In the Background

Mark 15:40-41

      The most important people are those in the background, supporting the efforts of a few. Not everyone can be in the spotlight. And there are only a few who should be in the spotlight! Too many who end up grabbing the spotlight have no right to be there. They are there for all the wrong reasons.

      The city in which I live has a church that produces a Christmas event for the community at large every year. Over 30,000 people attended this free event. There were hundreds of volunteers helping to run this event, manning all the displays, providing all the legwork, making and baking, packaging and providing, praying and rejoicing.

      These people in the background are what make things happen. If you look at any successful non-profit, you will see the volunteers holding it together. Without these unsung heroes, these organizations would fall apart. Churches would fall apart if it weren’t for the volunteers who answer the personal call to minister in Jesus name in the nursery, children’s church, Sunday School, life groups, music ministry, visual arts, visitation, school outreach, counseling, and a thousand other areas.

      Our text talks about some who were in the background when Jesus was being crucified.  They had been in the background throughout Jesus’ ministry. They were often unnamed support staff. They had done the things that needed to be done so that Jesus and His disciples could continue doing what they were doing. Without these people, things would have fallen apart.

      And these people happened to be women. As is usually the case, the women do most of the important work, the support work. There hundreds of hours in the background enabled Jesus to preach the Sermon on the Mount and so many other things. Every public ministry needs support staff, and without the support staff, the public ministry would be very different.

      Notice that two women get mentioned by name. In their culture, women were often, if not always, unnamed. The Gospel raises the level of women like no other on the planet. In the Gospel we are co-heirs with Christ. The role of women in the Early Church attests to this. The greetings in the Epistles testify to this fact. Women were at every level of leadership and ministry.

      This of course flew in the face of their culture. Some of the women of that day were used in extra ordinary ways, just like some of the men. Jesus is an equal opportunity filler and user. He will use anyone who is willing, anyone who is surrendered. In Christ there is no male or female. We are all one in Him.

      These two women were also witnesses to where Jesus was buried that day. They were also there at the tomb early that Sunday morning. They witnessed the empty tomb and the angel witnesses. They were the first humans to proclaim the Resurrection. Not bad for anyone.

Watch Your Back

Proverbs 2:16-22

 As yesterday’s reading showed us the protective power of wisdom in regards to wicked men, our passage today shows the protective power of wisdom in connection to wicked men. My first observation, and insight has to do with the contrast between these two groups of people. Remember, the writer was a man, not a woman, so his perspective sheds light on what he highlights. What he mentions is what he would struggle with as a man, and not what every person would struggle with generally.

To put it another way, from a man’s perspective, other men will lead them with their words into error. Whereas men will more likely follow a woman into sexual sins. And that is where we pick up wisdom’s saving power.

Verse 16 speaks about this loose woman, but doesn’t say much about the loose men who participate with her in her lack of wisdom. She also uses her words, just like the men did in verse 12. Words can be a powerful influence, for good or for evil. This is one of the reasons we need to keep watch over what we say, and over what we hear.

Notice next that the woman has left her husband, while the man has left his straight paths. These could be very much the same actions stated from the male perspective toward men and women. The man walks into darkness, while the woman abandons her husband and consequently her marriage vows.

I wouldn’t want to be a man following such a female’s path. As we will read in further chapters, these actions are not accepted in God’s sight. There is but one consequence for walking into adultery: death. That seems awfully harsh! Once you walk down that path, it is very difficult to escape. Ask anyone who has walked the road! Very difficult to return to life.

Man or woman, if we listen to wisdom we will walk in places where good people walk. I want you to know something, I like hanging around with good, honest people. I don’t like hanging around with crooks. I bet you feel the same way. With crooks, you are always watching your back, wondering when the next pain will arise.