John Mark Hicks

Lipscomb was asked: “What are the times of restoration and the all things spoken of by the prophets in Acts 3:20,21?”

According to J. W. Shepherd’s Queries and Answers (published by F. L. Rowe, 1918), Lipscomb responded in this way (p. 360):

Jesus had been to earth and returned to heaven. Heaven must receive him until “the times of restoration of all things.” Then “the times of restoration of all things” must be when Jesus returns again to earth–the restoration of all things to their original relation to God. The relation which the world originally sustained to God was boken and destroyed when man, the ruler, rebelled against God. That destruction of the world’s relation to God was more far-reaching and destructive than we realize. The whole material creation shared in the evil. Briers, thistles, thorns grew in the material world, as in the spiritual. Sickness, death, mortality afflicted the material world. When man rebelled against his Maker, the under creation rebelled against man. The laws of the natural world were disordered. The germs of vegetation put forth; biting frosts or burning heat destroys them. Disorder in the laws of the material world came as the result of man’s sin against his Maker. When Jesus comes again, the will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and all things in the world will be restored to harmonious relations with God, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.

There are, at least, two interesting points in this brief answer.  First, Jesus will return to earth and when he returns to earth it will involve the full harmony of God, humanity and creation as the will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Second, Lipscomb recognizes a strong connection between human evil and disorder (chaos) within creation. Whether or not one thinks of this in terms of Adam & Eve or one thinks about it in terms of the interconnectedness of created reality, moral evil has ecological effects (cf. Hosea 4:1-3). The restoration of all things includes redemption for God’s creation and the final defeat of chaos within the creation.

While many have treated this section of Mark as a series of isolated sayings that follow a passion prediction, the thread that runs through it carries a powerful punch if we hear it as one continuous exchange between Jesus and his disciples. This thread directly connects with the prediction. Just as Jesus would serve others by suffering, so the disciples must learn to serve others as well.

Mark situates these “sayings” between “they came to [his home base in] Capernaum” (9:33) and “Jesus left that place” to go to Judea (10:1). The narrative offers this as one integrated segment—a teaching moment for the disciples. The section begins with a dispute over who is the greatest (9:33) and ends with Jesus’ imperative to live in peace with each other (9:50).

This teaching moment is occasioned by the disciples’ own self-interestedness, pride and envy. As they travelled to Capernaum, they had argued over the question “who was the greatest?” This sets the tone and theme of this pericope. Jesus understood what the argument was about—who is first? How will each of the twelve rank in the kingdom of God? Disciples wondered and debated where each would fall in the coming kingdom. Who would be first?

The narrative is deliberate here. When no one would confess the topic of their argument, Jesus sat down and called the twelve together. This enhances the point and signals how significant this section is to the narrator. Jesus then articulates the theme that will run through the rest of his conversation with the disciples: “you must be last and servant of all if you want to be first.”

This is a radical reorientation for the disciples. They imagined that they would be rulers in the coming kingdom. They imagined that as the twelve, specially empowered by Jesus, that they would have “firsts” in the kingdom and that even one of them would be at the right hand of King Jesus–the “greatest” besides Jesus. Now they hear that they must serve others as “lasts” in the kingdom rather than “firsts.” No doubt they had a difficult time fathoming what that meant.

Jesus then enacts a parable to explain his meaning. He places a child in the middle of the twelve and then enwraps the child in his arms. Both acts are symbolic. The child reminds them of the focus of their mission and how others are the center of attention rather than themselves. When Jesus hugs the child, it symbolizes how Jesus welcomes the “little ones” and loves them.

The task of the disciples is to welcome “little ones” in the name of Jesus because this is to welcome Jesus himself. Moreover, it is to welcome God who sent Jesus. When we love our neighbor—welcome the little ones—we love God in our neighbor. The disciples are reminded that their ministry is not self-aggrandizement, power or wealth but to welcome others in the name of Jesus.

At this point John interrupts Jesus to announce how the disciples stood up for the integrity of Jesus’s ministry. This is apparently something that they took great pride in doing. They had hindered the ministry of another—someone who was exorcizing demons in the name of Jesus—“because he did not follow us” (literal translation). The disciples seemed to have reasoned that because this person was not one of the twelve or not attached to their entourage that he should not be “doing good” in the name of Jesus. That privilege, they thought, belonged to them. They were the ones who were with Jesus and empowered by him to do miracles. This other person’s ministry threatened their status and potential role in the kingdom. He did not “follow us.” And the emphasis is on “us.”

