EmmDev 2025-04-04 [Moments with Mark] Powerful Seed...

Powerful Seed...

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around Him was so large that He got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in His teaching said: "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." (Mark4:1-8)

Although we know this parable so well, the thing that people don't always notice is how powerful the seed is.

When it lands in good soil, it produces a harvest: thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was sown. Imagine for a moment that the farmer sows equally, perhaps even generously on all types of soil. (He's probably wise enough to aim more at the good soil, but let's keep it simple.) Say one seed falls on each kind of soil: three get eaten by birds, scorched by the sun, or choked by thorns. But the one that lands in good soil produces at least thirty, possibly up to a hundredfold. So for every four seeds sown, you still get a yield of thirty to a hundred. Those are good odds!

So the good news is that the gospel is powerful and transformative.
We need to believe that it can change lives and maybe we need to be more generous about spreading it.
In this parable the farmer is generous - throwing the seed widely. Who knows, we could be surprised where it does grow!

We have a beautiful and amazing message: We are created and loved by a God who sent His Son who conquered sin, death and Satan for us. He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we can be transformed from the inside out and be part of God's life-changing and life-giving kingdom.

Maybe we need to take more risks: sharing our faith gently, easily, widely and naturally like the farmer does. He doesn't stress about what people might say about his technique and his knowledge about farming. He just trusts the seed.

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EmmDev 2025-04-03 [Moments with Mark] Unforgivable Sin

Unforgivable Sin

"But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit." (Mark3:29-30)

Many people are worried that they have committed the unforgivable sin.

To understand what this is all about, we need to remember that one of the main activities of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to the place where we can recognise Christ as Lord. The Spirit is always drawing us closer to Jesus. He wants us to recognise Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

Jesus talks about "blasphemy against the Spirit" in Matthew, Mark and Luke. In each case He is confronting the hard-hearted Pharisees and Saducees who persistently refuse to recognise who Jesus is:
- In Matthew they argue that Jesus does His miracles by demonic power
- In Mark they say that Jesus has an evil spirit
- In Luke the context is God's provision on the one hand and disowning Christ on the other and Luke puts it into the context of the final judgment.

So "blasphemy against the Spirit" is to reject His "core business" which is to help us recognise Jesus for who He is.

Theologians agree that this is a process and not an event. We don't commit blasphemy against the Spirit by accident or as a once-off. This is something that is a stubborn hard-heartedness and we don't care about it. To "blaspheme against the Spirit" is to stubbornly resist the "seed-planting" work of the Holy Spirit to the end of our lives or to the point that our hearts are so hard that we will never change.

The point: If we are resisting the working of the Spirit, then we won't care whether this is forgivable or not. And so I say to folk: "If you're worried that you have committed unforgivable blasphemy against the Spirit, then you haven't!"

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EmmDev 2025-04-02 [Moments with Mark] When the Religious Leaders can't see...

When the Religious Leaders can't see...

And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons." So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit." (Mark3:22-30)

Between the verses about Jesus' family departing and then arriving to "take charge of Him" come our verses for today...

They have also travelled, coming 160km from Jerusalem to confront Jesus.
It is a bitter pill.
They should have recognised that He was the fulfillment of prophecy.
They should have been struck by the wisdom of His teachings.
They should have realised the significance of His healings and exorcisms
They should have been amazed at His miracles.

Instead they come with the childish tactic of attributing His power to demons.
Today people still "demonise" those they are threatened by or don't agree with.
"They're evil - I just know it!"

Jesus calmly and with almost childlike simplicity explains the foolishness of their argument.

• Why and how would Satan drive out Satan?
• Why come all the way from Jerusalem if your enemy is busy fighting himself?
  Why not just stand back and watch the divided house fall?
  Because, if Jesus is indeed Satan's lackey, then the lackey by healing and driving out demons is destroying Satan's work!
• And when it comes to demon possession, only someone stronger than the demonic forces can do that!

And so Jesus clearly shows up the foolishness of their argument.
But this is foolish to the point that it is downright insulting.
It is blasphemous because it does not recognise the true power at work - the Power of the Holy Spirit.

This is dangerous behaviour, dangerous enough for Jesus to warn about an unforgivable sin - and we'll dig into this tomorrow...

