Tag Daniel

³² At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴ Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. ³⁵ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. ³⁷ When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” (Mark 1:32-37)

Although the day is done, the demands have not diminished. When the sun had set the people are still bringing their diseased and demon-possessed loved ones to Jesus. Why? For healing and the delivering effect of the power that was in Him (Mark 1:32; Acts 10:38). Diseases and demons are no match for Him… and the people now know it; accordingly they are going to Him for help even when the hour is late (Luke 4:40-41). Notice this, fellow Jesus follower:

There is an occupational hazard to becoming effective in the enabling of God. It is an unending pressure to relieve pain, release prisoners, and remain in place (Luke 4:42).

There are no off hours. Jesus has no time to call His own. Look at our Lord in this scene and get insight for what lies ahead for those who would become Spirit-filled servant leaders (John 12:26).

The best part, though, is the response of Jesus to the pressures. (See also Luke 5:12-16.) In His handling of the situation I am made to see at least two things. First, I can what pleases the Father. (This is always true when watching Jesus. See John 8:29.) Second, I can see the main thing for my own ministry (Mark 9:28-29; Luke 6:12-13; Matthew 9:37-38; John 15:5-7; Luke 11:1-13; Mark 1:35-38). For the sake of time, let us focus on the former – what pleases the Father as it is revealed here in this part of Mark’s narrative.

More important than getting enough rest is the practice of pulling myself away from the crowed to be before God requesting His help for myself and His people. I must be willing to lay aside lying down, set aside slumber, and become at times intentionally inconvenient to reach (Matthew 6:6; Luke 5:15-16; Luke 6:12; Matthew 14:22-23). Why? So that I can, at last, be undistracted in hearing God (Acts 6:4) and unhindered being helped by God for His ministry. It was pleasing to the Father that His beloved Son prioritized the humbling act of prayer before rest, before planning, and the unending pressures of the crowd.

Jesus’ Model of Ministry versus Hyper-Connectivity

In our text Jesus has retreated to pray. Both his core and the crowd are looking for Him (Mark 1:36; Luke 4:42). They have to look, beloved, because Jesus made Himself less available on purpose. You have to see that the Son of Man removed Himself from easy access so that he could be uninterrupted in prayer.

Momentarily detaching from the social scene was intentional. Jesus wants unbroken time asking and listening; He is not going to be disturbed by casual conversation in the room or the person just passing by where He was praying.

God’s grace for personal growth and effective living has been made available to us for the asking (Matthew  7:7-8). In the spiritual discipline of prayer we position ourselves to receive that grace. But there is a modern theological and practical model of ministry irreconcilably at odds with the way of Jesus in prayer and ministry. The inveterate antagonist of Jesus’ model is hyper-connectivity. Let us compare these models:

Making It Practical (Psalm 63:1; Acts 6:4)

• PRIORITIZE YOUR PRAYING (Psalm 63:1; Mark 1:35) → Psalm 63:1 presents prayer as the first movement of the soul: “Early will I seek You.” David’s prayer is oriented toward God before circumstances are addressed. Mark 1:35 shows Jesus rising “a long while before daylight” to pray. He is going after time with the Father after a successful ministry day and before the next demands arrive.

Practical Implication – Give God the first fruits of the day, not the tired remainder. It must be regarded as non-negotiable.

Figure 1: Pirates do not politely ask for valuables.
We should not be too nice about getting time with
God. It is a non-negotiable.

• PROTECT and PLAN YOUR PRAYING (Acts 6:4; Luke 5:16) → Acts 6:4 records a deliberate apostolic decision: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The phrase “give ourselves” implies intentional allocation and protection. Luke 5:16 says of Jesus: “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” “Often” indicates a pattern, not an exception. Prayer does not survive on good intentions. In Scripture, it survives because it is: (1) Protected from intrusion, (2) planned into life rhythms, and (3) pursued when other things are pressing in.

Practical Implication – Schedule prayer (time with God) as deliberately as meetings with supervisors, coworkers, congregants, and friends. Create physical and temporal boundaries. Be okay with the fact that some good things are going to be sacrificed for the best.

• PERSIST in YOUR PRAYING (Daniel 6:1-10) → Daniel 6:10 records Daniel’s response to a legal threat against prayer: “He knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Prayer here is three things: (1) Custom (“as was his custom”), (2) Costly (it risks death), and (3) Continuous even when the conditions were contrary. Daniel does not increase prayer for show, nor does he reduce it for safety. He simply continues.

Practical Implication – Persisting in prayer means praying when answers delay (Daniel 10:2-3; Daniel 10:12-13), when obedience becomes costly, and when pressure increases rather than receding.

Figure 2: Daniel did not compromise his commitment to prayer.
When it became inconvenient or could cost him his life. This
custom has been part of forming his excellent spirit (Daniel 6:3).

