonial and social cleansing. He wanted to be in the city and the synagogue. Jesus proved to the leper, the watchers, and the later-hearers He is able and willing to heal and cleanse people. Jesus can do more than that, as Mark tells later in His gospel, but the time was not right yet. At the right time, Jesus would declare His purpose on earth.

Another factor to consider in this meeting with the leper is Jesus touched him. Jesus risked getting leprosy by touching Him, but He did not contract it. If Jesus had contracted leprosy, the priest would have proclaimed Him an outcast, too. This would have made Jesus unable to go to the areas in which the people lived. Jesus did not become infected with it. He, a clean man, touched an unclean one and made him clean, while Himself not becoming unclean. If the leaders considered this action in depth, they would have realized only a truly “clean” person can make another clean. Only a person who is absolutely clean can make another person clean. If the religious leaders dived deeper into their theology, they would remember their belief that God gives disease and death to those who sin against Him. By making this leper clean, Jesus’ actions said He forgave the leper and He Himself is God. Only God could forgive sins. The religious leaders had not pondered Jesus’ actions and teachings deeply yet. Soon, Jesus’ ministry would encounter negative reactions.

Again, Mark used one of his favorite adverbs. He wrote the word “immediately.” He wrote in such a way that it appeared Jesus rapidly encountered and interceded with power and authority for people one after another. In verse forty-two, Mark wrote, “And at once, the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.” Jesus willed the man to be well, and he was. He did not instruct the man to make a wish or do anything before he received healing. Jesus willed it and it occurred. Immediately, the leprosy left him. At once, the man became clean. Jesus willed, reached out, and touched. He did everything necessary for the man to be healed/cleansed. The man did nothing to receive healing other than approach Jesus, the One whom he trusted could heal him.

Command

⁴³And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere. (Mark 1:43-45 [NASB])

Once again, Mark used his favorite adverb, immediately. Mark pushed along the gospel about Jesus. He made it look as if no time elapsed between when Jesus healed the leper and when He sent him on his way with a stern command. With a strong warning, Jesus sent the once-leper away. What was the firm/stern warning Jesus gave the man? He commanded him not to tell anyone what happened, that Jesus healed him. Instead, Jesus firmly told him to show himself to the priest and give the offering Moses wrote in the Pentateuch. Notice Jesus willed the man to be well and touched him. He had compassion for the former leper. Now Jesus commanded the man what to do next, show himself to the priest. The man did nothing to be well and clean. He had to go to the priest for his declaration of cleanness. This once-leprous man had to give the offering, which Moses wrote about, at the synagogue. With his cleansing, the former leper had obligations in the world. Jesus had compassion and commanded.

Why did Jesus not want the man to tell people about Him? Why did He tell him first to go straight to the priest? Perhaps, Jesus did not want the leper to tell people because then they would constantly want Him to do miracles. Possibly, Jesus might not have wanted people to know He is the Messiah yet. Their expectation of the Messiah was as a political deliverer, a warrior king who would throw the Romans out of Israel. What Mark emphasizes in his gospel is that at the right time, Jesus would fulfill the requirements for the salvation of humanity. Jesus commanded this clean man to tell nobody. The time was not right yet.

Jesus commanded the clean man not to tell anyone but to go straight to the priest and give the offering required according to Moses’ command. This man trusted in Jesus and received the healing He willed for him. Yet, he did not obey His command. The once-leper walked and proclaimed his experience with Jesus freely and openly so that the news spread (vs. 45). Why did Mark highlight this part of the man’s story? Because by proclaiming about Jesus, it made it harder for Jesus to speak in populated places and have relative anonymity. He could not enter a city publicly, but had to stay in sparsely populated areas. Yet, what God planned, no human can stop. People from everywhere sought Jesus. Later in his Gospel, Mark will recall the 4000 and 5000 people who followed Jesus out of the city. They would need food because they were so far away from their money and a source of food.

The once-leprous man was now ceremonially and socially clean, but he did not obey Jesus’ command. He finally arrived, in his own time, at the synagogue to show himself to the priest and offer the sacrifices. The first part of Jesus’ directions. Showing himself to the priest and giving an offering were to be the first public testimonies of his cleanness. Instead, his first offering was to disobey Jesus. It was lip service, not heart service. It might have hindered more people from learning about Jesus. Humanity cannot thwart God’s plans, though. Jesus’ fame grew, and people sought Him.

Application and Conclusion

Mark’s telling about the leprous man Jesus healed is more than about what Jesus can do. Any time a person encounters another, a reaction happens. A person may say, “Hello,” in passing. The recipient of the greeting may respond similarly. If the person does not respond vocally to the first person, the lack of response is the person’s reaction to the greeting. People react with action or inaction.

