Calvary Baltimore Weekly Sermons

B-Side...

Mark 9:30-37 - This account is also found in Matthew 17 and Luke 9.

v30... Jesus and the disciples have been mostly in the area of Galilee, and are now leaving it to head for Jerusalem; Jesus doesn't want attention because his ministry in Galilee is finished and he wants to focus on the disciples.

v31... the original language may indicate that the process of the Son being delivered into the hands of men has already begun; he's in the process of being delivered into the hands of men, but it's the Father who is doing the delivering. Jesus is obeying the Father and heading to the cross, being delivered from person to person until his crucifixion.

 - an aside, regarding anti-semitism: disagreeing with current Israeli politics is not necessarily anti-semitic; hating the Jewish people because they're Jewish is. Yes, the Jews handed Jesus over to the Romans, but then the Romans handed him over to the soldiers, and the soldiers handed him over to the world... the world crucified Jesus! All humanity is guilty of crucifying Jesus.

v32... they didn't understand what Jesus meant by his prediction of his death and resurrection; in Matthew 17:23, they were greatly distressed. In Luke 9:45, his meaning was concealed from them. It's a mystery and they're afraid!

v33... With Jesus, a house is a place of teaching...

v34-35... the lesson: serving "the least of these" is the path to greatness. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be great, but he corrects their idea of greatness!

In the caves of Qumran, a document was found called "the rule of the community"... a document for the Essene community, with great importance given to rank and seating arrangements. Jesus' teaching that the greatest is he who serves the least flies in the face of this sort of thinking! Modern Judaism tends to posit that Jesus got his radical ideas from the Essenes... this would certainly seem not to be the case! Jesus followed neither the Pharisees nor the Essenes. God doesn't take sides in this way; he is his own side.

v36-37... the child is not used as a shining example of humility, but as an example of low status. Humility is receiving those of low status! To embrace the unimportant because Jesus told us to is evidence that we have received him, that his spirit lives in us!

Final thought...

Comparing the first passion prediction in chapter 8 to this one in chapter 9... in chapter 8, the disciples want greatness and glory, but without the cross. In chapter 9, they want it without humility. As fallen humans, our nature is to want greatness without suffering, without humble service. But that's not God's path of greatness!

A good example is given in the book of 1 Clement-- not Scripture, but worth studying... visitors to the church of Rome saw something special: they admire the people's godliness, sobriety, virtue, hospitality, knowledge and humility. The church believed in raising young men to maturity without adolescence, to be serious-minded. They taught women to be good wives and godly women, managing things well, duty-bound, on mission. They were examples of being more willing to give than to receive. The early Roman church put a great deal of emphasis on the humility of Christ, being given to humble service, without respect to social status! Truly a "city on a hill."

B-Side...

Mark 9:30-37 - This account is also found in Matthew 17 and Luke 9.

v30... Jesus and the disciples have been mostly in the area of Galilee, and are now leaving it to head for Jerusalem; Jesus doesn't want attention because his ministry in Galilee is finished and he wants to focus on the disciples.

v31... the original language may indicate that the process of the Son being delivered into the hands of men has already begun; he's in the process of being delivered into the hands of men, but it's the Father who is doing the delivering. Jesus is obeying the Father and heading to the cross, being delivered from person to person until his crucifixion.

 - an aside, regarding anti-semitism: disagreeing with current Israeli politics is not necessarily anti-semitic; hating the Jewish people because they're Jewish is. Yes, the Jews handed Jesus over to the Romans, but then the Romans handed him over to the soldiers, and the soldiers handed him over to the world... the world crucified Jesus! All humanity is guilty of crucifying Jesus.

v32... they didn't understand what Jesus meant by his prediction of his death and resurrection; in Matthew 17:23, they were greatly distressed. In Luke 9:45, his meaning was concealed from them. It's a mystery and they're afraid!

v33... With Jesus, a house is a place of teaching...

v34-35... the lesson: serving "the least of these" is the path to greatness. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be great, but he corrects their idea of greatness!

