Jesus the Prophet

Mark 13:32, 33

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 

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I am the last person who wants to talk about the end times. Even though the Bible clearly addresses details about the Second Coming of Christ and the final judgment, I find myself cringing when I hear well-meaning preachers fixate on the seemingly arbitrary details of Daniel or Revelation, often resorting to conjecture and speculation to make some clever but irrelevant points. They end up sounding like fortune tellers or something worse. So, what place does this chapter have in the story of Jesus and subsequently in our story as followers of Jesus?

There are a couple basic concepts that I've learned about Jewish prophetic writing which may be helpful here. Anyone who has been to a Christmas church service has probably heard some passages of Old Testament scripture quoted - usually a prophetic writing that gives some incredibly coincidental detail about who the messiah would be (a descendant of David), where he'd be born (Bethlehem), and how'd he be born (of a virgin). What is often overlooked is that each of these prophecies also had a contemporary meaning for the original hearers as well. My understanding of prophecy revolves around this idea that prophetic writing is both Forthtelling and Foretelling.

Forthtelling.

This word points to the present or contemporary meaning of any prophetic saying. In Mark 13, the immediate context is Jesus' proclamation as king and as authority over the Jewish temple system. The disciples are asking about Jesus' prediction of the destruction of the temple. Jesus tells them it will happen within their generation - a very specific promise that must be taken seriously. Historically, we know that this prophecy came true in AD 70, when the Roman army completely destroyed Jerusalem and its center of worship. This is Forthtelling, and subsequent warnings about the persecution awaiting his followers fit this category as well.

Foretelling.

The hard part with interpreting prophetic writing is knowing where the Forthtelling ends and the Foretelling begins - or where one verse could actually be taken both ways. Mark 13 clearly has some relevance to the "eschaton" (the End) as well as its obvious meaning for the contemporary hearers. When Jesus describes the sun being darkened and stars falling from heaven, he may be referring to upcoming 1st century political events, but the gravity of the language seems to warrant an even bigger vision of the final day of judgment. The fact that Matthew's version of this passage uses the phrase "end of the age" seems to support this view as well (Matt 24). The verse quoted above, reminding us that no one knows the day or hour, is also a clear reference to those final events that will bring evil to an end and usher in the eternal reign of the messiah over a New Heaven and a New Earth.

Judgment.

Underlying both the Forthtelling and the Foretelling is the common theme of God's impending judgment on the corruption of mankind - whether immediate judgment or delayed final judgment. Jesus ends this chapter with a call for his disciples (and a call for readers today) to "stay awake." What does this mean?

This is where prophecy has application to daily life. When you consider the reality of God's hatred of injustice and his passionate desire for his image-bearers to reflect his infinite love and glory, you start to feel the urgency and gravity of everyday choices. Jesus wants us to think of ourselves as servants who are awaiting the return of their master - servants who are good stewards of the talents they've been entrusted with (notice Matthew's version again which is immediately followed by the parables of the talents and the sheep & goats, which emphasize faithfulness and justice).

Future judgment should inspire present justice. Let us avoid conjecture and distraction in the minutiae of apocalyptic details; instead we should remember the present AND future relevance of every prophetic passage. Let us read these final words with hearts that pray for faithfulness to the very end, in light of the promised return of our mighty king:

It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake." (Mark 13:34-37)

Gratitude, Trust, and a Song

Psalm 21:1-2

O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
You have given him his heart's desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.

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We saw in Psalm 20 the prayer of David for God to shed his special favor on the king of Israel. Here in Psalm 21 we see what could be described as a parallel passage that praises God point by point for answering the prayers in the previous chapter.

1. God has granted the king's desire. Psalm 20:4 is fulfilled in 21:2:

"You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips." 

The psalmist then proceeds to briefly describe the many blessings for which he is grateful, including his longevity, his place of honor as king, and most importantly the privilege of experiencing the joy of God's presence (see Psalm 103 for a similar list). I've heard it said that the etymology of the words "grace" and "gratitude" are one and the same. The lesson for us here is that the proper response to receiving God's many blessings is to live in daily gratitude. Paraphrasing Ben Patterson, the voice of God's grace calls out into the deep canyon of our sinful hearts, and the corresponding echo in return must be "thank you, thank you, thank you!" This demands that we be mindful of these undeserved blessings and meditate on them daily.

