Mark 14:3-9-- Pure Devotion

While he was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."

 The woman (whom other gospels call Mary Magdalene) brought out an ointment that was worth about a year’s salary.  This seemed like an unbelievable waste to the disciples, to take the wage of a year and put it on Jesus’ feet for a night.  They mentioned giving the money to the poor, which Jesus commanded them to do, and, it seems, the ministry of Jesus did.  

But Jesus defended the actions of the woman.  First, he says, she is doing it as a benefit to him, and her act of service for her Master should not be condemned.  

Second, he says, the poor can be given to tomorrow.  Jesus was not saying that it was pointless to give to the poor, as some people interpret this saying, as if Jesus was saying “Forget about the poor, they’ll never go away.”  Rather, Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 15, which uses the same statement to mean that because the poor will never go away, there will always be people that will need help.  This is what Jesus means—it isn’t like the poor will disappear today and so you will lose your opportunity to help them.  You can always help them another time.  

Third, Jesus is speaking of this anointing as being like the anointing people would do for a dead body just before it was buried.  Jesus is saying that he is a dead man, and he is being prepared for burial.  Note, that when Jesus is buried, his body is not able to be prepared, because it was too close to the Sabbath (this is why women went to his tomb on Sunday morning, to do the anointing that was left undone Friday afternoon).  

Finally, Jesus blesses the woman by saying that she would be honored world-wide for the honor she was doing to him that night.  Of course, this prophecy came true.

If you pressed Jesus, in a private moment, I suspect that he would agree that pouring a bunch of expensive oil on his head wasn't a very wise action.  The disciples were right, it was a waste.  But what is never a waste is love.

The disciples were treating this woman as an outsider, as a person who isn't doing right because she doesn't have the right teaching.  She isn't orthodox enough, isn't moral enough, and doesn't follow the true precepts.  But whether her actions were wise or not, they were representations of true love, of true devotion.  And Jesus will never despise true devotion.  No one was actually harmed by her act.  Perhaps another form of devotion would have been better.  But Jesus loved her heart, nonetheless.

This is hope for us.  Because many of our acts of devotion are sloppy, or simply wrong-headed.  But Jesus isn't looking at the rightness of the action, but the pure love of the heart.  If Jesus gives us a break, perhaps we should give others a break as well. 

Mark 14:1-2-- Building on Tradition

Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people." 

This is the beginning of the last major section of Mark.  Jesus doesn’t teach much more, nor does he offer another parable.  The next two chapters describe the couple days of Jesus’ life, when his prophecy of rejection and death comes true.  Studying this passage, we will focus more on what Jesus experienced, and how we can be like Jesus in situations like his.  

There is a festival of the Jews called Passover, and it is sometimes called the feast of Unleavened Bread (or bread without yeast).  This is because the feast celebrates, recounts and partly relives the events of Israel when they left their slavery of Egypt forever.  On that date, they had to cook their meals in a hurry, thus they had no time to cook bread that had to rise.  So they always baked bread without yeast at this time of the year.   This provides the context for Jesus’ death, as we will see later.  

Meanwhile, the priests and scribes, the leaders of the Sanhedrin, were plotting against Jesus.  They were angry at his assertions that he is king of Jerusalem and that the temple would be destroyed.  They were enraged at his defeat of them in the public debates in the temple.  So they decided that they needed to get rid of him, to kill him.  But they didn’t want to do it publicly, for fear that the crowds might defend him.  Rather, they wanted to capture him with a hand-picked crowd so they could control the situation.

Even as Jesus used the Passover celebration and the event of the Exodus to provide an example for how he envisioned his last days to be like, even so we use traditions and stories to be an outline for our lives, establishing principles for living... or dying.  

Traditions form the foundation of our lives, stepping stones from one season to the next, providing meaning for us even when we do not hold to the original meaning.  More importantly, traditions can be used by God to stretch us, to go to places that we might never go.  Jesus used the Passover to sacrifice himself in a manner that was never done by any other prophet.  Even so, God can use Jesus' life-- even the gospel of Mark-- to stretch us and make us new people doing new things never seen before.

Tradition forms the basis of novelty.

Mark 13:28-37-- Be Awake and Ready

Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that it is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert— for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning-- in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, 'Be on the alert!'

