The First Gospel - Conflict

We talk about the Greenbush community a fair bit.

If you have not taken some time to drive through or pray through or walk through or whatever,

I encourage you to do that.

It's a lot of different, like there's homes of people who have lived there for decades

and forever and then there's businesses and there's renters and there's all sorts of

things there.

So there's a lot of life happening in that community and we want to continue to pray

that God would bless them and that they would know that they are loved.

So thank you Bradley for leading us.

I'm going to start off this week's message with a bit of a grudge that I have on a movie

that I just recently saw.

I don't go to movies anymore, mostly because I forget to and I'm always like, oh that looks

like an amazing movie and then I forget how to access it.

I don't know what happens but there's a disconnect there.

So my friends and I saw that there was going to be a Whitney Houston movie and we were

like, these are college friends of mine and we all used to sing the choir together and

I was like, we're going to that right?

So we all met in Chicago, we went to this movie and it was not good.

It was not good.

And my friends and I still can't quite get over it.

And so as we debrief the situation, one of them so accurately laid this truth bomb on

us, it was like watching a Wikipedia page with music.

She was right.

There seemed to be attempts at some continuous threads and themes but because they just threw

everything in from her teens to her death, it was a mess.

And so by throwing everything in, you lost the most important things.

You lost the threads, which was a real shame because Whitney is a dang legend and ain't

nobody ever going to sing the national anthem like she did in 1991.

Come on.

Right?

Tell me you were there.

Thank you.

It was 32 years ago so that may be missing some of you.

I was 14 years old and living back home in Western New York, which by the way, our hometown

heroes were in that Super Bowl.

They did not win it, but they might this year.

Who am I talking about?

Thank you.

So we'll see.

Go Bills.

As a Western New Yorker, I'm obligated to say that.

Go Bills.

My family would be so proud.

So when you tell a story, you write with a direction in mind, which I think the people

who wrote the Whitney Houston story forgot.

You keep it focused and the ideas and the elements are written to support that story.

We see this in the Gospel of Mark and we've been working our way through this book.

The writer wasn't giving an account and just simply listing events.

He was telling a story.

And so when thinking about the author writing a narrative, it makes sense that they would

make intentional literary choices for what they're wanting to convey.

In the case of this Gospel, it was critical to the writer to get this stuff written down

and to tell you a specific story of Jesus that mattered at that time.

It was not going to serve the narrative well to tell you everything, so choices were made

to tell you some things, key things.

And we see this so well stated in the Gospel of John.

At the end of chapter 20, the last thing John says is, Jesus performed many other signs

in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

But these are recorded.

The things he wrote are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son

of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

That was John's directive to lead you to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

And he chose stories to build a narrative that he wanted you to hear.

He tells you that.

And Mark does the very same thing.

To understand the scriptures we'll be looking at today, I want to talk about what Mark's

objectives were first, because I want us to hear his intentions, his why behind the scenes

that he chose.

The book opens with a prologue.

That's what books open with, a prologue.

Let me set things up.

In chapters, chapter 1 verses 1 through 15, the passage establishes Jesus as the Son of

God and that God approves him as his son, who is able to speak with authority on God's

behalf, with the proof that Greg pointed out a few weeks ago, being the dove descending

on him at his baptism.

These two points therefore then allow Mark to set up his key themes.

Jesus is the way.

That shows up constantly through Mark's gospel.

That there is a coming kingdom of God.

So this then directs the readers to know that Jesus, Son of God, is the way to God's kingdom.

The book holds true to these themes through all three parts.

It's broken down into three parts.

And so Mark had to establish this first, because with this established, the reader can then

move forward to the first part of the book, which focuses on Jesus's activity in Galilee.

So we're going to be in chapters 2 and 3 today.

We're not quite at reading the scripture together, but this is where we will be landing.

I want to give you a little bit of context.

The writer of Mark highlights five stories of conflict that we're going to go through.

These are run-ins that Jesus had with the local religious authorities.

This will incidentally also be foreshadowing what's to come in part 3 of Mark's book that

leads to the conflict that Jesus had with higher up authorities that led to his death.

And so because of what's coming, the writer needs to quickly establish very early this

foundation for Jesus's authority being from God and that he was the way to the kingdom

of God.

Mark had to set this up immediately.

Why?

I'm glad you asked.

Let's talk about that.

This book was written in somewhere between 60 and 70 common era.

Jesus was about 50 or so years to about 30 years prior to that.

There was already a very present kingdom that the readers were living in called the Roman

Empire.

You might have heard of it.

And that empire was hard at work keeping its citizens aligned with their leadership and

their structure.

