Mark 1:36-39

Just as wealth can often be harder to handle than poverty, succumbing to popularity and notoriety over anonymity can often be as difficult. Extremes are never easy to flesh out properly in any life – whatever those extremes may be. Balance is key in the life of a believer and we would do well in successful situations to remind ourselves of Paul’s words to the Corinthians:

7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 1 Cor 4:7 (NIV)

It is no wonder the Bible states:

7 “Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” Prov 30:7-9 (NIV)

Jesus was riding the popularity wave – people were seeking Him from every direction and in lieu of riding upon men’s shoulders, He spends the night in prayer. What an example! I don’t know about you, but when things are going sweet my prayer life often starts to stink. Not so with Jesus. He knows the risk of popular acclaim. Prayer is for all times - necessary to equip us when life is easy to our flesh as well as difficult. It is not hard to remember to pray in the difficult! Our Lord was well aware it was not yet time for His earthly kingdom to be established. He had a cross to bear. The temptation to shirk the pain would have certainly been palatable to the flesh.

View the disciples in our verses for today. Crowds were gathering, people were seeking and the disciples were lapping it up. All the while the Lord Jesus is praying for strength and protection and standing firm in all the will of God – mature and fully assured. Remember our Lord stated He came to do His Father’s will. Yet Satan bites at the heels of all and particularly the Lord Jesus. I am reminded of the adversary’s foiled temptation of the Christ in the wilderness. He offers Him the kingdoms of the world with all their splendor and notoriety and glitz that were presently his – forgoing God’s plan of the cross – if He would only bow down and worship the created thing – him. A seemingly easy path to power and glory and Jesus nipped it right in the bud by the Word:

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and

worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" Matt 4:8-10 (NIV)

Most definitely it was and is God’s design for Jesus Christ to rule the world but it would be through the cross. Jesus knew this yet the temptation to go the easy rather than the hard way remained. Remember the writer of Hebrews tells us Jesus was tempted in every way as we are yet was without sin. As fully God, He never responded wrongly to any yet as fully man He could feel the hard reality of the temptations and is therefore able to sympathize with us in our weaknesses:

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Heb 4:15 (NIV)

While I haven’t had much firsthand experience regarding notoriety, fame or acclaim I know it is true that how one handles popularity is just as important as how one handles shunning (and that I have had experience with!). Whatever God allows in the life of a believer, He gives them the power to bring Him glory through everything He permits - and the One who gives the power gets the glory. It works wondrously when done in His way – go figure!

Jesus had much work left to do. He came to preach the Good News to the people and present popularity was not going to prevent it. His mission was His Father’s mission and He remained focused on that – resolute. He was committed to carrying out the plan which would include going to the cross.

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34 (NIV)

4 “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5 (NIV)

“Let God do with me whatever He will; whatever it be, it will be either heaven itself or some beginning of it.” William Mountford