Seven-hundred years before Christ, Isaiah wrote of Him:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth (Is. 53:7).

Fulfilling Isaiah’s words, Jesus suffered silently as He was accused, mocked, spit upon, beaten, whipped and crucified. He must have been tempted to say, “You just wait, you wretches! One day you’ll regret how you’ve treated Me!” His self-restraint was amazing. Peter, an eyewitness to much of Christ’s sufferings, would later write, “And while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). This, Peter also wrote, serves as an example for us to imitate when we suffer unjustly for our faith (1 Pet. 2:21).

Jesus was, of course, motivated by more than just a desire to fulfill prophecy as He suffered silently. He was “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities” (Is. 53:5). He desired that all men might be saved, even those who mocked Him, and the only way that would be possible was if He suffered, paying for their sins. God would see “the anguish of His soul” and “be satisfied” (Is. 53:11). Justice and love met on the cross.

And what a contrast of purity and wickedness! Jesus shines as a beacon in the darkness amongst those who hated Him. Their cruelty is nothing more than a demonstration of universal human nature, manifested every day in political prison camps and on the playgrounds of your local elementary school. But once a person is born again, the same Jesus who died for the world comes to live inside him by the Holy Spirit, resulting in a supernatural transformation. Thereafter, the new creation in Christ shudders as he remembers the former selfishness that ruled him and marvels at how others can be so cruel.

The Romans always crucified people along major roads so that as many people as possible would walk by the condemned, making them an object lesson to all. So try to erase those crucifixion scenes from religious movies out of your mind, which portray Jesus hanging from His cross on a distant hill, with a few mourners standing to watch along with the Roman guards. Jesus hung naked, bleeding and dying in agony, along a major road just outside one of Jerusalem’s gates, as hundreds, perhaps thousands of people streamed by Him, going about their daily business. Many mocked Him in passing. Yet He made no reply.

Just before He expired, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (15:34), quoting the first verse of Psalm 22. Had any of those present bothered to read that psalm, they would have been amazed that, a thousand years earlier—before crucifixion was even invented as a means of capital punishment—David penned prophetic words that expressed Jesus’ anguish on the cross:

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning….All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him”….I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots (Ps. 22:1, 7-8, 14-18).

Psalm 22 by itself should be enough to convince anyone to repent and believe!

Jesus’ foretelling of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Roman Legions besieged Jerusalem. His disciples, upon hearing His prediction, naturally wanted to know when such an unthinkable demolition would occur. Jesus, however, never revealed to them that He was speaking of a time forty years away.

According to Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, Jesus’ disciples not only asked about the future destruction of the temple, but also about the signs of His coming and the end of the age (Matt. 24:3). They may have assumed that the destruction of the temple, which He had just foretold, would occur at the end of the age. They may have been correct—if the rebuilt Jerusalem temple will also be destroyed. We read in Ezekiel 38:18-20 of a future earthquake in Israel that could certainly cause a rebuilt temple to be destroyed:

On that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel….and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground (Ezek. 38:20).

The prophet Zechariah also foretold of a day when the Lord will stand on the Mount of Olives, and when He does it will “split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south” (Zech. 14:4).

In light of just those two prophecies, it would seem quite possible that the future Jerusalem temple could be demolished so that “one stone is not left standing upon another.”

Luke recorded a portion of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse that was not included by Matthew and Mark, and it seems to have specific application to the temple’s destruction that took place in 70 A.D. (Luke 21:20-24). For that and other reasons, some think that everything Jesus predicted in His Olivet Discourse was fulfilled by 70 A.D., even including His coming, which they interpret as His “coming in judgment” by means of Titus and the Roman Legions. Personally, I can’t accept that particular interpretation. Jesus spoke of cataclysmic events in the heavens, tribulation unlike any the world had seen before or after, false messiahs and prophets showing great signs and wonders, people seeing “the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory,” and Him sending forth the angels to gather His elect “from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven” (13:26-27). Those things did not occur around 70 A.D.!