In the caves of Qumran, a document was found called "the rule of the community"... a document for the Essene community, with great importance given to rank and seating arrangements. Jesus' teaching that the greatest is he who serves the least flies in the face of this sort of thinking! Modern Judaism tends to posit that Jesus got his radical ideas from the Essenes... this would certainly seem not to be the case! Jesus followed neither the Pharisees nor the Essenes. God doesn't take sides in this way; he is his own side.

v36-37... the child is not used as a shining example of humility, but as an example of low status. Humility is receiving those of low status! To embrace the unimportant because Jesus told us to is evidence that we have received him, that his spirit lives in us!

Final thought...

Comparing the first passion prediction in chapter 8 to this one in chapter 9... in chapter 8, the disciples want greatness and glory, but without the cross. In chapter 9, they want it without humility. As fallen humans, our nature is to want greatness without suffering, without humble service. But that's not God's path of greatness!

A good example is given in the book of 1 Clement-- not Scripture, but worth studying... visitors to the church of Rome saw something special: they admire the people's godliness, sobriety, virtue, hospitality, knowledge and humility. The church believed in raising young men to maturity without adolescence, to be serious-minded. They taught women to be good wives and godly women, managing things well, duty-bound, on mission. They were examples of being more willing to give than to receive. The early Roman church put a great deal of emphasis on the humility of Christ, being given to humble service, without respect to social status! Truly a "city on a hill."

v30-32... In today's passage, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die. He came to save mankind-- but will be killed by mankind. The Father is delivering the Son into the hands of men. Then in three days, he will rise! And the apostles didn't understand. 

He did rise again, and that is the basis of our faith.

v33-37... It's never a good thing to think of yourself in terms of greatness. The apostles knew they were wrong to be discussing who among them was the greatest. Jesus challenges them: to be first, you must be last of all, the servant of all. Jesus doesn't shoot down their desire for greatness, but for the kind of greatness they desired, and for the motive behind their desire for greatness.

That's our text...

This passage isn't about how great children are. In the first century, children were seen as the least significant people. They were "the least". If you want to be great, you need to learn to love and willingly serve the insignificant!

Serve people who can't serve you back!

Pursue greatness by serving, with humility! No one ever served more humbly than Jesus. There is no path to greatness without humility! A Christian builds people up, serves people, loves people.

Love is serving your spouse till death do you part.

Humility is inward... not thinking too highly of yourself. Understanding the depths of your sin nature. 

When we receive the holy Spirit, we receive the power to walk humbly!

Humility is also outward! Helping people with things that are "not your problem"... humbly serving someone's need that presents itself in the moment.

Matthew 11... I am gentle and lowly (meek and humble). Meekness is power restrained! 

Luke 24... There was something about Jesus's disposition that made people feel warm and accepted in his presence.

We should desire greatness... and greatness is humble service!

It's sinful to want to be great apart from Christ. A beautiful house and a good income are not the goal. We are brought into the Kingdom not because we're great, but to pursue the greatness of humble service! We must follow the way of Christ. 

Greatness is rewarded. We'll be thrilled just to make it into heaven... But there, God himself will serve us at the table! 

We can only walk in this godly greatness once we've received the Spirit of God. It doesn't save us; it's made possible by our salvation!

James 4:7 humble yourself before the Lord and he will exalt you

1 Peter 5:6... Humble yourself so he will exalt you at the the right time!

Jesus and the disciples come down from the mountain, and are immediately confronted with trouble... that's how it goes! This is where many fail.

Why is the crowd amazed ("thrown into a terror") when they see Jesus? Possibly his appearance was changed like Moses' transfiguration, after being in the presence of the Father. They (a faithless generation) may have been afraid of him in the same way the demon is afraid of him later.

"If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" - the parents were in pain with their child... two things:

1. Having sick (or wayward) kids is extremely painful; God knows, and he cares. The prayers of godly parents are heard!

2. Transfiguration account... v6-10. Jesus is the son, identified with sin on the cross. He died in front of an unbelieving crowd. This could be parallelling the story of the boy.

v23-25... Jesus shows up and by the word of his mouth, demons flee! When the power of Jesus enters our lives, evil is brought out of our lives and Satan is not allowed to touch us.

At some point after salvation, the Holy Spirit convicts you of the depths of your sinful nature. The old comes down and the new comes up. 

v24... "help my unbelief":

 - The father is asking for an increase in faith (and this is before Pentecost, before the Holy Spirit is given). Hebrews 12:1 - Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith.

