Week Twelve

FPCBR

Week Twelve

November 17, 2022 • Jaime Carnaggio • Mark 8:11–30

In response to the Pharisees need for another sign, Jesus sighs with deep emotion. He’s anguished over their blindness and persistent rejection. They claim they need one more sign, but they are “testing” Jesus, seeking to discredit him before the people. They were stuck in unbelief, determined to see him only the way THEY wanted to see him. Jesus doesn’t fit their idea of what the Promised Messiah would be. And because there was no faith present, no more signs would be given.

The leaven of unbelief has overcome the hearts of the Pharisees, and so Jesus is warning his disciples not to let their unbelief blur their vision and steer them away from the truth. This is a relevant warning for us today. The enemy is most certainly trying to blind us and make us deaf to the truth. We need to stand guard and make sure he doesn’t stir up unbelief in our hearts.

The questions Jesus asks aren’t intended to shame them, but to instruct them, to open their eyes and keep them fixed on him and who he is. They are questions rooted in compassion and a deep desire for the disciples to understand that he’s capable of supplying their every need. And he anticipates that, in time, by the grace of God, they WOULD understand. He has hope for them, that they will start to see him clearly, and they need to start understanding SOON. The hostility is growing, and soon they’ll be making their way to Jerusalem where Jesus will face the cross. The disciples have to see Jesus as Son of God, not just a great prophet or their beloved Rabbi.

How do we identify with the disciples? We have many examples of the Lord’s powerful work in our lives, and yet, when the next hard thing comes along, we panic, we look inward, “This is hopeless, I only have one loaf of bread! What am I going to do?” We, like the disciples, don’t see him clearly. But the good news is . . . Jesus isn’t satisfied with our blurred vision. He continuously pursues our hearts, he seeks to open our eyes to the truth, revealing more and more of himself to us, helping us to see him for who he truly is.

Jesus was giving physical sight to the blind man, but more importantly, he was giving spiritual sight to the disciples. They haven’t been seeing Jesus clearly, seeing some of him but not all of him. Jesus knows what other people are saying about him. He doesn’t need the disciples to tell him, but he wants them to contrast what others believe with what they believe.

Peter proclaims, “You are the Christ.” Does he understand what that means? Does he understand all that entails and requires. Not yet, but still, this is indeed a turning point in Mark’s gospel. The disciples are starting to see Jesus; their vision of him is getting clearer!

May we SEE JESUS for who he truly is . . . for what he truly came for . . . for how he truly loves us.

Week Twenty-Five

May 4, 2023 • Jaime Carnaggio • Mark 16

The evidence is undeniable. Mark’s Gospel leaves no room for doubt. The angel clearly and plainly states, “Jesus was crucified. See the place where his body was laid. He is not here. He has risen.” Fear is a powerful emotion, one that can deeply affect us, impact us, and transform us. The women at the tomb experienced an appropriate fear in the face of the Lord’s resurrection. It should stir up the same in us because it’s both historically certain and eternally significant. Even though we may be scared and uncomfortable, even though we doubt, we are called to be disciples. We are to go out and share the good news of the gospel, trusting that he goes before us and with us, with the assurance that Jesus has risen from death to life. And we will too!

Week Twenty-Four

April 27, 2023 • Jaime Carnaggio • Mark 15:21–47

Take notice of the “circles of rejection” in verses 29-37. Reflect on where you are in this story. In what ways does the world reject and mock Jesus today? Read Psalm 22 and feel the ways that it illuminates Jesus’ time on the cross . . . how it moves from the suffering to the glory! “The cry from the cross represents the deepest possible pain. The Father and the Son have enjoyed perfect, unbroken harmony and fellowship in the Trinity for all of eternity . . . until now. THIS is the moment that the Father places the sin of the world upon his Son as the Lamb of God, as Jesus carries the full measure of the pollution of our wickedness, an obscenity God is too pure and holy to behold, so he must turn his face away for the first and only time. Jesus endures a moment of separation from God, which is far worse than the mocking, scourging, and crucifixion . . . it’s the searing pain of forsakenness . . .” R.C. Sproul.

Week Twenty-Three

April 20, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Mark 15:1–21

Gerrit points out how much Jesus’ composure changes from the Garden of Gethsemane to his time before Pilate. In the garden, he was greatly distressed, crying out to his Father, in agony. Before Pilate, he’s resolved, accepting, humble, even peaceful. What changed? He submitted to his Father’s will. “Not my will, but yours be done,” he prayed. The same freedom is available to us when we submit to God’s will for our lives. It's difficult to read these passages because we shudder to think our Lord (holy and innocent) had to endure such harsh things. But it’s also sobering because WE are in this story. “Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers.” as the hymn says. In what ways are you like Pilate? Like the “stirred up” crowds? Like Barabbas? Like the soldiers mocking Jesus?