In His grip by His grace,
Roderick L. Barnes, Sr.

Yuletide art often displays the angel of this passage in the air above the shepherds. However, the stood before them of Luke 2:9 does not indicate that the heavenly messenger had an elevation greater than that of the shepherds. Absent from the text is any mention of wings, hovering (See 1 Chronicles 21:15-16), or clouds. I do not believe that the author’s command of Greek and attention to detail leave this open to interpretation. When Luke has meant stood over he has clearly conveyed that idea. E.g., later in the same work (4:39) Luke uses the same verb and a preposition to communicate that the Lord stood over Peter’s sick mother-in-law. In the material that concludes Luke’s gospel more angels appear (24:4); the same verb that was translated stood before them, now in the plural, is used in the same way. These angels, appearing to activate immediate obedience in the disciples, are on the ground with the men to whom they are speaking.

In general when angels appear for judgement they do not make themselves available for conversation; they are not present to communicate but to condemn. In passages where angels appear in the air they are not merely aloft – they are agents of judgement (1 Chronicles 21:16) or positioned against the enemies of God (Revelation 7:1-2; 8:5,13, 14:1-19). Notable exceptions are found in the passage where an angel of God calls to Hagar out of heaven and later to Abraham (Genesis 21:17; 22:11). In these exceptions it does not say that the angel appeared but called out. But you will say, “What about Balaam’s donkey?” (Numbers 22:22-33) And to this I will say that the Angel does not appear to Balaam. It was the donkey that saw the angel standing against the wayward prophet.

When heaven’s ministering spirits show up on the ground (Daniel 8:15-17) or in a dream they are present to help men (Genesis 31:11; 32:1; Exodus 3:2; Judges 13:3; Matthew 1:20; 2:13; 2:19; 28:5; Luke 1:11-13; 1:28-30; 2:9; John 20:12; Acts 5:19; 7:30, 35; 10:3; 11:13; 12:7; 27:23). Since this note was first penned I have given more thought to the subject. Furthering the argument that an angel standing with or before men is present to help, are the prior appearances of Gabriel in Luke’s gospel. There are two instances that should be considered. First, there is the appearance of Gabriel to Zacharias.

¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. (Luke 1:11-13)

The angel appears for a meeting with a particular person: appeared to [Zacharias]. And the participial phrase describing how he appears says that he was standing on the right side of the altar of incense. The angel has made himself known to Zacharias through a visible appearance and he is standing on the ground in the Holy of Holies. They are literally on common ground.

Second, there is the appearance to Mary. That is, there is another appearance of the same angel to a person; Gabriel appears to Mary six months after the appearance to Zacharias. This same angel is said to come in (Luke 1:28) and then later to depart from her (Luke 1:38). Nothing is said about whether or not he was standing on the ground. However, unless the poor virgin girl in Nazareth lives in a place with huge vaulted ceilings, the angel is near or on the ground. We will not argue from silence (argumentum ex silentio), since the passage does not explicitly say that the heavenly messenger had his feet on the earth. But it is not unreasonable to think that he did.

Finally, at no point did the angels that appear in the advent story try to get attention for themselves. They did not encourage future communication with themselves, ask for worship, or indicate that they would be an ongoing source of enlightenment. The angels of God do not distract His people from Himself; they appear to promote obedience and devotion to God alone. Angels that seek or accept devotion are demonic (Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:8-11)!

Does it matter? Is there any relevance in this rumination to our day-to-day efforts to live effectively in the service of Jesus? The significance may be in helping me to interpret the meaning of visits from angels. Because, to be sure, they are continuing to visit us (Acts 12:7; Hebrews 13:2). (No, I am not preoccupied with the appearance of angels or trying to explain the community and operations of beings not of this world. I am merely working with Scripture to uncover guidelines for evaluating visits by angels.) Recently, there have been people claiming that orbs of light in the sky might be angels. They have even posted videos of communication with these things; in one case the light seems to respond. (Note: the person presenting the material is in the active practice of witchcraft and other activities expressly prohibited by God.) Does it matter? Consider the following as assessment guidelines:

Angel Appearance Assessment Guidelines

1. Angel Appearance Assessment Guideline 1 – If the angel is in the air above me, based on the Scriptures, this is an indicator that they are not visiting to communicate and are not promoting my personal welfare.
2. Angel Appearance Assessment Guideline 2 – If the angel appears on the ground and talks to me, they are obviously wanting to communicate and, based on the Scriptures, they may be here to help.

3. Angel Appearance Assessment Guideline 3 – The angel must not seek attention for itself, try to get me to stay in communication with itself, or promote spiritual ideas that indicate a better life that is not centered on Christ. Angels of God do not self promote or distract from the gospel.