Daily Bible Devotionals

“So as he stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”  Mark 6:34

One of the titles Matthew gives Jesus is “Son of David.” From the line of David, Messiah Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who came to redeem the lost sheep of Israel.

Perhaps, the most well-known Davidic song is Psalm 23*, “The Lord Is My Shepherd.” Not only is Psalm 23 poetically beautiful, but it is also prophetic. Here in Mark 6*, we see David’s prophecy of Jesus’ ministry being fulfilled.

“The Lord Is My Shepherd;” Psalm 23:1a

“So as he stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Mark 6:34

“There is nothing I lack.” Psalm23:1b

“When it was already late, His disciples approached Him and said, ‘This place is a wilderness, and it is already late! Send them away so they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy something for themselves to eat.’ ‘You give them something to eat,’ He responded.” Mark 6:35-37

“He lets me lie down in green pastures;” Psalm 23:2a

“Then He instructed the disciples to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.” Mark 6:39

“He leads me beside quiet waters.” Psalm 23:2b

“People ran there by land from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. So as He stepped ashore, He saw the crowds and had compassion on them.” Mark 6:33b-34a

“He renews my life;” Psalm 23:3a

“Everyone ate and was filled.” Mark 6:42

“He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3b

“Then He began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34b

Perhaps, as you continue to read and compare Mark 6 with Psalm 23, you will recall similarities of Jesus’ shepherding in your own life.

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*All verses are HCSB

“As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Jesus to stay with Him. But He would not let him; instead, He told him, ‘Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord had done for you and how He has had mercy on you.’” Mark 5:18-19 (HCSB)

Having left the religious Jewish town of Capernaum, Jesus departed by boat to the “other side” of the Galilee. Scripture says He did this because the crowds in Capernaum were growing too large. The region of the Gerasenes (aka Gaderenes) was a Gentile region.

It is essential to know that religious Jews did not mix with Gentile communities. I say this to point out a practical reason for Jesus’ journey to the “other side.” If you want to be left alone by a large crowd of religious Jews, the region of Gerasene was the right destination!

Therefore, it cannot be assumed that everyone Jesus interfaced in the region of the Gerasenes was Jewish. If there were Jews in the Gerasene area, there would not have been many, and they were by no means religious. The plain fact that the community was farming pigs is another strong argument for the absence of Jews.

While the Jews were prejudiced against mingling with Gentiles, we know that Satan isn’t! Satan wants to control ALL nations & people groups. When Jesus and His disciples sailed into town, demons were tormenting the Gentiles, just as they had been tormenting the Jews in Capernaum. This issue posed a perfect opportunity for Messiah to communicate to His disciples: I am (ultimately) sent to redeem ALL NATIONS.

“Prejudice” is essentially the “demonization” of a people group. To undo prejudice, one must “humanize” the object of discrimination. For His disciples, Jesus was “humanizing” this Gentile, known in Scripture as a “demoniac.” Once the demons had left, a regular, friendly, likable guy remained. Jesus was breaking down the prejudice of His disciples, preparing them for the “Great Commission.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

As Jesus and His disciples were leaving, the man pleaded with Jesus to let him go with them. The Shepherd of Israel’s directive for this Gentile was for him to “Go back home to YOUR OWN PEOPLE.” Then, the man evangelized the Decapolis, 10 Greek-influenced Gentile communities. It’s all further evidence that the man was a Gentile. Note the difference to Jesus’ directives in Capernaum, where He instructed the ones He healed not to tell anyone but to go to the priest and offer the gifts Moses had prescribed. This is not the case with His words to the former “demoniac” because Jesus did not have to send the message to the Gentiles that He was not operating outside Mosaic Law.

In a sense, the “former demoniac” acted as a type of “John the Baptist” for the Apostles. He went ahead of the likes of Paul, preparing the soil of the Gentile mission field by testifying of all that God had done for him through His Son, Jesus.

“When He was alone with the Twelve, those who were around Him asked Him about the parables. He answered them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables so that they may look and look, yet not perceive; they may listen and listen, yet not understand; otherwise, they might turn back and be forgiven.’” Mark 4:10-12 (HCSB)

At a glance, it seems that Jesus wants some men to know the truth and others not to. But this is not the case because, if it were, His motive would be inconsistent with Scripture.

For example:

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NKJV)

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NASB 95)

So what’s the deal with Jesus’s statement about insiders and outsiders?

First off, let’s examine who was with Jesus. Some Bible translations lead you to believe it was just Jesus and the twelve disciples. The more accurate translations indicate that the twelve were there, but there were also others.

In Scripture, Jesus is highly concerned about the source of testimony regarding His miracles and Messianic identity. He directed people to “tell no one, rather show yourself to the priests and present the offering Moses required.” He wanted things to stay on the eye-witness level and not become a mob witness. Whenever a demon announced Jesus as Messiah, Jesus would silence it. He sent the people He healed directly to the priest.

Jesus wanted the Spirit to reveal that He was Messiah, not demons, a mob, or human intellect. That is not to say that we should not preach the Gospel. It is merely that our powers of persuasion do not make unbelievers believe. The Spirit reveals Truth when we preach. And Truth is found when people humbly seek it because they are willing to receive the testimony of the Spirit, whose ministry is to reveal Truth. To the non-believer, the Bible (and Biblical preaching) is just a collection of words and ideas. But matched with the Holy Spirit, God’s Word becomes “revelation.” For those willing to receive the Spirit’s revelation, otherwise simple morality lessons or “parables” become foundations for repentance and faithful living. Outsiders come in.

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah

[son of Jonah], for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’” Matthew 16:17 (NKJV)

Salvation is offered exclusively through Jesus but is available to all who will humble themselves, receive the testimony of God’s Spirit, and faithfully choose to believe.

“‘On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man’s house and rob his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will rob his house. I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they may blaspheme. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin’ – because they were saying ‘He has an unclean spirit’.” Mark 3:27-30 (HCSB)

In today’s passage, The Scribes were accusing Jesus of using demonic power to cast out demons. There are two types of “Scribes” in the Gospels. One kind is the aged “expert” in Torah. The word “Scribe” also describes advanced Torah students who were yet to be ordained as rabbis. In today’s passage, this latter type was speaking with Jesus, the students with limited authority because of their incomplete training. These Scribes were not allowed to do two things. 1) They could not interpret Scripture independently (apart from their teacher’s articulated interpretations). 2) They were not allowed to make judgments. By their accusations, the Scribes were either 1) Stepping outside of their authority or 2) Acting as mouthpieces of their Torah instructors.

Jesus begins dismantling their argument with simple logic. “Satan cannot drive out himself.” Imagine how unwilling a pit bull is to let go of its victim. That’s Satan...and worse! Jesus is saying Satan is only & always singularly focused unless compelled by an overwhelming EXTERNAL influence.

That said, Jesus quickly compares and contrasts the impossibility of Satan’s kingdom being divided with the historical reality of Israel’s divided kingdom. Of course, this had to sting the hearts of those Scribes who had dedicated their lives to studying the Torah and Prophets, the history of Israel!

In His analogy, Jesus reminds the Scribes of how Satan had once bound the hearts of Israel’s forefathers, rabbis whose interpretations the Scribes were, no doubt, learning. Once bound up in sin, Israel’s kingdom became divided. Eventually, the Babylonians conquered Israel, exiled its inhabitants, and carried away the Temple articles to Babylon.

Per God’s direction to Israel through the prophets, if the Jews would turn back to God, He would forgive them, restoring them to the land. Regardless of their sin or blasphemy, one could be forgiven if they acknowledged their sin and repented. Jesus is extending an earthly image of restoration into the heavenly realm.

What makes Jesus’ message even more poignant is how He knew the Holy Spirit had revealed this truth to the Scribes. They knew in their hearts that Jesus was Messiah but rejected that revelation. The only sin for which there is no forgiveness is to KNOW that Jesus is Messiah and to die having rejected Him. This is literally “blaspheming the revelation of the Holy Spirit,” essentially saying, “Holy Spirit, you are revealing a lie.”

“And then He told them, ‘The Sabbath was made because of man and not man because of the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’” Mark 2:27-28 (NKJV)

One of the main arguments that religious Jews have against Christians is that they profane the Sabbath (“Shabbat” in Hebrew). Not only do most Christians recognize a different day of worship in the Jewish mind, but Christians have also lost touch with the Hebraic understanding of “how” to observe Shabbat. Sadly, most Jewish people have no idea that there are congregations of Messianic believers who meet every Shabbat. So, most of the Jewish community only has the “Church” as their example.

Perhaps, you have heard the old Jewish saying, “Ask five rabbis, and you’ll get ten opinions!” Not all Rabbis agree on how to observe the Sabbath either. There are Orthodox, Ultra-Orthodox, Conservative, and Reformed, and various sects of each. In the more religious homes, Shabbat controls your life. On Shabbat, everything is required to be turned off. Refrigerators, elevators, clocks…nothing is allowed to “work” on Shabbat.

But among religious Jews, there are dissenting opinions. In the Talmud, Rabbi Yonatan ben-Yosef, (commenting on Exodus 31:12-17) said, “For it (Shabbat) is holy unto you. That is, it is committed into your hands, not you into its hands!”

A similar passage appears in the Mekhilta Shabbata and is attributed to Rabbi Shimon Ben-Menaysa.

The debate concerning “man’s dominion over Shabbat” vs. “Shabbat’s dominion over man” is not exclusively Jewish/Christian. It is contested even among Jews!

David Stern, in his “Jewish New Testament Commentary,” makes this observation:

“It may be, therefore, that Yeshua’s comment in verse 28, that ‘the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat,’ does not refer only to Himself but to EVERYONE, since the Hebrew words’ Ben-Adam’ (literal son of man) can mean simply” ‘man, person,’ with no Messianic overtone: “people control Shabbat and not the other way around.”

Perhaps, this is why Paul exhorted the early Messianic community (aka the Church):

“Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food, or drink, or in respect to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath day - things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” Colossians 2:16-17 (NASB 95)

Regardless of the day a person deems as the “Sabbath,” we are the stewards of the Shabbat. Not the other way around. For practical reasons, Sabbath has been given to us to force us to rest and focus on God. It also points us to the eternal “rest” we will one day enter into with Messiah Jesus in the Kingdom to come.

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Mark 1. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Then Jesus came near and said to them, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20

When Jesus commanded the apostles to make disciples of all nations, He was allowing them to have limited participation in fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel.

“I continued watching in the night visions, and I saw One like a son of man coming in the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

The idea of immersing the Gentiles in the “name” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was utterly revolutionary to the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day. First off, notice Jesus doesn’t say “names” (plural), but rather “name” (singular). He is referencing the persons of God as “one name.” He recognizes what we know as the “Trinity” of God.

Secondly, before this command for “people of all nations” to be immersed in God’s name, it was commonly believed among the Jews that only Hebrews would be called by the Lord’s name. They had been taught (and rightly so) that the Jewish people were a special people, created by a miracle (in that He brought forth a son from Abraham & Sarah, way past child-bearing age), chosen to be a nation of priests. It’s one thing to be chosen, but another thing to accept your calling, to “choose your chosen-ness,” as it were.

Through the generations, a critical understanding of the source of Israel’s “chosen status” was lost. First off, God chose to call a man from Mesopotamia named Abraham to follow Him. Second, by faith, Abraham chose to believe God and follow Him. Third, even though Abraham was as sinful as the next guy, God counted his faithful response as righteousness. That is Grace. God is willing to consider faith from imperfect people as if it were righteousness. It is essential to know it is not our faith in and of itself that saves us. Rather, God’s grace is that he considers the OBJECT of our faith, Jesus, to be the worthy substitute for our sin debt…covering us completely.