When there is an oppressive empirical power at the top of the food chain, there are no

unobserved small corners of that empire that go unnoticed.

That people are just happy and carefree and living their lives completely detached from

that empire.

Oppression begets oppression.

Occupation begets occupation.

Overlording begets overlording.

It exists this way because the structure must be held up.

The system does not remain the system without the under structure.

Rome was really serious about this.

So even though Jerusalem is far away from the center of the empire in Rome, Rome was

pretty aware of it still.

So in the year 66, a revolt against Roman rule broke out and Jewish revolutionaries

took control of Jerusalem.

This is about the time of the gospel being written.

They deposed the Roman Empire appointed high priest.

You see how that works.

Oh, that the empire put in a high priest into the local situation.

And instead, they took that guy out and put in their own.

So the revolt at the local level from the Jews at scale was a local militia that took

on a literal empire.

It's a moving idea.

We love an underdog story.

But to no surprise, Rome was not going to just be cool with that.

War immediately followed.

Rome sent several legions to Jerusalem to crush the revolt.

And I promise you, when I say several, that was a small portion of what they had available

to keep their empire under their control.

So they just sent this faction out to Jerusalem.

And Jerusalem in 70 was reconquered by the empire.

Rome was not going to only just retake the city.

They were going to make sure to remind Jerusalem and any for whom the jury may have still been

out that Rome was in charge.

And don't you dare try that again.

They destroyed both the city and the temple.

This temple that every Jew held sacred and as their spiritual home was destroyed.

But this was not only unthinkable to the first century Jews that the temple could be destroyed.

It was unimaginable.

It was sacred.

And Yahweh's dwelling place, how could it be destroyed?

Rome took careful steps to show that their kingdom was bigger than this kingdom of God

that was being talked about.

Rome didn't care if people believed in the kingdom of God so long as it wasn't bigger

than the empire.

They just were not going to let anything depose them.

So the stories highlighted in the conflict stories of Mark created relatable micro narratives

to the broader one that the readers were living in as a way to understand how to respond to

earthly authorities and power, religious and political, how to orient themselves towards

Jesus's voice and how to live in a way that reflected the coming kingdom.

It was really purposeful.

And so this was the context at the time.

The earthly empires in juxtaposition with the kingdom of God.

The authorities on earth and the approved authorities and the approved authority of

Jesus as the son of God.

And remember, Mark was real intentional about setting up the structure that understood Jesus

is authority, speaks on behalf of God, he is the way to the eternal kingdom.

Do you see why he had to set that up real fast?

And so I tell you all this before reading the passage because this is how the readers

of the book would have experienced it.

They didn't have the other gospels.

They didn't have all these epistles running around.

They weren't ubiquitous yet.

Their historical context influenced how they read the book.

Again, they didn't have the Bible and the New Testament as a whole to consult and to

work with and see how the whole arc was showing up.

They did not have it.

And so the stories and the accounts, they didn't have them in their hands.

And so it may surprise you when I talk about context and why it's important.

We here, as we read the Bible, we read it as 21st century people living in America.

We are detached from the original meaning with the history we know, our definitions

and unconscious biases.

And we live in a nearly oversaturated experience of cultural Christianity here, which often

does not line up with the Bible or what Jesus himself said and has from time to time also

held up empirical systems.

And what I'm saying is context matters and knowing the difference between how we read

the scriptures as 21st century people living in America versus what the people experienced

in 66 common era when they first read the book of Mark experienced.

There's a detachment and what we know, what we can learn about them matters.

It changes how we approach the passages.

What I just shared with you may interest a little bit closer to what first century Jews

and the followers of Christ might have heard when reading the Gospel of Mark and these

stories.

So I am going to read through these stories.

We're not going to stand today, but I ask that you give the scriptures your full attention.

If you do need a Bible, you are welcome to grab one from the cabinet in the hall.

It's the thing that right when you walk in the door, that's where you can get them.

And if you even need to get one right now, you're welcome to do that.

I also welcome you to take some notes as we go.

As we go along, we will look for places where Jesus spoke with authority, where earthly

authorities took issue, and where Jesus led people in the direction of the kingdom.

So I'm going to start in Mark 2, and this is story one.

When Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come from home, or he had

come home, excuse me.

They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door,

and he preached the word to them.

Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man carried by four of them.

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the

roof above Jesus by digging through it, and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, son, your sins are forgiven.

This is Jesus speaking with godly authority.

Now, some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to themselves, why does this

fellow talk like that?

He's blaspheming.

Who can forgive sins but God alone?

This is the earthly authorities taking issue.

Their structure is threatened.

Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit that this is what they were thinking in their hearts,

and he said to them, why are you thinking these things?

