Jesus was walking ahead of them

Mark 10:32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.  And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.

 Once again in the life of the disciples Jesus led the way.  Even type-A personality Peter followed Jesus wherever Jesus wanted to go.  And in this scenario once again Jesus was “walking ahead of them."  It is a good reminder to me of my own personal spiritual walk.  Jesus walks ahead and I follow.  It would have been interesting to have been there to get a better sense of what amazed the disciples, but I know that for myself I have often been amazed at how God has led my steps through the years.  This verse reminds me that I can follow His steps with amazement because I am walking close behind Him, but if I fall back and follow from afar, I could be following afraid rather than amazed. That appears to have been the case for those who were not so dedicated to following except out of curiosity.  I would rather let Jesus walk ahead of me and follow as an amazed but close disciple.

Meeting the angels

Luke 12:8 And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God.

This verse has always been a bit “blurry” in my mind and understanding.  I have never been able to get a clear mental picture of just what Jesus meant even though I understood that He is talking about my commitment to follow Him in my present earthly life as a precursor to my eternal life in heaven.  However, as I read this verse today, a new mental picture popped into my head that brought a sense of excitement to me.  I pictured myself entering the gates of heaven and Jesus meeting me there, then turning to the host of greeting angels behind Him and saying to them, “This is Jo Ann.  We met when she was six years old and she has been following me ever since then.”  Then all the greeters crowd around me and shake my hand, saying, “We are so happy to have you here,” or, “We’ve been waiting to meet you and show you around.”  The whole imaginary picture gives me a sense of what Jesus will do as He acknowledges me in front of the angels of heaven.  It enhances my commitment to remain faithful now!

The inability of Jesus

Mark 6:5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.

I think this must be one of the saddest verses in the Bible.  There is sadness in it from just about every angle from which I approach it.  Jesus, the Son of God, capable of doing anything was unable to do His mighty acts in that town because of their unbelief.  Unable to do them.  He was not able to do anything exceptional because of their unwillingness to believe that the person they had known for 30 years was anything more than an ordinary person.  And to heal the sick was a miracle but the verse implies He could have and would have done even more miraculous things except for the persistent unbelief.  One has to wonder what those unbelievers in Jesus’ hometown missed because of their unbelief.  It makes me stop and wonder if I have ever kept God from working in my own life or family because I was not open to His doing so.  I pray that will never be the case.

Whatever it takes

Matthew 10:18 And you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to be witness before them and the Gentiles.

Somehow, in all the times I have read these words of Jesus to His disciples as He sent them out, I missed what I see today as a key element in this statement in v. 18.  I have always looked at the emphasis here as being in the fact that what persecution the disciples received from authorities was because of the message they were preaching.  Today as I read this verse the last phrase stood out to me.  The persecution that brings them before the rulers is “in order to” bear witness before those rulers.  As those in authority, governors and kings are usually unapproachable by any except a very few, so how would they hear the message of Jesus unless someone is brought to them to explain why they been arrested?  It is a “logical” way for the gospel to get to such people.  This has reminded me that God will do whatever is necessary to ensure that everyone (even “unapproachable” rulers) hears the gospel.

I know a secret

Mark 4:11 To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables.

As a child of God, one who has put her faith in God and His Word, and who has placed her faith in Jesus as her Savior, I have a level of understanding for spiritual truths in Scripture that those outside of faith in Christ do not have.  This understanding is not based in my training in theology.  It is not based in my intellect.  It is based in my standing as a child of God and dedicated follower of Jesus.  The disciples of Jesus gained understanding of spiritual things because of their close relationship to Jesus.  Later in this chapter in Mark, in v. 34, we are told again of the special connection the disciples had to spiritual understanding … Jesus explained everything from the parables to His disciples privately.  As a disciple of Jesus now, all these later, I see the truth of this in my own life as I continue to learn “privately” from Jesus and grow in my understanding of spiritual things.

Why Jesus came

Luke 1:71, 74-75 … that we should be saved from our enemies … that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

In these verses that are part of Zechariah’s blessing over the birth of his son, John the Baptist, I see God’s plan of salvation in a nutshell.  God’s purpose in sending Jesus as the Messiah was in order to save us from our enemies, sin and death.  Once we are delivered form the clutches of sin and death we are able and ready for “phase two” of God’s plan.  We are ready to serve God all the rest of our lives without any fear of those enemies.  We have His holiness on our side for the battle of life and service and we walk and serve in the robe of righteousness that is our confidence and out strength for service.