Mark 7:14-23
“Notice what you notice.” Sometimes passages are so familiar to us that it’s hard to find anything new, especially when we are reading two or three or four writers’ accounts of the same event. That was the case today – but I did pick up on a small item. Going back to yesterday’s reading, this passage in Mark begins with Jewish emissaries from Jerusalem in conversation with Jesus. After He responds forcefully to their challenge to Him, verse 14 tells us that He calls the crowd to Himself for a one-sentence teaching. Then verse 17 tells us that he left the people and entered “the house” (presumably Peter’s?). So in short order we have Jesus with three interactions – the Jewish emissaries, the people, and His disciples. And He meets each of these groups differently – with some measure of hostility toward the Jewish emissaries, with a matter-of-fact teaching to the crowd, and in full discipleship mode to those closest to Him.
So what can we learn from Jesus? He does not let hostility deter Him from His mission. He continues to teach/preach to the crowd and He continues to work more closely with His disciples. And we should not let unexpected negative outcomes or even temporary setbacks hold us back. We need to move on, trusting that we are in His grace and all will work out. Easier said than done…!
Blessings!