Jesus must have been incredulous. His immediate response is an imperative: “don’t stop him!” We can feel the exasperation in Jesus’ language. Anyone who does anything good in the name of Jesus is for “us” and not against “us,” he said. Just because they do not “follow us” (in the language of the disciples) does not mean that they are not “for us.” The “us” is larger than the disciples imagined. They thought of their discipleship as an exclusive group but Jesus enlarges it. Indeed, anyone who offers a cup of cold water (a small act of kindness) in the name of Jesus should be welcomed rather than excluded. God will welcome them; God will reward them. And the community of faith—the Twelve in this case—must welcome them too.

It is important to link the next section to the previous one. What the disciples did to this exorcist was scandalous. They failed to welcome a “little one;” they failed to welcome another who was doing good in the name of Jesus. Now they must hear Jesus’s rebuke.

What the disciples did to this exorcist, this “little one,” endangered their life in the kingdom. They had scandalized (“cause to sin” in the NIV) him by hindering and discouraging him. The disciples would have been better off if they had thrown themselves into the sea with a heavy weight. The hyperbole has a point. If anyone’s hand, foot or eye scandalizes another, it is better to remove them than to injure yourselves or others.

The hyperbole points to the seriousness with which Jesus regarded the actions of the disciples. Because of their pride and kingdom power-seeking (they wanted to be “first”), they had scandalized one of Jesus’s “little ones”—a person who was doing good in the name of Jesus. This approach to kingdom life and the scandals it creates leads to ghenna (hell). It is a path that leads to destruction. It is better to remove all obstacles to authentic kingdom life than it is to live comfortably (with hands, feet, and eyes) in a way that leads to hell. “It is better,” Jesus says, “to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.”

Jesus reminds them that hell is destruction. It is not a way of life but a way of death. Kingdom living gives life but prideful self-exaltation is the way of death, the way of hell. He underscores the destructive end of such a life by quoting Isaiah 66:24. Hell is the place where the worms do not die (where worm feed on dead bodies) and the fire is unquenchable (that is, a place where the fire accomplishes its purpose). Isaiah envisions a field of unbuired corpses where worms and fire destroy life and confirm death. It is a picture of shame rather than pain; it is a picture of destruction.

The most difficult aspect of this text is whether Mark 9:49 is a comment on the Isaianic text (linked by the word “fire”) or whether it belongs with the final saying of Jesus in the chapter in Mark 9:50 (linked by the word “salt”). The majority understanding is that Jesus is alluding to the practice of salting sacrifices in the Levitical system (Leviticus 2:13). In other words, a life dedicated to God is like a salted sacrifice that is purified by fire. Others—a minority report—suggest that it is an image of destruction that more naturally goes with Isaiah’s description. When a city was burned, the victors would sometimes sprinkle salt on the ground to render it uninhabitable (Judges 9:45). Thus, the meaning would be that everyone who is thrown into hell will be destroyed by fire. Whichever is the case, either meaning contributes to the thread of the text as scandalizers will be destroyed (salted) or disciples will be tried (salted) by fire.

The final saying in this section, like the first thematic one in Mark 9:35, summarizes the proper orientation of kingdom living. Kingdom people are salt, that is, they are ministers of good in the world. Scandalizing the “little ones” or seeking preeminence in the kingdom corrupts that salt so that it is no longer any good. Instead, disciples must continue as salt so that they might live in peace with each other.

The final imperative, live in peace with each other, unites the narrative. In the light of their previous argument about who was the greatest, Jesus insists that they live in peace—not only with themselves, but with the “little ones” as well. When God reigns, peace reigns, but when pride reigns, we find ourselves on a path to hell.

Radical kingdom reorientation saturates this text. Disciples are “servants of all.” Disciples welcome others; they welcome “little ones” even when it appears a threat to their own status. Disciples would rather cut off their own hand than scandalize another who is doing good in the name of Jesus. Disciples live in peace because they love the kingdom more than their own lives.

Where can we find disciples like that?

The earlier prophets, Zechariah announces to post-exilic Judah, delivered the word of the Lord to their ancestors. The Spirit of God sent messages to them but they did not listen. Yahweh sent word after word to various prophets in the pre-exilic era but they did not listen.

The prophet describes them with three metaphors:

• They turned their backs like a stubborn animal who refuses a yoke.
• They stopped their ears so that they could not hear.
• They made their hearts as hard as flint (a rock that can sharpen knives).

They were insubordinate, inattentive and stone-hearted. They did not care. They were insensitive and uncaring about the plight of the poor in the land. They pursued injustice rather than loving their neighbors. They did not listen because they loved themselves more than their neighbors. Zechariah accuses post-exilic Judah of pursuing the same interests as pre-exilic Judah. The people had not changed.

Zechariah summarizes the message of the earlier prophets. It is a classic distillation of Amos (5:24), Hosea (4:1-3; 12:6), Micah (6:8), Isaiah (58:6-8) and Jeremiah (7:5-6). It is a stunning message about social responsibility—two prescriptions and two prohibitions.

