Mark 6:34-36 - Send them away!

6:34

Having sought solitude they were faced with crowds of people. Jesus’ heart was filled with compassion. Why was this? It was because the people were like sheep without a shepherd. They were looking for something, they knew they had a need in life, but didn’t know how to meet that need. So Jesus taught them many things. Notice yet again the emphasis on teaching. The people of this land need to be taught. We perhaps see this in the attention that Jordan Peterson gets. He isn’t a Christian as far as we can tell, but has some respect for the Bible and thinks in a very different way to the general flow of thought in society. So people recognise something different and want to hear. In the church we need the ability to speaker and to teach the nation, for the nation needs us.

6:35,36

The disciples perhaps had a different view of things. They had come expecting to have some time alone with Jesus, after a tiring mission trip. “This is a desolate place”, is the very sort of place Jesus had said they needed to find, the only problem was the people! They dress up their reasonable need in a supposed concern for the people. Send them away so that they can get foo. It was also very reasonable, based on common sense.

Isaiah 9:3-5 - You have enlarged the nation

9:3

Observe the complete contrast with the judgement passages. The nation is enlarged rather than depleted. There is great joy rather than distress and desolation. There is the joy that goes with success and fruitfulness. We need to be aware that God’s plans for His people will result in peace and joy, and with it prosperity. Now I am definitely not advocating any prosperity gospel, that should be obvious if you have been reading my blogs for any length of time. What I am saying is that we need to take on 100% of the word of God. That includes the parts about our sinfulness and God’s judgement upon sin, it includes the parts on our sharing in Christ’s sufferings, and it includes the parts on God’s ultimate purpose and destiny for us, which is a pretty prosperous one.

9:4,5

Complete freedom is coming. Why? Because God has broken the rod of the oppressor. There is a lot of talk about oppression and victim-hood today. Indeed, things like intersectionality and critical theory seem to delight in victim-hood. The more you’ve got to whinge about, the better! Then there are those who are awake to the dangers of the social justice movement, but it is possible that they throw out the baby with the bath water. Why do social justice warriors (SJW’s) get some traction in the church? Because there is much talk of social justice in the Bible. Why do they often go off the rails, and others make legitimate attacks on the SJW’s? Because social justice is not all there is, and the root problem is human sinfulness, our rebellion against God. But in this verse we see Israel portrayed as a victim of oppression, and God will act to set them free from this oppression. But why were they in this state in the first place? Because of their sin against God, their persistent sin against God. As Jesus said, if we sin we become slaves of sin. We do need to be set free.

War is naturally associated with bloodshed, but in God’s kingdom these things will come to an end.

Mark 6:30-33 - Seeking a desolate place

6:30

The disciples returned to Jesus, telling Jesus all that they had done and taught. We are given no details by Mark, but note that they reported what they had taught, as well as he healings that had presumably taken place. Note also that they returned to Jesus. Whatever aspect of ministry we are involved in, we must return to Jesus. The ministry itself must never take over, be that preaching and teaching, evangelism, prophecy, helping the poor. Whatever it is, we must return to Jesus, it is so easy to let the ministry take over, and because the ministry is a good thing it can be quite deceptive, but it can easily become an idol.

6:31-33

Jesus wanted to spend time with them in a quiet place, for there were, as always, many people coming and going. We need some times of peace. The disciples didn’t even have time to eat. So they went by boat to a desolate place. However, this plan was doomed to fail, for the crowds so them and worked out where they were going. So they ran on foot to get to the place where Jesus and the disciples were going.

Isaiah 9:1,2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light

9:1

This is one place where the chapter division should definitely take a hike. God has just been speaking of people being distressed. Now He speaks of a time when there will be no more distress or gloom. The judgement is real, the salvation is real, and we need to take full account of both. Naphtali and Zebulun were regions that included Galilee, they were also lands that Assyrian took over. All this would happen, yet a time of salvation would also come. Jesus spent a significant amount of time in Galilee.

9:2

The darkness is real, the light is real. We tend to want to focus on only of these, light or darkness. But if there is no darkness, talk of the light shining in the darkness makes no sense. If there is no judgement upon our sin, the salvation of the cross makes no sense. A light dawns on the  people living in deep darkness. We should put our faith in God, both for ourselves and for others. For He is a God who makes light shine in the darkness.

Mark 6:21-29 - Head on a platter

6:21-23

Herod was a weak man. Even people in positions of power can be weak. The devil played on Herod’s vanity. Herod was throwing a banquet to celebrate his birthday and many important people were there. The daughter of Herodias was dancing, much to Herod’s pleasure and he promised to give her whatever she asked. Herod had probably had much to drink, he was puffed up with pride, and captivated by a girl. This was a recipe for making bad decisions, and we too should take heed.

6:24-26

The daughter went to her mother to see what she should ask for. Herodias saw her opportunity and told her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herodias was a woman who nursed a grudge and was manipulative. The king was now trapped by his vanity and foolishness. He did not want to lose face in front of all these people, though he could actually have refused the request on the grounds of it being a clear injustice.

6:27-29

The king then acted quickly and John the Baptist was beheaded and his head brought on a platter. This was given to the girl, who then passed it onto the mother. I know times were different, but I cannot imagine this looking too good in front of all the guests! John’s disciples heard about this and came to take his body away to bury it in a tomb.

Isaiah 8:20-22 - They will be thrust into utter darkness

8:20

Instead they should consult God’s instruction, “and the testimony of warning”. What Judah needed to do was to listen to what the Law said, and to what prophets like Isaiah were saying. Anyone who spoke contrary to these did not have any “light of dawn”. Today there are many in the church who claim to speak God’s way, but what they say is not in line with God’s word, and so we can be absolutely certain that what they say is nonsense, and often dangerous nonsense.

8:21,22

Those who followed the false teachers, along with the false teachers themselves, would wander around distressed and hungry. Instead of realising the error of their ways and turning to God, they would curse the Lord. Rebellious man is not given to repentance, repentance is not a natural act, but one that requires the intervention of the Holy Spirit. The rebels would see only darkness and fearful gloom, and they would be thrust into utter darkness. Such is the destiny of those who rebel against God.

Mark 6:17-20 - A woman and a grudge

6:17,18

We now get the story of how Herod came to have John the Baptist beheaded. Originally Herod had had John arrested. Herod had married Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. This was explicitly forbidden in Lev 18:16 and 20:21. And John the Baptist had told Herod so. This would put him in a difficult position with the religious leaders. When the powerful are questioned on their sexual morality they will tend to react, just as today there is a reaction when the LGBT agenda is questioned.

6:19

Here it was the wife of Herod who was most offended, and she nursed a grudge. There is a tendency today with things like the MeToo movement to view sexual sins and abuse as a largely male problem, and of course men have a lot to answer for. However, women are just as sinful as men. She wanted to kill John but up to this point had been unable to do so.

6:20

Herod was highly unrighteous, yet he still recognised that John was a righteous and holy man, so he feared him. There are two points to learn from this. The first is that ungodly men and women can still recognise holiness in people. Someone may be vehemently opposed to the gospel, but can still recognise something of God in us. Secondly, the end result was that Herod still had John killed eventually. So we need to hold both of these things together, not giving into fear or despair because we are dealing with unrighteous people, but neither becoming complacent. We may still be called to suffer for Christ. Herod also liked to listen to John, this is even though John was telling him that he was sinning against God. Reactions will be complex!