For today, let's consider the heartache of rejection Jesus experienced, both from his family and the religious people who should have been the first to recognise Him.

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EmmDev 2025-04-01 [Moments with Mark] When family don't understand

When family don't understand

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." ... 31 Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." 33 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." (Mark3:20-34)

In the closing of the section about choosing disciples, Mark writes "and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him."

This seems to trigger a line of thought about betrayal that Mark continues to the end of ch.3.

The first of the betrayals is difficult. Jesus is followed by the crowds to the point that it is even difficult for them to eat. Jesus' family in Nazareth hear of this and they set off to "come and take charge of Him" because, according to them, "He is out of His mind."
They will travel 30km from Nazareth to Capernaum - probably a two day journey on foot.

Then, for effect, while they are ostensibly traveling, Mark then segues to the resistance Jesus experiences from the teachers of the law. This "fills the gap" while the family are traveling. In verse 31 Jesus' mother and brothers arrive. They're figuratively holding the "restraining jacket" with a place booked at the local mental institution. They're here to "take charge" because things have gotten out of hand.

This is one of the reasons I love the Bible. It doesn't sanitise its characters. We're told the truth about each character, the good, the bad and the ugly. Mary, revered and elevated by some traditions, gets it wrong here. She does not understand her Son's mission and she thinks He's "out of his mind."

For Jesus, this is a tough moment. The teachers of the Law (who should recognise Him) have rejected Him. His family of origin who know about Bethlehem, shepherds, wise man and all the wonder of His birth, have succumbed to the sharp tongue of gossip and scandal and don't recognise Him either.

This still happens to people today and Jesus warns about it in Mark 13. Families can get divided over faith in Christ.

But there is another family - the family of faith.
This family of faith will accompany Jesus in His journey, but even they will abandon Him in Gethsemane.

Jesus ultimately walks this road alone, but brings them all back to Himself.
After His resurrection He appears to His disciples and to His brother James.
He rebuilds the bridges that were broken.
I think we can hope for the same.

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EmmDev 2025-03-14 [Moments with Mark] He them to be with Him.

He them to be with Him.

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve--designating them apostles--that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Mark3:13-19)

Mark has introduced us to a busy, controversial and compassionate Jesus. In only two and a half chapters we have seen baptism, wild temptation, compassionate healing, the promise of newness (new wineskins), humble healings and confrontational healings. He has portrayed Jesus as compassionate, focussed, prayerful, challenging and exhausting in His activity to reveal God's kingdom as a place where God is central, where love and justice hold hands and where hypocrisy has no place.

He has been with disciples in a general sense, but now He specifically and officially appoints the twelve. Luke tells us that He spent a night in prayer preparing for this moment.

Who did He appoint?

• They were diverse: Fishermen, Tax collectors, Zealots, and Youngsters.
• They were works in progress:
  For example Simon-Peter moved from Simon (means "Listen") to Peter (means "Rock")
  and Sons of Thunder (James and John) became the first martyr (James) and the "apostle of love" (John)
• Some were unschooled, some were worldly wise, some were on the fringe of society, others were outcasts.
• And one would betray Him.
• They were people like us...

And what did He call them to?

• To be with Him - And this is the most important. To be with Him. To hear His teachings, observe His ways, absorb His character and understand His kingdom
• Then that He might send them to preach - to share what they had learned and absorbed.
• To have authority to deal with evil - When we've absorbed enough of Jesus we will not be able to do nothing when we encounter evil and injustice. We will need to act.

Like the disciples we are called to the same things.
And it all starts with "being with Him..."

When Peter and John get arrested for healing the lame man at the temple gate, they surprise the Pharisees and teachers of the law (The "temple mafia") by being courageous, articulate and faith-filled. This is what Luke records: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13)

How do we change the world?
By being WITH Jesus!
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For the next two weeks there will be no EmmDevs. Brenda and I are going down to East London where I will be going through Sacraments and Going for Growth with our Denomination's probationers and then we will come back slowly camping along the way and taking the roads less travelled.

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EmmDev 2025-03-13 [Moments with Mark] Business as usual

Business as usual

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard all He was doing, many people came to Him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd He told his disciples to have a small boat ready for Him, to keep the people from crowding Him. For He had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch Him. Whenever the evil spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." But He gave them strict orders not to tell who He was. (Mark3:7-21)

At first glance we might be tempted to say that Mark isn't telling us much that is new.
He's describing another "usual" day for Jesus as he did in chapter one.

