Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Question #1: “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?” (Mark 4:21)
Ok, the context of this passage is found in all 3 synoptic gospels. Now, for the record, what do we mean when we say ‘synoptic’ gospels? It simply means that the first three books of the New Testament are so similar in structure, content, and wording that they can easily be set side by side to provide a comparison of their content.
Mark and Luke are written primarily to Gentile audiences. Matthew is written to confirm to the Jews that Jesus is Messiah. All three of the Synoptics focus more on Jesus’s works.
John is more doctrinal. The old apostle has outlived his peers and is writing on the other side of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. He is witnessing the rise of false doctrines and false prophets and teachers that are spreading heresy. So John focuses on the words that Jesus spoke about Himself, and on how Jesus was indeed the only begotten Son of God.
Now, back to Jesus’s question. We find that Matthew places Jesus’s parable of putting a lit candle under a table in the Sermon on the Mount, while Mark and Luke place it following Jesus’s parable of the sower.
Matthew and Luke record it as a statement, while Mark records it as a question. It could very well be that Jesus repeated the teaching more than once and so we have the difference.
Either way, Jesus is using a common sense illustration that carries a strong message for every Christian—No one lights a candle and then places it underneath something where it can’t provide light, or where you can’t see it. The whole purpose of lighting a candle is to see it’s light!
Jesus has just taught on the parable of the sower which teaches that 3 out of 4 people that heard the gospel of the kingdom did not bear fruit for various reasons. One of them is never saved, while the other two are hindered and distracted.
Only one of them, the last one, bears fruit. It is on the heels of this that Jesus poses the question about putting a lit candle underneath a table. The implication seems to be that the man that successfully brought forth fruit was also the man whose Christian witness shined brightly!
In Matthew’s account, Jesus immediately follows the candle illustration with these words: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
So there you have the answer to Jesus’s question. Rather than keeping your Christian witness under wraps, let your good works, your Christian lifestyle, your service for Christ be an open book for all to see!
Question #2: “Salt is good, but what if salt becomes flat?” (Mark 9:50)
This question is found in all 3 of the synoptic gospels. And in all three it’s in question form. Matthew places it in the Sermon on the Mount.
Luke places it right after strong words from Jesus on the necessity of TOTALLY selling out to Him in discipleship.
Mark places it immediately following Jesus’s words about making a clean break from a sinful lifestyle, mixed with warnings of hell.
Now, what is salt in Jesus’s teaching? What does it illustrate?
I believe there’s a twofold application. First, we know that salt is a preservative. In the days before refrigeration, people would salt their meat in a process called CURING.
Curing was just about the only way to save up meat in warm weather months. Without salt, bacteria would grow in and on the meat and ruin it. Salt preserved that from happening!
So I believe Jesus is telling us first of all that the church, as He said in His Sermon on the Mount, is the ‘salt’ God sends into the world as a restrainer, a preserver, to keep it from fully rotting. This is why we’re called to communicate Jesus’s teachings, to pray for His kingdom to come, to shine as lights and to act as salt in the way we resist evil.
The second meaning of salt is about the inner life of the believer. Jesus said, “Have salt IN YOURSELVES.” He’s warning that, if the Christian loses the salt of the kingdom within themselves, if they lose heart, begin to love the world, drift away from church and prayer, or fall away from their daily walk with Christ—they lose their saltiness, which means the influence of the kingdom of God.
They begin to live in the flesh and no longer produce kingdom fruit. Our Lord’s words for those people are strong—“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, it cannot be made salty again. Salt is useless if it loses its salty taste. It will be thrown out where people will just walk on it.” (Matt 5:13)
The Lord seems to be saying that once a Christian goes worldly and loses their saltiness, it’s hard to get it back. Not impossible, but difficult. And the people you once witnessed to no longer take you seriously. There is a loss of respect, illustrated by the words, “people will just walk on it.”
So the lesson is: Stay salty with kingdom salt—God’s love, truth, and kingdom living. As long as you do, you will both help preserve a rotting culture, and you will preserve yourself from missing out on God’s best!
Question #3: “What concern is it of yours?” “What if I want John to remain until I come?” (John 21:22)
I love this question and the context where it took place. It is found only in John’s gospel. Jesus has been crucified and is risen from the dead. He has appeared to the confused and heartbroken disciples by calling to them from the seashore.
Once they realize it’s Him, Peter jumps into the water and swims to the Lord. This is when the well known story of Jesus asking Peter 3 times if he loved Him takes place. Following on the heels of Jesus commanding Peter 3 times to “feed My sheep,” that Jesus predicts his future martyrdom.
“The truth is, when you were young, you tied your own belt and went where you wanted. But when you are old, you will put out your hands, and someone else will tie your belt. They will lead you where you don’t want to go” (John 21:18)
Verse 19 says, “Jesus said this to show how Peter would die to give glory to God. Then he said to Peter, “Follow me!”
Now, Peter looks around and sees John and wants to know, “Wait a minute. If I’m going to be martyred, what about him?”
In other words, fair is fair. If I’m going down like this, let’s hear what’s going to happen to John! How is he going to die?
Jesus answers with a question. “What concern is it of yours?””
The message behind the question is something we all need to understand. Jesus is basically saying, “It’s none of your business, Peter. My will for you and my will for John are different.”
Now, when we realize this, it can literally deliver us from jealousy, envy, and resentment of how God uses different people. We are all literally like snowflakes—we’re different, with different callings and different giftings. The Lord uses each of us the way He chooses. We’re told in 1 Corinthians, “It is the same and only Holy Spirit who gives all these gifts and powers, deciding which each one of us should have” (12:11).
It’s different strokes for different folks in God’s kingdom. So Jesus said to Peter what He says to us all: Don’t be so focused on what I’m doing with others that you are hindered from following My will for YOU! So Jesus said to Peter, “You, follow Me!”
Well, I hope our questions Jesus asked for today blessed you like they did me. Don’t forget to join us this Sunday as I speak on Angels of Light—the danger of false prophets!
Until then, God bless you real good this week!