She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Mark 14:1-11

She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. Mark 14:8-9

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 14:1-11, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: Jesus was hated by the chief priests and scribes, yet He was not worried about what people felt about Him - He was undeterred and bold in how He proclaimed the gospel in both Words and in action (works).  Jesus was patient and he taught - while the story of Mary pouring expensive oil on Jesus (see also John 12:1-8) made some of the other disciples indignant (v4), Jesus instead sought for His disciples to focus on Mary's love of God.  Mary's heart was correctly focused - on bringing glory to Jesus and demonstrating love of Him.   
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Jesus stirs strong reactions in many - in this case the chief priests and scribes.  Chapter 13:9-13 emphasizes Jesus' warnings how believers will be "hated in [Jesus'] name." Many in the world will hate us and what believers stand for - The Gospel and our faith.  Also, some inappropriately judged Mary and were critical of her love of Jesus and how she demonstrated it. Judas (vv10-11) represents what occurs when we allow our own view of Jesus to be warped by the world. 
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We should avoid inappropriately judging others' actions as understanding people's heart condition is key and it is God alone who is the ultimate judge.  We should also avoid allowing the world to warp our view of who Jesus as Judas did.  We should follow Jesus example and per chapter 13 heed His warnings and encouragement for how believers are expected to be hated and persecuted but take comfort from how the Holy Spirit will give us words to say to use the Word in defense of what You do.  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, apply, and be obedient to Your message for me today and every day. 

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.... And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.

Mark 13:24-37

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.... And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. Mark 13:32-33,37

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 13:24-37.  Excerpts from the commentary's third (of three) division (vv32-37):

• The title of the third division per the commentary is "Jesus Will Come Again, but Only God Knows When." 
• "Jesus is clearly speaking of His coming again (vv. 26-27). He plainly states that “no one knows” when it will happen, “neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father.” It is that phrase “nor the Son” that gives us pause. As orthodox, Bible-believing Christians, we affirm the full and undiminished deity of God the Son. As God, He possesses all the attributes of deity, including omniscience. Yet here He clearly states there is a body of knowledge of which He is, dare I say, ignorant: the day and hour of His own second coming. This statement makes no sense apart from the incarnation. In taking taking on a human nature and entering into the time-space reality, the Son of God did not surrender His deity, but He did lay aside His glory (John 17:5, Philippians 2:6-11). In doing so, our Lord for a time relinquished the free exercise of His divine attributes such as omniscience. In the mystery and beauty of the incarnation, the all-knowing sovereign Son could temporarily lay aside or suspend the free exercise of His “God attributes” so that He might live an authentic human life in submission to His Father and in dependence on the Holy Spirit. This also explains why our Lord could be hungry, experience thirst, grow tired, and be killed. And here lies another indictment for those caught up in prophetic speculation and date setting. NO ONE KNOWS BUT GOD!" 
• Believers and churches alike are encouraged and warned at the same time to be prepared based on Jesus' words that no one knows when He will return - however, we DO know that He WILL return and He commands us to be prepared and be ready.  "Oh, how tragic it would be for our Lord to return and find His church asleep at the wheel, neglecting her assignment, squandering her resources, deceiving herself into thinking He won’t come today."
•  Six times in this chapter we are told to "be on guard" or "stay awake."

We must both continue to abide in Jesus and to bear fruit - demonstrating love, trust and obedience in Him.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God who loves and saves, and tells me all these things so that I can be ready for Your return.  Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of such love and blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

Mark 13:24-37

So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Mark 13:29

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 13:24-37.  Excerpts from the commentary's second (of three) division (vv28-31):

