READING FOR MAY 28, 2024: GENESIS 40, MARK 9, PSALM 46:8-11 GENESIS 40 Some of us have worked for difficult bosses. Not fun at all. Fortunately, most HR policies prevent the kind of treatment of employees that Pharoah exhibited. Still, the relationship between employee and boss is key to a successful working environment. In this story, when the cupbearer and baker made Pharoah angry, they were thrown into jail.
Joseph by this time had achieved something like middle management in the jail. Being a more empathic boss than Pharoah, he noticed the dejected body language of these men and sought to know the cause. He then proactively addressed their uncertainty by seeking God’s interpretation to their dreams. He was a boss that mixed personal humility with a positive response to others’ concerns. Question: Should a Christian in a secular organization seek God’s wisdom to help employees and be open in acknowledging it?
We recall that Joseph already had received dreams from God. Now we see he was also gifted in interpreting dreams. As people might say today, this was one of his super powers. One dream portended a return to favor for the cupbearer. For the baker’s dream, an impeding execution. In both cases he shared the news honestly with the person affected. The Bible doesn’t say if this was wise, but we see later that because Joseph’s interpretations were accurate in both cases, the cupbearer was able to attest to Pharoah of Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams accurately. What about us? Should we convey both parts of John 3:36?“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” We might be charged with advocating fire and brimstone if we do, but don’t our loved ones deserve to know the complete truth? They still retain freewill.
MARK 9 This is Mark’s version of the Transfiguration. The verse before the Transfiguration in the other two accounts (Matthew and Luke) is essentially the same as Mark 9:1: “And Jesus was saying to them, ‘Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.’” The very next verse is the first verse of the Transfiguration story in all three accounts: “Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them” (9:2). The proximity of the two statements and the fact they are connected by the temporal phrase “six days later,” suggests the Transfiguration is the fulfillment of the prophecy about seeing “the kingdom of God.” There are those who hold to another meaning of this prophecy, though, such as Pentecost.
READING FOR MAY 28, 2024 CONTINUED: MARK 9, PSALM 46:8-11 On the way down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell others about this until “the Son of Man rose from the dead.” Many of us are puzzled as to why Jesus kept referring himself as the Son of Man, perhaps thinking it is a reference to His human nature. While that might also be true, this expression was very familiar to Jews of that day as a quotation from Daniel 7:13-14 referring to the promised king coming down from heaven: “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
Mark’s account of the demon-possessed boy differs from Matthew’s in that it includes more dialogue between Jesus and the father. Jesus is a bit taken aback by the father’s request to heal the boy if He could. Jesus stresses that all things are possible with sufficient belief. The father’s response was honest and heartful: “I do believe; help my unbelief.” This could be an appropriate request for all Christians. Jesus then implied that the disciples failed to heal the boy because of insufficient prayer. This begs the question: What victories over Satan have we failed to win due to our not engaging in prayer? Let’s pray for our Church with this in mind.
in verses 30-32, Jesus temporarily shut down His public ministry to engage in some intense instruction with His disciples. What is this central doctrine He wanted the disciples to understand and that He wants us to understand? JESUS’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION. Isn’t it ironic that after Jesus tells them about His ultimate sacrifice, His disciples started arguing about which one of them is the greatest? What should we do instead? Serve everyone and especially care for little children. Jesus then warns not to cause these children to stumble, saying those who do would be better off not to have been born. Then He extends this warning to anyone who stumbles: You will be thrown into hell (vs. 47). These words are from Jesus!
PSALM 46:8-11 Notice that verses 7 and 11 are the same: “The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.” This literary device, known as an inclusio, brackets material in between this repeated statement that describes the statement. Thus, the Psalmist invites the covenant people of God to examine God’s works that prove God is with them. The reader should notice God’s judgment on the earth, likely meaning against Israel’s enemies, and God’s enforcement of peace. He neutralizes the enemies’ instruments of war and tells those who strive against Him to stop and realize He is in charge. Then He points to a time when all nations will exult Him as sovereign, even if they failed to do so before Judgment Day:“At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).
