Gospel of Mark

Little Children: Mark 10:13-16

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13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Mark 10:13-16

27th January 2024: Horsham

There’s more going on in this short, familiar story than we might have been brought up to believe. It’s a beautiful story with layers of meaning. It’s about more than a group of mothers bringing their children to be blessed by Jesus. Actually, it’s not about that at all.

The Context: Jesus and the disciples are heading for Jerusalem. Jesus has told the disciples at least twice that he will be killed when he gets there. Along the way, there have been arguments and confrontation with Pharisees, teachers of the Law and others. Many of these people are out to get Jesus. They mean him harm. Maybe it’s not surprising that his closest friends have started to act protectively. At this moment, they look a bit like his ‘security’ detail.

The Disciples: As these people appear on the scene, the disciples rise as one to head off what they regard as ‘unwanted’ attention. These young men are Jews. In their culture , outside of their own families, children are of no significant worth.  They have done nothing to ‘earn’ their salvation under the Jewish Law. They have no wealth. They have no standing. They are not worthy of Christ’s attention. The security team ‘rebuke’ the people. Rebuke is a strong word. They shall not pass.

The People: We’ve been brought up and conditioned to see this as mothers bringing their baby to Jesus. The Greek word translated here as ‘people’ is masculine. That implies that the ‘people‘ were, or at least most of them were, men rather than women. Fathers and Grand-Father’s  bringing small children, Luke calls them babies, to Jesus (Luke 18:15). The children have no understanding of what is happening. They have no faith. They know nothing of God’s Kingdom. They have no idea at all who Jesus is.

The Rabbi: Jesus was indignant with his disciples. That’s another strong word. He was really not happy with them. The disciples see these little children as worthless – Jesus says you are wrong! We’ve seen before that Jesus is ready to reach out to children. Here we see that he has a heart for children. Even babies. ‘Let them come to me,‘ he says. ‘for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.‘ It doesn’t belong specifically to these babies, but something about these tiny ones touches the things of God’s kingdom.

Jesus rebukes the disciples because they try to stop these little ones coming to Him. He has warned them before about being a ‘stumbling block’ for those who are drawing close to the Son of God. Never, says Jesus, discourage anyone from drawing close to me. Even – especially – if they seem to you to be of little worth.

The End Piece: This scene ends beautifully. Jesus, the rabbi, reaching out with both arms towards these tiny ones. Can you see the small child responding? There’s no delay. There’s eye contact. Do you see the unquestioning trust of the infant, arms outstretched, leaning forwards into the arms of the Son of God. The infant wants to be close to Jesus. This is not to be a blessing at arms length. Jesus embraces the children. Draws them close. Welcomes them in. Wraps his arms around them. Blesses them.

Those who come to Christ will do so as ‘spiritual babies’, trusting hands outstretched towards Christ, eyes fixed on Jesus, leaning in, drawing close into His loving embrace. They will receive his kingdom like little children, or not at all.

15 ‘Truly I tell you,’ says Jesus,  ‘anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

Divorce: Mark 10: 1-12

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 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Mark 10:1-12

Horsham: 19th January 2024
Divorce

This is a tough area to write or teach about. Relationship breakdowns are desperately complex and damaging to everyone involved. Whether it involves you, a family member or a good friend, you will have your own experience – I certainly have mine!

We’ve come to the point in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus is asked about divorce. This incident is also related in Matthew 19:1-11 and Luke 16:18. The issue of divorce is, and has always, presented a challenge to theologians and teachers. It is a challenge today, as it was a challenge in Christ’s day. Don’t be too surprised, then, that this is one of my longer posts!

Divorce

Many Christian’s are condemnatory of divorce, and in researching this post, I have read articles which propose that Christian people should never get divorced. I think that’s naïve, and puts an unacceptable burden on people who suffer in bad relationships. I don’t think anyone should take the issue of divorce lightly, and like most people I wish it didn’t have to come to that, but people are people and to continue in a broken marriage is not a good thing for anybody.

I’m going to show you why I believe Scripture does allow for divorce where necessary. It may sound as if Jesus is opposed to divorce, but as always, it’s critical to look at the context of his teaching and comments.

Back at the beginning..