In this retelling of Jesus healing the leper, Mark noted for readers who did which actions. He began and ended with the leper’s actions. Most actions, though, were in the story’s body. At the start, the man kneeled before and begged Jesus to make him clean. In the end, that man disobeyed Jesus and told people about his healing before going to the priest as commanded. Jesus’ compassion moved Him to will the man’s healing, so He touched him and cleansed him. As the recipient of Jesus’ favor because of his acknowledgment of His compassion and power to heal, Jesus commanded the man not to tell people about Him. Instead, He commanded the man to go to the priest and then offer the sacrifices required in the Old Testament. These would show his ceremonial and social cleanness.

Jesus’ reaction to the man’s entreaty and humility was compassion and action that showed His love. The leper’s reaction to Jesus’ compassion and command was disobedience and personal satisfaction. The man could legally be among people at last. He wanted that more than he wanted to obey the One he recognized as greater, Jesus. This once-leprous man did what he wanted before he did what Jesus commanded. Jesus did not need the man to show himself to the priest before He healed the leper. He healed him out of compassion, with no strings attached.

Jesus comes to each of us with no strings attached. He did everything necessary for each person to receive salvation from the judgment his or her sins deserve. We do not have to do anything except believe in Him as God’s Son, our Savior, and confess and repent of our sins. If you have done that, have you followed the command He gave to each of His disciples? Jesus said, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). In neither of these is a person to exalt self above God nor the neighbor. The desires of oneself are not greater than Jesus’ commands. The command to love our neighbors includes proclaiming about Jesus and the salvation He gives to each person who believes. Proclaim about God’s love for each person. Follow Jesus’ model for ministry. Have compassion on people, your neighbors. Tell them about Him.

If you refuse to obey Jesus’ commands, how much must you hate your neighbors that you do not tell them about Jesus and salvation? What caused that hate or disdain toward them? Is it because you love yourself more than them and more than God? Yes, that precisely is what causes that reaction to Jesus. The choice not to obey what Jesus commands, even though not overtly stated by you, is a reaction to His command. Disobedience by omission is disobedience, outright defiance. These reactions to Jesus are self-satisfaction, not obedience.

Jesus gives several imperatives in the Bible. To unbelievers and Christians, He says, “Come to Me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). What keeps you from accepting His rest? Jesus told the men who would become His disciples, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of people” (Matthew 4:19). If you follow Jesus, then refuse to do as He commands that disobedience is your reaction to Jesus’ call. If you recognize Jesus’ call to follow Him, but ignore it and go your own way, you are reacting to His imperative by going the other way.

With each encounter in life, we have the choice to engage positively, negatively, or completely ignore the encounter. The leper engaged with Jesus. He humbled himself and begged for mercy. Jesus had compassion for Him and healed him. He reacted to the man’s plight and plea positively. The healed leper reacted to Jesus with joy and immediately disobeyed the One whom he sought. This leper was like many people throughout history and into the endless future. He overtly disobeyed Jesus’ command. The leper was like Judas Iscariot. Alternatively, people who listen to others speak about Jesus but choose not to engage with Him shun His compassion. Their reaction is inaction to Jesus’ call. These people are like the priests who learned about or who listened to Jesus for themselves but ignored and persecuted Him.

Whether a person believes, then rebels, or chooses not to believe after hearing about Jesus, ignoring Jesus for self-satisfaction is the cause. Where are you in life? Who are you in this story of the leper? Are you the leper who sought Jesus, received His healing, then disobeyed Him? Are you the people who heard about what Jesus did for the leper, but did not believe in Him?

Today, since you have gotten this far in the lesson, these two questions affect you. You have heard about Jesus. Will you believe in Him for salvation, then continue to choose to live for your own satisfaction, in rebellion to Him? Will you push Him away and disobey because you wish to do something besides what He commanded you? Jesus wills for us to receive His salvation that He freely gives. He wants to have an eternal relationship with us.

Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 [NASB])

God is everywhere. We cannot go anywhere that He will not see us and know what we are doing and thinking. If you think by turning your back on God, you get away from Him, that is not accurate. He will keep making the offer of the salvation Jesus made possible for every person who believes in Him. He desires for you to be saved from your sins, the judgment of your sins, and an eternal separation in Hell away from Him.

Will you believe in Jesus?

Will you accept the salvation He offers you?

Will you obey Him no matter the cost?

What are you willing to do now that you have heard about Jesus?

⁷Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

⁹If I take up the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

¹⁰Even there, Your hand will lead me,

And Your right hand will take hold of me.

(Psalm 139 7-10 [NASB])