EmmDev 2025-08-29 [Moments with Mark] Rewards and Boasting

Rewards and Boasting

Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields -- and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mark10:28-31)

I think everyone felt a bit deflated when the young man walked away. Such promise, and yet such "stuckness". Maybe Peter wanted to comfort Jesus: "Don't worry about him, Lord. We have left everything to follow You!"

Jesus' response, as it often was, was enigmatic. In short, He promises rewards for those who make sacrifices, but also warns that persecution and trials will be part of the journey. He speaks about both this present world and the world to come.

Those who follow Jesus will walk a challenging road. There will be things to let go of, and sometimes people will let go of us because of our faith. But there are blessings too. We will find a spiritual family, and sometimes even material provision, but there will still be trouble.

This world is not our final destination. It is still broken. Believers have the joy of knowing God as Father, experiencing forgiveness and grace, and belonging to the faith community. But trouble does not disappear. This is our earthly life ("this present age") and it is not the end of the story. Our final destination ("the age to come") is eternal life with the Author of Life. There, brokenness will be healed and evil defeated.

In the meantime, we are called to put Him first, even when it means sacrifice. Blessings will come - sometimes in surprising ways - but trouble will come too, and we should not let it derail us.

Jesus ends with a gentle warning. "Be careful about boasting, Peter. Eternity will reveal all things, and those who thought they had done the most may discover that others gave even more. Sometimes the first will end up last, and the last first."

---

EmmDev 2025-08-28 [Moments with Mark] Rich, Young, Influential - Loved

Rich, Young, Influential - Loved

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good -- except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.' " "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," He said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (Mark10:17-27)

This is an account that is both beautiful and sad. It is beautiful because it tells of the hunger of a young man who had everything the world could give him, but still longed for something more. It is sad because when he found the answer, he could not accept it.

I can't help but wonder if the rich young ruler was Joseph of Arimathea, who eventually went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus and buried His body in his own tomb... that would make this account less sad and even more beautiful...

Let's pick up the highlights:

• From the other gospel accounts we know he was young and influential. We can also see that he is devout and earnest. But this was obviously not satisfying him, because he runs to Jesus and falls to his knees.
• He's rich and influential, and Jesus is just an itinerant carpenter-preacher, and yet he runs, kneels and calls Jesus "good teacher". It's clear that the man has seen or sensed that there is something about Jesus. Jesus picks up on this and confirms his suspicion - "no-one is good, except God alone..."
• Jesus then lists some of the commandments from the "second tablet" (commandments 6-10). These are the commandments that have to do with loving people. This is the "usual" expectation that people have of religion: "Just be a good person..."
• The young man isn't boasting, he's sincere when he says "I've been doing this."
  This is why Jesus looks at him and loves him. (It's a sentence that takes my breath away every time I read it.)
• But the man has been doing it all himself, and so Jesus asks him to do the one thing he can't do. "Sell your stuff..." And the key issue isn't that the poor need it, but that his stuff was getting in the way of the first tablet commandments "No other gods and no idols" or "Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength."
• And the man walks away. If I were in Jesus' shoes I would have been tempted to say "Ok, let's start with half..." But Jesus is resolute. The man is possessed by his possessions and he needs to be free.
  This is why Jesus consistently warned about how impossible it was to serve God and money (Mammon).
• Then He talks about how hard it is for the rich to shake their "possession obsession." People have tried to soften Jesus' image about the camel and the eye of the needle, saying that the "eye of the needle" was a narrow gate that needed you to unpack your camel before going through it. But I think Jesus meant a literal camel and a literal eye of the needle. It's impossible to get free of "possession obsession" unless God changes our hearts.

While it is pure speculation on my part, this is why I like to think that the rich young ruler was Joseph of Arimithea and that God's Spirit eventually softened his heart to stand up before Herod and give his tomb to Jesus.
All things are possible with God.

---

EmmDev 2025-08-27 [Moments with Mark] Being Infant-like

Being Infant-like

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. (Mark10:13-16)

Most preachers approach this passage by talking about the innocent faith of children, often pointing to the image of a child who jumps trustingly into daddy's arms.

But I want to suggest another way of looking at it...
The age of the "little children" is the critical issue. Matthew and Mark use the word "paidia", a diminutive form of "child," while Luke uses "brephē", which means infant or baby. On top of this, people were "bringing" these children to Jesus, which suggests babes in arms rather than independent children running around. When Jesus then takes them in His arms, the picture is not of playful youngsters but of helpless infants- a bit like the way ministers hold babies when baptising them.