Jesus’ frequent use of the personal pronoun you in His Olivet Discourse, as well as His promise, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (13:30) are also presented as proof that everything Jesus predicted must have been fulfilled within forty years. But I would rather murder one scripture to save a hundred than murder a hundred scriptures to save one! Because all that Jesus foretold obviously did not come to pass within forty years of His Olivet Discourse, I can only conclude that He was not speaking of the generation that was alive then, but of the generation that would be alive when He returns. If that interpretation is correct, then we should expect that all that Jesus foretold will take place in the span of one generation, which I would peg at around seventy years.

In regard to the fact that Jesus frequently used the personal pronoun you as He foretold future events to Peter, James and John, and the claim that this proves Jesus’ words were fulfilled in their lifetimes, the fact is that neither Peter or James lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. James was martyred 12 to 14 years after Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Acts 12:2). Peter was martyred between 64 and 68 A.D. Certainly none of them lived to see “the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory,” or the angels gathering His elect from the four winds (13:26-27)!

Since I mentioned some of today’s reading in my last commentary, I think I’ll mention some of our last reading in today’s commentary! Specifically, I would like to consider Jesus’ words about forgiveness in Mark 11:

Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions (Mk. 11:25-26).

It is obviously a very serious thing not to have your transgressions forgiven by God. If He does not forgive us, then He is still holding our sins against us. If He is holding our sins against us, then we will have to be repaid for them. That should motivate us to forgive others!

What does it mean to forgive? When God forgives us, He no longer holds our sin against us. Our “debt” is erased and our relationship with Him is restored. We are reconciled. So when we forgive another person, it should also result in reconciliation. When we see that person, we should no longer be angry with them. Yet so often, folks claim they’ve forgiven someone who has sinned against them, but there has been no reconciliation. A little probing reveals that they are still angry with the person whom they’ve supposedly forgiven.

The reason for this is because they are trying to obey one of Jesus’ commandments while disobeying another one of His commandments, namely, His commandment to confront those who have sinned against them. They attempt to “forgive” people whom they’ve not confronted and who have not admitted their sin or asked for forgiveness. True forgiveness and reconciliation only occurs after sin has been admitted and forgiveness has been requested.

For this reason, God doesn’t forgive everyone, but only those who repent (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3, 24:47; Acts 2:38). And that is why Jesus told us:

If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” forgive him (Luke 17:3-4).

Of course, confrontation and reconciliation is possible with fellow believers, but often not so possible with unbelievers. In those cases, we should obey Jesus’ commandment to “love our enemies.” It is certainly possible to love someone yet not forgive him, as God loves people yet He doesn’t always forgive those whom He loves. I’ve written more extensively on this topic here if you care to study it more.

Mark highlights some questions posed to Jesus, first by some Pharisees and Herodians who wanted to trap Him, then by some Sadducees who were hung up on their pet doctrines, and finally by a scribe, whose heart was apparently pure. That scribe understood what many then and now have missed—that there are some commandments that are greater than others. Namely, that loving God and neighbor “is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (12:33). His understanding provoked Jesus to tell him that he wasn’t “far from the kingdom of God” (12:34). Christians can easily find themselves side-tracked from what is most important, and in so doing, drift from what should be at the core. We should strive to obey all of Christ’s commandments, but if we zealously obey the lesser ones while ignoring the greater ones, we can become like Pharisees who “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” (Matt. 23:24).

It is interesting that contributions to the temple treasury could be made in full public view. It was likely designed that way by those who knew that people generally give more when they receive public praise, since so many give, motivated not by love, but by self-love. This is why Jesus told His followers to give in secret.

Jesus’ comment on the size of the widow’s gift is a window into the righteous judgment of God. He considers how much money we have before determining the praise-worthiness of our gifts, looking at percentages and sacrifices more than dollar amounts. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). Help us, Lord, to understand how much we have!

The issues of divorce and remarriage are ones that have been hotly debated within Christian circles. As you seek for a true understanding, let me encourage you, first of all, to consider all that Scripture teaches on the subject. If our interpretation of Jesus’ words that we read today, for example, makes Him contradict other scriptures, then we need to re-think our interpretation. The Bible has one author, and He is not confused!