In the context of the discourse Jesus just gave, he is speaking here about the events connected to the destruction of the temple, not necessarily the events that take place “after” the tribulation.  Those events take place in the unforeseeable future, but the events of the temple, Jesus says, are going to happen very soon.  In fact, Jesus says more specifically, those events would happen before the generation he was speaking to ends.  A generation is sometimes seen as a hundred years in the Bible (Genesis 15:13-16), sometimes only forty years (Numbers 32:13).  Whichever way Jesus meant it, the temple was destroyed in less than forty years after his prediction of it.  This was amazing, considering that Herod built the temple to last, much as the pyramids have lasted as ongoing monuments.  The disciples must have been shocked and perhaps a bit disbelieving when they heard it, but it came true, nevertheless in 70 AD.  

So Jesus is warning his disciples to be aware of the end, for no one knows when it will occur.  Jesus told them it would be soon, but they didn’t know exactly when.  But when it happens, Jesus implies, it would be sudden and without warning. The exact time is not known—not by anyone except the Father.  And so the disciples have to keep their eyes open to the signs—specifically the abomination and the coming of the Son of Man—and they need to be ready for these signs at any time.  To be alert would be to keep one’s attention on the signs to indicate the time is here.  To be ready is to act in obedience to Jesus until the final day arrives.

Although Jesus is mostly speaking about the destruction of the temple, we can apply this passage to the coming of the Son of Man.  The temple is already destroyed, but if we see another abomination (a man claiming divinity committing genocide against God’s people) or if we see the coming of the Son of Man, we know the time is come.  And we too need to be on alert and ready for these events.  The fact that the temple was destroyed in 70 AD is all the more indication that Jesus’ prophecy will definitely come true.

We should constantly be alert for Jesus' return.  What does this alertness, this readiness, mean?  It means that we are doing all we can to be like Jesus, to give and not expect in return, to heal for no cost, to encourage the poor and outcast, and to rebuke those who judge, warning them of God's judgment. We act in mercy, we create peace and we proclaim Jesus' message and life.  If we continue this to the end, we will be ready.

Mark 13:24-27-- The Merciful Will Rule the Earth

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

Jesus is in the midst of his prophecy about the time when the temple will be destroyed.  He has already stated that the main signs to look for when the temple is destroyed is an “abomination of desolation” where the sacrifices will cease, there will be an attempted genocide of God’s people and a king will come who will claim to be God.  Jesus now is speaking of a time after the “tribulation”, or after the attempted genocide.  He doesn’t say how long after, but there is a break in time from the tribulation to the final events he is narrating here.  

The final events will be threefold: 

A. The powers in heaven will be shaken.  Jesus speaks of different powers—the sun, the moon, the stars, and then “powers” in general.  In the ancient world, these heavenly bodies are not seen as astronomical features, but as personalities with authority to rule over certain regions (Genesis 1:16; Psalm 121:6).  Prophets of the past have spoken of the sun being darkened and the moon turning to blood, which does not speak of literal events, but of authorities in heaven being shifted, which is indicated by political shifts on earth (Isaiah 13:10-17; Ezekiel 32:1-8; Joel 2:31;Acts 2:1-21).  All of the description together speaks of authorities in heaven under God being changed—no matter how important they are.   This is a judgement, probably severe, of ruling nations and leaders.

B. The Son of Man will appear.   The Son of Man appearing in the clouds is a reference to Daniel 7:13-14 where a human-like figure would have the glory of God and would receive all the authority of the earth from God.  It is this passage where Jesus is drawing his “Son of Man” language, which says that he had intended to be the Christ all along, from the beginning of his ministry.  With him appearing before the earth, however, indicates that the knowledge of his authority wouldn’t just be known to the spirit world anymore, but to all the earth.  God's chosen ruler will now rule over the world.

C. The elect will be gathered.  The “elect” are all those who are of the people of God, specifically Jews.  God’s people are all over the earth, and the Son of Man will use his authority to command angels to pick them up and gather them together in one place.  This is Jesus’ only reference to a so-called “rapture”, which is more accurately called a “gathering”, and it happens just as the Son of Man is going to judge all the peoples, at his appearing. God's chosen ruler will rule a people of God's choosing.