 - Jesus is one day coming back, but we don't always live every day as if that's true. So we pray, "Help our unbelief, increase our belief! Drive out our fears, help us to be totally committed!" The Spirit reveals who we really are... Romans 8:7... we hate God by nature. It's natural for us to sin. If we could lose our salvation, we would! Parable of the sower: many who seem to be regenerate are going to eventually fall away. So we need deep roots, so we don't leave the Lord, leave his word! We must abide in him! Give us more faith, Lord!

Whenever Jesus is away from the apostles, they fall apart. This is true of all of us! When were not in daily prayer and reading and submission to God, were hopeless.

"Apart from me, you can do nothing!" - John 15:5

They have no power to resist the devil, to resist the darkness.

Who in the gospel was the furthest from receiving him? The well-pit--together, the successful, the wealthy. Not the destitute. 

The disciples were unable to push back the darkness until he returned to them. 

We're not missionaries of niceness, ministers of happiness. We're to herald the King! Not just making people feel good or providing for their material needs. But, what does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul?

We're here to bring Christ to the nations. Against that, the gates of hell cannot prevail!

When demons saw Jesus, they were terrified. There's also something in us that Satan hates, and it sends demons into an irrational rage.

Satan doesn't wait for your child to grow up to attack them. He's after our kids, he's after their kids. It's never too early to teach your child right from wrong! Good from evil! Speak to their minds, their wills. Don't just support them in whatever they want. God gave them YOU as parents, so you would parent them! Don't let someone else do it. 

Satan is using every fiery dart he has to destroy your children! We, the parents and the church, must bring them the light.

"I believe! Help my unbelief!" The prayer for God to strengthen our belief. When dealing with doubt, don't hide from him; bring it to him! 

Jesus rebuked the boy's demon, and the boy initially looked worse than he did before the rebuke; he looked dead. And then Jesus took him by the hand, and he arose!

Through faith in the Lord Jesus we will be raised to new life, forever! When we die, we're immediately in his presence!

When Jesus casts the demon out, it's never allowed to enter the person ever again. 

The disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cast out the demon themselves. The answer was that it requires prayer. He doesn't rebuke them, just answers gently. They hadn't yet received (permanently) the power of the Holy Spirit. So he answers that they need to come to him! They need to pray.

Apart from the Lord, we can do nothing!

What pushes back the darkness? We must go to the light! Go to Jesus!

That's today's text. Two thoughts...

1. To describe what something is, it's helpful to describe what it isn't...

 - The boy's attacks looked like seizures. Seizures are not demon possession. Your seizures (or any illness) aren't the result of a lack of faith on your part. Christians, as we have the Holy Spirit in us, cannot be demonically possessed!

 - For every believer: you belong to God! So, you do NOT belong to Satan! You are not filled with demons.

2. There are many places in Scripture where Satan enters a person. But never a person who believes.

 - Too many Christians give Satan too much credit, for power he doesn't have.

 - Anxiety, depression... Satan can influence and assault the church from the outside, but he has no power on the inside of a believer's heart and mind!

 - 1 John 5:18

 - Satan didn't make you sin. You sinned because you enjoy sin enough to do it.

 - James 1:13... We are only tempted when we are lured away by our own desires.

 - Spiritual maturity takes time. When we do what we don't want to have done, it's the sin in us, not Satan. 

 - When God calls you to be his own, you are 100% his! Satan can only act with the permission of our loving God!

 - Even if your faith is as tiny as a mustard seed, demons can never come into you! You are the bride of Christ, and he will not allow it. The Holy Spirit in you terrifies demons!

What is today's text telling us? In Jesus alone is there power to defeat the seen and the unseen! Satan is afraid of God. It's not us, but only Christ in us who can conquer darkness. And we can ask God for more of the gift of the Holy Spirit!

I am the bread of life... John 6:22-53

- The people were all about the bread Jesus provided, not about the life he offers.

Jesus calls himself the bread of life, pulling from many places in Scripture referring to bread...

 - Ex29:2... Bread was a sacrifice offered to God. He's the bread offering of thanksgiving to God! 