At first this might seem counter-intuitive. Is Jesus really asking us to become helpless infants, rather than trusting, optimistic kids as in the illustration I opened with?

The truth is, we'd prefer the latter. We like the idea that we contribute something - even if it is just childlike faith. But what Jesus is actually saying is much more radical. He is teaching us that we come to God helpless. We cannot save ourselves. We need Christ to rescue us. We are saved by grace, not by works, so that no one can boast.

Tomorrow we will look at the rich young ruler and see that the same truth applies: we cannot save ourselves.

So the beautiful good news in this passage is that Jesus invites us to come to Him even when we are helpless and have nothing to offer. This is the principle of His Kingdom: those who feel as weak and dependent as babes in arms are welcomed and embraced by Him.

---

EmmDev 2025-08-26 [Moments with Mark] The Marriage Ideal

The Marriage Ideal

Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to Him, and as was His custom, He taught them. Some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" "What did Moses command you?" He replied. They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away." "It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." (Mark10:1-12)

Jesus left Galilee and went into Judea, crossing into the region beyond the Jordan. This area was under the reign of Herod Antipas, the one who had John the Baptist thrown in prison because John denounced him for marrying Herodias, his brother's wife.

So the Pharisees came to Jesus with a trick question, hoping that His answer might get Him into the same trouble as John the Baptist.

Matthew, who wrote for a Jewish audience, clarifies their question: "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" There was a disagreement between two of the Rabbinic schools at the time about how to understand Moses' instructions in Deuteronomy 24. The one group (under Rabbi Shammai) said that divorce was only allowable for marital unfaithfulness. The other group (under Rabbi Hillel) said that if a wife became "displeasing" to the husband (even by burning supper) he could divorce her.

Jesus acknowledges the brokenness of society, but holds to a very high standard. He goes to our created purpose and reminds us that the commitment is meant to be lifelong and that God's ideal for us was lifelong marriage between a man and a woman.

This is a very tough issue. As a pastor, I am committed and trained to do all I can to preserve marriage, but there have been cases where I have had to recommend divorce in the case of abuse, unrepentant adultery or when children are being adversely affected.

These exceptions don't change the principle and ideal.
Marriage is a high calling and we should set the bar high.
In Matthew, Jesus clarifies that the only valid reason for divorce is unfaithfulness.

But He acknowledges that it is hardness of heart that leads to people rushing into marriage, not working hard at their marriages, being unfaithful in their marriages, or being dysfunctional in their marriages.

Divorce happens, but it is not the ideal.
And when people are divorced, they need to take their part in the failure of their marriage seriously. We know that it is not always fifty-fifty, but even if one's part in a marriage failure is 3%, one should take ownership of this brokenness. Jesus warns against lightly remarrying after divorce. Scripture suggests this is permissible only in very limited circumstances. The statistics bear this out: the failure of second marriages is much higher than first marriages and the failure of third marriages is higher still.

So where does this leave us?
Divorce is not the unforgivable sin. There is grace for all.
In a culture that divorced easily, Jesus held up the ideal.
We should do our very very best to preserve marriages and ensure that people go into marriage thoughtfully, seriously and in dependence on God.
When a marriage fails we should grieve and ask for grace and restoration.

Jesus' teaching here sets the standard high.
Marriage is a worthwhile ideal.
We should not cheapen it by making divorce easy.
But we should also not use the ideal to "flog" others or ourselves when a marriage fails.
I believe heaven weeps, and we should too...

---

EmmDev 2025-08-15 [Moments with Mark] Salt

Salt

Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other. (Mark9:49-50)

The chapter ends with three statements Jesus made about salt. He may not have said them all at once, and He probably repeated them on different occasions. Mark seems to place them here as a fitting conclusion to this challenging section on discipleship, which began when the disciples argued about greatness.

It's helpful to consider the symbolism of salt in Biblical times:
- Salt was a preservative and purifier.
- Salt was a flavour enhancer.
- Salt was included in many of the Old Testament sacrifices.

