The Gospel of Mark (14) - Review of Chapter 1

This concludes our study of Chapter One of the Gospel of Mark.


So far....

We looked at ancient data describing Mark as a secretary and translator for the Apostle Peter and we noted that Peter is mentioned proportionately more than in the other Gospels (Matthew, Luke and John).

It appears that Peter was the informant for much of the material in this Gospel and the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus in John 14:26, reminded Peter of all Jesus said, and he, in turn, committed it to his companion, Mark.

In this chapter we saw:

(1) Mark begins his gospel with the brief statement:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Christos is a Greek word meaning an "anointed royal figure." He is prophesized in the Old Testament. And He is the Savior Messiah promised and long-awaited.

So Mark places Jesus in the historic, ancient religion of Israel and also calls Him the Son of God, the name of divinity.

(2) When Jesus is baptized the Holy Spirit descends on Him as a dove. In only one other place is the Holy Spirit compared to a dove: at Creation when the Spirit hovered (or fluttered) over the face of the water.

In the Targums, the Aramaic translation of the Old Testament, the rabbis translated this portion: and the Spirit of God fluttered above the face of the waters like a dove....

(3) The Trinity (Triune God) was involved in Creation and also at the Baptism of Jesus.

The Trinity is characterized by mutually self-giving love. Each glorifies, serves and enhances each other.
And that is the way we are to be with each other, because we are His image-bearers.

(4) Jesus is led into the wilderness and tempted (tested) by Satan. It was not an accidental encounter. Mark treats Satan as a reality, not a myth.

(5) Jesus's message was: Repent and believe the good news!

Repenting means to "turn away," to "change course."

(6) Jesus said: The Kingdom of God is near!
God began renewing His kingship over His creation when Jesus came to earth. For two thousand years His kingdom has been making advances, claiming a strong foothold on this wayward planet.

Someday He will come back and ascend His throne.

(7) Jesus called His first disciples: Andrew, Peter, James and John. He wanted disciples "that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach."

(8) Jesus set up His headquarters first in Capernaum, where Peter and Andrew lived.

(9) Jesus spoke with "authority" because He is the "Author" of all knowledge and all that exists.

(10) Jesus taught at the synagogue in Capernaum, healed Peter's mother-in-law and began his ministry of casting out demons and healing diseases.

(11) In the last portion of Chapter One, Jesus displayed compassion on the leper and touched and healed him, and we see crowds of people coming to Him from all of Galilee for healing.

The Gospel of Mark (13) - A pleading leper and redemption

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.  "I am willing," he replied.  "Be clean!"

Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning, "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

Instead he went off and began to talk freely, spreading the news.

As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.

Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
                                                       -- Mark 1:40-45



Touching Peter's mother-in-law and healing her was one thing. But actually touching a leper was quite another.

No Jews touched lepers.

(Leprosy was a general term referring to various infectious skin diseases.)

There were strict rules for lepers. They were to keep their distance and warn people that they were coming, so the disease would not spread.

The unfortunate (or fortunate as it turned out) man knew Jesus could heal him, if He chose to.

Physical disease is a picture, not only of the illness of our body, but also of the illness of our sick souls. Sin infects our hearts, just as disease infects our bodies.

The man didn't need to worry about Jesus wanting to heal him, from leprosy, or from sin.

Scripture tells us that God is  not willing that sinners perish (2 Peter 3:9) and that He desires that all men be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).

In ancient times leprosy was a specific picture of sin.

It spread. It defiled. It isolated.

Jesus healed the man with His touch and with His Word.

Likely it was the first human touch -- the first act of compassion-- he had received for some time.

Jesus told the man to not tell anyone, but go immediately to the priest, be examined, and follow the instructions given in Leviticus 14, and honor God's Word.

Instead, we are told, the man went out and "talked freely, spreading the news."

He probably did see the priest eventually, because he had to be officially declared "clean and disease-free" in order to come back into religious and social life.

But he clearly did not obey Jesus.

And his lack of obedience did hinder Jesus's ministry.



What would we have done?

