F L E E !!

Suddenly, very suddenly, things will get a lot worse, especially for those in Israel – it’s time to flee to the mountains!                    

Here in Mark 13:14-23, Jesus is sitting with four of His disciples and leaving with them a warning... that He knows will even get written down!                                              

So which period in the future is Jesus referring to?                  

Does He mean the destruction of the temple immediately in front of them?     

• Nothing as bad will have occurred before, ever since Creation – that includes the Great Flood.  WOAH!
• Unless the Lord shortens these days no flesh would survive – humanly impossible until nuclear war became a reality in 1945
• Not only will the threats be military but also spiritual, with false christs and their miracles

So then, what is the trigger?                                                                  
The ‘Abomination of Desolation’ gets set up ‘where it ought not be’ i.e. ‘the holy place’. Every year since Syrian tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes IV profaned the temple, the Jews have been celebrating its re-dedication in Hanukkah, knowing the warning by Daniel: ‘the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that makes desolate set up’.

In other words, the temple MUST be rebuilt sometime after its destruction just predicted by Jesus Christ... AND it must be defiled again. Watch this space!

Just as women and babies suffered terribly at the hand of Antiochus, so will they be at risk from this future profanity.

Why?

Don’t stop to ask – just R U N !!

WHEN??

 

Do you remember what Jesus predicted on leaving the temple? (Mark 13)

“There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down”          

No wonder four disciples follow Him up with questions on the Mount of Olives!...starting with: “WHEN...?”

Notice carefully that Jesus NEVER answers that question of ‘when?’...but proceeds to teach them about what awaits the faithful remnant of Israel.

In fact, there is NO RECORD anywhere in Holy Scripture of the destruction of that 2^nd temple which can no longer be seen on Temple Mount!                In other words, there is a far more important series of events in the future...

• False christs
• Wars, earthquakes, famines...
• Arrests & beatings
• The gospel preached to ALL NATIONS
• Family betrayals
• Hatred by ALL MEN

...and these are only the ‘beginning of sorrows’ – just like the onset of childbirth pain. It gets much worse!

NEXT: Time to flee!

WHAT BUILDINGS!

During the rule of the Persian Empire, the angel Gabriel was sent to tell the prophet Daniel that a 2^nd temple in Jerusalem (not even built then!)...would later be destroyed by ‘the people of the prince that shall come’ - the mighty Roman Army.

Five centuries later, here in Mark 13 we have the long-awaited Messiah finally leaving that 2^nd temple for the last time.  It seems the disciples haven’t been joining the dots - they think Jesus should be admiring the magnificent architecture as He walks out from where the elders have rejected Him. Instead, He predicts: 

“There shall not be one stone on another that shall not be thrown down.”                                                                                                         

No wonder four of them then chase Him up for answers!

 Did Jesus get that right?

The supporting Western Wall, the only relic left standing today, is mute witness that He did!  

AUDIENCE of ONE

Every day for 3 days, Jesus has visited this magnificent temple where His authority is rejected by chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees... plenty of time for them to accept His authority. (Mark 12:38-44)

Jesus condemns the scribes for taking care how people see them and for defrauding widows.  Before leaving the temple forever He has one last thing to do – sit and watch how much people give to the treasury.                                

Who alone has the right to watch what we give towards the service of God?                                                                                                        

Only God - audience of One - so Jesus watches the rich and the poor, even a widow who is giving... all of her living!

We are soon going to see how Jesus gives...whether He casts in all that He has, even all of His living! 

How is YOUR giving towards God?

DAVID'S LORDLY SON

 

Notice the authority of this man Jesus!                                 

The disruptor of temple commerce is feared and hated by chief priests and scribes, challenged by Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees....and now no man dares ask him any more questions! (Mark 12:35-37)

They all know king David’s climactic Psalm 110...

‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies beneath your feet”’

They also know the scribes teach that the coming Messiah will be Son of David.

It’s now Jesus’ turn to ask the questions... 

“David calls him Lord, so how can He be his Son?”

The people are enjoying this but do they know who really is standing right in front of them?

John Mark introduced Him with... 

‘the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’.

Do YOU agree?

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?