Which is easier to say to this paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven, or to say, get up,

take your mat, and walk.

This is Jesus showing the way of the kingdom.

But I want you to know that the son of man has authority.

Notice Mark pointing this out, on earth, to forgive sins.

So he said to the man, I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home.

He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all.

This amazed people, and they praised God saying, we have never seen anything like this.

Notice that people are shifting their attention to God's kingdom by way of Jesus.

Story two, verse 13 through 17.

Once again, Jesus went out beside the lake.

A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.

As he walked along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector's booth.

Follow me, Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

Again, Jesus speaking with godly authority.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating

with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

When the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors,

they asked his disciples, why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?

Here are earthly authorities taking issue, the structures being threatened.

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, it is not the healthy who needs a doctor, but the

sick.

They may not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Jesus shows the way of the kingdom.

Story three, now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.

Some people came and asked Jesus, how is it that John's disciples and the disciples of

the Pharisees are fasting, but not yours?

Earthly entities take issue, things are stirred up, common structures threatened, Jesus shows

the way to the kingdom.

Jesus answered, how can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he was with them?

They can't, so long as they have him with them.

But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they

will fast.

No one sews a patch of untrunk cloth on an old garment, otherwise the new piece will

pull away from the old, making the taer worse.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the wine will burst the skins and

both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.

No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus both speaks with godly authority and he points the way to the kingdom.

Story four, one Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields and as his disciples walked

along they began to pick some heads of grain.

The Pharisee said to him, look, why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?

Earthly authorities take issue, their structure is threatened.

He answered, have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry

and in need?

In the days of Abiathar, the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated

bread which is lawful only for priests to eat and he also gave some to his companions.

Then he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

So the Son of Man is Lord even on the Sabbath.

Jesus shows the way to the kingdom and speaks with godly authority.

Story.

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there.

Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus.

So they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.

Why?

Because their earthly structures had been threatened.

Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, stand up in front of everyone.

And Jesus asked them, which is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil to save life

or to kill?

But they remained silent.

Jesus is showing the way to the kingdom.

He looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn heart said to

the man, stretch out your hand.

He stretched it out and his hand was completely restored.

Jesus acts with godly authority.

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Earthly authorities take issue, their structure is threatened, and just like Rome, they will

not only stop the threat, but they will destroy it.

For the first hearers, I think this would have offered a few things.

Strangely enough, I think it would have offered them encouragement.

That their current struggles as followers of Christ within a system that was built by

earthly powers.

That their struggles were not for nothing.

And that there was a hope on the other side of it.

There was something beyond this that was bigger and more real.

To the first century Roman civilians, just like the temple, it would have been unthinkable

that their empire would end in a fizzle just a few hundred years later.

Only to be distant history to a church of Christ followers 16 to 1700 years later in

Rock Island, Illinois.

All empires fall.

Every last one of them.

God's kingdom remains.

It would have given them a guide as well.

Each of those stories had a very specific structure to them.

Jesus was shown as the godly authority.

Power structures were threatened.

Jesus showed the way to the kingdom.

So follow the voice of Jesus walking his way and it will lead to this everlasting kingdom.

I think Mark was trying to encourage them.

There is a way forward.

Mark's gospel still has the same message for us today.

Follow the voice of Jesus.

Walk in his way and it will lead to this everlasting kingdom.

What do we do with it?

I think that these are good guideposts to check in with along the way.

Because I don't think history has changed much.

People are still people.

We are still building our empires.

The Roman Empire is no longer here but empires have not ceased.

We build our own empires all the time with power structures and the systems meant to

uphold them.

Sometimes they are big and blatant.

Sometimes they are quiet and people don't like to talk about them.

When we build kingdoms without God as the head, they will turn into oppressive empires

with structures built to maintain them.

Because we don't know what to do with power.

To live on this earth but to be a follower of Christ, the gospel of Mark's narrative,

his focus helps us.

So in all things.

And am I letting the voice of authority in my life belong to the son of God?

As Jesus speaks to me, am I listening well?

Is my ear turned and tuned in?

Am I paying attention to the voice of Jesus above all other things?

Or am I confused by what I'm hearing and the directions it's pulling me in?

Am I putting trust in it?

Am I letting God as he speaks to me in Jesus and in the spirit, am I letting it be an authoritative

voice that is trustworthy?

We talk about what it means to listen to the spirit here at this church a lot.

It's a part of our blueprint.

We talk about it in week four of community tables.

We had a sermon about it in the fall.

I encourage you to go back and listen to it.

It is a part of our structure here is learning how to listen well.

