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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Matt. 8:14-34
I don’t know that I’ve ever paid attention to the fact that the man in this passage who sought to follow Jesus wherever He went was a scribe, a teacher of the law. There were several others among the Jewish religious leadership who likewise desired to believe in and follow Jesus. I wonder, though, how many were able to leave what they had behind in order to do so. I think back to yesterday’s parables, with the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. Certainly nothing even those prominent leaders had was worth keeping over what they stood to gain with Jesus.
It seems to me that Jesus’ response to this particular scribe hit on that point. From the world’s perspective, Jesus had nothing – not even a place to lay His head. The scribe would have had much in the way of wealth and position. I wonder if he was ever able to see past these worldly riches to embrace true wealth and position in Christ.
Mark 4
What exactly is “the Kingdom of God”? I’d have to say that it is the body of Christ, connected to each other and to Jesus by the Holy Spirit, and connected to God through Jesus. We are truly a part of the Kingdom of God when we abide in Christ and He abides in us. So what do Jesus’ parables tell us happens in our lives when we do this? From what I can see, our lives produce fruit, which feeds and sustains others. Our lives also shine God’s light, which reveals truth to others. And God works through us to save others. When we belong to God, He multiplies our lives into something far bigger than ourselves.
Mark 5
This passage about the demon possessed man in the Gerasene region is one of those that hits me with a particular stab of conviction. Jesus drove the legion of demons into the herd of pigs, who subsequently stampeded over the cliff and drowned in the sea. Mark notes that there were about 2000 of these pigs. That’s a big herd of pigs! The thing that always gets me is that those pigs were somebody’s livelihood. 2000 pigs sounds like a lot of income for somebody. I’m thinking I might be more than a little upset if somebody caused my herd of pigs – large or small – to plunge to their deaths.
That’s where the conviction hits. Just how small do I think my God is? I can’t seem to get it through my head that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills; His resources are absolutely not limited…by anything. As Paul said, God is, “the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.” (Rom. 4:17b). So why do I concern myself with worldly cost and ‘wasted’ earthly resources? Sure, there’s the whole stewardship thing. But that has a time and a place. Worrying about a million dead pigs seems a very trivial thing when compared to a man’s life, especially his eternal life. It’s akin to the Pharisees balking at Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath. Very petty! The thing is, 2000 pigs is nothing to God, and He is more than able to take care of whoever owned them.