Tuesday 6 Dec 2022

December 6: Mark 11:27-33

Key Verse: Mark 11:30
John’s baptism – was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!

Devotion:
When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and whilst He was walking in the temple courts, He was confronted by the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders: they wanted to know by what authority Jesus was going round doing the things He was doing. They had assumed the positions of authority and they did not expect anyone to confront them or do anything without their authority! They had in effect taken charge of all things in the temples!

Whilst we do have people who have been given charge of congregations, teaching people, watching over the communities and being in charge of church organisations, Christ should remain the head of the church at all times. He is the one who came down to be with us and to give His life in our stead. It is He who stood up to the sin debt we owe and took on the punishment we deserve!

When the teachers and priests confronted Jesus and demanded answers, He turned the situation round and asked them to explain where John got his authority to baptise people in the Jordan river. They were confronting Jesus in his human form, so He confronted them with the same issue.

John had been sent by God to make the way clear for Jesus to come and sort things out once and for all. Jesus simply asked them to confirm this. But if they confirmed it was from God, then His work could be described as coming from God because of the similarities of the works. But if they said it was from man they would have to face up to huge crowds who would reject their statement… The worldly power they had built up was about to come crashing down!

Points to Ponder:
Do you acknowledge Christ as the head of the church?

Do you give Christ the power to do things in your life?