Who’s in Charge?

In Mark 9:38-50 the disciple John comes upon a group of religious people doing the work of God. He hears them pray “In Jesus name”. This makes him mad. Who did they think they were? He was the disciple! What right did they have to be doing disciple stuff!

The sermon can be found here.

1. Today we’d probably call John’s problem a control issue. Somebody was in his space, operating in his personal domain and he did not like it. Maybe we can identify areas or issues in our own experience where we feel threatened because we feel that the particular area is all about us. Jesus suggests to John that it is never all about us. That it’s all about God and God’s purposes being done.

2. This passage also gives us what critics suggest are some of the harshest words spoken by Jesus. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” Plainly this is not a passage to be interpreted literally! A less dramatic way of interpreting these verses about cutting off hands and gouging out eyes would be to say; “If something is damaging your life, cut it out!” As I suggest in the sermon, Jesus is here saying, ‘John, if you want to control something, then work on controlling yourself”

3. The passage closes with a call for Christians to ‘Have salt in themselves, and be at peace with one another’. When a person has a sense of their own worth before God and a desire to live in the will of God they exert a positive influence on those around them. They are not afraid to seek peace. They look for the image of God in others.

Prayer: Lord we all have control issues. Help us to realize that it’s not all about us and allow You greater room to move in and through our lives. Where we are involved in practices that may be damaging to ourselves or others, help us to take Your advice and ‘cut it out’. Teach us what it means to be ‘salt’ in our world and live at peace with one another. Amen.