That Huge Immoveable Stone

 

Mark 16:3-4 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back – it was very large.

Yesterday I had a conversation with someone who was facing some very challenging, very difficult, issues in her life. When I read the account this morning of what happened to the two Mary’s and Salome after Jesus’ death and burial, I thought again of the conversation. 

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome had lost a very close friend and son and were coming to the tomb with anointing spice per the custom of the day. 

They were mourning. They fully expected to continue their mourning as they did the only thing they knew to do under the circumstances, but with an additional trial – how to get to His body, hidden behind a heavy and huge stone. 

They knew they could not move the stone, but they came prepared with spices anyway. They did what they knew they could do, all the while discussing how to handle the obstacle they knew they would face when they arrived.

But when they arrived, the issue had already been resolved in more ways than one. 

They did not have to move the stone. An angel had come from heaven and moved it for them.

They did not have need of the spices – Jesus had risen. 

I see a lesson for me in this. 

I plan and prepare as best I can for for what appears to be the inevitable outcome of my situation, but I do so with this reminder: God may be working in ways that I not only do not expect, but also in ways I will only know later. 

God will move my very large stone in His time and way, and I will see it, but maybe only after He has done the work. In the meantime, I continue to do what I know I can do, all the while recognizing that I do not know the end of the story that is unfolding in my life.

Is Jesus in Your Boat?

 

John 6:19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.

Matthew, Mark, and John all wrote about their experience of Jesus walking on the water. You remember that account of the disciples all in the boat during a bad storm and seeing Jesus walking toward them on the water.

Although they all told about the same experience, what stood out in that experience was different for each person.

For example, only Matthew talks about Peter joining Jesus on the water. That has always been the emphasis in the story when I have heard it taught or preached about.

Neither Mark nor John saw that as the most important part of the story. Neither one mentions Peter getting out of the boat, walking on the water toward Jesus, then looking at the waves and starting to sink!

What is the same in all the accounts is that they were all afraid.

They were all glad to have the presence of Jesus in their boat when He got there. His presence gave them comfort. It took away their fear.

All three men recount that Jesus calmed the storm as soon as He entered their boat.

And this is a key truth we can learn from Matthew's, Mark's, and John's accounts of their experience in that boat.

The most important thing in any experience we have is not what miraculous things happen or what we can do (even with God’s help). 

No, what is important is whether we have invited Jesus into our boat. 

That is when He will bring calm in us no matter what storm we are going through.

Is Jesus in your boat?

Rejection is Dangerous

 Mark 6:20 Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

I think maybe Herod was like a lot of other people throughout history who have found the message of godliness and righteousness fascinating. 

They know there is something special about it, they want to learn more about it, but when it comes to acting on it, they pull back. 

Herold knew that somehow what John the Baptist was telling him was true and right, and ought to be heeded. 

Yet Herod, from all I have read about him, was too weak-willed to do anything to change his life or his actions.

 I suspect that Herod regretted his response to John the Baptist in one way or another until the day he died. His decision to have John beheaded led him into spiritual disarray. We see that in the next episode we read of him in the Bible, when he wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle, but nothing is said of his wanting to hear any message from Jesus as he had heard from John. 

Herod’s life continued as one disaster after another and he committed suicide in the end. There is nothing more disastrous than that.

All of which tells me once again that rejection of the Truth is a dangerous, spiritually disastrous road to follow. 

Don't Just Talk the Talk

I was reading this morning in the Gospels of Matthew (chapter 3), Mark (chapter 1), and Luke (chapter 3) about John the Baptist.

He was quite a character. He spent a lot of time in the desert preaching. He dressed strangely. He ate strange food.

But he was a powerful yet humble preacher. Hundreds of people were listening to his message of repentance.

One of his messages that people were listening to was catching a lot of attention: 

                       Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

 People from all walks of life were asking John what he meant by that message.

When religious Jews asked him what he meant, he explained that

      ✔ true repentance puts aside any excuse for one’s pretense of righteousness on his/her own, such as heritage/background (Mark 3:8-9). Being a Jew was not enough.

When the common people asked him what he meant, he told them that

       ✔ true repentance disregards what you have (Mark 3:11). You will be willing to share whatever you have with others if/when the opportunity arises.

When the tax collectors asked John what he meant, he explained that

      ✔ true repentance is not concerned with greed or with dishonesty (Mark 3:13).

When the soldiers asked what he meant, John told them that 

     ✔ true repentance is selfless, honest, and content (Mark 3:14).

When a person has true repentance, it will be obvious from the way he lives.   

The fruit in keeping with repentance will be the fruit of humility, caring, honesty, contentment.

 It looks to me like my true repentance will show. It will not be just talk.

To put John the Baptist's message into 21st century language, "Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk".