MARK: Jesus #Unfiltered

Yesterday we looked at the most important commandment and today we continue in the middle of that discussion. The second is to love your neighbour as ourselves. If we love God with everything that we have and put him first, the natural outworking of this is the love of others. In his first letter, John even writes that "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.” It would be completely incoherent, inconsistent, and hypocritical for me to say that I am a Christian and love God, yet not even try to love my neighbour. This is the same for all who follow Christ.

Unfortunately throughout history, there have been some terrible examples who claim to follow Christ yet don’t show love to their neighbours. On the other hand, there have been great examples of people’s faith leading them to extraordinary actions such as the early Christians saving babies from the rubbish heap, to the abolition of the slave trade. But the acts of love don’t always have to be huge. It could be as simple as being consistently generous and gracious to those on our frontlines. It’s a command which should shape the whole of our lives. We do this because it’s commanded of us, but also because even while we were his enemies, while our backs were turned to him, Jesus still loved us and died for us to save us. Therefore, we should love one another and our neighbours.

The scribe seemed to be satisfied with the answer that Jesus provided! To be completely devoted to God and to love our neighbour is far more important than rituals, rights, and regulations. To live with Jesus as king is the most important thing of all. MC

Questions

Prayer

Heavenly Father, as we live our lives, please shape the affections and desires of our hearts to love you more deeply and to love our neighbour more consistently, that they may see our love for them, and your love for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen

What is at the heart of being a Christian? What are the most important things to being a follower of Jesus? These aren’t small questions but the answer is actually pretty easy, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” That is the heart of it.

One of the scribes overheard Jesus talking with the other religious leaders when they were testing him just before. Whether his intent is malicious or genuine, we aren’t too sure, that isn’t the point, but his question is a big one. He asks Jesus about what is the most important commandment in the whole of the law. For the ordinary reader of the law this would be quite the task. After all, the law is quite large. The first five books of our Bible are full of the law. However, Jesus’ answer, as we saw above, would have been nothing new to the scribe.

The implications of following this law are quite large. It begins with essentially saying, listen up! The Lord our God is one! This means that there are no other gods and no one else to follow. Therefore, love him with everything that you have. Put him first in the way that you love, the way that you are, the way that you think, and the way that you act. Love him above all things even including our spouses, families, parents, money, and various other distractions and if we do this, then we will follow all the commandments. Now, I know that I can’t do this perfectly, and I know that I am saved by grace and not good deeds, however, when we repent, we come under the lordship of Jesus. So, he has the right to rule our lives because our lives belong to him. There is no opt-out of this command, no other way but to put God first. Simply, to trust and obey. MC

Questions

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for your law which is good and perfect. Thank you that Jesus lived it perfectly and yet still went to the cross so that we can still be in relationship with you because we can’t live it perfectly. We are sorry for when we don’t love you as we ought. Please forgive us and help us to live for you each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In one of their final last-ditched efforts to entrap Jesus, the Pharisees and Herodians have become frenemies! Whilst these groups were not normally allies, they are now unified in their mission with a shared enemy in Jesus. They figure now, that if they can catch Jesus deterring people from paying the imperial tax, then that will push the Roman authorities to arrest Jesus and trial him. It also may have the effect is misaligning the crowds for they hated paying such a tax. The Pharisees and Herodians are so intent, that they even try to sway Jesus into a false sense of security in order that they would garner a direct and (hopefully) indicting response. But Jesus won’t be tricked!

Taking a coin in his hand, he simply asks them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” The answer, of course, is brilliantly clear! Caesar’s! But Jesus doesn’t stop there, concluding that not only should they pay to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but they should also give back “to God what is God’s”. Who bears God’s image? Well, we do. Therefore, whilst Caesar may have their coins, what we owe to God is our whole lives. It is because God is our creator, that the true and proper response of our lives will always be in orientation to him. We’re made to be in relationship with God. We’re made to have our lives orientated to him as our Lord.

Those watching are amazed, but hard hearts still refuse to acknowledge who Jesus truly is. AL

Questions

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you that we are created in your image. Please help us to continually reorientate our lives to you, especially that we may live for your glory and your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

As we continue in the parable, things now reach a tragic end. As the tenants had rejected the servants that the landlord had sent to them, he now sends his own son with the great hope that they will respect him. But of course, instead of listening to the son, the tenants seize the opportunity and decide to kill him. The tenants know that without an heir, that the vineyard would be theirs. And so when the son arrives, they kill him just as was planned. It’s heartbreaking and completely unjust. If when you cry for justice when you hear the parable, that’s precisely the response the Jesus is invoking.