By the way, the ceremony described in Leviticus 14, to declare someone free of infectious skin diseases, is a beautiful symbol of our Savior and how we are declared free from sin.




It is a picture of redemption.




It involves two birds, representing the two aspects of Jesus's ministry: His incarnation and death  (one bird
is killed) and His resurrection and ascension (the other bird is stained with blood and then set free.)

The blood was applied to the man's right ear (God's Word) and right thumb (God's work) and right big toe (God's walk).

Then the oil was put on the blood, symbolizing the Holy Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit cannot come on the individual until the blood has been applied.

It was true then and it is true now. God and His plan for redemption have never changed.

"Without the shedding of blood there is no remission [forgiveness] of sin" (Hebrews 9:22).

The Gospel of Mark (12) - Time to be alone with God

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"

Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else -- to the nearby villages -- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

So he traveled through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
                                         -- Mark 1:35-39



Jesus must had been very tired. The day before He had taught at the synagogue, confronted a man who was demon-possessed,  gone to Peter's and Andrew's house, healed Peter's mother-in-law, had dinner with them, then healed the crowds who came to the door of their house til late in the evening.

But Jesus got up early to seek a solitary place to pray.



The language suggests this prayer time was not "a moment of silence," or short, random sentence prayers, but an extended time with His Father.

He was still praying when the disciples arrived. "The people are looking for you," they exclaimed.

Crowds of people who wanted a glimpse of the popular Teacher, the one who spoke with authority.

Here in Capernaum He was riding a wave of great public support.

But Jesus had another agenda. He wanted to leave that place and go to another.

Jesus never seems preoccupied with gathering a crowd. Getting great numbers in the audience never seemed to be one of His priorities.

He did have a lot of support in Capernaum. But did the disciples realize how shallow the people's support was? They came, some to hear His teaching, some to see the miracles, many to be entertained, many out of curiosity.

Jesus was saying it was more important to go to a new place and preach His gospel than it was to stay there and enjoy the popularity.

Preaching God's good news was even more important than healing.

That was why He came, He said.

Is this how we should understand our mission today?

Maybe Jesus focused on His real mission because He spent time with His Father?

The Gospel of Mark (11) - The Healer

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.

Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever.

So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up.

The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.

The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.

He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. 

                                                                 -- Mark 1:29-34


"They," in this passage, still refers to the first four of Christ's disciples: Andrew, Peter (Simon), James and John.

Here they are leaving the synagogue where Jesus taught with "authority" that amazed the people, and also where the demon-possessed man cried out to Jesus, apparently during the service, challenging him, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you coming to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!"

Now Peter and Andrew are bringing James and John back to their home, where Peter's mother-in-law also lived. (Was Peter a widower?)

And they brought Jesus home with them.
(It's always a good idea to bring Jesus home from church!)

Jesus had just displayed His power and authority over the spirit world when He cast the demon out of the man at the synagogue.

Now He displays His power and authority over the physical world by healing Pater's mother-in-law.

He had authority over everything because he was the Author of everything.

Then that evening crowds came to the door seeking healing.

Jesus was quickly becoming well-known for His ability to heal diseases.

Many were beginning to believe that the long-awaited Messiah was now in their midst.


Jesus did not have a "healing procedure."

Sometimes He would touch a person, like with Peter's mother-in-law. Other times He would just utter a word.

Occasionally He would heal someone who wasn't even in His presence, as we see in Matthew 8 when the centurion come to Him pleading that his servant was "lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."

"Go your way," Jesus said; "and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that very hour.                            

And this happens many times in the gospels.

 A few days later a man with leprosy asks for healing.

There are about 30 healings recorded in the gospels, all demonstrating the Jesus had authority to heal and cast out demons.

"That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed."  The Greek verb used here indicates "they kept on bringing" people to him.

By waiting until after sunset, the Sabbath rules would not be broken.

So Jesus must have had a long evening.

Mark makes a distinction between "demon- possessed" and "physical sickness."

They are separate issues. Both needed healing.


He would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was...and they knew why he came....

Jesus did not want the demons to announce who He was -- He did not need, nor did He want, the assistance of Satan and his minions to proclaim or acknowledge Him.

