“Are Your Hearts Hardened?” Mark 8:1-21
Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “Are Your Hearts Hardened?” Mark 8:1-21
Christ’s Power Over Every Need
The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series
“Are Your Hearts Hardened?”
Mark 8:1-21
Introduction
The Invisible Gorilla
Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons conducted an experiment at Harvard University more than a decade ago that became infamous in psychology circles. Their book The Invisible Gorilla popularized it.
The two researchers filmed students passing basketballs while moving in a circular fashion. In the middle of the short film, a woman dressed in a gorilla suit walks into the frame, beats her chest, and walks out of the frame. The sequence takes nine seconds in the minute-long video. Viewers are given specific instructions.:
“Count the number of passes by players wearing white shirts.” Of course, the researchers were not interested in their pass-counting ability They wanted to see if the viewers would notice something they weren’t looking for, something as obvious as a gorilla. Amazingly, half of the test group did not.
How is this possible? How do you miss the gorilla in the room? (see video below) [1]
Prayer
What Do You Mean, “How Can We Feed These People?” (vv. 1-10).
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets[2] full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
This passage, “makes it evident that Mark saw both feeding miracles as important revelations of Jesus’ significance. His devoting space to two accounts of the same sort of miracle suggests that each one had for him a special significance and that neither could be omitted without losing something important.”[3] So what do we gain from the second miracle, that we don’t see in the first?
(v. 1) “again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat ,” The accounts in chapter 6 and here is chapter 8 are so similar that some scholars believe them to be duplicates of one occasion, but “Both Mark and Matthew give both miracles, distinguish the words for baskets (kophinos, sphuris), and both make Jesus later refer to both incidents and use these two words with the same distinction (Mark 8:19f.; Matthew 16:9f.).”[4] This second feeding of Four Thousand is to a Gentile audience.
In this second miracle of feeding the great crowd there is less detail given than in the first miracle – no mention of the color of the grass, how the people were groups together and their appearance of a flower garden, just the bare basics of the miracle.[5] So the emphasis is not on the miracle itself, or Jesus’ ability to do this miracle; instead the focus seems to be on the disciples, and how they respond to the situation of needing to come up with food to feed many people.
Previously in chapter 6, when Jesus asked them to feed the people, they said, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” There suggestion was that they could go and buy bread, but for that many people it would be very expensive (Jesus do you really want to spend that much money?) In chapter 8, the disciples say, (v. 4) “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” – there is no place to go and get the bread.
The two separate feedings and the reaction by the disciples (like they don’t even recall that this exact same thing had already occurred) drives us to ask the questions, “How can the disciples miss this?”
No Sign Will Be Given to The Hard Hearted (vv. 11-13)
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
“What they asked for was something like the manna (John 6:31), or a thunderstorm from a clear sky (1 Sam. 12:18) or fire from heaven, such as came to Elijah (1 Kings 18), or the signs of Joel 2:30, 31. There was the popular impression that, although miracles upon the earth might be spurious and deceptive, signs from heaven could not be counterfeited. It was expected that they would accompany the Messiah, and therefore Jesus was repeatedly asked to fulfill this expectation.”[6]
But the request for a sign from Jesus was not genuine. Jesus refuses because of their unbelief. They are not doubting Jesus’ ability to perform miracles, they are asking for a higher miracle, one that would prove it is from God (i.e. the heavens) instead of working with Satan, as He has already been accused of.[7]
These leaders knew by now, that Jesus would not do miracles upon demand, so they repeatedly ask for a sign in the heavens. Jesus knows their hearts, Jesus himself was the true sign from heaven, the living witness to the present God. Jesus was in the Father, and the Father was in Him – if you were blind to that fact, no sign would remove that blindness.
(v. 12) “And he sighed deeply in his spirit,” – the word anastenazo, is found only here in the NT. “It describes Jesus’ grief and disappointment when faced with unbelief of those who, because of their spiritual privileges, ought to be more responsive to him.”[8] They knew the Bible backwards and forwards, and could quote whole books of the OT. “But, through their stubbornness and rebellion, they remained blind and deaf while others were healed.”[9] The problem is the will not the intellect.