Second, let me encourage you to use that good brain that God has given you! If every person on the planet who is divorced and remarried is regularly committing adultery, then those people are all doomed to hell, because Scripture says that no adulterer will inherit God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Thus there could be only two possible remedies. Those “adulterers” could get divorced, which of course is a sin Jesus condemned and one that God hates (Mal. 2:16). Or those “adulterers” could remain married, live together for the rest of their lives, love one another, hug and kiss one another, perhaps enjoy sex together to some degree (if adultery is defined as intercourse), but avoid “going all the way,” thus avoiding “adultery.” But does that make a bit of sense? What would be gained? Is the only thing that grieves God about divorce and remarriage the sexual intercourse in the remarriage? Or is there a greater reason why God hates divorce?

All of this is to say that it is obvious that Jesus was addressing an alleged loophole that Israel’s corrupt religious leaders had found in the Mosaic Law. Their very liberal interpretation of what constituted an “indecency” in Deuteronomy 24:1-3, along with some twisting of the words found there, permitted them to divorce with impunity (in their own minds) and quickly remarry another whom they were lusting after, all while maintaining that adultery was wrong. Anyone who is honest, however, knows that the person who divorces his or her spouse in order to marry another is doing what is no different than adultery. But that is not the same as the person who tries to save his or her marriage but fails, whose heart is torn apart in the process, and who slowly recovers so that years later succeeds in having a happy second marriage.

It goes without saying, of course, that there is no excuse for two genuine Christians to divorce. Those who do should be reconciled or remain unmarried (see 1 Cor. 7:11). I have written much more extensively on this topic here if you care to read more.

Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus took time to bless children? God could have populated the earth instantly with adults, but He gave us children to remind us continually of innocence and purity of heart—what is needed to enter heaven. The most wicked adults in the world at one time were innocent little children! Yet the hope remains for them to recover their lost purity through Jesus if they will repent and believe! Amazing grace!

This necessity of holiness to gain heaven is underscored by Jesus’ clear words to the rich, young ruler. Jesus unmistakably declared that inheriting eternal life is for those who obey the commandments, and if one is rich, that includes liberal giving to the poor (10:17-21). It is quite amazing how such clear truths are obscured by modern ministers who have no higher motive other than to keep goats coming back each week to their churches.

Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (10:25). If you earn more than $125 each month, you are among the top 25% of the world’s richest people. If you earn more than $2,100 each month, you are among the top 10% of the world’s richest people (see GlobalRichList.com). Thus it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for most of us to enter God’s kingdom. Thankfully, it is possible with God, but not because He will overlook our greed, but because He can transform us into generous people who care for the poor. Obviously, that transformation requires our cooperation!

It wasn’t just Jesus’ closest disciples who believed that He was about to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem (Luke 19:11). The crowds who lined His way from the Mount of Olives also believed it, and they gave Jesus a king’s welcome. But His triumphal entry was anticlimactic. Jesus didn’t overthrow the Jewish rulers or the Romans. He did, however, according to Matthew’s account, overthrow the tables of the money changers. But He was soon on His way back to Bethany to lodge for the night. It must have been a major disappointment for many of Jesus’ enthusiastic followers. I wonder how they would have reacted if they had been told that it would be at least 2,000 years before the messianic kingdom would begin?

The next morning, Jesus and the twelve walked back from Bethany to Jerusalem, which would have been crowded with Passover pilgrims. On the way there, Jesus cursed a fig tree, “finding nothing but leaves” (11:12). Mark informs us that “it was not the season for figs” (11:13).

Jesus wasn’t expecting to find figs; nor does Mark say that He was. Rather, He “went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it” (11:13). Fully-formed figs would not appear on fig trees for another six weeks in Jerusalem. When fig leaves appear in late March, however, they are accompanied by small knobs known as taqsh, that drop off before the real figs are formed. Those taqsh are eaten by the poor and hungry. If leaves appear on a fig tree unaccompanied by taqsh, there will be no figs that year either. So Mark’s report makes sense. Jesus was looking for taqsh, not figs.