Bear in mind that one of the characteristics of Mark's Gospel is that he depicts Jesus as the tireless worker whose motto was "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

There are a few things to observe:

• Jesus is still relentlessly preaching, teaching, healing and driving out demons.
• People are coming from far and wide. The NIV Study Bible says: "Here we see impressive evidence of Jesus' rapidly growing popularity among the people." The areas mentioned are akin to saying people came from North, South, East and West and the furthest corners of Israel.
• Although Mark doesn't depict Jesus as teaching from the boat, he hints at it but points out how the boat was an escape and "distance creator" because Jesus was being swamped as He had healed many and people were desperate to have a part of that.
• Jesus continues to muzzle the demons, and it's for the same reasons as I have mentioned before, namely, it's not Jesus' time yet. For now He is revealing Himself as the Son of Man, and, when the time is right, He will be revealed as the Son of God. It also mitigates some of the crowding and discourages people from trying to make Him king by force.

So, although it looks like "just another day" Mark is demonstrating Jesus' faithful commitment to serve broken humanity. Healing and deliverance took place on an unprecedented scale bringing people from far and wide. It is a foretaste of the Kingdom of God.

But more importantly it is a glimpse into the huge heart of the King.

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EmmDev 2025-03-12 [Moments with Mark] Sabbath

Sabbath

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. (Mark2:23-3:6)

In comparison to other cultures and religions, the idea of a Sabbath rest day was unique to Judaism. It was a strange idea: Pause productivity, focus on your God and your family. (Ironically, today, with our levels of burnout and being "always available" through our devices, Sabbath is actually quite an appealing idea.)

For Jews, Sabbath became something that identified them and made them unique. Unfortunately, as time went on, people felt it necessary to begin defining what a good Sabbath looked like and so the lawgivers started making lists of do's and don'ts. The Mishnah, a compilation of laws derived from the Old Testament, listed 39 categories of prohibited activities on the Sabbath, with hundreds of additional rules expanding on them.

What was even more concerning was that compliance to these laws was used as a measure of faithfulness. It became a visible yardstick by which one could measure one's faithfulness and that of others.

The Pharisees pounced on Jesus and His disciples for taking a walk. Some of the disciples idly pulled at the ears of wheat as they passed. They rubbed the kernels they'd pulled off between their hands, freeing the kernels from the husks and blew the husks out of their hands, they then popped the kernels into their mouths and chewed on them as they walked. They weren't stealing or having a meal. They were probably remembering something they did as children. (I have similar memories of picking up a piece of sugar cane next to the road on the way to holidays in Durban and chewing it as we drove.)

The Pharisees turn this into a major transgression. Jesus reminds them that:

• their greatest king, David, once took holy bread off the altar to feed his companions.
  In other words - there are always exceptions where one priority overrides another.
• the Sabbath was made to help us, not to enslave us.
• the Sabbath is meant for us to see God clearly and worship Him more faithfully

Sadly, the Pharisees don't get it. They can't see God at work - even when they're at the synagogue. It's bizarre, they don't wonder about or doubt His ability to heal - they just want to see if He'll break their rules about the Sabbath in order to do it! (Biblical law, not just the Mishnah, allowed rescuing an animal from a pit on the Sabbath. How much more would it allow healing a person?)

It's so tragic. They can't see beautiful irony. The man has been struggling for years with his disability and on the "day of rest" he is given rest from his disability. To not heal him would be a tragic neglect. But they can't see it.

This causes them to hate Jesus even more. He won't fit into their rules. The Sabbath had become about their rules instead of being about being with God and family and shaking off the rat race.

Sadly, today we've gone in the opposite direction. We are no longer confined by Sabbath rules, but we have also lost sight of its purpose.

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EmmDev 2025-03-11 [Moments with Mark] Feasting, Fasting and New Paradigms

Feasting, Fasting and New Paradigms

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." (Mark2:18-22)

Fasting was part of the Jewish spirituality. Before the exile, the only prescribed fast in the Mosaic law was for the Day of Atonement. After the exile, four other fasts were introduced. Then the pharisees started fasting twice a week.

