Careful Asking For That

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”  Mark 13:3-4

Jesus had just foretold the utter destruction of the temple, and as curious humans, the disciples come to him and ask after the future. Oh that future! How we want to know what tomorrow will bring. And the end of time, the fulfillment, we may ask small, but we want the big answer about how this world will end. Why do we ask that? The evidence of our lives may tell us that more lives will follow from now until forever. But we seem to have a sense in our heart that out there somewhere is a final end of the world as we know it. John was among those asking, so a few decades later Jesus gave to him the revelation of just how things will go down. And a shocking revelation it is! But that's in the scriptural future. We'll take a look at what Jesus has to say right then as we continue (God willing!) next week. 

Love and joy to you this weekend in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Stunning Prophecy

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Mark 13:1-2

It wasn't Solomon's Temple, but King Herod had expanded and built up the temple to something pretty grand. One of the disciples thought it pretty cool as well, and he pointed it out to the Teacher. Jesus had His way of looking at things though, and His prophecy could leave a disciple or two stunned. Where disciples like us might see permanence, strength, and stability, Jesus looks up and says, "Nope". We get to read a moment in time where our Lord teaches us to look to Him. Buildings just won't do it for us if we wait on the Lord Jesus.

Find your way in the Way, the Truth, and the Life,

Bucky

Mathematically Nuts

So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Mark 12:43-44

From my experience, I can testify that it is easier to give a bunch of money when a person has plenty of money to give from. From our Lord's word, I can testify that there is a different measure, one that appears to make no mathematical sense at all. The notes tell us that the Greek lepta was a small coin worth a fraction of a penny. The widow had donated two of those. We can imagine the church treasurer trying to pay a bill with two slices of a penny in hand. However, we know of a certain man who had another mathematically nuts proposition put before him: how to feed thousands of people with five loaves and two fishes. And God measured that small amount of food differently too!

I pray that you have a great day in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Love The Neighbor, Pity The Scribes

Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” Mark 12:38-40

Uh oh, one scribe was close to the kingdom of heaven, but the others were far, far away. We can see various places or situations mentioned here where we face the same temptations. It is nice to get a good seat at an event. If one of us regularly prays in front of others it can become a performance instead of a prayer. The best seat at the feast gets to enjoy hot food, the seat way down yonder not so much. The long robe thing may have passed into history, but each of us has at least some desire to look good when we go out. Of course, underneath the surface temptations may lurk the desire to look down on our fellow humans, to show ourselves superior in some way. Jesus said to love our neighbor as ourselves. Those scribes don't sound very loving, and we can fall into the same trap.

Love to you, dear neighbor!

Bucky

Stretching Faith

Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

‘The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”
--  Mark 12:35-37

For the past few messages, we have read how Jesus answered the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees questions until none dared to ask him any more. Today, Jesus asks these groups of religious scholars and leaders a question of his own. To answer this question could save them, for it requires faith in David's Lord who sits before them. The Christ, Messiah in Hebrew, asks them to set aside what they think they know and read what the man after God's own heart said of Him. We know from the scriptures that most of them could not bring themselves to do it. We would not be able to do it without the Spirit of God in us. Faith requires us, or those long-ago religious leaders, to believe that Jesus was, and is, and always shall be. That's a stretch even with the word of God in hand for us to read. We can read how the disciple John understood it in the first verses of his gospel. (John 1:1-18)

Testify of the risen Lord Jesus, who was, and is, and always shall be,

Bucky

You Are Not Far

Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
But after that no one dared question Him.  Mark 12:34

A unique scribe answered Jesus wisely. We almost forget that even among the Pharisees there were a couple of them who believed, and this one scribe. Sadly, there do not seem to be any scriptural reports of Sadducees having faith or wisdom. What was that distance separating this one scribe from the kingdom of God? Believing that Jesus was Messiah. Not only was Messiah not far as in right there in front of the scribe, but the scribe was also close spiritually. However, if we recall John 3:16, there needs to be faith in Jesus for salvation. Agreement with Jesus is good, but believing in Him as Lord and Savior is much better. 

Have faith in Jesus!

Bucky

But What Is Love?

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31

Jesus gave these two as the greatest of commandments in response to the scribe's question we read yesterday. But one problem presents itself right off, what is this love he speaks of? One definition from the notes states, [of persons] to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly.

"That last one really helps," he said sarcastically, "to love is to love dearly?"

Jesus gave us a definition that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for his friends. Paul took up love in an entire chapter of his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13) 'Love is...' appeared on many drink glasses back in the day, but have we tamped down, shaken out, and sorted a definition of the word yet? Love, it seems, is a big word for having only four letters. We know it, but have trouble defining it in a simple way. Love is essential to the two greatest commandments and the new commandment Jesus gave, which was that we love one another. So, you and I will not go wrong by taking up a study of love in prayer and the word of God.

I love you like a pepperoni pizza! No, no, that's not quite the right definition, I think.

Bucky