How many signs did they need to show that He was who He said He was? How many miracles, casting out demons, and explanations and teachings does Jesus need to do before a person believes Him? For the Pharisees, it was just one more.
In Luke 16:31is the story of the rich man and Lazarus where they both die and the rich man goes to Hades and Lazarus goes to Paradise. The rich man wants to warn his living brothers of the torment so He asks Abraham to let him warn them, so Abraham, “said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” Eventually, Jesus will rise from the dead, and this same group instead of being convinced, seek to cover it up, and pay the soldiers to lie.
We have all the miracles and teachings required for one to place their trust in Jesus in the Bible. We have the complete Word of God, and it is sufficient. Ask yourself, if I don’t believe, what do I really need to place my faith in Christ, and is it really a lack of evidence, or is your heart just refusing to repent and bow before the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.? Is it simply a love of sin, and pride?
(v. 13) “And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side” – Jesus doesn’t give them a sign, he doesn’t continue the conversation with them, He just gets in the boat and leaves. Sometimes there is nothing more to say or do – He left them in their unbelief and blindness.
Taking Responsibility for One’s Own Spiritual Journey (vv.14-21)
14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
After the conflict with the Pharisees, the disciples realize that of the seven (giant) baskets full of bread, they only have one single loaf (to feed all of them). So they are all in a boat, Jesus is reviewing in his mind the conflict with the Pharisees (where He sighed deeply), and is wanting to discuss this in their ministry going forward, Jesus says, (v. 15) “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
The leaven that Jesus is referring to is their influence – the beliefs and teachings of the Pharisees could grow and influence them (the disciples). Therefore, you have to watch out, be on guard. It is something that corrupts.
So what is the influence of the Pharisees? Seeking a Sign, while being hard hearted. Jesus wants them to understand that the authority that he possesses cannot be proved by a sign. Only by faith can they recognize him as the bringer of God’s salvation.[10] In light of all the miracles Jesus has done, and in light of all His teaching they cannot see Him for who He truly is because of their pride. Their influence was just being hard-hearted.
Watch Out So that You Do Not Become Hard Hearted!
What is the influence of Herod? We only see Herod mentioned in Mark 6:14-29. When he discovers that he made a vow to give a girl anything, and she asks for John the Baptist’s head on a platter – he gives in instead of breaking his vow and being embarrassed in front of the leaders present at the banquet. Herod is unwilling to do what is right if it meant looking bad before the crowd because of pride.
Watch Out So That Pride Does Not Keep You From Doing What Is Right!
It is hard heartedness and pride that is keeping other leaders from understanding who Jesus really is. Here the disciples are in danger of not understanding who Jesus really is.
(v. 16) “And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.” – The disciples have completely missed what Jesus was saying and trying to teach them. So Jesus rebukes them, and “This rebuke is the harshest comment on the dullness of the disciples thus far in Mark and describes them in language borrowed from the OT where rebellious Israel is condemned for disobedience to God and an unwillingness to hear his prophetic word (eg. Ps. 95:8; Isa. 63:17 “hardness” of heart).”[11]
In response to their dullness to the spiritual events surrounding them, and the conversations that Jesus is having with others (and even them) Jesus asks them a series of questions;
1. “Do you not yet perceive or understand? Jesus has asked them this question already in Mark 4:13 when discussing a parable, “And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
Here the questions are more intense’; they have been with Jesus too long for them not to be able to perceive spiritually what is going on around them. This is the third and final trip across the sea and the disciples are in the same state of failure to understand as did the first two trips (4:40-41; 6:51-52, 8:21).
Hebrews 5:12 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.” We are responsible for our own spiritual journey – take whatever steps you need to take to grow in your relationship with Christ. Coasting, just going along is not acceptable – you are responsible for your own faith journey. Maturity carries with it responsibility.
2. (v.17) “Are your hearts hardened?” – They are acting like those on the outside, even though they have had an insiders view of His ministry. Mark 4:11-12 “And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” Have you heard the gospel so many times that it no longer moves you – have you heard the stories of Jesus’ miracles that they no longer astound you!
