“When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and He stayed by the seashore.” (Matthew 5:21 NASB
In this week’s Bible Study classes at our church, we continued working through the Gospel according to Mark. We are in chapter 5 where we have been studying verse by verse. In the prior two weeks we looked at Jesus’ prerogatives, His special right, His special power, His special authority, and His special privilege. We had previously looked at His prerogative over the storm, the wind and the sea, and over demons. This week we went to Mark 5:21-43 and took an in-depth look at Jesus’ power of sickness and death. To get the classes started, I asked the class to pick out four words that stood out to them in the verse above (Mark 5:21) and to explain why each word drew their attention. The classes did very well, selecting a variety of important words, words like “Jesus,” “again,” “crowd,” and “seashore.” Their explanations were excellent! As you meditate on the verse above, you will start to sense, as the Holy Spirit opens your eyes, why the participants in the classes chose such words. All scripture in inspired by God and profitable, Right?
Now, just because I am the teacher and facilitator of the classes, I was not exempt for choosing a word. So, the word I selected from the above verse was “stayed.” Let me tell you why it drew my attention.
First of all, Jesus had just returned to Capernaum after going into the country of the Gerasenes and demonstrating His prerogative over demons as He put the man possessed by a legion of demons in His right mind. Did Jesus take some time off? Did he try to avoid the opposition back on Capernaum, back at His city, when He came back over the Sea of Galilee? For clarification and/or edification, I say “His city” because this town was His base of operation. He was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, but in the area of Capernaum, a strategic site by all means, this was His like, let’s say, “His Home Office,” at least here on earth. Now let me answer the questions I just asked. No, Jesus did not take time off or try to avoid the opposition of Jewish leaders who opposed Him. Their power and position were not match for Jesus. So instead of avoiding, Jesus stayed. That was my chosen word, “stayed.”
That word, stayed, it should be incorporated in the description of our lives, one of these days. As the writer, Mark, used the word in his gospel, the same thing should be said of you and me. Yes, one day, because of our life choices, people should say of us as individual believers: “ He/she stayed on the battlefield, stayed in service for the Lord, stayed steadfast and unmovable, stayed faithful over not a few, but over many things, stayed in the group referred to as prayer warriors, stayed active in the local church, stayed (unless an emergency or an unexpected condition made it not possible), stayed in tune throughout the service from the Call to Worship to the final blessing (Benediction), stayed in the race, running to finish the course, stayed hopeful in situations where there seemed to be no hope because of knowing about the prerogatives of Jesus, stayed, standing on the promises of God, stayed looking for the impossible to be possible because of knowing that all things are possible with the Lord, stayed committed to the climb, stayed every day, living such that it is evident that we were walking and talking with our mind “stayed” on Jesus.
I could go on with my list, prompted about what Mark said about Jesus in his gospel, and I could certainly expound more on the fact that in regard to “stayed,” the same thing should be said of you, and me too! I hope I have said enough about the word I chose in Bible Study, enough to move you to stay useful in the kingdom of God, doing His work on this earth by the demonstration of your faith, from your youthful days until the days when the physical decline of aging takes its toll on you. Let it be said that you stayed useful until God called you home to be with Him for an eternity.
Well, have a great Friday! Work on your “stayed” epitaph while you have time. Be blessed!
“And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” (James 1:4 The Amplified Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King