This is a devotional with my thoughts added to verses from the Bible. I highly encourage you to dig into the word with your own thoughts. The Daily Devotion series is one way to do this. However, I know that sometimes we want to read other people’s ideas about Bible passages, so I am starting the Everyday series. I hope and pray that these posts will draw you nearer to Jesus.
DAY 4–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 9:38-41 We tried to stop him
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone who doesn’t follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow us.” But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is on our side. For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are Christ’s, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.
John informed his Rabbi that someone who obviously did not know Jesus was using His name as a talisman to do magic. John saw this activity as an abuse of the name of his Master and commanded the man to stop. Unexpectedly, Jesus told John and the other disciples to let the misuse of His name continue. Something similar happened in Ephesus when Paul was there. The sons of Sceva tried to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus and Paul (Acts 19:11-16). However, in that case, the demon punished the impersonators. One lesson to learn from these two passages taken together is that a Christian does not need to interfere in this kind of situation. God can take care of it Himself, either by allowing the abuse to continue because there will be a favorable outcome or by letting the logical consequence of flirting with danger fall on the abuser.
Jesus was also telling the disciples not to close the door on people who were still open to receiving the message of the Messiah. Even today, there are many “Christians” out there who seem to think of Jesus as a magic talisman and worship Him in questionable ways. Whether it involves superstitiously praying to an image of Jesus on a cross or a little picture icon on the wall or someone jabbering away in a self-induced state of hysteria or a secular church using pop culture like the Twilight Zone to preach about the Bible, Jesus says not to try to stop them because if they are doing great things in His name, they will not be condemning Him. They will be promoting a favorable image of Jesus. In other words, Jesus was telling Christians not to be exclusive and prejudiced against others who claim to support Him. Rather than condemning others for not following Jesus in the correct manner, we should keep the pathways of communication open so that they can eventually learn how to follow Jesus the correct way. Jesus was strict in His condemnation of sin, but He was accepting of people’s mistakes and misguided attempts to align themselves with Him. He did not push others away but instead worked with them to bring them closer to the true path to God. God will work with us even though we are not following Him in total accuracy. None of us can match Jesus’ perfect understanding of spiritual matters, so it is good that Jesus accepts us as His servants even with all our flaws and misunderstandings.
DAY 5–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 9:42-48 Worms and Fire
Whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around his neck. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire, ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, into the fire that will never be quenched— ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is better for you to enter into God’s Kingdom with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’
Jesus and the disciples were still gathered at Peter’s house in Capernaum. Jesus still had a little boy sitting on His lap. He had been sidetracked for a little while by John’s question about the man casting out demons, but now Jesus returned to His original theme. The kingdom of heaven is composed of the servants, the innocent, and the childlike. Then Jesus focused in on adults taking care of children and not causing the children to doubt God. From here, Jesus expanded the lesson to the idea that it would be better to live life in this sinful world in ways that seem limited or painful than to jeopardize our eternal lives.
Jesus started His lesson with a macabre list of body parts to be cut off if there is a chance that someone might hurt a child. Of course, this is all symbolic. Jesus was not telling His followers to chop off their hands and feet. He was exhorting us to cut out anything that causes us to sin, like getting rid of a TV if you cannot control the impulse to watch shows that corrupt you. Some people use the excuse that they need to participate in some popular activities in order to be able to relate to others. However, that reasoning does not work if the activity in question corrupts you. It is better to be crippled in your interactions with others than corrupted. Jesus’ message is to live in purity and love even if that way of life seems to limit one’s advancement in this world.
Jesus repeated “be thrown into hell. In that place, worms never die, and the fire is never put out” (ESV version) three times. The phrase recurs after each “it is better” statement. Since this reference to a place called hell where fire never goes out and worms do not die is confusing to many people, it would be good to do a little review of the Bible to ensure the correct comprehension of Jesus’ message to us. Remember, always let the Bible itself clear up any confusion you have. Outside sources are useful but use them after you have examined what the Bible has to say. Let the context of the Bible speak to you first. Then use nonbiblical sources to add background to the message that the Bible has already presented.
First of all, Jesus’ words are a direct reference to a passage from Isaiah. “Then they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of the people who rebelled against me. For their worm will not die, nor will their fire be extinguished, and they will remain an object of revulsion to all humanity.” (Isaiah 66:24). The key message in this verse is that there would be a battle where the rebels died. Afterwards, the people who rebelled against God would be abhorrent to everyone who remained alive.
When translating Jesus’ words about fire and worms, the word “hell” is used in some translations (like the ESV that I quoted in the previous paragraph), but other translations (such as the WEB) use the original word “geanna” or “gehenna”, which is the valley of Hinnom. Examining the biblical references to this valley is also useful in clarifying the meaning of Jesus’ words. The Hinnom valley was located right outside of Jerusalem. Nehemiah speaks of exiles camping there when they returned to rebuild Jerusalem. “in Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. They encamped from Beer-sheba to the Hinnom Valley” (Nehemiah 11:30). Long before Nehemiah’s time, this valley had been a place of idol worship and numerous atrocities. Parents would burn their babies as offerings to the false god Molech. Good King Josiah destroyed these pagan places of worship. “He also defiled Topheth, which is located in the Ben-hinnom Valley, so that no one would force his son or daughter to pass through the fire in dedication to Molech” (2 Kings 23:10).