Let's consider the three sayings:

1. "Everyone will be salted with fire."
   OT meat and grain sacrifices had to be sprinkled with salt before being burnt on the altar.
   But in the New Covenant we offer ourselves as "Living Sacrifices" and instead of being sprinkled with salt, we are sprinkled with fire. Fire is a symbol of trial and purification or refining. Those who follow Jesus as disciples will go through hardship and purification as we offer ourselves to Him. As Peter says our faith is like gold refined by fire.
2. "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?"
   Notice that Jesus doesn't say "How can it be made salty again," He says "How can you (2nd person plural) make it salty again." Christians are purifiers, preservers and flavouring agents in society. We are meant to be thermostats... not thermometers. We don't go with the flow, we change the flow. We are meant to be portrayals of the abundant life that Jesus promises in John 10:10. But we can lose our saltiness and Jesus' question indicates that it can be almost impossible to make us "salty" again. So it's better not to lose it in the first place.
3. "Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other."
   Christians sometimes say: "We're under grace and not law..."
   And this becomes a license to let sin in the back door.
   Having salt in ourselves means that we keep our communities pure, but that we do so graciously.
   Paul flips the order around in Colossians 4:6 but is saying the same thing: "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

So, this concludes this chapter which has contained a challenging call to leadership through discipleship.

• Sometimes disciple leaders will be salted with refining fire so that we can be good living sacrifices.
• We need to ensure that in the light of the world's corruption and lacklustre values, we are bringing flavour and purity, recognising that when we lose that ground, it is hard to regain.
• We need to balance grace and purity in our communities

---

EmmDev 2025-08-14 [Moments with Mark] The Principles of Disciple Greatness.

The Principles of Disciple Greatness.

And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark9:42-48)

After John's interruption about other people using Jesus' Name, Jesus returns to the theme of the Kingdom of God being a place where children (who had no status in society) could be welcomed.

He goes on to talk about how serious heaven considers it when a "little one" is led astray by someone claiming to be a disciple. The word He uses for "millstone" isn't the word used for the small household millstone that was turned by hand but the huge communal millstone turned by a water wheel or a pair of oxen.

This leads Him to talking about taking radical measures to deal with sin in our lives. While He uses hyperbole, it powerfully conveys the urgency of the principle.

There was a missionary in Africa who wrote "The Jungle Doctor Stories", which was a series of children's stories illustrating Biblical principles. One of them is about a tribesman who adopts a baby leopard in spite of the chief's warning that "Little leopards become big leopards and big leopards kill." Though they fed the leopard porridge and treated it like a pet, its hunting instincts awakened - and it killed.

In summary, the section we've been considering over the last few days started out with the disciples arguing about who was the greatest and Jesus' response. This is ultimately about Leadership as a Disciple.
Here are the key lessons about greatness as a Disciple Leader. (A leader who is a Disciple, not a leader of Disciples)

1. Disciple Leaders have a Servant Heart.
2. Disciple Leaders consider and welcome "the least" and the "little children" - the people society disregards.
3. Disciple Leaders are not threatened by others but are delighted when Kingdom Work is done.
4. Disciple Leaders don't cause others to stumble.
5. Disciple Leaders deal radically with baby sins before they become big sins

Remember that Jesus didn't just preach this message: He lived it.
He is the ultimate Servant Leader who welcomed, protected, and dealt with sin at the cross

---

EmmDev 2025-08-12 [Moments with Mark] Maturity in Diversity

Maturity in Diversity

"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in My name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. (Mark9:38-41)

My mentor in ministry, Glen Craig, said: "True Spiritual Maturity is when you can worship in silence with the Quakers in the morning and with Charismatics and their drums and electric guitars in the evening and come out of both saying: 'That was WORSHIP!'"

Jesus has been sitting with the disciples having the conversation about greatness, humility and welcoming children, when John interjected up with a question: "We saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."

This is another example of the disciples taking themselves too seriously. The essentials are present: The Name of Jesus and the power of the Spirit. If the name of Jesus was used, but there was no real spiritual power, then the sincerity of the person is in doubt, and if there was spiritual power, but not the name of Jesus, we might wonder about where the power was coming from.

Jesus is quite clear: when there is spiritual power, or a genuine act of service, and it is done in the name of Jesus, heaven notes it down and it will be rewarded.

Today, Christians tend to be very critical of anyone who does it differently.
People often act like doctrinal police officers, splitting hairs over interpretations and practices. We need to be humble enough to recognise that, in His mercy, God works amongst all kinds of Christians, including us!

Obviously the line has to be drawn at doctrine that denies the fundamentals of the faith (the Apostles' Creed is a good starting point for the fundamentals) and we also need to steer clear of those who don't practice what they preach or don't show true fruit of the power of the Spirit, which isn't only miracles, but the fruit of the Spirit.

There's the lovely tale of the monk who was on a ship that stopped at a desert island. There they found three mystics who prayed a simple prayer: "Father, Son and Spirit You are three and we are three; have mercy on us." Pitying them for their simple prayer, the monk taught them the "Our Father" and then the ship left. A day later a fireball came moving across the water and the three mystics were inside. "We've forgotten the prayer you taught us," they said, "please teach us again." To which the monk replied - perhaps you need to teach me.