The final day is not just arbitrary.  God doesn't just decide, "Well, I've had enough of these awful people. I'm done," and he starts wiping out all the world. Rather, the empires of the world, like Egypt and Babylon, have to prove that they are worthy of judgment before God acts.  The one act that guarantees God will act is to destroy the people of God: the poor who are merciful, the pure in heart who make peace in the world.  

And God's purpose is not simple destruction.  The world is not destroyed with nuclear weapons, or disasters that wipe out the population of earth.  Rather, God's judgment has a purpose: to take out the leaders and soldiers on earth who oppress and destroy God's merciful poor, and to replace them with His chosen ruler.  It is a simple power move: When the human powers destroy God's compassionate, then God will move in and replace them with the compassionate, the loving, the peacemaking.

If we want to be on the winning side, we need to choose to be compassionate and peacemaking now, even if that means personal sacrifice.  Especially if that means our reputations are ruined, and people begin attacking us.  If we endure in mercy, then God will give us an opportunity to live in the earth ruled by the compassionate.

Mark 13:14-23-- The Sign of the End

But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. The one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that it may not happen in the winter. For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ'; or, 'Behold, He is there'; do not believe him; for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.

Jesus is teaching about the time when the temple and the authorities of Jerusalem would be destroyed.  Up until this point, Jesus spoke of things that would happen before the time of this end, yet the end had not come—false Christs, wars, earthquakes, famines, and those who preached the gospel would be terribly persecuted.  Now Jesus speaks of the time of the end itself.  

The first real indication of “the end” is what Daniel calls “the abomination of desolation” (Daniel 11:31; 12:11).  Daniel 11 is specifically speaking of an event that happened some two hundred years before Jesus speaking this prophecy.  A king named Antiochus ceased the sacrifices in the temple, and established sacrifice to Zeus instead, commanding the Jews to desecrate the temple by offering pigs to Zeus.  The people who remained faithful to God were punished.  Antiochus also called himself a god, naming himself Epiphanes, or, “one who is god on earth.”  

This time, Jesus said, would be repeated—only worse. Thus, the abomination is to cease proper sacrifice to God, to persecute the people of God and to call oneself the proper one to be worshiped instead of God.  Once this person reveals himself, Jesus says, then one is to flee from Judea, into the uninhabited areas for the valley will be overrun with armies.  Jesus, in his compassion for the less fortunate, offers a mourning cry for those who are pregnant at that time.  He also prays that it not be in the winter—for that would cause the trial even worse for God’s people.  

This “tribulation” is a time of terrible persecution—an attempted genocide of God’s people, such has never been seen before, nor will ever be seen again.  The “days” Jesus mentioned is in Daniel 12: 11-12.  The days are that of three and a half years—but Jesus says here that they will be shortened by God in order to preserve the “elect” or the people of  God—otherwise they would all be destroyed.  

Again Jesus warns against false Christs and prophets.  Before he mentioned that they would arise before the end.  But now he mentions them specifically during the period of persecution against all of God’s people.  He tells them to take great care, because during the time of persecution these false teachers and leaders would be easy to believe, (even as they were during the last siege of Jerusalem—see Jeremiah 27) especially because they will have false miracles to “prove” their truth.  Jesus also says that the disciples don’t have to pay attention to them because he has told them all these things ahead of time so they can be prepared for the lies that were to come.  Thus if a prophet says “The Christ is here” or  “Follow me, I am the real king” or “This army will deliver us” or “We will not be persecuted”, the disciples of Jesus know better.

Thus, the end a few main characteristics: 1. Forced ending of the worship of the true God; 2. Forced worship of authority; 3. Severe persecution of God's people; 4. False leaders speaking in God's name.  These characteristics were seen in 70 AD when Rome destroyed Jerusalem over three and a half years.  We also see them against the followers of Jesus by Diocletian in the early fourth century. We also see these same characteristics in the early Reformation and the Thirty Years War in the sixteenth century.  Each of these times were climatic and world-changing.

Today there are many so-called "prophets" and interpreters of the Bible that claim to understand the signs of the end of the world.  They point to economic factors or signs in the sky or a war in the middle east or a pocket of persecution here or there.  All of those things are what Jesus said would be the natural state of the world, "birth pangs".  Those who push these "signs" are but fear-mongers, stirring up strife among God's people and making us all look like fools.

