Sunday, April 8, 2018

A Heart for Discipleship - Mark 9:38-50


Having a Heart for Discipleship
Mark 9:38-50
Introduction: The film 127 hours tells the story of Aron Ralston, who became trapped when a boulder dislodged while hiking in a canyon in Utah and pinned his arm.  For 5 days, he pushed and pulled and tried to chip away at the rock with his pocket knife. When he accidently put the knife into his thumb, he realized his hand was dead, and was actually beginning to decompose. His water was gone, his situation was hopeless, he knew he would die unless, armed only with a now dull two-inch pocket knife, he could amputate his own arm. And how would he get through the bones anyway? What would you do? Could you cut off your own limb if you were convinced it was the only way to save your life?  Thankfully, most of us will never have to make that choice. We do, however, have choices to make.
       Jesus uses the language of amputation here, but He is obviously speaking figuratively. One of Mark’s interests in this gospel is to answer the question, “What does it mean to follow Jesus?” This kind of shocking language will make it clear that there is nothing “casual” about following Jesus—the is no room for “easy-believeism,” we are called to put off the “old man” and to put on Christ. We cannot choose to hold onto the things in our old life that we know are displeasing to God. Toward the end of his life, my dad lost a leg due to complications from diabetes. The circulation got so bad, that his leg was essentially dying. It got to the point that the only way to save his life was to take his leg. Jesus isn’t talking here about physical surgery, but we may need radical surgery if we want to follow Him. 
Context: Let’s back up and remember the context in Mark 9. The nine disciples who awaited the return of Jesus and the three who ascended the Mount of Transfiguration had been unable to cast a demon out of a boy who his father had brought to them. Jesus came down the mountain, and He healed the boy and later reminded the disciples about the importance of prayer. Continuing the theme from chapter 8, He again taught them about His impending betrayal, death, and resurrection. And again, as 9:32 tells us, “But they still did not understand what He meant and they were afraid to ask Him about it.” Instead, they began arguing among themselves about who was the greatest! That theme continues into this context, this time it is John who speaks up, and tells Jesus, perhaps proudly, about how they had rebuked someone who was casting out demons in His name, but was not following their group.  And once again, Jesus needs to correct His followers…
The Maine* Idea: Rather than judging the motivations of others we should guard our own hearts as we serve Christ in the world.

I. Do not dare to judge the motivations of others (38-41).
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”  39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.  40 For the one who is not against us is for us.  41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” 
       First of all, let’s be clear about what Jesus is not saying here. He is not telling the disciples (and us) that we should not use discernment with respect to the teaching and doctrine that we hear. Quite the contrary, the Bible is full of admonitions to that end. The Bereans in Acts 17:11 are commended for testing the teaching they heard from Paul against the Scriptures (the written Old Testament at that time). We are called to search the Scriptures and to discern sound doctrine (1 Tim 1:6-11; 2 Pet 2:1-3). The root of the word “disciple” is from the word “to learn.” A disciple is one who is learning, seeking the truth that God has revealed to us in His Word. The issue the disciples had with the exorcist they mention is that he was not a part of their group, he wasn’t following them in their itinerate ministry. We don’t know anything else about him, other than what he was doing: casting out demons in Jesus’ name.  The language John uses seems to indicate that man was doing that effectively, successfully. Their only objection was that he wasn’t a part of their group! So, they tried to forbid him.
       When I read this, the first thing I thought of was the very different story in the book of Acts.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus, whom Paul proclaims."  14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.  15 But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?"  16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.  17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled… (Acts 19:13-17).
This was not that! Here in Mark this guy was seemingly successful in casting out demons. In another context, Jesus does warn that some, who He never knew, would cast out demons and do other signs in His name (Mt 7:22,23).  How could that be? It seems to me, that Satan, the great liar and counterfeiter, might make it appear that someone who was not a believer was casting out demons. That person could then deceive both himself and others. In Acts 19, as the early church was expanding, God was glorified by the “fake exorcists” being exposed. It’s clear from that story that an unbelieving human has no authority in the spiritual realm.  The man that John refers to, as far as we know, was a believer who was not part of their group. Maybe someone like the man in Decapolis who Jesus freed from the Legion, and then told to go home to his own people? We don’t know. The point is, we don’t know (and can’t judge) the hearts of others. Paul said,
Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God… (I Corinthians 4:5).
We are not the ones who should judge the motives of others! Jesus, of course, knows the heart of every human. He knows our heart, and He knows the heart of every person. The day will come when He will judge, and our hearts will be exposed. We need to leave that to Him!  Our lesson this week with the Olympians focused on this same point: its not just important to do random acts of kindness, those are fine, but for the believer in Jesus, the real question is why do we do it? What is our motive? Do we serve with a purpose? Is it because we love Jesus and want others to know Him? God knows our hearts!
       V.41 says “…whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.  The NLT gets the sense well, “If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.” Who would show you kindness because you belong to Jesus? Another Christian most likely! Jesus said, “By this men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another…” (John 13:35). Jesus said they will be rewarded. I think that is talking about in eternity. The point is that He knows hearts and motives and their will be a day of accounting.  For our part, rather than judging the motivations of others we should guard our own hearts as we serve Christ in the world.