---

EmmDev 2025-08-08 [Moments with Mark] The right ambition (part 2)

The right ambition (part 2)

He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One who sent Me." (Mark9:36-37)

The disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest.
Jesus had already sat down like a rabbi and inverted power and value completely as He taught them about being a servant.
Now He adds a visual illustration...

In Graeco-Roman times and Israelite society children were loved, but they had no rights and no social standing at all. Children were dependent, powerless and vulnerable. They could offer no reward or advantage to the one who welcomed them.

Jesus is challenging the disciples to greatness through service and sacrifice.
To welcome and serve a child was service without explicit reward or advantage.
It was sacrificial and could often be costly, draining, and exhausting. (As anyone who has walked the corridors with a querulous infant knows)

Welcoming the helpless and powerless without reward or advantage is the service we are called to.
This kind of service:
- Was the pathway to true greatness
- Meant you were actually serving God
- Is radically counter-cultural and is a hallmark and benchmark of the Kingdom of God

Jesus is hammering His point home: "Greatness in His Kingdom is measured by our willingness to serve the least and welcome the overlooked."

How good are we at serving? Especially when there is more cost than reward?

---

EmmDev 2025-08-06 [Moments with Mark] The right ambition

The right ambition

They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark9:33-35)

This morning I was at a minister's fraternal where the speaker spoke about two kinds of pastors and churches: those operating as egosystems and those functioning as ecosystems. He talked about the need to be servant leaders. When I got home, I realised that our next passage in Mark deals with the same issue! (I love how often the Holy Spirit orchestrates these kinds of coincidences!)

Just some context for today's passage: Yesterday we looked at the lonely road Jesus was walking as He headed to the cross where He would lay down His life for us. The disciples just didn't understand.

We see the depth of their misunderstanding in today's passage because, immediately after Jesus had just declared His intention to lay down His life, they're arguing about greatness.

When they get to their destination, Jesus asks "What were you arguing about on the road?"
It's amazing - it was OK to argue on the road while Jesus was out of earshot, but now that He's listening, they don't want to admit it. Sometimes there are things we wouldn't do if we remembered that Jesus is near enough to see and hear.

So Jesus sits down.
This is the posture of a Rabbi.
It signifies that something of importance is about to be said.

"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

This is the pulse of the kingdom.
Our ambition should never be for position but for the privilege of service.
We should be striving to be last - not to be losers - but to make everyone around us win.
Our goal is to help everyone around us reach their full potential.
Our ambition is to see others thrive and grow.
We're here to serve
- not so that people will compliment us,
- but that we can complement (note the different spelling) them.

I'm a cycling fan and so I was interested in the fanfare around the retirement of the Belgian rider Tim Declercq. He was celebrated and acknowledged by some of the most successful cycling champions, even though he did not have a single victory as a professional. Why? Because of the number of times he helped others to win. As a slightly bigger rider, he would spend hours riding at the front of his team so that the champion of the team could shelter in his slipstream. He would bury himself: riding until his legs gave out, fetching drinks and food from the team car and encouraging his teammates. Over the years, many riders benefited from his selfless service, as he helped them to earn victories and accolades. The two titles given to him were "El Tractor" and "Super Domestique" recognising the immense efforts he made to pull others to victory and his heart to assist them in whatever way he could.

Tim Declercq understood that he was part of an ecosystem and not an egosystem...
And it gave him great joy to do it.
May we do the same...

---

EmmDev 2025-08-05 [Moments with Mark] The Lonely Road

The Lonely Road

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because He was teaching His disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise." But they did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him about it. (Mark9:30-32)

It's quite a thought that while a significant part of Jesus' ministry was to announce the Kingdom of God (which was Good News and came with healing, miracles, and people being delivered from demon possession) there were also moments where He had to talk about the cost of the coming Kingdom...

This is one of those moments.
Jesus took steps to avoid the seeking and pressing crowds so that He could spend time with the disciples and try to attune their hearts to what was coming: betrayal, execution and resurrection.

The passage tells us that the disciples just weren't able to process this.
It was unthinkable, unpalatable, and unacceptable.
They're in denial: They can't, won't, or don't understand and they're NOT going to ask about it either.

So Jesus walked a lonely road.
He alone fully grasped the Kingdom cost He was about to pay.

Take a moment to reflect on that.
It's amazing to think that He would love us so much...

---