Category: Uncategorized

Mark 9:43
Once again we find ourselves looking at some of Christ’s intense teaching. Why did Jesus use such extreme examples? What is he trying to teach his disciples here? He had been talking about this man that the disciples saw doing miracles in Christ name. But at this point he’s turned his attention to a related subject. He’s teaching them about those who might cause offence. And, at this juncture, he is addressing personal issues that might cause offence.
But what does this offense mean? What is offence? This verse reveals the answer. Offense is anything that might cause a person to miss the eternal blessing of life in glory. In other words, offense is that which prevents us from truly being children of God. It is any false teaching, any personal issue, any sin, that keeps us from being saved.
Later on, when we read the writings of the disciples, we can see that they learned this lesson well. They constantly spoke to Christians with language that encouraged a check up on each person’s own soul. They did not try to cause doubt, but they did encourage one to make sure their faith was genuine. This is what Jesus is after in this verse. He is expressing how extremely important it is for people not to ‘miss the boat’ on salvation.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for salvation. Thank you for making it available to us through your precious Son, the Lord Jesus. Help us to realize that your Word is here for our benefit. The reason for the teachings that we find there is us. Our welfare, what’s best for us, is what you have in mind all the time. You never want anything for us that will hurt us. Thank you for teaching us through your Word. Thank you for Christ! You are worthy of all the praise and all the glory! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 9:42
Though persecution is a reality, it will not go unpunished. Christians have no reason to retaliate for persecution. Instead, the proper response is pity. What awaits those who would stand against the work of the Spirit is more than enough retribution.
Just as a good father protects his children, God will protect us.

Heavenly Father, you know the future, and you have told us what we need to know about it. You have plans for your saints, and you are not unaware of the suffering of your people. The fact is that this is all about you and how good you are. Your glory is the cause for all of it. You deserve the credit for any good thing. You alone are worthy! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 9:41
One of the things that we seem to miss completely in Scripture is the paradigm for ministry. Why does Jesus say, ‘because you belong to Christ’? Why does that matter? Well, time and time again in Scripture we see this pattern. Giving, charity, ministry have as the object God’s people. Even in the case of evangelism, the goal is to bring people to Christ. So, we are to minister to the church, not the world?
Well, we minister to the world by ministering to the church. Among Christian ministers we find many patterns. Some don’t seem to minister at all. They just preach fiery damnation and figure they’ve done their job. Others minster only to the world, and let Christians fend for themselves. Still others will help only those in the church. But the right balance is to minster to all, with our primary focus being ministry to the church. Why? Because as we can see from this verse and others, this is the Bible way.

Heavenly Father, may we be truly benevolent like you are! You give and give. Your goodness never expires, or gets tired. You are always there, and you always care. May we be ministers with your heartbeat. We will give you the praise! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 9:40
This is a good principle for us to remember. Often, it’s difficult to know the right balance when it comes to cooperating with others. On the one hand, we do not want to compromise the truth; but on the other, we have to work together. Jesus gives us the principal here, if someone is working towards the same goal that we are, we should work not against them but with them. So, you might say, it’s better to try to identify your friends than to spend all your time identifying your enemies.

Heavenly Father, we are thankful for you allowing us to be your ministers. Help us to remember that we must work together. You don’t intend for anyone of us to win the world all by ourselves. We are to work with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to bring people to you. Help us to rely on your strength, and not our weakness to make a difference in the world. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 9:39
We know from Acts 19 and the story of the sons of Sceva that those who did not know the Lord would not be able to cast out demons. So, this man who the disciples had seen must have known the Lord. Likely he was a disciple of John who had now believed in Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank you for using us in the ministry. It is so nice to be involved in your work in this world. You know what is best, and you have given your children a big job to do. But you have given us what we need to do it. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 9:38
The disciples apparently had not told the Lord about this incident before. Surely, they thought, it was natural to take themselves as the sole proprietors of the truth they had been receiving from Christ. We have this tendency, to think that we are unique among God’s ministers. Elijah had this same malady, thinking he was the last that would worship Almighty God. But, we must remember, as the disciples were about to learn, that this world is a big place. God has ministers all over the place, and they don’t all look, sound, and talk alike. However, they are all alike in one thing: Christ. He is the common denominator.

Heavenly Father, we will endeavor to remember that we are only a small part of your world. We are only a few of the myriads of your ministers. There will be differences, but all must be one in Christ. He is the goal, he is the Master, he is the Banner, and he is the theme. May Christ be our song forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 9:35
Jesus immediately decides it is time for some teaching. He was always teaching. He called all of the twelve. It may be that not all of them were involved in the dispute. But Jesus knew that all of them would need to hear this lesson.
Interestingly, Jesus does not condemn the desire to be first directly. However, he turns the whole thing upsidedown. So, having this desire becomes harmless due to the self-efacing method of gaining it. Brilliant! Maximum ambition with maximum humility!

Heavenly Father, you are so smart! You understand us so well. We don’t seem to remember that you made us. You know everything about us becuase of that. You know how we are wired. Thank you for taking such good care of us, giving us your truth to guide us. Jesus is such a great teacher! He is the Master! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 9:34
Now how do you hide something from God? Of course you  don’t, so any attempt to do so is rather comical. I mean how did they go about this holding of their peace? My guess is Jesus got one of those blame game glance parties we are so good at. Maybe he looked at Peter, so Peter glanced at John. John glanced at James, who glanced at Philip. Philip glanced at Andrew who glanced at Matthew, and so forth. Just a guess, but it probably was something like that.

Heavenly Father, sometimes we communicate so much with our eyes that we won’t say with our mouths. Yet, you know everything we think. You are to be honored not only with our lips, but with our thoughts. We can think about the things of you all through our day. Thinking about your great glory and mighty power reassures us as we face the circumstances of life. You are so faithful, and your working in each of our lives is a blessing we will never be able to thank you enough for. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.