CHARACTER

Keeping up appearances

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“…and for appearances sake offer…” Mark 12:35-44

The Jews have had enough. They started the game but Jesus kept winning. Now no one dared to ask him any more questions. And they certainly didn’t want to face any more of his. Jesus turns his attention to the crowd that had gathered around him in the temple.

To their credit, the scribes were good students of the Scriptures. They had discovered a great truth: The coming Messiah would be a son of David, the great king and psalmist of old. Yet the Messiah stood there before them, unrecognized. He had fulfilled many prophecies announcing his arrival. Only a handful remained to come true, and in a few days, these, too, would be fulfilled. Why had they missed him? We don’t know the exact details of their thinking, but one thing is certain: the Messiah had not come according to their expectations. He would not be just a mere descendant of David, but David’s Lord. He would be God in the flesh.

The scribes gave the appearance of possessing great knowledge of the Messiah. Yet the people readily saw what they could not. Messiah was right there in their midst bringing the blessings and glory of God to the whole world.

The scribes thought their knowledge and position brought them God’s acceptance and approval. They dressed the part, offering long prayers and earning the respect of the people, who honored them in public gatherings. Yet they failed in very basic ways to practice God’s law and share his love to the people in their care.

Some things seem self evident, but the truth of the matter can be quite different. Jesus moved to the temple treasury and watched as people gave their contributions. People marveled at the rich offering large sums of money. Jesus saw what the others did not notice and pointed it out to his disciples: a poor widow who put in two small copper coins valued at half a cent apiece. She put in all that she had, while the others gave out of their surplus. They had plenty more at home, while she had nothing left. Jesus commended her by saying she had put in more than all the others combined.

You don’t need to be a biblical scholar with a doctorate and hundreds of accolades to be acceptable in God’s sight. You don’t have to be good at Bible trivia or Bible baseball or even know the books of the Bible in order by heart. It’s okay if you can’t remember all Ten Commandments or which one is the Seventh. The only test you’ll get will be at heaven’s gate. And if you know Jesus, you’ve already passed. All that is needed is for him to recognize, welcome and embrace you.

The greatest commandment

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“You are not far from the kingdom of heaven.” Mark 12:28-34

Now a scribe comes with a question for Jesus. He seems to have a different approach as Mark tells us he had been listening as the others asked their questions. He readily saw that Jesus had answered well. The scribes were the theologians. They were experts at interpreting the scriptures, so he asks a scripture-based question: “Which is the greatest commandment?”

Jesus answers without hesitation, “The first: The Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” But then Jesus implies that this is not enough. There needs to be more to make the command complete: “You must also love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

The scribe responds, “You have spoken well,” agreeing with his synopsis. “Such love is greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Jesus saw that he spoke thoughtfully, “You are not far from the kingdom of heaven.”

Note that Mark mentions what the scribe thought of Jesus’ previous answers. How did he know this? Mark was not there and the scribe does not reveal his reasoning. Could he have been one of those Jewish leaders who later came to the Lord and believed on him? We do not know for sure, but it is nice to think that he might have. Such is the hope of the gospel. None are excluded, no matter what their previous state had been.

The answer of Jesus is deceptively simple. The scribe’s question boils down to this: “What must a person do to please God?” or, “What must I do to be saved?” It is easy to learn phrases and pat answers and then parrot them back when the subject comes up. It is a much different thing to actually live it. Which commandment would you choose? Would you pick one you thought no one could ever catch you breaking? Or one that God would pick?

The one Jesus picked is harder than it first appears. What does it mean to love the Lord with all your “heart, soul, mind and strength”? Does he really mean all of my affection, desires, thoughts and activity should be directed at him? How is that even possible? I think we all know, either by trying or by wishing, that none of us could even begin to achieve this kind of sustained devotion. That is the point of this and all Law. None of us are able. Our best and only response is to throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus and beg for his mercy. Only through his help and strength can we start to become the people God intends us to be.

Render unto Caesar

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“Whose image is this?” Mark 12:13-17

When we look at our coinage today, at least in this country, we see the inscription, “In God we trust.” Some who are concerned about the materialism rampant in our modern society point out with heavy sarcasm that it might be more accurate to say, “In George we trust.” And in Jesus’ day, that approach would certainly be accurate, since the Roman coinage (the only legal tender available publicly) said in effect, “In Caesar we trust.”

In fact it went a step further. It proclaimed Augustus Caesar to be God and his son Tiberius to be the son of God. This infuriated the Jewish leaders, who felt the wording was an intentional slam on their belief in One True God. Other nationalistic Jews simply hated the fact they were under Rome’s thumb and rebelled in any way they could get away with, including the nonpayment of taxes.

So when the Pharisees approached Jesus with oily words of flattery, they sought to embroil him in both a theological and a political controversy. A controversy that they themselves avoided, fearing the reactions of both Rome and their own people. Jesus could not help but offend one group or the other.

They came directly to the point, “Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said so, “Why do you test me? Let me see a coin.” They produced one for him to look at. Quick aside: If they detested the coins so much, they sure didn’t seem hesitant to carry them and use them!

Jesus turned the coin back for them to see and asked, “Whose image is this?” They almost spat out the name: “Caesar’s”. Jesus then gave this famous reply: “If it is Caesar’s, give it to him. But the things that are God’s, make sure you give to God.”

