Looking for Jesus according to Mark

[JLG]

20) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Mark 10: Some Pharisees ask Jesus whether it is lawful for a man to divorce a wife!


- If The Israelites were authorized to divorce their wives by writing a certificate of dismissal according to Moses and their hardheartedness, from the beginning of creation, man and woman must become one flesh and can’t divorce!


- Once again man’s tradition vs God’s word!


- You can’t choose both!


- You must choose one!


- It’s a simple one!


- Man tries to find ways not to choose!


- It doesn’t work!


- There is only one way!


- Man is always trying to follow his own way!


- He will only get lost!


- The Israelites chose the wrong one and they got lost!


- Humanity will always choose the same wrong way and get lost!

 

[JLG]

21) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Mark 10: People bring young children to Jesus so he can touch them!


- But the disciples reprimand them!


- Jesus is indignant!


- He tells them to let them come to him because God’s Kingdom belongs to such one!


- He says it is necessary to receive God’s Kingdom like a young child otherwise it is not possible to enter into it!


- These words are incredible!


- Because this world is turning young children into ZOMBIES!


- Yes, this superficial world is taking away CURIOSITY from young children!


- They just want to watch TV and play video games!


- They don’t want to know anymore!


- So think about today’s adults!

 

[JLG]

22) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Mark 10: Jesus tells the man to sell everything he has and give it to the poor and become Jesus’ follower !


- But the man grows sad because he has many possessions !


- Yes, the religious leaders look for their personal interests !


- Yes, they have always loved money and materialistic pleasures !


- Yes, definitely different from Jesus !


- Yes, far away from a good shepherd who whole-heartedly cares for his sheep !


- Yes, bad luck for the sheep !

 

[JLG]

23) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Mark 10: Jesus tells his disciples that it will be difficult for those who are rich to enter into the Kingdom of God!


- The religious leaders like money!


- They want to defend their personal interests!


- They are not interested in God’s interests!


- They are not interested in people’s interests!




- They need people to control them and to get power!


- People don’t need them!

 

[JLG]

24) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Mark 10: Jesus tells his disciples that they must not act as the nations do!


- On the contrary, if one wants to become great among them must be their minister and their slave!


- They must act as Jesus did ministering and giving his life as a ransom for many!


- Yes, those who have power use it for their own benefits!


- Power is never enough!


- They always want more!


- It’s always a competition to be the greatest!


- It shouldn’t be so!


- People should be careful!


- But do they really care?

 

[JLG]

25) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Mark 11: In Jerusalem, Jesus enters the temple and starts to oppose the merchants who are inside the temple selling their goods!


- He also teaches and tells them that they have turned God’s house of prayer into a cave of robbers!


- And the chief priests and the scribes are looking for a way to kill him!


- But they are in fear of him, because all the crowd is astounded at his teaching !


- It is incredible !


- We see Jesus acting against the robbers in God’s temple !


- And what do the religious leaders think about ?


- Killing Jesus !


- They are completely dead !


- They don’t care about God’s temple !


- They don’t care about God !


- They don’t care about the people !


- They only care about themselves !


- They are ridiculous !


- How is it possible to listen to such people ?


- They are blind !

 

[JLG]

26) looking for Jesus


Mark 1: Jesus meets a leper who begs him to make him clean!


- Jesus is moved with pity!


- So he cures him all at once and he becomes clean!


- All the time we see Jesus expressing his feelings!


- Thus he shows himself a real leader!


- Someone who cares about people!


- Someone who can understand their pain and suffering!


- Someone who is not corrupted!


- Someone who is not looking for money all the time!

 

[JLG]

27) looking for Jesus


Mark 1: After evening has fallen, he people bring others who are ill to be cured by Jesus!


- So he cures many of them and expells demons!


- Jesus spends the whole day curing people !


- But people keep coming !

- And he keeps curing them without resting !


- It tells a lot about his work capacity !


- Of course, he is tired !


- But he cares about people !


- And he doesn’t complain !


- Of course, he knows he works for God !


- Of course, it helps a lot !

 

[JLG]

28) Looking for Jesus


Mark 1: Early in the morning, while it is still dark, he gets up and goes outside and leaves for an isolated place, and there he begins praying!


- The disciples are looking for him!


- But he tells them to go somewhere else into the towns to preach!