Genesis 2:24 makes clear that God intended marriage to be a lifelong commitment. It describes a man and his wife coming together as a single person. Back at the beginning, there’s no mention of divorce. It simply didn’t exist. However, by the time of Moses relationship breakdown and separation were a thing. Men were seemingly unable to live as God intended (the Bible says that they were ‘hard-hearted’). NT Wright points out, ‘the problem was not with the ideal, nor with the law, but with the people.’ (p131) To establish some kind of order, in Deuteronomy 24, Moses sets out the rules for when it was acceptable and how it was to work. Through Moses, God allowed divorce, but only where the woman was ‘displeasing to her husband.’ (Deut 24:1)

Of course, the phrase ‘displeasing her husband’ was open to interpretation, and between the days of Moses and the birth of Christ, plenty of that went on! There was a point in Jewish history when it became commonly accepted for Jewish men to divorce their wives from other tribes so that they could take a wife from a Jewish family (See Ezra 10:1-4).

I believe that it is in that context, Malachi, last of the Old Testament prophets, writes that God says to a sinful nation ‘I hate divorce.’ (Malachi 2:16).

You may have already sensed that men had the upper hand here. A woman in biblical times had no rights, and was generally forced to accept divorce if her husband proposed it. The circumstances in which a woman could divorce were very few and tightly controlled.

New Testament Times

In New Testament times, society and culture remained deeply patriarchal and women continued to enjoy very few rights. The debate over divorce was a very live issue in Jesus’ time. It was political and divisive. The tetrarch, Herod Antipas, who was keen to be seen as the official ‘King of Israel’, divorced his first wife (Phasa’el) in order to marry a woman called Herodias. However, in order for that marriage to proceed, Herodias in turn had to divorce her husband, Philp, who happened to be the brother in law of her new husband Herod. All this sounds rather like the plot of a modern soap opera.

The fact that Herodias, a woman, had divorced her husband would have been appalling in itself, but this carefully arranged remarriage was very contentious. It was his outspoken opposition to this union which led to the imprisonment and later the death of John the Baptist.

It is no accident, then, that this question was put to Jesus as he was passing through the region of Perea which was part of the Herod’s territory where he had considerable support. So we see that in context the Pharisees asked a loaded question.

The Bible says that the Pharisees were ‘testing’ Jesus (v2). Here’s the ‘test’. If Jesus takes the view of John the Baptist and opposes the marriage of Herod and Herodias, the Jews will have the opportunity to have him arrested and potentially killed for treason against Herod. If he doesn’t, he is in favour of divorce in circumstances which goes far beyond the accepted norms of Judaism, and he will be condemned by the Jewish hierarchy.

1st Century views of Divorce

It’s helpful to point out that when it came to divorce, there were broadly two camps in the contemporary culture. The first was a ‘conservative’ view, which we associate with Rabbi Shammai. He held that the ‘displeasing her husband’ mentioned in Deuteronomy 24:1 allowed for divorce only if the woman was guilty of sexual sin. In short, if a woman was an adulteress, there were grounds for divorce (and under Jewish Law, adultery was punishable by death). Of course history is full of instances where women, married or otherwise, have been maliciously deemed to be promiscuous, either because they were no longer finding favour with their husband or even when they were in truth the victim of abuse or even rape.

The second group, associated with Rabbi Hallel, favoured what we might call a rather more ‘liberal’ interpretation. If your wife displeases you in any way, you can go straight to divorce. You might not like her cooking. You may dislike her accent. You may simply be fed up with her. Under Hallel’s principle, go ahead and divorce her.

An encounter with the Pharisees

So, as we’ve seen, this encounter with the Pharisees was a test. Jesus was being tested on a subject in which there were strongly held and diverse views, especially in the political context of Herod and Herodias. They encourage Jesus to step into a political minefield.

Jesus rebuffs the test. ‘What did Moses command you about divorce?’ This isn’t a tricky question for the Pharisees. They know exactly what Moses, and they summarised the teaching of Deuteronomy 24:1. Jesus doesn’t deny that Moses allows for divorce.

Jesus turns the conversation back to Genesis 2, and the creation story which pre-dates Moses teaching. God’s plan at the beginning was that a man and his wife become one flesh – they are no longer two but one. Let no man, says Jesus, separate them. Rather than dealing with the hot political issue of the day, Jesus, Son of God, is declaring God’s intention for marriage. He falls back on God’s intention when he created the institution of marriage.

In Mark’s Gospel, that is where the conversation with the Pharisees ended. Christ’s message to them was simply that God intended marriage to last a lifetime.

An explanation for the disciples…

So, as has happened a number of times, after the argument in the street, we move back inside the house where they are staying, and the disciples ask Jesus for more explanation. Once again, it’s important to try to understand Christ’s comments in context .

Jesus didn’t say that Moses was wrong to permit divorce. Deuteronomy is after all part of the Pentateuch – the Word of God. He didn’t say that men and women must never get divorced. I think he was saying that it would be better if they didn’t need to. I believe that he reiterated God’s plan for all of us that a man and a woman would leave their parents, join together as man and wife and become one flesh. For life.

The disciples are as keen as anyone to hear what Jesus has to say about the marriage between Herod and Herodias. ‘Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.’ In the context of Herod and Herodias, that’s pretty clear. Once more, Jesus has simply put God’s position as recorded in Genesis.

The End Piece

Christians who point at this Scripture and declare that divorce is unacceptable for Christian people are taking no account of the context in which Jesus was asked the question. In Deuteronomy 24:1, Moses permits a man to divorce his wife ‘if she displeases him’.  Jesus didn’t dismiss that, but he pointed right back to God’s original intention in creating the idea of marriage.

Whilst we see the world very differently, our contemporary culture actually takes a remarkably similar view to that given by Moses. As with every other generation, we try to find our own interpretation of  ‘displeasing her husband’. I’m thankful that our culture allows woman equal rights before the law. In our culture, which is very different from that of Moses, a woman is as entitled to look for divorce as a man, so we need to add  the concept of a man ‘displeasing his wife’.

As in 1st Century Israel, there are those in our current society who place the bar of displeasing one’s partner as being ‘sexual sin’ only. But of course you and I know of people who have suffered, often along with their children, in appalling marriages where ‘sexual sin’ is at most only part of the issue.

On the other hand, there are those who regard it as being acceptable to give up on a marriage simply because they are not getting along, or for some reason the marriage has become inconvenient.

For me, the theory is simple. Ultimately, God’s ideal is preferable. In strong, loving marriages, divorce would not be necessary.

Sadly, the practical application is less straightforward. When marriage doesn’t work out, as was the case in Christ’s day, each case has to be taken on its merits. I’d like to think that we view each case with far greater compassion than was the case in the first Century. At least we aim to listen to the voices of everyone involved.

God’s way is preferable, and those of us who enjoy good marriages are truly, truly blessed.  I wish that divorce wasn’t necessary. The fact is that it always was, and it aways will be.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

Salt: Mark 9:49-50

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49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Mark 9:49-50

Horsham: 7th January 2025

William Barclay describes these verses as ‘amongst the most difficult in the New Testament.’ He and other theologians point out that there are actually three sentences, each of which stands alone as a different saying. It’s likely that they were comments made by Jesus to the disciples at different times in his teaching. They are almost certainly unconnected with each other, except by one word. Salt.

Everyone will be salted with Fire

The Levitical Law required that before burning, every grain offering had to be seasoned with oil and salt. (Leviticus 2:13)

‘It was the addition of salt which made the sacrifice acceptable to God, and which his covenant law laid down was necessary. This saying of Jesus will then mean, ‘Before a Christian life becomes acceptable to God, it must be ‘

(Wm Barclay, New Daily Study Bible, Gospel of Mark, Kindle Edition, Loc 4738)

Salt was (and still is) widely used as a preservative. Fire, on the other hand whilst fire is symbolic of purification. The combination of salt and fire would bring to mind ‘sacrifice’ amongst Christ’s contemporaries.

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness…

We use it less than in times past, but salt is still used to enhance the taste of some foods. Followers of Jesus are called to be ‘salt of the world’.  Salt which has lost its flavour is utterly useless – fit for nothing except trampling underfoot (Matthew 5:13). Flavourless salt simply makes no difference to the food, and similarly Christian’s who have lost or set aside their distinctive calling bring no flavour to their community or the world. The presence of Christian people should enhance our society and culture, but take away the celebration of the Holy Spirit, the very presence of God, from the Christian and they become as useless in the Kingdom as flavorless salt in the kitchen.

Have salt among yourselves..

In ancient literature, salt is sometimes associated with purity. Christ probably means live in purity with each other. Seek good, right and supportive relationships with each other. This was not always the way of his contemporaries, and was certainly not the norm of the Roman world. Only by living selfless lives which aim to be worthy of Christ can we truly live in peace together.

The end piece

Salt and fire are symbolic of so many things. They are symbolic of sacrifice – an act of devotion to God. Salt is a valuable preservative. Salt and fire purify everything they touch. And of course salt adds flavour to anything it is applied to. In context, the original hearers may have seen other associations which we miss.

These sentences seem rather enigmatic, but these adjectives describe qualities which the Christian associates with the power of God, and the presence of Christ in our lives. The wonderful presence of His Spirit within us makes us acceptable to God, and allows us to live peaceable lives with our co-workers in the Kingdom and with our neighbours.  He alone can preserve us when faced with destructive opposition. Turn away from the presence of God, lose your passion for the Spirit, and you will become as useless as wet salt.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

Go to hell… Mark 9 43-48

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43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. [44] [a] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] [b] 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
    and the fire is not quenched.’[c]

Mark 9:43-48

Horsham: 6th January 2025

In our modern world, ‘denial’ has become something of an art form. A generation ago, holocaust denial would have rightly provoked consternation. Sadly, less so nowdays. In spite of the irrefutable historical evidence to the contrary, extremist politicians and writers openly reference it as an exaggerated or even false historical narrative.

So, as followers of Jesus, how do we react to the widespread contemporary rejection of the existence of hell in western, even evangelical, Christianity? Of course, there is no historic or scientific proof of its existence, but we could say the same about every aspect of our faith (Hebrews 11:1-2). If we are followers of Jesus we need to listen very carefully to His words, and here is a passage in which Jesus warns not only that it is a thing, but he describes the lengths to which his followers should go to avoid ending up there.

Gehenna – An Image of Hell

The word translated here as ‘hell’ is sometimes called ‘gehenna’. This is a word with its roots in the Old Testament, where it referenced a place of child sacrifice and detestable practices in the time of King Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:3). By Jesus time, it referenced an area outside the city where refuse was dumped and burned. The refuse included the bodies of those who died in poverty or had been executed. It was a horrible place, with the smoke of fires mixing with the stench of corruption, overrun with scavenging insects and parasites, including worms.

A simple discussion on the concept of Gehenna in Judaism and Christianity is here (external link to Christianity.com)

If it Causes You to Stumble – Cut it Off!

Gehenna is a representation of hell – it is not literally hell. In the same way, Christ’s words about cutting off parts of the body or gouging out the eyes are absolutely not to be taken literally. The context is that the disciples have just been arguing about who is the greatest. The meaning here is simple and clear. We are to deal with the areas of our lifestyle which have the potential to cause us to stumble in our faith. The hand represents the things which you do. The foot represents the places you go. The eye represents the things which you are looking at. NT Wright says that there is a spiritual war on, and we need to be fit for the battle and prepared to fight!(i) If you allow yourself to be drawn into or over focussed on any activity, sinful or otherwise, which undermines your service to Christ, you need to deal with it.

The message is simple. Cut the bad stuff out of your life and put it on the waste tip. Leave in in Gehenna. Better than ending up there yourself.

The end piece

Christ’s teaching includes warnings about hell, and how to avoid ending up there. It’s about your decisions. They have consequences.

Look at how you live your life. What do you do? Where do you go? What are you looking at (including the time you spend on social media!)?

Whether your hands are doing things they should not, your feet take you to places you know you should not be going, or your eyes are looking at things you should not be looking at, Christ says deal with the problem! These things are within your control. You need to exercise control.  I can’t tell you what these things are in your own life, but if you stop and think about it, you will recognise them! Try to see yourself through His eyes. These things lead you down a dangerous path. Christ says that it is the path to destruction.

I want to remind you that this is about more than dealing with sinful behaviour –  obviously you need to deal with that! This is about all of your lifestyle choices. Of course, the choice is yours. You could simply ignore Christ’s advice and carry on as you are. You could keep following the wrong path and find yourself ending up in a place like Gehenna, where the worms never die and the fire just keeps on burning. You could just go to hell.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

(i) NT Wright: Mark for Everyone, p124-125

Contemplative

Happy New Year: 2025

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Horsham: 1st January 2025

So. Here we are. Looking back at a year which has had more than its fair share of challenges, and looking forward to 2025. As this first day of the year draws to a close, I wonder how your New Year resolutions are going?