3. (v. 18) Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? This is the scripture Jesus quoted earlier in the book of Mark 4 when teaching parables to the crowd.[12] The disciples (those on the inside) were told what the parable of the soils meant, but the crowd (those outside) was left not fully understanding the various soils, and seed, etc.
Now, the disciples are placing themselves in the place of those outside by not perceiving the spiritual implications of what is going on. It is moving beyond just not getting it, to being obstinate and hard headed. It’s like they are not even trying to grasp Jesus’ teachings and what He is trying to do among the people.
The words also echo the prophet Jeremiah’s description of “foolish and senseless people” who are stubborn (Jer. 5:21, 23), and Ezekiel’s description of “rebellious people.”[13]
4. And do you not remember? Jesus then walks them back through the two miracles, and the disciples know the facts (twelve baskets, seven baskets, etc). But they aren’t putting in the effort to put the facts together into a bigger picture.
(v. 21) “And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” The disciples are suffering from the same spiritual blindness that the Pharisees have. They can’t see how the feeding of the five thousand and here the feeding of the four thousand are the same. They still don’t see Jesus as the answer to the need they have (bread, hunger).
A shallow perception of Jesus is very dangerous. “Jesus was not just a prophet or wonder-worker but the Son of God, whose ministry not only brought fulfillment to the prophetic hope of Israel but also was the basis for the preaching of salvation to the whole world.”[14]
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[1] Mark Batterson, The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible, Baker Books .
[2] The word used for basket (spyris) is the same type of basket mentioned where Paul was lowered from the wall of Damascus in Acts 9:25. “Whereas a kophinos is a wicker basket in which Jews ordinarily carried their food when journeying.” Frank E. Geabelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 687. Also, they are in a desolate place, where do they get 7 baskets large enough to put men into? Where did they get these large baskets and what were they used for in such a desolate place?
[3] Larry W. Hurtado, New International Biblical Commentary, Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1989) 121.
[4] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1930) 329.
[5] W. N. Clarke, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Volume 3 (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 111.
[6] Clarke, 112.
[7] Geabelein, 688. Mark 3:22 “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”
[8] Geabelein, 688.
[9] Max Anders, General Editor, Holman New Testament Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Reference, 2000) 133.
[10] Geabelein, 689.
[11] Max Anders, 126.
[12] Jeremiah 5:21
[13] Daryl D. Schmidt, The Scholar’s Bible, The Gospel of Mark (Sonoma, California; Polebridge Press, 1990) 94.
[14] Hurtado, 128.
Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “Teaching as Doctrines the Commandments of Men” Mark 7:1-23
Christ’s Power Over Every Need
The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series
“Teaching as Doctrines the Commandments of Men”
Mark 7:1-23
Introduction
Bee keeping suit as a sin suit.
Prayer
Religious People Focus on Little Things At the Expense of Big Things (vv. 1-5)
Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”
In Mark chapter 6 we see the feeding of the five thousand, and as the disciples are concluding the day they board a boat with 12 baskets of bread and fish. Chapter seven is the following afternoon, so it stands to reason that the disciples were eating the bread and fish from the day before. “But the objection raised is on ceremonial, not sanitary, grounds.”[1]
There are Pharisees and scribes (religious leaders in the Jewish culture) who were gathering to observe Jesus and his disciples. This is the second time that these teachers of the law had come from Jerusalem to find fault with Jesus’ teaching.
They appear to be an investigating committee and when they investigated “they saw the little things. But they never saw the big things. They saw the violations of their hand washing codes. They did not see Jesus. They never took an open loo so that the true nature of the man and his teaching might come fairly before them.”[2] They are so focused on pots and pans, and how you hold your hands when you wash them, and going through the prescribed motions, they overlook the Savior of the world.