Jesus did not need, and certainly He did not want, endorsement from Satan and the forces of evil to validate His ministry.

Through His teachings and His miracles alone He would show that He indeed was the Son of God.

He commanded them to be silent precisely because they did know exactly who He was! And they knew why He had come!

The Gospel of Mark (10) - Truth from an unexpected source

Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!"

"Be quiet!" said Jesus, sternly. "Come out of him!"

The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching -- and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."

News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
                                            --Mark 1:23-28


Jesus had just read Scripture and taught at the synagogue, amazing the audience with His authority.

Now a man, or a demon in the man, cried out, challenging Jesus.

There are several interesting points in this short narrative:

1. We can't help but wonder if the man had been to services before. Maybe he had been many times, but
never revealed his true spiritual state.

Maybe it just took the Presence of the Son of God to reveal his secret, to expose his sin.

2. We also notice the plural pronoun, us.

That probably refers to the fact that the demon so identified with his host that he spoke for both of them.

Or maybe it tells us that there were multiple demons inhabiting the man, as we read about on another occasion when Jesus healed a demon-possessed man
in Mark 5.

3. "I know who you are -- the Holy One of God." The demon specifically identified Jesus.

The demon knew exactly who Christ was!

"Jesus of Nazareth" - a human and yet "Holy One of God" - also God Himself.  Humanity and deity - both in the Person of Jesus Christ. 

It reminds us of James 2:19: "You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that -- and shudder."


There are people like that today - people who sit in church and hear the message week after week - people who know intellectually who Jesus is and what the gospel message is - and yet who will not turn their hearts to Him for salvation.

They are observers, not participants.

But what does it mean to be demon-possessed?

Some theologians say that in our culture today we do not witness demon-possession on the scale we did in the past because there are many Spirit-filled believers present in our society, and demonic influence is restricted by the Presence of the Holy Spirit here. 

Missionaries to other areas of the world often report many instances of witnessing demon-possession.

Demonic activity was common in the ancient world.

I suppose it is still common today, more common than we like to think, but in a more subtle, less obvious way.

Perhaps we need to look around more carefully.

The Gospel of Mark (9) - He had authority!

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
                                     -- Mark 1:21-22



Jesus set up His headquarters in Capernaum, probably near the home of Peter and Andrew (see verse 29).




When you visit Capernaum today you can see the ruins of an ancient synagogue, but it is not the one where Jesus preached. It was built later, but can give us an idea of what the synagogue of Jesus's day must have looked like.

The Jewish custom was to assemble for services on the Sabbath, as well as on Mondays and Thursdays.

The Jewish synagogues were developed during the Babylonian exile, after the temple at Jerusalem had been destroyed and when the Jews were still scattered in Babylon.

Wherever there were ten Jewish males above the age of twelve, a synagogue could be organized, anywhere in the world.

No sacrifices were offered at the synagogue (the temple was the site of that part of the worship practices of the Jews) but they prayed, read the Scriptures and worshiped God.

The services were administered, not by priests, but by laymen,  and the ministry was led by a board of elders, with one designated "ruler." (In Mark 5:22 we read about one of the synagogue rulers, Jairus.)

It was customary to ask visiting rabbis to read the Scriptures and teach, which is why Jesus had this open door to preach His gospel message.

The Apostle Paul often took advantage of this opportunity, too (Acts 13, 14, 17, etc.).

When Jesus spoke, the people were "amazed" because he "taught as one who had authority,"
not as the other teachers.

(Mark seems to delight in recording people's emotional responses. "Amazed" and "astonished" occur many times in his narrative.)

Mark's use of the word "authority" is interesting. It is used first here in Mark's account of Jesus's teaching at the synagogue in Capernaum.

The word actually means "from" or "out of the original."  It comes from the same root word as "author," and would imply that Jesus's teachings reflected "original" learning, things He knew, not because He was taught by someone else, but because he was the "author" or "origin" of the teaching.

This was a new experience for them, and they were "amazed."

Christ's teaching was astonishing because He was the "author" of what He was teaching.

He was the "author" of the Scripture He was reading
and He was the "author" of its interpretation.