Some of us are excited – looking forwards in anticipation of good things this year. For others, this is a time of year when we look anxiously ahead to the year to come. I want to encourage you, this New Year, to set aside for a moment all the things which you can do nothing about. The big, national, international and global issues. The personal problems –  the things in your own life which you wish were different but you cannot change.

Step aside for a moment. Find somewhere quiet and on your own. Take a moment to be still. Put down all the stuff which surrounds you. Intentionally, take a moment to draw close to God. Breathe deeply and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).

I want to offer you the Covenant prayer of Methodist preacher John Wesley. It is a prayer of commitment to follow Christ, whatever 2025 brings.

Read this prayer slowly. Pause for a moment, allowing the words to sink in, then read it again. Can you make this prayer your own? This this simple prayer of commitment be your resolution for this year, and for the rest of your life.


Those 2025 challenges we spoke about? When you’ve finished the prayer those problems are still there. You still have to face them. But in your covenant relationship with Jesus, you have the opportunity to face them with Christ at your side.

Be blessed and encouraged in Jesus.

Happy New Year.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Advent 2024

Advent 4: Love – 2024

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Horsham December 2024

The traditional theme for this fourth week of Advent is ‘love’.

I’m wondering whether ‘love’ may be one of the most confusing words in the English language. I love my wife. I love my children and my Grandson. All ok so far. I love sitting on a beach watching a beautiful sunset and the view from the top of the hill down the road. That all makes sense. I love my apartment and I love the Christmas decorations in the town Square. These are all valid uses of the verb ‘to love’ in contemporary usage in the UK. I love paella and my wife’s cheese pie (she makes a very good cheese pie). You might love your car or your phone. But now there’s a hint of a problem. My love for my wife (we have been together since we were teens) is surely very different from your love of your iPhone? Can we really be talking about the same thing?

But of course as native English speakers our culture resolves the problem, because we all sort of know what we mean. We can see a difference. We’ve sort of learned a scale – a continuum if you like – which allows us to use the same word in many different situations and mean something similar, but not the same. That sense of continuum helps us to understand what each other means. It’s as if we sub consciously pick up the word love, look at it in the context of our conversation, and get a good idea what we mean. Most of the time, we get it right.

You see, I can use the word love when I mean like. I can use the word love when I mean sex. It can mean affection. It can mean passion. I can use the word love sarcastically (I love Donald Trump) (spoiler alert – I don’t). I use the word carefully in social media messages (that’s my culture), although younger people than me will use it much more freely (that’s theirs).

In the Christmas story we see the love of a mother for a newborn child. We recognise in a heartbeat that the love of a mother for their new born child is a world apart from my affection for my wife’s cheese pie or your experience of an iPhone. It’s not the same thing at all. That kind of parental, especially maternal love is just about the top end of our continuum. It’s deep. It’s selfless. It’s passionate. It’s profound. The fact that Mary is in some sense a refugee, and the birth takes place in the most difficult of circumstances, adds depth, poignancy and richness to the love narrative. This is a story of really deep love.

But what if our understanding of the word love is incomplete. What if that continuum, which we think we’ve got sussed, goes much, much further than we ever knew or imagined. The idea isn’t as crazy as it might look. If you’ve been fortunate to experience a really good and fulfilling relationship, you’ll know that you can suddenly discover new depths of love that you never knew were there. You’d simply never experienced them before. It’s awesome. Your mind is blown.

What if there are levels of love beyond our experience or understanding? What if there are depths of love which go further than our culture can explain, or our minds can explain. What if the fact of this birth was itself an expression of love far greater than the unquestioned love which Mary felt for the baby?

What if there is a God sized love which is indescribably profound and yet somehow expressed in the birth of a small boy in a backwater of Bethlehem on a winters night. A love which goes far beyond our experience and the constraints of our culture. The kind of love which would break through the boundaries of our worldly perceptions and cause legions of angels to visibly sing praises to God and blow the minds of shepherds and wise men alike.

Pick up your concept of love, look at the context of the Christmas story, and recognise that there is something here more powerful and profound than you have ever noticed before. Just imagine. A love even deeper than you ever thought or imagined. Even more selfless. Even more passionate. Even more profound.

In the Christmas story, Jesus is called Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us. A God of love, whose love is for you.

Continuum re-evaluated.

Mind blown.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Advent 2024

Advent 3 Joy: 2024

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December 2024: Horsham

Alongside the earlier themes of hope and peace, the traditional theme of this third week of Advent is joy.

