March 25-29

The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. - Mark 3:6 ESV

When Jesus Shows Up: Some People Are Cold-Hearted
In Mark 3, Jesus was at the height of His popularity. However, after healing a man on the Sabbath and forgiving a man of his sins, the pharisees were growing stronger and stronger in their opposition to him. Their hearts were also growing colder and harder.

F.B. Myer writes guard, especially against heart-hardening. Hard hearts are unbelieving ones; therefore beware of ossification of the heart. The hardest hearts were soft once, and the softest may get hard. The chalk which now holds the fossil shells was once moist ooze. The hard hand of toil was once full of soft dimples. The murderer once shuddered when, as a boy, he crushed a worm. Judas must have been once a tender and impressionable lad.

At first, the process can be detected by none but a practiced eye. Then there is a thin film of ice, so slender that a pin or needle would fall through. At length it will sustain a pebble, and, if winter still hold its unbroken sway, a child, a man, a crowd, a cart will follow. We get hard through the steps of an unperceived process.

Reflection
Hebrews 3:15 says, "As it is said, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.'” Has God told you to change anything that you are delaying? Can you recall a time when you were more sensitive to spiritual things?

Praise/Prayer
Thank God for the many different ways He has spoken to you during your lifetime. Ask God to help keep your heart soft and receptive towards Him.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. - Mark 3:7-8 ESV

When Jesus Shows Up: Some People Are Curious
Pastor Alan Stewart writes, “Years ago, I was traveling through Georgia on my way to a revival when I noticed something that gave me the grim feeling I was lost. The Georgia Highway Department had changed all the numbers on the interstate exit signs! The numbers I was seeing on the signs were numbers customarily found hundreds of miles from where I was. I became quite confused and disoriented. I mean, one stretch of interstate looks like any other stretch of interstate. To the best of my recollection, I was never warned of this decision nor had I given my written permission to do it! To have signs that did not match the map I was carrying was the equivalent of having no signs at all. I remember thinking, "If only I could see a sign that I trust."

Jesus showed up doing many signs. People heard what He was doing and showed up with questions. No email, no texting, no internet. Word of mouth spread throughout the middle east! And many people showed up because they wanted to see His signs and wanted to know if they could trust Him.

Reflection
What do you think people have heard about our church and our God in our community?  Are you living a life that would make a lost person curious about Jesus?

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for some of the things you have seen and heard about Him doing recently. Ask God to lead you to someone who is curious about Jesus so you can share what He has done for you.

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.  And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.  - Mark 3:13-14 ESV

When Jesus Shows Up: Some People Are Committed
A man attending a major league baseball game caused a bit of commotion with the people around him. No matter which team made a hit or a run, the man would cheer. Finally, someone asked him, "Why are you rooting for both teams?" The man explained, "Well, I live way out in the country, and I don't get too many games, so I pull for both sides. That way, no matter who wins, I go home happy." (Mike Minnix)

Following Jesus means choosing sides. The calling of the Twelve marked an important turning point in Jesus’ ministry. Think of in our modern world when one receives a "summons," it is not his choice but the will of the judge or court that issues the summons. Jesus was the "Judge" issuing the summons and the call! “And they came to Him.” There is apparently no delay. He called. They came.

Reflection
Jesus does the calling and we do the responding. When and how did you first sense Jesus calling you into a relationship with Him? When have you sensed Jesus calling you to a specific area of service for Him?

Praise/Prayer
Thank Jesus for desiring to have you as one of His followers. Renew your commitment to God in prayer today and offer Him any part of your life He is asking for.

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” -  Mark 3:20-21 ESV

When Jesus Shows Up: Some People Are Confused
C. S. Lewis, who was a professor at Cambridge University and once an agnostic, writes: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."

Jesus' own family chose the lunatic option. They were confused about who Jesus was, what He was doing, and what He was teaching. They are up in Nazareth and word reaches them that he is not taking care of himself. He is not eating properly. He is not sleeping properly. His health is threatened. Their feeling is that he has gone crazy,  Mark says, "They went out to seize him," which brings to mind having someone "committed" to a mental institute! They thought He had lost His mind but they were the ones who were confused, not Jesus.

Reflection
Have you talked to anyone recently who was confused about the identity of Jesus? What would you say to someone who believes Jesus was a religious fanatic?

Praise/Prayer
Praise Jesus as the true Son of God and the Lord of the universe. Pray for God to open the spiritual eyes of anyone you know who is confused about the identity of Jesus.

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” - Mark 2:27-28 ESV

When Jesus Shows Up: Some People Are Changed
Jesus was constantly changing the people He encountered. In Mark 3:5, the withered man was healed. In Mark 3:13, the apostles were called. Even the demons who met Jesus in Mark 3:11 fall down and confess Him as the Son of God. The tragic irony is that the demons recognized Jesus' true identity the weren’t going to follow Him. Even the Jews failed to recognize their own Messiah, even though they had been given literally 100's of prophecies that pointed directly to Him!

Reflection
It is possible to know about Jesus and believe He is the Son of God but not allow follow Him and allow Him to change you. How would you explain the difference of knowing about Jesus and being a Christian to someone?

Praise/Prayer
Thank God for the ways you have been changed by Jesus. Pray for your loved ones who have yet to respond in faith and repentance to Jesus.