- Jesus came to transmit God’s message !


- He didn’t come to spend his time to cure people or to feed them !


- Everything he did was to transmit God’s message !


- Of course, many were only interested in food and cure or basic needs!


- Many are and were not conscious of their spiritual needs and their connection to God!


- Indeed, we are animals!


- And it is often difficult to see the difference!


- Animals are often more human than men!


- It shows how far this world is from God!


- But Jesus told us how men would behave!

 

[JLG]

29) Looking for Jesus


Mark 1:


- A leper comes to Jesus to be clean!


- Jesus is moved with pity!


- He cures him!


- He tells him not to speak about it!


- But he must show himself to the priests and offer for his cleansing the things Moses directed for a witness to them!


- First Jesus is moved with pity!


- Thus he analyzes the situation!


- Second he stretches out his hand and touches the leper!


- Thus he needs physical contact!


- Third he speaks to the leper saying he is going to cure him!


- Thus he communicates to the leper!


- Fourth the leper is cured!


- Thus we get the result!


- Fifth Jesus tells the leper to go to the priest and makes the offer for his cleansing!


- Thus we see Jesus in action where everything is well organized, nothing is left to chance!


- Thus he will be perfect to clean this world when he comes back as a warrior and a king!

 

[JLG]

30) Looking for Jesus


Mark 2: seeing the faith of the men who bring the paralytic, Jesus tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven!

- Jesus expresses his feelings straight away!


- sitting there, some of the scribes think Jesus is blaspheming!


- Knowing what they are thinking, Jesus asks them why!


- And he knows what the scribes think!


- So he asks them what is easier to say to the paralytic your sins are forgiven or get up and pick up your stretcher and walk!


- And he answers them straight away by curing the paralytic!


- Jesus is not only someone who teaches and who knows what to say at the right time, he knows how to act on time!


- All his actions are well organized and synchronized!


- So they are all astonished and glorify God!


- The result is efficiency and Jesus proves right!

 

[JLG]

31) Looking for Jesus


Mark 2:


- Again he went out alongside the sea, and all the crowd kept coming to him, and he began to teach them.


- When I think of both Jesus and Paul, I see the same zealous people teaching again and again!


- And as he was passing by, he caught sight of Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him: “Be my follower.” At that he rose up and followed him.


- Once again, when we remember Paul, we know that Jesus knew who he was and chose him in consequence!


- With the apostles, it was the same!


- Of course, they were imperfect men!


- But he had time to teach them progressively!


- And he didn’t choose scribes or Pharisees!

 

[JLG]

32) Looking for Jesus


Mark 2:


- Later he was dining in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many of them who were following him. But when the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they began saying to his disciples: “Does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”On hearing this, Jesus said to them: “Those who are strong do not need a physician, but those who are ill do. I came to call, not righteous people, but sinners.”


- Jesus came on earth to help everybody to learn about God and to repent!


- He had a special mission!


- He would spend all his time on earth to do it!


- He would train disciples to keep on doing his mission after his death!


- He has always been working with and for God his Father!


- Things have always been clear for him!


- No doubt!


- And it was not an easy job!


- His death was also not an easy death!


- But he was ready to do his Father’s will!


- When we think of Abraham, it was the same readiness to do God’s will!


- That’s how we can recognize a true faithful servant of God!


- It also means we have to make strong efforts to look like them!


- Because it is not easy!


- And we must develop excellent qualities!

 

[JLG]

33) Looking for Jesus


Mark 2:


Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees practiced fasting. So they came and said to him: “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees practice fasting, but your disciples do not practice fasting?” So Jesus said to them: “While the bridegroom is with them, the friends of the bridegroom have no reason to fast, do they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.


- We see Jews!

- They are supposed to know their history!


- They are supposed to wait for Messiah!


- They see Jesus’ miracles!


- No one could do the same!


- They were unable to follow Moses’ Law!


- And yet they speak about man’s tradition!


- Their minds and hearts are empty!


- How do you want them to understand Jesus’ message!


- That’s the same today with humanity!


- Why should it be different!


- Man is equal to himself!


- What is our personal choice?

 

[JLG]

34) Looking for Jesus


Mark 2:


- Nobody sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old outer garment. If he does, the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear becomes worse. Also, no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. But new wine is put into new wineskins.