While we were yet sinners, Messiah chose to love us, even unto death. By virtue of His resurrection, He is alive today and He chooses to offer eternal life to anyone who would receive it. He also chooses to reveal Himself by the persuasive power of His Spirit, that mankind would, perhaps, by faith, choose to repent & follow Him. In return, He chooses to impute His righteousness into our “bankrupt spiritual accounts,” so to speak.

Now that you have chosen to follow the Lord who chose to offer you salvation, do you choose to carry His gospel to all the nations…starting with your next-door neighbors?

“Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.” Matthew 27:38

I believe Jerusalem is the center of the world. That may sound esoteric, but it’s the way I feel the Bible teaches it. On the world map, everything to the left of Jerusalem is called “the West.” Everything on the right is called “the East.”

Ever wondered why Jesus was crucified between two “thieves”? Why not murderers, heretics, drunkards, or anything other than thieves?

Whenever I think about the thieves flanking Jesus, it reminds me of the differences between Eastern and Western cultures; and how the East & West have stolen from God.

What sums up Eastern philosophy? The East is typified by religious discipline, without a personal relationship to God. It is impressive (and sometimes a bit scary) how far Eastern religions go to appease God. Be it Allah, Vishnu, or any of the millions of Eastern religious gods, none of them invite you to a personal relationship with a loving & gracious Savior. Their gods are impersonal and always need appeasing. Who would dare expect that kind of god to call you a “brother” or “friend,” “son” or “daughter”?

What about the West? The West wants liberty without accountability. Western culture doesn’t want anything to hinder the pursuit of happiness. It seeks to eliminate whatever rules may stifle the desire of the individual. If Western culture has a creed, it might be, “If it feels good, do it!” or perhaps, “Your belief is good for you; just don’t interfere with my pursuit of happiness.” After all, without tolerance of others’ pursuit of liberty, how could we “Coexist,” as the bumper sticker reads?

I’m not sure that my observation of East and West was intended in Scripture. My statements are merely what I thought of when I read today’s passage. Still, it is plain to see the East and West have stolen from Jesus. Perhaps, the thieves on either side of Jesus can act as a stern reminder that being more Conservative or Liberal than God directs is stealing from Him and altering what He requires of us.

Jesus commands us to be disciplined, but He also wants a personal relationship. He bestows liberty but gives us boundaries. In contrast to thieves who steal from anyone they can con, Jesus offers mercy to the guilty and grace to anyone who will receive it.

Have you received His free gift of atonement (the covering/pardoning of sins)? Simply turn to Him. “Declare it with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe it in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:9-10

In other words, believe in Jesus and make it public.

“Then Jesus told him, ‘Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and He will provide Me at once with more than 12 legions of angels? How then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?’” Matthew 26:52-54

It is challenging for us to understand Kingdom economy. Even our most spiritual moments are filtered through the lens of our experience in this world. The disciples had spent three years hearing Jesus teach. But the years prior were spent listening to various rabbis effuse on how Messiah would look, what He would do, and how the Jewish people would benefit by Messiah’s coming.

Even down to the moment of Jesus’ arrest, Peter still thought He was starting a political coup. The disciples even argued and lobbied for cabinet positions in the coming kingdom. They didn’t have dreams of world evangelism or global reconciliation. They definitely weren’t looking for martyrdom. They simply wanted an eternal power shift that let them be bosses for a change.

The disciples looked forward to an earthly kingdom, while Jesus was concerned with the Heavenly one. So, how do you gauge your kingdom allegiance?

Those who set up earthly kingdoms would barter their souls for dominion in this world. They don’t humble themselves before the Lord. They consider Him an intellectual equal, at best. They lack the faith to live sacrificially because giving up possession & power would diminish their kingdom. In the words of Adrian Rogers, “the only ‘god’ they serve is the one they see looking back in the mirror.”

People living for the heavenly Kingdom conduct their lives in such a way that it would be utter foolishness were there no resurrection from the dead. They are not swayed by anything earthly and would be willing to give up everything for the cause of the Messiah. Their hope lies not in the perishable earth but in the incorruptible eternal Kingdom of heaven.

Question: do you allow the joy of your salvation to transcend the “here & now” and to live for the hope of the “there & then”?