Mark 12-13

Mark

12:1-44  -  Jesus - God’s ‘beloved Son’ (6): Rejected by men, raised by God (10-11). Jesus’ enemies tried ‘to trap Him in His talk’ (13). He spoke with wisdom - and so can we. Anointed by the Holy One, we have the mind of Christ (1 John 2:19-20; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Christ’s enemies knew ‘neither the Scripture nor the power of God’ (24). We are to speak as those who know the living God (27). Our ‘first’ priority is love for God (29-30). Jesus says, ‘Love your neighbour’ (31). This is not, however, ‘the be-all and end-all’ of our life. There is more. We must not forget God. Jesus is ‘Lord’ (35-37). Let it be: Jesus is my Lord. The scribes had all the external trappings of religion - and nothing else (38-40)! The ‘poor widow’ had very little, yet she had everything that really matters: she loved the Lord (41-44)!

13:1-37  -  We are not to be a people whose ‘faith’ is locked in the past! We are to be a people of hope. We look to the future. We ‘see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory’ (26). There may be ‘wars and rumours of wars’ (7). When Christ returns, only one thing will matter: ‘he who endures to the end will be saved’ (13). ‘This day - the noise of battle’: Look beyond all that to ‘the victor’s song’ (Church Hymnary, 481). In human conflict, there is so much of self - ‘We are the people’. When Christ returns, nothing will matter but this: ‘When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there’ (Mission Praise, 759). We hear of ‘wars and rumours of wars’. Do we say, ‘This is part of our history. It’s always been this way’?. We must remember: Preaching Christ's Gospel is far more important than ‘defending’ our ways (10)!