Fasting is a difficult practice.
On the positive side, it is a way of pausing from the rush, it's about taming our appetite(s), it is a way of putting God first and creating time to draw near to Him.
On the negative side, it can we seen as a way of "twisting God's arm" - as if God has to honour our "hunger-strike" (This is actually just an (illegitimate) attempt at manipulation.) The other dark side to fasting is that it was often done visibly with sackcloth, ashes and long faces so that others would see how dedicated and spiritual the one fasting was.

Some have suggested that John the Baptist's disciples were fasting because their teacher was in jail, but the Pharisees are also fasting and so it seems that it is actually one of the liturgical fasts. (We have no accurate way to discern which fast this is...)

Jesus does not condemn fasting, but He does put it in perspective. There's a time to fast and a time to feast. His presence in the world was a blessing, one didn't need to fast to hear or see God more clearly, He was in their midst! He alludes to the very joyful time of a wedding and how incomprehensible it would be to fast at that time.

He does point out a sombre moment - the bridegroom will be taken away - the cross was coming.

He then points out His coming is a new paradigm, a new way of thinking. The ground rules have changed. Law and religious observances are superseded by relationship with Jesus. The old ways won't work anymore. The new has come and it can't be "patched" onto the old ways and it can't be poured into old wineskins. His coming brings a new paradigm.

Fasting is a good servant, but a bad master. We should never be a slave to a liturgical calendar or an appointed fast because Christ has come and He is the Incarnate and Risen Lord who lives in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

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EmmDev 2025-03-07 [Moments with Mark] Hospitable Evangelism

Hospitable Evangelism

Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them. As He walked along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with Him and His disciples, for there were many who followed Him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: "Why does He eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark2:13-17)

Levi (aka Matthew) was a tax-collector. Tax collectors were considered sellouts and traitors by their fellow Israelites. Levi didn't have many disciple-making skills and he had a bad reputation to overcome.

However, Levi had two things that he could offer:
Firstly, he had a rag tag ragamuffin friendship group comprised of other tax-collectors and people seen as sinners and outcasts. These were people on the fringe of society. They would not easily join the crowds who went to listen to Jesus. In the second place it seems that Levi knew how to throw a good party and so when his life is overturned by Jesus' call, the first thing he does is to host a "Matthew Party". He doesn't organise a crusade or gospel rally - he just invites his friends to meet Jesus. He's just confident that Jesus presence and love will be enough. (Do you see the connection with the Roof Diggers? The best thing you can do for a friend is to bring them to Jesus!)

The "Holy Huddle" (Pharisees and Teachers of the Law) are incensed.
They're convinced that these "bad people" should be avoided and that Jesus should not love them.

Jesus answer is both beautiful and enigmatic.
"I've come to call the sick and not the healthy, the sinners and not the righteous."
The beautiful part is broken people are welcome at His table and to His love.
The enigmatic part is that those who think themselves righteous are not excluded by Jesus, but by their own pride. If people truly believe themselves perfect, they are saying they have no need for God. Once we admit our brokenness, we realise that there are not degrees of brokenness.
We either need forgiveness or we don't. We either need healing or we don't.

May we, like Matthew, take time to let our friends experience the love of Jesus, especially around a meal!

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EmmDev 2025-03-06 [Moments with Mark] Roof Diggers #3

Roof Diggers #3

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" (Mark2:4-12)

In this passage we have the beginnings of the tension between Jesus and the teachers of the law.

It is a sobering tension.
They have knowledge, scripture and theology.
They have been trained and are part of a beautiful spiritual tradition.
And yet they don't recognise Jesus.

The problem with knowledge, education and tradition is that it can calcify.
The beauty of worship and the magnificence of the rituals can dull with repetition.
The depth of spiritual truth contained in Scripture can become cold doctrine if confined to the head and not allowed into the heart and hands.

We are not very different from the Teachers of the Law.
We have tradition, scripture, knowledge and theology.
The only thing that will keep us different from them is if we allow these gifts to move from our heads to our hearts and hands and if we remember that our faith is a relationship and not just knowledge to master, rituals to observe and commands to enforce.

This is where the teachers of the law went wrong.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and began the season of Lent where we hope to draw near to Jesus and know Him personally.

It's the season where we practice NOT being the teachers of the law....

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