Mark ix.30-50 tonight . . . maybe

ark ix.30-50 reads

They went out from there and passed through Galilee. But Jesus did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." But they did not understand this statement and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum. After Jesus was inside the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me. For whoever is not against us is for us. For I tell you the truth, whoever gives you a cup of water because you bear Christ's name will never lose his reward.

"If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

This is the section of Mark we will be going over at tonight's Bible Study. However, I can only say I hope we get into this section. We will see how the Lord leads tonight. Last week I posed a question to the group that has been running circles in my mind since I started reading John Piper's God is the Gospel. I wanted to take what we were reading in the Bible Study (i.e. Mark) and ask the question, "Why is the Good News good?"

Back in Mk. i.1, Mark wrote "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." I explained how we have been going through this account or history by Mark, learning about what Christ did during His time here, and understanding more and more about Him. But, Mark calls all that he wrote "the gospel of Jesus Christ." The first thing I cleared up is the popular, modern concept of the word gospel. Whenever people hear or read that word today they tend to automatically think of the New Testament or the whole Bible. That is not what Mark intended when he penned the word ευαγγελιου (euangeliou). The gospel was the Good News (a literal translation of ευαγγελιου): the history, the events, the teachings, and so forth. What Mark wrote he considered the Good News. So as we read the different events in the life of Jesus, are we thinking, "Remember, this is the Good News?"

Back to the question I asked the group: Why is the Good News good? Why is this not just news? What makes it so good? I keep remembering Mk. vi.5-6:

He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then he went around among the villages and taught.

How is that good? Sure we can talk about the many miracles He did, and the authority He held among the people (especially in the faces of the Scribes and Pharisees). We can even bring up later events like the resurrection or the second coming. But what about instances like vi.5-6? Or when the disciples would not understand Him or who He was? Where is the good in that?

I did not want to discuss the question last week. I wanted folks to mull it over for a week, consider the text of Mark we have gone through so far, and ask themselves questions about the Good News. I am anticipating a lot of discussion and questioning about what the Good News is, not so much (per my question) why the Good News is good. I am not sure if my question was clear enough, or if I should have re-emphasized the question at the end of last week's study as people left. But, I have a feeling we may not touch on Mark ix tonight. We will see how the Lord leads. He may want us all to have a discussion on what the Good News is and why it's good. We shall see.

Soli Deo Gloria!