 - The showbread... the bread of the presence of God, in the tabernacle. Jesus is the true showbread. 

 - Manna... rained down on the Israelites. Jesus is the true manna, supernatural provision for the world! We need a Savior... our needs are more spiritual than physical. 

 - The Word of God... Isaiah 2: taking in the Word of God is similar to eating bread. Proverbs 9... Words of godly wisdom are like bread. 

 - The eucharist... He is the living bread. He gives his life for the world! He is the bread that has come down. We gather to receive him, to sit at the table with him. 

 - Future bread... We are blessed here and now, walking with him, filled with the Spirit. But he looks beyond today! If we're in him, he will raise us up on the last day, we will have a meal with him, and live with him forever! 

The crowd wants earthly comfort, but Jesus wants to give them himself! Unfortunately, they grumble and walk away. In our flesh, we want God to do our will. We want him to serve us the way we want to be served. But God is not obligated to follow our ways! He cannot be manipulated. We must come to him in true faith and remain in him, not for the riches he offers, but for who he is. The best thing he gives us is himself!

John 6:53... Unless you partake in him, you have no life in you. If you do, you will have eternal life!

When God gives Hannah a son, she sings to him! Same with Mary and Jesus.

3 thoughts about today's reading...

1. Hannah's heart exalted the Lord... she's blessed, but she directs her praise to who God is! 

He's holy, the most high, and the rock...

- Holy: he's utterly separate! He alone is the self-existent one.

- Most high, yet he came to die 

- The rock: when love is really bad, where do we run? There's no rock, no shelter like our God! Build your life upon this rock!

2. His birth brought about a great series of reversals... He changes everything! Anxiety is part of life, but this will all disappear. He brings an incorruptible kingdom!

3. God will judge the ends of the earth! Every Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ, the arrival of the King of kings! So we sing! Of his government there will be no end!

Jesus is the light of the world! That's why we decorate with lights at Christmas.

We celebrate in the darkest time of year, because the light then begins to grow. Jesus brought light to the darkness! 

All of our traditions are because Jesus has come, and for us, everything has changed. He changed the world as we know it! When we accept that he came and died for us, it changes everything.

1. Jesus is the light of the world - John 8:12 - Jesus is the IAM... He's calls himself Yahweh, THE light of the world. In him there is no darkness! No malice, greed, no vice. He's our guiding light! 

2. The light took on human flesh - John 1:1-5 - Angels sang glory to God in the highest! The shepherds were wrapped in the light of the triune God. Jesus will defeat the darkness! God appears as light thought the Old and New testaments. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God! Light is the first thing God created for the earth. God brought us light when we were living in darkness. 

3. The light sent his light! John 12:35 - We were all born in sin, and are good at sinning. We're blind apart from the illumination of God's Spirit pointing us to Christ! He reveals who we really are. We must repent of our darkness to come to the light.

4. We are to walk in the light. 1 John 1:5-9 - Truth is walking in the light, living and doing the things of light! We are grieved by the darkness in us. A Christian lives at peace with other believers. Being contentious is walking in darkness. Do you love your fellow believers? You must "do" the love if you're walking in the light. If you are a Christian, you have received the light of Christ and are aware of your own darkness.

5. We will rest in his light forever! Revelation 21-22:5 - The Bible has 66 books, working together in harmony and unison. In Genesis, the earth started in darkness, and God created light. In Revelation, all the lights God created in Genesis start to disappear. He created the firmament, the boundary between heaven and earth, and begins to destroy it in Revelation.

The New Earth doesn't need the sun; it's illuminated by the glory of God! As believers, we will dwell eternally in that light!

Our forever isn't in heaven, but in God's eternal city! There is one light source, and the walls are largely transparent... His light will shine through everywhere! We'll always feel the light of the Lord on our skin. His light will refract and reflect all around. The ground is made of pure gold, translucent, reflecting colorful light back up into the city! 

Coming from his throne is the River of Life. The most beautiful body of water, and we'll walk beside it, eating from fruit trees. 

We will dwell here forever and ever!

Jesus is the light of the world... He's describing his glory! Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he's Lord!

Two thoughts...

1. Whatever you do in life, make sure you belong to Christ. Only if you follow the Light of the World in this life will you bask in this light in the next life! Come to him, admit your darkness, and accept his light! And he will accept you on the day you enter eternity. 