Whilst my outlook on life is generally ‘glass half full’, joy is not an adjective I would generally apply to myself. It’s not that I’m always unhappy, but even when I’m excited, I don’t always express my feelings exuberantly. I have one or two friends who do just that in a big way, but I’m not sure that I would necessarily describe them as joyful.

I think that ‘joy’, as it’s used here, really expresses something much deeper. In the past, I could say that I have felt ‘joyful’ about the safe delivery of a child. A couple of years ago, I was ‘joyful’ when, having been expecting some very bad news from the doctor, the diagnosis turned out to be unexpectedly good. The feelings I experienced at those moments were so much deeper than the short term relief, excitement and delight I felt when I heard a couple of years ago that my football team (Leyton Orient, thank you for asking) had avoided relegation. I wonder whether you sense that there’s a lasting and continuing angle to this Advent ‘joy’ which I need to unpack a bit.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this series that Christmas is about looking back and celebrating the birth of Jesus. In the context of my faith, that is the moment when Christ took on human form and came into the world. The Angel gives Jesus the name ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). That’s a critical, defining moment of my faith. The moment when God stepped into this world in the person of Jesus. That was such an impactful moment that  connects with me in a very special way. In some way, Emmanuel gives me an inner sense of joy.

You may recall that the Apostle Paul lists ‘joy’ as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Paul says that when you recognise Jesus for who he is, the Holy Spirit impacts your life. Your life is irrevocably changed (Ephesians 4:22-24). The old self is swept away, and the new life will reflect an inner sense of, amongst other things, joy. As a Christian, joy becomes part of my character. Again, this points towards something much, much deeper than the superficial happiness which we hopefully encounter on a good day in our everyday life. It’s literally in my soul. I can only experience that kind of joy because I have this inner confidence, this faith, that Christ is real, and that in some way He has His hand on my eternal life.

Of course, the fact that it falls in our calendar in the weeks before Christmas, means that Advent is a time when our culture looks ‘forwards’ to the Nativity, celebrating the coming of the Christ child. Alongside that, people look forward to all the fun and indulgence which goes with it. Yet hold on a minute, because there is something incongruous if not illogical about looking forward to something which happened 2000 years ago. If the only thing I’m really left looking forward to is the trappings of 21st Century Christmas with it’s western commercialisation, I’m missing the point. That bit certainly doesn’t fill me with the right kind of joy.

So what should I be anticipating? Scripture tells me that Christ will come again and fully establish His eternal kingdom, and that whatever it looks like, I will be a part of it. That is at the heart of what I believe. It means that I don’t have to be anxious about the future, because Christ has it all in hand. Now that gives me a real deep and inner sense of hope, peace and joy, which happen to be the first three  themes of Advent. I can only experience these emotions because the baby of the Nativity is the same Jesus who will come again in glory. As a follower of Jesus, I will be celebrating the birth of the child, but I’m also looking forward to his return.

End Piece…

I wonder if you get the idea that the joy of Advent is about much more than clapping my hands with delight and walking round with a big smile on my face. It’s about looking forwards to something extraordinarily special. Looking forward to the day when Christ will come again. The day when ‘every tear will be wiped away, and there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more suffering, and no more pain.’ Revelation 21:4.

Of course, there will be trials and tribulations for me along the way, but just knowing that that day is coming does something deep in my soul. Alongside hope and peace, it gives me joy. It occurs to me that maybe this is the reason why I am generally ‘glass half full’. Maybe, after all, ‘joy’ is an adjective I should be using when describing myself!

As Christmas drawers near, get ready to enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem. But my prayer for you this Christmas is that you too might experience that hope, peace and joy which can only come from having confidence, having faith, in Christ and the promise of his return.

This Advent, will you allow the Lord to give you ‘a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.‘ Isaiah 61:3

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

The Stumbling Block: Mark 9:42

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The Stumbling Block:

42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 

Mark 9:42 (NIV)

10th December 2024: Horsham

In previous verses, Jesus encouraged the disciples to look at a small child. In a culture where children have no rights and are often overlooked, Jesus tells them that they need to become like this little one, recognising their own helplessness and dependence on God. Whoever takes the lowly position of a child, will become the greatest in his kingdom (Matthew 18:3). In Mark’s gospel, he tells them that they should welcome the one who is like a child (Mark 9:36-37). He uses the child as a metaphor for the follower of Jesus.

