The Steadfastness of Christ – Part Two - Mark 14:43-52

The Steadfastness of Christ - Mark 14:26-42

In Exodus we have the account of God delivering His people from slavery in Egypt. As an act of judgment God announced that the firstborn son of every family and flock in Egypt would be killed – but He made a way of safety for His people. He instructed them to kill a lamb and put the lamb’s blood on the doorpost of their home. Every home that was covered with the blood of a lamb would be passed over. While God’s act of salvation was extraordinary, He knew the people would still be quick to forget. For this reason, He commanded them to keep an annual feast. This feast, which involved sacrificing a lamb, would be a means of remembering God’s salvation in the past and anticipating His future salvation. And it’s a feast that was still held every year during the time of Jesus. Each year His parents would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (Luke 2:41). It’s of no small significance that on the night before His death Jesus celebrates a Passover meal with His disciples. During that meal Jesus demonstrates His sovereignty, announces His death, institutes a new meal for people of God and promises a future meal that’s still to come.

As we read the Gospels it’s clear that there are varied opinions of Jesus. There are some who are curious or intrigued by Jesus and others who are hostile toward Him. And then there are some who are willing to lay down everything for the sake of His Name. The reality is, each one of us live somewhere on the same spectrum. Every one of us is making a choice, day in and day out, about the place we’re going to allow Him to have in our lives. And the question that drives the choice is this: What do I believe about the worth of Jesus? Is He worthy of my time? Worthy of my obedience? Worthy of my worship? Worthy of my resources? This is what it comes down to – what do we believe about the worth of Jesus?

Psalm 115: A Proper Response When Questions Come

Psalm 112: The Blessedness of a Godly Life

Psalm 111: A Psalm of Whole-Hearted Praise

Psalm 107: Giving Praise to the God of Salvation

There are few topics that elicit as much interest, discussion and debate in Christians circles as the study of the end times. There are some who are very zealous about understanding and sharing their views on what the Bible says about the end of the age. At the same time there are many good and faithful Christians who aren’t as passionate about trying to understand all the ins and outs of end time theology. As we come to the conclusion of Mark 13 – a passage in which Jesus has a lot to say about things to come – there’s a question that should be asked and that’s relevant both for those who enjoy the study of things to come and for those who shy away from it. For all of us, we should want to know: How does God want us to respond to what He’s told us about things to come? What’s most important to Christ when it comes to our understanding of the end times? In Mark 13 we’ve seen that Jesus isn’t simply speaking prophetically, He’s also speaking pastorally. His primary aim is that His followers would be encouraged and equipped to live well as we wait for His return.