"Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus." v. 6
It's only chapter 3, and people are already trying to kill him. I don't think we see Jesus' life and ministry in this context often enough. Most of his 3 years of ministry were lived with a constant threat of death. It wasn't something that suddenly popped up in Jerusalem at the end. It would be appropriate to read the rest of Mark with the understanding that everywhere Jesus goes, he is being watched; everything he says is being studied, looking for any opportunity to take him out. He is a threat to the religious establishment and is seen by both the Roman and Jewish governments as an unnecessary disruption. Let that be a lesson to us all. Stakeholders in the status quo will always be threatened by the true Christ-life. We certainly want to live at peace with everyone and even be winsome to as many as possible, but everyone did not love Jesus and everyone will not love us if we follow Him.
Chapter 3 includes stories of opposition to Jesus, with the account of his appointment of the twelve disciples sandwiched in the middle. I don't think this is an accident. With so many against him, including his own family at times, Jesus withdrew and surrounded himself with an inner circle of followers who were for him (as much as human frailty allowed them to be). He built a team to accomplish his mission, but he also wanted a team because it is replenishing to the soul. "That they might be with him" in verse 14 is an important purpose statement. The disciples weren't just there for ministry training, they were there to be together and to be with Jesus. Especially in the hard times, that inner circle is essential.
Who is in your inner circle? When the world presses in, can you fall back on a safe group of close friends? There is no question whether you'll need each other.
I'll be teaching more on this at our Sunday gathering, so stay tuned. And since I'm preparing for that teaching, please give me your perspective on verses 13-19 or your own experiences with your inner circle of friends.
I've learned how essential it is to have a group of friends around me that I can trust with my life. They encourage, challenge, cheer me on, pick me up, question my motives, help keep life in perspective, often rebuke me, and are so important for my growth in Christ to continue. The faces may change (this is hard because you feel like you're losing family, it can be a struggle sometimes to make it happen (this is where margin comes into play), and even though it'll take time before you feel it's authentic (that's when the real fun kicks in and life really happens)- it's worth it. I thank Christ for his example and to my friend Jeff for reaching out to me and inviting me to my first group almost 8 years ago. My life has never been the same.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone wants to belong to something. Witness all the different kinds of clubs, groups, etc... that you can be a part of. There is this part of us that wants to be known, loved and cherished. But there is this other part that is fearful of being 'found out' (the Judas in us?). That if people really knew me, they wouldn't like me. I mean, I don't even like that part of me. I think that is why the typical church is so safe to most people. As stated in in Waking the Dead "Going to church with hundreds of other people to sit and hear a sermon doesn’t ask much of you. It certainly will never expose you. That’s why most folks prefer it. Because community will. It will reveal where you have yet to become holy, right at the very moment you are so keenly aware of how they have yet to become holy. It will bring you close and you will be seen and you will be known and therein lies the power and therein lies the danger.(Waking The Dead ,197 )
ReplyDeleteWe both want it yet we fear it. If Community is going to work, to be real, it requires us to accept others for who they are and it requires us to be authentic, warts and all. It ought to be the place where we can finally remove the fig leaf that we hide behind. Doing that is nerve wracking, yet liberating.
Can you imagine how the disciples must have felt initially? I mean this was the Son of God; there was nothing Christ didn't know about them. Peter's cursing wasn't a secret to him. Nor Matthew's thieving tax collector ways. How exposed they must have felt. And then how liberated when they finally got it through their heads that Christ loved them anyways. He chose me inspite of how I perceive myself to be. The same is true for us today. He chose me.