Author: Don Guthrie

Re: Verse reading–Mark 14:12-31 (day one)
(See also Matthew 26:17-46, Luke 22:7-38, John 13-17)

He planned it carefully.  A final time to be with the twelve.  Just them.

That night, all over Jerusalem, families were celebrating Passover.  In a real sense these men were family.

The arrangements were made in secret.  Jesus did not want this time to be disturbed.  Peter and John left the group earlier in the day.  Went into the city.  Found the prearranged (?) room.  Went to the temple.  Sacrificed a lamb.  Came back to prepare the Passover meal.  Jesus and the rest arrived later.

Nearly 1/3 of gospel material is about the last week of Jesus’ life.  And nearly 1/3 of the material on the last week deals with this night.  Passover. Washing Feet. Judas leaves.  The Lord’s supper.  The Lord’s words (John 14-17). Final hymn. Gethsemane.

The gospel writers all agree.  If you want to understand the Lord, you should pay attention to the events and meaning of this night.

Re: Verse reading–Mark 11:12-33 (day seven)

“And He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ “–v 14

Why don’t warnings work?  They don’t usually. Why do most of us insist on learning things the hard way?  Who teaches us to think that we are “Ten feet tall and bullet-proof”, that none of the warnings of God will ever happen to us or to our families?  Why didn’t the people of Jerusalem believe Jesus that disaster was coming?  Why couldn’t they see the darkness of their own hearts? Why didn’t they repent?

And us?  Why don’t we see that the “God of wrath” is the “God of the path”, that His love is, at this very moment, urging us to follow Him out of danger?

And, why was Jesus so confident?  Why did he teach, with unbending HOPE, that faith and prayer and forgiveness would still work for us?  Even in times of collapse!

Just wondering.

Re: Verse reading–Mark 11:12-33 (day one)

Kurt Voss died last week.  He was 94.  For over 70 years he served the Lord as a member of FBCSA.  He was also a gifted metal worker.  An artisan.  An old-world craftsman.

When I came to First Baptist in 1996, Kurt offered to make a new pulpit. (The one we still use).  He suggested a vine and branches motif ( the same inspiration he used on the doors of the National Cathedral–a project completed a few years before.)

Sunday by Sunday, ever since, my pulpit preaches a silent and powerful message of its own.  “I am the vine.  You are the branches.  He who abides in Me and I in him will bear much fruit.”–John 15:5

This week I hope you will read Mark 11.  With one final warning for Israel, Jesus cursed a fig tree (a symbol of the nation) because it was “all leaves” (appearance) but “no fruit”.

His expectations were clear.  Still are.

Re: Verse reading–Mark 10: 32-45 (day seven)

Jesus was (is) a rare combination of two virtues.  Perfect symmetry.  He is both strong and soft.  Strong toward people and their opposition.  Soft toward God and people who needed His care.  “A velvet covered brick” said Howard Butt.  Mark says,  “they were amazed.”-v 32.  No wonder.

Strong–Once Jesus discerned the will of the Father, He moved toward it with determination.  Courageous.  Resolute.  A quality all leaders need.  “Be strong and courageous”, God tells young Joshua.(Joshua 1:6)

Surrendered–But, the ego strength that Jesus used to withstand the pressure of men was never turned against the Father.  He never pushed back or resisted.  Like soft clay, His surrendered heart yielded to the Father’s will.  “Submit therefore to God. . .He will lift you up”. (James 4:10)

Followers of Christ are called to be like Christ.  It is easy to do one OR the other.  The trick (miracle) is to be BOTH, and in the right situations.

Re: Verse reading–Mark 10: 32-45 (day one)

“To sit on my right or my left. . . is for those for whom it has been prepared.”– v 40.

In ancient Greek, heteos referred to “a perfect fit” or “exact match”.  In Mark 10, Jesus used it in a verbal form.  He said that the seats of honor in Heaven have been made with specific people in mind.  They are not “one size fits all” chairs.  They are prepared by God (hetoimazo) for people that He desires to honor.

Jesus uses the same word in John 14.  “I go to prepare a place for you“.  Your new home in Heaven will also be a perfect match for your life and heart.  No cookie cutters.  Heaven will be a clear, fair reflection your faith.

“The Lord (when He comes) will bring to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”–1 Corinthians 4:5

Re:Verse reading–Mark 9:14-29 (day seven)

“Whenever it (the demon) seizes him, it slams him to the ground.”–v 18

For a moment will you think about the boy in this story?  Demon-possessed.  Vulnerable.  Unable to talk.  Regularly slammed to the ground by forces that he did not control or understand.

Doubly slammed, I think, because He lived in a generation that had lost faith in God.  (See v 19)  People around him were powerless to help him (physically or spiritually) because they had forgotten the fountain of help or how to find it.  For faithless folks, life shrinks  down to human solutions which, in the case of this boy, were obviously useless.

It doesn’t have to be this way!  “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray. . .I will heal their land”. . .and their children and their cities and their families.

Maybe you feel slammed to the ground by violent forces in your life.

Re: Verse reading–Mark 9:14-29 (day one)

One of the men in my circle said this week that the verse that spoke to him the most was Mark 7:18, “Are you so dull?”

We don’t usually imagine Jesus being frustrated with His disciples (or with us).  But, there it was, a comment from Christ that suggests the opposite.

In Mark 9, Jesus says something similar.  “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long will I put up with you?”–v 19.

Probably we don’t see our lives with the same urgency that Christ does.  We assume we have a long time.  He doesn’t!  He knows the time is short.   To be honest, we probably are much slower in our responses and progress than He desires.  Could I learn faster/better if I paid better attention?  Yes.

It’s a sad image.  Motivating.  A facepalm in heaven–the faithful (and frustrated)  Lord saying to his slow children, “Why are you so dull?”

Re:Verse reading–Mark 8:27-38 (day seven)

“Get thee behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”–v 33.

Most moderns (materialists, we are) don’t believe in Satan, anymore.  Jesus did.

He knew the voice of His enemy.  The well-worn strategies.  The proposal of an “alternative wisdom” that over the years has proven so effective with foolish and unfaithful men.  “Hath God said?” he whispers constantly in our ears.

Jesus recognized this malignant source even in the voice of His friends.  It doesn’t matter who says foolishness, it is still foolishness.  Jesus didn’t believe that truth was relative, that all opinions are legitimate.  He believed that some truth came directly from Satan and was to be confronted.  Wisely.  Firmly. Without apology.

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction.”–2 Timothy 4:2

Easy work?  No.  Necessary work?  Yes.  Lord, please make us like you!

Re:Verse reading–Mark 8:27-38 (day one)

“He began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected. . .and be killed, and after three days rise again.”–v 31.

It was a turning point.

Some talk of “progressive revelation”.  Things true and obvious to New Testament believers were not clear to the Old Testament saints.

In many ways, God follows the same pattern with the development of each individual believer.  Once Peter confesses Christ (see v 29), Jesus begins to tell them of the coming cross and resurrection.  Previously only hinted at, the cross now becomes the subject of intense and plain instruction.  They were ready.

“Whoever has, more shall be given” says Jesus in Matthew 13:12.  One of the prerequisites of learning more about God is to pay careful and faithful attention to what He is presently saying.  To be ready for the “next thing”, I have to pay attention to the “now thing”.

Re:Verse reading – Mark 7:1-23 (day seven)

“The Pharisees. . .did not eat unless they carefully washed their hands.”  v 3.

When I was a kid, there was a character on a TV commercial. Buff.  Bald.  White T-shirt and pants.   I still remember the jingle.  “Mr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute.  Mr. Clean will clean your whole house and everything that’s in it.”  The appeal to women was obvious.  Handsome guy.  Does housework!

But clean to Christ wasn’t about hygiene.  It was (still is) about holiness.   About a heart surrendered to God. Wash your hands all you want, said Jesus, but until your heart is obedient to God you are not clean.  Religion’s only value is to help you see the real problem.

Puts a new perspective on worship, doesn’t it?  At the end of the hour this morning, will your heart be soft?  Will your courage be strong?  Will you be clean?