We’ve been looking this week at Genesis 12: 1-5 and Matthew 5: 13-16, exploring what is happening behind the text and the words on the page. Today I’d like to talk about what these words actually can mean to us in … Continue reading
Today’s reading is Acts 21: 1-15 Paul knows what is going to happen. In many ways, he is modeling what Jesus did. Jesus knew that He was to go to the cross. He knew what was to happen. He was … Continue reading
Today’s reading is Acts 20: 13-16 Paul traveled all over the world. Remember in his day; very few traveled far from home. Most people, especially those in the Holy Land, would really venture no further than Jerusalem to worship for Passover. … Continue reading
Today’s reading is Acts 18: 18-23 Paul was always moving. Never sat still. Always had a mission. Always “up to something” if you will. He was driven. He had a fire within his bones to tell folks about Jesus. Man, what … Continue reading
Today’s reading is Acts 15: 36-41 Today’s passage is another reason why Barnabas is one of my favorite Biblical characters. He and Paul have a disagreement, a real one. This disagreement is not a pretend one, it is real and it … Continue reading
This week’s reflections are written by Rev. Brian Johnston, one of our Associate Pastors here at St. Matthew’s Rooted 2019 – Week Fifteen Day Five Today’s reading is Acts 4: 32-37 The believers were now of one heart and mind. God’s … Continue reading
Rich Mullins was one of my favorite Christian artists of all time. He wrote a song entitled “While the Nations Rage” that is inspired by Psalm 2. That song has led me to a deep love of this song over the … Continue reading
Sometimes in life, we have to do the right thing, even if no one understands why. We have to love folks that others don’t want to love. We have to be places that others don’t want to be. We have … Continue reading
Today we look at Mark 8:14-21:
The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” 16 They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” 17 And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
What do you see? Friday in Mark we talked about seeing miracles everywhere when we believe. Today, we see Jesus talk about something very similar. Today He’s talking about sight. But it’s not necessarily the sight of miracles. It’s the deeper truth that can be found.
And I think today this is especially true with scripture. I subscribe what Wesley called a simple reading of scripture. You need to understand context, you need to understand the bigger picture with scripture, but for most of scripture, it simply means what it says.
But, there are times, lots of times, many times, where there is a deeper truth right there in plain sight. Sometimes there is something right in front of us that we may or may not be able to see. Look at today’s text. The Disciples are talking about bread and Jesus basically says, guys, you are missing the point.
Do you not see the deeper meaning and deeper truth here. He recalls the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000. And then He asks how many baskets were left over. For the 5000, there were 12. For the 4000 there were 7. And then He says, do you not understand?
What should they have understood? What may we be missing?
Twelve and seven are very important numbers in scripture. Twelve in particular is important in two main places. There are 12 tribes of Israel (the 12 sons of Jacob). And there are 12 Apostles. The Old Covenant and the New Covenant. So this number is seen many times in scripture (a lot in Revelation) to mean everyone or a completeness. This number is many ways a number that is almost a code word for “all.”
Everyone that would have seen Him feed 5000 and then see 12 baskets left over would have understood that 12 was a big deal. He has come, preaching to the Jews first, so that they would complete their calling from Genesis 12 to be a light to the world. As God’s people, their mission would be the point others to who God is and be that light. This 12 means that the
The 5000, that crowd was mostly like all Jewish. The fact that Jesus recovered 12 baskets meant that God would call from His people a group that would finish the calling of Abraham. And that is what happened. How many Jewish disciples did Jesus have?
Twelve.
And where did they go? Everywhere.
And that brings us to the seven. Seven is another important number in scripture, and is often seen is as the “perfect” number. Think the seven days of creation. So it’s a word that associated with that creation account. The 4000, that crowd would have mostly included Gentiles within it. So on a day when a crowd including Gentiles in it was feed, there were seven baskets left. The number of creation. A creation that was made God. A creation that Jesus was coming to redeem.
In other words, Jesus didn’t just come to feed this crowd, He came to save them, and all (Jew or Gentile) that would believe.
That’s why He says, do you not get it? Do you not see the bigger truth?
This is why it’s so important to read the Bible together. Because together we can see the bigger truths that we may miss, just looking at the text. There are deeper truths that Bible study and shared conversation can teach us.
That’s one of the many, many reasons we need each other and need the church!
Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 8:22-26.
What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.
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Today in our journey through Mark, we look at Mark 3:13-19, where Jesus appoints His twelve disciples:
13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, 15 and to have authority to cast out demons. 16 So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
A couple of things that we notice in this passage. First, some clarifications of language. Here it says that He appointed “Twelve.” They aren’t given a title. Before the Resurrection, these twelve are called Disciples and after they are called Apostles. Same people, though. The definition of an Apostle is one that Jesus appeared to and gave a specific task. That’s why Paul is an Apostle, even through he was not one of the Disciples.
Another thing is that there are different “levels,” if you will, of people who follow Jesus. There are the general crowds that follow Him when He preaches, but those crowds go back to their homes when the day is over. Then there are the women that followed and supported His ministry, like Mary Magdalene. And in this culture this is extraordinary. Women didn’t leave the home, much less follow an itinerant preacher around Galilee. But Jesus included them in His followers and it was Mary that was the first tell anyone that He had risen from the dead.
Then you have the 72 that Jesus sent out to do ministry as well. This would have been those that were close to Him, that were faithful and that followed Him. He had a large group with Him at almost all times.
But we see in this, the Twelve. There is great symbology about the number twelve, remember there were twelve tribes of Israel, in appointing twelve, Jesus is showing that His ministry stands fully in line with the Old Testament and that all the promises of the Old Testament were ultimately pointing to Him.
Notice, though who He calls. Not many were educated. They were fishermen. They were common. In fact, we don’t know a lot about many of them. But let me tell you my favorite thing about the Twelve. There is Simon the Cananaean. And there is Matthew (or Levi) who we saw Jesus call earlier. Matthew as a tax collector. Simon was a member of a group known as the Zealots. The zealots were a group of Jews that wanted to drive out the Romans. They HATED the Romans. They would often carry a dagger in their belt so that they could kill a Roman when the chance came.
And you know they only people they hated more than Romans? Tax collectors. Why? Because tax collectors where traitors. They betrayed their people to work for the Romans. Man on man, did they hate tax collectors.
And who were two of the Twelve? Matthew, a tax collector. And Simon, a zealot. Through Jesus they could move past their hatred, their distrust, all the baggage that they brought to this group.
Through Jesus they could. Through following Him, through making Him their Lord, they could.
If they focus on their “stuff” they would have killed each other. If they focus on Jesus, they have unity. When Jesus is in the middle, He brings life out of our diversity and difference. When we put our “stuff” in the middle, it tears us apart.
Jesus was able to bring unity out of such great difference. And He can do the same today.
May we find our unity and purpose, today and each day, in Jesus Christ.
What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.
Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 3:20-30.
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