The crowd apparently sensed that.

We sense that, too, as we read His Word. 

Jesus Christ Himself is the "Author" of our salvation.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand

of the throne of God.

-- Hebrews 12:2

He became the author of eternal salvation

for all who obey him....

-- Hebrews 5:9

The Gospel of Mark (8) - The Fallacy

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a  boat, preparing their nets.

Without delay he called them, and they let their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
                           -- Mark 1:16-20

His First Disciples

After Christ started preaching this "Kingdom message" He began gathering His disciples.

In the third chapter of Mark's gospel he tells us
why Christ chose the twelve: "He appointed twelve -- designating them apostles -- that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach."

Here we see His first recruits: Peter and Andrew and James and John.

He chose them "to be with Him" and to "send them out to preach."

This was not His first encounter with these men.


John's gospel tells us about His initial contact with John and Andrew when they were out on the desert with John the Baptist.

When Jesus appeared, John the Baptist pointed Jesus out, "Look, the Lamb of God."

They followed Jesus that day, spent the day with Him and then Andrew quickly went to find his brother Peter and announced, "We have found the Messiah!"

(Does that make Andrew the first believer?)

A few months later we read about Jesus, in this passage from Mark's gospel,  calling the four men, while they were fishing, to become His disciples.

(Zebedee apparently had a fairly successful business since we read of his hired servants.)

In the calling of these four men, Mark's uses the words "at once" and "without delay."

The message of Christ requires response

Christ was either who He said He was, or He was not.

Sometimes we hear people say "Oh, I believe Christ was a good man. I just don't believe he was God."

C. S. Lewis, well-known author of Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity and numerous other books, and Oxford faculty member, changed from being an agnostic bordering on atheism to an ardent believer in Jesus at the age of thirty after studying the life of Christ.

He points out the fallacy of the "Christ was a good man" theory.

     I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying
     the really foolish thing that people often say
     about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a
     great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim
     to be God."

     This is the thing we must not say.

     A man who was merely a man and said the sort
     of things Jesus said would not be a great moral
     teacher.

     He would be a lunatic -- on a level with the man
     who says he is a poached egg -- or else he
     would be the Devil of Hell.

     You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit
     at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall
     at His feet and call Him Lord and God.

     But let us not come with any patronizing
     nonsense about His being a great teacher.

     He has not left that open to us.

     He did not intend to.


Many people are fascinated with the life of Christ.

But fascination does not save us.

Either Christ was who He said He was or He wasn't.

Andrew, Peter and James and John made their decision. They followed Him because they believed
in His claims.

Andrew's words, "We have found the Messiah!" still
echo in hearts around the world today. 

He didn't say, "Maybe the Messiah has come," or "We have found a great teacher."

We have found the Messiah, he said.

Have you made your decision about Christ and His claims?

Either Christ was who He said He was, or He was a liar or a madman.

Well, which is it?

The Gospel of Mark (7) - Repent and Believe the Good News

Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming

the good news of God.

"The time has come," he said. "The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

--Mark 1:14-15

Repent... and Believe

 "Repent and believe the good news!" Jesus said when He announced His Kingdom.

Matthew and Luke tell us that John the Baptist also linked God's coming Kingdom with repentance.

In Matthew and Luke we read John's words: "Repent, for the kingdom of  God is near...produce fruit in keeping with repentance."

Paul, though not present at the announcement, understood it, too.

In Acts 20:21 he tells the elders at Ephesus, "I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus."

The gospel is clear - repent and believe!

Repentance alone is not enough to save us, though God certainly expects sinners to turn from their sins.

We must then put positive faith in Jesus Christ and believe His promise of salvation.

What happens if we repent without belief?

Nothing good, that's for sure.

Repentance without faith can become remorse, and remorse can destroy people who carry around the burden of guilt for their sin.

Remorse darkens our lives with fear and condemnation. There is no escape.

Repentance and belief bring freedom and joy.

It isn't good news unless the burden is removed from us and it is removed, "as far as the east is from the west" when we put our faith in Jesus and believe on Him.

That's the gospel - the really good news!

