Mark: Close, but not quite

It’s been said that being close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Being close to the truth, but still missing it is still getting things wrong and missing the mark. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says to the early church that if they want to follow the law and all its rules and regulations, then they need to keep the law perfectly — if they fail at just one point they’re guilty of breaking the whole law! That is a sobering message.

Peter is close to understanding who Jesus is — he even calls Him the Messiah — but he still misses the mark. Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, and then in the next moment rebukes Jesus for getting things wrong after Jesus tells them that He’s going to die! How could Peter be so close and yet still so far away?! How could he acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, but then say Jesus doesn’t know what He’s talking about?! That is a sobering warning for us as well.

Jesus came to serve God, not people. He came to fulfill the plan that was established before creation, and no one could turn Him aside or give Him another direction. Jesus was solely fixed on seeing this plan through to the end, and nothing would keep Him from honouring God. The disciples thought they understood who Jesus was and what He was about, but they would only fully know after His ascension just what He had come to accomplish. Until then they were only close to the truth.

We now have the full picture, the complete story of salvation, and yet still we can miss the mark. The good news is that we can enjoy grace, forgiveness, and restoration. Jesus came to serve and honour God, and complete the plan of redemption, and through His victory He’s made a way for us to have eternal life and life more abundantly now. We may still mess up, but praise be to God that Jesus didn’t, for it’s only by Him and through Him that we receive grace.

This Sunday at our weekly gathering we’ll be looking at Mark 8:27-33. Read all of Mark 8 before you come on Sunday — trust me, it’ll be good for you! Our service starts at 6pm — hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Pastor Mike