• Administer true justice, or “justice and faithfulness”
• Show mercy (hesed) and compassion to one another
• Do not oppress the marginalized (widow, orphan, alien or poor)
• Do not devise evil in your hearts against each other

This language rehearses the theme of social injustice so prominent in the prophets. In fact, the Hebrew “devise evil” is situated in a legal context in Zechariah 8:16-17. Those who were charged with protecting the marginalized are abusing their power for their own interests. Justice is perverted. The courts, even the priestly courts, facilitate the mistreatment of the widow, orphan, alien and poor. Instead of mercy, compassion, justice and faithfulness, the people “devise evil” against each other, literally “brothers.” Instead of loving their neighbors, they exploit them.

This perverts the very essence of the Torah. It subverts Israel’s own history as an alien and slave loved by Yahweh. Just as Yahweh loved Israel as an alien (a marginalized outsider), so Israel is to love the alien (the marginalized; cf. Deuteronomy 10:17-20). This is the very heart of God and embodies the greatest commandment–to love the Lord our God with our whole heart. We love God by loving our neighbor; we love God in our neighbor.

The sins of pre-exilic Israel continued in post-exilic Judah. Hadn’t the people learned their lesson? Don’t they remember how angry God was about such injustices? Zechariah reminds them.

In the midst of their injustice, God did not answer when they called because they did not listen when God called. God turned the tables. Whereas they did not show mercy and compassion to the strangers in their midst, so God made them strangers by scattering them to lands they did not know. Because Israel mistreated the homeless, they became homeless. Their beautiful land—a garden that God had prepared for his people—became a desolate region (cf. Jeremiah 3:19-21).

The message of Zechariah is a word from the Lord: “return to me and I will return to you” (Zechariah 1:2). But Judah has not yet returned to God. Instead, they continue the practices of their forefathers; they have not heeded the warning or learned the lesson. Judah must become a nation for the poor; it must become a place of mercy and compassion, of truth and faithfulness, for the underprivileged.

Will Judah listen? Will we?

On December 7, 518 BCE, almost two years after Zechariah’s eight visions on February 15, 519 assure Judah that the temple will be rebuilt (Zechariah 1:7) and two years before the dedication of the temple on March 12, 516 (Ezra 6:15-18), a delegation from Bethel comes to Jerusalem to ask Yahweh a question. They ask the “priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets.” Zechariah answers.

Bethel, it should be remembered, was a rival worship center during the Divided Kingdom. The city, which hosted a “temple of the kingdom” for Israel, had once excluded the prophets of Yahweh, but now comes to Jerusalem to seek a word from Yahweh. Amos 7:10-16 records the occasion when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, petitioned Jeroboam II to send the prophet Amos back to Judah. Now, however, representatives from Bethel come to Jerusalem to seek an answer from Yahweh.

Unlike other characters in Zechariah’s oracles, the Bethel representatives have Babylonian names. Perhaps they, too, are recent returnees from exile. Whatever the origin, their names symbolize their inquiry. Their question is about lament, mourning and fasting. Given that some have returned to the land and the temple is almost complete, should the people continue to fast? Should they continue their exilic mourning practices? In other words, is the exile over? Are our sins forgiven? Has God returned?

Exilic fasting rituals were extensive as Judah lamented its losses and mourned its sin. One third of the year was spent in lament—four of the twelve months were dedicated to fasting (Zechariah 8:19). Each month was connected to an experience in the history of the fall of Jerusalem and the subjugation of Judah. The chart below provides the links (Boda, NIV Application Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah, p. 357).

Exiled Judah had mourned the loss of Jerusalem and the temple for almost seventy years which was the number Jeremiah (25:11-12; 29:10), the Chronicler (2 Chronicles 36:21) and Daniel (9:2) say represented the exile. Fasting was probably a daytime fast—between dawn and sunset throughout the whole month. They were anticipating the potential end of the fasts on the fifth month of 517. Should Judah continue to fast since the seventy years are essentially over?

Zechariah responds to the question with four oracles. Each is distinguished from the other by the phrase “the word of the Lord came to Zechariah (me).”

• Why did you fast? (Zechariah 7:4-7)
• Are you still socially irresponsible like your fathers? (Zechariah 7:8-14)
• Will not Yahweh return to dwell in Jerusalem again? (Zechariah 8:1-17)
• Will not the remnant feast rather than fast? (Zechariah 8:18-23)

Yahweh responds to their question with a question: “When you fasted and mourned…for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?” The question is also extended to their eating and drinking. When they fasted during the daylight hours and then ate in the evening, why did they maintain this ritual? Who was their focus? What was their focus?

It is important to notice how Zechariah redirects the question. Bethel asks Zechariah, but he asks them to seek an answer from “all the people of the land and the priests.” This may seem like a rather general way of speaking, that is, “ask everybody” but it is more focused. Ezra 4:4, for example, uses the phrase “people of the land” to refer to those who remained in Judah during the exile. The priests are those who administer justice. This might allude to the problem of ownership, land titles and social injustice (cf. Ezekiel 11:14-17 for an illustration).

Zechariah’s question is an accusation. Those practicing injustice fasted but they did so for their own sakes rather than for Yahweh. It was not a sign of repentance. Rather, the exile became an occasion for exploitation. They continued the practices of their fathers (cf. Zechariah 7:9-10) as they took advantage of the poor and oppressed.

Yahweh has seen this before, and the earlier prophets spoke on the same point. There was an earlier time when the Negev (the southern region of Judah) and the Shephelah (the western rolling hills of Judah) were settled and prosperous, when Jerusalem itself was at rest. Though at peace, the rulers and wealthy pursued injustice instead of loving their neighbors (cf. Jeremiah 7:5-7).

Ritual fasting does not mask economic injustice. True fasting is to love your neighbor—to feed the hungry and clothe the naked (Isaiah 58:6-8). Self-centered ritualistic fasting evokes God’s rebuke but the self-denial of sharing with the poor receives God’s commendation.

So, why do you fast?

My friend, Chris Cotten, along with Mac Ice, have a significant interest in the history of Nashville Churches of Christ. Both of their blogs have wonderful pieces on that history.

Yesterday I read Chris’s piece on the “Nashville Establishment,” which identifies one aspect of the institutional growth of Churches of Christ in the middle of the 20th century. In particular, he tells the story of Comer family who funded many ecclesial and institutional projects. I highly recommend the post as a window into the “Jerusalem” of Churches of Christ institutionally, especially in the 1920s-60s.

Institutional power has shaped our history in significant ways even while we decry such power.  I wonder what Uncle Dave–David Lipscomb–would think about the ecclesiastical power and diversity of his city 100 hundred years later. I could venture a guess, but read Chris’s piece first.

Nashville Establishment? Say it ain’t so, Joe! Maybe, maybe not.

May God have mercy, as my friend Don Haymes continually prays for us.

R. C. Bell (1877-1964) attended the Nashville Bible School from 1896-1901. James A. Harding took Bell with him as a faculty member at the newly founded Potter Bible College in 1901. Later Bell would teach at several different colleges among Churches of Christ and eventually ended up at Abilene Christian College as a beloved teacher.

In 1959, Bell was asked to give a lecture on “A Lifetime Spent in Christian Education” and he used the opportunity to lament the shift among Churches of Christ that distressed him. In his autobiographical article in the 1951 Firm Foundation he had warned that the church needed a new infusion of the kingdom theology of James A. Harding in order “to save [it] from changing divine dynamics to human mechanics” (“Honor to Whom Honor is Due,” Firm Foundation 68 [6 November 1951], 6). Now, in his closing years, describes what is lacking among Churches of Christ in 1959.

The whole speech is available in another post. Below I have excerpted a few significant parts below.

“Especially, [Harding’s] soul-kindling faith in God as a personal Friend matched the wave length of my eager, hungry heart. I caught his contagious enthusiasm for God as a Father who personally identifies himself with each of His own, and for the Holy Spirit as a Comforter who personally resides in and empowers every Christian, slowly enough.  However, [his] conception of Christianity as “a divine-human encounter,” in which immediate spiritual communion between God and man is established and perpetually maintained, gradually, became also my conception of Christianity.

“I also knew that in such vital matters as Christians being crucified to the world and the world’s being crucified to Christians (Gal. 6:14), and as Christians really believing with all their hearts that the Holy Spirit was working personally in them to help their infirmity, to pray unutterable prayers for them, and to make all things work together for their good (Rom. 8:26-28) so that they, ever mindful of the Lord’s presence, might be anxious about nothing, praying in everything, thankful in anything, and possess ‘the peace of God, which passeth all understanding’ (Phil. 4:5-7), the primitive church was not being fully restored. In short, I knew that church of which I was a member was not identical in all things with the church of the New Testament.

“With more and more lived faith, as the years passed and I myself increased in spiritual stature, I taught, first, that the personal presence and conjoint working of the ‘Three-personal God’ (Father and Son and Spirit) in and through cooperating Christians is at the very heart of Christianity; and second that Christianity, primarily, consists, not in what Christians do for Christ, but in what Christ does for Christians.