Surely there was something more to this story than Jesus’ anger at a fruitless fig tree! I suspect that His curse was symbolic of the divine curse that would come upon Jerusalem for its fruitlessness. Jesus later told a parable about a landowner who only wanted to receive his rightful fruit from those who tended his vineyard. The vine-growers would not give him what he was due, even killing his messengers and his son, and in the end, they were brought to an end (Mark 12:1-11). It was a foreshadowing of the doom that awaited fruitless Jerusalem, and according to Luke’s account, Jesus wept as He anticipated the future holocaust of 70 A.D.:

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace!….For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:41-44).

Jesus summed up the message of the parable of the landowner by saying, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it” (Matt. 21:43). God is looking for fruit in our lives as well (John 15:1-8).

The other message in this incident of the cursing of the fig tree is one about faith in God. Jesus said that whoever believes can move a mountain into the sea by his command. As I mentioned when we considered this same incident in Matthew’s gospel, we can only have faith for what God has promised. Unless God reveals to you that it is His will for a certain mountain to be cast into the sea, your commanding it to do so would be ineffectual. (If you don’t believe me, then I suggest that you try to command a dirty plate to fly from your table into your kitchen sink!) Nevertheless, there is no greater power available to us than that of faith in God. So Jesus promised, “All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you” (11:24). Notice that He said, “Believe that you have received them,” not, “Believe that you are going to receive them.” There is a difference.

Peter, James and John, Jesus’ inner-most circle, were quite privileged to see Him gloriously transfigured as He will appear in His kingdom. If they had any doubts about who He was before then, all doubts were erased, especially as they heard God say, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” (9:7). They would never forget it, and decades later, a short time before his martyrdom, Peter would write:

For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain (2 Pet. 1:16-18).

Peter sealed the truthfulness of his testimony with his own blood, as he was crucified for his faith. According to church father Origen, Peter requested to be crucified upside down, considering himself unworthy to die in the same manner as his Master. Peter’s faith strengthens ours, as we know that he would not have been willing to suffer martyrdom to promote a lie.

It would be difficult to imagine how Jesus could have said these words, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?”(9:19) without a tone of exasperation or anger in His voice! He was upset with the lack of faith of the nine apostles who were not with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration, and who had failed to cast a demon out of a young boy. They had apparently made an attempt, commanding the demon to come out as they had done many times before (Mark 6:13), but this time were unsuccessful. According to Jesus, their faith was too little (Matt. 17:20), and prayer (perhaps accompanied with fasting) was the remedy (Matt. 17:21; Mark 9:29).

Jesus had no lack of faith, however, and even though the demon put on quite a show in His presence, He was not intimidated. When the boy’s father requested His help by saying, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us,” Jesus replied as if insulted (and I paraphrase): “‘If you can?’ Of course I can! All things are possible to him who believes” (9:23). Jesus believed and delivered the boy.

We might as well face up to it—Jesus is understandably insulted when we don’t trust Him. So instead of becoming angry with preachers who simply state what is obvious to anyone who reads the Bible honestly, why don’t we become angry at ourselves for our lack of faith? And instead of blaming God for our failures, why don’t we humble ourselves and admit our part? Faith pleases God (Heb. 11:6). Doubt displeases Him. So let’s trust Him! Knowing that Jesus is justifiably angered by doubt, we know it must be possible for doubters to believe.

I sat in a large church last weekend and heard the pastor tell his congregation that they can never forfeit their salvation, because their holiness has nothing to do with whether or not they would gain entrance into heaven. But today I read Jesus’ words to His closest disciples:

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (9:43-44).

Jesus repeated this same statement twice more, warning about feet and eyes that might cause one to stumble. So whom shall I believe, that mega-church pastor, or Jesus? I think I’ll stick with Jesus!

At least 15 different interpretations for Jesus’ metaphorical words in 9:49-50 about salt (and fire) have been suggested. None really satisfy me. But I’m not going to let that bother me. As Mark Twain quipped, “It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.”

According to John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus first asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” (John 6:5). John then comments on Jesus’ question, saying, “This He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do” (John 6:6). In our reading today, we can’t help but wonder if Jesus was similarly testing all of His disciples when He expressed His concern for the hungry multitude. I wonder if He was hoping they would respond by saying, “Lord, there are a thousand fewer men here than when you multiplied food just a few days ago, and we have two more loaves of bread than we did last time! This should be an easy miracle for you!” Regrettably they said, “Where will anyone be able to find enough to satisfy these men with bread here in a desolate place?” (8:4). I imagine a big sigh from Jesus. Why do we always consider the difficulty of a situation rather than the power of God to overcome anything?

