GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 11:6
Obedience
In the early 2000s, a new company, Theranos, claimed to have developed a device that would revolutionize healthcare. The startup asserted it had created technology capable of running hundreds of medical tests using just a few drops of blood from a finger prick. The company said the process was cheaper, faster, and less invasive than drawing vials of blood. Media coverage amplified the excitement surrounding the new technology.
High profile investors rushed to get in on the ground floor, investing more than $700 million in the company. By 2014, it was valued at $9 billion, making the inventor—a 19 year old university dropout—a paper billionaire. Cracks in the story began to appear, and investigators looked beyond the hype at the underlying technology. In the final analysis, the machine did not work, and by 2018, the lofty promise to “change the world” had proved to be a hoax.
In Mark’s Gospel, a simple sentence shows the power of obedience. Jesus sent two of his disciples into Bethphage to fetch a colt for him to ride into Jerusalem. The disciples went into the village, found the colt, began untying it, and the owner asked them what they were doing. “But they said to them just as Jesus said, and they permitted them.” (Mark 11:6) There was no healing, no exorcism, no miracle—only simple obedience: “just as Jesus said.” Matthew adds, “The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.” (Matthew 21:6) They obeyed Jesus, and it worked.
On one hand was the glitz and hype of the Theranos fraud; on the other was the simple obedience of the disciples that impacted history.
When King Saul returned from battle, he brought back plunder, disobeying the direct command delivered through the prophet Samuel. The prophet met him and said, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22) Rather than the panorama and spectacle of sacrificial pageantry, the Lord delights in obedience—something these two disciples exhibited at Bethphage, offering a simple lesson for those who follow.
Previous
Next
Directory