Numbers 18-19, Mark 9:30-50

The priesthood was to be separate. We are called a royal priesthood in 1 Peter 2:9. We are to be separate as well. Yet, we are a spiritual priesthood more so than the Aaronic priesthood I think. Thus I believe that our separateness should be a spiritual one especially. We should behave in a manner that causes people to want to know what is different about us. We no longer have a need for a physical priesthood because Christ took care of that for us. He fulfilled the law. God makes provision for those who serve him. We see this clearly throughout this reading. Those that serve him are called to depend on him. That is all of us. In chapter 18:26-29 we see that even a priest must tithe his income.
Chapter 19 moves on to discuss cleansing. There was a physical component to cleanliness for Israel. It gave them a tangible illustration of what God asked of them. The problem is that they became so entwined in the illustration that they forgot the point. We are to be clean inside.
I didn’t like the way they divided up the reading in chapter 9 of Mark so I will be starting today at verse 30. Jesus went back to Galilee and didn’t want people to know. This is not because he was scared but it sets up the importance of the following verses in being important for his disciples. Jesus needed alone time with them to teach them what they needed to know. We all need that. We need alone time with Jesus so that he can teach us what we need to know in order to walk with him closely. He tells them of his death but they wouldn’t listen. They still had the vision of him as being a military leader who would overthrow Rome. They didn’t want to ask him about it because they were scared. What were they scared of? I think that we often don’t ask questions because we are afraid that the answers will be our worst nightmare. I used to feel like that but I’ve learned that if I leave the question unasked, I am merely ignorant of the truth. I would much rather know the reality of the situation and walk in light crying than I would to remain sitting in the dark fooling myself.
They also don’t get that they don’t need to ask. He already knows their hearts, just as he knew what they were arguing about on the road. They were so concerned with worldly issues that they missed the spiritual truth Christ had shared with them. Deep down they knew this as well because they kept quiet out of their shame. This is a passage that is very misquoted. First we see Jesus sit down, this is important because this is the position of a rabbi or teacher. Then he gave them a simple lesson that has been used for things it was never intended to be used for. The basic rule of God’s Kingdom is that anyone that wants to be great has to be the most passionate in their servant attitude. He used a child to illustrate this point. Children had hardly any value at this time. The child Jesus held represented anyone who is in need, especially those in our spiritual family. When you spend your time focused on how to help other people, you show the true spirit of Christ. He served us even to dying for us. When we become believers, we become one with God. Therefore, when we help other believers, we help God. He was layering it for them so that they would understand the oneness within Christ’s Church. We are ONE with God! How amazing is that?
Now, I hear all the time about how Peter was this and that, and John was the teacher’s pet, always doing what he should. This passage in Mark always makes me smile because we see John was not perfect. Even after the lesson Jesus tells, John is still concerned with position and allegiance in a human way. Jesus explains to him that anyone working in his name will not be able to attack him at the same time. There will always be those who aren’t in our circle who are also of Christ. We are to support one another in love and not hinder people from doing good in Christ’s name. Anyone who does not curse Jesus is part of us; those that curse him will not bear fruit. Jesus went on to say that all tasks are important to God. Even the smallest kindness shown to someone that is done in Jesus’ name is noted by God. It is the loving faithfulness that counts in those situations, not the grandness of the gesture.
The final section is also often misquoted and unless you really look at what Jesus is saying can be used for all sorts of justifications. Jesus speaks about causing one another to stumble. If we do things to hurt other believers or weaken their faith or cause them to do something evil in God’s eyes, we are guilty. Jesus does not go on to promote self mutilation. He is speaking of something much different. You can’t get rid of sin by merely chopping off body parts. Yet, Jesus’ reasoning is true none the less. It would be better if crippling would keep you from sinning to be crippled than to suffer the consequences of sin. What he is truly trying to say though is figurative. If something causes us to sin, we should remove it from our influence. That may not be easy, and it may be painful, but it is better to suffer a hardship than it is to sin against God. The supreme goal is to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus shows the importance of this point by repeating it 3times. In the Hebrew culture there is no good, better, best. The greatness of something is shown by repeating it. Three times makes it the highest.
Jesus finished this out by telling us the truth about what we face on a daily basis. We all have trials, hurts and things that we feel like we won’t live through. The truth is that this is God’s way of purifying us and helping us to grow. The other day one of the youth said that the saying “whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” was a lie. I disagree, or at least qualify it by saying, “Whatever you overcome that doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” We grow through trials we face and overcome victoriously. It may not be the aspect of ourselves that we wanted to be strengthened but the strength is there none the less. He also adds that we should be seasoned with salt in these trials, meaning that we should try to be Christ-like through it. If we have a loving attitude of service as he spoke of, this will make it easier to have peace with one another in all situations because we are acting as Christ would.
Tomorrow’s reading is Numbers 20-21 and Mark 10:1-31.