“Not dirty hands” – that was not the point of the objection – but with hands unwashed, not ceremonially purified according to their ideas of necessity. It also says that some “some of his disciples” – Some of the disciples then, had gone through the process of being ceremonially cleaning their hands, and some had not.[3]
Being unclean or impure causes a separation between God and His people and had resulted in the people having to leave the land – The traditions and teachings of the elders were trying to accomplish three things;
“It made the basic requirement that Israel be holy to the Lord something attainable for every Jew in everyday life. The Pharisees never thought that they were voiding the commands of God – only making them more applicable.”[4]
“the tradition of the elders sought to forestall the dominant pagan culture from making inroads into Jewish life (see Lev. 20:1-7). It encouraged the devout to make conscious efforts to set themselves apart from the unwashed hordes destined for destruction. Actions, such as washing hands, were tangible positive gestures that displayed who God’s elect were.” These outward traditions were a way to show who was “in” and who was “out.”
“The tradition of the elders assumes that God created order and that human affairs prosper when things are divinely ordered – even when they seem only to be minor issues.” So for example when discussing hand washing, the elders specified “the quantity of water required, the position of the hands, and the type of vessel to be used.”[5] And they even added what to say while you are washing your hands.[6]
Does living one’s life according to the tradition of the elders keep you from being defiled?
No, because they become a substitute for faith. Superficial preoccupation with ceremonies had supplanted a deeper faith.
In John 17:14 we get the phrase that Christians are to be in the world, but are not to be of the world, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Being set apart, distinctly different from the world around us, is not the ultimate destination; it is beginning of a journey, a purpose. The John 17 passage goes on to say, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
Religious People Replace the Truth With Tradition (vv. 6-13)
6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’[7] 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah, where even during his time, this same thing was occurring. The people’s worship was hollow, vain, worthless – they were going through the traditional motions, with no desire from their heart to draw near to God – because they were “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” These man made commandments became a substitute for genuine heartfelt, God honoring worship.
“Tradition was the ecclesiastical version of the law – the law as it came out of the hands of the great teachers. It was regarded as equally authoritative with the written law itself, and, by some, even more so. It was the very life and mission of the Pharisees to keep the traditional interpretations in full force.”[8]
The Mishna, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, “It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself.” – the traditions of the elders have become more important than the Word of God itself.[9]
So Jesus came to heal people, cast out demons, and to teach – and this is a bondage that Jesus was intent on freeing people from. The religious leaders covered the law with these traditions, so that the original Word of God was lost, but it also shovels unnecessary weight of rules and traditions that suffocated the spirit of the people.
“They had covered up the Word of God with their oral teaching. Jesus here shows that they care more for the oral teaching of the scribes and elders than for the written law of God.”[10] They are not adding to the Word of God, they have substituted their own traditions in its’ place.
When we “teach[ing] as doctrine[s] the commandments of men” – there is no need for faith, and there is no need for heart. Your actions are not rooted in a love for God, only in wanting to appear and be in your own effort “good.” I am not a sinner, I am a godly person – see what I do!
An Example of this Substitution (vv. 9-12)
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’[11] 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) — 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,[12] 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Jesus has called their teachings, “tradition of men,” “commandments of men,” and in verse 9, “your tradition” with the emphasis on your – thus disowning it himself. Jesus is completely rejecting their teachings because “it does not represent the will of God but can be used to legitimize the breaking of God’s command.”[13]
(v. 11) Corban is the word for “a gift or offering to God.” Once the offering to God was given, it could not be taken back.[14] “The single uttering of the word Corban “sacred gift” over a thing was supposed to set that thing apart from all ordinary uses and give it the character of a consecrated thing.”[15] In the case of property a person could designate it as corban, and continue to use it with the intention of upon the person’s death it would then be used as an offering to God.
So instead of supporting his father and money, a son could say that the money was an offering to God, and then the Pharisees then forbid the son from using it to support his parents (it was a gift to God) and then allowed the son to use the money for himself.
It was a tricky way to keep from following the Word of God (taking care of one’s parents) and then using the money on yourself.[16] Jesus is saying that such a vow is invalid, because it violates God’s command to honor parents.
