Passage
Jesus
continues His teaching by asking what good it is for a person to profit tremendously
in this world if they forfeit their soul eternally. Jesus then asks what any person could give in
exchange for their soul. Jesus then adds
a third simple teaching. Anyone who is
ashamed of Him in this life will find that He is ashamed of them in the life to
come when Jesus comes again in the glory of the Father with His angels. Then Jesus adds that there are some standing
with Him who will not see death until they see the kingdom of God come.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Jesus
is not saying here that those who profit in this world have forfeited their
soul in the world to come. What He is
saying is that keeping one’s soul in eternity is the higher priority. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with
profiting in this world – so lose as profiting within this world is not done at
the expense of eternity. This is an
important distinction to make. While
yes, in other parts of the Bible Jesus certainly teaches that it is easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of heaven; He does not say it is impossible. There is nothing inherently wrong with profit
and especially nothing wrong with success.
There is something wrong when worldly profit and success supersedes listening
to God’s call.
Why
is it easy for us to read this passage as a passage against being successful in
this world? How hard is it to remember
to allow success to be defined by God and not ourselves? How does one live focused on the eternal
first and the things of this world second?
Second Thought:
Jesus
follows this thinking up with an equally difficult teaching. What can a person offer up in exchange for
their soul? Think about this for a
second and it really makes sense. What
perishable thing of this world has any kind of value equal to the worth of a
person’s eternal soul? Jesus is telling
us that nothing in this world is as important as the human soul. That should be our priority. Care of the soul is our most important human
task.
How
often do you consider the true care for your soul? How often do you consider the care for the
soul of another? Why is it easier to
consider other things to be more important?
How does one care for their own soul and the souls of others?
Third Thought:
Then
Jesus lowers the absolute boom. Those
who are ashamed of Him will find that He is ashamed of them in eternity. Those who step up to the plate and take on
the affront of the world will have the eternal support of the world. Those who conform to the world rather than
live according to God’s ways will perish with the world. It’s really that simple.
Into
which category do you fall? Why? How do you know? How does one live their life unashamed of
Jesus Christ?
Fourth Thought:
Jesus
says that some of the people standing around Him would not see death until
after the kingdom of God has come in power.
If this passage is read with the second coming of Christ in mind, then
clearly Jesus was wrong. All of the
disciples are dead – long dead – and Christ has not come back. However, I don’t personally believe that
Christ is talking about the second coming when He talks about seeing the
kingdom of God. Remember what John the
Baptizer preached in the wilderness. “The
Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near.” Jesus
Christ coming was the inaugural event of the Kingdom of Heaven’s approach. Then comes His death and resurrection. Finally, the approach of the Kingdom of God
is completed when the Gentiles are welcomed into the kingdom. There were plenty of Jesus’ disciples who
were around when Peter had the experience with Cornelius at the first Gentiles
were welcomed as followers of Christ without having to become Jewish first.
Of
course, the Kingdom of God will be realized in full truth with the return of
Christ. But that doesn’t mean that the
Kingdom of God isn’t here with us now!
How
do you live in the Kingdom of God? How
do you count yourself a citizen of that kingdom?
Passage
for Tomorrow: Mark 9:2-4
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