If Jesus wasn’t disappointed with His disciples’ lack of faith as He was about to feed the 4,000, He certainly was disappointed a short time later as they crossed the sea of Galilee. He warned them then to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, the word leaven being a metaphor for “teaching” (Matt. 16:12). Rather than interpreting the word leaven in light of its surrounding context, however, they ignored all the context and focused only on the literal meaning of leaven. Since they had forgotten to take sufficient bread with them for their crossing, they assumed Jesus was rebuking them for that. This was a small foreshadowing of how Jesus’ words would often be misunderstood for the next 2,000 years!

Jesus’ exhortation in the boat was not the only time that He warned of false teachers or false teaching. And having already read James, Galatians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians, we have some idea how frequently James and Paul made efforts to do the same. Almost all of the book of Galatians, for example, is a warning against and an expose’ of false teaching. Today it is often considered uncharitable to preach a sermon that addresses false teaching. Pastors often feel pressured to “keep it positive.” To warn the sheep, however, is to imitate Christ and the apostles. As we continue reading through the New Testament epistles, you may be surprised to learn how often the apostolic writers dealt with false teaching and false teachers. If we only feed the sheep but never warn them, we only fatten them for slaughter.

Compounding the apostles’ misinterpretation of Jesus’ warning was their lack of faith regarding God’s ability to supply their needs. Seeing how Jesus had recently fed 5,000 and 4,000 men with only a few loaves and fish, it would seem unlikely for Him to be worried or upset that the twelve brought only one loaf of bread with them as they ferried across the Sea of Galilee. And here is good lesson for us all: God is never worried! If our Father isn’t worried, why should we worry?

Jesus’ words about the necessity of denying oneself and taking up one’s cross were not a call for heaven-bound believers to make a deeper commitment, as they are often construed. They were a call to anyone who wanted to “come after” Jesus (8:34). Jesus went on to declare that only those who lose their lives for His sake and the gospel’s sake will ultimately save their lives. All others, though they may gain the whole world, will forfeit their souls (8:35-36). These are obviously words about salvation. Thus we can safely say that only those who deny themselves, take up their crosses (an expression for accepting inevitable hardship), and lose their lives for Jesus’ and the gospel’s sake (give up their personal agendas and dedicate themselves to Jesus’ agenda) will be saved. All others will “forfeit their souls” (8:36). Such people are, in reality, ashamed of Jesus and His words. Jesus will be ashamed of them when He returns (8:38). If only this simple truth could be understood and applied by every professing Christian!

From Capernaum, Jesus walked about 25 miles to the town where He grew up and where His family still lived, Nazareth. We learn that He had at least four younger brothers and two younger sisters, and He was known in Nazareth as a carpenter (6:3). According to Luke’s Gospel, during an earlier visit, Jesus had offended the people of Nazareth during His sermon, and they attempted to murder Him then (Luke 4:16-30). Quite mercifully, Jesus made this second visit some months later, perhaps hoping that the reports of His many miracles throughout Galilee would have softened the hearts of the people in His hometown. Nothing, however, had changed.

As a consequence of their unbelief, we read that Jesus “could [not would] do no miracle there” (6:5). Jesus’ ability to do miracles in His hometown—certainly a place where He wanted to do miracles—was limited by the unbelief of the residents there. Once again we see that God’s sovereignty cannot be blamed for lack of miracles. God is searching for faith.

Not being enlightened to the truths of Calvinism, Jesus “wondered at their unbelief” (6:6). Had Jesus known what so many Calvinists understand today, He would not have wondered, knowing that God sovereignly grants faith to those whom He has preselected. Their unbelief was simply a consequence of their not being sovereignly chosen by God. Too bad Jesus didn’t understand that!

