Who’s Giving You Advice?

Scripture:

Mark 13: ⁵ Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. ⁶ Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.

Observation:

Jesus knows that he will soon be leaving his disciples and so he continues with this heart-to-heart conversation with his inner circle. He’s sitting with Peter, James, John and Andrew and they are asking him about signs of the times. They are probably still concerned about political overthrow, or understanding what Jesus was saying about the temple. They want to know the time-line for when all of this will happen. 

Jesus doesn’t give them a definitive answer to their question but he does alert them to the greatest danger that they will face, and that will come from false Messiahs. Jesus wanted to make sure that this inner core of leaders would stand firm in their faith. This would be the only way in which they would be able to succeed: they needed to be watchful, awake and discerning. 

In the years following Jesus’ ascension there would be many false prophets who would try to infiltrate the ranks of the new Christian faith. We hear about it over and over again from Paul. More than likely Mark is entering this conversation into the record here because it is already an issue in Rome. Discernment would be key for those who would faithfully work in the kingdom of God. 

Application:

The advice from Jesus was not just for the first century. Unfortunately, there continue to be false prophets who are speaking in the world today. There have always been those who thought that they might be able to profit from participating in the faith. Beware of those who may be giving you advice who are not bathed in knowing Christ. There are plenty of those voices out there who want to tell us how to live our lives, but they cannot join Paul in crying out , “I want to know Christ” and nor would they want to finish that sentence, “and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death.” 

To be a true follower of Christ includes a willingness to sharing in Jesus’ sufferings and to become like him in his death — which was death on a cross. If we are listening to individuals who preach that Jesus will give you everything you want, then those individuals are not participating in the true life of Christ. 

Jesus knew that there would always be those who would try to deceive his followers. We must be discerning of those whom we are willing to follow. If you are not led to knowing Christ, then you are being led astray. 

Prayer:

Lord, through the power of your word and spirit, may you guide me to having a discerning heart. I want to know you, Lord, and follow you alone. Amen.