But these traditions that find their way into the church often times tear churches apart. The author Swift describes in “Gulliver’s voyage to Lilliput, between the party which believed that an egg should be cracked at the big end and the party which believed that it should be cracked at the little end. So the big enders and the little enders fought to the death, to the complete ruin of their country.”[17] Religious people can be incredibly cruel and heartless.
Religious People Think They Are Made Right With God By Outward Actions (vv. 14-23)
Things That Do Not Defile Us (vv.14-19)
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”[18] 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
Moses’ law teaches not to eat certain types of animals (crustaceans, pork, divided hoof animals, etc.) because by eating these things you break the law and thereby become ceremonially unclean. Jesus says, what makes us ceremonially clean or unclean has nothing to do with what we eat – so is Jesus disagreeing with the law?
Jesus’ teachings “not only takes issue with a major feature of traditional Jewish religious practice but also rescinds a major body of OT material dealing with such ritual laws.” Also, new gentile believers who would be reading Mark’s gospel would be asking, “so should I be following the OT ceremonial teachings?
Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
The purpose of the law was to show mankind that no matter how hard they sought to keep God’s standard, they couldn’t and were in need of a Savior. The Pharisees and their traditions undercut that intention of the law. They taught you could please God by following their rules – Jesus says that’s impossible. “Jesus’ main point is that uncleaness is moral rather than ritual.”[19]
Things That Do Defile Us (vv. 20-23)
20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
(v. 18) “And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding?” – “They had been trained in Judaism, in which the distinction between clean and unclean is ingrained, and could not understand a statement abrogating this. They had noticed the Pharisees stumbling at the parable of Jesus (Matt. 15:12). They were stumbling themselves and did not know how to answer the Pharisees.” [20]
This way of thinking was so instilled into their thinking that it was very difficult for them to change their own way of thinking. Tradition has this effect upon us, we stop seeking the higher things, and are content to follow the lower things’ “it’s just how we do things.”
Jesus releases people from the anxiety of thinking they have to follow all these rules and traditions, and the idea that their defilement or uncleanliness comes from something they may touch or eat on the outside. But, He also makes them aware that they are themselves the sources of their own defilement and the law does not give them an escape. “The only defilement worth serious consideration is that caused by the evil which comes out of the heart.”[21]
You can’t clean the heart with a fistful of water in cupped hands. If I am the source of my own defilement – and that uncleanliness causes me to be distanced from God, and I find no hope in the following the law or the traditions of the elders, how then am I made clean, how can I be brought close again to God? What must I do to be saved?
The law was given to help us realize that we have a corrupt and sinful nature, and are in need of a Savior. Jesus came to fulfill the law by being the Savior that mankind needs. Romans 7:6 “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”
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[1] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1930) 321.
[2] George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 7 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1953) 747.
[3] W. N. Clarke, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Judson Press, 1950) 97.
[4] Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 2002) 247.
[5] Arnold, 248.
[6] “Blessed is He who has sanctifies us with his commands and commanded us concerning the washing of hands” Arnold, 248.
[7] Isaiah 29:13
[8] Clarke, 98.
[9] Max Anders, Holman New Testament Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Reference, 2000) 117.
[10] Robertson, 322.
[11] Exodus 20:12; 21:16
[12] The religious leaders were backing their teachings on Numbers 30:1-10, where it speaks of keeping a vow made to God. Jesus is rejecting the idea of using one biblical text to negate another biblical text.
[13] Larry W. Hurtado, New International Biblical Commentary, Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishing, 2001) 110.
[14] James A. Brooks, The New American Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1991) 117.
[15] Clarke, 100.
[16] Robertson, 323.
[17] Buttrick, 750.
[18] Mark 7:16 “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear,” “Verse 16 does not appear in NIV, (or ESV) because, though it is present in the majority of the MSS, it does not occur in the important Alexandrian witnesses. It appears to be a scribal gloss.” 680. Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 680.
[19] Brooks, 119.
[20] Robertson, 324.
[21] Alexander Balmain Bruce, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Grand Rapids Book Manufacturers, 1967) 389.