Obviously, I speak in jest. God has sovereignly wired human hearts to be free-willed. This is why in Scripture He so frequently bemoans people’s resistance to Him, why He holds them accountable for their choices, and why He ultimately judges them for their choices, three things that would make no sense at all if the doctrines of Calvinism were actually true.

This chapter in Mark’s Gospel contains additional lessons about faith. Jesus sent the twelve out in pairs to preach to the villages of Galilee, but He did not allow them to take along any provisions for their journeys (6:8-9). God would meet their needs as they obeyed Him. I have never known the Lord to work any other way. He calls people to a task, they take steps of faith, and He then meets their needs to accomplish their God-given task. So many, however, are “waiting on God” to give them provision before they take their first step. Tragically, some wait all their lives. The truth is, God is waiting on them.

It takes faith to obey God’s calling, and the first step is always the scariest! But as God proves His faithfulness, our faith grows, enabling us to trust Him for greater things.

Faith was also necessary for the apostles to heal people successfully or cast out demons. Before anyone was healed, the apostles first had to anoint sick people with oil, and before anyone was delivered from a demon, the apostles first had to command it verbally to come out (6:13).

Like the early apostles, church elders/overseers/pastors have been given a ministry of healing by means of anointing with oil and prayer, but faith is required of them:

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up (Jas. 5:14-15).

Elders/overseers/pastors who never anoint the sick with oil and pray for them are motivated by their lack of faith. Sick people who never ask the elders/overseers/pastors to anoint and pray for them are similarly motivated.

Feeding the 5,000 was an act of faith, as the crowd was arranged in groups of hundreds and fifties so that all could be efficiently served, and that was done when there were only five loaves and two fish!

Finally, did you notice that Jesus “intended to pass by” the struggling disciples as He walked across the Sea of Galilee (6:48)? What a lesson for us! Jesus will let us struggle against the wind if we fail to invite Him into our boat! I wonder how many times He’s walked right by me?

Mark mentions how the Pharisees observed “the traditions of the elders” (7:3, 5), one of which was the requirement to wash their hands carefully before eating, and another of which was cleansing themselves after returning from the marketplace. Those traditions were originally based on God’s commandments and were designed to put a hedge around them, so that by following the “fence laws,” there was no possibility of breaking God’s laws.

For example, the Mosaic law declared, “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” (Ex. 34:26). This related to an occult fertility rite practiced by the Canaanites—whom the Israelites dispossessed after their deliverance from Egypt. God didn’t want His people practicing pagan superstitions. The Jews, however, ignored the spirit of that particular law and created fence laws to prevent anyone from getting anywhere close to breaking the letter of it.

For example, a person might, at the same meal, drink goat’s milk and eat goat meat. There was some chance—albeit a slim one—that the milk might be from the mother of the goat that was being eaten. Once mixed in the stomach and heated there, a “boiling” of sorts would occur, and one would be guilty of boiling a goat in its mother’s milk! So a fence law was established to prevent such a “transgression” from ever occurring. That law forbade the eating of any meat and dairy product together, because you never know if some goat’s meat may have mixed with some beef at the slaughter house, or if some goat’s milk may have been mixed with some cow’s milk at the dairy!

If one ate any meat product, he must wait a specified time for it to be fully digested before consuming any dairy product, and vice versa, lest they mix in one’s stomach. And all meat and dairy products should be kept in separate kitchens, lest there be any accidental mixing of the two. Moreover, completely separate dishes must be kept for eating meat and dairy products, because there was a chance that a small particle of cheese might remain on your plate from a previous meal. If that cheese was made from goat’s milk, and if you happen to eat some goat’s meat on that same plate, that goat’s meat might be from a goat whose mother’s milk was used to make the cheese, and thus when combined in your stomach, you’d be guilty of boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk! (It was because of these fence laws that I found it impossible to order a cheese pizza with pepperoni the last time I visited in Israel!)

There were at least 1,500 fence laws surrounding the single commandment that forbade working on the Sabbath. Walking across a field on the Sabbath was forbidden, because you might inadvertently cause a grain of wheat to separate from its stalk, thus making you guilty of reaping on the Sabbath. Your foot might also step on a grain that had fallen on the ground, and by stepping on it, you might cause the wheat to be separated from the chaff, making you guilty of threshing on the Sabbath. It was also possible that your garment could create a breeze that would cause the chaff to blow away, making you guilty of winnowing on the Sabbath. And if a bird saw that grain and swooped down to eat it, you would be guilty of storing grain on the Sabbath!

