Listen to Jesus

Mark 9:2-10:16

Introduction

If you have ever visited another country, you know that there are ways of doing things which are different. In 2009 I went to Paraguay to visit some missionaries and one of the things I knew I would have to do was to drink terere. I was a little concerned about this because I did not know or understand the culture of terere, I was a little nervous about sharing a straw and I did not know if I would like the taste. My hosts were very gracious and explained that sharing a bombilla was not a problem. They also let me know that it was perfectly fine to just say thank you when I had had enough and stop participating. And about the taste, well, lets just say it doesn't taste as good as coffee and I don't like coffee.

If we are part of a culture, we have learned to live in that culture and many of the practices and habits of that culture are taken for granted by us. If we ever change cultures, we have to learn the ways of the new culture.

When we become Christians, we change cultures. We become members of the kingdom of God. It is like going to another country and we need to learn the worldview and practices of that new culture, that is, God’s worldview and God's practices. We grew up in the culture of this world and the question which I would like to invite us to think about today is, "Have we learned the ways of God and are we living in them?"

            In Mark 9:2 we read about how Jesus took three of his disciples up onto a high mountain. There he was transfigured before them and his garments shone whiter than any washing machine or any detergent could make them. Moses and Elijah appeared before them and Jesus was talking with them. The disciples were stunned because they could not understanding what was happening and Peter in his inimitable way suggested that they could build three shelters, one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Peter didn’t know what he was talking about because by suggesting this he was putting Jesus, Elijah and Moses on the same level. He didn't understand that Jesus was not on the same level as Moses and Elijah. He hadn't figured out that a change of worldviews was taking place. But God revealed this when a cloud came over them and His voice spoke out of the cloud from heaven to explain what was happening. God made it clear that Jesus is superior to Moses and Elijah. Jesus was and is the Son of God and is superior to any who had gone before. Because that is true, God commanded the disciples, “Listen to Him!”

            This is an important statement. Since a change of worldview has taken place, the way to discover how to live in that world is by listening to Jesus. What an appropriate statement for the disciples of Jesus then and now. In the chapters that follow, the public healing and teaching ministry of Jesus began to change primarily to a time of teaching the disciples. In each of the stories which follow, Jesus took time to instruct his disciples on what it meant to be members of His kingdom. In each of the stories normal human thinking was exposed and Jesus instructed his disciples towards divine thinking. The disciples were to listen to these instructions from Jesus. Since we are members of that kingdom, we also need to listen to Jesus. We need to understand divine thinking and understand how it is different from the world’s way of thinking. We need to learn to live by divine thinking.

            This will be our focus as we look at Mark 9:9-10:16. It is a long section and we will not study each aspect of each passage. Instead we will focus on one thing. We will think about and contrast human thinking and divine thinking. As we do so, I would like to challenge us to open our eyes to be able to consider how our thinking is impacted by the world’s thinking and to open our hearts to be able to change our way of thinking to God’s way.

I.                The Path to Victory - 9:9-13

As they came down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell others of this experience until after his resurrection. They didn’t talk about it, but they had some questions. Having seen Elijah and trying to process the experience and the information, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Malachi 4:5, 6 had predicted the coming of Elijah to prepare the way for Messiah. Jesus responded that Elijah had come, by which he meant that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this prophecy and had prepared the way for Jesus. Then Jesus said something which puzzled them further. He said, “How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt?”

Why was this puzzling? The disciples were engaged in human thinking. They believed that Elijah would come and “restore all things.” Their hope was for a great and clear victory of God. Jesus’ question forced them to think about divine things. In God’s plan, victory did not come by power and by everything going right in this world. Victory came through suffering and death. Repeatedly Jesus told them that that was the way in which He would bring victory. But the disciples could not understand this message of victory through suffering. Whenever Jesus announced that he would die before he rose to victory, they were troubled and puzzled. They didn’t get it because they were thinking human thoughts.

We continue to think in similar ways. Have you ever wondered why Christians are persecuted and why God's people still suffer? Human thinking leads us to believe that God should make everything perfect now. If we want to think in God's way, we need hope in God and trust His work even when everything looks hopeless from a human point of view because God is able to bring resurrection out of death.

II.             Faith in God - 9:14-29

As Jesus and the three disciples met the other disciples, they found them in the middle of a dispute. A man had brought his son to the disciples for healing. The boy had a spirit in him that made him mute and also threw him into convulsions. The disciples were unable to heal the boy. Jesus inquired about what had happened, asked the man about his son and promptly healed him.

            After the healing, Jesus was together only with his disciples in a house and we once again realize that this is teaching time. The disciples asked Jesus, “Why could we not cast it out?” It must have been quite puzzling for them because they had driven out demons in the past. What went wrong this time?