2. God has proven trustworthy. The prayer of 20:7 is fulfilled in the description of the king in verse 21:7:

"For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved." 

What was previously an abstract hope is now a proven reality - God is more trustworthy than the inventions of warfare, the chariots and horses. As the Old Testament describes in several narrative passages, the outcome of Israel's battle was always in the hands of Yahweh, not their small human strength. Today, we do not battle flesh and blood, but our war against injustice and the forces of evil are just as real and just as dependent on our level of trust in Almighty God. I'd like to emphasize that connection between the king's gratitude and his trust in God - the more that we are looking back on God's many blessings the more our trust in Him will grow stronger and stronger.

3. God will save his people. The final plea for salvation in 20:9 has now become a detailed song of assurance that God will crush every enemy and ultimately save the king and his people:

"For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows. Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power." 

What is the result of gratitude and trust? A song. A song of God's salvation in the heart of every weak and weary son and daughter, trudging through the trenches of a war-torn life with confidence that God will prevail, that the battle is His, and it is not just enough to believe it, but he must sing about it. The enemy will go down in flames, and we will walk in that victory even today - though the victory may be no where in sight, it is nonetheless true and it is ours:

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

"Death is swallowed up in victory."
"O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

Loaded Questions

Mark 12:12, 13

And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.

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Here we find Jesus in a perfect storm of circumstances. Fortunately, Jesus exemplifies complete confidence in God, even when he knows that his enemies and even his friends will soon be turning on him. It is in this context that Jesus is confronted with three loaded questions and demonstrates several traits that can help us when our faith is questioned:

1. Answer with Discernment. "And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" (Mark 12:14 ESV). Mark has already told us that these religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus with a loaded question. By making Jesus take a stand on a hot button political issue, they were looking to discredit him and stir up the Roman authorities against him. And they start their question with flattery! It takes real discernment to know others' motives and not run headlong into a semantic trap. (However, you may also discern good motives, as were apparent in the scribe in verse 28. Here we see Jesus being sensitive to the context and encouraging the seeds of apparent faith in the scribe).

2. Answer with both Love and Firmness. Jesus would have been perfectly justified in disregarding these duplicitous questions altogether. Instead he condescends to answer even the petty question from the Sadducees about marriage in the resurrection. Petty questions about religious minutiae drive me crazy, but time after time Jesus (and later Paul) patiently redirected people to what is fundamentally important: the big picture of God's redemption through his Son. But coupled with love must be a direct firmness in correcting obvious errors. Calling out dangerous lies that threaten the core truths of the gospel is in fact the most loving thing you can do in this situation: Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? (Mark 12:24 ESV).

3. Answer with Scripture. The verse quoted above also points to the most powerful lesson that can be taken away from this chapter: be unashamed of basing your answers on the eternal truth of God's revealed Word. Our culture is far from the first century Jewish context, where revelation was respected as a viable source of truth. But even in a purely postmodern context, the simple statement of truth from the Bible can be unexpectedly powerful and convicting. After all, what was it that ultimately convinced me of God's love and truth? Was it not the plain statement of the gospel: that God's Son loved me in his sacrificial death, proved he was God by rising from the dead, and offers new life in the Spirit both now and in eternity? These truths are not the result of observing nature or mere abstract reasoning. The core of the gospel must be our ultimate answer, and it must always be rooted in Scripture to have any lasting affect on the human heart (see Heb. 4:12).

Lord, help me to walk in your Spirit by displaying these Christlike traits in my daily conversations. Help me to properly discern each situation, answer with both love and firmness, and be unashamed in my hope that is revealed in the written word of God. Tame this tongue, Lord, and let it serve to spread the life-changing grace of the gospel. Amen.

Authority and Agnosticism

Mark 11:28-30, 33

And they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me...."

