The Lutheran Hour
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"School’s in Session"
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Text: Mark 9:30-37
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Let us pray:
Father in heaven, You are an awesome God. Angels bow before You, heaven and earth adore You. You are a mighty God. We thank You for Your Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth. You have promised that He will teach us all things and remind us of everything He has taught us. We humbly ask You to teach us those life transforming truths which will make us wise unto salvation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.Someone once said, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.” Life is full of changes and there can be living inside of us an inclination to fight against change. That change can be unexpected or even unsolicited.
One of the reasons people oppose change is the fear of loss: loss of convenience; loss of familiarity; loss of control; loss of knowing the outcome.
Every individual has the choice to respond positively to change. In other words a person can choose to grow as they encounter change. One of the ways we can grow is through learning new subject matter. In life there is always the opportunity to learn something new. Whenever we purposely pursue an opportunity to learn one can say, “School’s in Session.”
In Mark 9 the disciples are with Jesus, and in verse 31 it is revealed to us that Jesus was teaching the disciples. Even though Jesus was not standing behind a podium and the disciples were not seated in a comfortable classroom, school was in session. As the Master Teacher, Jesus can transform any experience, any event, or encounter into a learning opportunity.
In Psalm 86 a man by the name of David prayed, “Teach me Your way O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth.” If we desire to walk in God’s way when school’s in session, I need to first accept that there is a learning curve.
A learning curve means there are some facts or skills which I do not possess. The disciples in the previous verses experienced a learning curve.
In the previous verses of Luke 9 there was a father whose son was possessed by an evil spirit and the disciples were unable to cast the spirit out. Jesus effortlessly cast the evil spirit out. The disciples went to Him and asked why they were ineffective in their attempts and His response was: “This kind of spirit can come out only by prayer and fasting.” Jesus, by His response, is informing us that there will always be areas of learning, especially in the spiritual realm which we can grow in. Our prayer should be “Lord, help me to recognize that I don’t know everything.”
Next, when school’s in session, ask God questions. In verse 31 Jesus shared with the disciples that He would be betrayed and killed but three days later be raised from the dead. In verse 32 we are told that the disciples did not understand and were afraid to ask Jesus questions. Fear arrested them, incarcerated them to the degree that they remained quiet. Has there ever been a time in your life, when you wanted to ask God a question, but you did not because fear gripped you? Maybe you were fearful of what God would think of you or how He would look at you. Maybe the question had something to do with a medical issue, or a relationship issue, or a purpose issue in your life. You remained silent because you were afraid. Let me assure you that God is not intimidated by sincere questions coming from His children. Neither will He condemn you for your questions. The Bible says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The Bible also tells us that when Jesus died and was raised from the dead for us, He provided us access to God’s throne of grace. Access means we have the freedom to come into His presence, to ask or to share what is in our heart. When school’s in session, ask God questions.
The last lesson we learn from this Scripture is: live out the basics. Notice that I did not say learn the basics, but rather, live out the basics. In verse 34 the disciples argued about who was the greatest among them. No doubt as a result of them being in the presence of Jesus and being able to accomplish certain goals because God had given them that ability, they were beginning to be filled with pride.
Jesus diffuses this climate of competition; this activity of jockeying for position by revealing to them that greatness is not about competition. Greatness from Jesus’ perspective is demonstrated by exercising compassion. A true servant lives out compassion to others. Jesus says, “If anyone wants to be first; he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Jesus lived out this basic truth. He declares in Mark 10 “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” In that many, that includes you. He died in order to set you free so that you might be a servant to others; so that you might emulate Him in your life.
Greatness from God’s vantage point is not determined by how many books we’ve read, how many schools we’ve graduated from, or how many degrees we have behind our name. Greatness is exemplified by our willingness to roll up our sleeves, get in the trenches with those who are hurting, and be that ambassador, that missionary of grace and good news who tells the people Jesus is for you.
Our prayer needs to be: Lord, take me back to school; remind me that I don’t know everything. Be my Master Teacher. Help me to learn every lesson which You have prepared for me so that I will be more like Your Son, who learned and grew in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and men. Help me to always remember that as long as I live school’s always in session. In the name of Jesus, who lived, died, and rose again, Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for September 24, 2006
TOPIC: Why can’t everyone go to heaven?ANNOUNCER: Why can’t everyone go to heaven? That’s today’s question for Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer, and we continue with our series of questions inspired by a program called, Equipping To Share, which is an interactive workshop sponsored by Lutheran Hour Ministries that helps people learn how to share their Christian faith with others.
