Conviction / Mark 14:53-72

In the dim light I blend into the crowd.

Never knew Him, no, not me.

Not a friend of mine, was He?

The price He asks—too great to pay

To face the dark, the cold, the pain—

A diligent lover of self I am—

Too much, too much. I will remain

Just another soul in the company of sinners

Warming myself by the fire

While He loves me.

Self Confidence

Mark 14:27-52

It's a small part of today’s exciting reading, but it's a problem we all face.

The disciples have just shared the Last Supper and sung a hymn with Jesus. They’re on their way to a garden to pray. The disciples are confused about many things that Jesus has said and done tonight, but they are experiencing some great spiritual moments.

Then, on their way to pray, Jesus shocks them again, announcing, "You will all desert me. But I will meet you again."

Peter speaks, "Even if I'm the only one, I will never turn away from you!" Jesus tells Peter he will deny that he even knows Jesus 3 times before dawn.

"No, Lord! Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!" Peter declares, and the others agree.

But soon the circumstances change. Jesus is arrested, and he doesn't even resist. The disciples don't know what to do, and they scatter. Soon, we know we’ll hear the rooster crow, marking Peter’s three denials.

We know this story is part of our testimony. We can get excited and experience great moments where we’re “in the zone” spiritually. But then, whether circumstances surprise us or we forget that it’s Jesus power that gives us strength, we declare, “I’m stronger than the others; I will never…!” But in the next moment we stumble, and we’re reminded of Jesus words in John 15, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

Still, even as the disciples scatter in fear and Peter fails to keep his promise, even as we reveal our weaknesses, Jesus is resolute in his commitment to go to the cross on our behalf, to pay for our sins and offer us forgiveness, inviting us to rely and rest in him.

Intrigue

Mark 14:1-28

The intrigue continues. In Jerusalem, religious leaders - we've come to recognize them - are looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.

Meanwhile, in Bethany, Jesus receives the lavish outpouring of love by an unnamed woman. Jesus, did you know how soon you would die and be buried?

The scene shifts. We see Judas, awaiting his opportunity to betray the Master. (For insights into his motives, see Brian Quade's "Beyond Betrayal" on February 9th.)

Mark's gospel is so compact, compared to Matthew's account. Yet, here is a detail we didn't find before - a man carrying a pitcher of water. What man would be doing women's work? It hits me like a scene in a spy movie. Everything has been planned in secret. This is how you will recognize your contact.

We know now that Jesus is indeed in control of the situation. Victim, yet divine screenwriter. He sends two of his companions ahead. Go into the city. Watch for the pitcher of water. Follow the man. Speak to the owner of the house. He will show you the room. Prepare our Passover there.

It's clear. Jesus, at Bethany, already knows when and where he will share his final meal with his disciples.

I imagine the group of men as they enter the city that evening. Each thinking his own thoughts, sensing the tension. Things seem usual, yet not. They have been together for some three years, have taken the Cup of Redemption before. But this night is different from all other nights. This night, one of them will betray Jesus.

"The Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago..." Does this leave Judas off the hook? Or was he acting by his own volition? "...But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!" (Mark 14:21)

Here is an enigma. The ultimate paradox. Jesus' death is part of the divine eternal covenant between Father and Son. But this doesn't mean the betrayer is guiltless. Jesus says Judas is responsible for his actions. Therefore, just because God's servants - centuries before -
prophesied the betrayal, we must not conclude that Judas was forced to do what he did. I believe that if it hadn't been Judas, there would have been someone else. For the holy Son of God could not come into an unholy world without provoking the response of violent opposition. A response still present today.

As for Jesus, the choice to live or die is his. We will revisit the garden. We will see his agony in prayer. We will hear him say, "Put your sword back into its place... Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will immediately put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels?"

Recall Pastor Paul's blog (February 19) on the seed parables. He lifted up for us to ponder, the tension between God's sovereignty and the response of the human heart. We see the paradox again in today's reading. God is in charge. We are responsible for the choices we make. Both are true. But how can they be? It remains a mystery I can't comprehend, yet I know it is crucial to my life in Christ.

My part is to believe that Jesus chose to die so that I might live, to trust that God is in control, and to remain faithful and fruitful through the strength he provides by his Spirit.

Deetje Wildes

Are You Ready?

The study of the concern about the so-call “End Times” is important!  Note: this chapter continues the lesson Jesus taught in yesterday’s reading.  However, we must remember Jesus made it clear…in verse 33 that we do not (nor does anyone) know the when.  Yes, He will come again!  He said so!  (The Gospel of John, chapter 14)  And we should believe it!  Mother taught songs and choruses to the children in our country church Sunday School when I was a lad.  The words of one of the choruses asked the question: “Will YOU be ready when Jesus comes?”  Now that does matter!  In verse 31, Jesus makes clear that His word will not be “void” or “empty” – that is, without meaning.  As you ready today, pause to reflect on the words of that children’s song.  Will you be ready?  Pause now to pray and ask the Lord to give you assurance of being ready because you have opened your life to the Lord Jesus, trusting Him as your Savior.