“Quickly Bring the Best” Ephesians 2:1-10
“Bring Quickly the Best”
Ephesians 2:1-10
Opening
In Luke 15 we see the story of the prodigal son. The boy went to his father and demanded his inheritance, even though his father was still alive (which was a great insult, and potentially hard on the family financially). But the father gives the boy his inheritance and the boy leaves home, travels far away and absolutely wastes the money. Eventually he runs out of money, finds a job taking care of pigs, and is so hungry he wants to eat the slop the pigs are eating. He comes to his senses and decides to ask his father back home if he can work on the family farm as a servant.
Luke 15:20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’3 22 But the father said to his servants,4 ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
We know that the prodigal son was not physically dead while in the far country, or physically made live when he returned home. The prodigal son was dead because he was away from home, out of touch and out of communion with the father. He is dead in his trespasses and sin against his father.
Prayer
Your Past (vv. 1-3)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Paul begins our chapter by reminding us of our past. “Scripture uses many metaphors to describe man’s sinful state, such as blindness, deafness, fever, paralysis, leprosy, etc. but not one more forceful in meaning than this one of being dead in sins.”[1]
Man does not become spiritually dead because he sins; he is spiritually dead by his nature, therefore he is sinful. His condition has nothing to do with the way he lives; it has to do with the fact that he is dead even while he is alive. He is spiritually dead while being physically alive.
We are “dead in the trespasses and sins,” – to trespass is a violation of a definitive law, and to sin is to miss the mark (like an archer aiming at a target). We are guilty on both accounts. It is as if there is a giant “no trespassing sign” and we willfully went past it.
“We are sinners because we have taken our own way, and we are trespassers because we have transgressed what we knew to be the revealed word of God; and so we are dead to God in our natural condition.”[2]
And no one will deny that there are degrees of sin. If we compare Hitler who oversaw the killing of millions of Jewish people, and someone who stole a package of gummies at a gas station – are they the same? Both are sin.
If we look at Mark 5:21ff. we see Jairus’ daughter, and by the time Jesus got to her she had only been dead for a very short period of time, yet dead still. And later when we see Jesus coming to Lazarus’s tomb (John 11) – he intentionally stayed away for days, and when it was time to roll away the stone at the entrance when “Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”[3]
Both Jarius’ daughter and Lazarus are in different stages of corruption, yet they both are dead. You may not be Hitler, but we are all sinners by our nature, Romans 3:23 “. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Man’s common state of sin is like people trying to jump across the Grand Cannon (4 to 18mi.). 10 year old (8 feet), 20 year old Olympic long jump (30 feet), 50 year running from the IRS (50 feet) – all will fall short. We are all, “Sons of disobedience and children of wrath” are parallel verses, meaning the same thing.
(v. 2) “in which you once walked,” – The word walk is often used in the New Testament to describe a way of life. The words transgressions and sin describe the path in which people walk and the boundaries that shape their lives.[4]
Because we were spiritually dead, by nature (v. 3) “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind” – it is our nature as human beings to live this way, and which always results in God’s Wrath. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In the gospel of Matthew 11:16-19 we see “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” John the Baptist and Jesus were both preachers, John’s message was focused on repentance and judgement (like a funeral dirge), and Jesus’ sermons he compares to a flute at a party (good news, joyful) – but the people did not respond to either.
But in the heart of some, there is a quickening.
The Holy Spirit draws some toward Jesus.
Your Present (vv. 4-6)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
(v. 4) “But God,” – dead people can’t do anything. They can’t breathe, they can’t heal, they can’t take action to please God – all they can do it decay. And since they can do nothing to improve their situation, God chose to do something to make our relationship with Him right again. He made the first move.
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
“being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” – “There is an infinite resources of mercy for the vilest sinner. There is no one for whom there is no mercy” or where the mercy will run out.[5] Not just a little bit of mercy, God is rich in His mercy toward sinners.
In Genesis 1 we see that at the beginning of time, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” God spoke, God took action, and there was light where there once was darkness.
God saw our condition of sin and spiritual death, and out of compassion and love for His creation He took action, “made us alive together with Christ Jesus.”