            The problem was that they had fallen into human thinking. Perhaps they thought that they could drive out the demons by their own words. The phrase, “only by prayer” suggests that they had not brought God into the picture. In human thinking, we fall into one of several errors when it comes to works of power. One is that we may think that we possess the power to call God into action to meet our demands, especially if we have had some success in doing so in the past. Another human way of thinking is that we believe that God acts if we do the right things or say the right words. Some translations have added the word, “and fasting” which conveys exactly the wrong kind of idea. It suggests that if we pray hard enough and even fast then God has to act.

            How do we think about these things from the perspective of divine thinking? The story helps us see some important aspects of God's way. It is evident in the exchange between the man and Jesus. How is the boy to be healed? The man must believe. This tells us that faith is important. But how much faith is necessary? The man admits that he does not have much faith, but Jesus assures him that his small, weak faith is enough. Jesus answered the disciples that they needed to pray. So prayer is also important, but how do prayer and faith act? Prayer and faith are the keys to God acting. But as we say that, we need to understand that prayer and faith are not ways of manipulating God. Faith in God means trusting Him and whatever He will do. Prayer is recognizing that God invites us to ask Him because we need Him. Divine thinking about calling on God's power must not be manipulative. It must be seek God and trust Him.

III.           Servant Attitude - 9:30-37

As Jesus traveled on through Galilee with his face set resolutely towards Jerusalem, he announced once again that he would be betrayed, killed and would rise again. Once again the disciples did not understand. Yet these thoughts prompt them to think about their hopes for the kingdom of God. As they do so, their thoughts are once again permeated by human ways of thinking. The text indicates that they were arguing about “who was the greatest.” With Peter, James and John having just had the privilege of being up the mountain with Jesus alone, they may have thought that they were more special to Jesus than the others and could claim positions of honor in the kingdom. Yet even as they discussed these things, they knew that there was something wrong with this thinking because when Jesus asked them what they were arguing about, they were silent.

Once again Jesus was teaching his disciples the way of divine thinking. He says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” The way of God's kingdom is a way of servanthood. Jesus demonstrated this himself and we read in Mark 10:45, "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” How seriously we have forgotten this! We raise some up and call them "reverend." We expect to be honored and recognized for all the hard work we do. Christian schools honor their "Alumnus of the year." All of this is much more human thinking than divine thinking. Divine thinking is well illustrated by the statement in Luke 17:10, "So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ”"

I believe that when Jesus took a little child and lifted him up as an example to them he was telling His disciples that the way of the kingdom is simply a way of servanthood. It isn’t about hierarchy or position, but about being the least.

Jean Vanier is the founder of the international movement of L'Arche communities where people who have developmental disabilities, and the friends who assist them, create homes and share life together. From what I know of these communities, the underlying attitude is servanthood, without position, reward or greatness. That kind of service is an example of divine thinking about how we should live.

IV.           Belonging - 9:38-41

Addressing Jesus as teacher, in verse 38, the disciples begin to understand that they are in a learning environment. John is reminded of a man who had been casting out demons in Jesus' name but who was not one of the disciples who had been specifically trained and sent out to do the mission of Jesus. The human thinking of John was an exclusive attitude. The Good News Bible translates, “we told him to stop, because he doesn’t belong to our group.” He was thinking that if someone is not part of our group, they don’t belong and don’t have a right to do something in the name of Jesus.

Jesus once again pointed to divine thinking and expanded their thinking about who belongs to the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “…whoever is not against us is for us…”

What are the implications of this kind of thinking for us? We easily fall into the same human way of thinking, by which we build boundaries to identify who belongs and who does not. If we read this passage carefully we will see that Jesus does not even draw a line or establish any kind of a boundary. Setting boundaries about who is in and who is not is a human way of thinking. Jesus does not speak in terms of who is in and who is out. Jesus speaks in terms of who is around Him. To use mathematical terms, human thinking means to think in terms of a bounded set. What is in the set belongs and what is outside of the set does not belong. Divine thinking, the thinking of Jesus is to think rather of a centered set. It is to ask, “Who is near Jesus and who is moving towards Jesus?”

This passage challenges our thinking about who belongs. Whenever we begin to think about who belongs or does not because they are “Mennonite” or “evangelical” we are engaged in the same human thinking as John. Yet it does not mean that divine thinking is wishy washy. Divine thinking is clearly centered on Jesus. It understands the truth of the gospel and recognizes the importance of walking the way Jesus walked. But divine thinking also recognizes that we must be humble enough to recognize that we may not have all the truth and we must also be gracious and accepting of others with differences.

