"A Servant Messiah"
How Things Work – Consideration #129 (Book II Science & Religion)
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Tuesday April 2, 2024
“The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God.”
― Rob Bell
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus sees the power-elite of Israel as pompous hypocrites parading their knowledge of the law to gain power, respect, and admiration; whereas he sees the common person as more sincere, private, and subdued in their relationship with God. The deafening pretentiousness of the Sadducees and Pharisees is contrasted by the soft simple faith of the average person.
“Jesus explains a kind of ‘spiritual relativity’ regarding the physical and the spiritual worlds.”
This next story shows Jesus’ true love for the average human being, particularly the poor. In this example, Jesus explains a kind of “spiritual relativity” regarding the physical and the spiritual worlds. In the physical world the woman in the story is poor, and worthless. However, in the spiritual world she is rich and blessed; because God recognizes what is done in private, just as Jesus does.
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
– Mark 12:41-44
The widow did not announce her poverty when offering her gift, but quietly, secretly, sacrificed in faith what little she had. Jesus also often acted in secret, or within very small gatherings, and generally admonished those witnessing miracles to “keep it a secret” and not tell anyone. From Jesus’ perspective, the average person actually had a closer, genuine, more personal relationship with God than the priests and scribes of Israel.
CONSIDERATION #129 – The Servant Messiah
Nowhere does Jesus make it clearer that he is a servant of God, and that those following him must also be servants, than in Mark 10:35-45. When two of the apostles ask Jesus to share his glory with them, he explains the real consequence of their request. However, as is often the case in Mark, they do not fully understand.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
Mark 10:35-40
Once again, there is a kind of authenticity in Mark’s narrative that feels natural, or real. Mark’s gospel takes on an almost “soap opera” or “reality television” quality here, including what happens when the other apostles react to their college’s attempt to “muscle in” on divine power and authority.
However, Jesus unequivocally “sets them straight” about his understanding of power and authority, which is one of service and obligation as opposed to one of dominance and influence.
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:41-45
Here, Jesus essentially acknowledges there is a cost for spiritual transformation. Living in authentic Truth is subtle and dangerous, not conspicuous and guaranteed.
Mark sometimes shows the followers of Jesus in a somewhat bad light. In this story two disciples are concerned with their “spiritual position” in the Kingdom of Heaven, which shows a complete lack of spiritual understanding. It also shows a lack of understanding by the other followers, because they become angry about possibly being “cheated” out of their “fair share” of the glory by James and John.
“he clearly proclaims and reinforces the precept that spirituality is not about having position or power over others…”
Therefore, Jesus informs them that even he has no power over those kinds of decisions; they are preordained by God. However, he clearly proclaims and reinforces the precept that spirituality is not about having position or power over others, it is about serving others. The first critical lesson pertaining to spiritual enlightenment is, it’s not about you.
POSTSCRIPT
As previously mentioned, the end of Mark is not the original ending. No one knows what happened to it. Mark’s edited ending differs from Matthew specifically in the final verses, in that it expands on what Jesus said in his final words. Here, Jesus gives the disciples, and all believers, essentially the same spiritual authority that was once his. It is also reported that they witnessed Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of God.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:15-20
This is the source of many Pentecostal practices such as the laying on of hands, speaking in tongues and even the handling of snakes. Unlike the strict metaphysics of traditional Catholics and Protestants, the rural churches of the “common man” developed their own metaphysics and dogma directly from the Gospels themselves; with no interference from a central church, or divine leader like the Pope, to interpret or edit it for them.
In Pentecostal churches these gifts of the spirit serve as evidence of experiencing what they call the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” They have faith that while in this experience, or state, they are protected by the Holy Spirit from physical harm.
Next week we begin a brief consideration of the final synoptic gospel, Luke…
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