II. Do not neglect to guard your own heart (42-48; cf. Prov 4:23).

42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.  43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  44   45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.  46   47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,  48 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' 
       Causing a Child of God to stumble is that serious (42)! Jesus had just used a child as an example of someone we should receive. Is he referring here to young children? He may be, but I think it is broader, He is referring to his followers more generally, as He calls them “little ones who believe in Me.” We are not only his followers, we are His children. John said in John 1:12, “As many as received Him, to those who believed on His name, He gave the right to be called children of God” [In fact both Paul and John use the phrase ‘my little children’ to talk about believers in their charge (Gal 4:19; I Jn 2:1)]. “To cause someone to sin,” the word used is skandalizo, “cause to stumble,” we get the English word “scandalize” from the same root. It’s used 29 times in the New Testament, 3 times by Paul (I Cor 8:13 twice, and in 2 Cor 11:29), all the rest by Jesus, four times in these verses. He has just told the disciples not to forbid another person from doing a good work in His name, but now He gives this stern, almost dreadful warning: Anyone who causes one of His children to stumble will face serious consequences: “It would be better for a great millstone to be hung around his neck and be cast into the sea.” A great millstone would be a huge, wheel shaped stone that was turned by a beast of burden to grind grain. The picture is powerful… and horrible. It is a strong warning to teachers and preachers, but I believe it applies to all of us. Be that careful about what you say. James warned about the tongue, and that “…out of the same mouth come praise and cursing… this should not be…” (James 3:1-10). Guard you heart, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!
       Hell is Real (43-48). I am choosing not to devote this message to talking about hell, because I don’t think that is the main point. Jesus goes from warning about causing others to sin, to calling his hearers to be on guard against those things that would cause themselves to sin. He is not arguing for Hell, but assuming it in this context. The word Gehenna refers to a valley, southwest of Jerusalem. It was an accursed place, because there, children had been offered as sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (Jer 32:35). It later became a garbage dump which was always smoldering as the fires burned the refuse. It was a place of uncleanness where worms and maggots ate rotting garbage. That came to be viewed as a picture of eternal judgement and suffering in hell. The same picture of conscious suffering of dead unbelievers was reflected in Jesus parable in Luke 16:20-28,  
20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,  21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.  22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.  24 And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'  25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.  26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'  27 And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house-  28 for I have five brothers- so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.'
Jesus is not giving an extended teaching on future judgement or rewards, but He does assume the reality of both. God will judge, and the time for believing and repenting is now. Today is the day of salvation.
       In our context in Mark 9, Jesus is saying that we should let go of anything that would keep us from trusting and following Him. His point is, that not only should we not presume to judge others, but that we are responsible to guard our own heart (Prov 4:23)! Now it is clear that Jesus is using hyperbole, a deliberate exaggeration to emphasize His point, and it most definitely not advocating cutting off body parts. Mutilation of the body in any way would have been something pagans did, but was an abomination to the Jews, and was strickly forbidden by Scripture (Dt 14:1; 23:1; I Kgs 18:28). His point seems to be: examine your heart, make sure you love God more than you love the world. Rather than judging the motivations of others guard our own heart as you serve Christ in the world.
III. Do not doubt that God is working to purify and mature you (49-50).
49 For everyone will be salted with fire.  50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
       These two verses are a challenge to me, particularly v.49. Salt preserves and gives taste.  Fire consumes or it purifies.  It seems, perhaps, like a mixed metaphor: as we cover food with salt to preserve it, we also will be “purified” in every part of our life, as God works through the suffering we experience?  Leviticus 2:13 talks about adding salt as a purifying agent to OT sacrifices. From that text Strauss suggests, “The combination of salt and fire may indicate the purification that takes place through the fires of persecution and trials as believers offer themselves as living sacrifices before God (Rom 12:1-2)” [Mark, p.414].
       We are called elsewhere to be salt and light in the world, and at the heart of that is our calling to bring the Gospel to the lost. Here we are called to “have salt in ourselves.” Maybe the idea is: “Be the preserving, ‘savory’ influence in the world that you are supposed to be!” After all, what good is salt that has lost it’s saltiness?!  We do that by not judging the heart of our brother, but rather examining our own hearts, our own motivations, striving to mature into the disciples the Lord wants us to be.
        Thereforepursue peace with one another. This last phrase seems to me to tie the passage together. Rather than forbidding and judging the motives of another (like the man casting our demons), why not embrace the things that make for peace, and see how God is glorified in the process!
That is what God is saying to us, the Maine* idea in the passage… Rather than judging others we should guard our own hearts as we serve Christ in the world.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Aron Ralston was pinned between a “rock and a hard place,” and he had a decision to make. He had no tool to cut through the bones of his forearm. Using his body weight and what strength he could muster, he snapped the bones, one at a time, and made a tourniquet, took his dull pocket knife and began, layer by layer, cutting through the soft tissue. Six hours later, he was rescued. He gave up part of his arm, but he saved his life. The Bible warns us about our hands, our feet, our eyes… a song for children says – be careful little eyes what you see… little hands, what you do… little feet where you go… It’s a call to holiness. And it starts in the heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above everything, guard your heart, for from it are the well springs of life.” Are our hands occupied in doing things that honor God? Do we go to places, or into situations, where we know we’ll be tempted and our witness may be ruined? What do we look at? Have you, like Job, made a covenant with your eyes? Above everything, guard your heart, your whole life depends on it.   AMEN.

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