The one sign that Jesus said we should be looking for is a world-wide persecution of the people of God.  Not the rapture, not an easy escape.  Rather, it is the most difficult time for God's people that they must ever endure.  In Revelation, it says that the martyrs of this time are so many that they cannot be counted.  This severest of persecution has not yet been seen, and it has only occasionally been hinted at.

Be not afraid of that which is normal, everyday events.  Trust in the Lord and He will deliver you and provide for you.  For fear of the end and fear of persecution has caused wars and hatreds and strife, which is opposed to God's will.  Trust that whatever the calamity, God will watch over you and care for you.

Mark 13:9-13-- The Door of the Kingdom

"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."

Jesus had just warned his four disciples against false signs and indications of the end—the destruction of the temple and of the authorities of Israel.  Now he is warning them about the persecution they must endure.  In preparation for the end, Jesus’ gospel must be preached to all the nations—which could mean to the Jews spread out throughout the world, but it could also mean the Gentiles who need to hear of God’s word.  

In response to this preaching—for Jesus and against the temple and the authorities— many will come against the followers of Jesus and persecute them.  The kind of persecution Jesus mentions is particularly political and legal—arrested, flogged in the local courts, put on trial before Gentile leaders.  But not only will the police and leaders be involved in the persecution, but also one’s family and neighbors—they will all betray them to the authorities to be arrested.  

The disciple of Jesus has only three defenses—the truth of the gospel (especially the revolutionary message of the unworthiness and destruction of the Jewish authorities), the Holy Spirit who will tell them how to defend themselves, and the perseverance of the disciples.  Only if they remain with Jesus through all the persecution and rejection will they gain the blessings of God Jesus spoke of.

Many people wonder why the innocent suffer.  Jesus didn't.  He told his disciples that suffering was the natural result of living a good, loving life.  The world which operates on punishment doesn't want mercy, and doesn't want to be reminded that the unmerciful will perish.  It will attack those who attack their attacks.

The most important thing, Jesus says, is endurance.  That we need to persevere in the truth of Jesus' gospel, remain with Jesus, no matter what gets thrown at us.  This is not an easy task.  It isn't easy to love our enemies when our enemies try to destroy us.  It isn't easy to forgive when people do such unforgivable things to us.  But loving and enduring through suffering is the path of Jesus.  To enter the kingdom we must pass through the door of suffering. 

Mark 13:5-8-- Everybody Wants to End the World

And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

The context Jesus is speaking of is the destruction of the temple and the destruction of the power structure of Israel—the priests and Sanhedrin. This is “the end” that Jesus declares.  Possibly it might also imply the destruction of the world power that controls Israel, but it is not necessary, since Jesus never spoke of the Romans being destroyed. Jesus first speaks of the fact that it would be easy to be confused about when the end occurs.  Jesus mentions that prophets would come claiming to be the Jewish emperor, but Jesus clearly says that they are not to be listened to.  Also, he says, there are events that could mislead one to think that the end has come.  There will be many wars, people will talk about possible wars, there will be earthquakes and famines.  But these are not indications of the end.  They are merely “birth pangs”—pains that happen before the actual birth, but are not the event.  They are not the indications one should be looking for, for the final events are still to come.

When it comes to prophecy or the end of the world, people are simply not rational.  No matter how many times Jesus says you can't predict the time of the end, that doesn't stop a popular prophet from declaring that very thing every decade or so.  It amazes me how often people, even Bible students, take this passage to interpret it to mean the opposite of what it says.  They take this passage and then look at the increase of wars, earthquakes, famines and other such signs as indications of the end.  Some people want the end so badly, they will read it in everything.  Every Bible passage, every newspaper article, every new immorality is an indication that the world is right on the edge of falling off a cliff.

Jesus says the exact opposite. There are horrors and disasters and immoralities and suffering and traumatic events... but that's just the way the world goes. Not every war is the final war-- in fact, if there is only one final war that means that almost all wars are NOT the final war.  Not every earthquake is the final, devastating, God-judging earthquake. In fact, most earthquakes are just run-of-the-mill, everyday earthquakes.  No big deal at all. 

I guess what Jesus is saying is, stop making everything so dramatic.  There are enough problems and disasters in the world, let's not make everything about the end of the world.  Show some balance.  Please.  We are crazy enough, we don't need to be pointed at because we can't stop predicting an end that never comes.