Reflections: Mark 16 - March 8, 2010

"1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.

2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb

3and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6“Don't be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

((The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9–20.))

9When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

10She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.

11When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

12Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.

13These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

14Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." - Mark 16

"Defeat" has never been an attractive word. "Surrender" doesn't really appeal to man either. But this is why God's plan was so wonderful, so beautiful, and so perfect, that when in the eyes of man they thought that Christ is dead once and for all, the truth was, the Lamb wins!

The ultimate sacrifice resulted in the ultimate victory. The torture, agony, and seeming defeat of Christ on the cross actually won our souls from the enemy and reconciled us back to God.

I remember the teaching why we don't believe of an image of Christ in the cross. It's true that it's a reminder of what Jesus had done for us, but it's because that it's the resurrection that proved His power over sin and death. His resurrection rendered Satan powerless and ultimately defeated him.

I believe God is reminding me - and all of us - that the enemy no longer has any hold on us and that by Christ - if we accept and believe in Him - we are set free. Take off the mindset of still being in chains, still being bogged down and tortured by sin. Christ has set you free. Christ has set the chains loose. Live in the freedom, victory, and authority God gave you. You are free and forgiven.

His grace and mercy is forever!

Reflections: Mk. 15:1-15 - March 4, 2010

"1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

2“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

3The chief priests accused him of many things.

4So again Pilate asked him, “Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

6Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.

7A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.

8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate,

10knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.

11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

13“Crucify him!” they shouted.

14“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified." - Mark 15:1-15

The very reason why Pilate did what he did is in verse 15: "Wanting to please the crowd..." Pilate knew Jesus was innocent and that the Pharisees had only captured Him out of jealousy. Yet because he knew he had to satisfy the people, he gave them what they wish.

Think about what Jesus may have been thinking. He is the Son of God, yet He was wrongly accused and condemned unfairly. Surely this wasn't the way you treat the King of Kings! It's ironic to think that these were also the very same people who welcomed Him in with palm leaves a few days ago and now they were accusing Him of false crimes. Yet Christ kept silent, kept His eye on the mission, and every step to His death He accepted. Jesus fully surrendered to God;s will and had faith.

How about us? 

 

Do we fully surrender or do we lack faith?

Do we follow despite the circumstances?

Or do we turn away?

 

 

Reflections: Mark 14:53-65 - March 2, 2010

"While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by.

67When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.

68But he denied it. “I don't know or understand what you're talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.†

69When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.”

70Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”

71He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, “I don't know this man you're talking about.”

72Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.† Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice† you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept" - Mark 14:66-72

The name "Judas" has been synonymous with "betrayer". People usually call the betrayer of a certain character in a movie or book "his Judas". And it's true. Judas did betray Christ and was the very reason why Jesus got into the hands of the Pharisees. But did you ever realize that while there was Judas the betrayer, there was also Peter the betrayer?

Peter betrayed Christ by vehemently denying any involvement with Him.Verse 71 says "... he called down curses on himself and swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about." So much for the man who vehemently denied earlier that he would deny Christ.

Yet these two people, though similar in this aspect, ended up very differently. Judas killed himself. Peter went on to fulfill Christ's prophecy of him being the rock on which the church will be built on. How could this be when Peter betrayed Christ too?

The difference is in their responses. Judas, after handing in Jesus, knew had head betrayed innocent blood. He wallowed in his grief, let it consume him, and ultimately it was the driving force of his decision to hang himself. Peter, on the other hand, did grieve, but repented. He grieved he betrayed and denied Christ, but instead of meditating on his grief, he turned back to Jesus and asked forgiveness.

God has reminded that we all sin and that we hurt Him everyday. It may be in what we say, what we do, or what we think, but we sin against Him everyday. But God has reminded me it's what you do after that matters. Will you condemn yourself, wallow in self-pity, and tell yourself you'll always be a sinner? Or will you run back to the arms of God, ask forgiveness, and experience His love and grace? As we can see from Judas and Peter, the response decides where you'll end up.

