All deeds are done and all words are spoken in his presence!

Mark 9:30-37

30 They went on from there and passed along through Galilee. And Jesus did not wish to have anyone know it. 31 For He was [engaged for the time being in] teaching His disciples. He said to them, The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men, and they will put Him to death; and when He has been killed, after three days He will rise [ from death]. 32 But they did not comprehend what He was saying, and they were afraid to ask Him [what this statement meant]. 33 And they arrived at Capernaum; and when [they were] in the house, He asked them, What were you discussing and arguing about on the road? 34 But they kept still, for on the road they had discussed and disputed with one another as to who was the greatest. 35 And He sat down and called the Twelve [apostles], and He said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he must be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And He took a little child and put him in the center of their group; and taking him in [His] arms, He said to them, 37 Whoever in My name and for My sake accepts and receives and welcomes one such child also accepts and receives and welcomes Me; and whoever so receives Me receives not only Me but Him Who sent Me.

Food for thought!

When they left there, they made their way through Galilee, and Jesus did not wish anyone to know where he was. This passage marks a mile-stone. Jesus had now left the north country where he was safe and was taking the first step towards Jerusalem and to the Cross which awaited him there; Jesus deliberately left safe haven for danger. FOR ONCE JESUS DID NOT WANT THE CROWDS AROUND HIM. Strange, isn't it? Jesus wanted some time away from the crowds to be by himself! Why?

Well, the reason is stated as being, "For He was teaching His disciples." As you know by now, Jesus had different message for different people. He spoke differing messages to different audiences. He had things to tell Pharisees, things to tell everybody, things to tell the Twelve apostles. This time he was teaching just his apostles. What was he teaching them?

"The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men, and they will put Him to death; and when He has been killed, after three days He will rise from death." This was the lesson! Unfortunately, the disciples did not understand, and could not understand. The gospel says, "But they did not comprehend what He was saying, and they were afraid to ask Him what this statement meant." They could not understand because they were AFRAID TO ASK. Sometimes we are amazed that they did not grasp what was so plainly spoken. The human mind has an amazing faculty for rejecting what it does not wish to know. Are we so very different? Many of us do accept the parts of the Christian message which we like and which suit us, and refuse to understand the rest.

We often refuse to face the truth! We prefer not to know! We prefer ignorance because we are afraid of the consequences. We deliberately "switch off" our mind and think of what we want. The disciples switched off from what Jesus was teaching them to what they wanted to hear: who's the greatest among them?

Yet in their heart of hearts they knew they were wrong. When Jesus asked them what they had been arguing about they had nothing to say. It was the silence of shame. They had no defence. It is strange how a thing takes its proper place and acquires its true character when it is set in the eyes of Jesus. So long as they thought that Jesus was not listening and that Jesus had no knowledge of what they were saying, the argument about who should be greatest seemed fair enough, but when that same argument had to be stated in the presence of Jesus it was seen in all its unworthiness.

If we took everything and set it in the sight of Jesus it would make all the difference in the world. If of everything we did, we asked, "Could I go on doing this if Jesus was watching me?"; if of everything we said, we asked, "Could I go on talking like this if Jesus was listening to me?" there would be many things which we would be saved from doing and saying. And the fact of Christian belief is that there is no "if" about it. We do well to remember that all deeds are done and all words are spoken in his presence.

“When the LORD looks down from heaven, he observes every human being.From his dwelling place, he looks down on all the inhabitants of the earth. He formed the hearts of them all; he understands everything they do.” (Psalm 33:13-15)

“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)