Judas, My Social Skills Hero

In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”
And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?” Mark 14:17-19

It has been written, I read it the other night in Patriot Games by Tom Clancy, that in order to betray one must first be trusted. Here this morning we see Jesus drop a heavy rock into the still waters of the Passover dinner. The twelve disciples are trusted and they trust one another, so much that each has no idea who will do it. As we know from the story, even when pointed out Judas raises no suspicion in the mind of the other disciples. Judas has credibility, he is probably a very likeable fellow. Unlike this writer, Judas has those social skills I have heard about. When Jesus all but stands and paints 'Betrayer' on his cloak, Judas comes out smelling clean and generous. We know from the gospels that the disciples think that Judas left to give some alms to the poor. We also know from the gospels that Judas becomes the worst sort of traitor - the well-liked and beloved disciple sort of betrayer who leaves his Savior to hang.

Maybe I don't need the Judas kind of social skills...

Bucky

Of Course They Did

So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover. Mark 14:16

It reads easily after we know the outcome, but for the doubting disciples in their day the things Jesus said could be difficult to believe. As we read last time, even the seemingly simple things Jesus said required considerable preparation and foreknowledge. Jesus also aligned all He said with centuries of prophecy. Which brings me to think of me. No, not in the usual old selfish way, but as in, "What has Jesus plainly said of these end times that I have doubted?" From our dear brothers in Christ, His disciples, we can see one thing - it will be just as He said it will be.

In Christ Jesus our Lord, love and grace to you,

Bucky

A Pre-arranged Meeting

And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”  Mark 14:13-15

Any spy novel could start out in a similar fashion. Some of them may have taken inspiration from this passage of scripture. Meet a person described by a singular feature, follow, give a sign to another, receive the countersign, and carry out your first assignment. Of course this must all be set up ahead of time, and the timing must be arranged. It wouldn't do to have our first contact missed a mere minute or two. We note in the scripture that the room has been prepared, but for whom? Did someone not make an appointment? Or was the appointment arranged by God and made ready for Jesus and His disciples?  From donkeys to Passover meals, nothing in our Lord's final week was left to chance. 

Maybe those things that seem random in life aren't so random after all?

Bucky

The Famous Betrayer

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.  And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.  Mark 14:10-11

The disciples were indignant, then they were embarrassed when Jesus came down on the side of the woman. But one among them went to embittered or maybe even enraged, enough that he decided to betray Jesus to the religious authorities. Judas Iscariot put his name down in history right then. Balaam had held the position of negative lesson in the scriptures for centuries, but Judas blew that old prophet away. Judas even underbid him! Where Balaam spoke of a room full of gold, Judas ends up doing the betrayal for a mere 30 pieces of silver. Of course no fame or money is worth what would soon happen to Judas Iscariot. 

The most charitable suggestion I have read for a reason is that Judas wanted to motivate Jesus to be the Messiah that Judas thought he should be. As we know from the Word of God, Jesus was always going to be the Savior the world needed. Judas could not see that. Don't be a Judas.

Bucky

Answering The Uproar

But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”  Mark 14:6-9

As a memorial to her, I will do my part this morning. The desire to criticize has blown up, the uproar reaction of the flesh had its say, and now Jesus our Lord answers. Priorities, why take the time to criticize and trouble the one doing a good work for Him whose time is so short? And this should not be a surprise to them as Jesus has told His disciples at least three times now that He has come to Jerusalem to die at the hands of the religious leaders and Romans. Prioritize! The time to give alms to the poor will be long, but the time to do good works for the Son of Man is almost up. Jesus defends the one woman, while His twelve disciples act like a bunch of Pharisees. Oh, oh, we want to criticize the disciples now because that temptation to act the Pharisee is still with us. 

Let us instead remember that woman, Mary of Bethany, as we rejoice in Christ today,

Bucky

The Uproar

But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. Mark 14:4-5

As the sweet smell of expensive perfume oil ravishes the nostrils of the dinner guests, reactions come and an uproar joins the party. Oh, does not criticism come so easily to us? We didn't work to earn the money to buy the stuff. We did not go out to purchase it with our money. And we did not hear the call of the Spirit to do this for Jesus, but we do have that sharp criticism of what ought to have been done with the stuff. Giving the proceeds of the sale to the poor would not earn us any treasure in Heaven since it was not our perfume to begin with, but that sense of self-rightness must sound forth its trumpet! Jesus will have a different opinion from this reaction of ours.

We were not there, you may notice. I placed us there because we have a conceit wherein we like to read the Bible stories and think how much better we would have acted and spoken to Jesus. Utter nonsense. In that time and place, with the same childhood education and religious instruction, we would have been no better. Even today, sharp criticism of good works done unto Jesus still comes easily and quickly to our lips. Next time, let us see what Jesus has to say of this woman's work.

