May 5 –  Mark 2:13-28, “Tax Collectors and Sinners”
May 12 – Mark 3:1-19, “A Great Crowd Followed” 
May 19 – Mark 3:20-35, “Who Are My Mother and My Brothers?” 
May 26 – Mark 4:1-20, “The Secret of the Kingdom of God”

         

         

It is difficult for most of us red-blooded Americans to imagine living under a king’s rule as a good thing. We are the country, after all, who sent ol’ King George III a message back in the 1770s – “no taxation without representation!” When he did not agree to our terms, we fought and won our independence from the British kingdom and established a representative democracy of our own. It’s hard to shake the negative connotations that many of us associate with a monarchy of any kind. 

              

But what if you lived in a kingdom where the king was not only powerful but benevolent, kind, brave, and selfless? Remember at the end of Robin Hood, when the good king Richard the Lionheart returns to England from the crusades? All the corruption, all the political strife and turmoil was laid to rest by the king’s victorious arrival. Robin can rest knowing that his beloved country is finally in good hands. Fictional writings are full of good kings - Arthur, Aragorn, Aslan – they all demonstrate a longing for a ruler who would wield their authority to bring justice, keep peace and order, and allow for flourishing. Perhaps this desire is hardwired into us as humans. At worst, it shows up in our selfish desire for a worldly, political “strongman.” But at its best, our inherent desire for a good authority leads us to lay down our lives for the One who is able to bring us into an eternal Kingdom (see Col. 1:13 and 2 Pet. 1:11). 

              

This month we will continue in our series in Mark’s gospel as we see how Jesus delineates between his kingdom and our fallen world. Jesus tells us “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Jesus’ ways are God’s ways, and they are infinitely higher and better than the ways of this world (Isa. 55:8-9). Jesus’ kingdom continues to surprise us by subverting the conventional wisdom of our world. In Mark 2 we will see Jesus clashing with the leading religious leaders of his day. Then in chapter 3, Jesus begins to answer the question, “What makes someone an outsider to or an insider in God’s kingdom?” through his interactions with his family, the crowds, and his disciples. Finally, in chapter 4, we will begin to hear Jesus teach parables that illustrate his kingdom more clearly for us. My prayer is that throughout the month of May, we will all be able to more fully pledge our allegiance to Jesus and to his kingdom, forsaking the inferior ways of our fallen world for a kingdom in which we will one day reign alongside of our Lord and Savior and King.

 

Grace and peace,