“When Christians fail to make use of the sanctifying portion of Christianity, as though it were an optional adjunct instead of the built-in essential which it is, they harden into harsh, unloving, unloved, self-sanctifying, unlawful legalists and defeated Pharisees, biting and devouring one another as the Galatians were doing (Gal. 5:13-15). A man’s unchristian self-effort to justify himself no more certainly leads to arrogant self-righteousness than does the same kind of effort to sanctify himself.”

Zechariah has seen eight visions (1:7-6:8). The visions portrayed a God who is sovereign over the nations (first and eighth visions), a God who punishes the evil of the nations and removes it from Judah (second and seventh visions), a God who reestablishes temple and covenants with his people (third and sixth visions), and a God who restores the priestly and royal functions to Judah (fourth and fifth visions).What is the cumulative meaning of these visions?

Zechariah 6:9-15 is neither a vision nor does it belong to chapter 7 which is separated by from chapter 6 by the dating of the next oracle. Zechariah 6:9-15 stands as a prophetic comment on the visions. The meaning of the visions is embedded in this “word of the Lord” (Zechariah 6:9).

Zechariah is given a task by Yahweh. This task is itself a prophetic sign, a performed word. What Zechariah does enacts the reality of the divine promises. It inaugurates the present but it also promises a future. The word of the Lord is “already, but not yet.”

It appears that some priests (e.g., Tobiah, cf. Ezra 2:59-62) had recently arrived from Babylon with treasures of gold and silver. They were part of the exiled community that has returned and the text anticipates that more will return (same verb is used in 6:10 and 6:15). What the exiled priests bring back to Jerusalem will be used as a symbol (“memorial” in 6:14; cf. Exodus 13:9; 28:12, 29; Numbers 10:10) for what God is promising those who have returned to Jerusalem. It is a performed sign, an effective sign–much like the sacraments within the Christian faith. The headgears (“crowns” is plural in Hebrew) that are constructed out of the gold and silver are symbols of promise—they are signs that God will do what he has promised.

One “crown” is placed on the head of Joshua, the high priest. The other crown is reserved—as a memorial—for another head. The word “crown,” Boda suggests (NIV Application Commentary on Zechariah, p. 338), may refer to royalty but more often denotes beauty and honor (cf. Isaiah 28:1-5). It is not strictly reserved for kings or queens. It does not necessarily have a royal coronation but rather a matter of honor or official recognition. Joshua is the high priest. He is an honored official.

The other “crown” is for the Branch. Joshua is not the Branch (though the NIV translation makes it appear that way). Literally, “Behold a man, Branch is his name…” will come. Joshua is promised that another leader will come who has not yet arrived or who is not present at the moment. This leader, presumably, is Zerrubabel (based on the fifth vision). The word of the Lord to Joshua through Zechariah describes this one who is coming (the below structure is from Boda, p. 340, though others think Zechariah is alternately speaking to Joshua and then Zerubbabel):

Behold, a man, Branch (semah) is his name

He will grow (samah) from his place

He will build the temple of the Lord

He, indeed, will build the temple of the Lord

He will be clothed with majesty

He will sit and rule on his throne

A priest will be on his throne

A counsel of peace will be between them

The language of “Branch” comes from Jeremiah 23:5-6 and 33:7-16. It is a Davidic descendent who will return Judah to prosperity after their exile. The Davidic line will remain and rule over Judah. Zechariah identifies this Branch as the one who will rebuild the temple as well as sit on the throne of David.

It is important to note that “he will rebuild the temple of the Lord” is said twice. It is the point of the word about the Branch. Post-exilic Judah is assured by the Lord that the temple will be rebuilt and this is means that the Lord will return to temple, the dwelling place of God.

But there is yet another mentioned in this word from the Lord–there are “two” in the last line. He is a priest who sits on a throne and there will be peace between the Davidic Branch and this priest. The fact that there are two, rather than just one person, is indicated by the last line in Zechariah 6:13. But can a priest occupy a throne? Eli did (1 Samuel 1:9; 4:13,18), but the reference is probably to a council seat near the king. Others sat on thrones as they advised kings (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; 22:10). The priest who sits at the right of the king is enthroned as his counsel, and their relationship is harmonious. They will cooperate in the rebuilding of the temple. Joshua will assist Zerubbabel who will rebuild the temple.

What is the word of the Lord in this text?  What is the promise? Fundamentally, it is that the temple will be rebuilt. Zerubbabel and Joshua will cooperate in its rebuilding. This is the promise of the Lord to Judah through the words of the prophet Zechariah.

The fundamental meaning of the visions is that the temple will be rebuilt. As Israel returns to God, so God returns to Israel–which is the basic message of Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1-6). The temple will be built and God will come to dwell among his people. The memorial crown is Judah’s assurance that God will accomplish his promise. God will return to his people just as assuredly they have returned to the land of their forefathers.

