DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION?

March 24, 2002 pm
MFBlume


Mark 9:30-50  And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.



We read Jesus did not want anyone to know He was passing through Galilee, because He wanted to teach something to His disciples. Then we go on and read about Christ perceiving an argument the disciples had among each other. Jesus knew, anyhow.  Then  He took a child and put the child before them all. When a person receives a disciple in the name of Jesus, what that means is the person is considering a Christian and paying heed to him because they believe God will bless them because they serve Jesus.

Let me stop and explain what receiving someone in the name of Jesus means.

It means for a sinner to have such regard for Jesus, that they believe that by helping out a disciple because that disciple represents Jesus, they will actually receive a blessing from God.

Jesus is building up to something that we will deal with in a few minutes.

Jesus is speaking about UNION TO HIMSELF.

A person who truly is in union with Jesus and is a Christian, SHOULD ACT LIKE JESUS.

Jesus was the greatest.

And Jesus HUMBLED HIMSELF AND BECAME SERVANT OF ALL.

He said the same thing when the last supper occurred.

We need to be humble, because people are going to want to be blessed. When these people receive a disciple, they receive Jesus. Then John shows another error. Then He says that a person who gives a cup of water to a disciple in the name of Jesus, is going to be blessed. Don't rebuke these people who are trying.

Leave them alone.

Then Jesus talks about offending.

Don't dare offend someone.

Offending someone who is seeking God in sincerity, deserves a millstone around your neck and being thrown into the sea.

And then Jesus begins speaking about our hand offending us and our eye or our foot.

In other words, John had a problem in forbidding the person who was casting out devils.

Jesus then said that if there is some corruption in our lives that will rise up at times and offend another person, we had better CUT THAT PART OF OUR LIVES OFF. And then He says.
Mark 9:49-50  For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
In other words, everyone suffers one way or another.

Let your selfishness go wild and see the corruption rise up and not curb it in any form, then you'll suffer later in good shape.

We sacrifice our lives when we come to Jesus. This is the reason we read of these things after we find they could not understand the teachings about Jesus dying and rising again. John just made an error before Christ spoke of this issue. Jesus taught them how He must be killed and rise again the third day. Moses experienced a parallel event as this of our text.
Numb 11:4-9  And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
Manna speaks of the Body of Jesus Christ.
John 6:31-33  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
He described His manna as His body which He gave for the life of the world. So God gave them what they wanted.

However, before the FLESH arrived, we read an interjecting event.

Just like John, Joshua told Moses to forbid the two elders from prophesying in the camp! So we see a parallel in the thought that Jesus spoke of the death of the cross, and the people could not understand Him. And then envy occurs among the disciples, as they wonder who is the greatest, and then John forbids a man from casting out devils. And then Moses' story continues regarding the manna.
Numbers 11:31-33  And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.
God strikes the people who desire flesh with death. Feasting on Manna and the truths of the cross, is believing and living the life of knowing Christ's death is our's, and we must live a life of self denial afterwards, and not live to ourselves.
2 Corinthians 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
When Jesus spoke beforehand of people receiving us as Himself, He also said this:
Matt 10:38-39  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Losing our lives now means living a life of self denial, where we do not please every whim of the flesh. If we truly understand the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see that OUR LIVES are in union with Him, and we must LIVE IN SELF DENIAL, so as not to offend others through the outcroppings of fleshly selfishness.