Fast forward to the day when Jesus was speaking with His disciples. Many nonbiblical sources claim that this valley was used as a garbage dump in Jesus’ time. There were always animal carcasses (and sometimes human remains) there which were constantly being eaten by worms. In addition, there was always a fire burning trash in order to diminish the rubbish that was piling up there. Thus, Jesus’ listeners would have had a picture of burning and decay when they thought of the Hinnom Valley. This passage is a case where context makes a big difference. If the garbage dump claim is true, Jesus was not saying that people would be thrown into a place made by God to torture the wicked. Instead, He was saying that if we let sin separate us from God, we will be discarded like trash in the dump of Gehenna. There is no coming back from that final separation.
Jeremiah made a reference to Gehenna when he warned about the fall of Jerusalem. “Therefore, the time is near,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They’ll bury in Topheth because there is no other place to do it. The dead bodies of these people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the land, and no one will disturb them” (Jeremiah 7:32-33). Jeremiah was referring to the first destruction of Jerusalem, but the Jewish historian Josephus reports that at the siege of Jerusalem when it was destroyed the second time, dead bodies were thrown over the walls into the surrounding valleys. “Now every one of these died with their eyes fixed upon the temple, and left the seditious alive behind them. Now the seditious at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their dead bodies. But afterwards, when they could not do that, they had them cast down from the walls into the valleys beneath.” From (<http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/war5.html> ). Thus, during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, numerous dead Jews were thrown into Gehenna and did not receive a proper burial.
These references from both the Bible and outside sources point to the idea that Jesus was contrasting living crippled in this present life to a death without honor. This is not a case of Jesus threatening torture in hell for disobedience. It is a case of Jesus warning that our present choices have lasting consequences that can result in us receiving honor or being a revolting spectacle to those loyal to God. Choose wisely.
DAY 6–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 9:49-50 Heavily Seasoned or Bland?
For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
It is helpful to review the context of these verses. Jesus was speaking with His disciples. He had begun His discourse by questioning them about the reason for their previous dispute. When they informed Him that they were discussing who would be the greatest, He pointed out that to be great in heaven is to be a servant to everyone else. Then, He took a child and told them that greatness was in welcoming a child in Jesus’ name. At this point John interrupted the flow of instruction with a question about a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name. After responding to that inquiry, Jesus returned to the idea of children and warned the disciples that causing a child to sin was a horrible act. Then, Jesus expounded on cutting off anything that caused the disciples to sin because it would be better to be crippled yet pure than to be whole yet corrupted. Finally, Jesus finished his point about corruption with the idea of salt and fire purifying and preserving the disciples. He pointed out how useless the disciples would be if they allowed their sinful worldly hearts to overwhelm the purification they had received from Him. He concluded by going back to the original problem. He told them to live in peace with each other, i.e. quit your fighting about who will be greatest because it is corruption like that found in Gehenna; it will cripple you and make you lose the specialness that comes from connection with God through the Holy Spirit. Instead, serve one another and be at peace with each other. Then, you will be useful and attractive to both God and those that God would draw near to Him.
Jesus used the symbols of salt and fire to indicate that His followers are to be pure. The Spirit is constantly refining us (salting us with fire), but we have a tendency to counteract God’s work of cleansing. Jesus was warning that it was possible to lose that purity. Without the salt given to us continually by God, we will sink back into corruption. Jesus tied this lack of saltiness to bickering and self-aggrandizement. Bland Christians fight with each other. Salty Christians are at peace with each other.
Jesus was telling His disciples that they would be of no use to Him as long as they were striving for worldly greatness. They could only be useful if they learned to serve others and treat them with care whether it was their fellow workers or a small child. Like the disciples, we must always remember that our usefulness to God is proportionate to our ability to serve and to treat others with love.
DAY 7–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 10:1-12 Because of Your Hardness of Heart
He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them. Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her. If a woman herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Jesus was closer to Jerusalem now, so there were more Pharisees in the crowd. They attempted to ambush Jesus with a question concerning divorce. When they asked if divorce was lawful, Jesus asked them what Moses had said. In this way, He essentially replied that they already knew the answer as it was written in the law of Moses. Then, Jesus taught them the heavenly law. He informed the Pharisees that Moses had only allowed them the option of divorce because of people’s sinful hearts. Then He explained that this was not God’s original plan, but it was an accommodation because mankind was not loving.
The Edenic plan was for one man and one woman to join together as one unit. In fact, this was how humans were made in the image of God. Family is the true model of God. Thus, divorce and the hardheartedness that a husband and wife develop toward each other before the divorce destroys the image of God in humans. Divorce is a sin, not because of a piece of paper separating a legal arrangement, but it is a sin because of the corruption of a sacred relationship blessed by God. However, a great deal of sin has preceded the divorce. Emotionally harming each other is a sin. An absence of love for each other is always a sin, but it is even more so between a husband and wife because extinguishing the image of God in the family unit is a terrible sin.
Jesus’ discourse on the sacredness of marriage is one among many instances where Jesus exposed how far humans have fallen from the ideal of heaven. Another example is Jesus’ clarification on murder. It was not enough that one has not physically killed a person. Jesus said that being angry against another makes a person a murderer. Basically, Jesus said that the ways of the world and our wicked hearts are in opposition to heaven. This world operates on sinful principles that we accept as normal when the heavenly principles are far above our worldly norms. God accommodates our sinful ways in order to be with us, but they are not His ways. God would have us be true, faithful, and loving with each other, but we are fallen, and it is not in our nature to act in self-giving love. God comes to us as we are, but if we are willing, He works in us to transform us into citizens of heaven. One step in our transformation is to first make us aware of the problems with our sinful choices so that we can look up to clearly see the better ways of heaven. In this passage, the corruption of marriage versus the Edenic ideal draws a clear contrast between God’s kingdom and this sinful world.