Monthly Archives: September 2020

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – BE ON YOU GUARD

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BE ON YOU GUARD

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. Mark 13:3-8

The brothers must have taken to heart what Jesus had said to them because they came back to Him later with this question, “When is this going to happen?” and “What sign …how will we know when the end is about to happen?” They were aware that this present order of things must come to an end. There was a hope in them that the imperfect with its suffering and evil would not be the final state of affairs.

Jesus had indicated that there was no permanence in their temple but it was also true that there was no permanence in a corrupted creation with its wicked oversight. Wars and natural disasters would continue and even escalate and so would the number of deceivers that would arise in the world. The problem is not with those who come from the ranks of politics and false religions. They are easier to recognise than those who come from within the church.

Because people are lazy or reluctant to study the Scriptures for themselves, many are ill‑equipped to discern the deception which is subtle and closely resembles the truth. Deceivers may be dazzling, popular and convincing but they are dangerous and deadly. To follow their teaching is to veer off course and to move farther and farther from the truth. Jesus’ words to His disciples and to us are, “Be on your guard. You have been warned.”

There are at least two categories of teachers that undermine the two main parts of Messiah’s identity   prosperity preachers who feed on the ‘yetzer harah’, a Hebrew term that refers to the attitude of person who is selfish and self-centred, and prophecy interpreters who undermine the nature of our ruler-ship with Christ now. Peter was guilty of misunderstanding the content of his confession. He saw Jesus as one who would overcome Rome and restore Israel’s political glory. Jesus came to teach us how to rule over our own unruly hearts first. He came to teach and demonstrate obedience and submission to the Father, even if it meant suffering and loss in this life. Anything that contradicted the heart of Messiah’s disposition was deception.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – BEWARE OF FALSE CONFIDENCE

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BEWARE OF FALSE CONFIDENCE

​1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Mark 13:1-2

There is significance in the preamble that prompted the two sets of brothers to ask Jesus about the future. As they walked away from the temple, they were overwhelmed with the grandeur and seemingly indestructible permanence of the structure. They had a feeling of pride as they drew Jesus’ attention to what impressed them so deeply. Great stones fitted together with such precision that they didn’t even need mortar to hold them in place. Surely a magnificent work of such excellence was as permanent as the earth itself. And, to cap it all, it was the work of man. Their hearts swelled with pride at the thought that it was their temple.

But there was something that they had completely forgotten. The people in Jeremiah’s day had exactly the same attitude,,,

Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!” 5 Jeremiah 7:4

They thought that, as long as they had the temple, they had the security of God’s presence in their land. They thought that their temple was indestructible and ignored the prophet’s warning of coming disaster because of their disobedience. The prophet warned them that the presence of the temple was no guarantee that God’s judgment would not fall on them because of their sin.

Although the temple represented the presence of God among His people in Jesus’ day, it was no guarantee of protection against disaster if they failed to respond to what God was revealing about Himself. Jesus Himself was God’s last word to Israel. If they refused to listen, as they had done in the past, the same calamity would come on them as had happened in Jeremiah’s day. This seemingly indestructible structure would be torn down and reduced to rubble. In what, then would they put their confidence?

The disciples were appalled at His warning. If the temple was not permanent, what was? They must have pondered His words and puzzled over their significance because it was still in their minds when Peter, and Andrew, James and John drew Him aside and questioned Him about the future.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – HE NOTICED HER!

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HE NOTICED HER!

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

Why was this incident recorded here, in the centre of Jesus’ warning against people honouring the false pride of the religion scholars? They expected to receive accolades because their “knowledge” had puffed them up. By contrast, this poor widow did something from her heart because she did not expect to be noticed. Amazing how often Jesus brought into the limelight the unnoticed ones because they acted from the heart and for God rather than for man’s attention and praise!

In this situation, Jesus shows us how God evaluates our generosity, not by what we give but by what we have left over. In this case the widow gave all – she had nothing left over for herself. Would the Father have left her with nothing? I doubt it. She had created a current with her two small coins that would surely have brought back to her the abundance of God‘s supply. Who knows but Jesus Himself would have instructed His disciples to put money into her hands?

What is the point of this story in this context? Jesus warned His disciples not to admire the ones with knowledge simply because they had knowledge. They were using their knowledge to gain attention and admiration from men. Yes, God noticed them, but with disdain because of their self-centredness. Jesus instead drew His disciples’ attention to the one person who had no reason for position or prestige. She was a nameless widow; she was a woman and she was poor, yet her being and behaviour had more value to God than those with knowledge. She, not they, reflected the heart of God because of her generosity.

God is pleased with humility that acts out of reverence and love for Him rather than with an eye to the admiration of the people who really don’t matter anyway. God is also pleased with faith that obeys Him and leaves the outcome to Him. If we do what He tells us to, He will do what He has promised.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – WATCH OUT FOR PHONIES

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WATCH OUT FOR PHONIES

38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” Mark 12:38-40

God is never fooled by public opinion and accolades. The religion scholars of Jesus’ day were the Ph.D.’s (I suppose), of our day; the experts because of their so-called learning. They were held in high esteem and basked in the elevated position their learning afforded them. Jesus’ warning must have come as a shock to His disciples because they looked up to the educated ones as the ones with knowledge, therefore they were superior.

Once again Jesus approached the matter from a kingdom perspective. The man who questioned Him about the greatest commandment may have had intellectual insight but how did his life match his words? As for the rest, they were way off base. Their attitudes and behaviour cancelled out any knowledge, understanding or insight they may have had regarding the ways of God. Jesus summarised their behaviour in one sentence, “They devour widows’ houses and, for a show, make lengthy prayers.”

In the debates and conversations Jesus had with people, He clearly revealed God’s attitude to those who set themselves up above others. He put His own disposition in a nutshell – “I am gentle and humble in heart” – and He mirrored it in His life and ministry. To the Father, a gentle and humble attitude far outweighs any “knowledge” a person might have. The Apostle Paul said, “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.”

Jesus was constantly pulling people back to reality. Never allow people to impress you by their words and actions. Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. If I have knowledge, how do I apply it to my own life first? Of what value is my knowledge to me first before I try to impart it to anyone else? Knowledge is not intended to give me position or prestige or to elevate me above other people. It is a trust that I must steward. I will give an account of my stewardship of knowledge as much as any tangible assets God has given me for the benefit of other people. Jesus warned, “Watch out for phonies. You can recognise them by the way they exploit those who are defenseless against them.”

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – WHOSE SON IS HE?

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WHOSE SON IS HE?

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
The large crowd listened to him with delight. Mark 12:35-37

Jesus had His own question to put to the people. This one seemed like an unsolvable riddle. “How can David’s Master be his son?” That was a real clanger if you didn’t know the inside story. His opponents, the religion scholars (did Jesus use the term with tongue in cheek?) readily acknowledged that David was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he made that claim.

This question delighted the people. Why? Many of them would have witnessed the on-going debate between the religion scholars and Jesus. Were their sympathies with Him at this point? Perhaps they recognised the unfairness of the attacks of the religious leaders in view of His impeccable life and uniquely authoritative teaching. Since questions were more important than answers and were the measure of a person’s intelligence, the people realised that Jesus was head and shoulders above His contenders in understanding God and His ways.

Unfortunately, their sympathies did not go deep enough for them to seek an answer from Him to His question or to be convinced that He was David’s son in the Messianic sense of the word. It is easy for us to understand what He meant from our post-resurrection, post-New Testament perspective but those who were in the moment had no reference point.

What does Jesus’ question mean to us? Here is the meeting point between God, the second person of the Trinity and humanity in the person of Israel’s greatest king. God had promised David that his dynasty would remain forever. How could that be, since Israel didn’t even have a king at that time? They may not have had a visibly reigning king, but David had a bloodline which traced right to Jesus, hence David’s “son”.

The religion scholars, Pharisees and ruling Jewish council made sure that He was enthroned on a cross and crowned with thorns but, in their mockery and unknown to them, that was God’s way of confirming Jesus’ eternal reign because He would, through His own death and resurrection, conquer sin and death. Now He reigns on the throne of heaven forever.