When Jesus asks, “what will the owner of the vineyard do?”, those listening would have precisely known that judgment would follow. But of course, Jesus is not just speaking about any son, but he is warning them that because they have rejected him, that they have rejected God’s Son. Jesus is the true and right heir of Israel and that can never be taken away. However, even through their rejection, Jesus will become the cornerstone. Not only have the religious leaders failed to listen to the prophets who were sent before, but now they have rejected God’s Son.

The leaders would have known precisely who Jesus was speaking about and so their hearts continued to be hardened. They could have at this point turned to Jesus and recognise Jesus as God’s Son, but instead, they whimper off and look for a way to arrest Jesus instead. AL

Questions

Prayer

Gracious Father, sorry for the times in our lives in which we reject or rebel against your authority and rule. Please help us to recognise Jesus as Lord in every aspect of our lives. Please help us to point to Jesus, that people may see clearly and respond sincerely to who he really is. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

In this stark parable from Jesus (we’ll explore the second part tomorrow), it’s absolutely correct to be flabbergasted by the way in which the tenants deny the owner’s rights and then reject the messengers that are sent to them. It’s important to note that in the first century in the region, landlords would put people in charge of their land who would cultivate it as tenant farmers. When harvest came, it was the landlord’s right to be able to collect a portion of the fruit of the crop. But what happens in the parable is shocking! For not only do the tenants refuse to pay what is rightfully owed, but when the servants of the landlord arrive, the tenants reject them violently or kill them!

This is completely outrageous of course, but Jesus’ point is that this is precisely what Israel has been like with God. The vineyard (see Isaiah 5:1-7) is an allusion to Israel (a common symbol for the nation) and the planter is God. Not only have they lived with disregard to their master, taking for granted that which is not theirs, failing to live in a way that God commanded of them, but they have also rejected (and killed) the prophets who were sent to warn them. What will happen next? How long will God tolerate such injustice and rebellion against him? Well, God still has one more messenger to send to them. AL

Questions

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you that in your patience you have sent messengers to warn the people of God to turn back to you. Please help us to be fruitful for you, give you the glory, and rightfully live our lives for you. Please help us to be quick to listen to and obey your voice. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

In this little section, the authority of Jesus is directly questioned by the chief priests and elders. They’re questioning him because his actions indicate that he thinks he has authority over the Temple. Thus, the religious hierarchy probably want to ask the question, ‘So you think you’re the Messiah?’ – because that’s the only person who could possibly have the right to do this sort of thing. That is, the Messiah – God’s anointed king – is the only possible person who might have greater authority over the Temple than the High Priest. Plenty of so-called messiahs have come and gone, but Jesus is the true Messiah. Why? Because his authority does not come from earthly sources, but from God.

As Jesus often does, he responds with a question (read the second part of

Questions

Prayer

Loving God, thank you that in Jesus we have one who is completely worthy of our trust and allegiance. Thank you that we can be free from trying to earn our salvation, and that you entered the world to save us. Please help us to increase our trust in you, and decrease our trust in ourselves. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Immediately after his entry (vv.8-10), Jesus’ first action is to go to the Temple. When he arrives at the Temple it’s late, so Jesus heads to Bethany with the disciples. The very next day, things escalate with Jesus speaking words of judgment against the fig tree and the use of the Temple (the tree is withered when they return later). Whilst at surface level, Jesus’ curse of the fig tree may seem like a bad case of being ‘hangry’ (after all, it was not even the season for figs), Mark is highlighting Jesus’ comparison between the fruitless fig tree and the current state of the Temple as a ‘den of robbers’. Jesus’ curse of the fig tree is a pronouncement of the Temple’s fruitlessness (in the role of Israel) and that ultimately, its days are numbered. It is no longer the ‘house of prayer’ for all nations as was intended.

It’s important to remember that the Temple is the physical centre of the Jewish faith and for Jesus to say these things and perform such acts, points to his own authority and identity AND the failings of Judaism. These are incredibly dramatic scenes that remind us that Jesus was not just a meek teacher that some make him out to be, but a person of real authority who also brings judgment. And thus we begin to see the judgment that Jesus brings upon the unbelieving, and their judgment upon him. As the scene ends (vv.22-26) Jesus tells the disciples that they should have, “faith in God”. As he tells them to ask for anything in prayer and receive, Jesus is not saying that we get anything we want if we believe with sufficient conviction, but that our trust should be expressed in relationship with God. They (and we) should be a people characterised by forgiveness, as Jesus goes to cross to pay the price for theirs. AL

Questions

Prayer

Almighty Lord, thank you that through Jesus you bring mercy and judgment together. We thank you that you long to set the world right, and that through Jesus’ death and resurrection you open up the way to life. Please help us to bring more of our lives into line with your authority. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, it marks the beginning of a dramatic chapter of his life and ministry which reaches its culmination in his death and resurrection. Prior to entering the city, there has already been plenty of conflict. However, whilst that conflict has traversed a range of topics, it has always been Jesus’ identity that is at the heart of the contention. Is he really the long-awaited King? Is he truly God’s Son? If anyone was unclear about the nature of his claims, that becomes increasingly transparent as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Two of the disciples have obediently followed Jesus’ instructions and retrieved a donkey and her colt (Matthew has some additional details) in what must have felt like a mysterious assignment! But as Jesus rides into Jerusalem, having approached the very place that serves as a reminder of the coming of God’s King and future judgment (i.e., the Mount of Olives), many would have immediately recognised the parallel of Zechariah 9 (that which Mark quotes here) in which God’s anticipated King arrives into Zion (i.e., Jerusalem!). At that moment, there’s no doubt that for some people things would have become crystal clear as they witnessed this long-awaited prophecy being fulfilled before their very eyes! Jesus is the King. Jesus is the one who will usher in God’s Kingdom and fulfil God’s promises! That’s why many responded by laying down branches and cloaks, accompanying their actions with shouts of “Hosanna” which means, “Save us!”. Jesus will truly prove to be that King, however, it won’t happen as they expect. For Jesus did not come to defeat the Romans (as some hoped), but to defeat our greatest enemy of sin and death. Jesus comes as the peacemaking king, to win the greatest peace that we could ever hope for through his blood - peace with God. AL

Questions

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for the Good News that Jesus is the King who fulfils, rescues, and judges. Please help us to see Jesus with greater clarity, grow in our relationship with him, and so respond faithfully with our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

In a scene reminiscent of an incident earlier (cf. mark 9:33-37), some of the disciples are once again are jostling for greater positions in the kingdom to come. They’ve somehow managed to filter out anything that Jesus has said about his suffering and death, instead wanting to try and ensure that they have senior positions in the kingdom they expect Jesus to imminently establish. Their ambition had completely blinded them from all that Jesus had said. Such is the extent of their misunderstanding, that James and John appear to have no issue in approaching Jesus to ask him to let them sit at his right and left hand in glory! They have no idea what they’re asking for, as Jesus is about to be enthroned not in a palace but on a wooden cross! As the pair of disciples insist that they can drink the cup of judgment that Jesus faces, he warns them that they indeed will face similar fates as they seek to proclaim and follow him. Even now, they would not have understood what Jesus was saying.

When the other ten hear that James and John have been vying for favour, it’s completely understandable that they’re all indignant! With all of the disciples now fired up, Jesus rebukes them and demands that they are to exercise leadership not like that of those who lord it over them, but instead that they should become slaves of all. Why? For even the “Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. What they may have begun to understand in part, they will only understand once they have witnessed both the crucified and risen Lord. AL

Questions

Prayer

Gracious Father, thank you that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Please help us to lead and live in his serving likeness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The time of Jesus’ arrest, ‘trial’, and death is almost at hand. However, as becomes increasingly evident, the disciples still do not understand the horror that Jesus must face in order that we can be saved. And so for the third time, on their way up to Jerusalem, Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. The disciples are astonished and afraid. It’s hard to know what they were expecting, but it’s clear that they must have been expecting Jesus to overturn the Romans in some way. Whether or not their hearts are too hard to hear what Jesus is saying, or that they're simply in denial of what Jesus has been warning them about, the disciples have failed to understand and will be completely shocked by what they are soon to witness. As events unfold, crushed by unmet expectations, they will disown Jesus, flee from the scene, and hide.

Are we ashamed by the crucified Jesus? Do we recognise the absolute necessity that he had to die for us? Sometimes we can think that we are better than the disciples, but it’s especially in those moments that we must remember that we’re just as sinful and fragile as they were. What we ultimately need can only be made possible through Jesus and that’s precisely what Jesus has achieved. AL

Questions

Prayer

Saving God, we thank you so much for Jesus’ resolve to go to the cross and save us even at the greatest cost. Please help us to recognise the extent of what Jesus has done for us, that we may look to him with thanks and be saved. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.