In 2018, a reporter asked a prominent Christian leader in America why so many Christians were happy to support political candidates who seem to revel in disobeying Jesus’ teachings. The leader replied that Christians were just happy to have someone “on the playground that is willing to punch the bully.”
“What happened to turning the other cheek?” the reporter asked.
Replied the leader: “You know, you only have two cheeks.” What if Jesus was serious about calling on Christians to turn the other cheek, though? What if He were serious about calling on us to take up our crosses and to follow Him? Does Jesus really know the best way to live? Does He really understand what it means to live in this world of ours? Does He get the complexity of our lives?
It’s so easy to say we follow Jesus, but to reject His instructions when following them aren’t easy, or when they make our lives more difficult.
In today’s passage, we encounter a few different responses to Jesus. Some respond positively, but two groups that you might expect to be on board with Him respond very negatively. The family Jesus grew up in thought Jesus had lost the plot. And the scribes from Jerusalem – learned in the Scriptures – alleged that Jesus was in league with the devil.
Rejecting the work of the Spirit can have serious ramifications, though. Do we stand against Jesus – or are we members of the new people, the new family, brought together in His name?
Today’s text: Mark 3:7:35
To discuss: What does it look like in practice to be part of Jesus’ family?
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