Persistence

Jesus's mission is to Israel. (It is not until after the Resurrection that the church is given its mission to the entire world.) And so, when the Syrophoenician woman (a pagan) asks Jesus to do something for her, he tells her that his mission is narrowly focused on Israel. But, she persists, and he heals her daughter.

I don't understand it either, but there's something about persistence that the Lord really values and uses.

Keep going. (Especially in prayer.)

Today’s Scripture

Mark 7:24-37

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What the Politicians Don't Say

What Jesus is saying in our passage is at once immediately and obviously true, and at the same time totally ignored by most people today: our problems come from the inside out; human nature is our problem--it's broken.

When's the last time you heard a politician calmly explain that our problem is ourselves?

Today’s Scripture

Mark 7:14-23

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What Does "Corban" Mean?

In today's passage, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of hypocritically declaring certain segments of their property to be "corban." What does that mean?

Property or financial resources declared corban were meant to be used as Temple offerings. Here's the catch, though: some people would declare the lion's share of their resources corban but not actually donate them until later, perhaps upon their death. So, one way of avoiding the financial responsibility of caring for aging parents was to declare your resources corban and then say to your parents, "Sorry, folks: I just can't afford it--I've given everything away to God."

Today’s Scripture

Mark 7:1-13

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