And they marveled at him. This is interesting. They were stymied, and surprised at how easily Jesus defeated their carefully laid trap. For all their words of flattery, they pay him no heed. He is true, but not to be trusted. He speaks honestly, not allowing the opinions of men to sway him, neither do they allow his words to sway themselves. He is a faithful teacher of God’s way, but they fail to follow him. They simply regroup and plan their next attack.

Truthful words are hard to hear and difficult to accept. Our stubborn and rebellious hearts are not easily satisfied with the answers to our questions. We often seek only to reinforce our own biases and opinions. The ability to come up with questions and opposing arguments does not invalidate truth. If our purpose in raising issues like these is to end discussion and deny authority, how can we ever come to the Truth?

Becoming great

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“…whatever we ask” Mark 10:35-45

James and John, those two sons of thunder who have already asked to call down fire from heaven and have forbidden outsiders to cast out demons, now have a special request to make of Jesus for themselves. Coming up to him apart from the others, they say, “Do for us whatever we ask.”

Now you don’t need omniscience to realize there are certain kinds of questions you don’t entertain without more information. And this wasn’t even a question. Jesus asks for some details before responding. These two want a reserved position in the coming kingdom. And they want to start out right at the top.

Jesus must have sucked in a quick breath before replying. Should he be gracious and tactful? Not this time. He chose to be direct: “You have no idea what you’re asking.” To be “on staff” in this kingdom means taking everything thrown at Jesus. It means being despised and rejected of men on his behalf. “Are you able?” he asks.

“Of course!” is their quick reply. Jesus recognizes their faith, despite their egos getting in the way. That faith may be blind just now, but he knows it will hold true in the coming persecutions. However, he points out, the Father makes the appointments to specific positions and they will have to wait and see.

By now the other disciples have figured out what’s going on and they are indignant. Jesus calls them all to himself. This is significant – their focus has wandered from Christ to themselves. To be part of his kingdom is not about self-promotion or the gaining of influence over other people. The world around them, both religious and secular, has presented the wrong model for greatness, and they are following it without questioning. It is not to be so for them.

Jesus tells them that whoever would be great among them must become their servant. Anyone wishing to be prominent or noteworthy needs to become the slave of all. And Jesus himself would be their primary example: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Copyright 2020 David J. Cooley

When right is wrong

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“He was very perplexed” Mark 6:14-29

The miracles and preaching of the twelve on their mission caught the attention of the people, including King Herod. They correctly interpreted the works as that of Jesus with the disciples acting in his name. But the identity of Jesus remained a mystery: was he Elijah? a prophet? Could he be John the Baptist risen from the dead?

King Herod, to his horror, was driven by his guilty conscience to believe the latter view. The question of John, he thought, had been dealt with, even if it was a bit messy. It was cleaned up, disposed of and forgotten. Nevertheless, Herod could not get John out of his mind.

For John had plagued Herod with proclamations of the unlawfulness of his marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias, You don’t say things like that about the king. Herod had John locked up, for Herodias’ sake. Herodias would rather have seen him dead. I suppose you could say that Herod was defending the honor of his wife, but that would be drinking the koolaid. The Herod family history was replete with intrigues, schemings, manipulations, incest and murder. They were protected and dignified by their position and power, not by their character or righteousness.

Herod had a fateful lapse in judgment during a banquet he threw for the influential men of his domain. A young woman danced for them, drawing their enthusiastic applause. Herod was so impressed that her asked her to name anything she wanted and swore to provide it. The girl hesitated, then consulted her mother, who happened to be Herodias. She did not hesitate. She demanded John the Baptist’s head be brought to her on a platter.

Herod was sorry at this turn of events, but was unwilling to renege on his rash promises before his important guests. He gave the word and the deed was carried out.

Ordinarily, a daughter heeding her mother’s wishes would be considered virtuous. Ordinarily, a man keeping his word, despite great personal cost, would be deemed honorable. But not in this case. How easily we mortals reshape a lie to appear as the truth or dress up reprehensible acts as honorable deeds!

Herod had been given his chance, probably many times. He had heard of the miracles and preaching of Jesus, but did not turn to him in belief. instead he was swayed by his fears and held onto what was false. He had imprisoned the righteous John, while ignoring his own unrighteousness and pride.

Herod enjoyed listening to John, but was perplexed at his message. That indicates that he thought about what John was saying and considered it carefully, but was not ready to accept that his own actions were wrong and that the state of his heart was corrupt. Instead, he delayed making a decision. Ultimately he was trapped by the lusts of that heart and the foolish words of his own mouth.

How easy it is to ignore the gentle, quiet promptings of God! And how quickly we disregard them even when they shout to us with the pounding of drums and the blaring of trumpets! Keep your heart tender before the Lord and do not fail to make peace with him.

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

Faithful brother

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In Peter’s closing remarks, he acknowledges the contribution of Silvanus in the writing of this letter. Peter regards him as a faithful brother. Do you have a faithful brother/sister? Does anyone regard you as such?

We don’t know exactly the extent of Silvanius’ help – some even surmise he actually wrote the letter using the themes of Peter’s preaching as his source. One thing is certain – no matter whose hand held the pen, the Holy Spirit is the ultimate author.

We also know him as Silas, the companion of Paul and Barnabas. He is a veteran of Christian service and suffering. Singing praises to God with Paul at midnight in a Philippian jail is typical of his response to suffering (see Acts 16). He also was part of the delegation sent from Jerusalem to welcome the new Gentile believers into the church (Acts 15).

Silvanus (Silas) is an example to us of what it is like to stand firm in the grace of God.

For more, see 1 Peter 5:12-14

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley