Class Notes: 3/19/2014

Mark 9:37-42; The progressives are abusing children with their propaganda, lies and disinformation

In our study of Mark last time we left off in Mark 9:37; where Jesus said "Whoever welcomes one of these little (or young) children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

Jesus is using a child as a training aid to show his disciples that the only way to greatness is through humility and faith perception. These characteristics are natural in little children.

He is also teaching them the concept of relationship; Little children have a relationship to their parents and therefore little children are fed and clothed and taught and protected, not because they earn it or deserve it but because of their relationship. It all depends on who and what the parents are. This is the principle of grace.

This is why Jesus uses the phrase "in my name." The believer's relationship is with God "in Jesus name". John 1:2; Gal 3:26; and God takes care of every believer because of who He is not because the believer earns or deserves anything.

Mark 9:37c; We also see the principle of delegated authority. Receiving a believer is equivalent to receiving Jesus that is equivalent to receiving God the Father who is "Him who sent me".

We each choose whether we will have this attitude of service and we also choose how far we will go in our service. God allows us to set the boundaries of our own advance in time and that determines our greatness in eternity.

The more we are willing to serve unnoticed and without acclaim in time, the greater we will be in heaven.

Mark 9:38; Jesus' teaching prompted John who addressed Him as Teacher reported an attempt by the disciples to stop an anonymous exorcist from driving out demons in Jesus' name.

They did this because he was not one of them; however he was obviously a disciple but not among the Twelve who had been commissioned by Jesus to cast out demons.

They were concerned about the man's unauthorized use of Jesus' name. The fact that he was successful where the nine disciples had not been may have also been a factor. They tried to stop him because he was not one of the twelve so John asks Jesus about it.

Mark 9:39; Jesus tells them not to bother him because anyone who does a miracle in Jesus' name will not say anything against me soon afterward.

Mark 9:40; because anyone who is not against us is on our side. This is the same principle that he states from the opposite perspective regarding the Pharisees who were against Jesus. Matt 12:30a;

Even though this man did not follow Jesus in exactly the same way as the twelve disciples, he was still following Him and was against Satan.

The man who was casting out demons in Jesus' name was evangelizing along with Jesus weather the disciple recognized him or not. A miracle performed in Jesus' name advanced the message that He was Messiah so He told them not to bother him.

Mark 9:41; He goes on to say that those who would give a disciples a cup of water because they are identified with the name of Christ will truly (amen) I say to you he will not lose his reward.

The words translated "not" are emphatic in the Greek. Jesus uses a compound "ou" 'ou" or "not" "not" in the Greek the double negative emphasizes the fact that anyone who assists the advancement of Christ's identity will be rewarded by God regardless of who they are.

Mark 9:42; The word translated "stumble" in the NASB and "offend" in the KJV is the Greek word "skandilizo" that means to put an impediment in their way or to trip up, to entrap, to entice to sin or cause to distrust and desert someone or something they should trust. This word will be used in the next several verses.

It refers to causing a child or a new believer who has little or no doctrine to turn away from truth. In the immediate context the truth was Jesus. The immature faith of the exorcist who the disciples had harassed or anyone else who acts in Christ's name should be encouraged rather than criticized and prevented.

The punishment for those who do this will be so severe that it would be better for them to be drowned in the sea before he could cause one of these little ones (new believers) who have believed in Jesus and still have immature doctrine to be offended.

The words translated "heavy millstone" are "mylos onikos" that means "donkey millstone" referring to millstone that was so large that it had to be turned by a donkey.

The focus of this passage is on the truth contained in the Gospel of salvation but the principle applies all areas of divine truth. This brings us to a study on how the progressives are guilty of child abuse.

Mark 9:42; Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

The interpretation of this passage should send shock waves through our population. There is an obvious problem with the physical abuse of children but there is an even more widespread assault upon their souls that appears to be benign but is actually an insidious attempt to destroy their ability to think properly.

A child's education should have as its primary focus the communication of truth. Russell Kirk discusses this evil that saturates the progressive educational system in his book "Decadence and Renewal in the Higher Learning: An Episodic History of American University and College since 1953". (Gateway Editions, Ltd., South Bend IN 1978), pages 18-19:

"The Academy, if it is to enjoy rights, must acknowledge some principles of truth, and not constitute itself as a mere sophistical debating-society, doubting everything, sneering at all old convictions.

The Academy sins if the Academy places falsehood on the same platform with truth. And when college or university offers instruction in a subject, this implies that some truth may be found in the discipline.

If the rising generation already could perceive every difference between truth and falsehood, the rising generation would not need to enter the academy at all.

By treating Communism, or some other fanatic ideology, (evolution, anthropogenic climate change, etc) as entitled to have its ferocious say, the Academy would give political madness implicit sanction.

Many aspects of the sound and fury about academic freedom, in 1954, were disheartening. But the most saddening was the spectacle of certain professors, with tenure, good salaries, and all the benefits of constitutional order, implying that Communism was quite as worthwhile as any other form of social organization.

Let us not discriminate against the votaries of Lenin and Stalin; "let's not be beastly to the Hun." That is what Burke called a licentious toleration. The objects of a decent society have been known for a great while, within and without the Academy: they are order, justice, and freedom.

But the persons whom Sidney Hook called, "ritualistic liberals" had dropped those objects, and so were decadent, and involved the Academy in their decay or reason.

Now, fifty years later, this decay of reason has crept from the universities' schools of education all the way down to the kindergarten classrooms of America."

Physical abuse of a relatively small number of children is bad enough but simultaneous with this is the tragedy of mental abuse accomplished by the indoctrination of unsuspecting children into the vortex of satan's progressive ideology.

Law enforcement can arrest, indict, prosecute, and convict physical child abusers but the ones who are propagandizing the souls of the masses with disinformation day do so with the encouragement and protection of the law.

Our passage addresses all types of child abuse. The progressive's failure to teach establishment principles has actually contributed to the increase in physical abuse of children in our nation.

Progressives extract, omit, and discourage discussion of biblical principles that offer guidance and restraint. These are subjects that are considered to be "religious" in nature and are therefore forbidden in the classroom.

Scripture reveals common-sense standards of behavior that when taught as "values" contribute greatly to maintaining order and civility within the schools and in society at large.

But without the restraint provided by these God given standards disorder occurs and in an effort to restore order a set of rules constructed from human viewpoint is developed to replace God's standards.

Political correctness, multiculturalism, and diversity are the substitutes offered by the devil's world to replace what civil societies have discovered works in the environment of real-life interpersonal relationships for two thousand years.

In it's obsession of establishing it's version of "equality and diversity" political correctness has targeted all of the divine institutions; volition, marriage, family and nationalism with the result that there is now tyranny in nation.

Our Lord is telling us that the Supreme Court of Heaven will prosecute those who in any way abuse children weather they are natural children or spiritual children.

When we look at the context that started in Mark 9:34; where the disciples who are involved in self-absorption debate with each other regarding which one of them is going to be considered the greatest.

They were more interested in discovering what political power they each would possess rather than on the spiritual duties that remained to be done while they were still on the earth.

They were ignoring the principles that Jesus had communicated to them about His destiny (the cross) and were not yet aware of the critical part each one would play in introducing the Christian faith to the world.

We saw in Mark 9:36; that in response to their question about who was the greatest Jesus called a little child over and embraced him in order to teach them the principle that the way to be first in the kingdom was to have the humility of a child who is always ready to accept in faith the things taught by an adult because he trusts them.

A little child has a humility based on his unconditional trust in those around him. A little child looks to his parents for love and protection and the rapport that develops in the relationship results in the child's unconditional trust in what they say.


If you tell a child that there is a God he has no reason not to believe it. If you tell a child that God is in heaven he has no reason to doubt it. He accepts it in faith because of trust.

Jesus used the little boy to teach the disciples that their responsibility as leaders is to embrace new believers who have trusted in Jesus as a result of their communication of the Gospel. Mark 9:37;

Jesus is emphasizing that they must have an attitude of humility because their position as apostles will create a sense of trust in those who are in their ministry. Trust imputes great responsibility upon those who are entrusted.

When a disciple or an apostle communicates it is his intent to persuade an individual into believing his message. When the individual believes the message he is persuaded.

The reason that the person believes is because he places his trust and confidence in the validity of the message.

The communicator therefore has the responsibility to make sure that the message he communicates is true so that the persuaded person's trust is not directed toward a message founded on duplicity, deceit, disinformation, or a lie.

The messenger must be convinced that what he believes is the truth so that when he persuades another to believe it he has not led that person astray.

Jesus is trying to persuade the disciples to examine their attitude. Their self-absorption is preventing them from having the humility necessary to properly communicate truth.

On the cross our Lord will reflect total humility as He submits Himself to the Father as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the entire world. Phil 2:5-8;

Those who believe in Him must also have humility in order to be persuaded that Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient for forgiveness of sins, salvation of their souls, and imputation of eternal life.

Teachers must demonstrate humility in their dealings with children that can also be extended by application to everyone they encounter.

Occupation with Christ enables the teacher to take seriously the responsibility he has toward the tender soul of a child and to deal with him in the same humility that the child brings with his trusting free will.

Failure to approach a child with such humility will eventually cause the teacher to take advantage of the child's innocence by indoctrinating him into his personal worldview.

That hidden agenda can take many forms but the intent is to recruit unsuspecting children into placing their confidence in an ideology, a philosophy, or a theology that is in direct opposition to the truth of God's Word. John 7:17;

Our Lord therefore issues strong warnings of severe judgment upon those who would communicate the lie to an unsuspecting child.

Mark 9:42; Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to be lured into a trap, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

This passage is directed toward anyone who would abuse a child in any way. This abuse could be physical in at least three ways:

Sexually molesting a child.

Willful neglect of a child by depriving him of proper hygiene, diet, clothing, nurturing, and, most especially, parental love which includes both benevolence, characterized by kindness, gentleness, and clemency, and severity characterized by a willingness to punish, discipline, and correct when necessary.

Inflicting unreasonable, unjustified, or brutal bodily harm on a child

Child abuse can also be inflicted mentally as well. A child can be confused due to unclear direction, become stirred to anger, and become embittered. Col 3:21;

A child can be disheartened by harsh and demeaning words that destroy his self-confidence. Prov 15:4;NET

A child can be unwittingly deluded by means of the lie when adults who knowingly seek to capture the child's soul for their own evil purposes propagandize them. 1Tim 4:1-2; 2Cor 11:3-4; 2Cor 11:13-15; 1Peter 5:8; Matt 7:15; 10:16; Col 2:8; John 8:44;

This is what the progressives are doing to the children in the public schools today. The new centrally managed socialized international version of this that is being foisted upon the unsuspecting public is called common core.

Common core is a product of United Nations Agenda 21 and powerful and influential people and organizations who have collaborated to create a global education system that will track our children and move them toward a global perspective that seeks to erase individual and national sovereignty.

It is the next step in the advance of Satan's hidden agenda to weaken the nations and establish his one world government . Isa 14:12d;

We have already seen the word in Mark 9:42; that refers to all of these abuses is translated "offend" in the King James, "to sin" in the NIV and NET, and "to stumble" in the NASB. The Greek word is skandalizo.

The original meaning in the classical Greek is helpful for understanding its use in our context is to "stick in a trap" on which the bait is placed, that when touched by the animal, springs up and shuts the trap.

Metaphorically, setting word traps, or throwing out words that one's adversary will catch at and be ensnared.

This is the metaphorical meaning that Jesus is using when He warns the disciples to beware of saying anything to a child that would cause him to go astray.

It also was used for a stumbling block to the reception of the faith or obedience to God's Word.

In our passage (Mark 9:42;) the word carries the concept of the delegated responsibility assigned to adults, especially parents, with regard to their children's' souls.

No adult is allowed to use verbal deception to create an obstacle to a child's faith in the truth thereby causing him to go astray.

The emphasis in our passage is on the Gospel of salvation but the principle applies to all areas of divine truth.

Adults who propagandize children into placing their faith in panaceas, ideologies, philosophies, or religious dogmas so that they are deluded from believing the truth are subject to the punishments revealed in this passage.

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