But is there more to this? The message has a clear historical grounding in the situation of Judah in the Persian period. At the same time, the message has a Messianic ring as even Second Temple Judaism recognized. This word encompasses more than the rebuilding of the temple but, taken with all the night visions, it points to another who will unite the priestly and royal offices in a new temple of God. It points to a time when the nations themselves will become part of the people of God.

The “crownings” of Joshua and Zerubbabel are real but symbolic. They function as divine representatives in Judah but they point beyond themselves to a Messianic figure. There is a temple to be built by those who “afar off”—which probably refers not only to the Jewish diaspora but also the inclusion of the nations (cf. Zechariah 2:11; 8:22). The temple of Joshua and Zerubbabel is not the final temple, the final dwelling place of God. Rather, the Messiah will build a new temple and the reign of God will fill the earth. And, ultimately, that reigning Messiah will bring a new Jerusalem to the new heavens and new earth where there will be no need for a temple because God and the Lamb will dwell there.

In his eighth and final vision, Zechariah sees four horse-drawn chariots emerging from between two bronze mountains. Each chariot had different color horses—red, black, white and spotted grey. The imagery is colorful, vibrant and awe-inspiring.

The chariots shoot out from between two bronze mountains. Bronze, with a kind of golden gleam, is how the mountains surrounding Jerusalem appear when the bright sun hits them in the morning. Bronze is also the material out of which the east-facing two pillars of Solomon’s temple were composed (1 Kings 7:13-22). The number identifies these mountains with the temple pillars and the chariots therefore emerge from the temple, the dwelling place of God. The chariots are sent out by God from the heavenly council.

The chariots, with their war-horses, are military symbols; they represent power. But there are only four chariots rather than thousands. Ancient Near Eastern religious art often pictured divine warriors with their chariot hosts. Yahweh is often pictured in Israel’s literature as a divine warrior who goes out to conquer and rule the world for the sake of his people (cf. Psalm 68:7; Habakkuk 3:8).

While many see significance in the colors of the horses, it seems to me the number four is more significant. The chariots are the sovereign reach of God throughout the whole earth. They are the “spirits” or “winds” (the Hebrew term is ruach) that stand “in the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.” They are present in the heavenly council of God. Whether we read the term as “four spirits” or “four winds,” the result is essentially the same. “Four winds,” like in other prophetic texts (Ezekiel 37:9; Jeremiah 49:36; Daniel 8:8; 11:4), remind us of the four corners of the earth—the points on a compass. But the “winds” are “standing” in the presence of God. They await their orders. The winds are personified and thus are angelic themselves. As Psalm 104:3-4 sings, God makes the winds his messengers or angels.

The winds—or angelic servants—are poised to perform their tasks throughout the earth (repeated three times in Zechariah 6:7). The winds have a universal function—they go anywhere in the earth and the whole earth is subject to God’s sovereign reign. They patrol God’s world.

The chariots are sent out from the heavenly council to accomplish the will of God. The black horse goes north and spotted gray goes south, but there is no mention of the red horse and the Hebrew text sends the white horse following the black horse to the north. Some translations emend the destination of the white horse to read “west” which gives the text some symmetry (the four directions of the compass) and assumes that the red horse stayed in the east.

However, it is not necessary to emend the text since the point is not that the horses stay within the boundaries of their assigned geographical sectors. Rather, the four horses represent the work of God throughout the whole earth. They are sent where they are ordered. Two horses are sent to the north, one the south and the other, apparently, remains in the region of the temple itself. Perhaps the red horse is the commander, just as the rider of the red horse in the first vision was (Zechariah 1:8, 11).

The point is that God is sending servants to the north and south. In the historical setting of Judah, the north is the primary origin of Israel’s enemies—whether Assyria or Babylon. The south refers to other superpower in the region, Egypt. God is exerting his sovereignty over the nations; they will serve God’s purposes and God will accomplish his will for Judah. God rules over superpowers.

What do these horses accomplish? The Lord himself speaks to Zechariah and identifies their purpose. It is a prophetic announcement emphasized by the language “he cried” and “behold.” This is the interpretation of the vision.

The chariots bring “rest” to “my S(s)pirit,” says the Lord. The verb “to rest” is sometimes used in relation to anger (cf. Ezekiel 16:42; 21:17), and ruach (spirit) can refer to anger (Proverbs 16:32). God’s anger, his passionate jealousy for righteousness, was triggered by the wickedness of the nations (cf. Zechariah 1:14-15, 19). God sends his chariots, his “winds” (ruach), which quiet his “spirit” (ruach). God is at rest once again as the Lord of the whole earth exercises his sovereign rule over the nations.