So we come to today’s verse, where again, that metaphor is used. It is a verse which should give cause for thought to every Christian teacher at any level, from University lecturer to Sunday School teacher.

As the previous verse was about encouraging other followers of Christ, this verse is a warning against discouraging Christian people. How easy it is, whilst in the position of teacher, to inadvertently say something which discourages or deflects fledgling faith, and which causes a new or developing Christian to stumble. In every Church, we lament the empty chair or the absence of adolescents, sometimes our own children. Yet how many of them have been ‘put off’ by a careless word or a destructive comment. We need to take the greatest care when we teach others.

Preachers, teachers, bible study leaders, youth leaders, children’s workers, Sunday school teachers – teaching matters of faith bring great responsibility.

‘Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.’ (James 3:1)

Our responsibility is to study and reflect, to pray and to listen, to prepare thoroughly before we speak.

Two bits of context. First, the millstone referred to in this verse would have been very familiar to Christ’s contemporaries. It is the large upper stone which is pulled round in circles by the donkey. It is heavy. Very heavy. Secondly, to the Jew, the sea is a place of great danger. It is to be feared. To be cast into the sea with a millstone round your neck would be an unspeakable horror to anyone.

So, teachers and preachers beware – however, in my personal experience, the discouragement does not always come from the teacher, but from someone in the congregation or bible study group. I have seen people speak in ignorance or arrogance, either speaking from beyond their own knowledge and experience, or simply failing to notice the undermining impact of their words on others.

So be careful, says Jesus. Pay attention to what you are teaching.

42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.’ 

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

A cup of water: Mark 9:41

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41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

Mark 9:41 (NIV)

8th December 2024: Horsham

For some reason, this short verse is somewhat overlooked in some of my commentaries. It comes in the midst of a wider passage of teaching (which is reviewed in great detail in all the commentaries), which is reproduced in similar form in Matthew 18 and Luke 9. In Luke 9:44, where Jesus introduces his teaching , Jesus tells his disciples to listen carefully. A literal translation of the Greek says ‘Let these words sink into your ears.’ At the time he spoke these words, Jesus was seated in the ‘teaching’ position of a rabbi. Listen, says Jesus. These teaching points, says Jesus, are really important.

I once had a friend who finished his emails to me with the word ‘blessings’. I’m sure his intentions were good, but it always seemed to me to be rather insincere, perhaps because the individual I am thinking of was my boss, and for many reasons, I rarely felt blessed by his emails.

For many years, I have chosen to finish my own emails to Christian friends with the phrase ‘Be encouraged’, or ‘Be blessed and encouraged in Jesus.’ Every time I write that, my heart is to say to the recipients, whatever life is throwing at you today, be encouraged that Christ is risen, he is Lord of your life, and this is His day. In short, my heart is to encourage my fellow believers.

A year or two ago, I came into work to find a blistering response to one of my emails from a local Church leader. She was struggling against enormous personal challenges with her health, her work and life in general. To her, the phrase ‘be encouraged’ sounded as if I was  flippantly offering an evangelical piece of string to someone who was drowning, when what they really needed was a rope and a life raft. I called the lady straight away, and she told me in no uncertain terms how bad her life felt right now. She had good reason to feel down. She graciously allowed me to explain why I finished my emails in that way, and the conversation developed into a friendly and, I hope, supportive one which enabled me to encourage a friend in distress.

The teaching point in verse 41 describes the giving of a cup of water. Essentially, it says if anyone (who is a follower of Jesus), gives you, (another follower of Jesus), so much as a cup of water in the name of Jesus, they will certainly not lose their reward in heaven.

We can lose touch in our western culture with how critical water is to life. In Christ’s culture, to offer a cup of water was not only a sacrifice (if you drink my water, I have less water for myself!), but an act of service. There is a selfless intention in the offering of water to one who needs it, but there is also, in that simple act, something which refreshes and energises the thirsty.

Of course, Jesus is using a metaphor. It’s not really about the water, but it is about the criticality of water to our well being and the refreshment which a cup of water can bring to the thirsty.  It simply says that even the smallest act to encourage a fellow follower of Jesus is important. The omnipresent Spirit sees the heart in which encouragement is offered. The one who does even the simplest act to encourage and bless another, will themselves receive a blessing from the living God.

As Christ once said, ‘Let that sink into your ears!’

Be blessed and encouraged in Jesus.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK