Instruction
Scripture: Mark9:38-50
As Jesus has been teaching the disciples, they have not
understood Him or His purpose. In this reading they rebuke a believer and
receive a lesson on temptation and judgement. That lesson leaves no doubt that
they will be unable to rescue themselves! This text should drive us to despair
of our own ability to save ourselves so that we focus on God who alone is able
to rescue us from sin and its consequences.
Teaching
The disciples couldn’t comprehend that Jesus’ ministry would
extend beyond them. It seems like they wanted to keep Jesus to themselves. This
sense of self-importance can lead to arrogance that thinks we have something
important to offer God and that is why He chose us. Jesus’ comments about temptation
point to the disciples’ inability to save themselves. He would have them humbly
rely on His power to rescue them from temptation and to lead His mission of
saving people from the powers of darkness.
Life
Think of the things that we’d have to get rid of to remove
temptation from our lives: televisions, radios, the internet, some of our
friends, and more! But stop and consider this again. Does your hand cause you
to sin? Your foot? Your eye? What has Jesus taught us about where sin comes
from? Back in Mark 7:21, Jesus showed that it is the heart that is the source
of sin in our lives. Can you get rid of your heart? Of course not! But we can
pray, “Create in me clean heart, O God!” (Psalm 51:10) And the good news is
that Jesus has done exactly that by His death and resurrection.
Prayer
This prayer is written
in the themes of Instruction, Thanksgiving, Confession, and Petition.
Lord Jesus, You teach us that the one who is not against us
is for us. One who does a mighty work in Your name will not be able soon after
to speak evil of You. This is because following You is not primarily about
doing mighty works but about being rescued from sin. You also teach us to take
temptation very seriously, and to see our inability to rescue ourselves so that
we will rely solely on You.
Thank You for revealing Your truth to us. Thank You that
there are others in our families, communities, and beyond who are, “for us,” fellow
followers of You. We give You thanks for rescuing us from our sin so we need
not amputate body parts to avoid sin, and we are grateful that You have put us
on alert against the temptations we face in this life.
Lord, to our shame we confess that we have looked at those
who we should recognize as our fellow disciples with disdain and considered
them less worthy of serving You than we are. We overemphasize our own
importance and the greatness of our contribution to Your kingdom. Not only that,
but we have not taken temptation as seriously as You clearly do. Instead we
have dabbled and played with things that tempt us.
Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil, dear
Father. By Your Spirit’s guidance help us see ourselves as You see us so that
we might know both the depth of our sin and the greatness of Your grace and
love. Guide us to humbly perform the mighty works You have prepared for us and
help us to be glad to do even simple works like offering a cup of water to
someone out of love for Jesus. Amen.
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