The nations are no match for God as God will reign over the earth. God acted against Babylon in the north and Egypt in the south in order to make space of Judah to rebuild the temple. But this was more than  Judah’s history—their return to the land, it was also a promise of a future yet to come. God’s purposes will not be thwarted. God will rebuild his temple and he will, in the coming future, come to that temple (cf. Malachi 3:1).

God’s chariots still patrol the earth. Superpowers do not control their own destiny. God will accomplish the divine purpose and no nation can stop it.

Moving from a glorious mountain-top ecstasy to the despairing valley of his disciples’ faithlessness, Jesus experiences a range of emotions. To experience bodily transfiguration, conversation with Elijah and Moses, and hear the voice of his delighted Father was a great delight (Mark 9:2-8), but to come down the mountain to hear his disciples arguing with religious leaders, learn of their failure of faith, and be confronted with a victorious demon was depressing. Jesus moves from confident hope to lament. Yes, though he will die, he is assured of resurrection, but will faith survive among his disciples?

We all have those moments (though perhaps not with these extremes)—moments when we have experienced God in such real ways only to encounter something the next day that totally discourages us. There are times when the reality of God is so vivid in our minds that our hearts soar but there are also those times when our hearts groan over the brokenness in the world. Jesus empathizes with us; he knows how we feel because his emotions have ranged between those two poles as well.

When Jesus, Peter, James and John finally came across the other disciples, they found teachers of the law questioning them in the middle of a large crowd. It must have been quite a commotion, and the occasion provided the scribes with an opportunity to question the kingdom mission of the disciples.

Jesus gave the disciples authority over demons as they announced that the “kingdom of God is near” and healed the broken (Mark 3:15; 6:6b-13). They had previously driven out many demons, but now—at the foot of Mt. Hermon, in the region of Caesarea Philippi, where pagan religious sites abounded—they had failed. They were incapable of casting out this demon. Their kingdom ministry was now in doubt. The crowds wondered, the scribes questioned, the broken wept, the demon reigned, and the disciples were befuddled.

The appearance of Jesus, however, changes the scene. The crowd excitedly runs to greet him. They are amazed by his presence, but nothing in the text tells us why. Perhaps they anticipate what Jesus might do to “fix” the situation. They welcome him as if he will settle the doubts now enveloping his kingdom ministry.

The problem, voiced by the father of the child, is that a demon afflicts a young man. From his childhood, this demon has muted him and thrown him into epileptic-like seizures. Mark provides significant details about this demon possession. The father describes his seizures (foaming at the mouth, gnashing his teeth and becoming rigid, Mark 9:18). When the demon sees Jesus, he throws him into a convulsion (rolling on the ground and foaming at the mouth, Mark 9:20). When Jesus asks how long has the demon possessed him, the father elaborates that his son is often endangered by being thrown into fire or water (Mark 9:22). Mark stresses the extreme nature of this case: length of time (“from childhood”), seizures, risks, and inability to speak. The demon reigns over this young man. Satan is winning.

The kingdom of God is at risk through the failure of the disciples. Jesus locates the failure in the disciples, specifically their faith. His lament is dramatic: “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” This language is revealing. Jesus weeps over this failure and what that failure represents about the reality of the world in which he ministers. Jesus is grieved, just as God grieved over Israel (Isaiah 63:8-10). Jesus laments with God.

Faith is an important theme in Mark. The message Jesus heralds is “repent and believe the gospel,” that is, believe the good news that the kingdom of God has arrived (Mark 1:15). The presence of faith or unbelief has been critical in some of Jesus’ healings (Mark 2:5; 5:34, 35; 6:6). Jesus has, on occasion, questioned the faith of his disciples (Mark 4:40) and been amazed at the faith of others (Mark 7:29).

Jesus sees himself as the kingdom prophet who lives among a faithless people. He endures their faithlessness. Perhaps this is directed toward the crowd and the scribes as well as the disciples, but the disciples are the focus of the text. It is their failure that occasioned this crisis and this lament.

But Jesus will not let this stand. The kingdom cannot remain at risk and demons must not rule in the presence of the King. He commands that the young man be brought to him: “bring him to me!” Jesus will act; he will redeem and heal. The reign of God will defeat the reign of Satan. Jesus rebuked the demon: “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!” The authority, sureness and finality of his words are stunning. The kingdom of God reigns.

In fact, Mark’s description of the healing is practically a dramatic anticipation of the resurrection of Jesus himself. In the passion and death of Jesus, it appears that the demons win, but in the resurrection of Jesus the demons shriek and convulse but release Jesus from the grave. Just as the young appeared dead but was raised to his feet by Jesus, so Jesus, though dead, is raised to life. The kingdom of God reigns.