And so again, am I listening to the voice of Jesus as it's been approved by God to speak

authoritatively in my life?

And I don't mean authoritatively in a lording over way.

I mean in a way that is life giving, in a way that knows me and knows the deepest part

of who I am, that it is a voice I can trust because it is full of love for me.

And it is full of love for us.

So that's first.

Am I letting the voice of Jesus, am I listening to it?

Am I listening for it?

And then in all things, am I following it?

Am I following Jesus as the way?

Jesus is Mark established, he wanted to establish that this voice is the way to go.

Jesus is the way.

So sure, maybe I hear the voice, but am I going?

Am I doing?

Is my life lived in the way of Christ?

The idea of rabbis in the old tradition was that as disciples, you are, the idea is that

you're covered in the dust of the rabbi because you're following behind.

And that the dust that's kicked up by the rabbi, you are, you're walking so closely

to the teacher that you're covered in the dust of the rabbi.

Am I listening and then following and taking action?

Am I walking in the way of Jesus?

And in all things, am I living a life of kingdom values?

Am I living like I belong to the kingdom of God?

Am I living in a way that has so clearly followed the way of Jesus that the only direction it

can take me is the kingdom?

You might find that as you check in with these guideposts, you yourself begin moving outside

the walls of commonality to somewhere other, somewhere potentially uncomfortable.

You might find that as you check in with these guideposts, you yourself begin moving outside

the walls of cultural Christianity into spaces that the historical American church or even

the tradition you grew up with or even other Christians that you know may not understand.

You may find that the way Jesus leads you will subvert and dismantle structures that

want to be upheld.

Structures that you yourself, I myself, may have unintentionally upheld.

It can feel unsettling because when we hear the voice of Jesus and we follow it in the

kingdom's direction and then we find ourselves living out kingdom values, they're not always

convenient or comfortable and they don't always make sense to the largest group of people.

So you may find that listening to the voice of Jesus in your life, following in its way

into the kingdom leads you into some conflict.

Listening and following Jesus as the way to life in the kingdom might have us asking ourselves

some more questions.

Check in with that discomfort.

Ask yourself, am I listening to the voice of Jesus or am I trying to reconcile Jesus'

voice with what these voices are telling me and am I trying to make them match?

We do that a lot to make things make sense and more comfortable.

Because to follow the voice of Jesus, though it is filled with love and intention for our

good, we may not be living in kingdom values when we start.

And it's going to pull us away from that and that can be uncomfortable and it may not make

sense.

So it may lead to some conflict there.

But as you also follow in the way, as God leads you into stunning and beautiful purpose

for your life, you may find that it leads you in one way from another thing.

And that may be uncomfortable and it may not make sense.

And it may, you may be one of the pillars that's moving away from the structure that

had been upheld and it starts dismantling when you start moving away.

And it's a good thing, but it's hard.

And then as you find yourself pulling in the values of the kingdom, when we sing the song

at your house, I think that song is, it moves me because it's so full of what I think the

table of the Lord looks like and the house of God looks like.

Where we're invited in and we're shaped and loved and cared for and light shines on us

and you are welcomed as you are.

That doesn't always check out for some people when power structures are often things that

keep people out.

And so following the way of the kingdom may produce some conflict that way as well.

However, Mark's encouragement was empires will fall, the kingdom of God remains.

And it is there.

It is always there regardless of what empire is standing.

So be encouraged.

This system will fall and the kingdom of God will remain.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Jesus, I ask that as we sit in presence with you, you would help us hear you.

And when you speak to us, God, it is a voice of love.

It is a voice that knows us and approves of us.

You see us as your kids.

And so I thank you for that.

And as we listen and as we grow in our various levels of trust with you, because that's a

process for all of us.

I'm grateful to God that when you invite us to follow you, you don't mandate it, but you

invite us.

I am thankful that when you invite us to follow you, that you are going to be responsible

with that and us.

You are not asking us to follow us to chain us and yoke us with more oppressive systems.

But you are, that your way leads to freedom and it leads to life.

And God, as we move into the kingdom and live in kingdom values, what we will find is that

we may still be chained by the systems that we're coming from and we may decide ourselves

that person doesn't belong here or that shouldn't happen or that's not the way of it.

I'm grateful that in your kingdom, you are dismantling those systems and unshackling

all of us from them so that we can live in your kingdom in freedom and love and offer

it to others.

But there is discomfort and there may be conflict.

And we ask for your help with that.

And we ask for grace with each other when we are all on different journeys for that.

And we need to be thoughtful of that truth.

I'm grateful, God, that empires do fall and that you remain.

So with these things in mind, lead us, help us follow, and we will look to you in trust.

Amen.