KLAUS: Right. So, Mark, today’s question is…?
ANNOUNCER: “Why can’t everyone go to heaven?”
KLAUS: That’s kind of an ironic question, isn’t it?
ANNOUNCER: In what sense?
KLAUS: Because everyone can go to heaven. That’s precisely why Jesus came into this world. It is why He was born…why He lived…why He suffered…why He died… why He rose from the dead. The Bible is really clear on that point. The Apostle John said: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). In John’s Gospel we find, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). It’s pretty clear, nobody has to be kept out of heaven. Sad to say, not everybody will be saved, but everyone can be saved, through faith in Jesus.
ANNOUNCER: But why doesn’t God just let everybody into heaven?
KLAUS: Well, because He can’t.
ANNOUNCER: But I thought God can do anything.
KLAUS: Yeah, but God can’t stop being God. Here’s what I mean: When God first created the world, everything was perfect. To keep things that way, He put certain laws into effect. One of those laws was that disobedience requires punishment. In other words: if you sin, you die. Adam and Eve sinned and pulled the whole creation down with them. God cannot arbitrarily reverse Himself or go back on His promise. If He did, He wouldn’t be true to His Word. And if He’s not true to His Word, He’s not God any longer.
ANNOUNCER: God’s all about love and forgiveness, isn’t He?
KLAUS: Yes, God is about love and forgiveness, but only because someone else paid the price that our disobedience demands. Somebody picked up the tab, paid our debt as it were. I know, let me try this: In our judicial system, we have judges. These judges are sworn to uphold the laws of the land. Now, how would you feel if a judge started to just let prisoners go, willy-nilly. We’re talking guilty criminals, big time sin: drug dealers, killers, child molesters, drunk drivers, thieves, terrorists. How would you like that?
ANNOUNCER: Well, I wouldn’t. Judges can’t just ignore the law.
KLAUS: But why? If a judge is a nice guy, he should let everybody out without any kind of punishment.
ANNOUNCER: And, of course we understand you’re being facetious here. But, if a judge were to do that, just think about it, the results would be terrible.
KLAUS: And let’s suppose a judge did that. What would happen to society? Would everybody behave if they knew there was going to be no punishment? Would everybody obey the rules of the road if they knew a policeman would never, ever, going to write them a ticket?
ANNOUNCER: No, I think it would be total anarchy.
KLAUS: I agree. So why do we expect God to set aside His laws and let everyone into heaven? Or how about this: if teachers gave an “A” grade to everyone, whether they study or not, or go to class or not, or learn or not, or disrupt or not; the meaning of the grade is thrown out the window, and the teacher is no teacher.
It is unreasonable to expect God to do something so foolish. God’s Law demands perfect holiness and obedience and we are unable to comply. In God’s eyes, we are all far worse than any of the criminals I mentioned earlier. No, God couldn’t just change His rules. That’s why none of us deserved heaven and all of us stood condemned to hell. There wasn’t any hope.
ANNOUNCER: But there is hope.
KLAUS: Yeah, there is hope. Although God couldn’t set aside His laws, He sent His Son into the world to take our place and fulfill the Law for us. God couldn’t set aside His verdict of death for sinners, but He did allow His Son to take our punishment instead. Why? I don’t know. Normally, judges don’t punish their children in the place of the criminal, but God did; and because He did, all who believe on Jesus are given heaven.
ANNOUNCER: Not because we deserved it, but because Jesus made it possible. Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Let All the Nations Praise the Lord” by Volcmar Leisring. Shawnee Press/ASCAP
“Holy Spirit, Light Divine” by Jeffrey Blersch. Concordia/SESAC
“Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord” by William Fox. From Music for the November Feasts by the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter’s (© 1995 The Order of St. Benedict, Inc.) Concordia/SESAC
“O Sing to the Lord a New Song” by John Leavitt. Concordia/ASCAP
“Almighty God, Your Word Is Cast” by Henry Gerike.
“Come, Thou Almighty King” (© 1995 Concordia)
“The Savior Calls, Let Every Ear” arr. Chris Loemker. Concordia/SESAC