Psalm 34; 2 Samuel 11:1-27; Acts 19:11-20; Mark 9:2-13
Has David gotten fat and happy? We are told that it was spring when the kings went out to war and yet David sent Joab and the army instead of going out also. He wasn’t with his men, he was home and because he was home he saw Bathsheba bathing. His curiosity concerning her beauty got the best of him and now he had a problem. His solution to the problem was to try and get her husband, Uriah, not an Israelite but a Hittite, to sleep with his wife so that David could deny that he was responsible for the pregnancy. Uriah, even though he was not an Israelite, had so attached himself to the nation and to his king that he was willing to fight and die for them and his loyalty to the king and his men was such that he would not go and sleep with his wife while the men were in battle. For his loyalty he was moved to the front line of battle and placed in harm’s way so that he might be killed expeditiously. It is a bit of understatement to translate the final verse that what David did displeased the Lord.
Have the religious leaders gotten fat and happy? They have adapted themselves to the status quo and are prospering within the boundaries Rome has set for them. So long as they don’t disrupt the peace they are allowed to practice their Judaism and they are allowed to be important men within their own circles. They may not have the respect of the Romans but they have their places of honor that they exploit. Jesus takes a few disciples apart from the others and apart from the crowds and they see the truth that no one else can, that Jesus supercedes all, even Moses and Elijah. What the world sees is not truth, it is a fiction of conceit. They alone know now that Jesus stands alone. He is placing Himself on the front lines to die. He will die in an earthly sense so that these leaders can maintain their place but that is only from a human perspective.
The sons of Sceva learn that the name of Jesus is not some magical incantation. They believe that what Paul is doing is magic and that they have found the right words to say to emulate their success. What they learn is that the name of Jesus has power but it must be coupled with knowledge of who He is and faith in Him. We must be known by Him, His own, in order to truly know His power. They have no protection in His Name from the evil spirits they attempt to deal with and in the end they are vulnerable to attack. We can never allow ourselves to get fat and happy in life or in ministry. The Name of Jesus must always evoke within us great reverence and desire, it can never become just our magic word. We need to be careful that we never take His name for the sake of vanity.
For her my tears shall fall
For her my prayers ascend,
To her my cares and toils be given
Till toils and cares shall end.
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