Who are our enemies?

Mark 3
This is a chapter of Friends & Foes. Mark goes back and forth between enemies attacking and friends supporting. Jesus is making clear to His new disciples who their "allies" are.

There are two enemies listed - one human, one supernatural. First we see the religious leaders of the day. AND THEY ARE THE ENEMIES! They are the ones attacking Jesus and plotting His demise. Next we see the demons whom Jesus completely controls.

We are also introduced to Jesus' friends. We meet the crowds. We meet the apostles - the 12 Jesus chooses to be His closest followers and the ones He hands the baton to when He returns to Heaven. We also meet Jesus' family. It is a bit unclear about where they fall!

When I read this chapter I had to ask myself why in our culture today the roles seem a bit out of whack. Think about it...in our "christian" world, the atheists are considered the enemies and the religious leaders are the allies. The crowds are definitely not our friends and they sure don't seem to "follow" us. We are told not to follow the crowds! Yet in Jesus' day it was the other way around.

My favorite verse was verse 4:
"Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for the doing of evil? Is this a day to save life or to destory it?"

Jesus turns the religious world on its head! I love it. What is the most important thing - developing and following rules or loving people? Where is your priority? What do you see as most important?

Who are your "friends"? Anyone who most of the Christian world might call an enemy?

It's amazing how Scripture gets you thinking...

Under the Mercy,
Jason