Trinity Chippenham

Jesus' mission and plan was to die and then be raised to life. Mark's resurrection account points us to the truth of the resurrection, and asks us what our response will be . . . fear, astonishment, faith? This is the final message in the series, "A Different Kind of King" . . . and the ultimate difference is that this one conquers death!

Human leaders tend to lead out of a self-concerned motivation. Not Jesus. In this chapter we see how Christianity is not about our commitment or what we are prepared to do for Jesus. Christianity is about Christ. He was the one who followed through on his calm commitment to die for those who didn't deserve it. The day before the crucifixion traced to point us to Jesus, a different kind of King.

Jesus faced a barrage of questions trying to trip him up. He handled them amazingly well, seeking to wake up the people to their need of him. We need to beware that the motivations that stopped them from seeing the truth don't do the same to us.

The whole of Mark's Gospel builds towards, and focuses on, Jesus' final visit to Jerusalem. In this chapter he arrives in a great celebration, but quickly shifts gears and turns things around. As the disciples expected a victory over their enemies, Jesus turned against the temple (and a fig tree). Lots for them to learn. Lots for us to ponder. Jesus is not concerned with crowds, but he does desire to woo genuine worshippers.

When Jesus predicted his suffering and death, he was turning the world of the disciples upside-down. We need to experience the same if we are to be gripped by what it meant for the Son of Man to come and give his life as a ransom for many.

What kind of follower does King Jesus want? The wealthy? The successful? The person who has achieved goodness? No, only God is good, and only God can give true goodness. The Rich Young Ruler stirred the disciples, and invites us also to chase after Jesus in our situation.

What kind of kingdom will this different kind of King establish? It is a kingdom where fearful competitiveness is not the driving feature. Instead, the lowest and smallest are welcomed as if they are God Himself. The disciples needed to learn this. So do we.

How does Sunday connect with the rest of the week? Do we rely on Sunday experience of Jesus to get through the week? This section shows Jesus on the mountaintop - a glimpse of the glory of the majesty of Christ, followed by Jesus dealing with the weak faith of a needy Dad and weak disciples. The infinitely glorious Jesus is involved in the grittiness of real life!

We start a new series by jumping into the mid-point of Mark's presentation of Jesus. Jesus makes huge claims, but is patient with slow to learn disciples. Like them, we can easily bring our own expectations to Jesus and then discover that his plan for us is infinitely greater! We want a king on our terms, but Jesus is a different kind of King!