• The title of the second division per the commentary is "Jesus Will Come Again, and the Time Is Near." 
• "Jesus drops an interpretive bomb in verse 30: “I assure you: This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.” The question is, Who is “this generation”? The answer is not a simple one, and how you understand and interpret other parts of Mark 13 will influence how you answer the question."  
• The commentary offers four prevailing views on this question: "(1) The contemporary generation of Jesus’ day who would see the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. (2) The eschatological generation that will be alive at the end of history who will see all these things because they occur in close proximity to one another. (3) The Jewish people, with the word “generation” being understood to mean “race”—a particular race of people. (4) The generation of Jesus’ day who would see the coming of the kingdom."   
• View (2) is what is presented as the most biblically supported. "This generation refers to those who will see all these things occur in rapid-fire succession just before Jesus comes again. I believe the future tribulation (v. 24) will be a period of seven years." See also Daniel 9:27, Revelation 7:14, 11:3, 12:4, 6, and 13:5.   
• Per v31, the end of times promises finality for all things of this world that many hold dear and all that will remain will be God, His elect, and what He has created for God's elect - the New Jerusalem. We can take comfort from God's words.  "Nothing is so true, stable, permanent, and abiding as the word of our Lord. Here is a firm foundation on which we can stand forever. No wonder the prophet Isaiah was inspired to write, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever” (Isaiah 40:8; cf. 51:6)."

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who saves, who is eternal and whose Word is eternal.  Thank You Jesus for Your Word that offers not just salvation, but also great comfort and encouragement in how it gives us confidence - Your Promises always come to pass so You are faithful in what You tell us will happen.  I am not deserving of my salvation nor how You comfort with Your Word.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Mark 13:24-37

And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Mark 13:27

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 13:24-37.  Excerpts from the commentary's introduction and the first (of three) division (vv24-27):

• The title of this chapter of the commentary covering this text is "What Did Jesus Say About the End Times? Part 2" and the main idea for the entirety of the text (vv24-37) is "[a]lthough we don’t know the exact moment, we do know with certainty that Jesus will come again, and therefore we must be alert."
• The title of the first division per the commentary is "Jesus Will Come Again to Gather His People." 
• "Jesus employs end-times, or eschatological, vocabulary and imagery in these verses. That Jerusalem is not mentioned is a death knell for those who would apply these verses to its destruction in AD 70."  
• We are referred to scripture elsewhere that highlights end times descriptions: "[u]ltimate cosmic upheaval and universal cataclysmic judgment will signal that the end has come. In heaven and on earth, the cosmos will be rocked and shaken as God prepares to come in judgment in the person of the Son (cf. Isaiah 13:9-10; 34:4-5; Ezekiel 32:7-9,15)."  
• "Then . . .(v. 26)—what a wonderful word of anticipation. “They will see the Son of Man,” the great eschatological figure described in Daniel 7:13-14, “coming in clouds with great power and glory.” Edward Adams well says, “It is highly likely that Mark would want his readers to understand this reference to the coming of the Son of Man in the light of the previous mention at 8:38. The Old Testament allusions and associations in 13:24-27 fit a picture of the advent of God, with Jesus as the Son of Man in the main role” (Adams, “Coming,” 57)." 
• We are referred back to v10, and encouraged to continue proclaiming the Gospel as it will not be in vain for when Christ returns - He will come back to reap the harvest of these efforts for all of His elect. See also Revelation 7:9-10.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God and You came first in the flesh, as a meager child who then live a perfect life yet willingly died for the sin of all humanity for redemptive history.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

[H]e will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Mark 13:24-37

[H]e will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Mark 13:27

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 13:24-37, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God knows all things - the beginning and the end.  Here, He knows what is to happen during the end times and when.  He knows that their will be tribulation and how long it will last.  He is coming again and to take His people - His elect (v27) to Heaven where He is saving a place.  He cares for His people.  He wants us to be prepared and to know the signs of when He returns so that we are prepared.  We must remember His words and His Kingdom as unlike things of this world He and His Word are eternal (vv30-31).  
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: People either have no faith or have weak or little faith and are prone to fall away - Jesus does not want any to fall away so He provides many warnings and signs of things to come so that we are ready.  There will be many who are prone to fall away and not be prepared for His return - so we are to follow Jude's words Jude 22-23 where He seeks for us "to have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh."
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): God's Kingdom and Words last forever and He will return to bring us to Heaven where it will be glorious!  In the meantime, we must be ready and prepared and to tell others to prepare and be ready so that they also will be saved.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  I am not deserving of such love.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.   Please forgive me and help me turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Mark 13:1-23

