CLOSE!...but no cigar

 Now a scribe thinks it’s his turn to quiz Jesus...                                                           “Which is the first commandment of all?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

He knows only too well that you can’t separate the commandments God gave Moses, so...how will this Galilean dude answer that one? (Mark 12:28-34)

Jesus wisely recites the Sh’ma: the foundation of the Jewish faith, that all Jews know since childhood!

“Hear O Israel (Sh’ma Yisrae’el):                                                                                     the Lord our God is one Lord                                                                                         And you shall love the Lord thy God                                                                                     with all your heart                                                                                                                       and with all your soul                                                                                                                               and with all your mind                                                                                       and all your strength”

  That’s not all Mr. Scribe, there’s a bonus for you!...

“You shall love your neighbour as yourself!”

The scribe unwittingly gives Jesus the Lord our God a big tick, only to hear....

                            “You are not far from the kingdom of God”

No wonder no-one dared ask any more
questions!                                                            

How would you rate yourself on that test?                                                    100%?

GOD of the LIVING

 

The Jewish leaders are desperate after their failed attempt to trip Jesus up over payment of Roman taxes.                    

Here come the Sadducees with their ridiculous poser: some woman outlives seven husbands, so whose wife is she after resurrection?...that SADDUCEES DON’T EVEN BELIEVE IN!

Is this the best they can come up with?... Mark 12:18-27                                               

Most of the Jewish aristocracy including high priests were Sadducees (Sad you sees!) so their religion was merely a ritual without faith in God of the living, the real God beyond the power of death.

Even their great patriarch Abraham believed in resurrection!...

‘He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received (Isaac) back as a type’

No wonder Jesus said: “You don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God”

So, do you?

BOTH BARRELS!!

Mark’s gospel contrasts fear with faith: here in ch12 he tells how this young man Jesus fearlessly confronts the chief priests, scribes and elders who have challenged His authority in the temple.                                                                       How?...by simply telling them a story, then asking one question!

The parable comes from the well-known ‘Jehovah’s vineyard’ in Isaiah 5...

“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His pleasant plant...” 

...and Jesus ends the story with:   

“This is the heir, come, let us kill Him and the inheritance shall be ours.” 

...exactly what these leaders had been trying to do only yesterday!                       

So what was the question?...“Haven’t you read this Scripture...?”       - straight from Psalm 118:22-23

Who have they just rejected? The very ‘corner-stone’ of the true temple!

“This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes”

BANG! BANG!... He gives them both barrels because it is far from marvellous in their eyes!

 

BY WHAT AUTHORITY?

This is the 3^rd day that Jesus enters Jerusalem and the tension couldn’t be higher!                                                    

Two days ago He was acclaimed as Son of David, but then yesterday he upended temple trade for thousands.              

How will Jerusalem receive Him today?  (Mark 11)                                                                                                              

On the way, Peter remarks that the fig-tree has shrivelled, so Jesus answers:

“Have faith in God.”

What had they seen only yesterday?... thousands of people with faith in tradition and money.

Notice the responsibility Jesus then puts on his disciples: to forgive others.

However the chief priests, scribes and elders are not so forgiving...

“Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

The Lord who commanded the fig-tree to shrivel replies:                  

“Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Why?

He is the temple of God.

PRAYER or PROFIT?

No, this isn’t Jesus Christ cursing the fig-tree, it’s my old friend Gordon showing me his dormant tree in winter, or almost – there were 2 leaves!

In Mark 11, Jesus has come past Bethpage (‘House of figs’) only to find a fruitless fig-tree – the only living thing He cursed, on His way to the city where He himself will soon be hung on a tree as a curse.                                                                  

Those disciples would know the fig-tree as a symbol of peace and prosperity, and remember that prophet Hosea spoke of the Fathers as ‘the first-ripe in the fig-tree’.  No, it was not unreasonable to expect at least one fig at that time of the year, so this was clearly a sign meant for Israel.

What will Jesus find when He reaches the city?                         Will he find prayer?... or profit?

Imagine the upheaval for thousands of visitors as He shouts:

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations but you have made it a robber’s den!”

...while birds, lambs and money scatter in all directions.

Remember Adam and Eve sowed fig leaves together for aprons?      

Well Israel as a dead fig-tree has been exposed as worse than fruitless!

Where is your interest? In prayer, or in profit?

DONKEY RIDE FOR THE KING

Just imagine for a minute...

You are a devout pilgrim or maybe just a tourist, who has travelled from afar to be at Jerusalem for this very special Passover in Jerusalem.                                                                           

Why this Passover?                                   

Jews have been counting off those 483 years elapsing since the Persian king Artaxerxes I Longimanus gave orders for Jerusalem to be rebuilt, as per Daniel’s prophecies - so their Messiah is due to show up!                                   

The city is packed and the Roman army is on high alert.

All of a sudden great excitement sweeps the city...here comes a young man riding an unbroken donkey colt – some carpenter/prophet guy from Galilee – and they are even claiming he’s bringing the kingdom of David!  (Mark ch11)

What’s that they’re saying?... “Hosanna” ...save we pray!  However will the Romans take that?

Having come via Bethpage (‘house of unripe figs’) and Bethany (‘house of the poor’) Jesus is now recognised and feted as King?                                        

No, He just takes a look around at the magnificent temple then walks back out to Bethany for the night.

Would you have recognised this guy as the Son of God?

NEXT... Where’s the faith?

RUN AWAY?...or FOLLOW?

Looking for Jesus’ mission statement? Of the 4 gospel writers it is John Mark, once the runaway servant, who gets to share this with us...

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:45

Jesus is heading for Jerusalem and people are still flocking to hear Him and have their children blessed by Him. 

What about those more responsible?

• Pharisees are still trying to trap Him, this time over divorce (and so risking His neck with Herod, like John the Baptist)
• Disciples have learnt nothing from Jesus over children – the victims of divorce! Instead they block children while still hoping for honour.
• A rich man has done everything right in the sight of man and now wants eternal life. Why? He wants to keep enjoying his possessions rather than be right with Good God who is in front of him!

Yes... “with men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible”

The journey must go on. While the disciples follow afraid, the only one who gets to stop Jesus now is a blind man!

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Bart went his way with new eyesight?                      

No, he follows Jesus in the way – and what is Jesus’ ultimate goal?  

For the 4^th time He reminds us...rising from the dead.