Jesus’ death on a cross and his resurrection from the dead is a picture and a promise of us being made alive with Jesus. “There was a time when because of my sins Jesus Christ lay dead in the grave, but having completed the work that saves, God quickened Him from the dead and brought Him back in triumph from the tomb.”[6] We believe in Him and are brought forth from the place of the dead and are brought back to life.
“by grace you have been saved” – grace is God’s action toward us when we do not deserve His favor.
“raised us up with him and seated[7] us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” – Jesus has done all the work (dying on the cross, bearing the weight of our sin, He has done all the things required for our salvation), then we get to go with him to heaven. Jesus bought the ticket, and he turns and hands us one for free, and we get to go with him.
Your Future (vv. 7-10)
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
(v.8) “Grace is God’s part, faith is our part.”[8]
God loves his creation so much that He sent His Son into the world to be a propitiation for our sins, but He loves His Son so much that he will not permit anyone into heaven who ignores the work of the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished.”[9]
When a person chokes or drowns and stops breathing, there is nothing he can do. If he ever breathes again it will be because someone else starts him breathing. A person who is spiritually dead cannot even make a decision of faith unless God breathes into him the breath of spiritual life. Faith is simply breathing the breath that God’s grace supplies.[10]
Every person lives by faith. When we open a can of food or drink a glass of water we trust that it is not contaminated. When we go across a bridge we trust it to support us. When we put our money in the bank we trust that it will be there when we go to withdraw it. Life is a constant series of acts of faith.
Human effort has nothing to do with it. And thus, no one should boast, as if he had any part of it. All boasting is eliminated in salvation. When we see each other in eternity, we will know that none of us deserve to be there and will bow before Jesus in his glory and grace.
(v. 10) “For we are his workmanship” – Psalm 100:3 “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
(v. 10) “created in Christ Jesus for good works” Not in order to be saved but because we are already saved are we to do good works. As the sun was created to shine, the rose to give forth its delightful fragrance, the bird to fly, so we are created anew to do good works and thus to glorify him who created us as what we are in Christ Jesus.”[11]
(v. 10) “which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”[12] – “What Paul says is not that God prepared us that we should walk in good works (so Luther), but that he prepared the good works.”[13] The believer is saved, but then we don’t look around for just something good to do, God lays out the journey before us. Our job is to stay close to God and His Word, so that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
“We are saved not by but for good works, and we are saved not just for a beautiful heavenly destiny that God has prepared but for good works here, likewise prepared by God.”[14]
Conclusion – let’s go back to Luke 15, remember when the father sees the son returning home, he says, “Bring quickly the best” – for the farmer it was a robe, a ring, sandals, and a celebration meal. When our heavenly father see us he says, “Bring quickly the best” What is the best that the heavenly father gives us?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God gave His best so that we may have eternal life – have you received Jesus’ free gift of salvation and new life?
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[1] August Van Ryn, Ephesians The Glories of His Grace (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers Publishing, 1963) 40.
[2] H. A. Ironside, In the Heavenlies (Neptune, New Jersey; Louizeaux Brothers, 1979) 101
[3] Ironside, 100.
[4] Klyne Snodgrass, The NIV Application Commentary, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1996) 96.
[5] Ironside, 105.
[6] Ibid, 106.
[7] Seated is given in the past tense (aorist tense) indicating it being so definite that it is as if it has already fully taken place. MacArthur, 60.
[8] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 4 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 525.
[9] Ironside, 111.
[10] John MacArthur, The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Ephesians (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1986) 61.
[11] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians to the Ephesians and to the Philippians (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1961) 427.
[12] “C. L. Mitton concludes his discussion on this verse with an appropriate comment: “This final phrase about our ‘walking in them’ reminds us that fine phrases or eloquent sermons about love are not what is required, but the actions, costly actions, which express in practical conduct the love which God’s saving power has created in our hearts.” David J. Williams, New International Biblical Commentary, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1990) 186.
[13] Lenski, 427.
[14] Walter L. Liefeld, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, Ephesians (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1997) 67.
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