loudandclear

Mark 13:24 - 14:26

24 “At that time, after the anguish of those days,

   the sun will be darkened,
      the moon will give no light,
   25 the stars will fall from the sky,
      and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

 26 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

 28 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

 32 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!

 34 “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. 35 You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37 I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!”


Mark 14

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

 1 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”
 3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

 4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.

 6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”


Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

 10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
The Last Supper

 12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
 13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

 17 In the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve disciples. 18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”

 19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”

 20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

 22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”

 23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. 25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

(((Joel covered most of chapter 13 yesterday, so I won’t repeat all that he has already said.  There are 2 main things we can take away from what Jesus says about the end times.  First is that no one except God knows when it is coming so make sure you are always ready and second is that God wins in the end.  This gives hope to anyone who is a Christ follower.)))

(((As chapter 14 opens up we have a woman (identified as Mary in the Gospel of John) pouring perfume over Jesus’ head.  Although Mary was trying to glorify God through her actions, some of the men at the table with Jesus immediately criticized her for wasting something that could have been used to feed the poor.  Jesus knows her heart though and takes her side.  This woman uses her possessions to glorify and honor Jesus.  God has blessed so many of us with so much, we need to intentional about using all that God has given us to bring Him more glory rather than waste those opportunities when we can give back to Him.)))

(((Verse 14:21 is verse that is hard for us as humans to understand.  Because it seems at first that Jesus is declaring God’s sovereignty (God’s control over all things), but at the same time He still puts responsibility on Judas for his actions in fulfilling the prophecy.  This is something that is hard to reconcile, but as humans we know that our actions have consequences.  We can trust God to always do His part in every situation because of His faithfulness, but we need to be sure that we are doing our part.)))

(((Jesus then initiates the sacrament of communion.  He says that it confirms a covenant between God and His people.  Throughout the history of God’s people God is making covenants with them, but this is the start of the last and best covenant.  This covenant will establish the atonement of our sins by Jesus’ death on a cross.  The penalty for sin is death, but Jesus took our place upon the cross.  By doing this He paid for our trespasses against God with His own life.  Because of this we can have new life when we follow Jesus.)))