...So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

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The opposite of authority may be agnosticism. In this chapter, we see the authority of Jesus displayed in at least four ways:

1. Authority in Action. The triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple are perhaps the most authoritative moments in Jesus' earthly ministry. To demand a young colt and ride him into the big city to the resounding cheers of an adoring crowd was a clear statement of kingship in the Jewish culture. This was a coronation of the highest order - the enthronement of the long awaited messianic king, the son of David. Following this, Jesus walks into the center of Jewish religious life and drives out the merchants, essentially claiming authority over his Father's house and anyone in it.

2. Authority in Word. Not only did Jesus act like God and King, he spoke in like manner:

And he said to [the fig tree], "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it...

...And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."

...As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
(Mark 11:2, 3, 14, 17, 20 ESV)

No plant or person is immune to the powerful words of Christ. We find elsewhere in Scripture that Christ in fact spoke the universe into existence and holds it all together simply with his word (Heb. 1:3). His verbal authority is unmatched and should give us pause when we disregard his words of warning or fail to fully believe his wonderful promises (Heb. 2:1).

3. Authority in Prayer. I think Jesus may want us to be less impressed with showy displays of authority, and more impressed with the kind of faith that asks God to move mountains and expects it to happen. The strength of our faith in prayer correlates directly with the genuineness of our belief in the power and goodness of God. Let us not fail to convey to the world how strong and real God is by mouthing weak and uncertain words in our prayers. In this way Jesus is calling us to reflect his authority by calling on it with confidence (Heb. 4:16).

4. Authority in Question. Finally, after these several public expressions of his authority, those who have thought of themselves as the highest authorities begin to question Jesus openly. In his own unique way, Jesus pushes the burden of proof back on them, questioning their knowledge and authority, and forces them to admit defeat in four simple words: "we do not know." Here is where I see signs that our modern world's embrace of agnosticism runs completely counter to the good authority displayed in Jesus. We have romanticized uncertainty to the extent that we have become powerless, and this has sadly affected the church, myself included. In truth, by questioning our faith ad nauseam we reflect to the world an uncertain god with an uncertain promise.

Lord God Almighty, I confess my weakness and uncertainty and today I claim your power and confidence, not because of anything I have to offer, but entirely because of your sure and certain promise of salvation. I stand on you, my solid rock. Thank you for demonstrating your love for me while I was still dead and blind in my sin. Now I am alive in You, and I walk in confident faith, and in the authority that is mine through Christ my Savior. Amen.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

Shadows of the Messiah

Psalm 20:1-3

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!

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Psalm 20 is an example of a royal hymn, one of several in which the psalmist invokes the special blessing of God upon the ruler of Israel. These royal hymns are often prophetic shadows of the coming messiah, and since the New Testament writers read them this way, it is more than fair for us to do the same. Though this passage is brief, we can apply both a historical and typological interpretation in order to gain some pearls of insight here.

Historically speaking, we are listening to the voice of a young David praying for king Saul, who happens to hate David and who attempted to kill him in fits of jealous rage on several occasions. The heart of David was to honor God, who had been faithful to miraculously slay Goliath and other enemies, thus proving He was immanently more trustworthy than chariots and horses. Likewise, David honored his king as one having God's special blessing, and thus refers to him as God's "anointed." This kind of honor is often described in the biblical narrative, where David passes up several opportunities to kill Saul and take his kingdom by force, preferring instead to trust God and carry out his duty under an unjust king.

The typological interpretation could actually go two ways: both Saul and David can be in view here as types of the messiah. I include Saul because David calls him anointed, which is what "messiah" means. In this sense, we can imagine this prayer as a prayer for the messiah to reign in power, to be blessed in all of his plans and desires, and be rescued from all his enemies. (We can apply this prayer by likewise blessing King Jesus and seeking favor for his kingdom purposes on this earth.)

A second type is David himself, whose example of humble prayer and devotion to a wicked and ungrateful king so clearly reflects Christ's teaching and example of loving his enemies, even to the point of personal humiliation. Seeing my sinful self in the place of Saul, I am astonished that my Savior prays for my ungrateful heart to be fulfilled and that he even prays for my offerings to be acceptable to God - a shadow of the intercession that Christ now makes as our advocate before the Father. Even in these brief words of this ancient royal prayer, the gospel message is clear and profound.

Lord, thank you for the undeserved honor of receiving your prayers, your favor, your intercession, and your eternal blessings. All glory to you, the anointed king and humble servant - the lion and the lamb. Amen.

Salvation is Impossible

Mark 10:26, 27

And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

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Here's an encouraging sermon application: It is impossible for man to be saved! Wow, what a downer. Could you try telling me something a little nicer about myself, like how smart and clever and lovable I am? No? Oh fooey!

No, I'm afraid that any honest reading of this chapter should bring us to our knees. In Mark 10 we see several more examples of the disciples missing the point and revealing how clueless they still are:

- they don't quite get the teaching on divorce (v 10)
- they rebuke the kids who want to meet Jesus (v 13)
- they are openly afraid, apparently of the persecution they expect to face in Jerusalem (v 32)
- they make another attempt at nepotism by asking for a spiritual favor (v 37)
- they apparently join in rebuking a blind man who is openly declaring Jesus as king (v 48)

But right in the center of this chapter is where we see the disciples described as "exceedingly astonished." I honestly sympathize with the Rich Young Man who thought he was obeying God but couldn't find his heart devoted enough to sell all he had at the command of this miracle working teacher. I move from sympathy to pity when I realize that he was clinging to his self-righteous vision of the world, which could not conceive of an incarnate God who was worthy of direct obedience and honor. But I haven't always noticed that the disciples were equally stuck in a mentality that assumed salvation could be earned or obtained by human effort.

This is yet another illustration of how restricted pietism can masquerade in religious clothing but fundamentally reflect a worldview that is completely opposed to the heartbeat of God. We crave a short list of attainable goals that leaves room for our own boasting and pride; we cringe and may even walk away from a call to give up our lives and reputations for something bigger than ourselves: the kingdom of our Savior and his mission in the world.

Lord, help me to be more astonished at my self-righteousness than at the wise words of my Savior, who is graciously telling me that I can never save myself, no matter how hard I try. And let me be grateful that the bad news of my inability before God is closely followed by the good news of Christ's finished work of salvation offered and credited to my account through faith alone. All glory to Him alone. Amen.

The View from the Mountain

Mark 9:33-34, 38

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest....

...John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us."

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Chapter 9 of Mark's Gospel starts with a literal epiphany and ends with disciples who still don't get it. After rebuking Peter in chapter 8 for not accepting the prediction of Christ's atoning death, we are welcomed onto the mountain of God and given a glimpse behind the curtain of God's plan. Jesus is transfigured before the apostles' eyes, and Moses and Elijah appear in the flesh to discuss the upcoming climax of God's redemptive story. The apostles hear Jesus, Moses, Elijah, and even the booming voice of God from out of the sky, all testifying to Christ's death and resurrection, but they fail to understand! Verses 10 and 23 explicitly say that they don't get it. Then the chapter closes with two stories that really prove they don't get it.

The first story shows that the apostles were still fundamentally confused about the nature of God's kingdom: the power of God is manifested in serving, not in being served - in giving up your life rather than claiming positions of power. We are to become like children, trusting completely in Someone other than ourselves for everything. We are also to receive children and people of no reputation as if they were people of great importance, thus conveying the economy of God's love, where all are welcomed equally into his family through Christ's offer of salvation.

The second story speaks also to this fundamental difference between the mentality of the world and the mentality of the kingdom: those who are not in our clique but use Jesus' name to do good, they should be respected rather than judged. In other words, there is a fundamental graciousness extended within the church community between people of differing opinions. Working out the details of these relationships may involve some hard work and sensitivity to the Spirit, but the starting point, according to Jesus, is grace.

What's the connection between these two anecdotes in Mark 9? I think they should be viewed in light of the Transfiguration, and convict us of how far our natural worldly mentality is from the heartbeat of God - He is working out a cosmic plan to redeem humanity, and we struggle to grasp it, understand it, apply it, or let it inform our view of others. We want first place, even after seeing God in the flesh and hearing the heavenly Voice. We want to judge others, when we've got logs in our own eyes waiting to be removed.

Lord, help me to live as a childlike servant, assuming the best of others, and most of all standing in awe of Your glorious plan of redemption. Help me understand it, treasure it, and live humbly in light of it. All by your grace alone. Amen.