Tag Archives: Gospel of Mark

Sabbath: God is For Us

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Slide1Our church recently worked through a series of teachings on Sabbath. Far beyond a weekly holiday, this biblical concept is loaded with meaning, with each additional layer creating a rich tapestry of teaching that displays the love and goodness of God in fresh ways.

This series of blog posts will aim to capture some of the highlights of discovery along the way.

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In clarifying the intent of the Sabbath commandment, perhaps Jesus offered no more definitive statement than his words in Mark 2. In one sentence, he expresses the extraordinary goodness of God as seen in the laws He lays down: “Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.”

BigRedBallsWhenever I’m in need of a chuckle, I search for footage of the TV show “Wipeout”. Contestants trying to navigate the “big red balls” is a personal foolproof recipe for laughter. I imagine the backroom glee that the course designers must experience as they dream up obstacles and traps through which to push willing contestants. They aren’t setting out to create smooth, trouble-free “walks in the park”. They are looking to sabotage participants. Maximize slippery and surprising, minimize success – that’s the formula for great wipeouts. And the name of the show is no accident.

As fun as that job might be, God is nothing like a “Wipeout” designer. He has no interest in creating a system and then recruiting participants (victims) to fail their way through. He hasn’t set out to create unnecessary burdens, diversions, or challenges. Instead, He births children, each one bearing His divine image. Then He sets out to meet their every need! He custom-made us, then chose us as His own, then created guides for vibrant health and life.

If anything regarding Sabbath is to be perceived clearly, it is this: Sabbath is for us!

Sabbath is for us because God is for us, and every gift from His hand is for us.

Any understanding beyond that is misunderstanding.

leaveacommentYOUR TURN: Your input makes this post better!

  • Have you typically considered Sabbath as a gift or as a burden?
  • If you did view Sabbath as a gift, how might you “open it”?

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Jesus Wants to Heal You… Sort Of

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I’ve been immersed in the gospel of Mark for months now. Recently, something from chapter five struck me with unusual weight.

Here’s the story from Mark 5:21-34:

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

One sharp thrust here:

There is something we want, and there is something Jesus wants. And they are not typically the same.

Allow me to decode. Continue reading →