But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. Mark 13:23

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 13:1-23.  Excerpts from the commentary's third (of three) division (vv14-23):

• The title of the third division per the commentary is "Tribulation Will Be Intense, so Be on Guard." 
• "Verse 14 introduces us to one of the most cryptic and difficult phrases in the Bible: “the abomination that causes desolation.” The phrase occurs three times in the book of Daniel[:] Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11." 
• "First, the initial fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy (particularly 11:31-32) was the desecration of the temple in 167 BC by the Syrian Antiochus Epiphanes when he sacrificed a pig on the altar of burnt offerings and set up an altar to Zeus. This act of idolatry and insult so incensed the Jewish people they would soon rise up in what history calls the Maccabean Revolt."  
• "Second, given the context of the passage and Jesus’ instructions, it appears He has in mind another fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. When the abomination of desolation is “standing where it should not”—perhaps a reference to the Roman General Titus entering the temple in September AD 70—then “those in Judea must flee to the mountains” (v. 14). Further, everyone was to act with a sense of urgency."  
• "Third, the tragic events of 167 BC and AD 70 anticipate a climactic event of horrible destruction and desecration just prior to our Lord’s second coming. Jesus is speaking of the eschatological end through the eyes of the imminent destruction of the temple."  
• An additional text reference from this third event is provided by James Edwards: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.  Edwards shares: "Both texts depict a blasphemous Antichrist who will do a scandalous deed that will trigger the return of the Lord. Both texts also warn disciples against mistaken eschatological assumptions, especially against being deceived by signs and wonders. . . .Mark relates this abominable event only cryptically and suggestively to the destruction of the temple. In so doing he imputes both historical and eschatological value to the same event."
• We can be comforted knowing in advance of these events and that the victory over sin and death is already won, and per Sinclair Ferguson, we should "realize that when Jesus talks about the future, “his words are meant to change the way we live in the present."  We are encouraged to read Titus 2:13 and Revelation 22:20 and "look for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ....[and] pray, 'Come Lord Jesus,' [a]nd as you watch and pray, be on your guard and don’t worry. Jesus already told you all about what to expect!"

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  You give us Your Word and tells about what to expect and that You are saving a place in Heaven for us!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

...[D]o not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit....But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mark 13:1-23

...[D]o not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit....But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Mark 13:11, 13b

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 13:1-23.  Excerpts from the commentary's second (of three) division (vv9-13):

• The title of the second division per the commentary is "Persecution Can Be Expected, but Do Not Be Anxious." 
• "Not only will there be trouble on a global level; there will also be trials and persecutions on a personal level. Jesus again challenges His disciples to “be on your guard” (the same word as in verse 5). This is also a present imperative, a word of command. Why does He issue a second challenge to watchfulness? Difficult times are to be expected for faithful followers of King Jesus." 
• "All the ethne, all the people groups of the world, must hear this gospel before the end comes. So do not get discouraged." See v10.   
• Vv11 and 13 bring comfort as Jesus shares that we not be anxious as the Holy Spirit will be with us to help us and if we remain steadfast in our faith and endure to the end.  
• "Opposition from governmental and legal authorities will be harsh. Rejection by family and friends will be heartbreaking, but it will happen, so get ready. “Then brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and put them to death.” The word “death” occurs twice, emphasizing the extent of the betrayal and persecution some will face. We will be arrested, beaten, betrayed, put to death, and even “hated,” all for the sake of King Jesus. While this may sound surreal and unfathomable in America, it is the experience of millions of brothers and sisters around the world today and throughout church history."  
• "Perseverance is the proof that our profession is real. It may be tough, but our Lord will be faithful to keep us by His power."

We are to "endure to the end."  Enduring starts with remaining in Him and He in us as described in John 15:1-10. Enduring also includes a posture of humility and prayer.  Believers also function as part of a church body with each part playing its role, and as described in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, "God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose."  

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that saved me and who pours out mercies every day that never cease...thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of these mercies nor how You save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Help me endure to the end, abiding in You daily, remaining humble and prayerful, and by performing my function in the church.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.