Eventually, all those fence laws came to be considered as binding as the Mosaic Law, and they were compiled into what is called the Mishna. If there was disagreement between the two, the Mishna, by its own testimony, actually superseded the Mosaic Law. This Jesus condemned, citing an example of how the scribes and Pharisees invalidated the fifth commandment, and by their tradition released people from responsibility of caring for their elderly parents. Their doctrines were “precepts of men,” which proved that their hearts were far from God.

The lesson for us? Beware of man-made doctrines. And if we understand the reasons behind God’s commandments, we’re less likely to be misled by those who want to saddle us with heavy burdens.

We also read about the Gerasene demoniac in Matthew’s Gospel, but I didn’t comment then knowing that Mark’s Gospel contains the most detailed report. Matthew reported two demon-possessed men (Matt. 8:28), whereas Mark and Luke reported only one. Keep in mind that Matthew was an eyewitness (Mark 3:18). If Mark and Luke knew there were two demoniacs, they may have simply focused on one of them. Some folks spotlight little discrepancies like these to prove the Bible can’t be trusted, but that seems quite foolish to me in light of the fact that 99% of what Matthew, Mark and Luke report harmonize perfectly. What real difference does it make if Jesus delivered one or two men that day?

Again we read of a demon who, animating himself through a man, bowed before Jesus, fearful of being tormented “before the time,” according to Matthew (Matt. 8:29). Demons have no hope of salvation, and apparently anticipate with terror the day when they will be cast into the lake of fire with Satan, whom Scripture tells us will be tormented there “day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). How tragic it is that humans, who, unlike demons, have an opportunity to find forgiveness, choose instead to waltz through life, never once bowing before the only One who can save them from the lake of fire.

The legion of demons in this man made him supernaturally strong—enough to break chains. No doubt everyone in his region was terrified of him. The demon in him, however, was terrified of Jesus, begging not to be tormented! In light of this, what a dishonor it is to Jesus when Christians are fearful of demons. It is like elephants being afraid of mice! The truth is, demons are terrified of Christ who lives in us!

We can only speculate how this man became so possessed. I think it is safe to say, however, that he was not simply walking along one day, perfectly in his right mind, when suddenly a demon jumped inside of him and instantly turned him into a raving lunatic. Rather, it seems much more likely that the man began to entertain demonic thoughts, and he slowly became obsessed. Gradually, as he continually yielded, his condition grew worse, until his downward spiral took him beyond obsession to oppression and then possession. Satan gains entrance through people’s thoughts, and thus he can be kept at bay by simply following Paul’s admonition to dwell upon whatever is true, honorable, right, pure and so on (Phil. 4:8).

Apparently, at least 2,000 demons dwelled in that man, as that is how many pigs rushed into the Sea of Galilee. What a sight that would have been to see—2,000 pigs suddenly going berserk and committing suicide! It may seem rather unkind of Jesus to allow those demons to enter the pigs—unkind not only to the pigs, but also to the owners of those pigs, who lost a lot of money that day. Why didn’t Jesus forbid the demons to enter the pigs, especially in light of the fact that once those pigs were possessed, they were soon dead?

Some have speculated that, because pigs were considered unclean under the old covenant and Jews were forbidden to eat pork, Jesus was sending a strong message in that regard to the pig’s owners and everyone else. Personally, I don’t know. I do know, however, that the Son of God, maker of all things, not only owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Ps. 50:10), but all the pigs as well. He can do what He wants with them. I’ve noticed that the frequent natural disasters in the world, obviously permitted by God, regularly result in millions of dollars of losses. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21). I do hope that stunning display of God’s power along the Sea of Galilee was enough to wake some sinners from their slumber! Better to lose your pigs and gain salvation than vice versa.

Although those demons had the sense to bow before Jesus, the people of the Gerasene region were not so wise, asking Jesus to leave them. He graciously complied, but left behind an evangelist with an amazing testimony.