Between the lament and healing, however, is a revealing exchange between Jesus and the child’s father. The father appeals for help but it is tinged with uncertainty. “If you can…,” he hesitantly asks. “If you can?” Jesus responds. I don’t think Jesus is insulted by this father’s halting request. It has been conditioned by the faithlessness of the disciples and the apparent victory of the demon. It is difficult to fault the father in this situation. Rather, Jesus faults the situation.

The brokenness of the world fogs faith in; we can’t see clearly. Darkness blinds us to the light and faith cracks under the burden of hurt and pain. The father, weeping for his son and living in despair, reaches out for any possibility or any remedy. Jesus recognizes that faith has been crowded out by suffering.

But faith is the key. Faith releases kingdom power. “Everything is possible for him who believes,” Jesus says. Faith opens doors that are otherwise closed. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world, defeats the demons and heals the broken.

The father confesses faith but humbly acknowledges his doubts. Faith is never perfect; it is always a mixture of doubt. But imperfect faith is sufficient. The kingdom of God does not come through perfection but through faith—even a weak, doubting one. The power does not reside in faith but in the God who responds to our faith. The father’s son is healed even though he confesses, “I believe; help my unbelief.”

Once in private, as they had done on occasions previously (Mark 4:10; 7:17), the disciples asked for an explanation, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” We might imagine that the disciples experienced a number of emotions in this scenario. They were probably frustrated, confused, embarrassed, and discouraged. What happened? What had gone wrong? They had done it before but now they could not.

Jesus’ answer is simple but profound: “This kind can come out only by prayer.” I wonder how the disciples heard that answer. Did they think, “We prayed!”? Or, perhaps they did not pray. Whatever their actions, prayer is the reason.

The point is probably not whether they actually articulated words to God or not. Rather, it is about the faith of prayer itself. It is about reliance on the power of God to reign in the world rather than self-reliance. Perhaps the disciples thought that they had been given authority and they could act on their own power or that that power was under their control. They simply had to wield it.

The answer “prayer” reminds us that God is the one who must act and kingdom ministry relies upon God’s power and not our own. Prayer expresses dependence upon God and apparently the disciples had forgotten that. Ministry can do that to us sometimes—we begin to think we are the center, focus and heart of kingdom life. We begin to think too highly of ourselves and we forget about “prayer.”

May God have mercy on us in our failures and remind us to depend on the power of the Spirit in our kingdom ministries.

The Gospel of Mark identifies three separate occasions when Jesus foretold his passion, death and resurrection to his disciples. Each prediction was limited to the twelve. His future was part of the Messianic secret. They were told to tell no one.

The first occasion was Mark 8:31-32. This immediately followed Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah, and it was immediately followed by Jesus’ rebuke of Peter who presumed to correct the Son of Man’s own understanding of his messianic mission.

The second occasion was Mark 9:30-32. This follows the disciple’s failure to cast out a demon where they demonstrated a failure of faith and precedes their argument about who would be greatest in the kingdom of God. Jesus deliberately moves through the countryside of Galilee to avoid crowds so that he might have some private time with his disciples. But the disciples, as on previous occasions (cf. Mark 6:52; 8:21; 9:10), did not understand what Jesus was talking about. Further, they were afraid to ask for clarification. Perhaps they did not want to reveal their ignorance, or perhaps they did not want to know. When Jesus talked about death, they might have wanted to avoid the subject because they feared their own deaths. They would rather argue about who would be the greatest in thekingdomofGod—a much more pleasant topic, seemingly.

The third occasion was Mark 10:32-34. This prediction is sandwiched between Peter’s frustrated exclamation that they had left everything to follow Jesus and James and John’s request to have the right and left places of honor in the kingdom of God.

In each of these predictions, the disciples are in a very different place than Jesus.  The disciples are triumphalistic. They are dreaming of kingdom glory, places of honor and greatness. Jesus is facing the hard reality—he will be betrayed, suffer, and die. The predictions stand in immediate contrast with the disciples’ expectations. Their reaction is confusion, fear and avoidance.

Perhaps we learn something about ourselves in this. We much prefer the triumphalistic story. We prefer talk of victory rather than surrender. We prefer comfort over suffering. We would rather share our 10% than take up a cross.

When faced with the harsh reality of kingdom ministry, we become confused and afraid. We deflect and reinterpret (“it can’t mean that, can it?”). We avoid the pressing issues of discipleship. We would rather talk about kingdom triumphs than suffering ministry.

The predictions of Jesus remind us that kingdom ministry is self-denial, taking up a cross, and dying with Jesus. Only then do we save our lives; we only save them when we lose them.

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