- Jesus tells us to be careful when we act!


- He did many miracles so people could see he came from God!


- He was able to teach any kind of people!


- He could use simple words!


- But he never forgets his mission!


- He came to tell people about God!


- He didn’t come to feed them or cure them!




- Everything was in connection with God’s word!


- Now there are many Bible translations!


- Did the translators follow Jesus’ example by using simple words or words easy to understand or did they make things to make it more difficult to understand!


- If people don’t understand you, what is the interest?

 

[JLG]

35) Looking for Jesus


Mark 2:


- Now as he was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, his disciples started to pluck the heads of grain as they went. So the Pharisees said to him: “Look here! Why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” But he said to them: “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and the men with him were hungry? How, in the account about Abiathar the chief priest, he entered into the house of God and ate the loaves of presentation, which it is not lawful for anybody to eat except the priests, and he also gave some to the men who were with him?” Then he said to them: “The Sabbath came into existence for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the Sabbath. So the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”


- The Israelites and the Jews showed themselves unable to follow the Law!


- Jesus came to accomplish the Law!


- The Law was over!


- After Jesus’ death, some Jews who became disciples tried to force the disciples who weren’t Jews to get circumcised!


- The answer from the apostles was clear in Acts 15:


- The disciples should abstain from:

- THINGS POLLUTED BY IDOLS,


- SEXUAL IMMORALITY,


- WHAT IS STRANGLED,


- BLOOD.


- In fact, nothing has changed!


- Even simple commandments are not followed!


- That’s what we can call corruption!


- Man’s tradition vs God’s word!


- When Jesus comes back, do you think he will say good job?

 

[JLG]

36) Looking for Jesus


Mark 3:


- Jesus enters a synagogue and cures a man with a withered hand on the sabbath after asking the Pharisees if it is lawful!


- They are watching him in order to accuse him and they keep silent!


- Jesus is indignant because of their insensibility of their hearts!


- At that the Pharisees go out and immediately begin holding council with the party followers of Herod against him, in order to kill him!


- But Jesus departs for the sea along with his disciples, and a great multitude from Galilee and from Judea followed him!


- Jesus does everything openly in front of the Pharisees and scribes!


- And he wants to help people spiritually and physically!


- By curing people and doing miracles, he shows he come from God!


- But he always teaches!


- And he always shows the religious leaders they are wrong!


- Religious leaders don’t care about the people!


- They only think they are important!


- And Jesus is indignant!


- How will he react when he comes back?

 

[JLG]

37) Looking for Jesus


Mark 3:


- Even from Jerusalem and from Idumea and from across the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude came to him when they heard about the many things he was doing.


- People were coming from everywhere!


- We are told about a multitude!


- But the religious leaders rejected him!


- They chose their personal power!


- They wanted to keep doing their business and controlling people!


- They would prevent people from opening their eyes!


- They wanted them to keep sleeping and stay spiritually dead!


- It is still true today!


- It is easier not to think by oneself!


- But then when you wake up, it seems to be that you are in a nightmare!

 

[JLG]

38) Looking for Jesus


Mark 3:


- And he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so that the crowd would not press in on him.


- Jesus is always ready to adapt to new situations!


- We must always remember that!


- We have to follow his example!


- We must use our brains!


- We must keep being active and creative!


- If we want to work for God and Jesus, we must show we are worthy!


- We must bear fruit just like Jesus!

 

[JLG]

39) Looking for Jesus


Mark 3:


- Because he cured many, all those who had serious diseases were crowding around him to touch him. Even the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and cry out and say: “You are the Son of God.” But many times he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He ascended a mountain and summoned those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he formed a group of 12, whom he also named apostles, those who were to accompany him and whom he would send out to preach and to have authority to expel demons.


- When Jesus was on earth, many came to him to be cured!


- It was easy to see that he had come from God!


- Many accepted his message, others rejected it!


- The apostles could live with him every day, day and night!


- They could share everything with him!


- He used a progressive teaching to teach them!


- Yet, they found it difficult to understand him!


- They had to wait till his death to understand his message!


- Paul only saw him in a vision, he was taught a lesson and he understood everything straight away!


- We have the Bible!


- We can get to know a lot!


- But many don’t realize its importance!


- Of course, we need to use it, to read it and to think about it!