Great Expectations

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

August 25, 2020

Great Expectations

When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”

Mark 6:16

Read: Mark 6: 14-16

This is a very brief passage. Even so, it gives us much to think about. The prophetic voice of Jesus had been reported to the King. The miracles, the healings and the great crowds following Jesus had been reported to the King. The reports were so astounding to the King that he concluded Jesus could only have such power if he was John, the man he beheaded, who had come back from the dead.

My impression in today’s culture is that the question most often asked about a church service is, “What did the preacher have to say?” As I think about today’s passage, I wonder if a more pressing question should be, “What happened?”

Did anyone get saved?

Did anyone get healed?

Who was baptized?

I am also thinking about the cost of being a follower of Jesus when great things are happening in and through his church. Now, more than any previous time in my life, there is most certainly a cost for those who stand with Jesus, for those who stand for the sanctity of human life, for those who seek to know God’s justice and act accordingly, for those who seek to know God’s mercy and embrace His mercy, for those with a passion to walk humbly with God.

My Takeaway: Great Expectations. I want to have great expectations for what God is doing in my life and life of my church.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.