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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Spectacle or Epitome

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. Mark 1:43-45

Mark is like the reader digest version of the synoptic gospels. It is short and to the point. In chapter 1 of Mark it is interesting that he only spends a sentence or two on passages of scripture that specifically Luke, spends half a chapter on. If you are reading the University of the Holy Spirit Bible Plan then through the next month we will be reading Mark and I think we will be surprised with what we find out about Jesus and how He relates to us.

Now to today's thoughts about our reading. The thing that stuck out to me the most was at the very end of the chapter. To give you a little reminder, Jesus is just starting His ministry and is travelling from town to town. He is healing people, casting out demons, and doing all sorts of AWESOME stuff. But it is interesting that He specifically kepts the demons quiet so they wont shout of who He is, He specifically makes references that He wanted to keep himself a secret. After casting out many demons and performing many miracles, Jesus finds himself looking down at a man with leprosy. The man pleads with Jesus to heal him. It is then that in the Greek, the term used means "Having Compassion on Him," Jesus turns and heals the man. This is where we are in the story. Read Verses 43-45. Interesting?! Jesus tells him to not say a word about Jesus. But of course, He opens his mouth and tells everybody. Because of that, Jesus can't go into towns openly but has to stay outside in open areas.

So you ask, "What's the big deal?" "Who cares if people wanted to see him?" or "Isnt that what He wanted? For people to know who He is?" Here is the issue: Jesus Christ is not a specticle to be looked at...He is epitome of Salvation. Let me explain. What happens when a new apple product comes out...People go crazy!!! It is the freshest thing since sliced bread! People wait in 4 hour lines just to buy it and then they take the day off so they can figure out how to use it! Then a year later, when a different Apple product comes out, everyone forgets about the old one. They grow stagnant and stale to product and it doesn't excite them anymore.
If you like how the body works this may explain it better. Life expectancy has a lot to do with your sugar levels in your body. They found that people who have bursts of sugar levels, somewhat like a mountain range, lived a shorter life then those who maintained a steady level of sugar. Here is the point. Jesus doesn't want to be a spectacle that after awhile, people get bored with. Jesus doesn't want to be random bursts in these people's life, He wants to be the sustaining force in your life. He was not ready to be revealed at this time, so that is why he didn't want them to speak. He is trying to grow gradually so that when the time comes to be revealed he will have enough credibility and have done enough miracles to authenticate who He is for people to believe.

So what is the point for us? First, is Christ the sustaining thing in your life? Secondly, Do you have enough credibility as a follower of Christ? You wont have the power to do miracles like Jesus, but you do have the power to live like Christ and love like Christ, and be transformed by Christ. Do people look at you and see a long lasting record of you following Christ, or do they see random burst of growth and deep slums of where you walked away?

My prayer for this morning is this:
Dear Father,
Help me to have the same attitude as of Christ Jesus. Help me to have a sustaining relationship with you by reading your word daily and conversing with you throughout the day. Help me to meditate on your and your ways. Help me to be sustained instead of have random bursts of you here or there. Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you that when it came time for you to be revealed, you committed to die on the cross for us. Holy Spirit, continue to guide me today as I live and act with other people. Help them to see that I am working on a steady relationship with God. Help them see that you aren't just a spectacle but are the epitome of Salvation for us. Amen.

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