The Gospel of Mark (6) - The Kingdom

The Kingdom

Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is now. Repent and believe the good news!"

--Mark 1:14-15

Here is the first message of Jesus that Mark records.

It is about the good news! That's what the gospel is! It is news that brings joy!

REPENT

Part of the good news involves repentance. 

"Repent" means to "reverse course," or turn away from something.

It does not mean to veer away, or alter slightly.

It means to "reverse" - change direction!

In the Bible "repenting" means we are turning away from something God does not like and doing something He does like.

BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS

Gospel is not everyday, ordinary, better-than-average news.

It means history-making, life-changing, news.

At the time of Jesus, gospel was not a religious word.

Archaeologists have found an ancient Roman inscription from that time that starts: "The beginning of the gospel of Caesar Augustus" which records the story of the birth and coronation of the Roman emperor.

A gospel, to men of Mark's time, noted an event that was would change history.

From Timothy Keller:

     Right there you can see the difference between Christianity and all other religions, including no religion.

     The essence of other religions is advice; Christianity is essentially news. Other religions say,

"This is what you have to do in order to connect to God forever; this is how you have to live in order to earn your way to God."

 

     But the gospel says, This is what has been done in history. This is how Jesus lived and died to earn the way to God for you."

     Christianity is different. It's joyful news!

     The gospel is that God connects to you, not on the basis of what you've done or haven't done, but on the basis of what Jesus has done, in history, for you.

     And that make it absolutely different from every other religion or philosophy.

                  -- From King's Cross, Chapter 2

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

In the first two chapters of Genesis we discover that we were created to live in a world where all was perfect - because God was King.

Then in chapter 3 we read how man chose to go his own way - chose the path of self-centeredness,

choosing to orbit around himself and his own desires, instead of around God, who could fulfill all man's desires Himself.

Self-absorption - that's what mankind chose.

"What is best for me? What's in it for me? How can I get to the top of things? How can I get everyone to

notice me and serve me?"

We took God off His throne and crowned ourselves in His place.

So we have wars, family disintegration, child abuse, murder and broken down relationships.

Pain and suffering all around  us.

We are all waiting for Someone to come and rescue us - to save from our own folly - to save us from ourselves.

We are waiting for the rightful King to come back and reclaim His throne!

There's a sort of sublime truth in our old fairytales.

A prince charming is coming to rescue us. A king is coming to save us. He will slay the dragon. He will kill the wicked witch. The evil king will be defeated. We will be free. We will live happily ever after.

The good news, the gospel, is that Jesus is the true King. He will make everything bright and new, shining with joy, and we will live happily every after!

Someday God's Kingdom will circle the earth. All will be renewed.

As Jewel, the majestic Unicorn in Chronicles of Narnia, said, "I've come home at last! This is my real country. This is the land I've been looking for all my life!"

That's because the rightful King will have resumed His throne.


THE KINGDOM - IS NOW - and in the Future - and Forever!

God began renewing His Kingship when His Son came to earth.  For two thousand years His Kingdom has been making advances, claiming a strong foothold on this blighted planet.



Someday Christ will come back -  He will ascend His throne. Mankind will step down.

After all, Jesus can be King all by Himself.

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name that is above every name,

That at the name of Jesus

every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth

and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

  -- Philippians 2:9-11

 

              

The Gospel of Mark (5) - The Beginning of the Battle

The Beginning of the Battle



At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and

he was in the desert 40 days, being tempted by Satan. 

 He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Mark 1:12-13

"At once," Mark says, in his typically fast pace.

Jesus didn't just find Himself in the place of testing.

He was brought there by the Spirit.

It was not a random detour - an alternate path on the way to another destination.

Jesus's arrival in the wilderness was on the arranged route on His journey.


Looking Back to Genesis

Just as in the first verses of the chapter, when Mark points us back to Creation, he does so again here.

In the Creation account in Genesis, the Spirit moves over the waters and God speaks the world into existence and humanity is created.

What happens next?

Satan tempts the first human beings, Adam and Even, in the Garden of Eden.

Now here - the baptism of Jesus, with the water, and the Spirit and the voice, and a new humanity comes into the world.