 

Donald E. Pardun

Mark 12:35-13:13

Greetings,

 

One thought from this text that impressed me today is how things with Jesus appear inverted.  Have you ever noticed this?  This idea expressed elsewhere in scripture is that the first will be last and the last will be first.  Let’s look at some examples from our daily reading.  Fathers are typically greater than their sons yet the promised descendant of David was David’s Lord.  The religious leaders of that day appeared so holy and righteous yet their hearts and deeds were far from God.  Jesus and His disciples were watching as rich and poor put money in the collection box and the poor woman who gave the least actually gave the greatest because she gave all that she had and the others gave out of surplus.  The disciples were marveling at the impressive structure of the temple and Jesus responded by predicting its destruction.  Jesus is asked about the end times and includes the words, “everyone will hate you because you are my followers.”  Do any of these examples seem inverted to you? 

 

In the greater context of scripture (I Cor 1:26) we know that “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”  Things with Jesus appear inverted because they are.  We, as sinful people, tend to want to trust in anything but God.  We want to trust in our own knowledge, our own strength, and the outward appearance of things.  But God is not found in those places, rather God is found and reveals Himself in suffering, in humble circumstances, in our weakness and need.  Ultimately, God is found and is revealed at the cross - the place of apparent failure, humiliation, suffering, and defeat, yet it is our salvation!

 

God’s ways are not our ways.  I can be sure that daily I need to trust Him more and more because I know I am apt to look in the wrong places to find God.  I can be sure that when life gets messy, it is a good place to be because when I have nothing in my own life to which I can cling, I have no other option but to cling all the more to Jesus, and the cross.

 

Pastor Adam

 

Speechless

Mark 12:18-34

Last evening I was the guest of "The Journey", Bethesda's Sr High youth ministry. Pastor Adam had invited me to come for an evening of Q & A with our students. It was a great evening! If the intent was 'stump the pastor', I'm sure I proved an easy target! The variety of questions was stunning. They were great questions, and many of them.

We do have lots of questions, don't we -- when it comes to the spiritual? Sometimes our questions are straight-forward and sincere. Sometimes our questions of God are 'loaded', masking hurt or doubt or anger. And sometimes questions for God are completely insincere, meant to trap, prove Him false, dripping with skepticism if not scoffing.

The Sadducees fancy themselves in a chess match with the Savior. Believing neither in the authority of the scriptures nor the reality of the resurrection, they seek to corner and checkmate Jesus with their impish "Seven Brothers for One Bride" parable. But the table is quickly turned. (Someone should have told the Sadducees: if you wanna play games with spiritual questions, you might want to pick a lesser opponent!)

Another contestant steps up the mic. He does not belong to the Sadducee camp. This teacher of the law has his theology well-rehearsed. He also has a question for Jesus. "Which of the commandments is most important?" Jesus tells him. "Love God desperately. Love others selflessly." The man can't leave well-enough alone, but feels he must add endorsement to Jesus' answer. Jesus' terse reply reveals His awareness of the void in this man behind his question and commentary. "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Ouch. ("Good question, good commentary. Close, but no banana!") For all this man understood about God, he did not see Messiah before him, nor yield to receive Him!

You have to love the last line of our reading today. It's where all of us are left at the end of our ledger-long list of questions, when Jesus, holy, stands before us; and we are made fresh aware how far we fall short.

"And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions." (v34)

I remember that Job had questions. God permitted him to ask them all; to pour out his frustration and angst over his circumstances, and toward God. God listened to all the questions. Then God showed Job part of Himself that transcended all of Job's questions (38:1-3ff). And, at the end of hearing God say how things really were, there was only one fitting response from Job. He was speechless.

I'll date myself by adding below the lyrics of a Stephen Curtis Chapman song.

PPaul

Words fall like drops of rain
My lips are like clouds
I say so many things
Trying to figure You out
But as mercy opens my eyes
My words are stolen away
With this breathtaking view of Your grace

[CHORUS]
And I am speechless, I'm astonished and amazed
I am silenced by Your wonderous grace
You have saved me
You have raised me from the grave
And I am speechless in Your presence now
I'm astounded as I consider how
You have shown us
A love that leaves us speechless

So what kind of love could this be
That would trade heaven's throne for a cross
And to think You still celebrate
Over finding just one who was lost
And to know You rejoice over us
The God of this whole universe
It's a story that's too great for words

[CHORUS]

Sunday - Mark 11:26-12:17

The Pharisees are bent on trapping Jesus. Asking trick questions and trying to get Him in trouble with the law. For some reason they think they are sneaky enough to get Jesus to say something He shouldn't. They are looking for any shred of evidence that will allow them to stay in their state of unbelief. Right there before their very eyes stood their Savior. He did miracles, fulfilled scripture, taught the people and even interracted with those very unbelievers. Yet, still they refused to see what was visible. Each of us has to decide who this Jesus is. Is He just some teacher that's good with words or is He the Son of God sent to be the one who would take the penalty of our sins and provide the way to salvation. Who do we believe Jesus is? Are we willing to interact with the unbelievers around us to bring that truth to them just as Jesus did?