CRUCIFIED

"... to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating, literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome (hence dissuading against the crimes punishable by it), humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal." - Wikipedia

To be crucified wouldn't be exactly called an execution. A better term for it would be "torture".

Crucifixion was reserved for those who have done a vile crime. Even Roman citizens who were sentenced to death were given an "honorable death" like beheading, for crucifixion was not only excruciating, but humiliating. The Romans considered crucifixion "a most shameful and disgraceful way to die".

The process of being crucified starts with the criminal carrying a crossbeam weighing around 35-60 kg to the place of the execution.Once there, the criminal is nailed to the cross and is usually naked. The fact that the criminal would also have to defecate (in modern terms, poo) and urinate in the open makes it all the more shameful for the one on the cross. The death is slow, ranging from hours to days. Romans usually speed the death up by either stabbing the criminal in the heart or side, breaking his knees so that he wouldn't have support, or by lighting a fire below the cross to asphyxiate the criminal. The term "hanging on the cross" is very literal: the fact that the criminal is hanging puts all the weight in the lower part of the body and also causes the criminal to have difficulty breathing. The criminal would have to raise himself up using his arms which are nailed just so that he could breathe. Easier if the feet were nailed to a footrest, but this exhausts the criminal easily. Also, the slightest movement causes great pain.

Imagine what it would've been like to be the one nailed and humiliated on a cross. This is what we deserved! This was supposed to be our punishment! Instead, God sends His only Son for the very reason to step in for our sins and to pay the price and suffer the punishment!

Criminals usually carried the crossbeams. Scripture, however, tells it different from Christ:

"Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha)." - John 19:17

Jesus did not carry just a crossbeam, but His whole cross! The whole cross weighs 135 kilograms! True that the other Gospels record that a man named Simon carried the cross for Him. However, this was probably after Jesus couldn't carry it anymore due to exhaustion. Add to the fact He was whipped before this makes it all the more harder for Him. 

Art usually depicts Jesus on the cross with His undergarment on. However, as stated previously, criminals were hung naked, and it was the same case with Christ!

"When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

24“Let's not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let's decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,“They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.Ӡ
So this is what the soldiers did." - John 19:23-24 

Jesus may have had His undergarments on for sometime, but eventually once the soldiers finished gambling it was removed! Imagine Jesus Christ, an innocent man guilty of nothing, absolutely nothing, hanging on a cross, nailed, naked, cold, and in excruciating pain!

But the reason He did that was for you, me, and the whole world! He could have easily cried out and sent angels to rescue Him and the Jews would also believe He was the Messiah. But no. He knew he had to do this so that once and for all our salvation can be secure. While He was on the cross, while He was being flogged and whipped, He was thinking of you and me! Imagine, He was thinking of me.

Valentines is coming and the world has completely polluted the meaning of love. Love is blurred. The love God wanted for all mankind has been twisted. But look to the Cross and look at what Jesus did. That, right there, is the ultimate expression of love: one Man, who paid the price and took the punishment and the humiliation for each and everyone of us.

Say this to yourself: Christ died because of me.

God bless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections: Mark 6:6-13 - January 7, 2010

"Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

7Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil† spirits.

8These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff–no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

9Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.

10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.

11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.”

12They went out and preached that people should repent.

13They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them." 

 

- Mark 6:6-13

I can just imagine how excited the disciples were when Jesus gave them authority. Previously, Jesus showed them how He could drive out demons and heal people and now, Jesus was giving them the authority and power to do all these things! They must've been excited as they went around preaching, healing, and casting out demons!

Like the disciples, I believe God is telling me to keep that same zealousness they had. As God has anointed me to serve Him, then like the disciples I should be excited for the authority and anoinitng God gave me! And I should keep that excitement. I believe that God is reminding me to remember my calling and that despite obstacles and trials, I will always be reminded that He has given me authority and anointed me.

And to all of you out there, always remember: In God, you have the victory. In God, you have authority. In God, nothing - nothing - stands against you. Be blessed!