And Satan arrives on the scene.



This account of the temptation of Jesus is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Only Mark, however, tells us about the "wild animals."

At the time Mark was writing this Gospel, Christians were being thrown to wild animals as entertainment for the Romans.

They could read Mark's record and see Jesus, like Adam, experiencing an intense personal relationship with God, and then suddenly being thrown in a threatening conflict with Satan.

It must have been encouraging for those early martyrs to read Mark's words. "He was with the wild animals and angels attended him."

Mark treats Satan as a reality, not as a myth.

No comic horns sprouting on his head and no fiendish grin and no tail here - but a personal, calculating, intelligent agent of evil, intent on destroying God's people.

Mark does not give us many details, which fit his quick style. We see more detail in Matthew's account in chapter 4 of his gospel and in Luke's record, also in chapter 4, of his account.



Temptation is Personal and Specific

But it is clear that temptation is not impersonal - it is an intentional act taken by the Enemy, here with Jesus in the wilderness, as he was in the Garden with Adam and Eve, and just as he comes to us as we journey.

And temptation is not general, but specific. Satan arranges his attacks exactly where he sees we are
at risk.  Adam and Eve were rebellious. Jesus was hungry.

The Bible tells us there are real forces of evil. They are complex and intelligent. Satan is  the leader of these forces.

That's what we see with Adam and Eve in the Garden and also what we see here in the wilderness with Jesus. A personal, intelligent force of evil.


If You love Me.....

God created us to orbit around Him - to be centered in Him. "Don't eat the fruit of that tree," He told Adam and Eve. "Because you love Me, don't eat of that tree -- just because I told you."


"If you love Me, you will obey Me," Jesus said (John 14:23).

It was about a  tree in the Garden of Eden. Obey and they would live, God said.  

It was about a tree in the Garden of Gethsemane.

But that tree was a cross. Obey and You will die, God said.

C.S. Lewis spoke about our Christian life being "a dance" - but it is also a battleground.



Jesus went into the battle, armed with scripture to defend Himself against the assaults of Satan.

We also are in a battle against the Evil One.

"Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour," wrote Peter
(1 Peter 5:8). 

Sometimes the battle seems overwhelming. Sometimes we appear to be losing.

But we will not be overwhelmed and we are not losing.

That's when we should listen for the words, "You are my beloved child. I am giving You my strength and My power. With you I am well pleased."



P.S. Another encouraging note, from Hebrews 2:18:

Because He suffered when He was tempted,

He is able to help those who are being tempted...

Because He suffered when tempted, He understands and can help "those who are being tempted" and that means "Me"!

The Gospel of Mark (4) - The Trinity - The Divine Dance

The Trinity

The Divine Dance

The Dance....

In Christianity God is not a static thing....but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance. 

                         C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

If from all eternity, without end and without beginning, ultimate reality is a community of persons knowing and loving one another, then ultimate reality is about love relationships.

Why would a triune God create a world?

If he were a unipersonal God, you might say, "Well, he created the world so he can have beings who give him worshipful love, and that would give him joy."

But the triune God already had that -- and he received love within himself in a far purer, more powerful form than we human beings can ever give him.

So why would he create us?

There is only one answer.

He must have created us not to get joy, but to give it.

He must have created us to invite us into the great dance, to say: If you glorify me, if you center your entire life on me, if you find me beautiful for who I am in myself, then you will step into the dance,* which is what you are made for.

You are not made just to believe in me or to be spiritual in some general way, not just to pray and get a bit of inspiration when things are tough.

You are made to center everything in your life on me, to think of everything in terms of your relationship with me.

To serve me unconditionally.

That's where you will find your joy.


That's what the dance is all about.

Are you in the dance or do you just believe God is out there somewhere?

Are you in the dance or do you just pray to God every so often when you're in trouble?

Are you in the dance or are you looking around for someone to orbit around you?

If live is a divine dance, then you need more than anything else to be in it.

That's what you were built for.

You were made to enter into a divine dance with the Trinity.

            --King's Cross, by Timothy Keller, chapter 1