2. The whole world is in darkness, and it needs the light. And so we invite others into the light... ask them to please follow the light!

See the attached PDF to navigate through today's passage, by clicking the button labeled "Jude Chiasm".

The book of Jude has 25 verses, all arranged as a chiasm: a literary structure wherein the main theme is located in the center of the passage, and the verses surrounding it point to, and flesh out, the central theme.

In Jude, we have 5 sections to the chiasm, structured like this:

A-B-C-D - E - D-C-B-A, with "E" as the central statement.

In Jude, our "A" consists of v1-2 (the intro to the book), and v24-25 (the "outro"-- the famous doxology glorifying God and testifying to the salvation Jesus provides!) We are kept for Jesus (v1) and are kept by God (v24).

Our "B" is v3-4 and v20-23... 3-4 describes contending for the faith among the wicked, and 20-23 shows what we are called to be, and that we are to have mercy on and contend to save the wicked.

Our "C" is v5-7 and v14-20... in 5-7 we have examples of past judgment. In 14-20 we have future judgment!

Our "D" is v8-10 and v12-14... again, past judgment and future judgment. In verse 8, creation has fallen into disorder; Satan wants Michael the Archangel to act like him, but he refuses and simply says "the Lord rebuke you!" God's creation is falling away from what God designed it to be.

And our central theme, our "E" is verse 11... woe to them! They should be kept from stumbling, should be following Jesus into his presence, but instead they "walked in the way of Cain," trading the blessing of belonging to God for the sake of greed and power. They will be swallowed up by the earth as those who perished in Korah's rebellion against Moses.

The central theme of Jude is the judgment that's coming for those who have walked away from the path God has lovingly chosen for his people!

Malachi has a legal tone. It was written to a corrupted priesthood. These are the disputes between God and the people. 

There are six (possibly seven) sections or disputations.

Malachi might be the prophet Ezra, but his identity is not truly known. He was a prophet, writing around 450 BC. 

v2-5... First disputation... This is not about the wrath or judgment of God, but the love of God! "I have loved you..." He loves his people. Specifically, he loves them with a familial love. (But the people love others). 

Throughout Malachi, God speaks to people's questions and issues out loud. The Israelites thought, "how have you loved us?" And here God answers by showing he's Israel's protector. He has defeated their enemies. 

v6-14... Second disputation...

The first one was about love, but this one's about God being dishonored by the priests through improper sacrifices. They lowered the standard, perhaps to increase sacrificial offerings; their focus was on the benefit they get from the sacrifice, not the glory God is due. They did this for their own gain, like a modern church lowering the standard of the gospel, watering down the message.

Sacrifice numbers may have been up, but the quality of the sacrifice was not to God's standard. The priests and the people were in sin when offering the worst of their livestock.

We should always give God our best! Bring him the best we have, for he is the great King! The authority above all authorities, the Almighty, the Lord of Hosts, of Heaven's armies!

And with his Word comes the authority of who he is! He is the great King, hated among the nations. If you reject him, you've made yourself an enemy of the most powerful being in the universe.

So Malachi 2 begins with a curse. That'll be for the next teaching. 

Two things...

1. The snorting servant...

Serving in the temple was too wearying for some servants. Some of the priests seemed to serve begrudgingly, wearied that they had to process another sacrifice. They became weary of serving God! And so they misrepresented his name.

This can happen to everyone who serves in church, from the pastor down to the least visible of volunteers. 

Serving God is an honor and a privilege! We must serve him out of a joyful and worshipful heart! If we can't do that, we need a break. 

2. There are hints in chapter 1 of the coming of Christ...

When he says "from the rising sun to its setting," he's talking about his name being made great among all the nations... The spread of the Gospel through Jesus's ministry! Philippians 2:8. The name made great among all nations is Jesus! 

But in verse 6, they're disgracing, despising the name of God. So the name of the Son will be made great among the nations, not only among the Jews, but the gentiles as well!

When Jesus comes, his name will be made great among the nations. There will be a pure offering, an offering of faith in the one who will have died for the sin of the world! 

So we worship the Father in spirit and in truth through faith in Christ!