V.              Influence - 9:42-50

As the teaching conversation continues, we come to a passage in Mark 9:42-50 that certainly has some difficulties in it. It is clear that hyperbole is involved. I am quite sure that Jesus would not want us to engage in self harm. There is much that is important to learn in this passage, but as we are following one particular train of thought today, I would simply like to pick up one aspect of human thinking and recognize in its place one aspect of divine thinking. Verses 42 and 50 present to us the theme of the influence we have on others.

If we are engaged in human thinking we might think, “I can do as I please because I don’t have to answer for myself to anyone else.” Yet divine thinking leads us to realize that we do have an influence on others. These verses warn us that if our way of living has a negative impact on others causing them to stumble, we will be held accountable for that. God will, in fact, judge us for the harmful influence we have on others. Our words, our actions and the living out of our faith have an influence on others and it is significant for us to recognize that.

The next section talks about how we may ourselves be influenced to do evil. If there is anything in our life that leads us away from God, we need to take that very seriously. As Geddert points out, this is written not as a threat to unbelievers, but as a motivator to serious discipleship. To consider the things that influence our life and take steps to reduce their influence is also part of divine thinking.

The mention of salt in verse 50, although admittedly a little puzzling, has at least this same lesson in it. Salt is an influencer and we are called to be salt, that is, a positive influence for good. Recognizing our influence and choosing to make it positive is divine thinking.

VI.           Marriage - 10:1-12

Chapter ten continues the teaching of Jesus in regards to divine thinking.

These verses do not give us the Bible’s entire teaching on marriage, divorce and remarriage and we will not develop that theme today. We will also not work out every detail of what is taught in this passage, rather, we will continue to see how this lesson helps us discern between human and divine thinking.

The question which the Pharisees asked was, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife.” There are several aspects of human thinking present in this question. First of all, the Pharisees were asking, “what is the rule?” and secondly “How close can I get to the edge before I break the rule?”

Jesus answered with divine thinking when he spoke about God’s intention for marriage. The intention of God for marriage is that a man and a woman will become one flesh and in that one flesh union, they are joined together by God. In contrast to the Pharisees who were asking, “what is the rule,” Jesus pointed away from rule to intention. He was helping the disciples ask, "What was God thinking? How has God spoken in order to bring us to life?" He went on to explain that divorce breaks relationship, which violates God’s intention of peace, harmony and blessing.

One problem of living by rules is that it has inherent in it the danger of trying to see how close to the edge we can get. Another problem is that it also causes people to judge those who, in their mind, are not following the rule. Divine thinking invites us to learn to think with the mind of God, to learn God’s intentions and rather than living by rules, to learn to live by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

VII.        Welcoming the Vulnerable - 10:13-16

In the final section we have the well known incident in which people were bringing children to Jesus and the disciples chased them away. Children are enthusiastic. You can’t control all of their actions and movements. They are curious, honest and see things the way they are. If you have an important person in the room, many perceive that children just don’t belong. They should be seen and not heard because one must maintain a certain decorum and order and children by their very nature do not uphold that. That is human thinking and may be the kind of thinking which the disciples had as they chased the children away and told their parents that they were not welcome there.

By this time, we already know that Jesus’ thinking, divine thinking, was different. We already know that Jesus welcomes children. How could the disciples have so quickly forgotten what Jesus said in Mark 9:37 when he said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” In this passage we hear Jesus say, in Mark 10:14, “Let the little children come to me" and in Mark 10:16 that , "…he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them."

A few weeks ago Carla and I attended a seminar which taught us about inclusion of people with disabilities in church. Although churches do not mean to exclude people, we do not always know how to welcome them. We heard stories about parents who had autistic children and were unable to find a church where their children were welcome. Surely as we read this text we need to learn what it means to find a way to welcome all because that also is divine thinking.

Conclusion

In Philippians 2:5 Paul says, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” Romans 12:2 calls us to be "transformed by the renewing of your minds." This passage helps us understand some of the details of that transformed thinking.

1. Divine thinking allows us to trust that God is able to bring victory in spite of suffering and even through death.

2. Divine thinking about calling on God's power teaches us to seek God and trust Him.

3. Divine thinking calls us to be servants.

4. Divine thinking is centered on Jesus, not on humanly defined boundaries.

5. Recognizing our influence and choosing to make it positive is divine thinking.

6. Divine thinking calls us to live by God's intentions, not by rules.

7. Divine thinking welcomes the vulnerable.

So what kind of thinking influences our mind? Human thinking or Divine thinking? We live with human thinking by default and so it takes something from God to change our way of thinking. God makes that change in us through Jesus. He teaches us divine thinking as we engage the Word of God. How thankful I am that we are not called to divine thinking in the strength of human power. The Spirit of God indwells us and we can learn and live by divine thinking in His power. May we all adopt the thinking that is based on our Father in heaven each day of our life. May we learn to, "Listen to Jesus."