May God bless you this day as we follow Jesus His Son,

Bucky

An Act Of Loving Disrespect?

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.  Mark 14:3

Pouring any sort of liquid goo, expensive or cheap, over someone's head is usually an act of great disrespect, especially at dinner time. However, Jesus accepts this as a good work for Him, and as a preparation for His burial. How did she know this? Did she know this? In John we find out that this was Mary of Bethany, one of the sisters of Lazarus. We can imagine that Mary did not as a habit go about pouring expensive perfume oil on the dinner guests. How did she know this was the time for Jesus to die and be buried? Was it an act of love and her left hand didn't know what her right hand was doing, as the old saying goes? It is one of the more unusual and unexpected acts to take place with Jesus in the scriptures. And it causes an uproar...

You or I may be called on to do something strange for Jesus, be ready as we stand our watch!

Bucky

Remembrance

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people. Mark 14:1-2

Two days after His talk in Olivet, the murder by trickery of Jesus has become the solution for the religious leaders of Israel. Asking the religious leaders about this a couple of years later a scribe would likely hear a different take on this, such as, "We carried out a successful operation for the removal of a false prophet without upsetting the people." Today we will find similar opposing views on what happened this day 25 years ago in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. In remembrance of those who boarded flights and went to their work. or reported for duty as first responders, and did not return to loved ones that evening, we recall that the One those religious leaders wanted to 'get rid of' is the one answer to the evil in this world today.

Trust in Jesus,

Bucky

Patient Urgency

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.  Mark 13:33-34

To each his work, Jesus has gone for a time and left to each of us his or her work. But didn't He just tell in the preceding verses about these big events and those persecutions? In our verses for today, Jesus tells of an 'until then' time. We live in that watching time when some are persecuted, some are affected by a war, and others by earthquakes. Most of us reading this will not be facing any of that today. But then there is the doorkeeper whose job of watching is by nature passive, dull, and stuck in the same place. It is not what many young persons just graduated from school want to do. Even some older folks want to be on the move, going forward, working toward, and staying active. The doorkeeper may not get to do all of that. It is on his or her watch though that the other servants are able to go about their duties. Any day the master may return, and so with patient urgency the doorkeeper maintains the watch. It is not the most exciting or glamorous job, but it is important. 

And just think how much prayer that watcher can do while waiting there on watch!

Bucky

After That Tribulation

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.  Mark 13:24-27

After those verses today, there isn't much left to say. Of course we all then want to know the when - day, date, even a month and year. But in verse 32, Jesus lets us know that none of us knows. Occasionally a cult will step up and name a date, and we all immediately know the foolishness of that. It is always amusing to see a representative show up the next morning and try to explain why the cult is still here with the rest of us. But, the rest of us, no matter how far away we may be on the earth or in heaven, will not miss this gathering. Our Lord's angels will be thorough in their gathering, the Son of Man oversees them from the clouds with great power and glory! 

So, we anticipate with great yearning a date we cannot know? Yes, have faith and wait on the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Out In The Desert

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.  Mark 13:21-23

The recently completed Burning Man 2026 shows us that large gatherings in the desert are not unknown. The gathering runs about 72,000 persons in a place without food or water, well, most of the time it is without water. The past few years have provided evidence of the dry lake bed occasionally attempting a return to lake status. Of course the warning of our Lord in this prophecy today is not against gathering together in the desert, but what will happen when a claimant to His title takes a gathering and sends them forth to spread the word. Actually, in our day the pretender wouldn't have to send anyone; social media would take care of the spreading of the news. All the false messiah would need is a decent cellular data connection out there in the desert. So be warned, the time may be near for a viral message we must refuse to believe. 

Praise unto the Lord our God on this Labor Day,

Bucky

Even Us Weirdos Glorify Him

For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days. Mark 13:19-20

Sometimes those end times prophecies can be real downers, but they are also so open to imagining. What I want to see are those sixteen-hour days when the days are shortened, as Jesus said. You think a three-day weekend seems short now, just you wait! This is one where we start to wonder about the translation of those old Greek words from the New Testament. Shorten the days? Is that what it really means? Our pastor always said it meant less of the days, as in the tribulation wouldn't go on until everyone was dead. But if you look at the words from the NKJV literally, yeah, it means less than a 24-hour day. How weird! Perhaps it's only me, weirdest of the weird, ya know.

Have a God-glorifying weekend this Labor Day as you rejoice in Him!

Bucky

The Older Face

Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter.  Mark 13:15-18

Now here in our passage today comes a horrifying list. And it doesn't even tell what the old folks are not to do. I suppose with a cataclysm such as would cause these things the old folks are just done for. Can you imagine a disaster coming so swiftly that a person up one set of stairs on the roof must not go inside for anything? How many of us have some sort of 'go' bag ready? Right, me neither, but I move so slowly these days that I figure it won't matter. I might as well stand and face the danger trusting in Jesus my Lord. Now the grammar/speller checker wants to add an 'of' in between those two words, danger and trusting. So, maybe the most horrifying thing today isn't the list at all.

Face the danger, trust in Jesus always,

Bucky

First, A Temple

So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Mark 13:14

Scary times are foretold, especially for the people of Judea. But, Judea was a Roman province and they are long gone. This calls for further research as Jesus referenced Daniel the prophet by name and title. In Daniel 11, the prophet is told of a time when the daily sacrifices would be taken away and the abomination of desolation placed in the sanctuary fortress. I condensed the prophecy a bit, and therein comes the opportunity for debate. What Jesus said is tough for us to understand, and the Lord references a prophecy from hundreds of years further back that is even tougher for us to understand...understand? Me neither! However, there is an order that may be easier for us to understand. First, a temple. And there wasn't one there the last time I checked. Then the sacrifices can be taken away, and finally that abomination where it ought not to be. It might even help if Rome rose again and called Israel, Judea, once again.

So, now that we are all baffled, befuddled, and confused, have a joyous day in Christ our Lord! (He ain't confused!)

Bucky

Hated By All?

Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Mark 13:12-13

We have read in history texts of times such as these in our verses today, and we have read of nations even now where this happens. Dictators just love family squealers, especially if the family head is a political opponent. But what Jesus foretells here is not just politics but the case of being hated by all for His name's sake. It seems ironic that the man who commanded us to love one another would foretell a universal hatred for those who do so. Irony does not make it untrue though, and a time will come when to love the name of Jesus is to incite hatred from apparently everyone. But, we are not there yet.

For now, we can still love Jesus and not be hated by all. Let us use the time well.

Bucky

Premeditated Victory

But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Mark 13:11

Standing in court, I delivered the final words that stunned the adversary's attorneys with my wit and resource for the hundredth time. Of course this was premeditated in my imagination, probably from growing up with courtroom dramas on the television. It is easy to score the premeditated victory in my imagination, only a little harder to do it when the script gives the character the lines. Court in real life is not so easy, as many litigators can attest. Prepared with a lengthy and difficult education, years of experience, a law firm behind them, and much time spent in study, the attorney may still be surprised by the outcome. And here in our verse today, Jesus tells His disciples to not worry, and even more, don't premeditate the words they will speak in court. This approach to a case would make an attorney turn a pale sort of color, I suspect. 

Faith presents such strangeness to the world,

Bucky

Before You Know It

And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  Mark 13:10

This one sign to watch for could be a tough one. Missionaries have gone out to many far places, have they reached all of them? Broadcast television and radio have reached around the globe, but does it count if the language cannot be understood by every tribe and person? Translations of the story are a big focus now. I heard Dallas Jenkins set a goal of 600 languages for his show, The Chosen, to be translated into. Will that be enough for all the nations though? Shows such as that are available on the internet as far as the internet can reach, but all the nations yet? This sign looks like a sneaky one, it won't be completed for many years, but how many of those years are already past? It is one of those where our parents used to tell us, "It will be here before you know it!" Indeed, counting on this one as giving us time to goof off in our service before our Lord's return would be quite risky, I think. 

Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and spread a little good news to all the nations,

Bucky

Wars And Rumors Of Wars

But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. Mark 13:7-8

The scripture passage for today starts off so well, except that we think that wars and such are very much a cause for being troubled. Nations and kingdoms going at it, earthquakes all over the place, famines and troubles, and He says do not be troubled? If you were born from 1900 to 2026, and I suspect that includes all of us, then you have lived your entire life with these things going on. The big thing that has changed over those years is that our means of learning about these events has become faster and more universal. Those of us who believe and apply the words of our Lord Jesus are going to look pretty odd not being troubled by these things. Yes, being called apart from the world will do that.

Trust in and look to Jesus, and do not be troubled, as He said,

Bucky

Take Heed

And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.  Mark 13:5

The response from Jesus known as the Olivet Discourse begins the same way in all three recordings in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Take heed, meaning to pay attention, watch out for, be aware of, or use caution when the time comes, tells us that deception will be a big effort by someone. In the next verses of the revelation from Jesus we learn that the deception includes even the Christ Himself as deceivers will say, "I am he". And you or I can point out several cult preachers in our lifetime who claimed to be Jesus or the Christ. This warning from our Lord gave us the awareness to not fall for it. But we must continue to take heed as more of them will come. And, each will get better at it until the big one comes, the Antichrist. We, my friends in Christ, may live to see this time arrive. 

Take heed, and keep your eyes on Jesus our Savior!

Bucky

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