Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Mark 12:35-44.
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Mark 12:35-44.
Lindsey: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Lindsey Blair and I’m joined by Bobby Gilles. This past Sunday, Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Mark twelve, verses thirty-five through forty-four.
Bobby: Jonah said that love carries us through the night. If you missed the sermon or need help remembering, you’re in the right place because it’s time for the Midweek Checkup.
Lindsey: Jonah began by describing a question Jesus asked: Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David? Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” By asking a question rather than making a statement, Jesus is inviting his listeners to consider, to reflect, and ultimately to discover something themselves.
Bobby: Jesus is inviting them to realize that Messiah, the chosen one, is GREATER THAN DAVID. INCONCEIVABLE!!! The passage says the crowd was delighted by this. Why? Well, how has Jesus revealed himself to us in Mark's Gospel? How does the all-powerful one exercise his might to a needy people? He protects. He provides. He heals. He heads to the margins, to the overlooked and outcast, to the hurting and dirty, the poor and the needy.
When God comes near, he does so with love, compassion, and mercy.
Lindsey: Then Jesus rebukes the religious elites. They want to appear successful and holy, so they come into small group and pray the long, flowery prayers with all the titles of God, praying not to experience God's nearness but to impress others around them. This will not carry us through the night. A performative spirituality will never find Jesus, because performative spirituality takes us to places Jesus never went.
Bobby: Then Jesus exclaimed the small offering of a poor widow. She didn’t give out of abundance but out of scarcity. Love God with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself. This kind of love carries us through the night. We don't know how our stories will turn out. We don't know if the circumstances will change. But we know love carries us through the night,
Lindsey: This Sunday, we will finish our series Journey Into The Night from the Gospel of Mark. And in Bible Fellowship we’ll begin a discussion of one of the most famous chapters in the Bible, Romans 8. Join us, and bring a friend.